open Casual stroll

[Rising Dusk 23,029]

@Blitz Boom

Turning Twisted Gear's assistant Lily would have to be an issue for another time.  Regardless of her willingness to server or not, a shift that large for a pony under his hoof for so long wouldn't happen over night.  Right now though, they needed to create a Harrowmark that even such a dream could have a hope.  A mad batpony and dark god gripping the land wasn't on the detective's to-do list this morning.  Already he looked forward to the return of the more common purse snatcher or robber, or even his trips to the hospitals to help de-curse a foal unicorn who sneezed and accidentally jinxed themselves.  But, Thistle had a point, it was an avenue to keep in mind.  The unicorn silently nodding as he took in the scenery of the barn.  Well, his attention more focused on the runes the plastered the walls a thumbed with magical energy.  Something was done recently here.  Making his way over to the table to examine the items for a moment.  These could be useful.  Opening his saddle bag and sliding the items into it for later after he finished searching the bar.

Taking notice that his magic light didn't pierce the darkness of the ceiling, which didn't match the size of the barn they were in.  The darkness was moving though and the inky droplet dangled down before him.  Taking a form most similar to what had appeared in his nightmare the other night, many ponies trapped in a bubbling mass and all.  The major difference being that this object, no matter how small, contained magic.  And an illusion spell weave was most difficult to hide from the detective's extra sense.  While he still felt Thistle was hiding things from him, he sure as Tartarus trusted her more than this thing.  For the moment.  Cocking his head slightly to the side, "Your spell is showing," he informed the darkness.  Just in time for the specter pony to bathe the barn in a powerful light.  Getting on the move, he round to a full sprint and slide out of the open door.  Luckily he had the whole barn mapped out in his memory and didn't need to search for it while his eyes still blurred from the light.  Managing to get himself even more dirty from the swap.

Getting up and brushing some muck from his hoodie, he turned to face his companion.  "You.  Aren't a ghost," Rising Dusk concluded rather flatly.

Scarlet moved away from the tangled up pegasus while Molotov rambled on about how great he was.  Giving Felicia the room she needed to cut Null down.  "Don't move," she warned the pegasus, though it probably didn't need to be said considering it was easy to see the sharp legs cutting her down.  "While it was probably much deserved, let us refrain from throwing explosives.  There are plenty of tools on that rack over there," she told Null as she was cut down.  "Now then, what happened after the measurements were taken?" she asked.  Not as familiar with the fiery personality Null had, but regardless, she had her job to do as an officer of the law and get to the bottom of this.

[Widdershins 9,938]

@Catpone Cerberus

 Still slowly rotating counter-clockwise, the second long ear slowly unfolds out as it seems the prior one begins to flop over the quizzical look on Widdershins's long, fuzzy snout.

  That's an odd name, Mr. Buddadoncare-Whattacallme. 

  ...Hum. Sorry. Bit hard to make out where you are from where most of me is now. 

  If you would be ever so kind to just grab both my ears & tug really hard! Then I ought be able to come out on your side!... if ya wanna play that is!

… gently though, now. I am supposed to still have a bit of a feeling left in those parts!

 

 @Dji

 "...Really?" Kaltrops asked Dawn Streak in tones unusually hushed & soft for the young drake as he reached his long, draconic muzzle down to her upturned, ruffled chest. "...how'd you have that happen to you?"

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Dji Serenade looks up at Cherish, giving her a reassuring smile...but also placing a hoof near the piece of wood. Thinking to herself Serenade realized that moving to Ponyville had changed her, for the best. 

[Blitz Boom 3,921]

@Catpone Cerberus

"I'll on 'em for ya if they show up. Don't sweat it."

Spicy gave a quick wave-off to her companions, before going back to focus on what were currently on stage. Artwork again, which she didn't wanna buy, but it were never a bad thing to see what sorta thing folks had the hots for in art these days. Never knew wheat one might find.

As for the others, they would soon find themselves at a large area with a very professional looking pony sitting behind a large desk. Behind him, in a protected area from the looks of things, sat four unicorns who were just closing a portal above one of a few movable platforms, showing off a pile of closed bags in a darkened room for a brief moment.

"Transaction completed. Please enjoy your time with your purchase sir, and do remember not to cause severe harm."

"He's not getting off that easily, don't you worry about that."

The griffon from before grinned and with a cruel grin on his beak, he'd follow the guard who would lead him to the detective. He basically ignored the others coming here as he walked past them, not giving a hoot about some scavengers and an unknown upstart pony.

Scribbling down a few things, the pony in question then looked up towards the new arrivals with a look so objective and uncaring that it bordered on being mechanical.

"20 jars, 10.000 bits for each, correct?"

"Yes."

The griffon withdrew a curved dagger from her robes and put it on the counter, where the pony would then take a small iron coin with the logo of La Perrine off the handle, and deliver it to the unicorns behind her, who'd get to work on opening a portal.

"200.000 bits then. Would you want a paper trail, or are things adequate without?"

"It's fine."

The two gryphon's spoke at the same time, responding to the inquiry, which made Marley get a bit of a chuckle, yet he were the only one who reacted to this in the slightest. The other of his kin just stood and waited, whilst the stallion at the counter simply stopped scribbling down things, and corrected his tie.

Behind him, a gate opened to the look of the foot of another darkened room, though Ruby could likely feel the unfathomable amount of riches on the other side, stashed in great piles in an immense room. A dragon hoard worth ones time, and through the portal, three large bags would be pushed by an index claw larger than Marley, which carried a slight burgundy tint to it.

The pony would glance at them briefly, and with his horn rummage through them and withdrawing the amount that were owed to the auctioneer, whilst also checking the merchandises.

"200.000 in 100 bit coins. 10% have been retrieved as the auctioning fee, and the remaining bags have all been evened out to 60.000 bits each. We will transport the jars safely to La Perrine shortly."

He pushed something under the desk, and some earth ponies would show up, who were then told what to do to finish this. In the meantime, the gryphon they had arrived with looked at the ones she had made her deal with, whilst the magical foci over her eye glared between them.

"We're done. If you find more of this, tell Scarcity to contact us. La Perrine wants more of this."

"May I ask why?"

"No."

And with that, the gryphon returned to the auction, leaving the two of them behind with the now busy clerk, as well as their three bags that had been moved to the other side of the counter. They could examine the heavy canvas bags now if they wanted to, but Ruby could likely already tell that the exact amount were really in these. She'd likely prefer single bits over 100's for her own hoard, but these could be exchanged when needed. It were just more common to deal in the higher valued bits in places like this, as it made it easier to move around.

The whole transaction would have taken about 2 and a half minutes. There should be plenty of time for Ruby to return and find the coins she were looking for.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Ah there you were. You're okay, right? No sudden attacks? No surveillance drones popping up and scouting the area you're in?"

Berry took a narrow look around her, trying to spot out anything out of the ordinary that might be a recording device, and even went over to put up a few rocks to shake around just to check. You could never be too careful as long as The Conspiracy were out there. They'd watch you when you least expected it. She even found one overlooking her house recently! Suuure it were just a weird looking weather bird somepony got for their roof. Like she'd believe that lie. Not her, she weren't blind to the truth like so many others were, and she'd made sure to re-position some things in her house so that this thing wouldn't have a chance at catching a glimpse if anything. No way were she gonna feed them information willingly.

"Is that why your p-Friend here, came and barged in on me just as I were about to clock out from the night shift? Did something happen with Them? Did They threaten you in some way? This.. This ain't an ambush, right?"

Her eyes started darting around again, just awaiting to see somepony in hiding behind some sort of small stack of rocks or something with a net, ready to take her in. Behind her, Fah'lina were using both hands to rotate around her ears whilst unfocusing her eyes and making a dumb face, to indicate that she thought Berry were crazy.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 5/3/2019 at 8:42 AM, EQ_Theta said:

"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?"

"Yes. I do not breathe."

She stepped through the gate and wandered into the landscape, where she'd sit herself down to a pool nearby and just look back at the others. Somepony she were transporting once saw this and said that it felt like breathing were impossible before collapsing, so she had just kinda assumed that normal beings couldn't go there, and that were why the pretty place - in her eyes - were so abandoned. As for the pony being transported in the first place, she delivered him to where he needed to be, and she stared at him unblinkingly for the six hours it took for him to wake up again. They'd gotten quite the audience at that point, who hadn't known what to do, and long story short, Omen accidentally set herself on fire. She didn't take any real damage from it long term, but the others around her had started to run away after pouring water on her, as she said it had tingled, and wondered why they had thrown water on her. Apparently they were impressed, as they threw things towards her, though their words sounded harsh, from what she understood of pony swears. Didn't really matter to her though. Had been a lot of things for her unformed siblings to play with for a time, and that had meant a lot to them, so it seemed like a good day, though Mother had told her not to set fire to herself again. Apparently that were weird for normal beings.

"Might be safe here. Nopony comes here. Very quiet. If not safe, have it in something safe? I think this place melts stuff. Hard then, yes?"

She took a small pebble from the ground and wandered over to one of the pools, where she'd drop it in that, and see how it reacted, though the other two wouldn't be able to get a look at the process. Just Omen as she glared with her head tilting from side to side for a few seconds, before she wandered back to the siblings.

"It melts. Not safe? Safe? The heart is a shiny... Pony who were there when you and Master Discord found me knew shinies. He know if this works?"

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

"We just had a double date, so that's a start. I dunno, isn't it normally like, months into things?

...Bleargh, that sounds boring. We could go to me isle and get it done now! Wait, that's not in this dimension. Hehe, wanna go to the middle of the sea and raise an isle? It'll be fun! We can make our own animals and make the plants prey on them or something. Just no octopus-monkeys! Very naughty things on my own isle. Causes all sorts of trouble. I had to plant mawtrees just to keep them away."

You can't just mess with the ecosystem out of nowhere.

"While you said that, I turned your rubber duck into a xenomorph egg."

You WHAT? Oh for the love of-*leaves to find an axe*.

"It's actually a chocolate egg with a sticky, liquid caramel filling. First hit on that and he's gonna be cleaning that stuff off the walls, hehe. So, are we gonna make all sorts of ruckus before this buzzkill comes back, or what?"

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

 

@Rising Dusk

"𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙, 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣?"

The look in Thistle's eyes as she said these flat words were that of a teacher, looking at a student who had not done their homework, and who's excused for that she didn't buy, nor care about. Rising were a promising pony in many ways in the specter's eyes, but clearly he were still flawed, and unaware of many things which she took for granted. It were time to give him a small, yet important lesson.

"𝕀 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕚𝕣𝕔𝕝𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤. 𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕, 𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤. 𝕎𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕤𝕦𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕖𝕕.

𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕜. 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕣𝕦𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕡 𝕙𝕠𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙 𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕤. 𝔹𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕒 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕟, 𝕠𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤. 𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕓𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕖𝕟 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞, 𝕤𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕. 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥, 𝕒𝕤 𝕗𝕒𝕣 𝕒𝕤 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕖, 𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥 ℝ𝕠𝕥 𝔽𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕒 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕨𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕥𝕠𝕨𝕟. 𝔸 𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕪 𝕨𝕙𝕠𝕞 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤.

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕒𝕞? 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘? 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕘𝕒𝕫𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟, 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕍𝕚𝕫'𝕟𝕒𝕪, 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕥𝕠 𝕒 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥. 𝔸𝕤 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕤 𝕞𝕪 𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤, 𝕤𝕠 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕀, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕟𝕖𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕦𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕒'𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕦𝕡𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, 𝕟𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕝𝕒𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤, 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕."

"Big words, but she were little more than a mere lich... Severing her own soul from her body, to give both to a dying goddess... She were pathetic... Worthless..."

"𝕊𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖! 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕪 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕠𝕣."

The whispering voice of Twisted going through the air seemed to hit a nerve with Thistle, whom started to glow ever so slightly, with a slowly increasing glare as she got a laughter flowing on the wind in response.

"You are more a slave than me, *Thistle*... How many of your thoughts are even your own now?... How much have your goddess replaced them?...

Hide it as much as you wish... Sooner or later, he will see... That you're nothing but a manifestation of Her... There is no Thistle anymore... Only Viz'nay... The goddess of slaves..."

"𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕔𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕔𝕦𝕣! 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕟𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕝𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖!"

It were starting to go somewhat blinding, which were only making Twisted happy. Losing her composure, she would start to use magic which were already limited, and as Rising would be able to see, would be the same strains of silvery magic that had called out to him before, and saved him from Suusha's grasp. Yet now, it carried a certain harshness to it. A vibe of bitterness and hate, which either manifested in how Thistle behaved, or the other way around. If it were the first of those options, then perhaps Twisted were not simply making things up. There might be truth in saying that Thistle were nothing more than Viz'nay given form as one of her former disciples, though even if that weren't the case, some unsettling truths were still potentially revealed, which would not put the goddess who had seemingly only helped so far in the best of lights.

Regardless, it were likely best to try and make Thistle calm down, before she weakened the cage any further by using this magic for nothing, or ended up hurting Rising so far. He'd best not touch her right now though, or he'd find a very... Disturbing side effect of the light up close, which would attempt to get hold of his soul, and set it free from his shell. He'd likely be able to counter that if it happened, but it would likely still be unsettling.

Rising would likely also be able to see the magic being infused with soul magic and know not to touch it, as those things seldom went well, but regardless, he seemed to have been right in his thoughts that not all were as simple as good and evil here. Something else were going on, and it might make it a difficult decision on what to do in the long run, were he to find the whole truth.

On a positive note though, Twisted were not as crafty hiding himself in his new spell, as he used the same cloaking, yet lingered. It should give Rising some time to pierce the cloaking and track the actual magic, though he had to decide. Track the mage, or calm/fizzle out Thistle's magic use. He might regret ignoring either one later on.

Meanwhile, back in Manehattan, Null were finally cut down and got her muzzle released, and her first response to anything were to turn towards the questioning officer with a sneer.

"None of your business."

"I started yapping off, giving her sis' some compliments, and she got a bit mad in it."

Null snarled at him, which only gave him a laugh.

"You keep your damn muzzle shut about Void."

"Uhm... W-What exactly did you say about m-me?"

"I called you a sweet thing I'd cuddle up to and squeeze like a ripe peach."

Void looked simultaneously mortified and potentially embarrassed/flattered, as her cheeks went dark red, and her eyes went wide with her real one having its pupil shrink.

"Alright fine, it might not be the best comment to say to her sister, but I mean it gal, you're looking fine, and that ain't something to be ashamed o-Hrmp?"

His words got interrupted by a glob of webbing being shot from Felicia that smacked into his muzzle, and closed it up. The spiderbot said something in whirs and beeps after that which nopony here would understand beyond Molotov, but the meaning of *He deserved that* should be somewhat clear. Scarlet might now also realize that honestly, Molotov sometimes just deserved to get something thrown at him.

[Lucid_Nightlight 915]

@Blitz Boom

"I could easily just open a portal, but okay."

Novia decided to ask a question.

"Will there be a chocolate fountain? You can't have a wedding or any event without a chocolate fountain."

"With marshmallows and strawberries! We need those too."

Lucid remembered that tiny bull from earlier that he threw into author's world. He remembered that he never retrieved it.

"Poor author's house is gonna get messed up."

He opened a portal, which was more like a window to show the bull from earlier growing back to normal size.

"Will the new island have a McDonalds?"

[EQ_Theta 330]

@Blitz Boom

By now, the siblings shouldn't be surprised at the surreal things Omen could do. Discord's magic had a hand in it but sometimes, she still manages to pull a fast one on them, not that those were bad things. Not at all; not being able to breathe in that kind of toxic environment has its perks and it achieves more in less conventional ways. For now, they'll have to put that plan on hold as Sen's concern over the blanks in his knowledge over the jeweled beast heart has taken precedence. 

"That pool just melted a pebble..." Lin pondered for a moment, surprised and mortified at what Omen just mentioned. She didn't have to see it for the words to create a mental image. "If we went with this place, our whole affair would go from hiding the jeweled beast heart to destroying it. I wouldn't know how many ways that could go."

"You raised a good idea though, Omen. Clayton might know something about this but I honestly think we might not get much information. I'd guess there is some important difference between the changeIing emeralds and, well... whatever this thing really is. It's worth asking him though."

"I can get us to Clayton's office at Quartz Construction quick. Come, everyone, I'll get a gate open."

Lin knew there is a guard going over to Clayton's to pick him up for questioning. No doubt that one already got a head start which means their gate could only get them there fast enough. As for their own question, it is a simple matter but just how much or little could they learn? To Lin, a chance to learn more is always welcome but this one felt like a gamble. However this turns out, there were two alternatives brewing in her mind: the library and Mother. Best to have backup plans that can work with everyone's schedules and hopefully, they'll finish this little diversion and be back to answer more questions from Stargazer. 

The gate would open to the office's front door. Knowing Clayton, he wouldn't like getting spooked. Now he would likely have regained some of his composure after having the mine's workers going back to their lives... maybe. That might be a good talking point and that was a catalyst to getting both Sen and Lin more heavily involved in this affair. 

"Clayton?" Sen knocked thrice on the front door. "Do you have a moment? Could you take a look at something we got?"

Edited May 6, 2019 by EQ_Theta

[Sekel 671]

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

"Fine," Karmic muttered, tossing her head off of Enzo's claw. She sat by her smallish pile of Equestrian books and flicked her tail around her hooves so it covered it. She was glaring at Enzo but for the moment, she took in deep breaths and tried her best to get herself calm.

'So that's his point. Fine. I guess I can wait. For a while longer,' Atzy commented, causing Karmic to violently shake her head before sighing heavily.

"Can you just be quiet, please?" Karmic whispered in a desperate tone of voice.

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

On 5/1/2019 at 7:14 AM, Blitz Boom said:

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."

"Let's talk about the first option then. It took a while for me to find my place. I was sheltered because the griffins who took me in had no idea on what to do with me. I kept on feeding on their love for me and everyone around them. Whenever visitors were over, they told me to hide in a closet for my own good. Turns out that made me into a pacifist and learned to love life and appreciate what I had around me," Aurora spoke in a clipped tone before grinning through her beak at Happy. "And I'm a lot better for it too!"

@Blitz Boom, @Moonlit

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight gawked at Cherish for the longest time before snapping out of it. For one, it was an actual spirit of a pony. Two, she had no idea they were even real. She thought they were just myths and legends that old folk made up to scare the foals. And three, she was talking to an actual ghostly spirit. She did quickly correct herself and coughed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't really think ghosts existed," Twilight smiled nervously before nodding to herself, most likely steeling herself to think rationally instead of excitedly. "I'm not going to send you back to the castle. You can stay with Serenade. I just ... wow. This is something else," she ended up saying with a laugh and gazed at Cherish curiously. Her scientific won out on this bet.

@Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

Dawn was uncomfortable with how close Kaltrops was to her but she didn't bother moving. Instead, she huffed and turned her head to the side. "Painful memory. I don't really want to talk about it."

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Dji Serenade coughs, "Not sure how to bring this up" She looks at Cherish, "I was wondering if you'd like to stay here for a bit, get acquainted with the Bearers. I'm heading home to visit family...and well, Mom keeps....relics, and I'm not a Wizard or high level Spellcaster so i have no idea if or how they'll affect you." She turns to Twilight, "The same question. Could she stay here, it would be lonely at my place and well..." Serenade shrugs, "Cherish is fast becoming a friend"

[Catpone Cerberus 22,941]

@Widdershins

Cerberus didn't bother correcting the creature, after all, when he said he didn't care what he...she? it? called him, he really meant it. "So pull it is." he declared enthusiastically before doing exactly that, though he didn't pull from the ears, as he had taken a hold of Widdershins's head. Cerberus wasn't really sure what he should expect to come out of the portal, somehow he actually expected Widdershins to be just a head, but ultimately he didn't care and just wished that whatever it was, he could have fun with it.

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

@Blitz Boom

After the griffon had passed them, Ruby looked after him, that cruel grin, she approved how that bird thought. Other than that, she didn't really think much of the interactions, and failed to see the humor in the two birds saying the thing at the same time. The huge amount of treasure bothered her a bit, because all treasury that wasn't hers bothered her, especially when there was so much. When the giant claw-portal opened, Ruby could easily tell what the claw belonged to, because as much as she hated to admit it, just the presence of powerful dragon like someone of that size would be fired up all the alarms inside her.

It was true that Ruby would have preferred smaller value coins, but at the same time she knew it was better this way, since in her pony form there was no way she would be able to carry the bits if they were in smaller value, she could always break them down to smaller value coins at some point. And though she was able to tell exactly what was inside, she still examined the bags so that nobody would think she was overly trusting.

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

"Nothing like that." Nada said with slight chuckle "I just wanted to see you, since we are friends." "That and I wanted to apologize, I have been feeling bad for the situation with Luna, you seemed so unhappy." "So I'm sorry, what you brought was good, even though it was cold when I finally could drink it." And whenever Berry put the stuff she was carrying down, Nada would go and huh her, she tried to be as gentle as possible, but there was only so much she could do....and since she had just came out of the water, she was also dripping wet.

 

(Sorry for low quality, had a long day.)

 

[Rising Dusk 23,029]

@Blitz Boom

Getting treated like a student at this age wasn't all that surprising to the detective.  With a professor as a father, it was a rather common theme in the house hold.  Pleasant memories of the older unicorn's bushy mustache that bristled with every word he spoke, climbing out of piles of books that decorated the Manehattan home when he thought he was lecturing Rising Dusk on a new topic.  He simply listened as he always did, proving a perfect sound board when prepping for his next class lecture.  Mom gave up in their early years trying to put the books back on their shelves and the piled books just became a norm.  The sole pegasus in the family even found weaving around the towers of literature an effective warm up when she wanted to limber up before a performance class.  Every family had their quarks he supposed.

Still though, his initial conclusion wasn't wrong per say.  Thistle indeed wasn't a ghost, but an avatar to the being of light that kept the darkness at bay.  A conclusion that was soon about to receive another large information dump when the dark wizard finally butted into their search.  The voice cast on the wind caused the detective's ears to flick and turn to try to pinpoint the location of where the voice came from.  Impossible of course as were the design of the magic.  It simply excited on the air.  Yet, he provided a lot of interesting details to the detective about the little bit Rising Dusk felt his companion has hiding from him.  Well, hiding might not be the best term, more omitted to tell him since he didn't ask.  His companion was getting goaded by the batpony though, a common tactic to through an opponent off balance.  And here he'd just lectured the O.M.I.'s junior officer on not letting one's self get goaded.

The exchange recalled a lecture his father practiced on him when he was still in primary school.  "The Darkness can love and The Light can hate," his father's voice rang out in his head.  No being in completely one or the other, some exists in all.  Which ever may be true in the battle of whether Thistle is still herself or simply the manifestation of the goddess remained unclear.  But right now, there was too much going on to bother with it.  Twisted Gears had slipped up and the spell he used to cast his voice out here drew a light weave over the cloaking spell he'd been hiding under.  Similar to hiding under a bed but accidentally sneezing and giving one's self away.  It only gave him a general direction, he'd need to cast his counter magic to found out more.  A bigger problem was set before him though with the ever glowing specter pony that had let herself get so riled up she was draining magic from the source of the goddess to fuel her own temper-tantrum. 

This proved a good point to the detective though in one regard.  Thistle was still independent of the goddess as the being of light wouldn't just waste magic on something like this.  Thistle was pulling the magic herself.  Having to close his eyes with how bright it became, but luckily he should still feel out with his magic sense.  He had to hurry.

"Sorry, need to borrow this," he informed his companion and ignited his horn.  Black wisps lept out at the glowing specter pony and gripped the silver light she was drawing from the goddess.  Countering the magic she was working around her to stop further harm to the cage and himself.  Forcing the silver magic back into the lines of magic that ran through Harrowmark that the goddess had established as part of her cage.  Force feeding the goddess back her own magic, that sadly the detective didn't have the time to be delicate with it.  Hopefully measuring correctly the amount of magic Thistle would still need to still be present for her help.  Hanging onto the tiniest of silver threads of primordial magic, which was probably still enough to kill him if he wasn't careful, and gorged one of his wisps with it.  The black wisp instantly turned silver and pulsated in protest.  He needed the little extra power if he was going to even attempt this with how quickly he needed to counter the light avatar.

Launching the light tainted wisp at the cloaking spell.  Hoping he was fast enough to bring it down and trace the spell before it faded.

[Blitz Boom 3,921]

@Dji

It seemed as if even when these two had to work towards a common goal, there were nothing but discontent between them. This whole ordeal better be done sooner rather than later.

"Archivist. Have you found something of worth?"

"It's going to take time. I mean, these aren't even sorted yet, but there is a few here that might have something? Certain binding rituals that might be possible to reverse, and a comprehensive study of changelings, judging by this book, but there are just titles. I need time to actually read into these if it is."

The archivist let out a small meep as the sphinx towered above her with a displeased look going over his face, and quickly took a book out of the stacks to hold up towards him.

"A-Alchemy! This book is ancient, and the title talks about transmutation. It might have something."

Her voice were nervous and a little scared too, to which Enzo's response were a resounding- Sigh. Along with a bored expression. He were getting tired of this act already, and just wished for this to move along so that he wouldn't have to deal with Atzy and Karmic trying to tear eachother apart soon.

"Search it. Time is limited, and none of us cares to waste more of it."

The elderly mare didn't hesitate doing exactly that, whilst the sphinx went over and sat down near Karmic. He doubted his presence carried much comfort, but what else were he to do? Wrap the pony up until she started to halt her rapid descend? Something told him that were not something which would help on things. Yet he would attempt a thing befitting of a small creature that he did not think off unfavorably right now, and would use one of his paws to pat the mare on her head, as one would a pet. What did they expect from him? Hugs? He were many times larger than this pony. It'd end in broken bones, or her getting stuck on one of his ornaments. Petting her were all that he could think off in the way of physical comfort that wouldn't end in physical damage right now.

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

 

@Dji

"That actually explains a whole bunch. All about the upbringing, and yours have been pretty tame and friendly, so no wonder you're one of them kind souls who isn't aiming to make a fuss or seek a fight. Ain't sure I agree with the pacifism, but eh, my introduction to this world were getting drained, converted, and then getting trained in how to scout out potential villages for invasion. Different perspective on these sorta things, though your life does sound kinda nice.

Shame you had to be hidden away honestly, but  as you say, there was a reason, and it helped shape you into one of the better sorts of changelings. Considering how the ponies and us are trying to get along these days, that sorta thing is going to be worth its weight in bits."

It was a new time for changelings, where they either had to get with the times, or continue the circle of starvation and invasion until they got eradicated. The ponies were getting bolder these days, and knew how to detect and fight back, so it were getting harder to be a changeling of old. Reforming were an option, as he could attest, but for those who didn't want to take the jump, they'd have to try and juggle the hunger and life among other races better, like Aurora here did. Who knew? Might be she'd be a teacher of sorts for a few who were struggling with the concept.

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

 

@Dji @Moonlit

On 5/6/2019 at 3:36 PM, Dji said:

"I'm sorry, I didn't really think ghosts existed,"

"I promise you Princess Sparkle, ghosts are real. Same with the afterlife, reapers, and uhm... Soul guides, I think the name is. Death isn't the finality that I guess most ponies might think it is."

She weren't sure about this, but generally, the living she had run into that she could still remember, along with the whole slew of beings ever since Serenade and her friends stumbled upon her, had made it seem as if undeath in this manner weren't something that were really thought off. The response from Twilight just confirmed that really, though perhaps she were just overthinking this a little right now, as she were still quite nervous, regardless of how welcoming to things the princess seemed to be.

On 5/6/2019 at 3:36 PM, Dji said:

"I'm not going to send you back to the castle. You can stay with Serenade. I just ... wow. This is something else,"

So she wasn't going to be expelled? That was good, but still, there were a few things that may still go wrong, depending on how things went, though there were starting to be some hope flourishing in Cherish about things. Maybe this would somehow still all work out? It depended on how Serenade felt about things too of course, but-

On 5/6/2019 at 4:15 PM, Moonlit said:

"I was wondering if you'd like to stay here for a bit, get acquainted with the Bearers. I'm heading home to visit family...and well, Mom keeps....relics, and I'm not a Wizard or high level Spellcaster so i have no idea if or how they'll affect you." She turns to Twilight, "The same question. Could she stay here, it would be lonely at my place and well..." Serenade shrugs, "Cherish is fast becoming a friend"

"I'm... Your friend?"

There were a lot to go through in due time with what Serenade had just said, considering she were attempting to make the princess accept her presence here, at least for the time being. However, this part stuck out to the specter the most, as even when she had travelled along with the varied beings here, and they had been friendly, she didn't think they were doing it out of more than curiosity, general kindness, and potentially just because they didn't know what else to do. That one of them had actually started to think of her as a friend though, hadn't crossed her mind.

"I haven't had a friend for as long as I remember, beyond Lake Skipper, and he have already found his peace. But I didn't think... Thank you."

She floated over to the siren in disguise and gave herself mass, before hugging Serenade a little awkwardly with one leg around the neck. Cherish would feel solid like any pony, but cold to the touch, as if she were making contact with a firm pillow that had been out in the snow for a few hours.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Marley observed as Ruby inspected the bits. He had assumed she'd just sense out what were in there, but he supposed that perhaps the volume might prove a bit of a challenge for her. if not that, she may simply wish to keep up appearance, which he could not fault her for. This were her first auction, and she attempted what she could to fit in as one of them, which would rightly include a certain degree of distrust over payment. Of course, there were also her general mistrust of others, but let that be what it were.

Regardless of what may be the matter here, surely this would make her happy to some degree. Sharing these wouldn't, that were a given, but her gaining a rather massive 60.000 bits in her first auction, for doing basically nothing more than something equivalent of a fetch quest, would surely make her at least somewhat pleased. It were after all, a good deal more than the amount that Spicy and himself had told her may be in her future for this, and the amount back then had still enticed her. This sort of outcome should make one hungry for gold rather thrilled.

"Are everything looking to be in order, Ruby?"

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Berry let out a relieved sigh and eased up her stance once she were assured that this wasn't an ambush. She weren't thinking that Serenade would snitch on her like this, but she might've been forced into this sort of thing. The Conspiracy were vast and powerful, and if it stood between her having to either rat out on a mare she'd barely met, and getting her life uprooted and potentially banished, then simple logic would dictate that yeah, Berry would get the short straw. She'd understand it too. Getting banished would suck.

"Nah, don't sweat it. You had a chat with a princess, and you needed that as part of the whole *getting back into society* thing we wanted you to go through. It were more important than me figuring out if you liked the blend I brought along or not. Weren't sure, so I brought along a Raspberry Chai. I know it sounds weird, but trust me, this stuff's golden. I drink it all the time, and I barely get jittery anymore. If that ain't any good, I'll try the last one again the next time."

The mare would offer forth the warm cup to her friend with a grin on her muzzle. She hadn't a clue about whatever or not this would fall in her taste, but in case it didn't, she'd know at least, and you learned as long as you lived after all. You learned even more by rummaging through other ponies trash and stalking them, but if she started to talk about that, everypony just started saying she were creepy or something weird like that. Poor, blinded sheep. How she pitied them for their refusal to see the world as it truly were.

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

 

@Rising Dusk

Rising would find that Viz'nay were reluctant to take back what were hers, but she accepted it nonetheless, as the magic came pouring back from Thistle and into the ground, where the goddess would retake it and use it to keep the cage operating. In more ideal situations, she would be able to just deflect any attempts at manipulating her magic in any way, but as should be painfully obvious to Rising, her power were weak compared to the sliver of Suusha's power that he had been presented with earlier, and she would sorely need to regain what she could to ensure that the flimsy cage did not suddenly falter.

As for Thistle, she remained stationary as the influx were forcibly drawn from her. The expression of her face spoke of pain, but also a calmness that increased as the light were flushed from her system, and she regained her formerly calm demeanor, much to the dismay of Twisted. he had hoped that setting them upon the Bog Hunter inside the old barn, combined with some well chosen, teasing words, would end up making her lose herself completely, and lash out, expending energy that Viz'nay didn't have to spare, and which may even hurt Rising.

The stallion showed a good deal of promise, and were these other circumstances, Twisted would have forced him to take on an apprenticeship, and work for the glory of Suusha, yet he were simply becoming too much of a threat. His ability to manipulate even the smallest amount of the incomprehensible power of gods were troubling, and ensured that promise or not, he had to be exterminated. They did not need someone to suddenly fancy themselves a god slayer in Harrowmark. It would end ruining everything, even if the only one to fall were Viz'nay, as Rising would then be forced to take her spot. Such were the balance of the world, and to many, becoming a god would be a curse rather than a salvation.

Not that he cared for Rising's well being. No, he were more concerned over how he may end up using a sudden elevated position like that, along with knowledge of the primordial magic he would then possess, to deliver the focused blow that were needed to cause Suusha to fall. This could not be risked, no matter how far fetched it were, yet sadly, it wouldn't end yet. As a matter of fact, as he could observe, Rising even managed to capture himself a snippet of Viz'nay's power with one of his wisps.

Twisted had a brief second to wonder what Rising were going to do with this, before the wisp were suddenly launched, and the stallion far too late figured out what he were actually using this magic for.

The wisp would crackle through the spell, and demolish it entirely. There would be no more hiding, and the light would pinpoint exactly towards where the elusive wilderness witch were hiding: Right back at the building that Rising had started in. It seemed like there were another room, below the floorboards, that the stallion had retracted too after patching the pixie back up.

The position rapidly changed a few times, but the wisp should point directly to him regardless of where he were twisted himself to be. There weren't anyplace to escape to anymore now, and when the transporting settled, they'd be able to find Twisted a mere three hundred meters ahead of them, into someplace at the far end of the grounds, covered with a large circle of gnarly trees.

"...ℍ𝕖 𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕦𝕤. ℍ𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕘 ℍ𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕔𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕥 𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕖𝕒𝕣. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤, 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣.

𝔸𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕞𝕪𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗. ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕡𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕥, 𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕟."

Thistle were ready to follow too, though she looked a bit more see through and weary after this ordeal. She also appeared to be uncertain about something as the last sentence spoken sounded more like trying to assure herself, rather than Rising. Twisted had hit a nerve it appeared.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

It wouldn't be long after the third knock that they would hear a minor ruckus behind the door, before it slowly creaked open, and Clayton poked his head out. Behind him, a small stack of books had gotten knocked on the floor, which would account for the noise before.

The stallion looked tired and worn out, but he still did his to appear as formal as ever, and when seeing Sen, Lin and Omen, even got a smile on his face.

"Oh, it's you. Please, come on in."

The office were as orderly as always - minus the few books that he hastily pushed to the side - and it appeared that right now, he were alone here. The assistant that had been here earlier were off for the day, and Belladonna were seemingly elsewhere, so they shouldn't find themselves being disturbed, unless somepony was in the back.

"Excuse the mess. It have been a... Trying time since we last met. Even with Amethyst's help, I only got back yesterday, after ensuring the last of my old friends were situated at the hospital to both handle their physical injures, and be prepared to step in if need be, in case of any psychological issues that will arise after they find out how long they have been away.. Making sure their medical expenses, lodging, and so on and so forth were handled took longer than I had expected.

I have Belladonna help me with taking contact to their families and finding out what I can about their doings since back then, but it's showing to be problematic with some. A few includes some family deaths and remarrying that is going to hit them pretty hard, and I'm still trying to figure out how to tell them all of this. Hopefully I can have Spelt, Fiddler and Amethyst to be there and help me share this when time comes. Some of them are going to need some shoulders to cry on."

Clayton let out a deep sigh, and waved them towards the couches, before slumping down in a chair himself. This day had truly been both wonder, and horrendous at the same time, and it were trying his limits to deal with all of this, even with the help he were receiving. Especially having to tell Granite Chomper about his ex wife were going to be testing for him, yet he knew that he had to do so himself. His old friend deserved as much, regardless of how broken up the poor guy were going to be about the news.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to unwind on you like that. It sounded like you had something to show me, if I heard right? Please, let me see, and I'll do what I can to help."

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

Looking through the portal, they'd find the bull were currently eating the potted plants of the authors house, whilst the human in question stood in the bathroom with an axe, and half his body and the bathroom itself, covered in a delicious, caramel filling that had burst out once he started to whack the *egg* just the tiniest bit. It were quite the mess, but eh, he probably deserved it.

"See? Narrating is easy. Getting a bull outta your house isn't going to be though, hehe. We should totally look in later and see if he finally snapped or something.

And duh, of course there'll be chocolate fountains. One for each taste, and with edible cups to scoop it up and both gulp and munch them down with the massive marshmallows and strawberries.. It's going to be delicious, and that's before the cake even comes out. Which is gonna be huuuuuuge! I'll even make it edible by like, boring, normal beings, so no barbed wire or meat. Lots and lots of glaze though. Yummy, delicious glaze, with chocolate breezies, and other deliciousness.

Anyway, you say you can make a portal to like, the home I already have? Cool! Open it up, and you can see where I come from. And watch out for the creatures there. Some of them act funny around new faces. Actually, a few of them will likely try and just take off your faces. I can never remember if I ever removed those cackleblooms or not... Eh. If something takes your face, go poke me about it, and I'll make sure it gets right back there. After taking pictures of course. We're gonna need something on the invitations, hehe."

[Lucid_Nightlight 915]

@Blitz Boom

"We should also make the chocolate fountains as messy as possible so that other guy you mentioned before I even showed up will get all mad about the mess!"

"That's an amazing idea! Then he will have to clean it up and everything!"

While those two got all excited about Novia's idea, Lucid opened a portal to the island.

"How about for the invitations, we put a tiny portal inside them and it will pull them in and bring them to the wedding? Now all we need to do is decide who to send the invitations to."

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom @Dji Serenade smiles, Cherish feels more like the deep sea. "Well, yeah. I mean I have...a fluffy creature that has a bigger appetite then a Timber Wolf, and will probably eat my parents out of house and home...or my dad will tame her, living in my house. I'm friends with a Pegasi that looks like a Candy Cane Factory exploded all over her.  I also live in a Town where there is The Pink Menace, the Elements of Harmony, Princess Bookworm herself" She points to Twilight....then the shelves of books around them, "reside and where the Sun Princess and Best Princess make regular journeys. A Ghost Pony isn't the weirdest friend I've had, so yes...your my friend."

[EQ_Theta 330]

@Blitz Boom

"You're doing what you can for your friends, Clayton. Don't stretch yourself thin." Lin sat down and reassured the stallion that he will be fine. Sen opened his saddle bag and produced the jeweled beast heart after fiddling with a lot of cloth and rope. There was a look of irritation and mild regret on him after realizing he tied the knots too tight.

"We have this... thing here. Filigree called it a jeweled beast heart. Would you know anything about it? We were thinking about taking it somewhere far away so no pony would ever think about using it."

There is still the matter of Filigree escaping, a piece of information Clayton wouldn't want to hear. Seeing him tired as it is already made it difficult for the siblings to tell him that. Moreover, the guards mobilizing to get the word out will probably reach him sooner or later but the longma respected his time and privacy. All the more reason for them to remain silent on that sensitive topic. That, however, left Lin debating with herself in her head, making her appear more spaced out than usual. It just isn't visibly apparent, a little less noticeable compared to Omen going silent and still when processing information. Seems like the two are exhibiting similarities beyond the dark outer appearance. 

Of course, that monotony would be broken with Lin adding a little something to Sen's inquiry just to ease the stallion in for something happening in the very near future.

"Umm... you should also know: a guardspony is coming here soon. Sen was asked to recount our encounter with Filigree to the guards and they want you to confirm the details. Sorry if that isn't going to help you rest."

Sen could only nod and nervously smile at that. It's true but it doesn't make breaking any more news about what's to come easier to swallow. 

[Catpone Cerberus 22,941]

@Blitz Boom
Ruby just nodded as she closed the last bag, she of course was full of joy...or at least as full as joyless creature like her could be, but she didn't show any emotional reaction, thouhg that shouldn't have surprised anyone "Shall we go then? or is there something more to do before that?" her tone was...coldly curious, as in it sounded what one would expect a genuine question from somepony cold to sound like, of course the special detail of genuineness was just an act, but she deemed it necessary.

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

Nada had no idea why a drink would make someone jittery, and it raised few questions in her head, but she took the drink regardless when offered, as she figured that even it for some reason made her so, it wouldn't be a big change. "I'm glad to hear you understand, I was so worried I had made you sad, you seemed so happy to share them with me." she then tasted the drink, taking sips that were relatively small, but still big enough for her to actually taste it. She could taste the raspberry, finally something she actually recognized, and though the drink wasn't really something she saw herself drinking all the time, she would be willing to drink it now and then if offered. "It's not bad, I'm still not fully into the whole hot drinks thing, but that's only because I have used to drinking only water."

 

[Blitz Boom 3,921]

@Catpone Cerberus

He supposed it were too much to hope for the dragon to show joy right now. Ah well, perhaps later, under less scrutinizing circumstances, she may well show a gleeful side to herself at that point, as she'd then be more or less rolling in bits.

"No, we're done here for the time being. Let us grab these and be on our way before the auction you seek passes us by."

Marley heaved a couple of the bags on his back, and left the last one to be carried by Ruby herself. He'd like to have taken all three, but they were rather heavy, and his back would not enjoy the weight of the third one over a prolonged period of time. Besides, Ruby likely wouldn't enjoy having her own share out of her claws for long either, now that she had them. He were sure she'd like prefer to keep these on her own person for the time being.

Once they'd head back to the auction, Ruby would be able to hear the end of one happening before Marley would be within range.

"- sold to Spicy Rolls, for 8900 bits."

"Booya! That's the stuff."

The auction would proceed with some zebra potions after that for a while after they came back, and they'd find Spicy with a pleased grin plastered over her face. Whatever she got, it seemed to have been good for her, and since the time had been so short, the coins were unlikely to have been up yet.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

21 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"I'm glad to hear you understand, I was so worried I had made you sad, you seemed so happy to share them with me."

"Sure am. Gotta show you the friendly side of pony kind, and learn you how to enjoy some real drinks, and not some run of the mill swill. That just ain't nice to let anypony suffer from."

She were kidding to some degree, as she were cementing with a chuckle, but she honestly would prefer that Nada got the taste for something worth it, before getting properly into society. Imagine the poor thing going to some street vendor for a cup of joe, rather than a proper barista. Sure the ones on the street had some fine enough regular coffee in a can, but come on, compared to one of Her blends, those folks were amateurs, and she sure wanted anypony willing to stick around her for a long period of time to have the good stuff.

There miiight also be a bit of a factor in her wanting to show off, but eh, who didn't like showcasing their skills, right?

21 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"It's not bad, I'm still not fully into the whole hot drinks thing, but that's only because I have used to drinking only water."

"So you'd be more up for a chilled or room temperature drink then, eh? You ain't making it easy, but I got some ideas for next time then. Mark my words, I'm gonna find your blend sooner or later. It's a pride sort of thing.

Now come on, have a jelly doughnut or chocolate chip cookie before this lil' thing take all of 'em, and let's hear hope you're dealing with everything so far. Princess meeting went well? Getting discovered by any locals? Sonars in the water trying to track ya down?  I'm done at work for today, so just lay it on me. I got the time."

Berry would slide the tray of goodies towards the siren so that she could pick something out, of which a few things had currently *gone missing*. A real mystery of what went on there, if you completely ignored the munching mimic up on her high shelf, with a face full of strawberry jelly.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 5/8/2019 at 2:31 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"We have this... thing here. Filigree called it a jeweled beast heart. Would you know anything about it? We were thinking about taking it somewhere far away so no pony would ever think about using it."

Clayton's attention were fully on the jeweled heart as it were produced, and got off the couch to get a few steps further away from it.

"I know enough to stay away from it.

Since the others got trapped, I've done what I could to find information about the changeling emeralds, and see if I could figure out what it were that were inside the mine that Filigree wanted so badly. I got some luck with how the gems were worked on, but I couldn't find out anything about the cluster in there. But one of our last meetings before we all started to drift apart, Amethyst told me a snippet of a story or rhyme related to things. I don't know if it is just a legend or what, though this is ergh... It's hard to ignore the evidence.

A-Anyway, she said that *The hearts of stone forever pound, sleeping deep beneath the ground. Primordial power that never dies, hidden and forgotten, by mortal eyes.*

I asked her what she meant by that at the time, but she didn't wish to answer more about it, beyond mumbling something about Filigree being in over her head. Honestly I were thinking that perhaps it were just something that went through her head at the time, and that she were trying to unnerve me for some reason, but seeing these, I get the impression that perhaps there's more to it. Sorry that I'm not able to provide a better answer though, yet I'd advise that you don't touch that thing with your bare uhm... Hooves or claws. If Filigree wanted that so badly, this thing can't be trusted."

Perhaps he were just being paranoid here, but honestly, how could anypony expect him to not think the worst, even with what little he knew? This were potentially what Filigree had gone for all those years ago, and he could quite literally see it stir ever so slightly. Gems that seemed alive were not a good sign, period.

On 5/8/2019 at 2:31 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"Umm... you should also know: a guardspony is coming here soon. Sen was asked to recount our encounter with Filigree to the guards and they want you to confirm the details. Sorry if that isn't going to help you rest."

And speaking of which, it sounded like he were being called in as part of the whole thing now. A welcome warning in advance by Lin, yet as she said, the timing weren't great. With all the things he still needed to do and get control off, his time felt rather scarce these days, which included what he needed to rest in some capacity. *sigh* Yet, this had to be done too, and he knew it.

"Thank you for the advanced notice, and don't worry about my sleep. I'll catch up on that eventually, but right now, we need to make sure that everything with Filigree is dealt with properly, so she doesn't skip out on her sentence somehow. I'll deal with this the best I can, but with you, and that heart... I think you need to find Amethyst. She might know something that can help you destroy or hide that thing so it doesn't cause more trouble."

He'd look at the door, just expecting it to start knocking any second, before casting his glance back at the longma and Omen.

"I must say though, it should not be put near anything related to rocks. If that thing were in the midst of those clusters in the mine, it may well be the origin for the rich veins of changeling emeralds we mined. I don't know, but the prospect of it scares me."

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

 

@Moonlit @Dji

"I... Didn't think about that."

When Serenade put it that way, it honestly put things into perspective for the specter. With all those weird and special things, were it really that strange to have a ghost around town? Were she such a stain on an otherwise perfect picture? Not really, right? Cherish had to think this through some more, but she certainly felt a little better already with this thought fluttering inside her head.

"If I become able to roam again before you and Ziggy returns, I promise I'll look around your house and see if it's safe until you get back, Serenade. Though that's uhm... No, not important right now. I can talk with the princess about that later.

I'm really happy that you're willing to see me as a friend too though. I've been pretty nervous about how others would take seeing me out here, but you especially have been very nice about it. That you're then thinking of me as a friend too really helps on making me feel welcome out here. I really appreciate this Serenade. Hopefully I can be a good friend for you.

...Perhaps I could help look out for that fluffy creature you're talking about? It doesn't sound good that it might eat your parents out of house and home, and it couldn't hurt me. Maybe if it can't be left alone, I could help look out for it back here, so you could have a calm trip?"

Cherish weren't sure what sort of creature would have more appetite than a timberwolf, but from the vague description, she were imagining something the size of a bear, with a lot of fur. Seemed awfully difficult to have with you on a seemingly relaxing trip to see her parents.

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

"Oooh, these ideas are awesome! Portal invitations are even better than my idea of just kidnapping random ponies and tie them to the chairs.

Dunno who to invite though. Well okay, I want Zhu here. He caused me to be reborn, so that's kinda like a father? So that's sorted for that *Following me down the aisle* thing that ponies think are so fun at these sorta deals. I don't really know anypony else. Hehe, or well, not anypony that won't scream if they saw me, the silly things.

Harry is totally gonna need to be there though, and same with Rose. I should probably find her and let her know this, huh?"

The island they stepped into were a right mess of varied sights. Whilst nopony would argue that it wasn't a flourishing environment, the varied colors of grass, bushes, mutated greens and twisted trees certainly also made it clear that it weren't a naturally occurring place per se, but more the result of a draconequus having an untamed playground to do whatever she wished to in.

Not far from them, a large, crimson tree stood with long vines that would seek towards them as they got within sight, but retreated once it were noted that some within radius were draconequui, at which point it'd implode on itself and reduce in shape down to a small, dense flower, swaying in the wind.

A bunch of weird hybrid creatures also wandered around, mostly unfazed with the appearance of the newcomers, except for some dog-like creatures that seemed to be made out of sugar and licorice, who jumped away once they smelled her. They learned the hard way that it were not smart to stand around soon as that one felt peckish.

[Lucid_Nightlight 915]

@Blitz Boom

Lucid pulled a bunch of cards from nowhere and they disappeared.

"There, now whoever opens them will be sent here."

"Oh, nice place! Could use a little more hamster based animals though."

"There are so many ways to terrorize the guests!"

Lucid was reading a paper with all that has gone on so far.

"It says here that my super awesome letter about how you shouldn't eat strawberries was never read. Paper isn't cheap!"

"Yes it is. You just can't afford it because you waste your bits on those cacti things in giftshops."

[Moonlit 593]

@Dji @Blitz Boom "nah, It's fine. I intend to take Fah'lina with me, lest she eat everything in my house, then move onto whatever Pinkie is making. I want to have her, not a furry ball with teeth. Besides, my Dad will want to see her, he'd probably have her eating our his hooves by sundown. That being said, if you can manifest, your welcome to my house, use the Telescope, read my books. I don't mind."

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

"You do realize what happened before I met her right?" She picked up the diary and put it back on the table."I mean, it took her a while to adjust since she figured somepony would come for me." She paused, looking to Chow. "But nopony did. So she ended having to be who she was waiting for." It was easy to hear the somber tone she was speaking with, she opened the book and read the passage. "Of course this is when she hadn't come to that realization by this point in the diary, But honestly, we're in more of a sister relationship."

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

Iron nodded, and without much thought, he teleported away, arriving at the door of Astral's house. "Well at least she's protective of it." He knocked on the door, sighing to himself. "Could've let my teleportation enter though."

Sapphire looked to Emerald. "So are we to do the rest on our own?"

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

He chuckled as she spoke, while he didn't mind the gossip, it wasn't in his mind to do it himself. 
"I'm thinking I won't be that involved with the trial myself, outside of being a witness unless you think I should set it up, then I'd be lacking in that territory."

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

Opal stepped closely to the cell, narrowing her eyes as she whispered
"Before they come back-"

"I do not know where it is."
Chariot said quietly

"Okay jeez, you going to read my mind every time I talk?"

Chariot chuckled, rolling his eyes 
"Listen, I've deceived ponies plenty, It's not hard to see your intentions."

Opal smirked and chuckled. "Great, then you can at least tell me where it last was."

"Some two mares have it as I know. Unfortunately I can't recall their names. Unless you want to ask the last holder of it, Astral Star, she's here in Canterlot."

Opal chuckled and leaned against the wall next to the cell. "Good to know."

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

Enigma smirked to himself, following her. "Good, you aren't going to rob me." He said, wearing an expression that made it clear he was joking.

[EQ_Theta 330]

@Blitz Boom

Upon hearing the stallion's concern over touching the heart with a bare claw, Sen recoiled and quickly put the object back in the box. He didn't waste time sealing it up with the rope and cloth wraps he had earlier. Perhaps it was just paranoia but he wouldn't take his chances on the possibility that this thing might have a similar ability to react to magic when placed near it like the changeling emeralds. 

"Sounds like the heart might be better off destroyed if it really poses that kind of risk..."

"We wouldn't know for sure unless we bring it to Amethyst. She'd know much more about this and it's not like we have a variety of options to choose from. We should speak with her now and learn as much as we can." Lin turned to Clayton, grateful and with a smile, bowed her head. "Thank you for your help, Clayton, and take care. We'll do what we can to make sure Filigree sees justice. You and your friends need all the good news you can get to brighten up your spirits."

Lin proceeded to open a gate to Amethyst's shop in the far corner of the room, but stepping through to the other side left her bothered by what she heard. That rhyme... primordial power hidden away but forever pounding? It was a little too coincidental that it matched up with a vivid memory. The wellspring and that whole inverted world where the sky was beneath her feet. Just the description alone was enough to get her to start working on a mental checklist of things that corresponded with the rhyme. How much of it rang true?

On the other side, Sen noticed Lin stood around for a minute, leaving the gate open and seemingly spaced out.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Huh? Oh, not at all. Just needed to remember that rhyme Clayton mentioned. Amethyst probably might need to hear it in case she needs more information. I'll... handle this one."

Similar to earlier, Lin knocked on the door to the shop and called for Amethyst to take a look at the heart for them. Sen readied to present the heart but he knew Lin was disturbed more than usual. Her response was dejected, odd for her to sound when presented with the prospect of finding out what she needed to know. Maybe learning more about the heart would snap her out of it.

[Catpone Cerberus 22,941]

@Blitz Boom

Ruby lifted the one bag on her back, it really showed how weak this from really was, because she could feel the lack of strength in her legs, but she could manage. She didn't really pay attention to what she could hear, because it wasn't really her concern where Spicy wasted her money, as long as she kept her hoofs away from Ruby's bits. She just sat down to her place, dropping the bag in front of herself so that she could keep her eye on it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nada just smiled at Berry's joke, or at least she assumed it was a joke since Berry chuckled, she didn't really find the funny part in it, but she assumed it was just because she wasn't familiar with many things.

She chuckled "Well I'm glad you're so dedicated." she took a cookie and quickly glanced towards the mimic with amused look before turning back to Berry "There isn't really too much to say." "The meeting went well, and Luna promised to help me." "And besides her guards who in my opinion were bit odd, and a some kind of plant pony, no new ponies have seen me." "Though I understood that you have met that plant pony before, but thought that she was part of that thing you like to talk about, the conspiracy"

 

[Rising Dusk 23,029]

@Blitz Boom

It appeared Rising Dusk was getting some results from his efforts with the ghost pony.  The light was dimming and he was rather grateful to be able to see again without being blinded.  Not getting affected by the soul magic was also a bonus.  He wasn't quite ready to be rid of his mortal shell as it were, especially in a land where death was treated not so much to his liking.  Also he'd need to remember to apologize to the goddess for the force feeding, but haste was of the essence in this particular moment.

To be fair though, the goddess would get her own revenge in another way.  He needed that little sliver of the goddess' light to power up his wisp in order to shred the cloaking spell Twisted had been hiding behind.  A different source would have been ideal, but a pony works with what he's got.  Tracking the spell Twisted cast his voice with and taking the cloak down would have taken too much time with an exploding ghost to deal with too.  Less elegant, but sometimes one just needs to break down a door with a battering ram rather than picking the lock.  Rising Dusk, flew too close to the Sun though.

Even just a sliver of the goddess' power was a heavy weight that he could feel on his extra senses.  This wasn't borrowed magic, which is usually filtered and molded to fit the receiver's needs.  Rising Dusk took the raw primordial magic from the source and it wasn't the soothing experience one would expect from the light.  Not that he would imagine the darkness would feel any better.  While it didn't hurt physically per say, but it feeling wrong was an understatement.  A feeling that pressed on his magical sense like a vice.  He could feel his breath catch in his throat and his whole body flush while his heart skipped a beat.  All the magic around him, all the weaves and tapestries that draped Harrowmark suddenly felt like white noise.  Luckily it only lasted a moment.

After the light tainted wisp brought down the cloaking spell and tracked the dark wizard that had ended up not that far from the duo in a grove.  The detective didn't let this get to him.  The light wisp pulsated, shook, expanded, shrank, Rising Dusk working it, molding it like any other puzzle the Spell Breaker was familiar with.  The best way he would put it was that he was digesting the primordial sliver into something his magic could take, understand like any other new language.  And just like recovering from shell shock, the magic around him slowly came back into focus, his body settling down just as the specter pony was doing the same.  A slow release of his breath that was held in his throat as he extinguished his magic and the wisps faded away.

"You're welcome..." the detective responded.  Casting his gaze in Twisted Gear's direction. "They poke and prod to make their enemies act the way they want.  A common tactic.  My own apprentice is easily caught by it," he explained as he started to walk in the dark wizard's direction, gathering his thoughts for the battle ahead.  He used the term apprentice to refer to Scarlet since he wasn't sure the old specter knew what a Junior Officer was.  "If you can't believe in yourself.  Then believe in the me that believes in you.  And let's put an end to this game of cat and mouse."

Approaching the groove, he cast his senses out to find whatever magic Twisted Gears was working or had ready for them.  Igniting his horn with orange magic that was soon followed by a gale of black wisps, and one white one.

[Blitz Boom 3,921]

@FanOfManyShows

"I don't actually know a whole lot about what happened to ya, Misty. Astral slipped a line early on when I met you two that gave me the vibe that it weren't right to ask into things too much, but I'm still sorry 'bout what happened to ya. Being without anypony you know and waiting 'round for somepony that never comes, ain't something a foal should be going through, even if Astral did a real solid and took care of you. Great gal that one, but as you say, she's more like a sister, not your momma."

Chow really did feel bad for the lil' one, and said all of this in a pretty sad tone, since it tugged at his heartstrings to be in this sorta situation where he might be bringing up some bad memories for Misty. Poor thing should've had a better life without having to lose anypony, but praise be Astral at least for manning up and taking care of Misty. Especially after she figured out that that nopony were coming 'round to pick up the zebra. Weren't all that many that he knew off that'd be able to do something like that for another, instead of just shipping the small one off to an orphanage to languish. And at the age Astral must've been then? Surely she had a good deal of issues just taking care of things on her own. Suddenly have a foal too? That was a big stress on things.

"I won't poke into the details if you don't want me too, alright? It's gotta be a painful thing to-"

On 5/10/2019 at 3:19 AM, FanOfManyShows said:

He knocked on the door, sighing to himself. "Could've let my teleportation enter though."

"Huh, didn't know you folks were expecting visitors."

Chow got up and went over to open the door. Honestly he should know who this were before even opening the door, but his mind were still a bit scrambled, and preoccupied with the situation he'd accidentally barged into with Misty, so his head weren't really spitting out the good answers right now.

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

On 5/10/2019 at 3:19 AM, FanOfManyShows said:

Sapphire looked to Emerald. "So are we to do the rest on our own?"

"In time, but not before you have rested. We'll need your strength moving on, and with Iron off to deal with your spawn, it gives us time. So you will *rest* for the time being, and we'll continue at sunrise. Your magic should be refueled and stabilized by then."

It were a delay, but annoyingly, it were the smart move in the current situation. Sapphire needed to have the strength to both continue to help, as well as being ready to go through the ritual, and soon as they would gain gems and steal blood, suspicions would start to rise, and there wouldn't be time to rest. It had to be now.

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

"Well for starters, you arrested him, so that's a given reason to yank you up there. Most importantly though, this here's a guy responsible for a pretty nasty attack on the capitol. Your home turf. You're joining in on this if ya want to or no. The job ain't all sunshine and fun y'know. Well, it is for the Coast Guard, but eh, we're awesome."

Tidal Wave leaned back in her seat and grinned at the new general. Seemed like Dew had left a lot of the details on how things had to be run out of his briefings with the kid. Perhaps he were counting on Screecher and herself to educate him on the finer details? May well be, but then she for sure needed to hang around here more often, before Screecher made him into a total buzzkill. You had to be able to have a bit of fun, even in their line of work.

"And don't worry about setting it up. Screecher's working on it, and she'll be back to get us when she's done. Pretty sure she'll have you run along another time to chow you how it's done, so don't sweat it on the setup."

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

There were some nearby guards patrolling, yet still none who were close enough to hear their conversation. Warlock and Opal would still have about 6 minutes left of privacy before they'd start to hear the march of a group of six ponies, lead by Hogweed, ready to take Warlock along once they got the green light to proceed.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

23 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

"We wouldn't know for sure unless we bring it to Amethyst. She'd know much more about this and it's not like we have a variety of options to choose from. We should speak with her now and learn as much as we can." Lin turned to Clayton, grateful and with a smile, bowed her head. "Thank you for your help, Clayton, and take care. We'll do what we can to make sure Filigree sees justice. You and your friends need all the good news you can get to brighten up your spirits."

Clayton bowed his own neck to the group with a tired smile on his face. He had little doubt that they would find answers in one way or another, and that they'd manage to finally get justice for his friends, and all the others that Filigree had hurt on her way towards glory, though where their path towards this end would take them, he couldn't say. Amethyst would help the best she could if it meant getting Filigree locked up for good, yet what secret did she know which she had never shared with him, nor any of the others? A small bit of fear told him that it were serious, and akin to the elements of disharmony. That being that no matter how bad these items were, they could not be destroyed, nor truly be contained in the long run. That were news which would have caused Spelt, Fiddler and himself to pale and wait for the inevitable, which she likely would have preferred not to happen, but this were still nothing than a guess. Amethyst could be mysterious when she wanted to be.

"I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavor, and please, if there's anything else I can do to help, just track me down again."

The door knocked around that time, signalling that the guards had arrived to bring him to the interrogation room. His attention were so focused on that for a moment, that he didn't even take notice that Omen had gotten close to him, before she were inches from him, and sniffing the air around him. A situation that made him feel pretty uncomfortable, as were evident by the cringing, yet questioning look on his face, yet nothing more came from it right now. The mare simply smelled him, then took a few steps back and quietly went through the gate that Lin had opened. Perhaps it were best just not to ask.

23 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

"Is something bothering you?"

"Huh? Oh, not at all. Just needed to remember that rhyme Clayton mentioned. Amethyst probably might need to hear it in case she needs more information. I'll... handle this one."

The three of them would find that the jewelry shop that Amethyst resided in when last they saw her, were open, and the door would quietly swing open when they knocked on it. Inside, a nervous looking young stallion in nobles clothes stood and looked at a selection of rings, his eyes darting to the entrance once the three entered, but as there were no recognition about who these were, he went back to watching these, whilst a cashier stood ready to answer his questions about the various bands and stones.

To the side, an elderly stallion without any particular clothing accessories stood and were chatting with Amethyst, who were in the process of gently placing an old photo into an amulet, hung from a silver chain. An old, wooden box stood in front of her, along with some cleaning tools for this particular kind of metal, and once she were done with the finishing touches, she'd gently place the jewelry back in the box.

"There, as good as new. Get home safely, and do give my best to your wife."

"I will, but she won't be satisfied until you come around for tea."

"I'll make some time soon darling, worry not."

As he left, her eyes were drawn towards Sen, Lin and Omen, which brought a surprised smile to her face, but it also went to Shrimp, who were stirring a little in his sleep, yet so far not appearing to wake up. To him, there were a more wary look, to see if he were about to suddenly wriggle away and go eat some of her wares.

"Darlings! Come in come in. However have you been?"

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

 

@Rising Dusk

"𝕐𝕖𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕡𝕒𝕪."

Rising's words had not been as uplifting as they had been distracting, as the way he spoke of trying to believe in someone else that believed in her were a strange phrasing and idea that Thistle hadn't heard of before. In Harrowmark, it were more common to think in the way of *Believe in yourself, because no one else will* which made this a peculiar thing to dwell on. The distracting factor in that helped her shrug off the doubts that were darkening her mind after what Twisted had said, though the thoughts were still roaming the back of her mind, and tried to raise some questions that she did not want to listen to. She were a staunch believer in her goddess, not a doubting fool. What had happened back then were how it must be for a follower of Viz'nay, and now, the specter were still herself. She still thought for herself and weren't just a speaking tube for the goddess.

Some comfort were possible to spin from the doubt actually. If she could be shaken by this, and even feel a small amount of doubt, then surely she could still think for herself? Someone who had no individuality would have been certain of things, surely.

She kept telling herself this as the two of them made their way towards the small groove. The gnarly trees would try and grab them, but it weren't hard to either avoid or bash them away and make their way towards the center, where they'd find an old stone slab altar, with Suusha's mark carved into the sides of it. On top, the crumbling remains of a skeleton sat motionless, with the pixie from before sat inside what remained of the ribcage. He were wrapped in a piece of cloth that Twisted had used as a gauze, and on the exposed parts of the delicate figure, stitches consistent with the tools they found before would be seen.

It appeared that the small creature were being fed life force from a small crystal near him, which were helping his jagged breath and shaking form to settle slowly. He were sitting with his head covered by his bend knees, and small, pointy hands grasping the crystal, More strange magic were near him, but it were hard to pinpoint what kind, as he seemed to have a snippet of primordial energy hanging on or near him, though not as much as Twisted had, who stood near the altar and glared at the two arrivals with a sour look going over his face.

"Scarcely have I met anyone as infuriating as you, detective. Were it a different time, I would have -"

A blast of dark magic formed like a pair of sharp spears, rushed from the witch and towards Rising mid sentence.

"- made you another disciple. But you've been manipulating the magic of gods. You've proven too dangerous, and by the ancient will, I won't-"

Skeletal hooves rose from the dirt as a few dozen risen started to emerge and grasp for Rising. The necromantic magic stood as a thick cloud over their animated bones, and from the open maws, came howls from many tormented voices, though they were all indecipherable.

"- let -"

As Thistle tried to assault him, a corruptible blast would aim her way, and though it missed, the tree it impacts started to shrivel and perish within seconds of impact. More necromantic energy, with a tinge of that time/sacrificial magic that were the only part of the primordial darkness that Twisted could safely wield by his god.

"- you -"

A swarm of wicker birds with sharp talons and disease-riddled beaks would descent from the crowns and make their way towards Rising, adding in to the onslaught that Twisted were sending his way. Each of them were about the size of a humming bird, and there were roughly three dozen present, directed by ingrained mind manipulating magic.

"- live."

Twisted stomped into the ground hard, causing a deep crack to form in the dirt. From the darkened reaches far, far below, where the light never shone, came a harrowing screech mixed with the insane cackle of something unseen approaching. This were likely going to be a tough one for Rising, as he now stood in one of the main areas where Suusha's power could empower his herald, and it were likely impossible for the detective not to feel the primordial energy just shiver through the air, radiating mainly from the corrupted altar.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Reaching the auction site again, they would find Spicy sitting with quite a big grin plastered over her face.

"You are certainly looking pleased."

"Darn straight I do. I just won an auction for something I've been looking for for a long time."

"I can imagine what you're speaking off, but we can discuss that later. Have the coins come up yet?"

"Nah, but I'm sure they'll popup soon enough. Slam your rears in the seats."

(a half hour later)

"And for our next auction, we have a collection of assorted collectible coins. The seller have decided against showcasing the whole thing, but have allowed me to mention that it does include a Dymorphian Seal, which I'm sure most of you know are considered contraband, due to this currency financing some notable war crimes in the east. The bid will start at 150 bits."

A few would bid in with small increments here and there, as the seal were of some interest, but a whole bag of assorted coins, just for that? The majority didn't like uncertainty, and as such, would rather just find the actual buyer of these and then see if they could purchase the individual coin in question, which honestly weren't even that big a deal unless you were a collector. This were not the coin that Ruby would be after, and as such, she could likely make a fine enough sale of this later, yet for the auction in question now, she would end up being able to win it for 250 bits. Considering the prices in this place, that was dirt cheap.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Berry put her hoof up and went *shhh* to Nada, before looking around frantically for a few seconds.

"Watch out saying that out loud before you're sure there's nopony listening in. You never know if they have some ears nearby, and if they figure out that you're on to them too, they'll come get you, and before you know it, you've been put through one of their experiments. You might end up say, as a kind of plant/pony hybrid that'd take orders from secret transmitters hidden in large trees. Just a crazy example though. Nopony's saying that'd even be possible."

She gave Nada a look that said that she totally meant it, and were just trying to get them off her scent. The more they knew that she knew, the more they'd come after her eventually, and this time they wouldn't be satisfied by getting her a stint in the crazy bin. They'd make her disappear, never to be seen again, unless they somehow broke her to their will, and sent her off to just be another of their agents. Chances were though, that they'd just stick her in one of their hidden facilities and run experiments on her too, to figure out how to get more strange creatures to fight their war. Had to use some guinea pigs to get to that point, and she weren't interested to be one of them.

"I might've overreacted to the one you're speaking about a teensie bit though. For all I know, she's just a weird looking changeling variant, and not an evergrown.

Anyway, the meeting went well with Princess Luna, so that means you're on the way to getting sorted? That's great news Nada. First step on the road to acceptance, right there. Sounds weird that her guards were acting odd in your mind. Were they Thestrals? Not everypony in the Night Guard is anymore, and if they were, did they find some Moonshine Dust? It's like catnip for the bats. Makes them all jittery and clingy."

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

 

@Moonlit @Dji

"Sounds like quite the fearsome creature you're taking with you. I hope things will work out for that situation, and that your dad can really tame it, instead of having to throw food into a void just to keep it at bay."

From the sound of things, Cherish weren't sure if the creature weren't actually larger and more ferocious than a bear. At least one of the ursine had a limit to how much it'd eventually eat, but unless Serenade were exaggerating, the creature she were taking with her were just a maw with a limitless hole where its stomach should be. Must be a fearsome creature, and if so, it were impressive how much Serenade seemed to just take things lightly. Cherish weren't sure if in the same situation, she could just laugh things off like this.

"And I'll think about the offer, but it kinda depends on how it goes here with the princess. Hopefully she can help with things, even though I'm grateful even for this. It's nice to be in a place with life, instead of the quiet ruins of the old castle. A little terrifying though, but I guess that's just how it is, being an outsider and all. It must have been horrifying for you too when you first had to try and mingle, right?"

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

"There are hamsters. They're just really good at digging, but just you wait until you get on their turf. They'll be swarming you from below and dragging you down to try and feed you to their young. They're so adorable."

There was just nothing like having three hundred mutated hamsters with razor blades for teeth and a nearly insatiable hunger for sweat just drag you down under to harvest you of that sweet, sweet salty water. The sugar dogs had a way bigger problem, as the hamsters actually hunted them to eat them. Real sweet teeth those small ones had.

Glancing over to see what it were that Lucid were reading, she glanced over to see something near them. A large slab of rock with four legs, and the face of a certain human actor on the front. It seemed that Datt Mamon hadn't noticed them and were just eating bark right now, but perhaps she'd poke him later and make him crash into them? Several hundred pounds of joyful, battering-ram-strength fun.

"You're published? Cool! Even if nopony read it, that's still real good. Why're you saying nopony should eat strawberries though? You should be eating everything. The world is delicious. Is it because you tried to chomp down on a dancing cacti once because you got real blind and thought it were one, and you carried a grudge since then? Aha! My amazing detective skills have solved the case."

[Lucid_Nightlight 915]

@Blitz Boom

"Flesh eating hamsters? That sounds so adorable!"

"I wanna pet one as it tries to eat my hoof! Oh maybe it will eat my hoof and I can get a new one!"

You need help.

As for Lucid, he was surprised.

"How did you know?"

"Does this Zhu guy do anything cool? Can I bite him?"

Edited May 12, 2019 by Lucid_Nightlight
Added the @

[EQ_Theta 330]

@Blitz Boom

Both Sen and Lin were a little unsure about walking into a store, having mistakenly knocked on an establishment's door like it was a house. A little embarrassing for Lin but perhaps her understanding of pony social etiquette is still incomplete. It wouldn't bother her too much as her eyes darted around the store looking for Amethyst. Fortunately, she called out to them and the siblings smiled, walking up to the mare and ignoring the jewelry on display. 

"Good morning, Amethyst. We're fine, more or less, and you look like you're doing well yourself today. Could you take a look at something for us?"

Sen pulled out the container with the heart in it, slowly unraveling the rope and cloth and revealed the heart. He was concerned about the other patrons in the store seeing what is inside and made sure to open discretely. Though there weren't too many ponies around, the whole display seemed a little excessive. 

"A jeweled beast heart," Sen began, hushing his voice. "We came to you on Clayton's recommendation. He said you'd know more about this than him, even mentioned a rhyme."

"Filigree wanted to use this with the changeling emeralds and we were thinking of either hiding this away or maybe destroying it. We'd like to know what your thoughts are on what we should do with this. What exactly is this thing? And where did it come from?"