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Blitz Boom

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@Blitz Boom Serenade shrugs, "I leave that up to you, and no. racing." She gives Ziggy a blank look, then smiles "Doctor's Orders" She smiles like the deep sea predator she is. "You need anything for the trip?"

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@Blitz Boom

"I didn't write it."

"Wasn't me."

Both Lucid and Novia looked at Lumen.

"Don't look at me."

Lucid looked at the wheel and noticed Pringle standing on it with a marker in his mouth.

"Well the life savings are not going to happen, sure I could open a portal to his actual house, but I don't feel like it. How about since Pringle is the one who wrote it down, he has to do it."

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@Blitz Boom

 

[continued from page 343]

 

Wha... what happened?  Did it work?”  Charlie was barely glowing.  Their voice was very soft.  The burst of energy took a lot out of them.  Signs of the sliver of soul inside the changeling body were faint, but it was definitely there, and it was growing, albeit slowly.  Only time would tell what would become of this.  The body was not conscious, but it still occasionally twitched.  Charlie had no idea of knowing how things like this worked.  Was their soul now inside the body?  Their senses were weak, was this a side effect?  Was this lack of sensation temporary?  Would they regain some form of sight soon?  The questions swirled around Charlie’s mind as they lay there on the floor, a motionless, slightly glowing stick, powerless to find answers for themself.  

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@Blitz Boom

“Thank you again for your help. We’ll do what we can to make sure she stays locked up this time around.”

Once he said his piece, Sen turned to the chunk of diamond and attempted to lift it. A fairly heavy piece, much more than what he expected but as he heaved and dug his claws under, it became a little easier. He was still exerting plenty of effort before realizing he could tip it over to the side and roll it along the ground. With more room for his claws to grip, he lifted and placed the chunk on his back and walked towards the gate Omen opened up for him. 

But back at the shop, Lin was merrily chatting and taking regular sips of tea. It wasn’t everyday she got a chance to simply let her worries go for a while and talk about her home a little bit. That and the warmth of her beverage slowly trickling down her throat was relaxing feeling, almost forgetting she was there on important business. Until Sen and Omen returned, there wasn’t much to do besides make conversation, something she was enjoying at the moment. 

“We… we don’t really use our forest home for farming. Much as there is potential in building cities or farms, all we longma have is the forest home our ancestors left us with, living using the blessings nature provides. From birth, all longma grow up learning to never take more than what is necessary and give back to nature, understanding that even we will return to it one day.”

“As far as I know, the jade orchids only grow on select trees in a small section of the forest and those that do grow there are eaten by some kind of tree-dwelling insect. I don’t know what it is since no one talks about it openly and I’m certain there are other things that influence its growth. I’m actually surprised knowledge of the jade orchid is spread outside of our forest. How did ponies learn about it? Does it also grow all over Equestria?”

Lin had so many more questions she wanted to ask, genuinely intrigued that, within this conversation alone, already revealed how similar the ponies likely had with the longma. These findings would certainly come in handy when bringing up the possibility of sending representatives to Equestria’s major settlements one day. Before she could ask any more, Lin was interrupted by the opening of a gate close to her and with Sen stepping out of it, knew they were about to get busy once more.

“You have it! Looks like its time to get it ready.” 

Sen slowly grabbed the diamond chunk and placed it gently on the table, trying to avoid messing up the little set-up Lin and Amethyst had laid about. 

“Sorry if we interrupted something, Amethyst. You said we need a refraction for the this?”

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@Catpone Cerberus

 Slumped down where he laid, pulled out from the now vanished point he had originated from, like a pile of Pool Noodle; Widdershins baffles at the inherent comparison.

What? Discord again? Everybeing acts like he's the sole representative of this species! Like it was made up on the spot solely for him to star in! 

 I'll have you know none of that's "original" body. Toootally fabricated his whole being from scratch! Most unorthodox! ...then again, I don't know what that word means. Butt.

 Regardless!

 You're one to talk!

 Head swaying from side to side as he had talked, mouth somehow never opening despite the breathless speed the wiirm babbled on in, Widders unfolded his long right ear out from under his head which, in turn, laid pinned under the rest of its coils. Placing his soft ear made entirely out of dense hair right on Cerberus face, entirely without asking.

  What's YOUR character made of?

 

@Dji

Despite not moving from where his muzzle lay, Kaltrop lets out a grumpy harrumph.

 "Well, you jumped on me and grabbed me first.

  ...you gonna get down n-... want my help getting off here?  ...or would you rather try pinning me with your little horsey legs again?

… N-not that I care anything about your legs, or anything."

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@Blitz Boom
Ruby just nodded, she didn't have anything to add to the topic.

After some silence she asked "When does the auction end?" "Just wondering when we should start making our way back to Marley." she didn't necessarily care if they returned to him or not, but she wanted to know when the auction ended, but didn't want to sound inpatient.

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Nada shook her head "I have been hiding in a lake since the banishment of the three sirens." she admitted right away "Besides the two pony princesses, no creature probably knows me, if not counting those I have met after coming out of hiding that is." "And I have no idea who you...or your kind is, nor do I know anything about any bloody feud." "Though if I did understand right, there are ghost stories or something going around among ponies about me, or well, about my singing, if that counts for anything." she figured this..changeling? would be able to tell that she really wasn't like the sirens she may know, since she was so little for a siren.

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@Widdershins
"He just happens to be a bit more famous than you, having tried to take over Equestria and all that...twice." Cerberus responded with quite different tone of voice, sounding almost like a totally different pony...or cat, before returning to his usual tone "I don't really know if I understand you question, but I'm a cat, and a pony, and I have a great urge to start playing with that ear of yours that is on my face, and though I know that would be awfully rude to do, I won't be able to stop myself forever." he would fulfill his...threat?....warning?...if Widdershins's didn't move his ear. 

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@Moonlit

"I can't really anyway. I've been given a pretty good sedative. When I grew up, the doctors kept wafting the idea that I should have to be on this sorta thing for my entire life, but nuhuh. Mom and dad didn't like it, and I didn't want it either. Long as I stay active, it's noooo biggie. Well, unless my wing and leg are hurt, in which case, phooey."

Ziggy didn't like having this sorta thing too long. It made her feel all drowsy and dull the longer she got it, and she didn't want that. She wanted to be happy, and brimming with so much energy that it got infectious. It was a far more entertaining way to live life. Sure, she needed to fly around like a maniac every few hours, but that weren't an issue, and really, keeping active were good for her health. No losing there she'd say.

"Anyway, I'm all set. All the stuff I really need are in my pockets, and I'm all dressed up and ready to paint the town pink, hehe."

A small yawn followed the grin that saying this brought over her face. Stupid drowsy meds...

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@Seamore Sandwich

"No, the body rejected you."

Vivid could really use a trip to the Veil for an hour or so (in this world's time) right about now, to recharge herself and mend her aching body. Much as she were thankful that Charlie were still sentient, and that she were at least alive, and didn't need to repair her own body again, she were feeling like a well wrung out piece of cloth, that had been used one too many times and had just been thrown aside.

"There's something about the body that your spirit can't share in. Perhaps it is the magic? It's rare, but I have heard of something like that before, from other worlds. Once I catch my strength, we will have to find out. I barely got you separated before. If it happens again, I can't guarantee you will survive. How you even managed now, when a part of you were left behind, is already unfathomable. As is it that whatever remains are growing. A soul is not supposed to become stronger and grow into separate ones when it is torn apart."

She had lived for a long, long time, and had seen souls go through a lot of things that had left them in pieces, yet this were the first time she had ever seen, nor heard of, a fragment of a soul that developed into something new, and quite frankly, she weren't sure if she should be intrigued or terrified. Who knew what might come of this, and she barely had anything left in her by the way of energy. Perhaps a gateway or two, or a single, feeble shield, but that then would be it. Basically, they were going to end up in a lot of trouble right now if this new soul were somehow evil.

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@EQ_Theta

"Yes, your little friend here will do well in cleaning it for unwanted things. I'm sure you have seen how it drains the colors of whatever he feasts upon, rather than simply eat the gem? Whilst refractions have some blood relations to dragons, they eat the minerals within the gem, whereas the dragons themselves eat the gems. There were once a strong trade going between them, yet as things are now, things have gotten... Complicated on that front, unfortunately. Perhaps if a resurgence one day happens, and the new dragon lord are open-minded, things may yet return to the golden days again.

Ah, but I digress. Have Shrimp here feast upon this in an open area, as I'm certain you have seen what happens to excess energy when they feast too much, and give him time to go through it. A gem this size, with optimal feeding times, and accounting for his size and need of vegetables as well... I'd say it will take 4-6 days before it is properly cleansed. Long as you do not feed him any other gems to spoil his appetite that is.

In the meantime, I would think you best go and care for your own business. Filigree will be tracked, and you can now safely house the heart, so you can have some room to breathe. To be quite honest dear, you both seem like you have had a rather stressful time, and could use a break from things. Let the little one do what his kind is prone to do, and simply give it time. He seems very healthy for a hatchling."

She reached a hoof forth towards the Shrimp, who snapped out at her hoof and hissed. Amethyst did not try to push it further, but simply laughed a little at the response she had gotten from getting too close to both him, and for that matter, Omen. The way he slithered around her neck and the angle he had snapped out after her in, deemed him to be rather protective, and she could imagine that it were the case with all of them in his eyes. 

"Make sure to file his claws now and again, to ensure they don't end up growing so big that they hurt him. Depending on his diet over the years, you may need a strong file though. At this age, they merely seem golden, yet if he feasts on enough gems of the right kind, the minerals may end up giving a genuine golden coating, though other variants are there too. I have some... Personal experiences with their kind, so please, if you have any questions, do feel free to visit at any point. It is likely that I may help.

Now then, may I offer you two a cup of tea, Sen and Omen? We have a varied arrangement here that you can pick from, and the water is quite warm."

These youngsters likely wished to just force ahead and get to work with something important here, but fact remained that as it stood now, the only thing they could really do were to wait. Shrimp needed time, Filigree were gone without a trace, and they had no clue to go by there. Surely the best they could do were to slow down and enjoy themselves for a time, yes? Leave the tracking of the escaped mare to the professionals, and focus on other things. Celestia knows that they surely would have other things to attend as well in their personal lives, given the chance to attend them.

Now were as good a chance as ever she'd say, and they could start by drinking some tea and try to wind down a little.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"You've seen the size of this place? This auction's gonna take bloody hours. Riveting, right?"

Spicy rolled her eyes as she said that clearly sarcastic few words at the end.

"Real snoozer frankly. I'm mostly just at these to sell stuff, and only stick around if I see something good in the halls beforehoof. But here? I got what I wanted, and clearly, you did too, so... What's your thoughts on ditching this place and leaving Marley to catch up once his feathery rear have finally gone numb from sitting around this place? He'll track us down, soon as he stashed the gold back at my home. Come on, it'll be fun. Just a little trip, mare and mare. We could go have some fun, and celebrate the great sale we got.

Ever gotten hammered on Moonglaze in Las Pegasus before? Now There's an experience."

Frankly she didn't know if Ruby drank, but eh, never knew until you asked, right? And if that wasn't a go, they could go do something else. Like shooting clay pigeons or something. All about finding a good enough place with those enchanted slingshots that caused them to pack an extra punch, and it'd be a riot. Hugely popular among griffons, though they got mighty mad when they lost.

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@Catpone Cerberus

Onache raised an eyebrow a the response she got. Quite a few levels of surprises there, to say the least.

"In hiding since the three sisters? I have heard of those. Their actions made sure that my kind stays far away from the shores of Equestria during their reign, which may explain why you know nothing of us. Your meager size have some merit too, if you have truly been in hiding since. Without negativity, you could well become... Stunted."

So this were one back from the time where the more infamous of siren kind were roaming Equestria then? interesting... If one of this age and potential connection to some of the country's greatest enemies had been accepted, then there were some degree of chance for herself too. It may be something she could leverage to some point, provided that she did not follow her instincts and try to rid the world of yet another fish pony, no matter how easy a fight this may well be. Well, outside the desert at least. Within it, the large, almost see-through gem that the sphinx had placed above the temple were still in action, and absorbed what magic were used in the desert area. She would have to figure out something regarding that one of these days.

"Not many of your ancients left anymore. I know of the brothers and their arena, and have been informed of some rumors regarding one of your queens of old, Melpomane, whom have potentially been heard near the oceans of Germane in recent times. If others are out there, they stay away from us, or destroy every hive they come near so that word doesn't spread, as history have often shown them to want.

There is no grand story behind our feud, if you care to know it. It is simply a matter of prey. Both of our kinds feast upon the emotions of ponies, yet mostly on opposites, so we fight to keep more prey to ourselves. As we have taken down many of your ancients, so too have yours crushed many of ours. It is an animosity that is not simple to just walk away from.

Yet, it were a matter of dispute around food, and neither of us seem to have a need of harvesting from them anymore. I assume we can come to some sort of peaceful arrangement."

"Yeah, talk peace with the queen who earned her title by twisting the minds of ponies into willing slaves."

Onache and Berry locked eyes for a moment, though Berry ended up averted her eyes from the segmented ones of the queen.

"I do what I must to feed my hive, by whatever means necessary. If it includes enslaving some, then that is what I would do, just as readily as I accepted this... Degradation, when I learned that as I were, I could never provide enough food to ever fill the stomachs of my drones.

Judge me if you will, pony, but try first to ask yourself what you would be willing to do to keep your children from starving. Tell me then how you would be any better in my place?"

Berry opened her muzzle to say something after that, but just shut it again silently, and grumbled whilst looking away from the changeling.

"As expected. Now, I have something I wish to know of you, siren. What happened to cause your kind to work with ponies, where millennia of history have marked ponies and your ilk's relationship as merely predator and prey? Have they changed the mind of one of your ancients? Or are you the first, and truly know nothing of what have happened with the others of your kind?"

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@Lucid_Nightlight

"Naughty lizard, causing trouble. He's evil! I see in his cold little eyes. Evil I tell you!"

The evil lizard would stand and likely think eeeevil lizard thoughts, whilst the brave, intelligent draconequui would stand and think long and hard over the very complex dillemme they were in now.

"Okay, so... I think no? I'm totally game for him wrecking havoc, but he might set fire to the author, and then we'll have no narration. I'm not gonna put voice to every single guest at the wedding!

Buuuut, if you could make Pringle Threaten him, that'd be completely fine, right? Just... Hiss at him, or eat his foot or something. Not the hands! He'll need them to be useful.

Also, I miiight've looked at his savings when I last checked, and I have more than that hidden in my wings. No gold there at all. Like, jeez. How do you get anywhere without at least six bars of gold and a rusty statue of a watermelon, right?"

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@Blitz Boom Serenade nods, then starts walking toward the train station. "Same here, I've got everything with me." She takes her time, making sure Ziggy is not sleep flying. "Just look on the bright side, in about 4 hours, you'll get to see if Fah'lina can become a puffball"

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@Blitz Boom

Pringle would grow to his maximum size and walk over to Anomaly in attempt to scare her. Would it work, probably not.

"No Pringle, I am not going to give you silver for you to force feed her. Besides, how wouls you even hold it?"

"You could give him copper and pretend it's silver. She hates that."

"I will bite you, Lucid."

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@Blitz Boom
"We could do that, but I'd like to be able to get these somewhere safe first." "Anything with a lock will do, as long as nobody else have a reason to go there." Ruby replied, though she wasn't one to get hammered, because being a dragon, she needed quite a lot more alcohol than a pony for that, and drinking that much would have revealed something wasn't right since such amounts for a pony could be rather damaging, so she had to act drunk whenever she went to places where she needed to drink. 

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Nada seemed interested when Onache talked about the other sirens that were still around, and just nodded to the explanation about the feud, so these creatures used to feed on some positive emotion. "I don't know anything about others of my kind, I wasn't really that active among my own kind even back before the sisters, and after them I have only met one other Siren after coming out of hiding, a young one who has been raised by ponies." "I personally never really followed the prey and predator mindset, sure I did gather negativity like others my kind at one point, but I always have found it to be...unpleasant, because I don't like to hurt other creatures." "I stopped doing it at one point long time ago, and before the sisters, I had sang to the ponies for some time already, that's why the princesses know me." "I have yet to become part of their world again, but I have high hopes for it, even if there will most likely always be a level of distrust between us." 

 

 

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@Blitz Boom

Sen panted for a little bit, just needing to get his breath back and for a moment, didn’t respond to Amethyst. Winded, indeed, but not absentminded or centered on his own problems; he immediately turned to look at the mare and the chunk of diamond before proceeding. 

“I think I know how we can go about this. Just need to keep other gems away and provide other kinds of food so he’ll stay healthy, right? Yeah, we can provide that.”

“You have experience with refractions? The way you speak about them sounds like you’ve spent time with them. Can you tell us more? Like about filing claws? Do we need something specific for that?” Lin's reply was filled with excitement and curiosity, eager to learn as traces of her younger self began to show. This time spent at rest was as good a moment as any to find out more about Shrimp's kind. They're pretty much bound to care for him and if there was a future prospect of helping more later on, Lin would love the opportunity to gather as much information as she can. 

At the moment, Sen noticed the setup before him and without further prompting by Lin, or her even offering to go about it, he took two cups and proceeded adding water and tea leaves in just one. Two from the crimsonleaf mixture and allowed it to soak. He wanted to see what Omen would pick from the selection, waiting to know what kind of taste she would want. Of course, even Sen isn’t quite sure what his tea would taste like as his process of choosing boiled down to taking the first thing he saw and going along with it. Seems like both of them will be surprised. For now, the longma waited until his beverage is ready while passing the second cup to Omen. 

“You’ll want to take a few leaves and put them in the cup,” Sen said to the Ki’Nathar.  “Not all of them though, I don’t think they’ll taste good if you mix them all. Pick a box and take about two leaves, then let them soak in the water. After a few minutes, you can drink it. Try it out!”

Lin smiled as she turned her attention to Shrimp. She wouldn’t bother him for the meantime and at the moment, realized that they would need to remain close to Canterlot in case Rosa, Stargazer, or a guard would come looking for them. The cave outside the city limits would serve this purpose well but their time away would be extended a little more than they expected. Perhaps later in the day she would go back home to pass on a message or speak with Elder Ghilan if he caught her. The last time they spoke, there didn’t seem to be anything important happening that needed either Sen or Lin to be present. Ghilan just needed to ease his worries though he will need another heads up soon.

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@Blitz Boom

These kinds of reactions weren't all that strange to the detective.  Many a times was Rising Dusk given laurels by fillies, colts, mares and stallions alike.  All the visits he was requested to make to the Manehatten hospital when a hex, curse or jinx placed on a loved one reached outside the capabilities of the doctors.  Their reactions were understandable and it was always a battle to refuse gifts or payment.  It was all part of the job.  Not to sound cold hearted, of course, but the unicorn dispels such things because he loves helping others.  The only extra payment he needs is seeing the joy of a family embracing one whom they thought they'd be losing.  Rather sappy, he knows, but that's completely fine with him.  The O.M.I. pays well enough for the unicorn to live rather comfortably, no need to fill his life with extra gifts.

It was nice of her not to mention what he was actually eating, and he didn't really want to illusion of how good this meal was shattered by finding out.  Continuing to eat while the mare taking care of him filled him in on a bit of what was going on.  So Thistle was out spreading the word and the Light back to the citizens of Harrowmark.  Her little slip up of trying to refer to him as the Great Outsider was starting to tell him that Thistle might be placing him on a higher pedestal than needed.  While the result was the same, Rising Dusk had come here on a mission from The Captain in the name of Equestria.  Not really as noble to point out that he was to protect his own city.  But during his short time in the swamp, the detective sure learned a lot about Harrowmark.  Twisted Gears and Lily were not the best examples of what he should have expected, regardless of how much they claimed to represent the country as a whole.  Plus it was nice that he didn't have to fight his way back home while in that weakened state.  Taking in the weaves of magic cast off by this floating blue flames that kept him warms.  Nothing like the sickly tapestries of the swamp.  Very strong and study, the mark of a talented unicorn.

Munching through a few more sweet coated berries, he cast his gaze out of the window as it was opened and into what little he could see of the town that was giving care to him.  Not having much time to take it in, even if the view was burned into his memory.  He knew the look, having seen something eerily similar from his apprentice when she was working so hard to join the O.M.I. and become his pupil.  Ears flat and leaning back every so slightly from the over eager mare, he quickly ran through the layout of the room in his mind and flicked his gaze to the pile of books.  "A book would be nice while I wait.  Maybe my saddle bag, Ms. Wisp," he requested, keeping it simple.

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@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"Exorcisms are for possessions who don't want to leave their host anyway," Twilight chuckled nervously and floated the  remaining book back into its place on the bookshelf. She trotted over to the other book on the table and began to slowly flip through it. "You can come over here and see which one may suit you the best. As for being a night assistant ... I used to have one. It could be nice to have another night assistant while Spike's asleep."

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"You said to relax! You said there wasn't going to be any mishaps!" Aurora shrieked when the Timberwolves attacked them  and more or less huddled behind the cart Happy had been pulling. She winced at each sound of the fight and screamed a small bit when a previously unseen Timberwolf leap at her. She scrambled away from it and watched its jaws snap at empty air.

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

"Um, no, sorry," Karmic replied apologetically. Luckily for her, Atzy had gone silent and she breathed a small sigh of relief. "The ritual sounds awkward at the very least. Do you know if it will be painful or not?"

@FanOfManyShows

WATTS MECHANO

"It's up ahead of you, can't you see it?" Watts said incredulously, pointing out the plain door with a shop sign that had a symbol of odd gizmos of trinkets. "Who knew stallions could be thick at times?"

@Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

"N-No ... I didn't jump on you. You forced me to do that," Dawn insisted and struggled to move out from under Kaltrops' chin. "You want me to move so why aren't you moving so I can move!?"

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(edited)

@Moonlit

"Hehe, she's gonna end up passed out and rolling around like a fuzzy hoofball."

The image of Fah'lina as a puffer fish got into Ziggy's mind and made her laugh for a half dozen seconds or so. There was just something precious about that image, though it were unlikely to go that far. Ziggy had seen the mimic eat fish larger than herself, and not bulge noticeably. Whatever weird, unnatural way these creatures had evolved, they seemed to be able to deal with gluttony in ways that she had never seen another creature do, though they'd see. Perhaps this would finally be the point where Fah'lina would be forced to surrender? 

"I'm really looking forward to meeting your parents. You make them sound like amazing ponies, even if they're gonna make Fah'lina into a food balloon."

Hehe, another funny picture for the head space.

"Oh! Wait!!! Should we get something for the trip? We got a bit of time, and we're still in Ponyville. We could get some water, juice, uuuuh, maybe even doughnuts? Or do they sell that on the train? I flew to this town, so I dunno."

Ziggy had halted right away, and looked at Serenade as she asked this. The train station were like, five minutes away or so from where they were now, so they could take a quick detour if it were that Serenade figured she'd need something.

What? Just because they were going to eat with her parents eventually, that didn't mean that they should starve before that. It weren't healthy to not eat over long periods of time.

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@EQ_Theta

"Only fruits and vegetables dear. As said, refractions are related to dragons, yet they are down a different path in many aspects. Among them are the diets. Whereas dragons are known to be able to eat meat, refractions are strictly vegetarian. Meat can make them very unwell, though small things like a butterfly for example is not so bad. At worst a bug like that will make him slightly nauseous, and serve as a teachable moment more than anything.

And yes, I have some in depth knowledge of them, though I am afraid that I will have to keep certain things to myself. Their matriarch were loathe to meet me the first time as it were, and our trust is still somewhat fragile, and reliant on some degree of secrecy on my behalf. As such, I cannot tell you how, or exactly when I got into contact with their kind at first, but I will share that it were in relation to the changeling emeralds, before I started working at the mine, and that I still have talks going with them from time to time.

However, I can share what I can of the care their young are supposed to take. It's rather simple though, as they are surprisingly self sufficient at this more... Feral age, if you would. It will be quite a change for you once the dear thing eventually grows up enough to talk and understand things fully, yet you will have some time to go with before that. Usually their brain is not advanced enough until they are around three to seven months old or so. You should try and foster that budding intelligence with books and other studies at that point, much like you would any child of your own. But I digress."

Amethyst took a small break to take a sip of tea, and observe how Sen attempted to learn Omen how to mix a cup of tea. He took his time and went through it with her step by step, which seemed to help a good deal on her understanding of this, and after taking a few leaves of what she could see Lin were drinking, then giving it a stir, she would stand with a cup of mint tea herself. As well as a wet patch on her coat where she had spilled some scolding water on. An action that had made Amethyst cringe, yet didn't seem to bother Omen, as she had just kept going on with following instructions. Remarkable pain tolerance this one seemed to have.

By Celestia though were her drinking manner abhorrent though. She just stuck her muzzle almost into the cup, and lap the drink in her like a cat.

*sigh* Hopefully Sen and Lin could also educate her in some proper table manners, whilst they were thinking on how to deal with Shrimp eventually.

"Provide him with a mixture of fresh and dried fruits and vegetables when he seems hungry, ensure that he have some chewing toys that he can play around with, and engage him in some small hunting games. A small snack on a string for example, or a rope that he will try and wrestle from you. It helps strengthening his jaws and teeth.

And as for teeth, they will periodically fall out, but you needn't worry. Much like sharks, they regrow them throughout their lives, so mostly it is merely a form of shedding that you will see, so that new and stronger teeth can take over. They tend to hoard them at this age, along with whatever shiny items they can find. I'm sure you will have noticed small things vanish, like shards of glass, bottle caps, that kind of thing? This is the greatest part where you can see their connection to regular dragons, as refractions too tend to love having a large hoard. You will likely be able to find whatever he have stashed somewhere dark like a hole in a wall, under some blankets, or whatever else he could find that seemed like a cave. And yes, this tendency to hoard is something you will have to deal with throughout his life, yet how bad it is will depend on how he is raised. May be that he will simply be an avid collector at some point, or pocket a few things now and again.

As for the aforementioned lifespan, unless something terrible happens, he should be able to get to a decent twenty thousand years or more, so you should expect him to outlive you all rather significantly. He will reach maturity around age 20 though, so you can manage through his early stages I would imagine.

I think that is essentially it. You are most likely aware of how clingy they are towards the ones they perceive as family or their mother, which may wear off to some degree in the long run, and their diet and need of energy is rather simple. As is filing their claws. Just do so everytime you see him start to bite them. It's his way of saying that it's becoming uncomfortable.

Ah, there is one more thing I assume I can inform you of. No, two actually, now that I think of it.

The first is that the more he grows, the more scales and hair you will start to see around, and as they are rather sturdy, you may end up hurting your feet if you step on them at a bad angle. Just be aware of it, and broom regularly.

The second is how gems work within their diet. The short version is simply that they deprive power and energy from this, as well as the minerals they need. When it crackles over and he starts breathing that glittery fire I know you have seen, it means he is full, and are trying to get rid of excess energy. Consider gems a kind of... Power-up with added vitamins. If you see him being sluggish and weakened at some point, it means he needs gems to feast on, though it will always be a thing they like to eat in excess. Unless you want a rather holed house, I would suggest that you limit how much and where he eats that.

Now, do you have further questions on the subject? I cannot say if I know all answers, but I can provide what I know, and what I am allowed to share."

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Somewhere safe, with a lot of locks, and no way there's a chance for anypony to touch your moolah, eh?"

Spicy chuckled thoughtfully. Ruby were a good mare, and she were sure they'd have a good deal of fun throughout the time they got before she'd skedaddle right out of her and Marley's lives, but she were still so very green when it came to the seedy underbelly of the world, and honestly it were kinda fun holding a good deal of useful information to toss around, since Spicy had been part of this ever since she went through that first smuggling operation. Ah, the good old days where she couldn't be charged as an adult... Anyway, better start answering here before the mare started hitting her to see if some answers would shake out then. Which frankly would work eventually. Spicy generally didn't like getting beaten up. That's what she had Marley to deal with.

So she leaned a bit towards Ruby and with a mischievous little grin on her muzzle started giving off an answer to the big question of how to keep her cash safe and sound.

"Real questions here is, exactly How safe do you want it? Safe enough that you have to go through a long process to access it, or more like a lockerbox where you can just draw an amount when ya need it? 'cause there's a whole world of specialists who knows how to make sure that nopony's ever going to see as much as a glimpse of your riches - some by stashing it off world - that can keep things as safe as anything. Hay, in case the IRS starts breathing down your neck, some of them even provides whitewashing as a bonus service. Been using a particular one for years, and I've never had as much as an audit.

But y'know, if you just want it secure and don't care for the IRS or feed, I got a vault in my manor. You can drop it off there and go get what ya need, when you need it. Got some state of the art security banged in there, so it's pretty safe. Troy branded even, which let me tell ya, is Not easy to get into Equestria. Bloody ban on Trojan wares are a pain in my flank sometimes."

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@Catpone Cerberus

"You will get accepted by most of them Nada, don't you worry. Soon as they find out that you're endorsed by the princesses and had long since chosen not to start wars to get stronger, they'll warm up to you. Unlikely certain others who've gotten some red rivers in her wake."

"The siren had the luxury of choice, little mare. Negativity is their power, not their food."

Onache gave an annoyed look towards the snarky mare. If the siren had not been here... Oh the things she could do, even though she were supposed to not go down that route anymore. Alas, she needed the favor of this fish pony, so sadly, making her delusional friend pay for her mocking tone were not a choice right now. So instead, she'd have to educate this lesser being in a little changeling biology, to get her point across.

"Do you even know what happens if a changeling is not fed enough love? We lose our minds, and go feral. An irreversible state which many of Chrysalis's drones - both her own and those she overtook - underwent, because she could not grasp that she could never feed a hive that size, even if she took over the entirety of Equestria.

They were left as mere beasts, roaming and attacking everything they came in contact with, and those that Equestria did not hunt, we were sent to strike down ourselves. Some of them used to be mine."

An angry tone had entered her voice at that point, as she recalled what she were sure Chrysalis had forced her to do to try and break her spirit. It had not worked. It only made her resent the fallen queen more, and make it that much easier to turn her back on Chrysalis, once Thorax had taken her kingdom, and proven that she were no longer strong enough to claim ownership of the slaver queen. If only she had been strong enough after that, Chrysalis would've never been able to leave the area...

"Oh..."

Berry tried to find more words to use than this in the face of the increasingly angry looking queen, but there just seemed to be an amazing amount of metaphorical hoof she had forced down her own throat, that were just blocking for an actual, sensible response.

"And then she had the gall to simply lay new eggs by the hundreds, when she still hadn't enough food to even feed the hive she had left after her failed attack on your precious capitol. Do you have any idea how many eggs we had to cull, because we knew the nymphs would either hatch feral, or without any brain function at all? The hardest part of a queen's duty, and she didn't even flinch whilst ordering it done."

Onache growled slightly, then stopped up and began taking some deep breaths after that, trying to calm herself again. Annoying new form seemed to have also come with an increasing emotional imbalance that she hadn't expected. Perhaps that *sharing love* thing were muddling her up or something. Usually she could keep herself more composed, but whatever the reason, she had to stop up and get herself under control before she did something she'd ultimately regret.

"Now, be that as it may, you say there are two of you then, who is friendly towards ponies? So after you have both become recognized by the princesses, do you then plan on bringing this ideal to the rest of your kind, as Thorax have tried to do to the other hives? From personal experience, I can assure you that you will not have an easy time if that is so. Siding with what most of your kind considers to be prey is not a welcome view to most predators."

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@Lucid_Nightlight

"I'm not scared of you, lizard nemesis. I made sure that your fire can't burn me, and I'll give you a tummy ache if you try to eat me, so hah!"

For the love of everything, eat her, and free me from her presence.

"Huh, that was quick you got back. Finally ready to get back to work you lazy person thing?"

Not until I know that you leave my house, and everything in it alone. I'm just here to encourage you getting eaten to give me a few, precious minutes without your presence. After that, I hope he eats the others. Especially Lucid.

"Well somepony's being a grumpy grump. This is our wedding day dude. You're kinda spoiling the mood."

Dude? Really going with that?

"What? It felt right."

...Please eat her head at least.

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@Dji

"If I can be unbound from the castle and roam free, I will happily do anything I can for you, princess. It's very lonely at the old castle. Especially after my friend went to the great beyond."

Cherish floated over and started looking through the book. There were a tinge of sadness on her face as she spoke of being left behind, as she missed her friend terribly. They had been stuck in the castle for centuries, yet now he had found his peace and moved on to whatever came after this waiting stage that they were part of. He had seemed so happy too, and she swore that she had heard happy, elder voices, urging him to come to them from that strange, glowing rift in the air that he had been beckoned towards. She were sure that he were in a better place, with ponies who loved him, and she were happy for him. It still didn't mean that she couldn't miss him though.

Flapping through the pages a little, Cherish stopped on one page that seemed to say something important about what they had been looking for.

"Princess Sparkle? I think it's saying something here about releasing a soul. It's worded a little strangely though. *Complete the ritual of Grief, and the soul shall be bound no more." Not sure if that means what I hope though. Could you try and have a look please? Might be more on the next pages that could say something about this."

Perhaps Twilight were more used to this sort of writing, and could determine if this were some sort of exorcism, or the real deal, regarding what they were looking for. It seemed a little easy if it were, even though the magic spell she assumed the half-glowing runes were spelling out were far beyond her knowledge. She hadn't a clue if it were legit, but Twilight were a strong magic user. Surely she'd know, right?

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@Dji

The timberwolf wouldn't get more than that single chance, before he'd get his tail grabbed by Happy, who had gotten off the cart and let go of this costume of his. So there he stood, tall, humanoid, and yet rather un-intimidating honestly, considering the colorful themes and huge chest and neck fluff. A little different for the timberwolf though, who whilst trying to squirm away and snap at Happy, would end up getting pinned to a tree with a sharp-taloned hand from Happy grasping it at the neck, whilst the other held one of the golden sickle he usually had down the side, with the tip inside the maw of the creature, poking at the right cheek from the inside. There weren't any way that he'd lose the attention of this one, that were for sure.

"Next one who tries anything, will get itself lit on fire. I don't care if it's you, or that mutt of a matriarch. I'll destroy whoever tries to harm this one."

To show his point, his horn suddenly got an ember flaring at the tip. Something which made the timberwolf struggle all it could to get out of his grip, even when the sickle poked it, yet it didn't get away before he let go. It would bugger off after that in a hurry though, as would the ones who had been smashed who had gotten themselves gathered up again.

He'd stand ready, muscles tense and wait to see if there were any more who'd try anything funny, but it seemed like they had finally gotten the message and left. So after a few minutes, Happy would look down on Aurora with a worried expression going over his face, and a hand going down his long, flowing hair to push it back behind his head. Sometimes it were a real pain to have it this long, but by the gods did he like how good he looked with it.

What? Changelings could be vain too.

"I was hoping we wouldn't get ambushed, but these mutts must've thought we were getting careless and easy to strike down. If this doesn't teach them to leave us be, I weren't kidding. I'm torching a few. Gotta put yourself in respect with these wood puppies, or they're just gonna keep coming back for more.

So... You doing alright down there? It didn't hit ya, right?"

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@Dji

"It's extracting a soul. If it doesn't hurt, I doubt it have worked."

It were a little brutal, but Enzo respected this small pony enough to give her an honest answer. If the roles were reversed, he would certainly prefer to be told a harsh truth over having a veil in front of his eyes. It would just hurt more when that would eventually be removed, and you had to content to someone you trusted also lying towards you.

"That you know not of a necromancer is unfortunate, yet the stench of death will be found eventually. So first, we must extract a suitable diamond, and have it cut to size. I know of a source on the isle next to where I were held captured. The dragons spoke of it often, and feasted upon its content. There may still be some lingering there."

Enzo were determined to get this done, yet at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little down all of a sudden, as it seemed they had to chase a necromancer down. In a land of harmony, those who practiced it would likely do so in secrecy, so this would not be an easy task to complete.

*sigh* It made him feel some as if the air had gone out of his balloon, yet still, they had to press on. His word were his bond, and he had given it to assist in the splitting of Karmic and Atzy. It were something which must be done, though Karmic would likely be able to tell that something were off from both Enzo's hanging neck and slower pace, as well as the somewhat more monotone tone that came from him as he yet again spoke.

"Do you know of any seer or zebra? They may hold an answer."

They would not be far from the ocean as he said this, and when that happened, there would only be ten minutes at worst for the large sphinx before they reached their destination. 

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@Rising Dusk

"Of course."

As the request were made, Wisp would float the somewhat muddied bag over that had been on the outsider as he had entered this room. She had polished the worst dirt off before he woke up, as she were prone to multitasking as much as she could to ensure everything went smoothly, yet it would require an actual wash to get completely clean. Until then, it would unfortunately smell of swamp muck and decaying wood, though at least the inside were mostly safe. How well put together it were would determine how the insides were. She weren't aware at least, as she hadn't dared opening it. She were certainly curious about what their savior held in his bag, yet at the same time, violating his privacy seemed far too harsh considering the service he had done to them, so she had not even attempted to get an answer to what it may contain. Perhaps at least a partial answer would be given now?

After that, she would once more warm his stew carefully, making sure the heat were only in the bowl itself, so that he didn't end up getting burned somehow, and floated the books in the room out of the shelves. It were not many, yet all would count, as she arranged them to float above Rising, in an angle where he would not have to turn or bend his neck to see them.

It would be books about dark arts - which seemed mostly unread - two history books lacking a number of pages, a couple of faerie tales of a rather dark variation, where a happy ending were nowhere to be seen, a book about the town of Oaksbrook's history, lacking only a couple of the first pages, and then a final book, which were looking quite a bit older than the rest, and written in an ancient tongue. The mayor had a fascination with old books, even if he couldn't understand them, and once it had been confirmed that this were not a rebellious tale of some kind, Twisted had let it slide.

If Rising were to look in the later one, he'd find the text seemingly written with sticks of coal all over the pages, and not in the usual lines. It seemed more like a log book of some kind, with crude drawings of dark shades and wicker creatures on several pages. If he had any idea how to read Old Germane, he'd be able to tell that it were an outside observers logbook, describing his experiences being trapped in Harrowmark as he slowly lost his mind. The pages would show this deterioration the further it went along, but would have some good observations here and there, even in the more crazed state.

Still, he may elect to ignore that, and take another book. Several even if it pleased him. Wisp would take every book from every house and stack them next to him if that is what it took to keep him satisfied.

"Is there any other thing I could do for you? Perhaps you have some questions about our town I could answer? Wounds you need salved? Some paper and a quill perhaps, so that you could sent a letter to your friends, that they may know you are okay? It will take a long time to get there, but we could sent a messenger raven to Copperhagen, and they could have it teleported to wherever you came from. A few days maybe? Most of Harrowmark haven't talked with other countries for centuries, so it's not as smooth as it likely once were."

Edited by Blitz Boom
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@Blitz Boom Serenade nods, "Actually I did promise that I'd bring some doughnuts from Sugercube Corner. Dad needs to keep his energy levels up, and Mom well...she's got a sweet tooth." She leans in and whispers "I blame the Night Guard for that". She heads to the confectionery shop to purchase two dozen of their finest. 

 

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@Blitz Boom
"I just need a place to keep it until we he head back to Ponyville, I don't like carrying it around when it's not necessary." Ruby simply responded "So I guess that vault of yours  will do if it's somewhere close." "But ultimately it just needs to be somewhere with a lock, I know how to secure even the most non-secure locked place." or non-locked, but she knew that could bring up too many questions.

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

Nada listened well during the argument between Berry and Onache, in hopes of learning something knew, as she eventually did, but she acted like she wasn't listening and instead of just patiently waiting for it to calm down. For the question given to her, she thought for a second before shaking her head "Like I said I have never really been active with my kind, and now even less so, so I know that if they don't decide to do it themselves, someone like me can't convince the otherwise." "But I will attempt to show the ponies that not all of us are like the sister." "And for the young siren, I can't answer in her place, we haven't discussed it." 

 

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@Blitz Boom

Pringle's beard thing puffed up as a sign of aggression. He clearly didn't appreciate the insults from Anomaly.

"Pringle, you cannot eat the ladybug pumpkin thing. That is not polite."

"Eat the author instead!"

"Nah, who would do all the narrations then? Sure, Anomaly could do it, but the author is easier to mess with."

"That is true, but we could also mess with the weird nature lady."

"I don't know about doing that. We can't have a wedding on this island if she destroys it."

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@Blitz Boom

That was… well, quite a lesson. It is amazing how much Amethyst knows about refractions and it will come in handy when raising Shrimp. On the other hoof, having to learn all of this in such a short time is daunting. The siblings know of the things they have seen before: being clingy, glittery fire, gem consumption… those were given. Seeing Shrimp eat berries is familiar and learning about their diet will definitely help; the hoarding will be a little problematic though. Sen had the right call to suggest building a cubby hole in Omen’s room for the little refraction’s exclusive use but as they grow, that hoard stash will have to expand in space. Eventually, they will need to move away from it and provide an entire cave for him. 

Care for the little creature will be a challenging as well but like teaching a young longma to look after themselves, those skills can be taught with demonstration and repetition in good time. Filing those claws sounds a little like sharpening a spear tip only with the need to make those claws shorter. Lin’s work will be cut out for her but that may be the point. With her learning to teach Omen, those skills will eventually carry over to teaching Shrimp. Sen will likely have to also pick up a thing or two to help out later on. 

Both Sen and Lin listened intently with their eyes darting between Amethyst and Shrimp repeated, making mental notes when something important is brought up, which was pretty much everything told to them. 

“Fruits and vegetables, some gems on occasion. Need to instill discipline so our little friend wouldn’t be spoiled. Watch for hoarding behavior. Eventually start teaching Shrimp later on…”

“That’s quite a lot to remember. You really know all of that, Amethyst? Wow.” Lin sat there in quiet amazement, realizing how much she had to take in and internalize. It’ll be a lifelong commitment to ensure Shrimp grows up well.

“I think you’ve covered most of the things I’ve wanted to know about refractions. It’s going to be interesting to watch Shrimp grow up. Thank you very much for sharing what you know with us. It’ll be a very big help!”

“More than that, Omen will have a study partner in several months’ time!” Sen immediately turned to both Shrimp and Omen, looking giddy and excitable, even reaching one claw forward to stroke the refraction along the back. “Doesn’t that sound fun? You two get to learn together! Well, I could say we are all learning a little more together.”

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@Blitz Boom

Rising Dusk was mildly dreading the reveal of his saddle bag in the back of his mind.  If it was anything like the condition of his hoodie, then he can already see the shocked look of his local dry cleaner pony.  Sure enough, his presented saddle bag was a mess of swamp muck.  It appeared that a little work went into trying to clean it up even a little, but the word 'ruined' might be something he has to deal with in his future.  And he loved this saddle bag.  "Thank you," he told the mare with a smile.  There was too long of a gap in his memory from sleeping to trust his current memory of inventory.  Unbuckling each bag, he picked it up between his hooves and turned it upside down.  Giving it a few good shakes to dump it's contents onto the bed.

Pills, bags of herbs, books, glass orbs, a compass, piles of enchanted red paper, quills, bottles of ink, vials of various colored liquids, a magnifying glass, six gold medallions, and an ancient silver pendant in the shape of an Alicorn.  Running the inventory through his head, he gave the saddle bag a few more, much harder shakes.  A large vial with gold powder, an old tablet with ancient hieroglyphs and Scarlet's pocket watch came tumbling out.  Tilting the swamp smelly bag toward his face, he looked inside carefully before reaching in with a hoof.  His hoof went in much further than what appeared possible from the outside, all the way up to his shoulder before he finally pulled out the mysterious leather wrapped object from his desk.  Actually about a good three quarters of the content on the bed now shouldn't have fit in his saddle bag, part of why he loved it.  Enchanted with a bit of magic from his sister to make it larger on the inside than out. 

Satisfied with his inventory check, he picked it all up with his magic and filled it back into each of the saddle bags in a very organized manner.  Happily accepting the offered books she present for him.  Levitating the more ancient one closer to his face, he flipped through it at a quick pace, burning it into his memory.  Charcoal drawings and old writing.  He didn't know the language off hoof, but going to the library to cross reference the material later wouldn't be difficult.  The drawings though did more than what words could.  The darkness of Harrowmark seeping deeper even into the minds of other outsiders.  Not wanting to be rude though, he put the other books down.  Something to do later when more private time was presented to him.  "Thank you," he again told his caregiver.  Perking his ear in thought to her inquire for further services, he took the moment to take a personal inventory.  As far as he could tell, the only injury he sustained was the hit from the skeleton he used to avoid a further fatal blow.  Only a little sore, he rotated his shoulder just to make sure, and nodded. "Wounds are good.  Side effects of the poison and antidote have run their course,"   he assured her as best he could.  Being part of the O.M.I. may have spoiled him in a way.  The concept of snail mail was long past him for business purposes.  The detective chuckled, "No need for worry, when my time here is complete, I can summon a ride."

Finishing his meal, he levitated it to the table and pulled the covers off.  Not one to sit in bed all day, a walk would do him some good.  "Perhaps questions better answered by seeing," he told Wips and climbed out of bed.  Careful with each step until her got himself onto more sturdy four hoofs.

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@Rising Dusk

Whilst rising riffled through his bag, Wisp looked on with increasing curiosity at what he pulled out. Several of the items seemed weird to have with one in her eyes, and she questioned what uses he may have of them.

Mainly it were the gold dust, pills and the pocket watch that caused her pause, as Wisp did not see how these would help in a fight against a witch like Twisted. Were they perhaps magical in nature? Some of the other things like the medallions and the tablet certainly seemed like they may be, so this may also be the case for these other objects. It would not be the first time she had known of a watch being used for such purposes, though the outsider had a more benign or benevolent approach to the magic within if it were than what she were used to. These pills may be this antidote of which he spoke, so that were two of them potentially explained.

The gold dust however... She knew not of any spell that needed that, and whilst gold had value in many countries - including Harrowmark - being dust were not a form of currency that seemed practical.

And speaking of practicality, this bag he had were quite something, that it could hold this many items within. Had it a portal within perhaps? It would certainly explain the fact that Rising were able to put so much of his leg within it before, though if that were the case, this were a use of that kind of magic which Wisp had never seen before, and it were honestly quite intriguing. What wondrous things could they not do where Rising came from, if even a small thing as a bag could be made into something far more useful for whomever carried it?

There was one thing more that caught her eye though, and would be hard to take her eyes off until eventually it had gotten packed down with the rest of the items, and that were the silver pendant, showing the form of an alicorn. A sight which caused awe and wonder to dance in her eyes whenever she looked upon it. Wisp wished to ask of this, but as Rising were reading at a pace which made her think that he either only gazed upon the pictures, or had the memory befitting a god, she did not wish to interrupt him, and just kept her eyes on him as he flapped through the pages, eventually accepted the whole lot of books which had been presented to him, and placed them besides the bed.Hopefully whatever he had gleamed from the ancient book would be of some use to him, as the mayor had likely not found much use of it, since Wisp had once heard him in passing speak about not understanding what this book said. An issue they could have once solved by taking contact elsewhere, but with Twisted's and Suusha's influence over the centuries, communication with outsider had become difficult at first, and eventually next to impossible. There were a lot of fences to mend now that he were gone, and she did not envy others like the mayor who had to deal with it.

The outsider would have much to deal with too, certainly, though at least it sounded as if he would not need a messenger raven. Apparently, he had other means to contact his allies, and when the time were right, he would be on his way, and out of their lives. It were honestly not a nice thought, even though Wisp knew that he would have a home of his own to return to eventually.

4 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

Finishing his meal, he levitated it to the table and pulled the covers off.  Not one to sit in bed all day, a walk would do him some good.  "Perhaps questions better answered by seeing," he told Wips and climbed out of bed.  Careful with each step until her got himself onto more sturdy four hoofs.

Soon after that, Rising began to stir and tried to regain his footing. By how he stood, it were clear that he were not yet at his best, and quickly after he began to try and support himself, a pair of large pillows would hover from the bed and stand beneath his belly, ready to both push him up if it seemed he were about to fall, or worst case scenario, soften it, if his knees did give under and he got reacquainted with the floor.

"Please thread carefully, Dusk. Your wounds may not be deep, but you are weakened after your ordeal."

Wisp came over to him and would stand close as he walked along, in case he needed somepony to support himself against as he were trying to get a more stable and sturdy walk going. The pillows would keep being near until she were sure that he were not to fall, though she were still staying at his side in case he had need of her, which to some extend her certainly had, if he wished to see, rather than hear. With that, she supposed he meant that he wanted to see the town. Sadly there would be little to see, but she could present what they had, and answer what questions it may bring as they made their way towards the door to the main room of the house, which in turn would lead to the outside.

There would not be a whole lot to see that he would likely not have expected. All the houses were made of wood, the carts, tools and so forth looked new on occasion, yet the design were old and spoke further of their society stagnating for varied reasons, of which Twisted were likely a grand contributor.

There wouldn't be a single machine or mechanical piece in sight in fact. Everything that were workable in town would be done so by hoof or horn, and it were clear that normally, there were a gloomy vibe to the entirety of the small town, though it would be different now, as there were a party going on further into the town's square.

Long tables of food and large mugs of beverages, music (They seemed to prefer flutes and singing) a large pyre of either logs or wicker parts that had gotten tied up and torched, and what seemed like most citizens celebrating their freedom with joy. Even Thistle were there, and though she could neither eat nor drink, she seemed pleased with what she were seeing, and even to some extend, appeared to be enjoying herself.

Before they'd go outside though, Wisp had a question to ask of Rising.

"I hope you are okay with me asking, but that pendant before... Does it signal that were you are from, there are real alicorns? I have only heard of them in faerie tales."

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Hey, if you can secure it anywhere, I got my wagon too. I got some locks on that since, y'know, I wanna keep my stuff where they are. We'll look on it when we get there, but come on, just gonna pass Marley to let him know we're ditching the place, then right over to the portal room."

It would be quick to go over to Marley and let him know they were out, and after also grabbing a few thousand in bits from her part of their earned bits, they'd be getting to the desk again where the mages had set up portals before. It were a simple matter of just telling the clerk then that they wanted to leave, and then pass through the summoned portal, which would ditch them just outside Canterlot.

"Alright, the wagon's a few minutes that way. I made sure to ask that it got ditched somewhere good so I didn't have to go back into town to get hold of it after the auction. Come on, let's get going."

Halfway through the path, a certain issue with the new enchantment that Ruby had would show itself, as a large bear would come growling out of some bushes, and roar towards the two mares. It looked none too happy about them being there, and didn't right now know that one of the two mares ate beings like him for breakfast.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"I would say that you should prepare for it. After Thorax were turned, he sent messengers to a gathering of queens to try and turn them to his viewpoint, and to share in what fate he had picked, likely pushed on by the ponies. I fully expect them to do the same with you and the younger of your kind, to reduce the threats from below the waves.

Changelings and sirens being at one another's throats historically though, will require a push from either side. Perhaps I could attempt to accept at least you, and show my kind that there are ways to coexist, or at least not waste resources fighting one another. As this desert is stated to be a sanctuary where changelings can find shelter and safety, you can see why it would be in the best interest of everyone if there were some degree of attempted cooperation there too, yes?"

"I'm not trying to be paranoid here, but it sounds like there's still something you're gaining out of this you're not telling us."

Berry had finally managed to clear the metaphorical hoof from her muzzle and gotten something out, though much as she attempted to reassure that it wasn't just paranoia talking, it were clear that there were a good deal of suspicions on her mind as she asked this. Hence, it were truly a paranoid one, though at least Onache were not slighted by this. Frankly, it were the first time the pony had said anything that made her appear smart to the queen.

"If I gain the favor of their allies, as well as push for an ending to hostilities which would cause casualties for anyone stuck in the middle, the ponies will be more receptive to my claim of this piece of land, and less likely to try and chase me down for past deeds. It is self serving, yet I see no side losing if it succeeds. I can't imagine that you wanted nothing to do with draining ponies, yet would be comfortable to stand on one side of a warfront between you and us. Would you, siren?"

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@Moonlit

There were a pretty long line at the bakery, but they'd be able to get to the front fast enough, so that Serenade could gain her wares in time. Ziggy bought a banana muffin, a doughnut with shiny sprinkles on them, and a nut surprise brownie, with the third one being a bribe for Fah'lina, who were currently slung across the zegasus's back, and taking a nap. it had been an eventful evening and morning, so she could do with a fast one, which were honestly for the best. No risk of her causing trouble in the bakery this way.

"Hey, we made it, yey! Come on, let's get to the train before it gets here."

Ziggy made some *choo choo* sounds and started to walk at a semi-fast pace towards the station, with an eager look in her somewhat tired eyes. The trip itself were likely going to be boring, but the destination certainly made her feel as giddy as she could be, considering the circumstances.  Yet that would take a good deal longer if they missed the train, so... On they went.

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@EQ_Theta

Shrimp purred as he got stroked over his head. He hadn't much idea about what were going on with all the talking and stuff, but he did know that he liked this feeling of the hard claw running over the soft hair and snake-like scaled on his head. Funny to think on how not too long ago, he would have bit Sen if the longma even tried getting near him. He still did so on occasion, yet that were mostly to play. Sometimes as part of an ambush, as the refraction's idea of play could also be described as a bitey version of tag, and you shouldn't warn who you were going for, lest they start to avoid getting tagged in the first place.

Other times, he were just in a bit of a mood and hissed at everypony.

"I do wish there were certain things I could share right now dearie, but I have to clear that first to ensure I keep my friend from thinking less of me. Although I do know some more things that might be of use to you that I do think I can share, however that is more in regards to once your little friend here gets older, and I wish not to burden you with too much at once. Please, if anything does happen with him that makes you concerned, or you simply wish to have a chat and a spot of tea, feel free to seek me out again. I'm sure I can make time for either."

It would be nice to have somepony who would listen to her about this. Refractions were such a rare sight in Equestria these days that most did not even know of them, much less cared. To them, they would simply think it as another story of a breed of dragons. Simpletons honestly, but let that be as it were. Right now she had an audience of beings whom wanted and needed that information as time went on, and Amethyst would have something peculiar to talk with her old friend about. Seeing a hatchling this far from any others of its kind, considering how insanely protective they were of their eggs, struck Amethyst as a highly important thing to bring up at least. Perhaps once these would have gone, she would send a geode to the west and see what response she may get.

Omen in the meantime, looked down at the purring refractions, then slowly back at Sen, thinking on some of what she had just hears, and what Sen had ended up saying. She hardly got anything out of the first part though. Something about Shrimp not eating meat and other diet stuff came through, along with him apparently hoarding things, which she had seen a few times whenever he were done draining the color from a gem. He seemed to want to curl around them and try to seem bigger to get others away from his treasure there, though so far, they had managed to get him away without him winching too much. Perhaps she should find him some shiny things like those and give them to him sometimes? She weren't really sure whatever or not it were a good or bad thing. There had been many big words around that part, along with other parts. Enough to mainly just cause her to give up and just keep what bits she did understand, and add that to a more permanent part of her mind.

More focus were on how apparently she had to learn things along with Shrimp? Some details there were pretty shady too, but she knew that he could say two words, and that it sounded like the mare said he'd get smarter, so perhaps this were more teaching, like the spelling lesson earlier from Lin? She could use that. It had been helpful, and something that Omen would have to train for a while, yet desperately needed.

"So Shrimp will learn to read too? Sounds smart. Important. I will look forward to it."

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

"Oh, you can totally still mess with Rose. Try to put a pickle on a string, and just have it fly around. She goes crazy for pickles."

And you keep your lizard away from me. If he eats me, this entire thread ends, and there won't be a wedding.

"Hey, there'd still be one just because you weren't there, weird hairless monkey man."

And the point when it's not described and therefor no one will ever see or hear about it?

The author felt triumphant as the draconequus grumbled and admitted defeat.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I'll get you for this another time."

Whilst all this went on, Anomaly had ignored Pringle, who were likely none too happy about that, and were big enough to start to chomp on Anomaly like a juicy larvae.

"Wait, what?"

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@Blitz Boom

Lucid opened a portal to where Rose was at and then threw a pickle that would run around the room and be hard to catch.

"Go get the pickle guy."

Pringle looked at Anomaly for a few more seconds before attempting to eat her.

"Pringle! You don't know where she's been!"

"She's been on the island, so of course he does."

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@Blitz Boom At Sugercube, Serenade purchase a dozen doughnuts, a dozen muffins, four crispy treats, two shakes and a Hay Sandwich. Oh and two large triple fudge brownies. She giggles, and they both make the train on time. Serenade pays for the tickets and she splurges for the deluxe overnight room. Serenade really hopes the trip is uneventful, and Goddess willing is.

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@Blitz Boom 

 

Oh no!  I’m really sorry. I’m so bad at directions I ended bringing us in a complete circle.  Let’s try this again.  This time I’ll have myself a chocolate for focus,” Penny said, levitating a piece of chocolate out of her saddlebag.  The chocolate was white with bits of blue in it, and when she bit into it, it could be seen that it was filled with a gooey filling with a delicious scent of blueberries.  The stuff inside had a faint glow to it, so it was clearly magical in nature.  “You never know what kind of chocolate you’ll need in a day, which is why I always keep a variety on me.” 

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@Blitz Boom

“I’m sure we will come back some time, Amethyst. Between learning more about refractions and drinking delicious tea, this has been an enjoyable change of pace. We’ll respect your friend’s wishes for privacy in those delicate matters. To think all of this happened, meeting and spending time like this because of Filigree…”

It was a funny thought: the threat Filigree brought on to Equestria bringing together unlikely allies was still something neither Sen nor Lin could fathom. If there wasn’t a threat, things would’ve become much more mundane but the siblings getting to learn of the world outside their home in a new light was nice. Befriending ponies was something neither of them would ever expect in their lifetimes and now here they are hobnobbing with someone far above their station on the social ladder. If it were any other instance, no pony would ever give them the time of day.

Knowing all of this would do well to leave a positive impression on the village elder once they share their stories and the longma back home would be a little more open to understanding the world outside isn’t all bad. Of course, both of them haven’t forgotten the likelihood of situations like the kitsune of Neighpon ever coming to pass when outside contact happens. A delicate process indeed but this will need to be eased in. Perhaps if Rosa’s situation ends well, there might be some hope. This will indeed be a very odd tale once they get back to Elder Ghilan, maybe even the village children will be interested in hearing a tale unlike the usual ones told around a fire. 

“Learning to read will be a start, Omen. There’s so much to learn though I’m afraid Lin and I will only be able to teach you what we know. You’ve seen where we live; a simple place like a forest pales in comparison to a real school or library where you could find a book about something Lin or I wouldn’t know about.”

Sen took his cup and took a sip, the tea having cooled down after saying his piece. He let out little smile and evidently enjoyed his beverage despite not being familiar with the taste. This is definitely a far cry from his last extended stay in Canterlot. 

“Now that we can settle this matter with the jeweled heart, I wonder what Rosa is going through with the guards? Maybe we could go back and-”

“Maybe we could have a look at you right now.”

“Lin, I am feeling fine at the moment.”

“Not when you’ve been touching that jeweled heart without protection. Amethyst says we need to be sure you aren’t at risk of having crystals grow over you. That is especially true since you can’t control your healing magic we don’t know for certain if that heart is reactive or dormant. Better to be safe than sorry.”

“I guess. Amethyst? How is this going to work out?”

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@Blitz Boom 

Misty sat down on a couch. "Yeah doesn't look good, honestly even I'm not sure why they'd team up. Maybe sapphire convinced him."

Upstairs, Astral was pacing from one side of the room to the other. "She's lying!"

"If she was I'd not had been there as long as I was."

Astral got up close to him, looking away and grumbling. "Why would you help them?" She stuttered in her anger, holding back just punching him

"They desired their own bodies back, I'd figure if they accomplished that with my help, they'd stop hurting others."

Astral stepped back, grumbling, her eyes glowed as her ears perked up. "Did they follow you?"

"No- why should that matter?"

"The barrier triggered again." Iron looked at Astral surprised. "Well I suppose you didn't know then."

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

"Well seeing as we don't have much to do for now, as far as I know- I can tag along."

General Wing stood up, walking over to the door. "Might need help finding it though."

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

Opal nodded and smiled "I have my own errand to do anyway." She smirked at chariot, who gave a weak smile to her. "hopefully this one can be dealt with soon."

She went back up, instead of returning to the generals, she went outside and teleported somewhere-

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

When Astral went back down to see the door, she instead saw Opal standing there when she opened it.
"Hello mam' I have a few questions about this thing, called the Element of Greed."

Astral glared at Opal, sensing something powerful from her. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

Opal narrowed her eyes. "Well if you don't I suppose I can just tell the guards here there's an earth pony using magic." She smirked at Astral.

She stepped through the barrier as Opal walked back down the steps "I gave it away to two ponies, called Null and Void."

Opal smiled and turned around. "That was so easy wasn't it?" She said, before teleporting away.

This conversation wouldn't go unheard by Chow, seeing how close it was to the door.

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

@Dji

Zealous turned around to her. "To be fair I might've not been that door in particular. Would've been too easy." He chuckled to himself as he entered first into the place.

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