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Blitz Boom

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(edited)

@Blitz Boom

Getting his hoofing was a rather embarrassing ordeal.  Even though he felt himself mentally prepared to depart the bed, his body wasn't quite on the same page.  Nothing ached any more than his sore shoulder, but he was left with a lack of energy for his muscles to perform tasks they weren't ready for.  A little lagged behind, so he wasn't going to be running a marathon anytime soon, but a walk around the small town would do good to remind his muscles how to work again.  A few quick stretches and shakes of his legs were enough to convince the unicorn he could at least leave the front door without collapsing to the floor.  "Just need to get the blood flowing a bit," he assured her with a smile and slowly made his way to the front door.  No pep in his step or a trot to produce, he wasn't getting anywhere fast, but at least it was under his own power.

There were a hoof full of questions he could gain by asking the mare here in the room, but as a pony watcher, he's always found the effective method in just watching.  Twisted and Lily were terrible examples of the ponies in Harrowmark, so he'd need to see for himself how they interacted with each other on his own.  The town outside the room was indeed what he'd call 'simple', very comparable to Equestria maybe a hundred or so years ago.  A darker more simple Ponyville if he wanted to put his hoof on a comparison, well based on the old pictures he's seen of it when Sweet Apple Aches first rolled in.  Or so he read.  There was a bright corner of the dark village though that was filled with celebration and what appeared to be a feast or party.  A sight that he'd figure was a rare thing to happen in a town like this before the fall of Twisted Gears.

Before he could head out to observe the party though, Wisp had an inquiry other than further services to him.  Alicorns in fairy tales?  The detective supposed it could make sense if as much ancient knowledge had been blocked from study by Twisted Gear.   Surely a being such as Princess Celestia who has been raising the Sun every day for the past thousand years was known to even a country like this, at least in the past.  Rising Dusk nodded his head to her innocent question, "Indeed.  Where I'm from, there are five Alicorns.  Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestia and who raises the Sun each morning.  Her younger sister Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria, who raises the Moon each night and guards our dreams.  Princess Twilight Sparkle, Equestia's princess of Friendship and barer of the Element of Magic.  And Princess Cadance, ruler of the Crystal Empire with her Alicorn foal daughter, Flurry Heart."

Edited by Rising Dusk
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(edited)

Dammit! Storm Button thought, sprinting towards the town of Ponyville, now in clear sight. I stayed there way too long! Sweat dripped down her neck. Realizing her mind was running wild, she stopped sprinting immediately and began to conjure up peaceful, happy thoughts. Sighing contently, she slowed to a swift walk.

Making sure she hadn't spilled any of her load in her mad dash, Button entered the town, which was in evident disrepair. The hell? She pondered, looking past the construction scaffolds and girders for her workplace, Sugarcube Corner. Spotting it finally, she began to run. Unfortunately, this caused some of her load to fall. Noticing everypony else was preoccupied, Button sighed and picked the sugar bags up and calmly dropped off her luggage, noting her boss was seemingly not present. 

I need a coffee! Jumping joyously down the streets, she entered her favourite coffee shop, Sloppy Joe's. Normally she'd commune with a barista, but today was different. A stallion she had no recollection of stood there.

"Excuse me, sir? Might I ask what your name is? I don't recognize you." She mutters, giving a searching look.

Edited by Storm Button
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@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"I'm, I'm, um ... I'm fine," Aurora replied in a high pitched tone. She doesn't like fighting and was shaking like a leaf behind the cart. She had her head tucked under her wing in an effort to block out the vicious snarls from the Timberwolves. "I uh ... I just need a minute."

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

"Thank you for your honesty," Karmic said eventually. She was holding on tight enough to not fall off of Enzo and not get jostled around too much. "I don't know any necromancers, I know that much. Atzy might but she is being ... quiet at the moment, which is a relief," she added and gave a small chuckle which was most likely not heard by Enzo. "You do know I'm a seer, right? Even though it's unpredictable."

@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"The Grief Ritual ... I have not heard of this," Twilight said slowly as she examined the title and pages before and after it. She then gained an excited grin and squealed a small bit at the realisation of new information popping up. "Lots of warnings and a few ingredients but nothing I can't handle! This is going to be exciting!"

@FanOfManyShows

WATTS MECHANO

"Yes it would have been," Watts chuckled to herself and followed him inside the shop. It was small, and there were shelves lining the wall while a single library of shelves was in the middle of the floor. A counter top was along the back wall where there was a door leading further into the building. All the shelves were filled with knick knacks and gizmos and gadgets and Watts laughed excitedly. She zoomed past Zealous to see what each item was about in the small shop.

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@Blitz Boom

Ruby to her usual manner didn't say much, and just simply followed Spicy as quick as she could with the bag of money.

Ruby was first bit confused when the bear appeared, but then remembered the necklace, and though for a short second, the solution would be simple, just take off the necklace, she could handle the curse long enough to chase the bear away, in fact, her added strong emotion would probably make the bear even more terrified, but she needed an explanation for Spicy, since she would surely notice it and put two and two together. She came up with an excuse and then took off the necklace, (the eye too) sending a soundless threat to the bear as she did.
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"I'm not a tool of war." Nada simply stated, one could take it to mean whatever they thought it meant "And I'm not fully sure if I understand what exactly you're asking me." "But I will make it clear where I stand." "I don't care what has happened in the past because I know nothing about it, all I care about is that I can settle down and maybe even have a audience once more." "I have nothing against you or your kind, I don't even know what you are after all, so as long as you are friendly towards me, I have no reason to not be friendly to you." "I also couldn't care less about coming to your desert, so you don't need to worry about that either." "I can try to tell others of my kind to leave the mind control behind, but i won't try to force them, because I'm not capable of doing that." "And if there was to be a war of any kind between anyone, I won't take any part on it, and will do what I have done for the last millennia, hide."

 

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@FanOfManyShows

Before the alarms went off, Chow cringed a little from the reasoning that Iron brought forth. Sure it made a great deal of sense for at least Sapphire, since if she were just a soul trapped in that gem of hers, then yeah, of course she'd want to get physical so she could get back home with her family. Hay, Astral would probably be thrilled if she turned out to get back alive without a hitch, but that seemed to also include getting Emerald back, which... Ergh, touchy subject there.

On one hoof, it'd sure be good if she had a body of her own, rather than steal others. Partially because they could then lock her up properly.  But the kicker here were that her powers were limited by what sorta vessel she were roaming around with, far as he'd gathered, so what if she got a strong, permanent body? What were to stop her from going on and do something mental after that? Sapphire? Sounded like the two of them had some history that ended with Emerald in her bauble, but if they were teaming up now, who were to say that she'd be able to do something a second time? And that were if she'd even try, and wouldn't just try to take over the country with Emerald.

Urgh, all of these if's and maybe's were dealing his head in. He'd need some sort of info on this to give his two bits on the matter.

Of course, there weren't time to ask that before apparently some sort of alarm went of, and they had to dash over to see who had potentially followed Iron, And that somepony turned out to be: A guard. Solar from the looks of it, and asking in to the element of greed. Not a biggie, right? Yeah, no, it were. Otherwise, she wouldn't have threatened Astral with exposing the mare's magical prowess. Chow wanted to interject something there, but hadn't the luck for it before Astral just spilled the beans, and the mare fizzled away. Darn magic users and their teleporting shenanigans.

"Alright, gonna say here that whoever this were, are gonna end up being bad news for all of us. Thinking we should report this one to the main honcho's aye? And uhm... Not to be a stickler or nothin' Astral, but it ain't really much of a threat to tell the guards anymore, is it? The generals have endorsed ya doing your thing when we chased down Warlock. Pretty sure that long as you don't start sending zombies down the street, you're golden.

Now, before I start getting flack here, I wanna ask something 'bout Sapphire. She ain't... Y'know, going dark side, right Iron? Like, if she got a holster again, would you think she'd keep you lot safe, or pick her sister? Something tells me that Emerald's not gonna stay kosher no matter what happens, so if it came down to it, would Sapphire swing the axe, if you catch my drift?"

Basically he were asking whatever or not Sapphire were with them, or with Emerald, because so far, there weren't a united front between them. It were either or.

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@FanOfManyShows

"That's the spirit. Now come on over here, there's a big map that's used for strategy stuff somewhere around... Ah, here it were."

Tidal Wave pulled a small crystal plate out from a nearby shelf, and put it down on the table. Pushing the top of it would make the plate light up and fold out a large, see-through map of Equestria over itself.

"We used to have a real map, but it weren't all that effective once folks had to figure out tactics. Y'know, folding got to be a pain, moths, all that sorta stuff. So a few decades ago, Screecher's predecessor managed to make what he called a *Projector map*, and it's been a real good help since. We can place all sorts of things to work with us too. I'd show you the crystals for that, but that ain't important right now. What you need to check out is up here."

She pointed to the north coast. Poking at it a few times would cause it to zoom in on it, and show a rather large town (about three times as large as Ponyville) with a massive tower rising from the water itself, along with some other rough caricature of houses. No living creatures or many details were shown though, so this weren't a live map of any sorts.

"This here's Shark Bay, and that tower's where the leadership hangs out. My turf essentially. Oh, and don't get too comfy thinking this map shows everything for the record. Few towns around that ain't updated. We keep meaning to find some sorta way to update this thing, but... Eh, we never got 'round to it."

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@FanOfManyShows

The medical transport would get Warlock to a large room deep underground, where the light would come from baubles hanging near the ceiling. Warlock could likely tell that it were heavily reinforced against magical attacks too, and the long line of guards lining the hall to get here, should also tell him of the importance they put on keeping him from escaping somehow.

"Alright, set him down here on the bed please, and uhm... Y-Yes, secure the chains at the hooks."

There would be some hooks to put the chains in that would keep Warlock down, soon as he'd gotten secured. He could still move his head and neck around though.

"I'm uhm, s-sorry for this, but it is General Screecher's orders."

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@Moonlit

Ziggy would certainly enjoy the train trip, though it wouldn't be as uneventful as Serenade had hoped for.

It were nothing major though. Simply put, Ziggy would just open the window soon as they started driving, put her head out of there, and let the wind flap through her head with her tongue hanging out.

Being curious, Fah'lina had eventually climbed up her head and tried to take part in this. However, the strong winds from the speed they were driving had almost blown her off and after quickly regaining her grip in Ziggy's short mane, she had quickly crawled in again with her fur standing tall out of shock. She'd go into a corner far away from said window for the time being, and eye it with suspicion.

As for the zegasus, she wouldn't stick her head back in before a large pamphlet would fly by and smack her in the face. Seemed to be for another branch of the Apple family's farms, as well as a great face cover until it'd glide off Ziggy's windblown, exited face.

"Hehe, trains are fun. How're you two doing?"

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@Seamore Sandwich

"No worries dearie, and I do agree that you never know what might happen in a given day, so having some backup plans in case something does not go as simple as one hoped can be quite wise."

Scarcity smiled as she said this. Whilst it may be possible to think of what she said as regarding Penny and whatever situation might require the presence of Brick, it were more widespread than that. It included her also thinking of her connections, the things she had at her disposal, and the very many things that she could arrange to happen, with little more than a small message sent down the right channels, and the correct amount of currency for whomever fulfilled it.

Of course, Penny wouldn't know any of that. Scarcity were a master at covering her tracks, and making sure that things went in her favor. And as long as she provided some degree of help procuring and delivering information on some troublesome individuals or items at times for the ambassador, she could enjoy her status as a hidden asset, which would be kept from constant scrutiny, no matter suspicions, as she were worth more to them active than imprisoned. They still had no evidence to hold against her of course, but she did enjoy this extra layer of security.

Her job were more than simply knowing things though. She had to get talented beings for varied jobs, and unfortunately, sometimes that did require her to go against the best interest of the ambassador, generals, and even the princesses. Like if say... She had a need for a particular recent prisoner from the cells here in Canterlot that had gotten rather close to overtaking the country, and paid a high profile gang of hit and run digging thieves from the far north to extract said prisoner to a place of her own convenience. An unfortunate situation for Equestria, yet she were confident that in said scenario, she could contain the tyrannical sides of the individual, and make her a useful pawn instead, under threat of vanishing off the face of the earth without a trace. A surprisingly easier thing to accomplish than one might think.

That aside though,. they had some way to go now that it seemed that Penny had her mind set on the task at hoof, so one should focus on that, rather than potential contacts she may have to ask for preparing a possible team of diamond dogs for something in the somewhat near future.

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@EQ_Theta

"You shouldn't worry, I'm simply going to run a fine comb over you, along with some of the liquid I use against the changeling emeralds, just in case. A moment please."

Amethyst would go over to her shelves and take down a few of the vials she had used whilst being freed earlier on, when they had all first met. After that, she would leave the room and go to somewhere else to get hold of a few combs, ranging from fine-tooth to tick ones, as well as a few brushes. Sen's hair were different from a pony's, and she didn't know what sort of feel and thickness it actually had, so it seemed better to bring a few options.

"Now then, could you be a dear and lay yourself stomach down on the table? I can start to go over things from there. And do tell me if the brushes or combs feels like they're pulling hair out. I'm not attempting to make you bald."

She'd attempt to be gentle with this treatment, but Sen may feel uncomfortable being treated sort of like a groomed dog getting ready for a showing. It were likely not the best thing to go through for him, yet it were necessary to be able to really get through this and find out if something had started to take root on the longma. She had doubts though. It should have shown by now if it were, so it were likely that the heart had been inactive. That, or that healing ability they mentioned had some sort of influence. Amethyst were certainly not sure, as this kind of thing were not something that usually came in over these kinds of things.

Starting with his front legs to see if there were something from the point where he had touched the heart, Amethyst would hum along and slowly brush him. This were likely going to take quite a while, but better to be safe than sorry after all.

"I have seen schools. Many books. Some in trash cans. I can find some later. It will help?"

The books did not always look too good, and had stains, but perhaps they could still be read and help them when eventually they needed to educate Shrimp and Omen. The Ki'Nathar knew of where several schools were that she had looked at through the last few decades, and they all eventually threw out things like this, so she could go find some without much of a problem. More than likely anyway, though it would be random what they had to work with in that situation. A more safe bet were likely to go with library books and then just make sure that Shrimp didn't chew on the supplies, and that Omen wouldn't be tempted to eat them.

"Rosa... Check up now?"

She'd open a gate and wander through it, then another one that would be at an angle so it'd be hard to tell what were going on, especially since the gate on that end were only large enough for Omen to stick her head through, but some of Stargazer's form jumping a little in place, along with a gasp from his muzzle, were hard to avoid biting notice in if you looked. Which Sen also could, as the gates were in front of him. Though it wouldn't be long before the view would be blocked with Omen sticking her head through and looking around on what went on on the other side.

"For the love of Luna, would you stop doing that? We're trying to have an interrogation here."

"Unnerving, right? *sigh* We're doing okay here Omen, you don't have to worry, or check up on me."

"Big chains. Why are they glowing?"

"I will tell you another time. Now please, leave us. This isn't getting any easier when you're here."

Rosa sounded tired, and somewhat broken. Whatever were going on, it had to be draining for him.

Omen would poke back through and close the gates behind her unless Lin had something she wished to do or see for herself how it were going. If she did poke her head through, she'd see a bundle of chains lying on the table, which had likely been used to holding something, or somepony. He'd be unscathed on a bench, tired but seemingly not harmed, in a room with only him and Stargazer, who were frankly looking a little on edge. No wonder when you couldn't even get an interrogation going in peace anymore, on top of the whole thing with his mother being a traitor who had escaped their usually secure cells.

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@Lucid_Nightlight

The room he'd throw the pickle into were dark and full of torn pieces of plastic that were getting vaporized constantly, by the furious faerie-like creature. Her dark eyes would focus on the portal as it were opened, and Rose were prepared to strike through it and demolish them, but when the pickle came into view, everything just seemed to halt in there, and the dakrness began to retract.

"Pickle!"

The excited, gleeful tone of Rose's more kind voice would be heard as she lost focus on most things going on around her and jumped after said pickle to eat it. Around her, the rips and tears in the air were still striking the pieces of plastic that were left, but she herself had gone back to a more happy, cheerful persona that kept jumping after the pickle like a cat after a laser pointer. She'd be busy with that for a time until she'd eventually get hold of it and eat it.

"Hey cool, that sorta worked. Gotta try that another time."

Meanwhile, Anomaly were getting eaten, and her only response to the chunks being taken were giggling as both parts were taken, and new ones grew back near instantly.

"Hehehe, it hurts. Like, real bad. Do it again!"

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@Dji

"Y'know, this is kinda adorable."

Happy grinned down on her, and put his sickles back in his belt. After that, he'd transform back to his pony disguise, not wanting to be seen like he really were just yet. Honestly, even when accepted, he might not want to, but... Yeah, that were going to be a weird one to go through once he were eventually faced with the choice.

"Soon as you're ready champ, we'll get back on the row. And don't you worry none, like you've seen, Happy Hour is here to keep ya safe and sound."

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@Dji

"You sound more like an oracle then a seer to me. Oracles have sight that spans far beyond that of any seer, but few can control their burden. That is what we were told when I were a kitten at least.

What I mean with seer, is one who can control what they see. The tomes once spoke of creatures that looked as you, but with stripes, as often having the sight? Do you know of them."

The isle that Enzo had been trapped on were seen below them as they flew past it, and the sphinx responded to the sight of the large, overgrown temple to their left with a deep, guttural growl. He had no love of this prison of his, and gods be willing, the only creatures who'd get stuck in there again would be whatever dragons remained of those who had trapped him to begin with. They deserved no lesser.

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@Dji

Cherish were somewhat disturbed by the level of enthusiasm the princess showed in regards to this, but she did appreciate that she seemed on board to try this. They'd have to prepare though, and likely have to go to the old castle to finish it once the time were right, as that were the true tether on Cherish's soul.

"I will guard you if you need to move out to finish it. This area isn't safe enough."

Cherish had a small fizzling out episode as the guard spoke. Last had been standing silently for so long that the ghost had honestly forgotten she were even here.

Unnerving in a sense, yet the offer were a good one, just in case. You never knew what might happen during this, or what sort of ingredients that the mare would need. Having an extra pair of well armed hooves to make sure the princess were saved might well be sorely needed.

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@Storm Button

The large earth pony stallion turned to face the one who had entered the shop, as he were called out. He had been rearranging some of the coffee signs there as he had accidentally caused some of them to fall down after he had repaired the roof above it. An unfortunate turn of events, but alas, such were the burden of his work sometimes.

RwesyXt.png

"Welcome to Sloppy Joe's madame. It is I, the great Alonsus Merrywind, and I am pleased to see a new face as lovely as yours."

His voice were deep and soothing, and in his eyes were shown a warmth and welcoming spirit that were befitting of one who had not yet been broken by working in the service industry. By how he poked himself in the chest with one of his large, meaty hooves as he spoke his own name, his rank posture, and the way he had said it however, it also came through that he were rather boastful in nature.

The stallion were quite the sight in this town where looks were scarcely thought of by others than Rarity. His coat were brushed and clean, mane and tail wavy, lustrous in color and full of thick hair, and even from a distance, one could see the muscles rippling beneath the skin of the large earth pony. His beard were trimmed and thick from the looks of things, and the faint smell of lavender and spices spoke of him using perfume or deodorant of some kind. Around his neck, hung a gold-plated peace symbol in a sturdy string, which seemed to have had better days, but were nonetheless polished and hung proudly around his muscular neck.

"I find it impossible to think that I could forget having met you before, so truly, you must be correct. Please, speak of your name to Alonsus, and speak of what need brings you here. Coffee mayhaps? Or have your heart set upon one of our warm dishes?"

It might be mainly a coffee shop, but to accommodate things, they had a kitchen out back that were taken care off by a former Coast Guard. The food were rather good, and they had some who had deliveries done to them several times a week, so it were not a bad investment to have either. Also, it helped them attract customers in the late hours, when coffee and doughnuts were not enough on their own to get them much business.

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@Catpone Cerberus

The bear got the message loud and clear, and would flee with a yelp, leaving a confused Spicy to stand with a card in her hoof that smelled oddly of something similar to gunpowder.

"Awh, and here I was hoping to show off this thing. Well, guess that's for another time then."

She stashed the card back in her wing, and shrug her shoulders.

"Oh well, there'll be another shot. You know, long as you keep that necklace on. Don't think I weren't paying attention to that. I'm a poker player, we see stuff to really get a read on folks, and that little twinkle leaving ya weren't lost on me.

So, care to share whatever's going on with ya? You got some weird mojo curse on ya that keeps animals away?"

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@Catpone Cerberus

"War isn't as easy to avoid as you might think, and neither is being part of it. I see with my own eyes that this pony is following you, and I imagine other ponies will eventually become friends of yours? A war between sirens and changelings would trap them in the middle, as both sides sought to use them to increase their power and gain an edge. You would either help the ponies then, or have to leave them behind, and accept you could have stopped their demise.

Perhaps you can accept that, and just wait until you could find new friends, but my point still stands, that it would be hard to not have something to lose or gain in a fight like that. I would think that all would be in favor of that never being something to have to worry about."

"...Alright, that's a fair point. Best for us all if nopony's gonna end up getting offed by a race war."

"We're on the same page on this at least then. All I ask for you, Nada, is that we attempt to be on the same page on things as well. It will help both of our causes, and could eventually lead to a truce that the ponies would wish for as badly as our kind sometimes would. No bloodshed, no warring, and more than likely, adoration for you on the side of the ponies, for spearheading such a thing. If you are trying to integrate, that could go far in making them accept and care for you, as they do their own, rather than just be told that they had to live with your presence, no matter how they felt about it."

Onache were serving her own ends here more than anything, but she did wish to stress that her plans would include wins for everyone involved, to make this more of an agreeable situation for the siren. If the lot of them - including the pony - would be able to set aside their differences and show the ponies that three races who generally have no love for another could get along, it would be a golden feather for all of them. The ponies could see this as the beginning of the end of a fight between races that spanned many continents around the world, and which had taken countless equine lives from attacks by either sirens or changelings. Nada would be praised as a golden star of her kind, who would have proven her want to live peacefully among old enemies, and squelched a lot of paranoia that would surely come from a siren trying to get into their town.

And as for herself? As stated, Onache needed to have her claim for the land validated, and her existence approved off. She had only a single drone right now and stood insanely weak if she were attacked by any front, and as such, her only smart option here were to take part in making a truce to secure peace for everyone involved. It were the only smart choice when it came to her survival. She'd never be praised as Nada likely would, but she cared little for that either. Let the siren have the glory, and then in return, she could simply reap the benefits. That would also include having to be friendly towards a siren of all things, but... Urgh, it were something she would simply have to get used to.

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@Rising Dusk

"...You're from Equestria?"

Wisp were honestly surprised about this, as she had not thought hat a country this far from them would ever send aid. She had thought him to be from Germane, or potentially Norneigh, yet now it seemed that their savior were from shores far, far beyond their own. That he had come all the way from there to save their small country just made her look upon him with even more awe and respect though. The dedication he must have to seek an evil this far from his home were something out of this world.

"My great, great grandmother came from there. My own grandmother sometimes told of the stories she had passed along to her, of the land of light and warmth, where no gods reigned and the dead stayed so. I did not think it also contained these fabled creatures of wings and horns. We've never had those in Harrowmark.

Well... Not that we know off. Much of our story have been taken from us, and contact to many other places in Harrowmark were strictly forbidden by Twisted. I cannot say what might have been that he didn't wish to be shared.

Still... Are you certain that the sun and moon have been risen by these alicorns? I often look to the sky, and not once have it fallen upon a pony drawing the moon across it. The moon simply are, and slowly draws along the sky in the night, as the sun does during the day. Perhaps they simply put it on motion, and it then takes the round? I wish no offence, and I trust what you say, Gr- I mean, Dusk. It is just that I have never seen something of the sort you speak of.

Though with five of these mythical beings, surely the power of Equestria is undeniable enough to do what you say, and I have then simply missed it."

Putting things in motion would make more sense, as otherwise the princesses would have to always be constantly flying around the world, but Wisp were certain that whatever or not this were the case, Dusk were not lying to her about neither the alicorns, nor this raising of the sun and moon. Having to swallow that some equines had these godlike abilities though, were a tough one that would require her a bit of time to digest. Equestria must truly be a place of immense power if their rulers could do something like this.

Edited by Blitz Boom
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@Blitz Boom

"Pringle! Spit her out or no chocolate covered strawberries from the chocolate fountain."

Pringle would then spit her out. He really liked strawberries covered in chocolate.

"Pringle says you didn't taste good anyway. He doesn't really care for pumpkin, which is weird because pumpkin tastes amazing."

"So... like, when will the wedding happen?"

"I have no idea."

You've been standing there for weeks! Maybe a month!

"It hasn't been that long. It's only been a few minutes."

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@Blitz Boom Serenade is too busy reading a book to hear Ziggy, she's munching on the Hay Sandwich and flipping the pages. She's also humming a tune. She stops, then slides one of the crispy treats over to Fah'lina, then resumes eating and reading. She is in THE ZONE.

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@Blitz Boom

“Alright, let’s get this done. I don’t want to be the next victim of a dangerous inanimate object if we can help it.”

Sen let out a sigh in resignation and helped prepare the table with Lin, moving all of the objects on it to one side and lying prone, waiting for the Amethyst to begin her examination. As the mare went over him with her wide array of combs. He has seen such things before but do ponies really need that many? There was much mention of having one as a necessity but more than one sounded like it was too much. Combing was combing and it seemed like having just one is enough. This was one of those things he’d likely never understand. 

As one stroke went over his hide after another, each bristle felt like a tiny spike just inches away from burying itself in. He may have a little bit of hair on the outside but those were tiny. The majority of his exterior was dull brown scales. He tried not to wince though some strokes were more irritable and painful than others. Throughout the whole process, he remained silent as to not worry Amethyst. Maybe the combs were less for moving hair out of the way and more for finding any spots where gems were growing. He might not be able to see them but a comb would pick up on tiny bumps invisible to the eye. 

Meanwhile, Lin thought about what Sen had mentioned earlier and wanted to add more to it. Omen gave her reply and was happy to know about her initiative to look for more books. Frankly, it was a win-win situation… mostly. Why anyone would throw books away is an odd thing to learn about but the smell would certainly be something to not look forward to.

“Thanks, Omen. The books will be nice to have but maybe you can look for them another time. We’re not in a rush to find more. As for Rosa, there’s no need to-“

Before she could finish, Omen opened a gate and wandered through. Perhaps that initiative makes her very eager to get their tasks done. It’s not a bad thing but the sense of timing might not have been the best. Either that or she’s got to watch her mouth before she says something her Ki’Nathar sister will act on. Lin wandered through not long after Omen and caught her just as the latter closed the gate behind her. If there was something happening, she had no idea what it is.

“How’s Rosa? Is he alright?” 

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@Blitz Boom

Ruby put the necklace back on before saying anything, since it was rather...distracting, when it wasn't on "You could say that. "I may or may have gotten my hooves on bunch of ancient magical things and it may have had some side effects." "And it seems the thing hiding the eye from those able to sense it also blocks that." "That's all I gonna say." and as she said, she didn't say anything more, and funnily enough, there was hint of truth to it, since she had indeed found ancient magic, that was what allowed her to be here now in this form.

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"Again I don't understand what you want from me." Nada said "I already told you I have no interest in old wars I wasn't part of, and that all you need to do to be on my good side is to be good and nice." "And if it's me talking good about you what you want, it has the exact same requirements." "And I will naturally try to help forward good relations between different kinds, but I have no capability to do more than ask nicely." 

 

 

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@EQ_Theta

Amethyst had brought a few brushes to help with Sen's scales, but sadly, often she still had to use a comb to get down and really scrape between the crevices of the scales here and there, in place where she weren't sure whatever or not something might have gotten stuck. She knew it were unlikely to be all that pleasant for Sen, but she were rather certain that he'd enjoy waking up in a block of crystal even less than this, so it were a necessary evil.

She would attempt to make it as painless as possible though, yet with Sen trying not to give off indications that anything were painful, it made it seem as if he had a higher pain tolerance, and as such, she were perhaps not as gentle with this as one could hope. That being said, she had thus far not found anything, as she got up to his knee and scraped a little below the kneecap as she saw something stuck there.

Getting it out of there with a twist of the edge of one of the combs, she lifted it up with a pair of tweezers and looked closely, yet let it fall to the floor more or less immediately after with a small chuckle. It had just been a sliver of regular diamond. Likely something that had fallen down on him as he lifted the large cluster in here, or which had flown out from when one of the miners bashed into the rocks near him, on the way down the quarry.

Meanwhile, inside the shadow realm, Omen would turn towards her questioning sister with her head tilted to the side.

"Chains on table. Glowing. Rosa looked tired, not hurt. Other one... Angry? Strange look on his face."

Anger were one of the emotions that were hardest for Omen to understand, after a few really tricky ones like love. Stargazer had sounded like he wanted her to leave, but the tone and voice missed whatever meaning they should have had from the annoyed guard. For all she knew, he had been in the middle of singing and that were his singing face. Ponies liked doing that a lot.

Whatever would come of this talk, they wouldn't have to worry about anypony interrupting them at least, as right now, there weren't a sound in this realm. Literally, not a single voice, movement, or anything outside of what noise came from the two of them. it were just a flat, mushy surface as long as the eye could see. Considering everything that were on their minds right now, the lack of distractions were likely welcome.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"There's something ya ain't telling me about that whole shebang, but alright, I'll leave it there. However, if you ever fill like spilling the beans more on what the hay went on to get you that sorta weird curse, I'll hold an ear open for ya. Some folks say it's therapeutic and healthy to share your worries with others. I think they're pulling that out of somewhere the sun never shines, but y'know, *I'm here for you if you need to talk* or whatever. Let's move on."

Joking aside, Spicy did have a suspicion that there were more to this than just some random cursed item making Ruby scare of animals, but she had no proof, so she'd play along and pretend to buy the story. Not outright though, that'd just seem inherently suspicious. More like she bought that were the reason, just not that there weren't some finer detail about said item that'd turn the entire thing on its head.

She should be able to sell it good too. She usually dealt with poker player who'd latch on to any perceived sign of lying and use that, so some random that weren't in that line of work shouldn't be faring any better. 'Course, Ruby might still just be paranoid and think something regardless, but whatever the deal, this were a long term project, and the animal spray effect could be mighty useful at times, so they both had plenty of time distrusting one another ahead of them.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Lemme baseline it Nada: She's saying that she wants to try and get along with us for the best of all sides. It's basically reaching out an olive branch. The rest is fluff about things that can happen and trying to show off the benefits to go along with it."

"Correct."

Were this in her previous iteration, Onache would have used Nada's difficulty in understanding her far more to her own advantage, but as again, she were in a position were she had to try and get past a lot of her old prejudices and methods to make it in this new life of hers, she would attempt to not do so, and just internally roll her eyes at how difficult it seemed to get things through to the siren. Perhaps hiding away for a millennia had made the siren rusty when it came to these sorts of things? Seemed highly likely, but she weren't going to say that out loud. it wouldn't put them on a very good footing for the time being.

"See? Now if you wanna be real nice, how about you just... Y'know, get back into your sand banks and leave us alone? If ever we figure out some sort of thing to talk with you about, we'll come back around."

"Matters not to me. I have a nursery to dig out as it is so my time is spent well elsewhere. Any parting words, siren? If not, I will take my leave."

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@Moonlit

The mimic crawled quietly over and snatched the offered treat before going back into her corner to munch on it in peace, whilst Ziggy would just go back to poking her head out of the window and making excited train sounds. If she hadn't currently been on a sedative and healing up, she would've jumped out of said window and flown next to the train with glee all over her face. It were probably for the best that she hadn't the option right now, or something could have gone horribly wrong.

She'd keep at this until they either stopped, Serenade interrupted her, or three and a half hours had passed, at which point the pill bottle in her pocket would start to shake to alert her that she needed to take her medicine. It was a pretty effective little enchantment to put on something like that to ensure that it got used properly, and at that point, she certainly would take it. Better not to take the risk when it came to her health.

As for Fah'lina, she would eventually crawl under a blanket or pillow and take a nap, curled up with her large ears down her side to keep out the worst sounds of the train and wind.

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@Lucid_Nightlight

Anomaly kicked at the random pieces of her that Pringle had spat out again. Seemed like some pretty good grounds for new parts of her, but it were probably best to either destroy them or eat them. The later of which she did, which were a somewhat disturbing sight for the author at least.

"I don't get it either. I taste amazing.

And the wedding... Hmmm, nopony have responded to the letters, so... You force them here, and I set up a wedding space? You're better with the portal stealy kidnappy things."

With that, Anomaly would take the parts of herself she hadn't eaten yet, and throw them away, then spit a vile-smelling grey substance on them midair, which caused them to expand and form a small area of plant chairs, a chapel, aisle, etc, just with stone coloring. The coloring didn't suit her mind though, so after a roll of the eyes, she would snap her tail, and return everything to a more semi-normal array of colors so it looked like actual plant-life again.

In case the others had then made it so that the kidnap invitations forced themselves active, they'd find that Anomaly's serpanther guest - body and legs of a large cat, in this case tiger, head and tail of a snake, in this case one with raised scales that blended well with the fur - were chained to a hospital bed and unconscious.

If they didn't get him here, she'd know by now and likely dig her way to Canterlot to grab him.

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@Blitz Boom Serenade would let Ziggy have her fun, she would only admit under the direst of tortures(or a Moon Pie from Princess Luna) that seeing Ziggy so happy was kinda cute. At the appointed time, Serenade puts her book down and gives Ziggy a look. "Pill time". She also notices Fah'lina has covered her ears and gently lays a blanket over the Mimic, and sets another one of the crispy treats nearby, for when she wakes up.

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(edited)

@Blitz Boom

“Angry? Hmm… I can imagine Stargazer is angry. Between getting interrupted and learning about Rosa’s line of work, I wouldn’t blame him. If word were to go out about how he is related to Rosa, it wouldn’t help him at all, might make things worse. Now that I think of it, the trial is going to be a lot more delicate. Let’s try and leave that information out but if you are unsure about what to say during the trial, leave the talking to either me or Rosa. Those chains, however… I don’t know what to make of them. I guess all we can do is trust Stargazer to not do something he’ll regret.”

“Come on, Omen. Let’s give them their privacy and head back.”

Honestly, there’s nothing more any of them could do right now for Rosa besides trusting the system. Rosa isn’t hurt but the interrogation is probably taking his toll on him. Who knows how long he’ll be kept under watch by the guards. If it was going to last longer, they’ll have to set up camp again outside Canterlot; the last thing they want is to be an inconvenience to their friends in the city and staying at an inn is out of the question. They don’t have the money for it and already have their living arrangements settled. It would also be useful to have Shrimp work on their diamond chunk in a safe location.

As for Sen, the whole process was going fairly well aside from minor irritations along his hide. That was the case until Amethyst reached his knee and felt something twisting, being pried off. A sliver of diamond, not something he noticed earlier but it was a relief it wasn’t anything serious. The mare chuckling was a good indicator for relief. 

“Thank you, Amethyst. For your help, for the tea, for accommodating us. I hope to be able to repay you for your kindness one day.”

Once Sen had said his piece, Lin walked through a nearby gate and checked over her brother to see she arrived as Amethyst’s procedure finished. It doesn’t look like anything is wrong, a relief to raise her spirits after a poor start to the day. 

“Seems like we’ll have to wait longer. Rosa’s still being interrogated and who knows how long that will take.” 

Edited by EQ_Theta
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@Blitz Boom

"I..." she stumbled on her words, taken aback by his manner of speaking and word choice. "Um...could you speak like a normal pony, sir?" Her lips twitched slightly as she surprised herself with her impoliteness. Trotting forwards, she gave Alonsus an untrusting smile. "Anyways..please, give me a grande iced coffee, light ice and nothing else." Reaching into her pink personal purse, Button pulled out a small satchel of bits. Retaining her smile and positive mindset, she pushed the satchel over to Alonsus, turning away.

He's...so full of it! Of himself! She kept her gaze away from the stallion, wanting to end the conversation then and there.

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@Blitz Boom

The invitations would soon open on their own and would bring Anomaly's guest or guests. Some random other ponies would appear too.

"Who is this guy an why is he in a hospital bed?"

"Oh! Maybe Anomaly did it!"

"Well, it does sound like something Anomaly would do?"

Lucid walked up to the hospital bed.

"Hey guy, wake up."

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Betsy Violet hummed to herself as she swept the floor of the dining hall, taking care to not sully her long, turquoise dress. Her stomach growled, but she ignored it on instinct despite a pain rising up. Her build was incredibly frail - it was evident just by glancing at her she was anorexic. It didn't seem to bother her that much, however, as she continued her work during lunch and supper hours despite the Rich's complaints.

Odd, normally Tiara is making some ruckus or other with her friends....Betsy ponders, noticing the odd sense of quiet. Seeing her work was completed in this room, she moved on to the master bedroom. That's when she remembered - the family had gone out for the day. Beginning to sweep the marble floor, a small piece of paper left on the bed caught her eye. Reading it, she rolled her eyes. It was a direct order for her to go eat.

It was just a waste of time is what she said to herself. Less time to work. But who am I to disobey anything, let alone a direct order? Sighing slightly, Betsy grabbed some of her spare change and went outside, making sure her dress wasn't sullied by any loose bits of mud.

She'd forgotten to bring her diary with her, she realized halfway to Sloppy Joe's. Too late now. Plenty of ponies tried to commune with her, but she ignored them. Her orders said nothing about conversation. 

She walked through the doors and saw Storm Button at the front, ordering. She tapped her on the shoulder. "Um. What's good here? Food?"

"Oh...I'm sorry. I don't really know. I'm only getting a coffee..." Button replies softly, surprised the maid said more than zero words to her. They'd crossed paths but never spoken.

Betsy took a long look at Button. She found her gorgeous. She blushed a little bit, then realized and turned away, waiting for Button's order to be fulfilled.

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@Blitz Boom

"It's not like you have told everything either." Ruby pointed out "And as you know, all of us have our own secrets, and as I said in the start, changing information is like changing anything else, you give some you get some." she had a feeling this wasn't going to be the end for this conversation, as she could tell Spicy wasn't 100% convinced, she just hoped she wasn't smart enough to figure things out based on everything.

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"So exactly what I said I was gonna do?" Nada said "I feel like you purposely tried to make it sound as confusing as possible for reason or another." this wasn't a great start for Onache when it came to Nada's opinion towards her. "Nothing, take care." she then started heading away from the desert herself, the dryness started to bother her.

 

 

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@Blitz Boom

Carefully the detective made his way out the front door of the house he was being cared for in, measuring each hoof step as he did.  Normally being mentally and physically tired went hoof and hoof, but it became an issue when one was moving at a different pace than the other.  Mentally Rising Dusk felt completely fine and ready to take on the day, but it was currently having to drive the body of a grandstallion.  He just needed to take a bit of extra care to keep a leash on his movement and not put himself into a state that would require him to take a tumble.  The detective would like to notify the O.M.I. quickly of the status on his case.  He knew though that the moment he did, he'd be whisked away to Equestria without getting a chance to close the case properly.

It was to be expected that a pony outside of Equestria would find what the regal sisters do each day rather far fetched.  It was just common where he was from to refer to the act of the sister as raising the Sun and Moon.  He nodded, "More akin to a top that is slowing down.  Each day the sisters give the Sun and Moon a push to keep them in motion.  To the common folk in Equestria, it just looks like they raise them at dawn and dusk."  For the unicorn though, he could just look up at the celestial bodies each day and see the spellworks the sisters cast upon them.  Impressive weaves if he said so himself.  It was surprising though that even countries out this far wouldn't notice the Sun or Moon behaving oddly from time to time.  Such as the time Princess Twilight held the power of all four Alicorns and had a wee problem getting the Sun into motion.  Causing it to spin out of control for a bit.  Probably events that were explained away with their own beliefs outside of Equestria.

"Perhaps now with the dismissal of Mr. Gears, your country will once again be able to uncover its history.  Alicorns in the world are still quite a mystery.  Who knows if there may have been some here thousands of years ago," he added as they continued their journey down the small main street of the town.  At the pace he was moving he'd have to call it a journey.  Closing his case though, there could be a chance that The Captain would report to the sisters and Harrowmark could be greeting Equestria's Princess of Friendship in the future.  She's been pretty interested lately in extending relations with other countries.  Not that he could promise anything though.  He was very far from home after all.  Likely why Scarlet's pocket watch broken after his arrival here, not designed for such distances but he rewrote the spell to push it beyond its limits.  Oh how he envied the ability to teleport.

Approaching the celebration he took in the scene of oppressed ponies freed for the first time in generations.  Raising his hoof in greeting to his short term companion Thistle.

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@EQ_Theta

So the face that Stargazer had made were anger then? Okay, she had to remember that for another time. It might be important at some point, since she understood that if beings were angry, something had gone wrong, and she had to stop doing whatever she were doing to see if it were here. Many things that could be learned from that.

Sounded like there were a bunch of things to learn actually about why one would be angry too. Being interrupted, and Rosa apparently being somepony that you didn't want to be known to hang around with were seemingly reasons for it, though she didn't understand the last one. It sounded like it had something to do with his job, but she didn't understand what that were either, so perhaps that were why she didn't get this? Might have something to do with his boss? Ponies had judged her for working for Discord. Might be the same thing? She had to remember to ask another time, once Rosa were done talking with his brother.

Seemed like there were nothing else to do here, so Omen would follow Lin as they left he oddly silent shadow realm, and came back, just in time to see that Sen looked to still be fine, and Amethyst were next to a small sliver of diamond. had it come from the cluster? It seemed like this weren't what the others were talking about, so maybe. Long as it wasn't one of the many colored ones it were likely okay though. She had grasped that much about this whole gem situation at least.

As for Amethyst, she were about to go back and continue with Sen's neck and head when seemingly, the bunch of them had thought she were done. After only checking his two front legs.

"...Oh, alright, I suppose we can finish it here darling, but do take the vial with you, in case it shows to have grown elsewhere on you."

She would much rather have finished a complete check, but she supposed that if nothing had erupted during their trip to the mine, and his front legs were completely free of any signs of infection, he were likely fine. She'd still insist that they took the vial though, just in case it got necessary, and as such, she pushed it towards Sen and would not let them get anywhere before he had accepted it. One were better of not taking the chance.

Putting down the brushes on the table so that she could return them to where she had found them later on, once she no longer had guests, she smirked a little. It were honestly delightful to hear a group this random and strange were yet so knit together that they checked up on one another, and genuinely cared when one of them were in potential trouble. And by Celestia, Rosa most certainly were.

"Even if we assume that they will be lenient on him, considering how he helped ensuring that Filigree's most recent attempt at taking over the country failed, he would still be in possession of a wealth of information they'd want, as well as being from a spy from an enemy state. They don't let some like that merely go with any ease. And if the generals then takes interest and comes down to have their own attempts, it will merely draw out longer.

I would say that unless something spectacularly happens, you should not expect to see him no sooner than tomorrow.

If it is any consolidation though, the generals we currently have are not known to threat prisoners unfairly. A few generations back, and he would have potentially been whipped, but thankfully, General Star Missile have long since met his end, and his practices will hopefully remain buried with him."

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Something for something. See? That's why I like ya Ruby. You know how the world works. So alright, you have a token on ya then to use if you have something to ask you think I'm holding back that's worth your time. I'd offer some info right off the bat, but let's be honest here, I dunno what you care to hear yet. Except for places to get stacks of bits. That's a given, eh?"

Hardly counted as hard hitting info though. They'd always go and aim for that sorta thing, that were pure business. The token here were more in case she had some questions outside of that, to sorta even things out. No idea if the mare cared enough to ever use that though. Guess they'd see down the line, depending on how long it'd take her to go use that coin pouch of hers to do... Something. Alicornification perhaps? Spicy would ask, but no way were she gonna get an answer to this one.

They'd soon after get to the wagon, and Spicy would unlock it and present Ruby with the entrance to it, in case she wanted to lock up her well earned coin in there. She'd find several coffers and hidden drawers where she could stash this, provided said ones weren't already used by something. One coffer in the corner were completely empty and had a big, sturdy lock on it that might do the trick.

"Need some privacy to pick a good hiding spot in here?"

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@Catpone Cerberus

"I didn't intent to confuse you, but fine, I will try and speak more plainly if we meet again. Farewell."

With that, Onache turned around and flew back into the desert. When she knew they couldn't see her face anymore, she rolled her eyes and let out a large sigh. Communicating with this one were going to be a troublesome matter, yet sadly an unfortunate necessity. Much as she hated to admit it, she were currently envying Thorax for his simpler mind and generally friendly attitude even before he were reformed. It would have made situations like this a whole lot easier to get through, but oh well. Perhaps if he accepted the olive branch she were handing him, they could discuss some pointers in how to deal with these kinds of situations, loathe as she were to ask for help.

Meanwhile with the other two, Berry cast some glances behind her as they wandered off, to make sure the queen didn't turn around and start ramming back at them to strike, but it seemed like there weren't heading anything their way anymore, so they were apparently in the clear.

"This was about the weirdest start of the day ever. Wanna do something safer and more normal? Like juggle fire or fight bears?"

It were meant as a joke, but Berry wasn't kidding. This whole situation were nothing she had expected would happen when they had gone to the desert area. Frankly she sorta wished it had been The Conspiracy that were there instead. At least there she had some idea what to think of. This whole thing though? Big 'ol blank, but thankfully they seemed to be done with it for now, so it'd be fine. Probably.

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@Moonlit

When Ziggy took her head back in again, her mane were a back-swept mess with stray hairs pointing out everywhere, and all the hair on her face seemed to have been pushed down as well from the constant pressure of the wind. That said face were not full of dead insects too were pretty weird though. You'd think all of these hours something would've been squashed on her face.

"Hehe, I can totally feel I need it too. I'm all giddy and ready to go *eeeeee* all trip long! Ehehehe."

Ziggy's energy level were starting to go up into infectious vibes again, so she really needed to open up the pill bottle and take her medication before she threw caution to the wind and started to gallop in place or something similar.

Two small, orange pills were ingested, downed down with a bit of water from a small pouch of it Ziggy had in one of her pockets - the two small gulps needed took about half the water in it - and then stood around all jittery for a minute, and then her energy just crashed out of nowhere, and she got weak in her knees, resulting in the zegasus having to take a seat for a bit. Some strong stuff she'd been given.

"How's your book?"

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@Lucid_Nightlight

"Hey! I would never do this!"

You literally tore a pony apart once.

"She startled me! And I put her back together again, jeez. Besides, that was just a guard, this here's like... My dad."

Whom you once proposed to.

"Stop reading my history, snail face!"

During all of this, the serpanther didn't move, even when poked. Not until Anomaly rolled her eyes - I saw that - and snapped her tail, causing him to be briefly engulfed in a see-through green mist that oozed out from the top of her head. After it had pulsated around him for a few seconds, it would dissipate in the wind, and the serpanther would slowly open his eyes, and look into the sky above them.

"...I am not supposed to be here."

His view were interrupted by Anomaly, who put her head close in front of his. She had a line of chains in her mouth, as she were currently eating his bindings.

"Drama queen you, of course you are. Hey everypony, say hi to Zhu. Don't mind if he stares lots. He's looking at your futures. Spoooooky."

He weren't right now, but he may soon enough, and what things he may see then. Potential futures were nearly infinite the more complex a creature were, and draconequui were if anything complex, and controlled mostly by impulse. It made for many varied, potential futures. Well, for some of them at least. Not every draconequus were all that complex once you sifted through a few centuries of goofing around.

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@Sweet Scoop

On 6/7/2019 at 3:25 PM, Sweet Scoop said:

"Um...could you speak like a normal pony, sir?"

"Haha, yes, of course. Alo- I, shall endeavor to try, madame."

Alonsus didn't take any offense to what she said and simply smiled as he responded in a jovial tone, and with a bit of a hearty laughter in his voice. This mare were far from the first to say that they considered the way he spoke odd, or that he reeked of overconfidence, yet really, he could not disagree with them, as this were true. His way of speaking were not the norm, as were the confidence that nearly oozed from his being, yet this were how he carried himself.

It were as they had said many times in the self help classes he had to attend as part of his parole: If you don't have confidence in yourself, nopony else will either. To many he had just taken that far too literal, and had gotten to the point of sounding obnoxious to many. It were one of the issues why it were hard for him to take employment anywhere, along with his criminal record, which anypony who'd consider hiring him would have to look at, yet Sloppy Joe's were a place known for allowing employers who were a bit problematic elsewhere, and give them a fair chance to show they knew what they were doing.

The usual barista Berry for example, were a conspiracy nut, whilst their chef had gotten some permanent face and body wounds after a shark attack and gotten kicked out of the guards for a violent episode following a depressed drinking streak. Neither were wanted many placed, but Single Straw - their boss - had given them a chance and gotten some good, thankful workers out of it.

Whilst he had been thinking on this, Alonsus had gotten to work making sure the order were fulfilled as the mare requested, and served it up with a smile and positive attitude, though the way she were standing right now made it seem like she mostly wished for him to not speak to her ever again. A request that he frankly wouldn't be able to comply with, since they still needed to finish the purchase here. The employers here weren't allowed to take bits from customers wallets for... Varied reasons. Straw had some former ponies here who had made it necessary for the aging stallion to institute that rule.

"That will be three bits, and may your day be merry."

Berry said something like this often to customers, but she usually had the charisma to sell it well. Alonsus didn't always.

21 hours ago, Sweet Scoop said:

"Um. What's good here? Food?"

"There is a lot who likes the Ginger-Root Stew.."

The low voice would come directly from behind the maid, where an earth pony mare would stand and look at the second in line at the counter.

0dPt805.png

Long Stare were likely the most normal of the ones working here, but she had a thing that made her a nightmare to most other places: She were extremely quiet. Not as in she didn't sing or something, but as in her every movement rarely gave off a sound, and for some reason she were surprisingly easy to lose track of. Most that had worked with her before in other places or this, had distanced themselves from whom they most often referred to as *a living ghost*, and since she were a little shy and didn't like to interrupt anypony, she'd follow whoever she wanted to talk to and wait until there were an opening before addressing them. Mostly this resulted in her either scaring whoever she were trying to talk with, or surprise them when they turned around to find that there were somepony there.

Storm would have seen Stare around before as she dealt with deliveries of pastries to this place, as the mare were a server at this place. Nopony were really sure why though. Her house a few rows from the edge of town were paid well for, she dressed nicely, and the gem around her neck were certainly not cheap. Clearly, she had money somewhere, as this job didn't pay all that well, but how much or where from wasn't known. She tended to not really speak to that many outside of work, and just generally kept to herself. Best offer any had these days were that this job was to help her get some social interactions with others, though it were somewhat difficult considering her silent approaches. It had been worse though. When she started here, she wouldn't talk to anypony before she got addressed by them, so it were going in the right direction at least.

That being said, the maid would be highly unlikely to have taken notice of Stare before the low voice she always spoke with had popped up behind her, and given her a recommendation as to something that were good to eat here. Having looked at the maid, Stare certainly thought hat a hearty meal like this were the sort of thing that would be good for her. Plus it were rather good. Chop Chop often asked Stare to taste to see if it were good, whenever he tried something new, and it had been great the last time she had tried it.

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

 

@Rising Dusk

2 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

 "More akin to a top that is slowing down.  Each day the sisters give the Sun and Moon a push to keep them in motion.  To the common folk in Equestria, it just looks like they raise them at dawn and dusk." 

"Your nation must be truly great when your rulers can do such a thing. I... Would like to see them one day, and watch the sun be pushed across the sky."

Wisp hid a small blush as she said the last part, realizing how stupid it must have sounded. Equestria were a long way from Harrowmark, so it would not be an easy trip, and what were to wait for her there? Seeing the sun rise in a place she had only ever heard through old family stories that were likely no longer true? It seemed like such a silly idea to even entertain.

Some from her country were likely needed to go there though. Diplomats wanting to make new ties, even from countries far away, and their queen would surely wish to meet the stallion who had not just stopped the herald of Suusha, but also released the priestess if Viz'nay, to once more give them hope of a peaceful end. Higher ups like that were likely to take advantage of old maps and teleportation to find where Equestria were and make contact, not her. She were just a villager.

Yet... There were what the mayor had told her to consider, as well as her own want to see the country where her family had once moved away from, though why she had never understood. The olden tales had made Equestria sound like a mostly good place compared to Harrowmark, so why her great great grandmother had not simply convinced her husband to stay there instead of following him, she would never understand. Nor why she did not leave later, or warn others that they had to, before it became much harder with the disappearance of Viz'nay, and the rise of Twisted.

Some things were just lost to the past she guessed... *sigh* She had a lot to think about here, and the past were but a small part in that, yet most important of all were to ensure Rising got through their town safely, and without issue, as the road he walked lead them towards the festivities. One could hardly blame him for that really, not when there were many there to shower him with well deserved praise.

And praise him they did, from the second he entered their vision, they were almost falling over themselves to bow, kneel, or just outright clap enthusiastically, whilst all saying their varied versions of *Thank you, great one*. One of them - an elderly crone with a large scar on her cheek, looking like a tooth mark - came over and hesitantly put a hoof on his shoulder and with tears running from her eyes said "Praise you, for bringing her back*.

Thistle herself were hovering on a pedestal across from the pyre as they got near, soaking in all that were happening, next to the mayor who seemed to have gotten some ratty, yet presentable clothes forth for the occasion. Something which to Equestrians would be about 150 years back in fashion. If there ever came trade deals between the countries, fashion designers and cloth vendors of any kind were gonna have their work cut out for them.

The mayor took a swig of a large bottle of something that even from a distance smelled like butter and old raspberries, and got ready to speak up, when Rising addressed Thistle with a risen hoof and he fell silent. To some extend, all of them did, as they parted to let him and Wisp have an uninterrupted path ahead to see the high priestess, and bothered him with tearful cheers and thanks no more.

Thistle made contact with the dirt and just looked at Rising, raising no hoof or anything, and having a neutral look on her face as she appraised him. Wisp felt like crawling away from that, as the high priestess were an awe inspiring, and somewhat intimidating creature to be focused on in her eyes, yet she remained there, as the seconds ticked on.

"𝕊𝕠, 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕨𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟, 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣?"

The voice were neutral, and the voices around them went silent, as the villagers looked on confused and uncertain of what were going on. Even the foals, who were more inclined to make noise, would be quiet and just watch on.

"𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕. 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕠𝕣."

A smile crept unto the priestess's face, along with a warm glow in her eyes that seemed to show her being actually happy about something for the first time since Rising had met her. Around them, the crowd tension melted away, and soon after the festivities were once more underway. Wisp too were relieved, and let out the breath she had held as panic had entered her heart about the priestess being unhappy about something here. Praised by Viz'nay, it had not been so.

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(edited)

@Blitz Boom

"I envisioned him as a wise old pony that talks like a fortune cookie."

Novia spoke up.

"Why can't you be a wise old pony that that talks like a fortune cookie?"

"If you can tell the future then, how will you react when I do this?"

Lumen threw picked up a rock and threw it at Zhu and then waited.

"Did you get my letter?"

Edited by Lucid_Nightlight
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@Blitz Boom

"Oh, we aren't finished yet?"

"I'm sorry for the interruption. Please continue, Amethyst."

Sen noticed Amethyst sliding a vial towards him, the kind that they had used to save others from complete cystalization from days ago. How they all got roped into this still had him wondering how Filigree managed to send a crystal over to his village. Perhaps he'll get a chance to ask if they ever catch Filigree again. Right now, Sen went back to lying prone on the table. Fortunately, he didn't go about moving everything back to where they were so as to not undo the whole set-up. Amethyst has been a good host and it wouldn't be good of them to mistakenly break something. 

Lin was willing to sit by and wait until the procedure is finished. She has been enjoying the tea lately and Sen still has yet to finish his cup. As they didn't have a lot to do, they were content to stay a little longer. 

"Rosa wouldn't be done until tomorrow? That's a long time to be asking someone questions. And even if they're done with him, I can only guess they guards will be looking for us as well. If they already know about his past, whose to say they'd be wondering why we sympathize with him. For all we know, we might be kept here too." 

There was a concerned look on Lin's face, bordering on scared. As much as she would want to fight this, she couldn't go against a large, well-armed group of guards and Sen wouldn't last long fighting them. Amethyst's words on generals treating prisoners better didn't hold much weight but it wasn't the mare's fault. Its just that they wouldn't really mean anything until she saw it for herself. Considering what might happen, Lin wasn't sure if she wanted to know if that claim was true.

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@Blitz Boom
Ruby just nodded to the first comment, not having anything she cared to know at this moment. 

She stepped in the wagon "Actually I think you should know where it is so you don't get hurt accidentally." she stated "Because like I told you, I have a way to make simple locked things lot more secure." she put the bag in a coffer and locked it, then taking a fancy looking gem from her box, it was just a gem, but she needed to make it look like she was using it so that she could avoid unnecessary questions from Spicy. She put the gem against the lock and muttered something that was either other language or just too quiet to be understood, before putting the gem back to the box. 

"Now if any pony or creature other than me tries to open that, they get a very painful experience, and if they attempt to break it, it will most likely be lethal." "a security spell, I assume you are familiar with them, used to seal treasuries and other such things."

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

"Actually I'd like some information." Nada said "I'd like you to tell me about any other creatures that have appeared since the banishment, and if you could also tell what their relations are with ponies, and if there's anything special about them." "And please, could you tell what that Changeling thing was, what kind of creatures are they?" 

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@Catpone Cerberus

"One of them magical bear traps, eh? I haven't seen that sorta thing used in ages since, y'know, they're massively illegal. If anypony starts asking around, let's just say it's a snapper trap. If it's a guard, they approach it carefully and react on the pain, and if it's a thief, then eh, we bury him and move on."

Wouldn't be the first time she had to go ahead and do that. Well, sort of. Usually she made sure they got set on fire or something instead. She kept a few things with her that could be used in a pinch far as she recalled. if not, the area could sometimes make it easier if say, there were bears. Ponyville might have a lot of them big predators on a leash, but that wasn't the case most places, and a bear were a bear. It wanted meat, and if it could get an easy meal, it'd go for it in her experience.

But enough about that. Pretty sure that weren't gonna be something they had to worry about, and she sure weren't gonna poke around at that lock, that were for sure. So, time to saddle up and be on their way.

"Alright, we seem ready to get going. Let's get on our way and see what's waiting us out in that big ol' world."

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Honestly I dunno what were back then, but uuuh... We had Discord and a few other draconequui show up, those have been absent for a while.The evergrown are also- No wait, they didn't show up until like, 600 years ago, After your time.

Let's see... The princess made contact with hippogriffs and kirin too, which haven't really gotten along with our kind for ages, so that might count? Dragons too, but you'd know those I bet.

Hey right, there's the one that made this desert: A sphinx. Ever seen one of those? They're like huge cats with wings. Most of them are pretty bad news whenever stories of them have popped up. The one who made this likely had some sorta ulterior motive too, but at least seems to have moved on for now, so that's good.

I swear though, no kidding here, right? I were talking to somepony at the coffee shop earlier who swore to have seen a male sphinx flying with the Royal Guards. Man we had a good laugh at him for saying that. I mean really, every story about them includes invading countries, keeping slaves of every kind of creature you could think off, and their mythical city are supposedly full of the riches and knowledge they've taken from around the world. And he wanted us to believe that one of those were getting along with the guards? A real riot, lemme tell ya.

Heh. Anyway, I think those are the ones that comes to mind right now. I'm pretty sure there's more weird ones that've popped up, but not everything's talked about. Some are pretty hush hush until some sort of diplomacy have gotten up and running with them, and they can showcase it."

Berry were more than happy to share what she knew of the varied creatures, but some she weren't sure about whatever or not were new, some she new weren't, but they hadn't historically gotten along with, and then there were a bunch that she hadn't a clue about. Just small rumors of weird creatures that she couldn't put a name to, mentioned in passing conversations or drunk tales. Didn't seem substantial enough for this.

"Changelings are pretty easy to explain. They're bug ponies, who lives off draining other beings of emotions. Most ponies think it's just love, but I know that some other countries have others who eat other stuff, like joy, or sadness.

Basically they're parasites, and once they suck you dry of emotions, you might end up in a cocoon to be converted into one of them. They're usually black with holes in them though. That weird sight back there are a new evolution on them that've gotten forth with one called King Thorax. Reformed changelings like that are whole, and doesn't eat emotions because they share them with eachother. Pretty weird, but they're safer like this. More colorful too.

You might see a drone like that sometimes in Ponyville. They're the size of regular ponies, and not big with horns like their royalty. Bad history between your kinds though, so uh... Keep an open mind to weird stares I guess?

Also, I'm not entirely sure if the reformed ones can still do this, but normal changelings can shapeshift with magic. Really hard to make out who is one unless you notice something's off about their behavior, or they run into anti-magic. Honestly it's best to not think about it, or you'll start going coo coo from thinking everypony you meet might be a changeling."

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

 

@EQ_Theta

"No no, it's okay dear. Your front legs are clean, which would be the easiest place on infection, and since nothing happened when you were near the mine, I'm sure it's nothing. Just take the vial with you in case something does happen. It will clear it up without much issue."

Amethyst appreciated that the two of them were willing to remain and let her finish, but the more she thought of it, the more meaningless it really seemed. There would have been warnings at this point more than likely, and if not, they had both this vial and Shrimp that could take care of the issue. There were no real need for her to stand and make Sen feel uncomfortable by prying through his scales and brushing his hair, beyond a minor want to please her inner filly, and her want to carelessly brush the hair of a new doll. A silly indulgence she hadn't listened to in many years, but times such as this did bring up that old, joyful feeling once again. It were honestly rather delightful to experience now and again.

"And really dear, I doubt that the guards will apprehend you. Spies are known to take advantage of those who doesn't know better, and manipulating them into gaining what they want. The guards would more than likely simply think you taken in by his tricks, and let you go with a stern warning. At worst you may be questioned for a bit and need to see a psychologist for a few sessions, but the threat here is mainly to your friend.

While every country uses spies, there are still a stigma against spies from other countries, and several guard rules about apprehending ones working for Equestria's enemies. As mentioned, Rosa will have some leniency for trying to save Equestria, but the family ties, as well as his work, will mean that they will have a lot of questions to ask, and most of them repeatedly to see if his story changes. They will also need to confirm certain things he will undoubtedly say, to make sure whatever he is lying or telling the truth. Such things takes time. even if the generals does not come in to ask more specific questions.

A salvation may be there for him if he can provide additional information on how the spy system works where he is from, and help dismantle it, but it really depends on who he used to work for. Some spy agencies and countries are more important than others, so depending on how things goes, trying to dismantle an inefficient organisation may not be worth much. Whatever things he have caused also have to be weighed up contra what he have given and can give, but I cannot say for sure what may happen dear. I can only speculate, and share what I am aware about from these sorts of things, based of common knowledge.

I do wish your friend the best though. He have done a great service, and worst case scenario, I'm sure that they will have him placed in one of their numerous rehabilitation programs to make him into more of an asset for society, rather than keeping him locked up forever."

The mare sat down and took another sip of her half-empty cup of tea. It helped a weary mind, and thinking of what may or may not happen to the bat pony were something which seemed to cause that particular emotion to rise in her. Funny how one such as this could have so many beings caring for his well being honestly. Not something she would expect a spy to gain, unless it were won through lies and duplicity, though what she knew off at least seemed to check out as him being genuine.

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

 

@Lucid_Nightlight

The rock would fly towards Zhu, but stop mid air and be thrown right back at the one who threw it, guided by the wind magic that Zhu possessed.

"A millennia have nearly passed since I first opened my eyes, and gazed upon the tapestry of time. I have seen far more than any pony will, and been forced to bear witness to calamities you couldn't fathom. Ends that needed to be prevented, yet also balanced, to not tip the scales."

He turned his head and glanced at Lucid, with his golden eyes nearly glimmering in the sunlight, as seconds ticked by.

"I see your joys, and your sorrows if you continue with your mate. The loss that crushes your spirit, and the rampage which seals your path. Such carnage that comes from the harbinger of the thing from beyond beyond the plains...

Heed my words: You would do best in not celebrating what you thought could never be yours, with the one who dances with the damned."

"See? He's all kinds of weird, but its pretty fun to guess what he means anyway. And when. I'm still waiting to see the flying banana-owls."

Zhu's eyes fell on Lumen, and his slit pupils seemed to grow thinner in surprise.

"She won't allow you to die, pony from another land. Age, nor sickness will take you, and she will ensure that you will forever be bonded, though in some timelines I see you question if that is good or not."

"I think he's saying *happy wedding day* in weirdo words."

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@Blitz Boom

Lumen would catch the rock and attempt to eat. This wouldn't work since he's still just a pony. A little eccentric, but still a pony.

"I will one day be able to taste this rock."

Lucid looked at Zhu and asked him some questions.

"Oh! What else can you tell me? I wanna know more cool stuff!"

There were things Lucid was not really aware of. The whole thing about the stick wasn't as true as he thought it was. And what Lucid thought he was, he really never was at all. The only sign of the truth of who Lucid truly was came from his silly nature. He never was like most ponies, he was always different and full of surprises. Was it really the stick that made him capable of all these things or was a matter of placebos and self-fulfilling prophecy?

"When is the chocolate fountain going to be here?"

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@Blitz Boom

Amethyst’s words calmed the longma siblings; although Sen didn’t look like he was concerned but deep down, he was afraid of being detained longer in Canterlot. He had once been there, run in for vagrancy but that was when he was a lot younger. A lot more intimidated by the world and especially by figures of authority he did not recognize. How he managed to get in that situation had a lot to do with his naivety. Between his younger self and how he is now, there are still some traces of fear lingering below the surface, something he would keep to himself. Throughout the exchange, he kept quiet, getting up from the table and finding a seat to sip his tea while putting away the vial in his saddle bag. 

As for Lin, her tea had cooled down a lot more for her to finish sipping all of it. While she would like to drink a little more, she was hesitant to do so and only placed her cup on the table. 

“Rosa said as much but the guards will certainly look into the information he’s providing them. I believe he wants to turn his back on his old life as a spy but the words of two nobodies from out of town likely won’t hold weight. I guess that gives Rosa some small comforts but it will be much better if he doesn’t get locked up. I’d hate to imagine him wasting away in a cell.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what was that you mentioned just now? A, uh… psychologist?”

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@Blitz Boom Serenade closes the book, the title De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium printed in gold letters "I've read it before, but it's good to keep my knowledge fresh" She looks out the winder, "I figure it's another 4 hours to Baltimare, then a quick Pegasus cab ride to my parents place." Serenade puts the book away, "I'm going to get some sleep, I suggest you as well"

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