open Casual stroll

Blitz Boom · July 24, 2019

"I can see and hear the dead. You think I don't know the world can be a cruel place? But just because there's some really bad ones, doesn't mean that it's okay for everypony to be a nasty."

Sorrow were one in a long line of mares who had the curse to see the damned more or less ingrained into her DNA, and the dead were hardly ever in a good state, as they would appear the way that they their lives had ended, and most who stayed behind were those with unresolved issues or a lot of anger and confusion. That tended to happen mostly to those who had others cause their end, and those spirits looked disturbing, though others who had passed on from disease were also a disturbing sight at times. Some snake bites could really make a mess out of somepony.

So yeah, she knew that the world could be cold, cruel, and merciless place. But she had been taught to not dwell on that, and instead focus on all the good within it, just as she were taught not to be afraid of the damned who needed to be freed of their torment, but instead look at them as some who desperately yearned for the help of their family. Seeing the other sides to things were a good way to make it through life, and if possible, she'd like to think that this one who had likely come in here with ill intent, wouldn't be some one sided deal either, and that they could talk with her about this. Potentially make her just surrender, and then they could sort something out? It'd be much nicer for them all if they didn't have to involve the guards at least.

As for the door, it'd start to open with a noticeable strain from the magic that were trying to keep it shut, but the thief would make some progress. At least until a smokey aura of magic enveloped the handle and worked on yanking it back, which meant the thief would have to deal with both this magic, and that of the seal. She could still break through if she added in some extra effort, as honestly, the new magic seemed to be a little half-flanked.

The one who cast it, would come wandering towards them from the long hallway, and not say anything.

The stallion honestly looked rather deflated, and like he hadn't been sleeping in several days, yet he were trying to some extend to fight back the intruder from leaving. Said thief may notice that the feather in his hat were made of pure silver.

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

@Moonlit

Ziggy rose her hooves to the side of her face as she saw the widdle baby pictures of Serena, and stood there with a silent squeal of joy going over her face.

They were just too adorable. The doctor loved to see babies of any species, even if some were very bitey, such as diamond dog pups, which needed special gear to handle for a pony. Even then, she would still love to be around them, just as she did any foal. A lot of her time at the hospital were actually spent being near the infants and seeing the little ones lay in their cribs or be picked up by new parents. Were it not because she had a tendency to sorta space out from pure joy when seeing the tiny ones, she would likely have become a pediatrician.

"*meep* Too cute!"

Serenade were probably not going to like that her mom were implanting images of herself as an infant, into the mind of Ziggy, yet that were a headache for another time, as right now, she were probably not even fallen into the pool yet. Big ol' tummy she'd gotten after all that food were probably bound to get her sleepy and docile for a while.

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

@EQ_Theta

Omen stood silently, not moving an inch as she pondered what it were he had just asked her. Sometimes it could go a little faster, but with everything new she had also just heard right now, and her mind barely able to contain much more, she weren't exactly working on full capacity, and needed some time to rummage through her brain for something that sounded right.

"...Master Discord can make many things. Made a world of chaos. Home in this world, without sense. Taught me to live in it. To understand it. It vanished when he did. Left me behind. I were confused, but got no answers. My master were gone. The world that made sense had gone too. I left. For a long time.

Master Discord could bring it back. He is strong. Even if only a little place for me. I miss it. But I would miss Sen and Lin more. Only ones who called me friend. Helped me. Teaches me things. They are like masters, but no orders. They ask. They do not say I have to. It is confusing. Very. I hope to understand them one day. Learn like they do. Understand why they help, and help them too. I heard that is what friends do. They stick together, yes?"

Discord had the power to make a world that she had long ago been able to make sense off, and could likely fall back into right away, along with the role of a servant. It would be easy, yet things had seemed better with Sen and Lin. They weren't perfect, just like her master wasn't, but they were the first ones who treated her well. Like she were equal, and that she meant something for them. Even Discord, whom she did believe cared about her in his own way, knew that they were not equals. They were not friends, like Sen and Lin were with her. She were a servant, crafted to service a ruler. Even if he were a good one in her eyes, it didn't change that.

Of course, the way she looked on it still came down to the title of friend, which had been bestowed upon her by Sen, Lin, and recently Rosa. She were getting knowledge from wandering with them she had not gotten in thousands of years, whilst being treated in a way that more often than not confused her greatly. Confusion or not though, it kept feeling more correct this way, even for her, who had too little of a grasp to understand what feelings tended to mean most of the time. She'd likely be more upset at what others sometimes did to or called her if she were more aware.

In the meantime, she would take a few steps closer and look at the strange contraption that Zo had made of the hair, along with what seemed like gems of some kind. Were this a snack for Shrimp?

"What are you making? Looks shiny."

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

@Lucid_Nightlight

"Lizard insurance? Yes yes, I have just the thing."

She crawled over and withdrew a piece of parchment from one of the many holes in the walls, and returned with it. Clearly it were made by the spiders here themselves, as it were made out of wax.

"We take credit card, but you forfeit the right to your lizard if you try to skip on your payment.

The insurance covers disease, certain types of physical damage, and doctors appointments at a range of associated physicians. Only fifty bits down, and then 300 a year. If you throw in another fifty, we can add a clause that will grant you a new lizard if this one expires, free of charge."

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Hey, I'm a scoundrel, but I don't stab the back of my coworkers. The whole shebang's gonna be here when you come back."

Paranoid much, eh? Though to be fair, Spicy would likely have been the exact same way if she were in Ruby's shoes, so who were she to judge?

The dragon in disguise wouldn't have to worry about anything this time though. Everything would be exactly where it were before, minus that two of the chests were inside the cart, and Spicy would have a bump on the head where the still blinded mare had bumped into a tree by accident. Darn annoying situation.

Meanwhile at the river, not a whole lot happened, though a nearby boar would look up at the approaching mare and snort, before going back to drinking from the water. Ponies usually didn't mean danger for this creature.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

The song would at first not do a whole lot, but as it continued on, the plants in the broken down path would raise their vines and start swaying with the tune, mesmerized, even if there were no magic in the siren's voice. As time passed on, rumbling would be heard as the spiky vines inside the collapsed tunnel caused the rocks to shift and turn as they too moved with the melody, before the visible vines slowly began retracting. The movements combined with the slow retreat, managed to rummage the rocks around enough to allow for some passage through for them, even though it would be a tight fit for Nada, even though she could get through if she didn't mind confined spaces too much.

On the other side, they'd find the vines seemingly sprang from a central bulb of them, located just at the edge of the lake, and had spread out a lot to go up the walls, down the entrances, and across the dirt. If Nada were still singing, they'd shift around and retreat here and there, leaving some space to walk long as you didn't linger in the same spot for too long, though if she had stopped, the mass would remain motionless, and it would become a bit more of an issue.

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

@DripMoondrop

The mare inside the back room of the store would come up front and open the door shortly after the teasing words, with a big smile on her face at seeing that her items had arrived.

"Hehe, don't get all antsy Moondrop, I got something for that sweet tooth of yours."

Reaching behind her back, she'd withdraw a bag around the size of her head, filled to the brim with glistening hard candies of varied colors, that seemed to constantly be shifting around in the sunlight.

"It's a new recipe. I call them Rainling Drops, since they're based off some stuff I purchased from the changelings. I've been testing them for about three weeks, but I think this works, and I'm sure you'll love them. Just watch out, they change taste constantly as long as they're in the light, so make sure it's a good taste before you smoosh it in your muzzle. Or just enjoy the randomness, hehe."

Circle Pop were used to giving out free samples of the new stuff she made so that she could get the opinion of others than herself on how the product were, and though this were more than usual, Moondrop were a great mare who she could always count on when it came to getting the things she got sent to her shop, and watching out for some of the stock she had to stockpile in her warehouse, until there were more room for it, or she could sent it off, etc. Frankly the mare worked hard and deserved this.

As for the tastes, she'd find that these were focused on varied fruit tastes, like strawberry red, blackcurrant black, apple green, banana yellow, and so forth. She were fully expecting this to be a big hit with the foals in town, and perhaps beyond it, so when she had been told by her new contact that they were willing to run a scheduled trade deal between them, Pop had been thrilled. Another ware to add to her store that only few or no others had access to.

"Anyway, you have all the stuff? *gasp* Yes! My shipment of Saddle Arabian Butter Milk have arrived! Thank Celestia, I've been out of this for weeks."

It were a pretty exclusive thing to get for outsiders, and recently, due to storms and politics, it had been hard to get these out of the country, but things had settled down and she had received word that this would come. It were perhaps just a small, cold crate with about ten liters in, but for those around here who adored the creamy, rich chocolate this were made for, it would be a godsend until more could arrive.

The rest of the stuff were mostly boxes of Orange Flake Gumdrops, which Circle had made too many off the last time, and only now had room to put up on her shelves again, though a few other things were present that she had figured might as well come along too.

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

@Kaze Yousei

On 7/22/2019 at 7:20 PM, Kaze Yousei said:

"How many subspecies do you know of? And have you thought about writing an encyclopedia on your species to sell? That might be a good way to get the information out there."

His eyes drifted to the mare briefly before going back to Briar. "Your friend seems awfully timid. Is she okay?"

"I have only recently been helped with the ability to see, yet it requires a good deal of time before I have gotten used to the sensory overload it currently gives me. I try and keep focus on that, before going onward and learning to read and write, though after that, perhaps I will publish a book of my kind, to spread some awareness. There is certainly plenty to put in, as every settlement have their own subspecies, depending on the sacred tree that spawns us. I believe I have currently met 251 variants, if you include the mutations as a sub species in themselves, which I wholeheartedly do. How I wish more knew for example of the Algae Farmers. One of the few aquatic variants of my kind, and an utter delight to speak with.

As for Brittle... May I explain?"

He directed the question towards Brittle, who had her eyes transfixed and confused at the plant she had just seen essentially getting healed. Could ponies actually do this? She had never heard of anything like it if they could, not even in Ponyville, where there were many strange creatures.

As she were given the question, she would snap out of it and return to her paranoid, nervous stance, and silently poke Briar two times on the shoulder with a shaking hoof. Her way of saying *yes* when she didn't have it in her to speak.

"Very well. Brittle is a converted changeling, meaning that she used to be a pony, however were broken free of her egg before the process were complete. This causes her to have no control of her abilities, or if she does, she knows not how, which a circus took advantage off. I ask for your understanding in my not giving details whilst she can hear it. It is quite... Disturbing, and not something anypony should hold as their first memories of life.

Let it be said though, that the mistreatment have left deep scars on her psyche, and an initiate fear of other creatures. She finds some comfort in my presence, as I assisted her in getting out of the vile place, yet it will take a good deal longer before this spreads towards others. Trust takes time, and you know how changelings have long been perceived. I hope though, that in due time, she will see the world as being light and full of others who will wish her the best, and not the dimly lit mess it appears to currently."

Briar slid out a thick vine from beneath his cape, where the end would have a large flower bud, which could open into four tough, leathery petals. It helped with grabbing stuff, or in this case, gently stroke down Brittle face, who were getting more clingy and looking like she had just been hit, after even a slight mention of the circus.

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

@Seamore Sandwich

On 7/23/2019 at 5:29 AM, Seamore Sandwich said:

“I’m not sure. But more importantly, who’s Zhu? We have to find Zhu.” Charlie just didn’t know how to respond. This was probably their first experience of having been at a loss for words.

Vivid weren't sure what were going to happen once this creature woke up, though best case scenario she had expected, were that this new life would be a confused, toddler-like creature who needed to be nurtured and taught. She had not thought it possible that this one would know how to speak, form sentences, and act more like a mildly confused adult.

Normally she would consider this to be impossible, and think something strange were going on, yet this weren't a normal situation. This were a new life grown from a tree spirit, trapped in a changeling body. She had not encountered anything like this before, so it may very well be plausible that he had gotten some rudimentary idea of things and memories from Charlie, or perhaps he had those from the changeling the body mainly belonged to? It would be best to observe and see what would come of this, whilst expecting deceit. Worst case scenario, she'd be kinda rude to this one, and she could try and make amends. Seemed far better than to potentially unleash a lunatic who liked the sound of crunching bones upon a city.

"I know of this *Zhu* you're talking about. A serpanther, who were in a nearby town not too many days past. I seek him for my own reasons, though why do you want him? What directs you towards this being- ..."

Her sentence seemed unfinished, as she did not know what to call this one. Thing? Abomination? Miracle? Bugface? Whoever this one were, and whatever motivs drove him, he needed a name so that they could address him properly throughout what were to come.

"Charlie, this is seemingly your offspring, correct? In the tradition of four legged equines then, you must give him a name. Be certain before you make your choice.."

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

@Rising Dusk

The mare rose a hoof to start on her path of going over to help Rising, but Wisp had beaten her by leagues, and were standing over at him as he coughed away, hitting him gently on the back to try and help the process ease some, whilst standing ready to grab him, should he start to fall forward or stumble, as far as she knew, he were still not too well.

Sickle looked at them for a bit, with the faintest smile starting to spread on her somewhat wrinkled muzzle, before a more serious and concerned expression overtook her again, and she started rambling with a deeply apologetic tone.

"I-I don't mean it to say you would hurt us, oh great one. We know your wrath strikes the darkness, to save others. P-Please forgive me if I made it sounded differently. I would never want to cause you offence."

The thought that she had potentially insulted their savior, by implying that he would be as decisively destructive towards any being, and not just those like Twisted who performed evil deeds, were starting to be rather mortifying. Much like whenever Wisp had said something she feared were somehow out of line when it came to Rising, so too did Sickle react to the situation with embarrassment, and a initiate want to apologize. Had Wisp not gotten there first, she might well have been the one clapping Rising's back and trying to help him through his coughing fit.

Whilst this went on, Thistle merely looked on briefly with no real emotional change on her face. Perhaps she'd be more interested if this was her kind of entertainment, but it just wasn't. She much preferred something simple and easy to laugh at, such as risen badger fights, or frightening heretics. Those tended to bring a smile to her face and a warm feeling to her unbeating, spectral heart.

"𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕓𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕞𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤, 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕍𝕚𝕫'𝕟𝕒𝕪'𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 𝕣𝕦𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕠𝕤𝕤 ℍ𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕜. 𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕕 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟 𝕒 𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕒, 𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕓𝕛𝕖𝕔𝕥, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕦𝕡𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕤, 𝕓𝕖𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕕𝕪. 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕦𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤, 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕟, 𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕦𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕡𝕙𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕦𝕞𝕒 𝕥𝕠 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕦𝕡 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟.

𝕀 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕤 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕕𝕖𝕧𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕕, 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕀 𝕗𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟, 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕊𝕦𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕒'𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕟 𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕞𝕪 𝕘𝕠𝕕𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕒 𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕖𝕟.

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕪 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕒𝕣𝕓𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕔, 𝕪𝕖𝕥 𝕀 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕖𝕘𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕘𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖. 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕒 𝕓𝕒𝕕 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕤𝕒𝕔𝕣𝕚𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕖."

She still remembered every name, of every Cursebearer who had ever interacted with her, and she had personally seen to it that each and every one of them, had been sent to Viz'nay's loving embrace in the afterlife, even if she had at times needed to hunt down what they had risen as, and smite them down herself. They deserved the eternal rest that her goddess offered, more than anyone else, and she would not stand by anyone tarnishing their legacy. The practices were understandable, and she would tolerate those being belittled. It were only the ponies who had earned their rest whom she were protective of.

Props Valroa · July 24, 2019

@Blitz Boom

The thief didn't really reply to what Sorrow had said as she ramped up the effort so sudden and fast, that the door almost broke open, yet it seemed to stop just before. She was not holding back now, and her magic was relentless, though perhaps the other stallion could do something similar. It seems she was relentless. "I highly recommend you both surrender or the outcome for both of you isn't going to be pretty." she said as her magic began to tease the opposite opponent, seeming to give in as the door would close more and more as she looked to him with a rather sly grin as her magic suddenly broke the door open, rather hard that it flew off the hinges. "I'll never tell you all my real name, though I will tell you my goal: to free the workers of the world from the establishment in which we live from the rich upper class who contribute nothing to society while the rest of the land rots in poverty. It is disgusting, and it is fiendish that such a 'kind' and 'caring' leadership would let such a thing happen, even those who have saved the world fail to acknowledge such a thing." she grinned evily as she stomped over the door, then jumping on it until it cracked under her hooves, enjoying the feeling. "Surely such a...rich establishment could afford such a thing...hah! I'll do better than all of you! This world will know my name, as the true liberator of the world!" she sneered and sprinted off, leaving them probably confused. She could have done more damage if she wanted to, likely.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Califorum

Moonlit · July 24, 2019

@Blitz Boom The next photo shows Serenade, at a birthday party, covered from muzzle to tail fluke in bright red and white frosting. The Siren-shaped Frosting Monster is smiling and a look on her face of Did I do that? Haramony snickers, "I remember that, it was her 5th Birthday, and she wanted to do some swimming before her party. So we left her to her devices. We come out, she's been alone for less then a minute, and I went from having a Siren Daughter to a Frosty Pony." She keeps flipping, photos showing Serenade growing up. Puberty hit her HARD, she went from pudgy little cutie to a lean and lanky Siren. The last photo shows Serenade as a Pegasus, holding a Diploma from the University of Baltimare next to her Parents, all three are beaming.

EcstaticWind · July 25, 2019

20 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"I have only recently been helped with the ability to see, yet it requires a good deal of time before I have gotten used to the sensory overload it currently gives me. I try and keep focus on that, before going onward and learning to read and write, though after that, perhaps I will publish a book of my kind, to spread some awareness. There is certainly plenty to put in, as every settlement have their own subspecies, depending on the sacred tree that spawns us. I believe I have currently met 251 variants, if you include the mutations as a sub species in themselves, which I wholeheartedly do. How I wish more knew for example of the Algae Farmers. One of the few aquatic variants of my kind, and an utter delight to speak with.

As for Brittle... May I explain?"

He directed the question towards Brittle, who had her eyes transfixed and confused at the plant she had just seen essentially getting healed. Could ponies actually do this? She had never heard of anything like it if they could, not even in Ponyville, where there were many strange creatures.

As she were given the question, she would snap out of it and return to her paranoid, nervous stance, and silently poke Briar two times on the shoulder with a shaking hoof. Her way of saying *yes* when she didn't have it in her to speak.

"Very well. Brittle is a converted changeling, meaning that she used to be a pony, however were broken free of her egg before the process were complete. This causes her to have no control of her abilities, or if she does, she knows not how, which a circus took advantage off. I ask for your understanding in my not giving details whilst she can hear it. It is quite... Disturbing, and not something anypony should hold as their first memories of life.

Let it be said though, that the mistreatment have left deep scars on her psyche, and an initiate fear of other creatures. She finds some comfort in my presence, as I assisted her in getting out of the vile place, yet it will take a good deal longer before this spreads towards others. Trust takes time, and you know how changelings have long been perceived. I hope though, that in due time, she will see the world as being light and full of others who will wish her the best, and not the dimly lit mess it appears to currently."

Briar slid out a thick vine from beneath his cape, where the end would have a large flower bud, which could open into four tough, leathery petals. It helped with grabbing stuff, or in this case, gently stroke down Brittle face, who were getting more clingy and looking like she had just been hit, after even a slight mention of the circus.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I can see why she's introverted. But that gives me two good ideas for plants I could recommend if you're looking for something pretty. The Alstroemeria flower, which symbolizes wealth, prosperity and fortune, and is also the flower of friendship. Or the Amaryllis, symbolising splendid beauty, and also worth beyond beauty. Either of these would be a lovely message for Brittle, I think. But that's if I were buying flowers for her." Velvet said, though he wondered if they had such flowers in stock. Alstroemeria, for instance was a mountain flower and the Amaryllis was a more tropical flower. He was certain they had one of them at least.

"In any case, I wish you the best of luck with your endeavours, sir. I'm still deciding my future goals, since I could study and work with plants like I do now, but I also enjoy cooking. Torn between two things I enjoy, I get a little indecisive." He said with a slightly embarrassed chuckle, rubbing at the back of his head.

EQ_Theta · July 25, 2019

@Blitz Boom

“A necklace for Lin and a leg cuff for Sen. I noticed you have a necklace with two scales on it; guessing those two were from them. That is breaking tradition but knowing they’ve been wandering the world for years, they picked up a thing or two in their travels. I couldn’t decide where to place the centerpieces for these gifts so I made them separate instead of working on just one whole piece at once. See these gemstones? A fire ruby and a star sapphire. Looks ordinary right now but hold them up against a fire and the night sky respectively and see what happens. I won’t spoil the surprise.”

In actuality, only the necklace is complete at the moment, the cuff will need to be fashioned out of a hollow piece of wood. Or rather, it is technically done but without the carvings and ornaments to really make it stand out. There is an indentation large enough to insert a gemstone and the hair will be woven in and out to secure the piece. Cuffs like these were symbol of belonging to a certain group when its members wear identical pieces. Something about it is usually different from the others, decided by its wearer during the crafting process besides the insignia of a pointed spear tip. The hunters wore cuffs like them on their right foreleg, close to the abdomen.

The gifts didn’t match up perfectly but it made a statement. Each of them wearing something that stood out from the others will definitely say something about their affiliation. Having a piece of another made into a wearable ornament is about as much as unison goes. The longma were simple and rustic folk, and it says a lot with aesthetics.

“And about that comparison between my grandchildren and Discord? The difference there is that they are letting you decide. They ask because you have a stake in the choices presented to them and your thoughts on those matters are important.”

“When Discord was around, you relied on him to give you direction, to tell you what you should do. Sen and Lin listened to their parents like you with Discord but eventually, there will come a time when they will have to make their choices alone and find their way in the world. I suppose that’s what they’re ultimately teaching you. One day, they might not be around anymore and you need to be ready for that. It’s good they’re sticking with you, looking out for your needs. Between this and being sort of adopted by your Mother, I can see why you call them your siblings.”

Edited July 26, 2019 by EQ_Theta
Fixed some spelling and grammar errors

Widdershins · July 25, 2019

@Catpone Cerberus

With a quick twirl, unravelling his longer vine-tail in a spiral as it does so, the draconequus pops his larger, main tail off in the direction of the advancing cats with his two passengers still onboard. After a small, comfortable drop down, with a theatrical flourish, he expresses dismissively with his ears & remaining, noticeably longer tail that remains wound out a great deal, but still coiled enough on the remaining stump to not be entirely certain where it begins.

Oh pah! Think nothing of it! I'll get another one back in, like, nothing!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@Dji

"Hmph…"

Padding into the lounge room, the young drake sits in front of the couch he could just as easily fit onto. Looking around at the pictures his attention slowly wanders back to the mare as she talks to him. Slowly he makes eye contact as he breaches the topic he's been waiting to go back to.

"So... why'd y-... how'd you get your wings hurt?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dji & @Blitz Boom:

The magic produces a small whuff & rattle that goes barely noticed by the plant-hippo. As the blade lands on its flower head it cleaves in- unsatisfactorily. Like dropping a butter knife on left-out butter, a slow, blunted divot is left behind with no sounds of pain from the creature. All the same pause is given. After having been struck, the head bobs downward, drooping. Tilting its bud towards Last Stand it opens slightly & its grip on Twilight Sparkle loosens partly due to the tugging and the head lowers even further as if cowering in shock. As much as it can distinguish where this second, faster figure came from it attempts to look at it for all the world like a puppy that had just been swatted after having widdled on the rug. Managing as well as it can with its lack of features & full mouth, the plant-creature lets out a quizzical roar, confused as to why these new things are attacking it now.

Radduh?

Catpone Cerberus · July 25, 2019

@Blitz Boom
Ruby didn't pay too much attention to the boar on the river other than communicating to it that if it leaves her alone, she leaves it alone, since even if it couldn't sense her true self, it could still see her as a threat. She quickly washed off the old poison and with bit of transforming magic managed to dry off her pony form's coat after it, before heading back to Spicy. "I'm back." she decided to say when she arrived back to spicy, mostly because she didn't want her to think she was an outsider trying to rob her.

Besides that Ruby didn't say anything until Spicy said something that needed a response, and started just hauling the rest of the chests into the wagon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nada followed the two ponies and didn't stop singing at any point, though the song started losing it's song-ness after a while as in it was no longer repeating collection of lyrics but just a string of changing words in changing order sang in a melody. She would keep singing until Lyriel would ask her to stop or there would be a other outside interference.
--------------------------------------------------------------

@Widdershins
Cerberus stopped playing with the tail when it dropped and stood up, poking it a bit with his hoof "Half of me is seriously weirded out and the other half is slightly excited." the other cats after getting over the shock of the tail suddenly dropping, started investigating it from closer and eventually went to take their part of the enjoyment. "I'll see how I feel after they're done." his relationship to meat and fish was...complicated, he was omnivore and they tasted good to him, but his pony-side always felt weird about it, and it didn't exactly help knowing who it belonged to.

Emerald Heart · July 25, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Mariposa giggled as the spider crawled it's way onto her, it's legs tickling herself as it walked. Raising her other hoof up, she gently stroked it's fuzzy body and made eye contact with Jelly, "How long have you had him?" She asked, "He seems very attached to you, so I am guessing for quite a while." She guessed.

Rising Dusk · July 26, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Always funny how things ended up this way. Rising Dusk just finished fighting a dark wizard, survived the aftereffects of one of Bash's power pills and here he was being defeated by a mug of water. The majority of the water had been loosened from his lungs in the initial coughing fit, but the aid of a patting hoof to his back did well in helping him get rid of the rest. At least there was a point that she knew a random lightning bolt wasn't going to strike her down if she upset him. Having calmed down enough thanks to Wisp, "Thank you." Now turning his attention back to the daughter of the witch of the wilds, "I hope with Twisted gone, your mother can now be free from his shadow. And you as well," he said softly, pointing a hoof in her direction. It wasn't difficult for the detective to notice her downplayed appearance and nervousness, but whether self imposed or by the town's folk, she did seem a little outside the rest of the town. In a land so under hoof from the darkness, it couldn't be easy being the daughter of darkness' apprentice, forced or not. If Twisted recruited gifted ponies like Wisp said, then the story of Lily's service might not be as willing as he thought. However, being under his influence so long, it'd be hard to tell how condition she'd become. With such a long history, sorting out her crimes as Twisted or her own would be nearly impossible at this point.

Things were in the hoofs of Princesses, Captains, Queens and High Priestesses now. A deep tissue massage and vacation were all the detective had on his wish list for the near future.

This tale of the Cursebearers were most intriguing to Rising Dusk, and Minty, of course. Ponies that could take a curse from another into themselves? Such a rare gift in of itself and the mental resiliency they'd have to have. In his time, he's seen some nasty curses, jinxes and hexes, how many never made it to be cleansed? And even if they did, not all made it? Minty's comment and his own might have off as course without all the details. A fact commonly overlooked with his talent and purpose in this world. Others out there had the same problems to deal with in their own ways however they can. Not everywhere was Equestria.

"Brave souls," the larger white unicorn admired. No ill could be said of beings so willing to sacrifice themselves to save others.

Blitz Boom · July 26, 2019

@Emerald<3

"I've had Gary for a little over two years, ever since he was a tiny little egg. Mom wasn't too happy that my first pet was a spider, but daddy convinced her to let me keep him, and I've been really good at keeping him happy and safe. I've tried to see if he wanted to go back to the wild a few times and find others of his kind, but he doesn't seem all that interested. Also I can't find out where there's more if his kind anywhere near Canterlot or Ponyville. His kind of spider are pretty rare outside of the snowy places. Hehe, whenever it gets really warm, right? He starts hiding everywhere there's shadow or cold. He scared mom a few times by hiding near the fridge and falling down on her when she opened the door."

"Warm, bad. Is hairy."

Gary were currently hiding from said warm sun in the mane of the mare who were stroking his fur, and letting out a chittering sound that were the closest a spider would come to a purr. Cute if you knew what the deal with it were, unnerving otherwise.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

Spicy weren't deaf, so she did sure hear that she had gotten company before the word came in, but Ruby seemed to be getting into another of her silent spells after a vague hello, and just got on with moving the boxes in instead of having a chat with a poor blind pony. Weren't all that kind towards her, were it? Perhaps they'd be better off trying to see if they could teach this gal some manners. Perhaps using some dog tricks would work? Had to have a lot of treats on her, though honestly, she weren't even sure what this one ate. Perhaps she could ask Marley when he'd eventually pop in after the auction. Heh, he must be boring his feathers off by now.

So Spicy followed troop and gave Ruby the silent treatment as they got the last boxes into the cart, in which time Spicy hit her head one more time as she got confused by the movement for a bit with Ruby there too and hit one of the chests. Tough luck, eh?

"Alright, seems like we're sorted. Sorta thinking we might need to put a pin in that party plan until later though, 'cause this blinding powder thing's starting to go on for a while now. I think I'm gonna need a zebra or doctor at this point. Got any issues returning to Canterlot? We'd need to go there to stash some of yer hoard anyway, right?"

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

@Catpone Cerberus

The plants were somewhat simple enough to pass, long as you moved with their twisting, and soon enough, the lot of them would be able to get on to the main core of the plants. At this point, Lyriel would step forward ion front of them, and wouldn't stop until some of the mass opened to reveal a Plunderseed Grabber Plant.

This one were clearly damaged, attacked or suffering some sort of calamity from an event, with a third of the grabbing appendages broken or missing, along with some deep cuts. One of which were only barely keeping together.

As it faced her, a vibration went through the nearby vines and they started to rise up and block the baths out of here. Though dulled, the spikes were still hard and would hurt being pressed against you, and this one seemed to want them to not leave.

"You poor thing."

Lyriel took a step closer and would put a hoof on the plant before it could get away, which caused the plants to vibrate again and move in closer, all the while the dryad brushed her hoof down it without anything but pity showing in her teary eyes.

"I understand why you're afraid now. All this damage, it must cause you so much pain."

The next half minute or so would be a mostly one sided communication by the looks of it, with the plant swaying around her, like it were some sort of snake, and Lyriel respond with *yes* and *no* mostly, along with a few nods and shakes of the head. It seemed she were being asked things that the others couldn't understand. Plants speaking were pretty non-inclusive like that.

"...I understand. Please, rest your weary heart now. The Earth Mother awaits you in her loving embrace."

The grabber would shakingly slump back into the main mass, before coming out holding asbest it could, a dark-green seed, around the size of a foals head. With some strain, it would deposit this to the waiting hoof of Lyriel, before it collapsed and fell flat on the ground. Around them, the plants would stop moving all together and follow troop, before rapidly decaying right before their very eyes.

The dryad looked at the seed with tears falling from her eyes and held it close in her hooves, whilst reciting a small prayer that sounded like a fresh spring breeze wafting through grass.

"You don't have to worry for this place anymore, Nada. The poor thing's suffering is over, and her essence returns to rejoin the goddess below."

Berry just stood and gave the dryad a funny look, whilst gazing around at the dying plant. She really wanted to say something here, but she were drawing a blank, since this whole thing had been a bit too bizarre for her.

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

@Widdershins @Dji

Urgh, that hit did a lot less damage that she had wanted it to. Darn plant seemed to be resilient, which didn't help her when she were tired and hadn't the energy to go full on offence here. If she had, she would've struck with a jump and a large swing, which even with her old sword, she could use to cleave trees with. This sword of her ancestors were stronger than that, though honestly more alike a regular sword than you'd think. The aura here were designed to allow you to strike things on the spiritual plane, but that held little water when striking a regular being. The slight anti-magic to allow it to cut through barriers and fully magic flames for example were the thing there, along with the enchantment that kept it sharp and unbroken. Hitting a regular being rather than a spell would have this as mostly just a sturdy blade, though it did give an intimidating look to it seeing how it were aflame, which added some value for sure.

Soon as the princess got spewed out, Cherish would grab her in spectral energy and pull both herself and the princess back, away from the plant, at which point the growling mare that were Last would jump in front of the frazzled spirit and likely shocked princess, and look at the roaring plant with her narrow right eye.

"You will pay for that, you overgrown sack of mulch. Nopony harms the princess as long as I draw breath!"

Her words were angry, but she wouldn't strike first right now. Seeing how the plant had taken the last attack, she had to play this defensively, and that meant waiting for it to make the first move, so that she could capitalize on it and potentially cut the stem entirely.

Only thing that would stop this confrontation from happening right now, would be if the princess stopped it, but would she have any sort of sympathy towards a thing that just about seemingly tried to eat her? They'd see, though if the order were given - or even a suggestion really, long as it came from a princess - Last would obey. She might be angry and wanting to cut this, but she were the newest in a long line of royalist fanatics. It were in their blood to obey the throne, and Last embraced that with all her being.

behind her, Cherish would shake the princess with her cold hooves, whilst trying to keep them corporeal enough to not just slide through the princess, which would leave a cold feeling wherever the spectral being would touch. Mostly the specter succeeded, but not always, so a few strokes ran through.

"Twilight? P-Princess Twilight? Are you okay? Say something, please!"

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

@Rising Dusk

1 hour ago, Rising Dusk said:

"I hope with Twisted gone, your mother can now be free from his shadow. And you as well,"

"They have never blamed me for her decision. It was her burden to bear, not mine, and I have come to accept that he took advantage of a desperate mare. I just hope that she weren't pushed so far that there's nothing to save. The stories of what happens to those who failed Twisted are things of legends and nightmares, and though she have done wrong, my mother doesn't deserve that. Far as I know at least..."

The mare bit her lip, and thought of what she did know. Things that might explain and garner some sympathy, but were that really something she should speak of here? If her mother had gone off to the deep end, and done things of her own will, or been broken completely, then perhaps it weren't warranted to try and help her. She would prefer to see her with her own eyes to know what exactly were going on, if she were to be honest.

"I can answer any question you may have about her up until fifteen years ago, but after that, we haven't seen her. I weren't even sure if he hadn't just stuffed her into one of his atrocities before I were told she were with you. If you need answers from her, then could you... Take me, to her? I would know if she had changed."

"You want to face her... Alone?"

The question spoken by Wisp were one of nervous fear, directed towards the mare whom she had just heard wanted to go and communicate with a pony that Wisp were well aware had caused some issues towards. Indirectly, but no matter the age, abandonment and servitude to the darkest wilderness wizard they had in Harrowmark, were bound to cause some problems.

"Sooner or later, I'd have to, Wisp. Might as well let it be now, when I could help bridge the gap and get all of us answers. Ponies of Harrowmark are not usually willing to trust outsiders, so if they come saying that Twisted is done, I doubt she would trust it, and if she still fears him, she won't tell a thing as long as she thinks he draws breath."

She were none too thrilled about it, and it did damped her party mood, but it seemed fitting in a sense, that it were her, being the most direct family member of Lily, though she knew that considering the history of this whole thing, Wisp understandably worried about her.

As for Thistle, she nodded, and gave a small smile towards Minty. She had been respectful towards the Cursebearers, which meant much for her, and whilst she had intended to talk further on this, she would rather wait and see how this current situation would pan out. It were of some importance, especially considering the truth of Harrowmark paranoia towards outsiders. Even in her time, it had not been the best, and 600 years of more or less being cut off from other parts of the world had not dampened that, to put it mildly. They may well need some help from within to get answers from both Lily and the other mage, though she would admit that this were not the one whom she had expected it to be. Still, they would see how things panned out before she would interfere.

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

@EQ_Theta

On 7/25/2019 at 3:53 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“A necklace for Lin and a leg cuff for Sen. I noticed you have a necklace with two scales on it; guessing those two were from them. That is breaking tradition but knowing they’ve been wandering the world for years, they picked up a thing or two in their travels. I couldn’t decide where to place the centerpieces for these gifts so I made them separate instead of working on just one whole piece at once. See these gemstones? A fire ruby and a star sapphire. Looks ordinary right now but hold them up against a fire and the night sky respectively and see what happens. I won’t spoil the surprise.”

If it weren't because what he said sounded important, Omen would have said something about her not understanding much of what he were talking about. She wanted to, but she understood very little about gems beyond the fact that dragons and Shrimp ate them, and that she didn't care much for the taste herself. Rocks were better in her opinion, and didn't take as long to chew through.

Mostly she just saw them as they were presented now. Jewelry, meant to be worn for some reason. She had a long time thought that perhaps it were because birds liked shiny stuff, and pegasi were like birds, but then she started to go more places than just a few out of field towns and saw more wear them. At that point she wasn't sure anymore, and best she had been *explained* about it, they were just something some liked to wear because it were expensive and shiny, and they liked to show that off to others.

Ponies as a whole being related to birds had become her go to explanation for things after that, which still persisted to this day. It was just an easy way of trying to understand it, as even though she had tried some on, Omen still didn't get the appeal of jewelry. Thankfully some nice ponies with strange leather jackets had told her they wanted them, so the problem had solved itself. They had looked kinda weird when she just gave it to them and walked away though. perhaps they expected her to say thanks? She weren't sure. That had still been a thing she hadn't tried much at the time.

As for Zo and his work, she went over and sniffed to them, to see if there were anything special, but it didn't seem to be the case. She'd note what he had told her about holding these towards fire and the sun though. It sounded like something special would happen, and she liked new experiences. It helped her learn sometimes.

On 7/25/2019 at 3:53 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“And about that comparison between my grandchildren and Discord? The difference there is that they are letting you decide. They ask because you have a stake in the choices presented to them and your thoughts on those matters are important.”

“When Discord was around, you relied on him to give you direction, to tell you what you should do. Sen and Lin listened to their parents like you with Discord but eventually, there will come a time when they will have to make their choices alone and find their way in the world. I suppose that’s what they’re ultimately teaching you. One day, they might not be around anymore and you need to be ready for that. It’s good they’re sticking with you, looking out for your needs. Between this and being sort of adopted by your Mother, I can see why you call them your siblings.”

"You use many big words."

This one had been too difficult for Omen to follow for all that long. She got the gist of a few things, like how Sen and Lin gave her choice were Discord didn't, and that Mother and Omen called them family, but beyond that, it got too intricate for her head to wrap itself around currently. She'd see if he'd say it in a way she understood better, if not that, she'd try and have a go at understanding what he meant again.

Zo reminded her of Lin a lot actually. They both liked talking for a long time with big words that meant important things. Perhaps this is where Lin got her smarts from? Omen had heard some ponies say how their brains had gotten inherited from their older family members, so that could make sense. Did Sen then inherit things from Zo's mate? She'd ask later, but she didn't have the focus or room in the head to stockpile a question that easily right now, so she might forget.

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

@Kaze Yousei

"An Amaryllis sounds like a splendid idea. May I please purchase one from you sir?"

The flower on Briar's head swayed and glowed slightly, as a green aura rose his necklace and opened it to reveal it were about two thirds filled with bits. About 30 that were, plus/minus potentially two. He were not entirely sure, as it had been some time since he had last counted.

"And before I forget it, I thank you for the sentiment, and I hope that you will too find your path in life. I personally find that the best way is to wander and discover yourself, yet a life on the road is of course, not for everypony. That being said, it would surround you with both plants and plenty of raw materials to make food from, so perhaps it may inspire you? Yet, if we were to go down that route, may I ask if you have considered combining your passions? Growing plants could well include varied greens which you could then cook to make organic food for whomever so dines with you. I have heard that it is rather well received to have quaint little combination stores such as that, though of course, if you do wish to fully embrace one, it may be too much.

Perhaps I could help give my perspective, if you could value in that? What draws you towards the art of cooking, and what is it with plants that speak with you? Heh, present company excluded, of course."

He couldn't help it. Sometimes, he just wanted to make some plant based jokes, and this were at least not the worst. He hadn't yet mentioned that he would *be-leaf something*, so it were yet groan-worthy in his opinion.

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

@Moonlit

On 7/24/2019 at 11:07 PM, Moonlit said:

"I remember that, it was her 5th Birthday, and she wanted to do some swimming before her party. So we left her to her devices. We come out, she's been alone for less then a minute, and I went from having a Siren Daughter to a Frosty Pony."

"Aaawh, look at that widdle face. She looks like a kitten who just got caught doing something it shouldn't have."

There was just something over that picture that were so inherently innocent that it just made Ziggy's heart melt. Sure Serenade had munched her cake down all by herself, but come on, how could you look at that face and get angry? She was just a little cutie who wanted some cake and got the munchies. What kid didn't want to have all the cake for themselves? Cake were awesome! And at that age, you had little to no inhibitions. It were bound to happen.

The next pictures were less adorable, but great little windows into the life of Serenade. Like how puberty had less smashed into her, and more *grabbed hold and stretched as far as it could*. As another creature who had to go through a lot of growing up tall, Ziggy could relate to that, though for her, the process just sorta sped up when she hit puberty, rather than start there. Still, tall gall's club. Oooh, perhaps she should try asking Serenade later if she were up for that as their group name? She had to try and remember it.

The last picture of her standing tall and proud in her pegasus disguise, beaming with pride alongside her parents as she got her diploma were a really nice one to end on, honestly. It just seemed to encompass her so perfectly.

"Oooh, I can almost feel this one radiate. That must've been a heck of a special day for the three of you."

Just imagine though, if Serenade didn't have to be hidden in disguise in the photo. Hopefully when the next siren stood in her place - Celestia knows how long from now - there wouldn't have to be that sorta deception needed anymore. Still, it really didn't look like any of them minded, and were more focused on the grandeur of seeing their daughter graduate. That was always a special day for most parents.

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

@Califorum @Widdershins

She sure did leave them confused. Mostly because the thief had just broken down a door to one of the bathrooms, stomped on it whilst spouting what sounded like some kind of anarchy or anti-government stuff, and then taken off down the hall she had just been going up from. Rose, Sorrow, and her father, would all be looking down that hallways in confusion for sure, wondering if everything were alright with this mare.

Smokey on the other hoof, had let out a sigh and run after her. With the life he lead, running away from things and trying to escape were basically mandatory, so he could get some pretty good speed going, even if he weren't feeling all that well these days after the incident a few nights ago. Still, he pursued, and would catch up to the mare running through his house, in the direct opposite direction of where the actual front door were, though that might be for the best for her. It were quite a bit more sturdy than say, one of the exits to the garden, which they were headed towards, and would be at within the next few minutes more than likely, though it too were sealed up well at this point and would need a less than kind touch.

"You're right, I can afford that door, and what else you might end up breaking. But I've worked hard and risked my life countless times to get every single bit I spent to gain my fortune, all the way down from living with bankrupt parents in Dodge Junction. I weren't born with a silver spoon, and if it means anything to you, I hate the nobles of this town. I specifically bought the old mansion they valued as a symbol on this ground, so that I could have it demolished in front of them. All to make a point."

It had been a pretty good day, seeing the shocked and outraged faces as he showed them that he did not want to live within a part of their history, but rather build on top of the ashes. It had been a pretty big deal at the time, yet right now, he couldn't find it in himself to really smile at it. The vague motion that came on his face seemed hollow and strained, which weren't hard to see either.

"You can keep running, try and break through the door, and you might get out. Or stop up, tell me what your deal with the hierarchy are, and we might find some common ground in the matter. I honestly couldn't care enough to summon the guards either way."

Had some of his stuff been broken or stolen? Likely, but everything in this place were remakes as he didn't want actual antiques. Too expansive and non-functional for his taste, and what he had could be bought or made again. He had pretty substantial savings, even after the taxes and varied charitable donations he took part in. Coming from the bottom and fighting into luxury didn't mean he had forgotten those lower down after all, though from the sounds of it, this intruder came from somewhere that weren't helped by anypony, and she had gone bitter and rebellious towards the entire government.

Who could really blame her in such a situation?

Emerald Heart · July 26, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Mariposa chuckled at the spider's reaction, "It's alright." She soothed, stroking him a couple more times before offering Gary to Jelly, "Why don't you go back to your owner, sir."

"That's actually really interesting. I'm an insect expert, but I've never seen anything like him either." She admitted to Jelly, "Well, I don't want to keep you here too long. Where were you planning to go?"

Props Valroa · July 26, 2019

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom

She broke the wrong door, and miscalculated the layout of the house! She thought that was the front door, perhaps it was just a visual error or a heat of the moment thing, she continued to head towards the door in the back, the ones that exited to the garden when he spoke, then she slowed down and listened. If these ponies had any combat experience she would probably be fighting them by now, they don't. What harm can a little talk to? After all, the entire world is hers to steal from and sneak around, a few minutes wouldn't matter. She could escape at any time she wanted. She had no boundaries, no limits. It was all up to her.

She listened to what Smokey had said there, and turned around. "Tell you what...you might make a good partner. Even if you do fuss up to the guard I can easily leave and go somewhere else. And why just break down a mansion, when you can gather up a following to tear down the system? Tear down this system in which we live? It's all built by lies, greed." she took a step forward, showing the stallion her cutie mark. "If we work together, we can take down the system, and show the populace the knowledge they deserve. Are you happy with a status quo? Are you happy with the way things are in this world? Celestia and the other alicorns have ruled this land for far too long, the sun and moon should not be slaves to the alicorn sisters. The passing of cycles can happen naturally, we don't need pegasi to control the weather, we don't need ponies to control the land. We need to control ourselves, by taking down the aristocracy the has destroyed any hope of our independence. Don't you...feel a bit of fire within? Yes...rage..." she said, taking another step forward.

Then with a grin, her horn flared up with a dangerous spark, controlled by her, and then it went out. "Control it, use it to your advantage. Use it for fuel for the revolution. Let's take down the lies of this world together. And if you don't help me. You stand against me." she warned. She could easily leave, but she wanted to see what he thought. Her plans could wait, for now.

Moonlit · July 26, 2019

@Blitz Boom Harmony nods, "It was, I just wish she had been in that damn disguise." She shrugs, "Still, better then being run off with pitchforks." She closes the book, "Serenade should be at least somewhat mobile" She indicates the clock, about 4 hours have past. Apparently Time Travel is a thing when Cute Sirens are involved.

EQ_Theta · July 27, 2019

@Blitz Boom

Big words? Lin didn't say anything about this but this one might need a different approach. Seems like the elderly artisan couldn't simply explain this away and would need to try something different. Studying under different craft builders gave him the skills he needed to do what he does now but what he needs is technique, their way of teaching instead of the content of their lessons. They say a teaching style evolves as one takes in students, changing to what is needed. Perhaps he could try something like it.

"Hmm... let's try this. You see these two gems wrapped in your hair? All I need to do is to place them on the necklace and cuff, and I'll be finished. Since this is your gift to my grandchildren, how about you decide which gem goes on which gift? I'll respect whatever your choice is. Remember, the necklace goes to Lin and the cuff goes to Sen."

A little experiment to see how Omen processes the prospect of choice presented to her. Frankly, this one wouldn't have a consequence as big as some of the more definitive life choices anyone will ever make; a simple red vs. blue option corresponding to the colors of the gemstones. Zo's words couldn't get the point across but what about giving Omen an actual situation that requires making a decision? That could be a start.

Sekel · July 27, 2019

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

Karmic gave a start at hearing Enzo and shook her head rapidly from side to side. She jumped away from Enzo and pressed herself up against a couple of stalagmites that had risen from the ground. "Sorry. I usually get disoriented after an incredibly long vision and you sneaking up didn't help matters," Karmic told him as she looked in his direction. "Atzy and I are speaking, but she doesn't know why the filly showed up either."

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"Regular food and stuff?" Aurora repeated as she lighted down next to the cart. She wasn't even out of breath. "Um ... sure. If it's edible and not alocmoholic then goood. I can have some."

@Blitz Boom & @Widdershins

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight shivered and gasped within Cherish's grasp. She found herself sliding all over the place only to let out a yelp when Cherish's grip fumbled. She managed to save herself from hitting the ground by quickly flapping her wings but as soon as she lighted down, she looked at the giant flower. "That isn't a Tatzlwurm flower. Or at least one that was pictured in the books. What is it!?"

@Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

"Believe it or not, my own mother did this to me when I was a filly. I'd much rather run around on top of buildings than fly anyway. Flying's underrated," Dawn grumbled as she left him in the lounge room only to reappear moments later with a pitcher of water. "This should help you get some energy back, you daft drake."

Catpone Cerberus · July 28, 2019

@Blitz Boom

"Actually my stash is in Ponyville as I stated before, but no, there's no issues with going back to Canterlot, are you able to pull the wagon, or should I?" Ruby replied as she did a final check to make sure the boxes would stay in place. "I assume that there we will share these, not that it is anyway complicated since we need to split only one of the chests' contents." technically if they were to share them based on how much work each did, Ruby would deserve more than Spicy, but lucky for Spicy, Ruby didn't care about that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nada changed her singing to humming when the plant started to close them in, figuring singing wasn't necessary anymore but didn't dare to fully stop just in case it was. She fell quiet after the plant died, she didn't seem too shocked about seeing it decaying so fast, probably because of the earlier experience with the similar plant she told about. She just nodded when Lyriel spoke to her, she didn't really have anything to say, because she didn't know what to say about what just happened, and she felt that going straight to the topic about performing in this place would be a bit insensitive seeing how Lyriel had reacted to the whole plant thing.

Widdershins · July 28, 2019

@Catpone Cerberus

Well, no bones about it; you don't have to pick a bone about it.

Widdershins said, flopping back over to what his elongated cylinder of a body could call a back and gesturing in the air with the remaining stump in the air with his thinner tail trailing behind.

There no bones in me to worry about! ….. bone to... bone-in to... there's some sort of humorous commentary there.

…. I DO make a mean gumbo though! I'm quite the aspiring chef, If I do say so myself!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@Dji

Front claws held in front of his chest & between his spread back claws, Kaltrop grimaces.

"Why would she-? Hmph. Nevermind. We're not allowed to question what our parents do."

Snapping his wings out, full wingspread, as if to gesture his following point, the young drake just nearly grazes having to hit the furniture nearby.

"Flying's rather important! It's only moving under your own power, as much as your own legs. Sometimes that's the only thing others can't take away from you. …..sometimes that's important."

Muzzle twisting a bit into an uncontrolled expression, he blushes, as of yet ignoring the offered water.

"Just appreciate what you do have! Rock it!"

Kaltrop finishes, with a trifle outdated dragon curse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@Blitz Boom & Dji as Sparkles

The object it had had in its maw gone and now no longer being able to sense anything moving near it with its extremely limited vision and utter lack of ocular organs to even understand pony language, even if it had the intelligence to grasp it, the plant-beast lay confused. Its only real developed sense was its mouth, so of course, it unquestioningly used that to explore the world around it. The fact that this often aided in providing fuel for its illogically built bulk was a fortunate side effect.

The gash in its head still wept openly, effective enough than most blades perhaps might have been in the same hooves due to the faint magical texture still covering the thing from its magical origin. This however went unnoticed by the thing as it lacked much of a nervous system.

All the creature understood was that whatever was in front of it, no longer was. Something had moved, therefore something might likely again. Something apparently found a way out of its mouth- which was odd. Nothing had previously expressed any concern about getting out of its mouth again. But the fact that most things that went into it were likely crushed to death was a bit beyond this beast's understanding.

Confused & amused, the giant plant plopped its gargantuan flank down on the ground into a waiting, playful puppy position. Waiting for something to approach it again so it could give it another lick as greeting.

Considering the Tatzelpony weighed a literal ton and a half, this sent a thudding jolt through the ground, enough to rattle the nearby trees & send scurrying most small, arboreal wildlife that had stayed around to watch, considering they had seen this scene play out dozens of times before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@Blitz Boom & @Califorum:

Cali's horn immediately relights.

Once more, completely unbidden by her but without any strain or sense of anything amiss on her awareness, her horn redoes the same spell just cast. A slight spark to drift a pace in front of her, glow in the dark hallway, then wink out just the same as she had just done. Nothing had seemingly changed, but for a completely unwarranted repetition of a spell.

It would seem to be a bad idea to cast unicorn magic in this particular hallway.

And, a voice echoes through the dark hallway the two unicorns had just been chasing through & monologuing to each other in. Cleaving the silence after Cali's speech. Clearly & audibly, the voice speaks to each pony in the hallway, as if standing right by their side, all at the same time.

Technically, no.

--

And in that same hallway, lies a rather ornate painting. Bordered in a frame of what could possibly be solid gold, is your usual archaic painting of somepony's stuffy old ancestor. One with, admittedly a painfully long skull structure the likes of which naturally isn't seen in most ponies. The likes of which, were one to observe the painting would cause one unease at just imagining what'd be like to have a skull shaped that long. But most wouldn't give it second thought. Unless one had been personally (ponyally?) involved in placing each individual decoration and piece of this household like its owner would notice an added piece... or an accomplished thief, greedy enough to know something aged & pricey when they see something.

--

Elsewhere, in the same manor:

Further down the previous hallways, a tiny, decorative, cheap flower vase lay spinning comically after Cali had sped past it.

Still spinning, that is. It should have stopped doing so some minutes before. The tiny daisy placed inside lay flinging about it, just about dead from the motion.

The fact it still had yet to stop spinning despite nothing else still moving around it.... was unnerving to say the least.

And, like the barely hoof-sized vase before it; a small Hoof-Soap dispenser that was clearly bought on the cheap from a small corner store lay forgotten underneath a certain bathroom sink. The equally tiny plastic dispenser spinning just as madly; its small pump top twirling like a pinwheel.

...and finally... in a quiet lounge room on a fireplace mantle (this manor was likely big enough to have several fireplaces.) lay a small, domed clock ticking away. In perfect rhythm, it sounds out its ticking in the silent room... except for the small fact its hands were wedged firmly at 12:05 & fifty-five seconds. Just nervously jittering in place. Like a beating heart.

Something in this household... was going... against the natural order of things.

Props Valroa · July 28, 2019

@Widdershins

The thief was confused at what was happening, thinking that the spell messed up. But, how would that be possible? It was just a simple spell after all. Then the voice spoke to them, she listened and was silent before she bursted into a laughter, sort of a cackle. "Oh, and you are? You have no right to tell me what to do here. Hahaha! I'm so scared!" she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Blitz Boom · July 28, 2019

@Emerald<3

"Pony have a soft head. Friendly."

Gary spoke as he were passed on back to Jelly, and returned to his spot inside her mane, though his small eyes did show between the hairs as he would stare fascinated at this new mare.

"I were just helping where I could. Daddy says it's important to help others, and with the town getting attacked a few days ago, there's a lot who still needs a bit of help with small stuff after the buildings have been fixed up all nice and pretty again.

Oh!, Do you need help with anything? I know I'm not big enough to lift heavy stuff, but I promise that I can help with all sorts of other things, like carrying things somewhere, or reach stuff. I'm a good flyer."

Jelly spread her leathery wings and flapped up, before making a few loops in the air. Gary were used to these sorts of things, and didn't seem to have an issue holding on during this, so the joyful filly could return to the ground without a hitch, and continue to look up at Mariposa with big, curious eyes. This mare were really something else, and even if she didn't need help now, jelly would for sure need to find her other times and talk with her. Somepony who could understand insects and arachnids were really something special, and since Gary obviously liked her too, and she didn't think the mare had done something bad that would make her daddy not want them to meet again, Jelly saw no issues hanging around her more often. If she needed help it'd just be an easy way to get some more time in right away, and perhaps learn some more about her.

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

@Califorum @Widdershins

Smokey stopped and listened to what were presented to him. Mostly it were sounding like the mad ramblings of a crazy pony, but if you sifted through some of the more extreme things and looked at the whole, she did have a point. Whilst he personally thought that Celestia did a fine enough job of ruling Equestria, she were not perfect. Some areas had been less fortunate with government aid because other areas were deemed more important, and resources had been diverted to the area. Usually something would be arranged, and emergencies were generally something that were reacted to pronto, though there were a few places he had heard off that might as well be invisible on the large scale map the generals here in Canterlot used.

Thinking that this intruder might come from one of those places would give merit to her behavior. If you had been shunned from the governments side, and had to live in a slump, or disease-riddled area where you had to beg the heavens to send travelling doctors and ponytarians your way, you would grow resentful and rebellious towards the ruling class. If Dodge Junction hadn't been a place mainly able to sustain itself, whilst also raking in some tourist bits these days as their country were making positive connections to more and more races, he might have ended up just like she were now. A tragedy really, especially as her hatred for the ruling class had likely blinded her to what her actions would actually cause.

The voice that went through the halls soon after were something that drew his attention, and managed to perk him a little bit, but as nothing more seemed to come of it, he just assumed he were hearing things again, and returned to address the mare in front of him.

"Then what are your alternative? Without a ruling class of some kind, laws would falter, and Equestria would fall into chaos. And with no pegasi to adjust the weather, we could run into widespread famine seasons if the weather runs uncontrollable across the entirety of the country, like in the dark ages.

I understand your want to fight what is here. It's not perfect, and many have come to suffer because of it, but anarchy would just cause even more pain and suffering. There needs to be a plan, and a better alternative that others would listen to. Otherwise, it's easy for others to just spin the news to make you into just another enemy of Equestria, instead of somepony scorned. If that's what your deal is, I dunno."

He could have made more heartfelt arguments and given example upon example on places where it had been done correctly, but he honestly weren't in the mood to go all in right now. He were tired, depressed, and just wanted to forget what happened, and go back to how things were before. Something which he sadly were unable to do, hence why he right now wasn't spry, talking with more spirit, or just generally in the mood for making a big fuss over something like a radical revolutionary breaking into his home.

Something to the side caught his eye though, right as he had stopped talking. A painting. One among many really. Yet, though the frame looked to be something he might have placed somewhere in this mansion, the picture were not. The only pictures he had anywhere were of himself and his cousin, parents, Sorrow, and her father - his mansions caretaker most days - Grim Prospect. Those were the only ones that mattered to him (that he were legally wise to acknowledge), and the rest of the pictures and paintings were just landscapes or other pretty things. This ghastly thing were not a purchase of his.

...Had Rose gotten something while he hadn't noticed again? And why did he feel uneasy from starring at this?

"Wait, I'm not just hearing voices?"

Smokey's voice were getting a little more alive, yet not as alarmed as one might think. More hopeful, in a weird sort of way.

Elsewhere int he mansion, at the spinning vase, rose let out a small curse and knelt down to have a better look at the poor flower in the pot. Completely ruined it seemed. Grrr, insufferable outsider! Did she not care how much much Rose had worked to ensure that the garden, and every plant inside the mansion were beautiful and lively? No of course she didn't. Nopony ever thought of the gardener! Those little... Wait. Why were this still spinning?

She'd try to grab hold of it and make it stop, since seeing this were making her feel weird. Like, this were an omen of sorts, warning of something making its way towards them. Preposterous stuff though. It were just a spinning vase, not something ominous.

...Right?

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

@Moonlit

"I don't think she have to be hidden much longer. She's been talking with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Twilight about things, and they seem pretty open to giving her a chance. I think it really helps that Twilight have mended so many other old fences, like with the dragons and changelings. They're more open to trying to do the same with others, and I bets you that it won't even be a half year before Serenade's free to float around wherever she wants, and show everypony how nice sirens can be. I bet there'll be others like her that's just afraid to show themselves because of the sisters. Naughty sirens."

Well, the brothers too more than likely, but those two members of the deep ocean sirens kept to their own area, which were hard to fight through, but easy to defend. A perfect little country to take over for cruel beings like them, but who knew? Perhaps if some of the olden ones and other big sirens would go nice, they'd launch an attack and take them down, to remove the last bits of the real bad ones from history? It were a nice thought, that's for sure.

When it were pointed out how long time had gone on, Ziggy looked baffled at the clock. Had time really gone by that quickly? Those pictures must've been even cuter than she thought, since time had just flown away like that whilst they looked at them.

"Oooh, time flies when adorableness is ahoof! Let's find Serenade. I wanna give her a big happy hug."

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

@EQ_Theta

Omen stood and thought on this option for a few minutes. She wasn't all that familiar with how jewelry worked for the varied creatures, though she tended to see more mares wearing ear rings, and stallions carrying some kind of ring somewhere. The two options presented were neither though, and even if that wasn't the case, she still wouldn't have any idea what sort of gem were mostly for males. So after a few minutes, she fell back on something that she could perhaps use to make the choice: Color.

"With ponies, females wear red and pink, males blue. Same with Longma maybe? Perhaps other way?"

She tilted her head from side to side, feeling the thought make rounds inside her brain a few more times whilst she pondered this a little more.

"Lin is water. Deep. Complicated. And Sen is fire. Dangerous. Many emotions. Full of warmth.

...Red is Sen, blue is Lin?"

It were an answer, even if it had the ring of being a cautious one, as she weren't sure if this were a test and she were failing it right now. She still tried though, and had thought of other ways to think of the gems, which after colors came to what they looked like, with the sapphire being blue like water, and it's counterpart literally having fire in its name.

To her, water were complicated and full of mystery, just like Lin seemed to be with all the layers she had gotten over the course of the time they had known one another, with more and more being shown when the female longma for example began helping with Shrimp, and then later on tried teaching Omen to read and write. She were also a creature of both Omen's and this world, who had her own mind and weren't controlled by anypony, whom now had to find out the side effects of being this mixed being.

When it came to Sen, he were simpler, though also hard to grasp. Yet to Omen, he were more like fire than water, as he seemed more dangerous, and warm towards others. He had been the first since Discord who had treated her kindly, which might make her somewhat biased on this, but it were still what her opinion on the matter were. She also built this sort of an exepression she had heard some ponies use, where they said that somepony were burning with emotions, and Sen sure had a lot of those. He were more complex than Lin in that matter far as Omen's view on things went, and if the expression were true, then this would fit him, yes? She'd see soon enough, after Zo answered. He seemed to know a lot of things, and liked to talk. She were sure she'd get some answers from him, once he replied.

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

@Dji

"I am many times larger than you and carrying our sole source of light. I am currently as sneaky as a thunderstorm."

A bit of snark and an exacerbated look came from Enzo after he had been accused of sneaking up on this mare, as he didn't think it possible. He might have the silent steps of a feline, but there were limits to how a light in the dark attached to a sphinx could be hidden. Perhaps if there were no light, he could have acknowledged it. He did have rather silent steps after all.

"Be that as it may, is there a chance that this were once her home? I know not hos this infectious goo you spoke off were made, yet I wonder if perhaps it weren't once a full changeling, who were made into that form? Even if that is not so, I sense that perhaps we should press on further into the cave, and see if you have more of these visions. It may end up being more important than we could imagine."

Rising the torch, he pointed it in the direction of where the cave went on. He had no idea how deep this went, or even if there would be more to see, but they had come this far on following them. They may as well see where else it could lead them, then seek the gems later. It appeared this place were abandoned anyway.

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

@Dji

"Nah, I keep real food and water on me, just in case. Got some hay, bit of fruit, lots of water, and some beef jerky. I gotta remember to stash up on that one of these days actually. I tell ya, some griffons like having 'em with their booze, and at fairs, it really draws in the meat eaters to have a jar on the counter. Gets the animal lovers all tensed up, but eh, ain't my problem they can't handle that everything's food to somethin' else."

Happy couldn't eat many things normally after his initial transformation into a changeling, being mainly reduced to fluids and love, but as he took things forth now, he figured that perhaps now that he had gotten patched up, it might be worth a shot to see if that still held water.

So as he went into the wagon and picked up a few things - including a couple of wrapped up chocolate chip doughnuts he had forgotten he still had - he'd grab a bit of random stuff and present it on a loose board he used as a counter sometimes. All clean and stuff, so she wouldn't have to worry about any sorta blood or nothing from the times he got to making beef jerky. His business were clean. Couldn't have them darn health inspectors give him grief.

"Eat 'n drink what ya need. I got a few more things stashed where they'll last in there. Dunno if you're a meat eater since you've been hiding as a griffon all this time, but eh, grab some good ol' beef jerky if it tickles ya fancy. Me? I'm gonna see if I can eat one of these baked goods. Last time I gave it a go, I went hurling for ten minutes straight. Just my luck I got me one of them weak changeling stomachs, eh?"

Tentatively, he'd unwrap the doughnut and give it a bite, then chew down and just sit there, waiting to see what were going on. After a few minutes of nothing happening, he went into a big, genuine grin, changed into his actual, humanoid form, and started to devour the rest of this doughnut with great delight. He hadn't been able to do this in years, and had frankly missed it.

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

@Dji @Widdershins

On 7/27/2019 at 6:25 AM, Dji said:

"That isn't a Tatzlwurm flower. Or at least one that was pictured in the books. What is it!?"

"I-I don't know princess. I can't remember even seen a normal one."

"Isn't like any I've seen."

Last remained in a defensive stance, mentally preparing a few different attacks, depending on the attack angle from this plant. The main one were a strong strike upwards, cutting through the stem to the head entirely, and then see if she couldn't separate the bud/head from the rest of it. Usually things stopped moving once you decapitated it, minus a few enemies she had met at the shrine that required more precise strikes, and fire. Disturbing things the lot of them.

1 hour ago, Widdershins said:

Confused & amused, the giant plant plopped its gargantuan flank down on the ground into a waiting, playful puppy position. Waiting for something to approach it again so it could give it another lick as greeting.

Considering the Tatzelpony weighed a literal ton and a half, this sent a thudding jolt through the ground, enough to rattle the nearby trees & send scurrying most small, arboreal wildlife that had stayed around to watch, considering they had seen this scene play out dozens of times before.

Unexpectedly, the thing sat or planted itself on the ground instead of attack, making the ground and trees shake from it's enormous weight making impact, and scaring much of the wildlife in the area away. Last wouldn't lower her blade or be any less prepared to strike, as she thought this might be a fake-out, but she were feeling unsure what the logic in this sort of approach were from this plant. Were it perhaps more of an ambush predator, and didn't know what to do if the prey escaped? Personally, Last would still elect to have it struck down and burned into ash just to be on the safe side, but in cases like this, there might be the need of a higher power to come in over and guide her.

"Princess Sparkle, what are your orders?"

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Oh right, forgot 'bout that. But still, Canterlot's closer, so it's a better pick right now.

Tell you what, you drag the wagon, make sure I don't go off a cliff or something, and get me to a hospital, and we'll split this 40/60 in your favor. Sounds grand?"

Sure it'll be some money out of her pocket, but Spicy would just consider it the price to ensure she got safely to a hospital, or potentially a zebra. Whichever were needed for this sorta darn thing. Long as she got her eyes fixed up, she'd live with having a bit less cash. 'Sides, this way they didn't have to count through one of 'em right off the bat to make sure it got split evenly. An hour less of work had to count for something, right?

"And don't worry 'bout the weight. The wagon's magically enchanted. It'll stay the same weight no matter how much stuff you put in there. Expensive deal, but avoiding back injuries are an investment worth making."

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Uhm... What just happened?"

Berry were the first to breach the silence. it might not be the best time, but this situation had been messed up, and she wanted to know what kind of lunacy just went on.

"She were damaged and in pain. In desperation, she had sought shelter here to regain strength, but it simply kept getting worse, and trying to reach out to others had for some reason caused them to trap her here. She attempted to leave, but progress were too slow, and she hadn't much time left, so when she realized I understood, she asked me to plant this seed in purified ground, and let the last of her seeds have a chance to bloom. I intent to honor her last wish."

"If that's what I thought it were, that's a really bad idea. The last time plunderseeds grew around here, it almost took over the entire town, and it kidnapped the princesses. It's an evil plant."

Berry were clearly worried, yet Lyriel responded to this by wiping the tears from her face, and with a solemn shake of her head, rather than showing some kind of worry about this potential future.

"No life starts out being evil. Nurtured and given the love it needs, every life can bloom into something better.

And know that I am aware of how corruption looks in nature. It is ugly, and even those not affected. Yet I give you my word, that I will not let the forest be taken by any being, and that if corruption is seen, I will return the spirit to rejoin its mother, though I hope it will not get to that point."

At this point, the plants around them would mostly have vanished, giving Nada the time to gaze around and have a look at what were left of her old stage, whilst Lyriel went over and whispered something to the hawk, before handing the seed towards it. It would grab it with it's talons and take off, away from them, and somewhere else in the forest.

"It will be safe in my home, until I can find the perfect soil for it to grow in. Now please, Nada, tell us more of this place. I think we could use some more light hearted stories after this."

Emerald Heart · July 28, 2019

@Blitz Boom

"Wow, you are an excellent flyer, Jelly. I was actually just on my way to the pet store actually to pick up some food for the insects that I am helping at my house. It's nothing that I can't pick up myself, and you probably have better things to do than help me out."

Props Valroa · July 28, 2019

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom

The thief shook her head, he was not just hearing things. But perhaps that was just something outside, or a mishap caused by her spell? Who knows. She seemed to consider what Smokey had said. "Hmm...thats...fair enough actually." said the thief while thinking. "We could just remove Celestia's influence all together and have the ponies themselves rule rather than some monarch that has reigned for 1000 years or so. Get rid of the weak rulers...and have stronger ones, better able to enforce the law and better able to protect our land's interests, while redistributing aid to those who need it. So they are loyal, and they are on are side and more able to help our land's interests. Rather than...having 6 puny ponies run about or just ignoring those who need it all together..." she growled.

She huffed. "Will you help me take them down, and replace them with ones who truly care? Or will you chicken out and be one of those who keep the way things have been going? You don't like the way things are, I see that, I love that. You need to embrace it. Hate it, and then you will have more ability to do what needs to be done." said the thief, calming down slightly.

Moonlit · July 28, 2019

@Blitz Boom Harmony nods, "Go on my dear, I've got some things that need to get done. A word of caution, don't hug her too much, I hate to have to clean up" Harmony walks with Ziggy as far as the back door.

Widdershins · July 29, 2019

@Blitz Boom

The ornate painting, its artstyle so ancient as if its strokes were done in broad swooshes as if viewing the subject through the surface of a small garden's duck pond, nevertheless remained motionless under Smokey's observation. Despite its lack of reaction to the ongoings around it, an aura of it somehow watching back emanated through.

Pulsing from each, yet none, of every point in the room, the voice forth echoes again.

@Califorum

Burn it all.

Do what you wish. I won't stop you.

But that's the constant through what I've seen. No matter what changes, it all stays the same.

That which replaces what comes before it, must in turn be torn down itself eventually.

You fight, to be fought. You replace the leaders, you lead, then some other being comes along to take you down.

Sometimes, things just happen.

...

Like getting banished in a wall, of some sort.

Again.

A Little Help? Please?

A ways back, the small, cheap vase stops for a moment at Rose's hoof. Then continues spinning with the mare's hoof still stuck onto it, as if she had stuck it into raw cupcake batter and was now spinning it herself.

Daisy rattling around inside it, tattered pitifully, the puny vase continues its twirl as a tiny, tinny voice shrills out, barely audible.

Maaaare!! Stop this crazy thiiiing!!

EQ_Theta · July 29, 2019

@Blitz Boom

“Wow… That’s quite the explanation you got there. I did not expect to hear what you said but you've been through a lot with my grandchildren to know them that well."

Though he wouldn’t admit it, the most he was expecting to hear is a simple delegation of options to the intended recipients. To hear an explanation that was simple but said so much about why a color is chosen over another is impressive. Zo smiled at this, a big grin flashed on his face as he nodded and set to work adding the last pieces of the gifts. It wouldn’t take long as his claws moved at a much quicker pace than his age would suggest.

Maybe Omen’s more worldly experience gained in Equestria gave her some insight on this matter, combined with being with his grandchildren and that would explain where the pony comparisons came from. Sen did mention learning plenty from living among them; the insight him and Omen provided is a start to learning a little more about the world outside. It wasn’t long before the last of the clasps and string were threaded together and the gifts were finished.

“Ha! Here we are! Beautiful, aren’t they? Sen and Lin will love these, and they will certainly be overjoyed to know these are from you!”

“It matches with your necklace, too. Has that simple, homespun charm to it. These will definitely get anyone’s attention and curiosity.”

Props Valroa · July 29, 2019

@Widdershins @Blitz Boom

The thief had no clue what this voice was, whatever it was, it was quite strange. Was it some sort of spirit trapped in the painting? Was it some sort of relative to that 'Discord'? What was it? She listened though, and replied. "I care not what the future brings, as I will be the one to bring the future. I don't care if it is burnt down later down the road, as that is the cycle of life afterall. It's not in my interest to tamper with the cycle of life, other...than the life of my own that is..." she said, bearing a rather crooked grin. "What are you? Some sort of spirit? Why are you here?"

Sign In

open Casual stroll

Recommended Posts

Blitz Boom 4,422

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Blitz Boom

Blitz Boom

Blitz Boom

Posted Images

Props Valroa 25,967

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Moonlit 593

Link to comment

Share on other sites

EcstaticWind 572

Link to comment

Share on other sites

EQ_Theta 414

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Widdershins 9,955

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Catpone Cerberus 23,420

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Emerald Heart 24,557

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Rising Dusk 26,008

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Blitz Boom 4,422

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Emerald Heart 24,557

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Props Valroa 25,967

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Moonlit 593

Link to comment

Share on other sites

EQ_Theta 414

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Sekel 685

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Catpone Cerberus 23,420

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Widdershins 9,955

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Props Valroa 25,967

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Blitz Boom 4,422

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Emerald Heart 24,557

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Props Valroa 25,967

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Moonlit 593

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Widdershins 9,955

Link to comment