open Casual stroll

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Thunder would nod, "I can see that having someone connected with the Element Bearers in the Coastal Guard would certainly boost reputation, I mean, I don't go on their adventures with them, but I do hang out with them sometimes, especially Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash" he'd say, then listening to the story that was being told to him, "Whew, that's quite the tale, but honestly? Oyster farming? Doesn't the guard give you some time on the side to do something you want to do as well?" he'd ask and then at the part at the end, he chuckles "I can imagine that Tidal did something like..turned it into sushimi?"

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom Except for some singed fetlocks, Sunrise is fine. His ears flatten as the sound clop-clop-clop of his wife coming down the stairs. He looks up. "Dear" She is full-on Mom mode "What I have said about doing Science in the basement. He gulps, "Not too?" Harmony turns to Ziggy, "Don't mind this fool, he has the Luck of the Prench in him."

[Sekel 692]

@Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

"You, you did all that?" Dawn asked in a surprised tone. There may have even been a bit of awe in her voice too if the drake listened close enough. She moved to sit in front of the dragon and curled her tail around her hooves ."I, uh, don't think you have to worry about that when I'm letting you live here."

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"It's a good thing," Aurora repeated quietly. She took a bit of time to recollect herself and watched the changeling nymph for a few seconds. "Do you want to see a magic trick?" she asked tentatively, following beside Happy and a little behind him once she realised the nymph hadn’t moved from his back.

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

"The path is marked, let's head down," Karmic replied with a smile, seemingly unconcerned and hadn't noticed the changes of her eyes reflected in Enzo's own. She turned on a dime and even hummed a happy tune as she followed the path through the tunnel. Along the walls, the diamonds grew in various clusters, with most of them growing where paths intersected along the way.

@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"But Ponyville has trained fighters. Me and my friends. If that's what you suggested though, I'll need to talk with you properly about this, you're right," Twilight sighed with a nod. She looked at Last and peered at Cherish before chuckling to herself. "What you probably know about me doesn't match up with what I've been saying, hasn't it?"

Edited October 25, 2019 by Sekel

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

The Apple family rings a bell, a familiar name frequently uttered by the inhabitants of Ponyville. They must be very famous to have family operating outside town and if that is the case, they must be one very big family. All the more reason to wonder what makes their apples special. Might be that they could be the ones selling them to the rest of Equestria if ponies don’t just pluck the fruit off any random apple tree they find out on the road. Either that or they must harvest lots of apple varieties. 

But on to non-apple related matters, Sen followed Rosa and not just on rushing off to get to Omen but also on the buffalo residing in town. Massive creatures with brown, hairy hides, there isn’t an animal off the top of Sen’s head he could compare the buffalo with. Their demeanor could really be anywhere between gentle to aggressive and maybe they might also perceive Omen’s look of curiosity to a challenge should the latter come off that way. Hard to tell when the longma couldn’t see well enough to make an educated assumption but he hoped things would stay calm by the time he and Rosa got to her. 

“Alright, play it cool. Just look around like a tourist.” 

Sen calmly walked along. While he doesn’t see himself as a good actor, it is refreshing to be able to play the part naturally. This is a common enough thing to do when wandering new places and he is no stranger to being an outsider looking inwards. If it weren’t for the situation he is in right now, he’d probably be wandering and looking at the wooden establishments, the general store, and the saloon. 

“Rosa, have the buffalo and the ponies gotten along well? I mean, them being here suggests they are on good terms with each other but was that always the case?” 

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Moonlit

"He should still be more careful. He have you, and lots of foals in the house that would be sad if he got hurt.

Or is it some sorta daycare? I mean, it's a loooot of tiny, adorable ones, and while I've seen big sibling groups before this is like- Whoa, y'know?"

Fair be it if these were all belonging to these two, but holy pumpkin daddy, Harmony must've been huuuge. Several times.

"Anyway! Important part: Try and be safe, okay? I'm a doctor, not a necromancer."

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

 

@Critical-Hit

"I still do oyster farming. I just do it for the Coastal Guard now, and it really doesn't take as much upkeep as you might think. I still got plenty of time for guard duty and hobbies, and so does the others helping out there too. It's important to keep it running well, because of what the general did to the squid. Because she didn't make him into sushimi, nor calamari, even if the local griffons would've been thrilled at it.

Nope, she tamed him. I swear I'm not lying. General Tidal Wave actually have a giant squid as her mount. It's pretty crazy the amount of time and effort she put into it, but just you wait until you see her ride in on that thing. It's pretty intimidating, and it makes a big difference against most enemies we run into in the bay.

That's also why the oyster farm's important. It still hunts outside the bay, but when prey's low, or she needs snacks for it, the oysters comes into the picture. The farm we have here are solely for his benefit, while the others around the area are more for the restaurants and export. It's pretty neat, and it stops him from trying to snack on the shark eggs, or just sharks in general. Hunting must be bad these days though, since the general's getting some real big orders in these days. Nothing we can't handle, but y'know, kinda weird. especially since we're not told about why. Official business I bet."

They were going through more populated areas of the base now. Soon enough, they'd be at the station where the lieutenant were. Thunder would be home again before he knew it.

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@Sekel

Seemed like Aurora were still being a bit down in it, but at least she were somewhat talking, and didn't get into hissy fits or the likes. For the sake of the lil' one he were carrying around, Happy were thankful for that. Poor thing didn't need to be wrapped up their potential quarrel.

And speaking of the nymph, as she were asked if she wanted to see a magic trick, she would get her focus completely set on Aurora, while a little smile started to spread on her fanged face.

"I wahna sjee ah maghig thrig."

It seemed like Aurora had hit the nail on the head, when it came to making the nymph lose focus on how she were lost in the woods, and being accompanied by two strangers. The tease of a magic trick had made her focus fully on that, and look at the griffon changeling with anticipation and excitement, awaiting what she'd show her.

It wouldn't take all that much to impress one like this. Like with any foal, bright colors or the like would amaze her, but they'd see what Aurora would come up with.

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@Sekel

Perhaps he should tell her of the changes that were occurring...

Enzo's silence on the matter were reflecting on his inner turmoil on whatever or not to bring this up right now. It seemed like something he should, as his companion were deserving of knowing what might be grave news. Yet at the same time, there were little it would change right now. Potentially, the removal of Atzy in due time would revert these changes, but there were no guarantee, and speaking of that right now might just cause her to panic. Not good in a place like this.

Perhaps it were wiser to just let this play out for now, then inform her once they had gotten out. Not the most honest of things, but why worry her about something she could not change, in a place that were likely not as safe as it currently seemed?

So he would just follow, and let this fester for the time being in his mind. To think that he were feeling something akin to guilt, for withholding something from a pony... He were a far cry from the sphinx he had once been supposed to grow into.

Looking around as he followed Karmic, he bit notice in quite a few clusters of diamond around them, several of them near the right size of what they needed. So there were some good news at least, in them heading towards the direction of what they came here for. Two birds with one stone, as the saying went.

"You see anything of note yet?"

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@Sekel

"I mean no disrespect to you, nor your companions, your majesty, but I could see at least four ways to take over Ponyville, in spite of you all. Many of you rely on magic, which can be turned against you, and physically, I have only seen Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie show any promise, even if they aren't formally trained. As they aren't, I could take them. Potentially not Pinkie, as she seems to have strange magics of her own...

However, even without anti-magic, the entire town relying on just six of you could be used against you. Especially because of how close you are.

Somepony could come in, kidnap Fluttershy as an example, and the rest of you would rush to her aid. While you did that, the entire town could be sacked, or more mass kidnappings could safely take place. It would only take one strategist attacking you to find a weakness like this that were easy to exploit. Doubly so as the town does not have much in the way of escape tunnels and shelters, in case of an air attack.

Your friends are important, your majesty, but your bond can be taken advantage of. Having a proper guard that could stay and protect when you took off, or run to their aid instead of you, would lessen the risks.

And believe me, your majesty, I have only mentioned the kinder ways this could go wrong. You don't want to know what a sadistic attacker would do to your townsfolk, just to demoralize you before their actual strike."

Last put some weight on this, but did not elaborate further. The princess were about the same age as herself, but she still had some innocence left, as her life had been kinder than the Shrine Maiden's, regardless of the enemies she had fought. If possible, Last would like to spare her the details on what the truly wicked and cruel could do to gain an advantage in combat, which considering how much pride the six of them took in keeping their town and Equestria at large safe, could be devastating, and leave them prime to be defeated for good.

Having a guard could mitigate some of that, as there would be more hooves to call on, and protective guards that could be arranged for high priority targets. It would inevitably end with somepony getting hurt, but that were the price of victory. It could not always end without sacrifices.

While she didn't know if the princess understood what she meant, Cherish had an inkling, and got a sort of mortified look on her face as she went static, and flickered in and out of sight for a little while she tried to collect herself again. Last were perhaps being a little too pessimistic about what would happen in Ponyville, but she did have a point in that it Could happen, and it would be wiser to be prepared.

"I'm... N-Not sure what you mean, Princess Twilight? I only knew you from floating around invisibly, and watching you when you were in the old castle, and then the next time I see or hear about you, you're a friendship princess. Everything I learn about you sort of just happens, as things goes along."

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@EQ_Theta

12 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“Rosa, have the buffalo and the ponies gotten along well? I mean, them being here suggests they are on good terms with each other but was that always the case?” 

"The Buffalo have always gotten along well with the earth ponies, ever since the first encounter. Before the foundation of the united equine forces of Equestria however, the self-absorbed unicorns and the bashful pegasi, did not get along with them at all. The buffalo are simple folks who enjoyed the ways of the earth ponies, as they were similar in approach to life, but the unicorns thought of them as dirty savages, and the pegasi's brash, sometimes annoying behavior, did not fall in well with them. They merely tolerated the two other sub-races of ponies for the longest time, due to their influence on weather and celestial placements, even when the tribes united under the princesses Luna and Celestia. As far as I am aware, the relation between all of them are pretty good these days."

It were brief, but what he had read up on this were brief too. It did not seem all that important at the time, and even now when he were here once more, it still didn't seem relevant to know more than that. The prime equine races tended to have rocky relations with others around the world at first - thestrals like himself included - but the buffalo were the least troubling of those. It were nothing compared to the open warfare with the griffons, or slavery of the zebra in olden times. Battles between equines and buffalo were scarce and far between, with condemnation on both sides for the actions.

The one they were approaching, did not seem like he wanted to fight. He just looked at the peculiar little group for a bit more, before raising a meaty hoof to correct his glasses a little.

"I remember you too, spotted one. I hope you are not here to sneak around the school again?"

"I was trying to learn. Others are teaching me things now."

"Good, good. We don't need a ruckus like that again."

"Hail, friend. You don't need to worry about Omen wandering around, looking for answers in places she should not be. We're simply here to give her a tour, and try and help her understand what things means, and how to approach it. I apologize in case she intruded on your time."

The buffalo looked specifically at Rosa for a bit, then nodded approvingly.

"I like your manners, young man. And you can ease yourself. Your student here did not do anything wrong here, she were just asking a question.

Now, I have one of my own. Who, and what, might you be?"

He'd lean towards Sen and correct his glasses, trying to see if his eyes were playing a trick on him as he studied the peculiar creature in front of him.

"Equine and draconian traits... Have they found a way to intermingle again after all? I might need to order some new biology books then.

Or are you one of those secluded races that the princess have made friends with? She's moving along so quickly these days, it can be hard to keep track of it."

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom Sunrise nods, looking properly chastised, Harmony giggles then turns to Ziggy, "It's up to Serenade to tell you the details, but these foals are family, but yeah...daycare is the best word for it."

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

If what Rosa mentioned had anything to go by, perhaps there is some promise to having the longma open up to the rest of Equestria and beyond. At least, slowly easing in the transition from being secluded isolationists to amicable partners with respect of privacy would be a preferred option. The buffalo could have something Sen could learn about and pass on to elder Ghilan and the rest of the longma back home. It’ll start out rocky, no doubt, but in time, things will smoothen out as relations between pony sub-races had their own share of issues. It was good to know that the longma aren’t alone in that and the change will be a little easier to take in.

But on current matters, it is just as good to know Omen is handling herself well before Sen and Rosa arrived. Seems like the buffalo and Omen know of each other enough to have a familiarity and an established rapport already, though not in a flattering light. 

“Princess Twilight hasn’t made contact with my kind, the longma, but you are right about us being secluded. Half dragon and half equine, though I doubt the longma as a whole came to be because of intermingling. As far as I know, this is how it has always been.”

Opting to offer his own limited knowledge of his background, Sen bowed before the buffalo. “I am Sen and it is an honor to meet you. What’s your name?”

[Rising Dusk 27,510]

@Blitz Boom

Luckily the detective's extent of battle with Lily only resulted in wrapping the wayward mare in a blanket.  An enchanted blanket, but with no lasting effects, merely to put her to sleep for her safety as well as others around her.  Nothing that would classify as harmful.  Oh and he did poke her in the eye when she was spying on the O.M.I. through her scry spell.  Magical backlash, so not his actual hoof doing the poking, did that count?  Well she he last saw her, the eye seemed unaffected, as the idea was to distract and break the spell, which it did.  Hopefully this didn't put a black mark on the detective when Lily returned to tell her story to her daughter. 

To be fair, he wasn't expecting the bow of his head in thanks to his caregiver would result in him getting poked in the forehead and a small circle drawn upon it in gesture.  Not to be one to judge the customs of far away lands, but it wasn't something he remembered reading in the book from earlier.  Books didn't always have all the answers of course and sometimes the day to day experiences were what was needed.  How he was suppose to react was lost upon the unicorn as his gaze cast up to a forehead he couldn't see.  If a mark had been left behind he'd have to rely on somepony else telling him or should he encounter a mirror.  "Thank you, Ms. Wisp," he smiled and turned his gaze to her.  If she had drawn on his forehead, then let it be for now.

It hadn't gone unnoticed to Rising the intense blush the mare held upon her cheeks or her body language for that matter.  Being a pony watcher had its perks, and this type of appearance is one he's seen a many of times.  Well, that a few lectures from his father, for better or for worse.  The Nightingale effect, something Wisp was most likely suffering from with a meeting of just a few hours with Rising Dusk.  The unicorn wouldn't consider himself all that suave either.  "I'll be sure to be careful.  You as well, looks like you're catching something of your own," Rising chuckled to bring up her own flushed cheeks.  Case in point.

Sliding off the bench he'd been sitting on this whole time, he collected his bag and draped it over his back.  Rising had a lot more energy thanks to Caramel's treat and really only had to suffer from the left over effects of lactic acid build up in his muscles, leaving them stiff and sore from the Power Pill.  Not moving nearly as slow as he had been earlier when he joined Minty at her side.  The Captain raised from her bow to Wisp.  It wasn't hard to tell the young unicorn had a little crush on the dear detective and the older mare found it oh so adorable to witness such a sight in her advanced age.  A pity that a vast distance would soon be put between them.  And she didn't even know if Rising was dating anypony, she'd have to check up on that.

As the pair were ready to depart, they were interrupted by a loud amplified voice reaching out over the town.  Rising glanced up at Minty, but it was quick to see she had no spell cast and the click that it was Thistle's voice.  Turning to see the gathered town ponies gave him a farewell salute.  A great send off, even if the plan was to leave the celebrating ponies in their new peace of freedom in silence.  Can't get anything passed the specter pony it seems.  With a smile, the detective raised his hoof in one final farewell wave to the citizens of Oaksbrook.  Minty had paused in her travel to more simply look over her shoulder, as the farewell was for their savior and not her.  When Rising rejoined her, the continue on to the entry road of the town.  The Captain didn't have the more delicate of teleportations, so being a fair enough distance from structures was always advised.

At the point where Minty had first entered the town, she ignited her horn and a crackle of arcane energy built up around the pair.  The beautiful spell work The Captain weaved blossomed out around them that only the detective could see.  The familiar tapestry of a teleportation spell spun together in elegant mint threads.  Home, he willed silently.  A thunderclap and a flash of mint colored energy snapped. 

A few small charred furrows was all the remained where the two once stood as they returned to Equestria.

 

Edited October 27, 2019 by Rising Dusk

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Blitz Boom
So love interest, Ruby though to herself as she picked any useful information from Spicy's long response, but the mother is more harm than use. "I find it stupid that shares on a business would matter in question of personal choices, but I don't own business so I wouldn't know." she would have stayed quiet like usually but she didn't want to make Spicy feel upset by seeming like she didn't care at all about what she had been told, sure she didn't, but admitting it could damage the partnership.

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"I don't know really, if you don't have anything else to talk about, I guess we could part ways for today, I have books to read and you have your own things." Nada responded with a shrug, she of course wasn't chasing Berry away, but she didn't have any ideas for topics either so there wasn't necessarily any reason for Berry to stay either. 

@Widdershins
Cerberus tilted his head thoughtfully after Widdershins had finished and stayed quiet for a second before blurting out "When you put it like that, it does make sense." "Also, when I think about it, I might have met myself few times too without actually meeting myself in person." "And assuming past is now and future, it would explain why some creatures I know everything about before meeting them seem to just appear even though they have always been."

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Rising Dusk

On 10/27/2019 at 11:42 AM, Rising Dusk said:

If a mark had been left behind he'd have to rely on somepony else telling him or should he encounter a mirror.

No mark were there on his head, unless you counted a slight pressure on his fur, which would barely last more than a few seconds before the hairs returned back to how they had been. The gesture of Wisp were purely symbolic, and if it had not been, Rising would have known, due to magic being laced into this sort of action in ages past. It would've stuck out like a sore hoof.

Wisp did not say anything further to Rising as the departure went underway, though at his comments about her getting down with something herself, her blush did increase, and she turned her head away from him, embarrassed to look at him in the moment. Thankfully she'd manage to catch a glimpse of him just before Minty and him vanished, yet she did feel saddened that she hadn't been able to say something back to him before that. like... Wish him a good day, or something, even if she sorta doubted it were going to be. He weren't exactly looking like he'd had the best of times, which were understandable. Viz'nay be willing, he wouldn't end up with a cold to top off the bad parts of the day, and he'd be able to look back at Harrowmark and her with a few good memories, not drowned out by all the hardships he had gone through.

On 10/27/2019 at 11:42 AM, Rising Dusk said:

At the point where Minty had first entered the town, she ignited her horn and a crackle of arcane energy built up around the pair.  The beautiful spell work The Captain weaved blossomed out around them that only the detective could see.  The familiar tapestry of a teleportation spell spun together in elegant mint threads.  Home, he willed silently.  A thunderclap and a flash of mint colored energy snapped.

Not sooner had the two of them left - dust still settling in the air where they had stood just prior - before Thistle called out "𝕊𝕖𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕥."

An older stallion jumped out of the crowd and over to where the two had stood, then mumbled to himself as a spell lock were put on the ground. He were quiet in the moments after, until the seal started to glow a faint orange. At that point, a fleeting smirk would go over his grizzled face, before he'd turn to the priestess, and look at her with a faint glow of the same kind that were on the ground, cutting an orange, jagged line through his milky right eye.

"Done."

"𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕟 𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕'𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝?"

"I'm not an amateur."

The spectral mare nodded to herself, and floated towards the stallion as the other citizens started to wander slowly back to the tables, to return to the festivities at hoof.

"𝕊𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕖?"

"I'll prepare things now, high priestess. It will be done before sunrise."

She nodded to herself as Sickle went away to go gather some things she needed for the task at hoof. The sooner she got this over with, the better. She weren't a young mare anymore after all, and couldn't maintain what were asked of her without rest in the long run.

"Blighteye? Sickle? What's going on?"

"𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕠𝕗. ℕ𝕠𝕨 𝕘𝕠 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤. 𝔸𝕤 𝕤𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕒𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟𝕖, 𝕨𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕠 ℂ𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕙𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕟. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕕."

Wisp weren't sure what were going on here, but it seemed clear that she had been given an order, and there were no denying the high priestess. It seemed like at morning the latest, they would have to travel the long road to the capitol, though why this urgency, or what Blighteye's part and Sickle's departure entailed, she didn't know. And it seemed like she wouldn't be given an answer either, as they went on to do other tasks, and the stern face she were being given by the specter told her that she should go and do what were asked of her this instant.

"...Chirpy? We're going home."

The undead bird flapped down from the perch he had been sitting on as this all unfolded. He had spread his wings and cawed at Rising as him and Minty were about to leave, but had otherwise kept away, as he weren't feeling right around Minty. Something about the large mare had tickled his feathers in a wrong way, and as such, he had found it best to not challenge things by moving anywhere near her. Now they were gone though, so it were time to flap down on Wisp's back, and go back home again. They appeared to have a trip to make.

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@Moonlit

"You're all so secretive about this, like it's a school of small sirens or something.

Hehe, oh well, I bet you'll all tell me when the time's right. Until then, you got anything you need help with? Serenade's a sleepyhead, and I'm itching to move around and do something."

Ziggy had been spending waaaay too much much time being a pillow, sleeping rock, blanket, etc. All things that required her to sit still, and she couldn't keep doing that. She were bursting with energy, and needed to get active! With some luck, she'd be totally drained when the small ones came back from school so that there wouldn't be any issue with her sitting still for longer.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"It's a whole family thing, and he doesn't wanna disappoint the memory of his dad by turning the back on the company, and his mother. No matter how much of a shriveled up parasite she is."

Diego kept quiet and were nice about his view on his mother, but Spicy were under no such obligation. She hated the mare, and were looking forward to the day she'd spin that big roulette in there for the last time. Harsh maybe, yet considering how the old bag had treated her, completely fair.

"But, she can't ban me from the place, and I'm saying we're gonna go in there and have a good time. What say we start with the buffet? If we're lucky, we'll be able to get some stuff on a plate before The Bunker's ready. Or do you think we should start getting a few bottles first, and then try and get some food snuck in later? I'm game for whatever."

She'd be moving in whilst saying that, finally passing the treshold that would leave them inside the magnificent casino. Due to the size however, it weren't possible to see all at once, but even the entrance were colorful, and decorated in ways to make it seem open and welcome, as well as allowing sound to travel nicely from varied places to the entrance, to entice visitors to take part in the fun everypony else had.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Yep. Beans to grind and links with major corporations to make. Seems like you're gonna have a lot to read, and I'm kinda busy tomorrow, so... Would it be okay if I don't come back for a few days? Your roomie and the chomper might be back by then, but if they ain't, it sounds like Lyriel's more than happy to lend you a hoof out in the forest. I can't hear anything when the grinding first gets going, so gonna be tough getting hold of me when you dont wanna float through town."

If it were alright with Nada, Berry would give the siren a hug, then be on her way. Might as well get started early so she'd have more time at home. Hay, perhaps she'd even have time for a nap before the nightly dumpster diving like this! That'd be spiff.

If Nada could wait for a few days, Berry would show up at night, with a bag of goodies, and smelling like pumpkin. If not, a trip into the forest would leave several paths one could take.

1. The lake that Fah'lina had shown her, were the fish were plentiful, and she'd find a certain young phoenix flying around.

2. The desert, wherein she would not have to float far or shout very high before Onache would come to join her.

3. The area where Lyriel had been yesterday, in which she weren't right now, but a bunch of squirrels would come skittering towards her if they saw Nada, and seemed to indicate that they wanted to lead her somewhere. As for the lake and area itself, it had been cleaned up nicely, but it still needed a bit of attention here and there, and it appeared that some areas had been prepared to plant new vegetation.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 10/27/2019 at 5:51 AM, EQ_Theta said:

“Princess Twilight hasn’t made contact with my kind, the longma, but you are right about us being secluded. Half dragon and half equine, though I doubt the longma as a whole came to be because of intermingling. As far as I know, this is how it has always been.”

Opting to offer his own limited knowledge of his background, Sen bowed before the buffalo. “I am Sen and it is an honor to meet you. What’s your name?”

What he said certainly seemed to catch the buffalo's interest, and from the small smile going over his face, he seemed to have no issue with this strange new addition either.

"You can call me Bishop, and the honor is mine."

He'd give a small bow of the head to show respect the other way around. Seemed like regardless of how strange this one appeared, he were a well mannered young man too, and that carried more weight than what sort of race you came from, in the eyes of the buffalo. At least when it came to first impressions with said race. A bad start would make things rocky at first when meeting others of their kind, like it had for a long time with the unicorns, pegasi, or bat ponies, to a lesser extend. Their quarrels and interactions had always been rare, so it were more a case of *Those nuisances rummaging around when we're trying to sleep* than anything seriously wrong. This one were out during the day, so it changed things some, though from the looks of how he squinted his eyes, he weren't one who did all that well in the daylight.

"I'm a biology teacher at the local school, so seeing you, I thought the rumored times had happened when dragon and pony would allegedly mix again. Seems I were wrong, even if you look as if you would fit.

And speaking of looking, are you doing okay there, thestral?"

"I'll be fine, sir. I just had a minor accident with my tinted glasses, and need to excuse myself from the sun eventually."

"Try the general store when you have the chance. They might be able to help."

"I appreciate the advice."

"Now I'm curious: What caused a longma to come here to Appleloosa, Sen? We don't have many things for tourists or explorers. Some books, but nothing the cities doesn't do better. What draws you here?"

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

“I… well, I guess I came here in case my friends needed help. I suppose I couldn’t pass up the chance to see more of the world while I’m at it. Living in seclusion, you can only look at trees for so long before it gets tiring.”

It wasn’t exactly wrong that the forest was looking repetitive. Though it takes a trained eye to spot the varied differences in the landscape, eventually everything starts to look the same that a change of scenery is always appreciated. Villages were the first sights to look forward to, especially true for the roving trade caravans who spend plenty of time moving about the routes. There was the occasional stop in clearings next to the dirt paths to set up camp and the more preferable traders outposts, stations smaller than villages but regularly staffed in the wilderness, but nothing ever beats finding rest in a walled village. 

Now that the longma has built a rapport with the buffalo, there was something that got his attention not too long ago…

“Bishop, I couldn’t help but wonder about your conversation with Omen just now. How do you two know each other? And what’s this about sneaking around?” 

[EcstaticWind 572]

On 10/17/2019 at 8:12 AM, Blitz Boom said:

Brittle would stare at his hoof, but wouldn't accept it. Rather, she'd go over to where she usually stood when they were headed out: Left side of Briar, slightly behind the middle, where she'd be safe.

"I... I h-haven't tried m-much. But h-honey and o-oath works. A nice p-pony offered me a c-cookie with that o-once. It... It w-were nice..."

She weren't sure how to respond to this kind sort of way he acted towards her. To many times in her early memories things had been very different, and it left scars that understandably colored her impression of others, even if they looked as harmless as Velvet did. She were trying, but it wasn't easy to get past that, and at this point in time, she didn't feel confident enough about anyone, to go over to them and hold their hooves whilst going into a town. Except for Briar, but he had long since (and several times) proven that he wished her only the best, and he had gotten her away from the circus to begin with. She knew she could trust him.

"We are sure to find you something exquisite, and potentially some oddities for you to test at a later time? As for your former point, Velvet, I appreciate the concern, but in case anyone as much as attempts to harm Brittle, they will find that while I look like a docile equine -"

Like lightning from a clear sky, Briar's vine suddenly shot out as great speed out in front of Brittle, with the leathery, three petal pud at the tip turning towards Velvet and opening and shutting, showing that these did have some crunch power behind them. At the same time, Briar would go into a large smile, properly showing off the rows of razor-sharp teeth, and though his facial expression remained calm, it would look rather unnerving to put it mildly. Like a lion toying with its meal.

"- I am still an apex predator, and I will not take kindly to attempts at that kind of aggression."

Withdrawing his vine and reducing the size of his smile, Briar chuckled a little to himself and took a step towards the door.

"Now then, shall we?"

 

Velvet recoiled as Briar's vine made the aggressive action. He hadn't necessarily doubted Briar's ability, since he was an adventurer and all, but it still spooked him when it happened.

"Uh, yeah...Please don't do that. I appreciate showing me that you can protect her, the demonstration...I don't actually think it was that necessary." He was staying a little further away for the moment, the signs of him being spooked returning as he politely waited for Briar to head out first, as he was now closest to the door.

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom Harmony smiles, "Actually I was wondering if your up for it, could you deliver some mail for me, it's not long-distance but yeah." She grabs three or four letters, "I just need them rundown to the local Post Office"

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Thunder would blink a little bit "A mount? Now that's even more bad ass than turning it into sushimi" he would say, flexing his good wing to get any kinks out of it "and I am glad to hear the Coastal Guard allows you time to follow your passion" he would smile "It should mean I will still have time to visit my family and friends" he'd smile and look around, seeing various ponies trotting about, training in various exercises and he smiled.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Blitz Boom
Ruby just blinked at Spicy's explanation, father's memory? what idiotic thing that was, though she didn't say it out loud as she knew that ponies were quite sensitive about their dead. "It doesn't really matter to me what we start with, but I guess the buffet would be a good start so we don't need to have fun with empty stomachs." she sounded as cold as always, though at point it shouldn't surprise anyone.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nada didn't mind the hug, and in fact did her best to hug Berry back, she then waved to her when she left and made sure the door was closed before proceeding to read. 

She read some hours about the history of Equestria before heading for a hunt, the hunt was quick and plentiful, and she returned reading after returning to the house, though not before drying up her hooves. She reached around the point where the elements stopped Discord's chaos before she decided to stop reading for now, she had planned to read the whole book at once, but the combination of the changed language and it being quite long since she had actually read something else than songs and that one letter, she had gotten quite tired and decided to take a quick nap.

After the nap Nada decided to head to the forest and go see if Lyriel was around, but all she found was squirrels that she could swear wanted her to follow them, and not having anything else to do, she followed them. 

 

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Catpone Cerberus

The buffet were pretty vast, as Spicy had said, and contained pretty much whatever the heart desired, be it for vegetarians, or meat eaters. There were also an option to have a lid for your tray, so others couldn't see what you picked. Normally this were for folks somewhat embarrassed about what they ate, and didn't want others to see it and judge them for it, but Ruby might be able to find some usage of this to sneak meat in. Not like she were being watched anyway, others had their own food they wanted to grab for in the orderly line going around the whole thing, and couldn't care less about what she picked. Spicy barely looked either, more interested in getting what she considered the good stuff.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

The squirrels would lead Nada down several forest trails, and if she stopped up, would come back and urge her to move on. Trails, nooks, crannies, thick forest and open areas alike: After about five minutes, she should be well and truly unable to tell where she were, which might not just be because of the confusing trail. Magic may be involved in confusing the area, considering the strangeness of the whole thing.

Eventually, she'd be lead into a small grove, completely surrounded by thick forest. Within were a small lake, grass, a few bushes and flowers around, and all in all it looked incredibly alive there, with not a single, withering leaf, despite autumn going into the first month of existence.

In the middle, were a single tree. About the size of Serenade, and standing silently with the scarce wind blowing through the leaves. The tree variant would be a young oak.

The squirrels would push Nada towards said tree, clearly thinking it important she got closer.

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

 

@Critical-Hit

"Don't worry, the Coastal Guard isn't a prison. We got time for family and hobbies, even if some are workaholics, and spend most of their time here.

My older brother is like that. I gotta show you to him one of these days really. As one of your commanding officers, you gotta know of him sooner or later anyway, even if he have been a bit moody recently. One of his foalhood friends got into a nasty shark attack a few years ago, and today's the year day. he made it fine, but he got all sorts of nasty scars and didn't cope too well."

Thunder should recognize this as a certain cook he had met earlier the same day.

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

 

@Moonlit

"Yeppers, I'll go right away."

With a big grin on her face, Ziggy took the mail and went on her merry way, wandering out of the house all normal and stuff, but soon as she were outside, she'd take off, and zig-zag her way through town like a candy cane lightning bolt, until she found what she assumed were the post office, and landed right in front of it. It might startle the locals to see this sort of weird sight, or not. It kinda varied how others took it to see weird lightning strike, and then it were a pony seemingly not startled or dishelved by the weird pattern. As if it were a teleportation spell gone wrong.

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

 

@EcstaticWind

"My apologies, Velvet. I am used to having to make my point to some degree, and forgot myself in the moment. I do hope you can forgive me for this transgression."

An unfortunate situation, but alas, nothing he could do against that now, except trying not to do so again towards Velvet. Even if it were merely a demonstration.

The first step to move past this, were likely to get out of here and be on their way. As such. Briar would lead the team out, briefly stopping to tell the clerk that they had vacated the room before time - and getting barely any recognition for the comment - before moving outside.

"Ah, lovely fresh air. Would you be so kind as to lead the way, Velvet?"

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

 

@EQ_Theta

The buffalo snorted slightly, and sent a glance towards Omen.

"Elleven years past, this one started to rummage around the school, looking at students, starring through the windows during class, and taking things from the garbage. We tried chasing her off, but she used strange holes in the air to get away. It were a very disrupting day for the students."

"I heard small creatures learn from school. Tried to understand it. It did not work. The books in the trash did not either."

"She were a nuisance, but nothing bad happened, if you're concerned about that. The parents were not happy about the lurker though.

But if she behaves now, and stays away from the school, things should work fine. You aren't here because of that, right?"

"You can be at ease sir, we're just sight-seeing. As Sen said, he came to help, after I were recently injured, and since he were there, I figured it would not hurt to visit some old friends in Appleoosa while I healed up. It is a less crowded town, so it would not be too overwhelming for Sen as an introduction to Equestria, and I did need to come and assure said friends that I were okay. They might have heard rumors and gotten nervous."

"A good choice for you all, and a noble thing to do, Sen, to come running to your friend. Equestria places great value on friendships like that. Keep that, and your good manners, and your journey should be easy.

But I have taken a lot of your time. Unless you have more to ask, I should get back to the school. There are papers to grade."

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Thunder would blink and then chuckle "I think I may have already met your brother" he would say "He wouldn't happen to be the chef at the Inn in Ponyville?" he would ask, "He was getting...a talking to from Tidal before she took me here to start" he would say, rubbing the back of his neck "and I am sorry to hear what happened, surviving can sometimes be worse than not, depending on if he has PTSD or not"

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

Bishop’s response was understandable, as is the feeling of being creeped out by Omen’s unorthodox behavior. As is with Omen, pursuing knowledge and having an eagerness to learn is admirable, it was just her methods of acquiring said knowledge that led to their disconnect. Sen wasn’t in a position to judge nor argue against or in favor of anyone. Now that there is a prospect of a school, perhaps there could be an option to visit one some day. The longma siblings can only offer so much before they pass on their very limited knowledge to Omen. 

Bishop’s compliment on Sen’s demeanor, however, rang a little hollow. It takes a lot to stay true to one’s principles and even when he did, he still found himself in tougher situations that pushed him to the brink of giving up. But Sen wouldn’t argue with the buffalo over this as even the longma understood that this feeling of true friendship, discovering it and relishing the euphoria… it’s one of the best things to ever happen. Sen stood there for a moment and reminisced, getting lost in good memories before returning to reality. 

“I guess I shouldn’t keep you from your work,” Sen bowed and replied. “Thank you for the chat, Bishop, and I hope you have a good day.” 

He turned to Omen and Rosa, feeling a little better after that brief chat knocked those terrible dreams from his mind. “Shall we proceed?”

Edited October 31, 2019 by EQ_Theta

[Rising Dusk 27,510]

@Blitz Boom

The flash of mint colored light might as well have been from a camera.  A flash was all that stood between the detective standing in Harrowmark and then next, his hoofs were on the wonderful, familiar aged hardwood floor of the O.M.I.  Luckily the enchantments and runes of the building aided in making the arrival much more smooth than what was apparent from Minty's initial entry into Harrowmark.  Finely attuned to only allow official O.M.I. agents to teleport in and out.  Better yet, to provide an arcane pillow, as it were, for soft landings.  

Already he could feel a heavy weight lift from the edge of senses returning to Equestria.  The experience with all the primordial dark magics of Harrowmark had taken a small toll on the detective.  Nothing harmful of the sort, but a dull feeling not often experienced by a pony from such a land of light.  An extra breath escaping from Rising as if waking from a momentary daze.  Not too dissimilar to the common effect a pony has of holding their breaths when still learning how to teleport.  Prolonged exposure would need to be required to aid in putting such issues aside when visiting Harrowmark, whenever that might be again.  For now though, it was great to be home.  Well, in Equestria at least, his apartment was still a fair distance away.  

"Phew, what a day," the larger mare expressed, having just make such a long range teleportation twice in one day.  At least for the sake of not having slept since the attack on Manehatten and when Rising teleported off to do battle with the dark wizard.  Minty recovered quickly though and held her head high.  Elegantly trotting past the more tired stallion and into the office area of the O.M.I.  The lobby was empty and looking out the window it appeared the Celestial sisters were about to change posts and bring about the night.  More reason to want to get out of his dirty hoodie and collapse on a soft bed.  Reluctantly, Rising followed after her instead of heading home for now.

Not that the night meant too much rest for the O.M.I.  The back offices were a hustle and bustle with activity.  Scarlet was carrying books and documents back and forth, dropping them off at appropriate desks for the officers that needed them.  Letters were poofing into existence from other law enforcement offices and dropping onto Tussle's desk where she worked to organize the rest of the O.M.I. while writing replies to these letters with her magic.  Other agents either sat at their desks doing paperwork, or were teleporting in and out to assist the city in recovering from the chaos caused by the attack.  Luckily it looked to be on the tail end of such a disaster, especially with so many of them in the paperwork stage.

A loose banner hung from the ceiling that looked hastily put together that simply spelled out 'Welcome Back Rising!'  It appeared though that when it was put together, they hadn't expected The Captain to have taken so long in retrieving him from Harrowmark.  To be fair, even Minty didn't know how far she'd have to teleport to collected him until he sent out the cutie mark signal.  There would be plenty of time for him to share his story and to reunite with his fellow agents and friends.  Too busy to break from their work right now to greet him, he instead took a moment to use the side isle and move past the cubicles and to the backroom where they kept the cells.

Swiping his badge against the runestone to unlock the room and enter to pay a visit to the piece of Harrowmark in Equestria.  Not too sure how surprised she might be to see the detective returned and alive.  "Feeling better?" he inquired to the occupant of the anti-magic cage.

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Rising Dusk

18 minutes ago, Rising Dusk said:

Swiping his badge against the runestone to unlock the room and enter to pay a visit to the piece of Harrowmark in Equestria.  Not too sure how surprised she might be to see the detective returned and alive.  "Feeling better?" he inquired to the occupant of the anti-magic cage.

Huh? That voice... No, it couldn't be.

Lily had been resting when the officer had returned. Long hours in this cage, deprived of magic or conversation - her own fault on that one, and she knew it - she had taken to trying to sleep, rather than reflect on her life so far. As often were the case, her dreams were troubled and left her unable to get much concurrent sleep, but rather take minor naps and trying to force herself to get through as much as she could until she'd eventually rattle awake again. Normally this were spread out more throughout the day, but what else did she have to do here? Reflect on her life choices, and how she had taken part in this attack, among many others?

Where would that get her? The only thing looking over her life ever gained her, were disgust, shame, and fear. Regrets more than any pride, and soon as Twisted won and came to collect her again, there would be severe punishments for having such emotions show. It were like it always had been, and always would.

So she had tried to rest, sometimes mull over the current situation, and just waited until the lot would eventually return, and beg her to make her master stop, or return what remained of their officer. A nice young man that one had been, even when faced against the theatrical side of her that Twisted had found amusing and worth cultivating, to a point where she weren't entirely sure anymore whatever or not she were just playing along, or if she really were as malicious as she pretended to be. Part of her hoped this were still just for show. Most of her prayed it wasn't, as the consequences for weakness were severe.

Imagine her surprise then, when out of nowhere, she had been awakened from a recent attempt at sleep, and opened her eyes to see Rising again. Clearly not at his best, and smelling like swamp, but still alive and well.

"No... You... You can't be real. You're dead. Everyone who challenges him dies. He never lets anyone go."

And yet, he were real. She knew illusions better than most, and could tell even a great one from reality by the small mistakes that were always present in one way or another. Even deprived of magic, her keen eyes were not affected by that, and she could say with overwhelming certainty, that Rising were real, despite the lack of faith in her words.

He weren't undead either, that were easy to spot too, once you had been in a land like Harrowmark for the majority of the past century, such as she had. A lich? No, unlikely. He'd be oozing death magic too, and he hadn't been gone for long enough to be a stitcher. And even then, there'd be other things she could see as clues there which were so obvious that even a foal could tell.

But what were the alternative? Rising had gone to fight her master. Something many had done throughout the centuries, yet all of them had failed. This youngling from a land deprived of gods, should have no chance, but then... How were he standing here? Had he run off? No that were impossible. The time magic that were gifted to Twisted were limited in scope, but it would still have been more than able to drag the officer back to him if he so pleased, and nothing pleased Twisted less, than having adversaries escape.

The confusion and slight panic were obvious on the mare as she got up, and pushed herself as far ahead against the creaking bars as she could, and just stared at the officer in disbelief, whilst trying to reach a shaking hoof forward. In case the bars were far enough apart for a leg to stick out. If they weren't, she'd just have said leg pushed against the inside of the bars as well.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 10/31/2019 at 3:15 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“I guess I shouldn’t keep you from your work,” Sen bowed and replied. “Thank you for the chat, Bishop, and I hope you have a good day.”

"A good day to you as well, and enjoy your travels. That goes for all of you."

"Thank you."

"Thread with care, and may your students have mercy with you."

A small, chuckling snort would escape the buffalo as he heard this, and he bowed his head to the lot of them before going on his way again. He would've bowed a little more akin to Sen, but with his physique and his back not being what it used to be, he'd prefer not to go overboard like that unless it were important enough.

On 10/31/2019 at 3:15 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Shall we proceed?”

After Bishop had put them behind, and Sen turned to face them, Rosa looked him over with squinting, yet impressed eyes at this performance. He had done better than expected, given the situation, and grasped the most important part of dealing with an unknown race: Show them respect, unless given a reason not to. Generally, you should just be respectful to all, but some creatures such as dragons, tended to have an attitude that weren't getting better if you kept trying to act nice. Some were brutish and wanted to battle on words, if not physically, so there had to be a certain limit to what you'd be willing to accept coming your way, or you'd lose all respect. Some ponies acted the same way, but it were rarer, and mostly reserved for more predator related races, such as dragons and griffons.

"You did well there Sen. Facing a situation you did not know much about, with kindness, respect, and openness, is a good way to approach others such as the buffalo. It seems I underestimated your... Social prowess, shall we say."

He had honestly thought that Sen might break under pressure eventually, and go a little into his own shell, but color him impressed: Sen had surpassed those expectations with bravur. It seems that he did not know him and Lin as well as he thought after all, and honestly, that could only be considered a good thing on certain points. This one especially, as it would make it far easier to have social interactions with other creatures down the line, if that were what they were aiming to do with the longma and the world at large.

"You went at this well too, Omen, though I wish you wouldn't have gone off on your own."

"I saw one I remembered. Ponies go say hello when they do that. Is that wrong?"

"*sigh* Not technically, no. I would just prefer if you had told us that you walked over there, so we could have gone with you."

Omen nodded. So she were supposed to tell them too, if she wandered off to talk to somepony, yet it were good to go and do that, long as she informed them? That seemed easy enough to understand, and she would try to remember this for the next time she ran into somepony she recalled meeting before. Which considering how far and wide she had been around the country, were rather likely. And if she did not remember them at first, others would surely remember her. She tended to make an impression, one way or another.

"In any case, Omen, would you kindly go back to Lin, and get what remains of my mask? The part with the glasses most importantly, and please leave the breathing apparatus behind. It is the small gitter where my muzzle is supposed to go, though you might need to tear that from the mask to leave it behind. Feel free to do so. I'll have to replace all of it anyway.

Then when you have it, please meet us wherever we may be at that point."

"Okay."

Omen would take off directly after that, and would end with Lin, where she'd begin to rummage through Rosa's few belongings, looking for the mask, then try to tear the muzzle part off it. It weren't in a good condition at this stage anyway, so wasn't like he could've just put it on as it were, and the most important part really were the glasses and the filtration system themselves. Those two were thankfully still intact.

"I have used my glasses for so long that I forgot I had left them behind, and the sun are not kind to my eyes. A sad state of affair for some pure-blooded thestral, of which I am one. We should make our way towards the farm while we wait though. Better to not simply linger for no apparent reason."

He'd start to lead Sen after that, towards the large farm that would stick out like a sore hoof amidst the usual scarce, non-grass vegetation of the area. Provided nothing slowed them down for some reason, or Sen lingered at times to look at things, it should be about a five minute walk.

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

 

@Critical-Hit

"You're from Ponyville? I've heard that's a really dangerous place to be, but it have the Princess Twilight and all her friends there to protect it. Is it true she got a really tacky, crystal castle full of books?

Also you kinda misunderstood me there I think. I mean, you definitely met Chop, as I know he's there, and he's working as a chef, but that's not my brother. He's my older brothers, foalhood friend. They're like, five years older than me, so I didn't hang around the two a lot when we grew up. I remember Chop when I got to the army though. He really stood out in a good way.

*sigh* Poor guy used to be such a kind, dedicated guard before that shark attack. But once the doctors said the injuries were too risky to work on, and that he'd be scarred for life, it just went south for him. What with the drinking, the fighting, and then yelling at his officers and getting hostile towards the sharks... I get why he had gotten so down, but he had to be let go, for his own good, as well as the guards.

I heard he got help, and have gotten his life back together in Ponyville. Him and my brother exchanges letters, but the general still have him barred from the town for now. Not that she had a choice. Rules are rules, and even if she likes him, she have to follow them too. I'm just hoping he'll get back on his hooves and stay that way."

"A month more, and you'll be able to see for yourself."

Shell looked up, and now finally bit notice in the stallion standing in a nearby doorway, looking at the two of them with a small, tired grin on his face. He were teal colored, with a faded, short trimmed orange mane and tail, and looked as if stress had gotten the better of him a few times here and there. One of those workaholics that Shell spoke off before, no doubt.

His uniform were standard, but with the medals embedded on his belt, it seemed like he were decorated for a few things here and there. So his hard work were not unnoticed.

"Hey big bro."

Shell took a step, but he stopped her with a risen hoof.

"That's out there, this is work."

"Fine fine. Hey there, Sergeant Mallard."

He chuckled a little, enjoying this little game/work relation. They both knew he were just yanking her chain a little in this situation.

"That's better lil' sis. And like I said, Chop's back due in a month, long as he keeps off the bottle and attends his meetings. He's never getting back into the Coastal Guard though, but he's learned to live with that, and himself. That's more important in my mind, even if the guard's poorer without him.

Though, you there? I dunno who you are, but you said you've seen him? Did it look like he were doing alright? I haven't seen him in a while."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Blitz Boom
Ruby of course took the lid option right away when she saw it, she then took both meat and pony food, timing it in a way that anytime she felt like someone had a chance to see what she took, she chose pony food, and when she was sure she was unnoticed, she took meat. This was also preparing for the eating since she would need to keep an eye on Spicy so that she wouldn't eat meat in her view, and pausing randomly with your eating could be suspicious. In the end she had quite balanced meal, enough pony food to hide the meat, but not enough to ruin the taste.

.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nada didn't see reason to stop, because she didn't believe that squirrels would have interest to harm her, and even if they did, she could just fly up above the forest. Even after noticing she was quite lost she didn't worry, though she did get curious where the squirrels were leading her.

When they arrived to the grove, Nada looked around her and first thought that came to her mind was 'This place looks very Lyriel'. she was broken out of her thought by the squirrels, and after realizing what they wanted, she went to investigate the tree.

 

[Moonlit 593]

@Blitz Boom The Local Post Office is on the ground floor of a office building. Besides the Post Office, there is a sign for a Long Distance Pegasus delivery company called Higher for Hire, and the other takes up three floors. A yawning Unicorn sits behind the counter.

[Sphinx-Ara 3,569]

@Blitz Boom

Thunder blinks "Oh well yeah, I sort of met him, it was more like I saw him from afar while waiting for Tidal to stop talking with him. I didn't want to be rude" he'd say, then as he listened to her and nods "Well, sort of, I'm in between Ponyville and Cloudsdale" he'd say "My folks are from Cloudsdale and I grew up there, but I spend a lot of my time down in Ponyville, usually just hanging out with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash" He'd say with a smile.

They would then come across Shell's brother, "Hello Sergeant" he would say, remembering what had happened earlier, "He looked alright, I didn't detect any alcohol on him, and Tidal didn't seem to have been giving him too hard a time" he'd say to the Sergeant "I'm a new recruit, my name is Thunder Rush, by the way" He'd hold out his hoof "Pleasure"

[Sekel 692]

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

Aurora was at a loss as to what to do so she gave a small smile before thinking of it. "Ah. My magic trick is ..." Aurora sighed and nodded to herself. "Alright, focus on me. I may not seem like I'm able to, but I'm going to change. Like the adults do." she said and in a burst of green-coloured fire, transformed into her usual changeling self. She was the old kind of changeling, with black chitinous armor, green membranous wings, but her mane was a reddish-orange colour instead of a blue-green variety. Her size shrunk to be about half as tall as the size of the cart too but she could still walk and see just fine. She had no idea on how the nymph would react, and didn't remember if Happy has seen her like this either.

@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"You're already proving your worth, Last," Twilight said happily. She nodded to Cherish to acknowledge what she said but didn't elaborate further on it, in favour of conversing with Last for a bit. She did know that these were weaknesses of her and her friends but for whatever reason, they haven't been exploited. At least as far as she could remember. "I already know about how much we rely on friendship and magic to get us through the battles. It's a wonder none of the villains we've fought have thought of that before. I guess I just never really thought too hard about it until you mentioned just how big of a weakness it really is."

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

"These tunnels go on forever!" Karmic whined and sat down at a junction, rubbing her hooves. "That filly is nowhere to be seen and there hasn't been any sign of anyone living here! GAH! IT FEELS LIKE WE'VE BEEN WANDERING IN CIRCLES!"

Edited November 3, 2019 by Sekel

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

“Thanks, Rosa. It’s very rare to have a simple conversation about ordinary things after struggling to get by for so long. I remembered having conversations like these with my parents, them encouraging me to be open to new experiences, meeting new faces. My father, especially so, he taught me the value of making a good impression on others.”

Bishop was in no way antagonistic towards Sen and he had no reason to disrespect the buffalo. This was the perfect opportunity to learn the what it was like to be at the forefront of introducing the longma to the races of Equestria. No one besides Lin was up for it and Elder Ghilan is caught up with the other elders to devote time to going out and meeting other creatures. 

“All this also reminded me of this one minotaur I met many years ago. He was abrasive and he didn’t mince his words but he could tell I wasn’t interested in meeting others yet I considered giving up searching for Lin. I was pathetic back then, feeling sorry for myself, but he told me to take a chance on someone. Asking for help was difficult and by that point I gave up on hoping anyone would want to help a homeless vagrant like me. I didn’t take his words to heart until I got to the Everfree Forest and I decided to try and do just that when I met Omen.

After that, it got easier… communicating with others, ponies, buffalo, even thestrals.” 

That was a good memory, the first that led to many more. Sen would spend a quiet moment contemplating on how that one moment could have done a lot to prepare him for a new road ahead. Looking back, never did he imaging being able to meet many creatures outside of the longma. In any other lifetime, it would be an achievement to boast about to the folks back home but they wouldn’t acknowledge it. As it stands right now, it is only something few would understand and that’s alright. He’s made friends among the ponies and even Discord numbered among them. Quite an unimaginable feat. Sen would follow Rosa to the farm and take in the sights with each step, enjoying the sights while chatting on the way should they choose to do so.

As for Lin, she’d still watch and wait for Shrimp to wake up. No signs of that so far but she’s catch sight of Omen walking through a gate back to the cave. 

“You’re back early, Omen,” she stood and approached the Ki’Nathar. “Anything I can provide you with? Supplies maybe?”