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@Randimaxis

"A joyous memory..."

Vivid paused, thinking on this for a time as her eyes wandered over her peculiar new companion.

She were not blind to the effects it had when she had mentioned his mother before. Pain of many kinds had been made quite clear to her throughout her life, and emotional ones such as this, were sadly not an uncommon sight, even from herself. Whatever she had said there, had stung him deeply, and the most obvious answer were the comment about his mother. Something which she had meant as a compliment, yet which seemed to have backfired. Likely because it brought some unfortunate memories along with it.

*sigh* At least he had not wandered off after this, so she had a chance to make amends for that, likely with an apology, but perhaps she should answer his question first. It might be best to give her that time to think on how the phrase it, and him to get a little further past the actual situation that had transpired.

"One who tends to bring me fond memories, would be the day I met my husband.

Know that back in my time at least, spirit guides as you call them these days, were not welcomed in most cities. We were seen as pariahs and freaks, and at best, we would be allowed the leniency of shopping within city limits, though we'd rarely be able to find any shelter. The path of souls were - and likely still are - one of loneliness. Even in places where the craft helped, it did not give a good deal of appreciation, yet it were still something that needed to be done. Even if life would have been easier had I only hid this ability, the dead were often the only ones whom I had in my life, and I heard their plea for salvation. After my father left and I were thrown out of my home town, it became easier to pursue those calls, even if the life that came with it were a tough one to bear at times.

Yet, one such town, a stallion were in grave trouble by a spirit haunting his home. Much like other times, I went there, I helped the wayward soul see the path and move on, and then I prepared to leave before I were called out for being a monster.

For the first time in my life though, I were stopped, by someone who were thankful for what I had done, and whom looked at me with genuine curiosity and appreciation for what had happened. He offered me a meal and a roof over my head for a time, and with the weather being what I were at the time, I tentatively accepted. Of course, I worried it might be a trap, but days passed, and nothing bad came of it.

We talked for hours on end, with stories exchanged of souls and his jewelers work, of life's ups and downs... For the first time, I felt as if someone living genuinely cared about me, and I started to care for him in a way that I never had of another. Yet, I worried that it were only me, and that I saw things that weren't there. That perhaps I simply put too much into his friendliness, and the thoughts of this kept festering the longer time went by.

It culminated one evening a few weeks later, when others came and told him to get out of their way, so that they may cleanse the witch's presence from their town. He was such a gentle stallion whom hadn't risen his voice to me once, and yet as they said this, I saw him go closer and sneer directly into their faces. I almost thought he'd shout them, yet in the end, he simply told them in rather crude terms to leave, and not return."

Vivid looked up at the town they were getting closer to, yet her eyes were focused on something else. A mental image, embedded in her mind of a place likely gone long ago, on the night when someone she barely even knew, stood up to his own townsfolks for her sake.

"They would return of course, but the law of the land prevented them from expelling a husband from his wife, and in that time, he had long since proposed. I fondly remember that night, after they had left and he clumsily withdrew the ring he had worked on for the occasion..."

A tear rolled down her smiling face, as she envisioned the silly stallion, getting on a knee and tripping over both his own hooves and words. He had planned this whole thing so perfectly, and yet there he were, clumsily making a mess of all of it, and looking like a schoolcolt approaching his first date.

"We were married before they had a chance to return and demand that I could be thrown out for not being legally a citizen of their town, and the next few years went well. I stayed mostly in the house and took care of that, between making some trips to nearby areas where I heard the voices call out for salvation, as he kept his business going and flourishing. He did get some stigma for being with me, but he never wavered in his devotion to me, and I loved him ever more for that.

I can remember fondly the day our oldest daughter were born, as well as the concerns that came when he had to sell his business, and we went on the road, yet we always did well, and kept together. It felt like there were hope for a good, long life, where we'd eventually find a place to settle down that would be just perfect for our growing family.

That is, until he got sick..."

A dark cloud seemed to metaphorically grow above Vivid as the thoughts then came to the end of her happiest years, though she dismissed this feeling shortly after, and got a smile back on her face.

"There were nothing anyone could do for him, but he were there long enough to see his second daughter being born, and to say farewell to us all before he slept peacefully in, and passed on to the realms beyond. 

His passing will always hurt, but I know that whilst I can never go where he went, I know that he is at peace there, and I pray that so too are our foals. It helps ease the pain when I think of the end, though I still have years of fond memories to look back at before that which I will always treasure, along with his encouraging words that keeps me on my path. It makes life easier for me, knowing that he wished for me to go on.

Yet, I shouldn't expect the same point of view to fit to every situation, nor every being. Know that I genuinely only wished to pay a respectful compliment with what I said earlier, Clever, but I see that I instead dug into something painful that were not for me to bring up, and for that, I am sorry."

Perhaps not the smoothest transition she had ever done, but it felt the right way to put it, as she had gotten to the end of her own tale. Hopefully this would clear the air some, and he'd understand that she had no intention of bringing him pain with her words, nor intended to do so again. The subject of his mother wouldn't be brought up again, lest he did so himself.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"As the saying goes *An eye for en eye, a tooth for a tooth*. She sounds as if she deserves whatever comes her way."

Sounded like Ruby's breed of dragon - or at least her family - lived rather sad lives, as least in her perspective. Not even knowing your father, and saying there were a great chance that he had been eaten by her own mother, who then later on came around and stole everything from her own daughter... No wonder this member of her kin were so protective. She had no reason to think that connections made you anything but weak, when even her own baseline family life were that of potential cannibalism and non-existent parenting figures. Were Leviathan in her scales, she might have ended as detached from any value of family and friends as this one were. A sad tale in her perspective, which spoke not of a tough dragoness, but one who puffed up their chest to look the part, because it were all they knew and thought mattered.

There would be quite the amount of work to go through, were she to make connection with Ruby and help her it seemed. Effort that might not be worth the time investment really. Yet at the same time, the poor thing seemed as if more than most she knew, this one needed someone to push themselves into her life and open her eyes some, before she end up as just another, cranky old dragon, loitering around on their mountain of gold, bitter at the world they blame for making them miserable, whilst lying to themselves about being happy with just their hoard.

"And I weren't joking. My mother ate my father, and stomped their clutch to pieces. I don't blame her really. Water dragons are very invested in whom and what they see as theirs, and he cheated on her, brazenly. Seems fair that she want to get rid of him, and everything that reminded her of him, though it admittedly did make us meeting up later on a tense affair."

You mated with a water dragon, you stayed with a water dragon. That were a rule set in stone, and gods help whoever broke that bond, as her idiot of a father had learned the hard way. Leviathan's beliefs were not as strong in that as a purebred water dragon might have been, but she certainly understood those who retaliated against those who broke the trust it took to  be that intimate with another, and had actively helped others seeking revenge for it if she happened to find herself in the vicinity. Some unfortunate lightning strikes that had happened here and there when that were.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Ah yes, now that you mention it, I do recall you talking of that actually. I'm sorry for forgetting that, Nada."

A little embarrassing here honestly, but she supposed, so much had happened that some things had just slipped her mind unfortunately. Hopefully the siren would not think lesser of her for forgetting this.

"...I see. I suppose it's understandable that you don't want to cause your friend unwanted scrutiny."

The way Nada spoke of this, and how the place had been described with a siren entrance essentially built into the structure, it made it somewhat evident that there were more than likely more than one siren in the area. It weren't assured of course, but there were just something about the way that Nada had spoken of it all that gave off a certain vibe to it, and almost seemed as if she were hinting about it with that last comment of hers. Probably best to keep this assumption to herself though, at least until further notice. No need to expose either of them, when they seemingly hadn't done any harm.

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@Pastel-chan

Okay, that was settled then, and pastel were right, it were time for some adventure!

The filly were already having a bad influence on Jelly it seemed, and she happily started to take off on hoof, aiming for the castle. That were, after the giving off a *hoot hoot* sound, meant to represent a train whistle. Y'know, to signal that the adventure trip were about to start, or something like that. Honestly, Jelly just liked trains and felt like doing this in the moment. That had to count for something too, right?

Getting to the castle, they'd find that there were certainly something weird going on. The castle's garden (which had not been there, a day or so prior to this) seemed to have an issue with a large fountain with water sprites dancing around the water, creatures seemingly made of bubbles floating through the air, with some getting hunted by the larger, predatory versions, though none were larger than that of a small garden snake.

The grass had roaming benches, with some seemingly wandering around like grazing cattle, and others either sleeping, frolicking, or whatever else you'd expect animated benched to do. If you were crazy that were.

It did look pretty though, with a lot of flower bushes, a nice pathway in granite, well trimmed grass, etc. It just looked somewhat chaotic, which wasn't lessened by the fact that there were a large tree the side, which seemingly had fruit of every kind imaginable, growing on it's multi-colored branched.

"Woah. Do you think Discord made this? Daddy said he makes lots of weird things happen."

Pastel might be somewhat distracted by the fact that there would be a red flower around the size of her eye, which would be waving it's leaves in a way that clearly indicated *Hey, come over here*. It were probably not smart to meddle with it.

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@Seamore Sandwich

What were going to happen to the noble's staff were inconsequential, far as Zhu were concerned. They would get punished, yet not in a too harsh way, and in a few of the threads he had seen unfold, punishment like this would eventually cause them to snap and revolt. Not always with kind results, but alas, one harvested what they sowed at times, and hopefully that would be the true fate of this one. It would serve him right.

Be that as it may though, he had something more present to attend to. A pair of thieves who had taken some items which annoyed him some to have lost, and one particular one whom he were far more invested in having lost.

Now, he could simply use pure wind and blast these two away whilst getting his items back, but he had an inkling that this wouldn't go well. They might have wards, and if not that, were able to resist, or accidentally smashed into his sisters egg, which were a risk that he could not take. He might be better of trying to simply blow them up into the air as a more safe option, where it'd be easier to say, send them into a tree, yet being in a cave as they were, that weren't easy to just do.

*sigh* Supposed there were nothing to it, he would need to sit and wait for Gaea to come, whom had likely followed the trace of that avian friend of hers. It would give him a little time to prepare something in the meantime.

Using his magic, he get a few rocks, some moss and a small casing of shed bark, then floated them up to him and began mumbling off incantations. The natural items would gather inside the bark, which would begin to glow and slowly engulf the things, smashing itself closer and closer, until nothing but a small sphere of bark, around the size of a tennis ball, were sitting in his paw. Then he'd carve some runes into the casing whilst mumbling more of the spellwork needed to go into this.

The whole process would take about 4-5 minutes, and in the end, he'd have a small, impromptu trinket of sorts. Nothing spectacular, but it would be able to provide a cover of sorts, were it going to be needed to either keep them out of sight, or potentially trapping these two in the cave. They'd see once Gaea arrived and they could get to work, though if they appeared to be moving before she got here, he'd have to make his move first.

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@Seamore Sandwich

Hmhmhm, sounded like Tick Tock were getting enthralled to some degree. How tempting it were to toy with a little more, seeing this unfold even further, but she would let the poor stallion have some rest. There would be plenty more times forher to entice him and see if his fascination held true, yet for the time being, they had work to do, so this fun would have to be postponed until a time later on. Perhaps she should take the first step and send him an invitation when they were done with this whole affair? Something to ponder there.

Before taking off, Scarcity would give him yet another smile, and then await the preparations given by Penny, whilst Brick would give Tick Tock a narrow, very stern look that seemed to ooze *I am watching you*. Though odds were that he were too infatuated with Scarcity to be aware of this stink eye he were currently getting.

Listening to the instructions, both Scarcity and Brick would chomp down on their chocolates at the exact point when it were asked of them, and feel the taste flow throughout their muzzles as the effects kicked in. Brick cared little for the taste, as it were too sweet for his preference, but Scarcity did savor it. It wasn't bad per se in her opinion, but it could use a bit of coconut in her personal opinion. To each their own taste though, of course.

The feeling of teleportation through this were a peculiar one. Scarcity had tried many kinds of teleportation at this point, ranging from the more simply unicorn spells, to more outlandish summon circles and deals with certain beings who traveled via portals that then handled transportation, yet this melting, floating sensation were a new one. Quite delightful honestly. She enjoyed learning new things, and this were certainly in the category of that, with certain interesting applications. Why, she knew several in the abduction business who'd be thrilled to have the option of merely offering their target some candy to get them transported elsewhere, rather than the usual messy or traceable methods. It would even be easier to get through customs, since she doubted anypony would bat an eye over a box of candy. The things one could do with this were making her positively giddy. Though of course, she'd have to find out how to get these anchored at a certain point first. That would be important for the clientele she had in mind right now.

She'd also need to inquire on whatever or not those she got hold of got sea sick it appeared, as the motions she felt as they got to their location were reminiscent of that. Now, she didn't get really queasy or anything from this. She had spent many a time at sea, and did enjoy it to some degree. It were merely a small stirring in her bowels that were hardly an issue to just ignore. Bricks on the other hoof, she knew not about, since he tended to not be on the boat trips unless she asked him to, and even then, he spent most of the time scouring it for potential traps. As per her request, of course. Far as she knew, he hadn't an issue with these sorts of things though, yet one should take into consideration that he did not speak of, nor show weakness all that much, so he might simply hide it well.

"I'm quite alright darling. Brick? How have you fared?"

Her bodyguard stood still, not answering anything, then let out a sneeze. That were about the only reaction that came from him before nodding to his boss, seemingly unfazed. Might be he hadn't been part of the Coastal Guard, but flying around and doing aerial combat were much akin to a rough boat ride, and that didn't get to him all that much either. At worst, his head would spin a little if it got too hectic.

"A minor reaction it seems, but we appear to both be of good spirits. What of you, Penny? Have the trip been kind to you?"

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@Rising Dusk

"I take it this is a symbolic trade? Otherwise, I do not fathom how the value of a watch can compare to that of food. It seemed easy to purchase for him."

These two were certainly a unique pair, that much were certain. Especially this mare, whom seemed to weave seamlessly between varied emotional states in her theatrical display of emotions and flair. Rising seemed positively normal compared to her, and he were quite the strange one to behold regardless, and least from her perspective.

Of course, she still considered him more competent than this one. Not to say that this mare were not useful and had her gifts. That would be foolish to assume, as this whole place, and the way that Rising approached her to help them find a way to Harrowmark just screamed of her being far more competent that she seemed on the surface. However, she weren't the one who had ended 600 years of tyranny from an ever-living monster, so quite frankly, much as she might be a force to be reckoned with, it were hard to beat the standard that Rising had set.

"If not and you do require real payment, I don't have much, but I could offer a variety of not yet confiscated magical items from a mad tyrant, or some of his personal spellbooks, if you have usage for such things? Perhaps some of the treasure he stole too, or a vessel containing some primordial magic of a god, if that is what it takes. Whatever the price, I'll pay it. I just have to get back before something ha-"

The bauble suddenly gave off a noticeable flash that made her squint her eyes from the glare, though when she looked over on it, it were thankfully not as bad as she had initially thought, which had been either a helhest, or potentially a geistswarm. Instead, it were a flock of wickermen. Or well, it Used to be a flock of wickermen, though right now, it were nothing more than several dozen piles of ashes, with Wisp seemingly gasping for air in the wagon. She hadn't been paying attention, but even she knew that this meant that the mare had just flash burned some adversaries. A strong burst of pale magical fire that engulfed instantly and left nothing behind, but it were incredibly draining for the young mare. The group going towards them must have been of the faster variants if she went into enough of a panic to make use of that. Something which the others could confirm, had they looked at the bauble floating near her at the time.

Seemed like she weren't passing out this time though, but just went weak in the knee and drained. It seemed like she had improved since the last time Lily had seen this skill in use. Spoke of the potential of her blood, and yet another reason why there were understandable reasons for concerns regarding her, that would come up soon as the others back home learned of her heritage.

"Viz'nay be praised it wasn't worse."

Lily fell back and took some deep breaths to try and get herself under control. Something easier said than done when every attack here potentially put her daughters life at stake.

"Listen, I am painfully aware that I am in no position to make demands, but whatever it must take, or cost, I will offer it, if only it means that we can go back to Harrowmark, so that I can ensure that I don't find that the only family I still know for sure where lives, have gotten harmed after that... Irresponsible charlatan used her as a carrier."

Holding the bauble up, it should be easy for the mare to see whom Lily meant, as there were only one in the wagon who were currently passed out with a glowing rune on the side of her belly. Thankfully still alive and well protected, but much as she knew these could make the trip, it did not make her worry any less about what might happen on the way to Copperhagen. The roads were rather treacherous at the best of times.

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@EQ_Theta

On 2/21/2020 at 4:18 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Would making us into golems allow us to maintain our free will? There are troubling side effects of the process that sometimes involve the creation of a control rod, meant to direct the golem and provide it with instruction but removes the capacity for independent thought.”

“Look, some of you have reservations with becoming golems. Let’s get that sorted out because you sound like you’re stalling. How many of you want to go through with this and how many wish to do something else?”

“It’s not that we wish to become golems, but whether or not we’ll be able to choose when to pass on from this world of our own volition. We understand no one can make this choice for us; only we can decide that but this is about us deciding when. As much as we have already lived longer than any of our kind-“

“It’s about having the wisdom to say you’ve all seen enough for one lifetime.”

"My... Associate is a fair one. She will not have you go to one whom would try and enslave you."

Much as he would accuse Scarcity of many things, slavery were one whom he were rather positive that she would not indulge in. No semblance of proof had been found for her endorsing anything of the like, and according to some theories based on insufficient evidence, there were a possibility that she had actively ensured that the practice were harshly punished, were she to find it happening someplace where her influence spanned.

Rosa weren't sure how much he could trust these theories, but knowing what he did personally of the mare, and having experienced how she treated those who did not try and work against her interests, it seemed true that she were an honest dealer, so to speak. Not roping someone into forced servitude would be part of that, though to be sure, it were likely best to specify it to her that such an aspect were strictly forbidden.

"As for the matter of choice, why not have individual bodies, where then whomever decides to split up can do so, once they feel like their time is over? Or are you all connected in a way that prevents this from becoming anything else but an *All or nothing* approach?"

It were likely easier to make one collected body, rather than many for each soul, but it had to be taken into consideration at least, yes? Of course, unless it weren't an option, in which case they could simply walk away from that. Until he knew better though, Rosa would pur forth the argument, and then let them decide among themselves what to do here, and which ones would cling on, could they split up. As Sen had said, there had to come a time when someone had to finally accept the inevitable, and for some in this legion of souls, that time might have already come. Which sounded as if it were part of the arguments from the varied parties within this orb.

On 2/21/2020 at 4:18 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“We will meet with your contact, Rosa, and we can discuss this matter further as we go. This is a delicate subject but if a golem wished to no longer be a exist, would it have the option to do so of its own will?”

"Everything that lives can die. Golems are no different."

Exactly how would depend on the material of course, but for example clay golems could get smashed with a substantial force, the ancient ones tended to need magic, metal ones were tougher, but could be melted in theory, etc. etc. There'd be ways for them to pass on no matter what they were made of, even though admittedly, he didn't know the inns and outs of this entirely. He just knew that as mentioned, if it could live, then so too it could die. That were a law of the world, and one that had in his experience, always held true.

"Well, if you are ready then... Lin? Do you think you could arrange for us to return to Scarcity's store? Or at least as close to it as you are able to."

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@Icy Creation

"Mmm, caramelized apple fritters."

Benny were walking down the street carrying a little bowl of apple fritters with him in a necklace of sorts. A fun little sort or touristy way to eat things without having to stop up or use magic that he found quite interesting, though that were just going to be his excuse to be why he had bought this glorified mule bag. Honestly it were all about the caramelized apples, and anyone who knew him were well aware of that. The dragon were just predictable when it came to treats like that, though especially caramelized. If you could dip it in the stuff and sell it on a corner, odds were that he'd stop up and purchase some of it, as he were halfway addicted to the delicious substance that just seemed to make any food better. Including caramelized crystals, which were one of the best things he had ever tasted in Manehattan. He really had to go back there one day when he had some time off.

Heh, well, more time off he supposed, as he were technically on sick leave now.

He'd look down on his hands, where gauze wrapped thickly around the palms, covering the deep cut that had been made by that blade he had tried to stop with his hands. A heroic deed for sure, but it had cut rather bad, and the doctor had been very clear that he weren't allowed to do forge work whilst this were healing up. So seeing as he didn't have much to do there, and were due some time off anyway, the general had ordered him to let the twins take over for a time, and go do something for a couple of weeks whilst this healed up. Something which he well knew would mean time for Benny to go and see his beloved marefriend.

He had been on the way to visit her too, but then this delicious smell had gotten to his nostrils, and well... He had to go and tast the local treats, right? It were just a tiny detour anyway, no biggie. Plus it gave him a bit more time to think further on how he were planning to use this holiday to finally propose. He had the suit ready in the saddlebag down his right, along with the ring. Now he just needed the right setting and well... *gulp* Hope that he didn't do something stupid, like stumble and throw flowers in her face again. Some days he really praised Celestia that she hadn't just left right then and there, but had given this stumbling idiot another chance.

The amusing memory of that first meeting between them had him chuckling as he wandered along, which accidentally caused him to bump into someone that he hadn't even noticed at first.

"Huh? Oh, whoops, sorry. I didn't see you there. Sorta lost in my own thoughts I guess."

Benny would reach a hand up and awkwardly scratch himself at the back of his head, as a goody grin spread on his face. For a dragon, he looked about as threatening as a sleeping puppy. Especially now that he didn't have his armor on, but y'know, that were for work, this were his free time. Best he could show off there were that the saddlebags down his sides had respectively a Solar Guard and Night Guard emblem emblazoned upon them, to show the association he had with the guard.

Honestly it weren't helping hi either that one of the apple fritters had jumped up, and were currently gliding slowly down the side of his face.

"I'm Benny. Hope I didn't give you a scare or anything miss."

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@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE & ATZY

Karmic's eyes turned a stark white, luckily though she was hidden enough so the generals wouldn't see it. She thought she saw ponies in trees, sneaking up on Enzo, and hurling spears at him. She shook her head with a small whimper to dispel the vision and lightly tapped his shoulder. "I could be wrong, but I think there's a guard contingency sneaking up on you. The vision was a bit too dark to make things out clearly," Karmic whispered to Enzo.

"Hello, General," Atzy smiled easily enough and shook the pony's hoof with her own. "My name is Princess Atzy. I'm a royal gemling and I wish to see if my kind are welcome here. Going off of your guard's initially stupid reactions, it seems like that's not really the case."

@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight didn't feel scrambled or anything of the sort. She's too used to teleporting around to different places to get that way anymore. She was relieve to hear both her companions had made it with her. "I am perfectly fine, Cherish, thanks for asking," she smiled at the transparent ghost and then looked down the pathway towards the tunnel. "I've never travelled to this part of Equestria, and I suspect with good reason. Last, since you know this area so well, it would probably be best for you to lead the way, please."

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"The only magic I know is changing forms, and I so wish to remain being a griffin," Aurora sighed heavily. "I don't have any choice though. I've got to stay in this form so as not to scare our new ... friend? Acquaintance? Is there a proper term for this?" she was very confused about how politics worked, having never really been one to get into them herself. Yet now, she was thrust into the middle of all of it with the revelation of her being a Queen and the successor to Chrysalis' hive! She did notice the way Wall Render looked at her and decided to bring it up as they walked along towards Happy's cart. "Why did that gem creature look at me curiously? I thought he would have done that to King Thorax or Happy."

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1 hour ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Mmm, caramelized apple fritters."

Benny were walking down the street carrying a little bowl of apple fritters with him in a necklace of sorts. A fun little sort or touristy way to eat things without having to stop up or use magic that he found quite interesting, though that were just going to be his excuse to be why he had bought this glorified mule bag. Honestly it were all about the caramelized apples, and anyone who knew him were well aware of that. The dragon were just predictable when it came to treats like that, though especially caramelized. If you could dip it in the stuff and sell it on a corner, odds were that he'd stop up and purchase some of it, as he were halfway addicted to the delicious substance that just seemed to make any food better. Including caramelized crystals, which were one of the best things he had ever tasted in Manehattan. He really had to go back there one day when he had some time off.

Heh, well, more time off he supposed, as he were technically on sick leave now.

He'd look down on his hands, where gauze wrapped thickly around the palms, covering the deep cut that had been made by that blade he had tried to stop with his hands. A heroic deed for sure, but it had cut rather bad, and the doctor had been very clear that he weren't allowed to do forge work whilst this were healing up. So seeing as he didn't have much to do there, and were due some time off anyway, the general had ordered him to let the twins take over for a time, and go do something for a couple of weeks whilst this healed up. Something which he well knew would mean time for Benny to go and see his beloved marefriend.

He had been on the way to visit her too, but then this delicious smell had gotten to his nostrils, and well... He had to go and tast the local treats, right? It were just a tiny detour anyway, no biggie. Plus it gave him a bit more time to think further on how he were planning to use this holiday to finally propose. He had the suit ready in the saddlebag down his right, along with the ring. Now he just needed the right setting and well... *gulp* Hope that he didn't do something stupid, like stumble and throw flowers in her face again. Some days he really praised Celestia that she hadn't just left right then and there, but had given this stumbling idiot another chance.

The amusing memory of that first meeting between them had him chuckling as he wandered along, which accidentally caused him to bump into someone that he hadn't even noticed at first.

"Huh? Oh, whoops, sorry. I didn't see you there. Sorta lost in my own thoughts I guess."

Benny would reach a hand up and awkwardly scratch himself at the back of his head, as a goody grin spread on his face. For a dragon, he looked about as threatening as a sleeping puppy. Especially now that he didn't have his armor on, but y'know, that were for work, this were his free time. Best he could show off there were that the saddlebags down his sides had respectively a Solar Guard and Night Guard emblem emblazoned upon them, to show the association he had with the guard.

Honestly it weren't helping hi either that one of the apple fritters had jumped up, and were currently gliding slowly down the side of his face.

"I'm Benny. Hope I didn't give you a scare or anything miss."

[=~ He had scared her, as she was thinking of other things. In fact, he scared her so much that she had accidentally stopped holding the milkshake with her levitation. As the snowy aura dissipated- something I believe Midnight forgot to mention is that her aura is cold enough to cause snow to form around it- the milkshake dropped to the ground, spilling. Now, despite her obsession- because that is what it is- with milkshakes, she wasn't even slightly angry. Not even a little.

Though that is probably because she was trying to keep herself from laughing at his face.

She didn't really notice the emblems, though, and even if she had, she wouldn't really care. Anyway, as she looked at him, really trying not to laugh, she alerted him to the presence of the offending fritters.

"It's fine..." She said sadly, looking over down at the milkshake, before looking up at him and almost laughing, holding her hoof over her mouth, "You... You have a... A fritter on your face..." Able to get through talking with only a few giggles (Jesus it feels strange saying that word...), she flaps her wings once sharply, almost like a non-verbal laugh, putting her hoof back on the ground. Still smiling, though. ~=]

Edited by Icy Creation
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@Blitz Boom

Upon arriving at the castle, even Pastel felt a little thrown off by what she was seeing.

A great war between bubbles and water sprites, a living bench party, gardens straight out of a picture book or some board game, this place has gone completely mad.

It was...

SO COOL!

Pastel broke out giggling at what she saw, having a lot of fun with the surreal scenery.

"Holy horses, look at all this! Maybe you're right, I could TOTALLY see Discord doing this, he's so cool! Or, there's a witch out there bent on the destruction of all things good and well structured! ...Wait, wouldn't that just be another Discord? Haha, oh well!"

Pastel clapped and watch the great war and the Bench Gala commence, bouncing up and down. She had no idea what was going on, but she was here to see it with her best friend! DEFINITELY an ideal adventure!

That was when the easily distracted filly would, predictably notice the flower beckoning her over. Even if it wasn't the smart thing to do, Pastel was a thrillseeker first, and a logical thinker second. Or third. Or fourth.

"Ooohh, I think this flower has a quest for us, Jelly!"

She started trotting towards the flower. Celestia rest her soul.

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@Blitz Boom

“I can open a way to her shop, or just outside in an alleyway so as to not spook anypony passing by. Wouldn’t want to give a reason for Scarcity to think we’ve got no sense of space.”

A gate opened just before the group, on the way out of the cave. Lin figured with Omen’s ability to pick up scents and trace them back to their originators, she’d be able to find them in case their meeting would take longer than expected. Suffice to say, this one would likely need a bit of negotiation as Scarcity might not be willing to part with the information for free. A favor for a favor might be the course for their transaction. Deep down, she hoped the scholars would have something interesting to part with.

The orb then glowed and raised above ground, moving a little under its own power and prepared to follow the group to the other side, though it wouldn’t forget to provide an answer to Rosa’s query just before leaving. 

“If it is certain that we could decide our fates, then that will be enough. We can part ways, each of us going where we wish for we are not bound beyond the confines of this orb. There are five of us here and once we are released, there will be five of us separated. The orb, however, will still need to be looked after though we can take care of it; we have plans to hopefully share the knowledge stored in it in a more efficient manner.”

Traveling is probably the one thing they would all want to do first. How they long to see the world now without being stuck in a spherical shell or hidden away in some crumbling ruins… that would be top priority in their hypothetical bucket list. Even now, despite having an androgynous voice that doesn’t provide a hint of emotion, they would be ecstatic at the idea that they could finally be on the paths of their choosing, no longer burdened by obligations honor-bound as they believed themselves to be.

They would hover to Sen and he’d carry them on to the other side, awaiting what follows. Sure enough, that was a sign for everyone to hop on over and see what proposal would befit their request. 

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17 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"A joyous memory..."

Clever listened as she told the story of the one she loved, and found himself lost in his own imagination, visualizing the angry mob, the brave stallion, the kind treatment, and the awkward proposal.  He smiled as Vivid most certainly seemed to look back fondly on that moment, and her happiness was genuine and pleasant.  Though his heart ached a bit for the loss of him, he was pleased to know she had experienced her own share of joy in her life; he was glad he asked the question he had.

But again, as he was starting to think of another one to ask her, she said it:

 

17 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Yet, I shouldn't expect the same point of view to fit to every situation, nor every being. Know that I genuinely only wished to pay a respectful compliment with what I said earlier, Clever, but I see that I instead dug into something painful that were not for me to bring up, and for that, I am sorry."

Mother...

Now, he was at a mental crossroads: Clever had started this conversation, and had been actively seeking a friend he could talk to, so one side of him felt as though any delving into his past that came up was his own fault, and that there shouldn't be anything stopping him from simply continuing to talk.  After all, if it didn't come up agan, then he wouldn't have to think about it anymore...

However, it was apparent that Vivid was a mother as well, and therefore she held a great respect and affection for the position... which meant she was going to probably wonder what was eating at him about it.  Even if she never mentioned it again, there would be that curiosity that would linger, and he would catch sight of it or word of it on occasion... and THAT, he didn't know if he could bear.

As it was, he'd mentioned his mother more in this single conversation than he had in the past few years - it brought up the old pain, the one he shoved as far down as he was able to with no intention of EVER looking at it again, even if it meant having to lose his temper... which, by what had gone before, was something he was NOT going to allow, if he could help it.

And that was where his crossroads were: would he simply press on as if he DIDN'T have something to hide, and try to keep a friend he was so eager to make... or was he going to find a reason to leave Vivid behind in town, and thereby keeping his nirik in check?

It was NOT an easy decision.

However, his father had always told him that pain was something that could be moulded into something else; the loss of a loved one could be metamorphed into song, which was exactly what The Blues were.  It was what kept others going after their sorrows had bleached with time.  It was a type of healing, even if the pain didn't leave... it would lessen, and maybe even become something that could fortify the soul.

Clever Spark was never one to be so cruel as to just leave someone alone, especially when they were so lonesome themselves.  He might not want to irk his other side... but he just couldn't even imagine being so heartless as to get such a being's hopes up, only to dash them to pieces for the sake of his own comfort.

With a mental sigh, he took the harder path, and decided to simply be a friend - she had no way of knowing his shame, and was actually apologizing for causing him distress.  So, even if he could feel his nirik wiggling about within him for the first time in years, he chose not to break off the kinship he felt with her and decided he would be a friend, conscience be damned.

"I understand your statement held no animosity, and feel no ill will towards you for the announcement of such; Life holds numerous experiences for each individual, and the sentiment we present unto others is appreciated more thoroughly when similarities are present.  My own insecurities should be of no personal consequence for you, and your sympathy is highly regarded in my purview.  We have both experienced heartache and loss, but to hear such a tale of happiness - even for as fleeting as it would appear to a prolonged lifespan as your own - is a refreshing anecdote that sends the heart rejoicing at the wonderful nature of affection, when experienced from such a perspective."

Yes, the hard road - he would NOT abandon someone so in need of genuine friendship... especially as he saw some of himself in that perspective as well.  Though now, his Mother was in his mind again, for better or for worse.  He simply hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't nag at him as deeply as it had the last time she were brought up... because that personal pain had lasted FAR longer than he would ever have wanted.

"Perhaps it would be a fair conversation to inquire if your august personage would mayhaps have further investigative questions that I could clarify?  I would be exceedingly remiss, were I to not allow a perusal of any other possibilities of discovery upon our budding friendship... and it would also serve as a growing barrier against the doldrums of awkward silence and potential boredom we might experience on our journey."

He didn't want to STOP talking with her... he just hoped he could pack away the memories of his heartache deep enough for the nirik in him to stay dormant.

Though, already, those memories were stirring, in ways even Clever couldn't see...

He smiled.  "Please, feel free to inquire further, as I am enjoying our conversation - regardless of whatever responses I might evidence at certain intervals, the stimulaton of familiarizing oneself with another entity is a pleasantry I have not had for quite a sizeable period."

 

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On 2/9/2020 at 6:27 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Hello?! Is funny pony home?"

The booming, somewhat feminine voice would be heard down the street as a rather large, limber looking diamond dog with quite the amount of close-packed muscles rippling under her short brown grey fur, would knock on a door a few times, seemingly looking for someone.

She appeared to have a few golden teeth in her upper and lower maw, a short blue hair and tail style, and around her neck, a rather expensive looking collar of gold with precious stones in the metal. She also seemed to be wearing a vest and pants made of leather, along with a large satchel bag of the same material slung around her back.

As for the door she were knocking on, it eventually opened up to reveal a very confused elderly mare, who hadn't the faintest clue who this were, or why she were knocking on her door in the first place. The diamond dog also seemed rather confused, as this were not whom she thought she'd see when the door opened.

"Hey, this all wrong. You're no stallion."

"Hmm, perhaps we have misread the house number."

On the bag on the diamond dogs back, sat a changeling with her back legs slung towards the ground and her back leaning on the diamond dogs own, in a rather elegant manner. And elegance seemed to be the word to go with when it came to this one, as everything from her adventurers outfit with several pockets, a tool belt, and the leather saddle bag currently slung on the large diamond dog's shoulders, appeared to be if not perfectly clean, then at least as much as it could be for one on the road, and sewn together here and there if you looked really close.

This lean changeling were as dark as her normal counterparts, with a slick back horn, small fangs, and the only color in her likely on her stomach like with many other changelings of the olden kinds, though some color were possible to see in the dozen of so dark pink, glowing crystals hanging in a steel chain around her neck.

Her horn glowed to pull up a letter from the saddle bag, which she read over before looking over at the house, and then finally shake her head, somewhat demoralized.

"Appears I were right, we needed to go down around five more houses. Apologies for the intrusion miss, we'll be on our way again."

She'd give a dignified smile to the mare before they'd be on their way again, with the diamond dog more or less functioning as a mount to the changeling, who whistled a little as she looked around at the citizens. Many of whose eyes were following them. Urgh, how droll... But it were what to be expected she supposed, as per usual.

"You sure this time?"

The diamond dog scratched her head whilst the changeling waved the notion off dismissively, still back to back with the diamond dog.

"Positively. Before were just a minor fluke, nothing to be concerned abo-"

"Hey funny pony! Are you here?"

The changeling didn't get to finish her sentence before her companion started again. And this time, they should be at the right address, right outside where a certain pony had sent them both letters from over the past few wees, and they had sent some back towards.

Lulu Leila and Flaxxy had arrived for an unannounced visit.

 

Velvet opened the door with a confused expression. "Hello. Can I help you?"

He didn't recognize either of these two, but they seemed to know him, though he couldn't begin to place where. Then it occurred to him that these two, being unusual sights in civilized society, could be the adventurers he'd been writing to for the past several weeks. One way to be sure, really.

"Lulu and Flaxxy, I presume?" He asked, hoping he'd got it right. If he didn't, he would be out of ideas.

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@EcstaticWind

"Haha! We found you, funny pony."

Flaxxy reached an arm out and picked Velvet up like he were little more than a rag doll, and pulled him into a hug. This close, he'd be able to tell that though she looked rather gruff, her fur were still surprisingly soft. Even if she gave off the odor of dirt.

"Don't bother attempting to wriggle away. I can personally attest to the fact that you will not escape her grasp. Just let her get it out of her system."

Lulu fluttered elegantly down from her former sitting position and brushed some dust off her shoulder, whilst Flaxxy finally let go of Velvet.

"We were in the neighborhood and thought a visit were in place."

The changeling had an ever so slightly annoyed sneer on her face as she saw the mess Flaxxy had made of Velvet's mane, and used her horn to correct it to what it had been when they had first seen him.

"As is customary, we also brought a gift. I procured some Satin Blaze Caramel Biscuits, which I told Flaxxy would serve well with some delicate slices of mountain goat cheese."

"Bah. That stuff just smelly, no bite. I found chili cheese. Smells real good, like fire."

Flaxxy padded the left of her leather bags and gave a huge grin towards Velvet, whilst Lulu let out a small sigh.

"It will suffice. We have not arrived at an inconvenient moment, have we?"

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

 

@Randimaxis

Peculiar...

Vivid followed and listened on as Clever began to respond to things, yet something felt odd with him for some reason. She could not put her hoof on it though... Perhaps she were just imagining things, seeing as the topic they had landed on - which he seemed to accept her apology for touching upon - were still technically being mentioned, and she were paranoid about somehow insulting him, which would cause him to leave. She had a few she had recently taken contact to who had acted friendly towards her, just for them to leave her behind without a word, and it quite frankly hurt. It caused her to feel betrayed time and time again, and made her worry that Clever might do the same.

Yes, paranoia were likely what made her feel somewhat uneasy. There were probably nothing about him that were actually going on beyond that.

"Actually, I would like to hear of something that causes You joy. A memory so heartwarming that you cannot help but to look back on it, and feel uplifted. I think we could do with a tale that does not end in sadness, to bring us to a better state of mind before we get to town."

It might help her feel somewhat more at ease about things if they could move past this a little, and focus on something more pleasant. A tale of say, someone whom Clever helped, that showed him such genuine happiness for his actions, that it could not help but bring a smile to his face, were something that might do the trick. Especially if it were from a child. Be it a foal, a changeling nymph, draglett, and so forth, there were just something inherently innocent and beautiful about the joy of the young. And at least in her mind, ensuring that they got the help they needed, had often made her think fondly of things for a time, even if the young ones that she tended to help were those stuck between worlds. Poor little things that hadn't known how to let go, or were forgotten by the reapers... They too had needed help, though those whom Clever had met were likely of the live variety, and hopefully still were alive, in part because of what he could do with his concoctions.

It were a rare curse at least to see those who had passed on. Most whom she knew of, were either quite literally cursed, or as in the case of herself, had danced on the edge of death themselves, and as such had been marked by it. Not a kind tale, since it involved her mother not making it through her birth, and almost taking Vivid with her, yet it were a truth to her life that she could not avoid, and would likely have to bring up with Clever in time, as he might be curious about her profession, were he to stay around, and not be another one who left her.

...If she let him...

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

 

@EQ_Theta

23 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“If it is certain that we could decide our fates, then that will be enough. We can part ways, each of us going where we wish for we are not bound beyond the confines of this orb. There are five of us here and once we are released, there will be five of us separated. The orb, however, will still need to be looked after though we can take care of it; we have plans to hopefully share the knowledge stored in it in a more efficient manner.”

"I will be honest, I assumed there would be hundreds of you there, and not just five. I've been told that soul collectives tends to be quite the legion of spirits oftentimes."

Seemed like he were incorrect i this matter. Not a big deal he supposed, and honestly, this might be better news than if there had been hundreds. In case they wished for individual bodies in the moment, it were far easier to have five crafted, rather than what he had expected. The time to prepare that might have been so great, that he were out of prison before it were even done. Quite a wait time that would have been.

Be that as it may, the path were open, and looking on it, Shrimp were still sticking to Lin, so they wouldn't have to worry about the little one being left behind and getting confused about why he were alone. Something which would likely have resulted in something being set ablaze in their absence, or him running off, trying to find Lin or Omen. Neither were a good outcome.

Going through and finding themselves in the vicinity of Scarcity's shop. it wouldn't take long to wander in there. A few heads were turned as they walked in, but one particular couple were there that had seen them the last time they entered, and started to whisper with a few of their friends. It were likely wise to keep the talk going from last time, about them being performers, as to not cause inconsistencies and potential issues.

In another part of the store, talking with a few high end socialites whilst a couple of well dressed unicorns were carefully moving a lavish looking couch behind them, stood Scarcity. If they approached her, they'd find her right at the end of her conversation, where she were giving her say on something to the two young ponies, who looked upon those approaching with brief, yet open disdain, even if they didn't say anything, Likely the sort who did not wish to sully themselves by even speaking to the lower classes.

"- simply outrageous to think that you of all beings would not notice. But you needn't worry here. I can assure you that as your skilled senses have undoubtedly picked up on, I hold myself to a far higher standard, befitting of only the most esteemed clientele."

If they tried to get too close, Brick would suddenly step out from between a few rows of items, and stand in their way, with no intent to leave before his boss were done speaking. They'd get there soon enough.

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

 

@Pastel-chan

On 2/23/2020 at 4:09 AM, Pastel-chan said:

"Holy horses, look at all this! Maybe you're right, I could TOTALLY see Discord doing this, he's so cool! Or, there's a witch out there bent on the destruction of all things good and well structured! ...Wait, wouldn't that just be another Discord? Haha, oh well!"

 

"I've heard that Discord's a good guy now, so this might be his idea of a gift? It looks really pretty if it is. And just look at that tree! So many different fruits an- Oooh, there's pineapple!"

Jelly's eyes were fixated some on that treat in the tree, just seemingly inviting her to go and pluck it. Perhaps if she hadn't been suddenly focused on that, she would have been able to say something about what Pastel were about to do.

On 2/23/2020 at 4:09 AM, Pastel-chan said:

"Ooohh, I think this flower has a quest for us, Jelly!"

Were it smart of her to go and play with the flower? No, and that would be evidently clear when the flower got her close enough, and then sprayed a pink pollen on her face.

It wouldn't be harmful though, per se. It were more that it would cause small flowers to bloom in her mane, leaving quite a colorful trail down the filly's back, which were honestly just something rather pretty. Just a bunch of multi-colored flowers, with roots seemingly tangling into her mane to ensure they kept on.

That being said, this were still a draconequui garden, which became evident as one of the budding flowers on the very top of her head, bloomed into a large, turquoise flower, which had a message inside in green pollen, saying *My princess is a nerd*. Seemed like this garden were a gift of sort, but well... Draconequui. They couldn't do anything without having some degree of fun with it.

It would try to lure Jelly over too, but she weren't falling for that. Plus it were hard to focus on, what with her having to keep her hooves up in front of her muzzle to make sure she didn't laugh too loudly.

It seemed like the half-muffled giggles were attracting some of the small bubble creatures though, who began to swivel around her. One tried to get closer, but the others learned their lesson once a hairy spider leg came out from her mane and waved threateningly to make the creature go away. It appeared that Gary were weary of these small creatures. No wonder really. They weren't food, and they had been going towards his hiding place. Why should he like them?

As for quests, they would find that another flower further away - this one about a sixth their size and with small jaws - were puffing some glowing pollen above its head every now and again, which would roughly form an exclamation mark. Might actually be a task for them here after all.

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

 

@Sekel

On 2/22/2020 at 11:12 PM, Sekel said:

"I could be wrong, but I think there's a guard contingency sneaking up on you. The vision was a bit too dark to make things out clearly,"

The sphinx squinted his eyes and looked behind him, to vaguely see the guard members lurking in the shadows, holding their spears and whatever else tools they had to work with to subdue a target, standing in complete silence. Sneaky little creatures, that he would give them. He hadn't taken notice of them at all before this.

"It seems we're not trusted enough."

"Just a safety precaution."

Captain Hailstorm interjected a few words there, whilst Enzo returned his gaze towards the general. A little more sour of an expression went over his face, as he did not like this, regardless of it making sense. Though it did make him wonder what Karmic had seen that would lead to them making themselves seen. Would one of them potentially attack the general? It would certainly cause some action, and generally be an unwise decision he'd say.

On 2/22/2020 at 11:12 PM, Sekel said:

"Hello, General," Atzy smiled easily enough and shook the pony's hoof with her own. "My name is Princess Atzy. I'm a royal gemling and I wish to see if my kind are welcome here. Going off of your guard's initially stupid reactions, it seems like that's not really the case."

The general focused on this, rather than whatever happened with the others,and let out a small sigh.

"Young lady, I'd ask you kindly to not belittle my guards. We have had no less than three large attacks in the last two days, along with their new general getting into a serious accident. They are understandably on edge and more fidgety than usual.

Furthermore, changelings - whilst legal citizens now - still have a troubling history with Equestria. As does sphinxes. It's regrettable that they didn't meet you with a kinder approach, but considering everything, I understand the position those who first saw you found themselves in."

He weren't insulting or attacking Atzy, simply laying out some facts and speaking with her in a calm, level-headed tone. Nothing good came of overreacting to what were an unkind statement, likely born of the bad first impression. It were wiser to hi to simply put this out there, be pleased that things had not escalated, and then move on.

"As for matters of acceptance, the princesses would have to make the final decision, but if you are not a threat, or invading force, I foresee no real issue with it. We're in a golden age of tolerance and acceptance now, and barring any hostile action, I don't think it would cause trouble. Honestly, even then, it might still go marginally well, as your associate can attest."

Enzo gave off an annoyed snort.

"I were lured into acting against you. I would hardly consider it reasonable to keep that hanging above my head."

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

 

@Sekel

Last nodded and started leading the way towards the tunnel.

Honestly, she would have done so regardless of being told to though, as it would be a disgrace to her duties as the princess's protector, to let her take charge and potentially get hurt. The royals had a guard for a reason, and that reason were not to cheer on them. it were to keep them safe.

It wouldn't be long into said tunnel before they should be able to bite not in it being incredibly dark, not long after the entrance. A result that came about as no light shone through from about halfway in, which were where the spot within this tunnel that they had collapsed. A minor safety precaution to ensure that the manetids did not stab them in the back after they had passed here, though it seemed as if no movement had been made in their absence regardless. Apparently it hadn't been worth their time, or they had gotten stuck on some of the other obstacles. Hard to say.

"I'm going to need some time to remove the rocks. You can rest in the meantime, your majesty."

"I-I'll help."

The two would start on moving rocks away, with Last using regular force, and Cherish floating rocks out of three way. Unless Twilight did something magical, it'd take about twenty minutes, as there had been a rather large collapse done in here. Could take any risk, right?

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

 

@Sekel

"Probably a traditionalist. They're used to queens and orders, not kinds and democracy. I figure he were just used to looking to a queen for answers when something weird went on, and well, you were the only option, seeing as us two are the weird ones."

"I don't think calling us weird is fair. More... Unusual. Speaking for myself at least, I don't really know of any other changeling hive with a king, and the way we look and act on top of that makes it hard for those used to the old ways to get used to it. Responses to us from our own kind are honestly pretty bad because we're not part of the norm anymore."

Just how things were. Thorax's hive were a strange one as it had a king, and Happy were weird since... Well, look at him. For an isolated ling of any kind like Wall Render, that would be a weird one to get used to. Same reason he had automatically thought that Aurora were the ruler of this hive. That were just the way he were used to things working.

It wouldn't take them long to get outside, and as they did, get to Happy's cart, which were being looked at by some of the more curious changelings, though no one had so far seemed like they were trying to break in. Well, good for him, right? He hated when others went in there and messed things up.

The guards would get up in arms as they approached, but lower their weapons when Thorax approached with him, and waved them away from the cart.

Unlocking the door, Happy would go inside, and not long after that, come out again with a small box, and a big grin on his face. Along with a small flask in his pocket that he seemed to have slipped in there whilst he were filling the wooden box up.

"Dare I ask what's in that?"

"The finest I got to offer. Don't worry chief, I'll get a gift box ready for you once we return too. I'd offer you one too, Aurora, but we've been over that sorta thing I'm lumbering around not being your taste, so I'll figure something else out another time, eh?"

This should tell the queen what kind of thing he were talking about, which could make this an interesting meeting, depending on how the gemlings reacted to his spirited drinks.

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

 

@Midnight

On 2/23/2020 at 12:37 AM, Midnight said:

"You... You have a... A fritter on your face..."

Benny had looked at this one curiously as she had seemingly been on the verge of bursting into laughter. Did something funny go on behind him per chance?

But nope, as it had turned out,t he funny thing were him, who had apparently ended up getting food on his face.

"I do?"

Reaching up, he's find the apple fritter in question, and pull it off his scales with a small smooching sound from the caramel still sticking to his face.

"Huh... Well, no reason to waste it."

With that, he'd snap it up, and feel a small, joyful chill go through him as the taste danced on his taste buds. Were there anything caramel did not make better? Well, the cleanliness of his scales might be one thing, but that were alright. As he'd then show, he had a long tongue, and no issue licking the substance off his face with great delight.

A delight that then vanished as he saw that she had also misplaced something in the hit, and sadly, hers were spread all over the ground, and were unsalvageable.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry about that miss. I'll replace it, no worries, just need to get an idea about where to go..."

He'd stick his nose up and sniff around, trying to get a sense of this smell, yet sadly there was just so many smells here. So many sweet, delicious smells of food just begging to be eaten...

Wait, no. Focus here. He had to find out where the mare found these, so that he could replace it. It were only right after he had caused her to drop it.

"I don't really pick up on the scent, so many other, deliciou- I mean uhm... There's a lot of smells here, and cold treats don't give off much of a smell from afar. So that sorta makes it hard to pick up on. Could you show me where you got it, so that I could replace this for you? Please, I insist. It's only right since I'm the one who walked into you."

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@Blitz Boom

[=~ With that, she did laugh a bit, a miniature blizzard forming around her wings, before it dissipated as she stopped. When he asked her to show him where she found it, she laughed again, this time for only a few seconds though. Replying happily, "Don't worry about it, I make them myself. Actually have about seventy-two of them in my storage spell." After that her horn frosted over, a flurry of snow from it, as a hole opened up in mid air next to her. She looked around in the space beyond for a second, before coming out with another in her snowy levitation. "Do you want one?" she asked, levitating another one out of the hole and holding it out to him. ~=]

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@Blitz Boom
"Romantic partners and family." Ruby said as response to Leviathan's short story "It's one of those things I simply don't understand." even though it was clear she looked down such practices, she was being bit less rude about it "I understand the concept of power in numbers, and I acknowledge that it helps to increase the total size of a species better than my kinds system, but I don't see why you would become so close with someone who's ultimately a competitor." This was one of things that separated Ruby from most of her kind, even though she believed her kind and their ways to be superior, she could acknowledge the advantages of the lesser things. "Then if we add such things as love and friendship, it becomes a weakness, I would know, I exploit such feelings all the time."

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"There's no need to apologize, it's not like I remember everything everyone has told me." Nada simply stated, she especially couldn't blame anyone for forgetting something since she knew just how much she herself had forgotten."Nor do I remember everything I have told others either." 

 

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Works differently in Dragon Land. We don't have to fight for territories since we have a dragon lord who sections it all off between earth, fire, water and wind dragons, and generally speaking, all but opposing elements tend to get along fine enough, or at least tolerate one another, so it's possible to make a kind of society function where we don't have to try and rip eachothers throats out on a daily basis.

That being said, earth and wind dragons can't stand one another, and fire and water dragons would get into a fight on sight in most cases, though water dragons gets into fights with everyone. Like I said, they get invested, and are highly territorial. Even breeding outside their own element tends to be pretty rare in parts because of this, and in parts because the others leave them alone in the ocean, rather than deal with the hassle.

A lot of raising families aren't done just by the parents either. The dragletts mostly runs around together to keep safer, have some fights which gets them stronger over time, the parents mainly helps in teaching them how to hunt, even if there's some family ties among mostly the earth and fire variants, etc. It might sound weak to rely on others, but if push comes to show, there's strength in numbers, and since we don't have to get in big fights over territory, there's no real reason for us to bash one another's head in. Beyond it being fun, or if someone gets on your nerves."

What? They were still dragons after all, violence were still there in some fashion. It just didn't result in death all that often, even though scale collection were a pretty popular way of showing off the amount of other dragons you had knocked out.

"Love though, that's a fickle thing. A fair share I know doesn't stick together because of love, but just for that family protection, and because they want a big bloodline. In some cases, it's tradition, with some couples being the sort that have one mate for life, and that's it, so they figure might as well stay together.

Others though, really do care deeply for their mate, and want to live together long as it lasts. I never felt love like that, but the things I've seen doesn't make me see any sort of weakness. There's warmth, comfort, the knowledge that you aren't alone, and that someone actually cares about you... There's a lot to be said for it.

Also, seen what happens if anything threatens a dragons loved one, and it ain't pretty. You haven't seen real, primal fury until you see someone try and hurt the one, unreplaceable creature who makes them happy. Seen a dragon half my size trounce an Ursa Major because it tried to tear apart his wife. Honestly surprised it managed to drag itself out of there before he flat out tore it to shreds.

Of course, it must be hard to believe, if you've had to take care of yourself all the time, and never felt like anyone would stand up for you but yourself."

There came the warm eyes and somewhat worry again. Something which would likely not fall in warm waters with Ruby still, but Leviathan didn't care. The more she heard her speak, the more she felt like the draconess needed to feel like someone cared even a little about her, even if it wouldn't be welcome. You couldn't go through life like this and not end up messed up, and she didn't want that to happen to a fellow dragon.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Happens with age."

For once, Nerzei gave of a somewhat amused smirk over the little joke. Not something she normally indulged in, but this one felt like it had been set up and were just begging for someone to take advantage of it. Might as well be her, right?

Lyriel did not respond to this, but by the way she suddenly seemed occupied looking away, and had a hoof lifted to cover for her muzzle, it seemed as if a certain Dryad were having fun about this too in her own way. At least until Agni started to chirp off for a time, at which point she'd turn around with a fascinated look on her face. Apparently, the bird were saying something important, or at least interesting.

"Agni says that when phoenixes gets old, they become smarter. Apparently, elder phoenixes live somewhere special, that only the smart ones can find."

"Interesting. Perhaps a future thesis of mine should be on that? Something to consider during the millennia ahead I suppose."

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@Blitz Boom

Pastel actually seemed pretty thrilled with the flowers work! Now she had a very colorful, stylish, flowery mane! She giggled and swayed her mane about, posing like a fashion model.

"Hey, Jelly! Whaddaya think? Think the princess would court me if I showed up like this~?"

She giggled, laughing especially at the "My princess is a nerd" message. Doesn't exactly fit her image! Maybe? Oh well. Between the messages, garden, her new stylish mane, even Gary getting involved (albeit in annoyance), this was already quite the adventure! Pastel skipped up to the flower that stood out the most; big, a huge ! like in picture books, how interesting! She wondered what this one would do... Caution to the wind, she reached put her hoof to poke it.

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@Blitz Boom

“We are a small collective, but there were more of us back when the decision was made to seal our essences away into the orb,” the scholars solemnly said. No indication of this was made long before when they met with the longma siblings or with Mother; only now did they feel they were in trustworthy company to divulge this information. “Thrice as much, actually, but some backed out at the last moment while others… didn’t make it.”

A terrible fate, to be certain of reaching the goal but fall short due to an error. That was what befell some of those who partook in this process. In some perspective, it may have been a mercy. They now know rest and could no longer be burdened by the duty being bound to the orb carried. They were each other’s crutches but wasn’t easy knowing not everyone made it, only their memories could live on and even that was not as much of a relief as some would expect. Still, there was one upside they could not deny: that having survivors among them was sufficient enough to stop them from losing it as a whole. That and having found companions, however brief, over the years to pass on knowledge on their behalf made their strange form of existence a little more bearable. 

But back in the shop, Lin and Sen would have to wait for a bit. They knew their place, much as the disparaging whispers never sat well with them, and held their tongue lest it slipped. There was something about the social elite in Canterlot that didn’t feel right whenever they were around, an aura that was one part regal and one part repulsive. There are exceptions like as Amethyst but from past experience, it seemed like there were more exceptions that proved the rule. However brief their time in Canterlot was, searching for each other among other tasks, there were some lessons that stayed ingrained.

With the longma siblings aware of what went on, they said nothing and stepped away. Fair enough to give Scarcity and her clients some room while they waited. No need to raise anymore of a scene than what they are causing at the moment. And so they resigned themselves to wait until they have the opportunity to speak to Scarcity.

Edited by EQ_Theta
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@Midnight

Benny didn't answer the first few seconds, as he looked at the storage spell with great curiosity. Sure he'd seen magic used before in Dragon land, but there were something special about pony magic. It were more refined, and had many wonderful, yet strange applications. Like this one, that seemed to function as a portable storage space of sorts.

He couldn't use magic personally. He had tried for a few years now, starting some time after he moved to Equestria, but it got apparent rather early on that he just didn't have the spark. No biggie though. He still had his dragon fire. That was kinda like magic, just y'know, not. More like a fire gland and some biology, but to some ponies it looked like magic.

Silly line of thought that made him chuckle a bit, whilst easing him out of his sort of transfixed gaze on the gate.

"Well... It'd be rude to decline, right?"

The hungry look in his eyes betrayed that he just honestly thought this looked delicious, yet he didn't want to seem pushy or rude. Especially since he had caused one of those she made before to get dropped. Might be he were a dragon, but that whole *I Deserve it!* attitude just wasn't him. Much to his mothers chagrin, and his sisters unending teasing, even if he knew she meant it in a good way. Wasn't like she hadn't embraced pony society fully just as much as him, just with less focus on food, and more towards relaxation. The spa just melted all her irritations away, and left her as a... Well, sort of a meanie, but mostly to him. Typical sibling love.

Benny would tentatively reach out slowly, and would gladly accept it if it wasn't taken away to sorta tease him. If it were, it'd make him feel a little hurt, but he'd muscle a smile through and try to see it more as him deserving a bit of a prank on him, all things considered.

If it wasn't though, he'd thank her, take a lick, and look like a pleasant shiver went down his spine.

"Delicious."

A brief purring sound escaped his throat, which he unconvincingly tried to play off by clearing his throat right after that.

"So... You make these yourself, and have them in a portable storage spell? That's really impressive, miss. Never seen anything smaller than an ice cream cart take these around, and you can just store loads like that? Pony magic sure is crazy sometimes.

It looked like a really big space though. How much stuff could you store in there, if it's okay that I ask?"

He weren't questioning her in any legal capacity. He were genuinely curious about this sort of thing, though if she said she didn't want to talk of it, that'd be okay. Wouldn't be alright for him to try and wring something out of another who didn't want to talk about it.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2/25/2020 at 3:49 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Thrice as much, actually, but some backed out at the last moment while others… didn’t make it.”

"You have my sincere condolences for your losses."

It were not meant in a joking or sarcastic manner. Rosa knew well of loss and the pain it brought, so he would not belittle or make fun of something as somber as these five having lost some of their friends, or potentially even family, due to not being able to survive this transference into the orb. Hopefully they were resting peacefully at least, and not somehow suffering as a specter somewhere.

He hadn't always believed there to be ghosts and an afterlife in all honesty, but as time had gone by, and he eventually ran into some members of a certain clan of mediums, spirit guides, and whatever other death related profession they had to their names, it became hard to argue against the facts. A pleasant thought in some ways, as it showed him that there were a beyond to perhaps find peace in after this life were done, and yet... So too could you end up trapped here, unable to let go and wailing in your own suffering. It had been a special experience for him, trying to juggle with that.

On 2/25/2020 at 3:49 PM, EQ_Theta said:

With the longma siblings aware of what went on, they said nothing and stepped away. Fair enough to give Scarcity and her clients some room while they waited. No need to raise anymore of a scene than what they are causing at the moment. And so they resigned themselves to wait until they have the opportunity to speak to Scarcity.

In the present however, a certain mare bit notice in how her customers were behaving, and cast herself a short glance backwards to the group. A vague sense of surprise seemed to come from Scarcity as Rosa looked at her, yet it were ever so fleeting that it were barely noticeable anyway, before she went into a smile.

"Ah darlings, it seems so long since last you were here."

"You associate with That sort of creature?"

Surprisingly, the hoof and pointed words going towards the group, weren't towards either of the longma siblings, but rather at Rosa, who couldn't look like he cared any less. Which in fairness, were true. These two had no opinion worth listening to far as he were concerned, as they were nothing but spoiled brats. Their words were worthless.

"Pure-blooded thestrals of any standing have become rather favored messenger of the Pale Court in recent years, so they have begun to send an envoy such as this one to come and purview or collect some of my wares for them. You know how reluctant they are to show themselves in public."

The two higher up younglings nodded quietly, understanding the situation when it were put into that sort of context.

"As for his companions, they are rather skilled performers from afar whom I have been asked to get into contact with the court. I cannot assure that they will get an audition, yet a private show is a very exclusive event too, for both the audience and performers."

"Hmph, we know. It's impossible to get tickets for that unless you know someone."

"Normally that is the case. Yet I am in the fortunate position to be a long time provider for the court, which means that I have at times received the privileged of viewing some of the performances. As a token of my deep appreciation for your patronage, and your most gracious understanding towards me having to go and deal with this order with some degree of haste, might I offer you some tickets that I were recently gifted by them?"

This certainly seemed toget their attention, and their eyes went wide in surprise and disbelief, as they refocused on Scarcity. The mare in turn, then used her horn to teleport a delicate looking, wine-red box with an engraved moon surrounded by moths in the center.

"is this a trick?"

"I assure you that it is not."

She opened it up, and two tickets that were seemingly printed in on silver, with an eerie, magical glow emanating from them, got into view. At which point the two high end ponies nearly dropped their jaws. Even more so as Scarcity graciously closed it and floated it towards them.

"I have been told that the Dragonfly Brigade have been scheduled for this particular performance. A performance those of true class wouldn't wish to miss for the world, no?"

They'd eagerly take the box and hurriedly scamper outside, talking about what to wear, how to get to the point, the kind of status this meant they might have, etc. To them, Rosa and the others were nothing in the moment.

Back in the store, Scarcity chuckled, and waved the others closer, and towards the back where they could wander to her office, and talk in peace. Brick would remain behind and cover the path, as ordered by Scarcity with a few gestures of her hoof.

"Apologies for the deception darlings, but their kind are fickle to deal with, and I had to spin things as best I could. I assure you that they will never find out that you have nothing to do with the Pale Court."

"You lost some pretty expensive tickets for that."

"I were planning to use them as a bargaining chip in one fashion or another as it were. Dreadfully dull gathering of beings in my opinion, yet for the up and coming socialites who wish to attain influence and be seen, it is a highly valued price. One I might have been able to sell them, but a friendly gesture here will have longer term gain for me than short term profits from trying such a maneuver. To them, I am now both the one to help them on their step towards the creme of high society, as well as one who were able to help them attain a genuin authentic piece of rather expensive furniture that they had bought elsewhere, yet which turned out to be false. I foresee them being close customers of mine for a long time to come."

That said piece were false because she had replaced it without the seller knowing it were not something which needed to be brought up. A bit of s shameful act perhaps, but she did not like this other antique dealer for both personal and professional reasons, so this momentary hit to his reputation were quite honestly a delightful bonus.

"Now then, might I ask what brings you to my less than humble store?"

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

 

@Pastel-chan

On 2/25/2020 at 2:37 AM, Pastel-chan said:

"Hey, Jelly! Whaddaya think? Think the princess would court me if I showed up like this~?"

At this point, it were unreasonable to expect Jelly to not laugh anymore, so she did. Falling to her stomach and just letting it out at the well placed comment from Pastel.

The sudden movement and sound however, seemed to scare the bubble creatures away, who floated off and back to their previous area, where they'd once again return to their lives as if nothing had happened.

Meanwhile, over at the plant, it would react to Pastel's presence by spewing out different pollen clouds, this time making out large, puffy letters.

"Bring four Posion Joke siblings. Get mystery gift."

It would keep spewing this off, word for word, a few times before it suddenly stopped, and began to spew off the word "Accept?" over and over until it would get an answer.

"W-Wait, isn't *pff* Isn't this kinda weird?"

Jelly were able to react to this one, much as she were still barely through her laughing fit, and actively looked like she were about to crack up again at any second.

"Flowers don't talk, and I dunno what Poison Joke is, but it sounds dangerous. Is it really a good idea to do what the plants want?"

Regardless of what Pastel said, the plants on the ground certainly had an opinion, as the quest flower used it's leaves to wave over some of it's friends from a few other flower rings. Once there, they'd arrange themselves to say *Totally innocent flower*, with a small arrow pointing at the quest giver.

Seemed legit.

Edited by Blitz Boom
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@Blitz Boom

[=~ She tried succesfully to keep herself from laughing at his reaction to the milkshake, before tilting her head to the side, thinking about his question. After a moment, she decided to test it. So she opened a hole, and then stood in front of it. The metal feathers of her wings split open- each feather having the top half tilting up and the bottom half tilting down- and an icy blue glow came from inside what were now essentially jets. And then she was gone, quite a bit of snow in a cone behind where she was standing, a faint sonic boom as she reached the maximum speed her blizzjets would allow. After a couple of minutes, she came flying back out of the hole, the feathers closing again, skidding to a stop before ending up with her face on the ground. She then got up, closing the hole, and turning back towards him, answering his question, "Well, there isn't a limit that is ever really going to matter to me, so... Though it does take a bit more magic to open a hole when there is more stuff in it." She then managed to drink her, currently full, milkshake in about fifteen seconds. Which is precisely why she makes them in batches of a hundred. Also, he licked his milkshake? Not sure thats what you are supposed to do with milkshakes, but okay... ~=]

Edited by Midnight
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@Blitz Boom

Pastel tilted her head as she read off the messages one by one, eyes never turning away.

"Poison joke siblings? Mystery gift? DEFINITELY weird. Why would a flower want poison joke? I remember we had a lesson like this at school in Manehattan; it's this plant that plays a prank on you if you get poked by it. There's a forest around here where we could get something like that, right? Think about it, Jelly; this mystery gift could be ANYTHING! A treasure, a new element, a giant cake, anything! We could even share with the princess and get her favor. We should totally accept it!"

Pastel nudged Jelly playfully, she was practically vibrating with excitement, like a wind up toy.

"See? They all say totally innocent, so it can't possibly be a bad flower! Let's do it!"

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@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE

"A golden age of tolerance, huh?" Atzy asked in utter disbelief. She was shocked and appalled at the phrase. She didn't see any sort of tolerance towards her and Enzo with the way the captain and his guards were acting. Gone was the calm demeanour she had going and now she was royally angry. "What kind of tolerance of tolerance makes ponies put spears against other creatures!?"

"I think that's what sets the guards off," Karmic whispered to Enzo nervously, staring wide-eyed at Atzy's response. She didn't really see too much in her vision but at the very least, she did make out something forcing the guards to attack the three of them.

@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight eyed the rocks blocking their way from the ground to the ceiling and noticed little nooks and crannies the rocks had utterly filled. She let out her breath and charged her horn with magic. She helped Last and Cherish carefully move the rocks, levitating them out of the way as carefully as she could so another cave-in wouldn't happen.

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"Don't like that stuff," Aurora nearly gagged, placing a hoof over her mouth. She didn't exactly have fond memories of when she last tried Happy's brew. "I know you two say you're the weird ones, but if anything, I'm the weird one. I've lived in Griffonstone all my life and only recently I've explored Equestria and found out I was a royal changeling today!"

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@Blitz Boom

17 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"You have my sincere condolences for your losses."

“Thank you. It is good to be reminded that there are still good folk no matter how much time passes. It helps us stay true to our duty knowing there are those who will benefit from what we set out to do.”

The scholar’s appreciated Rosa’s offer of condolences. It wasn’t easy thinking about what could have been if they were still around. A small comfort that they wouldn’t bring any extra burden on the task of providing new artificial bodies to the old souls. If ghosts were real, then they probably won’t run into them as they have found their rest knowing the threat they worked hard to stop could no longer return. Their task was finished. 

But right now, Sen and Lin looked to Scarcity and back at the upper crust socialite ponies who pointed at Rosa with derision. They expected to be the subject of disrespect considering their appearances. Thestrals were thought to have more interactions with pony society, or at least that’s what Lin thought when she heard about them joining the ranks of Princess Luna’s royal guard retinue. That kind of clout would surely make the thestrals more respected than the longma siblings. As far as they knew, they were nobodies and would pretty much be convenient fodder for tactless comments. Alas, that wasn't the case.... 

Being able to think of a cover story on the spot was quite a skill to have, something that is admirable and worth being able to emulate when the time calls for it. Lin was impressed by it and would consider trying something like that when she has some free time. Or at the very least, it might be good enough for her to try and use if she could get the details down. 

“We’re looking to help out some friends with an odd request,” Sen answered as he pulled out the golden orb and showed it to Scarcity. “Rosa tells us you might know of, um… golem crafting practitioners?”

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@Blitz Boom

The mare held many of the most powerful Equestians in her hoof was all a giddy as a filly at the sight of the Good Burg Burg tray.  Triggering old memories of evening walks down the streets of Manehatten and stopping at food cart when their mother didn't feel looking cooking that night.  The tray in question floated from his control and over the lady of the manor.  Like a filly on Hearth's Warming morning, her hoof tenderly popped the seal and peeked inside.  Steam and the delicious aroma escaped the perfectly contained meal that Dawn took a good whiff of that sent shivers down her spine.  To think that in the underground, she was so respected.  Rising had been given the title Spell Breaker by the city, although he wasn't the biggest fan considering the negative undertones, but meh, not everypony gets to pick their names.  While less official, his twin also carried a similar title within her world.  Known as the Spell Maker.  A long forgotten art as so many unicorns, and princesses, take to learning magic via what another pony had already learned and logged in their books.  So rarely do ponies create their own spells anymore.  Not for his twin though.

Lily didn't seem to be embracing the warning Rising gave to her when they entered the manor.  This place was different and she wasn't going to understand much of how things were done in this land.  Let alone the type of relationship these twins had.  Lily's promises of having Twisted's artifacts crossing into the land of Equestria made the detective's hair stand on end.  It was his job to NOT let dark artifacts enter their world.  He already had the headache of the remaining cursed items the Sisters of Troy still totted around and kept in Ponyville.  Last thing Rising needed was powerful items ending up on his sister's doorstep or circulate around the underground.  

The twins winces as the bauble flashed, but was quickly resolved by Wisp laying a horrid of wicker creatures to ash.  Dawn knew of similar creatures in the Everfree Forest, but they weren't nearly as viscous. "My my, what have you fallen into bro?" ash asked, nothing actually seeing the land Rising just returned from.  Rising didn't reply, he didn't need to, the bauble painted enough of a picture.

Dawn while enticed with such an offer, could feel the reaction from her brother.  Resealing the Good Burg Burg, the tray floated away to rest up on a small table that quickly formed out of the liquid marble next to her large pillow upon her throne.  Her attention drawn to the bauble and the notion of Lily's daughter in need of some sort of aid.  The rune looked like any other to the mare, her head tilting back and forth in thought.  She couldn't see magic like her brother, but figure the witch wouldn't joke about such things when regarding family.  Straightening up, her nightie smoothed out its own wrinkles from her earlier display.  "Completely symbolic dear Lily.  You think I'd charge my own brother for such a thing?" she smiled, knowing full well her brother would never let such artifacts enter Equestian.  

For once, her horn ignited in... all the colors.  Her horn radiated the soft pale rainbow colors that rippled from her hoof steps.  An elegant flick of her horn caused a speck of the purest form starlight to winkle into existence before them.  It remained in place for mere moments before erupting into a pocket watch sized Big Bang.  Not a second later did a silver pocket watch float before the detective.  The weaves of the spell that enchanted the pocket watch laid before Rising.  Threads of pale rainbow, clean, elegant, woven into complex strands of an original spell.  Nothing Rising hadn't already seen before, except for this new matrix attached to the destination portion of the spell.  A return protocol. "Upgrade?" he asked.  Dawn's horn extinguished and she nodded, "So you don't get stuck this time.  Surprised?" she taunted.  His expression remained neutral, "No."  The mare pouted and turned her head to look away from his with an audible, "Hmph!"  A smirk appeared on his lips for a split second. Holding out his hoof, the watch slowly floated down to it, "Thank you sis, you're the best unicorn in the world."  Swollen with a bit of ego now, she faced them again, "Better."

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@Sekel

There it were again. That little spark, edging around his mind, dancing on his nerves...

Why did these creatures have to fight so much? Must they always be unable to see reason  and act like children?

None of them were without guilt in this. Atzy were irking them on, playing off a rude first impression towards her that then in turn, were causing the guards to be more alert and prepared for an assault. It would do nothing but spiral out of control, and the sphinx felt it grinding on him. More-

On 2/27/2020 at 10:57 AM, Sekel said:

"What kind of tolerance of tolerance makes ponies put spears against other creatures!?"

And more-

"There is no reason for this outburst. Calm yourself."

And more...

Enzo felt the anger bubbling up again, not halted by rationale as he heard the guards behind them ready themselves, and saw the ones in front tensing up, prepared to strike.

On 2/27/2020 at 10:57 AM, Sekel said:

"I think that's what sets the guards off,"

Enzo started to spread his wings as an increasing anger plastered itself upon his face. Something which Hailstorm took note of, and took a step forth, to get between this group and the general.

"Stand down."

"I have had it with you, and your insufferable arguing! Must I silence you all before your childish bickering ends?"

"We are not the ones who are trying to start a fight here."

"But you are, captain."

The voice would come from their side, where the guard who had at first fetched the general, stood at the side of one wearing outlandish clothes, whom were slowly walking towards them with a soothing tone in his smooth voice.

PStWDM8.png

"We started this by showing them hostility, even if they came only to talk. And then when rightful anger came towards us, it only began to escalate. Much as the troops are rallied, that is no excuse."

"Ambassador. I thought you were-"

The stallion waved a hoof, causing the general to silence himself.

"General, please return your troops to their stations, and resume your work. I would like to speak with them without anypony here they might perceive as threats."

The general did not like this, but an order were an order, and within the next minute or so, the only guard that remained in the courtyard, would be the one following the slow-moving ambassador. One who were not armed, and judging by the cross down the bag to his side, were likely medical personel.

Once they were all gone, the ambassador would get closer, and face Karmic and Enzo with an apologetic look in his weary face. He seemed as if he weren't feeling all that well currently.

"They do their duty, yet that is no excuse for such hostilities. I am profoundly sorry that you both had to see this, as your first impression of the Equestrian Government.

I am Ambassador Golden Sun. It is an honor to meet you."

He'd try to give a regal bow, but had to stop as his head reached about ten centimeters down, with a pained expression on his face and a groan. Something his attendant reacted on by quickly reaching over and slowly pushing back on his neck, as the ambassador straightened out again.

"My apologies. I briefly forgot my current limitations."

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

 

@Sekel

With the princess's help, it would take about ten minutes or so to clear out a path for them, where in the distance, they could see a bit of light shine in from the other end. It would take some more work to really clear this tunnel and make it ready for proper travel, but this would suffice for their need. If there'd ever be a reason to open travel between the valley and the outside at some later point, somepony else could come along and handle the rest.

"We should get moving. If either of you need a break, now is the time to say so."

Cherish would shake her head, not feeling any more weary, and in fact, having had the time to collect herself and seem more stable in her form than when they had arrived here.

If the princess were also okay, Last would lead the way forward, towards the grand outside. Which would not be an open view of the valley, but a gnarly mountain pass, leading upwards. They still had some way to go before the valley would get into view.

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

 

@Sekel

"Yeah, and I'm from another dimension, and partly of a race you folks consider myths and fairy tales. Pretty sure I've still got you beat both on looks and story, Aurora."

"I suppose I'm just more of a sign of times changing than weird, but in the drone's eyes, I do think that you're the most normal of us right now. To most drones, there's a queen, not a king, and well, you look most like a regular changeling."

Her story had him beat, he'd likely give her that, but he were a colorful king, in a world of dark, many-holed queens. He were standing out like a sore hoof, whilst Happy... Well, what didn't in his case? It would be shorter to mention the reason why he wasn't the weirdest one among them, rather than the opposite.

"I'm surprised at your up-bringing though. Griffons aren't usually some that I hear a lot of changelings try to mingle with. At least among those who I have spoken with. I can imagine it being quite a change of culture to go from Griffonstone and to Equestria."

Whilst he talked, they'd start to go on their way, with all of them taking spreading their wings and preparing to take flight. They were just waiting to see if Aurora would be okay flying, considering her new form might feel awkward to her.

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

 

@Midnight

Benny looked on very fascinated as she went through the gate and just flew off in a seemingly endless space. At the same time, he'd stick his snout down the milkshake and start to slowly sip it. Whilst he might have licked it before, that were just to get a taste of things. This were how he preferred to drink that sort of thing, long as it wasn't fizzy drinks. The bubbles kept getting into his nose and tickling intensely.

On 2/26/2020 at 8:42 PM, Midnight said:

"Well, there isn't a limit that is ever really going to matter to me, so... Though it does take a bit more magic to open a hole when there is more stuff in it.

He'd stick his mouth out of the half finished milkshake when she returned and lick the remnants away from his face with his forked tongue.

"There's no real end to that? Wauh, that's a real impressive spell you've made there then, miss. I know loads who'd fight for a storage space that huge, even if it takes more magic out of the caster.

More impressive than dragon magic, for sure. Those I know who have any, are all elemental based. Like fire, earth, or wind magic. It's pretty strong, but the stuff you ponies can do are way more versatile. Like your storage room. It's crazy impressive.

Can it only work though, if it's being cast by a unicorn, if it's okay that I ask? My marefriend's got a candy shop, and if these sorta things can be handled with like... A push of a button or something, I'd really need to tell her about this. It would help her save a ton of storage space sometimes."

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

 

@Pastel-chan

Feeling like she were really outvoted here, Jelly rather quickly caved in and started to nod excitedly.

"Okay, let's go! I have some small bags in my belt, so we could use those as gloves so we don't touch the things, maybe? Oh, we should bring a box! There's one outside where daddy and I live. We can go pick that up, and run into the forest real quick."

The flowers returned to their placements, and the one that had given them the quest stood and swayed in the wind, seemingly waiting for them to return with the things that it had sent them out for.

Unless Pastel got any interesting ideas, or somehow ended up getting distracted, they'd soon enough get to the half-rundown building that the two bat ponies lived in, with several boxes outside from when Stargazer moved in. Plenty to pick from and go into the forest, with also some bags and a rather large satchel too, where they could find an iron pipe in that had been forgotten. Seemingly part of a sink or something that were not needed, or some other kind of training equipment.

Meanwhile, back at the garden, the flower would start to shake in a motion that appeared as if it were laughing, and then sank quickly into the ground. Seemed perfectly normal.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

"Golems you say? Such a peculiar request to make, but I'm sure that I could be of some service. I do know of quite a varied amount of beings after all.

That being said, what sort of golem is it that you had in mind?"

"Does it matter?"

"Most assuredly. Varied types of golems requires varied types of skillsets. Clay and stone for example, requires geomancers with a spiritual aspect, whilst the more classical ones have a need of technological traditionalists, whom have little overlay with the dirt based ones.

There's generally a professional for any kind. Be it clay, stone, metal, tech, flesh, blood, f-"

"Pardon, did you just say flesh and blood as options?"

"Yes. Not ones whom I would recommend, but it is an option nonetheless, known by some beings whom I would not claim to have a friendly relation with. Yet I find it pertinent to still be aware of their whereabouts and current abilities, just in case there comes a time where their presence is sorely needed by somepony. My personal apprehensions cannot be allowed to stand in the way of my professional obligations so easily.

Now then, as I were alluding to, there are many, varied kinds of materials that can be used to make a golem. Perhaps you could start telling me what sort you were thinking of, and I can potentially think of someone who can be of assistance."

"And your price?"

"Depends on what is required of me, but you needn't worry it will cost you greatly. My interest in what your delightful group can achieve have far more potential value to me than mere coin."

The look in her eyes as she said this, made Rosa certain that she had several proposals for a trade in favors already lined up in her head. Unsurprising really, but it would have to be something that could be handled with some degree of haste if it were. He did not have several days again, due to his court sentencing tomorrow.

"I wonder, is this orb in some way connected to why you'd wish for a golem? What function does it hold, which you wish protected?"

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

 

@Rising Dusk

7 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"Completely symbolic dear Lily.  You think I'd charge my own brother for such a thing?"

"Forty years ago, my own mother charged me for an elixir that I needed to get past a nasty flu, and I have done similar things with my cousins in meager days. Family is important, but some things are hard to make, or times are tough, and you don't have the option to make anything without gaining something in return, lest you wish to starve.

But I suppose, things change, and Equestria isn't as downtrodden and scarce of resources as Harrowmark have long been. Something tells me that you don't have these moments of desperation here."

This was not a comment on this mare's personal wealth in any way. It were more on the entirety of the kingdom they were in. Certainly, Lily hadn't seen much of it, but what she had seen, she didn't see anyone starve in the streets, looking longingly at anyone who had even a scrap of food. Nor a single being keeling over from diseases, or folks crippled by damages that could not be treated as there simply weren't anything they needed to get a proper treatment. Whatever this country's infrastructure were, it were apparently far stronger than that of Harrowmark, even if that were no surprise. Hopefully the queen were still as benevolent as she once were, so that she may make use of the riches that'd be returned to her, to quickly get resources from the outside to help her ailing country better. The iron hoof not being pressed metaphorically down on her throat anymore were certainly going to help her press some things through too.

Who knew? Perhaps in a few years, they might be getting closer to this ideal, than their long standing nightmare.

The magic that were presented by Dawn shortly after she had finished her own words, were something that drew Lily away rom memories, and more towards observing this strange magic with a curious glance in her eyes.

That she were creating something were a marvel in itself, but what really caught her, were the many colors. She had never seen a unicorn - or any caster for that matter - have more than two colors in their aura at most, unless they were making use of borrowed power. Dawn did not appear to have any necklace of gems on her, or anything else of the like, so this had to be her own magic then, yes? So many, potential schools of magic...  This were a mare that were best not kept as an enemy. Something that were just getting clearer and clearer with every new thing that the Harrowmark resident saw, even though she would potentially be a good teacher of sorts, provided that she found the right kind of student. ad to be someone with strong enough potential for her taste out there somewhere.

Oh well, not her issue, as she were not one with that great of a potential, nor would she want to be a pupil again anytime soon, due to her experiences with Twisted. There were little reason for her to seek tutelage, despite the master maybe being a kinder one.

7 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"Hmph!"  A smirk appeared on his lips for a split second. Holding out his hoof, the watch slowly floated down to it, "Thank you sis, you're the best unicorn in the world."  Swollen with a bit of ego now, she faced them again, "Better."

"I know not if you are the best there is, but you are clearly a powerful mare, Dawn. More so than most that I have known, or even read of, and I thank you for using that strength to help me return home. I owe you greatly for that."

Lily bowed deeply before Dawn. Much as she considered the mare strange in a way, and did not fully get the dynamic between her and Rising, the mare were helping her return to her daughter. That were something which demanded gratitude, and in classic, Harrowmark fashion, acknowledgement of a debt because of it. One whom Lily were more than willing to honor, were Dawn ever to find herself in Harrowmark for whatever reason, or if she sent a message. Soon as the gates in Harrowmark began working again, there might come a time when they'd get a message through a courier passing through those, asking for a favor, or something else their country might offer, and if it were within her power to get it, Lily were obligated to try and procure it.

It were curious when Rising would remember though, that he had yet another prisoner from Harrowmark trapped somewhere. A certain stallion that had attacked a workshop just outside of town, and talked about the doom that were going to befall him for his failures, before being apprehended and dragged off. He were probably chained up somewhere, and ignored as he grumbled on about failure.

Edited by Blitz Boom
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@Blitz Boom

[=~ As soon as she heard the word button relating to the spell, she immediatelly smiled, before her horn frosted over, glowing, snow forming around it, and then a cube of ice formed in the air in front of her, the snow around it showing that she was also levitating it. Slowly, while she stared at it, a design began forming inside the ice cube out of less pure ice. Because less pure ice isn't as clear, and the rest of the ice cube is completely pure, well, I would hope you get the idea. She closed her eyes every so often while forming the design, calculating numbers and dimensions. Once she had finished, she opened the hole again and simply tossed the cube in before closing it again. "I think I can make something with the same general idea, yeah," she responded in an excited but somehow also calm tone. A little blizzard swirling around her wings.
 

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@Blitz Boom

Pastel was in full protagonist form now. She looked around the area, bags, satchals, even a pipe! This place was kinda convenient. If they were gonna find the poison joke before sunset they couldn't spend too much time contemplating which ones to bring.

"Hmm, the satchel would be perfect for you I think! Maybe I should carry the box, since earth ponies are stronger, so they say; and oho~ what's this..."

Pastel approached the pipe as if it were some kind of legendary item. She grabbed the pipe and...

Dramatically held it above her head, with her hoof no less!

"Never fear, fair maiden! For as long as I, the legendary heroine Pastel Heart, hold my courage and my trusty sword, Bahamut, I will protect you! I will slay any beast and conquer the most tyrannical of kingdoms to stay at thy side~"

...She almost sounded cool, if she weren't pint sized and holding a pipe. It made her look more like a thug than a heroine, but the heart was there atleast.

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On 2/25/2020 at 3:02 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Haha! We found you, funny pony."

Flaxxy reached an arm out and picked Velvet up like he were little more than a rag doll, and pulled him into a hug. This close, he'd be able to tell that though she looked rather gruff, her fur were still surprisingly soft. Even if she gave off the odor of dirt.

"Don't bother attempting to wriggle away. I can personally attest to the fact that you will not escape her grasp. Just let her get it out of her system."

Lulu fluttered elegantly down from her former sitting position and brushed some dust off her shoulder, whilst Flaxxy finally let go of Velvet.

"We were in the neighborhood and thought a visit were in place."

The changeling had an ever so slightly annoyed sneer on her face as she saw the mess Flaxxy had made of Velvet's mane, and used her horn to correct it to what it had been when they had first seen him.

"As is customary, we also brought a gift. I procured some Satin Blaze Caramel Biscuits, which I told Flaxxy would serve well with some delicate slices of mountain goat cheese."

"Bah. That stuff just smelly, no bite. I found chili cheese. Smells real good, like fire."

Flaxxy padded the left of her leather bags and gave a huge grin towards Velvet, whilst Lulu let out a small sigh.

"It will suffice. We have not arrived at an inconvenient moment, have we?"

 

"Uh no, no. But I am surprised to see you both here so soon. I was given to understand adventuring was a long process. At least, that's what I got from many of the stories and biographies I read. Aside from it being dangerous but potentially rewarding. To be honest, I had figured it would take you another week or two to arrive, but I guess I underestimated transport and how long it actually takes, didn't I?"

He was glad that they came, though he wondered if his house was big enough for the two of them. He only had one bed and one couch, after all. Would they be comfortable sharing? Or would he need to buy a sleeping bag? The conundrum only deepened, since he only had pony food and nothing for meat eaters or changelings, not that shops around the area would stock things for changelings anyway.

"Would you like to come in? It's a bit small, but I hope it's cozy enough."

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@Blitz Boom

“We are curators of information spanning thousands of years, a vessel of magic that wishes to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Only… we believe it may be time to lay that purpose to rest and live outside of this orb before we choose to go for good. A golem shell may be what we seek.”

“They’re ancient beings from a now-extinct race; the last of their kind, if you can call them that. I suppose it may not even be entirely accurate if they’re disembodied voices residing in an inanimate object.”

The distinction between golem types would be valuable to know but Sen and Lin knew nothing of the sort. The scholars had an idea about what they wanted but that is determining the difference between practicality and accuracy. They could, in theory, choose with flesh golems to give themselves a semblance of having an organic body but the nature of the process is repulsive. Hypothetically, it would require ample amounts of flesh to even construct one body usable and that is disregarding ethics. It is highly doubtful anyone will want to donate the materials needed to create one golem.

Stone bodies are hardier, sturdy, and resistant. They would be traveling for a while and it will be nice to have some form of protection without worrying about materials. Steel presents the same benefits but if oxidation was a factor, then they’d need to be dealt with before the joints start locking up. Seems like their choice isn’t too difficult.

“We have chosen the stone golem shells. The orb itself will remain as is, a repository for information but we believe it is best to begin moving our stored knowledge elsewhere. It has served its purpose but experience has shown it has done enough harm over the years to warrant its decommission.”

“That is about the long and short of the matter,” Lin concluded, somewhat anxiously awaiting what Scarcity will want in exchange. They didn’t really have much to bargain with, though the scholars probably have something the unicorn will want. Regardless, it will be interesting to find out. “Would you know where we can find those… um, geomancers you mentioned?”

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@Blitz Boom

 Blither's gaze lingered on Chop's retreating, silent form with a somewhat worried grimace on his muzzle. There was a vague, unsteady respect akin to when a timberwolf passes a cragadile in the deep woods, a sort of violent camaraderie between major predators based only on the fact that both sides know that even if a tussle happened and they came out victorious it would have dealt too much of a toll on either side to be worth picking a fight. Or something like that mused in the much smaller stallion's head, at least nothing too much trouble had happened. To no one in particular, He said out loud hestitantly. "...well, best to make use of what comes. Can't have wanton acts of violence and destruction."

 Turning to the mayor as if to reassure her and hopefully deter to a less tense topic, he questioned her. "Society can't be built without structure or agreed upon harmony. You'll have to forgive me, but in my reading and research I've not heard much of Ponyville. Most who talk of here treat it as idealic a place to live... but a bit, uhm, chaotic. I guess the reputation of a cityplace becomes infamous when it requires montly visits from the nation's ruler, heh? You have much trouble here?

 I don't mean to gossip, but Ponyville is often talked of as a place where all are accepted?" Blither aimed a sheepish, nervous smile in an attempt to disarm any further negative opinions of himself. Afterward he turns to regard Alonsus to comfort him as well.

 "Oh, my condolences Sir Alonsus! I don't mean to correct you! It's just a bit of second habit for me! Most of my family disregard the effort I've put into reading up on the annuals of pony history, storytelling and moreover, scientific history. It often falls on me to correct them of... well, heh, they don't usually listen to me~They say I have a bad habit of pontification.  I suppose you know if you've ever had to run with any brothers of your own?

 Oh! And this all seems so much for a teatime repast! Is this much customary in these parts of ponydom?"

*Meanwhile!!*

 Sunny Flush remained blissfully unaware of any awkwardness to holding a superior officer in front of one of his recruits. But she did as she was asked and gingerly and softly placed Stargazer back down on the ground as if placing a stuffed pony doll on a shelf. For a bit, she chittered in a motherly voice to him to excitedly cover a lot she wanted to know in what turned out to apparently be very little time.

  "D'oh-Kay!" She chirruped as his hooves touched lightly back down. "You betta get youself some good rest then! Get youself someone to tuck you in at night an' maybe give you a glass o' warm milk! Maybe I can help you with that some night!! And we can talk about what even a Batty Horsey is! Like, if ya sleep at the day or suck the Juices of the Living like Big Brother Flit says! Flit talks ALOT about juices! Think it's one of his favorite words!"

"An' you bet that sounds like Shorty!" The mare cheerfully agreed to Scarcity, skipping along behind lightly after the running forms of the two policeponies. "Tossin's what he do best! But he wouldn't REALLY wanna hurt nopony! He might break a few walls down or talk alot about crushing skulls but we haven't done that recently! He's justa big softie, really! A good hug will straighten anything out!"

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

 @Sekel

 The stream of lightning hit Shortstack full in the face like a high powered hose and he hadn't blinked. Singed a trifle, yes, but Shortstack had ran his head through some rather rudimentary broiler ovens before and tended to eat coal for a snack. He didn't really need to do that, but he liked the attention doing so publicly got him. The little stallion was rather fireproof and the bristle short, boarlike hair stood as one testament to that. More importantly though, he was grandstanding right now and couldn't let a little thing like a beam of energy to his face get in the way of hurling judgement. Many who prized argument over sanity or their well-being tended to do that, but perhaps not quite so specifically.

 "OY! Missy gots ah gun in 'er t'roat an' asks why sum'un gats tae come alon' an BREAK IT OFF?!" With that perfunctory verbal punch, the tiny red stallion lunges forward a short meter like a small billy goat and firmly lodges his head underneath the dragonpony mare's chest... and bucks her to his right into a wall of a nearby building. Roaring after her, audibly proud in justification of his own volume Shortstack fires back.

 "AH'M GONNA RIP YER HEART OUT AN' CLOG DANCE TA DAH RHYTHM!!!"  

 

  *~And otherwise and otherplace~*

 "So long as you know of my dragon superiority." Kaltrop attempted to flex his wing muscles with somewhat unreliable results. "hunted for my own food out in the wild. I do doubt you city-bound ponies would be capable of that. I would be good to keep around for that matter at least, since I have no idea how you forage for your own food. What, do you stalk the wild, roving herds of grass patches?

 ...Or... wh-whatever you mean by "Boyfriend" anyhow. If it means Protector, than i'm likely better at a fight than you there." 

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

@Catpone Cerberus

 Widdershins rolled his body around Cerberus as he fluttered about the catpony as he walked to his destination.

 Well, to remind you, we're going in a loop! I was saying you're the Weather Station!

 But don't worry about it! I'm a Thingywhopper, your a Feline-Equine, Little Cathorse. There's horses here that can shoot energy out of their head-bumps. There's too many ways to talk of things! The world is a silly place!

 So what's your lead on where Parasprites are these days?!!? The little cuties can't be that much trouble!

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