open Casual stroll

Blitz Boom · April 2, 2020

Sorrow were all smiles as she saw that the mare actually could hear Legion after all. Sure it required physical contact with their vessel but even that hadn't been guaranteed to work.

"Ooooh, that's great news! Not a whole lotta beings can hear the dead, even when doing this, so that must mean you're pretty special."

The response from Windy were nice too. It didn't always go well when Legion got contact with others, due the whole *being dead* thing, but Windy here were all excited and happy about it. Sounded like she even had questions, which were kinda cool, though the silly mare did a small whoopsie.

"Hehe, you forgot to ask the question. What sorta things do you wanna know from them? They're usually pretty honest about things, and I know lots too, if it's ghost stuff in general."

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@EQ_Theta

On 4/1/2020 at 4:02 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Wait… what?”

“I mean… given your line of work, I suppose… but… I’m stumped. I’m stumped that you just said all that.”

"My job is... Were, to know things, and be prepared. It requires me to know things like this in advance, though I wouldn't envy this knowledge if I were you. Researching all of these sorts of things takes weeks, if not months at times, and happens frequently enough that I have had little to no time for a personal life. Even hospital stays and laying low had to be used efficiently to study up on things, to avoid potentially not coming back from my next assignment. To put it into further perspective, the time I have spent with you in the recent few days? The closest thing I have gotten to a vacation my entire life. Even with King Thorax, I had to spent most of my time educating him on the political aspects he needed to know, or preparing for the next time."

Rosa could understand why they might be surprised and amazed at what he knew, but quite frankly, he often wished that he didn't. Knowing how the world turned and the few creaks in the wall you could move through to gain an advantage were useful, but the sacrifice of his own chance of much of a life, and not being able to stay ignorant to the ugliness beneath the surface of society were not worth it for him personally. When you then included the alarming high risk one in his former line of work partook in, it were a high risk, ugly job that consumed his life. If he were able to go back and chose, he would've left the town as fast as he could, and become an accountant or something instead.

"I were not aware that King Thorax had a teacher."

"It's more a matter of amnesty in exchange for knowledge. It's a long story, but suffice it to say that traitors cannot be beggars."

Amethyst wrinkled her nose at this, but kept her tongue, which Rosa frankly appreciated. The courtesy of not telling him off for being a traitor, even though she seemed to have issues with that, spoke of her being if not open-minded enough to think there were nuances to the story, then perhaps at the very least, some common decency in not saying it to his face.

On 4/1/2020 at 4:02 PM, EQ_Theta said:

Right now, the longma caught on to the refraction chirping and looking at her as if he’d done something wrong. She took it as a look of distress and wondered if she was in the wrong earlier. Suppose there was no undoing what happened, only what’s next. Lin took this opportunity to calm down the refraction and cradle him.

It’s alright, Shrimp. Everything’s fine. No need to worry.

Shrimp didn't understand what the larger creatures were talking about all that much. Too many big words and things he didn't know what were for his small brain to grasp it. But he understood what Lin meant at least. Not all her words, but being cradled and spoken to softly made him understand the gesture, and he's wrap himself around her leg as best he could, embracing her in a snake-hug. Just without fangs in her skin, and instead with his scaled head resting sideways on her skin as he let out a long, drawn out happy chirp.

On 4/1/2020 at 4:02 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Well, this just got awkward. So, uh, alligator ranch? What’s an alligator? And, about that plantation? Is it, you know, safe for common folk to go visit or is it off-limits for now?”

"You'd have to sign an waiver I can imagine, but they're mostly concerned with potential Equestrian police forces. You're not equines, so that makes you far less likable to be with the guards, and long as you do not raise suspicions by asking how they finance things, I doubt you'll have any issues.

As for the alligator... Imagine if you will, a lizard. Now give it a huge maw full of teeth, a predator's instinct, and make it several meters long, as well as weighing roughly 400kg. That is an alligator, and I would strongly suggest to stay away from the swampy areas they live in. If you do find yourself with no option though, they cannot climb trees, so that is an escape route, and while they have the strongest bite of most creatures, their muscles to opening their mouths are weak. If you can tie their maws up, they lose most of their battle prowess. Though I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to try. They could easily snap off a leg."

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@Rising Dusk

"With all due respect, I am not a fan of high society. When you live scrounging together what little you're allowed to keep, and have to make it last, the idea alone of overwhelming opulence becomes... Taxing. Dramatic flair on the other hoof, is at least entertaining. Brings a little entertainment to the dreary day to day life."

The rainbow wave before were a nice touch, and she wouldn't say a word against it to Dawn, but the sort of high means beings she had here were something that'd likely always make her skin crawl out of sheer principle. Perhaps also some degree of jealousy too, when seeing how much they had, when she could pool together the entire net worth of everything, and everyone, that existed in Oaksbrook, and likely not even be able to scrounge up what Dawn had given for that seat of hers. Even with Twisted now gone, it were going to take time for their economy to stabilize, though at least they'd be able to harvest lumber to repair their homes, and could stockpile some grain for a bad day. That were about the best thing they had going for them for the time being.

*sigh* But the situations were different, and she were sure that Dawn had somehow earned her riches. Opulence were just something that irked her, and it weren't easy to make an old dog think in new lines of thought. It would take time.

She would say more, but it seemed like something were happening, which made Rising fixate on the orb, which in turn also madet he old witch give it a glance, and grimace.

"One of the ferrymen. This is the sort of work which my old master did, and I hope he suffers eternally for his deeds."

She'd rise the orb so that Dawn could also see better, instead of it being solely for Rising's entertainment. Felt like he were meddling against then. Something tingling in the magic... Urgh, felt wrong on levels it were hard to describe.

"Observe what happens, when the creation of a god's servant, faces the herald of another."

There would sadly not be sound, but the visuals should provide plenty to see, as the ferryman slowly floated more towards the high priestess. When it got within a few meters, a minor assault of glittering, pale moths started to erupt from the air around Thistle, which would start to assault the ferryman. You wouldn't think the small things would do much as they swarmed it, but the way the creature started to swing around and attempting to crush the insects, you'd think it were being stung by a herd of bees.

Rising could likely feel what were actually going on though, if his senses already felt the influence of Twisted. The moths weren't simply there to annoy, they were causing the creature pain by biting into the energy that kept it animated. Not enough to destroy it, but there would definitely be pain involved in this distraction.

And a distraction it were, as whilst this went on, the large diamond dog if their group suddenly came lounging forth, skipping to the side of the creature, and jumped upward. His claws glowed with the same energy that made for the priestess's moths as he struck down, and shattered the chains connecting the ferryman to the boat. It wouldn't cause it to stop existing though. As a matter of fact, it seemed to more or less just anger it, as it rose a hand surprisingly fast, and used it to grasp around the diamond dog's throat, seemingly not as focused on the moths anymore.

He'd likely be in trouble, had Thistle not then used the time to jump directly into the ferryman, and apparently disappear. An action which made the ferryman drop the diamond dog in surprise.

Then a crack suddenly appeared across the ferryman's chest, reaching from from where its heart should be, and rapidly increasing until it reached the top of its head, all the while whilst the moths started to swarm more and more, and it reached up to its head in an attempt to stop what was happening. But there were no way of stopping it, as the crack reached the top, and it cracked in half, falling off like a torn piece of clothing. An apt description, as it seemed to only take away a small layer, like a shirt or sheet would be. Nothing physically interesting, as it looked the same, minus the chains, but it should be evident to Rising that the corruption of Twisted within it had been lessened, and filled up somewhat by the essence of Viz'nay instead.

Floating above it, Thistle would get herself to ground level, and place herself in front of the spirit, whom grabbed hold of its sickle/oar once more, and slammed the ore part into the ground. Afterwards, it'd start to kneel in front of the high priestess, in a fashion that made it seem as it were pledging its services to her.

"From the tool of one god to the other. I hope for it's sake, that High Priestess Thistle will be a kinder master than Twisted were."

It had been too much to hope that Thistle would have released this creature from its likely miserable existence. Much as she might be more benevolent than Twisted, it were clear that she either had no intentions of dismissing a useful servant such as this outright, or that she were waiting to do it, until they had reached where they needed to go. Call her a pessimist, but Lily doubted the later to be true.

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@Midnight

"That doesn't really sound like you're careful though, miss. Kinda more like you got a lucky break and almost got into real trouble."

"We hope you're lucky here too, just with less of a close call, and more just proving that there's nothing to worry about."

Icy were seriously not helping them get less nervous about this whole thing, with that story of hers. Neither were the reassurances that she were trying to put out, by more or less saying that inventions took risk. Something were true, but that didn't mean that one shouldn't worry about safety precautions regardless. Taking a risk were one thing, but dying for your invention seemed to be taking quite a big step too far.

Soon as Icy were ready, Pop would reluctantly put a hoof forth, and push the button, grimacing as she did so. She were expecting something bad to happen, though she prayed to Celestia that it were just her paranoia talking here. Icy seemed like a kind pony, who didn't deserve a tombstone going *She vanished into the aether, whilst making a hole for gumballs*.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Blitz Boom

Chiroptera · April 2, 2020

1 hour ago, Blitz Boom said:

"That doesn't really sound like you're careful though, miss. Kinda more like you got a lucky break and almost got into real trouble."

[=~ She looked at him, tilting her head, "I never said that was a time that I was careful. I was mentioning that as that was when I learned I should be careful. After that I started trying to learn pretty much any shield spell I could find. Even the wierd ones." As soon as the button was pressed, the hole closed. For about one whole second, before opening again, showing Icy looking out the hole, while she was halfway in a hole to her own expanse. She proceeded to go back into- fully- the machine's expanse before walking out of the machine. Though it did close behind her a bit too quickly, taking the very end of her tail off. Looking behind her, a bit annoyed, "Why exactly is it always my tail that gets hurt when something goes minorly wrong? Not my mane, or my, well, me, but always me tail. Kind of annoying. At least it didn't do much to it, unlike that one time with the plasma cannon... That one almost incinerated my entire tail..." ~=]

Think they deserve a bit of explanation, Void?

[=~ Probably. I know that Midnight told you that she can't cast anything heat related, correct? Well, despite that, she did find a way to bind heat related spells to objects, though only relatively weak versions. Said plasma cannon uses multiple plasma generation spells bound to a pattern of needles inside a tube of ice- the unmelting kind- and then those plasma generation spells were in turn connected to a magigen, something she invented entirely on her own- with a bit of help from studying timberwolves- to generate pulses of magic to power bound spells. The pulse sent to the plasgen spells causes them to do their thing, and then another spell, a pushing force spell, like a monodirectional levitation spell, is activated to send the plasma out of the tube. Good enough of an explanation for you, Midnight? Or should I continue to bore them with irrelevant information like this? ~=]

Yeah, thats good enough. Hopefully. And yes, magigen is supposed to be a combination of magic and generator. It is a magic generator. No, she is not willing to give it to anyone, because of the fact that one can create things like her plasma cannon with it.

Catpone Cerberus · April 3, 2020

@Blitz Boom
Almost 1000 years, that explained a thing or two Ruby had been wondering but hadn't mentioned, but it didn't really change anything as age by itself didn't mean anything to her, sure for her kind it could be seen as sign of strength since it meant you had survived lot of fights, but with Leviathan living among ponies, that didn't really count.

"I am only two centuries old, so yes, this is just the start." or well, some decades under 200 to be exact, but she didn't count it that precisely, after all, decades were meaningless for a creature that could live several millennia. Though her response was as cold as always. it wasn't hard to tell that she enjoyed the praise "And for your question, I haven't yet had the time to take on the local creatures, so no Ursas or such yet..." clear emphasis on 'yet' "...but I have taken down plenty of dragons, mostly my own kind but also few locals, and the size has been everything from bit bigger to several times bigger, biggest one probably being bit under three times my current size, but it was some time ago so I was smaller back then." she had also managed to injure quite badly a dragon that was big enough to crush her with one leg, but she didn't tell about that because..well, it had also been one of her worst defeats, being the defeat that ultimately brought her here, and she felt quite humiliated by it still.

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Nada didn't necessarily get the exact message, but she did get the the mimic had no real reason to steal, and thus she looked at her with very disappointed look, not htat she really expected anything else. She observed the mimic's 'explanation' and moment of realization visited her face "Oh, you looking for Fah'lina?" "She's my friends pet, a creature like you." "They aren't home right now, and I'm not certain when they come back." she didn't remember if Serenade had mentioned it in the paper, but if she had, could anyone really blame her for forgetting after all that had happened?

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"Don't you worry about me, I don't feel pain and can't die, worst that can happen is that I move bit slower for some time." Scarecrow assured, starting to lead Straw back on to the road "Besides, based on the reactions of normal Timberwolves, I taste quite bad even for a creatures made out of wood, so I doubt the matriarch would bite me long enough to do any real damage." "I actually didn't even know they could taste anything before the one of them took a bite of me."

Pastel Heart · April 3, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Upon hearing the stomping steps of the matriarch, Pastel would peer ahead just enough to see what was there... What the heck was this forest!? There's like, a bajillion level 99 bosses in here! If they could barely handle a badger, that would like, crush them in one sweep. For once, Pastel stepped back, giggled to herself and counted her blessings, smiling awkwardly at Jelly.

"Ahaha... I think we should put that quest on the backburner for now."

EQ_Theta · April 3, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“I guess that is something to keep in mind. Wouldn’t want to run into one of those alligators. Why anyone would want to keep them around in ranches is beyond me…”

Though Sen and Lin appreciated the information Rosa provided, likely giving them something to look out for when they ventured into swamps, the two appeared to have grown worried. Looking back and forth between themselves and to the thestral after hearing what he mentioned about their travels together. They had no knowledge of the spy life and probably wouldn’t want to know more about it but this is their friend and to learn he didn’t exactly have a life outside of it… They didn’t know where to start.

“Rosa… I… I-If we only knew-“

“We could have, I don’t know, done something to help. Even if it is just giving you some semblance of what having a personal life is, that’s still worth a shot. I mean, we aren’t exactly living an example of normal but we’d still try however we could.”

It is true neither Sen nor Lin could ever hope to explain what having a personal life was like. If Omen were to ask them, they’d likely give a half-formed answer that leaves the Ki’Nathar confused. Even their past experiences point to nothing being ordinary. Moving from place to place, scavenging for food, hoping they’d be able to survive the night… none of those describe having time to do anything else that isn’t mandatory for survival. But what they do know is that they can still offer to help. Throughout their journey, that’s pretty much all they can remember. The miners, the victims of Filigree’s madness, they could sum up their adventure as going somewhere and helping who they could. They can do the same for their friend while there is still time.

“You know what? Let’s work on that. Feel free to join in, too, Amethyst! We'll start with one question: what do ponies like to do with their spare time?”

Edited April 3, 2020 by EQ_Theta

Blitz Boom · April 4, 2020

@Catpone Cerberus

Two centuries? Not the largest she had seen for that age, but it were still above average among those that she knew of. Given the time to reach the same age as she were, Leviathan were sure that Ruby would become quite the impressive sight. More than she'd ever be, but such were the curse/blessing of being of mixed blood. Dragons might technically be the same, but the varied elements of at least the Equestrian variants, had an influence when it came to the offspring. In her case, it stunted her growth, yet she had at least been one of the lucky ones who had the magical potential of both her wind and water dragons ancestry. Seeing as that were the only strength she could realistically harness against those towering above her, she had made an effort to not squander that.

Still, she would admit to have a duality of pity and jealousy for the larger of her kind. Pity because they could not wander as easily among the lesser races, and infiltrate their societies. Jealousy, because there were a certain intimidating factor and prestige that came from towering above those younger and more inexperienced than you, that she sometimes wish she possessed.

"...I do not believe in hunting our own, but your home isn't the same as mine. Back there, I'm sure you had your reasons to do so."

It were clear that she did not agree with it, seeing how uncomfortable it made Leviathan look to hear about dragons hunting dragons, but as said, she could at least understand the way it worked in Ruby's home. It sounded more savage than here, and as such, there could well be times were death couldn't be avoided.

That being said, she didn't believe it to be the same here, and she wasn't condoning that sort of behavior towards her local kin. Something which should be evident by her not touching that subject in the slightest, but rather focusing on what came before Ruby ended up in Equestria.

"Pray tell, what caused you to fight local dragons, Ruby? I am to understand you consider them weak, so why go through the effort? Lest they attacked you first, or you merely wanted to test them?"

Whereas Leviathan weren't gonna touch the subject, Marley had no issue doing so, as he were quite curious about this. The death glare he got from the smaller of the two dragons as he asked it though, were as could be expected he supposed. Perhaps not the best timing on this, yet the dice had been rolled. No chance to take it back.

Seeing how hiding were likely not going to help against these, just in case, he'd just stand where he did, looking like he were calmly awaiting an answer. In reality though, he were observing the two, and getting ready to fly off, just in case either one would start to try something that he had to avoid. He were far too young to become dragon chow, even if he were still sure that he could fight them quite a bit better than they would give him credit for. Yet why risk it, no?

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@Catpone Cerberus

The mimic looked really joyful for a brief second, when it were mentioned that the siren knew who she were looking for. The name wasn't familiar to her, yet that were no surprise, as it had been gifted to her from Ziggy some weeks ago, yet this one knew this were still the one she looked for. The smell were unquestionable.

Then however, came the news that she weren't here, and that this predator had no idea when she'd return. In response, the little one would let go of the piece of wood - which would fall forward and slam almost silently unto the bed - and throw her arms up into the air. The chitter chatter weren't decipherable, but the way she were pretending to pull her hair, walking back and forth, and giving off exasperated noises towards the ceiling, made it somewhat clear that she were annoyed, and letting off some steam.

Yet when that were over, she started to slow down. Her ears began to flop, and her tail dragged, as she eventually just fell down on her belly and gave off a deep, surrendering sigh. This were really not how she had wanted this day to go. Not only did she get caught trying to salvage a few things, whilst looking for clues as to where Fah'lina were, she were now also told that she were gone, with no estimate on when she'd be back. Oh, and she were also faced with something that had fish breath, and looked like it could feed on basically all aquatic creatures in the area. Including her kind.

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@Catpone Cerberus

"You certainly sound equipped to deal with the predators of the Everfree."

So this one couldn't die, nor feel pain? It sounded like a blessing of sorts, but at the same time, wasn't it also a curse? What if he wanted to just sleep in and move on? Something which Straw assumed weren't exactly a thought that had never ocurred, considering Scarecrow's loner status out here in the woods. Isolation and lack of positive talks with others tended to end up making others crazy and/or depressed, at least that's what his experience were from the hermits that he knew. Even counted for everypony he knew here in the woods, with Zecora doing the best, though she too interacted fairly often with others, which likely helped.

Then on the other end of the scale, were the filly. Sure she interacted as well, but it were hard not to call her out as being somewhat crazy. Same with those truly right off the scale, such as Chard Burrower, before he suddenly vanished a few years ago. It were bound to happen, considering his lifestyle and tendency for feeling drawn to a few of the worse predators out here, yet still, he had lasted for a long time until he suddenly weren't heard from again. Best bet? A bear ate him. Not that mysterious, but he'd eventually have to pay up front for poking hibernating bears.

Returning to this conversation though, he didn't think it good to pry too much into what were going on with Scarecrow, so he had to think of his next words carefully, as they made their way further towards town. So far, without any timberwolves attacking them.

"Have you any idea as to why you can't d-"

Something suddenly fell from the sky, smashed through the tree tops, and landed on the ground in front of them. An action which made Straw take a jump back in shock, unsure what were going on. Were this an attack?

Looking down, they'd be able to see an unconscious badger, claws extended and tongue laying lazily out of it's open maw. A pretty nasty variant of its kind, considering the length of those claws and the size of it, yet fortunately, not an issue to them, as it appeared to be knocked out cold. Probably from impacting the tree tops, which undoubtedly took some of the blow out of its descend, but the branches after the leaves would've knocked it around quite a bit, and likely lead to its current state.

"Huh, flying badgers. You don't see that every day."

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@EQ_Theta

18 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“I guess that is something to keep in mind. Wouldn’t want to run into one of those alligators. Why anyone would want to keep them around in ranches is beyond me…”

"I've been told they have rather succulent meat."

He had of course never tried this himself, but the races who partook in this apparently had a fondness for this kind of meat in certain circles. Even the griffons, who usually preferred small critters like mice, or of course, fish. Dangerous things to keep around compared to say a trout farm, but higher risks, higher rewards maybe? He honestly did not know enough about what it took to be an alligator farmer to say for sure, but it better pay well. He certainly wouldn't want to be herding something that would make the average shark bite seem like a friendly tickle.

18 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“You know what? Let’s work on that. Feel free to join in, too, Amethyst! We'll start with one question: what do ponies like to do with their spare time?”

"Ponies likes to do all sorts of things, darling. Ranging from sewing, to walks in the park, readying, hunting- There's as many interests as you can imagine. I for one enjoy caring for my garden, having tea gatherings, and reading, as a few easy examples."

Amethyst took part in a good deal of social gatherings actually, but at the end of the day, sitting down with a book, a bit of dirt under her hooves, and a nice cup of tea, really helped her unwind. It hit just the spot on the more stressful days, such as the one where Filigree had come for a visit.

"I appreciate the effort, but it's pointless to push for that when it comes to me."

"Oh nonsense. Your friends are trying to help you, so try and accept that."

"You must understand that I- Mmmph."

Rosa would find with a bit of magic, Amethyst were pushing a piece of cloth she had ready for polishing normally, against his muzzle, which muffled his voice.

"I will hear none of it. They are trying to help you, and I will not remove this until you accept their help. Stubbornness will not get you out of this situation dear."

He could just cut the cloth honestly, but she likely had more, or would press the pieces into his muzzle to gag him if he tried, so no matter how he turned this in his head, the only way out of this, were to incapacitate her. And that really shouldn't be one of the options he'd even consider. So after a little while, he just gave up, and slowly nodded, until Amethyst floated the cloth away again. Though she kept it floating nearby, just in case.

"...I like playing bagpipes..."

It felt somewhat shameful to say, and judging by the smirk on Amethyst's face, it likely were, but it were one of his guilty pleasures. The tunes might be a little loud, but it took a good deal of control and effort to get right, which translated into focus. Having all of that focus on doing this right, helped him relax, and the music weren't bad if done right. Just misunderstood.

"We're all allowed our guilty pleasures, though music in general is of interest to me. It helps soothe my head, and I can appreciate the effort it takes in playing most of it."

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@Midnight

Both of them gave off a sigh of relief as they saw Icy come back out again in one piece, and wander seemingly unscathed from the potential death trap too. It were not without some kind of casualty though, as her tail got a little snippet removed from it as she made her way out, which weren't bad per say, but had to be uncomfortable at the very least. Benny tried remember what it were like to have the tip of his tail chipped off, and it made him cringe.

"I've been there. The tail getting messed with really feels wrong until things regrow."

Dragons were kind of like lizards, as they could regenerate their tail long as it weren't too damaged, but nothing like say, a whole limb. They sadly weren't that far along compared to the small, scaly critters. Especially the one that were known to just drop its tail as a distraction and grow an entirely new one. That one were advanced, and kinda gross too.

"I'm just happy that's all that happened. It Is the only thing though, right? You don't feel wrong in any other way, Icy?"

The mare might look fine, but it were impossible to say if she actually felt like that too. Might be that something else had been lost they just couldn't see, like some muscle, or a half pint of blood or something. Stuff that's be harder to detect, but probably easy to feel.

"Hopefully not. It'd be nice if you got through this mostly whole, miss. Though... What's a *Plahsmah Canon*? Sounds dangerous."

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@Pastel Heart @Widdershins

"That's a really big doggo."

It were amazing how large this timberwolf were, compared to the other one they had just dealt with. That one felt big since they were pretty small. but this one? It'd be enormous even for adults, and probably way more dangerous too.

20 hours ago, Pastel Heart said:

"Ahaha... I think we should put that quest on the backburner for now."

"Uhuh, we can go back when the big one's gone maybe. We also have to help him go back to town too, that's important."

Suddenly, a nearby bush started to russtle, just behind Pastel! If she were quick she might be able to turn around in time to see the most ferocious of all the forest jumping out, and aiming straight for her-

"Coo."

- head, where the small owl would flap up after seeing Pastel, and make itself comfortable, nesting in the filly's mane.

The little thing were dark brown and for all intents and purposes, were just a regular young owl. It did have a weird, dark-green strip of feathers going down from the top of it's head to it's back, where it branched into three, with one continuing down to the tail, and the other two towards the very tip of its wings. Not the easiest to see right now, as it's wings were folded in, and it were on her head, but still.

Windy Breeze · April 4, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Windy prepares to give the most important question. She let out a breath before saying:

“Is there a ghost of somepony named Cheery Feathers from the town of Hoofshores? She's my mother but she... passed away due to a tragedy” she asked with some hesitation. Not only her mother but her entire family and the entire coastal town of Hoofshores was swallowed by a wall of water. It had happened several years ago and everything was left is the ruins of the town. She hope her mom is among the ghost inside the rodent skull “I really want to speak with her” she pawed her hoof.

Everyone around them had been now looking at them but she didn't care no less. All she want is her mother, whom she had ever seen in her life.

I had been living with a pony, whom i have been calling mother for years but Cheery is my biological mother and she's the only reason why I have been delivered to this world. I-I want to thank her.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Windy Breeze

EQ_Theta · April 4, 2020

@Blitz Boom

The siblings had no idea what bagpipes were but they wouldn’t ask. Apart from their lack of knowledge, they only had music to clue them in on what it was. They can’t judge the thestral about his hobby with so little go by but they simply smiled and nodded to acknowledge their friend’s response.

“I like to read. It’s all I could do to pass the time when I could no longer sleep but a good story always makes time fly faster.”

“And I like to meditate. Haven’t had a chance to do it with what we’ve been through but its calming, especially when there is a still body of water nearby.”

Simple things, really, but those are all that can be afforded by the longma when there is little else to do. With the dangers the forest poses, no one could just take a lengthy stroll and call it a day and tea drinking is less a pastime and more of an alternative to ingesting water. If those had medicinal properties, then it doubles as treatment for illnesses. Lin wouldn’t even know of tea-drinking as casual activity without meeting Amethyst. But that was beside the point. Between music, long strolls, and gatherings with food, the siblings had more on their minds.

“We’re sorry if we made you uncomfortable but we just wanted you to know that you can still find moments to unwind and indulge in what ponies do in their downtime. Even when you mentioned not having a personal life, there is still a chance that you can get close to having something it. Before we are off on our next important matter, we’d like to give you some time to do whatever it is you want.”

“If there is one thing in the world you’d want to do right this moment, what would it be? Name it and if we can, we will go with you and do it.”

Time was short but while there is time, maybe Rosa had something in mind that he would want to get done simply because it would be enjoyable or just for the sake of trying. Whatever it was, the siblings offered to accommodate. Knowing the trial is growing closer and with that, Rosa’s time being a free soul is dwindling as well. They’d want to give him a moment where he could be happy doing something that could put him at ease.

Chiroptera · April 4, 2020

5 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"I'm just happy that's all that happened. It Is the only thing though, right? You don't feel wrong in any other way, Icy?"

[=~ She looked at her, smiling, "Nope, went better than some tests I've done in the past. Alot better, actually. Typically my tail is gone completely afterwards... Think I have a bit of bad luck when it comes to my tail and my inventions." ~=]

5 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Hopefully not. It'd be nice if you got through this mostly whole, miss. Though... What's a *Plahsmah Canon*? Sounds dangerous."

[=~ At that she laughed, hearing what he had said, "Yeah, it is. The plasma cannon I invented uses an array of needles with plasma generation spells bound to them, alongside unidirectional levitation spells bound to another set of needles to push the plasma out of the tube. All of that is encased in unmelting ice, and powered by a magigen that I invented. Its a device that generates magical energy entirely on its own, to power bound spells. Quite powerful as well, but hard to make. Well, that kind is hard to make, anyway, I have invented simpler kinds. Though they are still probably some of the most complex things I've ever invented... I'm getting off topic, aren't I. Sorry, tend to do that when I start talking about my inventions. Anyway, the plasma cannon was invented solely for self defense in extremely dangerous situations. Like being between a cliff and more than one hydra." ~=]

Pastel Heart · April 4, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Maybe she was starting to get anxious, because Pastel instinctively covered her face prepared to be mauled-- before releasing her tension and giggling.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes! First friendly thing today!"

Pastel happily praised the owl, letting it relax in her mane. Looks like she had a companion now too!

She looked at Jelly, running her hoof back and forth in the grass before looking at her with a rare concerned expression.

"Umm... You kinda scared the hay out of me. I don't care if I get hurt, I can take it, I'm a heroine! But if you got hurt cos of me, umm, I'd be really mad... but, that being said, you were pretty cool. Like, umm, Princess Twilight cool."

Catpone Cerberus · April 4, 2020

@Blitz Boom
Ruby didn't seem to care how Leviathan felt about killing dragons, and she didn't, because like had been stated, she had grown up in very different world where most fights ended with a death, mostly because her kind refused to admit defeat, and would fight until they no longer could.

"There was barely any effort from my part, the locals I faced were simply pathetic, it was barely worth of taking a trophy, those fights are one of the reasons why I consider the locals so weak." Ruby informed, clearly having nothing against talking about it and as much as Marley might have tried to act calm, Ruby was able to sense that he wasn't as calm as he usually was, and she could guess the reason, but she would address that a bit later. "And the reasons for the fights vary, the first one was a test, but the others were started by them, everything from attempts in threatening and blackmailing to simply being too annoying."

She then looked towards Leviathan "Please avoid threatening the bird for asking me questions, I like talking about my kills, and besides, from two of you, he's the more useful one, so if you touch him, I consider that as making my business harder, and I already told you what I will do if you do that." she was good at spotting small differences in creatures, so things like quiet threats and being observed got noticed by her if there was nothing else taking her attention. If it wasn't clear earlier, her tone told just how little she cared about the age difference.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nada just watched the creature doing its thing, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, she didn't want to act too hostile towards her, since she seemed to know Fah'lina, but at the same time, Fah'lina wasn't here and this thing was a thief. "Do you have a home? I can tell Fah'lina that you visited if you have a way to tell me where you can be found." "Or just come back in a week or so, I'm sure they won't take much longer than that if they haven't already returned then."

------------------------------------------------------------
Scarecrow looked at the unconscious badger, there was no way to tell what he was thinking, he then started checking its body for wounds or other signs of it being the escaped prey of something more dangerous, as he did this, he replied to Straw's attempted question "I don't know....or at least don't remember what keeps me alive, but..." he then looked up to see if something was there "...my body is already long dead and rotten, there's nothing left to fatally wound, I also seem to heal any crippling injuries, that may be linked to that black growth that you can see on my hindlegs, my wings also grew from that same growth."

Widdershins · April 5, 2020

@Pastel Heart & @Blitz Boom

"What! Who are you! What do you w-" Slimpsy jerked his head towards the two fillies that had talked to him, but that was quickly distracted by the new intruder over head that he whipped his head right up to just as quickly. "Oh no! Look what you've done! You've summoned an Ancient Jungle Death God!

Don't you know the wild animals just smell the fear off you! They can tell you're weak and easy prey! Small, defenseless ponies are just asking to be snacks for everything out here! You've driven them to us like giant death-dealing flies to piles of death! Fear is the little death that brings total oblivion! What've you done?!!?

You've doomed us all! Doomed us all! Doomed us all!!!"

Slimpsy's cry echos through the forest loud enough where it'd be sure hard for the Timberwolf Matriarch to miss.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

@Sekel

"What? Am I supposed to actually lick it off this thing without any claws?!" The drake looked at Dawn Streak with a baffled expression of surprise while he still held the plate out over the table, untouched.

"...I'm a wild dragon you know, I'm not confined to your... soft Pony Ways. Maybe I can't be kept confined to such a small cave and be meant to live as a wild cat. ….m- metaphorically speaking, of course."

Rising Dusk · April 6, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Rising's distraction wasn't long kept to himself when Lily took over and brought the activities happening in Harrowmark to share with everypony. Dawn was most amused however to have her first front-row-seat to the world of Harrowmark. Thus far only known to her via books and the limited twin connection she shared with her brother and his time in the dark lands. Her attention was wholly on the events unfolding before them, limited in her sense of sight as no sound was available to them. The hostess didn't need the sense of magic to know a scry spell when she saw one. The two guests had been spying on this group before them, naughty naughty.

Observing was a thing Rising was quite good at, and so he did. Silently, letting the events filled his memory. Two signatures all too familiar, that of two beings wielding the powers of primordial beings. The light and dark again clashing. Still hazy through the effects of the scry, but the signatures of Thistle and Twisted couldn't be mistaken even with such limitations. The dazzling moths had much different undertones in their tapestry than the appearance. "What do you see bro?" Dawn asked, not needing to explain she didn't mean sight. "Moths eating necros," he replied. "Oh, so they don't just eat fine silks," his twin grimaced. "What about the floaty one? Thistle How prickly," Dawn snorted a laugh, far more amusing to herself than her audience. A tone quickly changed when this new floaty pony just merged herself with the dark creature she'd been fighting. Her eyes going wide and ears flat at the notion of such a thing. Seeing the event on the magical level was much easier to see. Probably because it wasn't all that different to what he did. Watching the dark magics that bound the poor creature get stripped away like the washing of a statue clean of a thick layer of mud. A cleansing of the taint left behind by Twisted. Where was this kind of power when he was battling with the dark wizard? Has the goddess of light's power truly blossomed to this extend in the short time since he dispelled much of the hold the dark god gripped in the land?

How free the ferryman was would be a discussion for another time, but it wasn't too hard to believe being freed from such torment could leave one indebted. Hopefully the case and not Thistle simply rewriting the magics that kept the creature bound to a master. Through the haze he couldn't be for sure. A gilded cage was still a prison. Rising needed to remained detached, if he took on the burdens of things outside his scope, he'd be crushed before any true help could be achieved.

Blitz Boom · April 6, 2020

@Catpone Cerberus

"I didn't threaten him. I just expressed my annoyance with him digging into something I didn't want to hear about, since I don't believe that there are many good enough reasons for dragons to kill dragons. We're supposed to have some fights, and perhaps cause some damage, but killing another of our kind is too far in my opinion. At worst one should just beat them up until they are no longer a threat, not... Urgh, just no."

"I will keep my opinion on this matter to myself, as it seems to be neither warranted, nor wanted, though I will say that I find it heartwarming how much you appreciate me, Ruby. It makes this simple bird feel very delighted."

He considered adding another stab at her pony costume here, with some wording on how she'd end up singing and dancing soon, proclaiming her joy for his presence through the same means as them, but he did not want a claw through his chest, and there weren't a bunch of witnesses here that kept him relatively safe, so he'd stay his beak for the time being.

"That being said, I do not wish to make our new companion uncomfortable without reason, so I will abstain from further inquiries about the subject."

"Thank you."

Leviathan seemed like it made her actual sick to think about dragons getting killed, which were more or less the truth. She didn't think it were something any of their kind should do, and to think that Ruby willingly had done so, took some open-mindedness. Especially since she might have known some of the dragons she went after for what? Sport? To prove a point? What reason were that to take a life of their own kind? At best she could relate to the ones who attacked Ruby as likely having deserved it, considering the sort of dragon Ruby were, but the other she had gone after just as a test were not sitting so well with her, best as she tried.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

The mimic let out another deep sigh, but kept laying down for a bit more as she mulled over what she had been told. Despite what some might think, these mimics were not dumb creatures. They understood what those around them said and did, and in some cases, found certain ways to respond to that, such as writing, or charades. And understanding what she were told now, she needed to process it a bit, and think of a new way to go at this whole thing.

Eventually, she'd nod, and start to rise up again, having made a decision on what to do in this situation.

Raising a paw, she'd poke at her fingers with the other, one, two... Seven times, indicating seven days, then pointing at herself, and then the bed she were standing on.

She'd then jump off it, and go to the dresser on the side, then point at the wall with both paws, whilst keeping her gaze on Nada. If the siren knew her directions well, she might realize that what the mimic were pointing towards, were the forest. Likely where she were currently staying, or at least planning to. It'd be a long wait she were none too happy about, but there wasn't any other choices, so she had to live with this.

Provided that Nada understood this, she'd wait until there were an opening, and begin to see if she could get past the siren, and back downstairs to her entry point, so that she could get out again. A shame it had been shut since then.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Sounds like some kind of rot-based magic. Maybe necromancy? Don't know a whole lot about that sort of stuff I'm afraid, but the talk about undeath seems to fit. Usually not in a good way, but you're a good example that you can't just go by what rumors you hear toiling around."

So, Scarecrow were some kind of zombie then? A peculiar development, but one that Straw were sympathetic towards. It couldn't be an easy *life* like that, though at least he wasn't like the fables said, right? No brain eating, no moans and attempts at tearing up random strangers, and he were rather articulate. Not somepony you'd consider a flesh-eating ghoul, so that were a nice variation on the lore.

Made him awfully curious about what went on, but it sounded as if Scarecrow himself didn't even know, so there wasn't much he could do there. Find some books maybe, but inquiries about one of the forbidden arts might get him into some hot water, even if it were just anecdotal stuff. It were a risk assessment he'd have to consider later on.

"Flying badger aside, so far it seems we are making good way. With some luck, this will be little more than a pleasant stroll."

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

@EQ_Theta

"You needn't apologize to me. You made your statement in good faith, and I appreciate it. I am just saying that you should keep in mind what is going to happen soon, and the limitations that will cause."

Unless he were directly asked, he were not going to divulge further details to their hostess, as he already knew her opinion on him were somewhat clouded. Learning that he were going to prison for high treason, might not help that matter. He could try a side lie, but attempting that before had gotten him shushed, so he did not feel as willing to go that route again currently.

"As for what I would like to do... I could mention several things which I might find good to get done before tomorrow, but were I to pick, all I'd wish for, where to sit atop a hill, and glare at the moon with a few ripe blood oranges in my grasp. A simple wish, yet it is the only realistic one I can think of at the time."

"What then, were you not to limit yourself to only what you found attainable, dear?"

"If that were the case, I wish I could see my father and properly say goodbye to him. Yet considering it is far too dangerous for me to go where he is now, combined with his severe dementia, such a thing can never be."

Amethyst had a hard time not looking at Rosa with sadness and pity as he said this. Losing somepony to a disease like that were horrendous, and despite her personal opinions on the stallion, she could not hear something like this and not have sympathy with his plight.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"So am I."

An awkward silence would come from Amethyst after that, who were not sure how to tactfully talk after this revelation. A gap which Rosa would fill, as he did not want more uncomfortable atmosphere to spread, than what had already been there.

"Moving on... There are several hours more until the moon rises, and until then, I would like to help you two with whatever you wish to get done. I'll rest easier, knowing that I've done what I can for you while we still had the time for it. Perhaps speaking with that elder of yours, would be a valuable usage of said time? If not, I suppose we could try and think of something which we'd all enjoy that doesn't carry a lot of gravitas. I hear carnivals are a popular pastime among regular beings."

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

@Midnight

Both of them looked at Icy like they had no idea what she were on about, yet still tried to smile about it to seem supportive. Kind of like a pair of parents to a smart kid, who were doing his darndest to make them proud, so they made themselves be so. Even if they had no idea what they were being told.

"So... Lotta magic heebie jeebies, it's wrapped in ice, lots science stuff happens, and it's real good at dealing with some big nasties? I heard hydras were pretty big, foul creatures to run into anyway. Very hard to defeat according to the other guards, but I dunno if it's just stories. Never even seen a picture of one."

"I have. From both that, and the stories I've heard out there, it's best not to try anything with them."

When you were as well traveled as Pop were, you got to see and learn quite a few tourist spots, as well as local legends and stories. Hydras were by far not the worst of those, but they were generally spoken off as big, nasty, and insanely hard to defeat, leaving it the better option to just leave them alone and do your best not to catch their ire.

"Huh, neat. Anyway, what's the verdict on the portal. Icy? It snipped some of your tail, so I'm guessing it needs some fine tuning, maybe? Or were that just kind of an accident? All this magic stuff's really confusing sometimes."

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

@Pastel Heart @Widdershins

On 4/4/2020 at 9:02 PM, Pastel Heart said:

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes! First friendly thing today!"

The owl spread his wings and gave off a happy coo, before rubbing his beak softly against Pastel's scalp. Clearly, he were enjoying the positive energy that radiated from the filly, and considered her to have been an even better seat than he had at first thought. A tree stump were great, but it didn't compliment you, whereas this curious, four-legged creature did.

On 4/4/2020 at 9:02 PM, Pastel Heart said:

"Umm... You kinda scared the hay out of me. I don't care if I get hurt, I can take it, I'm a heroine! But if you got hurt cos of me, umm, I'd be really mad... but, that being said, you were pretty cool. Like, umm, Princess Twilight cool."

"Nuhuh, you're the cool one. You didn't even flinch when that badger ate your pipe. I would've flown off right away

But that doesn't mean that you should just face anything without worry. You're my friend, and I don't wanna see you get hurt, so I'll do anything I can to protect you from all sorts of mean, dangerous things."

She'd give Pastel a small hug, since they'd have to get on their way soon, before the matriarch took notice of them. Between the young owl and her, this would surely show Pastel that she were well loved by her new friends, who wanted only what were best for her.

"Now come on, we gotta go before the big dog fi-"

22 hours ago, Widdershins said:

"Oh no! Look what you've done! You've summoned an Ancient Jungle Death God!

Don't you know the wild animals just smell the fear off you! They can tell you're weak and easy prey! Small, defenseless ponies are just asking to be snacks for everything out here! You've driven them to us like giant death-dealing flies to piles of death! Fear is the little death that brings total oblivion! What've you done?!!?

You've doomed us all! Doomed us all! Doomed us all!!!"

Jelly hadn't the chance to finish her sentence before the crazed, speedy pony suddenly started bawling on, finishing in a very yell that got them the unwanted attention of the matriarch, that the fillies had wanted to avoid. Apparently they were the smart one, and the adult were the one who shouldn't be listened to in this situation, since he had just about thrown them straight into danger again.

"Wh- Why would you do that? It's gonna find us now!"

She were baffled by this, but didn't have time to do more than a small yelp towards the stranger - complete with a hanging jaw of bafflement - before the matriarch quickly closed the distance and towered above them.

This one were smarter than her children. She weren't going to leap and potentially miss small ones like this. No, she would show her dominance through sheer size, and then hunt this prey. Not to eat them though. She had long since learned that chasing those to eat were a bad decision, so she were mainly focused on getting them out of her territory, and to warn them that whilst she did not eat their kind, she could still do bad things to them if they tried anything with her.

Sometimes, being the top predator around were a hard job.

Getting in really close, she'd start to growl right down at the fillies, where one of them were getting a little pale from being way in over her head.

"R-R-Run!!!"

Or fly, or whatever worked,, long as they got out of there before the big bad wolf did something unspeakable to them. Jelly for one, would surely get a move on, not wanting to be anywhere near something that could use her as a toothpick, whom also seemed to be in a bad mood. That sounded like the recipe for a very short life, and they were all too young to die. Three of them were in fact just kids.

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

@FanOfManyShows

Last few weeks had not really been all that exciting for any of them. When they finally got on the same page, it turned out that they were able to talk some of their differences out, and without being able to find out where the mysterious Opal were, they eventually just resigned to waiting until she popped up to do something about her, and went on to do what they each did best.

For Emerald, that were currently sitting in her swamp, making use of a pony that they had *liberated* from a hospital. A coma patient with a family that had been desperate to get her back, and through a lot of convincing and headache-inducing magic talk, they reluctantly agreed to let her be possessed for a time, in exchange for the guarantee that she'd be brought back to the waking world again. A promise which would be kept by Emerald, yet she still had two days to go on the body, and were still in the process of making the proper concoction for her sister to have her resurrected, so it would need to wait for a little while longer.

It had sadly taken more time than expected to prepare everything, as they had needed to get some more materials ready, but soon enough, they would only need the blood. As the moon were at it's highest on this night, to be exact. By then, the last concoction should be finished, and everything be ready to get this show on the road. Including the long dead mare's bones, which had been cleansed over a week earlier.

Double Chow in the meantime, were splitting his time between hanging out with his new witch friends to just sorta hang out and learn magic, as well as getting his business back up running Took less effort than he had thought, but he were pretty sure that the word around the block that he were back were helped some by Scarcity, despite him not seeing much of her, and not getting an answer out of her when he asked. Just that usual, all knowing smirk of hers.

As for Warlock, his trial had gone fairly well, with Hogweed talking his case and as promised, took on the responsibility of his reformation process. A pretty big deal, but she had made a long, compelling case that eventually won the generals over enough to let it proceed, though so far, it had all still happened within jail. Today were going to be the first day where as part of his rehabilitation, she'd at least get him out to have a walk in the yard, which had not been possible until now due to orders from up top. Also due to the leg for him taking some extra time, but all the necessary prosthetics were here now, and Hogweed were diligently purring them on Warlock, and asking about his comfort levels as they went along. She didn't want to risk this being painful to him. He were her responsibility right now after all, and so far, she felt good about it. He had shown some good improvements.

Still, he'd be required to wear a few chains on his person, just to make sure that no magic escaped and tempted him. It'd be some time before those were allowed off.

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

@Rising Dusk

8 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"What do you see bro?" Dawn asked, not needing to explain she didn't mean sight. "Moths eating necros," he replied. "Oh, so they don't just eat fine silks," his twin grimaced. "What about the floaty one? Thistle How prickly," Dawn snorted a laugh, far more amusing to herself than her audience

Lily wouldn't openly admit it, but she had actually smirked at the joke about Thistle. She really shouldn't be, as it were rather bad, but there had been a certain quality to it that in the moment, had become briefly amusing.

"You shouldn't underestimate High Priestess Thistle. She is the herald of Viz'nay, and even through being weakened, tortured, and punished by Twisted in ways you could not imagine in your darkest nightmares, she still remained herself. He couldn't break her, nor corrupt her. She's too devoted to her beliefs. And now that Viz'nay is given souls again, the goddess of blessed sleep is growing stronger, and with her, so are her herald."

Viz'nay were a kinder goddess, yet every god needed the same: Devotion, praise to their names, and souls to empower them. Viz'nay had been without much of any of those things for centuries, but now, Thistle were actively feeding her souls again. As had been seen earlier on their trip, when the spirits had lifted into the spectral wings, and made the high priestess start to look more regal.

"I'm sure this disturbs you, but the ways of Harrowmark are not as simple as here. To us, the afterlife is not a guarantee, but a wish, yet there are so many ways of undeath that can be your fate instead. Follow the name of Suusha, and he shall grant you the unlife you want. Praise Viz'nay's name, and she will let you rest in her embrace. Do neither, or don't believe enough, and your fate is impossible to predict.

There are ways to force the spirit onward, but it requires help, and we can't say for sure what happens afterwards. Is the spirit reborn? Lost? Does it randomly go to whichever god is in control? We do not know, and I think most would be afraid to know the answer. Not as much as they are when faced with what they could become the fuel for, but still. Some answers are best left to the gods and their offspring."

While she talked, the ferryman lead the way towards the boat he were formerly chained to, and floated to the side to allow the others to pass him, and place both themselves, and the cart on the boat. It were sturdier than it looked from afar apparently, since it did not seem to have any issues with this, despite the raggedy look of the vessel. Might be magically reinforced (it were).

Regardless, they'd all soon be boarded, and the ferryman would row them with powerful pulls across the water. What water monsters might lurk below, it would be ready to handle them, as it always did when it had passengers. Such were its duties before, and no matter the current status of it now, that seemed to remain what it would be doing. At least for the time being, though who knew what might happen, now that it did not seem to be chained to its vessel anymore. Whatever had been done to it by Thistle would likely determine that, and unless Rising could suddenly see emotions in beings without visible faces, that one were gonna have to be chalked up to guesswork for the time being.

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

@Windy Breeze

"Sorry, she's not here. But I haven't been to Hoofshores yet, so she might be there? Most who becomes ghosts, tends to haunt the places where they died."

Sorrow felt bad for the mare in front if her. Poor thing just wanted to have her final words with her birth mother, which were totally understandable. She had met several likethat, and sometimes, shecould help them, though often that wasn't the case. Most who died went to the great beyond, where they'd be assigned whatever afterlife the Reapers, or their masters, decided they should go. Only rarely did anypony stay behind, and the longer they remained, the worse they tended to get, since being a ghost tended to be an experince that over time made the poor things go crazy.

Well, sometimes. There were both ends of the spectrum too, with those who went mad right away, and were stuck in the same loop, unable to escape their emotions or accept what they had become.

And then of course were the ones who stayed sane over long periods of time, though those were the rarest of them all. Usually that took quite a lot of willpower, acceptance, and more often than not, company you could interact with. The loneliness were really a nasty thing to face that just grinded you down, far as Sorrow had been told.

"I can't promise anything though. Not a whole lot of beings becomes ghosts, but if you say there was a tragedy, that makes it more likely she's there at least. Tragic ends are one of the things that have a bigger chance of causing you to become a ghost.

You know where the town is? We could go there right away and find out if there's anypony still lingering around. Poor things could probably use some help."

Pastel Heart · April 6, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Pastel blinked and blushed as Jelly hugged her, awkwardly returning the hug with a giggle. She's never been hugged by anypony who wasn't her grandpa, and Jelly was really nice and warm, she thought.

"I thought I was protecting you, hehe... Though, being protected by you isn't so bad either."

Pastel was surprisingly bashful as she avoided Jellys eyes by looking at the ground. If she were put in hot water she'd probably melt right now.

While trying not to directly show her stupor, she looked at her newest friend. Her new owl friend was cool too! Needed a name though... hmm...

"Cloud."

She blurted out a random name. It sounded pretty neutral. Maybe she heard or saw that name somewhere? Maybe in some kind of fantasy.

@Widdershins

...Aaand that's when Slimpsy started screaming. Great. That moment of peace lasted all of two seconds!

For a moment, Pastel stood forward as if she wasn't backing down... until it got closer. And closer. And closer... She's seen giants go down before in fiction but she didn't have a sword or anything.

So...

"Aayy momma doggie! Peace out, coolio~"

She smiled awkwardly, putting up her hoof in some kinda gesture before dashing after the others, stashing her new friend in her saddlebag before dashing in a pink blur.

Chiroptera · April 6, 2020

7 minutes ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Huh, neat. Anyway, what's the verdict on the portal. Icy? It snipped some of your tail, so I'm guessing it needs some fine tuning, maybe? Or were that just kind of an accident? All this magic stuff's really confusing sometimes."

[=~ She looked at him, tilting her head. "Po- oh. Its not a portal, its simply allowing access into the magigen's magic reserves as a physical space, then when it closes it translates everything into magic. When it opens again, it uses magic to translate back to a physical form. And as for that, all I really need to do..." her horn frosted over, the usual faint glow from the ice, and the usual snow swirling around it, before it stopped, nothing visible having been done. "There we go. Just adjusted the timer for how long between all signatures exiting and unlocking the button. Should be fine now." ~=]

Windy Breeze · April 6, 2020

@Blitz Boom

Windy gave Sorrow a sad smile “Thanks for trying to help but the town is located in the Fillyphine archipelago and the place Hoofshores stood is now filled of grass and trees, the only reason how you could recognize the place is of because only the floor of houses, the nearby graveyard, and the streets remain. I have visited the town only one time until it was cordoned by the island guards for the drowning of a visitor” she explained “But if you still really want to help, then I'll appreciate it. I just hope the guard's would let me inside now since I'm a Wonderbolt” her plans to live in Ponyville was still there but if they need to go back to the ruins of Hoofshores so she could talk with her mother, then she'd gladly accompany Sorrow, after all, you don't see a pony who interacts with ghosts everyday, they're mostly unicorns too but in Sorrow's case, she's a Pegasus.

How can she able to communicate with ghosts though? She thought.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Windy Breeze

Sekel · April 7, 2020

@Blitz Boom

ATZY & KARMIC FATE

"It feels normal, ambassador. I don't know what else to tell you. I know I mentioned unification but, as Enzo said, most gemlings don't get to be unified. They're born instead of made," Atzy said, running with what Enzo said because she couldn't come up with anything else. "But, I do know that being unified with another being is kind of like a higher calling to the gemlings. It is definitely religious, and one we hold in high regard."

"Oh, thank you," Karmic said. She listened to the conversation as she made herself some tea. In a whisper to herself that Enzo may pick up on, depending on how good his hearing is, Karmic mentioned "It's been such a long time since I've had tea. I wonder if this is any good."

@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"I've dealt with many different substances before, Cherish. While ectoplasm is certainly a new one, it's not that much different from some of the experiments I've done," Twilight smiled when she looked a Cherish. "If you're willing when we finally get this ritual sorted out, maybe I could see the other kinds of ectoplasm a ghost can create? At the very least this sample I've got will provide valuable information into ghosts that we didn't have before."

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

While Dia'Thiz talked with Thorax, Aurora changed back into her griffin form, with red hair hanging down the side of her face. She flapped her wings a couple of times to get settled and sighed heavily in relief. "I love being a griffin. It's what I grew up as, Queen Dia'Thiz," she told the gemling queen but her expression changed to shock when the queen mentioned her and Thorax being an item! Don't just assume things like that! "Wh-what? A r-royal changeling c-c-couple with Thorax? I-I'm still n-n-new to this entire queen of the hive thing!"

@Blitz Boom, @Widdershins

DAZZLE GLEAM

"I ... uh ... fought with Shortstack," Dazzle said slowly, pointing with a hoof at the red miniature pony. "I don't know what I'm doing here beyond that, to be honest."

@Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

"Put the plate on the table," Dawn said slowly with a slight anger to her tone. She sat down and flicked her tail around her hooves. She didn't like that her instructions weren't getting through to him but she's going to keep on trying! "What did you do before coming to Ponyville?"

EQ_Theta · April 7, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“Sounds good then! I think there’s a nice spot overlooking Canterlot along the outskirts that should do for our little picnic. The view looks great when the moon is up!”

“And we can gather some of those blood oranges you mentioned if someone in town is selling them. Or we could find something close enough if there aren’t any. I’ll even bring elder Ghilan along if he can spare some time! If we could, I’d like to see what a carnival looks like, maybe stay a while before heading off to get ready.”

Despite the busywork that will come soon, the next few hours will be the only time they could use to do whatever it was that needed to be done. It is difficult to imagine being given free time to do something recreational but the siblings have given their word that they’ll help Rosa, even if it is just doing something to unwind. They’ll humor his request to do something that will help them moving forward, knowing he will rest easier before the trial. With that coming to a head, perhaps they should all savor their time. They hoped Omen would be able to join them later in the day. It would be a shame if she missed out.

Sen felt anxious about this, having previously explained to Rosa about how much he wishes things could go differently. That naivety wouldn’t be of much use now and he will need to come to terms with reality now. No amount of wishing will do him good and so he would make the best use of Rosa’s teachings knowing he would be the one to relay what can’t be told to the elder.

“I suppose this means we should start getting everything set,” Lin said, putting down the wooden box she carried to a corner of the room away from the front door. “Thank you, Amethyst, for your time and your help. Let’s meet again sometime. Hopefully, I’ll have more tea leaves to bring you!”

Catpone Cerberus · April 8, 2020

@Blitz Boom
Ruby rolled her eyes and muttered something, most likely insulting the two, probably something about weakness. She could understand Marley's reaction since she knew he probably didn't want to take the risk of angering Leviathan, but seeing another dragon, even it was inferior species, getting sick from the topic of death was just pathetic. "So you don't want to see my trophy collection? Shame, I do enjoy telling the story of each tooth, claw and horn." her tone and expression indicated that she said that only because she knew Leviathan didn't like it, and to show that she was proud of each kill. "But since you're so against killing, you better hope you'll never have to fight me or others of my kind, because if you do...well, you'll learn that we don't care much for your mercy, a fight isn't over until someone dies, no matter if it takes five minutes or five millennia."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The forest...of course." Nada stated, she should probably have expected it, but well, it was always good to ask. She then opened the door and gestured for the mimic to go through, waiting for it to do so, and if the mimic did so, Nada would follow her to make sure she didn't steal anything else, and would open a window for her so that she could leave.

-----------------------------------------------------------
"Would that kind of magic explain the mutations and the wings?" Scarecrow asked, sure Straw had just said he didn't know much, but Scarecrow knew even less, since he had never studied magic of any kind, or at least not in the space of his current memories. "All I know myself is that I haven't always been like this, what, when or who I was before I don't know, based on my anatomy I was probably unicorn stallion, but that's all I've figured out. I remember some things, mostly words for things that I know I haven't heard when I have been like this, but nothing that would help figuring things out." Straw hadn't really asked what he knew about himself, but if it wasn't clear at this point, Scarecrow wanted to talk as much as he could, after all, as far as he knew, this could be his only chance to do so in years. "And regarding the badger, just keep your eyes and ears open, it may be a sign that there's a bigger predator nearby.

Blitz Boom · April 8, 2020

@Catpone Cerberus

"I am not against killing. I wouldn't get much to eat if I were. What I'm against, is dragons killing dragons, and I've never done worst than beating others senseless if they didn't get the hint, and left them somewhere safe.

I wouldn't kill any of your countrymen eithers, but you underestimate what I can do, if you think they'd get to kill me. I haven't survived this long bynot being able to defend myself. Be it against other dragons, or our real predators, like deep sea sirens."

She weren't aware if the massive sea serpents were an issue were Ruby came from, but around here, the massive siblings of the three sisters of old were one of the few creatures who considered large dragons as prey. Not elder dragons, but nothing touched those beyond the crazy, and... Well, didn't matter. Probably just a rumor.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

The mimic wouldn't try anything more. She did her thing already by instinct, since her kind were used to scavenge, but she got the point. This home were to be left intact, and she'd follow the rules of the predator who set them.

She'd stop to wave goodbye to Nada before exiting through the window. A very short trip, as a few lights from a small array of embers would show before she'd let out loud squeak and crawl right back inside.

The little mimic were pretty confused at why she had just been assaulted by fire, and frantically started to check her fur and bows for fire damage (there were none), whilst outside, a shriek from some kind of bird were heard. A familiar one too, with a personal beef against one particular member of these creatures, and thought this were Fah'lina. One whom he'd be sitting on top of a building and look around for, after having spotted whom he thought were his forest enemy.

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

@Catpone Cerberus

"Sadly I can't say for sure. Necromancy is one of the forbidden arts here in Equestria, and even inquiring about it can lead to the guards coming to have a chat with you, far as the word goes.

I could try and ask around anyway. I know some folks who might have met others with some information. Might rattle a few since they like to come to me to get away from the past, but it can't hurt, long as I don't push them."

The list were very short, and likely wouldn't get many places, but... *sigh* He had to go ask Berry, crazy as she might be at times. Some of what she dug up tended to be real, and her stunt atthe nuthouse might have left her hearing some stories. Even the crazy sometimes had some truth to their words.

If not her, then he'd have to try Alonsus, though it'd be tough to make him confront his past in any capacity. Didn't like thinking about it, which were honestly understandable. A very diferent pony that worked for them, then who he had once been.

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

@EQ_Theta

"I know a good merchant down the street who tends to keep some blood oranges in stock. A few bat ponies in the area with a fang for those that she likes to keep satisfied.

Marvel Sprouts is her name. She deals in some varied speciality fruits and vegetables, along with tea bags. One of my longest running tea buddies, as a matter of fact."

"We can go and see soon enough then, if she still have some in stock. Soon as your meeting here is done."

"Oh perish the thought. We can always meet up for tea another time, and it sounds as if you're limitied in how much of that you can spend for the time being.

Just keep a very close eye on Shrimp when you are there. She likes animals, but not the kind that steals her wares."

As it turned out, Lin were also thinking that they could cut the meeting short, so it were an easy break for now, with plenty of time in the future to pick up on this.

"It's been lovely as always to see you darlings. Take care of yourself, okay?

Ah, and before I forget: I cannot remember for sure what carnivals might be active these days as it's been somewhat hectic, so it's been hard to allocate the time to follow every event, but the billboard in our fair town's square should have notices of erything happening there. You might be able to find something there."

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

@Sekel

"It sounds akin to the olden views of alicornification. Something which have become more calmaly thougt of now, but were once seen as a blessed ascendance, that many strived to accomplish. The stories of what some did to impress the princesses enough to be gained this position, are an interesting read.

Perhaps the queen you mention would get along well with our princesses, since there could be common grounds on this matter? I can makeno promises of course, as that woumd bereckless, but I would like to think it were possible.

Unifying as you say, does it hold any priveledge that others do not hold, beyond the position of royalty? Does more come from this process, such as perhaps special powers the others do not possess? Longevity maybe? Ascension of many kinds often includes prolonged lives for some, peculiar reason.

Ah, and please, I would reccoment the Scorpion's Nest Tea. I assure you, there is no real scorpion in it. Just a delightful, daint taste of the desert roses, with an aftertaste hitting your taste buds with a little bittersweet sting, so to speak. A specialty from a few dozen miles south of the town were I grew up, in Saddle Arabia."

Golden would use his magic topush the box of tea packages closer to Karmic, and float a few small, particular bags with dark red leaves towards her from within. The Scorpion's Nest Tea, as he said it.

He might not have heard the pony speak about the tea, but it were hard for him to miss that her cup had been ready, yet needed something to fill into it. Getting the pot of boiling water and the tea forward more prominently, seemed like what he ahould do to best accomedate her. Something he did better than Enzo, who were currently half-ignoring things whilst slowly chewing through a trout. Judging by the low purring escaping his throat, he were enjoying having fish to eat again.

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

@Sekel

"I'd be happy to help, Twilight. Just uhm... Not sure how to show it off without something bad happening. Ectoplasm is heavily relied on emotion, and well, that right there were a lot of nausea. Stuff like anger though, I'd probably have to start acting like a poltergeist for, and I don't like it when I go that route. Things flying everywhere can be really dangerous.

But I guess if I just sorta keep samples if something happens and it leaks out, that wouldn't be so bad. And I can tell you everything else I can about ghosts too. I have a lot of experience in the field."

Not the best situation, but if questions were answered on this subject, it might be possible for others to accept things easier the longer things went on. Would be kinda nice not having to make others afraid of her just because she were a ghost, and that for most were just another variant of a monster. Some understanding could help on that, even if ectoplasm were sort of a touchy thing on occasion.

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

@Sekel

"So this is a griffon? What a peculiar predator to behold."

Queen Dia'this looked with greath interest at the strange creature in their midst. A being with feline and beast traits that seemed to blend into quite a physique meant for the hunt. Such a strange, outlandish creature this were, and yet, merely the beginning of the many beings they'd get to see, as time went along.

They'd ask more into what a griffon were, but they wre halted from this by Thorax, who stepped forward with a small blush on his cheeks, and an awkward side glance towards Aurora.

"I'd like a queen one day, but Aurora and I just met, and she's still unsure of her place. I wouldn't feel okay trying anything with her when this is the case, and just in general, I don't see anything happening between us."

"We see. An error on our part, yet we do not understand much of the world as it is now, so often, we will rely on these questions to know more. To us, it made sense that kings and queens would stand coupled.

What then instead though, Aurora? Are you going to find others of your kind to begin your hive? Couple with one of these griffon Or perhaps, simpley let it be decided as timewanders by?"

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

@Windy Breeze

"You never know before you try, right? If the Coastal Guards have anything to do with that place, perhaps we can get a good word in on our behalf from the headquarters too? My cousin works with them."

Not as a guard, but that were details for another time. Right now, they had to focus here on what mattered: Windy's quest to find her mother.

"You don't hafta worry about the old town being gone either y'know. Ghosts still linger around the area, no matter if there's a house or anything to look at. Especially the poor things caught in loops just goes on like nothing changed. Sad stuff that kinda thing. Real sad.

...Anyway, you wanna go on a field trip? Sounds like we got some flying to go through to getto our destination."

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

@Midnight

"That sure is a lotta smart words, Windy. still got no idea how it all really works, but it sure is nice that it does. Thank you for helping Pop, Icy.

So... Most ponies likes to hug. Do you want one?"

He'd stand on his hind legs, hands spread out in a stance clearly showing that he were ready to just closing the distance and going for it. If she consented to it, of course. He didn't want to break her boundaries if she didn't like this sorta thing. Had to respect others, just like they taught him in the guard, once he started working at the forge. Weren't very draconic of him, but Benny were trying to fit in, not be a troublemaker like them. Wasn't easy, but well worth the effort, right?

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

@Pastel Heart @Widdershins

Cloud?

As the name had been said, the owl seemed to sit and turn his head, trying to think on whatever or not he liked this name. He weren't flying off, so it were unlikely that he despised it at least. Might be they'd see soon enough what would come from this name giving, yet for the time being, they had a massive timberwolf on them, and had to focus on making a run for it before she caught them.

And follow she did. No matter where they ran, the matriarch followed, jumping with a finessese and skill that made her only mildly inconvenienced when they would try to seek cover, or attempt to have the area handle her with other traps, or perhaps even the local fauna , yet nothing really halted her as she chased the fillies towards Ponyville.

It were kinda odd though, that mushrooms started to grow up here and there. At start just small ones, but they might find that it would go bigger somewhat steadily, and those things did appear to cause some trouble eventually. Perhaps they could run a circle, and lure her back in there for some advantage? Or just keep running towards Ponyville and hope she took off soon?

Windy Breeze · April 8, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“R-Really?” Windy stuttered “Thank you. We just have to take a ship ride in Fillydelphia to get to the Fillyphine archipelago. Unfortunately, we have to reach Coltagan to get to Hoofshores since the island, Green Island where the ruins stood has no major ports” she told her as she glance around them “do you want to stay in Ponyville for a while? We should take some rest before going” Windy wasn't a type of mare who forcibly obligates someone to do what she please, Sorrow and... Legion are going to help her find her lost mother in the Hoofshores ruins.

EQ_Theta · April 9, 2020

@Blitz Boom

“Don’t worry, Amethyst. I’ll keep an eye on Shrimp. Farewell, Amethyst! Until we meet again.”

“We got our route planned out. Out on the street first to get some blood oranges then to the town square. While we’re at it, Lin could also head back home to let elder Ghilan know about meeting you and he could plan ahead.”

The siblings bade goodbye to Amethyst before heading off into town. First thing on the list was the blood orange, something that sounded a little sinister, if the name was anything to go by. I likely didn’t have actual blood in it but maybe the color of its insides was reminiscent of blood. And the idea of the carnivals was a pretty strange one too. The longma know nothing about those other and could only infer what those could be. A gathering of sorts with plenty in attendance? But why would they gather in one place?

And so the longma looked around for shops or stalls like the one in Canterlot. A place with food on display, looking for fruit that they didn’t know about. Despite not having plenty of bits on them, they would offer to pay for the purchases. Sen had some more saved up back home; a useless currency in the longma village and seen more as a novelty but if they didn't really have much use for it back home, it might not be such a bad idea to spend a little. Wouldn't want to be stingy if that money is will be used for a good cause.

“Rosa, what are carnivals? Is it a public gathering hosted by a town’s leader? The way Amethyst explained it sounds like these carnivals are places where ponies do fun activities.”

Catpone Cerberus · April 10, 2020

@Blitz Boom
"Killing is killing regardless of the creature, every life is equally meaningless." Ruby stated "And I said nothing about you winning or losing a fight, all I said is that the fight isn't over until someone dies, because if you haven't noticed, I'm quite a vengeful creature, and that's true with most of my kind, so if you leave one of us alive after a fight, they will come after you again and again and again until one of you is dead." Deep sea sirens? Ruby hadn't come across those yet but she would be adding that to her bucket list of creatures to kill.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nada visibly rolled her eyes and made her way outside, but before she did, she turned back towards the mimic, "Don't think you can steal things while I'm outside, if I see that something is missing, i will track you down." she probably wouldn't do that considering what the mimic had stolen, but it was about the message. When outside, Nada looked around to see if it really was Agni that had attacked the mimic, and after spotting him, she said to him "Agni, this isn't the same creature that was near your nest, please let it go home." she also made a mental note to inform Serenade that her pet had angered a phoenix.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Please don't take any unnecessary risks because of me, especially for meaningless information." Scarecrow said with slightly concerned sounding tone "I may be curious about my origin, but it's ultimately just useless information since there's most likely no going back." he didn't want anyone getting in trouble because of him, especially when one considered that he had until end of time to figure things out.

FanOfManyShows · April 10, 2020

@Blitz Boom
Opal was searching for what felt like a year after she disappeared with the Element of Depression, she needed the Element of Lies to become more powerful, since she lacked a depressed characteristic.

Astra on the other hand, finally separated that last piece of Emerald's soul inside of Chow during training, it flew off as a small glowing cloud and she never saw where it went.

Warlock was testing his leg, bending it and seeing how it moved, wishing inside that he could use magic to assist- but he thought again that maybe not using magic was fine sometimes.

Smashing down a wall, it all clicked, Opal saw it infront of her, solving a riddle and finding an ancient ruin.
"Finally, the Element of Lies, now no lie of mine can be seen..."
It appeared to be a bottle with a deep green powder, but she understood through her means, that it was a poor attempt at destroying it.
She strapped a leather band around the top of the bottle and turned it into a makeshift necklace, transporting herself away.

Meanwhile, Hogweed suddenly saw Warlock's eyes glow as he paused, tilting his head as he thought. "Strange, I've never sensed that element before." He looked to Hogweed, realizing he said that aloud "Er- We may have trouble incoming."

Astra was just standing in Chow's shop for the time being, when her eyes glowed, as she shook her head. "Opal is back." She said, looking to Chow.

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