open Casual stroll

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Blitz Boom

5 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Regarding Windy's back, she'd be able to feel the doctor push down on a few key points, which would likely be very soar. Especially around the base of her wings. If she moaned, or gave other auditory, or visual signs that this hurt, the doctor would have her answer to what were going on here.

Windy's widened and gritted her teeth, fighting urge to let out a moan. She nodded before the doctor went out of the room. She began to think of how to cover up the incident when the door was suddenly opened. Turning around, she saw Sorrow, still injured yet standing behind her.

5 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"That was weird... Anyway, are you okay Windy? It looked pretty bad out there at one point. Have you gotten help yet?"

She smiled “I think so. That doctor did not only took notice of my back, but my heart as well” she finally let out a broken howl filled with agony “she told me my back injury could become brusied or swelled for the next few ours, she also pescribe me a relaxant for my heart problem”

“Should we tell them the truth? I kind of feel guilty for not telling the doctor but at the same time, how are we suppose to tell her?”

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
Ruby wouldn't attack Leviathan, in fact, she just stayed where she was with her usual unfeeling expression, if her self-control would have been so low that she would have attacked someone for mere words, especially when it wasn't a direct insult, she wouldn't have lasted among ponies this long, not to mention the lows she went to to cheat them out of their possessions, the things she endured for the relatively little gain were patience testing to say the least.

"Though I don't blame you, you make assumptions." "Acknowledging that a tree may fall on me one day doesn't mean I'm going to burn down every tree." "I'd like you to note that I said future threat, that includes his possible offspring." "I'm not planning to follow my mother's footsteps, we having this conversation in the first place should be proof enough." "Part of it is spite, but I'm also not stupid, giving him a reason to attack me would only make him a bigger threat." she looked towards the sky "Believe it or not, I truly hope he will be different, and while I speak of him joining me on the way towards revenge, I wish it doesn't come to that, he gave his all to get out of there, I don't wish to bring him back to eventual death."

She let out a sigh, quite a surprising sound coming from someone like her "Do you know what it is like to lose everything?" "I lost my treasure, my territory, my physical strength...my dignity." "I was humiliated to such level I ran away like a coward, lowered myself to a level of a lesser creature, and do things that even they consider low to get by." "I torment my prey and fight risky just to get a glimpse of what I used to have." it was maybe a bit of out of nowhere, but her mind was a mess and she didn't really know even herself where it was coming from "I don't know why I'm saying this to you, maybe it's because I know that soon I will probably act like I never said it, but know that I'm not planning to hurt either of you, I can't." the whole time she had been facing the sky so her expressions weren't visible.

Meanwhile Charir stopped his attempts for a second to look at Ruby with curious look before continuing with the smaller zaps towards the wall and trying to find a consistent way to do it.

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Nada would accept the fish with a smile "Thank you."  she of course didn't need help, but she would have felt bad for not accepting a gift, and would also accept the others too, catching some between the times that the shark-pony took to retrieve a new fish, she found her willingness to help to be both weird and quite nice, latter because it seemed truly genuine, and honestly it was refreshing to be around someone who didn't have millennia worth of things to tell Nada.

After some time when she had eaten enough she would smile at the Sharkpony and say "No more, let go." and would respond to her question "Yes, I'm sated." "Thank you for help." she didn't know if her enthusiastic friend understood the concept of thanks but she still felt it to be important thing to say. 

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"We all are just bunch of things down here, weird non-natural creatures." Scarecrow pointed out

 He looked at the broken bottle of what he assumed used to be wine, and wondered if it smelled bad since he didn't remember what wine smelled in the first place. He didn't pay too much mind towards the still preserved looking bottles, just quickly wondering what kind of magic it was that had been used, but forgetting the whole thing in matter of moments since it wasn't really important to him. "No I can't, and because I don't remember any smells, I must assume it was one of the first things I lost."  

He would at first try the staircase, basically going around the room to get any furniture that looked like it wouldn't break into pieces the moment he touched it, including the door(s) that were in the different parts of the floor, he would also gather any bigger pieces of walls and such if there was any. If this failed however, either by him not finding enough to get his relatively heavy body up before the support broke apart, or if cleaning up the staircase was too much for his magic and physical strength combined, he would head to the only other direction, the kitchen, ignoring the rodents running around.

 

 

[Sekel 693]

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE & ATZY

KARMIC

"I feel like I'm intruding," Karmic admitted after a few minutes of thought and staring at the Ambassador. "But, from the meeting you had with my sister, Enzo, and myself, it looked like you were doing fine, Ambassador," she didn't exactly know what to do or say in this situation at the moment. Nothing was coming to her and no visions were happening either. Maybe that was for the best. She had no inclination of seeing a death in one of her random visions.

ATZY

Atzy leaned backwards a small bit, only enough to look at the buzzing changeling properly, and lightly pushed the reformed changeling back with a hoof. "I have a thing about personal space  with strangers but ... yes, I'm a third variant of changeling. A gemling princess, in fact. Um, Mind Reaper? Maybe it's best to change that name to get into the ponies' good graces. I don't actually what a 'Council of Queens' is. Is it where different changeling queens sit around a table and bicker? I do believe I'm an outsider, however. " Atzy honestly had no idea what this changeling was talking about but it seemed like it was in her best interest to go along with it. 

@Blitz Boom

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"How did you know I came here for a bit of Marepunzel's hair?" Twilight couldn't stop herself from asking and rubbed her nose; she placed her hoof in front of her muzzle and sneezed from the amount of dust that had been kicked up from all their walking. "Excuse me," she blushed lightly in embarrassment as they made their way up and looked at either side to Last and the Manetid. "It's ... strange. We all happen to run into each other just to get at this tower. Maybe something drew us all to it for a reason?"

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"No, those are terrifying things! Are you mad!?" Aurora couldn't stop herself from shouting at Flaxx in a terrified tone. She was standing in place and shaking like a leaf from the brief encounter. She didn't like violence one bit and even though she only witnessed it, it still made her scared and frankly, sick to her stomach.

@Blitz Boom

DAZZLE GLEAM

"Basically, I'm hanging in there," Dazzle admitted. Now that they were away from that crowded place, she can breathe a bit easier. She plodded along with Scarcity, Long Stare, and Chop Chop, warily looking around them for signs of any danger. "I'm in no way used to ponies and just how crowded everything is. I, uh, I lived on my own for a long time. Before the Everfree I lived with my parents and the three of us basically lived on the edge of the Everfree and the desert that contains Appleloosa. But ... as for questions ... I ... want to know if I can even live here after all my time in the Everfree. I think i may have gotten a bit paranoid."

@Widdershins

DAWN STREAK

"Eccentric? You? Puh-lease, that's not you!" Dawn laughed in a sarcastic manner he would understand she was joking. She placed her hoof back on the floor and even cracked a smile at him. "You are a really fascinating dragon, Kaltrops."

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

Seems like the siblings wouldn’t want to disturb Omen for the meantime. If she was enjoying her food, they’d probably want to let her enjoy it in peace. They’d feel the same way if they had an all-you-can-eat buffet of carnival food on their plate. That wasn’t really the case but Lin wasn’t going to argue semantics; she had a whole slice of pie and some cider to herself. Sen started drinking out of his canteen to wash down the last of the flavors lingering in his mouth before starting on the drinks Omen brought for them. 

The longma listened to Rosa explain the intricacies of his small throwing weapons, enamored at what those little things could deliver despite the word of caution. No such things existed back home because the longma never saw the need to create one. Each tool is tailor-made to the user, though some are produced more than others because those were the basic items needed. Large spears made with stone tips were the most common implements but higher-ranking hunters had their own spears crafted to their needs. Then again, all hunters had to learn to make their own tools. If they didn’t have anything ready, then at least they need to know to get ready. 

“I learned how to throw light spears and they just got heavier. For fishing, I just ram a spear into the water and try to grab something. Usually, a spear would be about a head taller than me but there’s usually nothing smaller than that back home."

“When you said the darts are small, how small are we talking about? We may not know until we see what those are but we could adapt.”

“After a few practice rounds, we might get the hang of the basics. Unless those darts have some kind of special throwing techniques, it shouldn't take us too long to have an idea of what to do.”

Lin nodded, though Sen wouldn't worry too much about learning something new. He was always interested in using new tools, and if that meant figuring out how darts worked, he might be able to start fashioning makeshift variants with the materials he could find in the forest. If darts were much smaller spears, he could probably imagine the thorns as tips.  

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Sekel

(Karmic)

"What you're seeing, is pure stubbornness. He suffered a severe impact during the last attack on town, leaving him with several internal wounds. Which he knows well takes multiple treatments and rest to properly heal."

"As said, I concede. I will return to the hospital immediately, and remain there unless I am needed."

"You won't be. We managed to run things fine, in the absence of the princesses before you arrived, Golden. It is not a problem to do so now either. Now go on with you. I am not going to sit by and watch you die before I do."

The ambassador nodded, and in a flash of light, would teleport himself and his medical attendee, as far as he could, without straining himself too much. They'd walk the rest of the way there.

Once he were away, Dew let out a sigh, as the tensions rolled out of his body.

"That kids going to be the death of me...

Regardless, this is done with. Do you need help to get back to your group, miss?"

(Atzy)

Mind Reaper fluttered back a bit when she were pushed away, and rubbed her snout.

"Right, personal space, gotcha. It's just so strange to see there's already a third variant of us, you know? And my name's not my fault. It was Chrysalis who named me. That's why I'm thinking about changing it. Thinking like... Honey Drop or something. It's a work in progress.

Sounds like you must be new just in general too, if you don't know the council. It's where most queens gather up when there's important things to talk about, that impact all of changeling kind. Unless you're banned from the meeting. King Thorax is, since they don't like what we've become because of him. Queen Cheshire from Las Pegasus are too, because her hive is tiny, and she's pretty much harmless. I guess it kinda makes sense you wouldn't be on the council too though either. If you're a new kind, they probably are gonna be all paranoid because of how it went with Thorax. It really all depends on how your queen goes at things.

So... What does it mean to be a gemling? Do you still eat emotions? The ponies are still real squeamish about this sort of thing."

While all this went on, Enzo would just look around, and trying to gander more at his surroundings. Seemed an interesting town he supposed, albeit small, compared to his olden home. He'd read about worse though, and would likely see that too, eventually.

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@Sekel

6 hours ago, Sekel said:

"How did you know I came here for a bit of Marepunzel's hair?"

"You spoke of her before, and I can see the spirit you wander with. It doesn't take much to guess your reasons, young lady."

A step at a time, were the way forward, as they wandered up the tower. Quite a way before they got to the top still she'd wager, but she could get there fine enough. Her physique were not bad, and she suspected the Shrine Maiden could handle this trek too. The manetid she weren't sure of, as her encounters with their kind, had been brief, and mostly violent, and the princess... She seemed squishy. She may need some breaks. Especially if she tried to rush forth, instead of pacing herself.

6 hours ago, Sekel said:

"Excuse me," she blushed lightly in embarrassment as they made their way up and looked at either side to Last and the Manetid. "It's ... strange. We all happen to run into each other just to get at this tower. Maybe something drew us all to it for a reason?"

No one there would say a thing about the princesses burp, though the manetid let out a low, coarse sound that might represent some sort of snickering. Cherish weren't feeling too good right now, so she said nothing. Last were too fanatical and loyal to the throne to judge her for this, and pretended it did not take place, and Madamme Macabre, just nodded silently, mulling over a few things, rather than respond to this for now.

"I were drawn to this valley by the cries of hundreds of spirits, unable to let go of their past duties. Then here, by what they told me. You seem to have come here looking for Marepunzel for your own reasons, so I think it mostly a coincidence. Even if I wonder why you are with a manetid."

"Krrrhhtx. An allegiance of necessity."

"I can imagine. We'll see if your princess accepts that, or if she will follow the same steps as the queen did."

"Rrrhxtt. You stay away from Princess Amelia, assassin."

"If she's smarter than her mother, I might.

Now then, with what purpose exactly do you come here, princess? I know the hair of Marepunzel are fabled to be useful in some elixirs, pertaining to the dead. What exactly is it you wish to gain from this?"

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@Sekel

"Sick? No, Flaxxy is very healthy. And pretty cat thing just need stronger foe to tell her off. I is stronger, so she listen. Goes off to find other friends now, with all fun and no hurt."

"I can assure you, that if it had come down to it, the manticore would not have fared well. Though Flaxxy doesn't go too far, for the mere sake of meaningless violence. I am not certain how she does it, but sometimes, she can seemingly just sense when there is less of a direct threat, and when those she faces off against, are merely trying to warn her away, to be in peace. In cases like this, as you witnessed, she will go into a contest of wills. One which she won, without a single hair needing to be hurt on the creature."

"Huh, from where I were lounging, it just looked like she played with the oversized cat."

"I may embellish reasons somewhat. In my defense however, Flaxxy is my friend. I am perfectly within my right to romanticizing the facts a little."

"Eh, that's fair 'nough. And come on now Aurora, you don't need to shake like this. Nopony's hurt, and everything's calm again. I mean, i appreciate the massage function, but I don't think it's good for ya to be this timid already. Nothing's realy happened beyond a few roars here. What'd you do if there were actual fighting?"

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@Sekel

"Then it is perfect for you, that you encountered us darling. My dear sister have a long history of being rather timid, and worried of others. So when she moved here, and required space and calm, she were so very fortunate, to be able to buy a house which are not too close to others, to where you can hear everything they say, and allows for some breathing room. It is rather delightful really."

The fact that it were her who had bought it, as she were the one with control of their inheritance, as well as her ill gotten gains, were skipped over. No need to get Dazzle's mind boggled down with silly little details like who had bought the house, where the bits for it came from, and how she had been able to have it completely sound proofed. Those were things best left to the one who had arranged it.

"It helped when I started working someplace that let me take my own pace with things. Taking some slow steps, with beings who accepts you for what you are, means a lot when you're trying to move past your boundaries."

Sure she still talked in a low tone, and wandered quietly, as she were used to not wanting to draw attention to herself, but it used to be far worse. Been a time Stare couldn't even start a conversation, and at times, would just stare silently, then wander off, if another started one with her. Everypony at work had helped her get through the worst times though, and now, she were if not perfectly normal, at least socially acceptable.

"It might be best to just have you settle in for a bit, and then take things slowly. Might be I could introduce you to more from work when you felt ready? Chop is the chef there, and you met Alonsus. He's basically our handi-pony. There's still Straw, Berry, and Chippy to meet too. Just... Bear with Chippy. He's very, very shy, and scares easily."

"How delightful to already have a plan of action, when the time is right. As for myself, I do wish to just make sure I heard correctly. Your parents lived between the desert area of Appleloosa and The Everfree Forest? I have a friend who lives in Appleloosa. Maybe I could get in contact with him, and have him see if your parents still lives there, so we can inform them of your whereabouts?

Might I ask how they react to strangers though? No ill words towards your parents of course, but some who prefers to live outside the boundaries of towns, tends to be less than forthcoming, when it comes to visitors. The more I know of them, and can pass along, the better his approach to meeting them will be."

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@Catpone Cerberus

17 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Do you know what it is like to lose everything?" "I lost my treasure, my territory, my physical strength...my dignity." "I was humiliated to such level I ran away like a coward, lowered myself to a level of a lesser creature, and do things that even they consider low to get by." "I torment my prey and fight risky just to get a glimpse of what I used to have." it was maybe a bit of out of nowhere, but her mind was a mess and she didn't really know even herself where it was coming from "I don't know why I'm saying this to you, maybe it's because I know that soon I will probably act like I never said it, but know that I'm not planning to hurt either of you, I can't."

The more she talked, the more sympathy Leviathan felt with Ruby. It were strange to se the dragoness open herself some like this, but it were a good thing. It meant she at least to some degree, trusted Leviathan, and it were by far better than being punted into the rocks.

Yet it also made her heart bleed some to hear the things that Ruby said. Not the part about the assumptions, no. That were an error, and she would in time acknowledge that, when it were the right point to say something there.

What she were more feeling sympathy for, were Ruby's talk of having lost everything. It were brief and perhaps not the most descriptive, but it felt to Leviathan, as if Ruby were genuine about this. The things she had lost, what she yearned for, and how she went through life after escaping from her old home... Details were not as important to Leviathan in this matter, as the way it were said, and what weight the words seemed to hold for Ruby.

And why wouldn't they hold weight? She had indeed lost much, and from what little she had talked about things at an earlier point, had been brought low in several ways, by others who lorded their strength above her. She were trying to get by and grow stronger, in a country where every custom were foreign to her, and where the predators she were used to seeing everywhere, simply weren't there. To Leviathan, Ruby were akin to a wounded animal, thrown out of the jungle and placed in the middle of a bustling metropolis. Her instincts were used to telling her to keep fighting or die, and needing to show her superiority, but this society wasn't built on that. Not in the same way at least, as those flaunting that in Equestria, tended to be snobby nobles. Rarely much physical strength to them, nor magical, arguably. Their power were merely in titles.

But this were just how she saw Ruby. IN this moment of openness from the younger dragoness, there were no room for babbling analyzing, or guesswork. She needed to know that she had emotional support, not a teacher waiting to go on to the next lecture.

So as she talked, Levithan would follow her heart, and calmly place a hand on Ruby's leg, where a shoulder would have been for one her size - one of the friendlier dragon equivalent of an equine hug - and looked up at her silently, with sympathy and concern, nearly radiating from her slit eyes. Not until Ruby were done, would she utter a single word, as this were not a time to interrupt her.

"...I don't know what it is like, no. Losing my foster mom, friends, being chased away- I always had something, and someone, to fall back on, even in my darkest time. I've never known what it is like to have everything taken away, like you had, Ruby. And I'm eternally sorry that you had to go through this on your own."

A few seconds would tick by before she said something more, as she wanted her soft spoken words to hopefully carry her sympathies towards Ruby, and let that hang in the air for a little. It seemed the right thing to do in her mind, before moving on to the next thing.

"I can imagine it is hard to talk about this for you, and I won't pressure you into telling me any details. When you're feeling ready to share that someday, I'll be there, to lend you my ear. I'm not planning on leaving you to deal with anything like this on your own again. I don't want to see you hurt again.

And I'm sorry for making assumptions before, on what you might do to Charir. I feared the worst, and it clouded my judgement. I hope you can forgive me for that, and my poorly chosen words. I'm sure as he grows older, he will cherish what wisdom you hold, and listen to your words not out of fear, but adoration and respect."

She felt as if there were more she wanted to say. Assurances, loftier promises... Anything. But she could not find more words than this. Only sympathy, and the want to remain standing as she were, and show her support to Ruby. If not verbally, than at least she could do so physically.

As she were taken up fully by this, she momentarily did not have her eyes on Charir, to see what he were doing. But it didn't smell like something were burning, so it were probably fine.

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@Catpone Cerberus

19 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"No more, let go." and would respond to her question "Yes, I'm sated." "Thank you for help."

The mare would bow her head down to the water, and let go of the fish once Nada told her to. She still weren't hungry, so she didn't see a reason to eat it herself, so she didn't have any sort of issue with this. Neither did the fish, who swam as fast away from them as it could. If fish believed in gods, this one would probably praise its, for how close this had gotten for it to become lunch.

The last part of what Nada said though... Well, she understood what it meant clearly, as her face lit up even more, and she looked like if she could, she would have started to wag her tail. However, she stood still for a time, and chewed on the words. One she knew, but the other one were new. And an important word too! She just had to think on it a little.

"T-haaaank you. Thank you, friend?"

She got there a little faster this time, and looked pleased, though somewhat questioning up at Nada as she said this. She were pretty sure she had said this right, but if she hadn't, she were sure her large huntress friend would tell her.

"Good hunt. Food, friends, frogs. F-uuuuun. Fun. Fun with friend."

She'd swim a lap around Nada, and then boop at her with her snoot again. it were pretty clear that she were having the time of her life here, even if it would eventually have to be cut short. Nada likely wanted to go home sooner or later.

And judging from how the shark pony suddenly went into a large yawn, it seemed like her energy were starting to run low too.

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@Catpone Cerberus

19 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"We all are just bunch of things down here, weird non-natural creatures." Scarecrow pointed out

"I smell rats too. They're pretty natural."

"I can change that."

Anomaly's teasing voice came soon after, along with a little giggle, though from where were hard to say. Seemed to bounce off the walls from all sorts of places.

"Mooom, stop supervising me! You got your own one to play with."

"Hehe, okay. I'll see you later. Plant pony says... I dunno, it sorta sounds like a grasshopper stumbling into a fence. Bet she wants more tea."

The voice would fall silent after that, and any outbursts or questions by Scarecrow, would go unanswered.

As for his attempt to stack things to get upwards, it'd work. A few of the things he tried to use would not work, but the rubble around the place were mostly sturdy rock, so he'd be able to get within a half meter of the edge of the stairs. He should be able to jump or climb that last tiny bit. Though seeing as both Rose and Crow could fly, they'd both be up there, waiting for him. Crow closer though, as Rose had fluttered up into the main hallo, and started to look around the large hall, which had the path to the exit right there. Is Scarecrow wanted to, he'd be able to exit, and let that be the end of things.

Though if he were looking on for Lyriel, then considering he were placed in the basement, he likely had to go up to find her. To do that, he'd have 3 options.

1. A crooked door, revealing a spinal staircase leading upwards to a tower.

2. The staircase leading to the large door, that'd lead to the throne room. There'd be further doors leading inwards and upwards from there, which lead to several rooms around the castle. Including the long abandoned bedrooms of the princesses.

3. A door not far to the right of the central, were a scuffed old statue of the princesses stood, that seemed promising, but would lead to a simple closet with a surprisingly well preserved set of Solar Guard armor, in a glass box. An old design, with feathers on the head and carved sun patterns down the metal, intermingled with some sort of runes. It also had plate that would have been able to cover every part of the former wearers body, via sections for knees, upper and lower legs, and neck. Looked like whoever wore this, or had been intended to wear it, were keen on full protection. As well as rather large. Why it were here though, were anypony's guess.

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@Windy Breeze

23 hours ago, Windy Breeze said:

She smiled “I think so. That doctor did not only took notice of my back, but my heart as well” she finally let out a broken howl filled with agony “she told me my back injury could become brusied or swelled for the next few ours, she also pescribe me a relaxant for my heart problem”

“Should we tell them the truth? I kind of feel guilty for not telling the doctor but at the same time, how are we suppose to tell her?”

"Oof, the thunder strike you told me about, is that what caused your heart problem? It could've been way worse, but it still kinda sucks. And your back sounds like it hurts. I hope she gets back with an ice pack or something real soon. The faster the swelling goes down, the better."

The skull glowed vaguely for a brief second, before seemingly losing the energy again.

"*sigh* Autumn is gonna need some time to get used to what she caused, but we'll make sure she understands in time, that she couldn't help it. I hope you're not holding it against her either, Windy.

And I am gonna tell the truth, soon as somepony from the guards asks. They might think I'm crazy, but I'm not lying about this. I promised Autumn that I'd help her get the truth out, and I'm gonna stick with that. It will help her, and in time, probably help Razor too. I just gotta figure out how I tell them.

Have you said anything to them so far? Nopony else I came here with, or who got here before me, have said anything about it. Kinda sounds like most of them have forgotten stuff, or refuses to say anything. I think they might still be in shock."

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@EQ_Theta

"A dart is rather small. This is roughyl the average size of a standard dart, for the sort of games I am referring to."

He'd scrape in the ground, and give a rough outline of a dart. Very small compared to a spear, and light, so this might prove to be some degree of a challenge for them at first.

Next to it, he would also draw a blow dart, just to show them to other kind of dart one might encounter. Though likely not at this place.

"It looks small, but I can assure you, it feels even smaller, due to the low weight. If you use too much force with this, you won't hit much. Precision is the name of the game with this.

As for the other one, that is a dart in a blow dart set. You are unlikely to see it here, but it is an interesting hunting tool, and can at times be sold in places such as this. From zebras mainly though, as carved things such as this are traditional things for them, and are often sold as souvenirs. I know of a few poisons that works well with that kind of thing, but I digress. I believe you're right that you might need to see it to actually get a feel for it. Though who knows? Perhaps one of the other things we will pass will carry some semblance of something you know of. I have not been to this particular festival before, so anything is plausible.

Let us finish our meal, and then we can proceed. Best not to lug these buckets and trays around with us everywhere."

If they focused on that for a little while, they could have a few minutes of getting a fairly okay view of one of the theater productions, set up on the main stage. A reenactment of the royal wedding, complete with Cheshire giving an exaggerated performance as Queen Chrysalis, whom she presented as wearing a villanous, dark red evening gown, strutting around with her chest puffed out, and boasting with nearly every sentence.

It were done to these sorts of ridiculous lengths to both try and make a dark time somewhat more entertaining and fun, and to make sure that the audience knew that this wasn't the real Chrysalis. Just an impersonator, doing an imperfect rendition. She could do it more accurately if it were, and did so on occasion, but one had to know the audience, and Equestria were not ready yet to laugh at the full truth. A more theatrical version though, half-spliced into a musical, where her changelings played varied roles of the wedding guests, were far more welcome.

Stereotypes about the element wearers were also brought to a more fun extreme, with for example Twilight charging into battle, and chasing drones around with a large book she attempted to swat them with. Cheshire had once found the princess were in the audience at one point of doing this, and had a healthy laugh later about how her friends seems to have a good chuckle over seeing this. She had even heard a stray *That's totally you Twi!* come from Rainbow Dash.  Though Twilight got her chance to laugh too, as the others were shown as well.

Rainbow Dash were shown as extremely boastful, and spending more time zooming around, saying what she could do, rather than actually doing much to the drones.

Rarity did a fine tackle, and were about to stomp down on a drone, when she screeched and flailed. Why? Because as she screeched *My poor hoof have been chuffed! How could this day get worse?!*.

Fluttershy spend most of her time running away from a drone trying to capture her, with a bunny slopping around on her back, while Applejack were trying to capture the drone after her. They ended up running circles around the place, and seemingly in confusion, starting to chase one another after rummaging around chaotically for a bit of time. As there were only seven performers in total, it tended to shift around quickly what part they showed the various one doing, in a fluent motions. Ten seconds or so, and poof, the next set of drones and wearers, which helped it look more confusing whenever it were the old school slapsticky routine of Applejack, Drone, Bunny and Fluttershy. Near the end of this routine, it even ended with Fluttershy riding the drone, who were chasing Aplejack, that were charging after a really confused bunny.

As for Pinkie Pie, she were shown in a rather favorable light, as she were firing a prop cannon full of confetti at a few drones, whilst giggling. They had tried to figure out some sort of way to make her over the top too, but the best they could think about, were her throwing a pie and accidentally hit Applejack in the hat. It were hard to make an extreme, even more over the top, without making it seem mean spirited.

Eventually the army would be defeated, and they'd march on the castle, to the final confrontation against Chrysalis. The play skipped the part where they had been taken prisoner for a small bit of time, and as they didn't know where Twilight had been, had added her to the fights for story purposes. In the more historically correct ones, they just had her pop in out of nowhere later on, along with the *real* Princess Cadence.

The scene change would happen rapidly, as two of the remaining changelings not performing, were doing stage work. One changing props fast, while the other cast a fine illusionary spell, to make the scene look like a piece of the streets of Canterlot, where the ponies could rush along. Though in actuality, they were just running in place.

The final battle commenced, with a few songs, and the classic tale of the villain almost winning, and gloating in their victory with an over the top speech. Only for out of nowhere, a magical stroke of luck, along with the fabled kiss of Princess Cadence. The thing which finally released her husband to be, and blasted Chrysalis from the stage. Which wasn't an effect. To make it as convincing as possible, the illusion that had the pink aura push outwards, also had a fairly good telekinetic blast. It'd push her away and flying, before she'd eventually flutter down to the scene later on. After the final song between Cadence and Shinign Armor, which were done very tastefully actually, and without humor added. Cheshire considered adding it at first, but it felt wrong to end like that, after the loving scene there had been before, so she kept it like this instead.

She also axxed a song she considered, where Shining would contemplate how his life would be, had he been with Chrysalis instead. It were an interesting take in her head, but she ended up thinking this were the sort of thing others weren't ready for yet. So it were shelved until this sort of thing were more socially acceptable to bring up potential love between a changeling and a pony.

It would be about ten minutes long the entire thing, as it were condensed to the most important parts, but it caught the attention of quite a few it seemed. Sounded like it too, as there were a solid uproar of clapping from the crowd that looked on, while the performers made their bows on stage, whilst transforming back to their normal looks. Even seemed to get a fairly large (three ponies big) size dragon to sit and clap, and those could be rare to entertain with theater. Then again, this included making fun of ponies to a degree. That tended to be a slam dunk for their kind.

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Blitz Boom

“I don't hold any grudge against Autumn” stood up, Ignoring the slight pain she received “She's just in a blind rage, so I understand she couldn't control herself from somepony, let alone a Wonderbolt or a medium”

“I haven't told the doctor yet, but she could see I don't want to talk about what happened back there. I want to tell them the truth, without breaking Autumn and Razor's lingering reputation. I don't ponies to suddenly hate them” she reached out and softly touched Legion, running her hoof up and down on the rough surface of the skull “Don't worry, Autumn. My friend, Ire Heaven done much more than just breaking my back, you only gave me one wound to my ear, then my back, my heart problems had been with me for a long time now”

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
Maybe a bit surprisingly, Ruby didn't push Leviathan's hand away, though one couldn't sure if it was because she decided to not to do so, or because she just didn't notice, since her scales were quite thick and she wasn't looking towards Leviathan, it could have been either, considering how hard Ruby was to read some times.

She lowered her gaze from the sky, but she didn't face Leviathan, nor Charir, instead looking away from both of them in a way that implied purposeful avoidance, staying quiet while Leviathan talked. "Like I said, I understand why you would assume such thing, in different situation you would have been right." she said after Leviathan was done, it would be fair if one was to assume she had just ignored most of what Leviathan had said, considering her response, but it wasn't the case this time, sometimes even those like Ruby didn't have anything to comment "Which brings me to something else." "I don't know if you have noticed, but I have been thinking a lot since Charir appeared, and I need your thoughts on something." "The truth is, I don't know why I saved him, and I don't mean it in a way of 'I shouldn't have', I mean that I really don't know." "I went after his cries because I was worried that more of my kind was around, but besides that, it just happened, I didn't even really realize what happened until things had calmed down." "Similar thing has happened before, but that ended in someone dying, not the opposite." she hadn't been kidding when she had said that she would soon be acting like she hadn't said anything, as her tone was already going back to her usual cold self when she finally turned to look at Leviathan with the usual unfeeling expression, though the reason probably wasn't too hard to figure out when you considered what was known about her and the fact that she had been avoiding visual contact while showing emotion "I don't know what to make of it." 

--------------------------------------------
"Yes" Nada nodded with a smile, as she assumed she was being asked about the word 'thank' and if the shark-pony had said it right, it could also have been that she had tried to repeat everything Nada had said, in which case she had mixed up the word 'for help' with 'friend', but since she wasn't certain, she didn't start explaining it, not that she knew how to explain it in the first place, she wasn't good at wordless communication, and guessing what words the shark-pony would understand was a challenge of its own.

She would also nod at the second bunch of words, "Yes good hunt and fun." she wasn't in a hurry, but she noticed that her active friend was getting tired "You tired?" 

------------------------------------------
Scarecrow didn't comment, instead continuing what he was doing seemingly ignoring Anomaly's voice, but though he seemed to be ignoring it, he did listen what was said, it didn't surprise him that Anomaly had done something to torment Lyriel, but if it was only to get Scarecrow act more in hurry or something, it would fail, because he knew that it didn't matter how quickly he moved, he would reach Lyriel when Anomaly decided to let him, he just hoped she hadn't gone mad when he eventually reached her, the life in the forest would miss her. He also knew that Anomaly could have lied and maybe Lyriel is already back to the forest, it was unlikely that she was let free, but he had no way to know it, all he knew for sure was that the words were meant to get a reaction out of him, and he wouldn't give that freak of nature that satisfaction, not that it really brought up any reaction anyway besides annoyance towards Anomaly.

He was pleasantly surprised that the most obvious route had actually worked, because while he wasn't that concerned about getting lost since he had a general idea of the layout if the castle, he was expecting some kind of trick behind every corner and door. It visited his mind that maybe he could try if he could walk on walls thanks to the trick affecting his wings, but he decided against that.

When they got up, Scarecrow looked towards the exit and Crow would most likely be able to tell that for a moment he actually considered walking out, but he soon turned back towards the task at hoof, and headed to the staircase towards the tower. He didn't necessarily believe that Lyriel was there, it would have been too easy, but assuming Anomaly hadn't broken the reality around the castle, it was the closest obvious dead end, and thus the most logical place to check first.

If it wasn't the one, and it was just a normal tower and not a space-time anomaly, he would make his way back down and look into the closet, check that it wasn't an illusion, if it wasn't, he would then just head to the last remaining way and would start going through the doors in the most logical pattern he could. His actions would also depends on what kind of tricks if any he was faced with.

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

Sen and Lin looked closely at the little dart drawings, perplexed at the appearance of the objects. Some would call that a hunting tool and prefer to keep it that way, but it seems ponies have found a way to make a game out of it. If this were any other scenario, some longma back home would really be up in arms about using hunting tools for recreation. Sen wouldn’t mind though, as he could find himself actually having fun studying the intricate methods of making the perfect throw. 

And going by the blow dart, it seemed that there were even smaller versions that could be of use in interesting ways. In the wrong hooves, those could do serious damage with poisons while only ever pricking the skin. That would be quite the weapon, but neither Sen nor Lin couldn’t find it in themselves to do such a thing. The siblings would finish their meal per Rosa’s suggestion before heading off.

At that moment, they would have a glance at Cheshire’s production nearby, a perfect opportunity to see what’s up with these shows. From what they could see, those were pretty interesting approaches to retelling an event, or what looked like a retelling anyway. Cheshire and her hive veered toward a more lighthearted show with action and levity in good amounts. By the time it was over, the siblings have eaten through the pie and popcorn with their eyes glued to the spectacle.

“Queen Cheshire must be quite the performer if she could get a round of applause that loud. Shame we couldn’t get a closer look.”

“There’s always another chance sometime in the future. We know where to find Cheshire in Las Pegasus. Seems like we probably ask here when her next show will be, though I’m thinking that could take a while. There’s plenty to do when we get back home.”

“True, but it just wouldn’t be the same if without all of us here. I’m sure Cheshire could do a better narration of historical events. She’s very likely keep the young longma interested in hearing the same tales over and over again when even parents have to stick around and supervise.”

The siblings would chuckle at Sen’s suggestion, but it had some merit. After hearing the same old story of how the forest came to be from the machinations of primordial forces, it would be a snooze fest. Younger children would likely try to find some way to excuse themselves so they can play elsewhere.

“Rosa, I know this question is a little bit, umm… strange, but is it true ponies like to break out into song? Like, when one pony starts singing, music would play from nowhere and everyone else around them would sing? I heard a rumor about that and it seemed a little too outlandish to me.”

Edited October 24, 2020 by EQ_Theta

[Rising Dusk 27,721]

@Blitz Boom

Rising wouldn't necessarily call this a courtship ritual, but that might just make sense to a pony with more modern Equestrian sensibilities.  Really he was just inviting a pony to the Mid-Autumn Festival of his neighborhood.  She appeared to have interest in the event.  Even the slightly dense unicorn in his own love life could tell it was boiling down to a date no matter how he wanted to spin it.  He could already feel his sister's ear twitching from any amount of twin sense she could be receiving after trying so hard to get her brother into the game.  Dreaming wasn't even the best of escapes.

The Dreamer and the Dream Warden cast their gazes up to the fluttering moth when she spoke, blessing them for a day that had yet to happen.  Both ponies looked at each other, not quite sure what to make it.  Loona had no idea what the goddess even meant, but Rising knew it was a simple amount of well wishing.  Her powers were strained as it were to even be here in his dream, interacting with him as she was. "Uh... thank you," Loona managed to squeak out, the best response she could think of at the moment.  Rising nodded his thanks in kind.  "I'll see you later then, detective," the mare smiled.  "Rising is fine~" he started to reply before the mare had walked over and extended her hoof.  "Boop," she said while booping his snoot in revenge.

The ground beneath the detective lost solidity.  He fell as if the scene of his dream had been a tarp laid out over a pitfall trap.  Like a trap, the dream wrapped around him like a warm blanket as his Dream within the Dream Realm unraveled.  Falling and falling into a deepening darkness.  All of a sudden, he was no longer falling.  There was something solid he laid upon.  Soft and warm.  A feeling of being refreshed fighting to the surface of grogginess.  Silk sheets felt great against his body and the heavy blanket he managed to get himself wrapped up in.  Sitting up on his bed, he yawned, "It was getting good," half complaining to an empty apartment.  Happy in knowing though that the results of his dreams extended beyond that realm.  Having learned a lot about the goddess of light that tainted one of his wisps and even asking out his local Dream Warden.  Awake from his nap, the unicorn rolled out of bed and dragged his groggy body into the kitchen to get a glass of milk and maybe something to eat.

 

Starbright rolled her eyes in disbelief how naïve the cowboy pony could be.  Sure, Flare was just translating, but a filter between that brain and mouth would come in handy.  "Do forgive him," she sighed.  The stallion in question looked between the three, not completely sure what he did wrong to earn a joyless laugh and ire from his fellow officer, "What?"  Bash's expression was blank, the most terrifying to the other stallion to say the least.

Returning to the matter at hoof though, the larger stallion slipped off his stool, the old wooden floor creaking at his large frame.  Towering over the red mare, he leaned down to take a few whiffs of left over residue from her issue at the candy store.  Grunting, "Bubble gum?"  He didn't wait for a response before fishing around inside of his saddle bag.  Setting out on a series of vials with different colored liquids on the counter top, then finally a large empty beaker.  "Arc Weld?" the officer fished for details.  "I could enchant a bracelet with a trigger condition and a barrier spell.  It would at least prevent exterior damage until the episode stops," Starbright offered.  Bash appeared to be paying little attention as he began mixing vial contents into the beaker.  The red and blue mixture turned yellow and bubbled.  Adding in the black vial caused a ring of smoke to poof out with a loud pop.  Adding in a pink vial turned the mixed crystal clear.  Picking up the beaker in one hoof and then placing the other over the opening, she shook it violently.

 

"I suppose that makes sense," Gold Mane tried to convince herself along Omen's logic.  It was just a difficult pill to swallow for any idea that Rising could be infected in anyway.  "I suppose we'll just need to get a sneak peak how his Harrowmark story before the rest of the agency," the older mare tried to brighten the idea of bothering the detective on his R&R.  The two officer lead the mare through the busy Manehatten streets that she might have taken better interest in if she wasn't in sure a panic mode.  The trio would need to cover a fair number of city blocks to reach Rising's apartment complex.  "Not immune..." hiding it were getting harder and harder.  Luckily they were approaching his apartment and she could pass off all the explain on him.  Taking Omen into the apartment, the climbed the stairs to Rising's floor, "Sense anything yet?"  Closer and closer the two officers to the door.  Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.  

Movement could be heard inside the apartment room.  A few moments later, the loud click of a deadbolt unlocked the door and it opened.  Rising Dusk stood in the doorway, in his freshly nap woken glory.  His horn was ignited and he was levitating a bowl of cereal near him.  Gulping down his current mouthful, "Evening officers," he greeted.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Skall had little intention to actually use his blade, he had a strong sense that Zhu had something in store if he were to use it, but wasn't sure of it.
"I will give you some warning future seer,  you won't be alive if we encounter again."

He teleported away, the illusions around instantly disappearing, the floors drenched in water where the flames used to be.
Casting a cloud over himself, he scouted Canterlot for the cemetery, once his eyes laid upon it he dove down, looking at the graves with a grin.
"Such a shame these ponies won't be able to enjoy my glorious rule."

Wandering the graveyard he eventually uncovered the stone of the Faded Tracker, looking east and at the mausoleum.

"If this belt proves useful for us, I may very well keep it and ditch the old goat."

he said before extending his claws, swinging them apart as the entire stone structure exploded across the graveyard
searching for the entrance within, he would do the same to the blockage once he found it, soon entering within the pathway with caution.

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

"I see through these lies fools."
Rose lifted her claw, slamming it down on the gem, before her pupils widened, her eyes turning black. She retracted her claw

"Emerald what are you doing?! We can't just give this thing a powerful artifact!"

"However you are mistaken Emerald, Skall still holds the element of deceit as we speak, this is but another piece of the Betrayal.."
She gripped it in her claw as light beamed out the gem within glowing brightly.
"But it'll do."

She smiled at Emerald, before suddenly grabbing Sapphire and snapping her fingers, disappearing as a burst of bubbles,
even if the Raven would fly out it would meet the cloud of bubbles left behind

"NO!"

Astral stomped her foot down, cracking the ground and ran forward  to stand where Sapphire was before
She looked back to Emerald with a look of fury "You sure like messing things up don't you?"

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Rising Dusk

On 10/24/2020 at 2:57 PM, Rising Dusk said:

"Do forgive him," she sighed.  The stallion in question looked between the three, not completely sure what he did wrong to earn a joyless laugh and ire from his fellow officer, "What?"  Bash's expression was blank, the most terrifying to the other stallion to say the least.

Magma waved a hoof dismissively.

"It's fine. Just one of those things that one does not think about much, until you are presented with a situation where it can be interpreted differently."

It weren't ideal, but she could understand how it had gone to that point. It weren't as if somepony like her were a normal thing to witness, nor interact with. Though Flare still seemed to be a little... Well, dense seemed harsh. Oblivious, were a kinder way to put it, and she were sure that normally, he did not have these sorts of issues. It would be hard to argue for his work in an active protective force like the O.M.I. if he were after all, right? Though of course, she barely knew anything of them. They might work as an odd group in some way. Celestia knows that she could mention some dysfunctional teams in Center Zero that defied logic, and somehow worked best together in apparent disharmony.

On 10/24/2020 at 2:57 PM, Rising Dusk said:

Grunting, "Bubble gum?"

Magma would soon have more pressing things to focus her mind on though. Particularly, Bash getting up from his seat, and showing himself in all his towering might. An impressive sight the closer he got actually. A little intimidating even, though she weren't afraid of him. Frankly, she were just impressed. He seemed so far, to be the most guard-like entity in this station. One of the good ones too, who didn't seem like he'd just attack out of nowhere, unless provoked to do so. Poor fools who ended up on his bad side, even if he did not make use of his alchemy skills, though she would personally fear those more. A kick to the face you knew what were. A mystery concoction thrown at you though, could be all sorts of unpredictable things.

"I were attempting to blow bubbles near a candy store, before I were found. It accidentally caused a minor display, and the pavement had a few minor points of melting. I assure you that nopony were even close to getting hurt."

She had taken precautions, just in case. Despite her condition, she had not experienced anything that would cause her to accidentally make a severe amount of damage at a range. Intentionally, she had been able to do a few things, which she were sure had usage. Spitting magma balls for example, which were a considerably weird feeling. Having something the size of a golf ball slide up through her throat, until it were ready on her tongue, to be spat away, were not painful. You'd think the pressure in her throat at least would be, but it were more just slightly uncomfortable, and feeling unnatural.

It weren't good for whatever object she hit with the ball though. Of course she hadn't tested it on live subjects, as she wasn't a monster in that sense, but varied rocks, scrap metal, wood and so forth she had salvaged were viable test objects, as she explored her limits and new approaches to life. She just had to make sure that she weren't near flammable areas, such as forests, when she did so. She'd prefer not risking a massive forest fire.

On 10/24/2020 at 2:57 PM, Rising Dusk said:

"Arc Weld?" the officer fished for details.  "I could enchant a bracelet with a trigger condition and a barrier spell.  It would at least prevent exterior damage until the episode stops,"

"Might I perhaps get a little more details on this, please? I don't wish to sound worried about your intentions, but if it somehow withheld the pressure, it is important that I know of it. That way, I could refuse with proper reasons for doing so.

How best to explain this... Try to imagine a kettle of water. The boiling air blows out of the kettle when the pressure gets to a certain point therein. Now try and imagine that instead of taking it off the fire, one instead sealed the holes in the kettle, allowing the pressure to not release, but instead just continuously build up.

There is no guarantee it works exactly like that with me, but pressure and magma in general, still does not mingle well. It tends to lead to volcanic eruptions if it is allowed to build up, and we would all likely prefer to not have that happen."

Her worries properly given, she would begin to wander over as close as she could get, without getting some sort of reaction from Bash, and examine him at work. Seemed like his kind of alchemy were very visual, and went through a myriad of stages, considering how often it changes colors, and gave off minor visuals like the smoke ring. The colors especially were fascinating to her, as it went through several total color changes, instead of mixing to one near the previous one. It lead her to believe that this were not adding to a base, with minor variations through other liquids. This were seemingly more of a strong shift around, which made her believe he were making more of a new mixture entirely. Maybe something custom in nature, rather than a generic thing with a variation to overlay her? It were very hard to tell without her even knowing what he were working with, but she'd still observe with great fascination.

"Intriguing... Do you per chance, need a sample for this mixture, to make it more fitting? I have plenty of essence to spare, or flakes of hardened outer shell if need be."

She may or may not, also just want to do it, to see how he'd make use of it. She were still a scientist after all, and were curious by nature because of it.

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

 

@Rising Dusk

On 10/24/2020 at 2:57 PM, Rising Dusk said:

"I suppose we'll just need to get a sneak peak how his Harrowmark story before the rest of the agency,"

"It's a dark place, seething with strong magic, oozing through the soil. Some light, and other schools, but mostly dark magic. And primordial magic too. Not so much Viz'nay's though. Not after what Twisted caused, but there's still vague fragments of her energy here and there. I've smelled it. It's... Weird. I can't really explain what it smells like, but it's really easy to tell when there's the magic of gods involved. No pony can just make that sort of thing themselves... I hope."

A mortal with the power of an actual god, without having said magic blessed upon them, or stolen? Now there were a frightening thought. Maybe this sort of thing could happen, if a god were reincarnated into a mortal, but even then, it sounded like a stretch to her. Impossible even. And that were taking every other crazy thing she had seen, into consideration.

No to Grave, mortals could only have primordial magic, if they had stolen it, bargained for it, or were being used as a vessel for them. Which tended to not be able to last for long, and would more or less cripple the one that had held their presence. Mentally, physically, and spiritually. Mortal bodies weren't meant to hold a presence like that after all.

They could still gain access to some of their power though, which could be wielded safely. The more knowledgeable and strong you were with magic, the more you could carry, without it beginning to backlash. Twisted had been tempered enough to carry quite a lot, but even he were cautious with how much he used, and did his to ensure it were stored in for example, those gears on his boots. He thought it best to avoid having it mingle with his own magic source, and potentially corrupt him.

On 10/24/2020 at 2:57 PM, Rising Dusk said:

"Sense anything yet?"  Closer and closer the two officers to the door.  Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.  

Movement could be heard inside the apartment room.  A few moments later, the loud click of a deadbolt unlocked the door and it opened.  Rising Dusk stood in the doorway, in his freshly nap woken glory.  His horn was ignited and he was levitating a bowl of cereal near him.  Gulping down his current mouthful, "Evening officers,"

The cryptic message that Grave were given, occupied her mind some, as they neared their destination. What did that sort of thing mean? Were he magic resistant? Did he know good deflect spells perhaps? They were within eye sight of the door now, so she should be able to see herself very soon, but still. It sounded odd.

Before the door unlocked, she'd sniff at the door to try and get some idea of what were within, and blinked confused a few times. A weird smell had wafted out towards her from behind, that didn't make much sense, and she weren't sure if perhaps she were just wrong. She had to be, right?

"There's something... But it's so vague, I can't say for sure."

It were more that she refused to believe she got it right, as she did have a smell to work from, but it might just be a cross contaminant sort of situation. It were possible, if you dealt with enough high ranking magic after all, and she got a weird mixture coming from in here for sure.

As the door opened, and she were presented with the form of Rising, she'd give him this. He didn't look like he were a threat. Pretty innocent and eating some sort of meal even, if she had to judge on looks alone. But that wasn't why she were here, and she stepped nearer, whilst sniffing the air in his direction. Then she'd sneeze, and shake her head violently.

"Mighty Suusha, it's so mangled up. A powerful arcane user were there recently. Before that, another strong user, then a slew of Harroish energies, including soul magic.."

She needed a few seconds to gather herself again. This were a powerful melting pot of varied energies, and a lot of them smelled like they came from varied strong sources, with each their kind of feelings and intent behind their magic. She needed a second to just kind of sort through them, one by one.

"...You were in contact with Twisted. I know that, but a strong soul too. Filled with determination and desperation.

He's not taken over. There's not enough of Twisted's energy to corrupt him. It's just residual- As is Suusha, and... Viz'nay? *sniff sniff* Malice from one, gratitude from another..."

She took a few steps back from Rising, and looked at him as if he were a dangerous animal, who might jump her at any time, and devour her face.

"...I don't understand. How can you have been close to the tyrant, and the gods alike? And why did she bless you? Wha- What kind of pony are you?"

Rising might have taken notice, that as his dream were ending, Viz'nay had taken the chance to cast her blessing on him. It wouldn't really do much, in protecting him in any sort of way, as she didn't have that kind of power currently. It just marked him as having gotten a sort of spiritual pat on the back, and best wishes of a pleasant day. She'd gather more magic, and hopefully be able to cast a proper blessing upon his bloodline, if their date went well.

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

 

@Windy Breeze

On 10/23/2020 at 3:03 AM, Windy Breeze said:

“Don't worry, Autumn. My friend, Ire Heaven done much more than just breaking my back, you only gave me one wound to my ear, then my back, my heart problems had been with me for a long time now”

The skull would faintly glow again, but it would fall silent again after that, as the spirits returned to speaking with one another instead.

"She understands, Windy. But it isn't just you, it's everypony else. And as sad as it is going to be, they have to know the truth, so they can understand what brought this on. Autumn's reputation isn't going to falter for this, long as we explain it. She's a tormented soul, who didn't have the chance at the life she had seen build around her, and went mad with anger. It might take time, but eventually, they will come to understand what went on.

Razor's reputation... *sigh* He made his choice, and the consequences of that, will have to be known. I try not to judge him too much, as it seemed he were pressured to some degree, but there were still a choice to make, and he made the wrong one. Though perhaps, his actions will at least bring some closure to others, if there are evidence to be found about the ones who sent him to kill Autumn in the first place. He seems eager to earn his redemption, and I will wish him luck with it. Just have to send word back home, to get somepony better at this than me to help him. This sort of thing could get far more dangerous than this whole situation were, and I were already in over my head here. I'm glad you had my back, Windy."

Sorrow would give a tired, yet warm smile to Windy. She'd think a hug were normally in place, but they were both injured, and likely did best by holding off on that for a bit.

Practically right after this, the door would open, and the doctor would once again walk in. This time, she were carrying a large ice pack, which she'd come over with to Windy.

"Here you go. Let's put some ice on the swelling, to try and ease your pains a little."

She'd use her magic to keep it on her back, and hopefully, it should do well in easing up the pain Windy were feeling.

There were also somepony else here though. A doctor in his forties, wearing a typical medical jacket, carrying a chart, and a belt of varied medical tools around his waist. He wore small, rectangular glasses, and had a long mane, that were combed back over his back, and stuck there with a collar. A simple white one, with a small array of sugar skulls embedded into it in red. There were also a bright red flower stuck in the unicorns hair, that wobbled slightly as the brown coated pony walked. As for the tail and mane color, ir appeared to be the same as his eyes. Which were a light blue tint.

"I also brought somepony to take a look at your wing. This here's my colleague, Dr. -"

"Uncle Drowny?"

The unicorn looked up from his chart, confused at what he heard, as he locked eyes with Sorrow. A mare who were also mighty confused in the moment. A sentiment that also went to Dr. Pin, as this were not something she had expected. Nor were it that after a few seconds, the two ponies would go into big smiles, and her colleague would wander closer, so the two of them could gather in a big hug.

"Sorrow! Of all the places in all of Equestria. It's been a long time."

Sorrow would respond with a strained sound of pain, and he'd let go off her right away.

"Right, right, sorry. Let me just..."

He'd take a good hold in the base of Sorrow's wing, and then yank it back into its socket. Considering the loud, pained sound that came out of Sorrow, it weren't exactly a kind affair. But at least it seemed to work. Her wing weren't slacking as much anymore, even if she weren't folding it in. She were waiting for the wave of pain to soar through her first.

"Sorry, sorry, I know it's not feeling good, but it had to be done."

"I feel as if I am missing something here. Is this one a relative of yours, Dr. Asphyxia?"

The doctor would push his glasses up his nose, and clear his throat.

"Yes. My niece, in fact. And I'm guessing you got her here safely then, miss? Thank you for that."

He'd say the last to Windy, clearly showing that he had not been given a lot of information on all of this.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"I don't know about the other things, but with Charir, it seemed like a maternal instinct. You heard the cries of a young dragon, saw he were in peril, and rushed in to save him. Logic doesn't have to be part of that. It's just something that happens. Maybe you are more prepared to taking care of whelps of your own one day, than you've been given yourself credit for?"

She would have taken off for much the same reason, had Ruby's hearing not been far superior to hers, which allowed her to pick this up first. Though she weren't sure if that were the reason. If it ended differently other times, but she still took off towards others, could there not be a more unifying reason behind it all, rather than the two being different? It were hard to tell, when Ruby herself didn't even have any idea.

"As for the other times... I can't say. The best guess I have, is that when it came to others, you felt as if there were some sort of threat, or you were still angry for what had happened to you, and wanted to lash out. Charir isn't much of a threat currently, and this is far from your country. It may have had something to do with how you subconsciously looked at it.

Maybe you also suspected him to be family, and there were some degree of spite in it. Or again, the maternal instinct are a factor, as you do share some similar looks. On some level, it might have felt to you as if he were yours.

*sigh* I wish I had answers for every question you had, Ruby. But sometimes I can only guess. Stuff like this sounds like a matter of instinct, and we're not mere beasts. We're far more complex than those simplistic creatures, and that also means it's harder to guess what really makes us tick sometimes.

I'm sure the answer to it is going to become clearer as times goes on though. Sometimes, these sorts of things just need to thought over for a while."

Likely not the answer Ruby hoped for, but right now, it were sadly all that she had to offer.

Unless there were more then, Leviathan would turn her attention some to Charir, and see how he were progressing. Seemingly well enough, as he kept pushing sparks from himself, but they were still weak, and with little direction. For a first time magic user though, it were surely well done. Though he should tone it down eventually, or he'd end up spending all his energy like this. Not that he likely knew how, or wanted to. He just learned he could do something special now. Why wouldn't he be curious about it?

"Y'know, when I try to imagine how he's gonna be when he grows up, I keep imagining a somewhat small, tightly build dragon. A real tanky little thing, and if he gets good at this electricity usage... Hmm, if he learns to coat himself in it, and how to press his limps in close, he might end up as quite the little wrecking ball."

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

The mare nodded vigorously, and let out another yawn.

"Many hunts. Many, many frogs. Fish. Hunts with friend."

From she were taken here until now, she had been more or less rushing around, and first chasing the frog monsters, then wander around and ask others if they had more of them hiding in their houses. And then after that, she had gone into the forest and looked to see if she could find other frogs. Nada had met her more or less right after that.

So yes, her day had been long, and it were finally starting to catch up to her. Were just a matter of time before it had to happen really, though that were okay. It had been a long day full of experiences, and she were already looking forward to the next one again.

"T-iiiired. Is big hunter friend tired? I tired."

Nada were bigger, so she likely had more energy. Yet at the same time, she'd also use more energy, and the shark mare had no idea how many things she had done today, so maybe she were indeed tired too. Maybe they could take a nap somewhere? She still had to find some sort of safe space to sleep, where she wouldn't be eaten. It were dangerous to try in the ocean without a safe space, and she didn't know too much about this forest yet.

She'd look around, gazing her eyes over the water, varied bushes, and into the deep underlayer of the forest beyond the trees, before looking up at Nada once more.

"S-aaaafe. Where is safe?"

She's tilt her head a little to the side as she said that, and hoping that her best and biggest friend could answer the question.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

If he had actually tried to leave, Crow would have made him turn back. They had a connection to the dryad, and it wasn't going to let him take off from that. no matter how annoying it were to deal with the draconequus, and her little spawn, that were currently fluttering around and examining the statue.

As for the tower he'd reach up into first, both Crow and Rose would fly ahead of him upwards, racing to see who'd get there first. It would turn out to be Crow, as he cheated, and nudged her to the side, causing her to fall into a potted plant. The plant itself were long dead, but there were still some dirt and withered greens to she could impact with, and cause a good array of dust to be pushed around the top of the pot, before her little fist rose from the middle, and shook upwards.

"Ooooh, cheater! Next time, I'm gonna cheat, and then we'll see who wins."

Scarecrow could likely feel the disappointment before he got to the top, proving that Lyriel were not there. Yet if he decided to push on and see what were instead, he'd find a display of silverware. Literally, they were made in pure silver, and clearly not from any sort of recent times. A bit odd how that hadn't been looted, even if it were halfway buried next to the nearly collapsed remnants of a pair of old couches. But if they went up there and found it, Rose would shriek at the sight, and fly further away.

"Nasty silver! Keep that stuff away from me."

If they just went downstairs again instead, and went on, then this whole thing weren't gonna impact things at all, and they could move on to check out some other area.

If he then checked the closet, he'd find that the armor wasn't an illusion, but would give off some bubble green sparks when touched. Usually this sort would mess with whoever touched it, but Anomaly had forgotten about the whole *undead* thing that were going on with Scarecrow, so it wouldn't do much more than tickling him, and give him maybe a faint interest in the armor, rather than a compulsion to wear it. A shame, but oh well. Everything couldn't go smoothly.

In the next room, there'd be two paths to pick, both of them going upwards. If he went with the staircase to the left, they'd end up in an extensive library. If they took the one on the right, a large dinning hall. Each of them would have a singular way upwards too, which would meet in the same large hallway, that would lead down to many a room. It were uncertain if there were any way further up, or if if this were the time to check the rooms, just to make sure they were here.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 10/24/2020 at 1:04 AM, EQ_Theta said:

“Rosa, I know this question is a little bit, umm… strange, but is it true ponies like to break out into song? Like, when one pony starts singing, music would play from nowhere and everyone else around them would sing? I heard a rumor about that and it seemed a little too outlandish to me.”

"Sadly, it is one of those stereotypes that are true. It doesn't affect everyone, and I personally, have never partaken, but there are the strange situations where equines suddenly partake in what I can only call an *impromptu musical*. I always assumed it were some sort of herd mentality thing, but you'd have to talk with shrinks about that sort of thing. Or at least go into some sort of book covering it. I tried reading through some of them, and all I really got out of it, were a headache, and the rough grasp that equines more than likely have a herd mentality of sorts. When they then see one wandering down the street and singing, they might then feel compelled to join in. And considering most ponies especially, are more playfully natured, and joy-craving than most other races, they are likely to follow this compulsion.

Most learns to simply tune it out, if they are not joining in. And even those who does, tends to merely go along with things afterwards. It is a weird, racial quirk.

As for the music... A lot of ponies enjoys making music, and you'll find that most times, there is in fact a source of the sound. Even if it comes out of a window. Though I am somewhat certain too, that at times, the music is conjured magically, or they merely imagine it. I've seen a few episodes where it is done fully a cappella.

This also marks a weakness though, that makes ponies even more attractive as prey for the sirens. They feed off of warring emotions, and they spread it via magical song. As ponies are more likely to listen in on music, and are used to being compelled to listen in, and follow the rhythm, they are easier to have fall for it. Equines are also the majority race on the planet, which makes them more abundant, along with the fact that we are generally highly emotional creatures. There is a reason why several emotion eaters, have equines as their primary prey. And both the changelings and sirens are more evolved in each their own way, to be natural predators to us, because of it.

I believe that when Cheshire eventually does a more well known performance, with songs that calls for a crowd, you will see it yourself. At least to some degree."

Equines... All of them having some advantage in some way, and they were certainly the most widely spread, and in some ways, they could be seen as the top race of the world, if you included all sub races of equines.

However, they were also prey, and it honestly wouldn't take too much for a dedicated front of their predators, to potentially cause an upheaval in the current natural order. He at least could see some ways it could happen, though it would require the other races to play well together. And that so far, were their saving grace. The sirens and changelings despised one another, and would never come together to share their prey. And as for the sphinx. and dragons... Both of them very prideful creatures, who considered themselves the top being in the world. Yet the dragons had adapted, and made deals with the quines to not cause all out war, as it were pointless to start a dragon pony war again. They both had better things to do, than to end up in this stalemate of constant warring once more.

The sphinx however, no one really knew why they stayed behind on this. They had stronger magic than ponies, with their elder council rivalling the magic of draconequui, yet they were seemingly content with ruling their main capitol, some surrounding towns, and accept payment from others, as a sort of protection deal. One which did have some benefit to the citizens of said towns too, as even if they had to pay the toll, they were safe from others. Sphinx did not take kindly to the towns in their possession, to be targeted by anything, and they were not shy of letting that be known.

Though they could spread wider and take over far more, if they wanted to. Yet it seemed only a few rogue individuals here and there, cared to. Most were seemingly content with how things were, and though they kept some ponies as slaves in their capitol, it were not as bad as it could get, were they to focus on domination. Why they showed restraint? No one really knew. Best guess anyone had right now, were that they were biding their time, to a point where their position, and way of life were threatened. Or they just didn't want to put in the effort. Felines were weird, even if you didn't just refer to your typical house cat.

"And regarding Cheshire's current performance, it were indeed rather good. I imagine that your standing invitation to join a show at her theater, would give you some good seats to fully enjoy the spectacle. They seem like performers, and good ones wants to make sure that the audience have something to remember. If at some point, she were allowed to tell stories of the outside to the younger longma, I can only assume that it will be done in great details, and in a way that would keep their attention. Though I imagine this would be far, far into the future.

Now then, we seem to be done consuming our meals and drinks for now. I say we start to move out there, and head towards the gaming area. I think we-"

Rosa grew silent and looked to the side, then shook his head.

"...Never mind, it were nothing. In any case, let's find a place with darts, and other games involving throwing things. I believe it will be an interesting experience, to see what you'll make of it."

He'd deposit things in the garbage can nearest them, and made sure to put the cups in the right one. They liked to recycle some of the wooden ones, so that were written on some of the cans. It didn't work fully of course, as some didn't care, and others didn't notice, but every little they didn't need to sort through later, were a little bit less work after the festival.

He'd try to lead them through to crowd to the right, and let the others decide on what they wanted to do first, soon as they got to the playing area. Would it be darts? Throwing knives? The classic ball throwing game? They'd see, very soon. Unless they wanted to go elsewhere for some reason, in which case he'd follow them. Might be something interesting.

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

13 hours ago, FanOfManyShows said:

"I will give you some warning future seer,  you won't be alive if we encounter again."

As Skall left, he kept the magic prepared, as there were a chance he would return. Yet Zhu would smile to himself.

39 were the dangers to her life that he had to avoid. 39 scenarios to derail, and have lesser evils take their place. Skall had been one of those, though he had originally foreseen this encounter to happen years past. At the time though, Skall had been otherwise occupied, and went another route, though the scenrio seemed possible to recreate the much the same anyway, as he were bound to return as a player in this game.

Thus after the great shadow of the future had been defeated, leaving him clarity again, he had seen that this would yet again happen, in the time that had previously been shrouded to him. It left him little time to prepare, but he had been ready years past. Now it were just a matter of doing what he could, to make sure that things processed as originally indented. And from what he had seen, it were going to. All the way to Skall's likely future. Or at least, the one whom he had wanted him to thread.

Hhmhm. It would be up to Skall's actions to decide how well he came out of this. As there were ruination, so too were there triumph and happiness for him. It all depended on himself now. Though the fact remained: He were one of the lesser evils that would face her, whom could now derail the true threat. Blessed be the short-sightedness of evil sometimes.

14 hours ago, FanOfManyShows said:

"If this belt proves useful for us, I may very well keep it and ditch the old goat."

"I think it is attuned to him, but if one could find a way to tear that power from his possession, I know it would be you. It might waste our time though."

The graveyard were currently abandoned, leaving it easy for them to break in, and do their deeds. Even though the destruction of the decoy mausoleum were bound to attract some ears eventually, due to the noise it made. Perhaps Skall should consider threading more carefully, and thus avoid additional eyes upon him, when he could simply deal with things with a modicum of stealth.

The trip inwards would be simple. There were the blockage, which gave little resistance as it were blasted away - though it did collapse the tunnel behind them, if it were not a clean cut through the debris - and soon, they would be in the inner halls, where Canterlot kept their guarded, magical items. Many things one could imagine, all gathered in a myriad of sealed up curse boxes, made for keeping the magic in, and outside magic from opening it. They were still metal though, so there were always the physical route.

They'd all have varied signs, indicating what they were, with the belt being kept in one at the back, behind a few other rows. They could have a look around to try and find something otherwise, as there might be some things of value - no elements though - but they needed to hurry. They had a time limit, before the guards would overwhelm this room, and detain Skall with methods specifically designed to handle magic threats. Might be best if he first rushed out and found what he came for.

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

14 hours ago, FanOfManyShows said:

She smiled at Emerald, before suddenly grabbing Sapphire and snapping her fingers, disappearing as a burst of bubbles,
even if the Raven would fly out it would meet the cloud of bubbles left behind

"NO!"

Astral stomped her foot down, cracking the ground and ran forward  to stand where Sapphire was before
She looked back to Emerald with a look of fury "You sure like messing things up don't you?"

"Be silent child. You think I do not understand the concept of betrayal, and would trust her to make a fair trade? No, but now she knows Sapphire have value to us, and she will use that to extort us, rather than outright kill her."

Impudent whelp thought one as young and inexperienced as her, were a threat to her? She had a vessel now, bearing the potential she needed to unleash her power. This meager filly, were no match for her, and she tired of her insolence.

Yet a small, cruel smile were still on her face as she talked, and she glared at her niece with a challenging ember, flaring within.

"I also made sure to put a track on the gem, in case your mother attempted to escape with it. Better if you all stay here, and let the adults handle this now."

With that, Emerald would suddenly turn bright green, and then crumble apart into a small pile of fake jade. A minor flair to her own teleportation, that she did not use often, as it took more energy. Yet she imagined the look of terror, as Chow would suddenly seemingly turn into gemstone, and fall apart, would be quite satisfactory. They could argue over that later though, but for now, she had an idiot to track down, in whatever hole she were hiding in. How lovely that she were so willing to lead Emerald right to her hideout, were it not?

The draconequus would barely have gotten to where she likely thought she got to, scotch free, before Emerald appeared about a meter behind her.

"Perhaps I did not make it clear enough. Give me Sapphire, NOW!"

Her voice reverberated, as a wall of bones erupted from the floor, and fenced the path in front of Rose, while the irate Emerald stood and glared at her. There were usually some bones dug down everywhere, from varied creatures dying through the ages, so this were a minor feat. Though if no bones were present, she could use rock or stone. Less dramatic, but it'd do.

"I don't care what your vendetta might be, nor what your goal is now. But I have not gotten through the bother of resurrecting this buffoon, just to have you take her away, before I have had a proper chance to yell at her. Leave her with me, and we can both go our separate ways. Ignore this again, and I will ensure your existence will be the very definition of pain."

She couldn't kill one of their kind, sadly, but she had no issue causing damages until it stopped being fun. And this one were annoying her enough, to make her imagine it being fun for a very long time.

That being said, she might be willing to parley, if that were Rose's want. Yet Emerald were not dealing with further insolence from her, on this matter. Sapphire belonged to her, and no circus reject would change that.

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Blitz Boom

Windy was very sad Razor's reputation really needs to be damaged but Sorrow's right, even if it does destroy his image, it could still have some positive consequences, like telling them about the secret organization the griffon joined.

Windy was about to say something, but she was interrupted by Sorrow pulling her into a hug, sending her hot peircing pain to her back, she let out a grunt and gritted her teeth. How much pain does she have to go through during the aftermath?

Then, came in is the doctor from earlier and.... Another doctor, this time a unicorn stallion. He had a brown coat, light blue eyes, the same color he had for mane and tail, Windy couldn'tt see his cutie mark, he also had an accesory: a with collor an array of small skulls embedded in red, he also had a bright red flower which sat on top of his mane, which reminds Windy of the rose she bought from Roseluck three months ago.

The doctor from earlier put her a large ice pack, which send cold sensation to her back, and slowly erasing the agony Windy had been feeling. She let out a satisfied moan and closed her eyes.

2 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Uncle Drowny?"

Windy's ears perked in curiosity, she opened her eyes to see Sorrow, starting at the other doctor, who seemed confused at first, then a smile appeared on his face as he and Sorrow walked closer to each other, as if they were going to take a good look of each other. Then, they hugged.

But she couldn't think its a hug because she heard a crunch, followed by Sorrow's pained sounds she made. It didn't really bother Windy that much, especially when she saw her friend's wing now fine. The nurse taking care of her spoke up and a conversation started.

The stallion's name seems to be Drowny Asphyxia, she only made a guess since Sorrow called him 'Uncle Drowny and Dr. Pin (she saw her nametag) calling him 'Dr. Asphyxia', Sorrow is his niece. She decided to pipe in, to get the stallion's attention.

“Okay, what's going on here?” she asked in a calm tone. 

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

“Stereotype? I thought it was just a rumor, but I didn’t think it was actually real. The singing and the music… there’s truth to that? Huh, and here I was planning to sing a short tune to see if it was true. Guess I won’t be doing that now.”

“And it attracts other creatures as well? Seems like when some ponies say Equestria isn’t quite the paradise every pony says it is, there is truth to that statement. Between this and Canterlot, I suppose I shouldn’t get my hopes up as much.”

Considering how often Equestria gets attacked in it history, not to mention the really busy 1000 years before Celestia established her monarchy, ponies were a prime target for everyone looking to conquer a large continent. It might explain why the Elements of Harmony were needed to keep the peace, and even then, those probably don’t factor in domestic threats. 

Should the longma find out about this, it could serve as an argument against meeting other creatures. If ponies were just about as vulnerable as themselves, it may be preferable to keep themselves away lest they pick up some habit that makes the longma a target for other creatures. Either that or knowledge of the longma’s existence could simply attract unwanted attention to themselves, the latter being already a more pressing concern for the Council of Elders.

The siblings took this moment to think about some serious matters when they would inevitably be summoned to explain themselves to the council. Even segregating their garbage was automatic as they just followed Rosa without asking any questions before moving along to the next game. The sight of those booths would be enough to draw the siblings’ attention back to everything happening around them, and they would see they could distract themselves with. 

“You’re right about these games involving throwing objects, Rosa. There’s a lot of them. How about we start with darts and see what comes next?”

“And while we’re at it, maybe we should get Shrimp back here. I think he’s getting bored of waiting and he should definitely see more of the carnival. Wouldn’t want him to miss out on the sights and sounds, right?”

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Windy Breeze

"Nnngh... T-This is my uncle."

Sorrow were still wincing, and not able to speak freely just yet, so the doctor would have to take over, to get it from further than that.

"Please don't try and talk until you're ready for it.

In any case, my name is Asphyxia. I'm her uncle on her father's side. And I'm sorry for the unprofessional display before. I haven't seen her in a while, and I didn't expect it to be her of all ponies, when Dr. Pin asked me to come set a dislocated wing.

As for the nickname... Well, Asphyxia is a hard word for a young foal, so Sorrow were told what the meaning of it were, and she clutched on to it from the aspect of drowning. It just kind of stuck afterwards"

"This were an unexpected turn of events, but it's good that your relative weren't in a worse condition then."

"I agree. And I think I know what happened in the other end of town now. If you're here, it must mean there were a ghost, yes? Have he or she been... Dealt with?"

"Ghosts? Surely you jest?"

"I've been very upfront about my families legacy, Dr. Pin. And when one of the mares of said family is found in an area so far from home, that is more often than not, the reason they are there. I am not terribly surprised though, in hindsight. The way the town were looking from the outside, it fits with a poltergeist."

"It's true. I didn't think it would be such a strong one though."

Sorrow would wince a little more, but she'd be ready to tell the story after that. From the looks of things, Dr. Pin were skeptical, whereas Asphyxia nodded along, as if he were considering the facts as factual. Though as it were over, Dr. Pin would still excuse herself, and leave the room.

"That was unexpected. I know she's not a believer, but... Ah, it matters not. I can still report this to the guards. Boy is this going to be quite the thing. As were your adventure it seems. You were lucky you made it out of this alive. It's a shame I can't say the same thing about Autumn and Razor though."

"Did you know them?"

"Not personally. I've been here for years now, but we weren't moving in the same circles. I heard good things about them though. To think this were the fate that befell them... I pity them both.

As for you two, I see Dr. Pin already prescribed you some pain relief medication, Miss. Breeze? I'm writing a weaker one down for you too Sorrow, just in case. Your wing is going to hurt for a few hours while it sets fully, so try not to use it in that time, and take the medication if needed. Also, for the love of the ancestors, go home. Speak with Tomb, and make her help you get some combat training. I weren't kidding when I said you got lucky. This could have ended far worse."

"I know..."

Sorrow looked away a little, as Asphyxia let out a sigh.

"Let's just be thankful it went well this time. Might I ask then, what you're going to do now? I can give this report to the guards myself, so you don't need to give this any further thought. With all due respect, I think they'd take my word on this more to heart. They don't know either of you after all. Even if you are a Wonderbolt, Miss Breeze."

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

 

@EQ_Theta

8 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“Stereotype? I thought it was just a rumor, but I didn’t think it was actually real. The singing and the music… there’s truth to that? Huh, and here I was planning to sing a short tune to see if it was true. Guess I won’t be doing that now.”

“And it attracts other creatures as well? Seems like when some ponies say Equestria isn’t quite the paradise every pony says it is, there is truth to that statement. Between this and Canterlot, I suppose I shouldn’t get my hopes up as much.”

"Equestria is a relative paradise. It is not however, a utopia. There are problems in this country, ranging from laws, some systemic issues with tradition, those who want to abolish the monarchy, monsters, and so forth. A utopia it is not, as it is not a harmonious, perfect country.

However, compared to many other places problems, Equestria are among the better there is to find, if you look at it objectively. The country does have a good system mostly, that for the most part, helps those fallen on tough times, and works diligently to reform and rehabilitate criminals, rather than continued incarceration, which tends to just lead to more trouble. It is also a resource rich country with strong magical leylines, highly fertile soil, and a strategic position to other important countries. It makes it an attractive goal for those who wishes to conquer, and as Equestrians are seen as singing, dancing farmers and non-combatants, a fair deal think it will be easy enough to do. As you can tell, they have so far been mistaken.

In fairness here though, if I were to mention what I would consider to objectively be the best country one could find, it would be Zebrica. The zebras have a strange, yet complex and robust network, a strong legal system, and have found peaceful ways to deal with what races remains in their country, rather than warring over territory. As a lot are aware that zebras have mysterious, hard to define powers too, and the country has a substantial advantage to those living there, due to their familiarity with the sometimes hard to traverse environment, and knowledge of what plants are dangerous, it is not seen as a good choice for potential invaders.

They are odd creatures though, zebras. Which is why I did not suggest that you made contact with them first, even though they too have a great respect for nature. I believed it might paint a bad first impression of outsiders to have their rhyming ways, and tendency to know things they shouldn't, be a starting point. That, and I would rather not the talk went into your shared laws regarding exile. It is a very rare thing for them to impose upon one of their kin, but it is known to happen at times, and I would rather that the longma potentially moved away from that for anyone but high criminals, rather than fall into discussions on what point would be best to do it. A topic that will happen eventually, but I would suggest to not have it, or the zebras, color the impression that the longma will have of ponies."

He'd point out in the crowd, to bring their attention to a zebra. A young mare from the looks of things, wearing only three rings around her neck and legs, with her mane braided with some sort of flowering vine. She also had a small satchel to her right, and a scabbard for a knife on the left. The knife had likely been confiscated until the carnival were over, for security reasons. Or she had willingly given it up, or even left it at home, to appear more agreeable to the local guards. He couldn't tell. Rose just wanted a visual representation.

"You shouldn't fear them though. They hold great knowledge, and their kind holds some of the foremost alchemists in the world. There may be something positive you could each learn from one another."

The mare either ignored them, or didn't pay attention, as she didn't turn towards them, but just kept on looking between the attractions. And there were a good deal to look at too, though for their group in particular, there were two things that would incorporate dart.

One were almost a classic board, though with a softer material for the board, as the darts themselves were made with no metal, but dulled, plastic ends instead. The stand didn't have the room for proper security measures, so this were what they were able to work with. On shelves next to the board, were a bevy of minor plushies. The sort that Rosa knew well were sold in bundles for very cheap, but quality control at least ensured it wasn't the sort of thing that'd just fall apart. It were just not high end stuff and were used a lot by these sorts of places as prizes. Even if someone got a lot of hits in, it would at worst make them come even, and this were mostly used by parents that wanted to try and win a small plushie, or dolly, for their foal. Most of those were not that good at it, so these sorts of things did well for themselves.

Another nearby, were a larger area, properly chained in, with thick boards walling up around several boards, each separated by at least a meter, and with another, though thinner bundle of wood, separating them. The whole stand were about ten meters in width, and were one of the largest one here, which were likely costly. But the sort of entertainment it could provide, were great for the right audience. Darts with the classic arrows were one of the options, but there were also throwing knives, blow darts, a line for using a large bow and arrow, and at the end, one with a crossbow, with equine friendly settings. Which meant a leg band with an alternative trigger, if need be.

The whole place had several signs posting that one had to be an adult to attempt these games, and several security rules too, that had to be followed strictly. The chipper looking, scrawny thestral that at random intervals would go between keeping the front occupied, and ready for new customers, and checking what happened in there, made it somewhat clear that it were kept under close guard. As were the fact that there were a guard there too. A young earth pony mare, wearing seemingly loose chains around her mid section and legs, who seemed to just keep a general eye on the place, and the ones around it. Couldn't risk someone trying to go out and throw darts at the audience or something, after all. One of the reasons why there were a see through, resilient barrier spell behind the entrances too, to ensure that the marked weaponry couldn't pass through. Though no system were perfect, so best to have one keep an eye on things.

"Seems like we have a few choices then. How lovely. Would you like for us to start with the more foal friendly darts game first, and potentially win a plushie, or shall we go straight to me trouncing you in the proper deal? Worry not, I can win a plushie to help afterwards, if it is."

He were mainly teasing Sen as he said this, for his own amusement. Playing up the *rivalry* a little more, though he'd be the first to admit, that smaller scale weaponry like this were his specialty. Sen's with a spear, were likely greater though, as that weren't the sort of stealthy, or easily concealed weapon that Rosa had much interaction with.

9 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“And while we’re at it, maybe we should get Shrimp back here. I think he’s getting bored of waiting and he should definitely see more of the carnival. Wouldn’t want him to miss out on the sights and sounds, right?”

"I will get him."

Omen took from this, mostly that she were supposed to pick up Shrimp, and went off to do so. She'd be back within a minute, with the refraction, napping on her head. Seemed like he weren't done resting yet, which were likely good too. In hindsight, having him wake up alone were not a good idea. It might make him fear he had been abandoned, and cause him to get quite sad.

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Blitz Boom

Windy would listen intently to the mare named Dr. Pin and Sorrow's uncle Dr. Asphyxia' conversation. She didn't seemed to mind the fact Sorrow gave him a nickname associated with death. Windy smiled when Dr. Pin showed concerns for Sorrow, when it comes to Sorrow and her 'misadventures?', her smile turned into a frown.

After telling about what happened at the former haunted part of the town, she would watched as Dr. Pin leaves the room in complete skepticism, she couldn't blame her, since not all creatures in the world believe in the supernatural, let alone her own friends especially Ire Heaven and Moonlight.

When Asphyxia turned to her about the pain relief medication Dr. Pin gave her, she nodded and let out a smile. Windy',a ears perked when she heard Asphyxia, telling Sorrow to go home to get some combat training from someone named Tomb. Windy cocked her head, was Sorrow's family have their names based on something associated with death and mourning? She hoped not.

2 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Let's just be thankful it went well this time. Might I ask then, what you're going to do now? I can give this report to the guards myself, so you don't need to give this any further thought. With all due respect, I think they'd take my word on this more to heart. They don't know either of you after all. Even if you are a Wonderbolt, Miss Breeze."

Aww', it seems her popularity also has limits “I understand, Dr. Asphyxia” Windy said politely, trying to hide the relief of not needing to write some autographs from 'bloodthirsty' fans from 'vampire' media 'community'.

Edited October 28, 2020 by Windy Breeze

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

"So that’s a zebra? I admit, the way you described them made it seem like they’re grander. I wouldn’t have guessed that a zebra looked like that. I’m kind of jealous now. The creatures we’ve met along our travels all have something that made them stand out. The Kitsune have their healers and the zebras have alchemy….” 

Lin pondered on the longma’s strengths and despite their reverence toward nature, it didn’t stand out against other creatures who could also claim the same. Then, there’s the whole rule of exile, which they share with the zebras, a surprise given how the two creatures were distant, yet had similarities. Though the siblings wished to continue down this subject, they took Rosa’s advice considering the whole reason they were at this part of the carnival. 

Once the thestral began to point out their options, accompanied by a little light teasing, Sen turned to Rosa with a smirk on his face.

“You know what? Let’s skip the pleasant trial and head straight to the competition! Don’t worry about the game being skewed in your favor, I’ll get the hang of it soon enough!”

"Save some action for me and Omen! Winning one of those plushies is gonna be fun!"

The longma gave his playful rebuttal, clearly anticipating the escalation with his friendly rival. The last time he felt such a thing was back when he was still a child. Sen played with the other village children often, and their simple games often ended up becoming more competitive than expected. He didn’t win all of them, but the exhilaration and thrill he got from those games were something of a distant memory. Not so much today as the upcoming game was starting to bring out his younger self again.

Meanwhile, Lin’s attention was brought to Omen bringing Shrimp back to the rest of the group. She’d initially give the refraction a warm welcome but seeing as he’s asleep at the moment, she held back from doing so. The longma hadn’t forgotten about wanting to visit Abacus later in the evening. Shrimp seemed to have taken a liking to him, and it wrong to leave without bidding a proper farewell. 

[Widdershins 9,959]

@Catpone Cerberus

 The bolder he had landed on did slowly slant and rumble towards the approach of catpony, though it didn't seem to be too drastic a shift. Perhaps he was lighter on his paws than your usual horse would have been. Whichever the case, it didn't seem like stable pawing to remain here for long.

 Cerberus would have to make a Dexterity saving throw.

Oh would you stop with the D&D references, ya nerd? Ignore this~~

The Golden Muffin bobbed in place where it stood a foot hovering above the surface of the teetering boldertop that was indeed shifting slowly closer to it. The idol shimmered as if its glow acknowledged the presence of its encroaching claimant, beckoning as it did so with a pulsating glint of magical gold.

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

@Sekel

 "I should hope so." Kaltrop retorted to Dawn Streak. "Dragons and ponies don't get along. I suppose we're rather hot-blooded. Not that I... quite get pony ways.

 I guess it's seen as a bit illegal to go about trying to intimidate ponies you find on the road and a few casual maimings. With dragons, it's concerning to not greet each other with threats, displays of strength and intimidation.    ...or belching contests. That, at least, I'll admit I was never any good at."

 "What, um, I mean... to say... is" The drakeling stammered, trying to find the words and perhaps alighting on an awkward turn of phrase. "...that I hope I'm a good match for you. That whole... uh, friendship thing you horses go on about."

 

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Windy Breeze

"That's good, though I'd like to know perhaps what you're doing here at least? You know poltergeists are too dangerous for you. What wouldn't Grim say if he knew you had been sent here?"

"I weren't sent, and I didn't think it was too bad. It just sounded like a lost soul, who had gotten a little towards being a poltergeist. I didn't think it was an entire city area taken over, and when I did, I were already there, and I felt sorry for her. I figured we'd just look, and see if it could be done. And then later when I knew we were in over our heads, we couldn't escape anymore. We had to try and confront her.

Windy and I were gonna take a ferry to somewhere at first, to help a town that might have a lot of spirits. Things just sort of... Derailed. I promise uncle, I would've sent word home instead, if I knew how bad it were. And you know grandma. Do you think she'd ever send me, if she heard about this?"

"*sigh* No, you're right. She would've sent Tomb, or Banshee instead. Or heaven's forbid, try and lure Mourners Puppet to join get here. Ancestors knows she's capable."

"Yeah, of creeping everypony out in a five mile radius, and be a general hazard to the entire area. I'm not sure there'd be any survivors coming out of that part of town, if she were involved. And I don't want to know what she'd do to the spirits..."

They both seemed nervous when the talk came up about that one again. A name which Windy would have heard Sorrow speak of before, when they were flying to Fillydelphia. She hadn't been overly enthusiastic and filled with joy back then either, and it seemed to be a more general feeling towards this pony, than just coming from her.

"Well, in any case, it is good you got through it. Both of you, that is. And if you must go and take care of things, I must at least insist that you get some rest first, and figure out if you feel ready tomorrow. I still have four hours of work left, but when it is-"

While talking, he'd scribble something down on a piece of paper, which he then gave to Sorrow.

"- please come to this address. You can share the guest room until tomorrow, and I can keep a more personal eye on you, in case your conditions worsen. I hope that won't be a problem? It just seems like you have had a long day, and are not in any condition to move out like this."

The question were mostly to Windy, as he knew that Sorrow were going to agree, and as such, he'd ask it whilst looking at her. It likely felt a little... Intrusive and weird, but he had only the best of intents with this.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

On 10/28/2020 at 3:52 PM, EQ_Theta said:

"So that’s a zebra? I admit, the way you described them made it seem like they’re grander. I wouldn’t have guessed that a zebra looked like that. I’m kind of jealous now. The creatures we’ve met along our travels all have something that made them stand out. The Kitsune have their healers and the zebras have alchemy….” 

"Every race have something special about them. Some are more subtle than others, yet all have their uses in their own way, and are usually related to their natural environment, How their species had to evolve, to function at their best. Thestrals for example, have evolved to have great night sight, and varied degrees of sonar.

From what I can gather thus far, I would say that the longma have certain properties that are well defined with you as well.  Though I need more time to say what they are for sure. You two on your own, does not show enough for me to get a general idea of your species as a whole. Though surely, you yourself have bitten notice in something special or unique about your kind? It might seem normal and minute, but ponder it, and see if you can't think of something, you have not seen others do yet. I can answer if it is wide spread then.

Just keep in mind, that it does not have to be flashy, like it is with the changelings and kitsune. It may be a little less obvious than that."

On 10/28/2020 at 3:52 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“You know what? Let’s skip the pleasant trial and head straight to the competition! Don’t worry about the game being skewed in your favor, I’ll get the hang of it soon enough!”

"Save some action for me and Omen! Winning one of those plushies is gonna be fun!"

"Very well then. Omen, might I please ask for some of the bits you had? You have my word, that one day when I am able, I will repay you my share of what have happened today."

Omen would cough out about thirty bits, all stacked along her tongue neatly, as Rosa started to collect them. A few onlookers gave them a few funny glances, but nothing new there. This were a rather weird thing to behold after all.

"It does not matter. I do not use them for anything."

"Maybe not now, but in time you might have something you wish to use some money on."

"I want to use them on my friends."

Oof, that one were harder to respond back to. At least in a way that she could follow him up on, as she did have a rather solid argument in the fact that it were her bits, and she were allowed to spend them as she saw fit. And currently, that want, were to spend them here at the festival, with those she cared about. It were rather sweet actually.

So he'd concede, and bow his head in defeat, whilst thanking her once more for the bits. Though he'd still endeavor to one day be able to repay her. It were a matter of honor.

"Let us go then Sen, and try the real weaponry first. We can finish on the game to try and earn some plushies at the end, and see how well things have gone until then. It seems the throwing knives are free now, so let us start there. Please try to not be demoralized. I am not well trained with a bow and arrow, so that could well be where you defeat me."

Approaching the stand, the one at the counter would turn around, and wander up to greet them, welcoming them to Fizzy Rodent and Rot Blossom's entertainment corner. After that - and him getting paid of course - he'd give them a standard rundown of the safety rules, have them sign a waiver, and then lead them towards the first attraction on their list. That being the throwing knives.

"Do you need some instructions on how to throw them properly?"

His voice were a little squeaky, but it were hard to judge him, with how happy and jovial he seemed. It were frankly almost infectious. Like a less intense version of Pinkie Pie, in a sense.

In response to his questions, Rosa would wander over, grab hold of one of the knives on the table, and give it a small throw up into the air. It made a swirl, before he grabbed it by the handle, and threw it right at the board, hung on the wall at the end. There were a target with varied colors in the circles, where the more points were given, the further in you got. Rosa would hit it in the middle.

"I'm sure I can explain it to him well enough."

"...Okay. Good luck."

He'd say this primarily to Sen, as he left them in the room, and went in next area, to see how the archery were going. The current hall were theirs for six minutes, before they could head on to the next one. They had gotten a good price for a full run of all five, so there were bits to spare afterwards.

"Give it a shot Sen. And don't try the swirl, or you might stab your hand by accident. I am a trained professional."

The throwing knives were rather light, and were made pure of metal. Sen might want to hold and juggle it a bit in his hand to get used to it, before giving it a go. He had six minutes to work with, so there were time.

On 10/28/2020 at 3:52 PM, EQ_Theta said:

Meanwhile, Lin’s attention was brought to Omen bringing Shrimp back to the rest of the group. She’d initially give the refraction a warm welcome but seeing as he’s asleep at the moment, she held back from doing so. The longma hadn’t forgotten about wanting to visit Abacus later in the evening. Shrimp seemed to have taken a liking to him, and it wrong to leave without bidding a proper farewell. 

Omen and Lin would stick outside then, waiting for them, and as they would be gone for upwards of thirty minutes, it might be worthwhile for them to try and do something themselves for a bit. Lin would have to take charge though. Omen were used to just staying and waiting for things, even for years on end. She wouldn't really get bored doing so, and could easily just stand still, and look.

"I wonder who will win."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
"I would like to claim that what you said is ridiculous, but I wouldn't have asked you if I knew what it is or isn't." Ruby stated "Besides, I'm not exactly feeling like myself in general, so anything is possible." "That's why asked you, you're more familiar with the whole emotions thing." she hadn't expected Leviathan to know the exact truth on what was going on with her, but she wanted the input of someone else to avoid her own pride blocking out some of the possibilities.

"Someone with my build and with a control over an element, if he has even half the intelligence as his sister,  he will become very dangerous." She agreed "I hope for the sake of the inferior creatures around here that our hatred of everyone else is less nature and more nurture." she grinned a bit "Who am I kidding, I would love to see the fear in their eyes." 

Charir started to run out of sparks to send out, mostly based on the fact that the electricity on his body was no longer visible, though he didn't give up even after he stopped succeeding, and he didn't seem really any more tired than he had been, at least not yet. 

--------------------------------------------------
"I'm not tired, but you tired, you rest." Nada said with a friendly smile "And safe..." she thought for a second "...this river should be safe, there's also lakes and puddles that should be safe." "I'm the biggest water-creature here that I have seen." on the ground there was plenty of creatures, but during her time in the forest Nada had yet met any creatures living in the water that she saw as any threat to a predator, except that frog thing she heard, but as far as she knew it was dealt with and since the sharkpony seemingly saw it as food, she didn't believe it was something to be considered reason for the river being unsafe for her even if it was still around.

--------------------------------
Since Scarecrow didn't believe it would be this easy, he didn't really feel disappointed, rather he was annoyed that he was right, and while he didn't need to go to the top to know this was the wrong place, he still did, since as far as he knew he could somehow end up somewhere that didn't logically make sense which would most likely be the right way.

He didn't really trust the silverware, it wasn't hard to tell that it was most likely something Anomaly had added there, but still he decided to take piece with him, if there wasn't any pots or such that would fulfill the mission of the game, he would take whatever was easiest to take and stuck it to his wings like he had done for everything else. This wasn't because of Rose's reaction, because while it was a plus if she wasn't acting, he just figured it could potentially be some use at some point.

If there wasn't any tricks involved with the silver that would change things a lot, he would go along his original plan.In which case he would make a make a mental note about possible attempt at mind control with the armor, not a big deal since it was hard to mind control someone without physical mind, but important detail none the less, and while there may have been slight effect, he pushed checking the armor more closely for later, which would never happen because it would be eventually replaced by the emptiness haunting his existence, the good thing about being consumed by dark nothingness was that any attempt to add something would eventually fail. 

He would take whichever door was closer, or the left if they were at exactly same location, and would after getting to the hallway guess they would have eventually both lead here, thus not bother to check the other way. From there he would go from room to room in a pattern that allowed him to remember where he had been already. 
--------------------------------------

@Widdershins

Natural 20
Cerberus would make his way towards the muffin and either wait a bit or rush at it depending on what seemed best for the situation "If this thing is going to let out a celebratory jingle when I touch it I just may hiss at it." "I wonder if it will trigger a sequence of unfortunate events like this thing falling off, maybe there will also be a round boulder that starts rolling after me." he would then grab it, or at least attempt to if he couldn't. 

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Blitz Boom

Grim? Yet another name. Windy free curious and wanted to ask Sorrow or her uncle why their names are a little too... dark. She would not judge them, especially since they are a family of mediums, not an average family

She also quickly remember Hoofshores, the town where her dead biological lo family lived. They were suppose to be in a ferry if it not for the incident, but she doesn't blame neither Sorrow, Autumn, and Razor, she knew saving someone from insanity is important. She listened Sorrow and her uncle's conversation.

Whoever Mourners Puppet is not the type of pony she want to meet, considering what Asphyxia said about the latter probably not leaving any survivors and what she would do with Autumn and Razor. She heard that name before when she and Sorrow were flying to Fillydelphia before the incident.

She watched as Asphyxia wrote down in a paper, which he gave to Sorrow, he then looked at her and gave a question. She replied.

“I understand your concerns, Doc. I have no problems with that” she said.

[Widdershins 9,959]

@Catpone Cerberus

 The idol called out to Cerberus, tugging at his reach, as if pleading for him to grab it like some corruptive magical item oft told of in tales, the call to superpowers and its correspondent responsibility or radiation posioning from getting too close to toxic waste. Really, not much different; magic is essentially radiation, vicea versa. All par for the course when pursuing magical items most don't fully understand. And why would you pursue things you understood? There's no mystery or romance in that adventure and most adventurers typically don't care about telling tales of slaying their checkbook bills.

A celebratory jingle did indeed play for Cerberus as he reached and acquired the Golden Muffin of MacMaguffin (or whatever I originally called it) without any hurdles presenting itself to him. Though perhaps said blare of trumpets was just inside his head at the relief of acquiring his aim. Nothing appeared to chase him, as he was out in the open, in scorchign badlands sun ontop a mountain spire. Not much could get him out here. Especially not a bolder dropping down on him while he already was on top of a bolder. That would be patently absurd and cruel, and not something this author would do to a character mostly at his over-creative whims and certainly not now that it was already brought up and expected.

Though, on top of the heat, the bolder was starting to tilt dangerously and it wouldn't be safe to stay here much longer!

[Rising Dusk 27,721]

@Blitz Boom

Magma needed more details from the officers, which was understandable.  Sometimes the O.M.I. could get ahead of themselves, being as busy as they are,  They always have the best intentions in mind for the public at large and the individual.  A large amount of the job though is problem solving and the three officers were up to the task.  "A barrier needn't be all encompassing.  They can be adaptive or shaped.  Say we wanted to keep the sidewalk safe from melting, the barrier could form around your hoofs. We can make a barrier in the shape of a kettle if need be," the cowboy pony chuckled and smiled at the idea.  Making a barrier into a more complex shape was a bit extreme for Starbright's abilities without aid from other officers in the making of the spell.  "We can focus the barrier on the areas of your body that need the most attention.  Also, it is only meant to be a temporary solution, offering you time to get somewhere safe or private until the eruption is offer," she tried to explain further.

At about this time Bash had finished mixing the contents in the beaker that had changed into metallic foil color.  Constantly changing colors depending on the angle you looked at it from.  Putting the beaker on the desk and taking off his hoof that kept the opening covered.  A splotch of the contents remained on his hoof that he idly licked clean.  Mostly in an effort to discerning if the mixture was complete by taste alone.  Rummaging through his bag against until he could produce a dried out flower.  A crystal steam topped with a pale blue flower in the shape of a snowflake.  A little oddity the stallion collected from his travels north of the Crystal Empire.  Snapping off the flower bit from the steam, the large stallion crushed it between his hoofs.  Grinding and adding pressure to the point his muscles bulged from the effort.  Mortar and pestle not needed with Bash around.  After a few moments he brushed the ground dust into the beaker which turned instantly pale blue like the flower.

Taking up the beaker, he tipped it enough for a single drop of the mixture to drip into the desk.  Upon landing, it formed into a perfect cube. "Gum," the large stallion presented in the most 'ta da' fashion a grunt could produce.  "Anti-eruption for upset stomachs," was the best comparison he could think of.  Bringing the chill of the artic regions should lower her core temperature several hundred degrees and sap pressure when episodes of eruption were on the way.  

 

Rising couldn't say this was the fine 'how do you do' he was expecting while on his R&R vacation.  The first thing the detective identified was the veil the mystery mare was wearing.  A familiar tapestry that was the soft almost wool like threads that made up a spell cast by Cork.  He couldn't see past the veil of course, only that one was wrapped around her.  The mare moving in to sniff at him so quickly and as a first instinct gave clues she had a degree of magic sense like himself.  She started dropping names he knew in the form of Twisted and two primordial gods, giving away any secret she was from Harrowmark.  There were a few guesses he could think of that might fit the description of the other creatures Omen was smelling.  Ranging from Minty, to Dawn, to Lily, Thistle or any of the ponies at the banquette.  Let alone the gods themselves, one of them having tainted a wisp of his and was in his dreams not moments ago. Floating another spoon full of his cereal to his mouth for another bite, he figured based on her body language, rapid speaking and heightened heart beat, these reactions were going to take a minute.

"Detective Rising Dusk, a pleasure.  Nice dress," he introduced himself when she asked what he was.  He looked to the other two officers.  "We found her at a boutique.  She came from Harrowmark via a mirror," Gold Mane explained briefly.  "She became very distressed when she smelled magic still lingering in the city from that dark wizard Twisted Gears.  There was concern you may have been harmed at a level none of us would be able to detect that she can," although it appears Omen had concluded that wasn't the case.  Her fears appearing to have shifted from fear of corruption to fear of a pony that could do what everypony in Harrowmark thought impossible.  "Couldn't just wait for my report, hm?" the detective jested, but neither of the officers feinted being embarrassed, they weren't going to say no.  "Just lucky Miss.  Right place at the right time with the right skill set," he addressed the mare from Harrowmark.  They were just popping up everywhere now.  His dream left him in a good enough mood though, "Come on in.  I'll answer some questions you may have," he invited the trio into his modest apartment. 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

Sen’s attention was drawn to many things going on at the moment, but having a knife in his claw was an unexpected feeling. A blade like this wouldn’t be necessary to a longma as their claws were enough to slice things with little difficulty. For a game to rely on throwing a cutting tool, the mechanics would probably need the pointed end to pierce something instead. Sensible, but strange nonetheless. 

He’d play around with the knife’s weight, astounded by how light it was but no way was he convinced that something like this could fly a fair distance. From what little he knew of knives, these things should be heavier, and that getting them to travel in the air was a feat in itself. A weighted edge would be pulled to the ground by gravity, and that meant the odds of landing on a target with the pointed end would be tougher than expected. 

Sen took this opportunity to test how this knife-throwing game worked, opting to throw his knife at the board. Unfortunately, the knife fell to the ground just short of the board.

“That was sad first attempt. Maybe I should try aiming higher and throwing harder?” 

Meanwhile, Lin’s thoughts turned to alleviating the boredom if she were going with how long Sen and Rosa were still taking turns at one-upping each other, if that was what they were up to in the first place. Without seeing much and only waiting, the longma would take this moment to see a little more of the carnival. Omen’s question would bring her attention back to the present for a moment.

“I’d say Rosa has a good chance of winning. He said it himself, he’s a professional and he has the experience to back up his skill. Sen would need to exert more effort if he wants to win.”

“Seeing as we are probably going to have to wait a while for them to finish, how about we walk around the carnival grounds for a while? I’d like to find a trinket that will remind me of this place in the future, maybe something from Weeping Mary, the little filly with the mourning veil Banshee told us about. While we’re at it, maybe you’d like to get something for yourself as well.”

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Rising Dusk

17 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

"We can focus the barrier on the areas of your body that need the most attention.  Also, it is only meant to be a temporary solution, offering you time to get somewhere safe or private until the eruption is offer," 

"Ah, so less of a blockage, and more like a suppressant? That could well work, yes."

It were a relief to hear that this were their plan, as the alternative were rather dangerous. using the tea kettle analogy from before, this were less blocking the steam in then, and more just giving it a few seconds more before you pulled it off the stove. A mostly harmless endeavor, that just left a little more preparation time to work with. That she could agree with, as being a rather elegant solution to the problem at hoof.

Her attention however, were more brought to Bash's work again, Especially as the dried up flower came into view. She might not have known the pale one he were working on before, but she sure knew this one. An oddity from the Crystal Empire, that had been used in the alchemy labs a few times now and again. Though Bash didn't seem to be using it for what she did t he last time. Though in fairness, she didn't grind it as much as melt it, and that tended to lead to other properties in several strange fauna. In hear case, working as a great part in some homemade, highly resilient beakers. It were time consuming to make, but cheaper than having to replace old ones that were getting worn out all the time. Also, since it were mainly too much heat damage that made their old beakers eventually obsolete, mixing in this tended to help maintain that somehow. Properties he seemed to make usage of too, but in more concentrated form than they had, and going at it from a slightly different angle.

18 hours ago, Rising Dusk said:

Taking up the beaker, he tipped it enough for a single drop of the mixture to drip into the desk.  Upon landing, it formed into a perfect cube. "Gum," the large stallion presented in the most 'ta da' fashion a grunt could produce.  "Anti-eruption for upset stomachs," was the best comparison he could think of.  Bringing the chill of the artic regions should lower her core temperature several hundred degrees and sap pressure when episodes of eruption were on the way.  

"Fascinating... So this will supres a potential eruption scenario then?"

She'd pick up the cube, and feel it in her hoof, to better examine it.

"Hmmm... A great idea in theory, but every theory must eventually be fact checked. Might I suggest potentially finding a secure area, and test if it works as intended? I am not saying I do not trust your work. Mr. Bash, but it is thus far, a theoretical solution. Some evidence would have to be presented before we can say for sure, if this functions as intended."

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@Rising Dusk

Grave didn't move for a bit after she were done examining him. She just stood there, blinking in complete disbelief. This pony? This singular pony, had been able to defeat Twisted? She didn't want to believe it, but the smells agreed with him. Especially due to the touch of a second god, and not just a lingering touch of Suusha. Perhaps... Perhaps this were how he had won? Viz'nay were weakened, but maybe she had been able to bolster him enough to create a more fair field, which Twisted had then lost? It were the only thing that made sense.

"How.. How did you win? And is he dead? Please say you didn't imprison him. I know it's harsh, but it's not enough with someone like him. He have the time to wait and then escape. And if he did, his wrath would be great."

She'd cautiously move in, and keeping her senses on high alert, in case there would suddenly be some sort of magical spike that would be cause for alarm. Nothing yet, but she were Harrowish. Some degree of paranoia would linger with her, and this were her treshold, even if she were more laid back than most she had met.

"Did Viz'nay help you? Is that how you could resist his dark magic?

You're not gonna use her power to force me back there either, right? I'll run away right now if that is. Twisted or not Twisted, I'm not going back to that dark place, which smells of rot and malice. Not after seeing wherever this is, and all the happy faces everywhere."

Grave were weary, and a little scared of the prospect actually. If Rising could defeat the tyrant, what couldn't be do to her, if she wanted it to happen or not? She might suddenly find herself teleported back to the abandoned ghost town, and chained there. Which after seeing the splendor of this town, would be torture. It were leagues better than anything she had ever known, and having to go back to the darkness, and smells of Harrowmark... She didn't know if she could handle it.

It were easier for most others back home. They couldn't sense what she could, so it didn't affect them as much. But her? She had been brought into the light, and finally left the fetid stench that permeated her nostrils behind. Knowing this better alternative, her senses wouldn't be able to tune it out as effectively anymore. Not if she had to accept that she'd never escape it again.

"Wait... The ones I stumbled upon, were it you that they were tracking? There were a ghost mare, a diamond dog, and several living ponies. Though one of them were sleeping, with some sort seal on her. I only made it here because they had to make connection to something in this town, after talking about some sort of link growing unstable."

The thought had entered her mind, and made some degree of sense too. Why not track him, if he were such a big shot after all? They were not servants of Twisted. They would have announced so, and brazenly tried to harvest her. So why were they potentially tracking this specific pony? Whatever the reason, she sorta owed him then, for getting her out of there? Urgh, this were all so confusing...

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@EQ_Theta

17 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“That was sad first attempt. Maybe I should try aiming higher and throwing harder?”

"When it comes to light knives, throwing harder won't make a difference by itself, as much as technique. Much like with a proper throw, the trick is in the wrist, or ankle. Here, watch closely."

Rosa would pick up a knife again, though this time, without adding flair to it. He'd just hold it on the dull end, then show a movement of his ankle towards to board. He could make analogies to throwing a frisbee, but Sen likely didn't know what that were, nor tennis. Both good examples, but maybe seeing it in person would still help some.

After showing this movement for a while, he'd face the board, then amp up the speed of this. throwing hard, whilst also making sure that it weren't a throw in and by itself that sent the knife flying, but rather the flick of his wrist. As these weren't spinning knives, he wouldn't have to worry about them flipping in the air, but rather just make sure they flew straight forward. The wrist or ankle flip, would give it that small bit of both strength and control needed, to get it the last way there.

"The trick is the flick. Master that, and you have a good advantage when it comes to thins such as this. Now come on, try again. I have faith in your ability to hit the board this time, Sen."

And he'd mean it too. No sarcasm or anything like it. Just encouraging words, and moving to the side and behind him to observe. Heh, he felt almost like a teacher right now. Or one of his old instructors, which were essentially the same thing, though they disliked you using that term for some reason.

18 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“I’d say Rosa has a good chance of winning. He said it himself, he’s a professional and he has the experience to back up his skill. Sen would need to exert more effort if he wants to win.”

“Seeing as we are probably going to have to wait a while for them to finish, how about we walk around the carnival grounds for a while? I’d like to find a trinket that will remind me of this place in the future, maybe something from Weeping Mary, the little filly with the mourning veil Banshee told us about. While we’re at it, maybe you’d like to get something for yourself as well.”

"Okay, we can look."

Omen weren't sure what sort of trinket might be needed to remember things by, but she would follow, and see if there were something. Even if not, Lin wanted something, and there were important too. She might even learn something from seeing what it were that Lin wanted to get from this place. Or find something odd i this place in general. A lot of beings here, and many things on display. It were likely she'd find something strange to glance at.

They wouldn't have to look too long around to find Mary. The filly had a small stand, that were not as large as many of the other stands that sold souvenirs, but her stand were a good deal more eye catching, compared to theirs.

The stand were made of dark wood, with replica tombstones standing in front, with varied prices of things chiseled into it. On the shelves were others had cute bears, or replicas of breezies, she had things such as voodoo dolls, looking down on beings with their sewn eyes, in a way that made them almost seem alive. The wide smile on their stitched faces were also a little unnerving for those with a weak stomach, but so were several other things. Such as miniature tombstones, with the possibility to have it engraved with a message, and scarecrow replicas of the olden kind. The sort stitched together with animal bones, hay, and old clothes, to make it as creepy as possible.

There were also jewelry made partially of bone - including necklaces - hex bags filled with glittering sneezing dust, A miniature gallows, made in the same dark wood as her stand, and keychains with small scythes, among other things. A rather morose showing, but it certainly stood out, just like the filly in front of it did, who just now had sold a voodoo doll to a pair of giddy foals. If Lin looked at the rough linen sack doll, slung on the back of the oldest of the two, she might be able to almost swear that the doll smiled directly at her, with the light reflecting in the button eyes.

She'd notice the two of them as they got closer, and would nod at them. It were hard to see much of any feature, beneath the veil, but she seemed to be carrying a rosary with shrunken skulls around her right, front hoof. And what were seen of the face, through the veil, were mostly just a small smile, and a pair of pale green eyes. It really blocked most from seeing her, whilst she had a great deal easier of a time, seeing others. Most they got to glance at, were her horn, which weren't realy saying much.

"Don't be afraid. Everything is harmless."

Her voice were calm, yet kind, and carried no malice. Though due to everything about her, and her stand, it would likely still come off as somewhat creepy.

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@Windy Breeze

As there seemed to be no issues, the doctor would give them his best, and be on his way. Apparently, there were a pony with a strained eye, and some rather extensive cuts he had to handle now. A busy day this were going to be for sure, but they should be able to get everypony the help they needed, and hopefully not have any further casualties from that part of town.

"Well, that were a surprise, but I think it's good we ran into Uncle Drowny. It gives us a night to get some energy before we head off to the town your family were in, and in case your heart, back, or ear gets worse, he's a doctor, so he can help you.

I promise, I didn't plan any of this either. I haven't seen him in years now. He doesn't deal with death, as much as he does life, and as a doctor he's usually busy. That's what my dad said anyway. And it sure looks like a busy place, so no wonder he missed some of the holidays. Usually some of us do regardless. Kinda hard to wander like a lot of us do, or work, and have free for this every year. Dad does though. His boss actively orders him to go and attend things. Sometimes he comes along too, and he's pretty open-minded, so nopony really dislikes him that much.

Anyway, I guess I'm rambling. What should we do now? I'm thinking once you're feeling ready, we get up, get your medication, and then have a looksie around town. We have four hours, so that's enough time to look a bit. We should probably take it nice and slow though. And don't try to tough it out, if you feel really bad, okay Windy? I don't want you to get more hurt than you already are."

Sorrow were concerned, but if Windy said she were fine eventually, she'd trust that, and just try and do her best to keep an eye on her friend. There had been plenty enough death here for a day, in her opinion, without Windy joining in on that particular *party*.

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@Catpone Cerberus

On 10/30/2020 at 11:17 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"I would like to claim that what you said is ridiculous, but I wouldn't have asked you if I knew what it is or isn't." Ruby stated "Besides, I'm not exactly feeling like myself in general, so anything is possible." "That's why asked you, you're more familiar with the whole emotions thing."

"Let's give it time. I'm sure there's going to be more clues that will pop up eventually, and really, if there is something we have in abundance, it is time."

Several millennia potentially, with the chance of eventually ending up as elder dragons. A title which called for ten thousand years to your name, which were why there were so few, as the big war that claimed most of the really old ones had ended less than six thousand years ago. But time were passing, and in time, it were something more could claim to be, such as them. if they survived that long of course. They might have the natural life expectancy, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't get killed before that. A long life, meant more chances at that happening after all.

On 10/30/2020 at 11:17 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Someone with my build and with a control over an element, if he has even half the intelligence as his sister,  he will become very dangerous." She agreed "I hope for the sake of the inferior creatures around here that our hatred of everyone else is less nature and more nurture." she grinned a bit "Who am I kidding, I would love to see the fear in their eyes." 

"I will not encourage hatred for Charir. He'd do better if he weren't controlled by such a thing.

That being said, I do agree there's something magical in seeing someone you don't like, stare up at you in fear for their lives. Maybe it's less a matter of teaching him hatred, than just to encourage him to listen to his natural, draconic pride, and need of dominance? I'd like to think that around those who treats him with respect, he'd be kind and fair, and to others... Not so much."

What? Even if she were an emotional soul, who were kinder than the stereotype for their kind, she were still a dragon. She too had their natural pride and need for dominance to tackle, and had found that there were a harmony one could strike. A point where you stopped being respectful, or kind to others, and let them feel the fruits of their labor. The labor in this analogy, being whatever they did to get on the dragons bad side. For Charir, likely comments about his size from other dragons. She had to listen to her fair share of those too, and could relate with it being an annoying thing to hear. It were up to them to teach him how to best know how to deal with such comments though.

"Considering his magic, I know a few tricks he could use, that'd do well in making a point clear, without causing too much harm. Just have to teach him that, after he grasps how to harness it properly.

And speaking of which, it seems as if the tank is empty. Could you please tell him that magic isn't endless, and that he probably ran out for now? He should be feeling a strange sort of exhaustion from it. Not a physical one, but as if there's something in his being, that just feels spent. It's hard to explain, since it varies from being to being, since the magical depot isn't in the same place, and it affects others in several ways. The best I can compare it too, really is some sort of tiredness, that isn't physical. He'll probably have to find out his own telltale sign as time goes on, and he explores it more."

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@Catpone Cerberus

The shark mare would look around at the calm lake they were in. There were an abundance of fish, not a whole lot of wildlife either, and Nada said it were safe. This seemed like as good a place as any then, to call home.

She'd lift up from the water and flutter around a little to see things from other angles too. Eventually, she'd find that there were a small amount of critters here, but nothing dangerous. In fact, they seemed to scurry off when she got nearer, as their timid nature tended to make them do.

She'd return to Nada soon enough, and staying flying near her. The odd wings of the mare vibrated quickly in the air like a hummingbirds, as she looked at her big friend, with a pleased smile plastered over her face.

"H-oooome. Home is safe. Thank you big friend."

She'd boop her snoot against Nada, with a closed eye smile. Such a nice friend she had, who'd show her so many things, and then find a safe home for her. She'd have to do something nice for her someday. Maybe catch a monster again, and give it to her? Special prey, for a special friend. That would make for a nice gift, surely.

Though for now, she needed some rest, so she'd dive under, and curl up at the bottom of the lake. It were time to dream, and gather energy for her next big adventure in this strange, inland world. So far, she thought it were heavenly.

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@Catpone Cerberus

Scarecrow would find that as he picked the silver fork, Rose would start to fly further away from him, to avoid being in reach. Silver spelled nothing bud bad times for her, and she did not want to be close enough to be stabbed by it, from someone who clearly did not like her. it just made it more likely that he'd try.

. Somewhere further up in the castle, Anomaly frowned a little, as she noted that the armor hadn't worked. Sure it weren't much of a trap, but it had felt fun, and she hoped to see something. Not the ability to wholescale ignore it. Meh, guess they'd have an easier time then, but she were nearly done having fun here anyway. They still had enough way to get to the room they were in, for her to finish what she had started with Lyriel, after taking her away.

As for the rooms Scarecrow would check, they would in order be a couple of guests rooms, which had seen better days, but were still looking surprisingly usable, all things considered. Probably too dirty and threadbare though, to where someone attempting to use them, might just go right through. There were some interesting things hidden in a box under one bed though, but as there were no one in there, and he were looking for Anomaly and Lyriel, Scarecrow would likely just keep moving on.

Rosa would have a gander though, to see how ponies lived in fancy places like this. Seemed like some really impressive bedding this one. Maybe she could ask her mom about having one of them shrunk down, fixed, and then taken home with them? It'd be kinda cool to have a practical souvenir like this. No need for her not to get something, right? She had been a good girl on this trip so far. Hadn't even pulverized anything that wasn't supposed to, all day.

As for the third room, it would be an office of sorts, with cob-webbed chairs standing around a dusty old table. Likely where their personal guard had been stationed once upon a time, before the fallout that had threatened to collapse the monarchy, and forced Celestia to exile her sister. A sad day for them all, and one who had tested the Night and Solar guards too, in their own ways.

The fourth door, would be a small room, that went right to another spiral staircase, that'd lead to the next floor. Once upon a time, guards had stood here, to keep the path safe for the princesses. Now though? The only thing blocking their way, were a bundle of stones, that Rose quickly took care of. There'd also be a rather nasty looking rat who had been under the rocks, that would glare up towards them, barring his teeth. Rose would swoop down, and make him her snack.

As for the next floor, there were three rooms. One on the left had a moon symbol above the door, one on the right had a sun symbol, and the final one, had a flower symbol. They'd see what he'd end up picking, then find if what they sought, were there. They couldn't get farther up now, so their target had to be in one of these rooms.

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

Lin’s attention was drawn to the rather spooky display and the mare at the booth. Now that she’s gotten a bit of a background from both Tomb and Banshee, seeing Weeping Mary here didn’t seem to odd. The things on display, and were likely on sale, were still unnerving. Still, the longma approached as the filly’s calm tone despite her odd appearance. 

“Weeping Mary? This is… well, it’s quite a display you’ve got here. Very spooky. I hope you don’t mind me asking but, um… what’s the most popular thing visitors buy from you?”

From what Lin could see from the booth, the items on offer were on the more… macabre side. Not that it was wrong, but the whole theme and the dolls looking rather creepy was definitely a strange choice. Even if the spiel on being able to see and communicate with spirits was a thing, it was different to embrace the theme and run with it. Or perhaps that was the point, especially when trying to attract customers. The longma would examine the necklaces and other jewelry she saw; the one that looked like it was made of bone was a curious piece but it piqued her interest.

Meanwhile, Sen would observe Rosa and listen to his explanation. After seeing the demonstration, he picked up the knife and tried again. This time, he’d try this flicking motion, tossing the knife forward though it still didn’t quite fly right. Instead of the blade landing on the board, the handle ended up bouncing off the target. The longma would try again once more without flicking too much that it would cause the knife to spin in flight. 

The look on Sen’s eyes widened as he found success… sort of. It hit the board with the blade lodged in it, but it may not be quite where he was aiming. Though Sen was targeting the middle, the knife made its way to the bottom of the board. He was somewhat satisfied at managing to hit something, which is better than missing again but even that sentiment seemed rather questionable. 

“Uh… third time’s the charm? It hit the board this time but that’s not quite where I was aiming. Does that normally happen or is the goal to throw the knife as straight as possible?”