open [RP] The Blackwater Quarry

[Randimaxis 8,652]

@Blitz Boom

"Ooooh, That Jasper. That's uhm... Vauw, this is awkward then."

Cragg turned to face her and gave a slight, perfunctory little bow.

"Indeed, that is who I am... though it surprises me that anyone here would even remember it.  Far as it is that Luther has tried to completely forget me, I know HE recalls me, but I'm certain he's done everything within his power to have me excised from any and all records here."

"As if I would EVER forget!"

Cragg shrugged.  "Well, some memories are longer than others, I suppose."

 

"It kinda sounds like I'd get in trouble if I showed you my potion book, but it's mostly just *Zethana's Mixology & Oddities* with a few recipes from my dad. The book's a ton of help if you'd wanna learn and can find it. Sort of like a *for dummies* the first forty pages or so."

Khosan brought his heavy gaze to bear on Ziggy... but there was mo malice in it.  He gave a slow, definitive nod at her words, his attention obviously on her as he gave his silent reply.  To others, that stare would have perhaps seemed rather creepy or intimidating, but there was an understanding there that anyone with kindness in their heart could tell was careful, perhaps regal,  acknowledgement.

Maybe Khosan wasn't really bad... just stoic?

 

"Thank you for helping getting the patient here. It really helped save his life."

To this, the tall, muscular zebra actually gave a small smile, and another kind nod.

 

"...Thank you for the help, but please don't be mean to Silver. She's better happy and full of energy and smarts."

Cragg looked over towards Silver, fuming at him still, and sighed with a smirk.

"On that, dear madam, I shall agree with you 100%.  Miss Studs is far more effective when she's happy, as she always tends to be... well, at least she used to be, where I was concerned-"

"And THOSE days are OVER!  You need to LEAVE, Cragg!  RIGHT.  BUCKING.  NOW."

Jasper turned to Ziggy.  "I appreciate your gratitude, madam; I'm glad to have helped.  We may be seen as nogoodniks, but we aren't as heartless as others would have us seen."

"GO!"

"Good to see you too, Silver."

"GET THE BUCK OUT!!!"

Saying nothing, yet giving Ziggy and the other stallion a long, sweeping bow, Jasper Cragg and Khosan turned and headed to the gates.  Neither one seemed as if they were any bit upset at being told to leave, and Cragg seemed to be speaking to his zebra companion quietly as they reached the front.

Silver stomped a single hoof, then began pacing energetically, all the while muttering to herself in a rather angry tone.  This was very UNlike the Silver Studs that Ziggy had come to know.

 

@Widdershins

Wordlessly, the burly-built buck trundles his way up the slow ascent of the hillside to the emerald mine where his fuming superior awaits him with shortening patience; still carting behind him the personal, hoofmade, heavy-built wagon that he still remains hitched up to.

Reaching the mouth of the mine, Clod could see there was activity all around, yet not so active as to be bustling; most of the workers were currently underground, so there was only light activity.  Still, the entire place had a feeling of busy-ness about it... something that made one feel as if there was work to be done, and it was to be done to the best of one's ability.

Absent-mindedly looking over the gear that was still available, Redd didn't even turn around as Clod reached where he was.

"Alright, then... though I highly doubt anything could get through your thick skull, you'll be wearing a helmet and goggles - as per safety rules - and you'll wear this vest, so you can be seen clearly by our batpony scout.  You'll be given the option to either kick or pick, but either one is-"

At this point, even though he'd seemingly settled into a more of an instructor's patter, his voice shot high and incredulous as he turned to look at Clod at last.

"WHY are you still hooked to that ridiculous cart!?  If you're here to work, then what are you doing with-"

"Heyyyyyyyy, Redd ol' buddy!  What're you up to here?"

From off to the side, a purple stallion with a jester's cap for a cutie mark came strolling up to the two of them, and gave Clod a once-over glance.  He was all smiles, and the effect it had on Redd was immediate; the red pony narrowed his eyes and glared at the newcomer.

"Knee Slapper - and what exactly do YOU want?"

Slapper gave Clod a conspiratorial wink, then turned to address Redd directly.  "Well, I don't think I've ever met this one before... care to let me in on what you're up to?"

"I am TRYING to get this new worker situated, so he can start-"

"Knee Slapper, forepony for the Blackwater Quarry - pleased to meet ya!"

Knee stepped past Redd (who seemed to fume as he did so) and held out a hoof to Clod, smiling broadly.  

 

@Hazard Time

"So...what do we do first, or should we wait?"

"Mother keeps a photo album in her nightstand; we'd only have to slip into my parents' room and snag it, then find a way to get it to Mother and Miss Carnelian.  Mother would be taking care of breakfast about now, so maybe the parlour table?  Or maybe there's a way to get it into Miss Carnelian's hooves directly you'd know of?"

Dax looked optimistic, and his energy could be quite infectuous; even with a brother like Oglevy, Dax seemed to be the very essence of exuberance.

"If we can combine the album with maybe bringing one of his little sailor suits - he LOATHES those - to Mother, she'll have him done up and will parade him around for Miss Carnelian all day long!  It'd give us ample time to hang out without having to worry about his shenanigans.  Are you in?"

 

 

"Oglevy, however...I admit I do not know much about him, though he piqued my interest at supper last night.  Could you tell me more about the youngest Blackwater?"

Vylia's smile grew wide, and she took on a look of smug pride as she spoke of him.

"Well, dearie - what isn't wonderful about my little raincloud?  He began speaking full sentences while he was still a very young foal, and took to flying faster than even I did!  He's has the distinction of being measured by personal instructors as being - and I quote - a 'GENIUS level intellect'!  At his age, he is already only two classes away from being eligible for college - though I assure you, he'll continue his homeschooling here - and he has such a knack for learning that it's downright frightening!"

There was a look on her muzzle that gave away far more than she would have known she was giving; Vylia honestly adored her 'little raincloud' quite a bit.

"Experts have said that he has the potential to become one of the greatest child prodigies in the past century - the equivalent of, say, Princess Twilight Sparkle herself!  Couple that with his logical nature and his charm, and of course the family good looks... well, I daresay that, in the right environment, Oglevy would become quite the socialite.  And, of course, he would be savvy enough to utilize that mind of his to make certain to take full advantage of whatever information he might glean while he mingles."

"Though he terrifies me at times, he's as powerful a flyer as I am, myself.  In fact, he can keep up with me fairly easy - even at his size - but, admittedly dearie, I haven't raced him since he was much smaller... I wonder if he might have enough speed on me now to..."

She blinked and turned her eyes on Carnelian... then had the decency to blush a bit.

"Oh, I apologize dearie - I don't mean to exclude you by speaking of flying, it just comes naturally to pegasi to race each other in air... ingrained competitive nature, I suppose.  But honestly, Oglevy is quite the little competitor - you should see him race the eagles around the quarry!"

Her little laugh was genuine and light; she seemed not to have a care in the world as she spoke, and it lent a beauty to her that dignitaries and debutantes tended to overlook in their bids to impress everyone else.  Even with all her issues, it was apparent that Vylia had a good life... and was, at least basically, happy.

 

 

 By the time they had gotten a hold of themselves, their screams once more pierced the thin walls of the carriage as it fell over the edge, picking up speed as it rode down the slope, heading straight for the quarry at an ever faster speed.  All that could be done was to brace for the coming impact.

 

The gates still standing wide open, the carriage rolled directly for them and barrelled through the opening like a bat out of Tartarus.

Luckily enough, there was nopony in the way as it careened through the quarry yard, zipping past a very surprised Jasper Cragg and Khosan, shooting by Ziggy and Silver, and rolling by the mine close enough for Clod to see.  The screams from inside were loud enough to echo through the yard, and it caught the attention of everypony else there.

This was a good thing, as the carriage was headed straight for Shed Row... and, by its' current trajectory, it was aimed directly for the space between shed # 12 and the Blackwater Vault.

Which was nothing but a cliff that led to open air... and a drop that was so high that there were clouds below it.

 

 

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@Randimaxis

So, a few things she could learn from these two quickly, that was for sure.

Khosan first off actually seemed like a nice stallion. A really quiet one, but his boss spoke a lot, so perhaps he was just used to not talk around others? Could be he was shy too, or that he had been hired both because he looked buff enough to protect Jasper, and because he didn't like to talk much. She had met ponies like that, even though she didn't really understand them. It was hard to express yourself without words unless you were a really good mime, and this stallion didn't seem the type.

Now Jasper on the other hoof, pheeew, there was a pony who really should learn when to not talk.

Ziggy didn't like to judge others too harshly, or see them as bad right off the bat, but everything he did seemed to specifically be for riling up Silver. Poking to bad memories, flaunting that this place was bad and his own superior, the arrogance that you could almost see as an aura around him... Honestly? She was sure that this had to be an act. Nopony could be like this normally, and not get slapped every ten minutes or so, and this stallion looked too pristine to have gotten a frustration whack. Then again, he did have a bodyguard... But how was Khosan able to resist the urge then?

No, she was certain that this was just an- Well, maybe not an act, but something like exaggerated behavior sounded about right, though why he would get here just to be like that towards Silver, she had no idea. It had to be something shared in their history, yes? Something that had made Silver hate him for what sounded like reckless behavior or conditions at his own mine. She would agree on that if it were. As the quarry doctor, Ziggy yearned to have ponies as healthy and safe as possible, and the rules and safety measures in place here, helped making sure that she wasn't overrun with incidents every three minutes. Lack of safety measures, or having none at all, was a horrifying thought.

Perhaps this was another reason Mr. Blackwater hated him as well? Not just because he was competition, but also because he was a reckless, arrogant meanie pants?

...Jeez, what happened to her *Innocent until proven otherwise* attitude there? Was Jasper actually getting on her nerve enough to make her biased? Possibly. After all, Ziggy did like Silver, and the smaller mare were pretty miffed at his verbal stabbings at her...

While she thought on this, she spaced out for a bit, and when she came to herself, saw that the two of them were pretty much out of her sight already. She even missed the little speech that Jasper gave at the end. Kind of. She heard something about *contemplating poor altitude* but that didn't make sense. None of them had wings.

Oh well, the two of them were gone now at least, so that was good. Now she just had to try and get Silver a little perked up. Usually not an issue, but right now she were pretty angry looking, and even muttering to herself. That stallion had really gotten beneath her skin.

"Silver? Are you okay? I could get some t- Eeeek!"

In the middle of offering some tea and an ear to listen to Silver's frustrations - which were a good alternative to seeing the mare kick things/build a death ray to get it out of her system - a carriage suddenly barreled pass them, which caused the zegasus to jump several hooves off the ground in shock. Something which were not lessened when she heard screams that were either from Silver speaking in tongues, or somepony inside the carriage. If she had the time to think on it, she might have gotten a picture of Silver in her head that was close to a horror movie she had once sneaked in to see when she were younger, but right now, there wasn't time. Somepony might be trapped, and with that speed, headed either straight into a wall, or off an edge!

"OhmyCelestia!Badbadbad!"

Quick as a pink and white striped lightning, she zig-zagged over to the carriage and tried to grab hold of it to stop it. A good plan, if she had been a group of earth ponies, and not a hollow-boned pegasus hybrid, that instead got dragged along like a piece of paper, until she lost her grip.

With that plan out of the window, the only thing her frantic mind could think about right now, were flying towards the door, grabbing hold in the handle, and attempt to pull back as much as she could to pry it open. Perhaps she could drag somepony out if she were lucky? Curse her light, feeble body sometimes! It wasn't as bad as a purebred pegaus, but she wasn't exactly dragging carts after her, and right now the situation needed muscle or magic. She had neither, and right now, that might spell disaster for whoever was inside the carriage.

Oh please let somepony who could actually help notice this thing and take action before it was too late. She'd even be happy to see Jasper again if it would help, which were several kinds of messed up, after how he had acted towards her friend.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@Randimaxis

The eagerness was infectious, and Low was smiling just the same as Dax.  "That sounds absolutely devilish!  I have never done something like this before, and it feels so...exhilarating!  I do not know of any better ways to deliver this album aside from giving it directly to Miss Carnelian.  I will let you handle the part about the sailor uniform, though in short order..."  The unicorn leaned in close, his smile showing a hint of conspiratorial anticipation.  "I am in."

----------------------------------

Carnelian's brow visibly arched as Vylia gushed about her son.  How much of it was motherly pride, and how much of it was truth?  She hadn't expected that sort of intellect from a foal, which only made her curiosity towards the youngest Blackwater grow.

However, in the back of her mind was the troubling thought that a small, flying foal with the intelligence of a colt twice his age had free range of the quarry.  Pegasi were always a wildcard to Carnelian.  If she were back in the empire, she could leave a top window open and not have to worry about peeping toms.  Pegasi, on the other hoof, violated that sanctity, and forced her to consider security options that she wished she didn't have to.  In short, while Luther had set himself up as an open nemesis, Oglevy sat in the middle, at once a great threat and a great asset.  She didn't hold any thoughts yet that he would work against his own family, but it would be better than they remain on good terms.

"There is no shame in having pride in the achievements of your offspring, especially when they have accomplished as much as your son has.  Counter to what most would think, there is no better feeling than when you see your foal excelling and exceeding your own accomplishments."

---------------------------

The carriage's course was set, and there was nothing the occupants could do to stop it.  Nothing short of divine intervention could stop this carriage.

Funnily enough, a large rock was rather close that.

As the wheel made contact, the straining axle could take no more and snapped, the car falling front first as it kicked up a large dust cloud.  When it cleared, the wagon was still visible, nestled just between the shack and the vault, a meter to spare.

For a minute, there was a silence in the cabin.  Then, the door slowly opened, a set of steps flipping out.  Two quartets of hooves stepped out simultaneously, their owners looking around at their surroundings in dismay.  Both wore clothing which covered their bodies, though the short purple one was more clothed than the other.  Stockings covered her legs, a thick blindfold obscuring her vision as she stared straight ahead.  The brown one towered above her, her heavy red coat unbuttoned.  As they argued, their voices remained monotone.

"Unfortunate."

"Waylaid."

"Spirits."

"Deaf."

"Unforeseen consequences."

"Warning."

"Tricked."

"You."

"Blameless."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Blind."

"Useless."

"Oaf."

"Lanky."

[Randimaxis 8,652]

@Blitz Boom @Hazard Time

 

There was a flurry of activity, all at once.

When the cart came careening into the quarry yard, a number of workers simply watched as it passed before realizing what was bound to happen, and making a ruckus to attract attention.  A few tried to head for the carriage, but they hadn't even crossed the yard before it came to a stop scant inches before the loooooooooong fall past the edge.  Mostly, they stared on - but more out of shock than any sort of laziness or lack of concern.

Though Khosan would have been far more capable of stopping the runaway transport, it had been Jasper who had dashed out from where they'd been talking and headed for the trouble.  It was only when he'd seen it stop that he slowed down, and came to a stop at the back end of the carriage, just slightly out of breath.  Khosan, in the meantime, had followed like the wind, and came to a stop next to his employer - not a ragged breath or drop of sweat came from the zebra stallion.

The other one who had made their way toward the cart was Chuck List, who had taken off at a breakneck speed from the mouth of the mine and had been more than halfway to his destination when there was no longer a reason to rush.  He'd been carrying a rope in his mouth, but once he saw that all was good, he turned to go back to his post... then, he saw Jasper Cragg.

Chuck's expression went cool and guarded.  "Y'know ya ain't s'posed ta be heah, Jaspah."

The businesspony looked up at Chuck and gave a tired grin.  "And you know I probably don't care, Chuck."

The forepony rolled his eyes and simply shook his head as he trotted his way over to the two mares that had exited the carriage.

"Da twoayuz arrite, dere?  Y'bettah be glad dat rock cot ya wheel, or you'd be adda bottom o' da mountains by now!  Whaddinda world're you twoze doin' alla way out heah?"

 

 

 

Dax gave a chuckle, then motioned for Key to follow him.

It was comical; Dax was sneaking in an exaggerated manner, tippy-hoof stepping and everything.  Though he played it off as though he was totally serious, Daxter knew what his brother's pranks could do to others, so he was making a stab at trying to cheer up Key - even if it didn't work, at least he tried his best.

He led his guest down an opulent hallway to a pair of doors that led to a rather subdued study.  Wandering over to a bookshelf, the Blackwater searched the titles until he grinned and removed one from the shelf.

"Here it is!  Now, I'll go get the sailor suit, and you take this to Miss Carnelian - then I'll just casually lay the outfit on the end table, and casually point it out to Mother once they both start talKing about Oggie's baby pics.  Hopefully, the end result will be Mother sending for him, then letting him know she's been showing off pictures, then making him wear the outfit for Miss Carnelian.  He might get mad, but he'll also know you won't take his abuse without retribution!"

Dax giggled as he made his way to the door of the study.  "I think I heard Mother in the kitchen; turn right out of here, then go to the hallway with the soft red walls - eighth door on the left."

He snuck out, again overexaggerating his actions, like a goofy classic 'Keyhoof Cops' show.

 

[Vylia & Carnelian will pick up when Key arrives.]

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@Randimaxis @Hazard Time

"Wauh. That's a really long way down."

While the carriage had managed to not fall over the edge, the abrupt stop had still sent somepony tumbling down the steep drop. That being Ziggy, who had held the door when the stop came around, and didn't have the grip to stop herself from going over. Thankfully she just got popped over the edge and didn't hit the rocks, which could have ended very badly. Rather, she tumbled down a hooffull of meters before getting her bearings again and zig-zag upwards to the less-shocked-than-she-expected ponies that had been in the carriage.

For some reason, they were actually fighting, if you could believe that. In clothes! Which... Okay, honestly didn't seem so bad, but it stopped Ziggy from being able to check for wounds easily, which could be a big problem. Sure, their lungs were clearly working fine, but an abrupt stop like that could easily cause somepony to rattle around and bruise some bones.

As she fluttered over, a few ponies more showed up, including Chuck. A good forepony that one, even if he did talk kinda funny. A welcome sight, though the same couldn't exactly be said for Jasper and Khosan, who had also followed.

Honestly, Ziggy thought it was a good thing they had tried to go and help too, as it proved they couldn't be all bad - well, she didn't think Khosan were bad anyway - but the response to their presence were still pretty negative. How many ponies in this quarry had a bad history with this pony, and why? Much as Ziggy didn't like hearing negative things, she were starting to get pretty curious.

Thankfully it wasn't her headache to think through right now. Chuck were a smart forepony who knew how to handle anything, and he'd sort out what happened with Khosan and Jasper for sure. Hopefully without causing too much of a ruckus, like Silver had. Which left her time to try and work with the strange-clothed ponies who may or may not be hurt.

"Hey, hello? Strange ponies in funny clothes? It was a pretty turbulent ride you had there, so could you stop arguing for a teensie bit so I can check if you're okay? Please? I'm a doctor."

Perhaps she should go around with a big hat with a sign that said that actually. Some ponies didn't think that the young zegasus towering over them were an actual doctor, since apparently she didn't really signal it all that much. Perhaps she should've listened to the other doctors and gotten a lab coat sort of thing. It gave some authority when it came to this, even if it did feel weird. Also it tangled up in her legs when she flew around weirdly, so there were that too. She had tried to close it, but it kept unraveling sooner or later. Too many jerky movements or something.

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

 

@Randimaxis

Back in Ziggy's shed, Blitz boom were still sleeping soundly. Things had gotten too hectic for Ziggy to help her, but there were options that Silver could do, if she had calmed herself enough to get some focus on the filly.

One were to get hand of some smelling salt. Ziggy didn't have much of it, but if she could gander how the zegasus's system worked, Silver should be able to find a small bottle of it somewhere in there. It should do the trick in waking up Blitz, but she'd still be horridly tired.

The options that would work the best long game were to take advantage of what were prepared. Ziggy had left her small cauldron ready on its stand, gotten a bunsen burner ready to light up under it (they hadn't allowed her to keep a fireplace inside, so she had to go alternative), and had the recipe open in the large book on the table. Her herbs were mostly stored in her desk, so if Silver knew what was what, she could fire up the cauldron, and get something whipped up in around ten minutes. She just had to remember to be careful to shut off the bunsen burner so nothing accidentally caught on fire. The quarry wouldn't be a better place if a fire caused their doctor to be fired.

Of course, Silver could also just pick up the filly and be on her way to somewhere more fitting. Blitz weren't really that heavy, even with the metal wings, so displacing her would be pretty easy.

[Brobot 1,436]

@Blitz Boom

Tracker chuged the water that Pegasus had given him," argh how long was I out for....feel like yak turd" Tracker mumbled as he tried to regain his footing, "Bug bear venom really takes you on a ride huh" Tracker said to no one in particular, he rubbed his eyes and realized he was in some type of shack, he also saw another pony....he had no idea what was going on.he opened the door of the shack for some fresh air but was greeted with a cloudy sky and muddy ground. Tracker Hoof rubbed his flank and winced...This was bad day.

Tracker went back inside and had a good look around the shack, "medicine, bench, more medicine, pony sleeping, empty water bottle. Tracker was kind of hoping for some answers but looked like the nice pony who treated him had left, Tracker sat down and let his mind wander.

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by woodchunks66

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@Blitz Boom

The two mares ceased their bickering for a moment to regard the zegasus.

"We are fine."

"If nauseated and perturbed."

"Though you are free to perform your tests on us."

"We do not remember experiencing any trauma past that of the mental variety."

When the foreman spoke up, however, both mares turned their heads towards him, cocking their heads in perfect synchronicity.

"Your accent befuddles us."

"We apologize, it is very foreign to us."

"I offer a secondary method of translation."

"She will not be invasive."

@Randimaxis

The smaller mare lifted a bestockinged hoof, laying it against the forepony's chest.  She stood there for a few seconds before speaking up.

"I feel your concern."

"She also senses befuddlement, inquiry."

"We come from the Crystal Empire to ply our trade."

"Sisters, twins, psychics."

"I can sense emotions, feel energy fields."

"I can speak to spirits and communicate their wisdom through tarot."

"Our services are affordable."

"If you are interested."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Low couldn't help but giggle at Dax's behavior.  It was so exaggerated and goofy, and that only added to the surrealness of the situation.  His first backroom deal, and it involved smuggling compromising photos into the hooves of a powerful pony to demoralize another...would Carnelian be proud of him then?

This thought was interrupted by the album being pushed onto him.  Dax sure found that one fast.  Low flipped through the pages, glancing at a few of the pictures.  None of them really stood out, though then again, he wasn't exactly a foal-pony.  Still, he had his directions, and he headed off to the dining room.

He found it easily enough, but before he set hoof in, he hesitated at a thought.  How would he introduce this to his Lady?  Would he just place it near her and run out?  Would he tell her all that was going on?  He had to say something, but he couldn't say everything.  He'd have to improvise, and that was something else that he could impress Carnelian in.

"Good morning, Miss Carnelian," Low announced as he entered.  "I was going through the study and found something that you and Miss Vylia would love to see."  Low placed the book beside the noblemare and wandered off to the buffet line, barely stifling a nervous giggle.  His ears twitched as he waited for the results.

Edited June 18, 2018 by Hazard Time

[Randimaxis 8,652]

13 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Hey, hello? Strange ponies in funny clothes? It was a pretty turbulent ride you had there, so could you stop arguing for a teensie bit so I can check if you're okay? Please? I'm a doctor."

 

5 hours ago, Hazard Time said:

"We are fine."

"If nauseated and perturbed."

"Though you are free to perform your tests on us."

"We do not remember experiencing any trauma past that of the mental variety."

Chuck's head seemed to be on a swivel; his gaze bounced back and forth between the doc and the newcomers.  He was still in the process of taking it all in and trying to communicate further...

Then she touched him.

Chuck List had spent a great number of his early years being raised by a mother who had shown him plenty of affection... yet, with her passing, he'd been left in the cold of the Manehattan streets, and hadn't really known much in the way of a gentle touch.  Now however, Chuck's face slowly turned an amusing shade of pink.

"Humnuh," he uttered, his intellect doing its' best to belay his true thoughts.

Meanwhile, the offer had not gone unnoticed by others present, as Jasper stepped forward with a wide grin, giving a polite nod as he stood alongside the currently speechless forepony.

"Chuck has a... unique... provisional accent; one I am familiar with, and would gladly offer to translate.  If I may?"  He tossed a light glance at the stallion and softly chuckled.  "He wishes to know if you're both physically safe, acknowledges the luck of your wheel striking a stray rock and breaking, and then asks why the two of you are out so far in the mountains."

Chuck's eyes flicked to Jasper, then back.  He gave the slightest of nods... then a small, shy grin that vanished as fast as it appeared.

"And I, ladies, am Jasper Cragg - owner of a highly successful mine, not too far from THIS, erm... place."  He lifted an eyebrow, then looked over to Ziggy.  "Mind you, nothing personal - just business."

Khosan's eyes looked over the gathered denizens of the Blackwater Quarry coming closer to investigate, and he gave his boss a nudge.  When Jasper looked back, his stalwart zebra companion motioned toward the front gates; Jasper simply smiled and chuckled.

"Nonsense, Kho - there's no reason to worry about them!  We'll be leaving soon enough... as soon as I'm certain these fine young maidens are left in capable hooves."

He glanced over at Chuck, still standing there and looking at the mare holding her hoof to his chest; the forepony really wasn't trying to cause a stir, but Jasper seemed to enjoy making a spectacle of his awkwardness.  What's more, Chuck had never seemed like the kind that could be bowled over like this...

 

 

 

13 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

The options that would work the best long game were to take advantage of what were prepared. Ziggy had left her small cauldron ready on its stand, gotten a bunsen burner ready to light up under it (they hadn't allowed her to keep a fireplace inside, so she had to go alternative), and had the recipe open in the large book on the table. Her herbs were mostly stored in her desk, so if Silver knew what was what, she could fire up the cauldron, and get something whipped up in around ten minutes.

Silver stared at the open book for exactly six seconds before saying, "I hope I didn't just spoil Ziggy's lunch..."

With that, she went to Blitz's sleeping form and fretted over her for a moment, seeming to almost hover across the floor, one side of the cot to the other, before finally stopping and shaking her head.

"This is NOT impossible... okay, ummm - well, if I were me, which I most certainly was last time I checked, I'd probably be wondering if there wasn't a way I could wake her up with what I know... I mean, how difficult could it be?  It shouldn't be comp-..."

10 hours ago, woodchunks66 said:

Tracker sat down and let his mind wander.

With a start, she finally realized that she and Blitz weren't alone - Tracker had finally caught her attention.

"OH!  Oh!  Oh... oh, you scared the wits out of me!  I'm sorry I didn't see you there!  I... um, a-aren't you the one that Ziggy treated?  I heard it looked bad for you, but Ziggy is a top-notch doctor, and she-... wait... waaaaaaait..."

She stepped closer, and gave him a suspicious look that was adorable and scary, simultaneously.

"... you don't have any connection to that... that SHYSTER out there, Jasper Cragg, do you!?"

She started to get a bit flushed, then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, seeming to huff a lot of angry energy out all at once.  That dealt with, she turned back to him, this time with a kinder look there.

"Sorry... I'm sorry... it's just, he's a jerk!  Well, actually more like... wait, no!  No, he really IS a JERK!"

Aaaaaaaaand the anger was back.  This time, it was aimed at the floor, as she began to pace while she muttered, irritation writ large all over her.

"Thinks his ideas are so good, but they're dangerous!  One day, you'll see!  He'll be so high and mighty, but something will go wrong, then it'll all just burst into-"

Then, she had it. 

She knew what would wake the little ball of fire up, and since she was certain she'd be told no if she asked, Silver made an executive decision right then and there to do it anyway.  Forgiveness was easier to ask for than permission, right?

Right?

With that, she made her way back over to the table and carefully placed Blitz on her back.  She then turned to Tracker, with an embarrassed smile.

"S-sorry - I just got an idea, and I have to see if it'll work - excuse me!"

Turning from him, she dashed out the door and headed towards the quarry yard, aimed for the path up to the manor house.  As she passed her shed, the crate sitting outside suddenly began to glow, and it followed Silver, her shining horn and blitz up the pathway...

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Hazard Time said:

"I was going through the study and found something that you and Miss Vylia would love to see." 

The Blackwater matron's eyebrow lifted at this, and she smiled a good morning to key as he passed them.  Once her eye caught the book, however...

"Oh, Master Key you are... a... DEARIE!  And you were, asking about him mere moments ago!  Well, here you are, in for an absolute treat!"

Vylia did a somersault in the air off her couch and fluttered down with the grace of a swan to light gently next to the album.  One look at her, and anyone could tell that Vylia truly cherished thsi photo book; the almost lazy smile that had taken her over was one of fond memories, and she opened it carefully, as if caressing a fragile flower, turning petals to view the dewdrop memories within.

"Oh, now this was taken the very day we returned home with him... ah, longer ago than I'd care to admit, yet only yesterday.  Strange, how Life's changes can arrest and rush the clock at such intervals as to stagger the mind with such chaotic mischief!  Speaking of which..."

She brought the album to her guest, and Carnelian could see the reason for the Blackwater's gushery, as it were.  The foal pictured was such a light blue, he may have been made of sky.  There were little green accents on his muzzle and hooves, and in the particular picture that Vylia had placed at the front of her beloved album, and depending on how one saw children in the first place, either looked as though he were questioning reality... or pooping.  It was difficult to tell.

But each consecutive picture simply showed Oglevy in many, many, MANY, MANY outfits, all adorable, all expensive... and each one a mortifying moment for any child who has ever lived through the embarrassment of family photos.

During these, however, Carnelian also caught a glimpse of a Blackwater she hadn't seen yet - what looked to be a young stallion, older than Daxter, who had a similar light blue coat, but with the bright green stripes of his younger sibling.  He looked roguishly handsome, even though every single picture of him with the foal Oglevy was the same - a look of utter distaste for the child.  By the fourth page, there were no more sights of this other Blackwater in Oglevy's photos.

 "LOOK!  Oh, that would be where he first outran the eagle who used to roost on top of the manor - when he won, the bird was so annoyed, she moved her nest immediately!"

By the picture, he was streaking through the air at such velocity, his image blurred back from the muzzle - but it was unmistakable, the look of utter shock on the eagle's beaked face.  From the angle, the picture was most likely taken from an attic-level window of some sort.

There were also a few pictures that were - effectively - before and after shots of Oglevy with different tutors.  They spanned from left to right; at the left was always a young, adorable colt and an intelligent, distinguished-looking teacher... at the right, an Oglevy that appears a bit older (but just as sweet), standing next to what could only be described as a series of train wrecks of what were once tutors.

Hollow-eyed.  Worry-lined.  Mane matted.  Clothing frayed, and in one case dyed hot pink.  Nervous expressions.  Terrified eyes.  Oft-bitten horseshoes.  One even seemed to have lost her entire tail, at some point.

No doubt about it - though Vylia saw him as harmless... Oglevy had a looooooooong history of 'dealing with authority' already under his belt. 

And was used to coming out on top.

 

 

 

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@Randimaxis @Hazard Time

"Hey, this place is doing really well. There's no reason to be a meanie like that."

Ziggy pointed a hoof judgmentally towards Jasper whilst briefly pouting, before going over towards the really strange ponies they had gotten into the quarry.

Granted, they were not the weirdest ones she had run into, but that had a lot to do with her being from Las Pegasus. You saw street performers and showmanship of all kinds there, including some psychics here and there. Generally they were seen as con artists, but there were a few genuine ones around that managed to rake in a good deal of bits during the festivals. Tourists loved that kind of thing, and the legit ones tended to get recommended more often if ponies asked around.

"I've been to a psychic in Las Pegasus before. She said I'd wake up covered in rainbow paint and stuffed down a chimney before the week were over. Didn't believe her, but graduation turned out to be weirder than I thought, hehe."

To this day, she still had no idea how the other doctors had managed to get her to put on the paint, especially since they knew she were meeting her family to celebrate the morning after, but it had been pretty fun all in all. They messed around with some helium bottles, sang karaoke, and dared one another to do stupid things. Ziggy hadn't been drinking, but she knew that was a thing influencing several of the others, though thankfully not too much. Wouldn't be a good start to their career to get tossed in the drunk tank.

In her defense though, Ziggy hadn't had a lot of fun outside the hospital for most of her life, so she wanted to join in on silly things and try to fit in with others. After all, she had been 14 before she could even get out because of her growth issues, and after that she had spent most of her time studying how to be a doctor, until she finally graduated. Weren't a whole lot of fun she had been able to participate in. But hey, at least she graduated pretty early. The others in her class had been five or more years older than her.

Thoughts of the past roamed through her head a like this as she gave a brief examination of the two ponies from the Crystal Empire. They did frankly seem perfectly fine honestly, and with how smoothly they moved and talked, she doubted they had any kind of pain or trauma happen to them. They'd at least wince if it were, or move slower.

"Well, you seem okay, but if anything happens, let me know immediately, okay? Better to not have you go home in pain.

What is your home like anyway? I mean, I heard about the Crystal Empire, but I've never seen it. Is it true that everypony is kinda sparkly there?"

These two were at least - it was soooo pretty - but they were the first ones from there she had seen, so she weren't sure if it was a rare thing or not, and Ziggy were a curious sort.

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

 

@Randimaxis @woodchunks66

Blitz didn't hear or react to any of the commotion going on around her, beyond turning to her side and mumbling once. Something about *nitroglycerin* but it was brief and barely audible, so it were hard to know for certain what the deal were with that, unless they could get into her head.

Likely for the best that they couldn't. One way or another, they'd end up mad, lost, or horrified, as Blitz imagination weren't exactly a safe environment, or typical for fillies. It were the kind of place that Luna would visit once, before sealing the door to Blitz's dreams shut, and scrape the soot off of her face. Potentially her mane would be on fire too, depending on what part of the dreams the princess would look at.

Silver should probably be cautious anyway though Even if Blitz weren't gonna wake up on her own currently, getting caught transferring a filly could be hard to explain. Doubly so when her whole appearance screamed trouble. And if it was Luther... He were likely still not all cooled down about the glitter rocket that hit his office, so if he found Blitz... Well, best to try and not let that be the case.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@Blitz Boom @Randimaxis

For the first time during their visit, there almost seemed to be a snap between the two sisters, emotions seemed to appear on their faces as they went about their own business.

The purple mare withdrew her hoof from the forestallion's chest, smiling up at him knowingly.  "Are my stockings that soft?" she giggled coyly.  "Try wearing them all the time and get back to me.  Still, better than the alternative.  Also, I don't think we introduced ourselves properly.  I'm Ophelia, and my sister is Dahlia."  The purple mare held her hoof out blindly for him to shake.

Meanwhile, the other mare appeared slightly shocked by the new development, her eyes shifting as she approached Ziggy.  "The spirits can be mischievous at times.  For those without the ability, they can be fickle and capricious.  I can tame them enough to provide accurate readings of others...though they can be rather hostile if I ask about me."  She gave a meagre smile before continuing.  "I think both of us will be alright.  Ophelia's pain tolerance is legendary, and I'm alright.  The Crystal Empire is very beautiful, and I miss it.  The main reason we left was Ophelia's suggestion.  There would be more money to make if we took our services out on the road."  She stares at the ground and kicks at a pebble.  "The spirits told me this would bring great success, and I made the mistake of believing them."

-----------------------------

Low's eyes went wide and he nearly lost his composure until Vylia lost hers first.  When he saw her reaction, only then did he relax and prepare his breakfast while she did her work with Carnelian.

For her part, the viscountess eyed both her ward and the book he deposited at her hooves with confusion before her hostess was upon her.  As she turned the pages, her eyes twinkled as she grinned from ear to ear.  "What a beautiful little dear!  How adorable!"  She crooned with every new outfit and photograph she was presented, her expression of genuine affection.  She so missed having a foal...why did Ametrine ever have to leave?  When would she come home?

These feelings weren't helped when she noticed the unmentioned Blackwater colt.  She would ask about him, but later.  For the moment, it was supposed to be a happy occasion!  Though those tutors would also be a lesson for her.  She would not underestimate this child.

[MisterRe 21]

The Grounds- Path to town

Various lights of differing intensity fluctuated the shade inside the wagon. Bright and dark were passerby's in neither permanence nor consistency as the wagon pulled along the forest path. Grumbling could be heard with each minutes pass from the Pegasus who shift was supposed to end hours ago. Even so, this cargo said otherwise. The whole load took a good hour to load unto the carriage and much more effort from the weight. With the lack of curiosity through monotony, he did not question the contents of his delivery. For the most part the orange pegasus knew what contents these shipments held; Tools, wood, metals and general resources for what a mine needed. Although, One of the containers had strange properties he not observed in his normal day job. 

 

The container in question had an odd balance, inside was not solidified and the contents were allowed to move freely. Moreover, the cardboard box held a metal chassis underneath, protecting something... something dangerous? Even stranger, the metal chassis wasn't complete. The roof of the package had holes and the complete top of it held no sign of hard steel. Is it something alive? He pondered the contents as he approached The Grounds- Front Porch. He wasn't familiar with the residents and frankly wouldn't care to anyway. The orange Pegasus began to unload near the entrance.

---

Corner's took shallow breath's in her sleep as to not be heard. A long time in hiding teaches you these things. She'll wake when needed to wake and the time would be now. The box pony's transport stopped and this is her time to get moving or at least get her bearings. The orange pegasus hastily dropped the packages and her in a rush and made his way out.  Corner's waited for Pegasus to move on and moved on herself, looking for the mines. The manor wasn't her first priority but to keep her presence unknown, she opened herself up to movement and hid in any foliage nearby the mansion. "Wait for night. Then head to the mines."

[Randimaxis 8,652]

On 6/20/2018 at 7:10 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Hey, this place is doing really well. There's no reason to be a meanie like that."

Jasper shrugged.  "Well or not, it's my competition... far be it for me to do anything but garner attention."

With this, the scraggly stallion turned to his zebra companion.  "Kho, would you say that there might be others under my employ who could find a bit or several for these fine ladies?  I certainly believe my facilities would offer a number of opportunities for you two," he motioned to the oracles, "to turn quite a hefty profit; I would be more than delighted to show you the way, or perhaps you might wish-"

"Cragg."

Jasper went stock still for a moment, his eyes gave only the quickest glint of fear... only to be replaced by cool, collected calm as he turned around to address the owner of the voice.

"Luther Blackwater."

The elder Blackwater was standing at his full height, towering over the thin and wiry Cragg in every possible physical way.  The normally dour look on his muzzle was now downright harsh; it appeared as if he were about two steps from stomping Jasper flat.  Khosan stood close by Jasper's side, but even the muscular zebra seemed somewhat hesitant to engage the head of the Blackwater Mines.

"WHY are you here?"

Jasper smiled.  "A little help for a pony in need, found during my travels - unfortunately, your place here was closer than mine; otherwise, I'd have taken him to the better location."

Luther's jaw clenched and ground as he stared at his competitor.  "This is done now?"

Jasper, unafraid, leaned up to (almost) meet Luther eye-to-eye.  "Let me guess... you're just waiting for the word to toss me out on my flank, aren't you?  You never were one for subtlety, Luther - one reason why you're a terrible executive, and this place will never know the kind of profits you COULD be making.  You made it quite clear all those years ago that you aren't interested in a profit - which, by my call, makes you insane - and when you fired me, it only proved that you needed someone to push you, to make you WANT to make more investments and sales."

Luther glared daggers at him.  "You wanted profits for unsafe work.  I REFUSE to do that."

Jasper sighed.  "Yes, yes... I get that.  I got it then, and I get it now.  You keep thinking I never learned my lesson... yet, at the same time, you've never given me any form of a second chance, so there's no way to tell if I've changed or not.  And to you?  NOTHING ever changes."

The two stood there, staring each other down.

 

 

On 6/25/2018 at 1:22 AM, Hazard Time said:

"Are my stockings that soft?"

"Zmnuhnzs."

On 6/25/2018 at 1:22 AM, Hazard Time said:

"Try wearing them all the time and get back to me.  Still, better than the alternative.  Also, I don't think we introduced ourselves properly.  I'm Ophelia, and my sister is Dahlia." 

"... Chuck.  List.  Nice, eh... nice ta meetcha.  Dere.  Right dere, in dis place.  H-here."

Chuck KNEW he sounded like an idiot... but her coat, her dress, her mane... she was lovely - they both were - and Chuck was stuck between trying to be suave, and trying NOT to be a doofus.

"... hiya."

Being suave was overrated, anyway.

 

 

On 6/20/2018 at 7:10 AM, Blitz Boom said:

Blitz didn't hear or react to any of the commotion going on around her, beyond turning to her side and mumbling once. Something about *nitroglycerin* but it was brief and barely audible, so it were hard to know for certain what the deal were with that, unless they could get into her head.

 

Silver charged her way up the path that led to the Blackwater Manor, then cut right and dashed through some foliage towards where she knew the best view in the whole quarry was, other than Luther's balcony, of course...

She kept an eye on Blitz, making sure the little filly was undisturbed from her position as she made her way through the tangled, thick scrub brush bushes & small trees that ringed the mountaintop.  Keeping in mind where she stepped, she eventually burst through some overgrown hedges to land her four hooves in Blackwater Ridge, the family cemetery.

She hauled herself and her precious cargo up on top of one of the crypts (The plaque reading, "Bloat Black - Beloved Talespinner"), and floated Blitz's crate up to her side.  She opened it, searching for what her mind had told her might be just the thing to wake such a filly as this...

Silver was going to put on her first fireworks show... at least, that was the plan.  She figured that the sound of fireworks and explosions would be just the thing Blitz needed to wake up properly, and was determined that she was going to do her very best to take care of this little ball of fire.  She simply hoped Luther wouldn't have any issues with fireworks going off here at the quarry...

 

 

On 6/25/2018 at 1:22 AM, Hazard Time said:

"What a beautiful little dear!  How adorable!" 

Vylia's pride swelled up so much, Carnelian could almost taste it.

"Oh, well - the preciousness of it all was enough to send me into tears at the slightest mention, it was SO wonderful to see him growing up, all his adorable little outfits... including... OH!"  Vylia turned to her guest with such velocity, her wings ruffled.  "You know... I have just the CUTEST outfit for him to wear, and he's never really had a chance to show off his suits - especially his little sailor suit, OH!  it's adorable beyond belief!"

The door opened carefully, and Dax, looking innocent as happy-go-lucky, leaned his head inside.

"Mother?  Are you here?"

"Daxter!  My little cloudburst, I have a job for you!"

Dax came in, with some sort of clothing wrapped in plastic on his back.

"Mother, I hate to bother you while you entertain company," he bowed to Carnelian, "please forgive me," and turned back to Vylia, "but I was going through one of the older storage rooms to find my old telescope, to show to Master Key... but I came across this instead, shoved to the very back of the pile."

He reached back and brought forth the covered item.  For a split second, a flap came loose long enough to show a flash of navy blue, the tip of a red ribbon, the striped cup of a pair of hoofsocks... the outfit Dax had mentioned, undoubtedly.  If the few glimpses of what was in store for the Blackwater brat were any indicator, Key would be getting his revenge soon enough.

And it would be a DOOZY.

"Daxter, go and fetch your brother, this instant!  If that outfit is the one I think it is... then you, Carnelian dearie, are in for SUCH a treat!"

Dax simply smiled pleasantly at Key.

 

 

On 6/26/2018 at 2:07 AM, MisterRe said:

The manor wasn't her first priority but to keep her presence unknown, she opened herself up to movement and hid in any foliage nearby the mansion. 

There was an occasional passerby, including a mare with a small filly on her back & levitating a crate... otherwise, she was rather safe.  For the moment, anyway.

 

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@Randimaxis @Hazard Time

"Mr. Blackwater? It's true what he says about the pony getting hurt. Last stages of a nasty bugbear sting. He's fine now though, thanks to Khosan here. Nice zebra carried the patient over to my shed quickly, and I got him right as rain. Sort of. He needs water, a bit of rest, and I gotta remember to throw out or bury the puke bucket, but he'll live.

I know using medicine on outsiders is kinda frowned upon, but he wasn't gonna survive a trip to the hospital. I had to do something."

Ziggy wasn't all too happy about talking to Luther when he looked like that big ol' vein from earlier were gonna start pulsing on his forehead again, but she had to clear this up, and give Khosan some credit where credit was due. Jasper was a little- Okay, a lot of a meanie without any reason for it, but the zebra had been pretty neutral about the whole thing, and had been a good help. Might've been that her patient had hours to work with, yet she couldn't say that for sure. She didn't know when he had been stung exactly, so it literally could have been a question of minutes before it became too late.

As for the medicine thing... Well, she might end up with a pay cut for the month for it, but she were sure that Luther wasn't gonna fire her. It had been an emergency, and it were still on grounds. Even if he were angry now, he'd be rational about it eventually, in case he started to get a little uhm... *trigger happy* with the pink slips. At least she hoped so. Angry Luther was something that were pretty scary and impossible to predict, at least for her.

If only Mrs. Blackwater had been here. She'd likely know how to handle her husband.

...Okay, bad brain, not like that! It was like, in a calming way, not public snuggles galore and stuff.

Actaully, hearing the conversation between Luther and Jasper going on weren't really good either. Could she go back to the thoughts of scary married ponies snuggling instead? It was awkward as all hay especially since Luther was Right. There! - but it was still better than thinking about somepony deliberately trying to slack off on security to save some money, despite ponies getting hurt. What kind of monster would do that?

Sure, she liked to think the best about everypony, but seriously... Who would do that to poor, innocent miners?

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

 

@Randimaxis @woodchunks66

Blitz would stay basically still for the entire trip, apart from once when her tail got briefly stuck in some branches, and she got rustled a little to the side before the branches let go of her. A rather common ocurrence for the filly, considering the size of her tail, though less messy than it could be sometimes. Mostly she'd have to spend between five and thirty minutes cleaning up her tail when in a bush encounter, though in fairness, they tended to be worse than this, and usually involved her stumbling/running/falling into said vegetation.

As Silver opened the crate to find something to rustle Blitz wake with, Silver would find some things that were as expected as could be, and something that were less so, depending on how you looked at it.

A few dynamite sticks were the most obvious. They were clearly homemade, with a crude fuse and a casing made from shed timberwolf bark by the looks of things, but they were also fully functional, and should likely not be played with. The same could be said about the two grenades also in there, which had a more traditional metal casing, yet still bore signs of it being a personal creation, rather than stolen or sold from somewhere

There were a pretty weird ball, around the size of a small apple, and with several, multicolored, dull spikes attached to it. One of them had a fuse, though from the construction it were hard to tell how it should stand so it was safe. Potentially, it wasn't safe at all, and were best left alone.

A metallic, closed pinecone with a hand crank that went on top of it were also to be found, as odd as it seemed. It wore some signs of being a music box of a kind that were sometimes sold in dingy tourist shops, yet something were off about it. And not just that it didn't have a stand. These sort of small-scale tourist junk tended to break within a few weeks anyway, so it would hardly be special for that to be the case here.

There were three rockets that bore marks of being crafted of the same materials as the dynamite, just more bulbous and seemingly packed to hold more of a punch.

A strange contraption came next, likely what Blitz had called her *Brain hat*. It seemed to be a bowl with several small, dulled spikes on the inside, meant to press down on her head when it was strapped on. About five crystals of about five inches in length each were also embedded into the helmet on the outside, making it somewhat spiky.

A wire went from the back of it and down to a small rectangular container that - if she opened it up and had a look - seemed rather intricate actually. It was closely packed with wires, gears, etc and had several crystals protruding out of the back, and into several key places. They seemed to be meant as a power source of some kind, though there were no guarantee this was it.

The container seemed to be meant to fit above the point where Blitz's wings were connected, and had some locks on the side likely meant to keep it in place, though Blitz seemed to be missing something for them to latch on to on the wing side of things. If Silver brought it near the metal too, she'd find there were a rather strong magnet at work too, as it would slam to the surface and require a good, solid yank to pull off.

Looking beyond this though, there were just a few minor things. Some basic tools, a small bag of assorted fruits and candy - Blitz needed to eat too - a smoke bomb the size of an apple, two smaller rockets who Mr. Blackwater would be more than familiar with, and what were likely three firework displays. Large ones too, with strange twists and turns in the creation and a small sticky put on one of them with two lines of text.

*1 meter distance.*

*2 meter distance. Whoops.*

They had an easy enough setup really. Light the long fuse, move a few meters away, and let it work it's magic, as the fuse would go over the creation in the right orderto make the image appear that Blitz had worked hard to make.

It would go through twelve eruptions fast, which would go far into the air and explode into large images of the mane six in pretty good details. Not fur texture or anything, but there were faces, outlines, etc. that made it easy to see who it were, if you had any knowledge of them. It would be easier afterwards though, when the elements of harmony popped off over their respective heads. Or okay, glittering images looking like them at least. Blitz had a real hard time with Twilight's but she thought it had turned out well, and she had barely burned any of the Everfree forest down getting there.

The last eruption would come quickly after, before, the other images glittered away, and would show Dax standing above them with a smile on his face, next to a grinning Blitz. It would linger a few seconds after that before the whole thing would fade away, leaving behind a surprisingly small amount of smoke, considering the display, and would have been impossible for anypony in the mine to overlook more than likely. It would also rouse Blitz up a bit, starting with a giggle. She loved the smell of the varied, weird smells in her work, mixed with a singed overtone.

Hopefully though, the one who'd love it the most would be Dax. It had been everything she had promised she'd get done when they had briefly met, though she had hoped to also get a heart to encase everything. She just hadn't found a way to get it done that wouldn't mess up the rest of the imagery, or go off too late, and she had really wanted to show this to Dax, so that part had been scrapped for now. Plus, she had been running low of pink flowers and coconut shells, which she needed for the heart glitter.

In case Silver didn't go for the display, she might still be able to rouse Blitz awake with one of the large rockets, who'd give of a more traditional, massive light show for a while. She might be able to make pretty displays, but really, sometimes you just needed to watch pretty color explosions burst all over the skies, and hear the kabooms fire off.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@Randimaxis @Blitz Boom

Despite her eyes being obscured behind a blindfold and heavy bangs, a blush and a smile came to Ophelia's face from the emotions she was feeling.  She wasn't about to turn down such attention, especially if it made her sister uncomfortable to see her flirting.

"Chuck list?  An interesting name.  Tell me about your talents, Mr. List."  Her hoof rose up to play with her mane until she couldn't keep her giggles down any longer, using that same hoof to cover her mouth as she giggled.  She could already feel Dahlia side-eyeing her, but she ignored the pangs of frustration.  The wagon was right there, she could wait inside and water her flowers if she didn't want to let her have her fun.

-------------------------

@Randimaxis

For the most part, Carnelian remained silent, watching the chaos unfold around her with anticipation and a gleam of curiosity.  Low was having a hard time not wearing his emotions on his sleeve as he beamed at Dax, the rush of endorphins proving too much for him.  This was all happening so fast, and he'd never felt so satisfied at doing something so petty!  He almost felt some sympathy creeping in...almost.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

On 7/11/2018 at 6:57 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Mr. Blackwater? It's true what he says about the pony getting hurt. Last stages of a nasty bugbear sting. He's fine now though, thanks to Khosan here. Nice zebra carried the patient over to my shed quickly, and I got him right as rain. Sort of. He needs water, a bit of rest, and I gotta remember to throw out or bury the puke bucket, but he'll live.

I know using medicine on outsiders is kinda frowned upon, but he wasn't gonna survive a trip to the hospital. I had to do something."

Luther's eye slowly shifted to gaze at Ziggy.  "No - you did right," he said, "as a LIFE is more important than an EVEN STOCK COUNT."

The turn of phrase wasn't lost on Jasper, and the scraggly stallion gave a smile that was a bit TOO toothy, TOO convincing, as a response.  The Blackwater patriarch's beaming stare returned to the source of its' ire, and the frown redoubled its' efforts.

"LEAVE, Cragg.  NOW.  Or I shall EJECT you... personally."

With that said, Khosan now casually stepped between the two mine owners.  He stayed respectful of the distance between himself and the other stallion, but Luther would most certainly have to go through the stalwart zebra before he'd reach Jasper.  From the safety of Khosan's shadow, Cragg gave a barking laugh.

"As if I wanted to stay in the first place!  I've done my part, helped to save a life... and now, as per the almighty Luther's decree, I shall hightail it out of this dust pit.  Madam medic?  It's been a pleasure.  Please pass on my goodbyes to Miss Studs, would you?  Thanks much kindly."

With a quick bow to all gathered there (along with one more salty grin at Luther), Jasper Cragg turned to depart, with Khosan following closely behind.  Luther's eyes didn't leave them until they passed through the gates.  Once they did, the Blackwater's features soften... of course, 'soften' is perhaps a bit of a stretch; more like they became less aggressive.  However, it was then that he turned to face Ziggy directly, and his words were simple and to-the-point, a hallmark of the earth pony's personality.

"WHO let them inside?"

 

 

On 7/11/2018 at 6:57 PM, Blitz Boom said:

In case Silver didn't go for the display, she might still be able to rouse Blitz awake with one of the large rockets, who'd give of a more traditional, massive light show for a while. She might be able to make pretty displays, but really, sometimes you just needed to watch pretty color explosions burst all over the skies, and hear the kabooms fire off.

Silver felt as though she didn't have time for figuring out which one was big or loud enough to do the job - so she'd just light everything with a fuse.

She arranged each one with space between them, and pointed (what she hoped was) the business end of them away from the ground; she'd seen enough with explosives that she'd at least take enough time to ensure they wouldn't start any fires or possibly hit any living being in the quarry.  She was no expert, granted, but as she'd been responsible for maintaining the explosives they kept at the quarry in general, she was fairly certain she'd doe well enough not to get anypony killed.

With her magic, she pulled a match from one of her pouches, struck it, and lit each fuse in turn, going from smallest to biggest.  She also had Blitz off her back and situated on top of a marble-topped grave marker, arranged to give the filly the best seat in the house... well, in the graveyard, anyway.

The fuses sizzled; Silver hoped that when the fire reached its' destination, little Blitz would wake up again.

 

 

On 7/15/2018 at 11:35 PM, Hazard Time said:

"Chuck list?  An interesting name.  Tell me about your talents, Mr. List." 

"I, eh... I tendta be pretty good wit' a pen an' paypah..."

He glanced back at his own flank, his cutie mark of a scroll with a large checkmark in the middle, as if to gather courage from it, before continuing.

"... an' dat's da troot.  I also gotta knack fer sensin' when trouble's heah - y'know, th' willies an' such?  Plus, I gotta ee-yah fer music, if ya get whadda mean... an' a fyoo udda stuff like dat.  But, um... honestly?  I... well, I ain't much fer tootin' mown horn, y'know?  Kinda makes me feel like I'm tryin'a schmooze m'way inta da Gallopin' Gala."

Chuck might have had butterflies in his belly, but he still wasn't so brash as to brag.  Well... not in a crowd, anyway.  He was always better at showing than telling, when it came to his particular talents - and he already had a plan in mind to write the lovely Ophelia a poem.  Maybe two.  Or five.

"Udda den dat?  I apparently gotta REEL 'fective talent fer keepin' nosy minahs in lyne, too..."

The gaggle of idle miners that had been gathering around the somewhat shystruck forepony suddenly discovered that they felt the urge to get back to their various tasks, and did so with gusto.  With a smirk, a more confident Chuck turned back to the lady in front of him.

"... so dere's dat."

 

 

On 7/15/2018 at 11:35 PM, Hazard Time said:

He almost felt some sympathy creeping in...almost.

Dax made his way out, the grin still writ large on his features as he did.  Vylia, however, continued to chat as she carefully opened the garment bag and began to extract the outfit that Dax had so cleverly brought forth from the bowels of whatever Tartarus existed for such humiliating and demeaning clothing.

The hat came first; it was finely woven straw, and had a large red ribbon around it as a hatband, complete with a big, gaudy bow that traditionally sat at the back when properly placed on a head.  It appeared a bit big for Oglevy's head, but that probably would be an argument the little brat would lose.

Next were four knee-high stockings, all white with blue stripes horizontally patterning down to the cups of the hooves.  They would make his legs look like stacks of creme-centered cookies!

Then came what appeared to be a bright red velvet dickey... one that perfectly matched the red on the hatband... and what would undoubtedly be the color of the colt's muzzle when he put it on, too.

And finally, as if the best were for last, a crushed blue-velvet sailor's suit - one that any self-respecting sailor would NEVER be caught in, dead OR alive!  It was so very dapper and princely, you could almost hear the sound of a colt's whining on the wind just by looking at it.  Mortification made real, it would be the perfect revenge for every drop of tomato soup that Key had felt drip from the end of his own mane after the dousing he'd gotten.

Revenge wouldn't just be sweet... it would be blue velvet justice.

To Madam Vylia, however, it was a triumph of livery - she nearly sang about how much she'd spent for it, how well it fit her Oglevy's cute little frame, and how absolutely adorable he'd be in it.  She could hardly wait for Dax's return... yet it wasn't long before he did, and though the look on Oggy's face was one of smug satisfaction, when he took one look at the table and saw that suit... his entire body language shifted from one of smarmy self-satisfaction... to the stance-equivalent of swearing, recoiling in horror from the sight.

"Mother, what does Daxter mean by-..."

His eyes grew wide as saucers.  

"Oglevy!  DEARIE!  My little diamond!  Our company has expressed an interest in seeing you wearing your little SAILOR SUIT!"

"But-"

"And she simply will not manage another firm breath in this world without seeing you in it!"

His muzzle looked like it was starting to curl in on itself.  "B-but-"

"... and YOU may experience an issue as well, if you don't put it on.  Right.  NOW."

Looking around for some sort f escape, his eyes went to the window - closed - the hall to the parlor - where Dax stood - and the doors to the balcony - where Key was standing in front of.  When his eyes met Key's, however, understanding began to filter in... and the colt was both offended and duly surprised.  The glare that followed began to almost burn... until Vylia suddenly piled the entire outfit onto the young Blackwater's back, making him give a considerable whimper as he turned to loathe it.

"Well?"

Oglevy Blackwater glared at Key... then stared wistfully at the window and its' freedom, barred from him... and finally cast his eyes down to the floor with a great gust of a sigh.

"... yes, Mother."

Vylia clapped her hooves in excitement as he made his way to the washroom towards the rear, closing the door behind him in his shame.  Dax, again, looked at Key and grinned.

 

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@Randimaxis @Hazard Time

The words Luther had said when he cleared her were kinda weird to Ziggy. Who wouldn't value life over an even stock? It wasn't like she had expected to be fired or anything for helping the poor stallion before, and getting scorned for wasting precious resources on somepony not on the list, but she had thought something like a pay cut for the month to cover expenses. Kinda mean too, but she would've understood that. There were probably a vast network of things to cover with the governing body that depended on everything in the papers being accounted for and every bit and equipment being where it should be. That was why she figured she had to write incident reports when she used the medicine, just like she would for this situation too.

Luther might seem mean spirited and hard - and Celestia knows he could be scary when he wanted to be - but he wasn't a monster. He had somepony to answer to just like everypony, and he had to keep things in check for that. Kinda strictly sometimes, but you know, each their own she supposed. long as he didn't hurt anypony, and he hadn't been uhm... Well, he wasn't perfect, but it could be worse.

Seeing Jasper and Khosan starting to leave, Ziggy gave a passing smile to Khosan, but kept not talking, just in case Luther were still kinda mi- Meep!

Angry Luther came out for a visit as the patriarch looked directly at her, and asked her how those two had gotten in in the first place. It was eerie how she were towering over him, yet Luther made her feel small and vulnerable when he had this look in her eyes. It was really not fun to be on the wrong side of this glare, and it took the air from her for a few seconds.

"I... Don't know, Mr. Blackwater. I got called out because the guards at the gate had been drugged, and the gates were wide open. Jasper was already inside when I got there, and then there was the patient and everything... I didn't think of asking too much until he was safe.

The uhm, guards are doing okay too, by the way. Whatever were used, it didn't look like poison or something with long lasting effects, but I have no idea how long they were out for. Everything seemed fine last night, until somepony came and yelped about the guards being down about when the whistle went."

So glitter rockets in Luther's office, his arch enemy on site, a break in, and all in the first few hours after the day when the quarry had a massive accident. Ziggy really hoped that everything would be okay for the rest of the day, or else he might... Might...

Her eyes were drawn to something of a commotion in the direction of the cemetery. A dazzling light show featuring a lot of colors, intricate explosions, and... Was that the elements of harmony in fireworks? And with Dax and that intense little filly from yesterday at the end? It sure looked like it. Both times, rapidly following one another.

It was really well done, and pretty, which made her give off a smile with glitter in her eyes, yet there was this small voice rising up through the glee a little by little. A worried little thing that bore concern for what effect this might have on Luther, and what he might end up doing about it Wasn't like he could miss it. It was a massive display. The entire quarry would be able to see it.

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

 

@Randimaxis

Over at the display, the smell of power and the generally burned-flowery smells that came from the materials she had used reached into Blitz's nostrils, and made her rouse. Every sound of a fuse being lit, a rocket taking off, or the explosions that delivered the payload in the skies above, made her twitch more and more, until she finally opened her eyes after a few seconds and stared groggily into the sky, watching the displays and assorted other fun things fire off. Just about at the time when the first display ending with Dax and her ended, and the second began.

"Heh, pretty... Dax is gonna love this..."

She glanced as the display reached to Applejack, before something started to rummage around her head.

This was part of the displays. The ones she had made to Dax, so he'd feel better...Dax wasn't here, and the second had popped... So that meant...

Her eyes opened widely, and she glanced over to see the fuse going to the last display almost being at the bottom and threw herself at it, almost getting hit by some sparks flying from one of the rockets, as she reached out, stomped down with the tip of her hooves, almost hitting the fuse... Just to see it keep on going, and her hooves hitting nothing but dust and dirt. Without thinking about it, she used her horn to pull out the few inches that were left of the fuse and threw it away. She would've been feeling seven times relieved at this, but this still left her now without a fuse, and looking upwards, she could see all her hard work with the two others going off, along with other rockets. It was beautiful. Magical and vast, encompassing the sky above wherever she were in brilliant colors.

And Dax had missed it... Even if she could find him now, she only had one left to show him, and what then if he had seen it somewhere else? She'd never be able to see that first look on his face when she showed her friend what she had been toiling at for the last month, all for him. The magic was gone...

Her mane and tail slumped down along with her, as the joy of seeing her work blowing up like this, were overtaken by the fact that the only pony who it had really mattered saw this hadn't been there, hit her hard, and made her whimper and hit the ground feebly.

"It's not fair! Not fair, not fair, not fair! Dax should've been here for this. Now everypony's just gonna see this and it won't be special anymore."

She had hardly noticed that Silver were there at that point, or what else were going off, as the show ebbed out, and the skies went dimmer again.

Pouting, she looked around and tried to think. Perhaps... Perhaps Dax had been sleeping and he hadn't seen this? Or he had been in the big house, or out on a run perhaps? The rest in this boring place would've seen it, but he might still be able to enjoy it? For the first time, so that she could see him smile?

As things started to look up, and she got some hope back into her mind, Blitz's entire self seemed to perk up too, and she'd get on her hooves, drying the tears from her eyes, and look around excitedly, now finally acknowledging that Silver were there properly.

"Hi Silver. Where are we? And who set my fireworks off? I want to find the meanie pants and tell them they're bad ponies for taking my special gifts like this."

She were oblivious to the fact that the culprit may well be the one in front of her, as she didn't think, Silver would do something like that. She were a smart mare with lots of brains. Why would she do something like that to Blitz? That were just silly.

Before Silver would be able to answer, Blitz would wander to the side and poke to something in the dirt. The multi-colored ball with dulled spikes, the only thing that had been lit that hadn't gone off it seemed, beyond the remaining display that were, but that one had gotten intervention too. Different story there. This other one were a dud. No fun, even if this one was bad when it were on the ground like this. Perhaps Blitz hadn't dried everything off that well after all when she fell into that puddle on the way here... One out of everything wasn't bad either, but still, she hated duds. Felt like wasted potential and boredom.

It could also be that it was smoldering inside, which were why she picked it up with her horn, and looked for somewhere to throw it. There seemed to be an edge for some reason, though if it were a small fall or a steep one, she didn't really look, she just went over, yawning and stumbling a little along the way - Blitz weren't completely full of energy yet - and then threw it out. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

"Duds are lame. The-"

As Blitz turned, the ball actually detonated, blasting open too close to her to have left her unscathed for a fireworks. Yet thankfully, this was more of a glitter bomb, and whilst the area around her got a good layer of various pink glitter, everything was fine. Or okay, she got a good face full, ended up rolling a half dozen times towards Silver from the blast, and had most of her left side covered in a thick layer of glitter, but it wasn't like she were on fire. Just dizzy, a little bruised, and looking like a science experiment gone wrong. Nothing new there.

Edited August 28, 2018 by Blitz Boom

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@Randimaxis

"An interesting talent set, Mister List.  You want to know what my talent is?"  Ophelia leans in close, a smile on her lips as she smokily whispers, "I touch ponies~"

"That is enough, Oph."  With her conversation partner gone, Dahlia could stand her sister's flirting no longer, much to Ophelia's chagrin.  "Can you not tease every pony we come across?"

"And can you not act like mom for just one minute?"

"I will when you start being honest."

"Dada, there's a reason I handle the family business and you just sit pretty like the flowers you love more than your own sister, but fine, I'll be boring."  Ophelia chuckles as she turns her attention back to Chuck.  "I'm an empath, it's why my hooves have these obnoxious thick socks on them, and why my bangs are long enough to cover my eyes.  Without the proper state of mind, my intrusive consciousness could frighten or disturb a pony.  So, to prevent that, my loving sister and I have agreed that I never be allowed to have any fun or meet pon-"

"That is NOT what I said!  I am simply trying to -"

"Shhh sh sh shhhhh...we're in public, Dada, let's not make a scene~"

Dahlia groaned and stormed off, content to leave her uppity sister to make an idiot of herself outside of her perception.

"Don't worry about Dada, Mister List.  I love her, and she loves me, but after spending a few weeks trapped together in a carriage that was meant for one pony, we have a little bit of stress to work out.  We had to meld minds for half that just to prevent further drama, and that is a place I have no intention of returning to unless entirely necessary."

--------------------

Low's satisfaction was palpable...up until that glare settled on him.  That glare was enough to make his blood run cold, though that was nothing new.  He should have realized before he let Dax talk him into this that he could not take what he dished out.  A storm was brewing, and the unicorn had the notion that he had just signed his own death warrant.  Sheepishly, his ears flattened against his head as he tried to find a nice quiet place where Oglevy wouldn't find him.

Carnelian was having a nice chuckle, completely unaware of her ward's plight.  Instead, she was focused more on the Blackwater youth's obvious discomfort.  She could see exactly what was going on, Dax wasn't as subtle as he thought.  Still, she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to see an adorable foal all dressed up.  It would be a valuable experience for him, especially if he sought her opinion out afterwards.  Low's lesson, however, would come in time.  He knew what he had done, and now he should be prepared to lay in the bed he made.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

On 8/28/2018 at 2:42 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"I... don't know, Mr. Blackwater. I got called out because the guards at the gate had been drugged, and the gates were wide open. Jasper was already inside when I got there, and then there was the patient and everything... I didn't think of asking too much until he was safe."

Luther nodded, but his look remained as he shifted his gaze to the open gates... and the pony & zebra headed toward it.

"... safety first, yes..."

The look on the stallion's muzzle said he wasn't exactly sure the departing pair were innocent of this deed - yet he wasn't going to approach them about it; no evidence yet.

On 8/28/2018 at 2:42 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"The uhm, guards are doing okay too, by the way. Whatever were used, it didn't look like poison or something with long lasting effects, but I have no idea how long they were out for. Everything seemed fine last night, until somepony came and yelped about the guards being down - about when the whistle went."

His jaw clenched, but he nodded again, this time making eye contact - and not angry contact, either.

"Your judgement was sound.  I will expect a report, by tonight, in detail."  He thought for a moment, then after a beat, "Do not concern yourself with the expenses for this."

With this, Luther began to turn and leave... until he saw the well-dressed pair of mares standing with his Head Forepony, chatting away merrily.  Though he knew Chuck probably already had things under control, he wanted to see what was taking up his company time.  

Besides, he thought, ONE arrogant fop is already here; no need for more.

He began to make his way toward the sight, and then-

}BOOM!{

... the fireworks began.

The head of the Blackwater family was just as shocked as everyone else, and he stared into the sky for a moment, slack-jawed... and then, realization set in, and a cold, hard glare slowly rolled over his features like a stormcloud.  He turned immediately and, gauging where the rockets were originating from, he began to make his way there, wearing a look that said SOMEpoy was going to answer for this...

AND MY OFFICE, his thoughts growled.

 

 

On 8/28/2018 at 2:42 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Hi Silver. Where are we? And who set my fireworks off? I want to find the meanie pants and tell them they're bad ponies for taking my special gifts like this!"

Silver laughed, tears standing in her eyes as she sighed with relief.

"Oh Blitz, that... th-that was my doing!  Please don't be upset, but you passed out, and... well, I tried to wake you, but you were out cold!  I was so scared, Blitz, I... well, I remembered how much of a firebug you are - well, not so much as an actual firebug, but more like you have quite a propensity for enjoying explodey-type things, so... well, I..."

She shrugged, but her smile stayed firm.  "But it worked, didn't it?  I mean, WOW, those fireworks!  But, are you okay?"

On 8/28/2018 at 2:42 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Duds are lame. The-"

When it went off, Silver's heart stopped for a split second, then she saw Blitz careening towards her.  Her horn lit up, and her magic caught Blitz carefully, setting her down next to her as glitter began to rain down from the skies.  Silver watched it for a moment before turning to Blitz.

"I have to admit... it does brighten up the graveyard."

With that, she began to giggle with both hooves over her mouth.

 

 

On 9/19/2018 at 9:04 PM, Hazard Time said:

"I touch ponies~"

Chuck's eyes widened, and a single bead of sweat rolled down his muzzle.

On 9/19/2018 at 9:04 PM, Hazard Time said:

"That is enough, Oph."

Nah nah nah!  Keep talkin'!

On 9/19/2018 at 9:04 PM, Hazard Time said:

"Can you not tease every pony we come across?"

"And can you not act like mom for just one minute?"

"I will when you start being honest."

"Dada, there's a reason I handle the family business and you just sit pretty like the flowers you love more than your own sister, but fine, I'll be boring." 

Chuck simply watched the back and forth, his eyes flickering between them as they spoke.  It was almost like watching a tennis match, but his attention was the ball.

On 9/19/2018 at 9:04 PM, Hazard Time said:

"I'm an empath, it's why my hooves have these obnoxious thick socks on them, and why my bangs are long enough to cover my eyes.  Without the proper state of mind, my intrusive consciousness could frighten or disturb a pony.  So, to prevent that, my loving sister and I have agreed that I never be allowed to have any fun or meet pon-"

"That is NOT what I said!  I am simply trying to -"

"Shhh sh sh shhhhh...we're in public, Dada, let's not make a scene~"

As one struck off in a huff, Chuck refocused long enough to call out after her, "Careful, y'heah?  We're too high up ta jus' wander aroun' up heah, arrite?"

Turning back to the other, he tried to calm his hammering heart.

"Well, uh... not ta be too forward, but I wouldn't get distoibed 're nuttin'.  Heck, I betcha I'd make a good... uh, subject?  Customah?  Somethin' like dat?"  

Though he was blushing just a bit, Chuck wasn't about to let the chance to chat with a pretty mare pass him by... and whatever an 'empath' was, Chuck figured that if Ophelia was an example, he wanted to meet as many of them as he could.

On 9/19/2018 at 9:04 PM, Hazard Time said:

"Don't worry about Dada, Mister List.  I love her, and she loves me, but after spending a few weeks trapped together in a carriage that was meant for one pony, we have a little bit of stress to work out.  We had to meld minds for half that just to prevent further drama, and that is a place I have no intention of returning to unless entirely necessary."

Meld minds?  Is that some kinda ice cream?

"Well, uhhh... youze could stay heah at th' quarry, if ya don't mind th' crowd.  I mean, I'm shoore I could talk ta da Boss, an' he'd putcha up, at least ferda night 'r so.  If, dat is, you ain't gonna head outta heah tudday?"

He hoped they could stay; he was quite interested in chatting more. 

Later. 

Alone. 

Perhaps with some wine.. if he could find some wine, that was.

Chuck was so intent on the newcomers that he paid not the least bit of attention to the fireworks display - he simply thought that was his own mind, reacting to the striking beauties before him; it never occurred to him it could be happening for real.  He even missed the sight of his employer, storming across the quarry yard in seething anger, headed for the graveyard.

Nope, Chuck's attention was pretty well taken.

 

 

On 9/19/2018 at 9:04 PM, Hazard Time said:

Low's satisfaction was palpable...up until that glare settled on him.

There were a few slight whimpering sounds that escaped the restroom, along with the sound of clothing being shuffled and donned... with great distaste, from all the groaning.

On 9/19/2018 at 9:04 PM, Hazard Time said:

Carnelian was having a nice chuckle, completely unaware of her ward's plight.

"I'm so glad you're getting to see this - it's such a treat to see him in it, dearie!  And do you know what?  I'll bet that he'd look absolutely ADORABLE in it at the soiree, wouldn't he?  Ohhhhh, he'd be the talk of the party!"

The smirk on Dax's muzzle said he completely agreed with her.

"And we could get portraits made - I'm certain I could afford real talent, and we could hang it right in the front foyer!"

The smirk grew, showing his further agreement.

"And DAXTER!  You could have one made as well!"

The smirk vanished.

"Oh, your own little soldier's uniform - you know the one!  With that smart hat and the ornamental sword... and the little cufflinks, OOOOOOOH! <3 "

Dax's own muzzle began to pale, even as a placating smile began to form there.

"Mother... I outgrew that outfit a few seasons ago.  There's no way tha-"

"Oh that's FINE - I can have Beck or Call let out the seams... fix the hat size... and even upgrade your cute little weapon!"

Daxter visibly cringed.  "... b-but it's puce..."

Vylia nodded decisively.  "Yes, that's exactly what I'll do!  Daxter, go fetch the uniform out of the closet; it's time you were refitted!"

The middle Blackwater sighed loudly, defeated.  "Yes, Mother." 

With a sorrowful glance at Key, he made his way out of the room.  Watching him leave, the Blackwater matriarch then glanced over at the only other youngster left in the room.

"Low Key, yes?  Come here; I'd like to get a better look at you."

 

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@Randimaxis

It hadn't been much she had seen. Little more than a fleeting glance really, but the darkness that seemed to roll over Luther's face before he passed her and went directly for the graveyard... It frightened Ziggy.

Not because she were nervous for who he were going to vent his anger on (total lie, she felt sorry already for the poor filly) but because she feared for Luther's heath. There had been a lot of things going against him the last day and a half that had steadily taken him to or near his breaking point, and the office earlier? She hadn't been kidding when she told him that he needed to calm down or he were going to have a seizure, or an aneurysm. The more strain he put on himself without much pause, the closer it just got to a point where even this giant would end up falling. He wasn't some sort of god, he was a pony. He had limits, and in her opinion, they were about to reach it.

Seeing how it was impossible for her to physically stop him from going to the graveyard, as he were way stronger than her, and it would look like somepony trying to stop an incoming train with a soap bubble, Ziggy instead took to the sky and darted towards her office. The peppermint-striped, zig-zagged pattern going in a seemingly random pattern adorned the sky until she got there, at which point she'd quickly grab her bag, lock up, and then fly as fast as she could towards the graveyard. Ziggy had prepared what she needed in case something went wrong earlier, and sadly, it seemed like she were actually going to need it. She had hoped that it were just gonna collect dust for a time until she put the stuff back, as surely the days couldn't keep up being tense, and yet here they were.

She just hoped that she'd reach him in time, before something bad happened. And if she misjudged the situation and he wasn't going to have any medical issues from this, she'd thank her lucky stars, and keep her ears on stilts for anything else going wrong.

Perhaps she should try and contact Vylia after this, and ask if she could try and help him relax a little? She had visitors now far as she knew, but the matriarch could perhaps take a message via somepony else, or a letter. Either way would work and could perhaps make all the difference. How she were going to calm him down though, Ziggy didn't need details about. None of her business. Nuhuh.

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

 

@Randimaxis

When Blitz were told that it were Silver that had fired off all of her fireworks, she had not wanted to believe it was true. Silver was awesome, and somepony like that wasn't going to do that to her, right? Though if she had... Well, she said it was because she was worried, so that was okay maybe? Not like Blitz had told her that she had been awake for three days to get here, so she couldn't know she were going to pass out, right?

And hey, she had said nice things about her firework, and wasn't Silver somepony she wanted to impress too? Sure it was, that's why she wanted to show her the brain hat. And they still had one display left. She just needed to nick a fuse from something else, and pray that Dax hadn't seen the first two yet, and everything would be as good as a cupcake with sprinkles. Shame she had already eaten all of them, but it had been a long trip and she had been hungry.

All of this went through Blitz's head as she were grabbed and set down by Silver, and her brain scrambled back together again. It wasn't the first time she had been hit by her own explosions, and it were certainly not going to be the last either, so she were used to a few scratched and marks here. Bent her wings sometimes though, which were really annoying, but it wasn't like they worked either, so she could make them fit again later. Unless Silver had grabbed her in time? She'd get to checking, just as soon as the world stopped spinning.

It took a little, but eventually the filly managed to shake it off and walked around herself like a dog trying to chase its tail. First right, then left, both times using her magic to stretch out the artificial wings and seeing what - if anything - had happened to them. it seemed like nothing was the answer, which were pretty incredible. Totally a different story if she had hit a gravestone.

"Hehe, glitter in the hinges, but everything works."

She stopped, looked up at Silver with a glimmer in her eyes. Not from the glitter that made her seem like a Pinkie Pie version of two face, just her usual spark of excitement and slight lunacy.

"The fireworks are great, right? Right? I worked on them for like, two months Maybe three? I sorta forgot, but Dax wanted me to, before he went back here. Long way to go from Ponyville, but fun. I met a bear."

The big, impish grin hid over the less nice fact about said bear wandering her way with a hungry look in its eyes, until she threw a small glitterbomb towards it. It had looked really pretty to her when it ran away all sparkly, but sadly it hadn't returned. A shame really. She would've liked to see it and have some more fun.

"And I'm fine. Just *yawn* sorta tired. Dead tired! Ehehehe."

Blitz giggled at her joke, which was mostly her only response to being told they were in a graveyard. She didn't believe in zombies, so it was just a place with a bunch of ponies under some dirt. It wasn't dangerous, and she were sure she had been taken here for a reason.

"Ooooh, are we here because you thought I was dead? The doctor never said I looked that still when I pass out. That's kinda spooky. No wait, you said you tried to wake me up, so you couldn't think I was dead, so... Why're we here?"

She looked around at the glitter falling on parts of the old graveyard, as well as that which had already hit after the explosion before.

"I promise that it's gonna come right off. No fun in cleaning it up all the time, so when rain falls it's gonna go all away. Not like the first time in Ponyville. Not at all. That was a prototype. Very different and sticky."

[Illiad Easle 3,132]

@@Randimaxis

Path to the Quarry Gates

Just after the fireworks had stopped.

Mystic Glow slowly made her way up the path, burdened down by bags that seemed rather large for her thin, yet clearly athletic frame, the muscles in her legs seemed accentuated by her thin stripes, mostly black against her white fur, but the occasional thin gold stripe could be seen as well, specifically one on each leg, and a pair on her face which extended from the corner of her eyes like tear tracks. Her amber eyes were a near perfect patch to the golden stripes as they squinted at the parchment she held before her. It was signed by none other than Vylia Blackwater.

She had just passed a rather snooty looking pony, accompanied by a intriguing looking zebra bodyguard, but they hadn't noticed her as they passed by.

Now she was standing before the gates themselves, awed by their immensity, they seemed to rival even the gates, and walls for that matter, of her home town. She took a steadying breath as she reviewed what had brought her up to this point.

Dax... Does he even know what it meant to me? What he did for me? I just hope I can show him.

Mrs. Blackwater was kind enough to accept me as a clerical worker. Plus, an internship to study her accounting methods will certainly help my mother's business, if I go back.

She took a moment to make herself a bit more presentable, retrieving a few items from a pouch on her neck. First a pair of white gold hoop earrings that were beaded, like her stripes, with rings of polished obsidian and a single stripe of yellow gold in each. Second, a white gold chain that the skillfully wove into the braided locks of her mane. Finally, in a stark contrast to the other two, a worn chain that seemed to be made of a type of stainless steel; though from a few flecks that seemed to be gold colored, it appeared that it had once been made to look like gold. From it hung a small red diamond, which Mystic stared at with a slight smile before clutching it to her chest.

You have always owned my heart Dax Blackwater, even literally.

She set her hoof down, the necklace leaving the diamond resting prominently on her chest. She put forward a determined face, the fact that the gates were still open, likely due to those she passed on the way here, gave her a small bit of comfort.

Seems as though they're expecting me. I shan't keep them waiting any longer.

She entered the quarry yard.

She was immediately surprised by the state of the grounds, it seemed that either the quarry had suffered an unfortunate series of accidents in the last few days, or the Blackwaters weren't as on top of maintenance as Mr. Light had led her to believe. However, she could still recognize which was the manor house, and thus began to make her way towards it, hoping someone would show her where she needed to go.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@Randimaxis

As Dahlia took a walk to clear her mind, Ophelia took control of the conversation.  "If you could arrange that, my sister and I would appreciate that greatly, Chuck."  She flashed a smile back at him before rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.  "Unfortunately, it kinda seems like we're trapped here.  We could always walk, but it's a long road, and Dada and I aren't exactly...cut out for that sort of thing.  Plus, all of my sister's equipment is in that carriage, and we can't simply just carry or drag it along with us.

"Speaking of, though, once she cools down, I think Dada would love it if you commissioned a tarot reading from her.  Tell your friends, too!  Only five bits a spread!"  The crystal mare beamed back at him, hoping that her attempt to turn the conversation into a marketing pitch would go over well.  Plus, it would mean they'd still be making money while still being treated to the hospitality of their hosts.

---------------------

Carnelian had gone quiet, simply observing and absorbing.  This was an amusing turn of events, some much needed entertainment to start off the day.  Low, on the other hand, gulped as a bead of sweat ran down his brow.  He slowly approached the Blackwater matriarch, doing his best to keep his composure as his mistress had instructed him.

"Yes, Missus Blackwater?"

[Randimaxis 8,652]

On 10/3/2018 at 11:28 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Ooooh, are we here because you thought I was dead? The doctor never said I looked that still when I pass out. That's kinda spooky. No wait, you said you tried to wake me up, so you couldn't think I was dead, so... Why're we here?"

Silver sighed in relief, hearing the stream-of-consciousness flow coming from the little filly again. 

Smiling, she replied, "Well, it was the farthest, safest possible place to shoot off fireworks like these, as I figured anything made by you would be BIG... a-and admittedly?  I wasn't sure I was going to be capable of setting them off without any... eh, mishaps?... so I wanted to be sure that nopony else at the quarry could get hurt, if I messed up."

Looking around the place, it was actually more somber than spooky - of course, the glitter made it look almost comical in nature; a party for the dead, perhaps?  Regardless, it would be a BIG mess to clean up.  However, Silver didn't seem at all interested in anything except the fact that Blitz was okay.  Of course, now the 'big sister' in her began to manifest:

"Blitz... h-have you been neglecting to take care of yourself?  I mean, just passing out like that... look, you have to have somepony concern themselves with you!  You can't simply... run around..." 

She stopped herself, sighed and chuckled wryly as she shook her head.

"Actually, Blitz... you're perfectly capable of doing whatever you'd like; you've already shown me how smart you are, and you're just so... so... you... that I can't help myself but want to help you to be the best YOU that you can be!"  She gave a small giggle.  "And yeah - those fireworks were really well done - and they took you HOW long?  All for Dax?  I mean... if he saw it, he'll be absolutely thrilled - but if not, I mean... y-you worked so hard on those..."

Her ears drooped.  "Now I feel bad... "

"AND WORSE TO COME, SILVER STUDS!"

She froze like magical ice as soon as the rich, harsh bass boom of Luther Blackwater's angry voice shot across the graveyard, slammed into the far graves and rebounded, giving his words an even more powerful volume, and in stereo as well.  The stallion stomped his way out of the bushes along the front of the area, cords standing out on his powerful neck as his slitted eyes bore into the two of them like a diamond drill bit.

"I.  Want.  EXPLANATIONS."

Each word like a hammer blow, and the cold stare that felt as though it could ignite all the remaining fireworks Blitz had... without a match.

 

 

On 10/3/2018 at 5:03 PM, Illiad Easle said:

However, she could still recognize which was the manor house, and thus began to make her way towards it, hoping someone would show her where she needed to go.

Though there was a considerable amount of activity here, many of the workers were rather busy with getting to their work or simply asking each other what just happened here - she heard enough in passing to assert that the display she'd witnessed was in no way expected by anyone here... which miiiiiiiight have been a bit... disconcerting.

However, she did manage to pick up somepony's interest - a small blue pegasus came trotting over to her, with a curious look on her muzzle.  She looked friendly enough, and sported a worn-out old mailbag that hung beside her, the single word 'TAPS' stitched into its outer flap.  With a hoof, she smoothed a lock of her white mane back, revealing oddly miscolored eyes that regarded her with curiosity and interest.

Making her way over, she lifted an eyebrow in query and, pointing to her bag and then herself, she made her introduction and seemed to await the zebra to follow suit.

 

 

On 10/15/2018 at 1:39 AM, Hazard Time said:

"Speaking of, though, once she cools down, I think Dada would love it if you commissioned a tarot reading from her.  Tell your friends, too!  Only five bits a spread!" 

Chuck knew it was an attempt to drum up business; he had seen so may of the same tactics during his time in Manehattan, and was acutely aware that he was probably barking up the wrong tree.  He should be totally familiar with the idea of being a patsy or target, because he looked like the type - his brother had once told him so - and he should simply smile, nod, and walk his way back to his position, leaving the pretty, pretty mares alone... he never had luck with 'em, and he never would.

He was a grizzled, hardened veteran of the mean streets, and he should give no further mention or thought to such passing fancies, no matter the words or welcome...

"Yeah, shure - I'll round up az many uvem' as I c'n find, an' DEN some!  An' youze two bettah save a readin' 'r' two fer me, poissenally!"

Of course, Chuck wasn't one to let something like 'previous experience' get in the way of what might be the chance to get a flirty smile or two... or maybe even a kiss?

Naaaaah... mebbe no kiss... but it'd still be a chance ta keep 'em in view fer a minnit...

At least he knew what he liked.

 

 

On 10/15/2018 at 1:39 AM, Hazard Time said:

"Yes, Missus Blackwater?"

She stood, circled him once or twice as she looked him over, then came to his front and looked down at him.  She was standing tall, and both her looks and her presence almost seemed to demand attention from the entire room, even though it was simply the three of them.  Her eyes narrowed.

"... goldenrod... and... turquoise... yes, I believe those colors will certainly make a perfect match for you, Young Key.  And I have just the outfit in mind, too - a full regalia Victorian-style suit and frilled waistcoat, along with kneesocks, cravat and tri-cornered hat; you'll be an absolute HIT with the entire crowd, I'm certain..."

She made her way back over and, sitting elegantly and lady-like, took a seat with her deep green eyes staring into his soul.

"... as well as learn a rather embarrassing lesson about trying to get away with revenge tactics within my household... and assuming I'll not figure you three out."

Her smile grew as she spoke, but it wasn't a kid one; it spoke of feral thoughts and evil possibilities that drifted behind those eyes.

"But what you are free to assume is that nothing goes on within my sight that I don't already have two weeks notice of - and that includes random incidents, such as buckets of oatmeal dumped on guests... or seemingly innocent mentions of unloved outfits by rivaling siblings.  Perhaps you would do well to attempt to stop such behavior from my son in the future, lest next time you'll be doing more than simply wearing an outfit to match the chagrin of my children."

With this, she took up and sipped lightly and soundlessly at her cup of tea, her eyes closed in appreciation of the flavor.

"Of course... my suggestion for your wardrobe is simply that - a suggestion - as it isn't my place to assign such a fate to you..."

She smiled sweetly and pleasantly at Carnelian, "Or do you believe my potential lesson to be out of line?"  

 

[Illiad Easle 3,132]

@@Randimaxis

Mystic had always considered herself a very good judge of character, divination magic often helped in that regard. She politely paused as the mailmare approached her, taking a moment, and a deep breath, to get a feel for the pony that Mr. Light had told her about. She could feel conflict, to a sense, but deep down a true heart of purpose, something she rarely came across in those she had met outside of her family, Mr. Light being one, and the other being her purpose here at the quarry.

She gave a slight smile at Tap's introduction, and considered responding in a similar pantomime, but decided she could let on a bit about what she knew. "So, you are Taps then? I've heard good things about you, glad to see there's someone here I may trust."

She retrieved the letter she had been carrying up to the quarry grounds, "I'm Mystic Glow, the lady Vylia Blackwater of the Blackwater Protectorate" She sighed at her own use of the honorific, "requested my presence here, and I don't think to keep her waiting any longer than I must." She gestured towards what she believed was the manor house, "If you would be so kind? I lack the slightest idea how she may be reached."

She sincerely hopped her mother's etiquette lessons would pay off, as she got the feeling that they were about to be put through the greatest of tests when she finally met the Blackwater Matriarch outside the realm of paper and ink.

[Blitz Boom 4,622]

@Randimaxis

On 10/26/2018 at 8:45 PM, Randimaxis said:

"Well, it was the farthest, safest possible place to shoot off fireworks like these, as I figured anything made by you would be BIG... a-and admittedly?  I wasn't sure I was going to be capable of setting them off without any... eh, mishaps?... so I wanted to be sure that nopony else at the quarry could get hurt, if I messed up."

"Big explosions are the best kind! And fireworks are way easy. Just stick the pointy bit towards the sky, lit the fuse, and run before it goes KABOOM!"

This did not include the one meant for Pinkie's party cannon, but Blitz didn't think about that at all as she rose up on her hind legs and emoted a giant explosion blowing out from her at the last word. To her, explosions and fireworks were easy enough, and more importantly, fun. Just talking about them made her jump in place and giggle like she had just heard the funniest joke, and not jokingly talked about something that could theoretically be incredibly dangerous.

On 10/26/2018 at 8:45 PM, Randimaxis said:

"Blitz... h-have you been neglecting to take care of yourself?  I mean, just passing out like that... look, you have to have somepony concern themselves with you!  You can't simply... run around..."

"I live alone in the Everfree Forest. It's fun, though the wood puppies don't wanna play with me anymore, so I have to chase them and then they get all scared and drop their bark. Really good casings, hehe.

They sent me to the Canterlot Orphanage once, but I just went back to the forest. Matron was no fun and didn't like the explosions, so boo to her."

She kept getting funny looks from folks when she told them that she lived alone, as well as questions like this regarding concerning parents, friends, mental institutions or orphanages. Honestly, Blitz didn't see what all the fuzz was about. The timberwolves didn't come around to snarl at her after a few too many games of *Fetch the grenade*, she had a roof over her head and she didn't go hungry, so what was the big deal? Yeah she missed school, but it wasn't like they wanted her back there either after that one time in chemistry class - as well as the multiple accounts of chasing mean foals with unlit explosives, and the glitter-bombs in the toilets - and she did learn stuff. They threw out books sometimes, so she just rummaged around that trashcan too and nicked it. Same she had with her bed, blanket, and most of the non-organic parts she used for her experiments.

Hehe, perhaps she should check the trash cans around here sometime and see what were there? Had to be all sorts of fun materials to work with, especially around Silver's hut, since she were Really smart, and smart ponies had more fun things. Like broken clocks, or springs. Lovely, always-needed springs. It was impossible to have too many of those around.

Hopefully Silver wouldn't get angry at her for doing that, since Blitz didn't wanna make her new friend feel that way towards her. Although in all fairness, Silver fired off Blitz's fireworks too soon. It was just fair that the filly got to scrounge around the local inventors discarded things, right? Perhaps she could even make Silver something fun, and be even better friends with her then! That always seemed to work, when she gave others stuff.  It had helped with Storm Shine, Pinkie Pie, Dax soon enough, and even the CMC. Well, in their case, giving them stuff and teaching Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara a lesson, but that still counted. Those two had looked pretty scared at her since then, but the meanie fillies frankly got what they deserved, and Blitz wasn't gonna apologize for that. Wasn't like she really hurt them.

On 10/26/2018 at 8:45 PM, Randimaxis said:

"Actually, Blitz... you're perfectly capable of doing whatever you'd like; you've already shown me how smart you are, and you're just so... so... you... that I can't help myself but want to help you to be the best YOU that you can be!"  She gave a small giggle.  "And yeah - those fireworks were really well done - and they took you HOW long?  All for Dax?  I mean... if he saw it, he'll be absolutely thrilled - but if not, I mean... y-you worked so hard on those..."

Oh, but Silver kept on talking. And now she were going completely flip side and say that Blitz knew how to handle herself! And she complimented her fireworks? *gleeful sound* This was becoming a really good day, even though she were halfway covered in glitter. She were about to answer them too, just waiting for Silver to be done speaking, when a booming voice suddenly came outta nowhere and made the filly meep and jump up into the air in surprise.

Turning towards the noisemaker, she saw a huuuuuuge earth pony there, looking really angry in his fancy clothes. Not huge in the sorta way that he was tall, but like, with muscles. He looked like he had been cut outta granite and given a coat of paint and a pony makeover. Kinda weird seeing somepony in a place like this wearing fancy clothes though. Wouldn't they get all sorts of dirty really easy?

Though she had initially been surprised that somepony had just shown up, Blitz didn't approach Luther with any sort of fear. She were more fascinated by him, and kept starring for a bit after Luther had stopped talking. Not for any real reason, she just found him interesting, and wanted to take in who she were speaking with a little before just going into a big happy smile and bounce forward a step.

"Hiya, muscle pony! I'm Blitz Boom, I came to say hi to my friend Dax. Are you his dad? You sorta look like him, just Huuuge and with a really good stone face. Oh, and the icy eyes. Dax doesn't have those. Same with the neck lines. Never seen that on a pony before, I think? Dunno."

Blitz weren't exactly void of anything resembling fear, but Luther had just been yelling and looked sorta angry now, so she wasn't sure what she needed to be afraid of yet. Wasn't like he's throw her over a cliff or something, right?

...Nah, he wouldn't. That was the sorta thing that evil ponies did, and though Dax hadn't said many nice things about his family when she last saw him, he had gone back here, and Dax wouldn't stick around evil ponies. This pony was probably just in a bad mood. Perhaps a mole had bit him? She tried that once, and she were a little miffed too after that. Little meanies had sharp teeth.

This pony was probably all fine and nice somewhere on the inside, and just had a bad day, or he were mad he hadn't been able to get to the fireworks in time. It was okay, she still had one more display for Dax to see that he could join in on too. She just needed another fuse.

It were perhaps not the response Luther expected to be met with, seeing as most covered under his intimidating presence, but Blitz hadn't seen him do anything to her yet, so it didn't really matter. Wasn't like he was a bear or a wolf who's wanna munch on her, and even then she wouldn't be afraid. She frankly loved bears, and found them to be big, pretty cuddle-things. A shame the only one who had wanted to come over near her hadn't come back from a little explosion. At least the wood puppies kept coming back a few times after the first encounter with her.

"Uhm, but you wanted explanations, right? I can do that! So I came here to visit Dax, and then I got tired and fell over after the long trip and looking around this fun place, but then Silver thought I was too sleepy, and wanted to wake me up, so she took some of the fireworks I made and made it go BOOM! Hehe. Oh! And then a glitter bomb went off too a little after, but it's okay. Wind and rain gets the glitter off with no problem, promise.

I still have one fireworks display left for Dax. You wanna see it with us? I made it just for him, to make him super happy, but I'm sure he'd like if you were there too."

She spoke with a sincere, joyful voice, and beamed up towards Luther with happy eyes and a big smile, thinking how fun it could be if Dax could bond with his dad over this special fireworks she had made just for him. Wouldn't that just be awesome? Completely.

The fact that her attitude combined with Luther's bad day might actually get her thrown off a cliff didn't register with her, and neither did the fact that Luther might end up having a short circuit from pure stress and annoyance right now, but there'd be a solution on the way. Not so much for the *Throwing off a cliff* scenario, as Silver would likely have to catch Blitz if it came to that. It was more the medical side of things, as Ziggy were about ten seconds away from them now, flying as fast as she could and silently praying that nothing were happening, and that she were just being too paranoid.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@Randimaxis

Ophelia cast a smile in his direction before making her way back to her cart.  "In that case, I should probably help her clean the place up and make it ready for customers.  It isn't exactly in the best of shape since we...yeah, fell down the mountain.  Catch you later, Chuck!"  The crystalline mare closed the door behind her, hurriedly placing various items back on their shelves and cleaning up some dirt from Dada's various flower pots.  Her sister wasn't too far behind, and after a few minutes, the shorter twin exited and pulled on a string on the outside.  Immediately, a banner flipped up on the side, proudly advertising, "Tarot readings!  Ask your guardian spirits for guidance!  5 bits!"

------------------------------------

At the very outset, Low seemed...excited.  Though he never had a sense of fashion, he always loved the idea of dressing up.  To see himself in a well tailored suit, drawing the appreciation and complement of every mare and stallion at the ball...he couldn't keep the smile back.  Not that that ever seemed to happen to him, since stallions in resplendent clothing were a dime a dozen at noble balls, and he would have stuck out about as well as a flashlight against the sun.

Further dampening his glee was Vylia's sudden confrontation.  He could have easily retorted by explaining to her that he would have loved that uniform, but he didn't dare stand against her.  The matriarch's words stung with a slap, his tail soon folding between his legs as his ears flattened.  He wasn't hungry any more, he wanted to go back to his room, turn the shower back on, and sit under it for the rest of the day.  His skin was already warm to the touch as his cheeks burned with shame.  If he didn't leave soon, he'd probably burst into tears.

Carnelian, on the other hand, was enjoying this.  If she wasn't trying not to give her own game up, she would have applauded Vylia.  It was most likely that she didn't realize the gall she had to talk down to a noble stallion, regardless of his standing, especially with his guardian in the same room.  Then again, judging from Low's wavering spine, he didn't realize that either.  Well, she wasn't about to tell that, maybe later that night, when she had the chance.

Make it hurt.  Slide the knife in slowly.  Twist it.  Make the wound grievous.  Leave the knife in.  Make sure he never forgets the pain.  He will never want to feel that way again.

"I leave that decision up to you, my dear Vylia.  Low has always been one for gaudy outfits, he might enjoy it."  Her eyes left her hostess to stare into Low's, who immediately turned his gaze to the floor.  "In the end, it will be your resources spent.  In the mean time, Low, do stop gawking and join us.  You must be famished."