open The Town That Friendship Forgot

[Pastel Heart 6,466]

@ExplosionMare @Dynamo Pad @Samurai Equine @Astral Vision

Satisfied with being able to convince Pencil to join the group, Pastel smiled and hopped up to Dynamo and the others.

"Good day, party ponies! I have brought a very special guest, the ever so lovely Miss Pencil~"

Pastel gestured as if she were attending a dinner party. for some reason. She looked to Dynamo and nodded rapidly.

"Mhm! No issues! Played just like I remember! The experience was... Outstanding."

She deepened her voice as low as she could for the last word, as if trying to immitate the narrator from the game.

[Dynamo Pad 11,257]

11 minutes ago, Pastel Heart said:

@ExplosionMare @Dynamo Pad @Samurai Equine @Astral Vision

Satisfied with being able to convince Pencil to join the group, Pastel smiled and hopped up to Dynamo and the others.

"Good day, party ponies! I have brought a very special guest, the ever so lovely Miss Pencil~"

Pastel gestured as if she were attending a dinner party. for some reason. She looked to Dynamo and nodded rapidly.

"Mhm! No issues! Played just like I remember! The experience was... Outstanding."

She deepened her voice as low as she could for the last word, as if trying to immitate the narrator from the game.

@Astral Vision @ExplosionMare @Samurai Equine

Dynamo chuckled as he saw Pastel hopping over towards him and the others. As he heard her announcement, he smiled and gave Pastel and Pencil a bow. 

"Why good evening, my dear ladies. It's a pleaser to make your acquaintance. I hope the arcade is provided to your liking."

He gave a sheepish grin as he looked up from his bow, before watching Pastel nod rapidly. He blinked in surprise and concern, while wondering if her head would pop off from the constant nods. He opened his mouth to respond, but stopped at the sudden drop of her voice. It almost sounded evil, but he soon recalled the voice being familiar. Now knowing what she had meant, Dynamo smiled as he ruffled Pastel's mane lightly. 

"Awesome! Glad to hear the two of you had fun. It sounds like you got to enjoy an old classic. Hopefully the other games will work just as well as the one's we've all covered. By the way, nice imitation. There just needs to be an echo like they do in the game. Not sure how that's even possible, but that's video games, after all. Also, we're going to continue playing games, but Samurai needed our help with something." He would say, wanting to inform both Pastel and Pencil on what was going on.

[Astral Vision 286]

9 hours ago, Dynamo Pad said:

@Samurai Equine

Dynamo tilted his head slightly upon hearing the name. This was his first time hearing the name Final Premonition, so he was completely out of the loop. 

"I hope you don't mind in me asking, but who is this Final Premonition? Based on what Astral said in being an expert at magic, then I'm going to guess that, he too, was a unicorn? If not, then it's pretty interesting how a non unicorn can use magic. It's rare, but I heard it's possible. At least, that's what I learned in school. Was Friendshire his original home, or did he happen to move here?"

The gamer pony began asking questions left in right in rapid succession. Realizing this, he blinked as he gave the two an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry for all the questions. I guess that's sort of a bad habit. It's just that I tend to want to know any and all information regarding something. So, that way we can figure out a few or one concrete conclusion. Opening the box the physical way could work. However, maybe there's a different way to solve it. Hey, Samurai. Has the box opened or activated in any way recently?"

He looked to Samurai, before looking back at Astral with a nod. Taking heed of the warning, while looking into the theory.

"Hmm...can I make a suggestion? Maybe I can try and placed my horn upon the box and place my magic upon it. Now that I know what kind of magic I might have, then I can have my magic act as a sort of conductor. Afterwards, you both can use that respective magic to see if it'll all combine to get the box to react. What do you think? Would something like that be even possible or plausible?"

@Pastel Heart

As he was giving his two cents on the situation, Dynamo's ears perked as he heard the sound of laughter. He turned towards the source to see Pastel and Pencil were making their way towards them. The gamer pony could only smile as he held out a fore-hoof to wave to them.

"Hey! How was Mortal Kombat? Did you both have fun playing the game? I hope the game was able to run without any issues." He would say with a grin.

@Dynamo Pad @Samurai Equine

"I'll fill you in later Dynamo. But if you wish to help, then feel free to lend us your magic for this experiment. Just remember to brace yourself."

Astral stood in place, focusing his mind and his magic while waiting for Samurai's response.

[Dynamo Pad 11,257]

31 minutes ago, Astral Vision said:

@Dynamo Pad @Samurai Equine

"I'll fill you in later Dynamo. But if you wish to help, then feel free to lend us your magic for this experiment. Just remember to brace yourself."

Astral stood in place, focusing his mind and his magic while waiting for Samurai's response.

@Samurai Equine @Pastel Heart @ExplosionMare

Dynamo sighed as he would be told about the details and information later, but he knew there were more pressing matters to attend to. 

"Okay and I'll hold you to that promise. I'll make sure to not go overboard with my magic. If something happens, then I'll make sure to brace myself for anything crazy. Although, I'm still curious about my idea too. Do you happen to know, Samurai? If not, then would you like me to start off with using my magic on the puzzle box?"

He tilted his head slightly as he wondered what the asian pony had thought about his previously asked set of questions.

[Samurai Equine 50,940]

@Windy Breeze

Trilby thinks about it then nods. "Maybe it's for the best for now." Trilby finishes his food. "Well, that was delicious. Would you like to get dessert?" Trilby asks. He notices that the sun is slowly going down.

@Astral Vision, @Dynamo Pad, @Pastel Heart, @ExplosionMare

Samurai nods and takes in what his friends are saying, though Astral's suggestion seems to ring the most interesting. "Use magic? I never thought of that before..."
But he notices Dynamo is still out of the loop. "It's a long story. The box is magic, it was made by a gifted unicorn named Final Premonition, and now we need to solve the box to fix the town. That's the jist." Samurai says, and just in time too. Dynamo's attention is momentarily split.

Still, he gives a friendly wave to Pastel and Pencil. He didn't mind if they watched, Samurai figured they might end up finding out about this sooner or later.

But soon, Dynamo redirects his attention, and they can get started. "We all want more information, Dynamo. The box has never fully opened before, and there is no key or easy way to do so. I'm still figuring it out as I go, but I think trying everything is better than trying alone, which I've been doing for too long."

When Astral adds his magic to the box, it makes a few gears move a little bit then stop.
Samurai tilts his head and adds his magic as well. More gears move for a bit and then stop.
(Sorry, I'm skipping ahead a bit. Hope that's okay.) And when Dynamo adds his magic, more gears turn, and the box begins to glow. "This is it, everypony! Heads up!" Samurai warns, moving his head away from the box.

The box makes a magical projection of the next major event that needs to take place in the town.
The images are always crude, but not impossible to decipher. "Huh... Looks like... A cart race? A city-wide cart race?" When Samurai figures it out, the box stops glowing and the image disappears. "That doesn't make any sense to me, but neither did yesterday's music concert. So I guess that's what needs to be done. I should make a call to town hall, see how fast they can set this up. None of the mayors are ever present there, but they always have workers there doing official business."

Edited May 1, 2020 by Samurai Equine

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Samurai Equine

“Sure. Do this diner serve hot fudge sundae?” Shadow asked. It was the most delicious dessert she had tasted in her entire life. She hope the diner they are in sells the dessert “If they don't sell that, then how about Creme Caramel?” 

[Dynamo Pad 11,257]

5 hours ago, Samurai Equine said:

Samurai nods and takes in what his friends are saying, though Astral's suggestion seems to ring the most interesting. "Use magic? I never thought of that before..."
But he notices Dynamo is still out of the loop. "It's a long story. The box is magic, it was made by a gifted unicorn named Final Premonition, and now we need to solve the box to fix the town. That's the jist." Samurai says, and just in time too. Dynamo's attention is momentarily split.

Still, he gives a friendly wave to Pastel and Pencil. He didn't mind if they watched, Samurai figured they might end up finding out about this sooner or later.

But soon, Dynamo redirects his attention, and they can get started. "We all want more information, Dynamo. The box has never fully opened before, and there is no key or easy way to do so. I'm still figuring it out as I go, but I think trying everything is better than trying alone, which I've been doing for too long."

When Astral adds his magic to the box, it makes a few gears move a little bit then stop.
Samurai tilts his head and adds his magic as well. More gears move for a bit and then stop.
(Sorry, I'm skipping ahead a bit. Hope that's okay.) And when Dynamo adds his magic, more gears turn, and the box begins to glow. "This is it, everypony! Heads up!" Samurai warns, moving his head away from the box.

The box makes a magical projection of the next major event that needs to take place in the town.
The images are always crude, but not impossible to decipher. "Huh... Looks like... A cart race? A city-wide cart race?" When Samurai figures it out, the box stops glowing and the image disappears. "That doesn't make any sense to me, but neither did yesterday's music concert. So I guess that's what needs to be done. I should make a call to town hall, see how fast they can set this up. None of the mayors are ever present there, but they always have workers there doing official business."

@Astral Vision @Pastel Heart @ExplosionMare @Samurai Equine

Getting the rundown of the box, Dynamo could only nod his head in understanding. "It's not a lot to go by, but I guess that's probably the quickest answer. Thank you for the explanation, Samurai." He would say, before nodding once more at the asian pony's remark. "It looks like trying anything at this point is better than doing nothing. I wasn't sure if there was some sort of key or random switch that would activate out of random. Although, given with how many buttons there are on that box. I suppose it would be way too complicated to just assume. So, I guess using magic will be the best course of action at the moment." 

The gamer pony watched as both Astral and Samurai had each added their own magic into the box. He could hear the sound of gears moving as it seemed the box wanted to activate. However, with each attempt, the box suddenly stopped working. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Dynamo tilted his head and placed his unicorn horn on the box. Adding his magic into the box, he was surprised as the box suddenly began to glow. Dynamo's eyes widened as he quickly backed away from the box. He stood close by to Pastel and Pencil, while trying to shield them from any sort of harm. He wasn't sure what the box was going to do at this point. 

Dynamo watched with wonder as the box began to create a magical projection. He wasn't able to make heads or tails of the projection, but it seemed as if Samurai was able to decipher it. "Huh. First a karaoke music concert and now a cart race. I would say that these events sound really random depending on the town one would live in, but it all has to mean something. Maybe there's some sort of connection between one event to another. Sort of like a chain reaction. A cart race does sound like a great idea! I'd be down for it since if it's a race, then it can be just like all of those old racing style video games! Oh, now I have to figure out how to build a cart and practice my driving!" Dynamo grinned as he could almost hop in place with glee. He was suddenly broken out of his train of thought by listening to Samurai's remark. "You said that the mayors usually send their workers to town hall for official business. Do you think that these sort of events will gain their attention to somehow meet up in the future?"

Edited May 1, 2020 by Dynamo Pad

[Astral Vision 286]

6 hours ago, Samurai Equine said:

@Windy Breeze

Trilby thinks about it then nods. "Maybe it's for the best for now." Trilby finishes his food. "Well, that was delicious. Would you like to get dessert?" Trilby asks. He notices that the sun is slowly going down.

@Astral Vision, @Dynamo Pad, @Pastel Heart, @ExplosionMare

Samurai nods and takes in what his friends are saying, though Astral's suggestion seems to ring the most interesting. "Use magic? I never thought of that before..."
But he notices Dynamo is still out of the loop. "It's a long story. The box is magic, it was made by a gifted unicorn named Final Premonition, and now we need to solve the box to fix the town. That's the jist." Samurai says, and just in time too. Dynamo's attention is momentarily split.

Still, he gives a friendly wave to Pastel and Pencil. He didn't mind if they watched, Samurai figured they might end up finding out about this sooner or later.

But soon, Dynamo redirects his attention, and they can get started. "We all want more information, Dynamo. The box has never fully opened before, and there is no key or easy way to do so. I'm still figuring it out as I go, but I think trying everything is better than trying alone, which I've been doing for too long."

When Astral adds his magic to the box, it makes a few gears move a little bit then stop.
Samurai tilts his head and adds his magic as well. More gears move for a bit and then stop.
(Sorry, I'm skipping ahead a bit. Hope that's okay.) And when Dynamo adds his magic, more gears turn, and the box begins to glow. "This is it, everypony! Heads up!" Samurai warns, moving his head away from the box.

The box makes a magical projection of the next major event that needs to take place in the town.
The images are always crude, but not impossible to decipher. "Huh... Looks like... A cart race? A city-wide cart race?" When Samurai figures it out, the box stops glowing and the image disappears. "That doesn't make any sense to me, but neither did yesterday's music concert. So I guess that's what needs to be done. I should make a call to town hall, see how fast they can set this up. None of the mayors are ever present there, but they always have workers there doing official business."

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad

Astral's eyes lit up in fascination at the box's magic. The glow it produced illuminated the entire room, and provided a singular fuzzy image. Samurai analyzed it and revealed the next event to be a cart race, which was definitely random to say the least.

"Well, glad to see that magical experiment didn't end in a massive explosion. A cart race you say? That will certainly spice up the town's tourism rating. Just picture it; racers across the land coming together to put their road skills to the ultimate test. I for one am looking forward to it."

Samurai explained that he needed to make preparations at town hall, and he would need to be quick; the sun was starting to set.

"Good luck Samurai, see you at the track tomorrow."

Astral then turned to Dynamo, and bid farewell for the evening.

"Same to you, Dynamo. I really should be getting back to my cart, good night."

[ExplosionMare 18,062]

@Dynamo Pad @Astral Vision

From a distance, Pencil could hear the tiny sound of gears grinding. She turned her head towards the noise but could not locate it as it had suddenly stopped. She turned away, now uninterested.

She looked around to find Pastel, but was suddenly startled by a loud noise and a blinding light. She shielded her eyes from the light, grimacing at the pain her eyes just experienced. Like the sounds of the gears, the light had dissipated just as quickly. Curious, she trotted over to investigate where all the commotion was coming from.

“What’s going on over there?” she half-asked, half-yelled across the room. Her eyes were still adjusting to normal light so she was unsure where everypony was located at the moment.

[Pastel Heart 6,466]

@Astral Vision @Dynamo Pad @ExplosionMare @Samurai Equine

Pastels eyes lit up as the box opened and revealed the next exciting event! A kart race? That's random, but then again so was this town!

"Oohh, looks fun! I can't wait to make everypony eat my dust~"

...Somepony was gonna have to break the news to Pastel that she was too small to drive one of those, and a filly behind an engine sounds incredibly irresponsible and dangerous. She could probably be a great flag girl and host though, considering her stage presence.

She waved to Astral with a big smile.

"Night night Astral! Get ready to totally get smoked~!"

[Samurai Equine 50,940]

@Windy Breeze

"They have anything you could possibly want!" Trilby says with a smile. Clearly, he likes her taste in desserts. He calls a waiter over and orders hot fudge sundaes for the both of them. Together, they eat dessert and have a few more laughs. When they finish, Trilby gladly pays for their bill and they leave together.

(Sorry, I am skipping ahead a little. I think everyone is getting ready to wrap this day up.)

After another scenic ride home, the sun is setting in the distance. Trilby walks Shadow up to the door of her new home. "Well Ms. Shadow, I had a wonderful time tonight. I know it wasn't a perfect night, but I still think you're a very fun and beautiful mare. And I hope maybe we can do this again some time. I know we didn't get a chance to visit Dr. Mikenko like you wanted, but maybe we can do that tomorrow instead?" Trilby says with a blush, wondering if Shadow kisses on the first date or not. Did he make a good impression? Does she like him that much? Trilby wonders if he is making all this happen too fast. He doesn't want to make Shadow uncomfortable...

@Astral Vision, @Dynamo Pad, @ExplosionMare, @Pastel Heart

Samurai waves to Astral. "Goodnight, my friend." He turns back to Dynamo. "Hard to tell, to be honest. I was able to get permission from the city to organize the karaoke event, but none of the mayors made an actual, physical appearance. But I get the feeling that the more we do this, the closer we'll get to actually meeting the mayors and helping them, as well as the town itself."

Taking the puzzle box back, Samurai can see that it still has not fully opened. They are a little closer to doing so, but there are still more layer of gears and other parts that have not opened yet. He then sees Pastel and Pencil's reactions. "Looks like Pastel is ready for anything. Goodnight, you two. I'll see you at the race, so sleep well and I hope you both kill it on the track." He turns to Pencil. "You two, if you're racing. I'm sorry we didn't get to go to my home tonight. I know you wanted to see some of my artwork. I promise, we will soon. Maybe after the racing event? I doubt it will last all day. How long could a 3 lap event be?" Samurai asks.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Samurai Equine

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Samurai Equine

Shadow giggled for the compliments she received about her, and kissed Trilby on the forehead just below his horn. Her cheeks turn red a little “Sure, Trilby” she said before looking at the direction of the apartment complex “I wanted to say something before we part ways” she whispered to his ears and uttered “I like you” she quickly pull back her head and unfold her wings, her embarrassment taking toll “See you tomorrow, Trilby, and thank you for all you did for for me today” she yelled airborne. She soon became a speck to Trilby's vision before she disappeared from his sight.

At the apartment complex. She open the door of her apartment room and went straight to her bed. She laughed cheerfully like a little Foal who just received her cutie mark. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,257]

On 5/1/2020 at 10:02 AM, Astral Vision said:

@Samurai Equine @Dynamo Pad

Astral's eyes lit up in fascination at the box's magic. The glow it produced illuminated the entire room, and provided a singular fuzzy image. Samurai analyzed it and revealed the next event to be a cart race, which was definitely random to say the least.

"Well, glad to see that magical experiment didn't end in a massive explosion. A cart race you say? That will certainly spice up the town's tourism rating. Just picture it; racers across the land coming together to put their road skills to the ultimate test. I for one am looking forward to it."

Samurai explained that he needed to make preparations at town hall, and he would need to be quick; the sun was starting to set.

"Good luck Samurai, see you at the track tomorrow."

Astral then turned to Dynamo, and bid farewell for the evening.

"Same to you, Dynamo. I really should be getting back to my cart, good night."

"You can say that again. If that happened, then all that time testing each arcade machine would have been for nothing. Glad to know that wasn't the case." Dynamo chuckled, nodding in agreement on the future event for the town. "I'm all for this kind of racing event to take place. Who knows? Some of the racers and/or enthusiasts will probably want to visit more often. Either that, or they'll want to move here. Probably to make the town feel more lively than it already is right now. I'm just wondering how we'll be able to build these carts. I guess we'll find out tomorrow." He looked to Astral with a nod as he bid his farewell for the night. "Good night and see you tomorrow, Astral. Hopefully we can practice more magic after the race tomorrow." He smiled, waving to his retreating friend.

On 5/1/2020 at 1:06 PM, ExplosionMare said:

@Dynamo Pad @Astral Vision

From a distance, Pencil could hear the tiny sound of gears grinding. She turned her head towards the noise but could not locate it as it had suddenly stopped. She turned away, now uninterested.

She looked around to find Pastel, but was suddenly startled by a loud noise and a blinding light. She shielded her eyes from the light, grimacing at the pain her eyes just experienced. Like the sounds of the gears, the light had dissipated just as quickly. Curious, she trotted over to investigate where all the commotion was coming from.

“What’s going on over there?” she half-asked, half-yelled across the room. Her eyes were still adjusting to normal light so she was unsure where everypony was located at the moment.

On 5/1/2020 at 2:05 PM, Pastel Heart said:

@Astral Vision @Dynamo Pad @ExplosionMare @Samurai Equine

Pastels eyes lit up as the box opened and revealed the next exciting event! A kart race? That's random, but then again so was this town!

"Oohh, looks fun! I can't wait to make everypony eat my dust~"

...Somepony was gonna have to break the news to Pastel that she was too small to drive one of those, and a filly behind an engine sounds incredibly irresponsible and dangerous. She could probably be a great flag girl and host though, considering her stage presence.

She waved to Astral with a big smile.

"Night night Astral! Get ready to totally get smoked~!"

 

Dynamo's ears perked as he turned his attention over towards Pencil, who trotted over towards the group. "It looks like we're going to have another special event tomorrow. Instead of it being karaoke, we'll be having ourselves a cart race around the town. Apparently, the box gave a sort of projection of a sort of race after Samurai, Astral and I used our magic on the box. I'm not exactly sure how or why, but I for one, am really psyched about this race." He said with an excited grin upon his face.

The gamer pony soon turned his attention to Pastel, who looked to be equally as excited about the upcoming race. "I'm guessing you've played a sort of racing simulator in the Manehattan arcade? It looks like there's going to be some tough competition tomorrow." He says with a chuckle, before playfully ruffling Pastel's mane. 

8 hours ago, Samurai Equine said:

Samurai waves to Astral. "Goodnight, my friend." He turns back to Dynamo. "Hard to tell, to be honest. I was able to get permission from the city to organize the karaoke event, but none of the mayors made an actual, physical appearance. But I get the feeling that the more we do this, the closer we'll get to actually meeting the mayors and helping them, as well as the town itself."

Taking the puzzle box back, Samurai can see that it still has not fully opened. They are a little closer to doing so, but there are still more layer of gears and other parts that have not opened yet. He then sees Pastel and Pencil's reactions. "Looks like Pastel is ready for anything. Goodnight, you two. I'll see you at the race, so sleep well and I hope you both kill it on the track." He turns to Pencil. "You two, if you're racing. I'm sorry we didn't get to go to my home tonight. I know you wanted to see some of my artwork. I promise, we will soon. Maybe after the racing event? I doubt it will last all day. How long could a 3 lap event be?" Samurai asks.

Dynamo's ears perked as he heard Samurai's voice calling out to him. He soon turned his attention towards the asian pony, before nodding in agreement. "I see. I remember hearing about the karaoke event the day it was going to happen. I guess it depends on how the city plans to organize everything and anything that goes on. Hopefully, they'll be able to give the green light to allow this to take place. It does sounds like a good idea for the town to take interest and/or a part in this. From what you've been saying, these kind of events will be something the mayor's will take notice of. There's only so much that can go on that they won't be able to ignore it forever." He would say, nodding once more as Samurai was about to take his leave. "Goodnight and see you tomorrow, Samurai. Thank you for playing these video games and I hope you and everyone else had a great time. Also, no worries. I'll make sure to give it all I've got." He blinked in surprise as realization dawned upon him. "Oh! I just remembered about that! I didn't get a chance to show Pencil the artwork I worked on." He frowned in disappointment, before sighing. "Oh, well. I guess I'll have to show everyone another time. Maybe after the race since I have to keep working on my magic training. Also, I'm not sure. Usually a race in a video game lasts a few minutes, but it depends on the racers participating. That, and one can never underestimate the chaos that could happen within a race."

[Samurai Equine 50,940]

@Windy Breeze

Trilby's eyes go wide when she gets in close. And soon, when he feels her kiss his head, he falls in love all over agian. He blushes hard, smiles like a love sick idiot, and giggles. He waves goodnight automatically, hearts clouding his vision. And when Shadow is gone, he skips and dances his way home. Each step leaves him lighter than air! He twirls and dances with happiness. "Fell in love with a girl~ Fell in love once and almost completely~!" Trilby can't help but sing lightly to himself as he trots home.

When he does, he almost doesn't want to go to bed, but he does get ready. Still, besides some light paper work, he does remember that he has to do something first.

@Pastel Heart

Getting on his phone, Trilby makes a phone call. "Good evening, Dr. Milenko. I sent a pony named Astral your way. Did you get to 'talk' to him? ... Yes. ... Yes, I see... Me? I went on the best date with a wonderful mare! Best of all, I think she's also ready to see you. Don't you think they are both ready to embrace a happier life? ... Me? Tomorrow? ... Well, I'll see what I can do, but you're far better at it than me. ... Of course. Thank you, Doctor. Goodnight." Trilby hangs up and heads to bed. Sweet dreams of him and Shadow Trail tonight.

MEANWHILE...

Samurai finishes saying his goodbyes and gets once last look at the TTR machine before leaving.
Once he is home, Samurai goes to his lab and writes down all the progress he and his friends made on the puzzle box today. "This has to be connected to something..." Still, he has to make a phone call of his own. He grabs the phone and dials the number. "Hello town hall, this is Samurai Equine again. ... Yes, I'd like to organize another city event, please. ... A cart race this time. Sure, I have a few minutes..." Samurai continues his conversation.

DAY 4 

@Kronos the Revenant, @Windy Breeze, @Astral Vision, @Dynamo Pad, @Pastel Heart, @Buck Testa, @ExplosionMare

As the sun rises over a new day, the town is all ready busy. Somewhere before dawn, construction teams employed by the town have been constructing race courses through the town. The starting point and finish line marked at the town square. Likewise, the square seems to be reserved for anyone actually participating in the race. There is a station for racers to sign in, a place where you can buy a cart, and a place where you can customize it to your preference! They even have pit crews getting ready for anything, and all while the construction is still going on. Any racers who have all ready signed in are being told to wait until the event coordinator gives the all clear to race.

Naturally, since Samurai started this, he is among the first to report to the sign in station. He hasn't purchased his own cart yet. He is all natural today, but he does have a backpack on. "Hmm... I wonder who will arrive first. There is a chance they might let us have riding partners. I wonder who I should ask to share my cart with... Dynamo would probably share a cart with Pastel. Hmm... Maybe Astral! Unless he wants to race in his own cart... Pencil said she gets tried of steering with her hooves, so maybe she'd like to share a cart with me..." Samurai thinks to himself as he waits for his friends.

Meanwhile, just as Kronos is starting the day, he is quickly contacted by Mayor Black via the medallion. "Kronos? It's the mayor. I have a job for you. There's going to be a cart race going on today. And as much as I love a good cart race... Takes me back to my childhood, honestly... There is something suspicious about it. Some pony named Samurai Equine is the one that put all of it in motion, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's taking part in it. My next mission for you is to make sure he doesn't win that race. You can leave him alive, we don't need a body count on our hooves right now, but do whatever it takes to sabotage his chances. Enter the race, cheat if you must, but Samurai Equine must NOT be allowed to cross that finish line. Can I trust you to do that?" The mayor asks.

Today would be an amazing day for a new citizen to waltz into town!

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Samurai Equine

Shadow crack open her eyes. The lights of the sun shine over her from a window. She let out a yawn and stared at the scenery through the window “Another day, another life” she stood up, stretched preen her wings, ate breakfast, washed herself, hung her camera on her neck, and open the door, yelling “Good morning, everypony!” before spreading her wings and flew. She went straight for the ice cream parlor, intending to buy an ice cream for Trilby and for herself. She just arrived just in time for Sundae Delight to flip the sign on the entrance door.

“Hey, miss, are you the owner of this parlor?”

“Oh, good morning, you're Shadow Trail, I presume? And yes, I am the owner of this shop” Sundae said.

“How did you know my name?” Shadow asked.

“Haven't you known the news about you and Trilby for helping the school spread throughout the town?” Sundae said. 

[ExplosionMare 18,062]

Pencil was up late drawing go karts. Ever since she heard about the race, all she could think about was kart design. There were so many types of karts out there. So far, she had drawn the tiny bug vehicles that reminded her more of turtles racing against slimmer and speedier karts. She imagined who she thought would win.

The bigger kart has a better chance of winning just by passing, but the tiny kart has a lower chance of veering off the path. I bet it would be a close draw...

Pencil’s thoughts drifted off again, one idea slowly bouncing off of another. Her artistic energy felt as if it was pouring out out of her body. If she didn’t find a vessel for it, she may as well explode. She had heard that the new karts for the race were customizable, so she could start there.

“Guess I better go outside and actually make a cart instead of just dreaming about it!” Pencil chided to herself as she galloped out the door with her sketch pad in tow.

[Buck Testa 5,505]

If there was one thing that Boulder missed the most, it was being able to walk upright. These past few weeks had been so surreal for him, stuck inside of this small squat body. Everything about his body was strange and foreign to him now. He could almost feel where his fingers used to be, where now they were almost featureless hooves instead, draped entirely in a white coat. Strangely enough, that didn't stop him from being able to grip things. There was some strange force that allowed him to lift things with his hooves, although nowhere near as efficiently as he could with fingers. That kind of dexterity went to his HAIR of all things. Both his mane and tail seemed to be able to move like their own little appendages, twisting and writhing on command. It was intensely weird. Everything about this situation was weird. 
 

He spotted his destination in the distance. Slowly he limped forward, his squat limbs shaking with exhaustion from how much work he had put them through. When he had fallen into this strange reality, he had ended up in a cave full of these creatures that called themselves Diamond Dogs. They were so scary, and they almost immediately had captured Boulder and forced him to work for them. At the time he had no idea what had happened. One moment he was just some kid going just starting highschool, the next he looks like some kinda childlike horse thing being bossed around by some kind of Dog Gremlins. 

As he got his bearings though, he started to realize that he wasn't as weak as his body looked. He could dig just as well as any of those Diamond Dogs, BETTER even, and he could lift halls of gemstones that required teams of those guys with equipment. Of course that didn't do much to change the fact they were like five or six times bigger than his coltish body and could probably grab most of his body with one Paw hand of theirs. For all he knew they were just faking being weak to mess with him. 

Still, while he wasn't sure about their strength, he could tell they weren't faking being as dumb as they were. It was simple work to plan his escape once the Diamond dogs got used to him and stopped guarding him nearly as much. 

It took weeks to finally shake them. He dug through so many miles of ground, speeding through soil faster than he had ever ran in track and field. Faster than he had ever rode a bike even. There had been some close calls. They nearly cornered him a couple times, but Boulder was able to narrowly shake them. He knew from all their guttural chattering that once he reached a certain point, they weren't going to follow him anymore. 'We have to stop him before he gets to a pony town' they would scream down the tunnels as they rushed after Boulder. 

He won. He had made it. Before his bleary eyes were actual buildings with other pony creatures that looked like his body. He wasn't even sure they would be friendly, but at this point he didn't even care. He was so hungry, and so thirsty. So very thirsty. He had been digging through the ground for weeks, barely finding anything to eat or drink during that time. His legs were trembling with exhaustion and his pure white coat was absolutely matted with mud. Even his strange prehensile hair was matted down with earth. 

Ponies started to take notice as he neared the town. There seemed to be some kinda event going on. a Festival maybe? He stumbled over his hooves trying to walk a straight line. His body was finally giving out now that it had found some kind of safety. 

  

@Samurai Equine

@Emerald Heart

@Pastel-chan

@Windy Breeze

@Dynamo Pad

@ExplosionMare

 @Bastian: 

@Astral Vision

@Kronos the Revenant

@Jack Baker:

[Emerald Claus 24,848]

@Buck Testa

(Hey everyone! I'm back!)

Fable, who was nearby, took action and helped the pony up. Without saying a word, she grabbed the horse and lifted him up so that she was carrying him on her back. 

She walked with no issue, but paused and raised an eyebrow at the stallion, silently asking him where he intended to go.

Edited May 5, 2020 by Emerald Heart

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Buck Testa @Emerald Heart

Shadow was about to reply when she heard someone gasp. She and Sundae glanced to see a mare helping an unconscious colt. They immediately approached them. 

“Oh my stars, what happened to him?” Sundae said.

Shadow examined the colt. His ribs are slightly visible, and the sweat she saw all over his body, giving her the idea why he fainted “He's tired, and terribly hungry” she said before looking at Fable. If she weren't in this kind of situation, she would say 'Hey, have we met before?' instead of “He needs food and water!”

Edited May 5, 2020 by Windy Breeze

[Kronos the Revenant 1,971]

@Samurai Equine

Kronos pulled out his medallion as the mayor contacted him. 
 

When given his new assignment, he simply replied, “Understood, sir.” As much as he didn’t plan on participating in the kart race, a job is a job. He disassembled his suit and stowed it away in his instrument case. He went over to the sign up sheet and entered his name. He kept Samurai in his peripheral vision. 
 

So, how will we do this? a voice asked. 
 

Pour sake in his kart’s gas tank, one of them snickered. 
 

Launch a firework into his exhaust, another suggested. 
 

No, idiots, Kronos argued, The mayor said no killing him. Let’s just try to stall Samurai out in the track, keep him from going in first, even if it means riding dirty. 
 

Chariot race style?

 

Somewhat, but with carts. 
 

You think they’ll have random ass items laying around for us to throw at them?

 

I doubt this race will work that way. Still, let’s just bump him off at every possible chance we got. Take the inside corners, tap his front bumper as it turns, anything to stall him away from first. Besides, unbeknownst to many here, we’re experienced street racers, and we know a thing or two about playing dirty on a race track.  
 

A sinister smile subtly grew on Kronos’ face as he prepared his custom kart. 

[Astral Vision 286]

@Samurai Equine

Astral woke to another beautiful day on the town, and thankfully he wasn't parked in the middle of construction this time. After a quick breakfast, Astral made his way to the town center where the event was being held, and soon saw Samurai guiding ponies to karts. This event was sure to spark great tourism for the town, but something felt a bit off, though the blue unicorn didn't know what.

"Good morning Samurai. I trust the event is off to a good start, it seems like plenty of creatures are interested?"

18 minutes ago, Kronos the Revenant said:

@Samurai Equine

Kronos pulled out his medallion as the mayor contacted him. 
 

When given his new assignment, he simply replied, “Understood, sir.” As much as he didn’t plan on participating in the kart race, a job is a job. He disassembled his suit and stowed it away in his instrument case. He went over to the sign up sheet and entered his name. He kept Samurai in his peripheral vision. 
 

So, how will we do this? a voice asked. 
 

Pour sake in his kart’s gas tank, one of them snickered. 
 

Launch a firework into his exhaust, another suggested. 
 

No, idiots, Kronos argued, The mayor said no killing him. Let’s just try to stall Samurai out in the track, keep him from going in first, even if it means riding dirty. 
 

Chariot race style?

 

Somewhat, but with carts. 
 

You think they’ll have random ass items laying around for us to throw at them?

 

I doubt this race will work that way. Still, let’s just bump him off at every possible chance we got. Take the inside corners, tap his front bumper as it turns, anything to stall him away from first. Besides, unbeknownst to many here, we’re experienced street racers, and we know a thing or two about playing dirty on a race track.  
 

A sinister smile subtly grew on Kronos’ face as he prepared his custom kart. 

@Kronos the Revenant

Astral suddenly felt a sharp tingle through his spine, and turned  to be met with a lone figure in the distance. He remembered this pony when he first arrived to the town, but something seemed suspicious about him, besides the fact that he was some kind of cyborg. For Astral, the main event would come first, but he was still sure to keep an eye out just in case.

[Emerald Claus 24,848]

@Windy Breeze @Buck Testa

Fable nodded in agreement and pointed at a small diner across the way. She held onto the stallion tightly before trotted over to it, only a little bit curious if those two from before were following her.

[Windy Breeze 15,189]

@Buck Testa @Emerald Heart

Terrified of the fact the colt look a little malnourished, Sundae rushed pass Emerald and the unconscious colt and open the entrance doors of the diner using her magic before going for the counter “We have an emergency. There's a little colt hungry, and he needs food, ASAP!” the chefs began panicking, clearly confused and caught off guard of the situation.

Shadow went for the nearest available and wave a hoof at Emerald “Sat him down on this couch!” she was stifling the urge to take photos of the colt since it's a disrespect if you suddenly took photos of him.

“Here!” A chef approached them, levitation a tray, and sat on the tray is a burger, barbeque vegetable, a pear, and a drink. He placed the tray on table as Sundae watched with her hooves on her mouth as she watched them go. The costumers are also watching them as well. 

Edited May 5, 2020 by Windy Breeze

[Dynamo Pad 11,257]

11 hours ago, Samurai Equine said:

 

MEANWHILE...

Samurai finishes saying his goodbyes and gets once last look at the TTR machine before leaving.
Once he is home, Samurai goes to his lab and writes down all the progress he and his friends made on the puzzle box today. "This has to be connected to something..." Still, he has to make a phone call of his own. He grabs the phone and dials the number. "Hello town hall, this is Samurai Equine again. ... Yes, I'd like to organize another city event, please. ... A cart race this time. Sure, I have a few minutes..." Samurai continues his conversation.

DAY 4 

@Kronos the Revenant, @Windy Breeze, @Astral Vision, @Dynamo Pad, @Pastel Heart, @Buck Testa, @ExplosionMare

As the sun rises over a new day, the town is all ready busy. Somewhere before dawn, construction teams employed by the town have been constructing race courses through the town. The starting point and finish line marked at the town square. Likewise, the square seems to be reserved for anyone actually participating in the race. There is a station for racers to sign in, a place where you can buy a cart, and a place where you can customize it to your preference! They even have pit crews getting ready for anything, and all while the construction is still going on. Any racers who have all ready signed in are being told to wait until the event coordinator gives the all clear to race.

Naturally, since Samurai started this, he is among the first to report to the sign in station. He hasn't purchased his own cart yet. He is all natural today, but he does have a backpack on. "Hmm... I wonder who will arrive first. There is a chance they might let us have riding partners. I wonder who I should ask to share my cart with... Dynamo would probably share a cart with Pastel. Hmm... Maybe Astral! Unless he wants to race in his own cart... Pencil said she gets tried of steering with her hooves, so maybe she'd like to share a cart with me..." Samurai thinks to himself as he waits for his friends.

Meanwhile, just as Kronos is starting the day, he is quickly contacted by Mayor Black via the medallion. "Kronos? It's the mayor. I have a job for you. There's going to be a cart race going on today. And as much as I love a good cart race... Takes me back to my childhood, honestly... There is something suspicious about it. Some pony named Samurai Equine is the one that put all of it in motion, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's taking part in it. My next mission for you is to make sure he doesn't win that race. You can leave him alive, we don't need a body count on our hooves right now, but do whatever it takes to sabotage his chances. Enter the race, cheat if you must, but Samurai Equine must NOT be allowed to cross that finish line. Can I trust you to do that?" The mayor asks.

Today would be an amazing day for a new citizen to waltz into town!

@Pastel Heart 

After seeing Samurai take his exit, Dynamo turned to the others. "I guess since the others are leaving, then it's time to close up the arcade for the evening. Especially since we'll have a big competition on hour hooves tomorrow. Good night and see you and the others in the morning, Pencil." He would say, before going over to make sure that every arcade machine was turned off.

DAY 4 

As a new day had dawned in Friendshire, Dynamo had awoken to the sound of construction being done in town. The gamer pony yawned as he slowly rose up into a sitting position. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he soon realized that today was the day of the kart races. "Oh, sweet Celestia! It's racing day! I hope I'm not late to sign up!" He exclaimed, throwing the covers off of him as he quickly jumped out of bed. "Hey, Pastel-chan! It's time to get up! The big competition is today! You want to go and participate in the races, right! Well, then let's get going!" He hopped in place, while rushing around to get ready for the day. He made sure to make something to eat for him and Pastel, while hoping that the young filly would soon awaken.

11 hours ago, Windy Breeze said:

@Samurai Equine

Shadow crack open her eyes. The lights of the sun shine over her from a window. She let out a yawn and stared at the scenery through the window “Another day, another life” she stood up, stretched preen her wings, ate breakfast, washed herself, hung her camera on her neck, and open the door, yelling “Good morning, everypony!” before spreading her wings and flew. She went straight for the ice cream parlor, intending to buy an ice cream for Trilby and for herself. She just arrived just in time for Sundae Delight to flip the sign on the entrance door.

“Hey, miss, are you the owner of this parlor?”

“Oh, good morning, you're Shadow Trail, I presume? And yes, I am the owner of this shop” Sundae said.

“How did you know my name?” Shadow asked.

“Haven't you known the news about you and Trilby for helping the school spread throughout the town?” Sundae said. 

As Dynamo stepped outside of his and Pastel's house, his ears perked as he heard someone shouting good morning. Turning to see a pegasus taking off into the sky, he smiled and waved. "Good morning!" He called out, feeling refreshed and full of food. 

4 hours ago, Astral Vision said:

@Samurai Equine

Astral woke to another beautiful day on the town, and thankfully he wasn't parked in the middle of construction this time. After a quick breakfast, Astral made his way to the town center where the event was being held, and soon saw Samurai guiding ponies to karts. This event was sure to spark great tourism for the town, but something felt a bit off, though the blue unicorn didn't know what.

"Good morning Samurai. I trust the event is off to a good start, it seems like plenty of creatures are interested?"

@Kronos the Revenant

Astral suddenly felt a sharp tingle through his spine, and turned  to be met with a lone figure in the distance. He remembered this pony when he first arrived to the town, but something seemed suspicious about him, besides the fact that he was some kind of cyborg. For Astral, the main event would come first, but he was still sure to keep an eye out just in case.

@ExplosionMare

Making his way towards the center of town, Dynamo had taken notice of Samurai, Astral and an approaching Pencil. "Hey, you guys! Good morning!" Dynamo called out to them with a grin and a wave. Slowing down to a stop, Dynamo had taken in the view of the raceway being set up. "So, it looks like town hall was able to get the go ahead and gave the green light to make the kart race. Has there been any update to the rules? It looks like there are a lot of spectators and competitors who want to partake in this."

[Emerald Claus 24,848]

@Windy Breeze @Buck Testa

Fable nodded in thanks and kept a careful eye on the stallion. She then looked over at the two horses, raising an eyebrow at them before gesturing for them to take a seat as well.