open The Town That Friendship Forgot

[Thundy]

@Dynamo Pad

”Drive forward and accelerate. Pay attention to your tachometer. When the needle hits around 3500rpn, use the right paddle with the plus sign on it to shift up. Shift up to third gear then release the accelerator. Gently press the brake, and the left paddle with the minus sign on it. You’ll shift down. Shift down back to first gear as you bring the car to a stop.” Thundy explained. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,382]

@Courageous Thunder Dash

As he listened to Thundy's explanation, Dynamo had a blank expression upon his face. He tried to make heads or tails on what the male griffon was saying. However, it all seemed to go over his head. "Uh...Thundy? I hope this isn't a bad question, but we're still teaching me how to quickly learn on driving a car, right? I-I hope you can forgive me, b-but you really lost me." He gave the griffon an apologetic look, before taking notice of the right and left paddles that were positioned behind the steering wheel. "I do see the right and left paddle, but why do I need to drive until I get to a certain point. Then to shift up and then shift back down?" He asks, confused as to why the griffon was telling him this.

[Thundy]

@Dynamo Pad

”To make things more simple...accelerate, press the right paddle, keep going, press the right paddle, release the accelerator, brake and press the left paddle 3 times until you come to a complete stop. Did that make things more clear?” Thundy asked. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,382]

@Courageous Thunder Dash

"I think so. I'm sorry about all of this confusion. I've never really had any way to shift when it came to a kart before. It was mostly how you would play in Mareio Kart. There was drifting and such, but there was never any shift into higher gears. However, it'll give me a chance to learn." Dynamo responded, understanding a little more as he listened to Thundy's simple explanation. Taking his back hoof off of the brake pedal, Dynamo placed his hoof onto the acceleration pedal. Upon driving, the unicorn made sure to keep watch of the road, while making sure his tachometer had hit the necessary speed. Once he reached 3500rpn, he used his right front hoof to click the right paddle. With each press, he seemed to have gotten a little bit faster as he drove. Once he reached third gear, he moved his back hoof from the acceleration back to the brake pedal. He gently pressed the pedal as he clicked three more times, before ultimately coming to a complete stop. He felt shaky as he was nervous, but he managed to pull it off. "H-How was that? Did I-I do o-okay?"

 

[Thundy]

@Dynamo Pad

”Perfect! Now, let’s make a u-turn and do it one last time. Then I’ll let you go on your way.” Thundy stated. “Remember, you gotta use your left signal for a u-turn.” Thundy stated as he waited for Dynamo to start the u-turn. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,382]

@Courageous Thunder Dash

Dynamo gave a small grin, before breathing a sigh of relief. He was relieved that he had managed to do what was tasked, before being told he had to make a u-turn. "So, it's sort of like the Pokemon move, but not really." He chuckled from his joke, but it was more along the lines of defusing the nervousness he was feeling. Taking a deep breath, Dynamo used his turning signal to show that he was turning left. Seeing that they had enough room to maneuver, the gaming unicorn had an fairly good idea on what needed to be done. Moving towards the right side of the road, Dynamo waited until he had enough room to turn left. Driving forward, he soon changed his direction as he drove to the left. Making sure to use the hoof over hoof technique, he managed to perform the u-turn. Unfortunately, the turn had caused the position of the car to look a little crooked. However, he remembered the moments in the kart race, as well as the Mareio Kart games. Looking over towards the stick, Dynamo pulled the stick up to where it said 'reverse.' He looked behind him as he tried to drive a bit backwards. It took him a moment, but he managed to right himself into a better driving position. Seeing the straightaway before him, Dynamo proceeded to move his back hoof over the acceleration pedal. Driving forward, he waited until he was at 3500rpn, before shifting gears three times. He soon started to gently slow down as he shifted gears three more times. All the while, making sure to gently press the brake pedal with his back hoof, before slowly coming to a stop.

[Thundy]

@Dynamo Pad @Ragland Tiger

”And there you go Dynamo. You’re ready to go.” Thundy said smiling as he got out. He left the door open for Bluebell. “Oh! And when you’re done, you can park it at whatever house you’re close to or living in.” Thundy said. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,382]

@Ragland Tiger @Courageous Thunder Dash

"Huzzah!" Dynamo cheered, throwing his hooves into the air. He felt the car move slightly as his back hoof was off of the brake pedal. He quickly hit the brake, before placing the car in park. "S-Sorry about that." He chuckled sheepishly, before giving Bluebell and Thundy and apologetic look. "It's just that I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do this. I'm not the best when it comes to karts or cars, but I guess I have to see it as if it were a video game. I still want to say that I can't believe I did it, but I'm glad I was able to learn/figure this out." He says, pulling the male griffon into a hug. "Thanks for helping me on learning how to drive, Thundy. I really appreciate it." He says, unbuckling his seatbelt, before making his exit out of the car. He then walked around the car, before opening the passenger door. He held a hoof out as he bowed before the bespectacled mare. "After you, m'lady. Your ride awaits." He chuckled with a playful smirk, before the smirk turned into a soft and loving smile.

[Silly Druid 7,077]

@Samurai Equine @Windy Breeze @C. Thunder Dash @ExplosionMare

15 hours ago, Pencil Pouch said:

“I’m not really sure what to do, either, so maybe we could find a way to help together,” Pencil suggested to Tree Song. “I’m pretty sure you will be able to contribute something important, even if you don’t think you can,” Oh, if she only knew the irony of her words.

Tree Song doesn't know how to respond to Pencil's reassuring words, so she just gives her a hug instead.

***

When they arrive at Milenko's office and Samurai breaks the lock, Nopony enters it and looks around. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he starts using his magical abilities instead. He closes his eyes and tries to sense any magical anomalies inside the office.

Tree waits outside, letting her more experienced friends do the searching.

Edited April 7, 2021 by PawelS

[Pencil Pouch]

@PawelS @Samurai Equine @Windy Breeze @Courageous Thunder Dash

Pencil was both surprised and delighted when Tree Song offered her a hug. She gladly returned it. Once they finished embracing, she, Tree Song, Samurai, Shadow, and Chelsea headed to Dr. Milenko’s office.

Oddly enough, Milenko was on a mystery excursion. Pencil hoped it didn’t have anything to do with where Pastel was. She waited outside and tried to think of where to go from here. Should they go around the back or look for things outside? Before her questions could be answered, Samurai broke the front lock as soon as he saw it. It was strange that he of all ponies was the one to break the lock, but perhaps this mission was more important to him than she thought.

As they went inside, Pencil noticed Tree Song hanging back. A bit puzzled, she asked,

“Are you coming in?”

It wasn’t a huge deal if Tree came in, but Pencil would feel bad if she was left out here alone. Like she had told the earth pony before, she could contribute to the mission, even if it wasn’t in a magical way. For now, Pencil headed inside, but if she needed to, she would stay out with Tree.

Inside was what Pencil assumed a typical film-like therapy room would look like. It was almost like a miniature living room, decked out with a sufficient amount of chairs and desks. There were also some filing cabinets filled with important files, which where most likely client files. Samurai broke the lock on the cabinet, too. She noticed everyone’s negative reaction to the lock-picking. She sympathized, but like Samurai said, Milenko was a villain, so he was partially justified. This made Pencil feel like she was a police officer searching without a warrant. Perhaps this was what the mission was about, to be undercover cops.

Taking a random stack of folders, Pencil sifted through them for any signs of magic or misdemeanors. She was careful not to read any names so she wouldn’t make any associations with townsponies and their visit here. At the moment, she couldn’t find anything, but she wouldn’t be surprised if something turned up soon.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Dynamo Pad @Ragland Tiger

"Hey that's alright. Anyway, I guess I should be seeing you two on your way. I gotta go catch up with the others to see what they're up to." Thundy stated. 

 

@PawelS @ExplosionMare @Samurai Equine @Windy Breeze

Chelsea could feel something around...like a bad mojo. She wasn't visibly showing signs that something was there (like exhaustion or straining). She gathered some water energy and made a ball of water appear in her talons. If something was around, the ball of water would turn black. There was nothing...yet...

[Tree Song]

@ExplosionMare @Samurai Equine

"I'll stay here, I don't think I can help much with the searching, and as I said earlier I can guard the entrance. If it's some kind of trap, I'll be able to warn you all if somepony comes this way."

[Pencil Pouch]

@PawelS

Pencil nodded. Guarding sounded like a good idea, now that she thought about it. She left Tree Song to her own devices and continued searching through the files for anything important. She hoped to find something of importance, but she was still coming up short. She was beginning to wonder if she was just looking in the wrong place.

[Ragland Tiger 3,412]

5 hours ago, Dynamo Pad said:

He then walked around the car, before opening the passenger door. He held a hoof out as he bowed before the bespectacled mare. "After you, m'lady. Your ride awaits." He chuckled with a playful smirk, before the smirk turned into a soft and loving smile.

@Dynamo Pad @Courageous Thunder Dash

Bluebell smiled back.  "Why, th-thank you, kind s-sir," she said, and gave him a kiss before she got in. "Th-thank you,Thundy," she called.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@Ragland Tiger @Dynamo Pad

Thundy waved the two off. "Have a great time on your date!" Thundy called out. 

@PawelS @ExplosionMare @Samurai Equine

Thundy then put a sign on the door to the shop that said "Will be back soon!" He then sensed where Chelsea was. He then used an instant transmission and reappeared by some sort of office. He turned and saw Tree Song. "Oh! Hey there Tree Song? What's going on here?" Thundy asked looking at the green mare. 

[Tree Song]

@Courageous Thunder Dash

I get startled a little when Thundy appears out of thin air near me. But when I see who it is, I smile happily.

"Hey Thundy, nice to see you here. This is the office of an evil therapist or something, the one that put a curse on Trilby. Our friends are searching it now, you can join them if you want. I'm guarding the door."

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

@PawelS

"I'll stay outside with you...Chelsea a major help for the group, so I'll help you guard the door. With Chelsea's pure heart, she can detect any bad spirits, persons even evil auras." Thundy explained. "Do you have any idea why Trilby went to see that so-called therapist in the first place?" Thundy asked curiously. 

[Tree Song]

@Courageous Thunder Dash

"My teacher can detect some things too, like residual effects of using magic, and other anomalies, as he calls them. As for Trilby, I have no idea why he did it. I'm in this town only for a few days, and I don't know him very well. But he is inside, so you can ask him directly."

[Thundy]

@PawelS

"That's pretty interesting. Chelsea also has a similar ability where she makes this ball of water energy that can trace magic. If it turns black, that means that there is a dark magic somewhere. Also, did you notice that Chelsea was panting and looking exhausted when she felt the curse on Trilby?" Thundy asked. 

[Tree Song]

@Courageous Thunder Dash

13 minutes ago, Thundy said:

"That's pretty interesting. Chelsea also has a similar ability where she makes this ball of water energy that can trace magic. If it turns black, that means that there is a dark magic somewhere. Also, did you notice that Chelsea was panting and looking exhausted when she felt the curse on Trilby?" Thundy asked. 

"Yeah, I noticed. It must have been really hard for her. Seems like a very nasty curse."

[Thundy]

@PawelS
 

"Chelsea always has that reaction if there's a cursed creature close by. That's why she tries so hard to remove it. Chelsea's pure heart does that. Ponies and creatures with pure hearts can do amazing things. They're protected by their own purity. They may have gone through stuff in their past, but they don't hold any bad or hard feelings against someone that hurt them in the past. It was so hard for Chelsea...but what she did that day she earned her cutie mark, showed everypony who she truly was...an advocate of peace and a guardian. She'd put her whole life on the line to get to someone." Thundy said. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,382]

@Ragland Tiger @Courageous Thunder Dash

Dynamo smiled, blushing as he received another kiss from Bluebell. "You're very welcome and it's no problem, my dear." As she got into the vehicle, Dynamo closed the door for her, but not before she had given her thanks to Thundy. "I know I said it before, as well as Bluebell had said it. However, we thank you so much for the car, Thundy. Seriously. This is really kind of you and we really appreciate it." He says, making his way to the driver's side, before getting in. Upon closing the door, Dynamo made one last check on the preparations, before turning towards the bespectacled mare. "Ready to go?" He asks, making sure that they were both buckled up as he took the car out of park. He waved at the male griffon, before slowly taking off down the road. "Thanks again Thundy and will do! We'll see you and the others later!" He called out to the griffon, while making sure to be careful into not hitting anyone with the car. "So, is there anywhere you have in mind on where you want to go for our date? I had a few ideas in mind, but I wanted to see what you thought first." He explains, remembering the places he had seen, while driving around town with Thundy.

[Ragland Tiger 3,412]

2 hours ago, Dynamo Pad said:

"So, is there anywhere you have in mind on where you want to go for our date? I had a few ideas in mind, but I wanted to see what you thought first." He explains, remembering the places he had seen, while driving around town with Thundy.

@Dynamo Pad

"C-can we go-go to the am-amusement park in-in town?  I l-l-love those kinds of places.  ...Oh, I almost forgot."  Bluebell reached into her saddle bag and took out a skinny wooden box. She opened it and took out the beret with the with feather attached to it.  "This is a sp-special occasion," she said, fastening it to her hair.  "It's the first-first time I-I've ever--"  She stopped mid sentence. then her voice became more quiet and sheepish.  "...been o-o-on a d-date."   She hastily wiped her eyes.  "D-don't mind me.  I'm just being s-s-silly."

[Dynamo Pad 11,382]

@Ragland Tiger

As he drove through town, Dynamo's eyes widened at the mention of the amusement park. "Is there a spell that allows you to get into the minds of others? If so, then you really did read my mind. That, or I guess you received a flier from some of the Pegasi around town." He joked with a chuckle, before continuing. "One of the fliers landed in my lap and the amusement park was something I was going to suggest." He grinned, pulling over to the side and parked as he went to check his saddlebag. He soon pulled out the flier, while scanning the paper to find the directions. "You can say that again. I haven't been to an amusement park in such a long time. I love the rides and games they have available." He would say, placing the flier back into his bag as he got the gist of the location. As he was about to start driving once more, Dynamo looked over to see Bluebell, who had pulled out a skinny, wooden box. Upon opening said box, he looked with interest as he saw the beret with the feather attached to it. He remembered seeing the bespectacled mare wearing it the day before. He thought she was looking very adorable then and she still looked adorable even now. "That feather and beret look great on you. You look really cute Bluebell, b-but you always look cute, in my opinion." He blushed, scratching his facial cheek with his hoof.

As he began driving down the path towards the amusement park, Dynamo had tilted his head slightly as he heard Bluebell's voice become more quiet. However, given that they were sitting next to each other in the car, he was able to still hear her. "It's okay and no need to worry. To be honest, this is my first date in quite a long time." He admitted, trying to let Bluebell know that she wasn't alone in that train of thought.

Edited April 7, 2021 by Dynamo Pad

[Samurai Equine 52,012]

@PawelS, @Windy Breeze, @Courageous Thunder Dash, @ExplosionMare

Without thinking about it, Samurai sits in the doctor's chair as he reads through file after file.

Trilby decides to go into the closet. Not much there. Some extra books, some harmless looking therapy dolls and other such tools, different pieces of furniture possibly for redecorating purposes. But at the upper shelves are some bins. Only one of them has files full of information. Carefully, Trilby takes that one down and opens it, going through some files.

Seconds later, he comes running out with the bin. "Everyone! I hit jackpot!" Trilby says before handing a file to Samurai. He reads it. "...When the activation command is given, anyone under my curse will suddenly become my mindless, obedient slave. However, this power comes with limitations. Upon further testing of my powers, it seems my ability to mentally control others is limited to 5,000 square meters, not even enough to cover the entire town of Friendshire. Thankfully, the curse has a second ability. If I give the activation command to just one of my subjects, it will chain-link to any cursed subjects within a mile radius. Theoretically, if I can successfully curse the majority of the population, I could assume control over Friendshire. However, just to be safe, I should try to put a curse on the town's strongest and most powerful inhabitants." Samurai is looking more and more upset/angry as he reads this.