open Shifted

[Legendary Emerald 622]

Serah continued her walk through the town, taking in the odd sights and trying to familiarize herself with them. Chances were, she'd have to get used to them.

 

The bag hanging from her neck tantalized her with its pleasing aroma, reminding her that she still hadn't eaten anything since her arrival in Equestria. Spotting a nearby park, Serah decided that a small picnic was in order.

 

The park was small, little more than a tiny field with some benches and a table or two. Only one pony seemed to be there at the moment. As Serah came closer, she noticed that pony had an instrument. One which she was intimately familiar with. She smirked.

 

“Even here, they have lyres.”

 

The musician was a mint-green unicorn, and she was seated on a bench much as a human would sit. She held the delicate instrument in her hooves while a light glow weaved and plucked through the strings; her horn was lit the entire time.

 

Though there was plenty of room on that bench for two, Serah chose to occupy a second bench which was uninhabited; still near enough to hear the music, but distant enough maintain her privacy. She sat the same way she'd seen that pony sitting, and found that it was a bit difficult to do in her pony body.

 

“Same as when I'd tried walking on two legs everywhere. A position like this just isn't natural for a pony.”

 

Serah glanced over at the musician.

 

“But if she can put up with it, so can I. Have to hold on to my humanity somehow.”

 

Serah lowered the bag from her neck and took the bread out with her teeth. She tried to break it apart, but having hooves didn't help with that. Especially when the bread was still warm and malleable.She had to settle for holding the entire loaf between her hooves and taking large, ungainly bites out of it.

 

She swallowed a mouthful of bread as she tried to place a name to the song the musician was playing. It sounded vaguely familiar, but then again, most lyre music tended to sound the same.

 

“Strange how even here, in such a world like this, there are some things that are so familiar. Maybe I could get used to this place.”

 

Serah grew thoughtful.

 

“Really, if it weren't for Discord, this would hardly be a change of pace. I've lived the same way here as I've been doing back on Earth: staying to myself, stealing to survive, and picking fights just to pass the time. The only differences is that I'm walking on four legs and shooting fire.”

 

Serah took another bite of bread. She didn't notice that the music had stopped playing.

 

“And the Order of Balrog will never find me here, if they were ever after me at all. Maybe... maybe this is preferable. Traveling a land no other human has ever seen before could be exciting. Again, if it weren't for Discord...”

 

A soft thump on the bench startled her out of her thoughts, and she turned her head to see the musician had left her own bench to join her. The pony had a large smile on her face.

 

“Hi, I'm Lyra!” she said cheerily, extending her hoof out for a handshake. Serah was momentarily puzzled, unsure of how to shake a pony's hand when hands weren't something they were supplied with.

 

“Are you now?” Serah asked, sounding more standoffish than she meant to. She was legitimately interested in that name; it was a human name. She hadn't heard any of those in a long while.

 

“Yup!” the cheery pony didn't seem to be put off by Serah's response. “I saw you sitting here like I usually do and thought, 'Hey! Another pony who sits like I usually do!'”

 

Serah didn't respond, though she did look down at herself and the pony next to her. Apparently, sitting like this wasn't as common as she'd thought.

 

“Sooo, what's your name?” Lyra continued, unabashed. She was refusing to be ignored.

 

“Serah.” Serah stated curtly, and then filled her mouth with bread again so she wouldn't be expected to say anymore.

 

“Wow, even your name is similar to mine!” the unicorn practically gasped in delight. “Don't tell me you play the Lyre, too!”

 

Serah nearly choked on her bread.

 

“Actually, I used to.” Serah admitted, not sure why she was continuing to acknowledge the pony who had interrupted her privacy.

 

“No way! You're pulling my leg, right?” Lyra asked, almost hopping up and down in her seat. Serah shook her head.

 

“It was years ago. Learned it back home. Can't play anymore.” Serah condensed her experience with the lyre back in Greece to three simple sentence. She left out that the reason she couldn't play one anymore was that the strings would burn up if she tried to play it the way Lyra did.

 

“I've been playing all my life. My parents really pushed me into it as soon as I got my cutie mark.” the unicorn pointed to the lyre symbol on her flank proudly. The mentioning of parents made Serah frown.

 

“My parents made me stop learning when they joined that cult. My father ended up snapping my lyre in half when he found where I'd hid it. Music wasn't allowed in the Order of Balrog.”

 

Lyra's cheerful voice knocked Serah out of her dark memories.

 

“Of course, my real interest is in human studies!” Lyra exclaimed. This time, Serah really did choke on her bread, causing the other unicorn some alarm. “Are you alright?”

 

“I'm fine.” Serah responded, pounding her chest with a hoof. “Did you say... human studies?”

 

“Yeah! Most ponies think they're a myth, but I know that they used to exist! There's so much evidence all over Equestria. The average height of doors, the holes in bowling pins...” she held out her instrument. “Even the lyre! If you've played one, you know how awkward it is for a pony to play.”

 

Serah couldn't say anything. She was too surprised just to be finding out that there were even ponies in this world who knew of the existence of humans. Even if Lyra was speaking of them as if they were mythical creatures who'd gone extinct.

 

“Nopony has ever believed me, though. My parents always told me I was wasting my time with my research. Even my roommate thought I was crazy. It's made it a bit hard for me to make friends with other ponies.” Lyra admitted, a hint of sadness in her voice.

 

“Then why bring the subject up, if no one ever believes you?” Serah asked, moderately interested.

 

“Well, someday I'll find somepony who believes me. And then I won't feel so alone.” Lyra answered sheepishly. “I saw you and a lot of other new ponies come into town today. I guess you're just the first to hear my sales-pitch. Heh...”

 

“I see.” Serah said, mulling over the unicorn's words. She could have told Lyra right then and there that she believed her, and that she wasn't alone in knowing the truth about humans. But something stopped her, and made her uncomfortable to say the words that Lyra desperately wanted Serah to say.

 

Lyra eventually broke the awkward silence that had ensued with an equally awkward and forced cough.

 

“I'm sorry for bothering you. I just... haven't had anypony to talk to in awhile.” Lyra said, looking off into the distance. Her legs slowly swung back and forth at the edge of the bench.

 

“It's... fine.” Serah replied. She took a long hard look at the pony. For the first time, she noticed the feint grass stain that stood out against the lighter green of Lyra's coat. The unicorn's mane was less than neat as well, and over the aroma of the bread, Serah could faintly smell the distinct scent of wet horse. Serah came to a depressing realization.

 

“She's homeless. Probably plays her music out here for money. And she mentioned an old roommate before, so she probably hasn't lived this way for too long.”

 

For the second time that day, Serah felt her normally frigid heart moved by one of these multicolored ponies. With renewed vigor, she attempted to break the rest of the loaf of bread in half. She eventually succeeded by using her knee for balance.

 

Serah held out the half-loaf of bread to Lyra, who stared at it in surprise before slowly accepting the gift. The pony was so happy that she was nearly crying.

 

“Thanks.” Lyra eventually managed to squeak out, giving Serah a genuine smile before her expression turned downcast. “Things have been... hard since the apartment burned down.”

 

“Discord?” Serah asked, going off of her previous hypothesis. Lyra nodded.

 

“Apparently, he got to the landlord. And one day that pony just decided the insurance policy on the apartments mattered more than the ponies living in them.” Lyra explained. “Burned the whole building down when he thought there was nopony around, and then got hurt saving two children from the fire that he'd started. Told his story to the paramedics before he died.”

 

“I see.” Serah said. She watched Lyra wipe away a tear.

 

“Everything BonBon and I owned was gone in a matter of minutes. She has well-to-do parents in Canterlot, and they were able to take her in. They offered to put me up for awhile as well, but...” Lyra gave a weak, pathetic smile. “I was too prideful to accept.”

 

Serah watched Lyra take a bite out of the bread, savoring it as if it might be her last meal.

 

“Lyra... we really are similar.”

Edited April 5, 2012 by Legendary Emerald

[deprecated 199]

Do I really want go to a pony hospital? What do I say, 'I tried to fly and broke my face'? They'd probably expect all pegasi to be able to fly, and for all pegasi to not be human.

 

Speed smiled nervously and looked at Crystal. "I'm... I'm fine," She lied, "I just need to... to wash it off. And maybe I'll need a band-aid..." She knew that the other pony would not believe this, but she did not want to go over to that hospital. She didn't want anyone in this world to know she was human.

 

If I told anybody I was a human, they'd probably freak! First they have that awful Discord thing taking over, and then have humans in their world! They would probably banish me! Or throw me in a dungeon! Or throw me in a dungeon in the place that they banished me to!

 

Speed tried to back away from the hospital, slowly, but Speed was so caught up in her thoughts, that she tripped over a rock and landed on her already bruised and bleeding head. She knew that this showed even more weakness to the other pony, who would probably end up forcing her to go. She sighed and got back up, looking away from the hospital. She really didn't want to go there...

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Flame shrugged as the other pony waved off her injury. "Okay, if you're sure." He turned his attention back to the other two ponies. He had managed to get the attention of at least one of them, and was preparing to call out to ask where the others had gone, when he saw the stubborn pegasi trip over a rock, and fall flat on her face. He scowled.

 

"You're definitely not okay. Come on, the hospital isn't so bad. WIth Discord's arrival, everyone's going to need all the strength they can get." She still looked hesistant. Why would anyone in that condition refuse medical treatment? Either her brains-and common sense-got rattled, or she's embarrased. Assuming the second option, he added, "If you're too embarrased to admit you fell, you can just say someone punched your face or something. Trust me, you'll regret not having medical treatment if you don't get it quick."

[PeachPalette 1,000]

Peach smiled sheepishly over at Lionheart, her surprise of his swift arrival snuffed out by his kind words. She closed her eyes lightly leaned upon him as they walked. "It's quite alright," she whispered back to him. "I understand. This is world must not be what you're used to in your own. I imagine it was quite a culture shock."

 

She held her light smile as she rested her eyes, completely depending on his body for much of her support. It felt good to not strain to walk. She gave a little sigh of relief before opening her eyes again and completely realizing that she simply used him as a crutch without asking for permission to do so. Peach quickly pushed herself off of him despite how much that pained her to do so. "I..I'm sorry, heh," she apologized.

 

A silence passed between them with only the clopping sounds of their hooves upon the dirt and gravel road filling the air. "Will you be joining our little group...erm...what...was your name again?" She asked him a bit embarrassed. She honestly could not remember if he'd mentioned his name before. Her mind was a complete frazzled mess. It normally was with her strange personality disorder, but this whole deal with Discord and her near death experience threw her for a loop.

 

Hm, she thought to herself. I wonder why my...personality hasn't changed yet...

[Deshi Bashara 6]

Cole again noted Electrobolt feeling weak and felt a brief jolt of sympathy for him. Poor guy'll be feeling better soon enough. he thought. He observed the two ponies in the distance, watching with interest. They both looked familiar, but he had forgotten their names. Oh, well. he added. It'll come back soon enough. I'm just temporarily confused, that's all.

Cole turned back to Electro. "I was going to take a walk around the town. Do you want to go with me?" he asked him.

[deprecated 199]

"No really, I'm fine!" Speed assured the other pony. She forced a smile onto her face. "It's really nothing. I've been through a lot worse..."

 

Yeah, but you went to the hospital for those...

 

Speed opened her wings to show that she was fine, but she still winced in pain as she opened them. They weren't as badly injured as her face, though. "I just need to rest for a bit and wash off my face. Where exactly is the Inn?" She tried to change the subject, looking around for the Inn.

 

She noticed some other ponies off in the distance. They were both from the group. One was Electro, and the other pony she did not remember the name of the other one.

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Flame sighed, and pointed in the direction of the inn. Thankfully Discord hadn't messed with it again. There's no reasoning with some. "Oh, very well. Have it your way...just try not to get more, erm, injured...in the meantime. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I met you before, back in the group-" he waved his tail in the general direction of the place they had all started in-"but if you forgot, my name is Crystal Flame. It was nice meeting you...probably would have been better under more, erm...normal conditions."

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt heard Cole asking him if he wanted to go walking around town with him. While his legs were still not all that strong, he was still able to stand up. *But if I try to walk on my own, well...* he thought, remembering what happened when he tried to approach the two ponies who returned to the town recently. *But on the other hand, I don't want to be by myself... And I haven't seen everything here yet...* Electrobolt then shook his head and looked back over in Cole's direction as he responded, "Yes... I'd like to go with you..."

[Legendary Emerald 622]

Serah and Lyra sat in silence, consuming their meals and making no more conversation. But Serah's mind was working in over time.

 

“She can't survive on her own. She isn't like me. She's too soft, and I think she knows that. Should I offer her help?”

 

Serah's scowled.

 

“Help her? I've got no reason to. I look after myself, no one else. Which is why I actually paid for food today. And then gave half of that food away. F*ck, what is this place doing to me...”

 

Serah was running out of bread. She'd need to make a decision soon.

 

“So, where are you and those other new ponies from?” Lyra asked after awhile; she'd already finished her meal.

 

“From... not around.” Serah answered cryptically. “I don't know the others well. We just ended up together.”

 

“Yeah, I figured you weren't much of a pony person.” Lyra responded.

 

“You have no idea.” Serah couldn't help but smirk.

 

“Are you all staying at the inn?” Lyra asked nonchalantly.

 

“Yes. The Peach pony bought rooms for us all when we arrived.” Serah answered carefully. She hadn't missed the subtext in Lyra's query.

 

“Umm... c-could I maybe...” the musician stumbled over her words, crossing and uncrossing her hooves. The unicorn gulped. “Could I stay with you? Just for the night?”

 

“I was dreading this. No. She can stay here and survive on her own. Besides, even I'm not sure I trust that inn anymore after last time. But, if Lyra was there, I'd at least be able to protect her. Not that I should have to.”

 

“Sure...” Serah answered with a sigh. Lyra's face predictably lit up with happiness and relief.

 

“Thank you. Thank you so, so much.” Lyra smiled so appreciatively that it almost hurt Serah to look at her.

 

“This is terrible. She's going to become dependent on me at this rate. She's digging her claws in, trying to attach herself to me. And the worst part is, I'm letting her.”

 

“I promise not to get in the way of you and the rest of your group. I just can't take another night laying on the grass. It's.. itchy.” Lyra punctuated her point by scratching her grass-stained side, with some difficulty. “Arg, this would be so much easier with fingers...”

 

“Tree tops make good resting places. Learned that in my travels.” Serah dumped the rest of her bread in her bag, and slung it over her neck. She stood up from the bench. “Beds nice in a blue moon though.”

 

“Hah, I hear you. You sound like you're pretty good at the living alone thing.” Lyra left the bench as well, and began to follow Serah.

 

“I thought I was, until you showed up.”

 

Serah led Lyra back towards the inn, which was a bit of a trek. Ponyville wasn't as small as it seemed, though it wasn't anywhere near the size of the cities Serah had passed through on her tour of the US. Lyra talked almost constantly, mostly about humans and how wonderful they were. Serah was unable to share her enthusiasm, and said nothing in return.

 

“And that's why it's called its called a gondola!” Lyra concluded some wildly off-base story just as the two of them reached the inn. “Oh, we're here already?”

 

“Yes.” Serah said through grit teeth. She pushed open the door and headed inside. She briskly passed through the lobby without looking anywhere but straight ahead.

 

“The last thing I need is those other elements seeing me bringing a woman to my bedroom at this time of day.”

 

Lyra kept up with Serah's pace, and they reached the room that Serah had woken up to find herself in when she'd nearly frozen to death. Combined with what Discord had done to the inn afterward, Serah's memories of the place were less than pleasant.

 

Lyra sat on the edge of the bed, causing it to bounce up and down. She looked around happily, her eyes eventually landing on the singed blanket.

 

“Woah, what happened here?” she asked, looking through a hole that had been burned into the sheet.

 

“Never mind that.” Serah answered shortly, still slightly embarrassed over that accident. “I'm going to find the others in my group. Stay here.”

 

“Alrighty then.” Lyra replied with a small salute. As Serah turned to exit the room she heard the soft 'plumf' of the unicorn's entire body hitting the mattress.

 

“Great. Just an while ago I found out I'm the Element of Power, and now I'm going soft. Perfect timing.”

Edited April 9, 2012 by Legendary Emerald

[Marcato 2,144]

Silver found the cart a little heavier then he had thought, but he was glad to take it off of Peaches han- erm... hooves. When he saw Lionheart following them, he smiled faintly when he saw how Lionheart had changed after such an event. He was happy they weren't a small group. Small groups can't hold out well.

 

Silver couldn't wait to hopefully get all his questions answered. Those books would probably have tons of valuable information that could help him, as the element of strategy, figure out a plan. Silver already figured out that this wouldn't end until all the humans returned to where they came. That meant he would have to likely do some research on Discord and his past escapes.

 

"hey Peach, just how big is this library anyways? Is it going to have all the information we need to learn about this Discord creature and any other valuable to us? Me and the rest of the humans will need to figure out how to use our abilities to the best we can and find our talents." He said to Peach. It was true. The talents were obviously important. They marks on their flanks had to do with their talents, but his already told him something he knew was true. But if it was true for here in this new world, was a completely different matter.

[deprecated 199]

Speed let out a sigh of relief and set off in the direction that Crystal had pointed. "And if you've forgotten my name, I'm Speed," After a few steps, Speed had already regret not going to that hospital. But she was not going to show any more weakness. She continued walking on in the direction of the Inn.

 

Never. Fly. Again. You suck at it, Speed. Every time you've tried to fly, you've nearly killed yourself. You are not a pegasus. You are a human. Don't use those wings. Ever.

 

After a while, Speed had finally found the Inn. Speed remembered the first time she had gone in that Inn, tired. The pony named Serah had fallen to the floor in that Inn, but she didn't bother to help. Speed had drifted off to sleep, having odd dreams and nightmares while the other ponies had been saving this land from that Discord creature. And only a bit earlier, Speed had woken up on the edge of the forest. Those other ponies were heroes, Speed wasn't. She was just a girl that had been turned into a pegasus.

 

Avoiding all surprised looks from other ponies, Speed found the room that the Peach pony had bought for her. Peach was the generous pony, who helped out some humans that she didn't even know. And what had Speed done in return? Disappear. Speed walked over to the bathroom to wash off her face, and after she had done that, had gone to bed and drifted off to sleep...

[Wolfe 71]

I'm not too sure of that myself. At the time, I was just concerned with everyone's well being, and I was fine with it. In retrospect, probably wasn't... Artsy's sigh made him think she was bummed about splitting up and of the stalemate between everyone and Discord. He caused some chaos within the group so far and... he's sure everyone's having their own personal battles against him...

 

"What do you think of this whole... pony thing anyway? I mean, what now? Do you even think it's possible for us to get home? What if we were stuck here forever?"

 

He paused for a brief moment on the questions. Maybe...my subconscious knew or thought... it was a new start... and... no no no...Maybe something else. Brave dropped the thought there. He just used logistics. Something he was used to. Well, this pony thing is just weird. I'm not sure what to think of it. As for being stuck here... it can either go two ways. One, the more unfortunate route, is that we don't stop Discord and things get more chaotic. What the result might end up as is a mystery. Two, we stop him, but there needs to be some way to go back. And that's also a mystery.

 

When he responded, he sounded genuine. He always tried to be genuine. Even when lying specifically about questions toward himself. He made sure his situations never conflicted or worried others'. From that, he wondered if Artsy had anything else that was bouncing around her head that she wanted to let out. He turned his head slightly toward Artsy, but his face still isn't visible.

 

Anything else bothering your mind?

[Trixies Apprentice L 493]

"Yea it is quite true this world is way different than ours. Much better if I might add and definatly more interesting." Lionheart softly said.as he continues walking. It was quite true. In the human world everyone was much more distant from one another, things were way more boring this world seemed perfect compared to it.

 

(Who knows there might be a way to stay here instead of going back mayb-) Lionheart started thinking but was his thoughts were cut short when suddenly Peach supported herself on him. Lionheart turned slightly red.And when she snapped up and apologised, there was silence and after a bit he quitly said. "It's quite ehmm... quite allright, you are tired nothing to be ashamed of. hehe."

 

The walked and he then answered her question. "Yes I will, i am actually quite eager to learn more about this place. It more fascninating that our to say the least and Mu name is Lionheart....well my pony name I guess since I cannot remember my real one."

 

(OOC: Yea not the best post )

[PeachPalette 1,000]

"Well Lionheart is a fine name.You're a brave soul, I imagine," she complimented him as her hooves struggled to carry her.

 

She lifted her head. She was thrilled to see her home coming up over the horizon. Finally, she thought. Her smiling face turned to Silver and motioned with it towards her home. "That's my place right there," she said as she noticed Silver look ahead in that direction. Her cottage was a rather extravagant one. It was two stories high and covered quite a bit of landscape. It was cream in color with dark wooden boarders crisscrossing in various areas. A beautiful garden surrounded it, and soon the sweet floral scent reached their noses. It seems her parents left her quite a place.

 

"My father," she began with a slight pause, "Had this hobby, you see. He was a bit of an explorer and took the opportunity to collect many works while on his far off business trips with my mother. He's got a whole study filled with things that I believe will help us. It's worth a try anyway."

 

It wasn't long until they reached her door, her horn glowing. The glow surrounded the oddly shaped knob, turning it at her will. The door opened to a dark home. "Come right on in, everypony," she said as they all gathered inside behind her. "Aaand some light," she said in the darkness. As if on cue, several lanterns lit up, showing off her home in all it's wide splendor.

 

The inside was humble and homey, yet brilliant. It seemed to them that her father dedicated more of the home to his travels than just a study. An old map of Equestria covered one entire wall of the home, which happened to be the biggest wall in the den. There were several glass cases with artifacts nestled into them, and a small bookshelf filled with dusty rather old looking books. "Right this way," she beckoned. "My father's study is just down this hall."

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Flame sighed as he watched the other pegasi leave. It seemed like no one was listening to him. Again. Honestly, what's so bad about the hospital...? He waved the thought from his mind. Cheer up, he told himself. You'll have plenty of time to get used to the rest of the group. Still though, it hadn't really been what he had expected. They had just fought Discord together. It could have cost any one of them their lives. And...then they just split up, without even bothering to properly introduce themselves. It was just unbelievable.

 

Protection, remember, he thought to himself as he felt a small bubble of irritation slowly rise up in his chest again. You're supposed to look out for these ponies, not get mad at them. Still, though. It was...pretty darn hard to just sit and endure being "that pony over there who tags along and helps fight Discord". He wanted more than that, he wanted friends.

 

Jeez, you're acting all emotional. Get ahold of yourself, the world is no place for friendshippy crap like that. Your time in the human world-what you can remember of it anyway-has proved that. Stand up, soldier.

 

He couldn't help it-he continued fuming as he took off towards the sky again. Two new insults to add to his ever-growing list. His advice had been rejected, sound as it was. Even worse though, no pony had even stopped to look back, back when they were still fighting Discord. No one had cared that he had just saved them from incineration from blazing hellfire. No one cared.

 

Just like in the human world, he thought dully as he flew. I doubt I'd even see a change if the worlds did merge together.

[Deshi Bashara 6]

Cole nodded. He wondered what Ponyville would look like. The only time he had actually seen it without snow was when Discord had made it into that creepy ghost town. He shivered as he remembered how barren everything had looked. That could happen to both of our worlds if he wins. he realized. That could happen to any world.

 

"Alright, then." Cole awkwardly began, trotting in the direction of Ponyville. Then he turned his head back to Electrobolt. "If you need help, just let me know." he assured him. With that, he turned again and resumed walking.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt heard Cole tell him to let him know if he needed help and nodded, before looking back to Crystal Flame. *No one should be alone right now...* he thought. Looking back to Cole, he spoke, "Alright, but... Could you... Wait a second...?" After saying that, Electrobolt slowly approached Crystal Flame, being careful not to fall again, like he did not too long ago.

 

It took a bit of time, but he managed to approach the pony that was by himself. *Alright... You're here... No backing out now...* he thought, as he looked at Crystal, a little nervous. "Um... Hello..." he finally spoke out. "Um... Would you... Like to join us...? We were going to... Walk around for a bit... And, well... I didn't want to just leave you out here all alone..." Turning his head, as if he was shy, he added, "Do you... Want to come?"

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Flame made a single circle of the sky before he descended back on the ground, stumbling a bit as he landed. "Shoot. One easy way to know if you really need to get to bed-you mess up an easy landing like this. His mind continued to take in random thoughts, but now it easy to dismiss them more readily. He was tired, and definitely not in the mood for coping with the thoughts of revenge-which he was beginning to suspect were linked with Discord-that continued to invade his mind.

 

He was so preoccupied with his thoughts-or attempt to create a lack thereof-that he didn't notice one of the ponies he had waved at earlier approaching him. He turned, startled, as he realized the pony was talking to him. It did manage to snap him out of his mental struggle though, which was nice.

 

"Um...sure," said Crystal Flame hesitantly. Maybe I can get to know those two ponies, he thought. It's better tramping around with a group when you actually know who the heck you're traveling with. He shoved all thoughts of anything anger-related out of his mind as he tried to focus on the task at hand. "By the way, do you know where the rest of the group went? So far, you two and her-" he indicated the inn that Speed had went in-"are the only ones I've seen since this morning."

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

She nodded vaguely to Brave's responses, her mind once again losing track of the conversation as thoughts began to enter it... until he asked her if there was anything else bothering her mind.

 

About to respond, something caught Artsy's eye. A tattered flyer on the ground, which she tried to use magic to pick up. But nothing happened except a feeling of immense tiredness and dullness within her horn. It felt as though she was trying to force out energy that she didn't have. That made sense, she supposed... perhaps it needed time to recover. Although she really had hoped it wasn't gone forever.

 

Instead, she scooped it up as best she could with a hoof and gazed at it. It was colourful and had a rather fancy-looking font, something which had caught her eye before. Her eyes went over its contents briefly as she saw rendering of two ponies dressed in some rather nice clothing. A female with a dress, and a male with a tuxedo. So ponies did wear clothes. A note was made for later that she had to figure out where to obtain it.

 

Canterlot Presents...

The Grand Galloping Gala!

 

A formal traditional event hosted by your very own Princesses Celestia and Luna, the gala this year cordially extends an invitation for everypony to come for free in honor of those who have lost their crops to the Chocolate Rain Epidemic. No tickets required. Come one and all and forget your troubles as we have the most magical evening of the night!

DRESS CODE: FORMAL ATTIRE REQUIRED

Her expression suddenly became attentive as she read the part about the Princess coming. Perhaps if she went to this gala, she could encounter this Celestia and ask her if it was really true about them permanently staying ponies due to discovering their elements. And maybe the Princess could help them find out what to do next. How to get rid of Discord for good, how to get home, how to turn back into humans, what these elements actually were... there was so much she wanted to know. And so much the Princess had promised she would tell her, but never had a chance.

 

Artsy's eyes leafed over to the date, as she became bemused. Ponies used the same dating system as humans? Huh, imagine that. But what day was today?

 

"Do you know... the date of today? Come Brave, look at this. This might be the answer to our problems. A really important princess will be at this thing, and this may be the only time we can find her and ask her about how to beat Discord and a bunch of other stuff."

Edited April 7, 2012 by Arylett Dawnsborough

[Marcato 2,144]

Silver walked over to the massive map on the wall. "Equestria?" he said. "Is that what this world is called?" He said to Peach. He then followed her down to the study. Equestria... Silver knew he had heard that name before, but when, and where? This whole mess was only getting more confusing as he learned more. Silver could only hope that the books and studies provided would give him a better understanding. However if this person was mainly based on exploring, Silver began to wonder if he would really find what he was looking for.

 

The cottage seemed to be very cozy. It reminded Silver of where he lived before back when he was still a human. Silver still wasn't entirely sure which memories he had were true, after Discord screwed around with them. But he had to brush them aside until he could figure them out himself. He couldn't let them take control of him again.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt shook his head as he responded to Crystal Flame, "I'm sorry but... No, I don't..." Letting out a small sigh, he added, "Your guess is as good as mine... When I woke up, everyone else was gone... Except for him." He then looked back to where Cole was before he returned his attention to Crystal. With a weak smile, he finally asked, "Oh yeah, I don't think I introduced myself to you yet... Have I? The name is Electrobolt. Nice to meet you."

[Wolfe 71]

Today's date? Brave said as he walked toward what Artsy was looking at on the ground. He winced every so often as he made each step toward the flyer, due to his injury. Don't know actually...

 

He took a look at the crumpled flyer on the floor. Grand Galloping Gala? Never was one for parties... Princess Celestia and Luna... She did mention one of those princesses had given her that message. Maybe this is her? And is it that one pony I saw when I first came to this place...?... Formal Attire... Welp... I could tie a tie if I had hands...

 

Brave read and reread the flyer to make sure but something struck him as odd. His eyes sharply glanced at the page, scrolling from left to right over and over. It wasn't because it was free, but it was in honor for the farmers that lost crops in this "Chocolate Rain Epidemic." Meaning this weird oddity was caused by Discord. If Discord is still out there, then he could easily cause chaos at this Gala. He could be setting a trap. This flyer itself could be a trap, or maybe the princesses know about it and are setting a trap for him, or know we needed to see them. Or maybe they're setting up a trap for Discord... Oh boy... there's so many possibilities for this that I don't know where to begin or what to believe... Shouldn't say this to Artsy. It might get her worried. We'll just go with it. I'll just be careful about our surrounding when we get to this Gala...

 

He turns his head to Artsy. Well, if this will get us answers, I guess we suit up and head to the Gala. But still, we don't know how close or far we are from the Gala. Peach or SiFi would know,... but we don't know where they are... *sigh* Maybe the innkeeper knows...

 

Brave reads the flyer one more time. Something seems to be up, and Brave knows it. They wouldn't hold a Gala during a crisis for any other reason. He looks back at his wound, looks a bit worse than he thought. Looks like he should really patch it up soon. Everyone seems to be in good hands now and he can focus a bit on himself.

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Flame nodded. "And if you forgot, I'm Crystal Flame. Slightly strange we were fighting Discord together and we don't even know each other's names, eh?" He frowned, noticing Electrobolt's tiredness. "Hang on, you're not tired, are you? It's probably not a good idea to take a walk when you're out of energy." He glanced at the other pony (Cole). "You seem fine, though."

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt attempted to protest Crystal's argument by starting to respond, "Don't... Don't worry about me... I'll be fi---" It was at this point, however, that his body betrayed his speech. First, he let out a yawn, which even though it wasn't the loudest yawn in the world was still pretty audible. The second thing that occurred was his eyes gave off a glazed look, as his eyelids attempted to droop over his eyes. And finally, his legs were shaking even more than they were earlier, trying to support the weight that they're attached to, which felt almost four times heavier than normal. "Um, on second thought..." he spoke out again, "Could... Could you show me... Where I could... Find the inn...?" He tried to hold in another yawn, but instead failed as another yawn slipped through again, this time however, not as loud.

[Deshi Bashara 6]

"I'm Cole." Cole responded to Crystal Flame. "And I had a headache, but that's gone now." He watched as Electrobolt started yawning. "Yeah. Come on, it's this way." he said to the exhausted pony, turning back to Crystal. "We'll drop him off at the inn, then we'll cruise around, I guess." he decided.

 

He lifted Electrobolt onto his back. "Don't worry, the inn should be a few minutes away." Cole assured his...friend? Ally? He didn't know which one to adress him as, so he decided on ally for now. He resumed his journey to the inn, dwelling on this new line of thought.