private Bloodlines~ (SOL / Dark mystery)

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Sunset Glow

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Sunset smiled as Emerald, Gardenia and Coat tail all seemed interested in following along. Having company in this new place would be much better than being alone. The town was nice, but for some reason, she couldn't put her hoof on what.. But something about the place gave her the creeps. It wasn't the buildings, or the ponies.. Just the fact that it seemed so remote, so isolated. Where would they go if anything happened? She hushed her thoughts, realizing she was merely getting paranoid at this point. "Calm yourself Sunset, nothing's going to happen, it's a vacation on Royal property, what do you honestly believe will happen?" She thought, and with that, chuckled. "Onward to the theater then." She said to Emerald in response. She turned her head as Coat tail proposed he follow along. "Of course not, you are most welcome Coat." She smiled at Gardenia who'd been the first to speak up. "I wonder what they have planned for this week. Perhaps a Shakesmare? I'm so excited right now." As she began to walk along, the buildings stood overhead on either side. Signs and windows needing attention and maintenance in a bad way. Red Cask wasn't kidding when he said there was a lot to do. This place looked like it hadn't been lived in for decades in some places.

 

The road lead down to the theater district, which was decorated with gardens and sculpted trees. This place looked well kept compared to other areas they'd passed. A sign, mounted to the front of a grand old building, sported the masks of the theater. It looked more fitting of Canterlot than this little town. "They must really adore theater here" She thought. Then something else crossed her mind, something that had been nagging at her since they were in the woods in that carriage. She turned to Emerald, and asked in a slightly hushed voice. "Something bothers me.. I can't explain what exactly it is, but.. do you remember how we stopped for the coach master to light lamps? I was just thinking.. Isn't it strange, he seemed surprised to see it so dark.. As if he had never gone that way before." She wondered if the others had noticed this point of curiosity.

[Umbreon 569]

Fizzle

 

@, 

 

Fizzle smiles when Muddle approaches her, tilting her head slightly.  "Oh, hi Muddle!  I'm Fizzle.  I saw you on the carriage, sorry we haven't had a chance to talk yet..."  The young mare chuckles lightly, glancing around before grinning widely.  "I'd love to walk around with you, if ya wanted!  I mean, it would probably be more fun to explore with somepony, right?  Probably less likely to get lost too...  Heh heh...  N-Not that I get lost a lot!  Or like, ever!  I mean, that would be ridiculous, right?  I'm talking too much again.  Shutting up now!"

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Emerald Gaze.

 

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Emeralds head cleared and heart slowed its beat instinctively on hearing the hushed, nervous tone - one that she knew well.l, that of a pony determined not to show fear... It wasn't just her that was feeling a little uneasy then? Well, at least she knew that she wasn't going mad.

 

"I did wonder a few things... I'm certain its nothing though dear." She lied in a confident, reassuring tone. "Quite possibly he was from Canterlot and hasn't been here before. It's all part of the experience..."

 

Dropping her voice, she glanced around and added under her breath. "... though between you and I, it might be best to keep any such suspicions indoor and among friends, if you take my meaning? Wouldn't want to insult anyone with insinuations about their home."

 

She winked and returned to her usual tone.

 

"I simply must remember to pick up a cloak of some kind while we are here - I didn't even consider it when preparing... jewellery is all very nice, but it can hardly provide warmth or shade."

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Muddle

 

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One of Muddle's hooves seemed to move backwards as she spoke. "yeah, I agree, ab-so-lutely ridiculous." Her hoof touched the map she had written on earlier. Now assured that it was still there, she brought her hoof back to the ground in front of her.

 

"Other than that, Fizzle huh? Well it's nice to finally meet you." Muddle placed a hoof behind her head and slightly grinned.  "Also, trust me, it's fine. I guess I'm not exactly the loudest pony in Equestria when it comes others... Well, that and wine." She started to chuckle slightly and brought her hoof to the ground once more.

 

As she continued to speak, her chuckling gradually died down. "Anyway, I guess you're right. I thought it would be nice to have someone else to walk with... Not that, I'm afraid of getting lost here either or anything! Just thought we'd be in the same area and al~"

 

'I think we both have something we will need to work on...'

Edited May 11, 2014 by Dreamless

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Sunset Glow

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Sunset smiled meekly and glanced around to see if any locals were near enough to hear them speak. There didn't seem to be, thankfully. "Yes, I suppose you're right." She said, hoping her worries were nothing more than circumstantial or coincidental. She was relieved to know that she wasn't the only one noticing these things at the very least. She thought about the theater once more, as they neared the front of the building. The thought of seeing a live performance was exciting. It had been a long time since she'd been, it wasn't cheap back in the city, and here it was all payed for by the resort. She smiled as Emerald mentioned wanting to find a cloak, and nodded. "I have one of my own, but I wouldn't object to accompanying you to the shops later if you'd like. I wouldn't mind exploring as much as possible before sunset."

 

The theater doors were tall, arched and built of heavy oak wood with iron hinges and ornately designed iron braces. They were decorated with castings of ponies and famous theatrical symbols. They swung open before them, and behind stood a younger unicorn stallion. He wore a red usher's uniform, and smiled broadly as the ponies stepped up to the doorway. His coat was light blue, and his mane and tail were brown. "Welcome to the Bloodwell theater. I will show you to your seats. Please follow me." He said, and turned around, beginning to lead the group in.
Inside there was a ticket booth, which was closed up. A paper hung in the window, advertising a play that was to happen tomorrow night, starring two of the town's best actresses. The hall opened at the end, revealing the main theater hall, where lights could be seen shining on the crimson curtains beyond.

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Gardenia

 

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Gardenia listened intently as Sunset and Emerald lowered their voices. She thought it rude to eavesdrop, but it's not as if though they were whispering, so she justified the act to herself as something they were expecting her to hear. She hadn't thought particularly suspicious about the ride to Bloodwell, but now that Sunset mentioned it, it did rather bother her in hindsight.

 

"A cloak?" Gardenia thought to herself at Emerald's mention of it, "hmm, perhaps, well, maybe I could... no, no, that'd be odd. Wouldn't it? Besides, I'm sure Emerald has enough bits on her to get her own, I needn't get her one. Me getting her one as a gift, no, that'd be superfluous. And weird. Why would I? Though, come to mention it, I could probably do with one myself... I didn't think to pack some warmer clothes, and it could get chilly in the night."

 

Then, Sunset offered to accompany Emerald in shopping for that cloak. Gardenia halted trotting along for a moment, "Oh, dear. She does seem rather keen on spending time with Emerald, doesn't she?" She caught herself, and picked her pace back up, "um, not that there's anything wrong with that... why, I would like to go shopping with her, too." Gardenia's thoughts paused at that, but she clarified to herself, "to pick up somethings for myself, of course. Yes. Mainly for that."

 

She cast a sidelong glance at the two other mares, smiling at each other in their conversation, and she felt the desire to speak up, "shopping, you say?" She managed to say in a cheerful tone, before reconsidering how she was going to follow that up.

 

"It would be odd of me to invite myself alongside those two, on something they've arranged. Together. That'd not only be odd, but rude, right?"

 

"Well... that's nice." she uttered in a rather feeble attempt to seem not too interested.

 

Walking into the theater hall, she spared a glance at the advertisement. "Tomorrow night? Oh, hopefully I'm free then, and hopefully so is..." her thoughts stalled as she took a seat for herself. She sat at the end of the row, and only had one seat beside her. "anypony else? Yes. Not anypony specifically. Why would I be picky?"

 

She looked back at the other three ponies, who had not taken their seats yet, and smiled casually at Emerald, hoping that the expression would be enough to invite her to take the seat next to her. "Oh, Emm?" She uttered, as the setting she found herself in reminded her of something the stallion who greeted their arrival at Bloodwell had said, "am I mistaken or did Red Cask mention a magician who practiced here in the mornings? Shame we missed her today, isn't it?"

Edited May 12, 2014 by Aged Rain

[Evilshy 5,090]

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Coat Tail continued to follow a few steps behind the others, listening as Gardenia tried to make conversation. He thought about talking to her, but figured she wanted to talk to Emerald in particular. Everybody seems to want her attention. Makes sense, she gives off that kind of vibe.

It seemed the two, possibly three mares were going shopping later. Coat didn't want to invite himself, but it would be a good opportunity to show off a bit. He made it a point to keep up on fashion, and even if the others weren't into the current stuff, there were always rules that held up no matter what. Of course, if they all know their color and shape compliments, no need for me. I might be better off just copying Sunset's magic and then going straight to the hotel. Give myself maximum time to mess with it.

 

As they entered the theater, he lingered a bit at the entrance, looking at the various posters on the walls. He overheard Gardenia asking Emerald about the magician, as if she'd know, and made a note to come earlier the next day. He then stood to the side, waiting for the mares to take their seats before he did. And who says chivalry is dead?

 

 

(Had a nice, long post almost finished. Then the Internet Gods said no and it all was lost

And then it double posts before I'm done with the second post, of course)

Edited May 11, 2014 by Evilshy

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Sunset Glow

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Sunset noted Gardenia, having commented on their plans, seemed somewhat quiet, though clearly interested in joining them. "Why don't you come along too, Gardenia? The more the merrier." She said with a friendly chortle. "This is all of our vacations, nopony's telling you where not to go.. well, at least not until after dark it seems." She had reminded herself of another point that bothered her. How was it that they had timber wolves in a place like this? Weren't those native to the Everfree? Sunset had never heard of them existing anywhere else. "Enough of that now, Sunset. There's fun to be had and you're going to ruin it for yourself unless you stop thinking so much."

 

As they entered, Gardenia took her seat at the end of a row. Sunset shuffled her way past and sat in the seat next to her. She turned to Gardenia with a grin "I can't wait, this is going to be so much fun." She said, nearly giddy with excitement.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Midnight Scribbler

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Emerald Gaze.

 

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Emerald watched as Gardenia smiled - sweetly by anyponys standards - and Sunset slipped into the seat beside her. A shame - Emerald hadn't gotten as much of a chance to speak with the mare as she had sunset, she supposed that would have to wait until later.

 

Stepping past the stallion, the diplomat glanced at him with a polite (if a little surprised) expression: it was an old fashioned gesture perhaps, but still a one which was appreciated.

 

"I don't doubt that its quite a spectacular performance." She answered, taking care to mirror the noblemares smile (however briefly) before she took the next seat along - placing herself next to Sunset. "I shall have to make a point to seeing her... and the main performance of course, it wouldn't do to miss that!"

 

Emerald settled back into her seat, sighed comfortable and looked back to see if the stallion was going to take a seat. He had been polite enough to wait for them all after all: that already placed him above Blueblood in her estimation.

 

"My thanks darling. Please, take a seat - I don't bite! It was... Coat, wasnt it?"

[Umbreon 569]

Fizzle

 

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((Sorry for the slow reply, had a bit of an absence from the forums))

 

Picking a direction at random without bothering to consult the map she'd been supplied, Fizzle starts walking while keeping her gaze turned to Muddle.  The young mare keeps her friendly smile on her muzzle, her tail swishing slightly as she walks.  "So Muddle, what do you do?  I mean, that probably didn't come out right...  I guess I'm just curious, everypony else I've talked to has seemed so interesting.  LIke, it's no wonder a prince would have invited them to come to his fancy resort town and stuff, but all I do is help run my brother's shop.  Oh, do you have any siblings?  I'm the youngest in my family."  

 

Well aware that she was asking a series of questions without giving the other mare an opportunity to respond, Fizzle clamps her mouth shut loudly before grinning at Muddle again.  "Er, sorry, I tend to talk a lot..."  Fizzle laughs quietly before piping down to give Muddle a chance to speak, one ear twitching to show she was still listening while she glances around to take in the sights of the town as they walk.  

 

This place looks like it'll be pretty nice when it's done...  I mean, he did say they were still renovating it, I can't wait to see it completely finished!  Not that I'll probably get invited back by then, but it would be interesting to see...

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When Fizzle had chosen the direction she wanted to go, Muddle had started to smile softly and follow. As the two walked, Muddle had heard Fizzle ask her something. She turned her head and looked down at the filly with a fairly puzzled expression. The filly had asked a question she had been wondering herself. 

 

She giggled as the filly finished and smiled, "Trust me, it's fine. I tend to ramble sometimes." She continued to slightly smile and say, "Also, I agree with you there. I could only hear bits and pieces; but from the little I heard, everyone on the carriage seemed interesting and unique." She blushed and rubbed her head as they walked, "To be honest I'm not sure why I'm here either. I'm a show mare that just 'plays around with shadows,' as my mother would say..."

 

Muddle's eyes had started to wander aimlessly for a moment as she walked, then she spoke. "And yes... I have an older sister." She giggled and added quickly. "Oh~ but that enough about me. You wouldn't mind telling me about helping run your brother's shop? You maybe selling yourself a little short if you think a job like that's not important."  

Edited May 14, 2014 by Dreamless

[Umbreon 569]

Fizzle

 

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Fizzle grins and shrugs slightly, turning her gaze back towards the other mare.  "Oh, it's important to him, it's nothing fancy though.  Really you can't even call it a shop, we don't have a building or anything...  He travels a lot, so its more of selling along the road and stuff.  He makes fireworks, I just help sell them and clean up after him.  I tried my hoof at making them the way he does, it...  Wasn't pretty.  Hehe."

 

Shaking her head briefly, Fizzle sighs quietly.  "Emb is kinda hopeless when it comes to talking to new ponies though, he gets flustered too easily.  So, I tend to do the talking for him while he does the work."  Looking back to Muddle, Fizzle quickly grins again.  "What did you mean by show mare?  That sounds neat!  I've helped with a few of my brother's shows, I fall short next to his fireworks though.  All I can do is play with the smoke."

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

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As the two mares wandered up the road, the streets they passed on either side wound through the buildings. Some ponies could be seen working on the buildings here and there. Mostly, they were the only two in the street, aside from one or two others who appeared quite busy. Suddenly, as if he'd appeared out of thin air, a stallion bumped into Fizzle's side, nose first. Clearly he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, and had ended up colliding with her.
"Oh, erm.. hehehe.. Sorry.. We were busy listening to our thoughts." He said, with a slightly strange tone. He was a white earth pony, with a black, unkempt mane and tail. He appeared to have ink stains on his face in places, and his hooves were nearly black. He backed up slightly to give the two a little room before gazing at Fizzle with slitted eyes for a moment. "You.. Are called... Fff.. Fizzle. Hmmhmm what an interesting name." He nearly sputtered the mare's name, and appeared to almost have difficulty speaking or holding his head straight as he did so.

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As each of you take a seat you look around the theater, it's empty. Almost completely devoid of other ponies except for the usher. You continue to talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes. As the lights begin to dim, you catch some movement from the corner of your eye. Looking up you see two cloaked figures sitting in one of the balcony seats. It's hard to tell but you think they might be looking at you....or they could just be looking at the stage. 

You look back at the stage as the curtains begin to lift. You see a pony wearing a purple cloak, a soft purple light illuminates a decorated mask that covers most of her face. The mask is reminiscent of a harlequin mask, though the colors are quite different. The unicorn pony is standing next to a wooden marionette the size and shape of a grown mare. The puppet is painted red. Or was, most of the paint has faded revealing the blackened, almost charred looking, bark-like wood underneath. A series of strings reach up from the body and limbs of the puppet towards a complicated control bar, which was almost hidden from sight by the raised curtains.

 

The cloaked pony takes a step back when she sees that she has an audience. The unicorn looks from all of you to the puppet and then back again. All the while the puppet just stares at you with unblinking, hollow eyes. The entire theater is silent. You see the pony lean in and whisper to the puppet. You can't make out what she's saying. For the first time since the curtains were raised the puppet moves. It briefly looks at the pony before it begins to slowly canter across the stage lead by its Manipulator*.

 

Its initial movements were jagged and sporadic. Almost always coming to a full stop before beginning the next movement. The marionette's movement were slightly less erratic by the time it had reached the far side of the stage, though they still looked very forced and unnatural. Instead of turning around the marionette was lead backwards by its strings walking once more to the opposite end of the stage. By the time it had reached the far left of the stage the puppet was beginning to move like an actual pony. This time the wooden doll almost looked like a real pony, if one ignored the bark and soulless eyes. All the while the manipulator follows the marionettes movements with her eyes. She doesn't do much else beside control the puppet and stand still.

 

So far this wasn't very impressive. Perhaps showing up to watch a pony practice wasn't the best idea after all? Or maybe she was just nervous, after all she seemed a little surprised to see any ponies waiting to watch her practice. The marionette continued to walk until it had past behind the curtains. The puppet walked back out in front of the audience before walking  back behind the curtain. Several seconds passed. The Manipulator is staring at the spot where the wooden mare disappeared. A little bit of movement catches your attention from the other side of the stage. In unison all of you, including the cloaked mare, look over to find the marionette waving from the far end of the stage.

 

 

*

A Manipulator is what you call someone that controls marionettes.

[Mickey Taker 347]

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As the marionette emerges from it's hiding spot a pair of wings fold out abruptly from either side of it's wooden body, looking closely one may have even seen the wings tips jutter as they came to a stop, proof of the puppet's somewhat "tacky" quality.

The marionette stalls for a moment as it flips it's neck around to stare at each of it's own wings in turn for some time, almost as if it were thinking there was a chance they would fall off which wouldn't have been surprising.

 

Despite looking from a distance the marionette didn't look like it was well looked after, it's red paint looked rather worn in certain area's with it's dark wooden body revealed in many places.

The only part of the puppet that in fact didn't look scruffy was it's moderately long mane and tail, which was groomed rather well, more than likely the manipulators attempt to at least try and make the puppet look presentable but was cut short on time.

Maybe this wasn't even her performing puppet? Perhaps it was just one she just practiced with instead? It certainly would explain a lot about it's very rugged appearance.

 

As the Manipulator made the Marionette satisfied with it's wings by flapping them rather clumsily whilst it's body bopped up and down, the puppet's control bars levitated from out under the raised curtain and slowly moved together towards the audience, carrying the wooden mare with it, it didn't even look convincingly like it was flying as it just hung there swaying from the momentum with it's wings just sticking out.

 

As the Marionette simply hung there for a brief moment in close proximity to the crowd, without warning it suddenly...toppled to the ground in a heap of it's own limbs after the control bar drooped abruptly, a rather clumsy landing indeed.

The wooden bars above the puppet slowly began to rise up again as it, in a way, picked itself up again, it's wings folded flat against it's sides loosely, the strings holding the wooden mare up slacked ever so slightly as it's head swayed ever so slowly allowing it to look at each of you in turn.

 

As it stood there right in front of all of you you could now all see how badly the wear on the puppet really was, the amazing thing was the rest of the puppet that still looked good, it looked so...lifelike, especially the eye's...it was hard to explain but they just seemed to be full of life.

Obviously, some-pony had given quite a lot of time and effort into this wooden mare, it just seemed such a shame that it was allowed to get into such a bad condition, some of you may even find this rather sad.

The puppet itself didn't seem to mind so much however, in fact it looked like it didn't have a care in the world, a small, albeit un-moving smile could be seen clearly on the marionette's muzzle, a rather friendly smile if anything.

 

Eventually the puppet's strings pulled it along as it clumsily stepped even closer towards you, it's blank stare fixed to Emerald in particular.

As the Marionette Stood in front of the Unicorn it appeared as if it was looking at her curiously as it allowed it's head to lean to the left while maintaining it's stare...then to the right...then to the left again, only a bit too much as the puppet looks at Emerald almost sideways, as it's neck straightens up again the puppet raises a slumped loose hoof close to the mare's muzzle as it ...*boop*...gently poked her on the nose, the frozen smile on the puppet's face might have suggested it's act was playful possibly, as the puppet raised it's hoof and patted the Unicorn on the head, it's actions were definitely justified.

 

The puppets wooden control bars abruptly moved sideways and dragged the puppet with it, with it's hooves dragging helplessly along the floor, stopping just as abruptly now in front of Coat Tails.

The Marionette ends up standing very lopsided, as the puppet's wooden bars rise they allow the puppet to, "re-compose itself", before being lowered on it's own hooves again.

The Puppet once again merely stares at Coat Tails as it did with Emerald, only this time it doesn't move it's head, instead it seemed content to just stand there and stare at him.

 

Without warning the puppet moves even closer, reaching out both hooves and loosely placing them on his shoulders as it continued to just keep staring at him, her head ever so slightly began to lean from side to side, as it blinks you think if it weren't for the wear and tear, the puppet might have looked rather pretty to you, beautif...wait ,did it just blink? No...No, it couldn't have been, it was probably a trick of the li- "Ehheeheeheehee..." the puppet's smile grows wider as a small giggle emit's from it, "Hey, your actually kinda cute."

 

SHE'S NOT A PUPPET!! SHE'S ALIVE!!

As you all watch and this fact suddenly dawns on you all the red mare abruptly places her hooves on Coat Tails cheeks, taking pure advantage of your shock as she plants her lips against his and steals a sneaky kiss from him, "mmmmmmMMMMMaah!", the red Pegasus mare winks, grining mischievously as the wooden control bars still connected to her quickly lift her away from you, only for them to fall rather suddenly, dropping the mare onto the floor just short of the stage before the wooden bars themselves land on top of her one-by-one,"Wha- WHOAH!..Oof!...ooooowowowowowow...Mirrooooor!"

Amongst the tangled mess of string and wood the red Pegasus looks up at the cloaked pony still standing on the stage and calls up to her, albeit not so much call as "Whine" at her if truth be told.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Golbez

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"Ah!"  Fizzle stumbled towards Muddle when the stallion ran into her, the smaller mare almost falling to the ground.  She turns to stare at the stallion, narrowing her eyes slightly at first but it soon gives way back to a smile when he apologizes.  "Oh, that's okay, it's not like I was really paying attention to where I was goi-".  

 

Fizzle freezes when the stallion says her name, her eyes going a little wider than normal.  How did this stallion know her name?  She hadn't met him before...  Had she?  No, surely she would have remembered!  The young mare slowly turns to look at Muddle before looking back to the strange stallion, suddenly feeling a little more cautious than before.  "Er...  I... I'm sorry, have we met?"

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Emerald Gaze.

 

Emerald couldn't help but smile at the display - even at the start when it was simple and erratic, there was a quaint charm to the performance. Once she realised what was actually taking place on stage though: that was when she began to feel genuinely impressed. Giggling a little to herself, Emerald watched happily until...

 

"Oh my, are you quite alright dear?" She exclaimed, leaning forward in a concerned manner and glancing briefly towards her new companions - uncertain whether she should try to help or not. Was this a part of the act? She didn't want to interfere if it was... but she couldn't just watch if the poor girl was in distress or embarrassment.

 

No, it didn't seem to be a part of the act. She didn't want to interfere directly, though something needed to be done. Frowning for a moment, her eyes suddenly lit up (figuratively) as an idea dawned.

 

Horn glowing, she tried to shift the attention towards the robed figure instead - as inconspicuously as she could with a glowing horn. Surely it was mysterious enough that the others were already intrigued? At least if their attentions were drawn away from the red Pegasus, the poor mare might not feel so pressured while she untangled herself.

Edited May 19, 2014 by Cinderscribe

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'Well, that's strange?' When the stallion had run into Fizzle. Muddle thought he would apologize to her. Then she had expected for the stallion to rush off to whatever was distracting him. She was surprised to learn that, 'He was busy listening to his thoughts?' The phase sounded odd, in a familiar way.

 

She took a moment to think about the phrase, but something else the stallion said drew her attention before she could piece together her thoughts. He had said Fizzle's name. 'I guess these two must have met before? Almost as if to answer her question, Fizzle looked back at her and then towards the stallion. 

 

'Deja vu?' She decided to remain quiet and let the two speak, from what she could tell, Fizzle had the same question as her anyway,

Edited May 21, 2014 by Dreamless

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Sunset Glow

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Sunset grinned with delight as the puppet made it's way around the stage. She had never seen a puppet show before, certainly not anything like this. Of course she had seen hoof puppets when she was younger, but this was the real deal. A full sized marionette no less, as battered by the years as it was, it was still remarkable to watch. She followed the shape of the false mare as she bobbed across the stage, and gradually became more and more fluid and coherent. Eventually, the puppeteer seemed to have it down to the point where her marionette moved as though it were a real pony. Just as she was thinking this, the puppet drew closer and closer, until suddenly it was.. kissing Coat Tails?? Sunset yelped with surprise and jumped up, just about as suddenly as the puppet pony crashed into the stage front. "Oh dear.. I do hope this wasn't my fault, I must have startled you." She said, worrying she'd gone and ruined the show by causing the actress to jump when she called out. "I'm terribly sorry.."
Sunset glanced up to Emerald sheepishly, hoping she'd not made a bad impression, but Emerald seemed to be somewhat unsure if it was supposed to be part of the act or not. Suddenly Sunset realized, maybe it was part of the show, was it? It had to be, or perhaps it wasn't. Red Cask had mentioned the magician had been encountering some difficulties of late.

Sunset got up, and trotted down to the red mare at the front of the stage. "Here, let me help you out of those strings." She was about to reach down to lend a hoof, when suddenly she felt a chill up her neck. Glancing up, she noticed the balcony where two mares sat. Cloaked in black, and difficult to make out in the dim of the theater, it felt as though they watched her every move, as though she'd become part of the play herself. It was.. uncomfortable.. frightening in a way.

The dark figures sat for a moment, watching. One of them seemed to be smiling, and the other began to whisper in her ear. It was inaudible, but it was nearly unmistakable.. they were talking about Sunset, or the puppet pony. They both began to smile before standing, and turning away. Soon the disappeared into the doorway behind where they'd been sitting.

Sunset returned her gaze to the red mare at her hooves. Shoving the present thoughts from her mind, she smiled at her, and reached down to help her up.
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@@Umbreon,

 

The white stallion's ear twitched, and his eyes darted from Fizzle to Muddle, and back again. "HmmHEHEHEE! Of course we haven't met.. not yet.. Well. we have now. I mean.. Hmmheheheee." He shook his head about before regaining his composure, or as close to it as he seemed capable. "We have been here for longer than you have.. We don't recognize you.. Are you.. Visitors? Hmm?" He glanced to Muddle before allowing for any response. "You.. are.. Muddle? Hmmhmm jumping through time loops in one's mind are we? Hehehehee!"

[Mickey Taker 347]

@@Evilshy,

@,

@,

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@@SilverHeart,

 

?????? ???? 

 

Freeing the red mare from her tangled predicament would prove to be easier said than done, in Pegasi's attempt to free herself she somehow managed to get herself tangled even worse, trying slide one limb from up, over and under one piece of string somehow manged to get another more tangled up.

Unlike some toy puppets which were easier to control with very few strings, the two performing mares had insisted on using "a lot" of string to give the illusion that the red mare was a worn, high quality puppet which used many strings for more fluent movements, in theory it sounded a brilliant idea but in practice, as the Pegasus proved, not so much.

 

The tied up and tangled Pegasus looked up at Sunset with a sheepish grin at her embarrassing situation, nonetheless she nods as her offer at assistance as she begins to tell her directions.

"Um..ok..you hold this one while I...no that's not right....oh I know, bring that one here and slide that one over...no no, "that" one and OW! owowowowleggoleggoleggo....ooooooh...um....ok "now" I know, see that one there? Hold that one with your teeth and the two either side  and pull those either side while I move my leg.......ok that move that over my head...now i move this over here ..put my hoof through there and...wait-a-minute I'm back to where I started.....UUGH!  Alright put that one around my tail, no that one...THAT one..ok now we're geting somew-GAAAH!! No that tickles!! ...huh...bring that there and put that one around that...wha...wait how did that happen?....can you get free?"

Somehow, between undoing a "Bowtie" of string around the pegasi's hindleg and releasing her tail from a snake-like coil, Sunset had become entangled herself.

"Um...a little help please, somepony?"

Edited May 26, 2014 by Golbez

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Emerald Gaze.

 

Tittering slightly, Emerald stood and moved to assist - content that this wasn't in fact, intentional.

 

"For what it's worth dear..." She said calmly, stepping slowly around the entangled mare. "I thought that you were quite impressive."

 

The mass of string was quite frankly, somewhat confusing. It would be simple to cut it, but Emerald couldn't help but feel that the Pegasus mare wouldn't appreciate the destruction of her props. Unfortunately, nothing that she did regular even came remotely close to a skill that would help here.

 

"Perhaps we could disengage each string individually? It would take some time but should be... thorough."

[SilverHeart 741]

 

@@Golbez,

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@,

@@Evilshy,

 

Mirror Image

 

Mirror followed after the "puppet" with her eyes, making sure to keep the puppet's cross ahead and moving it around to match her movements. It was going great so far, or at least as great as an impromptu session could go. Neither of them had made a glaring mistake or gotten hurt. It was still impressive that her partner could make moving with dozens of strings tied around her look so easy. A testament to her skill as an acrobat.

 

The pair continued their act as they had planned it. Mirror was soon thankful that the "Marionette" act was what they had chosen to practice today. Her vision was becoming blurry and it was becoming more and more difficult to focus her magic and keep in tune with the mare's movements. 

 

Mirror briefly took her eyes off of her friend to look at the balcony. The hooded ponies were there. Every morning they would come and watch the pair practice. They always left before there was a chance to talk to them. It was kind of creepy. Maybe they came by to watch the Theater club practice instead?

 

Mirror looked back down to see the marionette kissing the only stallion in the audience. Out of surprise Mirror used her hold on the puppet cross to yank her assistant away from him. The sudden increase of magic caused her hold on the cross to break. Just like the other times Mirror lost all her senses. Sight failed her as Mirror found herself cut off from the rest of the world. She could still hear, but everything sounded distant. If she was lucky, it would end in several seconds. Everything would be back to normal soon.

 

Several seconds passed. And just like the other times, her vision returned. It was hazy, but she could see somewhat. Mirror shook her head, trying to focus her eyesight. It was difficult to make out whatever was going on through the general haziness of her senses. It had kind of sounded like her friend had screamed. Mirror slowly climbed to her hooves. Standing shakily she looked around the stage, eventually laying her eyes on the pile of wood, string, and pony in front of the audience. Mirror rushed forward, though it was more like a hurried shamble. "Cherry! Oh Celestia, are you alright?"

[Evilshy 5,090]

Coat Tail

 

Coat Tail must have broken some kind of record for running a gamut of emotions. Admiration for the skill of the performer, pity for the state of the marionette, surprise at the realization that the marionette was an actual mare, pride (not to mention quite a bit of internal high-fiving) when she kissed him, and now he rushed to help her and Sunset as they tried to untangle themselves.

"I don't suppose cutting the strings is an option?" He asked rhetorically. "At the very least, detaching them would probably make it easier, if that's okay with you?"

His horn glowed a bit as he began to separate what strings he could, not wanting to go ahead with anything more until the performers decided to do something. I'm sure they have experience with this sort of thing. It must takes tons of practice for it to look so good.

 

He smiled slightly. "For what it's worth, you're very good."

[GaleFenrir 281]

@@Midnight Scribbler,@, @@Evilshy, @@SilverHeart, @@Golbez,

 

Gardenia felt relieved as Sunset invited her along to go shopping later, but was rather surprised when she took the seat next to her. Not disappointed, though she had expected Emerald to take the seat, just, surprised. Shortly, the rest of those accompanying her had taken their seats, and she took the moment to consider the hall she was in. There was a few shady figures up in the balcony, and a hooded figure on the stage. She was mistaken, apparently, as they had caught the magician practicing her performance. A pleasant surprise.

 

As for the performance itself, it was rather... odd. Gardenia stared blankly as the apparently wooden puppet moved about, and was a bit creeped out. The movement of the marionette was off-putting, but as the stunt continued on, its movements became more fluid. Her heart skipped a beat when it came up to the audience, but internally sighed in relief as the puppet stopped by Emerald instead of her. She was caught by surprise, however, when the puppet, or rather mare, kissed Coat Tail. The whole performance was just rather confusing, but quaint. Certainly worth the trip, at least.

 

Somehow, the puppet-girl got herself tangled, and then tangled Sunset aswell. Everypony else was trying to help the girl out of the mess, but Gardenia could only stand back and watch. She certainly wanted to help, but she had no idea how she would go about doing so. Feeling a bit embarrassed by that, she just sheeply settled into her seat some more. "Oh dear, I'm not making the best impression, am I? But, what am I to do? I can't handle untangling those strings by hoof, and the most logical solutions have already been suggested..."

[Mickey Taker 347]

@@Evilshy,

@,

@,

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@@SilverHeart,

 

Cherry Bomb

 

"Of course you would say that wouldn't you?" despite her predicament, Cherry still took the moment to poke a little fun as she threw a sly smirk towards Coat Tail before winking at him, giggling she looked over to Mirror, and then the rest of the ponies as they approached and surrounded her.

 

"Uuuuuum," Cherry stared straight up at the huddled small crowd of ponies standing over her, it was beginning to get more than just a bit embarrassing, "Do you have to cut it? I mean it's like it's expensive string, not that I've ever heard of expensive string before, I mean if there were it would probably be golden thread ..which this isn't sooooo...yes you can cut it, I guess...can they cut it Mirror? It's just this is reeeeeeeeeeeeally uncomfortable and I'd really like to get out now! She would agree with me, wouldn't you?" Grinning sheepishly towards her performing partner, Cherry nodded towards Sunset who was nearly in a bad predicament as Cherry was.