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Throughout the town of Ponyville, a series of posters has been plastered across lampposts, buildings, signs, carts, benches, and even the odd pony or two that was too slow to avoid it. The well penned posters had looping, dark red filigree designs along the edges to catch and draw the eye to the equally expertly written message held within: Count your blessings, Ponyville! An absolutely golden opportunity awaits you! I am searching for a few lucky fools peons minions assistants to have the honour of joining me, the one and only, Dark Core! Master of Evil! — and his second-in-command Colonel Croaky — on a once-in-a-lifetime journey far to the north, deep within the Badlands! [A drawing of the general area around the Sea of Ruin is drawn next to the paragraph] There is bound to be numerous dangers and threats along the way, none that I need worry about of course, but not all of you are quite so lucky. Thus I suggest bringing plenty of supplies for any such occasions. Your reward, of course, is being graced by my presence as well as getting to have the honour of helping carry back any treasure that I find save for the singular relic that I am after. Which is on a need to know basis. You don't need to know. Should you have the fortitude and intelligence to wish to join me, meet at the northwestern exit of Ponyville the morning of [the date has been repeatedly replaced four times]! Failure will, of course, not be tolerated. - Dark Core, Master of Evil Beneath each of these posters, a second, smaller poster has also been attached with similar hoofmanship: Fine! Any assistance will be rewarded with a share of any treasure found during the journey, not including the relic I'm after! Which again! Is need to know! And you don't need to know. So if the honour of working for me isn't enough for you greedy goody-two-hooves there's potential treasure on the line now! Yeesh. - Dark Core, Master of Evil ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Out on the outskirts of Ponyville, Dark paced to and fro impatiently. The colt had been trying for days now to get some labour willing to make this highly important trek. It wasn't like he was asking much! A few folks willing to make a trek to the north, bring their own supplies, and carry things back for no pay wasn't that big of a deal. But after some troubleshooting with Colonel Croaky he came to the conclusion that at least SOME kind of enticement might work, it's hard to say no to treasure, even for goody-two-hooves. Surely someone would follow, he even put some posters up at that blasted school and it was full of sparklebrains that would help out someone blindly! He hoped anyway. Otherwise this would be a long journey...

Hey there guys, gals, and non-binary pals! Starting up a new little adventure thread of sorts with everyone's favourite super evil villain mildly annoying miscreant, Dark Core! The journey itself is a bit of a loose plan at the moment itself, with the destination/end result more solid, so the length of the thread itself will vary depending on actions, reactions, whim, where the moon is relative to Mars, who knows. I'll be posting the OP shortly after this, and the thread will be Open, though depending on how many people decide to jump in and how complex things do or don't get, I might cut it off to new additions eventually!

If you had asked Yù if she could be so easily flustered like this in the past, she would've rolled her eyes. The idea of her feeling like a twitterpated schoolfilly was laughable at best... Yet here she was. And here she enjoyed that feeling. Love does many a strange thing to a pony, and she was no exception. It felt good to just put those worries of the day, or year in some cases, aside and just enjoy the moment. Fetching a piece of ginger, a bit more water, and a breathmint as well, Yù smiled, nodding her head as she rose to follow Kahz. "How about this? You surprise me while I look through what songs they have. Then I'll do one, and then we can do one together?"

Babs giggled as her cousin had said that Babs would do something like Mane Care "Well, I will do your hair, anything for my cuz!" Babs said smiling she was glad that APpleBloom had liked her gift although her maine was much longer, than the last time they had seen each other Oh well Babs thugh I'll make her another one just like it, maybe diffrent. As AppleBloom told her that they were pups and not foals Babs had ceartinly looked confused before the pup Honeygold had peeked out of her basket "Well, Hi there Honeygold, you sure are cute!" she said as Honeygold waved a paw and Babs looked happy, really happy, as AppleBloom told her the pup's names Babs said "I'm glad, you're doing good, cuz, and I'm glad you got someone special in your life, although I can't say the same!" Babs said smiling, Babs had never really gotten to meet anyone cause of her work schedule "I think I should get out more cuz, and that's why I'm glad I got to come, because seeing you and your foa- I mean pups has made my day better than it would've been at the salon"

Whether it was automatically part of the process, or a special request fulfilled, Jizara was getting what she wanted. Perhaps, everything she ever wanted. Maybe that was too much to hope for, but she wasn't too old at heart to not feel it pound in her chest at the prospect. The magic rose, she felt it start to act on her... it was weird, since Twilight's magic was changing, in essence, the past, while leaving Spoiled's memories of it intact. Which, more or less amounted to a retroactive bifurcation of the universe, which at this very point in the timeline was combining and joining on her very overlapping person, who Spoiled Rich was contained only in the legacy of her daughter and the memories in Jizara's head, an existentially world-shaking series of events! It tingled. With a shudder, Jizara felt herself expand to fill the hall, the enormous cushion seeming to shrink beneath her as she shook out changing limbs that felt as if they were going to sleep on her. "Mwa, rar, raowl!" New feline flesh and nerves, along with a spurt of sudden youthful energy, caused her insticts to rile up, pouncing upon the pillow, claws out, working out her weird feelings in a spray of cloth, stuffing and feathers! It took a few minutes for her to get to full size, and get used to it, by which time Blueblood was cautiously emerging from cover, as he'd overturned his table to act as a makeshift shield. Jizara had regained a more regal pose, eyeing the Prince in the midst of the wreck, as if daring him to acknowledge it happened at all. Blueblood, however, was a married stallion, and knew better. "Well... you look... improved. Fitter, I mean. Er, not that you fat before..." OK, so the boy still needed some work...

“Mane care? Well, Ah reckoned it’d be somethin’ like that. Ah’ll have ta have you come by and do mah mane ‘fore Ah pick up AJ’s reward,” Apple Bloom laughed heartily as she turned about and trotted side by side with Babs. She was pretty certain that Babs was one of the best mane care specialists in the whole city because she sure as shine didn’t look like it. She had to work at it, had to find it, search for it. And she thought that was neat! “Awww, thank ya for tha gift. It looks real pretty,” she said as she went to try it on. Her mane had grown and it needed to adjust- no matter. She knew she’d make it work! “Pups,” she corrected. Not that she blamed her. A lot of ponies she knew somewhat distantly or saw rarely heard she had some kids, thought (of course) they were foals. Not many of them knew the father was a Diamond Dog. “Ah reckon-” she began before, on cue, Honeygold pushed up on her basket, the little pup only half away. She saw her momma’s ear and launched up to bit it playfully. Apple Bloom’s head jerked to that side. “Honeygold, stop yer foolin’,” she said, and the Diamond Dog obeyed. Awake, she looked at Babs curiously. “This here’s yer Aunt Babs Seed. Say hi,” Apple Bloom said, nearly cooing as Honeygold waved a paw and started dropping back down into her basket. “That there is Honeygold. Her brother is Roxbury Russet.”

Babs smiled and let out a sigh before hugging AppleBloom back "I sure did miss you cuz, that's for sure, and Manehattan is treating me well, I cut hair for a living now and man do I love it, but enough about me tell me how you've been and who are these two adorable foals!" Babs said softly almost crying because now Babs knew exactly how long it had been since she had talked to AppleBloom, sure she knew about AppleBloom having foals, but she had never met them, Babs was actually very lucky to get off to see AppleBloom her boss was not going to let her, luckily her best friend in Manhattan had offered to take Bab's shifts for a few days while she went on this trip. Babs would think for a moment before remembering the present that she had brought for AppleBloom "Here ya go Cuz, I hope you like it, I made it for ya" Babs said as she handed the beautifully wrapped present to AppleBloom, Babs hoped she would like the present, as it was a bow for her that Babs had sewed herself for AppleBloom, but she had made it a while back hoping that she could've given it to her sooner, but now she finally gave it to her.

Apple Bloom had taken up the offer to collect some sort of reward for Applejack that was being given out in the Crystal Empire more readily than she’d care to admit. Ever since she had her pups it had been work, work, work. She was a young mare but golly, she didn’t think all her energy could be used up so quickly and readily like this! Still, Applejack was indisposed in some manner with RD and the trip was all expenses paid. She could use the vacation. She had been in the Empire for just a night when she received a message that her cousin Babs Seed was coming into the Empire. Well, that seemed awfully convenient! Apple Bloom wasn’t gonna look the gift-horse in the mouth though. She made sure she looked presentable, with a saddlebag on her bag and two large side baskets. Roxbury Russet in the left, Honeygold in the right. Luckily they were both asleep as the cold wind blew through the train station. It didn’t take long before Apple Bloom saw Babs and trotted up to the mare, giving her a big hug. “Well, if it ain’t Babs Seed! Ain’t seen ya in a while, cuz,” she said, letting go of the hug and taking a look. “An’ look at tha state of ya! How’s Manehattan treatin’ ya?”

“You are here. Technically. We…” she thought best how to explain it, “we are in the...veil...between material reality and unreality. You are seeing things as they are, in real time, as they exist now. If the spell were to stop, you would take up that physical space that you occupy now for all the good and ill that would imply,” she shook her head. “It is a powerful spell, one I learned not long ago thanks to Twilight. It requires not only a significant amount of magical power, but a deep knowledge of the area I am locating myself and others at while also requiring many magical crystals exist at the location of the spell. Luckily, this cavern has many of them.” It was very true. As they dove deeper, the mine seemed to continue. The mining was indeed extensive, but careful work was shown up and down the mine. They mined at a rate that allowed the crystals and other precious materials to regrow at an acceptable rate, while also doing so safely. Everything spoke to a well-oiled machine being overseen by a startling small number of ponies. “I think she sees in you the same pride and majesty of spirit that she has always looked for. Beyond that, I have learned lessons throughout life. We accept the love we think we deserve. You are worth all that she is giving you now plus much more, if you allow yourself to see it. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. Without this, you would not seek to create the better world for all Sphinxkind. Without her love, and without loving her in kind, you wouldn’t have a Kingdom to call your own. The rest, how her love works on you, what it means in your heart, those lessons are personal and take much longer,” she said gently as she turned to face him. “This is a journey that you will enjoy, more than any other.” As she said that, she felt a small aethereal movement along her wings. She bit her lip in excitement, knowing what it meant. “Oh, I see. Well, I think we should be heading back.” *********************************************************************************** Twilight had considered whether to modify Spoiled’s age during her transformation to Jizara. Of course, Sphinx aged in a very different manner. Spoiled was an older middle aged mare, but chronologically she would be barely an adult as a Sphinx if she used the exact birth-date. As far as Twilight could tell, Sphinx may mature somewhat slowly compared to ponies but it was once they reached adulthood that their aging slowed to a crawl. Of course, Jizara didn’t need to know that. If she wanted a favor so graciously given, then she would receive one. Twilight smiled. “You will be a youthful sphinx, matching the energy and future you have and hold in your heart,” she nodded. “Now, hold still.” Twilight’s horn lit up. In the past, such a spell would be hard and dangerous. It required time and preparation and she had messed up similar ones in the past. That would be because she was altering a form, changing what was into what is. For a unicorn or alicorn of her old power, not hard to do, but difficult to do well and accurately. This time, she went a different route. She instead reached through the fabric of reality and rewrote it. She changed what is into what was, and what was happened to be a Sphinx named Jizara. In a brief flash, Spoiled was no more and never had been. The only mark of her existence were her family members and paperwork, but as far as the foundational mechanics of material reality, she herself had never existed. Instead, Jizara existed, as pure and functional as if she had been born a sphinx. To outside observation, it happened near instantly. How Jizara herself perceived it, whether she even could, Twilight could only venture a guess. The spell was finished, and there sat Jizara the Sphinx.

Babs would be riding the train to the Crystal Empire, she was nervous because she was getting ready to see her cousin AppleBloom, even though she was nervous, she was also exicted because she hadn't seen AppleBloom for a while, Babs looked around the train just thinking about what they would do, and if AppleBloom would even reconize her, "I need to stop worrying so much, she'll know who I am" Babs said to herself. As the Train pulled into the station Babs started to get cold feet, should she get off, or should she not, after taking a deep breath Babs would grab her bag and get off the train, after she had gotten off the train, she got hit with a gust of wind, she shivered forgetting how cold the Crystal Empire was as she grabbed her coat and put it on she began to look around for AppleBloom, maybe she forgot, maybe she was just as nervous as Babs was, after looking around for a bit she spotted her, with a big breath and a sigh Babs walked over to AppleBloom beffore saying "Well, well if it isn't my favorite cousin"

Tongue Twister pulled her Vardo into Ponyville. Even after a few days on the road, she was exhausted from a horrible job in Saddle Arabia. So here she was at the Ponyville post office, to see if she had any new job offers in the mailbox. The pickings were very slim, but she wasn't desperate for funds just yet. She had other things to do : go to Las Pegasus to file a report. STAR might want to know that one ancient horror has been sort of dealt with. And she'd heard a rumor that someone was going to search the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. Hope they got someone competent at surveying and archaeology - the last thing anypony needs is for a group of 'brave, stalwart adventurers' to go rampaging through the ruins, ripping it apart looking for treasure, only to have the whole thing collapse just as they 'heroically' escape.

TT thought for a bit. "Yeah. We can just stick a light crystal on the front of a helmet. That should do. Always has before. But there's no way to trail a safety line. So somepony's got to squeeze through the crevice to the end." "That somepony would be you." the younger employer stated, "That IS what you were hired for, is it not ?" TT glared at him for a moment. "Yes, it is. And being the most experienced with this sort of thing points to us going in as well." She thought for a bit. "If we're not back two hours from now, carefully search for us." she stated, before heading in. One hour forty two minutes later : "By the seventh Ring of Raggador, that was HORRIBLE !" Tongue Twister exclaimed as she wobbled into the camp, quite dirty and roughed up. "Did you find a way through ?" the elder employer asked. "Yes." she replied. "And fortunately, nopony else will have to go through that !" she exclaimed as she pulled out a piece of chalk. "Behold ! The Villain's Shortcut !" she stated before whirling once counterclockwise, drawing a perfect circle. Then repeating the action to make a smaller circle inside the previous one. Then drew a few arcane symbols at various points. The elder employer tilted his head at the circles and asked "A thaumaturgic circle ? Where did a pegasus like you learn something like that ?" "We're a linguist." TT replied, "We study ancient languages. Ancient folk wrote about a lot of subjects. Many different cultures had many different ways of using magic. And our dad is a curio merchant that likes to collect strange items and bizarre spells. So we grew up around oddball and forgotten magic." With that, she rummaged inside her vest and pulled out a large glowing crystal, and placed it on one of the symbols. Then reared back and crushed it into dust, causing the rings and symbols to glow. "That gem must have been worth a thousand bits !" the younger employer shrieked. "Fifteen hundred actually." "And you DESTROYED IT ?!" "Yep." "WHY ?!" "To activate the transport circles." Tongue Twister replied, "All types of magic have advantages and disadvantages. The First Magics were versatile : you could do virtually anything you could imagine, as long as the results could be sufficiently defined. The disadvantages are the magic is inefficient, slow, and rather expensive. For somepony that needs to use magic several times a day, it's not worth using that style of magic. But, for normal shlubs that only need a special effect once or twice a year at most, it is, well, adequate." "Was it truly worth the expense to avoid the crevices ?" "We'll let you decide that for yourself !" TT stated with a smug grin as she walked forward, hopped up into the circle while pulling her hooves together, then 'VOOP !'. She dropped through the ground. A few moments later, she and her employers were in a large cavern the size of a buckball field, dimly lit with illumination crystals. The only things in the room were a heavy ornate door in the middle of the wall, the twin of the transport circle TT drew, and two other larger transport circles at each side. "This is a staging area." TT stated as more workers vooped in, "Constructed so workers and equipment could get here without the massive hindrance and delay of the fissure path. Those two other circles were drawn a few millenia ago. Transport circles only work in pairs; one here, the other on the surface. Once work was done in here, all they'd have to do is destroy the matching circles topside, and there is no other way in except the hard way." Her employers looked about. "What were they protecting that needed this much effort ?" the elder inquired. "Not sure. The way to the ACTUAL vault is through those doors." TT replied. "Wait - the ACTUAL VAULT ?!" the younger shrieked, "Then what is all of what we've gone through ?" "The outer perimeter of defenses." TT replied, "The actual vault is the standard cut and dressed stone architecture common to the era." With that, the group opened the door and went inside. It was a small landing with a narrow ledge on this side of a large pool of bubbling, glowing green slime that was brighter than daylight. On the opposite side was another landing, with what looked like huge piles of golden coins and treasures on each side of a door. Above the door acting like a billboard was a dark blue rectangle with gold hieroglyphs, which couldn't be read due to the glare and sheer distance. "Manaluxia algae." TT noted. "Instead of using sunlight like normal plants, it uses ambient mana. The visible light is essentially just a waste product." "Is is dangerous ?" a worker asked, grimacing at the smell that just wafted from the pool. "Not exactly." TT replied, "The algae grows a very thick, slimy coating of mucus around itself. Swimming in it is even more unpleasant than you'd care to imagine. It is very tiring, and with the glow coming from all directions, it becomes hard to tell which way is up. You couldn't see more than a fraction of an inch before your eyes in there. The slime is also mildly digestive." she continued, "You'll develop a rash a few days after exposure. And most of your fur will weaken and fall out. It's not deadly, but very, VERY annoying to deal with. So try to NOT spend any time in the slime pool if you can help it." The younger employer looked confused for a moment. "You said the light it emits is just a waste product. But to get a glow this bright ..." "Yep. We're facing major league magical power." TT interrrupted.

“I… Never teleported before, and heard it is no less easy on others the first time.” Niilaavin says back, if nothing else than to cover for his own reenactment to being teleported. He still felt rather queasy but swallowed it down. “A first time for everyone, after all.” He added and followed her into the mine. North Wind just grunted some, doing her best to wipe her muzzle clean and look presentable again before dashing after them to stay behind her master. He looked around the mine, getting low, almost on his belly, to follow the mare without fuss. His eyes danced around the place, looking at the working ponies… Then waved a pay next to a few. “Ah, no wonder they are not reacting. They can’t see us can they? Or are we even truly here? I’d notice something… Large as myself, cloaked or not.” He hummed in thought before moving deeper with the pink mare. He was putting together where they must be, seeing as she did not feel like telling him. “Are we at… Or well, now in the Crystal Caverns?” He asked, lowering his muzzle down to watch the filly work for a moment. Then he flicked his ears when asked what mark he may give Jizara. That was… Not easy to answer, he felt. He did not think of it at all in fact until now. They wanted him to do that? By the bells, Jizara wanted him too didn't she. He glazed down at a paw and popped one claw staring at it a moment. He’d… Need to practice inking fur on a pony. He’d hate to make a mess of her fur. He looked over at Cadance. “Something… Related to the moon I think. A crescent… Yes, that will fit. A time of change, the end of one and the start of another. I think it's thematic for her to leave her old life and join mine.” He chuckled softly, almost sober thinking about that. “I can’t believe it sometimes. I don’t know what she can see in me. I can offer her so little, yet she looks at me…” He cuffed, shaking his head. “I feel so much shame speaking of this, yet you are the princesses of love. So you must enjoy hearing such. For my kind it's… We do not have love like you do. Mates come and go and a male is judged by the size of his land and the number of females kept. He hardly spends much time with them. They court, he wins them to his land. Mate… And then his duty is to keep the land safe from others. That’s it. I saw my father once, flying overhead. That was it. And mother hardly spoke about him. He was a far lord and had good land. That is all I know about him. Then he was killed and a new pride-king came. That was that. She liked the new one less and was going to leave when all departed… All of this is to say, this is all uncharted for me. Her, This kingdom, everything. I’m walking a new trail for my kind. And I’m so thankful she is here to help me. I don’t feel so alone with her by my side. And I hope I can repay that. I truly do. I hope to be whatever she views in me.” He spoke, rambling in a way about this. But he felt Cadance may be his best outlet for this. At least he hoped she’d keep all this just between rulers. They were soon to be neighbors after all, so maybe it was good to open up and let her see his more soft side.

Slayyyy

Was that a fair assumption? Jizara frowned at the implication, but Blueblood had to quietly agree. During his brief tenure as Archancellor of the School of Friendship in Ponyville, he'd had a chance to see Diamond Tiara's interactions with her peers, as well as Spoiled Rich's tenure as mayor. Frankly, it was obvious to any who saw the two that they were on divergent life paths. Lineage, more than motherhood, had been Spoiled Rich's ambition, but only Jizara would fill it. But it was hard to blame the mare, at the end of the day. Blue knew full well that the soul and body could be mismatched in identity, and it was just as well that this could be reconciled. Maybe after the divorce, Filthy could find a true loving companion to serve as a stepmother, thus making five happy creatures total, rather than three miserable ones. One had to hope. Standing now on the threshold of this change, Jizara took a deep breath, looking aside at her reflection for the last time as a pony in the wall of crystal. That was a face that would never be seen again. "Well, if you could give me some of my youth back in the transformation, I'd appreciate it. Niilaavin appreciates my maturity, but I'd like to have a lither, more energetic body to enjoy that with. Not to mention some more years." A not unexpected final request, all things considered. With so many impossible things being done before dinner, what was one more?

Chuckling, Shining emerged from the bedroom carrying his daughter in an impromptu ponyback ride. "Mmm, that's good! Magic does burn a lot of calories at high level, so its good to have high-protein breakfasts." Training began even before you hit the practice field; that was one of the first things that Shining Armor had learned in the guard. You needed to develop the attitude beforehoof, and fuel yourself right at the table. Given Flurry's spirit of eagerness and curiosity, combined with Cadence's culinary support, he'd say she was set up for success! The two of them clattered into the kitchen, interruping Cadence's reverie with the noise. Shining made up for this by giving his wife a kiss on the cheek as he deposited their daughter at the table, helping to plate the eggs through the use of his magic. "Sleep well, dear? I hope we all didn't get you up too early." He felt a little bad, to be honest, that Cadence was getting kind of left out of this training. True, it was to be expected, given her pegasus heritage, but Shining had only met her after her alicornification, and hadn't seen her without a horn.

Roleplay Type: G4 (Working on a G5 type) Name: Sparky Night Gender: Female Age: Mare Species: Pegasus Eye color: Golden Coat: Light sky Blue with white Spots Mane/Tail: Light Blue Physique: Confident Residence: Las Pegasus Occupation: Assistant Cutie Mark: Cloud with a crescent moon over it with 3 lightning bolts coming out of the clouds Unique Traits: Fast Flyer, can basically make lightning go where she'd like it to. History: Sparky was born on May 14th, she was born during a thunderstorm, which is how Sparky got her name, she was born in Manehattan. When she was a foal she enjoyed flying fast, and playing out past sunset especially during storms! One night, as Sparky was playing out a crescent moon was out, and in the sky there was only one big, white, fluffy cloud and it looked as though it was in front of the moon, even though it was not. She knew that it was about to storm, but she didn't mind because she loved to play during storms, she was laughing and playing until she got struck by lightning, her eyes flashed white as if she was getting magic powers, and she wasn't scared, without having control of her wings and mind she quickly flew over to the lightning and went around it, being able to lead it to the cloud she made it look like the lightning was coming out of that big white cloud, after being exhausted from doing what she just had, she flew back home quickly her eyes turning back to normal, she went inside and her parents looked at her and then started hugging her, she wanted to know what was making them so happy, and her parents explained she had gotten her cutie mark and she was very exited about it. Sparky then went on to finish school, then eventually she realized that Manehattan wasn't for her, so she moved to Las Pegasus to try and become a show mare doig cool tricks with the lightning, but after a month of trying she gave up and became an assistant for a show mare. Now Sparky spends most of her time working, reading, writing, singing, and being clumsy, a well as walking during storms. Character Personality: Clumsy, Sweet, Kind, and talkative Character Summary: Sparky is a sweet pony, but she is very clumsy and usually late even when she thinks she's going to be on time, she's like the white rabbit, and she's extremely frantic at times, but she is mostly hay!

Sunny thought about it for a small moment. If he knew her, she assumed that he had to know about her friends. Of course, maybe he knew of them but not well enough to have a full accounting of their names. pony names could at times confuse or frustrate other creatures, or so the old stories told her. She nodded and cantered on over to a wall that had pictures of her and her friends during their new and joy-filled lives in Maretime Bay. "Princess Pipp Petals of Zephyr Heights. We just call her Pipp!" She said, pointing at a picture of Pipp as she performed at Mane Melody. "She also owns the new mane-care saloon on the boardtrot," she said as she turned back to Allegro, beaming. "I'm sure you've seen her! She is very creative. If anypony could help us create an awesome costume, it would be her!"

Accidental Allegro The uncertainty was still there. Something in Allegro's gut was telling him that what Sunny was suggesting was a terrible idea for some reason but... well, seeing her get all excited about it and the fact that she was clearly more experienced in dealings with the herd then he was... maybe she had a point? A sigh escaped him alongside a flick of his tail before he finally submitted to her judgement. "Alright." Taking a deep breath, he offered her a small smile. "So... who is Pipp?"

When Flurry Heart was out of view, Cadance allowed herself a moment to think deeper about the day’s plans. Fact was, she was not Twilight. There were many reasons why that statement was true, but for today the primary one was that she had grown up a pegasus raised in large by earth ponies. By the time she had magic and Celestia found her, she had her cutie mark. From there she had learned quickly, thanks to some very hooves on training from Celestia. But there was no denying that she lacked a certain degree of finesse, knowledge, and power. Despite being an Alicorn, in all magic not directly related to love Cadance was only above-average. There were plenty of unicorns who were stronger than her, more refined, more efficient, more creative than she was. She had immense power, true, but she never had the proper training as a young filly to mold her magical self to use it well. She didn’t find that it ever really mattered, of course, and with Twilight’s help she had learned a lot of tricks on how to manipulate her own magic to get the best results. More importantly, she had her husband. He had lived his whole life in a family that valued knowledge and learning, and this had translated into a proper magical education and training for the young colt. As he became a stallion- and what a stallion at that!- his diligence and commitment to becoming the best Shining Armor he could be for himself, for Cadance, and for the Princesses had given him a lifetime of training and study that she found invaluable to lean on. Now it was their daughter who would hopefully benefit from this. There were many things only Cadance could help with as an Alicorn, but what she needed more than anything else was somepony who was astute and had the experience of growing up with magic. Shining Armor would as invaluable in her education as he was in so many other ways. Cadance allowed these thoughts to dance at the edge as she started finishing breakfast for her family, the night still fighting to remain relevant ever longer...

Flurry would nod before she quickly levitated a stack of plates over to her mother. Her stomach would rumble as the smell of frying eggs graced the room. She would hover over her mother for a few moments, nodding to the answer she gave. "I guess your right. Magic beams probably fall more under target practice anyway." As Cadance suggested Flurry retrieve her father, she'd nod before zooming up the stairs to his bedchambers. Upon hearing Shining greet her, Flurry would launch herself at him like a hug seeking missile, wrapping her hooves round his neck. "Excited is an understatement!" she'd say, still latched onto him. "Mom's even making us omelets this morning for for energy!"

Cadance took his pawing in good stride. Cats liked shiny objects, he was a bag cat. She wanted him to get used to it, however. Crystal ponies would be a going concern for him for as long as he lived now and if he didn’t get used to the way they looked, then he would be be having a very bad time. “Is it now?” She giggled. She nodded. “Sorry. I didn’t expect powerful creatures such as yourself to feel such an effect from teleportation. Same for you, North Wind. I suppose I’m still not as good at this as Twilight is,” she laughed as she led them further, this time into the mine itself. “Ahh. Well, no shame in picking something because it is pleasing. Symbolism is what we make of it, isn’t it? Same thing with Cutie Marks, really. Most Cutie Marks do give you guidance, true, but what it means is up to you. Smiling flowers don’t make you a gardener, after all,” she said as they ventured into the mine further. It was well-made and established, and the few ponies they saw there were universally hardy looking. Most were unicorns, some Earth ponies and even a pegasus, but they were all blackened and greyed by the dark of the mine. Few words were spoken; they worked as a well-oiled machine. Even a small filly was seen using her magic to move and carve and push and pull alongside her father. “And what mark would you give Jizara?” Twilight had learned very early, in fact. Just when was hard for her. The time period of her ascension had been followed by a very literal growing into her role. During that process, time had lost meaning and structure. Even now she was unaware of just when she had learned some things, only that she always had known. She didn’t know how important it was, however, to understand just when the manner of their love and her realization had come to pass. What mattered now was aligning reality correctly. “I will make the offer to Diamond Tiara,” Twilight replied without expansion. Truth was, Diamond was not going to join her mother. She was not given to the greed and the lust for power that defined the heart of a Sphinx, even the ones who did kind things. Her fate would be quite awful as a member of that species. Besides, Twilight knew that Diamond had a bright future ahead of her and wasn’t expecting that to deviate anytime soon. “Though with the assumption she declines it, I will make sure she takes your change in good stride.” Or as well as she could, considering her mother was abandoning her not only in terms of hearth and home but even as the shared experience of a pony. It was a betrayal of that young mare, but Diamond would take it well. The relationship had been strained for so long thanks to Diamond’s innately good heart finally allowing her to blossom into the fine mare she was destined to become that the tears shed would be brief if passionate. “I’ll keep your memories intact. Your past, intact. If this is your wish, so be it. As for the divorce, I will handle the exact distribution of assets at a later point. Your marriage is hereby ended with Spoiled Rich; a copy of the proceedings is now in the Canterlot Archives,” she said as several quills worked feverishly on a stack of papers. One by one, they vanished, leaving only Twilight. Her horn lit up. “Any final requests, Jizara?” As she spoke with Jizara, Twiligtht held back a giggle in her head. Blue may not have known how Twilight looked at Equestria, but in a way it was like she had several dozen million little ones laying around. Weariness in that manner was an old friend, dearly entrenched. “I’m happy to hear you accept, barring spousal approval. As for the other thing- we’ll discuss that, but not for now. One step at a time for you, Blue.”