Golden Age Comics! Issue 1: You Never Say Good Luck on Opening Night!

[Blueblood]

"I would have volunteered certain facilities under my own civic domain; our activities at the theater were as noisy as ours here, with similar detrimental effects upon that building's structural integrity."  Pagemaster's dry reply to Nightguard's assessment would have continued, save for the strange interruption of literal butterflies in their alicorn companion's stomach.

 

After inspecting his own "kaffe" for any ill magical effects, the unicorn stallion frowned.  "The properties of reactions are, if I recall my alchemical theory classes correctly, dependent upon the sum of all reagents.  Is there something particularly chaotic in your own magic?  I cannot sense anything in this beverage."

 

Speaking of strange things, Captain Nightguard was examining the stun batons dropped by the Crooked Cops.  "More of this 'Doctor's' handiwork, no doubt.  If you don't mind a second pair of eyes..."  And he trotted around to look over the thestral's shoulder, seeing if his own magic could pick up any missed details about the spell structure surrounding it.

 

(I can't recall the rules for assisting; but that's what Pagemaster is doing.)

[Kirby Krackle]

(( That would be the Aid Another action, which is... oddly worded in the rule book. Odd, as it only references combat and nothing else. That being said, if we take out the combaty words and replace them with skilly words, the rules work. They're also identical to those found in Pathfinder. So for lack of anything else at the moment, I'm going with that. ))

 

(( So, can Pagemaster beat a 10 to donate a +2 to Cap? The 16 says yes. Now, I have no idea what kind of DC this is, so let's see what he rolls and how much I should reveal based on that number. +6 fron Investigate and the +2 from the Aid Another... 26. Alrighty then. ))

 

Years of service with the Nightguard have done well to hone Star Flight's instincts, able to separate the one weird from the mountain of mundane. And they certainly weren't going to fail him tonight. However, hooves can be a clumsy set of tools, especially when fine details were to be examined. But that's what friends are for, right? Pagemaster's horn lit up and bore the weight of this crude, blunt weapon, allowing the Captain's trained eyes easier access to...

 

Wait.

 

This thing is made out of cast iron plumbing. It was nothing difficult for Pagemaster to ever so delicately magic out the eight screws holding the device together. Within the metal casing lie a complicated mess of wires and runes and a single, now dormant crystal at its core. And, while the mechanics of it were out of the Captain's expertize, he did make one discovery before handing it off to the one engineer he knew.

 

In the hooves of the law enforcement, these weapons were live and dangerous, full of energies that couldn't wait to get out. In Pagemaster's grip, cold and dark. However, once back in Cap's possession, there was but the faintest glow. To top things off, one baton that lie the closest to Morning Glory's... mess was just as charged as it was in the hooves of the enemy.

 

Somepony should really clean that up.

[AzalR75]

Nightguard looks over all the complicated internals, this will definitely have to go to his sister to look over. But why wasn't this one spitting energy like when the police ha- wait- the moment he touches it he sees the glowing again, but nowhere near as powerful. And over next to the mess... that weapon is spitting energy again. Huh... He takes the pipe also near the trees, and the kaffe. "So... Glory. Have you been near chaos magic before this?"

[Bramble Rose]

 

Morning Glory recovered quickly from any assault, but she was still feeling a bit woozy from the tea... what was it, and why was everyone else responding ... poorly?  The energy crackling nearby seemed to stab into her eyes, and she lifted a hoof to block her view of it.

She looked instead to Captain Nightguard, who was asking her something.  "What?  Chaos?  Yes, of course.  I -" she stopped herself from finishing that.

Yes, we were created in a burst of chaos magic.

Probably not the best opening, Doc.  I can just see the 'Princess Eris Destroys Main Street' headlines, now.

"I was ... I responded to the Chaos Event at the university.  It was my first ... assignment."

The memory slipped through her mind.  At the time, nothing had seemed ... well ... any more out of the ordinary than usual.  With it brought up again, in this context, though ...

Doc?  I got hit with a lamp post once, right?

If you don't remember that, perhaps all those blows to the head should concern us a bit more.

Right.  But I just got up again, no problem.  How come those rubber chairs beating at me at the labs brought me down so hard, but a cast-iron lamp post bends itself round my skull and I barely notice it?

Um ... are you sure?  I can't feel what you're feeling ...

Yeah, I'm sure.  And remember when we fought the shmoozlings?

Well, sure.  There was this gorgeous stallion trapped in the goo...

Doc, focus.  It took a doozen shmoozlings to even slow me down.  But one stupid slime monster at the laboratory nearly did me in.

Bravado, there's no way of knowing they were even of equivalent strength.  Those were chaos objects.  Who knows what they could do?

Right.  Exactly.  Who knows what chaos can do?  Certainly not us - who were created in an experiment to turn chaos into order that went horribly wrong.

Bravado, I know what you're thinking, and that's an interesting hypothesis, but you have no proof of it, and we can't exactly set up an experiment to verify-

Oh no?  Remember when we got hit by all those lightning bolts the other week?  We didn't exactly shrug it off, but I was able to power through it without too much difficulty.

Bravado, no, wait, this is a terrible id-

Morning Glory dispassionately lifted her hoof and planted it down on the wrong end of that sparking club.  There was an arc of blue lightning and she rocketed backwards, putting a web of cracks into the nearby wall.  Her mane stuck every which way and she let out a faint groan, a small puff of smoke exhaling with her first breath.

"Ow..."

Flaming Harmony, Bravado!  That was the stupidest, most foolhardy-

 

Conclusion, Doc?  Or should I have the Captain here unload those stormcloud cannons into me to see what happens?

All right, all right ... this wasn't under proper laboratory conditions, but ... it wouldn't hurt to operate under the assumption that we're especially vulnerable to discordant energies ...

"I'm OK," Morning Glory tried to reassure everyone.  "I ... was just checking something out."  She got up, brushed at herself to try to get everything back into place.  A small crackle of residual energy flickered over her.  "I'm good..."  She smoothed a hoof through her mane.  It immediately sprung back up into a sparking afro in the orange and gold colors of the rising sun.

​

[RazorWind]

Well... things got odd fast. The tea seemed to have no affect on the entire party present, save for the strange alicorn... whom vomited up the tea she so easily drank along with a large collection of winged insects. Oh for the love of the Sisters, things never were quite simple were they? The stallion did not partake of the tea himself and had little else to go off of but one thing did catch his ears as Morning Glory and Nightguard spoke.

Chaos Magic.

"Now ah hope yall can forgive me for being silent but..." He stepped forward, bi-pedal stanced as usual. "Ah don't rightly think ahm that familiar with this chaos stuff yall mention.. but it sounds like it'd do more than just affect an alicorn." He turns to the rest of the group, dark green eyes scanning everypony present beneath his stetson, "Y'all are rightly -sure- yuh don't feel nothin'? No weird butterfly shenanigans er anythin' of the sort?" The thick southern accented stallion further inquires.

"Now mah question is, this chaos stuff sounds like it's mighty hazardous to be handlin.. what kinda pony puts stuff like that in a drink? More importantly what for?"

[Blueblood]

"Hm-mm-Hm."  While Pagemaster was a pony of high magical talent, his expertise was both specialized and rather unacademic.  He could detect facts, but deducing theories from them was not a strong point.  "There is a definite differential of response... It's not charged by unicorn magic, at least by mine, but really magic itself is so broad that anything could be the principle of power.  The spell could be able to detect whether or not the holder was in law enforcement, captain, though I don't think our alicorn friend is in any official capacity... or if she is, I don't handle her payroll paperwork."

 

Speaking of Morning Glory, it seemed that she had some past with chaos magic... and an impulsive streak in her investigation.  Even he had to wince at the impact.  "I suppose that we should count ourselves fortunate that the cops never swarmed us with those."  He took another sip, drained his cup actually, smacking his lips over the bitter taste.  "No, no ill effects.  Of course, we don't know if the Doctor intended to put in chaos magic or not.  That sort tends to get everywhere, whether its wanted or not."

 

The unicorn put down his cup and dusted off his suit.  "Well.  Does anyone have any more ideas of what we might find here, or should we start securing the evidence in our, ah, chosen hideout?"

[Bramble Rose]

 

Morning Glory finally ... finally ... turned her attention towards that pile of bits that Captain Nightguard had scooped up.  Her stomach churned, as if reminding her that her last meal hadn't been all that impressive.  Heck ... she was always starving after a night as Morning Glory.  Was there any way of returning this to whomever it was stolen from?  What was going to happen to this money, anyway?  She wasn't sure, but ... she was supposed to be a force of justice.  Justice could not start down any sort of slippery slope.

She snagged two small pouches, and filled each with bits.  "You all may do what you like with the evidence.  I have to drop this off someplace that took damage from our fight here today - I cannot keep that ... evidence ... for myself.  But I will not judge anypony who does.  It is reasonable, however, to at least put some of it towards anyplace that was damaged in our fight.  That's all I have to say on the subject."  She took a sheet of parchment from the remnants of Maxie's table, and found the bottle of ink and quill ... but ... where was the good old pen or pencil?  She couldn't use a quill, that was a purely unicorn tool.  Oh dear.  Her hoofwriting was going to be dreadful...

Sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth, she concentrated ... her horn glowed with the soft red-gold light of the earliest light of the sun.  The quill lifted up, dipped in the ink, descended to the parchment... in careful, deliberate letters, she slowly wrote, "Shining Ray - My apologies for the damage.  These bits were taken from the poor.  Please make sure they keep going back to feeding them, and thank you for the pizza when I only had a farthing to spare.  - Morning Glory"

She leaned back and nodded approvingly to herself.  it wasn't gorgeous - but it was legible.  Not too shabby.  Not too shabby.  "I'll meet the lot of you back at the hideout," she said, as she pulled out a second parchment.

"Curtain Call - my apologies for the damage."  That seemed an like a start she was going to have to practice a lot... "These bits were taken from the poor.  Please send them towards continuing to give poor foals food and an hour's entertainment where they can forget they are poor, and thank you for the popcorn.  - Morning Glory"

There!  That should be a good cover for Curtain Call.  And any heat that the theatre or Ray's Pizzeria might get from having money they shouldn't would fall on her instead.  She flew out the second hole in the wall to deposit the first pouch and rolled-up parchment where Shining Ray was sure to find it in a couple of hours when he came in to fire up the ovens, then circled around and flew down towards the theatre.

Woooooog.  That was going to be a lot of work.  She mentally waved good-bye to any chance at the last few hours of sleep.  She ran her hoof through her mane, which had finally settled down, and then flew in through the second story opening.  Maybe they could just rebuild it as a nice porch overlooking the street ... well.  She was already tying back her mane into a ponytail to keep it out of the way, and dumped her skirts and breastplate over a seat in the rear of the theatre.  First find Curtain Call.  Give him the pouch and the note, and ask him where he kept his tools ...
 

You know ... I'm proud of you, Bravado.

 

What, for defeating those thugs?  Please.  Wasn't nearly as hard as any of the other stuff we've done.

 

No, not for that, for ... oh, nevermind.

​

[Kirby Krackle]

Curtain Call and his uncle Soliloquy together made for absolute certain that they ate only half of the donuts stolen from the crime scene. The rest, they both agreed, were to be rationed out over the course of an estimated three weeks. The official numbers would be crunched later. The thought of having the same Long John for breakfast, lunch and dinner was actually exciting the cool gray stallion, but then again, he's weird. Anyway. Focus, Curtains. You're on the clock.

 

With greasy tool box at his side, the eldest of the two was underneath the pipe organ that Morning Glory so expertly smashed to pieces, repairing what could be repaired and dictating to Curtain Call what components needed to be replaced. Curtain Call meanwhile had his nose in several books, noting what spare parts still lie in inventory and what he would need to order. The preliminary estimate was looking expensive.

 

“Mrby dis ss er srn.”

 

Curtains assumed his uncle's mumbling was from a screwdriver in his mouth.

 

“Yeah, it's a sign alright. 'Going out of business'.”

 

“Nnm!” There was a cough. “I mean, no! Well, I mean yes. Maybe. Nephew, I love you t'death and you know that. And I got to thinkin' while you were off adventurin'. 'Bout the theatre and the right awful state she's in...”

 

“If this is the speech about me not putting myself in danger anymore, then forget it. There's too much at stake for the Masquerade to just up and quit. Besides, another budget cut isn't going to kill us.” He glanced at his abacus. “...near fatal wounding maybe...”

 

“Ain't what I meant, son.”

 

“Nephew.”

 

“Shut it. Listen fer a sec. I'm closin' the theatre.”

 

The resulting 'WHAT' was so big it could be heard across the bridge. That boy sure does have a set of pipes on him.

 

“Hear me out, okay! You 'n' I can barely keep her afloat, and that's includin' starving ourselves for the cause. Meanwhile, the stuff you did tonight, well, that's just too amazing to put to words. So I'm thinkin' you do that instead. The Masquerade. Make a real difference. I sell Scenes Songs and Steps. Use them bits to rent a little place. Maybe get a job as a Mr. Fixit type to keep food on the table. And you go out there and do that voodoo that you do so well. Howzat sound?”

 

Mind you, this heartfelt speech was being performed entirely under the organ. So Soliloquy could not see the seething rage in his nephew's bloodshot eyes. Likewise, Curtain Call could not see his uncle sneak a bear claw into his mouth. At least, until he pulled at the creeper Uncle was resting on.

 

“We are supposed to be saving those.”

 

Uncle gulped twice. Once, from the pastry. Once, from his nephew's chilling glare.

 

“Dearest Uncle, I love you too. I don't LIKE you very much right now, but I love you. That being said, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR APPLE BUCKING MIND!”

 

“Curtains, I-”

 

“Shut it! You listen for a second! This theatre is our legacy! Our family! I was born here! Raised here! This theatre has taken care of our family for generations! And it's our responsibility to take care of her in return! So you just watch me! I'm going to do both! I'm going to get ponies off the streets and in the seats! Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight!”

 

Uncle Soliloquy flinched a little as his nephew reached for him. But there was no need. Grease on the costume or no, Curtain Call gave the old fogey the biggest,warmest hug he could.

 

“I'll save us. All three of us. You just watch me.”

 

“Fine, ya idiot. But don't say I didn't offer.”

 

“Deal. Now back to work.” Moment over, the older pony was dropped back onto the creeper and ever so gently pushed back under the organ. “And no more donuts. That's our dinner this month. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to hang up a few 'Closed for Repairs' signs up.”

[AzalR75]

Nightguard takes the baton, strapping it on under one of the cannons, then starts gathering the coins as best he can into bags to give to the ponies that remained. "I think it's best to go back to chosen hideout. There is some sorting out, and with this I know we will need your help Quill." he leans in close to Pagemaster "And honestly reason I'm less worried about the noise we made there is it's being haunted keeps ponies away." There's actually a bit of levity to how he says it. He takes one bag, grunting a bit as these are rather heavy "Mrph... right. I'll actually walk with you lot. Trying to fly this kind of weight, I'll be grounded on the way home." he begins trotting the way of the theater.

 

-------------------------------------------

 

Arriving back at the theater, Nightguard makes specific to wait until all ponies are in before he states what's been on his mind since he gathered the coins. "Masq, you ran off on us too early. There was a big heaping pile of something we needed to discuss. Simply put. This money is stolen. Pagemaster, you said you didn't..." there is a pause, but he's used to ponies using long, eloquent and over the top ways that need translating "... know the proper way to make use of these funds for ourselves. I... agree with you on that frankly. Though, where you trust the city hall, I've got reason to trust it as far as I can throw it." he looks to Masquerade "However, we have someone who has a full list of the people that were harmed by this ring. A very detailed list.  Personally, I think that's where we should start." he sighs a moment as he has to swallow a bit of pride to state the next part "However, work has been impossible to find as I'm sure the rest of you know... so food has been tight... and I can tell that it's more than a couple of us who've had to be careful on food. The police asked us to look into the ghost thing... which we did... but I doubt we'll get anything more than a pat on the back. So I move as well that a very small portion goes to each of us as payment for the work done. Unless you've got any more fancy tricks up your sleeve to get us on city payroll."

 

He shrugs a bit. "These are my thoughts. As such... I feel it's best we vote on what is done with the money, and that is mine." he sits to hear any other thoughts.

[Bramble Rose]

 

Morning Glory, being able to fly without caring about the weight of her sacks of bits, was the first back to the theater.  She stopped just short of calling out, seeing Curtain and his uncle in the middle of a family matter...

Awww... he's a family man!  He's such a sweetie.

Which one?

Both of them!

Doc, I ... just ... nevermind.

But as Curtain turned to put up the signs, Morning Glory went to intercept.  "Catch!" she called, tossing the rolled parchment down to him as she spread her wings to descend.  Nice space they had in here.  As soon as Curtain Call looked up from the parchment, he'd have another incoming - this one the bag of bits.

"The rest are coming to discuss this.  But.  Whatever happened, Masquerade was right to make the choice he did.  However, Curtain Call is due something.  And while I don't have the authority ... I will take the blame.  You can't close for repairs - not when foals are needing a bit of something.  But you might need to have a 'repair party' special deal.  Now, while we're waiting for them to catch up..."  She floated the tool box over, horn and box glowing with the red of the rising sun.  "Oooo, nice selection... good-old-fashioned artistry," Morning Glory said, prompted by Doc's mental appreciation of the craftsman's tools.  She nodded in respect, then went to examine the damaged organ along with Soliloquy.  Soon, Morning Glory was just repeating whatever Doc told her to, as the two older ponies went back and forth on theoretical and practical artificing.  With the alicorn's magic, several of the previous bits and bobs that Soliloquy had been forced to write off at a loss were at least marginally repaired, and several crystals badly in need of a recharging were given a new boost.

Eventually, though, Morning Glory had to put the repairs on hold to discuss the situation with the rest of the group.  "Look, like I said earlier - I don't care what you guys do with it.  I'll even take the blame, if you want.  But I'm not taking any for myself.  If you wanna make it all organized and stuff, though ... maybe Pagemaster can squirrel the bits away into some account, and we can use it to temporarily draw a salary for the Captain and Stone Heart?  An amount equivalent to what Captain Nightguard used to make as a member of Nightguard?

"What I'm more concerned with is ... I would have been able to handle all five of those superpowered thugs tonight with some difficulty - though I'm very glad I didn't have to.  But if I'd been swarmed by those coppers, today ... well, you saw what those shock sticks would have done to me.  I sure would like to be able to get your help again."

She pondered a moment, then paraphrased, "Princess Celestia once said to me - I wasn't needed.  Without me, Equestria would manage - would persevere, and survive, and overcome those coming against us.  But it would be at much greater difficulty, with more injury and loss of life.  I feel the same about you guys.  I can do my job alone ... but why would I want to, when we can work so much better, together?  Even the princesses don't try to do this alone."  She paused, looked awkwardly at Captain Nightguard.  "or at least ... they didn't... um.  Sorry.  But ... that's just it.  Captain, I just got dumped into this.  You have the experience and knowledge that I desperately need.  Please, teach me how to do what I'm trying to do.  The Masquerade and Stone Heart knows the streets and the ponies like I never could.  And there's no way I could make my way through the bureaucracy to find the corrupt officials the way Pagemaster can.  I know I can learn from all of you, too - but especially, Captain Nightguard, I need help from you.  Protecting the night from all these monsters I keep running into?  I'm a poor substitute for what Equestria used to have.  When it comes down to the big threats, sure, I can turn myself into a living battering ram, but I'm just figuring stuff out as I go here, and even the fights are easier when I've got backup.  Can I count on you all to help me?  To work as a team?"
 

​

[Blueblood]

After the sort of night that Quill Pusher had to deal with, any proposal to legalize kaffe would have been greeted with favor from certain quarters of city hall.  Vigilantes never seemed to consider just how much paperwork other ponies needed to do after their 'heroic activities.'  Not to mention writing the budget proposal for an across-the-board funding raise for law enforcement...

 

Thus, when the Pagemaster arrived at the theater to discuss the appropriatenes of fund appropriation, the stallion was basically running on tea and sugar.  He yawned as he entered, just in time to hear Nightguard's suggestion of using the list as a guide to returning the bits.  "That's... *yawn* certainly the suggestion of common sense.  Of course, any margin we keep back will mean that somepony gets, to use the colloquial phrase, shafted.  If you're volunteering to decide who, captain, I'll leave that distasteful task to you, though... it's possible we may be left with extra after returning."  The masked bureaucrat took off his face covering to rub his eyes.  "Meh... That other unicorn may have summoned extra bits with that horn of his.  In any case, I'm in favor of using the paperwork we have already rather than making more."

 

He leaned back on a piece of stage setting, idly wondering how the theater could possibly operate as both what it was and as a hideout for their sort.  Having crowds of civilian ponies perpetually hanging about a place that several very powerful and quite evil figures would likely target seemed a recipe for disaster, now that he thought about it.

 

Thankfully, Morning Glory's voice had a way of keeping one awake while listening to it, else Pagemaster might have fallen asleep while listening to her go on like that.  "I think it's quite obvious that until the situation as a whole is resolved, our group should stick together, pep rally aside.  As for pay... well, I can't promise a captain's salary, but I think I can get the council to approve a rider on the proposed increase to the law enforcement budget.  Again, however, the bulk of that needs to go to support the actual ponies in this city.  Unless we leave more stable and content citizens behind us, we're simply playing whack-a-changeling in a crumbling city."

[Kirby Krackle]

The weight of Morning Glory's purse was in no way modest. The Alicorn also happened to have thrown it perhaps a little too hard. Her actor friend has caught the package, but not without losing his breath and his balance in the process. Any harder and she might have cracked one of his ribs. But pain and suffering aside, Curtain Call could not have been more frateful. Once he picked himself up off the floor, he had to wipe a little something from his eye. It was dust. Honest.

 

“Oh, Princess...”, he said post-sniffle. “I appreciate the gesture. I really do. But we can't accept this.”

 

“Yes we can, stupid.”

 

Curtain Call blinked.

 

“Welp, you heard the codger! He's the one with his name on the deed! Hey Uncle, I bet we could put her name on a Donor's Box or something!”

 

“Bet we could charge a little extra for seating! Named after royalty and all!”

 

The two theatre heads had perhaps too good a laugh on the subject. The potential for untold profits was a great one in their eyes, seeing Morning Glory less like a pony and more like a cash cow. But that was a wickedness (from a marketing standpoint) for later.

 

Soliloquy wished long and hard for a word stronger than 'astonishing', For Morning Glory was as sharp as she was beautiful. On more than one occasion, the wrong tool was in his teeth or a wire was plugged in backwards, all because he was lost in those sparkling gold eyes. His nephew couldn't help but know what was slowing the repairs, as the achy breaky heart was something that ran in the family. So 'go take a cold shower' he told his elder with an 'accidental' kick (or was it 'I saw her first”? Kicks were hard to translate.) to the Cutie Mark. With less of those distractions, repairs went much quicker, and the two took to giving the old girl a test drive with Heart and Soul. To mix things up, Curtain Call sat right and his Uncle left this time.

 

“I... apologize for my hasty retreat. Not exactly comfortable about those badges, you see. I was technically a fugitive this morning, right? Oh, and I stole their donuts.” Shameless. “Help yourself.”

 

“YOU SAID THAT WAS OUR DINNER!”

 

“CAN IT! WE HAVE GUESTS!” And they haven't even missed a key yet. Nonpariel. “...ahem. You know, there were times I could not help but wonder if I was the only pony out there trying to clean things up. I love being wrong, by the way. So, if you'll have this theatre geek, I'll be more than happy to join this merry band! Pay or no pay. Though, let's face it, pay would be nice. Consider the Scenes, Songs and Steps home if you need her to be.”

 

“Service entrance is in the back”, Uncle chimed in. “Though, if you're using a cot, better clean somethin' before bed.”

[Bramble Rose]

 

Morning Glory was happy to leave the decisions on the bits to others.  Neither Doc nor Bravado had ever been ANY good at finances, so the fact that more knowledgable ponies than they were on the job was a great comfort.  She assured them of her support for whatever they came up with, then slipped out as soon as she was no longer needed, heading back to what they did know - repairs.

​

Rackenhammer as Quill Pusher / Pagemaster

Sawdust in her mane, and a smile on her face, Morning Glory set into her second soft pretzel and her fourth bag of popcorn.  She'd never been so hungry!  She laughed at a joke by Curtain Call, as she worked on putting together the wreckage of the beautiful, collapsed old boxed seat, working in a lovely series of little mana projectors under it, to act as an enhancer to that magnificent chandelier with all the illusions up above.

​

Kirby Krackle as Curtain Call / Masquerade

With obvious familiarity with the responsibilities of pegasus ponies everywhere, she discussed the nature of the internal weather system that had made the place so cold and fogged up with Captain Nightguard, diagramming out a much more efficient and versatile system for the pair of thespians, their heads bent together over weather flow diagrams.

​

Azal as Star Flight / Captain Nightguard

As she and Stone Heart put in the muscle for holding the newly repaired boxed seats up in place, she let Pagemaster's magic paper hammer drive home the nails to keep the structure in place, returning it to its place overseeing the stage, her mane pulled back into that ponytail, but with all sorts of strands out of place, and not a little grease smeared in her pelt.

​

Razor Wind as Dusty Mane / Stone Heart

Suddenly, she stopped, eyes wide...

"Hold on... does anypony else feel that?"  None of them did... "It's... so powerful!  The magic, I can't imagine... the power!"  Her wings flared, and she flew up to the second-floor hole in the wall (which she thought would make a lovely balcony overlooking the main street) and peered out into the night sky.  "It just keeps growing in power!" she cried, eyes wide, a bit of fear in her voice.  By Harmony, what threat was about to challenge them now?  "I've never felt anything like it before!"

The sense of immense power grew and grew in her mind, nearly overwhelming the young alicorn ... and then ... the first light of the sun burst over the ocean's horizon, streaking the sky orange and red with the glow of dawn.  She relaxed in relief as the power diminished, slumping backwards in relief.

"Nevermind, guys!  I've just never had my alicorn senses active during sunup or sundown before!  It was just Princess Celestia over in Canterlot!"

​

And Bramble Rose as Bravado / Doc Stein / Morning Glory.

All ponies appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real ponies, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Thank you for playing.
 

[RazorWind]

A job well done, a portion of the problem stopped.. and hay, even a new home to relax in. Dusty had to admit, being on the road for so long and out in the city withou a place to rest his head that wasn't tin or his own forehooves would be nice.. and considering the repairs being done, slowly but surely, it could be much more homely in the near future. The stallion had helped put in seats and hold all that needed to be held in place while those with the tools did the technical work.. after all, Dusty was a muscle-stallion, not a whole lot more; used to doing manual labor while others did the thinking. Of course, the late Stone Heart would probably wish him to do much more than just flex and bash his way through problems, and the worker horse would do all he could to live up to that wish. As the others talked and mused the stallion stood on his hind legs as usual, leant against a wall nearby and just listened; the wide stetson covering his dark green gaze.

"Well.. can't say ah rightly know what all we'll be dealing with our here.." he began, "But ah appreciate the help, Curtain." he nodded to the show-stallion, "And yall's hospitality ain't goin unnoticed either.. we'll get this ol' place back to it's ol' self in no time."

 

Well, it was a time to relax now after all, until the next big crisis kicked in.. Dusty could only hope that wherever his master had gone, Stone Heart was pleased with what he had done today. With a final nod to the group, he set about helping to repair the rest of the theatre; the immense, iron endowed staff left to rest against the wall, the weapon just as worthy of a rest.