[Bridlebank Beach] The Lost Library - The Search is On!

[BaconofChaos]

(Oh gods I am so sorry, I meant to reply ages ago and forgot )

Lyra carefully crept through the ruins trying to make her way back to where she remembered Trixie had been going. She moved cautiously, knowing that despite their great size, those hulking monstrosities could be waiting around any corner. She was beginning to feel lost and disoriented, but then she heard a comotion coming from... where? It sounded distant, but Lyra knew that her new friends would be there. How would she find them though?

Lyra closed her eyes and called on her magic again. She was amazed at how easily the power was flowing now. She'd never used this much magic in such a short space of time before. She'd never needed to. Besides basic levitation and playing music, Lyra mostly used her spells as a... well a hobby. There was never a NEED to use them. But now...

A hearing spell. Basic and unobtrusive. Were it not for the glow of her horn, nopony would even know she was using it. Lyra had always dismissed it as "boring". But now she was so glad she'd learnt it. She stood still and focused. Suddenly, many sounds that had previously been on the cusp of hearing now became as clear as though they were right next to her. The clanking of metal hooves. The sound of the waves against the beach. The chirps of the birds. Focusing further, the sound of running water, broken by the familiar yell of a violent pony, followed by sounds of flames.

Lyra opened her eyes. She needed to get there and fast! She ran as fast as she could, desperate to try and help in any way she could. Her spell allowed her to find the path with the fewest clockwork ponies, though her head was now ringing with the sounds of gears churning and pistons pounding. She made her way to the path that the Doctor and Mal had clearly taken; the wheels of the Doctor's cart leaving noticable tracks in the dirt. Unfortunately the clockwork ponies were closing in on them, and Lyra had no way to get past. To make matters worse, she thought she could see Malediction being carted away by the giant police ponies.

Lyra hid in some nearby bushes and waited, hoping for a plan of some kind to form.

[brianblackberry]

((No worries Diego, I get lost on who's turn it is often enough ))

Despite all of the danger around her and her erstwhile companions, Trixie was starting to feel great, somehow refreshed, renewed. She wasn't entirely sure why, at first, but she soon realized the ever lengthening exposure to such a concentration of ley lines was not only recharging her magic far quicker than normal - it was supercharging it, a byproduct of which was the increasing euphoria she was feeling.

Euphoria turned to enthusiasm, and enthusiasm to ego. Only moments ago, Trixie had considered just fleeing with the refugees they'd found, but in a moment of self-realization decided she couldn't abandon the motley crew she'd came to travel with. A new wash of pride and power was washing over her, and she liked it!

Galloping through the streets in a zig-zag motion, more or less heading towards the flicking glow of green flames in the distance, Trixie was confidently, even gleefully, tossing ever bigger flashes and showers of sparks of every color of the rainbow in the faces of the clockwork she passed by, "Huzzah! Take that!" Jumping up on a massive fallen chunk of wall, Trixie tossed back a particularly brilliant spiral of light and sparks into the nearly clockwork turning to face her. "Ha! You just been vanquished by the majestic magic of Trixie!!" Looking over at another approaching clockwork, she tossed what looked like a zigzagging shower of blue and purple sparks right in its eyes, "Oh! You want some, too?!" She found herself leaving the huge city, the broken buildings fading away, behind her as she now ran through the woods, following the green flames ahead, the light that was starting to die away. She pranced up a rise in the forest and found herself looking down over the scene - that eccentric Doctor out by a nearby river, the ill-tempered blue unicorn collapsing beside him. Where was that little chubby green one?

It didn't matter at the moment - more clockwork were gathering around the two ponies, and Mal was already in the clutches of one of them, that was clamping a pair of wrenches around her hooves. Normally, Trixie would have been scared or hesitant. After all, they don't see her. She wouldn't have had to deal with the possibility of failing, again, when it actually counted. This time, though - this time, she was enraptured. The surge of magical energies was thrilling through her mind, bringing her a dreamy bliss of exhilaration. It was time ... time for the greatest show yet!

But it had to be more than sparks and distractions. Well, she had other spells. She wasn't as good at them, but - she'd been able to shock that annoying blue pegasus, and she had saved the Doc's burning cottage by summoning the clouds. She chuckled softly, and her horn glowed softly, then brighter, casting a light down over the scene below. Above her, clouds swirled and gathered together... not many clouds. Not an entire storm's worth. Maybe three or four - but they were dark, and rumbling, and angry clouds, and they suited Trixie's mood perfectly. First, though, a pronouncement was in order. A truly EPIC pronouncement. And after some recent rumors she'd heard, she knew just the thing to bring it over the top.

Drawing together a tiny bit of magic, she tapped into her showponyship magic. Normally, she used this simple little spell so every pony, even in the back of the crowd, could hear her. It only needed a little tweak to produce the Royal Canterlot Voice, booming down over the scene below her with impressive reverb and incredible majesty. "ATTENTION, ALL!! WORRY NOT FOR THY SITUATION, FOR THOU ART DELIVERED UPON THIS DAY! BE AMAZED AND AWED AT THE WONDEROUS RESCUE THOU SHALT RECEIVE MOMENTARILY THROUGH THE MAJESTIC AND AWE-INSPIRING ETHEREAL ABILITIES OF THE _GREAT_ AND _POWERFUL_ TRIXIEEEEE!" It felt SO GOOD to use that name again, without feeling like she was cheating in any way.

She looked down at the clockwork, then. "AND THEE, THOU CLOCKWORK MINIONS OF DAYS GONE PAST. IMPRESSIVE YOU MAY HAVE BEEN, BUT THOU'RT NAY BUT A FLEA BEFORE THE MIGHT OF TRIXIE! FLEE, NOW! WITHDRAW, AND PERHAPS SPIN YOUR GEARS ANOTHER DAY!"

The Clockwork Ponies all took a step back at that, as Trixie's horn shone a brilliant blue. She put all her focus into her spellcraft, using every bit of aether the ley lines granted her to call down bolts of lightning from those four small, dark clouds above the clockwork ponies, all save the one holding Mal. It wouldn't do to electrocute the ones she'd come to save. Lightning lit them up from the inside, burst glass eyes and darkened brass flanks. None of them really *fell* from her attack, but as one they all turned and started to flee.

"WITHDRAW! WITHDRAW!!" Several clockwork echoed as they began to move away back towards the town. It had worked! They were scared of her! She! The Great and Powerful Trixie! She had turned away an army of clockwork ponies! She would harry their hooves, make their existence a misery, send them fleeing into the sea so that it would be another thousand years before they returned to face her wrath! Trixie began to laugh with glee, "HA HAA! You monsters cannot escape from the righteous magic of the GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie! Feel my transcendental might!!" She continued to zap each of the fleeing clockwork with lightening, laughing merrily. One of them even fell down, momentarily, as the lightning bolt caught it in the leg, though it got back up and kept fleeing with only three legs now working.

Trixie started to huff. It was instinct, as she wasn't actually physically exhausted, but she was mentally spent. Even with all the magical energy of the ley lines, she'd spent herself to the very last ounce. It had been enough, though. Certainly, the rest of them would be able to get by, now that the clockwork ponies had fled into the distance, terrified by the very presence of the Great and Powerful Trixie! She smiled a satisfied smile before she sunk down to the ground in a dead faint, the smile still touching her lips.

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves was yelling to Mal as she unloaded her fury into the water via the massive green flames. "Stop! Stop, that won't do anything! Please, you'll hurt yourself!" His voice didn't even seem to be impinging on the unicorn, and he could only watch helplessly as she collapsed before him.

And then the Clockwork Ponies were upon them! Blast, he'd been sure they'd gotten beyond their range! And using a pair of wrenches as cuffs? Well, that was ... actually, rather clever. But not allowable. How long would they hold onto their pony captives waiting for the peacekeeping forces that hadn't existed for hundreds of years? And Mal just seemed to ... give up.

"Right then!" cried Doctor Whooves, shrugging out of his harness. "Seems you've just made a mistake there, cause just by chance, you just captured my friend within 24 hours of me having a *really bad day*. My cart's ruined, I saw the foal you'd hurt, and I've been feeling pretty useless around all these unicorns. But these hooves?"

He charged forward, a manic grin on his face. "Them's mah FIGHTIN' hooves!" And with that, he dropped, spun, head down, hooves up, and bucked that clockwork pony right in the face.

Sure, previous ponies who had held his name had been unicorns, or pegasi, and Doctor Whooves knew that he held their knowledge in the extensive library back at his place - a library that had knowledge possibly no other library in Equestria held. Often he wondered if the name shouldn't have been passed on to a pony with more obvious ability to carry out the duties. But as an Earth Pony, he had deep reserves of strength, and every so often he just couldn't take it anymore.

The glass shattered, the brass deformed, the delicate innards of the head ground to a halt with springs flying out and gears grinding against each other. Still, though, the clockwork pony held onto Malediction. Somewhere in his awareness, Doctor Whooves heard the booming voice of Trixie announcing her magnificent return, and he filed it away so he could pay attention to it, but right now the blood was rushing in his head, the fire of battle in his hooves.

Doctor Whooves struck again, and again, with his hind hooves, battering at the front of the clockwork pony. He'd never noticed his striking hooves sounding like *lightning* before! No, wait, that was probably Trixie. He backed away as he'd finally removed the forelegs of the clockwork pony from the rest of it, the remains of that one clockwork laying there - all because it had refused to let go of Malediction. He looked up, spinning around, to see the rest fleeing back towards the city.

...

The maintenance drones? Fleeing? That ... didn't make sense. They couldn't *get* scared. They couldn't get happy, they couldn't get sad, they couldn't laugh at your jokes ... they just followed orders! And the lightning bolts continued to drop amongst them, smashing vital gears, destroying delicate machinery. "Whoah!" he said, softly, to himself, then, "Whoah!" he cried, louder. "They're gallopin' away, that's enough, Trixie! Whoaaaah! You're destroying valuable historical artifacts! We're all OK!" He glanced around quickly. Well, he hoped they were. Where was Lyra?

And then Trixie collapsed to the ground. Doctor Whooves stood there a bit uncertain what to do ... both unicorns were just laying there, and he with a broken cart, and still a missing friend. Well. He nodded to himself. Well. Just do what you can. And then do more.

First, he took Malediction, getting his head, then the rest of him under her, and lifting her up laboriously into the bed of his cart, the wrenches and fore legs of the clockwork pony still attached to her hooves. Then he went up to the unconscious Trixie and smiled down to her gently. "Needs control," he softly said, "But you really are the Great and Powerful Trixie... such potential." He ducked his head down again, lifting her up gently onto his back, and carried her back to the cart to lay next to Malediction.

Now, to find Lyra, and get everypony upstream.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal barely registered the fight in her downed state. There was the Doctor, putting up a rather impressive fight. She'd assumed his lack of magic meant he was basically powerless, but he was apparently able to fight as well as any earth pony could be expected to. Still, he was only one pony, he would be easily overwhelmed by their numbers.

Then there was some flashes. Magic, probably. Mal couldn't so much as move her head to make out what was happening, but Trixie's voice soon revealed what had happened. That awful loudmouth had saved the day. Mal had been outclassed by that pathetic blowhard. Had she any rage left in her, she would have been angry, but now the fact just filled her with a bitter despair.

As the Doctor picked her up, she muttered weakly to him. "Would been fine... on my own. Your fault," she managed to say, but her heart wasn't in it, and she teared up a little as she spoke.

[BaconofChaos]

Lyra felt bad. Really bad. In the distance she had watched as The Doctor and Trixie had fought the clockworks. The Doctor's earth pony strength had done some real damage, and Trixie's magic was certainly Great and Powerful. And here was poor litte Lyra, cowering behind a bush. But what could she have done? She had only gotten here by out-smarting and out-maneuveuring the clockworks. Was that enough? Certainly she was no fighter, nor did she want to be. She wanted to be a magcian and a musician. So why was not being involved so... frustrating? Because she wanted to help, that's why. Maybe she could start now.

Seeing as the clockwork ponies had now left, whatever their reasons were, she ran towards the others, a look of concern falling on her face as she viewed her fellow unicorns, magically spent and on the verge of unconsciouness. She made her way to The Doctor, where he was currently moving Trixie into his cart. "Sorry I'm late" she said, moving next to him and using her shoulder to help him move Trixie.

After the passengers were loaded, Lyra turned to speak to The Doctor. "What happened? Where did the clockworks go? And what are we going to do now?"

(ooc: Short one from me today. I needed to write something.)

[Bramble Rose]

(Approved by Diego Havoc before posted)

Doctor Whooves gave a small smile as he saw Lyra trot up. "Well, there you are, then!" he said cheerfully. "Glad to see all three heroines are safe and sound." He was glad for the help in getting the two unicorns up into the wagon, being as gentle as possible while doing so. "But I honestly have no idea why the clockwork left. That was very peculiar. They're not supposed to be able to get scared - just to follow orders from the proper authorities. And there hasn't been a proper authority for centuries." Once he got the two incapacitated unicorns into his cart, he looked over them worriedly, but it seemed they were just exhausted. A healthy bit of rest, and they would be good as new.

"Right, then!" he said cheerfully to Lyra. "And now, if you would help me, your talents are *just* the sort of thing I need!" He led her to the clockwork pony, and they spent the next hour or so dismantling it. Doctor Whooves relied, for the most part, on a scratched and well-used screwdriver, but he spent even more type guiding Lyra in exactly what he needed. He would point to a section of the contraption with his screwdriver, and Lyra would duck her head, her horn glowing softly as it let out a whistling noise. At Doctor Whooves' suggestions, she modulated the tone up or down, giving it more or less intensity, until it resonated just right with the gear assembly, loosening them in place so that the earth pony could remove them easily, or popping open internal compartments that had previously been locked to get access to the more sensitive bits and pieces. By the time they were finished, Doctor Whooves' suggestions were extremely few and far between as Lyra got the trick of it, the two working almost as one pony with no need for words.

Eminently cheered up, Doctor Whooves trotted with a merry spring to his step back to the cart, his saddlebags filled to bursting with gears and flywheels, springs and gearboxes, of gorgeous and ancient craftsmanship. They spent the next half a day with Doctor Whooves pulling the three-wheeled cart upstream, pausing every so often to glance at the manavane attached to the corner of his cart. For the most part, the manavane stayed pointed firmly at Lyra, who was sitting in the back of the cart with the two other unicorn ponies, playing gentle harp music to help them to relax. Doctor Whooves, though he was unused to pulling his cart around so much, nonetheless kept enough of his breath to laugh and joke with Lyra, telling her grand and surely impossible tales of his past adventures, asking after her loves in life, and flirting outrageously, playfully, and insincerely with her, just so he could glance out of the corner of his eye and see her smile.

When the manavane suddenly pulled away from Lyra and pointed, instead, firmly at the river, Doctor Whooves came to a stop. "There we are," he said with relief, letting himself out from under the harness. "Now we simply wait for our sleeping beauties to wake up. I have a plan, but I need to ask them some questions, and we'll need all three of you up and running." At least, sitting directly on top of a ley line, the exhausted unicorns should find themselves restored quite quickly.

While Lyra continued to care for the two sleeping mares, Doctor Whooves went to work. Opening a chest in the back of the cart, he dug around inside till he found what he was looking for - a spare cart wheel! He hammered it firmly into place, then took his fresh bag of spare parts and a toolbelt, and crawled underneath the cart, whistling merrily, *almost* in tune with Lyra's harp playing. it wasn't long before he was covered in grease and oil, and other, stranger fluids, getting himself quite thoroughly filthy as he worked at patching up the damage done to his precious cart.

[BaconofChaos]

Lyra had been amazed at the things Doctor Whooves had shown her how to do. She would never have thought that the frequencies of sounds could unscrew a bolt or pop open a rusty latch. She'd learned a great deal on how to focus the magic in very small, specific ways. The whole experience had been fascinating, and she'd even picked up a few ideas on how to tune her other spells with the knowledge she'd gained. She made a mental note to practice when she got home, and perhaps drop by the Ponyville library to grab a book on... what had the Doctor called it? Acoustic Theory?

After half a day's travel, and after the Doctor had finished with his endless, though amusing, flirting and teasing (Lyra had probably blushed more in those few hours than she had in a lifetime), not to mention his frequently funny, yet odd jokes, the group came to rest next to the riverbed. Lyra continued to play a soothing melody as Doctor Whooves worked, and the others slept. It was almost like a camping trip, if one ignored the previous battles against giant pony golems.

Lyra finished her latest song and put her lyre down for a moment. She had been playing for quite sometime now, and though she loved to play she was now aware that she hadn't eaten anything for quite some time. Her stomach growled at her fiercely. "I don't suppose you have any food on you Doctor?" she asked. "I'm starving, and these two will probably need something to regain their strength when they wake up."

[brianblackberry]

The Great and Powerful Trixie sat in the royal box at the theater, reveling in her glory. The architecture was beautiful, with arching support structures, intricate moldings, all done in marble and precious metals, in the most elegant of lavish tastes. Next to her, in the royal box, was Princess Celestia, doing her part along with the rest of Equestria to recognize the wonder and majesty which was the Great and Powerful Trixie, hero of the land, vanquisher of the clockwork ponies, and new magical adviser to the crown. In this concert given in her honor, that cute mint-green unicorn pony down on stage played a beautiful, sweet song on her harp, the music soaring through the air, hushing the crowd as the instrument sang of Trixie's great deeds.

Then a light shone from above - it was Princess Celestia, raising the sun inside the theater just for Trixie! No, she was asking Trixie to help her raise the sun! It was time for Trixie to take her place maintaining the skies and heavens, as befit a unicorn of her power! The sun shone in Trixie's eyes, and she flinched and lifted her hoof to block it out, and let out a faint groan. The aches and bruises of the last few days came back to her as the dream started to fade away in the harsh afternoon light of reality.

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* Suddenly, the soft and soothing music that sang to her so peacefully in her dreams were replaced by some annoying hammering sound beneath her. She scowled and rolled over on the hard bed. Ugh, this miserable mattress felt like solid wood planks. It took a moment, but she began to recollect where she was and what had happened. The Clockwork! Trixie jumped right up on all four hooves at the terrifying thought that they might be all around her! Her hoof landed on thin air, and she stumbled past Lyra and out of the back of the cart, unable to catch herself in her groggy state, landing unceremoniously on her rump in a rather undignified fashion.

She quickly looked around, seeing nothing but dirt and grass, trees and a river, and of course Lyra sitting on the edge of the cart in front of her with Malediction still sleeping inside, "Wha ... Where? Clockwork! Oh ... OH! Of course! I, The Great and Powerful Trixie, banished those nefarious mechanical monstrosities! " Trixie laughed with delight. Surely that was why they were safe, right?

"So ... What are we doing here?" Trixie wondered aloud, glancing up at Lyra as she got back on all fours, "Did you say something about food?" Her stomach *was* seeming to try to eat her hollow from the inside out. She came up to the side of the cart, punched just the right place, and the food locker popped open. Trixie tossed two apples up to Lyra, took another two for herself, and took a hungry bite that devoured half the first apple in one go.

"Now, where is that idio-", she cut off as she saw the pair of hind hooves sticking out from under the side of the cart, where that loud banging was coming from. Trixie took off her hat and cape - no way was she going to get them dirty! She frowned at the cloth hanging in mid-air before her. .. Dirtier, at any rate. She sighed, and floated them back on the cart next to Lyra, then got down on her back and wriggled under the cart next to her companion. "What happened? Why didn't you awake me? Are we at the library yet? Er ..." she looked up at the strange mechanical contraption, all sorts of gears and pulleys and who-knew what else, dripping with oil and grease and some strange, blue-green sludge that she couldn't identify. "Umm ... what are you doing, anyway?'

[Tempest Rime]

Mal groaned and stirred. Her head ached, and her emotional reserves were completely empty. She sat up and looked at the other ponies grudgingly. Her ears were ringing, and she had trouble making out what they were saying. Why had she gone and blown all her magic like that? It was stupid, and it hadn't accomplished anything. She couldn't believe she'd made such a dumb mistake. Now she was suffering from a severe magical backlash. It wasn't the first time she'd felt it, but usually she had a good reason to unleash like that.

"Ugh, where the hay are we?" She pushed herself up and out of the cart, looking around blearily. She eyed the apples the others were eating hungrilly, but made no request for any. She didn't want any more charity from these ponies. She stepped away from the cart a short distance, finding some berries that looked edible. She picked them off with her mouth, not wanting to try any levitation while the backlash was wracking her.

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves lay under the cart, cables draped about him, his favorite screwdriver held in his teeth. The innards of his drive shaft lay revealed before him, and it was a terrible mess, but it was getting better. He blinked at the question about food, and his own stomach rumbled, reminding him how long it had been for himself, too. Huh - he'd have to go out and open the stores ... just ... right after he got these gears into place. He frowned as one delicate assembly refused to go in, no matter how gently he tried to finagle it. He tried again. Perhaps if he just wriggled it like this ...

It caught again, halfway into place. With a grunt of frustration, Doctor Whooves hammered his hoof against it in frustration. *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

And then he was delighted to hear Trixie's voice up above! Oh, good, they were waking up! The noises from outside washed over him without care as he focused on the gears above him. Now that that assembly was in place ... he pulled a cable over and used the screwdriver to tweak the tightness of the cord within. A big blob of blue-green goo fell from inside the cable to land on his chin.

Then, to his delight, Trixie was down there with him! "Oh, no, we won't be at the library for *weeks* yet. Maybe months. Maybe longer! I've been searching for it for years, you know. But I really think we're on the right track, this time!" he said cheerfully. "Here, hold this in place." He took her hoof and pressed it up against a gearbox, then he started wrangling the box a bit to force it into a space barely big enough to fit it. "Just a bit of jiggery pokery. See, the hole took out one of my main heat interchange drive motivators, but these assemblies from the clockwork ponies back there are *way* too intricate and delicate to take its place. But such craftsmanship! My goodness, look at those interchanges. Beautiful." He reached up, his hoof gentle as he stroked soothingly, even tenderly, across the underside of his cart. "So instead, I'm putting in six minature drive motivator assemblies in tandem, routing the heat interchange through the timing gearbox, and dropping the gear ratio to accomodate. Then all I need to do is recalibrate the time manipulator, and Bob's your uncle!"

He smiled sadly, and spoke so softly that even Trixie could barely hear him. "It'll be all right ... I'll get you all fixed up, sexy, better than ever ... don't you worry ..." His voice had a tone of pain and comfort in it that seemed quite out of place for talking to an inanimate object.

Then he shook himself out of it and went back to work on the connections to the gearbox that Trixie was holding up. "So, there you have it. Pretty simple, really. If you're brilliant. Like me." He gave Trixie a little excited grin, obviously hoping for some sort of praise ... or at least a blank, clueless expression.

Then Malediction's hooves hit the ground, and Doctor Whooves let out an 'ahhh.' "We're all awake, then, good!" He seemed to forget about the gearbox that Trixie was holding up for him, and wriggled out from under the cart, getting to his hooves. "We're on a good, solid ley line, best place to try to alter the landscape, and thus, the magical reflection. Plus, it let you two rest up and relax. Backlash shouldn't last more than a half an hour or so, in this place. Trixie seems all right, but you look like you have a headache. Got just the thing for that. Nice cuppa!" He popped open another hatch in the side of his cart, and there was a small spigot inside, a pair of tea cups, and several small pouches. Doctor Whooves selected a willow brew, good for headaches, and opened the spigot to access the hot water reserves usually used to run the cart. It wasn't as hot as it was a couple hours ago, but it was still a nice warm brew. The tea would be a *little* more bitter than usual, but it'd still buck that headache he saw on Malediction's face.

"Now, I have a plan. But I need all of you all magiced up and ready to cast." He offered the tea to Malediction. "I got a good feel for Lyra's talents while we worked on dismantling the clockwork, taught her what she needs to help with her part in the plan. And of course, I already know Trixie's growing abilities ... but you're still a mystery to me. You didn't burn that clockwork on the beach, you *froze* it. And when you were faced with a river, you tried to send your flames against the river. I know you weren't trying to burn water ... do your flames actually *freeze* liquids? Cause that's *brilliant!* That's versatile! How narrow a beam can you do? How focused can you make the flames?"

[BaconofChaos]

Lyra munched thoughtfully on the apple Trixie had thrown to her. She was listening in on Doctor Whooves as he explained, or at the very least tried to explain, just what it was he was doing to the cart. Her eyes began to glaze over as complicated words like "interchange", "motivators" and "assemblies" were spoken.

Her mind wandered back to Ponyville; to home. What would Bon Bon be up to now? She had that big order to fill for a wedding party in Phillydelphia. Would she have gotten it on time? What time was it now, anyway? Lyra had to admit that she'd completely lost track. She thought back to Ponyville's big clock tower. Just the other day she had sat down outside it and played a few simple songs to entertain the neighborhood foals while they played hopscotch. Now she was here, who knows where, having escaped capture by ancient golems. Funny how things like that happen.

Her attention returned to the present at the mention of her name. Doctor Whooves had some kind of plan. Had he told them what it was yet? Had she missed it with her daydreaming? She finished off her last apple and wandered over to stand beside him. He was talking to Malediction about her magic. Lyra decided that she was interested too. Fire that burned cold was a fascinating thing. It was magic like that which had made her so enamoured with it in the first place. She quietly waited and listened, hoping that her daydreaming hadn't left her out of the loop.

[brianblackberry]

Trixie at first gave the eccentric "Doctor Hooves" a most incredulous look, "W ... weeks? Months!? The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot wait months for such valuable enlightenment in the illusory arts!! Nono, that will not do at all, my idiosyncratic companion. We simply must step up our efforts! I am sure that there must be some sort of worthwhile clue here! Umm ... " Trixie sounded quite a bit less confident after that last statement, even biting her lower lip a little. "There is, right?" She didn't even give her usual expected objection when the odd brown earth pony placed her hoof up to hold one of his gearboxes into place. Trixie looked up at the gearbox and back at him, about to ask again for an explanation, when the Doctor went into some sort of crazy monologue she could swear he was half making up, before giving the cart more affection than Trixie herself could remember getting in many years.

Once he finished his "explanation" about his cart, she felt and looked confused, and not a little annoyed. "Well, maybe I should just leave you two - hey, where are you going!?" He was gone out from under the cart as soon as he heard that other blue unicorn had awaken - the annoyingly emo one. She could hear him out there, checking up on the other ponies; his remedies were as weird as everything else about him, but also like everything else he did, they somehow worked.

Trixie looked up at the gearbox still being held in place by her forehoof, small bits of glowing blue liquid dripping off onto her foreleg and then onto her chest. Hmmph! Ewww ... Trixie isn't just going to sit here and be some dirty rag or jack! Who does he think he is?! With that irascible thought, she contemplated just letting go! No ... She would show once again how Great and Powerful she was! With that, she floated a few tools, some loose nuts and screws, and bolted the gearbox up into its correct place. Using the small amount of magical energy she'd already felt returning to her, she forced the small hole to seal, containing the leak. Sure, it wasn't pretty, but it was fixed! That Doctor wasn't the only one who traveled with a cart!

Trixie slid out from under the cart, getting quickly back on all four hooves, ignoring the pain she still felt from the situation. It was all in the name of showponyship! "Trixie has fixed your simple little contraption!" Well it was exaggerating - she'd put a few bolts through some holes. But it sure sounded good! "Now, what is this about a plan?!"

[Tempest Rime]

Mal frowned and glared at the Doctor. "I don't need your 'cuppa,'" she snarled, turning up her nose at the tea. "I carry my own weight. This is nothing, I've had my eye clawed out, I can live with a little headache." She groaned and cradled her head for a moment as another flash of pain passed over her.

"Uhhh... and yeah, my fire burns cold. If I put enough of it near standing water, it'll freeze it. But running water won't stay near enough the flame to freeze, and actually dousing the flame in it like that puts it out just as fast as normal fire. I was just... frustrated. And it's not actually versatile at all. It just makes it even less useful than regular fire. At least that can keep you warm on a cold night. All I can do is... destroy things." She sighed and looked down at the ground.

"The fire... it's a literal extension of my emotions. I mean, I know a lot of magical theory is based around emotions and state of mine, but when I use my fire it's not just fueled by emotion, it literally is anger and frustration burning away. T-that's why... that's why I yelled at that kid earlier. I thought I'd need the extra charge to blast whatever was making the robots. I... I never wanted-" Before she could continue, Trixie returned, announcing her success at repairing the vehicle.

Instantly Mal's attitude reappeared. "Well good for you," she snapped, sarcastically. She glared accusingly at the other blue unicorn. "You know, if you could have just driven off the robots like that anytime, why did you wait so long? We could have been killed!"

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves blinked at Trixie's declaration. She had?! Briefly distracted, he gave her a bright, genuine smile. She cared! She really did! But he trusted Lyra and Trixie already had their parts down. It was Malediction who was worrying him ... and not just whether she could play her part. She was something other than he'd been expecting from before ... and she was hurting.

"Pulling your own weight doesn't mean you don't accept help - pulling your own weight means you help others, and let them help you. Working by yourself is weak... working as a team is how you pull your weight. You don't think you did anything? I know differently. I saw a pony back there who was helping all the way."

He sat down next to her. "Hey, you think no one else ever gets angry? When I saw that foal, I was furious. Your problem isn't getting angry - it's that you're letting your anger take you over. Your ice may be cold, but your rage is hot ... if you want to use that cold fire, better ... I'd wager, what you need is to cultivate is a cold fury. Something controlled. You're looking at the drawbacks of your special talent ... instead of looking at the benefits. A normal fire keeps you warm in the snow? Well, your fire keeps you cool in the desert. You can't use the fire underwater? Well, who can? You can do so much more than destroy. Just off the top of my head, you can make cold drinks, you can do special effects at concerts, you could waft cool breezes over some rich pony, or make sure the skating rink is safe and solid in the winter, so nopony falls through. There's so many possibilities."

He paused. "But right now, what we need is either to burn out a trench through the dirt, or to make a dam of ice. If you can't burn away the soil, then we need you to focus - really focus - that fire, focus it into a thin, fierce, solid beam, and to do that... you need to be in control. Are you willing to do that, Mal? Are you willing to give it a try, and follow my lead?" He offered the cup of tea again. "I need you rested and ready, Mal. As soon as possible. If those clockwork ponies got as far as they did, who knows how far they can get yet? Who knows what they'll do to everyone else? We need you to help stop destruction."

[brianblackberry]

Trixie only felt a mix of disappointment and jealousy as the eccentric Doctor Whooves gave her only a brief smile for fixing his oh-so-precious cart before returning to coaching Malediction. Least he could have said is "Thank you, oh Great and Powerful Trixie! thinking on that for a moment, maybe that would have been too much to hope for, or at least.. Thanks Trixie!. Instead he seem to be concerned suddenly for that crazy blue unicorn with the bad attitude, what was it about her he possibly saw? Trixie was starting to actually feel jealous - jealous of the cart, jealous of Malediction ... what could he possibly even see in her? She humphed loudly. Her, Trixie? Jealous? Nonsense! How could she have entertained that possibility, that notion, for even an instant? What could she have to be jealous about?

Trixie was about to let the whole thing go when Malediction started with the hostile questions. What was this unicorn's problem anyway? She saved this hostile mare's life, and she complained that she hadn't done it sooner? "Why did I wait so long? Did you already forget in that damaged brain of yours about getting those poor ponies to safety?!" There was no way Trixie was going to admit the truth - that this day was one of the most terrifying days of her life - right up alongside that horrible Ursa Minor incident that she refused to think about. Because she hadn't known she could stop the Clockwork as well as she did. That it had been a last ditch effort. But she wouldn't say that, not to this annoying, miserable foal! "Of course, like every show, the moment must be just right! All the Clockwork had to be out in order for me to properly dazzle them with my wondrous magic! You're a unicorn right? Not like you couldn't do anything! Or ... could you?" With that, Trixie just turned around and walked over to the cart.

Trixie climbed onto the cart to wait for her companion to finish whatever pep talk he felt he needed to do again. I swear, he does this everytime we stop somewhere. Looking over to where Lyra was relaxing, Trixie figured it couldn't hurt to at least try to strike up a conversation. The mint green unicorn was not only harmless and friendly, but she was actually kinda cute. "So, are you a musician? Have anyone back home? What were you doing out this way?"

[BaconofChaos]

(ooc: Okay, this one's a bit short but I've been trying to come up with something for a week now and I think I've kept you guys waiting long enough. Also, since we started this before the Running of the Leaves event when Lyra and Bon Bon got together, I'm assuming that they are just friends right now. Also helps explain why Lyra is on vacation without her girlfriend.)

Lyra was glad for the company when Trixie came to talk with her.

"So, are you a musician? Have anyone back home? What were you doing out this way?"

Lyra was a little taken aback at the sudden rush of questions but did her best to answer. "Oh, well yes I'm a musician, I play music professionally. Nothing too fancy. I don't get to play at those big gigs like the Grand Galloping Gala, but it's something I love doing. And playing music is a great way to relax. As for somepony back home,I have a few friends but... I don't have a special somepony yet. I'm not really into that sort of thing right now." she gave a nervous laugh. It always felt weird to say that, but she didn't really know how to explain it.

"As for why I'm here, I was on vacation. I'd heard that there were beaches and historical sites around here. I think I may have gotten lost... or been lied to by the travel guide. I did get some good pictures though... Oh!"

Lyra's face went pale. "MY CAMERA! I dropped it when those things showed up! My pictures! It was so expensive too!" she yelled, holding her head with her hooves. Maybe she could still find it if she went back after the nonsense with the giant ponies was over.

[Tempest Rime]

"Getting those ponies to safety would have been a lot easier if you'd just scared the machines off like that in the first place," Mal muttered as Trixie walked away. Although Trixie's explaination did make sense. If it was something the other mare couldn't have done multiple times, making sure she got them all was important. Still, it wasn't like Mal to be reasonable, and she wasn't about to start, so she didn't acknowledge Trixie's logic.

Glancing back at the Doctor, her expression softened ever so slightly. What he was saying actually made sense. It was perhaps the first useful bit of magical advice she'd ever gotten from a living pony, and he wasn't even a unicorn. "I..." She gave him a grudging look for a moment and then swiped the cup, holding it atop a hoof. "Well, since you're going to need help quickly, I guess I'll take this." In one motion, she slammed back the warm tea and chugged it all.

After pausing for a moment after finishing the tea, she looked back up to the Doctor. "Ahem. Anyway, no. I can't burn dirt. Metals burn fine, but most of the junk in dirt isn't flammable, even to my special flames. Aside from metal, it pretty much just burns the same sort of stuff as normal fire. I can focus it pretty well, but even if I do freeze water, it isn't gonna stay frozen any better than normal ice. Plus, it can't actually touch the water, since that'll put out the cold flame just as effectively as the normal stuff. Forming a dam in a bunch of moving water like that is pretty much impossible, since any ice I create is gonna form on the surface first and just instantly float away." She frowned. "Maybe if we had some kind of framework to work off of I could do something, but I can't make any promises."

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves tsked softly. "Hindsight is always easier, the important part is that we all made it to safety!" He grinned as Malediction seemed to regain her nerve, and her spirit. "That's the ticket! KBO! Keep blundering on! Now we have the tools we need to effect a proper change!" He reached out a hoof and dug a gouge into the earth, then popped open the spigot on a barrel on his wagon, letting water spill out into the furrow to flow along it like a tiny river.

"Right, here's the river, and it's bending the ley lines towards the city. So we need to redirect the river." He dug his hoof in another furrow. "Here's the old streambed, over here. Well, not the OLD old streambed, but the newer old one. Now, if we can just build up a good buildup, the river will wash down into the new-old streambed, and that would alter the ley lines back into the new-old configuration!"

He gathered up a hooffull of dirty and dumped it into the dirt. "So Trixie and Lyra will cause an avalanche - Lyra learned how to do that helping me on the clockwork back there, and Trixie knows how to tap the ley lines for the extra boost Lyra will need. But by themselves..." He didn't really need to say what would happen, as the running trickle of water washed away the small pile of dirt, and the water kept washing along the long furrow just as it had been.

Doctor Whooves repeated the motion, dumping the dirt in, but then he tucked his hoof down behind it to keep it from washing away too quickly. "but once they drop the stones and dirt in, Malediction and I will freeze it all in place ... it won't last forever, but it'll last long enough to build up a pool behind it..." The water did just as he said, building up into a little puddle... until the water spilled over into the alternate path, washing away the pebbles and dirt there until, once Doctor Whooves removed his hoof, the water continued in its new path until the barrel finally ran out of water with a few last glugs.

"And that's all there is to it! We just wait for you all to recover your strength and get over your headaches - which should be a lot faster, sitting right here on a ley line as we are. And I'll keep fixing my cart!"

And without a worry in the world, he scooted under the cart, smiling happily as he took a look at Trixie's work. "Ah, wonderful, Trixie! Nicely done!" He whistled tunelessly as he started in on the next gear assembly, happily tinkering away.

[brianblackberry]

((For Lyra, that’s cool. I had ideas either way, now I know where she is on the Lyra-BonBon timeline. – I need to read that Rp sometime. )

Trixie gave the mint green unicorn a coy smile. She wasn't sure why she was flirty all of the sudden; maybe she was just killing time until she was recovered enough for the task at hand, maybe because "Doctor Whooves" always seemed to want her to be more friendly, or maybe she was just feeling lonely. In any case it couldn't hurt - this mare seemed harmless and friendly enough ... and besides, she was Trixie! Alluring and beautiful as she was powerful and enchanting! It couldn't hurt to be a little friendly. "Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie was impressed by the soothing nature of your magical talents! You play ... Beautifully!" This was actually rather difficult. She wasn't used to complimenting anypony, and she felt rather awkward all of a sudden. Why was socializing so hard?!

Trixie was determined though; who else could she talk to? Her companion in all of this was lost in his own crazy thoughts, coming up yet another bizarre scheme whose insanity was acceptable only because they worked more often than not. It wasn't any fun talking to him when he was obsessing over his cart like it was a beautiful mare. And that other unicorn, the angry one, she was just impossible to talk to! No doubt she was just simply too intimidated or too jealous of The Great and Powerful Trixie's bedazzling beauty and magic!

Trixie gave this whole flirty, "making conversation" thing a go one more time, giving Lyra her best smile. "Well ... I am sure you will meet somepony very soon! Perhaps even on your vacation here… such as it is. *heh* You are awfully cute, that's why!" Nuts and shoes, did that ever sound stupidly awkward and forced! Trixie felt pretty embarrassed. It was the closest Trixie ever came to wanting to apologize. Lyra's exclamation about her camera managed to change the subject. Trixie leapt up all fours, proudly, "My dear, sweet Lyra, worry not for your precious camera! Once this insignificant issue of the river is taken care of, I will personally scour the beach from end to end to rescue it and deliver it into your hooves! This, the Great and Powerful Trixie swears!" With that Trixie trotted over to the river, her head held high, striking a noble pose - even if her magic wasn't *quite* ready for the task ahead yet.

[BaconofChaos]

(ooc: The links to the thread are in my sig under "other characters" )

Trixie's words of praise seemed odd to Lyra, in a way. Forced, and yet somehow sincere. Lyra beamed at Trixie's complement of her music. Lyra always put a piece of herself into her music as she played and it was a great joy to know that others had enjoyed her performances.

When the silver-maned mare told her she was cute, however, she could only blush madly. "Y- You think- I'm.... really?" She covered her face with her hooves. How embarrassing! Of course, she'd been told this before, though only by the colts back at school, or the occasional Ponyville stallion. And she'd been just as embarrassed. But why was Trixie saying this? Was she just being nice? Or...

And then Trixie vowed to help find her camera. "Oh! Thank you, Trixie! That would be great!" she exclaimed, clopping her hooves together in appreciation.

Lyra thought to herself for a moment, before adding "You know, Trixie, you seem... different than the time I saw you in Ponyville. I can't really say how, but I think whatever changed... it was a good thing."

[Tempest Rime]

"Ok... lets see." Mal sat down and closed her eyes, focusing on the flame of anger that burned inside her. This wasn't going to be just blasting with fire, which was good. Blasting actually expended far more magical energy than simply maintaining a curtain of flame, as she had done earlier to stop the Doctor's cart. "Focus... control." She concentrated on her emotions, doing as the Doctor had suggested. She shut her eyes and sat there for a time.

The sound of the Doctor working and the other unicorns babbling on was lost on Mal, she toned it out. It was much easier so close to the ley line. She just turned her attention to the feel of the magic rushing through the area, a flood of power, far more than any unicorn spell could channel. It was nothing like the conjunction of ley lines near Canterlot Caste, but it was still enthralling to submerge her senses in. She tempered her emotions in this spring of magic, hastening her recovery. And maybe, just maybe, she admitted to herself that the tea was helping. Just a little.

[Bramble Rose]

Doctor Whooves let out a happy hum as he went back to work under the cart, tinkering merrily with the new system till he had it in something resembling working order. "Resembling working order' was the best he'd ever gotten with his cart, so this made him quite happy. He took out his spare planks and boarded up the bottom of his cart once more, fixing up the hole that Malediction had drilled into his cart.

He came out from under the cart and took a rag wiping off the various fluids that had dripped onto him, and tossing the now-glowing rag to the side. Then he hopped up into the back of his cart and pulled out his spare cart-wheel, and rolled that up to the bare axle sticking out from that side. A heft, and a shove, and he had four wheels on his cart again. *whew* What a relief.

He looked up at the two fillies making friends, and at Malediction meditating, and smiled happily. Now, this was just the sort of thing he liked about adventuring... you never knew where you were going to be the next day, or who you were going to meet. Not for the first time, he blessed the random chance that had allowed him to meet the previous Doctor Whooves, and given him the chance to inherit the responsibilities, take his life in this direction.

But right now it was time to wait... and there was one task Doctor Whooves loved to do more than any other when he was waiting. So with a happy expression, he pulled open a different compartment on the side of his cart, and started pulling the innards apart to see if he couldn't get it working just a *little better*, making a happy little trilling whistle as he worked.

[brianblackberry]

Trixie found it odd; she had never expected to be resting by a riverbank on this journey to find the lost library of magic. She hadn't expect to be resting at all, except for the necessity for sleep - she was far too impatient to find that library, to find the lost, powerful magic, and prove herself the most magically gifted unicorn in all of Equestria! Somehow though, she felt almost at peace by the river on the warm, sunny day, as if she could just sit there all day, next to Lyra.

Trixie smiled softly towards the minty green unicorn, sharing that peaceful feeling with her. "Retrieving your trinket is the least the Great and Powerful Trixie can do." Her smile faded a little, and her gaze turned down to the clear, flowing waters. "Yeah ... I guess, perhaps, the Gre- er, I have changed ... Losing everything does that to a pony. Makes ... makes you think about everything in your life, you know?" Trixie shuffled at the bank with her forehoof, flicking a pebble into the water before turning back towards Lyra with new energy, "you watch, though! I'll return in triumph! With true tales of great feats of magic and amazing new spells of astounding wonder! I'll put on the best show EVER! And NO purple mare will show The GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie up, ever again!"

Trixie realized she was standing on her hind hooves, her forelegs up in the air, as if she was making a dramatic speech before a crowd. A crowd of one, it seemed. She dropped quickly back to all fours before sitting back down next to Lyra, coughing awkwardly. "Umm ... Anyway, I guess that is why I am here ..." Trixie could have gone on talking about herself of course, but even she knew enough to know "making small talk" meant engaging the other pony, especially one she found attractive and all. "So, anyway, I never knew such pulchritudinous ponies as yourself lived in that hic- er, that quaint little town. Do you put on shows there too? With your music, that is? The Great and Powerful Trixie would wager that any show you performed in would receive a mellifluous multitude making haste to meditate upon your melodious marvels!"

There, Trixie thought. That was being friendly right?

[BaconofChaos]

When Trixie mentioned "losing everything" Lyra worried that she'd accidently brought up some bad memories for the showmare. Thinking back, she remembered seeing the remains of Trixie's wagon being cleared up by Snips and Snails the day after the ursa attack. Lyra had noticed the tell tale sign that Trixie had been hit hard by that: she slipped out of her usual third-pony speech. Trixie recovered quickly enough, though Lyra knew that it was probably a facade to hide her true feelings. Purple mare? Had Twilight Sparkle upset Trixie when she tamed the ursa? The mint green unicorn made a mental note to not bring that up again either. Instead she said "I'll look forward to your next show. I'm sure it will be spectacular!"

"So, anyway, I never knew such pulchritudinous ponies as yourself lived in that hic- er, that quaint little town. Do you put on shows there too? With your music, that is? The Great and Powerful Trixie would wager that any show you performed in would receive a mellifluous multitude making haste to meditate upon your melodious marvels!"

Lyra... blinked. "Pulky-what? Mellyfloous multi..." what in Equestria? Who talks like that? "Um, well yes, I do a few shows in Ponyville." she began, deciding that sticking to what she knew was easier than trying to decipher Trixie's formidable vocabulary. "There are quite a few of us musical ponies there, so we do the occasional concert, music festivals, sometimes backing music for plays. Most Saturdays I go to the morning market and play for the shoppers there. Most ponies like my music. I guess I never really thought about how good I was. I did go to Canterlot music college though. That's the most prestigious music school in Equestria!" she felt a swell of pride. Was Trixie's confidence rubbing off on her? "I'd been thinking of joining the Canterlot Royal Orchestra; playing for the Princesses themselves...." Lyra suddenly found herself lost in thought, her imagination conjuring images of herself, centre stage at the Canterlot Opera House, the Princesses looking on her from their royal box as she played...

[brianblackberry]

Trixie smiled warmly and moved her forehoof slowly over until it was touching Lyra's. "Those words simply mean that ... your music is exquisitely beautiful" She was really trying now. Why not? It certainly beats being lonely. The mint green unicorn seemed to be at least receptive enough to want to talk one on one. "I am sure the ponies of your ... quaint little village are enthralled by the enchanting melodies of your lovely harmonizing when you play every morning at the agora."

Trixie's ears straightened when Lyra mentioned that she attended the Canterlot University of Music. "I have been there! I mean, only as a visitor, of course, and when I was just a young filly and a ward-" Trixie looked down suddenly, a faintly hurt expression crossing her face for only a moment, before giving a big, awkward smile. "I mean, when the Great and Powerful Trixie was a promising student in Canterlot. I wonder if I saw you in concert back then!"

Trixie sat there in awkward silence for a few moments after that, not sure what to say - the most frustrating thing ever for her. She was the Great and Powerful Trixie! She never had trouble knowing what to say! Why is flirting so hard! C'mon Trixie, just be your charming, wonderful self that everyone idolizes! Trixie gave another smile as she rubbed her hoof along Lyra's foreleg, "so ... what brought you to ... ah ... Ponyville?"