Alchemical Biomechanics (Private)

[Zealot]

It was an interesting day at Lightout's shop. It wasn't every day he got to experiment with liquid biomechanical alchemy.

Lightout's store was somewhat off the beaten track, being a good ways away from the Canterlot high street and down several side roads. It was only the intrepid few who could find it, or those that needed help in that particular kind of desperate. Still, its wooden frame was left bare of paint and the only thing to distinguish it was the sign on the door. Aforementioned sign read "Potions of Peculiarity, open." It wasn't crude, but it wasn't pretty either. Just very average.

Inside the wooden floors and walls were just as bare as outside, nothing but a small locked cabinet of potions on the wall opposite and a counter adorned with a small bell, with yet another sign. This time it said "ring for service" since Lightout was, as ever, not manning the shop front. This counter barred the way to a small corridor which led to the back of the shop. This is where he did his business, selling all kinds of potions and alchemical reagents to those that could afford it. Naturally, the unicorn could whip up just about anything being the master alchemist that he was.

This, he did downstairs in his lab. Lightout was currently working on another batch of a curative potion. The liquid was designed to, instead of heal a wound like a poultice, quite literally knit the wound back together. This time however, the alchemist was adding a special ingredient which had to be done through the fine art of liquid biomechanics. The vats and filters and pipes of the large apparatus covered most of the wall of the lab. This machine was designed to mix potions instead of their raw ingredients in specific parts and ways dictated by the alchemist. The various valves and pipelines looked extremely complex. To Lightout though, this was just another ordinary day. Even if he didn't get to use the equipment very often, he was very familiar with its operation. The potion finished it's final mixing stage and the unicorn turned the final valve to pour the contents of the vat into the waiting jug.

[Gerrard]

Aquaria had just finished a tour of the Canterlot library, and by tour she had gotten lost while looking for a book about fishing. After an hour of wandering through the book labyrinth, the tiger striped griffoness had escaped into the sun of outside. Her rose colored eyes winced as they readjusted to the normal light levels of Celestia's sun. The easily lost flier took a look at her upside down map of Canterlot and made a wrong turn down a street that was 'nothing at all like her map'. She giggled lightly at how wrong her map was, the hybrid quickly stumbling down a wrong set of streets before coming upon a store with a completely average sign. Aquaria cocked her head as she read the sign, everything making sense to her after the reading was done. "OH, the peculiarity is in reference to the fact that the shop is secret and not on the map. They must be a spy store of some kind, I wonder what they sell here, maybe magic goggles or something," she theorized aloud, her large griffon frame writing with excitement as she entered the building.

Like any good spy, she entered into the building in a stealthy manner, prowling into the building as her talons lightly tapped on the wooden floors. The lifeguard noticed that nobody was at the counter, clearly hiding as the store operated as a front for clearly devious and potentially fun operations. Her keen eagle eyes spotted a bell with a label that said to ring it. She knew 'from experience' that the spy would only appear to people who were authorized to the spies and from the looks of it, this must have been some sort of unicorn operation against the crown of Celestia. Her cheeks poofed defiantly at the audacity of the spies, their actions trying to dethrone the nicest pony she had never met. This was her chance to gather information on the criminals, and she used it quickly, her eyes looking over the modest accommodations. The fact that all the 'potions' were in locked cabinets meant that they had to be poison vials, the store owner making sure that no guards had access to look at their wares. While this was a bit of a stretch for anyone to make, half the fun in life for Aquaria was in making as many connections as possible, of course most of them being utterly and completely false.

What was even more peculiar was the fact that the counter blocked access to the backroom where all the poison was clearly being made. This normal store design only served to further her theory, the flier 'thwarted' from further investigation as the object 'blocked' further advancement. She would have to trick the store spy into spilling the beans on the operation to remove Celestia from power! Aquaria would have to convince him that she was part of their illegal cult, and her experience taught her that they secret passwords. Without knowing it, she had to fake it until she made it, the dark feathered lifeguard ringing the bell as she prepared herself to speak. "Hail hy-" she clearly spoke, before coughing loudly as she hid the fact that she had no idea who they secretly hailed. She lowered her posture greatly, her rose colored eyes barely peering over the counter as she made herself look much smaller than she should be. A cursory glance might reveal her to be a youngster who was lost, a great fall back plan in case her cover was blown! Aquaria's long striped tail wagged fiercely as she waited for the clerk to appear, her form ready to pounce at his sudden arrival if she needed to. The griffon hadn't had this much excitement in at least a day and this adventure clearly promised great opportunity to save the world.

[Zealot]

Lightout finished pouring out the rest of the mixture into the jug. The blue liquid seemed to shine with brilliance now that it could be seen clearly in the clear glass of the beaker. The unicorn added one more ingredient, dropping in a small spec of red liquid from another container. The red ingredient hit the glittering blue with a short fizz. The potion was complete, now it simply needed half an hour to settle and it was ready to be used. "Excellent," Lightout muttered to himself. "Now, I reckon I'll work on that strength enhancement infusion." Of course, he didn't want to. The particular recipe that had been requested was a rather dull mixture.

The unicorn heard the bell ring at the front of his store. Excellent, a distraction, he thought to himself. Lightout could put off the dull work for a while. Maybe he'd get to use the liquid biomechanic apparatus again. Those jobs were always fun. He abandoned the potion while it cooked gently and headed up a flight of stairs to the back of the shop. He turned left, then left again into the corridor connecting the two halves of the shop. The back room was unremarkable, being mostly used for storage. It had another flight of stairs going up to the unicorn's home as well as the set going down to the laboratory. Several crates stood on the far wall which Lightout passed as he turned into the corridor.

Lightout arrived at the front desk and glanced around, not seeing anyone waiting at the counter. That was odd, usually ponies had the decency to wait a little while before abandoning the shop. Then he spotted two rose coloured eyes staring at him from just behind the counter, resting under the top of a feathered head. Why the customer was hiding behind the counter bemused the unicorn, perhaps they were too small to properly look over the counter. A child perhaps? "Err," he greeted the stranger hesitantly, "Hello. Can I help you?"

[Gerrard]

Aquaria watched in a suspicious manner as it felt like hours passed before he arrived at the counter. He clearly was cleaning up a body or finishing up a dose of deadly poison of some kind! She knew for certain, but for reasons unknown, her tail wagged with excitement, almost as if she couldn't process her own speculation. And after a few moments of waiting, the ring leader, or his assistant appeared, a unicorn who seemed irked not to find a anyone in his lobby.

Her ruse had worked! He seemed to believe she was a tiny chick, a wide smile appearing on her pointy black beak. Aquaria hoped he wasn't too familiar with griffons, Aquaria remembering she had a full sized beak and talons. She placed her talons on the counter and raised her head up to get a better look at the adult. "Hi mister I got lost and was wondering if you knew how to get home," she remarked in an adorable voice that was practically her own voice anyway. She was so overflowing with joy that she didn't have any sense of fear that a lost child might have. "Ooo mister, what is in the display boxes? Are those dangerous poison. Is that why you are protecting them? Are you like a firefighter who collects all the dangerous materials and safely stores them away," she cutely theorized, probing like only a child could.

Aquaria was visibly pleased with herself, the large hybrid seemingly successful in masking her size. If the store keep was of a keen eye, he could see her long, white tiger striped tail wagging excitedly off to her side. The thought of poison was starting to fade into the back of her mind as she was starting to wonder if he was a good pony! She couldn't really remember seeing any evil ponies in all her life and was starting to remember what the store was. It was a potion store! A pecu, poison, one or something," she thought to herself before sitting on her haunches after managing to confuse herself. Her rose colored eyes were visibly lost, and the lost 'grifflet' had seemingly overwhelmed herself with too much imagination! After a moment of awkward silence, she looked up at him and smiled again. "Hi, I'm Aquaria! " she cheered happily.

[Zealot]

Lightout was quite bemused by the lost grifflet's tone. It was too happy, too carefree. If the child was indeed lost would they not be concerned? He knew he would be. "Err, I," he began before being interrupted by the excited grifflet asking if he was storing poison in the display case.

What a silly idea, Lightout didn't store potions in that cabinet. No, those were mostly healing draughts and perfumes. The most common things that ponies came to his store to buy. Besides, it would be irresponsible to keep poison upstairs in clear view. "No, those aren't poisons. So..." he began yet again. The sheer look of garbled confrontation on the griffon's face as she peered over the counter at him amused him. It wasn't just any pony who could understand what exactly he did here after all. Lightout understood that the child might be confused by his store. After all, it was most commonly frequented by adults.

He was interrupted yet again as the grifflet introduced herself as 'Aquaria'. Now it was the alchemist's turn to look confused. "Lightout," he replied, introducing himself. "So you are lost?" he asked, sounding uncertain of the concept. That's when he saw the tip of what he assumed was the grifflet's tail. It didn't look like a typical griffon's tail, white and striped. It was also disproportionately far away from what he assumed was the grifflet's size, wagging excitedly. Curious. Perhaps the griffon was playing him false?

[Gerrard]

Aquaria watched the evil cultist as he stared back at her in the most skeptical of manners! This poison brewer had all the right answers, the playful lifeguard squirming with excitement as she acquired loads of non-information to support her wild accusations. When his voice trailed off at the mention of poison, she gasped audibly, now having proof of his experience.

The gears in her mind worked overtime as she speculated all the different ways he could be telling the truth. After a moment of thought, she shrugged and accepted his word, quickly deciding to believe him until other evidence presented himself.

Aquaria was asked if she was lost, and quickly nodded in approval as she placed her upside down map on the counter. "I exited the library and I followed this map to your secret store," she explained while pointing a talon on the map. After a frustrated moment of trying to read the map from her awkward perspective, she poofed her cheeks angrily and stood up, completely oblivious that she disregarded her facade.

At full standing posture, Aquaria was revealed to be a full grown griffoness. A casual glance would reveal her to be tiger striped duck hybrid of some kind. "I'm a little lost and I was wondering what you do for a living here. This is a fun shop, I was wondering what you sell here and what cults you are a member of. I'm a griffon, not a royal guard. I have to tell you if I am," she explained with a giggle as she draped herself over the counter. She didn't really know how any of the specifics of any law worked, but that never stopped her before!

[Zealot]

Lightout was surprised, but not completely surprised as the griffoness emerged from behind the counter. The unicorn gave her a quizzical look. So, she had been hidden behind the counter all along. The reasons why eluded him however. There was no reason to hide her true size was there? Then there was the fact that she was hybrid, the like of which the alchemist had never seen before. She had tiger stripes as well as a duck bill. A fascinating combination for a griffon. Perhaps this 'Aquaria' had special properties he could utilise in his alchemy. He made a mental note to collect a wing feather if she dropped one at all. Griffon feathers usually had some alchemical application after all.

After her explanation that she had found his shop on a map after becoming lost, she went on to ask what exactly the shop was. Lightout had no qualms in telling her, he was pleased that she had asked. Though the fact that she made a point to tell him she was not a member of the royal guard made him suspicious of her motives. Still, the unicorn disregarded them. His shop was perfectly legal. "This is a potion shop," he began, sounding enthusiastic. "Here I am licensed to sell potions, poisons, infusions, mutagens, perfumes and beverages. If it comes in a bottle then I can make it, most of the time."

He shot the excitable griffon a smile, "If you have need of a potion. Well, there's nopony better than I. Though I confess I am not a member of any cults. Of course the alchemist guild isn't a cult, more a society of academics who specialise in the research of alchemical science." Of course, when he said it like that it probably sounded like a cult. It wasn't, more a gathering of academics that met yearly to discuss whatever it was they had been doing. None of that interested Lightout of course, he was too busy with his own research to worry about what the rest of the academic community were doing.

[Gerrard]

She watched the store keeper seriously investigate her, his gaze completely incredulous about her actions. A shifty person might have been sweating bullets nervously, but Aquaria was as upbeat as ever. She was either cold as ice or completely misguided, an objective person easily able to ferret out that truth.

She nodded as he explained that he was operating legally. It made sense, that was until he explained he legally had poison. She poofed her cheeks defiantly and fell over dramatically, a few loose feathers littering the floor. "Celery authorized poison? That deranged cultist is right! Celery is the evil sun god," she gasped dramatically, covering her face with her talons as she took it in. Obviously there were minor pesticides out in Equestria, but that didn't stop her wild imagination from jumping to conclusions!

Before she could go off on a misinformed tirade, he mentioned alchemy and distracted her. She gasped with delight, her feathers poofing up in awe as she sat down, the big griffoness still able to look over the counter. "Oh I know all about alchemy. I saw the fountain of youth today. It was really cool," she explained, the mischievous hybrid seeming to believe her bold claim! It dint seem possible, but she seemed very convinced. Maybe it explained how she was so big, yet 'free of mind'!

[Zealot]

Lightout was quite shocked when the griffoness fell over and gasped. Something about an evil sun god, and celery. The alchemist shook his head to clear it. Clearly the griffoness was delusional, or perhaps just had an over-active imagination.

Then that was when she mentioned something about a fountain of youth. The unicorn did his best to hide his interest at that claim. Delusion or not, that was something he was very interested in. After all, Lightout had been working for a considerable amount of time on the subject of eternal life. One might call it an obsession. His obsession. After all, if he could live forever then he could do so much good. He would be safe forever behind walls and fortresses. Death would never claim him. Perhaps that was the one thing he sought. The only thing he sought. So delusion or not, he intended to extract as much information from this excitable griffoness as possible. After all, she sounded sincere about it. Was this the answer he had been searching for?

"Fountain of youth you say?" he asked, attempting to remain nonchalant. "Well, I have heard of many alchemical marvels. I have even performed some myself, but this fountain of youth. This is the first I have heard of it. Tell me more." The fact that she had seen it today, well that was interesting. Could it be within the reach of his hooves? He doubted it, but it was too good a lead to pass up.

[Gerrard]

"Did you know that if you drink from the fountain of youth, you get younger. You could turn into a little grifflet or something! I would become a little tiger or something, I dunno!" she mused aloud, clearly not sure of the specifics of how it worked. She did seem to have a basic understanding of what it did though. The more she spoke, the more excited she became, the hybrid quickly back on her feet as she was visibly hopping around with all the glee that had seemingly left her before. To Aquaria, this was a game, a fun one where she could try to remember all of the little things she had seen earlier in the day!

 

"Yeah, I can show you where it is! It was hidden deep in maze that had me lost for hours. Can you help me make it back to the center of town? I know the way from there, mostly anyway. I just get lost every once in a while," she admitted with a giggle, clearly not too worried. She turned to face the door, eager to lead him out. Before she could though, she noticed a few of her long black wing feathers on the ground. The feathers were huge, much larger than what any normal pegasus might have. "Ah, I'm melting," she incorrectly commented, playfully rolling over as she scooped up three griffon plumes off the ground and presented one to her host. "Do you want a feather, I'll give you one if you help me escape, your poison prison store," she playfully remarked, seemingly offering to pay him in feathers to guide her out of here. Even though she was a griffon, Aquaria usually preferred to walk around, and only usually flew when going between cities, the hybrid liking sight seeing more than speed.

[Zealot]

As Aquaria explained the operation of this fountain of youth, Lightout became more and more fascinated with it. Waters that could make you young once more. Well, that was an alchemical marvel to be sure... His mind was made up, he had to see this fountain. Real or not, it was the best lead he'd had in a while. It didn't matter about a maze, he could navigate it. Especially if the price was eternal life.

 

Lightout chuckled at the mention that Aquaria was melting and he felt he should correct her. "I believe the term is moulting," he informed her in a matter of fact way. Still, the offer of a feather was intriguing.

 

He was definitely interested in finding out if the hybrid had any special properties he could harness. Though he frowns when she mentions she has to escape his store, though it quickly disappeared once he realised she was joking. "Ok, I will guide you out for the price of a feather." Lightout chuckled at that then gives her a kindly smile. 

 

"Alright. I shall be back in a moment." The alchemist walked back through the corridor and into the back room to grab a saddle bag. It was his pre-packed emergency bag that contained a supply of food, water as well as a few potions. Not to mention an empty vial. He would need that to sample the waters of the fountain as well as to collect Aquaria's feather. Once he had saddled that he returned to the front desk, stepped around it. "Ok, Aquaria. Lead the way to the fountain of youth," he said with a hint of excitement.

[Gerrard]

Aquaria eagerly stood at the counter of his store, wondering what terrible tools he was bringing to the secret fountain. It must have been poison and all other manner of nefarious objects and research. It could even have amazing things like treats, maybe even trail mix! Trail mix was the only thing she liked to eat as much as fish. Trail mix wasn't as tasty as fish, but it was a bit more of a surprise what was going to appear in her claws each time!

 

When asked to lead the way to the fountain, Aquaria excitedly burst out of the building, forgetting that she was previously lost. "Okay, it is hidden inside the library. We just need to get there. I think it is hidden or something," she explained with a smile while looking around. This was a daring adventure for Aquaria, the young lifeguard leading an assassin to the fountain of youth for reasons unknown. She would have to stop him if he tried to use the secrets for evil, but she was confident that nothing bad was going to happen. "So, what do you like aside from potions and poison Mister? I like fish, do you like fish?" Aquaria excitedly asked as she clearly was heading down the wrong path in the city.

 

After a few minutes of walking and choosing random directions, it was clear that they were lost. "Uh do you know how to get to the library. I think we are lost," she asked with a giggle, not seeming too worried about being lost. This was all an adventure to her. While she could fly and defeat the maze, that would be cheating! There must be a path through this terrifying maze of Canterlot!

[Zealot]

Lightout was left quite surprised by the grifflet's enthusiasm. Then again, why was he surprised? Aquaria had already demonstrated she was a little on the hyperactive side. Clearly the unicorn had to be more careful with her. At any rate the potion master sighed and trotted out the door in pursuit of his guide. It would be more than worth putting up with an over active companion if he managed to get to this fountain of youth. Definitely more than worth it. 

 

He trotted along with Aquaria as she seemed to lead them away from their destination. She said it was in the library, hidden. Lightout had been there many times himself, never once had he heard of the fountain of youth being held in its walls. At any rate, it would be an interesting experience locating the fountain. What had he just been asked? Does he like fish? "Err, yes. I guess I like fish," he said with a quizzical expression. "They're very, err, fishy?" he offers, having no strong feelings about fish himself. "I once distilled a few properties of jellyfish and made a colleague of mine glow in the dark for twelve hours," he chuckles at the memory. But still, he has no strong feelings and his mind quickly drifts back to the task at hand.

 

They were indeed lost, the grifflet had led them to some forgotten corner of Canterlot. But still, Lightout could never truly be lost. Not in Canterlot at least. "Yeah, this isn't the way to the library, ahh well. Hang on." Lightout's horn glows yellow for a moment as he uses his magic to form his location spell. After a few moments, Lightout's horn flares and a golden trail appears, trickling along the path. Like fairy dust. "I have magical beacons all around Canterlot, the library is one of them," he explained, trotting along the trail. "It's a spell of my own design. This gold trail will lead us straight to the library." Though the alchemist left out the part about the trail scanning ahead of them and directing them away from danger. This spell was just one of his little paranoid concoctions to make him safe around Canterlot and it needed the beacons to work. 

 

The alchemist beckoned for the grifflet to follow the trail, though likely she didn't need encouragement. Still, as they walked Lightout asked a question of his own. "So, you know what I do Aquaria, what do you do?" It was an honest question and he was genuinely curious as to what the young griffon occupied her time with. No doubt, this would be an interesting journey. 

[Gerrard]

Aquaria's tail wagged with excitement as she meandered around while lost. Her carefree attitude allowed her to go long stretches of time without worrying about anything in particular. The one obvious downside of her disposition was that her imagination often made her engage in extreme fits of awe and suspicion. When he mentioned that he liked fish, an audible gasp filled the air, the young hybrid turning around quickly to examine the pony with her inquisitive eyes. "Wow, most ponies don't like fish. I'm not super sure why though, because fish are basically the tastiest things in the world," she commented with a giggle, her form wiggling and squirming before she finally calmed back down. When he spoke about his research on jellyfish, Aquaria cocked her head to the side, a few of the larger words taking a few seconds for her mind to digest.

 

"Wow, I wish I glowed in the dark. Then I could see at night. That would be the greatest thing ever, probably! Wait, I have a more important question about the properties of Jellyfish! Do they actually taste like jelly? I heard they sting a lot so I never ate one," she asked excitedly, the lifeguard knowing a bit about the jellyfish but never actually trying to eat one of the dangerous creatures. She continued her inspired search of the area, only to be given a bit of assistance by the magic of her guest. He somehow had managed to make a path that lead to the library, the ground glowing as he cast some sort of magic spell. When the alchemist started trotting along, Aquaria found herself following after him. Aquaria's eyes examined the ground closely, the hybrid clawing at the stone path as she tried to collect what was some of the magical gold. While it of course wasn't going to work, she had to try and collect all the shinies that were presented to her!

 

For reasons unknown, the happy hybrid was managing to keep pace with the unicorn as she did a bit of impromptu prospecting. Her rose-colored eyes furiously searched for each shiny node of light, the tigress pawing at the ground roughly as she stayed near his side. "Oh, what do I do for a living? I do the most fun jobs in the world. I'm a lifeguard who goes diving on her days off! I get to rescue seasick ponies every day. It is a lot of fun hanging out on the beach everyday and swimming in the ocean when I need to cool off. I can even sun bathe on top of the lifeguard tower. I think the sun melted some stripes into my fur," she jokingly giggled, while poking at her white and black striped form.

[Zealot]

The sudden gasp from the grifflet gave the poor alchemist a start. He flinched in disgust when she said they were tasty. "Ehh, no. Not to eat," he exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "Oh never mind," he supposed that Aquaria couldn't help her nature. Though the idea of eating something living made him feel a little sick, "I'm not surprised most ponies don't like fish. After all, we are all herbivores. I like them for their ability to breathe water. Fish gills are amazing scientific marvels, in fact I devised a potion to replicate the effect on ponies. It's quite common, a water-breathing potion, but it's quite fun to make." He chuckles, "Most ponies don't know they contain fish guts."

 

That brought him to Aquaria's next question. "I do not think that Jellyfish, as they are so aptly named, taste like Jelly. I would imagine they would taste a lot like squid, or just bland and tasteless. Though I wouldn't recommend eating the part that stings." With that the unicorn resumed walking at a steady pace, though he made sure that Aquaria could keep up. He was unused to walking at anything other than a brisk walk, and he'd certainly never really had to slow down for a child. Still, he managed it somehow and watched the eccentric grifflet try to collect the gold dust. 

 

Lightout smiled, it was quite comical to see her flap about trying to collect it. Still, he felt he should tell her. "You can't touch it, it's just light I'm afraid. Immaterial. Though I guess it does look quite pretty," he admitted. So, she was a lifeguard. That was interesting. Saving the lives of others was quite a serious task, he never imagined that somepony, or rather somegriffon like Aquaria would be able to handle the responsibility. "That sounds like a fun job, you sound like you enjoy it," was what he said to that. It definitely wouldn't be for him, he doubted he would have the strength to risk his life for a stranger.

[Gerrard]

Her excitement over his love of fish quickly tapered off when he winced at the notion of eating a fish. To her it was sorta sad, the pony never going to enjoy the savoring of the best food she knew. Aquaria wasn't too philosophical about what she ate, perhaps the omnivorous nature of her species weighting her judgement. To Aquaria, meat and plants were just something to eat. She didn't think about the family the plants might have had, her ignorance allowing her to live happily.

At the mention of fish gills and underwater breathing, Aquaria found herself poofed up,her feathers expanding with sheer ecstasy! This was the biggest deal she had ever heard of. She could do anything with one of those. And it tasted like fish? If the lifeguard had a pile of bits, she would have showered him in them, unable go restrain her gushing happiness. "Wow, if I could breathe underwater, I could like live underwater or something. I could treasure hunt in the sunken wreckage of the Scarlet Merpony! It is like 500 feet underwater though, so I can't quite search it safely. I get really sick when I dive that deep for it. It is either cursed or I get decompression sickness! It is more fun to think it is cursed though! Maybe you have a curse removal potion! You are like a really smart wizard or something," she cheerfully declared, forgetting personal space as she hugged him tightly. While he often thought of her as a grifflet, she was actually a carefree adult and had the strength to match as she squeezed him uncomfortably tight. After noticing his body getting crushed, Aquaria giggled nervously and freed him from her powerful clutches.

She nodded in understanding about the jellyfish. Her imagination ran wild with thoughts of their goop taste, but her experience allowing her to be aware of their dangerous barbs. The hybrid didn't seem to mind the minor lecture, playfully clawing at the light as he explained it was fictional. "I understand," she simply replied, the hybrid understanding the trick but unable to stop herself from lunging at them. After a few lunges, Aquaria shook herself free of the intoxicating grip of the magic lights and expectantly looked over to him.

She loved being a lifeguard and the opportunities it gave her to meet cool ponies. The griffoness nodded happily for him as he brought up that she loved her job. "I get paid to see children play. I get paid to enjoy warm summer weather. And most importantly, I get paid to save people and make new friend s," she explained in her usual cheerful manner. While she was clearly a friendly and easily distracted individual, there was a sense about her that she could leap into action if need be!

[Zealot]

So, it appeared that Aquaria was not just into diving, she was into diving into the deepest parts of the ocean. Or rather as deep as can be considered safe. Well, a potion of water-breathing would cure that up, as far as he knew it also solved decompression sickness, though he had to admit that he was not well versed on that particular phenomenon. Perhaps it required a trial, or even the current formulae needed changing to suit a much longer and deeper exploration. 

 

Of course being an academic Lightout was sceptical that such a place was cursed, and his face showed it. The world of Equestria was a dangerous place however, and there was no telling what long lost magic lie beneath the waves. Still, before he could respond he was immediately crushed by the griffon's powerful hugging embrace. He couldn't help but chuckle and squirm a little, surprised as he was by this sudden turn of events. "Ok, loss of breath now," he declared just before she released him. Indeed, he'd have to stop thinking of her as a grifflet. Aquaria was a fully fledged griffon, even if she behaved like she was just a grifflet.

 

"Well, perhaps it isn't a curse," he began sceptically. "Though there's no telling what magic is down there on the... what was it you said? Scarlet Merpony? I've not heard the name, though I am afraid I don't know much of famous wreaks. If the ship was a pirate ship, then it might have stolen something of great magical power. That could certainly be interpreted as a curse. Or even it might have been carrying something magical, who knows. There are a great many wonders and dangers in Equestria. It may just be decompression sickness, or it may be some sort of magical effect. We will not know unless somepony goes to find out." Naturally it wasn't going to be Lightout. A dangerous swim to the depths of the ocean sounded repellent at best. "I will have to look into modifying a water-breathing potion for the purpose of deep diving at some point, this has me intrigued."

 

Still, as Aquaria finished telling him about her job they entered a much more crowded part of Canterlot, the road to the university library. It was just a few metres away, the large academic building that Lightout had been to many times before. He cancelled his beacon spell and smiled up at the building. "That sounds like a rewarding career. At any rate, we're here. You said the fountain was inside the library, correct?" he asked. 

[Gerrard]

Aquaria could be skeptical of anything, for good or bad reasons as displayed by her questioning of the princess. The lifeguard was also very willing to accept many things as fact without substantial evidence to prove them, the hybrid knowing that ghosts were 'real' and so on. His face seemed to indicate that he didn't believe in the curse, the smart pony seeming to know more about curses than she did! At his inquiring about the sunken ship, Aquaria began hopping excitedly, glad to see that he wanted to know about something she knew about! "Ah, the Scarlet Merpony was the ship of... Redmane, the nastiest pirate around, or so I have heard," she dramatically explained, covering half of her face with a big black wing as she tried to control her overeager squirming. Obviously her wing wasn't red, but it was just to get the point across!

 

At the mention though that it might have stole a valuable treasure though, Aquaria found her cheeks poofing out with great excitement. Aquaria loved treasure almost as much as she loved ponies, and the thought of an impressive cursed treasure made her squirm with anticipation. She had to have the shiny treasure, curse or no curse. It 'HAD' to exist since he mentioned that it had to exist, the lifeguard having the 'best' logic around when trying to figure things out. When Lightout mentioned that he might help her get the treasure with a potion, she almost exploded with excitement again. She struggled, but managed to resist the urge to squeeze the life out of him in a thanking hug.

 

"Yeah it can be rewarding! I love swimming and being around ponies, happy or mean, I love them all," she explained with a smile, the alluring lights of his magic vanishing as the pair reached the library. She quickly weaved through the crowd and stared up at the huge library, nodding her head as if she had to make sure this was the one the lifeguard had to been to earlier. Her reliability seemed questionable at times, but it was clear that the diver seemed to mean well enough, her bubbling excitement seeming to indicate that there was something important at the library. With a quick wave of her black talon, she gestured for the alchemist to follow her into the building. Aquaria darted into the building, leaving Lightout to chase after her!

[Zealot]

So, the Scarlet Merpony was a pirate ship. He didn't know what to think of that. Pirate ships were horrid things, but this was only a sunken one. He guessed it would be ok to help Aquaria with a potion then. Research would have to be done and trials would have to be conducted, very exciting. Maybe it would give him a well deserved break from his other research and bring to mind fresh ideas and new approaches. Or... he may just end up wrapping up his research on eternal life today. The alchemist smiled at the thought as he looked up at the library. 

 

All he hoped was that his companion, the excitable griffon Aquaria, was correct in her assumptions. After all, if this turned out to be a wasted trip he'd be back to square one. Still, while the griffon's logic was very much in doubt this 'Fountain of youth' was the best lead he'd had on eternal life in a while. Lightout was going to see this through, no matter what. After all, there was more on the table here than some simple pirate's treasure. This was eternal life they were talking about. The answer to all of his questions and the answer to all of his problems... Yes, he had to know if this was true or not. The answers were in the library, right under his nose the whole time. How ironic.

 

Lightout nodded at Aquaria's explanation of why she liked diving so much. As well as her job. He supposed that meeting ponies was nice from time to time, though he had to disagree about meeting mean ponies. Those kinds of ponies were the bane of his existence. Nevertheless, the griffoness seemed excited, and dashed off into the library leaving Lightout to trail behind. He trotted after her calling, "Wait up," trying to catch up. "Where are we headed anyway, which section is it?"