(Outside Ponyville) Daringcon General (Open)

[PedestrianWolf]

As Fuchsia wandered over towards Ballroom B, she was distracted by a commotion in the hall nearby. Three pegasi, two in costume and one in front of a fancy camera were drawing attention to themselves. As Fuchsia moved closer, she caught snippets of the conversation. The one dressed as Daring Do was yelling at the non-costumed pony with the camera. The third, in a beautiful Princess Veil ensemble, was trying to make peace between the two.

[colour=#a9a9a9]That is the kind of rudeness that this convention suffers from. These ponies, while innocent and fun lovely at first glance, are some of the more rude ponies I've ever met.[/colour]

Oh dear. No wonder the Daring Do pony was so upset. Whomever this blue pegasus with the fancy camera was, he was not a pleasant pony. He seemed to be at the convention solely to mock the ponies gathered here. This would not do.

Fuchsia Blooms thought for a moment. How could she take this pesky pony down a notch? Hmmm... A spell to drive insects away from her flowers could be reversed to attract them instead. She rummaged through her saddlebags and removed a small pink tea rose. She closed her eyes and concentrated a bit over the flower. Her horn glowed pink for a moment, then subsided. Then she moved a little closer to the obnoxious blue pegasus, and surreptitiously wove the tea rose into the strands of his tail, near his rump.

[colour=#800080]"Let's see how you like being bugged by annoying pests." [/colour]She thought to herself, and giggled. Already she could hear the flies in the building starting to buzz closer to their location, attracted by the alluring spell the had cast over the rose. Fuchsia moved back towards the ballrooms to wait and see what would happen next.

[Bramble Rose]

[colour=#696969]Rainbow Dash

​[/colour]

[colour=#ff8c00]"If thaur was any pony eh'd ever kiss in this place, it woods be ye!"[/colour]

Dash blinked in surprise, taken aback by the statement... then she burst out laughing, and her hoof came down heavily on his shoulder. [colour=#696969]"HA! You're a hoot, Carrot Fields! Good one! Almost got me there! It's gonna be fun hangin' with you!"[/colour]

With a snort of laughter, she turned once more to head away ... and that's when she saw the increasingly large crowd of quite annoyed-looking ponies surrounding ... that jerk of a reporter.

Her good mood disappeared as a hot anger boiled up inside her. What gave him the right?! Her first impulse was to fly over there and kick him in the face, but she tamped that down with some difficulty. Contrary to popular belief, she did think before she acted. A little. But she had no idea what else to do, here. She wished Rarity was here... Rarity would have that reporter twisted round her hoof in ten seconds flat! Applejack would probably advise Dash to just ignore it, but ... how could Dash just abandon the other fans to this jerk?!

He had a camera, though. Was she willing to have herself plastered all over the news? Branding her seriously uncool?

Forgetting all about Carrot beside her, she started talking to herself, glaring at the cameraman. "What gives him the right to come here and ruin everypony's fun? [colour=#696969]"Maaan, what would Fluttershy do?"[/colour] Probably befriend him somehow and make him guilty for doing this by being so nice... or her eyes would water up ... Dash didn't think she could do that... she was just too ANGRY. [colour=#696969]"What would Rarity do?"[/colour] Flutter her eyelashes at him and turn his words around till he was squirming, but Dash had no idea how to do that. [colour=#696969]"What would Applejack do?"[/colour] Probably just ignore him, laugh, and walk away. [colour=#696969]"What would Pinkie Pie do?"[/colour] Confuse the heck out of him... and somehow everything would turn out fine. "What would Twilight do?" Pfft. Probably be at even worse of a loss than Fluttershy or Dash.

... What would Dash do? Right. Charge in head first and kick him where it hurts. The hot rage suddenly chilled down, and she felt a strange calmness spreading over her ... almost like breaking through to a Sonic Rainboom, except she was also still angry at the same time. [colour=#696969]"Meet me at the food court, Carrot."[/colour]

She pushed through the gathered muttering ponies to step up to the ongoing 'interview'. She knew he wouldn't recognize her. There were Daring Do cosplayers all over the place, and she was identical to several of them - including one who was right here. [colour=#696969]"Oh, wow, it's Madden!"[/colour] she cried in mock surprise. [colour=#696969]"Oh, man, I was such a huge fan of yours when I was a filly! Nopony could move the ball like you could! And I'd know that voice anywhere! What a great voice, right? The golden voice of ESRN! Man, when you got assigned to come here, it must have really roasted your peppers. What's a sportscaster doing at a Daringcon?"[/colour]

She frowned, then, her brows dropping into a glower. [colour=#696969]"How the mighty have fallen... here you've got this great chance to show something new, to break out of your rut and show everypony that you're more than just some has-been jock, to show Equestria a whimsical, adventurous little fun time, but instead all you can do is feel angry that they took you off your normal beat, and take it out on all of us. Ruin OUR fun time."[/colour] She planted her hoof on his chest, leaning in to glare at him. [colour=#696969]"I used to think you were *awesome*."[/colour] she said lowly. [colour=#696969]"I thought you were all about having fun, that you were doing it for the fans. You always seemed so happy to see the crazy hoofball fans who would paint themselves in the team's colours,"[/colour] she said, waving her hoof at Pathfinder. [colour=#696969]"Who would stand there in the freezing cold for hours for a sold-out game on the hope that there might be a spare ticket..."[/colour] she said, waving her hoof towards the front entrance, where there were still some ponies milling about, hoping that the situation would change and they could get in. [colour=#696969]"You always seemed to love the little crafty stuff, the true 'love of the game' as you said. The ponies who just wanted everyone to know what they loved, and show faithful devotion to their team. Even if it was over something as foalish as playing games and tossing a ball around instead of doing serious adult work."[/colour]

She snorted derisively. [colour=#696969]"I thought you respected fans. I guess I was wrong. I guess all the good stuff on your show comes off the prompt cards."[/colour] She flicked her mane back, stepped away a moment, then glanced over her shoulder at the camerapony. [colour=#696969] "And don't think that 'you're just doing your job' gives you any justification. This is wrong, and you know it."[/colour]

Then she stalked away, head high, towards the food court, ignoring anything he might say in return. All the little insults she already expected, they wouldn't even touch her in this cold fury. Dash paused, then ... imagining the insults coming her way. And they all felt so ... tiny. She didn't realize she could make people's insults shrink like that. She almost let him ruin her day ... but he didn't have that power. Only she did. He was like a parasprite, small and fuzzy and unable to do anything bad unless you fed him.

Now she understood Pinkie a little better. She let her head roll back and she laughed - not a mocking laughtger, not directed at him, but just in general at the situation. It rang pure and true, and caught attention. [colour=#696969]"All right, everypony!"[/colour] She cried out, [colour=#696969]"Let's not give him any power! All he wants is a reaction - somepony eager to have their spot on the news! I made a mistake confronting him, I let my anger get the better of me! But that's what he wants! It gives him power![/colour]

[colour=#696969]"Spread the word! From this moment forward, he's part of the scenery! Don't get in his way, don't block him, don't bump him, don't answer him, don't respond to his jibes, don't respond to his barbs, don't respond to his questions! Madden is a potted plant! Let him get himself kicked out of the con for harassing ponies! That just means fire codes will let two more TRUE fans in! He isn't important enough to ruin our con!"[/colour]

And with that, she walked away, laughing merrily. And the ponies nearest her started laughing too ... and the laughter spread.

​

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields felt terribly embarrassed about his outburst, a spur of the moment defense of his stallionhood. Rainbow Dash’s reaction was unexpected and discomforting - Carrot's frown stretched his face. Was the idea of kissing him such a joke? Maybe that reporter had been right - what mare would want to kiss some stallion stuck in his foalhood? But then he shook his head, as if to shake out those negative thoughts - what did he expect? He'd only been hanging out with Dash for one day! It really was a bit funny, and he let out a soft laugh, shaking his head at his own defensiveness and flusterment. Hey, she was having a great time with him, right? And lunch would just add to that.

Except Dash seemed to have gotten a different idea, looking stiff and angry as she marched into a crowd right towards ... oh, horse apples. That guy! That Madden reporter; doing a hit piece on the convention and the fans. Carrot moved in a little closer to see what exactly was happening and to offer Dash some support, but just ended up watching in awe as she released a verbal tirade on the blue pegasus stallion.

Tirades like the one Dash was unleashing could go one of two ways, really well or really poorly, in this case it was magnificent. He never knew she had such a sharp wit, saying what he only wished he could have said. At the end he began to applaud, stomping his forehooves on the floor with a huge smile on his face. He added a chuckle when it dawned on the gray stallion that, knowing this fandom, by the end of the day there'd be fifty sketches of a potted plant wearing a Madden toupee with a microphone stuck into the dirt.

Carrot trotted up to Dash as she headed towards the food court; his first thought was [colour=#ff8c00]'[/colour][colour=#ff8c00]at was sae hawt[/colour], but he would keep that one to himself. Instead he went with something a bit more complimentary that wouldn’t make him look silly, [colour=#ff8c00]“Th' convention shoods pay ye as a darin' dae spokespony! ye awreddy hae th' look doon flat an' efter whit ye said thaur, ye certainly hae 'er darin' confidence an aw.”[/colour] Carrot smiled delightfully, [colour=#ff8c00]“Sae lunch, Ah tryst Ah woods gie ye whatever ye wanted fur lunch an' a carrot aye keeps their promise!”[/colour]

[Volt]

Star couldn't help but to stare helplessly at the stallion as he explained her who the ponies were. She then risked taking a look at the scene again. [colour=#9900cc]"CEO of the NSI?"[/colour] - she couldn't recall if she had ever heard of this company. Who knew just how rich this mare was? And, more importantly, what was she doing here, at the con? As for the one called Pathfinder, Star could only believe in what her companion said. Though... something was amiss in this image. Adult mare frowned, trying to figure out one thing... [colour=#9900cc]"Why would a serious businessmare deal with anypony who's described as 'nuisance'...?"[/colour] - point was, both costumes were extremely well crafted. She could understand Snowfall's costume being so detailed, as she would be expected to be wealthy. But Pathfinder's? Perhaps she also was some kind of wealthy VIP? Or would it be that this 'Princess Veil' simply had poor taste when choosing her companions?

But, in the end, this issue didn't concern Risi, so she simply noted down that explanation in mind and turned her eyes back at her own VIP whom she accompanied, only to restore the eye contact she broke for a moment. Stallion finally decided to introduce himself. Of course, it's not like it was a secret, everything was probably written at his ID card, but Star didn't want to be nosy and simply respected one's privacy. What happened next caught her completely off-guard. Making an inquiry about her, stallion grabbed her hoof in an old-fashioned way, which was quite a popular gesture in past, especially if gentlecolts were involved.

She stood there, staring in his eyes with her lips half-open. Such an unexpected gesture... but why would he do that? Although... whole this situation felt like some kind of a Déja Vu. And suddenly, the solution struck her. The fact that he was so endearing, his willingness to engage into conversation and even fact that, as she had just realized, he was already late to his panel! Star lowered her eyes a bit as it wandered sideways nervously. At once she pulled her hoof back and placed it on her chest. An azure aura burst out of her horn as she readjusted her equipment with magic. [colour=#9900cc]"Oh... Ow, I... I'm..."[/colour] It wasn't planned, nothing more than an instinctive reaction. [colour=#9900cc]"I'm Star..." [/colour][colour=#0000ff]"...regal..."[/colour] [colour=#9900cc]"...your Maje-"[/colour] - she bit her tongue instantly, although a tad too late as it seemed. Her hoof moved from her chest up to her face. One would truly have to be plain foalish not to notice that she, for a moment at least, retreated inside of her defensive shell in embarrassment. But it was just a brief moment after which she regained her senses.

Star waved her hoof aside in a splashy gesture, as if she was trying to brush the incident off. [colour=#9900cc]"Rising Star, private photographer from the city of Canterlot. Pleased to meet you."[/colour] - she explained in a steady voice, maintaining a serious expression virtuously. [colour=#9900cc]"Two can play this game..."[/colour] - she thought as she curtsied in front of him, allowing herself this way to make fun out of his last gesture. She held for two or three seconds before finally allowing herself for a slightest smile to show that she's only having some fun. [colour=#9900cc]"So... he is an arch-... "[/colour] - she suddenly remembered - [colour=#9900cc]"Shouldn't you be at your panel already?! Dear Celestia, you're late... All these ponies waiting for you. I mean, you can't keep them waiting, they all came here especially for you. You're not going to fail their expectations, are you?"[/colour] - it was nothing but a rhetorical question coming from her side. [colour=#9900cc]"Really, I understand that these ponies might be your friends, or whoever they are..."[/colour] - she threw a glance at that direction only to see that poor reporter being assaulted again.

​

[colour=#696969]"All right, everypony! [/colour][colour=#696969]Let's not give him any power! All he wants is a reaction - somepony eager to have their spot on the news! I made a mistake confronting him, I let my anger get the better of me! But that's what he wants! It gives him power![/colour]"

She stared in disbelief, listening to yet another mare's words. Star thought that DDCon community was great so far, but at this rate she might want to reconsider her position. What was with all these ponies getting on this poor reporter's head? She sighed and turned back at Merlot again. [colour=#9900cc]"...but you'll have plenty of time meeting and talking to them later on. We both have more important things to do right now."[/colour] - she had to remind him of this, even if a part of her honestly regretted this decision.

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[Bellosh]

Stepping back reflexively when the lady used her magic, Merlot didn’t know at first what to make of her snapping her hoof back. It was only when the pink unicorn almost referred to him as royalty when the dashing archaeologist realized the full extent of his companion’s mood. Beyond all a shadow of a doubt, Merlot knew that the mare, eventually identifying herself as Rising Star, obviously must be infatuated with him. In the mind of the smug stallion, what other possible explanation could there possibly be?

Unfortunately, reality came crashing back as Miss Star reminded Merlot of the panel that he was now four minutes late for. Just as he was finally about to turn away, the lady made the absurd suggestion that Snowfall and Pathfinder were friends of the gentlecolt. It took all of Merlot’s willpower not to laugh; he and Snowfall didn’t exactly have a graceful falling out, and the feathered thieving rat known as Pathfinder was just about the furthest thing to a friend that the stallion knew. In fact, one of Merlot’s conditions for hosting the panel today was that Pathfinder had to be denied admittance to it at all costs.

Finally walking away, Merlot tried to give some sort of reassurance to Rising Star concerning his tardiness; [colour=#0000cd]“To be honest mademoiselle, not everypony will be there for me. Apparently, that actress from the up-and-coming Daring Do stage production will be my fellow co-host. However, I’m not sure what in the world convinced the producers to cast Silver Flash as Daring Do. She’ll be way out of her element playing an action star instead of her delightful beauty queen roles.”[/colour] Having seen Silver Flash on stage numerous times before, Merlot readily admitted that she also had caught his eye. And being the crafty stallion that he was, the schemer also told the con organizers that he wouldn’t do the panel unless Silver Flash was his co-host; because of that, Merlot would finally get the chance to day to meet the talented stage actress too.

That is, of course, if Merlot could survive the metaphorical heart attack he suffered upon reaching the entrance to Ballroom B and seeing the horrid name the organizers gave to his panel. "Making the Boring Breathtaking: How Daring Do took Archeology and made it Fun"??? How dare they insult Merlot’s profession by implying that it was boring! That gross misrepresentation of archaeology made him OUTRAGED, FURIOUS, SICK WITH ANGER!!!

Not bothering to see if Rising Star remained at his side, an extremely-fuming Merlot grumbled; [colour=#0000cd]“These fan conventions really need to learn how to name their panels right.”[/colour] After taking a moment to calm down and adjust his fedora and tie, the archaeologist finally made his way into Ballroom B, six minutes after it was supposed to begin. At least Silver Flash would be a sight for sore eyes, assuming she didn’t go off pandering to the childish fan base by dressing up in-costume or something like that.....

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]Madden found himself attempting an interview, but being interrupted yet again! [/colour][colour=#ffffff]What is it with these ponies! Can't a reporter just do his job and carry on an interview?[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Rainbow Dash, who was wearing all of the cos-play Daring gear, looked like she could have been any of the ponies. But Madden remembered her. He remembered that voice, the rasp that echoed through the corners of his ears, whining and complaining about her own decisions and rash attitudes. And in this instance, she was a different pony. A pony of attitude adjustment and patience. She exclaimed and lectured to him like a school teacher of all the things she was expecting out of him. Despite the fact that Madden didn't see himself as a 'performer' for her, he let her continue. Had it not been for her matured voice, he would have shunned her several seconds ago. She walked away as she finished her lecture, telling the other ponies to not respect the presence of Madden, telling them that he's a bad guy, a sore hoof to this convention, and that no one should let him talk to them. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]What?[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Madden had no choice to speak his mind, permanently and as a reaction. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"What!? What in the world are you talking about? I'm trying to conduct an interview to witness the lifestyle of a fan, and you're telling me you're disappointed in me because I was some filly hero of yours? Where is this coming from? And what does that have to do with Daring Do?"[/colour][colour=#000000] Madden played the innocent card. He was doing nothing wrong. Rainbow continued to walk, as she ignored his comments. The rudeness was overwhelming, and without saying it loudly, Madden could truly act like a true Canterlotian in a different city and say that this was the most disrespect he has ever gotten in his entire life. He's not from Canterlot, but what he was thinking was true. He wondered if there could be a lower stance of pony character and a lack of respect. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]The audacity of some ponies. The ones who call themselves fans think they know what it's all about.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Madden turned to the alicorned pony, and looked left and right before leaning to finally try to attempt a response. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"Ok, now that I'm not being interrupted by a fandom that doesn't seem to like sports and blames it on me, I was wondering if you could tell me what you think." [/colour][colour=#000000] Madden still had his glasses off. He wasn't really trying to play hardball. He just wanted to get this interview in.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Little did Madden know, another interruption would behold him, coming not in the form of an over-obsessed pony, but in the form of a swarm of insects. But it wasn't there yet.[/colour]

​

[PedestrianWolf]

Fuchsia Blooms felt a little bad about what she had done to the blue pegasus after one of the Daring Do cosplayers dressed him down in front of everypony. She decided to wait and see what his reaction would be to the outburst. If he changed his tune and was nicer to the fans attending the convention, she would remove the rose from his tail and be on her way. But if he dug in and remained rude, then the flower would stay, and the flies would nip his behind.

She watched his face, and sighed. He was clearly not going to change his attitude. He had an indignant look that she recognized from some of the Canterlot ponies back home. He turned back to the pretty pony in the Princess Veil costume and said,[colour=#808080] "Ok, now that I'm not being interrupted by a fandom that doesn't seem to like sports and blames it on me, I was wondering if you could tell me what you think."[/colour]

Fuchsia knew what she thought. And it wasn't pleasant. She turned around and trotted into Ballroom B for the archeology panel, and left Madden to the flies.

[RarityDash]

Snowfall soon began to wonder if she hadn't made a serious tactical error in agreeing to do this. The belligerent reporter was now drawing attention from a number of different ponies. The most passionate words came from the third Pathf-... Daring Do from the earlier impromptu performance who made a number of fine points. Really Snowfall had been naïve; she may in fact be more shrewd than this scoundrel, but it's hard to win a game when the other party is the one writing the rules.

Strangely though, Snowfall's identity at the least hadn't shifted the interview. This was kind of surprising. Perhaps this stallion had never heard of her or her company? Well, NSI was centered in Stalliongrad and though it had branched out into a number of cities, including Manehattan and Fillydelphia, she supposed there were places where the name would still not be as well known. He was likely from Cloudsdale, a city where they had very little presence. As a journalist, being informed was part of his job though. Ah well, it was probably better this way.

Well, regardless of what this pony knew, the cameras knew who she was now. That meant it was ever the more important how she presented herself. She had to dip into her business mode some and put on her professional face. Maybe that would prove better for dealing with this jerk anyway? She nodded at the question and put on a polite smile. [colour=#99ccff]"I look at things like this and I see a group of ponies rife with deep passion. As long as it doesn't become actual hostility I believe passion is a healthy and positive force in this world. Just as the imagination and creativity of works like Daring Do spurs the innovators of this world, passion like the kind one might find in fandom is what keeps Equestria moving forward."[/colour]

[colour=#99ccff]"Careful etiquette should generally be observed, but personally I have more admiration for the brash than the timid. Most of us could learn something from Daring Do regardless. For me, learning to be bold, adventurous and willing to take risks has lead to increased profits," [/colour]Snow added smiling at the camera.

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[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]Madden nodded intently as the mare spoke. She was quite elegant. It wasn't really Madden's concern whether or not this was a show in character or the real personality of the pony. He overheard that he should know who she is, as some important pony everypony should know. But Madden had a closed circle. He would only care to know you if you were a famous athlete or a famous pegasus pony from Cloudsdale. And even then, he didn't really get out much. He was focused on his sports reporting and helping sports teams in Cloudsdale scout for new athletic ponies. Everything else was pretty boring to him. A convention filled with over-obsessed fans of a book series wasn't just out of his element, it was a painstaking experience for Madden's attention span and his overall interest in whatever subject he was reporting on. Even if he hated what was going on. His job was to report. And he would do so with the most fake smile imaginable.[/colour]

[colour=#ffffff]"Well. That was a very, thorough answer. Thank you. You Daring Do fans sure are-YEAAHHACH!!"[/colour][colour=#000000] Suddenly, a fly bit him on his flank. He jumped, and fell forward onto the pegasus he was talking to, crushing her ceramic horn to pieces. The base of her horn remained on her head, showing the hollow insides of the prop. Madden struggled to get up off of her, as flies started migrating everyone around him. He kicked at them, and got up quickly, barely minding his weight against the mare who may have been bruised at the least. Finding his footing, he started running away, abandoning his wired microphone to the camera, and started sprinting through the convention halls. [/colour][colour=#ffffff] "Help! I'm being attacked by flies!"[/colour] [colour=#000000]As he ran, his tail tried to swipe at the flies, but their numbers were too many. Running the halls, he accidentally knocked over several vendor booth tables, kick over displays and lighting, and bumped a table of hoofpaints that spilled all over the convention floor, some onto fandom ponies who were in the area looking for fun fandom art.[/colour]

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[Quillhart]

Quillhart pushed away his quill and eyed through the paper. Pleased with the outcome he decided to continue on the story later; he pushed down the quill and ink into his saddle bag while he held up his paper with the other hoof. When he then smiled and turned back to put down the paper; it was suddenly nowhere to be found. Quillhart blinked a several times with a doubtful face and thought that he must be hallucinating. He finally realized that the paper really was gone and he began to look around the con to see where it had gone.

And so he spotted it.

It was soaring above the crowd a few meters from where he sat. Quillhart snatched his saddlebag with his mouth and initiated the hunt for the paper. He kept his eyes on the flying paper and didn't see the pony that ran into a table at the same time that he ran next to the very same table. The table flipped over and splashed a huge amount of paint on Quillhart. He was completely taken by surprise and Quillhart fell headlong to the floor as a consequence. He glanced up and noticed that his 'run in' had saved the majority of the ponies from getting their expensive costumes soaked with colour. All except from a few now very sorrowful ponies it is. The rest of the ponies gave Quilllhart a rather thankful look, and he assumed that they thought that Quillhart had ran in and protected their clothes on purpose.

He suddenly remembered the pony that had ran into the table in the first place. Quillhart trotted around the table and noticed a pony's shape below a huge black cloud of flies. He fluttered his arms at the flies to make them fly away but he only received some nasty bites.[colour=#daa520] "Shoo! Bad flies! Can't you see that this pony has had enough already?!" [/colour]He grabbed a span of water from a cleaning lady and threw three colourful bits to her, [colour=#daa520]"Sorry, need to borrow this. An emergency."[/colour] He then turned back and poured the whole bucket - which content appeared to not be as fresh as Quillhart first thought - on the unfortunate pony. It actually worked. The flies gave away a last angry buzz before they flied away and Quillhart bowed down to help the pony up on his hoofs. [colour=#daa520]"Are you okay, sir? Sorry about the water... I... I only wanted to get rid of the flies for you."[/colour]

[Volt]

[colour=#9900cc]"Silver Flash?"[/colour] - mare could recall if she had ever heard this name. Was it possible that the royal city of Canterlot turned her into an ignorant? When did she change so much? Star made yet another note to herself, this had to change. But for now she could only accept it. Risi raised her hoof to make a first step and lead the VIP towards the ballroom, but she wasn't allowed to lower it. Instead, she kept it risen mid-air, observing how Merlot passes her and continues on his own, disappearing between the crowds. Her jaw dropped from disbelief when he couldn't see her anymore, while her mind went blank for a quarter of second. If he turned back then, he'd see her lower her hoof followed by a heavy frown on her face. [colour=#9900cc]"How did he know where to go exactly...?"[/colour] - that thought kept bouncing around her mind right now. If her suspicions would be confirmed, she wasn't certain if she'd like to think about all the implications... Or perhaps? All she had to do is to catch up with him, and- [colour=#9900cc]"Catch up?"[/colour] - Risi became confused, wasting a second on two until her brain processed the events - [colour=#9900cc]"Did he just walk away and... IGNORE ME?"[/colour] - she wasn't sure if she was angry or completely lost here, but of one she was certain: Star was going to give him a piece of her mind about this.

Annoyingly enough, the crowd suddenly became thicker, making it hard for her to maneuver between the individuals. Risi proceeded towards the entry of Ballroom B, and managed to catch a glimpse of Merlot entering it already. [colour=#9900cc]"Excuse me, sorry... oh move finally!"[/colour] - an unlucky ... pony? Well, something at least, since some of the costumes looked simply as if they came from the Tartarus itself... Still, it was blocking her way and was too busy to care about the surrounding. That's why he got gently, but decisively, pushed aside. Ignoring his protests, Risi made it to the entry of the Ballroom... only to discover that she couldn't track her subject between the crowds anymore. It seemed as Merlot managed to escape her, hiding somewhere in the hall. Unicorn sighed heavily, feeling that her anger is losing on strength a bit. [colour=#9900cc]"Just who does he think he is!? First behaving like he did and later running away like that! Nopony ever treated me this way, nopony!"[/colour] - in fact, nothing was lost yet. She'd simply stay in the Ballroom, taking care of her work, and await the panel to finish... or wait for some kind of break. The idea was simple.

Risi leaned against the wall with her front hooves crossed as her gear started glowing with azure aura. Having decided that the spot was fair to set-up her stand, mare deployed her tripod and examined the cameras. It took her a few minutes of preparing, and just as she was nearly done with setting up, she heard some disturbing sounds coming from the hall behind, including shouts, screams and cracks which penetrated the typical racket of any convention. Even though she wasn't a reporter herself, she had just a tiny part of their famous 'sense' (least she liked to call it like this, instead of calling it 'common sense' simply). And right now Star felt she should head back to the hall she left behind. She rushed back, fighting the crowds again, but her height came to her help this time. Even from afar she could see knocked down stands and some ponies getting back on their hooves. As she made it past the observers, a complete chaos presented itself to her eyes. Broken stands, grumbling ponies, various items scattered around the floor... as she followed the trail with her eyes, she also managed to spot spilled paint a bit further. That's when a sob drew her attention. It was a little filly in front of her, lying next to one of the broken stands. [colour=#9900cc]"Oh dear..."[/colour] - mare trotted towards the filly and dropped on her knees, positioning herself in front of her - [colour=#9900cc]"Darling, are you alright?"[/colour] - that didn't produce any result, so she patiently attempted to calm the child once more - [colour=#9900cc]"Hey, hey, it's okay, everything's fine, no need to cry."[/colour] - in her mind she thanked Celestia that the filly spotted her and seemingly started calming down slowly - [colour=#9900cc]"Are you hurt? Let me check."[/colour] - upon examining the filly, she found a single bruise at her back. [colour=#9900cc]"Oh... it's that why you've been crying?"[/colour] - as the filly nodded, Risi threw a friendly smile at her - [colour=#9900cc]"But it's just a single bruise darling. That's not a reason for such a mature filly like you to cry! Besides all your friends will envy you when you'll tell them your story."[/colour] - she managed to earn a smile in response. [colour=#9900cc]"Now, get up and go to your parents, I bet they're worried about you."[/colour]

As the child left, Risi stood up and straightened, searching for the source of all this commotion. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found. [colour=#9900cc]"What kind of creature may have caused all of this..."[/colour] - Star couldn't tell. But of one she was certain, whoever it was, he or she should be immediately removed from the convention. Posing a threat for ponies, and more importantly fillies and colts, was enough reason for her. That's why she called the first thing that came to her mind. [colour=#9900cc]"SECURITY!" [/colour]- only thing left to do now was... take photos. After all, that's what she came here for initially.

​

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder stung a little in the most sensitive of ways when she felt Snowy's disappointment lash like a fevered whip against her after her little outburst. Not that she regretted her actions or thought ill of her reasonings behind them. This reporter was a joke in all the worst ways, not like a funny joke that the Tartaran Vocal Snake told as it tried to eat you. At least you would giggle as the darn thing tried to eat you. But this was very much not a fun time to be anypony, because the reporter was sucking the life out of the room. In that manner, he was like the Soggalong Silent Snake, which emitted this annoying buzzing sound as it ate you. Having dealt with both, Pathfinder believed this reporter was worse as at least they were fun things to fight while the only entertaining part of him was his stupid name and stupid mane and stupid pelt and tail and the stupid way he talked and the dumb way he walked and the dumb things he said in his dumb way on dumb days. She wasn't his biggest fan.

Luckily, she wasn't alone, at least not now. The third Do from their impromptu show had been completely uninvolved until just now, and boy howdy did she get involved in a pretty awesome way. She ripped into the reporter who had apparently been some hoofball star- who liked a bunch of grown stallions groping around and trying to play with a ball? It was such foalish business! But many loved the players and she had been a fan, a fan who was disappointed by the current state of her idol. Who would idolize such a freakin' snake? Well, she didn't now and good for her! She laid into him like a flanker into a winger and put him in the dirt. Metaphorically of course because if a game started she'd throw her hooves up and play the part of the bucker. She then sauntered off like a heroine, and Pathfinder felt the tiniest little twinge of regret because there was an awesome Daring Do cosplayer with wings the size of Commander Hurricane and she was walking away. Score one for minor jealousy!

Luckily, Snowfall struck out again and managed to trump the Doer, only if because she already had a monumental lead in the standings to begin with. She handled the whole situation with class, which was as mythical to Pathfinder as the gemstones of arcada were to the simple ponies of Equestria, and did so quickly. She didn't have to launch into a ten minute speech but spoke with all the experience that her business had granted her. She seemed to have impressed the stallion well enough, his response starting off kind. Then flies happened and he was in the middle of some dramatic drama with chaotic impact as he and the flies went top have their fun somewhere else. Oh well- stallions were messed up. Pathfinder hugged her Snowy.

[colour=#006400]"You were great! Super duper interviee, my little Snowy!" [/colour]She finished with a big 'ol kiss on the cheek.

[colour=#006400]"Now let's get going to Ballroom B! That panel is gonna be awwwwwwweeeessssoommmeee!"[/colour]

[Bramble Rose]

[colour=#808080]Rainbow Dash[/colour]

Rainbow Dash quickly lost her pique as she followed the scents of delicious food, her stomach rumbling worse than ever as her mercurial mood shifted back to 'hungry.' Several times, now, she'd failed to get food when promised, and it was fast becoming a proper Quest. Cider, she hoped. They'd have some cider. And apple pie. Or maybe some nice piping hot hay fries. No flowers, not for her. She needed something more filling.

But upon reaching the food court, she stared in amazement, a big grin spreading over her face and her wings stretching out to either side. Sure, they had apples and carrots and hay and daisies ... but they also had stuff she'd never seen before! But as she looked at labels and placards, she realized... she'd *read* about all of it! Curry, from Daring Do and the Terrible Temple of Terror! Hummus, from Daring Do and the Great Camel Conspiracy! Tortillas, from Daring Do and the Feathered Serpent! And for a drink - oh, man, she couldn't even begin to pronounce xocolatl, but she remembered what was in it! Chocolate, corn meal, hot peppers, and honey, all mixed together! Some sorta ancient hoity-toity drink, but really!? Hot peppers and chocolate? She had to try it! She had to try ALL of it!

She turned to Carrot Fields, grabbed him by the shoulders with both forehooves, and in a low, serious voice, she said,[colour=#808080] "OK, here's the plan. We'll buy a little of everything that we've never tried before, and we'll share all the food! So we can taste it all! Who knows when we'll get this chance again?! Are you with me!"[/colour]

​

[colour=#808080]Silver Flash[/colour]

Silver Flash was laughing and joking with the audience as they waited for the other panel member to join in - unable to start until they had their full set! It was fairly easy - just act like Professor Daring Do, and react with accordingly appropriate surprise when the colts blinked at her with flirty messages drawn on their eyelids. That must have been a last-minute addition!

But still, she smiled with relief as she saw Merlot approaching. [colour=#808080] "Ah, Professor! Wonderful, glad you could join us!"[/colour] She trotted up to greet him, throwing a hoof over his shoulder and drawing him in. [colour=#808080]"And here we are! Told you all he'd be here! Some archeologists have problems paying attention to any unit of time smaller than a century, but he got here! It's not easy to shut down a real archeological site, after all - wind and rain can ruin weeks of work, and contaminate the results! You have to photograph everything, leave careful markers, instructions for your assistants, cover it all with a tarp to protect it from the elements, tuck it in for the night, and read it a bedtime story! He was probably delayed giving the dig site a goodnight kiss and bringing it a glass of water!"[/colour]

She laughed jovially as she led Merlot up to the front of the room. [colour=#808080] "Silver Flash, playing the part of Professor Daring Do!"[/colour] she introduced herself to him. [colour=#808080]"Pleasure to meet you!"[/colour]

​

[Bellosh]

It looked like the universe stopped smiling on Dr. Merlot after all; not only did Silver Flash dress up in a silly costume, but was she being... chummy with him? This didn’t resonate at all with the gentlecolt’s preconceived images of Miss Flash; as a dainty lady whose personality fell more in line with the types of roles she typically played. To add further insult to injury, the actress referred to Merlot as a professor; didn’t she understand that only teachers at an university are called professors? To her credit, at least she indicated an understanding of proper archaeological procedures... right up until the bedtime story portion.

Merlot wanted nothing more to fume at this point, but he’d never dare express such unrefined sentiments out where dozens of other ponies can see him. It also started occurring to the good doctor that this was all just an act on Silver Flash’s part; as a stallion keenly interest in the fine arts, he’s heard of method actors who’d utterly immerse themselves in their roles. Not only they’d do simple research, but they also don’t go out of character at all until the final curtain call; all done in the name of giving convincing performances to audiences. It was like calculated insanity in a way, except that such performers could revert back to their true selves.

It was this hope that the true Silver Flash would reveal itself in time give Merlot the will to smile, and even provide canned laughter at her joke, as he was led up to the front of the room. [colour=#0000ff]“The pleasure is mine,”[/colour] the gentlecolt acknowledged, tipping his hat as a sign of courtesy; [colour=#0000ff]“Merlot; playing the role of... Dr. Merlot.”[/colour] That quip generated a few laughs from the room, but not nearly as much as the “goodnight kiss” quip. Clearly, it would be an extraordinary challenge to match Miss Flash’s in-character wit, but he’d try.

Now then, if only that security guard outside could prevent that feathered menace Pathfinder from entering the ballroom.....

[brianblackberry]

For a pony who by all rights shouldn't even be inside the convention, this whole event was going really well for Carrot Fields; what made the convention especially worthwhile was his erstwhile cosplaying cohort whose adventurous spirit was just contagious, Rainbow Dash. She really did remind him of Daring Do, not the least because her cosplay was so spot on. Of course, all their shenanigans had made them both hungry and he did promise her lunch before all of this began.

Of course once they reached the food court, what delectable choices to behold! They had everything he would want, and a few things the farmer stallion never heard of. Hummus! They had hummus! That particular stand advertised how it was from "Daring Do and the Great Camel Conspiracy", which was certainly cool, but Carrot knew hummus as that delectable dish that his sire brought back from Saddle Arabia while serving in the REA. They also had Haggis! Just like in the story Daring Do at Dun Caochladh! Of course the best haggis was from Fet Louch itself. Somehow he'd have to get some of that mixed in whatever else the two of them ordered, maybe Dash would be a fan…

His cute pegasus companion had another idea, some of everything. That sounded expensive, quite expensive, of course with a beautiful mare basically muzzle to muzzle with him insisting they had to try all of the food, how could he say no? [colour=#ff8c00]"aye, we can dae that… let's start wi' th' hummus!"[/colour] If he was going to have to purchase as many of the items he could, he definitely had to make sure the Hummus was included before the bits ran out.

As they gathered food from each of the stands, he could just hear the ca-chings of the registers as his bits quickly dwindled. What would his sister say? Strike that, he knew exactly what Purple Haze would say, [colour=#006400]"ye spent all ye day's bits on a mare again, didn't ye, big brae?"[/colour], and she'd be right, not that he tell her that. Carrot worried, but each time he saw Dash's excited, happy expression, he felt it was worth it, she was so excited as they finally gathered all the food together at their little table; a delicious menagerie of cuisine, some familiar, some odd, all ready to be partaken, [colour=#ff8c00]"I hink ye shoods go first in decidin' whit we shoods try, but Ah recommend th' hummus, 'at stuff is th' best."[/colour]

It may have cost him a good deal of bits, but a Carrot always keeps their promises.

[RarityDash]

[colour=#d3d3d3]"Well. That was a very, thorough answer. Thank you. You Daring Do fans sure are-YEAAHHACH!! Help! I'm being attacked by flies!" [/colour]

Snowfall had to laugh at the unpleasant stallion's expense as he got his comeuppance in the form of some flies attacking his tail. She shook her head and smiled before picking up the Daring Do plus offered to her for the interview and walking away. She had no clue what would come of this baffling interview, but whatever it was, she was done with this farce, even if the special custom made horn for her costume sadly had met its end as a result.

[colour=#99ccff]"It's been a pleasure, sir. I do thank you for your time,"[/colour] she said with one final insincere smile to the distressed stallion before moving back toward Pathfinder.

​

[colour=#006400]"You were great! Super duper interviee, my little Snowy! [/colour][colour=#006400]Now let's get going to Ballroom B! That panel is gonna be awwwwwwweeeessssoommmeee!"[/colour]

The mare just laughed off Pathfinder's comments about how great an interviewee she was. At mention of the Ballroom, she was somewhat surprised however. She had been occupied by the interview for so long she wasn't sure what else was going on. Apparently Pathfinder wanted to see a panel of some sort though.

[colour=#99ccff]"A panel? Of course! Let's get going,"[/colour] she said with a nod. Looking around the dealers room, she gave a shrug. [colour=#99ccff]"I'm sure we can return to secure more merchandise here later today."[/colour]

​

[Bramble Rose]

[colour=#808080]Rainbow Dash[/colour]

Dash nodded eagerly. [colour=#808080] "Yeah, we can try hummus! Daring Do really liked it in that book, so it must be awesome!"[/colour] She followed after eagerly, giving an excited little bounce ...

Till she actually saw hummus for the first time.

...

[colour=#808080]"That's goo,"[/colour] she pointed out, as Carrot carried the tray over to one of the tables. [colour=#808080]"Where's the awesome hummus? That's just goo and bread! With a little bright red and offwhite goo in the middle! It's, like... if goo found something gooey, and put it in a bowl, that's what that would be!"[/colour]

She sat down across from Carrot, looking at the food, perplexed. This was not an awesome-looking food. [colour=#808080]"And that's not even really bread. It's like... if bread was just crust. If you took out all the soft inside of the bread and just left the crusts... you know how lots of moms cut off the crusts cause foals don't like the crusts? Imagine if they made a sandwich with nothing but the crusts... Now imagine the sad face those foals would make. Now make that sad face into a bread. "[/colour] She reached out, took up one of the little pita triangles, and dipped it into the hummus. [colour=#808080] "And that's not even starting in on-"[/colour] She took a bite, and stopped talking all of a sudden. She stared down at the gooey food, the crusty bread... she double-dipped, and ate the rest of that triangle, along with the hummus.

[colour=#808080]"Oh ... my ... gosh. This is ... so RAD! Oh my gosh! It like... it tastes as awesome as it DOESN'T look! It's like, they took all the awesome out of the looks, and put it into the flavour!"[/colour] She took another big scoop, and ate it. [colour=#808080]"Mmnnn! I never tasted anyfing like it before! It's delicious! mmmf! Mmmm!"[/colour]

​

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder loved panels as long as they were about Daring Do because panels and Daring Do went about as well together as Daring Do and panels and Daring Do and the written word and Daring Do and awesome art and Daring Do and love interests and Daring Do and inspiration and Daring Do and crushes and Daring Do and fanfiction and Daring Do and awesomeness in every way! She led her fillyfriend and Princess Veil cosplaying partner in crime to the ballroom, hovering above the ground-pounders below at times. Pegasi rule, everypony else drools. Pathfinder a seat and made herself comfortable in a matter of moments, swatting away interlopers as she made darn sure her Snowfall had a seat next to her. She better be prepared for the awesomeness of the awesome panel about Daring stuff!

Pathfinder turned excitedly to her SNowy before the panel started.

[colour=#006400]"This panel should be awesome! I wanted in on it since I do all sorts of archeology like stuff, but they turned me down because of the few dozen pending legal cases by lame-flanks. So they got this hack Merlot up there! He's a real hoot and a holler though, a real grade A-fun colt to have adventures against. Heh, he uses all of his money to get to all sorts of ruins before I do but who ends up with the relics in the end? Pathfinder, that's who! He's my Ahuizotl! Fun stallion, too bad he doesn't see eye to eye with the pony who flies or him and I could make quite the relic hunting team! And then you have Silver Flash, who ya know I'm still not entirely sold on yet but she looks cute enough to be Daring Do and seems to take her role seriously enough, so it's gonna be a slam-bang panel!"[/colour]

[Bramble Rose]

[colour=#808080]Silver Flash[/colour]

Silver Flash let out a soft whistle. [colour=#808080]"Doctor Merlot,"[/colour] she said, appreciatively, then dropped her voice a little to deliver a dramatic, [colour=#808080]"Doctor ... Merlot..."[/colour] She nodded approvingly, as a few more late straglers came in. [colour=#808080] "That's a good name! No, really. That's the sort of name where you find out in the second-to-last chapter that you've been the brilliant mastermind behind it all! In fact, I'd say-"[/colour]

Pathfinder's outburst startled her, and she felt a brief flash of irritation, but she hid it behind a professional soft laugh and wry grin. [colour=#808080]"Well, I'm glad to have managed your benefit of the doubt, there, and that you're looking forward to this panel. Please take your seat quickly, though, since the panel's already started!"[/colour]

Remembering something, she popped open one of the many pockets on her shirt, and drew out a small note, putting on Daring Do's reading glasses - though she herself didn't actually need them. The glasses were a prop, just plain glass with no real lenses per se. [colour=#808080]"But before I get any further in, I do need to read this disclaimer they gave me..."[/colour] She cleared her throat. [colour=#808080] "This comedy and informative panel is intended for the purposes of entertainment. Because of the improvisational nature of the panel, the answers given during the procedings should not be considered to be canon."[/colour] She folded the note and tucked it away again, along with the glasses. [colour=#808080] "Though I'll do my best to give proper answers whenever possible, you never know where things are going to wander!"[/colour]

She turned back to Doctor Merlot. [colour=#808080]"So, my good doctor, let's start with the introductions - what brought you to want to be an archeologist, and what's your current project?"[/colour]

​

[Hippo]

[colour=#000000]Madden was drenched by a bucket of water, and the flies left him. He was both relieved, and highly annoyed. His glasses have water spots on them, his mane was messed up, the interview ended horribly. This was positively the worst moment ever. And it was all thanks to the convention and these nerdy ponies. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"Augh! These ponies, these, these, DARIES. I have never been so disrespected in all my life!"[/colour][colour=#000000] Madden got up and looked around with the help of the pony who watered him down to get rid of the pests. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"Who did it!? Who did it!? I know somepony here did it!"[/colour][colour=#000000] Madden was angry, but he was also helpless.

He heard someone shout for security. Madden would have never alienated himself. After all, it was these ponies, these daries that were causing all the problems. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"Yes! Security, you are not do your job. I've seen better security at foal birthday parties."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Madden dusted himself off. He wasn't actually that messy. He was thrown into the tables, and not one of the innocent bystanders that got covered in the paint he hit. He was just wet. [/colour][colour=#ffffff]"Thanks for the help, sir. At least someone here at this convention understands the need for civilized manner, unlike so many of these basement-dwelling book nerds."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Madden, angrily stomped his way towards the nearest restroom, swung the door open, and entered. He would do his best to clean up, taking a break of the convention's chaos. Meanwhile, his camera mare was suddenly by herself. She would timidly walk the con floor and take pictures. She grew mildly interested in the things she saw.[/colour]

​

[brianblackberry]

Carrot Fields sat there and listened patiently as Rainbow Dash commented on the constancy of the hummus, its colour, and even the pita bread, the latter surprising him even more. as he figured everypony seen pita bread. All he could get in during her diatribe was a couple utterances of [colour=#ff8c00]"try it"[/colour].

Try it she did.

Carrot couldn't help but chuckle as the rainbow maned pegasus dove into the very food she just derided as "not awesome" before. Finally getting a small sample in himself, it tasted pretty decent, not the best, but certainly not the worse,but he could see how it would enthrall somepony who never tried it before. Not without a little bit of pride, the gray stallion proudly declared, [colour=#ff8c00]"Ye shoods try th' hummus mah sister makes, it blows thes mince awa'"[/colour]

Most of the other foods Carrot recognized and had tried at least a few times in his life, that is except for the xocolatl, which he wasn't even going to try and pronounce. From what was described in the book, it was chocolate, honey, corn meal, and… Hot peppers, all rolled into one. The first three together sounded decent, but hot peppers? Really? It could work, and no pepper from some Mareyan story could compare in terms of "hot" to the peppers his sister, Purple Haze used. Figuring if Dash is willing to try something new, then so could he. With a couple large gulps, Carrot guzzled down the strange drink.

An air of uncertainty expressed itself on Carrot's face, he was not sure what to think; it had kick, not a whole lot, but enough for most ponies, the combination though was odd, as it don't settle right, [colour=#ff8c00]"'at was different.."[/colour]

At least Dash was enjoying all the foods, he just smiled as she went through everything with such enthusiasm. "[colour=#ff8c00]Ye ur sure bonnie when yoo're happy" [/colour] Wait, did he just say that? Why did he say that out loud? Carrot quickly grabbed another of the odd xocolatl drinks and gulped it down, hiding his embarrassed face.

[Bellosh]

Dr. Merlot... a villain? It may have sounded strange, but the smug stallion somehow really liked the sound of that. Certainly, his recent annoyances with that troublesome cosplaying thief made the archaeologist wish at times that he could do more than provide cleverly-produced fake artifacts for that runt to successfully “steal”, or pay lawyers to get his property back. So without knowing it, a wicked smile formed on Merlot’s face as if it was vindicating Silver Flash’s every last word. Being a villain sounded very fun-

Wait... was that pegasus in the audience.....?

[colour=#0000ff]~GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!~[/colour]

That security guard at the ballroom entrance had one job and one job only... to keep out that pathfinding twerp Pathfinder outside. That pony managed to fail spectacularly at that simple task! Ah well; Merlot shouldn’t have expected much from a mindless plebeian drone. The best thing the khaki unicorn could do now was maintaining composure and not give that feathered leech the satisfaction of seeing him lose his nerve; especially since the fallen angel Snowfall seemingly chose to tag along with the parasite too.

Merlot would do what he was paid handsomely to do; talk about his profession in a professional and charismatic manner. Once Silver Flash indicated for him to speak, the gentlecolt did just that, summoning forth his most charming smile; [colour=#0000ff]“Heh heh; to make a long story short, I loved adventure stories as a young colt. And like any young colt with an active imagination, I liked to give my parents grief by going outside and digging up the nearest garden or park in search for buried treasure... I’m sure at least some ponies here can relate.”[/colour]

After a round of chuckling from the audience, the good doctor continued; [colour=#0000ff]“On one camping trip though..... I struck gold.”[/colour] Activating his horn, Merlot’s spell caused every object in the mood made with gold or silver to glow with magic. [colour=#0000ff]“I used this spell here to find a gold statuette buried in the ground,”[/colour] he proclaimed, smirking as many ponies in the audience gasped seeing their possessions shine;[colour=#0000ff] “I donated it to the Canterlot Museum of History, found that it was an artifact of great archaeological significance, and got a story published in the newspaper. From that moment on, I knew what I wanted to do with my life... not just to dig up relics, but to learn more about the ponies of the past who made them.”[/colour]

That story of Merlot’s lacked the real unfortunate story that made the boy come to his senses and realize how a life of pure treasure hunting was nothing more than a load of nonsense. Nopony needed to learn that story though; especially Pathfinder. Speaking of her, it wouldn’t do at all to give her any information that might enable the rat to locate his next excavation location. Therefore, now was the time to give the audience some fanciful rubbish; [colour=#0000ff]“Since it does nopony any good to get stuck in the past, I’m actually in the middle of projects, so to speak. I’m currently seeking out sponsors for a large-scale archaeological survey,"[/colour] Merlot paused for dramatic effect; [colour=#0000ff]"Of the southern continent of Unyasi. This will be the first time that many ancient sites in the land of the zebras will receive a proper excavation. As long as everything works out, many mysteries about this unexplored land will be revealed to us. I hope that satisfies your curiosity, Miss Flash?”[/colour]

Just as long as no extremely-rich sponsor gave Merlot the dough necessary to put his money where his mouth was, he reckoned that Pathfinder would be dumb enough to go off on a wild goose chase to Unyasi... and possibly ensure her disappearance forever thanks to her stupidity. Meanwhile, Merlot’s genuine operations wouldn’t have to deal with the menace posed by the flying parasite for a long time to come.

Playing the role of the lying villain already felt so much fun.....

[PedestrianWolf]

Fuchsia Blooms was on the edge of her seat. Who knew that actual archaeology could be as exciting as it was in the adventure books? She was sure it would be mostly digging around and not finding much, but Dr Merlot made it sound so enticing.

She nodded in agreement when he mentioned reading adventure stories that sparked his imagination. As a filly, she never dug any holes in the yard that weren't intended for a seed or a bulb planting. But she had found a ring that her mother had lost while pulling weeds in the vegetable patch, so she understood the thrill of discovering buried treasure.

And then Dr Merlot mentioned that his next expedition was to Unyasi, the land of the zebras! Fuchsia hadn't heard anything about the country, except the few things she read in books about the rare flowers and magical herbs that grew there. Heck, she had never even gone to Manehattan, much less across the sea. She hoped he would get a rich backer or two, so he could travel there and bring back all kinds of artifacts to display in the Canterlot museum.

In fact, the panel was so interesting, she completely forgot about the annoying blue pegasus stallion and the spell she had cast on him...

[Bramble Rose]

Rainbow Dash

Dash gave an odd look to Carrot. [colour=#808080]"What's a bonnie?"[/colour] she asked, confused, as she stuck her straw into the xocolatl. [colour=#808080]"Is that like being awesome?"[/colour] She gave a long draw, then pulled back, licking her lips happily. [colour=#808080]"Now that's a drink!"[/colour] she said, appreciatively. [colour=#808080]"Must be awesome to have that hot, during the winter!"[/colour]

She looked around, as she scooped up some more hummus, munching happily. [colour=#808080]"Man, most ponies are eatin' the same old stuff they always get. This is Daringcon! They need to be more daring!"[/colour]

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[colour=#808080]Silver Flash[/colour]

Silver Flash whistled softly. [colour=#808080]"Not bad!"[/colour] she said approvingly. [colour=#808080]"Maybe we can see about putting together a fundraiser luncheon for you based on the awesomeness of Daring Do. It'd be rather appropriate if Daring Do could help launch a real excavation into a far-away land! It could be called the Daring Do Site, even!"[/colour] She grinned and threw a leg over his shoulders, companionably, as she led him to the front of the room, where their chairs were located behind a table. [colour=#808080] "So, Doctor, as we all know, the stories are a bit exaggerated, but ancient sites are quite dangerous. Aside from the crumbled mortar and unstable architecture, there's still ancient traps that work, and ancient magic that's gone erratic. Every foal knows you don't go into an ancient ruin unless you know what you're doing. What's the most life-threatening situation you've ever been in, in the line of duty?"[/colour]

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[RarityDash]

[colour=#006400]"This panel should be awesome! I wanted in on it since I do all sorts of archeology like stuff, but they turned me down because of the few dozen pending legal cases by lame-flanks. So they got this hack Merlot up there! He's a real hoot and a holler though, a real grade A-fun colt to have adventures against. Heh, he uses all of his money to get to all sorts of ruins before I do but who ends up with the relics in the end? Pathfinder, that's who! He's my Ahuizotl! Fun stallion, too bad he doesn't see eye to eye with the pony who flies or him and I could make quite the relic hunting team! And then you have Silver Flash, who ya know I'm still not entirely sold on yet but she looks cute enough to be Daring Do and seems to take her role seriously enough, so it's gonna be a slam-bang panel!"[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Snowfall was at first mostly just embarrassed to find her marefriend loudly speaking out during a panel which had already begun. Her expression changed at the mention of Merlot though. She had just been following Pathfinder and had been entirely unaware of where they were headed or what they were doing. Merlot? She just happened to know a Merlot. It couldn't be the same one, could it? As she took her seat and let her eyes trace to the front of the room it was confirmed. This was the very same pony she had once known.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]As she listened to his responses to Silver's inquiries she sighed and relived the weeks she spent entertaining his advances. He had been one in a long series of suitors Snow's mother had chosen for her. Long had Snowfall's mother aimed to get her married off to some socialite or influential pony who would "do her father and family proud"; she had made a game of playing matchmaker, and most of her choices were flat atrocious. She found herself in turn courted by ponies who were sharp but twice her age, handsome but feeble-minded, otherwise eligible but cruel and snobbish or any other number of undesirable other combinations. Snowfall had as a result came to disfavor the idea of romance, and doubted she'd ever see something that lasted.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Then came Dr. Merlot, who, all things considered, was probably the most eligible stallion her mother had ever sent after her. He was smart, he was articulate, he was interesting and he wasn't unbearable. For the first few weeks, Snow had earnestly wondered if she hadn't found something that worked. He had a lot of charm and was fun to talk to. She could recall quite vividly some of her protracted late night discussions with him. He was even one of the very few ponies she had spoken with about her intent to one day organize an expedition to find out what happened to her father in the Arctic north. For a time she had trusted him... and if she wasn't sure it had ever come to actual love, she had at the very least considered him a friend.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]That was until she started to know him a little better. She got to see what was behind the attractive veneer and saw that the true Dr. Merlot could be exceedingly conceited, arrogant and manipulative. The charm soon wore off completely and after a number of arguments she decided to cut ties. It was following this that Snowfall decided to refuse any further suitors her mother selected for her. Not many months later she decided to finally take things into her own hooves and sent a letter to the Fillydelphia matchmaker who lead her to Pathfinder.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Now, after all this time, here was the same stallion again. Moreover, Pathfinder attested to knowing him. Snow couldn't believe it. The thought just sent her head spinning. She wasn't even sure how to feel, think or act, and so she just sat there and listened to the panel talk.[/colour]

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