NiktoBarada

Tongue Twister noted Jade's outfit - she'd dressed to the nines for an informal get together. "Well, if you got it, flaunt it I suppose." she thought to herself, "And ethology must pay really well if that's her idea of casual." She did agree with her 'you have one life, don't waste it' idea, but in moderation. 'Balance in all things', as those Neighpalese monks would say. And, for some odd reason, the balance always needed to be moved closer to 'more fun !' than 'more responsibility !' "Hmm - if seeing things through rose-colored glasses makes you foolishly optimistic, what does seeing things through jade-colored glasses do ?" she mused to herself. "There's a karaoke machine in here ? Neat !" she stated.

Free For All Roleplay - Canterlot - My Little Pony Community and Role Play It's just a little further down the homepage. It's a little more open ('if you have a three winged, broken horned cutie markless alicorn character with a dark past, this is the subforum for you'), but even it has limits.

Well, that's an interesting character, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be quite the challenge to use it in the WoE (World of Equestria). Equestria's technology is nowhere near advanced enough to have robots - Neighpon does have magic based golems though. The Free Form Forum might be open enough to try though.

Well, what sort of character did you have in mind ? You have a choice of many playable species listed in Fluttershy's Creature Compendium topic. The form to submit OCs is in Rarity's Simply Fabulous Application Form. (Both of these are in the Character Applications forum) The rules and etiquette of the board are in, of course, the RP Rules and Etiquette forum. The Mods here a quite helpful, and can help adjust your character so it fits in the RP world.

Tongue Twister clinked Midnight's glass, for she agreed that no one getting lost or seriously hurt was a good thing. She had to think about Midnight Oil's dilemma for a bit. "Well, we're not sure how much help we could be." she stated, "We're starting up a new business venture that might require much travelling, so we probably won't be in Ponyville very often. Maybe a day or two every month to check our mail for job offers. But if our limited studies of Eastern philosophies have taught us anything, opportunity arises at the interplay between order and chaos. If things are too orderly and static, look for the chaos of something new. If things are too chaotic, look to the stability of order. If being moved around so much is taking a toll on you Midnight, perhaps staying in one place would be a good idea. Just for a little while, until Princess Twilight and her advisors can get everything sorted out. If they need you, they'll know where to find you. Unless we're mistaken, military assignments need not be permanent. You could request a transfer to the Twilight Guard later, right ? If you show competence and drive in Ponyville, they might be more likely to grant the request. And who knows ?" she continued before taking a sip from her drink, "Maybe an even better opportunity may arise once things settle down."

"Sangria ? We always have that with our mom when we visit her family out in Las Pegasus !" TT replied to Berry, "Never fails to delight." She lifted up her glass and toasted with Berry. "A well run race, one and all ! We may even see some of you again next year, fates be willing."

It took considerable scrubbing, but Tongue Twister managed to get clean from all that muck. She sighed - her socks, which used to be white, were now charcoal black. One of the results of Hou's corruptive influence. She formed her right 'wing' into a claw and stretched it across the bathroom to grab a towel to dry herself off with. "How does that not disturb you ?" the Abomination asked, "You stole that power from Hou Shuren just a few weeks ago, and yet you seem to have mastered it ! How are you controlling it to such a degree ?" "I'm not controlling it." she replied in thought, "Alchemic mercury responds to thoughts. I merely imagine the shape and movements I wish it to make, and it conforms and moves. I don't have to know HOW it works; only accept that it does. Doing otherwise risks the centipede's dilemma. And for your information, I did not steal this power ! Hou gave it to me of her own free will ! She - just didn't realize it at the time .... And as dad always says : 'Refunds ? Who said anything about refunds ?' As to finding it disturbing ? Of course I do. But I'll adjust and adapt. It's not like fretting about it is going to improve anything." She fastened her cape back on and tucked her wings underneath it before smoothing it out. One could tell she was a pegasus without seeing her wings; TT figured it would be difficult to explain why her wings look like slightly melted metal that slithered and moved against gravity all on its own if anypony saw them. --- Tongue Twister opened the door to Berry's bar and looked around. There weren't many of the others here yet - just Berry and Tiger Blood at the moment. "So, what's on tap for tonight Berry ?" she asked.

TT was wondering if they'd have to form a search party to find him, but before long she heard some pegasi cheering someone along. Most likely, the last racer. "Ah, THERE he is !" she noted, actually impressed one so young was able to finish the race. "Yes, yes. The gang's all here." the Abomination grumbled in her head, "Now, will you go find a room with a shower ? Or even just a shower ? That mud you insisted on coating your legs with is getting itchy !" As she headed off, she watched Jade poke Apple Bloom so quickly the strike was a blur, then heard Jade's explanation. "Hmm. Pressure point manipulation. Neat ! A classic healing technique in some Eastern cultures. Something like those monks in Neighpal used while I was there years ago when trying to put my mind back together." she noted to herself (and to the sundry other Things skulking about in her mindscape). She was walking along towards the hotel when she was struck by an odd thought. "Pressure points are an advanced technique. The control and precision needed for the physical touch, and the understanding of the chi pathways and patterns needed for proper use usually need decades of study and dedicated practice to master. Jade doesn't look that old. But, then again, that can be hard to tell sometimes. Especially if someone puts some effort into physical maintenance. Or into learning a skill they might be a prodigy at." she continued before she decided it wasn't worth pondering at the moment.

As Tongue Twister headed into the crowds, she thought Berry's suggestions were good ones - a drink after all this exercise would be great ! As would a bath - that faceplant back on Roundbottom Hills left her coat full of dirt. Plus her legs were still partly coated with the (now dried) mud she used as a non-stick coating when running through Whitetail Woods. She sighed deeply. She hadn't intended to stay in Ponyville long. She had originally planned on just going to the post office to set up a post office box for her consulting business, then catch the train back out to Las Pegasus to pack up the rest of her things before moving out of her old (and rather expensive) apartment. Participating in the Running of the Leaves was just an impulse. That was oddly successful. She'd missed the train going her way. And the next one didn't leave until tomorrow morning. "Hopefully there's a room for rent at the hotel near the train station." she mused to herself as she trotted along. She'd noted that the filly from earlier - Apple Bloom, if she recalled - seemed a bit dazed. "That's one of the symptoms of a concussion. NOT something to take lightly. But Berry, Midnight and Tiger Blood were there to help. "Given it looks like almost everyone in Ponyville is here, there should be someone with medical skill available." she noted to herself as she looked around, "The most a medic could do here is a few simple tests, then take her to the hospital for a more thorough exam and observation. Hmmm. Where could that young colt that was with her earlier have gotten to ? The last time I saw him was at that bridge. I'd guess he's probably curled up taking a nap somewhere. Hopefully. He might have more energy than grown ups, but little legs would make the course relatively longer for him !" She felt it might be best to hold off going to the hotel for a bit longer.

"I - actually WON ?!" TT marveled as she looked at the gold medal around her neck. Before coughing as she had to clear out some confetti she'd accidentally inhaled. She nodded back to Strong Copper to acknowledge his comments. "Seems like a stand up stallion." she noted to herself, "Back at that bridge, he was concerned about keeping everypony safe. And now he's asking about that colt that sort of got lost in the shuffle. Concern for others and willingness to help are admirable qualities. I'd vote for him - but I'm not a resident of Ponyville, so my vote wouldn't be legal." "Asking about that colt's safety is pointless, for that colt is the spawn of two of Harmony's Chosen !" the Abominated noted, "As such, the universe will bend over backwards to protect him ! So there is no reason to be concerned !" "Hmph ! Well, it's the thought that counts." She smiled and waved in response to Berry's congratulations. "We may have won the race, but it seems you are taking home most of the prizes Berry !" TT stated to her as she waved her foreleg to indicate Midnight Oil, Tiger Blood and Jade. For some reason, an image of a temple and the sound of a funeral gong passed through her head almost too fast to notice ... TT shook off the chills quickly before recalling something. "Where's that candy vendor ? I wanted to buy dad something for his birthday."

Tongue Twister was galloping along, actually enjoying the feel of running without a cipactli (or some other temple guardian critter) chasing after her. She risked a quick look back - Jade's wyvern was merely running alongside her like a loyal pet, instead of pursuing the other racers. "This ... will not end well." she noted to herself as she refocused on the race. "What is the point of this ?" the Abomination inquired, "You are not a Ponyville resident. You don't know anyone here. So there is no one cheering for you, so why go all out to win a pointless race ?" "I don't like half-measures." she replied, "Do, or do not. There is no try." "It is still pointless." "So ? Ultimately, all of life and all of existence are pointless. From nothing all arose; TO nothing all shall return. There is no meaning to any of it, save what we give it. Which means we should wring out what enjoyment we can during our allotted time ! So I am giving this race my all BECAUSE I WANT TO !" ".... Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkay. I'll - just go back to lurking deep in your subconscious for a bit then." "Good ! I have a race to finish !" she replied as he headed for the finish line. Musical Interlude, "Final Countdown", symphonic !

It was rare that Tongue Twister ran full out. For raw speed, she preferred to fly. But THAT was out of the question for the foreseeable future, for Hou's corruption had converted her wings into alchemic mercury. They were far heavier than her normal flesh and blood wings, and she couldn't properly feel the currents of mana that enabled pegasi to fly. Before, she could 'read' the patterns like a book; but now, the conductive mercury blurred the currents, and she couldn't tell if she was dealing with the sensory details between a doctoral dissertation or a foal's coloring book. As a result, she couldn't get any lift at all. So she had to run. No reason not to do so as fast as she could. "Really need to see how fast and how far I can run now, since I might be doing it much more often." she muttered to herself, trying to enjoy the feel of the wind rushing past her. Her eyes turned red on black, with a vertical slit pupil as time seemed to slow down. With a shake of her head, she returned to normal, still running all out towards the finish line. She looked around, and seemed to be alone. "Wait - am I in the lead or something ?"

Off in the distance, Tongue Twister could see the crowds gathered near the finish line. She started galloping at full speed. True, she couldn't maintain that pace for very long; but, then again, SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO ! She was up to full speed when she heard a roaring hiss from somewhere behind her. She was so startled she leapt straight up and just managed to NOT run off in a random direction in a blind panic. She took a quick look behind to see what made that racket - it appeared to be a very large creature that sort of looked like a green dragon with darker stripes. "I don't recall any of Dragon Lord Ember's subjects entering this race." she noted to herself, "And none of them would ALLOW any creature to keep them on a leash like that without the Dragon Lord's command !" She took a closer look. Instead of having two arms, two legs and two wings like all other flying dragons, that beast just had two legs, with wings being formed from the arms. And from the look in its eyes, it seemed to lack anything resembling intelligence, replacing it with pure animal cunning . She tried to recall some of the texts in "Obscure Beasts That Might Eat Ye" that she'd translated from Ancient Ponish for the museum years ago. "Holy crud ! That creature is a wyvern !" she recalled, "A very distant cousin to dragons. Not much known about them for certain in the usual academic circles - short of 'can eat ponies in one bite', no two accounts agree. ... Wait - did Jade find that thing in the dark forest under the Roundbottom Hills ? DANG ! Now I'm really glad I took the longer 'over-the-hills' route ! Going to be a real hoot if she shows up in town with THAT thing in tow."

"Thanks for offering assistance back there. I don't think I caught your name earlier. I'm Midnight Oil. It seems that Jade has run off ahead and Berry has Tiger to keep her company," he said giving a friendly smile. "You look like you could use a running mate for company," as he picked up his pace a bit to a slow gallop. Tongue Twister looked to the aerion stallion and gave him a slight nod. "Our name is Tongue Twister." she stated, "And some company is always preferable." "It's a tad warm still for a cloak, isn't it? Perhaps that's just me though. My line of Aerions has thick coats." TT briefly frowned. "We had a very - unpleasant - interaction with an ancient evil sorceress recently. Our wings were altered. We thought to prevent a scene by keeping them covered." She thought for a moment. "Your line of Aerions has thick coats ? Does that mean you have a family with similar thick coats ?" We're almost back to Ponyville. Time to use up some of that energy that us moderate pace ponies have been saving, right?" TT smirked. "Most definitely !"

Since her help was not required, Tongue Twister turned back to the race, trotting along a shade faster than usual to make up some time lost from attempting to be helpful. "It appears my social invisibility talent is kicking in again !" she noted to herself, "You'd think that would be a key skill for espionage or investigative work - but only if ponies KNOW you have that talent ! The best spies are known only by their results, not their names or faces. And if they do things right, nopony could even be sure the spy did anything at all. Or was even there in the first place." She was struck by the sheer absurdity of it : if all your work is secret, you have NOTHING to put on a resume ! Thus everyone will assume you've done nothing, or ARE nothing. If you save the universe in secret, everypony will assume you're a good for nothing layabout, because OBVIOUSLY you've never done anything anyone has ever noticed. "Well, might as well get in a little linguistic practice to stay sharp ... Which language to try ? Oh, I know ! Why not a medley ?" So she trots along, singing Let It Go (Frozen) - in 25 languages.

"At least I'll be past these woods soon !" Tongue Twister noted nervously to herself as she quickly passed tree after tree leaking sap, "Then it's just a direct run back to Ponyville. But then what ? I still have expenses, so I need a job. At least the Devil's Business Card enchantment dad placed should get the word out faster than paying for ads in most papers ever would. Plus I'm still corrupted by Hou's magic. And she's still out there. Somewhere. Need to deal with those. What is that ancient curse ? 'May you live in interesting times.' 'Interesting times' would be more fun if there was a good chance of surviving them unaltered and intact ! Hmm - I wonder if any other museums need a linguistics expert ? Or someone that knows about artifacts and antiquities ? Hay - I'd even consider the SCP or the BPRD if nothing good comes up in a few months !" She took a quick look behind her to see how Berry and Apple Bloom were doing. Just in case. It looked like another pony was stuck there now - the thestral Midnight Oil ! She trotted back to see if she could be of some help. She recalled what the Abomination in her head stated : "It would be most comical if every pony in the race except you got stuck in the same pool of sap !" She'd thought that would be unlikely. Apparently she was wrong. "We were not aware that sap could trap ponies in a chain." she stated as she approached Midnight Oil, "Need some help before this turns into the La Brera sap pit ?"

TT trundled along, keeping a close eye on where she stepped, and what everyone else around her was doing. She noticed a small group ahead of her, near a pile of leaves. Berry Punch, Strong Copper, and Tiger Blood if she recalled correctly. It appeared that Berry got stuck in some sap, but had two capable stallions helping her get out. Then she took a closer look - that was no pile of leaves ! It was Apple Bloom in there ! "Berry Punch has two adults helping her out." she noted to herself, "Once she is free, Apple Bloom will have THREE adults to help her. It looks like everything is under control here. There is not much more help I could offer without either getting in the way or being sidelined and redundant." "Are you sure you don't want to stay around and watch anyway ?" the Abomination offered, " There is a slight chance of an error chain, where one pony gets stuck trying to help another. Then another pony gets stuck trying to help those two, and so on. It would be most comical if every pony in the race except you got stuck in the same pool of sap !" She mused about that for a few moments as she trotted along, "That idea is as amusing as it is extremely unlikely. Hmm - it looks like they got Berry loose. All is as it should be. More or less ...."

Trotting further along, TT marvelled at the scenery - it looked like something out of a postcard or travel agency poster. The trees gently swaying in the breeze ! The many colors of the leaves before they fall ! The sap dripping from the trees, to be collected and made into everything from candy to waterproof glue ! "Wait - SAP ?!" she groused as she came to a complete stop and looked further down the course. "What are you worried about ? It is just tree sap !" the Abomination noted. "You DO know what amber is, right ?" "You are worried about that ? Seriously ?! There is nowhere near enough sap down there to encase you ! Even if there were, the race committee would never allow a disaster like that to happen." "Well, with my luck, I'd probably knock over the whole week's inventory or something. Small problems can become larger problems when you can't move very well." "There are many ways to get around tree sap ! Freeze it, dry it out, pull away quickly, or as a last resort EAT it. It is mostly sugar after all." Tongue Twister turned a rather odd shade of green as her stomach roiled in fear of the idea. "Nononononono ! THAT much sugar would kill anypony short of Pinkie Pie ! Or at least make them violently ill for a few days. Hmmm - no. The best way to get out of trouble is to avoid getting into it in the first place. When you know it is going to rain, you pack an umbrella. When you know it is going to get cold, you pack warm clothing. And when you know there is a chance you'll encounter sticky sap, you coat your hooves with flour or dust or even mud ahead of time ! So the sap sticks to that instead of you !" "You're going to make a mess of yourself willingly ?" "It's much easier to get dust, flour or mud out of a coat than sap !" she replied inside her head as she rubbed mud halfway up her legs. "That should be far enough - I'm not going to be shoulder tackling trees and bouncing off them like a pinball. Well, at least I don't think I'll be ... I don't recall them growing rubber trees around here." Then she got glum for a moment. "But there is always the chance that Hou's magic altered the trees somehow when she powered up for that 'battle' to distract Sombra." With that, she focused on the path ahead, trying to stay as far away from the trees as she could. Just in case ....

TT had learned many things from her years of field research; one of which was hills. Every time you crested another hill was a chance of discovery : what was over the hill ? So far today, the only thing on the other side of the hills was yet ANOTHER hill. But she noticed that the hills were getting smaller. The inclines and declines weren't as steep. The hilly terrain was leveling out. And, upon cresting one hill, she looked out and could see what she assumed was the rest of the course - the Whitetail Woods. She found herself in a shadow as a cloud passed overhead. She glared up at it and sighed. "It's going to be quite a long time - if ever - for me to be up there again." Refocusing her concentration, she began trotting along the path. "No choice but to trudge ever onward !"

Tongue Twister trotted ever onward, enjoying her time in the open air and sun. "I wonder how the others are doing." she mused to herself, "It was a lit trail through a dark forest, not a jungle expedition. I hope no one tried to show off how wondrous and special they are by wandering off on their own - that would distress the ponies researching the delicate ecosystem down there. Imagine : a whole forest growing in minimal to no light ! I wonder if the plants there can tap into thaumic fields for energy instead of using sunlight. That - is a question for another day." She smiled to herself, as she knew how the one traveler felt : "The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." She chuckled to herself, and then felt happy enough to sing a merry tune ....

Tongue Twister trotted along at her usual pace, expending the same amount of effort going up hills as along level ground. True, that caused her to slow down, but wasn't exhausting herself. "Hmm - most ponies' instincts when confronting a hill is to attack it. To spend more effort to maintain speed. Which tires them out faster ! Now, what to do when going down hills ? Most would expend effort to slow down. What would happen if I bounded instead ? Like a boulder down a ravine ? Redirecting the motion instead of resisting it ?" The good news was bounding off one leg at a time enabled her to reach great speed; the bad news was bounding off one leg at a time enabled her to reach great speed - much faster than she was ready to deal with or properly control ! She tripped and instinctively tucked into a roll. The next hill she encountered moments later acted as a ramp, tossing her into the air. She slid to a stop on her chest atop the next hill. "..." "Ow." she stated after she spit out a mouthful of grass, still lying on her stomach. Once the world stopped rolling, she sat up and took a look around. As a pegasus, she'd crashed far harder than that a few times, so she was able to shake it off. "Wow ! I covered a lot of distance on that foul up !" she noted, "BUT I AM NOT DOING THAT AGAIN !! Bounding might be a good way to go down hills - after a few months practicing the maneuver so the speed doesn't rise out of control !" She got to her feet and started off again, making sure to just stay light on her hooves going down hills instead of trying to bound down the slopes. She looked around as she trotted along. The countryside was quite beautiful. Very few ponies around. "Wait ? Did everyone else take the other route or something ?!" Oh well ... I guess I'll run into the rest of the herd later, on the road to Whitetail Woods. As long as they don't get lost in that dark forest. Or eaten by a grue." She was NOT looking forward to seeing the Whitetail Woods again.

Goin' OVER the Hills "Hmm - these must be the Roundbottom Hills." TT thought to herself as she trotted along, "We're more than halfway done ! All that is left is Whitetail Woods, then the home stretch to Ponyville." She came to full stop and sat down, in order to plan her next course of action. "Those are some rather steep inclines for hills. Still better than that ravine, since you can run up and down inclines without worrying about something falling on you. Let's see - we have a choice of going through the hills via the shorter but dark and foreboding path, or stay up here in the longer but sunlit path. Aaaaand it looks like the front of the pack chose the short, shadowy path." she mused as she watched Tempest, Strong Copper and that Jade Beaker mare head straight for it. "Well, since nothing I do from this point on is going to make much difference, might as well take the longer path over the hills. But how to do that ...." she mused as she scooped up the dirt to make a series of ridges. "Now, if the hills were corrugated like this - zero degrees from my path - the best idea is to stay in the valleys. In this case, going up any hills would be a bad idea !" She recrafted the ridges so they were perpendicular to their original direction. "But if the hills are corrugated like this - ninety degrees from my path - the only way through is constantly trudging up and down the hills. But that's assuming perfect corrugation ..." she continued as she poked a few gaps into the ridges, "... and very few things in nature are THAT perfect !" She sighed with a frown. "But even in this case, staying in the valleys would increase the length of the run greatly. Like make it four, five or MORE times as long ! And turn what should be a relatively straight run into a Drunkard's Walk simulation. Sooooo - trudging up and down the hills it is." she groaned as she got up and started trotting along again at her usual level of effort. "Maybe that not be such a bad idea at all." she realized, "I'm expending some amount of effort X to move forward at speed Y. Going up an incline, some of that effort is used to go up, and what's left over goes to forward speed. Conservation of energy. So, by maintaining the same effort, my forward speed Y will drop, but I will not get as exhausted as those ponies that see a hill and 'attack it' ! Trying to maintain the same forward speed against an incline would exhaust me ! It is EFFORT that should be maintained, not speed !" "You should let me take over." the Abomination offered, "The amount of effort I can maintain is easily a hundred times your pathetic attempts !" "Bad idea times three." TT replied, "One : no magic allowed for the race. YOU are magic. Therefore, I can't use you. Two : You may be able to provide the power, but would my body survive the strain invoked by using it ? I sort of like my tendons intact, my hooves not beaten into dust and by bones not shattered into powder ! And three : No. I am NOT giving you permission to use my body !" "So you're really going to settle for middle of the pack when we could easily win ? Are you a pigeon or a pegasus ?" TT growled with rage, but quickly tamped it down. "As I said before - I really don't care where I finish. True, it would be nice to win, or even place highly, but I really don't see that as a real possibility. Two of the best runners took the short route - if I took it too, they'd still be ahead. There is no legal way to gain. And this is my first race. Why should anyone expect me to do really well ?"

TT listened closely to the sounds around her - it seemed a bit quieter. "I guess the ravine is running out of rocks." she mused to herself, "There can only be so many ready to fall; critical and supercritical states and all that." She risked a quick look behind her. "Hmm - looks like about half the runners have good sense. I am not in that half. I .... am not quite sure what to think about that." She winced in pure sympathy when Apple Bloom got bounce slammed into the side of the ravine. "Oh, good ! There were some sensible ponies taking shelter right there ! She'll be taken care of, no problem !" TT continued on for a bit, getting closer to Pinkie and Strong Copper before she realized something. "Yo ! Pinkie !" she shouted, "Where'd that little colt get off to ? The one that was with Apple Bloom at the bridge ? We haven't seen him for a bit. Did he go home, or did he have the sense to stay under cover ?"

Tongue Twister observed the falling rocks around her. "That one's bouncing away from me. Ignore. That one's going to land off my path far to the left. Ignore. Those two ..." She juked to the right to avoid one rock, then stopped dead - as a large flat rock slammed into the ground where she would've been had she kept moving. She hopped onto it and looked around briefly. "Why are you standing still ?" "The odds of another rock hitting this exact spot is virtually zero !" she replied to her inner pest before noticing a shadow growing very quickly - and jumped off to the left as a large stone bounded down the ravine and struck where she'd just been. "Aaaaand as mom would say : 'Virtually zero' is NOT zero !" she continued as she went along her way, keeping her eyes and ears open and in constant motion.

"Well, THIS is a change of pace !" TT groused to herself as she trotted along towards Rearing Ravine, "The bridge is solid and the surroundings aren't ! Oh joy - our vibrations that were knocking the leaves off the trees is knocking rocks loose from the sides of the ravine ! Hmm - so our choice is to either look for shelter against the stony storm, or make a run through it." She thought for a few moments. "I'm going to run through it !" The Abomination replied with "Wait - WHAT ?! Are you insane ?" TT laughed on the inside. "A mass of evil dark magic inside my head is asking me if I'm insane ! Yeah. Obviously ! What's your point ?" "There is a good chance you'll be injured or killed ! Aren't you afraid ?" TT's internal copy gave the Abomination a sideward glare. "I was corrupted by an ancient sorceress ! Compared to THAT, all other threats barely qualify for a 'meh'." She picked up a bit more speed as she headed in - slow enough to maneuver easily, but fast enough to get through the area ASAP. No point staying in a dangerous region longer than necessary. "It's easy to see where the middle of the ravine is." she continued her inner lecture to the Abomination, "That will be the safest area, since rocks falling from the sides will lose most of their energy and speed bouncing and rolling from their falls. That will thin out their numbers and keep them low to the ground - easier to evade by jumping over. Then all I have to do is keep track of many objects moving through space at the same time - something pegasi are good at ! All good fliers can do that instinctively. I've dodged stuff like that for years in my linguistics research; some of the 'temples' weren't in the best condition, nor reachable by anything but an avalanche prone ravine." [running through the avalanche]