Snowshoe

Wind Rider looked over at the unicorn as he worked a spell to try him off. Instantly he shivered as warmth passed through his body, from the bottom of his hooves all the way up to the tips of his ears. "You are a life saver, my man," he thanked Pocket Change with a smile. It was better than shivering off to the side under the weight of all that water. Both he and the bartender answered his questions about the bar, and he nodded. "Ponyland, huh? I'll make it a point to fly up and visit during business hours, it's a nice place," he said with a smile. Wind Rider did have to let out a little laugh at what the bartender said though, about him being a brave weather pony. "Oh, no, I'm no brave weather pony. If I was, I'd have been better prepared for this." He chuckled and shrugged a shoulder, downing what was left of his water. "I'm just a forest ranger from Hoofington. I was out patrolling, making sure nopony was stuck out in the storm, and got blown off course...long story short, I needed to land, and Canterlot was closer, and safer, than Hoofington at the time. Give the praise to those that truly need it," Wind said with a nod toward the other pegasi in the room, smiling. "But, thank you for your hospitality. You could have closed your doors long ago, thanks for staying open. A bit of shelter's great in this kind of weather." Wind Rider smiled graciously. He looked over at the unicorn when he made a comment about the others in the room. "Soarin'," the pegasus said with confidence. He chuckled. "What can I say, I'm a pegasus. It's like, bred into us that we have to love 'em. Though I have see a few of their shows." And the rainbow-maned one was one of Celestia's Champions? Well now. Two members of some of Equestria's most famous groups, in the same place, chatting like they were old friends. Heck, they might just be...when you got to be that important, Wind Rider figured to go to meet other very important folk. Both those pegasi could probably list of people they've met that Wind would only dream of seeing up close. "A wig?" he chuckled, keeping his voice low and grinning. "Naw. Looks too natural, too good. It's either natural, or one of the best dye jobs I've ever seen." He watched the interactions between the other three pegasi with detached amusement. The rainbow-maned one seemed utterly beside herself with excitement, though granted, he probably would be too if he got to meet one of the Wonderbolts.

Muggo' Ale shook his head. "Ya goofballs," he teased, getting his gear set off close to the door for the next day, which came quickly enough. ---- Muggo' let out a low whistle when he caught sight of the airship out on the horizon. He had an appreciation for sailing vessels, whether they sailed the air or the sea, from living near the Fillydelphian waterfront his entire life. The sight of the Cupid, moored alongside the terminal, was a sight to behold. It was a sleek vessel, obviously built for speed, but it didn't seem like it would lack for comfort, not one bit. He had to admit he was quite excited to be aboard. "Well, would ya look at her. That's a thing o' beauty, that is. 'Course, the airship's nice too," he joked. He knew his companions would get the subtle joke...whoever they hired to do the art on the envelope had done a stellar job of capturing the Princess' beauty. Of course, he would never have made the crack with Prince Blueblood there, lest he accidentally offend him. He'd done that once already and that was enough times for him. The bartender laughed at what Dunder said. "Wouldn't surprise me, b'y. Lap o' luxury's the name o' the game up here," he pointed out. The taxi dropped them off in front of the terminal and Muggo' stepped out with the others, grinning happily. "Well it was on this Monday mornin', an' the day be calm an' fine..." he half-sang, half-said quietly to himself. It was a sea shanty his father was fond of, and seemed to fit for the situation, given that the song was about a boat cruise. Except, around a bay, not across the ocean. "So, where do ya think we'll find our host?" he asked. Muggo' wasn't exactly expecting to see Prince Blueblood sitting on one of the benches in the terminal, flipping through a Daring Do novel or something to pass the time, though the image was certainly amusing to him. If it turned out that the Prince was wearing one of those gaudy, floral-patterned shirts, the poor earth pony would probably pass out from laughing so hard. Of course, it wasn't to be. Prince Blueblood was making his way over to them to greet them. Muggo' tipped his hat to the unicorn, smiling warmly. "A fine an' good mornin' to ya!" he greeted pleasantly. He had been about to let out an addition, his customary greeting when he was feeling bright and happy, but he figured that'd be pushing the familiarity thing. He was still testing the waters as to how friendly he could act around the unicorn, and calling out 'How's ya gettin' on?' might be a bit much in his mind.

[That's alright ^^ You're doing better than I am xD Hard enough to figure this stuff in English, let alone translate into French. Been years since I last spoke it, let alone wrote in it.] Timbre laughed, seeing that she'd managed to get a guard, of all ponies, to dance with her. Of course, a guard in armour wasn't the best dancer, but it was funny nonetheless to watch, and the guard would have a great story when he got back to the barracks after his shift. Because how many of them could honestly say they'd gone to patrol the park, and ended up dancing with Sapphire Shores? It was his turn, and he now had to step up the game, so he hopped off the fountain to land amongst a small group of people watching. He kept his dancing deliberately easy, encouraging the four other ponies there to start either following his lead, or dancing on their own. "Avant de le rencontrer, y'avait personne a m'aimer. Ava~nt de le rencontrer, y'avait personne a m'aimer!" he sang, wrapping a foreleg around one of the mares in the audience, who had been standing a bit off to the side looking dejected, but curious, and started to dance with her. He smiled brightly, seeing her smile for once. "Maintenant, et bien toujours, c'est rien qu'elle que je vie pour!" he finished, giving the mare a little twirl and letting her go to hop up onto the fountain, looking over at Sapphire Shores, a grin on his face. Their duet had gone on rather long enough, so he'd let her have the chorus, and then finish off in his own particular style.

Huh, thought they might have existed in America too xD The Pop Shoppe is a pop company that puts out really good flavours of stuff, like black cherry soda. It's great. Jones on the other hand is amazing. They produce lots of technicolour, kid-friendly flavours, like orange creamsicle, bubble gum, blue raspberry, etc. Their schtick is that you can send in pictures and they print them on the bottle, instead of having a logo.

Mexican Coca-cola is the BEST, because it's made with honest to goodness sugar. It's a very subtle difference, but enough to be noticeable. It's also the main reason that if I drink pop, it's going to be either Jones, The Pop Shoppe, or some other small place that uses real sugar.

Muggo' Ale smiled at what she said, laughing at her exaggerated little flourish. When she mentioned the busy schedule, he chuckled. "Oof. I know all about that." he said, quite sincerely. He was up every morning rather early, after being up late every night. He took Mondays and Tuesdays off, as they were days when few ponies stopped by at the bar. It made for a rather hectic lifestyle, but he wouldn't change a thing about it. Not now, and probably not ever. "I might just have to drop by yer farm one day an' force yer siblin's to let ya go for a few hours." he joked. He planned on dropping by one day anyways, just to see what the farm was like, and say hi. He was quiet for a few minutes, letting a comfortable silence fall between them. "Now this is one heck of a beautiful night. Not a bad bit nice, if I say so meself." he commented after a few moments. Not to break the silence because he felt it was getting too quiet...he was fine with the quiet, actually. He just felt like making the comment. "Would bet it looks a bit better from your end o' town than mine, though." he added after a moment. Fillydelphia's street lamps stayed lit most of the night, their oil reserves usually topped off early in the morning after they were put out. Combined with the fact some ponies worked late in the busier sections of town, and there was always just enough light around to make it tough to see every star in the sky.

Timbre Swing's attempt to hold the airship up was, in a word, noble. Stupid, but noble. The strain was incredible...and of course, the unicorn next to him just had to pick that very moment to ask his name. Despite straining just to keep from passing out, Timbre gave him a vicious glare. And then let go of the mooring ropes. Timbre felt the entire airship lurch sickeningly, and the Fancy pony let out a mild curse in his native tongue. His vision was darkening around the edges, but he was watching for the signs of ponies leaving the gondola. Most everypony seemed like they were out, which was good...until he heard voices, faint voices, from inside. Great. There were more left inside, and any moment his magic was going to give completely and take him right out. He gritted his teeth and let out a snarl of frustration as he held despnately to the last threads of consciousness his brain was affording him. If whoever was stuck inside didn't get out soon, well...he didn't know if the airframe was stable enough to hold on after he let go. Thankfully, nopony seemed terribly injured. From what he saw of those climbing free, lots of bloody cuts and some bruises, maybe a few breaks and sprains, but nothing terrible. They'd all pull through. The airship's frame lurched again, and Timbre's front legs gave out, causing him to crouch against the dirt. He growled again in pure determination. All that he could see now was the front of the gondola...most of his peripheral vision was totally blacked out. "Is everypony out?" he asked, as loud as he could. Not that it mattered...with a final snarl of determination, and now, anger, his hindhooves gave out and Timbre Swing blacked out, collapsing to the dirt. He was fine, for the most part, but his head was going to swim when he got up. The airframe gave another lurch, suddenly having tension released when the magic tugging at it disappeared. It gave a sickening, metallic groan, signifying it likely had only a scant few moments left before it plunged out of sight.

Wind Rider couldn't help but smile a little sheepishly as she cleaned up the trail of water. Who could complain about being wet on a night like this? He would. Irrational or not, Wind felt bad for making the mare work harder than she already had to...it was late, and given the emptiness of the club, which had included one dry unicorn besides the bartender, he figured the club had either been about to close, or should have been closed, when the motley assortment of rain-drenched pegasi stumbled in. But the bartender seemed not only okay with it, but downright chipper, which made his smile turn rather genuine. And when she got him the water, he counted out the bits from the soggy canvas pouch, and gave her a warm, heartfelt "Thanks." He took hold of the glass and took a long sip, feeling better as soon as the cool water hit his parched throat. Flying that hard to get to Canterlot without any stops had taken its toll. "There, I feel normal again." he said with a chuckle. Sure enough, his voice sounded a lot less hoarse. Wind took another sip, looking over his shoulder when he heard a loud conversation. Well, whaddya know? The other pegasus stallion in the room, which he hadn't really noticed at first, was none other than Soarin', of the Wonderbolts. Heck, now that he thought about it, the mare with the bright rainbow mane looked familiar...but not in the same way Soarin' was. He'd seen Soarin' in person, once before. Not in a personal one-on-one fashion, but Wind had attended an airshow the Wonderbolts were preforming in. No, he vaguely recalled seeing the rainbow-maned one in...the newspaper, maybe? Took him a moment, then it came to him. Best Young Flyers' competition, a ways back. He took another sip of water, only really able to think to himself: cool. He looked over at the unicorn that had trotted up to the bar, offering his own tab to pay for the drinks of the others in the room. Wind Rider smiled at that. If there was one time when the goodness of ponies shone through, it was tonight. "You're alright, you know that?" he said with a chuckle. The brown-coated pegasus looked back at the bartender. "Sorry for my ignorance, but what is this place? I'm going to be entirely honest, I just ducked into the first place I could find that was open, before I melted, or had to swim to shelter." he admitted. He'd never been to Canterlot before, so this could be the most famous place in the city, and he'd have no idea.

Dapper Dan turned his eyes up to the sky when she mentioned it. Yeah, it was. "Yep. Luna outdid herself tonight." he said with a smile, sending a silent, mental 'thanks' her way, not like she could hear it. He looked over at her when she mentioned the comet though. "No way? I missed it...might have still been when I was getting used to the town, and working around the shop to get it fixed up." he said, shrugging. A pity...he would have loved to see it fly past. The night sky may be the universal symbol for everypony to go to sleep, but he liked looking up at it every now and again...looking into the infinite expanse and wondering just how it could possibly exist. "That's probably the best part about living this far away from the lights of Canterlot...you can always see the stars, all of them. Well, not all of them, but, you know what I mean." he said with a nervous chuckle, adjusting his glasses with his hoof. "So...you're from the Nimbusgait Lakes, right? That's out Canterlot way, if my brain's telling me right. What's it like out there?" he asked. He'd never really left Fillydelphia before coming out to the frontier...in fact, most of the Eastern Equestria was a mystery to him.

That feel when you get all excited for this thread even though you're no longer going to the same university because you might have a chance to meet some local bronies... And learn that it's not Ottawa University, like you thought it was

Timbre Swing grinned as she took over, climbing up onto the fountain. She'd seemed a bit slow on the uptake at first, but was soon into the swing of things, literally and figuratively. She sang her bit, and it took Timbre a moment to figure out what he'd do. Well, this was his song, after all, and there was a chorus around this point...he'd figure out a proper verse next time. Besides, she would need to learn the chorus as well if they wanted to have a proper song going. Thankfully for her, it was simple, and not Fancy. Or Equestrian, for that matter. He grinned and made his way toward one of the mares who'd been walking by with her friends, tapping his hooves along the fountain in front of her and her friends. "Tutti frutti, oh rutti, tutti frutti, hey! Oh rutti!" he sang, straightening up for a moment and throwing his fedora into the air with a shake of his head. He caught the hat in midair with a burst of magic and sent it down toward his left hoof, which he stretched out, letting the hat roll along his leg, free from the magic, across his back, and over to his right leg, which he stuck out. Once it reached the end of his hoof he hit it with another burst of magic to bring it back onto his head. "Tutti frutti, oohoh ru~tti! A-wop bop a-loo mop, a-wop bam boom!" he continued, He turned and grinned at Sapphire. Cheating? Perhaps. But for this to sound right, she'd need it...after all, he started a verse, she had a verse, and he laid the chorus. Next would be her verse, one of his, and then she'd get the chorus. Balanced out, in the end, in his mind. [brain couldn't think of anything that would work here.

It was rare that Wind Rider left his hometown of Hoofington, with his job as forest ranger keeping him busy there. However, that day was different. The freak storm off the Everfree had taken him totally by surprise, and he'd helped first with the preparations around the town for the possibility of flooding or parts of the storm hitting them, then had gone off on patrol, widening his route and keeping it farther north, over the Whitetail Woods. It wasn't his usual patrol zone, but Wind Rider didn't care...as far as he knew nopony kept that much of a watch on the area, and as such he had wanted to be there just in case. Unfortunately, a rogue cell had caught him unawares...one moment he'd been patrolling, the next a bolt of lightning had lanced across the sky in front of him, and he'd had to make his way to Canterlot, in the direction opposite the cell's path. It had been a close thing too...by the time he got his hooves on the ground, Wind Rider was soaked to the bone, shivering cold, and his ears rang from the repeated, loud thunderclaps in the air. His head pounded with a terrible headache to boot, and he staggered in an almost drunken fashion down the road a bit until he could no longer amble. Wind needed a place to get out of the pouring rain, so he ducked into the first place he could find...he didn't even read the sign overhead. The brown pegasus shivered in the doorway for a moment, taking in the room in front of him. It was a club of some kind, there was only a few other ponies there: the bartender, a bright blue pony with an equally brighter, rainbow coloured mane, another blue pegasus, this one with a white mane, and finally, another blue pegasus, this one an extremely pale blue. He pulled the wide brimmed ranger hat off his head, shaking his soaked, seafoam green mane...not that it did much, given he was basically made of water at that point, and stepped fully into the club. Unlike most of the other ponies, it was clear this pegasus was not usually one to deal with weather...he didn't have goggles, for instance, nor a proper helmet. All Wind wore was his ranger hat of pale brown, and matching coloured uniform shirt...he hadn't expected to get caught in such a violent storm, after all. That lack of equipment had nearly gotten him injured, twice, when he'd flown too low on the approach to Canterlot and nearly hit the mountainside, through a combination of heavy rain and a lack of proper vision after seeing lightning flash by so much. Even now, he blinked his mis-matched eyes, and he could still see the jagged streaks across his vision. "What a gorgeous night." he let out with a heavy note of sarcasm and glumness. He hung his hat from it's strap around his neck, letting it rest on his back, and looked around the room, taking it in consciously for the first time. He made his way to the bar, wincing a bit as he realized he was leaving a small trail of water behind...not that he had much else he could do about it...standing near the door had just left a huge puddle where he'd been standing. "Sorry, about the mess." he apologized to the bartender. "This may seem odd, given my uh, well..." the thumping headache was making it difficult to come up with the right words, so Wind Rider just looked down at his wet coat, then back up at the bartender. "But can I get some water, please?" he asked with a sheepish smile. He was parched, mostly from having flown faster than he'd ever had to try and get to Canterlot safely, and falling rain wasn't exactly something to drink on the way. After he placed his order the pegasus turned his head to fish a wet pouch of bits out of one of the pockets of his uniform, setting it on the bar, where it started to create it's own puddle. "Goddesses, it's like I'm made of water or something..." he mumbled.

Oddly, while I love Buffalo Wings and spicy foods, I hate when my foods get too spicy. I find there's a certain point where the spices add to the flavour and it gets to be amazing (stuff like hot curries, gumbo and Cajun food, etc), but eventually there's a point where it gets to be /too/ hot, and then it just tastes like burning to me.

As terrible as a marauding band of parasprites would be, Dapper Dan couldn't help but flinch a bit at the thought of them being the staple of some animal's diet. Maybe it was just because ponies were vegetarians, and the thought of eating another creature just didn't work with him. He continued with his worn on Louise LaMare's mane, nodding idly at the conversation. "I'd hate to see what they could do if left unchecked in our orchard. They sound like terrible little buggers." he said. Despite the fact they were living things he'd hate having to deal with them if they ended up in town. A few more minutes of scissor snipping and moving about later, Dan floated his tools away from LaMare's head. "So, how's the mane look?" he asked as a mirror floated up behind her head so she could see the back in the mirror ahead of her. "Hope I did it right." he added with a smile. It looked good enough to him.

While he waited for his answer the stallion looked up at the sky for a moment. It was a beautiful, crystal clear night. A silent thanks went out to the Princess who made it possible, then he looked back at Caramel Apple while she spoke. He took a moment to figure out what he'd say. He may not be perfect when it came to dating or mares, but if there was one thing he was good at, was reading ponies. Had he not been, he might have fallen for her joke...she had an absolutely perfect poker face, and had actually come close to pulling it off. But she seemed relaxed while she was walking, and they were walking side by side and rather close...not to mention they'd both been enjoying themselves not a few minutes previous. Trusting in his instincts the bartender grinned. "Yeah, that's true." he agreed. "But isn't there a margin o' error? I'd say me grade has to at least be a pass, despite all that." he pointed out. "Or, if ya'd rather, I can put ya in touch with the poor b'y who tried to jump up on stage earlier, or one o' the other stallions there." he added with another grin, this one carrying a hint of mischief. "An' by the by, it's a little easier to pull off the grim an' disappointed look when you're not still walkin' hoof-in-hoof with me." he pointed out after a short pause, grinning and taking the opportunity to give her a playful little bump. "It's the little things, an' all that." He may not be the smartest stallion around, but Muggo' was nothing if not observant of things.

Three days had passed. While Dunder and Fire Walker stayed in Canterlot, Muggo' Ale had taken an express train down first thing in the morning after their meeting with Blueblood. He had to pack some proper adventuring gear, inform everypony of just how long he was going to be gone for, left his father and second, Meadow Runner, in command of the bar, then grabbed the next train back up to Canterlot the next day...after a few strange looks from the ponies at the stations. After all, most people who travelled by train brought clothes in their saddlebags...not the mix of gear he had. But he crossed through without any incidents, and was trotting his way back to the hotel where the three adventurers were staying. He walked in, still having a key to the room, just as Dunder was striking a pose in his new armour. "Not a bad bit nice, b'y. Yer starn's nice an' shiny." the bartender teased with a chuckle. Dunder's REA armour was fresh from the forge it would seem, or at least was refinished recently, because it didn't seem to have any appearance of battle damage to it. Even Fire was wearing armour, which made Muggo', in his dark brown waist-coat, feel a little out of place. "An' that applies to ya too, Leftenant." he added, grinning at Fire Walker. He had a strange way of pronouncing "lieutenant", which came from his father and he'd never quite understood why. Then again, he'd never really asked. " 'm I goin' to have to take orders from the two of ya?" he asked. "An' by the by, congrats, Dunder. Ya look good in that armour, like it was made for ya." he added, shifting his saddlebags a little. He looked mostly the same as he did on his adventure through the griffon lands a few months back, down to the grey tweed bakersboy on his head, the same canvas saddlebags, the same vest. The only difference was a stout sword, with a slight leaf-shape to the blade, lashed across the top of his bags with the hilt tied to the sheath, so that it was technically "safe" for travel. While he was sure two pegasi decked out in REA armour would easily be able to explain away a blade at their side, he had to keep his as neutral and out of the way as possible. "We ready to go then?" he asked, looking at his companions.

Beat Fire Emblem, any of them, without losing a single character. Alternate challenge: Beat Fire Emblem, any of them, without save scumming (no do-overs if you lose a character). Beat any of the following on a Dead Is Dead ruleset. The rules: hardest difficulty, no save scumming, and if you die, that's it. Game over, start a new character. - Skyrim - STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl or Call of Prypiat - Fallout 3 or New Vegas - Metro 2033 They're not impossible challenges, just really, really hard.

Muggo' thumped Dusty lightly on the back. "Great work." he said once he'd pointed out another direction. It might have been the wrong one but at least it got them going. He trusted in his companion's sense of direction however, and soon they were off and moving again, down the tunnels away from the sounds of the griffons and diamond dogs. He'd been pleased that his trap had worked as effectively as it did to disorient and delay their approach, but they still had a ways to go...and while the ponies had the advantage in these tunnels, he didn't want to mention they'd have to outrun griffons once they got outside...griffons who could fly likely much faster than they could run. He didn't bring it up though. No need to scare his companions. "Aye, let's keep it movin' along. I got me a bar to run." he said with a chuckle.

Muggo' Ale smiled when she put her hoof in his, and he made his way to the stairs. He'd suggested walking her home, not out of a want to be some kind of protector for her, because he had no doubt in his mind that she was more than able to take care of herself. It was, instead, a politeness thing. He could have easily said 'Well that was fun, talk to you later' and headed upstairs to his apartment. But, in his mind, that would be incredibly rude, so he decided they could walk, maybe talk a bit more before ending their date. Out the front doors into the street they went, and he started to walk. There really was only one direction to go: looking up one side of the street, the harbour could be seen, while the other end led out of the city. Besides, he had an idea where her farm was, having recognized it after his father mentioned that's where he bought their apples from. The green-coated Earth pony looked over at her after a few moments of silence. "I've got to say, I had quite a lot o' fun." he admitted with a smile. He wasn't usually good at dating, but he figured this one had gone off without a hitch, for the most part. "An' I'm wonderin' if perhaps there'd be a second date on the horizon, unless yer tired o' me already." he added with a chuckle.

Nopony appeared to have heard him, so Timbre began trying to stand. Adrenaline coursed through his body, so while he noticed his leg was injured something bad, he didn't notice the multitude of bruises and small cuts he'd received on the way down. He also didn't notice the armoured pony he'd nudged earlier had gotten up, until he heard a crash and a curse from outside the window. Timbre turned quickly to look out. "You could 'ave just asked me to 'elp you down. I am good with levitation." he pointed out, turning back to the cabin. Folks were panicking, but it was hard to get up to them with how the gondola was tilted. He had been about to make his way up the aisle when he felt the airship start to slip. Oh, that was not good, not one bit. "Oh non. Non, non, non!" he said in a bit of a panic. He looked out for anything that could inspire him, and realized that there was something he could do...maybe. Gritting his teeth, the musician jumped out next to Percival. " 'Ey, mon ami. 'Elp me with this." he said, facing the airship. Sure enough, mooring cables had come loose, and parts of the airship's gasbag were in shambles. It provided just enough for Timbre to reach out with his magic and grab hold one of the mooring ropes, and a few of the longer, larger pieces of gasbag. He had no illusions about his own magical strength...he was not an incredibly powerful unicorn by any means. But his telekinesis was good, and all he had to do was hold the airship back for just enough time for everypony to get out. Of course, that was the plan. It seemed a lot more simpler until Timbre Swing's bright blue magic glow started to work and he started to feel the strain of the massive ship wanting to do as gravity wanted it to: fall back off the mountain. "Everypony! Get off zee ship! Toute suite! Fast as you can, allez!" he shouted, and then immediately shut up, a rare thing for the Fancy musician, to try and conserve his energy. He'd only been holding onto the ropes for less than a minute, and he could already feel his magic slipping. "Come on! 'Elp me!" he snapped at the pony on the ground, hoping Percival had any kind of energy. Heck, for all Timbre knew he was shouting at somepony unconscious...he hadn't checked to see if Percival had regained consciousness after leaving the cockpit. A bead of sweat trickled into his eye and he let out a hiss of annoyance, trying to blink the sweat out of his eye. The airship shifted again, though not as much as it had when nothing was pulling at it. "On bouge! On zee double!" he called out again, totally forgetting his 'Not yelling to save energy' rule from earlier. Any minute now...though probably closer to any second, his magic was going to give out completely, and the airship would be left to its own devices...well, more like, left to gravity's will. And he had no doubt that he wouldn't be able to get inside to help anypony out after that.

In an effort to try and counteract the dastardly force of gravity that was holding him pinned to the seat in front of him, Timbre Swing tried the first thing that came to the unicorn's mind. He attempted to wrap himself in the glow of his magic. It worked!...for all of two-odd seconds. Just enough for him to float back toward his seat...and slam back against the seat in front of him. He let out a mild curse in Fancy, in quite a bit of pain from the hit. He was keeping mostly calm, but that was on the outside only. Inside he was panicking...why were they crashing? Were they actually crashing? Would the pilot get this back under control? And if they crashed, who would come save them? Not that he had much longer to think about it. With a crunch the airship slammed into the ground, and physics took hold again. The spinning motion had meant the airframe had hit and continued to spin just a little bit, digging deeper on the side that had been leading the spin. This meant, as soon as it stopped suddenly, Timbre Swing was jerked out from behind the seat and slammed into another across the aisle. "Ow! Voyons donc, on a-" he began sliding again, down the aisle, and hit his head off a flailing orange pony's hooves. He grunted in pain as the impact sent him sliding into another chair, which he bounced off of and continued to slide down the aisle, hitting the rows of chairs until he finally came to rest against the door to the cockpit, groaning. Somewhere along the way his left foreleg had gotten pinned in a seat and broken, and the repeated impacts had made his vision swim. He mumbled a few curses in Fancy and tried to get up, succeeding in doing little except falling into the cockpit and thumping his head off of the back of the prone form of that soldier that Serendipity had been bantering with. He wondered what he was doing up here. He hadn't seen much of what was going on, from his position on the ground between the seats for most of the fall. The musician attempted to stand again, this time tumbling over Percival and crashing against the pilot's seat. "Oh, VOYONS!" he growled. " 'ey, you okay?" he asked, nudging Percival with his hind-hoof. All he could see was the pony's back from where he was lying. "For zat matter..." he coughed a bit before continuing louder. "Tout le monde! Everypony okay?" he called out, not able to see much through the door.

Food: Bigos/Kapusta. Such a simple dish that can be modified so much, but no matter what is just plain delicious. Also relevant is butter chicken, bratwurst, and a well cooked steak with a good, proper rub of black peppercorns and sea salt. Dessert: Three way tie: cobbler of any kind, and my grandmother's pumpkin and apple pies. Drink: A good apple cider, one not too sweet or too tart. Alternatively, if I'm in the mood for something with a "kick", Fuller's Porter.

"S'just the kind o' life he's used to, b'y." Muggo' pointed out to Dunder. "Ya an' I, we're used to takin' it easy. We slum it compared to the ponyfolk here. Consider yerself lucky that we're even here...this coulda all been arrange by mail." he said, sipping from his whisky. It was true, they could have just corresponded back and forth to organize the adventure. Fire Walker asked about Dunder's family, and Muggo' realized that he too didn't know all that much about his friend, beyond stuff about Dunder himself. He finished off his food, chancing a glance back at Blueblood while he waited for the pegasus to answer Fire's question. He felt bad, not having expected his question to have cut as deep as it had appeared to. There was no way to properly apologize, so he'd find some way to make it up to the prince. Finding closure on his father would be a good place to start. The bartender ordered an eclair of his own, and quite thoroughly enjoyed it. Blueblood had not been understating the talent of the chef of this restaurant, and though the food had been stellar, as was the drink, he doubted he'd ever come back here. It was far too removed from Muggo's element, and besides...the bill probably figured into the kind of bits he had after a week of working at the bar, gone in a few hours. "No questions or concerns from me end. Seems straightforward enough. 'Course, Finagle's Law..." on habit, the pony knocked his hoof gently against the wooden table. A kind of superstitious "ward" against taunting Finagle and his Law: Whatever can go wrong, WILL go wrong. "Anywho, I'm all set an' ready to go. Got me father an' second to watch the bar while I'm away, an' they know it'll be a time." he added. In short, he was ready to go.

Muggo' Ale poured out a cup of water for himself as Parhelion spoke. "An' it's more the thought that counts, yeah? Ya compete, an' did yer best. Even if ya didn't place in a top spot, ya still made it." he pointed out. "Oh, not a whole heck o' a lot. Bar's still runnin' strong, been seein' a mare, just the standard. It's what's been happenin' outside o' Fillydelphia's that's been excitin'...been on a few adventures, an' ya wouldn't believe who one o' them was for. I'm sorta supposed to keep it on the quiet, so I'll let ya guess, an' ya didn't hear it from me if ya get it right." the earth pony said with a wink and a laugh. "So, what can I getcha, b'y?"

Wind Rider nodded. He had recognized the accent, but had learned never to assume where a pony was from. For instance, he'd known ponies native to Hoofington that still had their accents from the North, just from family alone. "Well, I wish you good luck on your goal. I'm sure you can make it." he assured Flying Brick with a smile. "And hey, if I see you around Hoofington, you'd better hope it's when I'm off-duty. I don't want to have to be saving you." he said with a laugh. He watched the other events while Douglas and Flying discussed the griffon. He'd seen them compete before, and was watching Gilda's run. Typically he wasn't a fan of people who loudly boasted, but in a rare case, Gilda had the skill to back up her boasts. At the mention of changing locations the pegasus nodded. "Been a tough run. We could head out to the training ring, get some water or something and find a patch of grass to relax on." he offered.