Cubbage

Agent Lighthoof checked the street before moving quietly out of the alley. Apparently, he didn't check thoroughly enough, though. He had only made a couple of trots before a small creature bumped into his back leg, eliciting a quiet wince from him as he turned to see who -- or what -- had made contact with him. A dragon? Oh no! It started to cry out! Luckily, it hushed itself, but Lope still looked around frantically to see if anyone had heard. Still looked clear. That was good. He wasn't supposed to be seen. He was here on official business, and being recognized in Ponyville could spell the end of his career. As far as everypony in this village was concerned, he had died years ago. "Uh... Hey, little dragon... What are you doing out so late?" he asked, trying to remain casual. He kept his eyes out, though, scanning the streets for ponies or... other inhabitants of the town.

Bump

Cloudy considered the offer as her soup was gently placed in front of her, but became momentarily distracted as the heat of the bowl caused a barely-noticeable area of the table around it to condense from clouds to water droplets. Most ponies didn't notice things like that, but clouds were her thing, and so she did. She also noticed that Windy was still talking and dialed her focus back in on what she was saying, catching the end of the sentence and giving a bit of a smile like she had been listening all along. "Well, if I only had to make the clouds, I guess that wouldn't be too much trouble... Hm... If you're sculpting, you'll probably want something fairly soft and easy to work with, yet firm enough to hold its shape. Probably just a little bit firmer than a standard cumulus. Those hold a shape about as well as memory foam. You can sculpt them, sure, but just be ready to have your artwork gone less than a minute later. Hm... Aha! I know just the thing! It's a simple formula that I think will give you just the right consistency for your act!" then the realization hit her that as a professional, Windy probably already knew what grade of cloud she was looking for and only really needed Cloudy to put the formula for it together in her cloud machine. "That is, if you don't already have a formula in mind. I mean, if you have one you've been using, then it's probably a good idea to stick with that. Why change something that works, right? Haha" She took a spoonful of the jambalaya and quickly closed her lips around it, a decision she regretted instantly as she felt the broiling liquid sear the insides of her mouth. She immediately spurted the mouthful back into the bowl and took a long drink of her ice water. "Wow! I was not expecting that! I forgot that soups are usually served hot hahaha!" she laughed, now realizing how disgusting her action had been. "I uh... think I'll give it a minute to calm down," she chuckled.

Oh great. Another corn-obsessed pony to join the circus. This family was becoming more than she could take. But she didn't have to think too hard about it for long, because just after Candy Corn's arrival, Spearmint and Chipper Demise entered the room. Spearmint was at least courteous and knocked and waited for an invitation to enter, but Chipper showed his usual lack of respect for social customs and marched straight into the dorm, which was now becoming crowded with ponies. "What in Equestria are you doing??" she asked frantically, using her magic to push him towards the door. "This is a girls' dorm! That means boys aren't supposed to be in it! Especially without invitation!" She said a silent prayer she would have very few classes with this... rough-around-the-edges pony. "Now stand outside and try it again," she said condescendingly as she finally moved the colt beyond the doorframe. She knew that with as uncultured as he was, trying to teach him manners had the potential to make her late for orientation, but she felt it was an important lesson for him to learn for the future -- for her sake. She couldn't have him barging in on her any time he liked! That thought made her shiver a bit. "Say, 'Excuse me, but may I please come in?' and then wait to be told yes."

Cloudfeather was still uneasy, but trotted ahead to match Wind Racer's pace. At the hedge maze, she began to relax a little looking at the statues that decorated the entryway. She often wondered how many of them were once real creatures or ponies. One large statue depicting a changeling queen, a pegasus filly, and a decrepit centaur, she knew for a fact was an enchanted statue that had once been living. It had been defaced many times and cleaned just as many, though some ponies had used their horns to mark some obscenities in indelible spell writing that was still there when they passed it. At last, they reached the entrance to the maze, which was surprisingly empty for the most part. Several ponies walked around, and a group even made their way out as the three of them entered, but other than that, the area was devoid of ponies. Their solitude did little to ease Cloudy's nerves about Sanda and now Wind Racer, but she continued to try to play things cool. She just talked less and thought more.

Despite her name, Morning Glow was not a morning pony, and was still slightly disoriented when the younger filly attacked her face. Luckily, with the help of the energy ball's sister, Morning Glow was able to levitate her off. "What's the matter with you?? Don't you have any personal space??" she scolded the younger filly, agitated by the sudden ambush. "And yes, I did. I like to keep my room organized, so this way neither of us ends up with stuff on the other's side. You're welcome!" she added proudly, using her magic to straighten out the blankets of the other filly's bed where she had previously been laying. "I don't expect everypony to comply with my level of organization, though, so you're welcome to keep your side as neat or messy as you like." Then she turned to the youngest of the three. "Shouldn't you be getting settled in your dorm? Orientation begins soon, doesn't it?"

Ohhh boy. This was going to be... interesting. Cloudy still wasn't fully comfortable with this rugged pegasus. It wasn't that she thought she was dangerous or anything, just that... there was something intimidating about her. She casually maneuvered herself to be on the other side of Wind. Sanda Kumo... That was an interesting name for sure... It certainly wasn't Equestrian that she knew of. "I'm Cloudfeather," she said, still trying to sound as natural as possible. What was Wind thinking inviting a strange pony to just come to the labyrinth with them?? Then again, what had she been thinking in associating with Wind with no prior introduction. That really put her choices today into perspective! She began contemplating her decisions today...

Roleplay Type: WoEName: Twinkle DawnGender: FemaleAge: MareSpecies: Unicorn (her aura is a pastel yellow [#fcfb9d]Eye colour: Green (#1fa308)Coat: Peach (#ffdc9c)Mane/Tail: Darker peach (#ff9659) with streaks of a sort of dark white (#edf1f5) Styled in the popular Canterlot style, with three curls in her mane and tail (think Lemon Hearts or Apple Stars)Physique: AverageResidence: CanterlotOccupation: Astrologer, also an underground cult leaderCutie Mark: An astrolabe - her talent is astronomy and astrology, predicting the future based on the starsUnique Traits: Twinkle Dawn is very charismatic and kind, which is how she was able to persuade so many ponies to join her cult, of which Equestrian royalty has no idea. She is also good at hiding her anger or negative emotions, which gives the impression that she is positive and caring all the time. That used to be true, but isn't anymore. History: Twinkle Dawn was born and raised in Canterlot. She was the first foal her parents had that survived, the others dying of health complications shortly after birth or during development. For this reason, her parents gave her a lot of special treatment and love. She loved the stars growing up, and after her parents accidentally gave her an astrology book (thinking it was an astronomy book) for her birthday, she became interested in that as well. She soon found she had a knack for finding her way around the sky. The stars seemed to speak to her, and she started writing her own horoscopes for herself, many of which she found came true. She couldn't make long-term predictions, but by analyzing the sky the night before, she was able to get a glimpse of what would happen the following day. After predicting her father's promotion to lieutenant in the Royal Guard, she realized it was her destiny to predict the future by watching the sky. One night, she saw something odd in the heavens. The stars seemed to tell her she was going to become close to Princess Celestia. This was the first long-term prediction they had given her. As time passed, other ponies began to hear of her talent, and she started looking to the skies to read the fates of her friends, then her friends' parents, and then other ponies around Canterlot. Though she certainly wasn't always accurate, and though her predictions tended to be vague, they were for the most part correct. She predicted the death of a loved one, an unexpected pregnancy (and then the subsequent surprise that there would be twins instead of just one foal), promotions, and accidents. It was like the sky could talk and she was the only one that could hear it. As her success increased, she received a letter inviting her to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She was so enthusiastic about it the night it arrived that she could hardly sleep. When sleep finally did take her, she had a dream, one that felt different than her normal dreams. She'd had ones that felt like this before, and they usually foretold something about the future. In this dream, she was crowned a princess by Princess Celestia and another alicorn, dark blue in color, whom she did not recognize. When she awoke, she determined that her destiny was to become a princess. Dawn attended the school at the same time as Twilight, though the two never really had any significant interactions. Twinkle Dawn wasn't addicted to studying like Twilight was, but still managed to make good marks. While perusing the library one day, she came across a book, the title of which greatly interested her: Predictions and Prophecies. She checked it out as it sounded like it had been written by ponies with similar talents to her own. She was not disappointed. She could not believe the wealth of knowledge contained within it. One section she found particularly interesting detailed the banishment of Nightmare Moon using the Elements of Harmony. Some digging taught her what the six elements were. She reasoned that in order to use the elements, Celestia must have had laughter, honesty, generosity, kindness, loyalty, and magic within herself. Knowing this, she determined to make them a part of herself, too, so as to exemplify the qualities of a Princess. From that moment forward, she has striven to exemplify all six elements, determined to be ready when her destiny arrives. When Twilight Sparkle became a princess, Twinkle Dawn was hurt. Having known enough about Twilight to know she was snobby and introverted, she felt that she deserved the title over her. Nevertheless, she pushed her jealousy aside and was happy for her former classmate. After all, just because Twilight became a princess didn't mean Dawn wouldn't. But as time wore on, it became apparent to her that Celestia would not be giving her the title. She was released as Royal Astrologer after she failed to predict the rise of Tirek (she had seen in the stars that someone had escaped tartarus, but was assured her prediction was wrong, as tartarus was the most secure prison in Equestria), which cut her deeply. But still, the dream of her coronation recurred in her mind. But now, it was changing. Rather than Celestia bowing to her after crowning her a princess, Celestia was bowing to her out of respect to her title. It became clear to Dawn that she was meant not to be crowned a princess, but to prove her merit and take the throne by force. Working at the Canterlot Observatory, she was able to make more accurate predictions than ever. As she began doing predictions for common ponies again, she realized that her position as an astrologer actually gave her implied authority. It wasn't hard to convince many of her customers to her view, that she was meant to be a princess. They began having secret meetings under the full moon each lunar cycle, during which ponies would discuss why she was more fit to rule than the current administration, bounce ideas as to how to attract more followers, and then she would share predictions of the coming month. When Princess Twilight became the official ruler of Equestria, Twinkle Dawn could not contain her jealousy any longer, her ponies and she began to take secret action, vandalizing walls and statues with anti-Twilight sentiments and other similar actions. Dawn also visited farther cities, rallying ponies to her secret cause in the farther reaches of Equestria, and casting a spell of secrecy that would prevent them from talking about her organization outside of lunar meetings. The night before one of the conclaves, she had two visions. In one, she saw herself receiving magic from the Bell of Grogar and using it to defeat Twilight and proclaim herself ruler. In the second, she saw herself donning the Alicorn Amulet and achieving the same outcome. She knew she had to retrieve one of these artifacts to ascend to power, and she relayed this information to her followers the following night. Now, they search for the artifacts, hoping to find one or both soon so they can bring Twilight down and raise Twinkle Dawn to power. Character Personality: Though her plans are evil, Twinkle Dawn still strives to exemplify the six elements of harmony, and so she tends to be very charismatic, caring, kind, and fun to be around. She also has an above average magical ability, which she definitely worked to get. She is understanding and ponies often look to her in situations when a leader is needed but nowhere to be found. She does experience negative feelings and emotions, but is very good at repressing them. Most of the time, even she is unaware that her feelings might be negative or harmful. Character Summary: Twinkle Dawn is an astrologer who is convinced that she is the rightful heir to the throne of Equestria. She strives to exemplify the elements of harmony, which makes her a natural leader. She has used this to rally a following of ponies to her cause to overthrow Twilight and instate her instead. Currently, they search for the Bell of Grogar and/or the Alicorn Amulet, either of which she believes would give her the power to defeat Twilight Sparkle and take her place. She works at the Canterlot Observatory and gives astrological readings to those who wish to know their fate.

Cloudy removed her carrot dog from the bag and began to eat it as they trotted along, balancing the rest of the contents on her back. They trotted in silence for a moment before a rather rugged-looking pegasus landed behind them and asked them a question in broken Equestrian. She looked like she had seen combat many a time, which Cloudy thought was odd considering Equestria hadn't been to war in a millennium. Cloudy couldn't quite place her accent, either. Having traveled to big cities all over Equestria, she knew accents fairly well, but perhaps this pony was from one of the many areas she still had yet to visit. "Um, I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Are you looking for a specific place?" Cloudy asked kindly. She was trying to be as natural as possible, but if she was being honest, this pegasus was quite intimidating. It was probably best to point her in the direction of "fun things" as quickly as possible so that they could go their separate ways.

As luck would have it, Morning Glow was in fact waking up. She stirred slightly before her eyes fluttered open and she began to take in her surroundings. She gave a slight groan and rolled out of bed, turning around to try and get her bearings. Her eyes followed the white line dividing the room in half and after a second or two of staring at it, she realized she was in her own dorm! Though, she was on the wrong side. She quickly hopped the line and then turned around to see the other pony whom she assumed would be sharing the room with her. Her heart sank. There stood one of the ponies from the group she had just been in. And it looked like her little sister was here to tag along, too. She silently hoped they would spend most of their time together outside the dorm so that Morning Glow could concentrate on studying instead of the seventy different strains of popcorn the energetic filly seemed to carry with her at all times. "Wait a minute. You're my roommate?" she asked as politely as she could (which still wasn't very polite by most pony's standards).

Hearing Windy's story about her accident as a filly touched Cloudfeather. She had no idea she had gone through such a terrible trial! She was impressed by the pony Windy was today as a result of her accident. It seemed her generosity rivaled that of even the famous Rarity! Unfortunately, Windy proceeded before Cloudy could tell her this, switching back to the topic of doing show setup work. Once again, her offer was incredibly generous. Backstage passes?? How cool was that?? Buuuut she still wasn't sure how comfortable she was with the idea of setting up for a show. Gosh darn it, her and her big mouth! "That's a very generous offer of you, but... Oh, I just don't think I could. For one, I don't think I could feel comfortable accepting a backstage pass when I haven't done anything to earn it! And for two, I really just don't think show setup is for me. I guess if you really need me to, I can come and help, but I'm content to make the clouds. I don't need to be a part of shaping them." As she finished saying this, she remembered that she wanted to comment on Windy's story. "Oh, and about your story about your wing... That sounds truly awful. I'm so sorry that happened to you. But I'm also so impressed with the pony you've become as a result! I mean, look at you! No wonder everypony is inspired by you and paying such high compliments! You're an inspiration to everyone!" She was humbled to be friends with such an amazing pony.

Cloudfeather giggled a little at Wind's sudden enthusiasm. "Ok, but, uh, perhaps we should get our food first? hahaha" she replied, and just in time too. The waitress set their food on the table just as she finished speaking. "What do you say we take this to go?" she asked.

well, maybe if we're lucky, she'll be reigning (or up and coming) princess of G5

I have a feeling there is an unknown deity or spiritual power that controls and distributes power in Equestria, hence why the tree of harmony is able to grow a chest containing exactly what the Mane 6 need to defeat Tirek, opened by keys it knew would be spawned into existence, etc. It would also explain the mark of destiny (cutie marks) on ponies, the heavy convenience magic that is the Elements of Harmony, etc. Basically, a greater authority that the world has no knowledge of is helping Equestria, giving the creatures that inhabit it the means to survive by giving them a measure of control over the very fabric of the universe. This would explain the birth of Flurry Heart. Since alicorns only receive their wings (or horn) after receiving a large magical surge (like Twilight or Cozy Glow), which almost exclusively happens when a pony accomplishes a great deed worthy of nobility, but Flurry was born with hers, Flurry Heart's destiny must need to be completely dependent upon her being an alicorn, hence why the deity in question gave her wings from birth. I hope that makes sense. That's the only way I see it. /shrug

Cloudy thought for a minute about his question, then remembered her list of things she was planning to do while she was there. Unfortunately, after searching herself, she found she had left it at her aunt's house. Of course. She thought for a moment. She had to remember at least one thing on the list! Oh! The castle garden maze! She had wanted to find her way through that, as well as view the statues that decorated it. She had been numerous times, but she always loved looking around. If Wind was bored, perhaps he'd enjoy going! "Well, I had hoped to get to go through the castle garden maze, if you'd like to come with me! That can take hours though, so I completely understand if you'd rather go your own way! Or we could do something else! If you've got something you're looking for, we can always do that instead!"

sure! (sorry it took me so long to reply!)

"Wow!" Cloudy responded. "That was super profound! What a cool way to live! I wish I was half as brave as you are! I get nerves really easily hahaha!" She admired Wind for his ability to so readily face his fears. She wasn't a scaredy-cat, but she did tend to get nervous easily, as she had said, and when she got nervous, she made mistakes. She had a very oddly shaped comfort zone, but she liked it and preferred to stay inside it.

welcome back!

"Wow! You must be super nervous! I never do well when I get nervous. I overthink and then try to hyperfocus and just end up losing it. How do you deal with the nerves??"

Pleased to meet you!! That's awesome that you draw your own OCs! I wish I could draw hahaha I can't wait to start RPing with you!

Cloudy rolled her eyes internally at Windy's remarks about not wanting attention. Of course she didn't do it for attention! Cloudy knew that! And so did everypony else, she was sure. But that was just another thing that made Windy so amazing! She did what she did out of genuine love and care, not want for praise. The more Windy talked about setting up for shows, the more Cloudy wished she could take back what she had said. She laughed nervously at the end of Windy's generous (but somewhat frightening) offer and politely declined. "Oh, hahaha, I uh... don't know about that... I mean, the Wonderbolts show will be my first time ever doing anything of that sort, well, aside from arranging a sky for a rain or something of that sort, but that's totally different than setting up clouds for aerobatic demonstrations, and besides, the job is just going to be a matter of putting the clouds where I'm told, not building or shaping them, not that I couldn't shape them, just that they've got local professionals who will be doing that, i'm just kind of there to unbox, assemble, and place, y'know? Nothing like building bleachers or setting up for dance shows or anything like that! I don't think I'd be the pony for that job! You'd want someone with real experience. I'm just a weather pony! I work on machines that make clouds because I was so lousy at placing them to begin with!" she was becoming acutely aware that she was working herself up into what almost seemed like a panic attack. Gosh, she was just so nervous all of a sudden! Why was she nervous? Windy was making an offer! She didn't have to accept! But it was basically a career offer! And from a famous performing pony to whom thousands of ponies looked up! She took a moment and took a deep breath, slowing her heart rate, before continuing, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I appreciate the offer, but I can't accept. I don't think I have the capabilities you're thinking I do. I don't know why I offered in the first place. I guess I'm just so nervous and excited to be with such a high-standing pony that my mind is running even faster than it normally does. The truth is that I'm really nervous for the Wonderbolts job. I think it will be easier in some ways than weather management, but harder in a lot of others. I was never good at weather management. I'm great at the chemistry side of things. I could tell you a cloud's chemical and molecular makeup without even touching it! And I'm fantastic with cloud machines, but when it comes to actually arranging clouds, making wind, and all that jazz, well... I'm about as good as any other pegasus. I lived in Canterlot and worked on the weather team there for a while, but I didn't stay for long because I wasn't a focused enough flier and would often end up crashing into towers or spires because I wasn't watching where I was going. What finally did it for me was crashing into a tower and landing badly on my wing. I wasn't able to fly for two months. I've learned to be a lot more careful since then, but I'm just nervous the Wonderbolts show will be just like weather management and I'll end up messing up all over again. The only reason I signed on in the first place was for a chance to be backstage with the Wonderbolts. Plus it's a one time deal, no commitment. To be honest, if it were anypony else, I probably wouldn't have signed up for the lottery." She fidgeted with her fork absentmindedly as she spoke, and was thankful that the waitress returned when she did, leaving no time for comments on her insecurities. Hopefully Windy would order and then forget all about Cloudy's monologue and they could go back to talking about less serious things. She looked back at the menu quickly to remind herself what she had wanted, then turned back to the waitress. "How spicy is the Magnus Jumbalaya? And can I order it to be more mild?" The waitress affirmed, and Cloudy decided to stick with her choice. "Then I will have a mild Magnus Jumbalaya," she smiled at the waitress, silently thanking her again for stopping her monologue, and then looked around the restaurant some more to try and find something to change the subject to before Windy could say anything in response to her word vomit.

Cloudy was glad Wind ordered first because she was having more trouble deciding between all the options. Finally she settled on a grilled carrot dog with some hay fries on the side and gave the pony the appropriate bits to pay for it. "Let's sit over here!" she said to Wind, motioning to a booth toward the middle of the restaurant's wall. As they sat down, she put her hooves together and rubbed them mischievously. "Soooooooo... Tell me more about the Wonderbolts reserves! Like, how did you make it in?? What did you do before you became a reserve?? Was it hard? Was it scary? What was the hardest part? Were there times you didn't think it would happen?? Oh! What's your top speed? What's your fastest lap time? Do you--" she stopped short because she realized she was letting herself get out of control. She giggled slightly and blushed, then avoided eye contact as a moment of silence passed between them.

Thanks! You too!!!