Apolline Allura

That pic ALSO HAS ALL MY Love

That pic has all my love.

Since her arrival to the party, Blaze had became mostly invisible to the other party goers. It was mostly through a pleasant dinner at a tea shop that Blaze knew the host, Starburst. She had discussed a deal about selling copies of future releases of any of her books after the controversy of "One Pony" had worn away somewhat with the pegasus. Not that it was of any particular matter now. Blaze had wanted to pass the invitation to her sister, Ash, but it was her unfortunate luck that the mare had encouraged her to come to this thing. She even had went to the trouble of buying a new black and gold dress for her.

Playing the wall was not completely boring. Blaze thought of it moreso of an opportunity to continue her social studies. There were many ponies doing their best to have a good time it seemed, and the celebrity/motivational speaker, Iron Will had even played some amazing chords. To some ponies, that kind of music was uncouth, and therefore a social nono, but Blaze found that she rather liked it. That there was a strange beauty in the brutality that she could only see. She observed a couple from afar. A blue mare and a green stallion, attempting dancing it had seemed. She chuckled as she watched them. If she had to guess, it had to be one of his first times to an event like this.

Blaze set her rump against the floor and leaned back against the wall. She didn't feel lonely, and she wasn't not at want for company. But what was she to do? Mingling wasn't her thing. She liked less....forced methods of conversation. She liked how events would bring ponies together. That fascinated her. Yet, as it were, no such thing were to happen yet. With a sigh, she lifted her cup telekinetically to down the rest of her punch before tossing the it in the trash.

Miasma's first move in what she now assumed to be her company of adventurers, provided no one else showed up to join her, was to pull out a small sack of coins and slide it over to Shard. "Just wagering, but I think gold sounds plenty better going down than glass...or that mug you've got, Feather."

What a group. Two gryphons, an earth pony and a dragon. Not that the last item needed anymore emphasizing, but a freaking dragon was on her side.

'Those punks'll never see us coming.' she grinned on the inside, the want for sweet revenge in her mind. It was comparatively overkill, and Miasma discarded the abstract thought in her mind not to underestimate the enemy.'

"So since time is of the essence," said Miasma, not looking the least bit unsatisfied as she stood up on her hind legs, "I'd like to thank you all for coming by. Introductions have been given, but just to run through, that's Gilda, Shard Talyn, and White Feather. Now let's get down to business." She pointed the others to each one in turn before sitting back down.

Rummaging through her sidebags for a bit, she pulled out a small black folder and set it upon the table. "Peros Diablos. They've always been a thorn in the citizens of Lefferded. A small settlement out near Raptorclaw River. Recently though, the took a very special item from a buffalo who claims they stole a treasure to them. Naturally, I did not resist pursuing them, having been promised the reward of a forty percent cut of the treasure when I returned with it all." A sip of her cider...aaaaaand back to business.

"However, due to complications, and a really heavy two by four, I failed to recover the treasure." she pinched her beak in annoyance, not wanting to recall anymore of that rather embarassing part of the failed op, "But! I did manage to discover that they hadn't taken treasure from the buffalo. It was actually a treasure map. Leading to the riches of...ahem... Gil Dorado."

She turned to Gilda and bowed her head in mock apology. "I'm sorry that the place is named that. But it is." she said with a tone so forcedly serious, she had to hold back a giggle. Even she didn't believe it, but the map said what it said, and it was quite vivid in her mind.

"Our mission is to recover the map, find the treasure, and if at all possible, detain the leader of the group," Miasma opened the folder to a lone picture of a diamond dog in a suit with a stallian cigar. "Fang. The citizenry of Lefferded have also promised a hefty reward for for bringing her in. They'll be en route to the Painted Pinto Desert today, so we have a few hours before their convoy departs from the city. So we've got our...work cut out for us, I'd say. Any questions?" finished Miasma, taking a deep breath, tired from all the talking.

Between both Novaya and Martel's responses, Cutlass' mind was put at ease somewhat by the understanding tone of what the both of them had said. Not many ponies would be willing to overlook implied villainy in somepony they were to trust to have their back. But Cutlass wasn't that kind of mare anymore. Stories of certain things would be left another day, and she felt content in knowing her secrets would never be known. They had a job to do, and tonight was the night for merry making and camraderie. She was brought back to a certain group of two that accompanied her once, which made her smile (which had already been in place since the drink she had before she spilled the beans) even wider.

“So I suppose I am here because of duty," said the sergeant major, "I never asked to be stabled for the next month a half, so I had to find something constructive to do with myself. When I heard that there seemed to be an... infestation in Lunae, well, let’s just say my sense of adventure got the best of me.”

Cutlass chuckled lightly and quickly managed to clink her bottle against Novaya's tankard. "I'll drink to that. Boredom is a powerful motivation when challenged by adventure."

Radiant Steel looked upon her and the others with what Cutlass assumed to be respect, as she was the greenest member of the group, and more or less seemed to be staying out of the way in conversation. Cute. Of course, this silence was broken somewhere down the line.

"Thank you for the kind words, Miss Cutlass. They are most appreciated... And you mean to say you know of my father then? I do wonder if he would truly look favorably upon me getting wrapped up in something of this nature..."

Cutlass snorted. "I'd be surprised if he doesn't find pride and honor in his daughter taking on the forces of evil with a team of dedicated ponies to free a village."

And before she knew it, Radiant was suddenly hacking and coughing before nearly pitching herself out of her own seat. Cutlass stifled a laugh and a comment as she watched the rookie mare attempt to comprehend the vile flavor of alcohol. She was no worse for wear herself, her eyes were already somewhat glassy, and her speech wasn't suffering as much as the impulsive things she began to say, though she was not completely gone.

"That is why you should not be drinking Stallian drinks! They are focused on getting drunk, not on taste. In Germaney, we treat drink as something to be savored... "

"You haven't had too many Central Equestrian brews then. This Sweet Apple whiskey from Ponyville could be a drop on my tongue that I'd be satisfied with for days on end." said a contented Cutlass, draining the bottle in full and reaching for another. This would make...three? Four? She had lost count already, which couldn't bode well for her waning sobriety.

Granted, when Martel had began speaking his piece in-between drinks, she leaned in to listen intently.

"Kameraden, I am understanding if you are... worried about serving with pony who sells his talents. You may be thinking that I am not loyal, that I would desert you all for money. I want you all to know that is not true. I have not signed a piece of paper, but I take Herr Valius' word as my promise. I will serve as best I can, and I will not hesitate to lay my life down for each and every one of you."

The cloaked mare clinked her bottle against his tankard as well with a serious expression. "You have my trust, Martel Starkhuf, just like everypony at this table," she looked around to the other two, her tone solemn and sincere, "Just promise me one thing, provided we all get out of this alive..."

A large goofy grin appeared on Cutlass' face. "...I want a song written about this when it's over."

Cutlass nodded.

"Muffin. Meet me at Steel Tower near the hills. I should be there in the next fifteen minutes. I suggest you make haste after I'm gone." said the mare, preparing to make her exit.

She darted off out of the hidden room to the stage quickly before slowing down just as suddenly, her steps slow and deliberate. Frame was coming within view as she entered the view of the crowd. She spoke immediately, "Would any of you like to see a magic trick from an earth pony?" she said to some befuddled faces and confused murmuring. The stallion looked at her in shock.

"I'm going to make this stallion's bits, disappear." she said in a mock mysterious tone.

Quite suddenly, she dashed in close, reached into his bag, dug out a sack full of bits in her teeth, and with a burst of speed, leapt off the stage's side, in a frontflip before speeding off back to Steelwalt's tower. Weaving in and out of shops and stands to confuse possible pursuers. It was gonna be a long day.

She grinned at the thought. A little excitement was good for the weekend.

Cutlass had known about their little guest since he had slipped into the room behind the aqua green pony, but she held off from revealing his whereabouts just yet. He must have been trying to figure out exactly what was going on in here, but for what reason, she didn't know. This was a private conversation. He had no place here at all, regardless of his relation to the colt. And here he was, trying to dissuade them from heading out to adventure.

"I knew there was something you were looking for. And I'll help you find-"

"Well now hold on just a rock-pickin' second here." Muffin interjected. "I'd like to know more about these ruins in Neame's paintins just as much as anypony, but she's said that she doesn't even know where they are. And I've been on the road long enough to know that goin' out on some wild cockatrice chase is liable to eat up a lot o' time and money."

Cutlass fixed him with a dull stare for a few moments. Who was this pony? Such a worrywart he was. Not that it mattered to her. She wouldn't let Neame go so easily to never figure out the truths in her work. The gryphon had clearly been desiring this opportunity for a long time.

"Then we'll track them, and you can save some time and money." said Cutlass curtly, brushing past him to set a hoof under Neame's chin and lifting her face to eye level with her. "I'll say it again, to Tartarus with Frame. If he cares about you, then he'll have no complaints when you get back. Besides, you can find much more inspiration in the actual location than in some silly dream."

Cutlass found herself being pulled away by the gryphon into a separate room, being hissed at to follow with her, an irritated expression on her face. She looked back to check for other following them, and Cutlass did the same before nodding in acknowledgement that they weren't being tailed. Interesting sculpted rock formations lined the walls around them. There was a feverish gleam in her eyes that Cutlass couldn't make heads or tails of, but knew all the same. There was something she had to do. Something that itched and burned at her to see through.

The gryphon's whisper was urgent, "I don't know if I'm descended from them... "But as for it being real... it's... it's real. it HAS to be real. They can't just not exist."

Her voice was low and desperate even, as if she had been waiting the longest for somepony to tell about her suspicions. "I have to see them. For some reason, Picture Frame has stopped me from pursuing the ruins, maybe he wants me to focus on pictures, but... if I could only see them in person... I could make my images so much more vivid. I could... aagh... I need to see them,"

Cutlass watched the gryphon stare down at her claws before moving forward to set a hoof on her shoulder. "To Tartarus with your little secretary. If you want to find these ruins, then that's what we'll do. No recorded place in history has never not existed. If you can bring the past to the present with your art, then we should be able to track it back."

The mare grinned, "I knew there was something you were looking for. And I'll help you find it."

Remember Apolline Allura? ;~;

Scepter with orb. Lots of clouds...and make sure to draw me as a chick... With a long cape.

Still pacing as if the very world would end if she didn't do something, she jumped about a foot in the air when she looked up to see somepony else suddenly with her behind the stage. Landing on her belly rather painfully, she looked up to see that it wasn't somepony... It was... A pega-deer? Blaze's forte wasn't in many creatures beyond the borders of Canterlot. Her trips out of town hadn't been for anything more than other towns and such. As it was, she couldn't just lie on the floor like a despondent idiot.

"Thou has caught us at a rather dire time miss, if thou has come to inquire of when the show would start, we are currently losing our minds and therefore are unable to accomplish conversation beyond--oh sweet Celestia! I need an emcee!" Said the red pony, flailing her hooves against the ground.

At that point, the sounds of cheering exploded forth from the audience in front of the stage, causing Blaze's ears to perk upwards in alarm and confusion. As if that wasn't enough, the sky had suddenly cleared out, leaving a beautiful evening sky in it's wake before a familiar scent caught the red filly's attention. Zephyrs of wind swept the grass beneath her, shadows were cast over both her and the pega-deer as the mare had landed.

"Hurricane!" shouted Blaze in relief and happiness, as if her arrival had made her current dilemma become nothing. She was up in an instant, throwing her hooves over Hurricane's shoulders and nuzzling her deeply. Her body heat increased dramatically, powerful enough to the point that Blaze could see the heat waves in the air, echoing the depths of her emotions right then and there.

"We have missed thee immensely! And though we are currently a bit...ohdearCelestia, Hurricane, we need an emcee! Our dear sister is back in the hotel, sound asleep probably, and we can't do both at the same time, would thou be of aid to me in this time, love?" pleaded the filly.

Miasma clicked her claws against the table idly, waiting someone else to show up. She had shown up five minutes early, so she knew some waiting was in order. But she hadn't taken into account how much she had wanted to get this thing started already. Five minutes felt like fifty as she stared at the entrance, the one source of natural light in the pub all the way from her spot in the back. Somewhat promptly, a gryphon had entered the pub, spotting Miasma easily. She immediately assumed this one to be one who had seen her flyer.

'Well ofcourse she saw you. Who else has this kind of style in this town?' she smirked vainly. Her fashion sense was a point of her pride. Woe betide unto anyone who'd dare mess up on of her designer suits.

She looked older than Miasma for sure, which certainly wasn't a problem, had became a recurring thing in her life she had suddenly noticed. Whether it was regular everyday grinders or higher ups in society, Miasma had mostly, if not always had dealt with adults. And that brought to light her rather startling lack of friends, accomplices, or contacts otherwise her own age.

She had to shut her own thoughts up as the other gryphon approached. 'Why am I even thinking about this? It's utterly irrelevant.'

"Miasma Vice, I take it?"

Purple tipped wings, a white crest and a pair of gold eyes...not to mention built. Miasma curtailed her desire to stare as she spoke. "Miasma. Vice. And any combination of the two you'd like. Please, have a seat."

She gestured with a talon to a seat on the end of the half circle of the table, and then to the chairs in front of it. "It's good to see someone interested in a little real fun around her nowadays. Granted, my idea of of fun deals with hunting down a group of diamond dogs for the map that they stole from a settlement near Raptorclaw River."

Producing a small folder from her bag sitting on the floor, she set it on the table. "What's your name by the wa-"

A small outbreak of muttering and such from the front of the establishment caught Miasma's ears. A frame suggesting wings and spikes and horns entered the pub.

'Well there's something you don't see everyday. A dragon in the-'

"A dragon?" she spoke out loud, in amazement. Apart of her own mother, she knew of no other dragons that roamed Talonopolis. Much like most other places in Equestria, one could count on a pony, a hippogriff, gryphon, or donkey to show up in parts unknown. But never a dragon. At least, not if they didn't have business in the city. And it had seemed this one did, making her way over to the table where she and the other gryphon were at. She was an interesting palette for a dragon. That shade of green just happened to be her favorite, and it meshed rather well with the blue scales running along her belly.

The slit red eyes looking in her direction were all the look that Miasma needed to confirm that she was here for it too. And then she spoke.

Um, M... Mia Small?" stammered the dragon, inadvertently revealing her age all too clearly to Miasma, "Is that you? You should totally hire me! Uh, Shard. Shard Talyn. I mean, that's me. My name is that. Uh, but with just the one Shard. Er, just call me Shard, anyway."

Her eyes could have turned into huge blinking bit signs and glowed behind her shades. A dragon. A freaking dragon. This was nothing short of pleasing for Miasma, who had also caught the glance toward the white crested gryphon. Was she worried that she was only taking one partner for this?

"Good to meet you, Shard," she smiled reached out to clap the dragon on the shoulder with a talon, careful not to prick her with the sharp edges of her claws. "I'm not hiring. But I am taking anyone who's up for knocking a few heads for some cash with me."

Sitting back down, she gestured to the small collection of drinks on the table. "I'm sorry I didn't have a dragon brew ready. Never know who's gonna turn up to help out these days apparently. As it is, these are for the both of you. And Shard, I was just getting ready to begin the debriefing." She reached for the folder before she remembered the other gryphon and turned to her. "What's your name by the way? I hadn't got it when you came."

The gryphon's gestures drew many 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the crowd. Her aura held a certain mystique that Cutlass certainly would not deny. After all, it was why they couldn't stop asking questions about her instead of the paintings. To a point, Cutlass could even agree with their insistence upon asking Neferset all of these things. Art was just as much about the artist as the art itself. One could spend hours of navel-gazing regarding the technique, or the lifestyle of one who made masterpieces for a living. The cloaked mare found herself at the front row, prepared to ask her question.

"I have two questions. One: Does this mean you're the last living descendant? Or is Neferset a stage name? And two: What if we could trace these visions...these dream back in location? Would you be willing to see them for yourself?"

She had spoken her piece. Now all that was left was to see if she would take it. Cutlass was always up for adventure, and this gryphon, from her looks, could probably derive a substantial amount of inspiration from it.

Quite suddenly, an earth pony had almost jostled her in his haste to make his way to the front as well. Cutlass repressed a brief twinge of annoyance and hung back. She would be courteous and let this pony speak his piece. Not that she believed it anymore important than her own statement. 'Probably some stupid question about her trinkets.' Cutlass huffed mentally.

Cutlass remained mostly silent after her suggestion was taken and the party made their way to The Cloven Hoof. It certainly wasn't a bad place, though she'd reserve judgement on their selection of alcoholic beverages. They hadn't had much of the rather obscure brews she had taken to while living with Steelwalt in Canterlot, so she ordered a small bottle of cider for herself. It was a night to loosen up, but Cutlass, was actually feeling a bit more tense, and had been since they had left the tower. These ponies, though they may have all had different allegiances, all seemed to hold some sense of morality and dedication to what their positions were. While she was far from the ne'er do well she used to be when she was younger, Cutlass felt uneasy, as though she hadn't deserved to be working with them, let alone sitting with them in an inn, drinking and laughing and sharing life with one another.

Still though, it was her suggestion she do this, and remaining antisocial wouldn't be much of a way to support her own suggestion. Cutlass added a small dose of whiskey from her flask into the cider and drank deeply as her companions conversed with one another. She found herself interested by both Radiant and Martel's tales, and mostly listened with rapt attention. She believed Radiant to be full of potential, and believed as long as she was able to slow down when needed, she'd be nothing short of dependable, whether on this mission, or back home, rising through the ranks.

The Germanean, Martel, his antics amused her, and she could not stop the grin on her face when he launched into any sentence with his native land's accent. When Martel made his bet, she ante'd up.

"Thrity bits?" the mare smirked, "I'll throw in fifty. Somepony has to show you all how it's done."

She grabbed a few bottles and lined them up, taking each one down, one at a time, but slowly. She wasn't a guzzler, but she knew how to put away some drinks for sure. The effects began to take hold rather quickly, but Cutlass managed to fight down her slurred speech by biting down hard on her tongue every now and then. She had learned a long time ago to use pain to her advantage. It was an excellent way of bringing things into focus, if one didn't count the self-inflicted wounds that stayed with them.

Martel's motivations were as straightforward as he was, and that was a-okay with Cutlass. Just as trustworthy, and even better, a downright pleasant guy to be around. He turned to her when he was finished speaking his piece, and Cutlass took a deep breath. Her mind ran through a number of stories and lies before she began to speak.

"You're right. I'm neither mercenary or soldier. For now though, I'm a teammate. Nothing else. But for the sake of camraderie, I also live in Canterlot." she nodded at Radiant Steel, "And I've seen you around town a few times before. You're a hard worker. Congrats for taking a job like this. Your dad will be proud."

She took another swig of her drink and tossed the bottle behind her with unerring accuracy into a garbage receptacle. The truth was just about on it's way, and she had no more reservations at this point, with the more and more she drank.

"I've done some bad things. And without going into too much, I'm trying to make up for those things. Hence my taking this mission." she raised her next bottle before taking another swig. Taking the conversation full circle, yet knowing full well what kinds of questions she would be in for down the road, the mare turned toward Novaya once more. "And what of you, Sergeant? Are you here for glory, money, a sense of duty?"

The Allurian shipscale is as follows.

Dash/Mare Do Well

Twi/Trixie

Pinkie/Gilda

Luna/Celestia

Chyrsalis/Cadence

AJ/Cherry Jubilee

Allura has spoken. :3

The gryphon's response intrigued Cutlass. Lands to have existed before the three nations had banded together to form Equestria? Amazing. Something like this stirred the adventurer in Cutlass. Though her journeys across the land were mostly done for self-preservation all those years ago (I.E. robbery, kidnapping etc), she did enjoy being able to pit herself against the world, and the rewards that came with it. A few times, she had actually even taken on a few tomb raider operations in far off places like The Badlands and deep in Stalliongrad. For some reason, her handlers kept calling her 'Lara'.

She filed this information in the back of her brain as she waited for Neferset to answer the stallion's question. If only there was a way to find these locations? Ha. Cutlass knew better than most ponies, that anything could be found with a little effort. Granted, it was on the artist if she wanted to take that trip. The mare made her way through the crowd, wanting to reach the front of the stage to ask her question directly to her.

For hours, Blueprint had walked since leaving home. Her stomach growled, her face was streaked with dried tears, and she had lost the energy to continue cursing as she been doing most of the day. There was something she had to do obviously! But being talented was not the same thing as being self-sufficient. Her grandparents, having given her most of everything she had ever wanted in her life, she looked to others lives, and noted their successes at life. They had all been brought to the wall and managed to make it on their own instincts. For all she was given, room to grow up seemed a bit limited. And now her she was. She didn't even know where she was going, or where she would be going. She had taken off her black sunglasses and stuffed them into her saddlebag, so her heterochromatic eyes would feel less strain, for it was night now.

She spotted a tent in the distance, sitting right at the crossroads between her home, Ponyville and Trottingham.

'Who in Equestria would camp out at an intersection?' she thought.

She approached the tent, and upon further inspection noticed the rather large sign decorated with all manner of lunar shapes and noticed the rather spacious offering of the tent itself.

"My own world, my own possibilities?" read the mare to herself before snorting. She noticed the crystal balls sitting on the table where she assumed the owner was also sitting at. She trotted up to him and asked. "Sir, is this some sort of fortune tellers place or something? Cause I don't know if you'll catch many customers this time of day...or night, as it were."

Amongst the disheveled occupants of the ruined train car, a knight…a little knight, stood up to face Cutlass and her crew. She wanted to let out a low whistle, impressed with the kid’s bravery in lieu of the situation. Still, heroes were not conducive to this operation. The armored interloper should have been skewered through that visor of hers as soon as she stood up, but unnecessary casualties would ruin the mission.

The laughable way in which she presented herself though…

"Y-you three...! S-stop right there! Or... or else... umm..."

The hooded mare snickered. She couldn’t help it. “And what will you do…in the event that we don’t stop where we are?”

A frenzied voice shrieked as though answering for her and a gryphon chick burst out from under a pile of the toppled suitcases, screaming at the top of her lungs and lunging for Kartel.

"SOME DWEEEEEEB'S GONNAPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

The stallion snorted as he managed to catch her in a pocket of his magic. She was a hair’s breadth away from reaching his horn, but he coolly managed to hold her off. He levitated her to the ceiling and held her there, surprised to actually have exerted some effort to capture the ball of snarling claws and feathers.

From over behind the knight, Cutlass observed a filly thrashing under the weight of a couple of suitcases, and was less successful than the gryphon in her attempts to escape. And once her name was spoken, all the other features, the grey fur, the grape mane and those eyes, those same panic stricken eyes Cutlass had seen once before, all came into focus. Her target was but a few feet away.

Apparently Capo had picked up on it as well, for without prompt, she stepped in from behind Cutlass and up to the knight. The great mare stood much, MUCH bigger than the filly, and in her commanding deep voice, as she slammed her head face first into Kite's visor and glaring through both the pain and the visor itself, she said. "MOVE. Before I make you."

Cutlass took a small leap onto Capo's back and then leapt over the knight to face her prey.

"Cutlass!" said Rue, clearly aware of how much trouble she was in.

Laughing softly, Cutlass moved forward in slow, deliberate steps. "I see you remember me still." she leaned her head forward the filly's face, "It's good to see you looking so well. So healthy. So alive."

She was suddenly trapped in a sphere of red light, and Cutlass's head whipped around to see who it was.

"Thou's presence is most unwelcome. Move away from her, and we will not be forced to incinerate thee." said the red filly, rivulets of blood running down her forehead from where she had collided with the metal pole moments earlier. A royal canterlot voice and a pair of blazing, bright green eyes glaring hard at Cutlass. "I'm serious. Get away. Now."

The mare smirked and stepped forward, the magics of the enchanted drink she had before coming in here doing their stuff. She stepped in the direction of the red pony, going through her barrier, and causing her to back up. Though she glared, the fear was almost palpable in her face. Cutlass cornered her and when she least expected it, pushed her up against the wall, a hoof on her neck, standing on her hind legs, and forcing the other pony to hers. "Ah yes. I know about you too. An affair with your little friend's mother? Well, Rue'll be eager to see you pay for that."

Cutlass raised her other hoof and struck her across the face, once, twice, three times. The red filly slumped to the floor and Cutlass leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You'll be coming with me too." before licking the shell of Blaze's ear, who was knocked out yet again. Turning back toward Rue and stepping in her direction now, she sneered, "So. Are you going to come quietly?"

Although she was never much of a high society type, having lived most of her life as convicted street criminal, Cutlass could find beauty in most anything that caught her eye. So on this Saturday, when Steelwalt had taken one of her days off, flying Celestia-knows-where, Cutlass decided to make herself scarce as well. Canterlot was a place of intrigue, regardless of the fact that it was home to some of the most annoying know-it-all's and bougie kinds of folk one could find, save for Trottingham. There was always something different going on this city, and Cutlass hadn't taken advantage of one of these kinds of opportunities in a long time. Midday meant crowds left and right, and at the central district, the mare could see a stage up ahead coming into view.

'No seats. Typical.' mused Cutlass as she looked around before looking back up to the center of everyone. A gryphon held the attention of all the ponies present, and another pony stood next to her atop the podium. This must have been her assistant. Surprisingly though, he seemed to be acting more as the face of her work, for she looked rather unhappy when he mentioned the Q and A session. Maybe she wasn't consulted on that. Yes, that was probably it. Not all famous types were douchey enough to just dislike their fame and fortune and all the people in between it all. Some, were mostly talented and dragged along for the ride.

The curtains parted to reveal the canvas, and Cutlass let out a low whistle. This was nothing short of amazing. This, large structure, she had never seen before, but she felt as though, in her past life at least, it would have been the one thing she ever heisted to keep for her own. The color set was amazingly detailed and well done in itself, and she had to admire the shadow effect what took its place at the foot of the structure, giving off the effect of the city below being made of sand. Cutlass clapped her hooves from afar before raising a hoof.

"What is this structure? I doubt it of Equestrian origin." she would say, if called upon.

Sighing, Steelwalt realized that the blue mare had all but full control of the situation. She let Mal lift him into the air, and was definitely sure that this was the end of their little flight lesson. Zephyr hadn't made it through the whole thing, but he did pretty good for a guy who was nearly ground chuck for trying to copy her earlier. She had fun herself, for she hadn't actually taught much, save for a few of her friends in the REA that had made it out alive from the dragon wars. And look at that! Oh how time had managed to fly. And she hadn't even broken a sw-

"Ah buck! My hip..." she gritted out as she approached Zephyr's suspended form. The old mare muttered angrily about youth and it being wasted in the young, for she could now feel the day taking it's toll on her. It was time to head back to the tower for some TLC from Cutlass.

'She better be makin' dinner tonight too...I ain't doin it this time.' she ground out mentally.

Looking between Zephyr and Malediction, she managed a smile at least, as her wings opened. She whacked Zephyr on the head once more with a hoof, not as hard as she had earlier, "There. You have a debilitating head injury now, and you need medical attention. Lucky for you though, you got Nurse Copperknot to the rescue!" Turning to Mal, she added, "And please, Copperknot, if I ain't but but a few feet tall, old as all hellfire, and got wings more beat up lookin than yer face, and I manage to get some, you ain't got nuthin to worry about!"

She began trotting away from them before she paused to look back. "When he ain't so dizzy, let 'im know he knows where ol' Steelwalt's tower is, if he wants to come back to pick up where we left off. Or if he just wants to talk to somepony. Course, the same goes for you Copperknot. And there's a little invention I've in the works for you. Expect it in the coming week."

Her wings beat once more, and she dashed forward once before taking off, flying back to her home. A messy head of jet black hair sat in the same position it was earlier, and Steelwalt smiled.

When you say Chrysalis will only be appearing in events, does that mean that she's still unplayable, or can there be some sort of way to determine a possible RPer for her during that time? Variety is the spice of life, so it'd be great if there were some sort of way for a different person than staff to play a villain every event that would have to deal with them. And to ensure quality control, the RPer should have an idea of how the even would work, what they'd be doing and such. Sharing an outline with staff along with a temporary application or some such, as well as a statement regarding what they will and will not be doing in the RP, so that things don't get too hectic, while still posing as a viable threat.

It'd seemed Cutlass had spent too much time on break before she decided to head over to the kitchens. A gaggle of ponies crowded the room, already engaged in cooking and such. She figured it best not to interrupt them, and she backed out the doorway before anypony had a chance to see her.

She had put in a hard day's work, her hooves were killing her because of the length of time that she had been wearing Steelwalt's boots, and her muscles cramped and ached all over from rolling the plow solo. The hood of her cloak was over her head once more, just as it were on arrival this morning, as Cutlass began the long trot back to Canterlot. The mare had did what she had came to do, and maybe it was for the best that she hadn't spoken to anypony else anyway. Being an ex-con and all wasn't very...erm....good company to anypony, really....

"Bless his heart." she said out of nowhere, disappearing to the horizon as she left Ponyville.

Sometime after Survey left, Cutlass found herself taking a small break after plowing for hours. She remained rather low-key, due to her lack of interaction with much of anypony else for the remainder of that day. She had covered lots of ground and had managed to help out as best she could. Finding a seat somewhere in a shady area, Cutlass decided to watch the other ponies for a few moments. As hectic as things were earlier, she was starting to see plenty of interaction and helping between the others. And with Survey gone, and having spoken to nopony else, she grudgingly admitted to herself that felt pretty lonely.

'You could have tried harder. You weren't exactly Ms. Social until that colt came up to you earlier.' she admonished herself mentally.

She overheard a filly mentioning need in the kitchen for some help with cutting some things and just laughed. The sandy pelted mare grabbed her sword and cloak and began to trot off in the direction of the kitchens. Maybe it wasn't too late.

"Oh Celestia have mercy, I don't know about this now!"

Talented fireworks-maker and author, Blaze Bright, had traveled all the way from Canterlot to Hoofington to put on her first fireworks display. She was going to be debuting all of her wares, but they were mostly revamps of the formulas she had created when she was a kid. The most prized part of this presentation would be her new 'Equestrian Magic Missile'.

The night hour pf seven o' clock drew closer and closer as the sun began to fall, and the stage was being built in a clearing somewhere a little off from the market district as a nervous red filly paced around the large steel structure. The town had apparently been abuzz with conversation about this for longer than her sister let on, and as such, a bigger turnout came to see the show.

Blaze stood behind the stage, wringing her hooves in concern. Ashsmoke hadn't made it out of bed yet, and already, there was a huge turnout. She bit into her own cheek as she continued to pace. "Curses! Does she not know the time is nearing! The show will begin, and I will be left without an MC! Drat!"

While Blaze had a remarkable amount of courage in smaller settings, and found it ridiculously easy to talk to just about anypony and everypony, there was a difference between groups and crowds.

She was to entrance a crowd tonight, and she knew not what to do. A unicontractor brushed past her, "Come on yous guys, we gots twenty minutes to makes dis' ting here beautiful." he said in a gruff Manehattan accent to his fellow construction workers.

Three days had passed since the botched operation in Lefferded. That was more than enough time for one, her mother, Dyne, to snark as much as she wanted about how the adventure business was going, and two, for Aposemati (insistenly known as "Miasma Vice") to reflect on the situation. The first and most important fact was that she did not like to lose. And she'd not only lost, she was humilitated on top of it. Being hung by her tail feathers in the market square early in the morning after having been whacked upside the head with a 2x4 had left quite the sour taste in her mouth. That Diamond Dog gang had done a number on her, and payback was on her mind. She eventually swallowed her pride (a needed sacrifice, she figured), and went to her mother to ask for advice on how best to deal with it.

"Strength in numbers." the great dragon said, not looking up from her tax papers. "When you can't do it, someone else surely can."

And that stuck enough with Miasma that she took out an ad in the paper for the next day with the majority of her allowance. There were posters and stickers left and right by Thursday morning.

The headline was set, the article was distributed, and a cluster of drinks sat in the center of the table in the back of the dark of the pub. The only source of light apart of the doorway and the lamps at the front was a lit candle in the center of the bottles on the table. Miasma had ordered several expensive and imported brews for any possible hires that would show up. She also wore on of her more classic outfits. A simple closed black sport coat, a white button-up dress shirt, and a black tie. Dark shades covered her eyes from view.

"And now, we wait." said Miasma, leaning back in the curved seat.

Steelwalt cocked an eyebrow as the blue mare rushed back over to Zephyr's side from outta nowhere. She was showing more emotion for another living thing (that wasn't contempt or snark) to him that Steelwalt was sure she'd ever shown in her life. The older mare smirked.

'Lookit that...young love.' she mentally chuckled.

And what timing too. Malediction managed to make it over here the moment Steelwalt began helping out. Not that it bothered her in the least. She was treated to the amusing manners of the mare, sneaking a kiss and trying to play it off in front of her. She outright broke into laughter at that point before moving to see to her student, chortling all the while as Mal rounded on her. Her answer was basically the indication that she had no intention of not enjoying this moment. Especially after Zephyr managed to speak again. "I think he woulda wanted to be killed if he knew he had that to come to in the afterlife." said Steelwalt before leaning down to tap the stallions face lightly with a hoof. She wouldn't whack him around like she did early. Light slaps would get him up though.

"You alright, big guy?" she said to Zephyr.