ZephyrBurst

"He will add" or "Addition" That seems to be the general consensus after checking it across multiple sites.

 

On 7/6/2016 at 7:25 AM, Rosewind said:

"High Tower"

 

Totally fits, I'm a bit tall.

I'm into tall girls. The meaning there? Nothing.

-3 is not an option...

 

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Assuming you can keep the gold armor, which was always a problem for me.

The fact that the gold armor was there on the second run through the game was about the only thing that kept me from turning that game off when it sent me back to the first level. That aspect of the game taints the name.

Another 'meh' for me. This season is the worst. It started bad, the middle was great, but these last few have been atrocious. Potentially killing your friend through illogical means, treating others like mere objects, reform spells. [colour=#b22222]CONTENT REMOVED[/colour], we're going down immoral road here.

The episode was actually good, the pacing and moral were handled well, and it was nifty to see background characters come forth more. What bothers me is how out of character Spike was. In season 1, he was the voice of reason, but now the writers just don't care about him. He has an episodic amnesia and doesn't remember anything he's learned from previous episodes. Corey Powell needs to get fired.

The game is easily on my top 5 list.

Milkman Conspiracy was one of the best levels ever.

Well, keep in mind that this is a cartoon

That's an excuse. This show has shown in the past that it can step well over the 'just a cartoon'. If I wanted just a cartoon, I'd go watch Road Runner or some random anime.

I love fluff as much as the next guy, in fact, my avatar is the personification of fluff. His comic is devoid of actual content. It is just light fun and silly scenarios.

But when a fluffy creation strays into a difficult moral question, how can we help but dive deeply into it? If the goal was fluff, then the writer failed by including so much moral ambiguity.

Pretty much that.

The episode was fun to watch, I won't argue that. It was entertaining as a cartoon, but season 1 quickly established that this show is not just some cartoon. It presented relatable scenarios from interesting, deep, and well developed characters. Think back to the discussions we all had in season 1 about how we've all shared a moment that the show presented and how it helped connect you to the show and its characters and even to people you know in the real. The scenarios and solutions felt well done and realistic. It used the characters as antagonists in the various episodes in ways that many of us have encountered without it feeling forced. (Mare Do Well being an example of a poor use of this.)

The show isn't just cheap laughs and jokes, it has that, and should keep it, but it should always stay at its roots of well thought out morals and meaningful solutions and methods of carrying that out.

I liked this episode at first, but when thinking back on it, I found it completely awful.

Pinkie was shallow this episode and never actually struggles with the lesson itself. It starts out okay, but devolves into a silly unrelatable problem.

The resolution was awful and out of character. The scenario and solution brought up did not match the problem, nor did the execution. Pinkie has no attention span and Twilight just blasts away Pinkies that did so much as slightly look away from the paint. This wasn't problem solving on Twilight's end, which is what she's good at. It had nothing to do with friendship or the lesson they were trying and failed to convey.

It's also one of the first episodes of the show to make me feel uneasy. That end just takes the cake for awful writing.

Model-1 Z Type Pony quickly flipped back onto his hooves in a most stylish fashion, cause he's just so awesome like that with his amazing long blonde mane. He looked about his surroundings, realizing far too much stuff was going on. He ignored most of it as he found quite a bit of it incredibly not relevant to his interests. Something calling itself Robocop or something said Model-1 Z looked beautiful.

"What is this rubbish you speak of?!" He replied to Robocop. "I have no use for such delicacies. Dating is for those not as awesome as myself! I am far too busy and amazing to waste my time on you! You are a simple outdated man robot. I will save the world from Dr. Wily!!"

Model-1 Z then dashed far into the horizon, cleaving a falling meteor in half as he did so, and leaving the scene for an unknown amount of time. The face-plant probably knocked a few circuits loose and he now forgot what it was he was going to do in Equestria.

Without any warning, the clouds above gave way for a fantastical beam of light, which hurried its way down to the surface, piercing it and disintegrating anything within its immediate proximity. A glorious wave of rainbow colored smoke and dust whooshed out from the contact point of the ground and this fantastic beam of light. Hopefully none would look upon it as any who would, could be blinded by such a spectacle.

When the dust cleared, a fully red pony with a full and long blonde mane stood in the clear. "It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum! And I don't chew bubble gum!" His not so thunderous voice bellowed in the wind. He took his first step, resulting in an amazing trip to a face plant, for he was the Model-1 Z Type pony and he was from the future!!

"I wish you both luck in your endeavors."

When Zephyr heard this, he was slightly worried that meant Swift would leave. Luckily, that wasn't the case. There was nothing keeping him out here other than the interesting green pegasus. The donkey was decent company he supposed, but that all changed when she began to ask rather odd questions. Questions spoken in a way that seemed as if Gale was accusing Zephyr of lying. Zephyr didn't care if all of Appleoosa knew how he ended up employed by Max. He didn't care much for this small town and he would be rid of it in a few days anyway. Despite that, he wasn't going to give Gale the satisfaction of having her questions directly answered. He didn't like the way she said 'convict'. Luckily, she did not speak ill of Silver.

His ears pinned back at first, as Gale's words were upsetting, but Zephyr suddenly got an idea. His ears shifted back to their neutral stance and a slight grin came to Zephyr's muzzle.

"Yes, she would know of them, quite well actually. She's pretty sharp." Zephyr hadn't realized his bad pun when referring to Silver in that way, not that his audience would understand. "I know of them as well." He rubbed his chin with his left forehoof casually, unintentionally showcasing the bracelet on his leg for everyone to see. "I don't suppose you know of what he did to get here? Or should I say it as, why he's a convict under Max now?"

He began to walk toward Gale, circling around her as he spoke. "I hear he got into a fight with the Royal Canterlot Guards. From what I heard, it took an entire squad of them to take him down. I think that might be a SLIGHT exaggeration, but I did hear from VERY good sources that he fought off and injured about 3 of them before the rest brought him down." Zephyr walked a full circle around Gale at this point, then stopped in front of her. His side facing Gale with his head turned to her.

"Those Royal Canterlot Guards are very well trained from what I've heard, so ponies can only imagine how tough this 'convict' must be." Zephyr had to try his best to keep his grin quelled. "He's not the kind of pony you'd want to upset. Especially not a little donkey like yourself." He put a bit of emphasis on his words when speaking directly about Gale.

If Gale wanted to fight with words, Zephyr... wasn't sure what he was going to do. He didn't mind exaggerating a little about the situation though, it was quite fun in some weird way. "As for the fight between the two ponies you mentioned. It did happen, but I hear it was a draw. The two are very skilled fighters. Perfect ponies for protecting Max, if the need arises." Zephyr was satisfied with this explanation, and he hoped the donkey would back off from any further questioning and hoof pointing.

It has been months since I popped in here.

...

...

...

Now I shall leave for a few more.

Zephyr had more time to himself that day, there were no obligations keeping him back from activities that he wanted to do. It was a nice day as well, not too hot, just the right amount of sun with the right amount of breeze. The lakes under Cloudsdale seemed to keep the temperature in just the right place for him. When he wasn't reading in his small spartan home in Cloudsdale or roaming the city at night, he would be down at the lakes. It had been some time since he had even thought to visit them since his new forced employment with Max.

Today, he would practice that wing speed assisted running trick that Steelwalt had shown him. Even though she wasn't around to show him other nuances to it, Zephyr was sure he could figure them all out. He knew the basic idea anyway. Get some speed in the air, dive, and land while taking long strides on the ground. Simple enough he thought.

He started on one end of a lake... 'This is it, I'm gonna do it this time.' He thought. Zephyr got enough distance between himself and the water then readied his body. His wings extended, letting the soft breeze and sunlight filter through them. His eyes locked forward, determined... and he took off galloping.

Just before the sand had gotten too thin, he leapt into the air and took to the skies, rising higher and higher. From up here, he could see the other end of the lake, that was his destination, and he wasted no time diving down toward that end. Sometime into the dive, Zephyr tucked his wings in and let the momentum carry him. Since there probably wouldn't be anypony around to assist him if he made a very unfortunate crash again, he decided it best to take it slower than usual. No good to break a wing or a leg, then have to find his way to the nearest settlement in that state. Worse yet, to him, how could he properly continue to teach Silver about flying if his wings were broken.

The ground approached at a decent speed, just a bit faster than Zephyr was wanting, but he didn't want to pull out of the trick at this point. No turning back now. The lake was just below him now, as he had to approach the ground, ready to gallop. The waters end... and his hooves connected with sand. Sand...? Zephyr had forgotten about the loose sand close to the lake's edge. Even though he tried to tap down to the ground lightly, he hadn't quite mastered that part yet, and had let his body do all the work. A forehoof dug right into the sand and threw off Zephyr's trick. His back end went up and over him, then under. Zephyr did a 360 in the air and then crashed to the sand, sliding a bit. His crash caused a huge dust cloud of sand to rise up, as well as a loud 'fwoosh'.

What did she mean how did he expect to be able to fight if he couldn't dance? "I think you're getting confused, I fight really well, but dancing is... UFF" Mid-phrase, Mal seemed to not care, she drug him with her magic close to the band. This was one of those unicorn magic tricks that he didn't like. Mal had him brought right in front of her, nearly muzzle to muzzle. He lightly pushed himself away for a bit of space and she began speaking again. Something caught his eye. A box to the side, a rather large box with a red pegasus next to it. There was something odd about this crate. Seemed kind of boring to stand around on the sides next to some boring box. Why did she have that suit on? She seemed to ignore or pass off any pony that came her way. She wasn't here to party with the others, she was on a mission. Was it sinister? What if he was the only one who knew and was able to thwart a pony's ill intentions? Since it happened in Canterlot, would his sentence get shortened? That would mean he wouldn't have to work for Max as long.

While thinking about why this pony would want to wear a suit if she wasn't here for the party, aside from trying to blend in, he realized he wasn't wearing anything at all. Hopefully there wasn't any dress code for these uppity Canterlot parties, Zephyr wasn't going to wear anything. He was comfortable how he was now. Still, eyes on the target.

"Are you even paying atte-" He heard from the side just after the red pony kicked the box and there stood a minotaur surrounded by... something unfamiliar to Zephyr. He recognized the instrument the minotaur held though. Just then, he let loose a loud chord that rippled through the room. Zephyr's ears curled back and he raised a hoof to his face for some indecernable reason as if those very chords brought a powerful force with them. This wasn't the kind of music Zephyr was used to, but the longer he heard it, the more it struck a good nerve in him. From his side, he heard Mal shout, she had reared up, excited. Trying to rile up the band on the stage. It brought a grin to his face. This place was rather boring before, but now... this is just what was needed. He followed with Mal's idea and reared up as she did, waving his forelegs with excitement. The tracer blacelet on his left leg glared from the light shining down in the room.

He didn't have anything to say to cheer on whoever it was they were supposed to cheer on, but Mal seemed to have that covered... and he didn't think his voice would be heard over this now, pleasant rocking chord that ripped through the room. This was going to be an exciting night.

I'm in -6.

Just after Mal had brought Zephyr to a hospital after his unfortunate crash earlier in the day, she presented him with a flier to some fancy party. He tried talking her out of it, but Mal proved stubborn once again, and her argument wasn't one Zephyr was able to fight. A night out, free food, relaxation. She really only had to say free food and Zephyr was sold on the idea. Still, the fact that it was some fancy Canterlot party warded off most of his excitement. He had never heard of this Starburst pony.

He gave Mal a quick response to her prodding joke. "Just hospitals." Keeping his usual smile.

Zephyr stayed behind Mal most of the way, especially as the two got closer to this mystery party. Getting in was rather easy, there wasn't anypony there to even welcome them, though that didn't stop Mal from waving that flier. He took note of this, maybe it was a Canterlot custom he wasn't aware of. Upon entering and glancing about, Zephyr was surprised to see almost no one there. A sigh of relief escaped his muzzle, that left more food selection and a much less chance that he would run into somepony he didn't want to, such as that captain of the guard, Bonfire.

He let Mal lead the way as Zephyr felt he would just get into trouble if he wandered here. He didn't do well around fancy ponies, he knew he didn't articulate well and was afraid he'd say something unintentionally offensive. She led the two to the drink table, a very welcome choice as Zephyr needed a drink. He observed the drinks and the methods to obtain one, noticing they weren't very non-unicorn friendly. "How is anypony without a telekinewhatever spell supposed to pour themselves a drink?" He kept his eyes on Mal while he spoke, disappointed with this. At least Mal poured it for him or this could've gotten messy. It seemed she wanted none of Zephyr's complaints, asking her own question when she turned to him and pushing those concerns aside. It wasn't a question he really wanted answered so it was welcome. He took a step back, pondering the question.

"Dancing? Oh, I can't do that. I knew a pony who could dance really well, but I never did ask him to teach me." His right forehoof came to comfort his mane idly, giving him a moment to look around and find something that could change the subject off of dancing. "I'm much better with my wings and in the sky, despite my cra..." He spoke as his eyes circled the room, but stopped when he saw a very familiar pony. Perfect way to change the subject! "Hey, I know that pony! I raced with her in the Running of the Leaves a few months ago!" He glanced to Mal. "She came in third place, right behind me, she's pretty fast for a unicorn." He eyes returned to the other unicorn. "I could introduce you, she makes the best strawberries in Equestria, hooves down." He pointed a hoof to Holly Dash, who was speaking to a rather elegant unicorn. Quite a sight.

(OOC: Forgot to mention that Zephyr has a tracer bracelet on his left foreleg.)

Zephyr listened to Mal and took note to do what she said. Finally, she acknowledged his anxiety of the situation. It wasn't the only thing making him nervous though. Zephyr sat and waited, suddenly building up his anxiety more as with each second. He had never been to a hospital as long as he could remember, and in his head, this wasn't a good place. When she came back, he took note of the number...

"Yes, they make me nervous. I mean, there's a possibility that you might be unconscious around a pony that you don't even know!" He started working himself up with his own thoughts. To the point that he missed Mal's little joke about shocking the desk pony with an unexpected twist. He continued. "I've heard they sometimes cut you open a little, why would they want to cut you open? Would they put something in you? I bet they do!" Zephyr's voice was low, if not a bit raspy for a few reasons.

Zephyr rambled for a moment longer until the moment he dreaded arrived...

His number was called and he went silent. Zephyr's glance pierced slowly to the receptionist that called it, then back to Mal. There was no way she was just going to let him walk out. Zephyr knew that there really was no harm in this and that they truly wanted to fix up ponies that came into this place, but that didn't help fight off his anxieties about it. Mal didn't need to say anything to him, her stare was enough to spell out what she wanted him to do.

He took a deep breath and walked toward the front desk, his number held firmly within his maw. Once the receptionist saw the number, she pointed a hoof down a hall with a friendly smile, and told him to follow a unicorn standing within. Zephyr associated hospitals with unicorns, as it seemed unicorns were mostly into medical practice, at least from his observations. This didn't help his nervous walk toward the unicorn who was just as friendly as the receptionist. She led him to a room with a bunch of foreign devices, all of which kept up his nervous state.

'There is no harm in this.' He kept telling himself this phrase repeatedly. The unicorn told him to relax while he sat where she pointed him to, but that was hard to carry out. Unicorns usually made him nervous. Magic was such an uncertain and unknown element to him, this didn't help him either.

... ... ...

Some time later, Zephyr came slowly trotting out of the room and back into the front area where Mal awaited his return. He was smiling and much more upbeat than when he went in. When he stopped in front of Mal, he sat for a moment. There were a few bandages wrapped on his side where cuts were present, but nothing major. "She said I was fine. Just a few bruises and cuts. She said I got lucky after I told her how I crashed. I said pegasi were used to crashing." Zephyr tapped an over-confident hoof to his chest once. The bracelet gleaned in the sunlight that snuck into the front room. Luckily the unicorn mare did not ask about that, he was a bit too nervous at first to come up with any story for it. Zephyr's composure was much more relaxed than before. "You were right, the pony in there helped out a lot. For being a unicorn, she knew a lot about wings. Said nothing was wrong with them either." He smiled to Mal. "I keep my wings protected, most pegasi do."

Zephyr stiffled a giggle when Swift Breeze fired off his joke. Cheesy and not something he was used to. Even with his current troubles, the monk could find a way to keep his spirits high. Something he reflected upon himself with his current situation, though he had found something to enjoy and look forward to for this job with the railroad.

Zephyr figured there would be no harm in giving more info about what he was doing in town, as a courtesy since Gale had told the two of them why she was in Appleoosa. Though he would leave out his past and certain details on why he was there.

"Hmm." He tapped a hoof to his chin lightly. "That's nice of you to help him fix up his shop like that." He spoke with a small and relaxed his features. "I'm here with Max to work on this big railroad project he has plans for. I don't know much about it, he's still explaining it all to me and my friend. She's the one sleeping still. We're heading off to Stalliongrad in a few days for some big, uh..." Zephyr stalled a moment, as he didn't remember what Max had called it. "I uh, I think he said conference."

Zephyr tried to brush off his ignorance on the subject by moving to the next topic. "It's a big thing though. I'm happy to be a part of it." Zephyr knew that was a lie, he didn't care for the project's success or failure. The only joy he found in the situation was talking with Silversword, who had shown him a different way of life.

She sounded rather angry and upset with him. Zephyr remained quiet the entire time, letting her release her frustrations with him and the situation. As the two advanced to the hospital, Zephyr became a bit nervous. Hearing Mal upset usually didn't make him nervous... she was almost always upset. But this time, it didn't stem from contempt, but concern. Nervous and heart warming, it was a different side to Mal that looked rare. The closer the two had gotten to the hospital, the more nervous he became. He hated them and associated them with mortal injuries. The thought of needing intensive care, even if it wasn't the case this time, frightened him. The thought of losing his wings scared him the most. Zephyr prided himself on his strong wings most, they were an important part of who he was, he felt. Flying and fighting were the only two things Zephyr has ever felt he knew well.

Mal's concern for him was both heart warming and troubling for his mind. He wasn't sure how to tell her of his uncertain feelings for her. Her warm smile as she held the door to the hospital both filled him with joy and worry. A smile in return as he passed her by into the hospital waiting room was all he could think to do to cover up any of his nervous thoughts that may be showing through. Worst of all, in his mind, he wasn't sure how Mal would take it if the uncertain thoughts stemmed from a knight.

One step at a time, he thought. First, handle the situation at the hospital and allow them to patch him up. Zephyr would take responsibility for the bill if that had occurred. As soon as that thought entered his mind, he let go a rather goofy smile. The thoughts of somehow getting this possible hospital bill paid for by Max through some loophole in his employment terms crossed his mind. He remembered after the first day that Max had both him and Silversword sign a terms of contract. There must have been something in there about getting injuries on the job paid for... If only the crash had actually happened on the job. If the wording was done in such a way that an injury must occur during the duration of his contract, that could work. The fact that these thoughts crossed his mind at all was troubling. He would ignore them, this crash was his fault, not Max'. Still, it was tempting, and hospital bills could get quite expensive.

He looked onward to what looked to be the front desk, then back to Mal. "So what next?" He kept his warm smile to her.

Zephyr sighed, but he was happy to recieve help from Mal. Her magic was helpful and with it, walking while sore wasn't much of a chore. He began walking away slowly with Mal when Steelwalt approached, though she also seemed sore. Based on what she said, Zephyr figured it was due to her age. It seemed Steel knew Zephyr wasn't going to try again, as she opened her wings, but before that, a hoof came into contact with his head. Zephyr didn't like this sort of thing and he grit his teeth, growling lightly, while shaking a forehoof at Steel. "Stop doing that!"

Though she seemed to ignore his outburst and continued on with her statement. The two mares spoke in ways that Zephyr wasn't quite understanding. "Managed to get some...?" he spoke in a confused whisper to himself. He let it pass as Steel went on to her next statement. She seemed to think he was more out of it than he really was. "I'm not THAT dizzy!" he said to Steel, who again, kept going. After she was done, she flew away. Despite Steel's odd ways, Zephyr still had some questions for her, a bit about flying, and many about the REA and what it meant for her. If he found the time, he would visit the tower when the sun was at its highest the next day.

For now, Mal seemed to want to bring him to a hospital. He knew at this point there was no fighting with her. His injuries didn't go beyond a few cuts and bruises. Nothing Zephyr wasn't accustomed to by now. He passed Mal a warm smile, who he found to genuinely want to help him. "Thanks... Copper." He spoke quietly to her as he allowed Mal to lead the two of them to the nearest hospital... he hated hospitals.

Now imagine if they had only aired episode 25 today or last week. It would've ended with that scene where Twilight gets sucked down by that green flame. Can you imagine the internet for that week if that's all we had to go by till the next episode?

Am I the only one who's actually glad they didn't re-use Discord?

No, there were plenty of people that thought that same thing.

And really, there was a 0% chance of him showing up again, given how the writers do things as well as how they defeated Discord. It would've just be a lame cop out to use him again anyway.

@Ginger Mint: I was thinking that same thing. Any time there's any sort of mind altering magic going on, it's a bit awkward, and kind of scary, when you think about the implications of it. In my mind, I tried to see it more as a nudge or Cadence pushing away the thoughts/ideas they were fighting about.

As for RP stuff, I'm on the side of not allowing changlings to be app'd, nor the queen. She doesn't fit with the rest of the world set here at all. She had no positive motive.

Mal sure was being affectionate, moreso than Zephyr expected. He smiled after her quick kiss, happy to see that she wasn't always so gloomy. She seemed to show her affection in unexpected ways verbally, at least unexpected to Zephyr. He was still a bit dazed and rather embarrassed that he mentioned Silver. After Mal gave him a bit of her mind, he glanced at her.

"I guess I did land pretty hard."

Steelwalt had to check up on him and for some reason, he had a feeling he knew what was coming. Sure enough, she tapped at his face a few times, asking if he was okay. Zephyr didn't like that, but he was too out of it to get upset, he simply swatted at her hooves. "I'll be fine!" He spoke in an agitated tone.

He was still on his back with his legs somewhat dangling in the air. This had to change, and Zephyr slowly rolled over on his stomach, giving off a low grumble as he did. Feeling more throbbing pain, he waited in that pose for a moment, simply looking ahead, his eye still half open. Once that passed, he lifted himself up, and looked around. "See, I'll be fine."

Zephyr ate those words as he took the first few steps and wobbled every which way. He still hadn't quite come back all the way. His vision blurred again and he began seeing stars, immediately he sat down to keep from wobbling over. Still feeling light headed, he had to lower his head somewhat and he knew one or both of the mares would come to his aid. He didn't want help in this and waved a forehoof blindly in any direction. "I don't want any help, I'm just dizzy."

That finally passed as well and his head was lifted. He glanced around and sighed. "Going to try this again." With that, he stood up again, and took another step. This time his wobble was subtle and his vision didn't blur. There was a bit of a throbbing pain with each step, but nothing unbearable. Satisfied with his condition for the time being, he glanced to the two mares. "See, I'm okay now." He passed a goofy, hopefully assuring, smile.

I may have mentioned this already, but I'm personally happy that that means not only does "France" exist in Equestria, but so does "Italy", or at least the equivalent languages. A possibility of seeing more locales, perhaps?

What? o_O

That doesn't mean there are those countries. Equestria is Equestria, it isn't some parallel to our world.

Zephyr wasn't sure if he went out for a few moments or not, but each time he opened his eyes, there was something different in front of him. Even when he did open his eyes, things were hazy and his hearing was a bit fuzzy. He could hear a voice in the distance, but he wasn't sure who it was. Zephyr mumbled a few unrecognizable words. When he tried to roll on his stomach, the pain from the impact sprung up again and he decided not to move. Pain was the only thing that seemed recognizable in these immediate moments, luckily it wasn't very intense. Zephyr was used to heavy impacts from a few previous crashes and his fights in Manehattan.

The impact, however, seemed to knock Zephyr into a few weeks ago. When he heard a voice, an immediate thought from then sprung into his mind. He attempted to push himself up, though it was slow, while he spoke somewhat mumbled words.

"Silver, be sure to keep your wings extended during your lift." Having just crashed, it brought his mind back to when he was helping Silver get over her fears of flying. She crashed quite often at first, he remembered. His vision and thoughts had finally stablized, and in front of him was a smelling salt that Steel had in front of him. To his other side, Mal was there with a concerned look as well as a threat if he died from the crash. Quite an illogical statement.

The pain started to subside and he gently nudged the smelling salt away from his face as he fully pushed himself up to an awkward sitting position. He glanced to Mal, giving her a look of confusion.

"If I was dead, how would you kill me?" He rubbed his mane, trying to wrap his head around why she would say that. To the two mares beside him, it appeared as if Zephyr was no longer affected by the pain, in fact, he seemed to brush off the fact that he just crashed. Still, it was easy to see he still wasn't fully there due to the crash landing.