SunsetSombra

Pinchy gave her adorable reply to Berrys warning, and the wine-coloured mare couldn't help feel like this was going to go just fine.

Berry chuckles to herself as she watched the pair of filly's starting to chatter excitedly about their plans - this was the kinda thing she'd always wanted to see Ruby get into for the longest time, and Apple was most certainly a delightful pony for her to get to know...she was polite, and clearly a bright young pony. She didn't feel too worried about things going TOO badly, if both ponies were careful and she wasn't too far away if they needed any real help.

Perhaps she should soon get to preparing a few snacks for the pair of them shortly, but she figured that perhaps it wasn't best to do so before they had their first meal of the day, which perhaps she would get to doing in an hour or so, depending on how things went. Of course, she'd ABSOLUTELY have to prep some apple pie for dessert and perhaps serve up some of her freshest juices in storage, made up from some of the finest l'il berries and fruits that she'd been able to lay her hooves on over the last few days...afterall, growing filly's needed healthy drinks!

For the moment, she kept a little distance as she reads the news paper she'd had nearby...keeping eyes on the nearby events to see how things progressed!

Well, it did seem for a moment that Carrot cake was reading Mac's mind, since the offer of cake was mentioned - and Mac wasn't about to simply turn down the offer of one of Sugar Cube Corners famous cakey treats - no way, no how!

" [colour=#b22222]Ain't no trouble at all, Mr Cake - ah've gotta help out mah fellow pony, s'what apples do best[/colour]! " Mac offers to the other, with a smile as he hitches himself up to the wagon that was all ready and waiting for him. " [colour=#b22222]Now, let's get this show on the[/colour]-... "

*BAM!*

Anything Mac had been about to say was lost when an apple bushel inexplicably threw itself at Macs head from where they were being kept, throwing the apple stallion into a dazed state and causing him to wobble precariously. Further adding to the sudden chaos, a wheel from the wagon behind him simply bounced away, seemingly of it's own accord, causing the wagon to tilt and spill it's apple-contents on the ground nearby.

Despite Macs best attempt to stay stable, an apple rolls under one of his hooves and forces him to trip and fall muzzle-first to the ground...his size and weight jerking on the cart and throwing a mini-tidal wave of apples in his direction, bouncing off from his back, head and muzzle as he lay there trying to figure out just what went wrong!

He would have said something, but at this point all he could manage was a low annoyed grunt, as he rubs his head, feeling sore from the apple storm seconds before!

Big Macs day so far had consisted of being a constant hand to ponies who weren't physically able to take the load of their 'gift' - and whilst he had no problem being used as a delivery pony for this particular venture, he was starting to feel like some ponies might be taking advantage...the last customer, a stallion even, for example, had actually insisted on sitting IN the cart as Macintosh pulled it to his home. Still, this was the life of an Apple family member, and Big Macintosh was hardly a stallion to visually and verbally begrudge his situation...he'd handle everything that came his way until days end, no complaints.

"[colour=#ff0000]Hay[/colour]!"

Looked like any chances for a break weren't happening this moment in time...Mac raised an eyebrow, knowing just what was about to come next.

"[colour=#ff0000]Mr. Cake needs help. You uh, wanna, you know...[/colour]"

Macintosh looks over at Mr Cake, giving a small shrug as he headed on over to help the baker. " [colour=#b22222]Sure thang, AJ...[/colour] " - So much for a moments rest!

Honestly, it really wasn't so bad - he could handle the hard labour well enough, he did it daily on the farm for the most part and never really broke a sweat so handling a few bushels of apples to and fro was a piece of cake - and speaking of such, Mac quietly pondered if he'd qualify for a snack upon getting the apples to their location...afterall, one pony scratches the others back, the other hands out a free muffin in return.

Eh, it was a long shot and Mac knew it, but a stallion could dream, right?

Vinyl wasn't quite as prepared for that little snippet of information - the cogs of her mind grinding to a standstill as for the second time today in ONE hour, a pony would come out and simply ask her who she was...this was beginning to get a little weird for the normally well known DJ Unicorn. This was starting to rub a gaping hole in Vinyls overall ego, and shine light on where she may not be reaching some places with her music at all.

" [colour=#800080]Wait... [/colour]" Vinyl held up a hoof and rubbed her muzzle in a mixture of shock and the worry that she was gonna get a migraine from the sheer impact of this rather bizarre development. "[colour=#800080] You tellin' me you've never once heard of DJ Pon3 - Canterlot an' Manehattans premier DJ an'all around rising star...doesn't ring a bell[/colour]? "

She had to take a couple steps back in surprise - this wasn't exactly what she had counted on and the notion that a pony such as Quicklime didn't know her left her with a rather curious feeling of disappointment. Where did this pony come from to be so utterly deprived...and how could she set about making things happen?!

She looked around to search in her saddlebag, but quickly realises she'd forgotten it had been given in as part of her cargo - welp, so much for showing this pony some of the more recent flyers for her gigs...she'd just have to try and talk to this one and get her to give things a shot sometime.

"[colour=#800080] Hey...okay, maybe if you let me know whereabouts you live at... [/colour]" She starts, raising an eyebrow slightly. " [colour=#800080]I can get a DJ gig set up there...no hassle[/colour]! "

It didn't matter what it took, the DJ mare quietly resolved: She *was* going to at least win over this pony SOMEHOW, whatever it took!

Big Mac had to smile at Klondikes almost rock-solid determination - if he'd really had more time to be more of a social animal, he'd probably have hung out or something with the rather quirky handypony frequently. Since, however, the red apple stallion wasn't quite as free to always hang out with friends, he simply had to admire the work ethic and tenacity that this one pony was demonstrating with gusto...certainly, Macintosh had to commend him for being willing to throw himself wholly into his work and, as AJ might say " [colour=#ff0000]Get 'er done[/colour]! " without any dawdling or delay.

Still, Mac wasn't quite sure that this pony was doing things particularly with a huge deal of safe forethought, since he was precariously handling himself up there a little more carelessly than perhaps anypony working that high should aim to do...and this sent a wave of concern over Mac as he watches Klondike for a moment.

It was then at this particular second that Klondike fell, and Mac grimaced, averting his eyes for a moment - looking back at the sound of the hat clattering to the ground.

" [colour=#b22222]Well ah'll be...[/colour] " He muttered with a small amused laugh, watching Klondike dangle a little from the beam by a rope, letting out a sigh of relief as he finds himself grateful that the pony had at least had the wherewithal to make sure he was secured before anything had happened...but still, Big mac wasn't really fond of the idea of something like this happening so easily on Sweet Apple Acres. Still, all had ended well and Big Mac concluded that since no harm had come to Klondike through this incident, there didn't seem to be much point in making a big thing of it if the other pony was, in fact, taking basic precautions like this.

" [colour=#b22222]Well, ya'all shouldn't be 'hanging around' like that, ya know[/colour]? " Mac jeers at Klondike playfully, watching as he hung there - stifling a small snerk as the other pony belched loudly...an impressive feat from a pony such as Klondike, and one that Mac felt was certainly worth some mental applause.

{ Hey, he may be somewhat the responsible older brother/farmer, but he still appreciated a little belch humor afterall! }

With all of the not-quite-drama seemingly having passed, and Klondike making a return to doing everything he was before, Macintosh allowed himself a small chuckle at just how silly the whole scene had been before resuming his own work...and there was certainly still plenty of that here to go around, Eeeeyup!

Vinyl nodded at the answer here, seeing as this kind of answer was a fairly popular reason amongst most artists of this craft anyway...Heck, she herself was only even into music at all because of her folks, music school, and that one Popular stallion DJ she'd never really gotten to thank. Perhaps it was better that way though - afterall, it's not always a good idea to ever catch up to ones hero's, 'lest they disappoint you and force you to acknowledge reality of them being mere mortals!

Something felt a little off with the mares other answer though - somewhere amongst all of this, the young DJ Unicorn was getting a sense that perhaps there was a subject the other mare didn't really want to talk about, or that she wasn't particularly proud of...either way, there was almost a palpable sense of unease in the other ponies tone of voice as she spoke her reply. Vinyl decided that perhaps the better route of action was to perhaps probe in that had not yet been discussed.

The personal route! " [colour=#800080]S'Cool enough - this all gets me wonderin', though... [/colour]" She paused and raises an eyebrow slightly.

" [colour=#800080]What d'ya folks think of your style[/colour]? [colour=#800080]They gotta be proud of ya[/colour]! "

Vinyl wasn't really sure what it was that was leading her on into this questioning, but she figured it was a mutual love of music and all it involved.

Naturally, such a thing would no doubt cause curiosity in either mare to perhaps ask questions about how such things came to be - Vinyl nodded to herself as she tweaked her shades again, deciding that this was no doubt the source of what had driven her to ask more about who this mare was, and the music she created!

Woo, this was a heck of a train ride so far - she might not have been leading a party, but Vinyl still couldn't help but show a little of her theatrical love for the fans as she mingled, talking and signing an autograph here or there...and this could have gone on for a little while, until she felt herself bumping into somepony else, and a rather snarky comment spoken loud enough for her to hear.

[colour=#008000]"Hey SlickMcCoolpants, we're indoors - ditch the shades"[/colour]

Vinyl, of course, wasn't a stranger to a little verbal sparring - her immediate reaction was to give the green-coloured stranger a coy flash of the trademark DJ Smile, tweaking at her shades with a hoof and simply chuckling a little before making her own comeback. "[colour=#800080] Well, if it isn't a giant Glowstick[/colour]! "

Vinyl couldn't help raise an eyebrow at the stranger - she wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about the ponies mane that reminded her of somepony familiar, which was a little disarming - Whilst she'd seen ponies wearing her own manestyle before, there weren't many who seemed to wear it quite as naturally as this particular pony did. The DJ simply raised a hoof in greeting, deciding that now was a good time to break it down into a conversation. Besides, Since the others of the tabled group seemed to be enjoying their discourse about...whatever it was they were talking about right now...She could rejoin them later if she felt so inclined.

" [colour=#800080]You look like you're enjoyin' yasself...[/colour] " She says with a small grin. "[colour=#800080] you here for the food too, or didja need an autograph like the other ponies[/colour]? "

It was about as subtle an introduction as DJ Pon3 Vinyl Scratch could allow herself in such a situation - IE: not at all!

Big Mac had watched Applejack and Applebloom try and maintain a calm composure throughout the eating of the rather interestingly spiced concoction, and shook his head a little...clearing his own throat a little as he calmly acknowledged the discomforting heat still occupying his maw. However, he'd eaten perhaps a couple of meals that might have been a shade hotter than this in his time around Ponyville, but this certainly was the closest he'd come to breaking a proper sweat over an edible item - he had to admit, the carrots knew how to at least make things hot where the food was concerned!

" [colour=#b22222]Think ah'll...jusht take shome o'that bread mahshelf.[/colour] " The stallion says, finally reaching to take a slice or two back to his plate and starts to immediately take adequate bites out of it - he wasn't going to let appearances stop him from soothing the savage bite of the spice.

Looking back at Purple and Carrot, Macintosh was getting the sense that this was rather normal for the pair of them - both of them had tried their own wares and seemed entirely unphased by the exotic flavors, which the red apple Pony contemplated and decided made some lick of sense, since the Apple family clan were possibly the only ponies who could bite into a zap apple and withstand the rather unique flavors unlocked within - it was one of the reasons they made it into jam for the other ponies, instead, as the flavors were much more mild when boiled and mixed with other ingredients.

Appleblooms face had resumed, at this point, her normal composure at this point after finishing her morsels, and Applejack had 'Decided to sample the bread' of her own volition - he raises an eyebrow, a slight smile curling at the tips of his muzzle as things settled down - it was here that He took this time to voice a thought.

" [colour=#b22222]Jus' thought - it's be interestin' to see what we all could come up with as a group... [/colour]" Macintosh says aloud, rubbing his head with a hoof - the peculiar thought occurring to him after watching Applejack's expression return to a much more appeased one. "[colour=#b22222] Y'know, as a food - Bet it'd taste pretty great, too. [/colour]"

He'd been pondering the thought for a little bit now, but in venturing to bite into the spicy foods, he had been reminded that the idea should probably be voiced 'lest it fall through the cracks of his memory forever and never ventured into fully. He promptly pause, looking over now in the direction of Purple who had decided now was the time to give the best that they had to offer...sharing the same sense of wonder as his sisters as they await this mystery dish.

Just what type of dish was it she'd prepared that was about to come out this way and bless them with it's presence? Big Mac had no dern idea...!

[colour=#282828]Personally, that bugged me. I thought it made Equestria unique that it was more or less "France as portrayed in Disney's [/colour]Beauty and the Beast[colour=#282828], but with ponies!" And then they go and modernize it. Now it just feels... wrong. Felt the same way in Mysterious Mare-do-Well when we suddenly had modern construction machinery.[/colour]

'Hurricane fluttershy' first showed us the idea was already common, so it's not like this is new...Equestria's tech levels are usually more focused on 'rule of funny' when it comes to anything like that, since clearly it's far more lulzy to see a black and white PSA about wing power rather than have dash stand there alone.

Yeah, they could have used Spitfire here, but methinks the visual gaggery of a B&W Film entertained me far more in it's execution than that as an alternative.

[colour=#282828]Even if I'm still not pleased with the cover I'm getting...[/colour][colour=#282828] [/colour]

...Me neither! D:

Ahahaha, Oh Trixie...you're adorable!

Berry watches as the youngsters ran off to do their thing - she hadn't had a lot of time lately to tend to pinchy's playtime needs as much lately, and found herself genuinely relieved that she had such a friend to keep her entertained...still, this clearly meant that she had to make sure everything went smoothly.

[colour=#ff0000]*FLUMPF* [/colour]

Berry saw Pinchy get buried under the piles of towels and resisted the immediate urge to giggle, as she makes her way over to the struggling pile of blanket and nipped at a fold of the material, pulling it free of Pinchy whilst giving a somewhat amused expression, even if she knew Pinchy should probably have taken a lot more precautions to the situation than just pulling haphazardly.

Had anything dangerous been resting on or around the blankets, then something might have happened, and she'd have had to take care of it.

" [colour=#ee82ee]Careful, hun... [/colour]" She Lightly bapped her plucky adventurous daughter on the head, raises an eyebrow and gives a small tsk tsk.

" [colour=#ee82ee]Nopony wants this to end badly, so if you really need anything like that and can't get it...just ask me first, okay? It's just safer that way[/colour]! "

She didn't really wanna impose greatly on the fillys fun times, but she still knew that it was better overall if she kept an eye out and lent a hoof if they needed it.

It wasn't like she didn't trust Ruby to behave, or for her friend to play it safely with her...but a parent could never be too careful in a situation such as this.

Well, this was starting to get a little crowded - between the arrival of the now-silent pony from moments ago, and the group she had found herself acclimatising with nicely, despite the clearly eclectic selection of ponies involved. The newest one seemeed, however, to be a native to their destination - the accent being a very strong hint to it, alongside the fact that the said pony regarded as such in her entering speech.

Vinyl wasn't really sure quite what the instrument in question was offhoof...it was one of those that wasn't a common thing, as far as she was aware, and had certainly never come up in any of her circles before. However, the mention of the cold did kinda attract her attention as she shuddered, remembering having read the brochures for the locale. "[colour=#800080] Yeeeah, I've kinda been made aware of how cold the place is...totally prepped - earmufflers, scarves, jackets, boots...stuff like that is all packed for my trip.[/colour] " she answers with a small nervous chuckle, because the DJ had never really visited Stalliongrad much, if at all, before...

Her attention was then quickly drawn by Octavia, who had questioned her about what she was doing now - Now here was a familiar query if ever she'd heard it.

"[colour=#800080] Aheh...[/colour]" She says with a small shrug, rubbing her muzzle lightly as she thought about the last few months - seemed like lots of gigs, a few interviews, and maybe something along the lines of coming up with more stuff for a new album...although she'd mostly come out to Stalliongrad to take some time out to relax on that topic.

" [colour=#800080]Well...[/colour][colour=#800080]You know how it is, Busy Busy Busy...I've booked a little rest and relaxation out this way with friends, maybe get some inspiration while out here.[/colour] "

Mentally, she momentarily thinks back to the mare who'd just joined them - what was that instrument she'd mentioned? the balalaika...

Perhaps there was something she could do to work with a sample of one of those - she kinda doubted it, but you never knew in this industry sometimes.

Once the discussion turned to the direction of Starbursts cake shop, Vinyl found herself growing ever more hungry...turning her attention to the buffet tables selection of danishes, cream cakes, scones, sweet buns, and all manner of goodies. Vinyl pauses, glancing back at the other mares who had started talking about T'clopski or something - The unicorn snickers a little...she'd always felt that name sounded like a bad name for an infection of some sort.

Ah well - now was a good time to take a quick escape to grab some of the sweet treats, and refill her glass of apple and mint juice...

" '[colour=#800080]scuse me, folks[/colour]! " Vinyl announces as she slips off the chair and stretches as she levitates her plate and glass. " [colour=#800080]Time for this DJ mare to get the goods[/colour]! "

She then gives a coy grin, before slipping off towards the table - bumping into a couple fans along the way and signs a couple autographs upon their asking.

If there was anything Vinyl couldn't be accused of, it was not caring about those who enjoyed her music - For sure, she absolutely thrived on such moments as these!

Spike was lost in his daze of applebaked treats, barely hearing anything of the conversations taking place as he put all of his mental faculties into achieving the current task of deciding what he wanted to eat - well, most of them...since he was still thinking in the back of his mind about the idea of getting Rarity something so fabulous that she'd HAVE to lavish her attentions an' affections on him - yup, seemed to pretty much be the perfect plan!

"[colour=#800080]Well while Spike figures out what he wants, I'd love an apple tart![/colour]"

It was this sentence that shook him out of his mini reverie, and the dragon shakes his head to clear his head of the brief haze that had washed over him in his daze, deciding that now was probably just a good time to place an order...which he goes ahead and does quickly - he didn't wanna be the one to hold up the rest of the group, so he simply goes for the first couple of things that he enjoyed which came to mind at this particular moment!

"[colour=#008080] AJ, Couldya Gimme an Apple Fritter an' some applejuice if you have any, Please[/colour]? " He asked the orange pony with a small firm nod, seemingly having made his choice. Heck, he liked her fritters a whole bunch... and there weren't many juices in Ponyville better than Sweet Apple Acres own farm grown and made Apple Juice!

Spikes eyes grow a little wider at the sight of the rather ratty but familiar chest - it wasn't exactly clean anymore, and it hadn't been particularly pristine for the longest time, but Spike kinda knew roughly what it looked like, and was pretty sure that what was being hoisted into the air by the power of magic was more or less what he'd come all this way to find.

" [colour=#008080]YES, that's it[/colour]! " Spike utters excitedly, hopping up onto a nearby broken stool to get a better look at it, trying not to let his over excitale self get....well, too over excited at the prospect of being reunited with the collection of tasty gems that lay within - or at least, that's where he remembered they were. " I even brought the key with me! " He anounced triumphantly, holding up a simple silver key that had small taints of rusty streaks across it, which he breathed on with a simple breath and rubs on his chest, cleaning it almost like an apple. He plops the key into the hole and unlocks it, immediately rewarded by the sight of...

" [colour=#008080]Old manuscripts[/colour]? [colour=#008080]Broken Quills[/colour]? " He utters, rubbing his head for a moment, rummaging again through deeper, and turning up even more curious junk.

" [colour=#008080]They've gotta be here someplace - I KNOW I put them in here... [/colour]"

He leans more into the chest to get a closer look, but finds himself losing balance and falling forwards - his tail whipcracking against the chest lid on a reflex, causing it to loose it's balanced open position and falls squarely back into place again with a rather solid sounding thunk. Spike pauses as he tries to turn around in the trunk to rectify himself, which in turn would look like the trunk was jumping and shaking of it's own accord had nopony witnessed Spikes unfortunate situation.

The dragon tries to pound on the top of the chest, calling out to those ponies outside - this was kinda ridiculous, afterall....

" [colour=#008080]Uh... [/colour]" He calls out, quite glad that none of them could see the look of awkward humiliation on his features right now. " [colour=#008080]Little help here please, somepony[/colour]! "

Mac felt a twang of something he wasn't entirely sure was either remorse or regret when he glanced at Applejacks rather concerned expression...he knew she worried about his aloofness over the years, and it had been a subject of contention a few times in the past. He'd insisted that he was fine, that everything was just how he'd come to enjoy and appreciate the world around him, but she never seemed to want to take that as an answer - he wasn't ultimately sure there really WAS an answer he could give her that would make her feel less concerned, though, and thus had never truly made a point of worrying about it.

Perhaps some day, she'd see things his way, but that day certainly wasn't going to be today...

Regardless, Mac decided that the best course of action at this particular point in time was to focus on the barn building - Klondike was certainly focused and ready to get back to what the group had left to do for the rest of the day. Mac pondered over his choices, and Made his choice after considering carefully his available options. "[colour=#b22222] Well, ah think Ah'll take care o'the second floor... [/colour]" he says with a small nod, glancing around at the others momentarily. " [colour=#b22222]Anypony is welcome t'help out if they feel like it though, ah get the feelin' we're gonna need t'work closely t'get this done by the end of the day[/colour]! "

Considering the timing of the day so far, it wasn't like they were doing BADLY...but it was simply better to get things wrapped up as soon as they could..

[colour=#282828]Dearest Players of Canterlot:[/colour]

[colour=#282828]With the excitement of Friendship is Magic Season 3 coming up, we would like to make clear our policy regarding new canon content. As we are not sure what to expect, what new characters we will see, or how new locations may be used in our roleplay, we would politely ask that you all hold off on using content from S3 until we are able to process it and come to a final decision on what would be appropriate for our game. We will let you know what is allowed for our game as soon as we can in a compiled post. Feel free to work on any applications in private until that time.[/colour]

[colour=#282828]As always, freshly minted canon will be available for immediate play in Crossovers and Free for All, so feel free to use those areas to your advantage while we process the new information for Mane RP and determine what elements can be integrated with minimal fuss![/colour]

Thanks for your time, and we hope everypony enjoys what is to come on this weeks show!

Okay, my moving is taking affect this week and thus shall begin to be offline at home for a while, so my activity in RP's is gonna be down by about 60% for the next couple weeks whilst my internet account is transferred over - of course, I'll fight and claw for any internet usage I can get my hands on, so I plan on getting online to update RP's if possible, but regular IRC and Skype activity will most likely be a No-Go for any long periods of time for the next 2-3 weeks until kinks are worked out and finalised.

Sorry to anyone I'm in threads with right now - I HOPE to get up to date on everything BEFORE we move to the new place, but I also haven't been able to focus on RP fully the last couple of days thanks to this whole moving apartment stuff - regardless, I'll post whatever I can whenever possible over the next few weeks though~!

[colour=#800080]Vinyl Scratch[/colour], [colour=#008080]Spike[/colour], [colour=#ff0000]Big Mac[/colour], [colour=#dda0dd]Berry Punch[/colour], Robikku Pegasus, [colour=#8b4513]Brazil Nut[/colour] and[colour=#b22222] Poni Stark [/colour] { along with myself } shall all be back fully soon enough though!

Mac gave a wry smile at her attempt to retell the stories only he and her knew - fortunately, she had forgotten that that particular trip had been fuelled perhaps by a little too much Cider and brother/sister rivalry. Applejack stumbled as she spoke, deciding to let her rather weak comeback trail off for the time being.

A sensible idea, given the presence of the younger ponies here...wasn't really an ideal setting for 'em to hear about that!

Macintosh couldn't help but notice the distracted Carrot - seemed like Applejack was aware of the other ponies failed attempt to hide his interest, and was lookin' a little concerned for him. T'was cute to watch as Carrot stumbled over his sentances and tried to downplay where he was looking whilst he discussed the treats in front of them - Mac chuckled softly, and was just about to take a sip of his drink when...

Applebloom suddenly looked like she'd swallowed a rocket, which prompted the ponies to momentarily pause and watch her after her effort to eat one of the rather odd carrot treats. Mac wasn't really sure if the filly wasn't just overreacting, but either way it was kinda funny watching her change colour a little whilst on her quest for a nice ice cold drink. He'd have offered her his own, but truth be told he was almost all out, and he didn't really like the idea of running dry whilst eating something himself. It wasn't that such things really got to him, as such, but he liked to make sure that he was perpared for it just in case there was a real kick to it that he hadn't anticipated. Of course, his suspicions about this particularly spicy food were compounded once Applejack gave herself a sampling of the same thing, andwoundup just about blowing steam outta her ears - Mac pauses and shakes his head for a moment, chuckling a little to himself.

" [colour=#b22222]Well, looks like you folks got yourselves quite the kicker there, eh[/colour]? " he says, taking one for himself out of curiosity - since AJ wasn't known for bein' a particularly weak filly in her own right, this was getting his attention whilst her face turned weird colors from the strength. " [colour=#b22222]Now AH gotta try...[/colour]! "

He then took a large bite out of the treat - pausing to take a moment to chew and savour the flavours that lay within...the carrot, the subtle spices, the rather unique way it all tasted as a combination...and then the rather subtle burning that followed, which took Mac a couple of moments to adjust to as he squinty-eyed and gave a small clearing of the throat as he tried to get to grips with just what was starting to creep over his tastebuds rather forcefully. He calmly takes a sip of the drink, finishing it off as he rubbed his forehead with a hoof, giving one loud cough before he speaks again.

" [colour=#b22222]That'd, uh...that'd be some mighty impressive spicin' ya got there - maybe we should share notes on that... [/colour]" Mac says with a small chuckle, still visibly trying to not just give in to the toasty sensations currently welling. " [colour=#b22222]Ah always...always was a fan o'spicy foods[/colour]! "

Spike watches as Quicklime paused for talking to the other pony - the 'aroma' kinda taking Spike again by surprise and forcing him to hold his breath a little whilst he waited. Sure, he was used to the smell of ponies by now, but THIS pony seemed to smell...extra pony'ish - like he'd literally bathed in pure pony, before wading around head deep in a pile of smelly garbage. He wasn't about to make any comments in it, but the fact was that this rather weird pony seemed very interested in introducing himself to Lime...which wasn't something Spike had expected at all.

He sits on her back, arms folded slightly as he waits for his currently-boarded host to shake off the unexpected conversation, giving a small clearing of the throat - he didn't mean to be rude or anything, but his nose was kinda sensitive to stuff like this, and the moment was kinda starting to get awkwardly uncomfortable, just a little!

Spike wasn't quite sure what to say about this rather odd measure that Pigpen utilised - it seemed a rather peculiar method of achieving something overly simple, and yet for reasons that nobody could probably explain EXCEPT pigpen, it worked for him just fine. The dragon gives a small shrug - heck, he was a dragon who was used frequently to send letters to the princess of Equestria...he really had no place himself to comment on how somepony else took care of such things.

Giving a small shrug of a mental 'Whatever' at the thought, Spike nonetheless gives an appreciative '[colour=#008080]Thanks[/colour]' to the pony who had at least played a huge part in giving him a good lead to follow, before boundi9ng after the bees eagerly - sure, he hadn't thought before right now that he'd wind up chasing bees to find his lost gems, but sometimes that was just how the world turned...and Spike knew better than to just question how things worked out, so long as they simply worked at all!

[colour=#800080]“Howdy thar’; are ya’ supposed to be like, a talkin’ lizard?”[/colour]

Spike paused and looks over to the pegasus who'd addressed him with a rather flat look - he wasn't really sure if her question was overly serious or whether she was just not paying attention to the fact that his species was, in fact, Draconic in nature rather than just being some talking lizard.

He HAD in fact planned on saying something to address this rather awkward situation, but the sight of a familiar face stopped him short as Luna shuffled awkwardly nearby. It had been a while since they youngster had seen the princess of the night, and was therefore taken aback by her mere presence in a situation like this...so far from her canterlot palace home in the middle of the day, in a place where it seemed that nopony had even realised she would even have taken the time to visit at all.

" [colour=#008080]Uh...Wow...Um...This is kinda weird...[/colour] " Spike utters under his breath, immediately unsure of what he should do - yeah, he should bow to royalty, but he was so caught up in trying to handle his own mini life drama that it didn't seem like it was appropriately fitting to apply such a formality...the dilemma presented was a curious one. He immediately found himself feeling a great deal more subdued and uncertain of how exactly to present himself in such an awkward position.

The only thing Spike found himself thinking quietly to himself at this one moment was simply this: '[colour=#008080]I really should have stayed at home![/colour]'

[colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#40E0D0]"To be honest, you kind of had it coming to you. Ponies look up to you, and your music's entrancing, as in it's hard to carry a rational thought through listening to it, it's that good. I'd probably have been caught up in the mess had I been there." [/colour]Once Wordplay had made her thoughts on what Vinyl had said regarding the article known, The unicorn DJ mare decided to speak up with a chuckle.

" [colour=#800080]Hey, I know things were a little screwy that night - I totally took the blame for it, an' paid up what I could afford...surprisingly, talks with the folks in charge went pretty well, an' my sponsors kinda agreed to adhere to whatever was decided in future, no hard feels. [/colour]" Said Vinyl matter-of-factly. " [colour=#800080]Nopony got hurt, at least, but there was a fair mess in the club an' on the streets outside. We cleaned as much of that as we could, made a public apology an' accounted for the whole shebang...I might be a bit of a party mare, at heart, but I know when I gotta do my part t'keep things real outside too.[/colour] "

Vinyl then casually waved a hoofwave of welcome to the new entrant as she announced her arrival - not really sure what to make of her exactly right at this moment, but not really bearing it in mind too much...she was seemingly aware of who Vinyl was along with the Grey earth pony, Octavia, whom Vinyl had heard about a few times in a couple of circles. Of course, she'd never personally met Octavia, but from what she'd heard about the cello playing Earth pony, she was a pro at her art - Vinyl could respect the artist side of her at least.

She then snerked slightly when Starburst said she'd never heard of her during her own questions and answer session, like it was s'posed to be a shame or somesuch...although it didn't really annoy vinyl as much as it did make her curious why the pony would choose to say it that way. She didn't really care if ponies didn't KNOW of her, but when they kinda made it sound like it was a big deal that they weren't in the know, that kinda sat wrong for the DJ mare...however, she let the fact slide - the trainride was no place to start letting her bugbears get the better of her. She addressed Octavia, of course, since she was the other major name in the group...and to be honest, that made sense to Vinyl, since Octavia did seem more of this ponies taste given her answers - although, she thought to herself, she might just need a sample of the club life someday!

Anyhow, ignoring anything regarding starburst and the new arrival for the time being, Vinyl focused on how Octavia answered the questions - she was clearly one ofthe upper class ponies, which was always an interesting type. However, she didn't seem to be as stiff, which struck the DJ as a refreshing change of pace - Canterlot entertainers of the classical type were usually whimsically posh and stuck in their ways...whereas Octavia seemed, for the most part, open and at least mostly amiable, although her classical background still shone through like a sore thumb in some of her answers - oh. and in her use of language, which did seem to become a little flowery and purple at times to the Simply Straight-talking Unicorn DJ.

Still, as far as Canterlot folks went...yeah, this mare didn't seem to be so bad.

Wordplay had herself a little diatribe about her answers to the questions, which Vinyl listened to and nodded a little at - a rapper, it seemed, which Vinyl sorta approved of a little. Sometimes she'd helped out a few ponies with some beats at parties, and perhaps even loaned her own {albeit not as hotly sought} vocals to things if she was asked. Wasn't often she found one like wordplay, though, which prompted Vinyl to give a coy reactionary smirk as she pondered what she should discuss with this one later...she'd be the pony that perhaps a DJ could relate to more than those with a classical outlook, such as Octavia or Starburst.

" [colour=#800080]Nice t'meet ya, Miss Wordplay - I get the feelin' me and you might jus' have a few conversations t'look forward to[/colour]! " She says with a small nod.

" [colour=#800080]Heck, I've rapbattled a couple times with friends...if ya ever feel up to something, swing by clubs at canterlot, an' I'd lay some down with you anytime[/colour]! "

At this point, Melody piped up about playing the Violin and knowing about Vinyl and Octavia - Vinyl pauses for thought and raises an eyebrow as she tried to remember all the times she'd come across some of these types...ponies who didn't really have a whole lot to say about what they did. In a small social situation like this, Vinyl felt like she simply wasn't trying to get herself known, rather sticking to more basic details rather than speaking about herself in general.

Well, this was definitely quite an odd gathering of ponies, to be sure - Vinyl wasn't ultimately sure if it was going to be a problem or not, but at least when in the company that she was keeping right here and now, there at least promised to be a very interesting dynamic amongst them...and whether or not it proved to last throughout the whole train ride, at least the DJ Mare knew one thing for sure: She wasn't likely to get bored with anypony here around!