SunsetSombra

Geez, all this noise was making it hard for a sleeping baby dragon to get his rest - which was exactly what Spike muttered to himself mentally as he cracked open one eye, temporarily burying his head under the cover of his blanket to try and ignore the noises, dismissed as hopeful apparitions. He was on his own for couple of hours thos morning, and all he'd wanted to do was just lay in his nice, cosy bed and relax...but apparently, it appeared as though fate had other plans for the young draconic one, as the curious calling from the library continued, as did his grumbling as he came to realise that nothing he was doing would work to make this reality any less real.

" [colour=#008080]All right, All right, I'm coming... [/colour]" the dragon mutters under his breath - one rather frustrated steamy puff of annoyance later, Spike crawled out of bed and trudged his way down the stairs. He wasn't much of a morning dragon sometimes, and this was one of those rare times that he wasn't necessarily his chipper self - although that was mostly because he'd not had much sleep, having had to help Twilight do some late night book arranging, and only finally managing to get to sleep some...well, three hours before right now. " [colour=#008080]If you're lookin' for Twilight, she's not really here just now...think she's gone to tend to something over at Applejacks or somethin' - but if there's anything I can help you with...[/colour] " this line delivered with a slow momentary pause, as Spike gave a soft exhale after realising he was probably not sleeping anytime soon.

" [colour=#008080]I'll do what I can for ya - but, uh...try not to mess around the reference section too much, we just rearranged that last night, y'know[/colour]? "

Mentally, he had just realised he was addressing a Griffon - right now, his tired mind was still just waking up, so his acknowledgement of the several others was rather slow on the uptake..however, he couldn't help but notice after a brief second that Dash and another pony were hanging around Twi's desk, which prompted a quirk of an eyebrow. He had never seen any of these faces before, and the fact that they were hanging with Dash was, to Spike, something of a curious oddity that he suddenly felt the urge to find out a little more about if he could - something about this was just slightly suspicious, and he wanted to find out a l'il more.

"[colour=#008080] Hey Dash, it's a l'il early for you t'be up and around here, isn't it[/colour]? " he says, realising that amongst them WAS indeed the familiar pegasus mare.

he then gestures with a claw at the other three for a moment, scratching the back of his head with the other. "[colour=#008080] And just who ARE these ponies and...uh, the...griffon[/colour]? "

" [colour=#800080]Don't you worry about me, Pinks, not gonna lose me easily[/colour]! " came a playful response to the Pink ponies comment, as the white DJ mare steps out behind them with a small exhaled sigh of distinct satisfaction, nudging her shades a little as she settled back on terra firma once more.

Vinyl couldn't ever help but smile a little as she listened to the enthusiastic bubbles of conversation from her occasional friend and acquaintance, Pinkie pie, whom had just happened to offer her a l'il time out some time ago when they'd had some conversation so long ago that she could barely even remember when...all that mattered right now was that she was here, she was in relatively good hooves, and that all of her gear was floatin' alongside her as she struts casually after the others.

"[colour=#800080] So, Hey Pinkster.[/colour] " Vinyl calls out to the occupied pink dynamo. " [colour=#800080]If ya need somepony to hold the map a moment, I could do that...[/colour] " She chuckles as she looks around at their destination, giving a soft smile as she takes in the scenery - this wasn't a locale she came to all that much, and for the most part it was a nice change of pace. 'course, she was still more of a more 'active civilisation' pony, but this place didn't seem too bad to at least enjoy a little downtime in with some friends in search of a good time and some casual fun...and of course, she'd brung her kit to help double that fun whenever she could.

" [colour=#800080]Well, may as well figure out where we head to from here[/colour]! " Vinyl speaks again, looking at the other two. " [colour=#800080]So where we stayin' anyway[/colour]?[colour=#800080] I wanna drop this stuff off soon [/colour]" Her question was asked with a small smirk on her features as she looked back at the pink party pony expectantly - not entirely sure what to expect of her...and in all honesty, liking it that way - at least it made being around the fuzzy explosion of a pony interesting.

Mac couldn't help but be amused at the situation - Klondike was clearly observant at least about things relating to his tasks, but his personal observations about his own personal care perhaps seemed to be a little less than attentive at times, which made for an amusing outsider view right about now. Klondike only just about noticing his own hunger by the sound of his own stomach growls, whilst the mere sound of a squeaky nail got his immediate interest.

Mac smiles, shaking his head slightly as he continues to eat his own meal, enjoying the hard work that granny had put into the meal that sat before him...giving the green elderly mare a quick nod as he took a bite and gave a small sigh of content.

"[colour=#b22222] Ah gotta hand it to ya, Granny - ya'always know how t'make hard work rewarded with a good meal[/colour]! "

the red stallion looks around, watching as the others continue their own meals and banter for a moment, just satisfied to make short work of his own eats and soak in the bonding that was taking place...after all, this was going to be a long project, and they all needed to be able to get along if this Barn was gonna get finished anytime soon!

Vinyl had made her own way to the food cabin - perhaps giving a couple fans a quick wave or a hug, depending on how she felt at the time...she was one to get into the fray of things, doing whatever she could to give her fans a l'il something to remember her by - even if she wasn't strictly feeling at her best.

Her mane was a tad ruffled, and her shades a little smudged here and there, so this really was just her live and unplugged, so to speak...she had plenty of time when she got to the destination to get prepped and ready for the l'il underground shows she was attending, and to make sure she had opportunity enough to simply enjoy the sights and sounds of places that she didn't often get out to see. Hers was the life of a DJ on the go, and she never would want to trade it for all the bits in canterlot.

Casually she approached the occupied buffet table, the same magical pale-blue glow appears around a plate on the pile nearby as she lifted it up and towards her with a flick of her attention, tail lightly flicking in neutral whilst she surveyed her options - a few ponies nearby were clearly aware of who she was, and had given her a little chance to skip a few places in whatever flimsy attempt at a queue this was, letting the DJ mare really get a good chance to scope out and choose whatever she fancied.

"[colour=#800080] Ha, not bad...should travel the rail more often, this is pretty great[/colour]! " She utters to herself with a coy grin. " [colour=#800080]And now, Munchies[/colour]! "

And with that, the DJ mare simply joins in the crowds eager crowding and bustle as she selects and decides what she felt like eating, enjoying the warm casual occasional banter with the other ponies as she did so - it was days like these that reminded her of how great travel could really be!

Well, this was immediately turning out to be a pretty interesting decision - Spike stood there, watching as the unfamiliar figure of Pigpen approaches, and introduced himself. The dragon couldn't help but notice the rather unusual aroma wafting from the Pony, and it took all of Spikes willpower to refrain from saying something about it...as funny as it might have been, Spike figured it would only offend.

{ Still, this encounter was reminding him that perhaps he ought to think about perhaps having a small bath later. }

" Oh, Hi there! " The dragon greets, giving a small wave before listening to the ponies spiel about who he was and whathe did - trash collecting didn't really seem to be the most glamourous thing in the world, but if it was makin' this one a happy equine, Spike figured there wasn't anything wrong with it.

" [colour=#008080]Oh, Twilight sorta hates throwing stuff out sometimes... [/colour]" Spike admits, giving a small chuckle. " [colour=#008080]She's all 'What if I'll need it later?' and 'Princess Celestia might ask about it someday!' - so sometimes I jus' kinda grab stuff I know isn't gonna be needed all that much and... [/colour]"

He trails off the sentance there, pretty sure that Pigpen would get where the end of that little remark was going anyway.

He would have said more, but this was the moment the doctor Spike could vaguely remember as the one doc' whom Rainbow had seen when she'd done that thing to her wing so long ago, came over to ask his question - Well, okay, it wasn't REALLY all THAT long ago...He just wasn't all that great at remembering stuff he wasn't really a part of all that well! - " [colour=#008080]Well I... [/colour]" Spike starts, but is promptly interrupted by Stable asking questions of Pigpen, causing Spike to exhale with a small puff of annoyance.

For a moment, he let the two have their conversation - not really sure where he could even get a word in edgeways, since both of them seemed to be rather intensely caught up in a discussion about something to do with a leaflet that Pigpen had eaten rather than read. That in itself sounded pretty silly to spike, who had been around enough literature in his lifetime to know that you didn't eat leaflets like that in the first place...this pigpen was a real oddball, it seemed.

[colour=#8B4513]"Just IGNORE him, Spike. How are you feeling now?"[/colour] - The question caught the distracted and contemplative Spike offguard as he shook his head to snap himself out of his momentary daze and gives a small ginger nod. "[colour=#008080] I guess I'm okay - I mean, I haven't had an 'episode' in a while...or at least, that's how Twi refers to it. Still kinda woozy about the whole thing, an' my memory of everything that happened isn't so great - buuuut I guess that's because I'm a baby dragon, huh[/colour]? "

This was about the particular moment that he found himself being distracted by a rather delicious aroma - he resists the immediate urge to drool a little, but he can't resist the need to go find out where the scent was coming from...which didn't take him too long, as this seemed to be something a particular green bespectacled pony was carrying on her person. Spike excuses himself from the others, as he jogs quickly after the deliciously scented pony and waves for her attention...!

" [colour=#008080]HEY...Heeeey[/colour]! " He calls out enthusiastically. " [colour=#008080]That deliciously awesome smell...what is it? Where'd ya get it? I gotta know[/colour]! "

Spikes eyes widened a little upon hearing this rather interesting nugget of information - Rainbow had certainly helped acquire a very useable fact that would likely make this whole thing work better than the l'il dragon could ever have anticipated. Indeed, nothing was surer to win Rarity's thanks and affections faster than giving her something unique that she could use for some previously unthought-of limited edition fashion line or special custom orders for fancy clients with both bits to burn and the connections to make all of the fashionistas dreams come true.

He shakes off the small dreamstate that had almost washed over him, regretting not being able to indulge in the brief daydream of Rarity offering thanks and another hard-won kiss on the cheek that had just started to play in his mind like a cheap film projector, and clears his throat as firmly as a dragon of his stature could...which, given his age, size and current state of mind, sounded more like a low-pitched squeak.

"[colour=#008080] This sounds PERFECT[/colour]! " Spike comments, excitement raising his tone as he looked from Twilight to Rainbow, a small chuckle catching as he does.

" [colour=#008080]You guys are the best - Rarity'll be SURE to love the idea, it's just the right kinda thing a pony like her deserves[/colour]! "

Spike could scarcely believe the luck of something like this - the perfect professional present to award the most professional and perfect of ponies...it was a perfect match for Rarity, and something Spike knew he himself couldn't ever top in a million years..

" [colour=#008080]This is gonna be the best present Rarity's ever gotten - Geez, I really can't wait to see the look on her face when she gets it[/colour]! "

Hey, there were a LOT of good apps, and it was a close vote...this was a real hard fought voting round and you all rocked your apps!

Maybe you'll all get another killer cast character to app for sooner or later - you all showed some really good stuff all around.

Voyager was a fine series, Chapien - you're crazy!

It was one of those averagely busy days in the treebary - or at least, busy for Spikes friend and mentor Twilight Sparkle, whom had left the dragon to his own devices once he'd woken up, made breakfast and tended to all of his regular morning chores. He knew she wasn't going to be venturing outside or handling any particularly difficult something or other to do that might possibly require his assistance, which left Spike at a loose end...and he was feeling JUUST a little bit restless as a result.

His mind raced for things he could do on his own here, but it all seemed a bit...empty...without having Twilight to goof around with in any real way.

"[colour=#008080] Hmm... [/colour]" Spike uttered to himself in thought, drumming his claws against the table he was currently sat at - a nearly finished bowl of Quartz balls sitting in front of him, which he occasionally picked at and crunched on as he pondered the days activity, or at least the direct lack of it and how he could possibly go about rectifying this fact.

Outside, the sun was pretty darn strong, and it seemed to be giving a particularly inviting warmth...giving the youngster dragon a rather sudden urge to go boldly forth into Ponyville and discover perhaps a myriad of things that might well help to keep his inquiring dragon mind occupied for an indeterminate period of time!

" [colour=#008080]Maaaybe there's something interesting going on outside... [/colour]" Spike concluded, flopping back down to the ground from his chair and making his way towards the door - for the most part, everything here was pretty much in order with regards to his normal morning chores - and there just didn't seem to be anything else he'd really need to be hanging around to do...and given Twilights considerably busy demeanour right now, he could hazard a guess she'd be like this for most of the day.

"[colour=#008080] TWIIILIGHT - I'M GOING OUT FOR A WHILE[/colour]! " Spike calls to the back, hoping that the unicorn could hear him. "[colour=#008080] I'LL BE BACK SOON[/colour]! "

And with that, he walks outside of the door - closing it behind him as he ventures forth into the bustle of Ponyville, in search of something to do!

All of the bustling activity taking place sent a warm glow over Mac for a moment as he watched the family's efforts in working together to get the pigs back into their pen - with everyone working together, it was easy to see why the Apples were renouned as one of the most hard working, most propserous and most dedicated farming families in all of Equestria. Nothing stopped them from doing what had to be done, and no matter how long any of them worked apart or away from the family, there was always a united front once they were all together in the same locale - the apple family stayed true to what family meant, no matter what.

He watched his cousin head off, deciding that he shouldn't simply get himself involved when so many were already seeing to it that the situation was contained and taken care of...and heck, for the most part it even seemed like most of them were making something of a game of it, which was a typical Apple trait.

Macintosh instead awaited by the tree designated for the challenge - she'd be back in no time at all, given the enthusiastic showing of everypony involved.

My poor, poor application is so abused. XD

In a cabin on her own, a familiar mare was currently finding it hard to get any real shuteye as the train loudly roared it's way across from it's departure to it's destination - the lone pony finding her sense of focus entirely unable to remain settled...Nope, it was just no use - she quietly harrumphs and sat up straight again with a frustrated and somewhat exhaggerated sigh. " [colour=#800080]Ugh, this is taking forever[/colour]! " she utters under her breath as she looks up at the roof.

for some reason, Vinyl Scratch just couldn't sleep or relax on this train no matter what she tried - whilst she was fairly familiar enough with this method of travel over the years, it was just something that she'd never really been able to simply 'rest' in whilst she was in a compartment on her own...and seeing how the majority of her kit was locked away safely in cargo for the trip, she wasn't going to be able to just bust something out and play around with it for the duration of the trip.

" [colour=#800080]Perhaps I shoulda brought my harmonica...[/colour] " She mutters under her breath, watching the world racing past outside her window, puffing a few small strands of mane from behind her shades. It wasn't like she didn't like being on the train, however - it was more that there was just nothing to do when she travelled alone!

The Unicorn taps the floor with a hoof lightly in boredom - she didn't really know what more she could do in here to take her mind off of being in transit...

" [colour=#800080]Geez, I'm so bored.[/colour] " She mutters to herself again for what seemed to be the dozenth time - before her eyes drifted behind her shades towards the cabin door, and a small wry smile creeps over her muzzle as she realised that perhaps the best thing she could do at this moment was to just see who else was up and around, suffering the same style of predicament as herself...that is, being completely at the mercy of having absolutely nothing of enjoyment readily available.

" [colour=#800080]Perhaps the buffet compartment is open, too - could totally go for somethin' right now.[/colour] " She contemplates, as the door to her compartment is enveloped in a dull blue hue, opening at her willed command whilst she steps out into the hall and down to find out if there was anything a mischievously minded pony like herself could stumble across that would have SOME mild entertainment value to it.

That's hard to do - given how it's the most singular popular element of shipping in the fandom...next to Celestia and Cake!

Rose, I love you...XDDD

[colour=#696969]Honestly, One proposes to turn the whole palace into a bouncy castle and this merits the literal stonewalling? And you wonder why I roll my eyes at your 'esteemed' leader so - no sense of humor, a real buzzkill. Those two royal pains have no idea about how bored their subjects were all those years ago before imprisoning my delightfully dashing self into a stony shadow of my former self - All I wanted to do was perhaps liven things up a little, and make things a little more memorable for everypony involved...then that rather overpowered rainbow cannon of Celestia and pals was called into play and ruined everything, slandering my good name...which had as a matter of fact never had anything else but good natured pranks and perhaps the occasional chocolate storm. [/colour]

[colour=#808080]Compared to that 'Nightmare Moon', another Problem your so-called Princess Celestia inflicted upon herself by not bothering to help Luna understand and come to terms with their subjects true feelings about her delightful night skies...why, I'm nothing more than a joker with an occasional mean streak.

Ha - Eternal night? That's far more potentially harmful than anything I ever did, and your two princess ponies both know that little factoid.

And you've all discussed the changelings - why do you think Celestia never thought to sort the matter out peacefully?[/colour]

[colour=#808080]I'll TELL you - she never even attempted to make peaceful agreements with the changeling hive - she's the supposed pony ruler of all of Equestria, and she let this poor, starving race plot for all this time...never once thinking or givng them any quarter to have their say, never even attempted to approach them to arrange some kind of peace treaty or agreement. No, Celestia did what she always did and quietly occupied the entire Equestrian pony races into a safe, warm bubble of snowflake'ism, believing that they were the centre of the universe and that nothing anywhere would hurt them so long as Princess Celestia governed over them.

Well, for the record - Equestrias very way of life is under threat BECAUSE Celestia governs over them...by treating these 2 parties as villains and not setting out a solution or a discussion before troubles came to a head, Celestia deliberately and knowingly put all of her subjects into harms way, and never once thought about the consequences...instead, choosing to drop Rainbows on anything that might argue back with her.

The power of Friendship? Neigh, this is the Power of tyranny, my little ponies...and one that Equestria has had imposed on itself because of one princess ponies personal inability to face up to and handle her responsibilities. Yet I am the one who is in statue-exile?

Praytell, where is the justice and the power of friendship in that?[/colour]

It wasn't like Berry was not expecting things to spiral into a crazed flash of pink the moment she heard the light tapping at the door - afterall, Ruby was an excitable young thing and her hyper mindset when she was in such a situation as this was something that Berry had put up a fair resistance and ability to handle over all of the time Ruby had been capable of expressing her excitement...

[colour=#EE82EE]"Mommy! Apple Pie's here!"[/colour]

But the flustered mare was now finding herself feeling as though perhaps she wasn't as prepared for this grand old weekend as she'd first expected - there was something in how Ruby was grinning and dashing around that made the wine colored mother pony a little more unsure that perhaps this was as good an idea as initially thought. Still, she shook off her moment of doubt and decided that perhaps this was just something she needed to put behind her and give her daughter the benefit of the doubt for.

She approaches the door, opening it for the young pony outside and smiles welcomingly, letting Pinchy have her room to come bounding in excitedly if she felt the need - and given her current state, that seemed relatively likely to happen!

" [colour=#ee82ee]Well, hello there[/colour]! " She says, chuckling a little as she gestured to the inside of her home.

" [colour=#ee82ee]Pinchy's just been ever so glad to have you over - I'm sure it'll be plenty of fun for all of us[/colour]! "

Berry was internally finding that statement to be a little uncertain for her own self...Just how much fun was likely to transpire this weekend?

Two potentially excitable fillys occupying the same roof was almost akin to nothing short of a memorable, but mischief-filled, time!

That'd be artax's little forum joke - the americanisms are all sorta being filtered into their British versions.

Yeah, I'm betting he probably meant Iron will - I don't think he's in the know enough to have the idea that the ep has aired ages ago, and that his character wasn't a pony...we've been told before that VA's don't always have the full info, or remember everything relating things they've done.

It's a thing that does tend to happen a lot.

Rainy days in canterlot tended to sap Vinyls inclination to do anything - and as she looked outside to the grey clouds above, Vinyl found herself quite content to be wrapped up all in her covers and not wanting to do anything else but stay where she was in her front room, just listening to music and unwinding...a hot mug of coacoa resting on the side neaby for her consumption. The faint sound of thunder outside having an altogether surprising soothing effect...

She'd just read the most recent letter received from ace for about the 3rd time, eyes closed as she pondered what she should say in reply - there was probably a lot she could say in a letter to the pegasus, but in all honesty she felt that she mostly needed to say them face to face, and not just through a letter - but still, seeing as this was the best she had right now...there wasn't any point arguing with herself on the matter!

Almost as a matter of reflex, she summons the quill, inkpot and scroll-bundle from the desk in her room...and started to gingerly conduct a letter.

With the letter now composed, she exhaled softly and rolled the scroll up with a deft telekinetic command, setting the newly-written letter near her saddlebag so she could take it down to the post office in the morning to have it delivered. She didn't really know what to expect of Ace's visitation in a few days, but she did know she was looking forward to it a great deal. For now, she rests her head down against the covers, closed her eyes and let the soft sound of trots domino carry her to sleep...

Everything else could wait for the time being until the morning - right now, she simply wanted to let her thoughts drift to much happier things.

Berry watched her youngster dash back off towards her room - it was sorta adorable to see Ruby so enthusiastic about her friends at school, and Berry felt her heart swell a little with pride at the thought that her little pinchy was really starting to branch out and be a social pony...

The idea that there were so many more sleepovers and adorable moments that she'd be able to watch pinchy enjoy and grow up with meant the world to the light-purple mare, who had done everything she could to bring her young daughter up as best she could on her own - it hadn't been easy, and there had been difficult times before in the past when Ruby was a younger and lesser capable foal, but with Pinchy growing up to be an adorable but polite little scruff of a pony...it seemed as though the best years of hers and pinchy's times together were just ahead within reach.

Berry shook herself off - the silly sentimental haze shifted as she cleared her throat a little and awaited her silly Pinchy's return...tonight was going to be a very fun start to what looked to be one of the best weekends in her foals life so far, and she intended to make sure nothing got in the way of this!