tacobob

The youngest member of the two pony staff arrived to pick up their dishes. “Excuse me Miss.”, she politely added, “I heard you cannot digest dairy products....So..”, she sighed, “Rice balls are not for you...At least in the traditional sense, so I will make them with coconut milk.", she paused to allow Daze to change her mind. Then she quickly took the others of the dragon and cat before vanishing back into the kitchen. "Haunted library.....", The cat read from her brochure, "There's also a haunted movie theater....An not-haunted opera house....Ponyacci is performing....A very haunted Curio shop....Looks like there's a sale on cursed monkey paws and an Basano Vase.....Hmmm.", she skipped over a few things, "There's also a place called the 'House of Enchanted Comics' where apparently you can become a superhero in a comic book type world....Weird....." As her last word was spoken, the deserts and the bill was quickly placed on the table.."That was quick...", Thrilly whispered.

Wind Walker needs more friends. Maybe less kicks to her shins....Or do ponies have shins? And maybe she'll bring her dog along as well. RALPH!

“Oh boy.”, Thrilly groaned. The Pegasus pony really should have stuck to the foods with the ‘foal’ level of spice. She couldn’t drink milk and alcohol was off the table, so what else could she use? Then it dawned on her. What did Marey Poppins recommend? “How about taking just a spoonful of sugar?" Even honey would do well to neutralize the heat! By then, she had finally defeated the heat. Good job. And while she did not dare speak it, the cat was now very sure that Daze would make an incredible clown at her circus. She had the moves, the speed and the ability to amuse all with her hijinks. "Right....Rice Balls.....Sevaya Kheer....And Bubble Gum Ice Cream....Weird...", she glanced over at the little dragon who could only grin back as she ordered. Once the waiter vanished back into his kitchen, Thrilly turned back to the pair. "So....What should we do after this? You two could use a little break...Maybe a quick, cat-nap....I think there's a nice little park near here...Little pond....Trees...Benches....", she glanced at a small pamphlet that exclaimed in big bold lettering, 'WHAT TO DO IN CANTERLOT'.... "There's also an very old book store nearby that according to this, is supposed to be haunted. Oo-oo!", she groaned like a ghost as she waved her hands about. "Anyone else have any ideas?"

And speaking of Apple Bloom. She was a really good kid. Smart, brave and resourceful, she’d make an idea future candidate for officer school. And she was actually helping them set up camp. And not just sitting there whining about the bugs or how she really would prefer her own bed over an sleeping bag. Oh, sweet Celestia, this was a kid she hoped to have one day. But would she? Little future kid would be raised in a mansion with al the things he or she could ever want. Would her kid grow up to be a spoiled brat? She dreaded the idea of having a "Little Lord Fauntlerpony'. A bratty little foal with a permanent sour look on his face and his mouth always ready to say...'I Want' or 'Wah!'. “I would be more than happy to have a glass of your famous apple cider.” Her family made some of the best ciders one could find anywhere, and when cider season began, folk tended to flock to Sweet Apple Acres to sample the batch. The lines would stretch far and long and resemble lines one would find at the grand opening of a new Whinny World ride. The little farmer’s food also looked better than what she had brought along. This was a small bundle of MREs or ‘Meal, Ready To Eat’ type meals. They were easy to put together and filling, but not very tasty. Fortified pastry. Eep. Fire Walker caught notice of Fluttershy who had vanished into her tent for a moment. She was probably looking after that devious little rabbit she kept at her side. The incredibly gorgeous mare was quick to offer help to the little farmer, but also turn down the officer's offer of whiskey. Oh, the red pony would pay ALL of the bits to see how she acted when tipsy. Thankfully Alizarin Fruits took up her offer. This was some good, primo stuff she had. Feeling a rather heavy wave of positive energy, she also offered up a drink to Sombra. The thought of this actually happening blew her mind just a bit. Was he a real, living creature, or an animated shadow? He had an somewhat adorable little sleeping bag at his side. Did he purchase this? She almost wanted to see the whole scene. The dark lord visiting an local general store...Maybe an Cantermart....Him with his impressive figure and bloody red eyes and horn...Standing in line, patiently, waiting to purchase his little bedroll. Maybe he even had a coupon floating at his side. What was he looking at? Both he and a few others were looking towards......She followed their eyes...To another pair of eyes...Ones that glowed in the dark....Probably belonged to an animal..."Can we help you?", she asked the owner of the eyes. Mr Gumby quickly made it to her side and waited for his commands. 'Ralph', he whispered.

Smolder strolled into class with a big grin on her scaly face. Beating up evil wizards! This was the class for her! Originally she assumed this was just a course for nerdy unicorns to take. Those single-horned ponies would throw on their pantaloons and a scarf and try to figure out what spell they could defend themselves against with another. Could Imperio defeat Locomotor Mortis? Wedges verses swirlies? Great taste verses less filling? Boring geekery! Then she heard even non-unicorns at the Royal Equestria Army took this class. They needed to learn how to defeat evil-doers who used magic without actually using magic. And while dragons were the best at almost everything, they knew even a mighty dragon could be felled by a sneaky spell. And eventually she would encounter an fowl wizard or evil necromancer whose face needed a good kicking! This class would help! Then it dawned on her. This wasn't a class against the 'dark arts', but 'dark hearts'. What the heck was a dark heart? The orange dragoness sighed to herself. This was one of those moments that a little extra, further bit of reading would have helped. But she already had made up her mind and her backside was already resting comfortably in her seat. So she would stay. And since her very best birdie buddy Gallus was here, she could always amuse herself by throwing 'magic missiles' (Aka crumbled up little paper balls) at him. After two seconds of sitting, Smolder glanced down at her book and quickly removed the plastic covering....This was about empathy? And what was empathy? The ability to understand and share the feelings of another........Oh-Oh.

The cat paused to run her hand through the dragon’s odd bristle-like hair. Fins? Actual hair? Do dragons have hair? As tough as she tried to appear to be, Knife seemed to appreciate a little affection and leaned into the little pat. “So...since I was good.”, she smiled back at Thrilly, “Does that mean I get to have a desert?” Her smile deepened as the flying acro-cat nodded her head. Kid’s desert menus always were kind of terrible. Usually one would find at the most four choices....And two of them weren’t really deserts. Milkshakes were not deserts. While they contained whip cream and ice-cream, nobody in the history of ever purchased a shake after their meal. They would have it with the meal. One hay burger and an vanilla shake. The fine ponies in Las Pegasus changed that when they started putting out giant shakes that includes a piece of cake, an cookie, a donut and an brownie on top. That was a desert. The other poor choice was apple slices. Ugh. The best choice for Knife was a ice cream sundae. It had both ice cream and an brownie along with hot fudge. The other choice was a piece of chocolate cake, but by then the dragon had made up her mind. “Ice cream!” Once Thrilly had finished her meal, she quickly picked pumpkin curry. “It’s a weird city.....Lots of large stone buildings....statues....I heard its residents had originally fled Griffonstone once it fell into ruin..", she smiled as her new friend decided to throw caution to the wind, "Everything is pretty much new to me in Canterlot.....", she gasped as Daze broke into an series of shenanigans. "No....No...Don't drink water.. It's worse....Oh dear.", she gasped as she watched the Pegasus pony bounce about for a moment. Thankfully bread was there to save her...."Are you okay? Should we get you to a hospital? Not sure fire should have come out of your ears...", she quickly checked to make sure her comedy injuries did not translate into real injuries..."Maybe you should have some desert? Cold desert?' Sevaya Kheer was yummy but it contained milk. Maybe fried rice balls?

The unicorn shrugged his shoulders, "Guess it depends on how well off the Raider is.....Or if he or she is cold...I guess.." He was slightly confused by the question. Not confused by anything, was Wind Whistler. She knew what she was going to do. "Yeah, I'm coming with you...And my former wasn't so much an adventurer, but a dumb old jerk....", she returned the canteen. "If I ever see him again, he's going to wish he had been captured by raiders.....Maybe I should fly around and spy on these guys...", she opened her wings but stopped. It was very obvious that something was broken, and she let out an assortment of curse-words that probably could be heard all the way in Canterlot. "Sorry guys..", she gasped. The drums started once again and shouts could be heard coming from ahead. Some sounded like modern pony, but quickly shifted into really bad movie-jungle words. A few Ugg-a-Wug’s, ooga booga's and even a few Boop a doop's were shouted out in an assortment of bad jungle accents. While terribly, there were several different voices and they all came from one direction.....Would the group stay and fight, or run away?

"Oh." There were a few other things she could have eaten with her spicy food, but they all seemed to have milk in them. Like milk chocolate. "The only other thing I can remember was bread....If you get a little hot in the mouth, just cram a bit of bread in your mouth. It eats up all the spicy bits....." She also heard alcoholic drinks were also helpful, but she never tried, nor would she ever. 'Knife' was very happy to see her food and started to scarf it up the moment the plate hit her table. The cat paused to watch the scaly girl gobble up her meal. She was just too dang cute. Unlike her new friend, Thrilly took her time with her meal. "I believe we're touring one of the griffon cities next.....Rockwington....I think....", she wisely took another sip from her glass. This was hot! The food wagons back at home might as well be kitten food compared to this! Maybe she should have ordered the mac and cheese as well. She heard the grey city was filled with artisans and pretty much anything was made there. Statues. Paintings. Lots of art! "Hey uh....", 'Knife's face was now looking a little on the orange side. "What are we doing next....I mean.....We....Just as long as you don't mind me hanging around you that is..."

Back in the early days of Canterlot, the site had a bad habit of going down right after I hit SUBMIT REPLY...So I usually would write all my posts with an e-mail program, so if something happened, my post would still be safe. And don't worry, your posts are great....I'm doing a seven day workweek, so everything about me is shoddy.

Fire Walker glanced over at the little filly. The old stereotype was that ponies were a very forgiving people was riding high with the little farmer. He might have enslaved an entire kingdom and later tried to conquer Canterlot with an army of mesmerized slaves, but that was like yesterday! The past! Move on! Don’t dwell there! Move on to the present! The present where the former king probably had another scheme to conquer all ready. She trusted Sombra as much as she could throw Canterlot Castle. She would keep an eye on him. See what he really has planned. She doubted he was that concerned with a group of random animals. Maybe he was seeking out a mare or two to snatch. She would not allow this. So now there were two mysteries at hoof. Find the missing animals and see what was going on with Sombra. Maybe he was really Discord. That silly serpent hadn’t bugged her in months. Maybe he finally found a girlfriend. Gumby stood by the yellow coated mare. He would also protect her. “RALPH”, he barked with a slightly husky tone. He would be her guard-dog. Nothing would get by him. This lasted about a second as a little butterfly lured him away. “RALPH!” Thankfully it did not lead him away from the group. Sombra was still there and still very cranky. Being an officer, she could not look weak and continued to look him in the eye. Something bothered her. In the flesh? Did Sombra have any flesh? What she had heard was that he was an Umbrum. A living shadow that was shaped into an pony form. He wasn't a real unicorn, but still very powerful. If he wanted to turn her group into mindless zombies, he would have done it by now. "Well, don't do anything evil, alright?" Maybe he was trying to earn some brownie points with the princesses. Yes, I did horrible things all those years, but I rescued some cute animals, so are we even? The small group took time to set up their camp. This was something the officer was really good at doing. The tents would stand tall, and the fire was within regulation. Thankfully she brought enough R.E.A approved 'Fluffy Puff' marshmallows for everypony! Young Alizarin appeared to be a tad bit on the grumpy side. She might have been worried about the animals. Worried that she might not be able to solve the mystery. Thankfully the officer had a flask of some of the finest Rockwington whiskey. She pulled it out with her wing and waved it at the worried farmer. Single Malt. Aged 30 years. A quick sip wouldn't make her drunk, but it would at least take away the grumpiness. Her offer was good to just about everypony, except Apple Bloom!

Hopefully Sombra won't be out there...waiting for you.....

Oh, why did she read that book? A rather sleepy Smolder ambled into the main foyer, along side her classmate Yona. The big yak was basically a walking mattress. Even wore a sheet on her back. Would anyone mind if she hopped on her friend and took a little nap? Probably. And considering how hyper her large friend was, there was a very low chance she would be able to stay on top before being tossed off. She could sit. And listen. She wisely brought a cup of coffee with her, but so far it wasn't helping. The young dragon had finished reading her favorite new book last night. Salem's Stables. A rather terrifying little novel about a writer who returned to the old village he grew up with, only to learn its deadly secrets! It was full of Vamponies! And while she normally paced herself by reading just a chapter a night, as she drew near the thrilling conclusion, she needed to finish it all! The ending alone nearly caused her scales to shiver off. Then it was time for bed. And she could not sleep. She could almost see those vamponies sneaking about outside. Waiting to taste her awesome dragon blood. But they couldn't have it! It was hers! And while she was awake....They would never get their filthy fangs on her! Oh-Oh! She nodded off. Thankfully the noise in the large room quickly shook her back into the land of the living. Princess Twilight was giving her speech. She was leaving he school to rule the whole lot of Equestria. Old news. Can't believe she will be doing the job of TWO rather ancient Alicorns. How will she sleep if she has to move both the sun and moon! There was more of her speech. Yadda Yadda. But wait. Starlight Glimmer was still the Guidance Counselor? Huh? She could have sworn that the usual trusty grapevine had mentioned that Glimmer would be running the school as the Headmare. Instead this 'Bluebelle' would be running things? Who the heck was that? The confused dragon glanced over at her friend with an look of utter bafflement. Thankfully her question was answered once the purple mare was finished. And nope. She had no idea who this gal was.....A gal who was also a guy in the past? Pony magic was odd. Yona was already on ball with the new leadership. Hmmmph. Smolder really needed to see how things went before passing judgment. Along with the others that cheered the new Headmare, there was an odd little creature who shared Yona's enthusiasm. Was he a Diamond Dog? Giant rat? Hamster? He almost looked like one of those creatures that attacked her and the others awhile back. What did Fluttershy call them? Pukwudgies? Were they able to talk? For now she would try her best to stay awake and hear whatever speeches they had left...And maybe the dragon would be able to get a quick nap in before the first class.

The captain smiled broadly at the little Apple filly. She had been assigned to look after her older sister and her unborn foal during their little adventure in the Everfree. Now she was looking after the elder mare's sister. Who finally got her cutie-mark. It almost matched the marks her friends also had. Was that something that had happened before? Friends getting uniform cutie-marks? “That’s my little sister’s dog, Mister Gumby.” The little corgi was rather grateful to receive early snacks! “RALPH!”, he happily barked as he did his ‘snack’' dance’. This consisted mostly of him shaking his chubby little corgi backside. Once the dance was finished, he gobbled up his cookie, gave the little farmer a very special ‘boop kiss’, which consisted of him standing on his back legs and giving the filly a kiss on her snout. After noticing somepony very familiar to him, he rushed over to the Pegasus mare. “You might not remember him Lady Fluttershy...”, the Captain was starting to feel just a little odd...Like someone...or something was watching them. “My sister and father picked him up during your last adoption fair...event...”, she really hoped her silly father left the poor mare alone during her pet-event. Considering the mare was drop dead gorgeous and he still had a few sons that were unmarried. He might have tried setting her up with one of them. Oh the horror. Their little party was shaping up rather well. A few farmers and the pet-whisperer herself. She made sure to nod her head back at Alizarin Fruits. Name almost sounded like a drink. Maybe even a Sangria with extra red....red wine....pomegranate juice...Hmmm. Once she was finished with this little quest, she would have head over to the nearby pub and have them make up an tasty Alizarin Fruit! Then she noticed somepony who really should not be there. "Sombra!", she growled at the shadow lord of lies. The former tyrant of the Crystal Kingdom. The dark wizard. As she took in the form of the loathsome libertine, she instinctively stood in front of the filly. He would have to get through her if he dared to harm one hair on the farmer's sweet little head. She knew he was very powerful. and also dead. What's with that? "Lady Fluttershy, didn't you and your companions..", oh wait, she couldn't say the 'k' word in front of the little farmer. "Illkay imhay eadday?", she wisely used 'pig-pony' to describe them putting an end to the shadowy scoundrel. She also noticed Mister Gumby was still playing with Fluttershy. Normally, he would be in the middle of chewing the lord of larceny and master of malfeasance's face off. But something was wrong. This didn't look like the Sombra she had seen pictures of. He looked a bit sad. Like a poor copy. "Sir, I really hope you are not a changeling hoping to play a prank on us...", she was ready to defend her new companions or give a pesky little shape-shifter a good talking to. Maybe it was Discord? He always liked to play pranks on ponies!

I'm going to guess Fire Walker can see Sombra...She just doesn't believe she can see him...Like...why is he here? She'll probably rush over and cut his throat once she realizes he's really there. Sorry Applebloom. This might be a little traumatizing for yah.

“I’m good....Really....It’s just so cute....Everything...”, the cat’s eyes were now filled with tears....”And also very depressing...Geez....Mister Muffins..”, she glanced away and watched as the two fillies cantered away. “So random...”, as she pondered what sort of creature that was recently put-down, the waiter arrived with their drinks. One glass of neon colored sugar-water for the dragon. A milk for the cat, and a glass of Canterlot Springs Organic Limited Batch Artisan Gluten Free Water. Thankfully they put the milk in a glass and not a bowl. The cat took a small sip from he glass. “This isn’t just because, I’m a kitty.”, she grinned back at her friend, “Milk is really good against super-spicy foods. More so than water.. Oh...that was quick.”, she purred. The food had arrived! The little dragon glanced down at her meal. She wasn’t getting regular mac and cheese. Nope! It was ‘Fun Shaped’! Her macaroni was shaped like little unicorn heads, festive stars and a cloud with a rainbow. The meal also came with apple slices and French fries. It was basically a meal of side dishes, but the dragon did not seem to mind. These were not ‘fun shaped’. Thrilly and Daze’s meals also were set down. The waiter smiled and uttered “Atithee Devo Bhava” before shuffling away. "So, when is your next show? I'll hate myself forever if I miss it....", she had a taste of her meal, "This is also freaking awesome. Blows the food wagons away..."

The drums really started to bother Pocket Change. At first they started off what seemed like an ancient Tenochtitlan marriage ceremony. But then it shifted into an war chant. Then just nonsense. What was going on? The desire to continue to listen to the odd music was quickly ended with the appearance of an odd looking mare and then there was Hogosha's sneeze which might as well been a hurricane breeze. This caused the drums to stop and the mare to let out an yelp before being knocked out by said sneeze. The unicorn quickly shuffled over to their attacker(?). "Huh.", he studied the Pegasus pony. "She's actually wearing an University Of Fillydelphia sweater...It's in really bad shape....Oh.", further studies showed that she had repurposed an shirt with pockets. The pockets were placed over her hooves and she had fashioned sharpened rocks which in turn were placed in the pockets like hoof-blades. Her wings also appeared to be in poor shape as well. Just as he was about to check to see if she were breathing, the pony's eyes opened... "Don't you even think about it...", she growled. "You raider pony...er...um...", she noticed the very impressive looking creature standing nearby..."And your raider dog, if you even think about touching me, I will kick you so hard, you'll have to use your horn as..." She was obviously hurt and rather thirsty. Being the good sort, Pocket Change levitated his canteen over to the scared mare, who quickly stopped with her threats to take a good sip. "Now please. Let's start again.", he spoke in a very calm and relaxing tone. "I am Pocket Change from the University in Canterlot and also the magic guild, Spell Bound. This is my companion Hogosha. We are on a mission here. Please tell me about yourself.." The scared mare quickly wiped away some spare water from her cheeks as her eyes darted about. She was staring directly at where the music had been playing.., "I'm Wind Whistler...I was doing a little exploring as well... With my dumb boyfriend and his dumber friend friend when we heard what we thought was a monster growling....They freaked out...Ran me over..", she paused to rub her wings, "Knocked me out...When I woke up...I heard those crazy drums....I've been wandering these woods for like two days....Not sure what happened to the others....", she sighed, "I wanted to go Suntrot Bay, but he was like.....No....It's full of tourists....Let's do the Tenochtitlan Trek.....Ugh...", she paused to take another sip. As she did, Pocket turned to his friend, "Those drums sound wrong...I have a feeling we have bandits...Should we check them out? Don't like the idea of criminals running their greedy hooves through important relics..."

Since there was a very low chance her hippy-dippy-dragon parents probably taught her what sarcasm was, the little dragon simply nodded her head and squeaked out a happy. “Yerp!”, she was drawing an rather detailed little image. The cat noticed it and gasped. The little dragon drew a cute, but crude image of the three all in stick-form enjoying a walk in Canterlot. All three were very happy and tiny hearts and flowers floated over their stick bodies heads. The flowers all had happy little faces and the sun wore sunglasses for some reason. “Sorry. Just a little dusty...”, Thrilly covered her eyes with her cloth napkin. Now she not only felt bad for the super-brave Pegasus pony who dared to do what only a few ponies would are to do, along with knowing that one good fall would end her career forever. She also felt very bad for their little dragon friend. Left to fend for herself at a very very young age, she wandered the streets...looking for a friend....ugh. She needed to hold it all in. Don’t cry! Don’t make a scene. Be cool. “That’s very brave you...”, Thrilly removed her napkin. “Thankfully our circus has a very good record and the owner spares no expenses when it comes to our safety...Cause if one of his top performers is too hurt to perform, he can loose a ton of bits.....So he treats us all, from the strong-guy to the elephant sweeper like they’re the most important members of his staff....” Her eyes seemed to get redder and redder the more she spoke. What would make her cry? Then two little fillies wandered by, “.......They had to put Mister Muffins to sleep today....”, one muttered.

Now this was more like it! After spending a few months as captain of the Twilight Guard, Fire Walker had an different assignment for a chance! The young mare decided to wear her old adventuring armor for a change. It was better suited for forest treks than her Royal Armor. She also brought along a saddlebag full of necessary items. She was always happy to fulfill her normal tasks. She was there to make sure Ponyville residents knew what to do in case of emergencies. Usually through the use of training seminars. She also kept an eye on town to make sure nasties didn’t sneak in. There was also the occasional mundane task she would also take care of. But now she was leaving the safety of her sleepy little village to solve a mystery! Animals were vanishing and there was talk about the ‘Pony Of Shadows’. And so far everything lead to the White Tail Woods. A forest that shared the Everfree's beauty, but not the crazy. Noted animal welfare expert Fluttershy was also tasked to join this little critter conundrum. Very few ponies in Equestria were as knowledgeable about creature confronts as the pleasant Pegasus mare. The red Captain also asked if her occasional adventure partner Applejack would be able to join them, but they ended up getting her little sister instead. How odd. Still, if the little Earth Pony was one percent as clever and brave as her big sister, things should go smoothly. Another mare named Alizarin Fruits was also tasked to join them. She assumed the young mare was a friend of Fluttershy's. After much assurance from her little sister, the Pegasus mare also brought along the family dog. Gumby. He could be of some use. Dogs were good at sniffing. Barking. Fire Walker always wanted a dog growing up and never got one. She was still slightly bitter about this. Alizarin was also the first the good Captain could see. Waiting at the entrance. "Miss Fruits.", she called out as she slowly trotted her way. She was followed by a little dog. "Ralph!", the dog barked. The little critter stopped dead in his tracks. A strange scent crossed his nose. What could it be? He glanced in the direction of Sombra, but was instantly distracted when an butterfly landed on his nose. "RALPH!"

So..What characters will be in this? Would be helpful to know so when my post comes along...Mostly on Steel's part as he has either crazy pony, best pony, or lil' pony to bring.

Sombra. An't he dead? Like dead dead?