Pony_Sage

Hello again!! I see a whole bunch of improvement here and I like what I see! The character is more dynamic and seems more three dimensional. You added that extra little bit to make the application all come together! Good job! I really don't see any problems at all. I like how you related his personality to his colthood and that he was teased. That can turn anypony a little snippy after a while. All in all a good application! He seems like an interesting fellow and I would really like to see him being played some time! ~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings P.S. You still have hand-bags in there. Hooves can be a pain sometimes can't they? Firs paragraph, second line, third sentence of character summary. Over to the right side of the page. It is hard to spot.

Interesting, an Earth pony scribe. I like the idea and the cutie-mark story. I would suggest expounding upon his personality more. While there is information about him, I don't see any depth at the moment. Developing the personality gives other people a look into how the pony thinks and operates. I would also like to see how he transcribes without the use of magic! Does he use his mouth, hold the quill between his hooves. or does he have a special "brace" that attaches the quill to one hoof allowing him to use the other hoof for turning pages? Maybe a little history about his parents as well. All in all I would just like to see a little more personality wise on this pony. Why does he strive for his goal? Was there a defining moment where he knew that he wanted to help proliferate the arts to other ponies? Just some thoughts! Again I like the pony and the cutie-mark story, I just wanted to throw some ideas out there for you to work with. I hope they help. ~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

Interesting character. I like the idea of another fashion designer that specializes rather than a jack of all trades in the fashion world. A few points you might want to think about. One being that bridles are usually made of leather. Being so, sewing leather with a machine either requires the machine to be massive and very powerful with needles to match. Also leather acts very differently from cloth, I just see a little bit of a clash when somepony specializing in cloth saddlebags, I assume they are cloth at least, is also working with leather. Also where would he get the leather from to make the items? Also, in the character summary, first paragraph, second line, you accidentally typed "Hand bags" rather than saddle bags. His personality seems a little abrasive, maybe you could expound upon why he is the way he is. Did he learn it from his parents, or did it evolve from a situation in his youth? For that matter does he have a father, or was his father out of the picture? Maybe his father was a bit of a bully, so he stuck around his mother more, but still picked up the short fuse of his father? Reading another person'e micro-expressions and body language takes a bunch of practice and some innate skill. I'm not saying that he can't have hobbies outside of his talent, but maybe down play them a little. Make him not that great at reading others just yet, he gets into arguments because he thinks somepony is one emotion when they are really another? Again just thoughts! All in all I like the idea behind the character, he just needs a little more fleshing out for the summary on the character, it would make him a little more dynamic and playable! ~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

Hello! I like the concept of this pony so far, she seems to fit in rather well. I just have a few things you might want to mull over in your noggin. First off since Auroras are rather complicated and very interesting phenomenon, having to due with solar winds and the Earth's magnetosphere, you might want to have the ability to create one as her special talent, rather than an innate ability of her entire family. That way it makes her special and fits her cutie-mark a little better. I would imagine that creating and aurora would be very taxing, especially on a young mare when she discovered her cutie-mark. Next up would be, in fact, the Cutie-mark story! I personally would love to know more about how she discovered her mark! A little more meat on the bones of the story as it were. It would give the character a little more depth. Was it a difficult task for her? Did she learn the spell from a book? Does the aurora change with her mood when she concocts it? Stuff like that! It may seem fluffy and kinda useless but it gives other people more insight into your character. You may know everything about a character that you are making, the challenge is getting other people to understand that character. I know I sometimes suffer from this and tend to negate it by writing more than my fair share about characters that I create. Moving on, I can see how her cutie-mark relates to her love of natural weather, but how does it relate to her study of "wild" animals? Maybe that is a hobby / interest that spawned from her interest in natural weather systems? Since she would have to travel to "Wild" areas on the map to find natural weather, she might have started to notice the natural flora and fauna, thus deciding to study them too? Would she report dangerous weather to the weather control ponies if the system was headed towards an inhabited town, like a storm chaser kind of idea? Just ideas here. There seems to be an abundance of her personality but not that much of a back story is what I am driving at I guess. Again I like the character and would love to see her further developed! I thought I would give you some points to think about when looking at your character! I hope that I helped a little! ~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

Finally, something that this board needs! Amazing concept and spring board for future expansion! Hopefully this will make the quality of the Main RP increase even further!! User built concepts, vetted by the staff shall make the experience even more dynamic. I know that myself and another user have been working on making Solstice Heights Foothills more fleshed out and dynamic. I guess I will have to start working on the Zebra's homeland again, and maybe ramping up Hoofinton too. Also hopefully this will support the proliferation of people throughout the seldom visited area's of play! Stalliongrad is playable now, which is amazing! (And I feel all special that the map being used is the one that I plotted out for Dio.) This should be one of the most amazing new features on the boards. Desperately needed and elegantly accomplished! Well done I say! ~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

“A hungry feeling~ Came o'er me stealing~ And the mice were squealing~ In my prison cell~ And that auld triangle went jingle-jangle~ All along the banks of the Royal Canal~” Monty cheerily cantered out of rhythm with the rather somber tune that he was singing. The Sun was shining through the leaves of the treas, leaving their shadows to play tag all over the road ahead. A small breeze blew, causing the aspens to whisper their secrets into the open sky. “Oh! To start the morning~ The warden bawling~ 'Get up out of bed, you! And clean out your cell!'~ And that auld triangle went jingle-jangle~ All along the banks of the Royal Canal~” Monty carried the same butchered Connemara accent that he had when he was on his way to the Running of the Leaves. It just seemed that there were an innumerable amount of Connemara songs to be sung, and Monty seemed to be trying to sing them all. “Oh! the screw was peeping~ And the lag was sleeping~ As he lay weeping~ For his girl Sal~ And that auld triangle went jingle-jangle~ All along the banks of the Royal Canal~” His saddle bags seemed to be holding something rather heavy this time and his cart was no where to be seen. Monty aimlessly wandered on and off of the beaten path in a generally southerly direction. He was making his way back from Trottingham where one of his contacts resided. Every once in a while Monty would have to go check up on his friends and make sure that they still remembered him and that they were doing well. “On a fine Spring evening~ The lag lay dreaming~ And the sea-gulls were wheeling~ High above the wall~ And that auld triangle went jingle-jangle~ All along the banks of the Royal Canal~” While Monty may have been traveling back to his home and shop in Hoofington he still had a small pit-stop to make for the evening. The forest had been all a twitter about the wonderful flowers in the small town of Solstice Heights Foothills. Now Monty considered himself rather well traveled but he had never heard of this teeny town. Apparently it was nestled on the trail from Ponyville to Canterlot in a shady glen of trees. “Oh! the wind was sighing~ And the day was dying~ As the lag lay crying~ In his prison cell~ And that auld triangle went jingle-bloody-jangle~ All along the banks of the Royal Canal~” Monty finally came upon the flagstone path that defined the edge of Solstice Heights Foothills. His hooves clopped on the hard surface as he picked up his pace to a gallop into the center of town. Seeing a Zebra must have been quite a shock to the ponies from this small town, let alone one goofily galloping into their town square. He skid to a halt just short of the town water pump, which seemed to be sitting right in the middle of the entire place. He looked all around himself, taking in the sights, sounds, and even smells of the quaint place. It was so much different than Hoofington. There were flowers in bloom and bees busily working to keep them pollinated. And, OH, a cherry pie was sitting out on a window sill to cool. Monty couldn't help himself, he wandered slowly towards the flowerbed underneath the window which held his prize. He was hoping to not draw any more attention to himself than he already had. He was just about to stuff his muzzle into the pie as a rather pale and grey stallion walked slowly by him and shot an icy glance Monty's way. Monty responded with a winning smile, causing his right ear flop over limp. He then slunk back to the center of town and plopped his flank down on a bench and slumped over to one side and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a bit. This place was just so peaceful and cheery that he couldn't help himself. He had been walking for a long while after all, a short nap wouldn't hurt.

The bright ball of fire in the sky was slowly warming Equestria and burning off the fog of the morning. Upon the grass hung tiny little diamonds that spewed rainbows in all directions if one were to look closely enough. The dew clung to Pyrite's hooves turning them a slightly darker colour than the rest of her. She surveyed the surrounding area. Being on the outskirts of town did have its advantages after all. The soft autumn ochers blended seamlessly with the bright green of the rolling fields that surrounded the small town of Solstice Heights Foothills. There were blocky outlines off in the distance that abruptly juxtaposed the rolling lines of the surroundings. These were the farming terraces that some ponies were trying out. It was a method new to Equestria but it seemed to be working rather well, it was adapted for the steep hills that surrounded the area of Canterlot Proper. This new farming method afforded these ponies to grow some unique fare that was not usually found in these parts. All the sights and the sounds of early morning flooded Pyrite's senses. The smell of the grass underlying the pungent smell of rotting leaves. There was the light and airy fragrance of the flowers that played over top of these two smells as well. The birds were all a twitter with the morning gossip of which plants were fruiting and which the hummingbirds would want to visit to stock up on their energy reserves for the long trek south to parts unknown. Pyrite lavished in this morning chorus of sounds and smells. This was the major reason that she moved out into the country after all. The hustle and bustle of the city did not appeal to her. She loved the forest when she was a child and that love carried over into her marehood. There was just something about living off of the land and forging your own path. The rigidity of the military had rubbed off on her however, her stature, cadence, mannerisms, and even organization had been influenced directly by her time served. She stood at attention in her front yard outlined by white Daises, her campaign hat making her seem a tad taller than she actually was. Her ears were poking out of the side of the hat, allowing her to hear her surroundings properly. Her ranger vest settled on her soft coat as the Sun warmed her back. She tilted her head around to look over her home. It was not at all similar to the other ponies homes that lived in Solstice Heights Foothills. Most of those were quaint little cottages with a few small cabins for visitors to stay in, when the chance arose. Although the houses of the other ponies tried to integrate into their organic surroundings, such as thatched roofs covered in native grass and ivy, or homes built into hills all together, no home blurred the line between nature and function as Pyrite's did. While the other houses tried to bring nature back into an area that had previously belonged to nature but now was more suited to living, Pyrite actually lived in nature. Her home had been hewn out of the center of an ancient oak tree. Small round windows where the knots once were and doors that were made out of the tree its self. Most, if not all, of her furniture had been carved out of the tree as well. Although she could not move most of the furniture because it was still part of the tree, she thought that the blend of nature and technology was elegant, she would have it no other way. A faint smile came across the mare's muzzle as the Sun began to filter through the leaves of her home and brighten up the world around her. She was definitely a morning pony, everything about that time of day made her feel alive. Today was a day of action however. During the previous week her town had hosted more than a few legs of the famous “Running of the Leaves” race. The goal of this race was to make the leaves of the deciduous trees fall from their branches so that the snow would not damage the trees as readily. This presented an entire new set of problems however. As anypony that spent any time in the forest would know, dead leaves on the forest floor only leads to problems. Although they protected the bulbs and seedlings of the next year, they also presented a massive fire hazard. If any part of the forest were to catch from say a lightning strike the entire place could go up like a tinderbox, decimating the entirety of both the lively hood and home of many a pony and many an animal. Also there are a few very rare species of plants that would only bloom with the heat of a fire to spread their seeds and ashes to fertilize them. Although Pyrite was the local Forest Ranger, she was no botanist. She knew her way through the forest like she knew the back of her hoof. She knew the small cave system that was to the north west, the other small alcove that was behind the Canterlot Falls, she even knew about the wooden fort that some of the local children had recently made to play soldier in. Whilst she knew all the places and ins and outs of her forest she only had a filamentary, working, knowledge of the plants and small animals that inhabited what she thought of as “Her” forest. She knew which plants tasted bad and were not to be eaten, such as pokeweed, and which made wonderfully tasty tea, such as mint and sassafras. She had been for a stroll through the wood recently, after the race, and had felt the pine needles softly crush under her hooves, the large oak leaves disintegrate with the mere brush of her saddle bags. She knew that the time was right to start what the fire industry called a “Controlled Burn”. However Pyrite needed some help for this one, she needed somepony to come and identify places where the underbrush needed to be kept intact so that she could direct the fire properly. Pyrite had contracted out to the small pale green mare that seemed to know everything about the regional flora and fauna. Her name was Trillium and she should have been arriving any moment. "Hey Pyrite!" Trillium called in a sing-song voice, "I brought you SAAASSSAFRAAAAS TEEEAAA!" And there she was. The pale green Earth Pony came trotting towards the older mare. She had some odd looking casks hanging from her neck as she entered through the creaky gate into Pyrite's little yard. “Well hello there Miss Trillium, I'm glad that you made it. What are those things hanging from your neck, if I may ask? Oh yes, sorry about that, please take a seat, make yourself at home, after all you came all this way just to help. Can I get you anything from the pantry?” Pyrite asked her guest. The older mare usually did not entertain guests, it was not that she did not want to have guests, she did like having ponies over to talk with and such, it was just that her home was more than a little out of the way for most travelers. She offered Trillium a seat in an Adirondack style chair that was stationed in the garden. Pyrite took a seat in the chair that was facing the other one. Pyrite sniffed the air, there was a faint smell of sassafras wafting out of one of the casks. She eyed the stone container and levitated off of the mare's neck. Pyrite used her magic to unscrew the cap and take a good sniff of the concoction. Boy did it smell wonderful. She pressed it to her lips and took a good swig. She smiled as the familiar taste filled her mouth. With that finished Pyrite continued, “Now down to business. Today we are going to be attempting what is called a controlled burn. This is a dangerous procedure under the ideal circumstances. So everypony needs to be on the top of their game for this. Even though I have the ability to control the fire, there needs to be a contingency plan in effect just in case something goes awry. In the effect of complete loss of control of the fire we will evacuate the town and the surrounding area, call in all the local and regional firefighters, and then attempt to control the blaze. Even though this is an extremely unlikely occurrence we need to plan for every eventuality. Now with that being said, we are going to do a final walk through of the forest to check for stragglers and such, you will have to point out the areas that need to be protected for me, and then we will go about the burn.” The older mare's voice was stern and practiced but not mean by any sense of the imagination. Then she shifted a little and in a more melodic tone said, “Well with that business out of the way, I have a gift for you!” Pyrite adjured her seat for a moment and trotted off into her office for a short period of time. She came happily trotting out again with a small orange vest in tow. It seemed to be a the prefect fit for the pale green mare. “Here you go! This is a vest for you so that everyone knows you are part of the burn team! I whipped it up in my spare time, it isn't pretty, but it will work in a pinch. I hope you like it.” Pyrite continued to talk with Trillium. This was actually a cleaver tactic on Pyrite's part, she was trying to wait out the clock and let the sun warm up the area and dry out some of the damp leaves. She was willing to spend however long it took for the forest's fog to burn off because starting a fire in the present conditions was not ideal. Pyrite took another sip of her tea and waited for Trillium to respond.

*Creak creak creak creak* The old wagon's un-greased wheel hubs complained about the movement. "Oh hush up will you?! I oiled you a week ago? Maybe three? Oh I did oil you I remember it so quit your hollering!" Monty said to his cart with a disapproving click of his tongue. He slowly cantered down the well worn lane from Hoofington to the Whitetail Woods. Monty didn't even have to steer the cart, the wheel ruts did all the work for him. All Monty had to do was canter forward and make sure that his "products" did not fall off. After all the cart was salvaged from an old military base that no longer was operational. It was not like the cart had any rails or tie-downs. His cart was full of strange looking glass jars all sealed very tightly with latches. The liquid inside of these jars was very thin and clear, looking to be almost water. There was also an old wine barrel with some pipes coming out of it. Along with some other metal pipes and strange looking devices clattering together on the old cart. Monty had a determined look on his face, this zebra had a plan, for something. "While on the road to sweet White-Tail,~ Huroo! Huroo! ~ While on the road to sweet White-Tail, ~ Huroo! Huroo! ~ While on the road to sweet White-Tail, ~ A stick in me' hoof a bur in me' tail, ~ A doleful damsel I heard wail: ~ 'Monty I hardly knew ye!' " Monty carried the odd tune at a moderate volume all through his travel, his hooves matching the beat to a 'T'. He even carried a horrendously butchered, fake Connemara accent for the entirety of the song. The sun shone bright and the mid day heat was not unbearable but rather warming. The liquid in the jars sloshed as the cart wobbled in the ruts. "With your plums and rums and rums and plums, ~ Hurroo! Hurroo! ~ With your plums and rums and rums and plums, ~ Hurroo! Hurroo! ~ With your plums and rums and rums and plums, ~ The bar-ponies nearly threw ye. ~ Oh my darling dear, Ye look so weird,~ 'Monty I hardly knew ye!' " The flat grassy hills of the outskirts of Hoofington were giving way, finally, into the white birch and deciduous forests of White-Tail Woods. The Autumn leaves were still clinging to their branches on the outskirts of the forest. However as Monty pushed deeper into the forest he noticed that more and more of the oranges, yellows, browns, and reds were littering the forest floor instead of the canopy. "Where are the eyes that looked so mild, ~ Hurroo! Hurroo! ~ Where are the eyes that looked so mild, ~ Hurroo! Hurroo! ~ Where are the eyes that looked so mild, ~ When my poor heart you first beguiled? ~ Why did ye scadaddle from me and the child? ~ 'Oh Monty, I hardly knew ye.' " The air in the forest was damp and musty. There was a slight chill in the air, the sun being slightly blocked by the remaining canopy and trees. The dew from the morning was starting to rot the pre-fallen leaves. The natural cycle of life was continuing. Life to death, death to detritus, detritus to life. The cycle was never ending and all inclusive. The Running of the Leaves was specifically designed to further this cycle. Speaking of cycle, the new book from Miss Hyacinth Hills was due out any day now! Monty was a HUGE Hyacinth Hills fan. He owned every one of her presently printed books, in first edition none the less. Why was this important? Because Miss Hyacinth Hills was rumored to live somewhere in the White-Tail Woods. Maybe she would be running in the race! Maybe Monty could get an autograph from her!! He even had the very first edition of the first book that she had ever written, on the cart with him just in case. Just the thought of it made Monty's hooves tingle with excitement. He picked up the pace to a gallop and headed towards the leg of the race that was currently underway. Monty was using the spectator pathways, allowing him to bypass the long legs and make it to the current leg faster than the actual runners would. "Where are your legs that used to run, ~ Hurroo! Hurroo! ~ Where are your legs that used to run, ~ Hurroo! Hurroo! ~ Where are your legs that used to run, ~ When you went to guzzle the rum? ~ Indeed your dancing days are done, ~ 'Oh Monty, I hardly knew ye.' " Finally arriving at the current leg of the race Monty was pleasantly surprised to find many a pony either covered in, or stuck completely fast in sap from the pine and maple trees. He slammed on the brakes and the cart's contents clattered. A sly smile came across Monty's countenance. He fished out a brown top hat with a thin dark brown band just above the brim. The twirled it up his fore leg and it landed on his mohawked mane, slightly askew, with Monty's right ear protruding from the edge of the hat. With the flair of a circus performer he drew a cane out from his cart and twirled that around as well. He struck each glass jar with the tip of the cane. Each made a distinct ring that echoed clearly across the entirety of the current leg of the race. "Now if you would! Everypony lend me your sweaty, tired, your sticky ponies yearning to gallop free! I have a special present for all of you! Now if you would bear with me for a moment!" Monty exclaimed to the pack of runners, loud enough for everypony to hear. Monty hopped about his cart and made quick work of connecting all the pipes and nozzles to the wine barrel. He then began to pour the clear liquids into the wine barrel with a funnel. Some had a very powdery smell and others had a very sharp, almost painful smell. Once all of these things were poured into the barrel he plugged the whole in the barrel with a bung. There was a strange geared protuberance on the side of the barrel with what looked like hoof holds. Monty stuck his fore hooves in these and began to run in place. No mind you that Monty had not created this device, he had merely asked the strange unicorn who lives in the light house to cobble it together for him with spare parts. She was a strange mare, but she knew her stuff when it came to mechanical engineering. Plus offering her reduced prices on her next shipment seemed to brighten her day right up. The barrel made a strange grinding noise and the pipes hissed and belched. Then the pipes sputtered and the clear liquid came spraying out of the nozzles in all directions. This was a very dense spray pattern, mimicking a sudden downpour from the celestial heights. No pony would have been spared from this deluge as long as they were within about one-thousand feet of the sprayer. Monty had made sure to position himself in the prime location to drench everypony that was stuck in the sap. "I give you your FREEDOM!!!" Monty exclaimed at the top of his lungs, with a gleeful edge to his voice. Monty then let out a whoop and a cackle at that remark. After Monty had completely drenched the surrounding area and ponies with his homemade anti-sticky brew, which consisted mainly of denatured alcohol and mineral spirits, he began to pack up his cart again. This time the glass jars were much lighter but jittered more as the cart wobbled while Monty worked. After disassembling the strange spraying device he wiggled his way back into the harness of the cart, tipped his top hat to the ponies that were now free from the sticky sap, and then trotted off into the forest again towards the finish line. Again the spectator paths would afford him the ability to reach the finish line before the other ponies would. Monty thought to himself, 'OH I can't wait until they all get to the finish line and queue up to pay me for my service! And if they dont't I know that the race staff will, even if I have to make them want to pay me! I offered such a wonderful service to these stuck ponies. AAAAANNNNNDDDD MAYBE Miss Hyacinth Hills will be there, sign my book, and even give me an advance copy!!!!' Monty internally squeed like a little fan filly at that thought. "I'm happy for to see ye home, ~ Hurroo! Hurroo! ~ I'm happy for to see ye home, ~ Hurroo! Hurroo! ~ I'm happy for to see ye home, ~ All from the Canyon of Raptorclaw ~ So low in the flesh, so high in the bone ~ 'Oh Monty I hardly knew ye.' " Monty quickly picked up the Connemara accent again and trotted off into the woods. His voice eerily echoed through the fall foliage of the crisp Autumn afternoon. Monty was an odd Zebra but what he did, absolutely, helped those ponies who were stuck in the sap and goo from the bleeding trees.

Coal was in the process of tamping down the black sand with a shaggy hoof as Chase approached him. "How is it coming, er, sir?" The question startled Coal, he had not heard Chase walk up to him. A combination of slight deafness and being engrossed in his work turned most of Coal's hearing off. With a goofy smile Coal looked at Chase. “Ah she ye leked deh pehnehppehl jehs yeh? Nah mach ah kan geht aht her. Ne-weh, ahm gunnah welt dah krek weet melten stehl. Shend gehd?” Coal's voice still boomed over the shop, Sooty looked over at the pair and then closed her eyes for a moment as if sleeping. The sand was thoroughly tamped down Coal looked expectantly at Chase, as if the city pony knew what to do. “Ooh serreh, whet ah ned ez fer yeh tah pet dah breken tingeh ahn deh send plehz.” With another smile Coal abruptly took the broken shell of the press and mushed it into the sand with a heavy hoof. He put more wooden planks surrounding it and what looked to be a balsa wood plank he wedged in the crack and broke off. Next he put another balsa wood dowel jutting up towards the ceiling in the crack. He then proceeded to pour more black sand over the top of the broken press. He pressed this sand especially tight, leaning most of his weight down on it. He didn't want the sand to shift during the process ahead. “Neh sthend behk plehz. Et whel beh het ahn ah dun whan yeh the get hert.” Coal looked over at the super heating forge where the crucible sat, gaining its familiar cherry red glow. He grabbed a pair of tongs from one of his many caches and gripped the swing arm with them. The red crucible slowly creaked out into the room from its fiery bed. The molten steel protested the temperature change by spitting what looked like sparklers in every direction. Carefully Coal poured the contents onto the sand mold. The balsa wood instantly went aflame and disintegrated. The syrup like molten steel slowly funneled down to take the place of the balsa wood. Mind you this only served to raise the temperature of the surrounding area. Beads of sweat finally began to form on Coal's muzzle. He wiped them away with the crook of one of his fuzzy hooves.

*Dink* The spoon bounced off of the magician's head. *Clink* It struck the side of the table small wooden. *Thud* It twirled before hitting the floor uneven boards. *Skitter* It slid across the floor towards a vent. *Ting* It struck the brass surrounding of the vent. *Teeter* It hung there, precariously perched on the edge of a, vast, black abyss. Rivet softly smiled at the magician, after all that was a grand show. The little pink filly clopped her hoof on the table in agreement. 'Poor thing can't clap.' Rivet pondered as she took a sip of her tea. Idle chatter filled the air on the behalf of Spades and Whirlwind. Rivet sat and listened adding her two bits in where it was needed. “Bread anypony? Crackers, apples?” The typewriter offered the pair as Rivet excused herself to go prepare the repast. The chair legs moaned against the rough-hewn pitch pine floor boards. The vibration migrated towards a vent on the floor, out of which a mild amount of steam was seeping. The bowl of the silver spoon had small condensed droplets of steam clinging to it. The bowl slowly grew heaver, the cool metal making an easy place for the steam to condense. The vibrations finally hit the vent. *Tinglinglelingle* The spoon jittered on the edge of the brass vent, threatening to fall into the vast abyss. The air rippled as Rivet walked towards her cupboards, faint and minute eddies sent spooling at the teetering spoon. Just enough to make the bowl of the spoon spin back towards the edge of the vent. The handle's tenuous grip on the slick brass finally slipped, the spoon flashed it's final signal in the light of the parlor before tumbling into the abyss. There should have been a safety grate there and it looks like at one point there was. Alas it had been long since removed for some purpose that only Rivet knew of. The ponies above went on with their tedium, unbeknownst to them, terror was brewing in the belly of the beast. The spoon tumbled for what seemed like an eternity. *Trink* it struck a cross support and spun wildly. In the inky, humid, and oppressive darkness there was no hope of telling what way was up, down, or even time for that matter. *Tink-Tink TWANG* The spoon struck a very hard surface that was at was at what seemed to be a 45 degree angle. Scuffs and small dents covered the filigree of the mildly ornate spoon. *Schew* it glided across smooth brass sheeting at a slightly downward angle. Deeper and deeper this path was leading the spoon. The deeper it went the hotter it became not to mention the humidity. *Krun KA-CHOOOooooo* A faint thrumming came into earshot as the spoon slipped off of another edge and into a thinner tube that fell into the abyss again. *Ting ting ting ting* The spoon protested the confined space by banging against the walls. Then suddenly, nothing... Nothing to protest against, nothing to arrest its fall, just empty, hot, swampy, vast, black, nothingness. Where was the brave little spoon, has it fallen out of reality all together? *wrrrrumwrrrrrum wrrrrumwrrrrrrum* There was a new sound added to the mix now, a constant hum of something in the black. Did it want to eat the spoon up whole? Out of nowhere the spoon was struck with something which sent it twirling in another direction. The handle of the spoon bent at the striking point, springing back just enough to leave only a small dent. That was a close one. *Clang* The spoon struck a flat damp but cool surface that was most likely vertical because the spoon tumbled downwards after it struck the surface. Well what could be described as downwards, did the laws of physics still govern this place? *KRUN KA-CHOOOOOOO* That noise was much louder now. *Tink* The spoon struck what seemed to be a cobbled surface and skittered to a halt. The trip was finally over, it would be missed eventually and then Rivet would go looking for it, and find our little spoon. *Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick* What is that? A new sound. But from where, or what? *Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick* Odd noise, almost sounds like a clock ticking away the hours. But what would a clock be doing down.. up.. well here? *Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick* *PANG* Something wiffled through the air towards the spoon, striking it with tremendous force. This time the handle of the spoon gave way to the force and bent a tad. The spoon went sailing across the space. The injured spoon ripped through the blackness with alarming speed. *Ka-tink* The spoon became lodged in something. The whirring from before had grown louder and closer. The spoon jerked downwards towards the source of the whirring, and then again. Air currents ripped by the spoon, something was moving absurdly quickly near the spoon. Maybe it was the source of the whirring noise. *PPPRRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGG* Something ground against the bowl of the spoon. The bowl was almost worn through, an edge caught, the spoon went ripping across the vast empty space again. When would this trip ever end? Sailing through the blackness the spoon was slowly cooling from the friction of its previous scraping. The bottom of the bowl was still a slight orange colour, casting an eery glow. With a *pang* the bent and battered spoon landed in some form of holding device, slowly moving in what seemed to be an upwards direction. *Swoosh* Cold brine swished into the holding device submerging the spoon. After a few moments in the salty bath the spoon was poured out with the brine into an even larger holding tank containing even more brine. *Glurgle Glurble Glurble* There was a muffled pumping noise in the briny deep. The spoon was being drawn towards this pumping noise. What could happen next? The spoon was whooshed down into some form of spiraling pump. The spoon was still protesting the entire time, clanging on the walls of its even narrower enclosure. It came to the end of the trough and became ensnared yet again. The spiral pressed hard against the spoon's battered frame, but the spoon was determined not to give way this time. *GRRRRRRRFFFFVVVVTTTTTTTT* Something happened outside the brine tank. The pressure that was previously pressing down on the spoon was alleviated. Finally the spoon's long journey had come to a close. Time for it to rest. The spoon was not concerned with anything other than just resting in its place. Hopefully the mistress of the house would come and find the spoon, repair it, and use it once again. What seemed like an eternity to the spoon happened in just a matter of moments to the ponies standing above. None of them knew, or even cared about the plight of the tiny spoon. Why would they, it was just a spoon after all. Rivet sat back down at the table with the snacks repaired. She let out a sigh and smiled gently again. 'Oh I hope they like these, they are the only thing that I have in the cupboard.' She thought to herself. As she sat she swiveled her ears about again. Something didn't seem quite right. There was either a noise missing or a new noise, but Rivet could not put a hoof on it. She had a slightly concerned look on her face as she sat and sipped her tea. She slowly levitated an apple over to her mouth and munched on it. The water coils in the furnace slowly ran dry, the super heater kept pumping however. The coils became red hot from the heat of the furnace. The steam pressure slowly rose. Gauges crept past optimal pressure and into the danger zone. Check valves began to blow. Steam filled the boiler room. In the basement of the light tower the engine strained, clattered, sputtered, then finally gave up. That massive gear on the side of the tower came to a halt. The revolving light was stuck peering out towards the sea. Despite the check valves the pressure still rose. Well into the critical zone now, steam viciously poured through a steam whistle. The cacophonous chord that it struck reverberated through the entirety of the complex, the pitch slowly rising as the pressure and heat built. The chord tore the silence of the surrounding area asunder. No more did the birds cheep or crickets chirp. The lovely noises were overpowered by the howl of the warning whistle. Rivet's ears twitched as the whistle sounded. Her face grew cold and sober. Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Her tea cup shattered on the floor as her magic failed to levitate the cup any further. Billions of calculations ran through her head in a matter of seconds, calculations of what could have gone wrong, why the safety systems didn't function properly, why the warning bells hadn't gone off sooner. Her mouth moved despite he inability to talk, numbers flooded her brain. The whistle tone went up an entire octave. Rivet clamped her ears against her head. The noise was no longer throaty and syrupy, it was now shrill and piercing. She gritted her teeth and launched herself across the room towards the shelves. She frantically sifted through pieces and parts necessary for live steam to work properly. She came up with a red hand crank and a monkey wrench. She galloped towards the door, her hooves tripped up by the chair that was in her way. She face planted into the floor boards. She landed in a pile of hooves. A trickle of blood dripped from the side of her face onto her dirty pearl coat. She shook he head as she got to her hooves again and headed for the door with her supplies in her mouth now. She was too busy to bother using magic. The pressure built even more, seams were tested, rivets strained, welds were starting to crack. Steam flooded the dark boiler room. Screams came from the seams as the boiler began to rupture. The metal was not meant to hold this much pressure, even though Rivet had designed them for high pressure, and ran them through numerous tests, the boiler could no longer hold. The energy that it contained could no longer be held in place. The side of the boiler ripped open and it shot across the room. The metal shrapnel flew in all directions, some shredded the brine tank. The cold water poured into the super heated coils. Even more energy was being released. Rivet clamored to get to the boiler room before the reactor went critical. A deafening roar came from one of the out buildings that surrounded the dilapidated light house. Then all went silent for a split second. Then a resounding explosion shook the trees for a few kilometers around. Birds flew from all over and animals ran for cover. This was not a common occurrence in Hoofinton. The building was instantly turned into toothpicks. Shrapnel was thrown in all directions, some imbedding its self in the side of the other buildings. The concussive force threw Rivet back almost fifty feet. Windows were shattered in the light house proper. Some of the cedar shakes on the side of the house were pealed off. Slate shingles fell from the roof. A large piece of roofing from the boiler room landed mere inches from the unconscious Rivet. Fire was belched in all directions by the firebox of the boiler. Some of the shrapnel was aflame, making it even more dangerous. The calamity would not have gone unnoticed by the towns ponies, nor the ponies in the light house. This would take Rivet months to properly repair, not to mention the shipping time required for the parts that were custom fabricated in the islands by that massive roan pony. These thoughts danced in her head as chaos raged all about her.

As the new pony talked Coal stepped a bit closer to him, tilting his head to the side. Sooty now hanging mere inches from Chase's face. Coal was not trying to intimidate Chase, he was just hard of hearing and had never known other people's personal space. When Chase mentioned, 'Fixing and patching', something Coal's eyes began to twinkle. He always loved fixing things, even if he couldn't put it back together, making something able to be put back together into a functioning item always made him feel good about himself. Coal nosed past Chase with a goofy smile and looked closely at the floating pile of parts. A large hollow piece that seemed to house all the other pieces had a large fissure running through it. “Mehnhetten? Yeh treked ahl de weh den her fer meh tah fex ah wee tin lek daht. Ahm ehnered!” Coal said with a bit of a chortle. He pushed back past Chase again and walked into his shop expecting Chase to follow. There was a small square table that had some papers laying on it. The outside of this table had been made to hold tools, creating an interesting boarder on the table its self. As Coal walked past the table he thumped it with a hoof as if to say, 'Place the thing to be fixed here.' However he did not stop walking, he trotted over to a small door and ducked his head to walk through. In a few moments he returned with a dusty bottle of cloudy yellow liquid. He plopped it down on a stump that was being used as a table and went to look for some mugs. He found a pair of dusty mugs and blew the soot out of them. Mind you Sooty was still clinging to his ear and keeping an eye on Chase. Sooty was not one to warm up to new ponies that quickly, she was also a bit protective of what she thought of as 'Her Pony.' “Ah dent geht mehene pohne felk her she ahl ah gaht ez Pehnehppehl Jehs. Ahv sehm!” Coal boomed as he poured the juice into the mugs and schlurped some of his. Coal glanced over at Chase again with a smile. He walked towards one of his supply corners. Here resided many types and shapes of steel and iron. He poked through the piles a bit, he was looking for the perfect piece to weld up the crack. There were two ways he could do this, he could create a sand cast and weld the crack shut with molten metal and let it cool. Or he could heat up a piece of square bar until it was pliable, shape it similar to the crack, and then just smash it into the chasm and hope that the patch would hold. He opted for the molten welding, it usually took longer but the risk of furthering the crack with the hammer welding method was far too great. Coal picked out a nice steel ingot and plopped it down on an anvil. He would have to find his crucible for this job, an often under used piece of equipment. His crucible was of his own design and was made of a special alloy, made from very rare minerals and metals, that was not only light but had an incredibly high melting point. He could easily melt steel with in it with crucible only turning cherry red. Also the advantage of it being an alloy was that steel and iron would not adhere themselves to the walls of it. Coal would also need to get out his black sand and wooden frames to make this work. He set about his business without a word, just a whistle of an old tune. Coal expected Chase to just make himself at home in the shop. There were a few chairs, covered in soot, some stumps, covered in tools and soot, and even an anvil or two, that were also covered in soot. Sooty grew tired of the wiggling of Coals ears and flitted away. She flapped about Chase for a bit looking him over and then landed on a table in front of Chase and awkwardly stood looking at the pony. She could discern no malcontent from him nor ill will, but she still didn't trust him completely. She flitted her wings and lifted off of the table, she positioned herself hanging inverted from a low hung chandelier. She had the perfect view of the new pony and she could see Coal going about his business out of the corner of her vision. She hung there and waited for something to happen.

The morning air was crisp and damp with the morning dew. The Sun was waxing ball of fire on the distant horizon as its rays began to warm the white birch forest of Solstice Heights Foothills. The previous week's Running of the Leaves went off with out a hitch. Almost all the leaves had fallen from the trees, leaving a blanket of red, orange, yellow, and brown, over the forest floor. As the Sun warmed Equestria all sorts of birds and animals began to stir. The leaves rustled as a slight breeze blew through the trees. The rays crashed upon a large oak tree on the edge of town. However this tree was unique, inside of it lived a pony. The rays streamed though an open window and fell upon a small bed where this pony slept. She tossed and turned as the Sun edged in on her dreams. Suddenly a cacophonous ringing filled her small bed room. She reached out a hoof and bopped it upon its top. She grumbled and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Stretching she got up from the bed and headed downstairs, through her living room and into her kitchen. Once in her kitchen she pulled out some milk and alfalfa. She placed these gently upon the small kitchen table and headed for the bread-box. Taking the bread out she placed it in the cast iron toaster. She looked at the fireplace and sighed, her banked coals had not lasted the night. Her breakfast had to wait for the moment as she restarted her cooking fire. She trotted off towards her wood-shed, the dew clinging to her hooves. With the tinder and fuel in tow she trotted back to her kitchen. She arranged the wood in a small teepee and smiled a little at what was to come. She clicked her ankles together unfortunately the -CLINK- that she had grown accustomed to was not to be heard. “Sugarplumbs!” She murmured to herself. In her haste to wake up she had forgotten to adorn her ankles with the trademark bracelets that she had worn since basic training. After a quick hustle up stairs and some rummaging, she returned to her kitchen wearing her bracelets. “Time for another try.” She quietly mused to herself. She clicked her fore-hooves together again and the -CLINK- that she was expecting filled her ears. She closed her eyes and felt the usual hum in her skull. The vast ocean of the aether appeared before her eyes. An ocean of pure energy, the ebb and flow of which could create and destroy worlds. A small, insignificant firefly of energy sparked into existence upon that sea of power. It wafted and swayed like a dingy in a storm. She marveled at that firefly for a moment, admiring its fight for life. She, with her magic, reached out and scooped up some of that energy from the sea. She channeled that magic towards the firefly, feeding it, nurturing it. The firefly began to consume the energy, very quickly. Greedily it gobbled the energy that she fed it, growing more and more powerful with every moment. Back in Equestria a thin tendril of flame seemed to slink out of nowhere. It wove its way slowly towards the wooden teepee in the fireplace. It coiled around the base of the teepee and the wood slowly began to catch fire. She slowly opened up her eyes again and watched the fire catch. She slowly severed the connection between the fire and the Aetheric Ocean, the wood would surely keep the fire going. She pushed the kettle on its swing arm over the fire and hung the toaster near the flame. Soon she would have tea and toast. She snacked on her alfalfa as her breakfast cooked. She gazed out the window towards the woods. The fog still hung heavy in between the trees and covered the hills and dales. “Ugh, why did it have to be damp today?” She remarked as her kettle began to whistle. The smell of toast filled the cottage as she poured herself some tea. She deliberately munched upon her breakfast as she pondered the day's work that awaited her. With a soft grumble she stood up and placed her dishes in the sink. She figured that she would wash them later when she returned home. She went to her office and picked up her campaign hat and placed it on her head, with her vest soon to follow. As she exited her home she took a deep breath of the air and looked over her yard. Her flowers were growing nicely and the picket fence was holding up well. She put her Forest Ranger vest on and exited through the gate in the fence towards the forest. “Today is a big day. Going to need to check the forest and make sure all the caution signs are up, then make sure everypony is at a safe distance, set up some fire breaks, and finally get the fire going. Big day.” Pyrite spoke to herself as she walked off into the fog of the early morning in Solstice Heights Foothills.

Thank you very much! I figure if I mess anything up too badly I can always go out and buy another one! They are only Five USD after all. I am not very good at rendering arts, but the physical / industrial arts is what I excel at so I thought I would give ponies a go! They are loads of fun to mess around with. You should give it a try!! ~Sage AkA Freddie Freewings

Alright everypony! I /just/ finished re-hairing my Dash. Oh boy was that an adventure!! There are all sorts of variables that you have to take into account. ANYWHO let's get on with the explanation and tips and hints! My first tip is to get your hair from http://www.dollyhair.com , that is a wonderful place with all sorts of colours and great prices! My next tip is to definitely slice out the neck joint on the head side of the Mini. You are going to really need that extra space. Slice both sides of the neck joint out and remove the hair. I would also suggest cutting the hair like a buzz cut before you try yanking it out of the head. The tail is easy enough to pull out. HEMOSTATS!! They make your life SO MUCH EASIER!! Once you have the hair removed from both sides, now comes the fun. I always start with the tail as you can see below. I had to make Dash's tail hole bigger to accomidate her new tail. I just used my Leatherman 9000 's awl to auger it out a little. Then you fold the hair plug, Plug from here on out, back on its self to form a loose loop. Put some thread through that loop, then feed it though the blank's body and yank the plug though the hole. You are going to want to secure it so that the plug won't pull through. Scotchie was kind enough to suggest a Zip-tie. These work wonderfully!! Then pull the plug back out through the hole when you are done making it secure. POOF!!!! You have just made your first tail plug for a custom pony!! Aren't you so proud of yourself? Dash's Tail done. From here on out it gets much harder. The principle is the same though. Take a chunk of hair, pull it through the hole with a needle and thread, tie a knot in it and then pull it back out. There are several tricks that I found that can make life so much easier though. The first trick is hemostats, I can't stress this enough, they help so much! Alright next up, when I tie the knots what I do it place a small dab of crazy-glue on them so that they don't come undone. Knotting Nylon hair is very hard to keep knotted. Now another trick is to work from the top down and not from side to side. This way you don't have to contend with the knots that much. Dash's bangs complete. The next step after the bangs is the back mane. This is where I got a little flustered. You need a curved needle definately. I made my own by heating it over a blowtorch and just bending it, although this may be a little hard for some ponies to do. You can buy curved needles, you might want to try that before breaking out the blowtorch. The next tip is to not pull the plugs back in as soon as they are completed. Pull them back in, in groups of about five to twelve. This makes it easier to thread the needle and other plugs through. This helps the needle not get snagged on the other knots. Dash's mane in progress. Once that is done just dump some superglue or liquid stitch inside of the head so that the plugs wont be going anywhere and you are done with the re-hairing. Mine took me about 12-18 hours of work to complete. Mind you this was my first go at re-hairing so as you do more your time will progressively improve! Finally glue the neck joints back in, let them dry. Then press the head back onto the body and POOF you have your first re-haired custom!!! Again aren't you proud of yourself? It was so much work, but boy does it look pretty!! Dash looking great after her re-hairing. Sonic rainboom anypony? Well that was my first adventure into re-hairing! I hope that it has helped any of you other ponies out there that want to try your hoof at this stuff. Again I could not have done this without the help of Scotchie and RCTwi. Both of you thank you very much!! Now I just have to style Dash and get you all some pictures! And Flickr yet again for her behind the scenes shots and such!

Name: Major Pyrite Ret. I Order, it means “Of fire" Sex: Female Age: Mare [ Late 40's Early 50's analog human years ] Species: Unicorn Pelt Color: Palomino, a light tan colour. Example Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style: Colour: White mane and tail. Style: Cropped short mane, a little raggedy, singed in places. Her tail is folded back upon its self and tied with some string. Eye Color: A cheerful blue. Cutie Mark: Three trees on fire. Example Physique: Still very toned and in shape from her military days despite her age. Average height for a Mare. Origin:Solstice Heights Foothills Residence: Past: Stationed in Canterlot for most of her career. Saw some action in Aquellia. Present: Solstice Heights Foothills, Back home. Roleplay Type: Mane RP Occupation: Past: Originally a Lieutenant in 1st Platoon of Company B, 4th Battalion "Sunfire", 83rd Magus Regiment. Her skill was noticed and she was put in charge of a sub-unit of the I Order of Her Majesty's Honor Guard where she reached the rank of Major. Current: Forest Ranger and Fire Marshal of Solstice Heights Foothills. She takes care of most of the underbrush burning after the fall. Motivation: When she was in the military it was to be the best officer that she could be. Now, however, her priorities have changed. She likes her nice simple life in the town that she grew up in. Likes: Well fire of course, she can get a little carried away when in the presence of fire, she finds it extremely beautiful. But she also loves spending time in the woods, just listening to the forest as it were. She enjoys conflict, not in the sense of physical combat, but more mental combat. She viewed the battle field as a huge sport of strategy. Divining order from Chaos. Dislikes: Rainy days, her fire is useless during that time. The busy city, she actually disliked being stationed in Canterlot. She dislikes the snow as well, far too much like rain, and such a pain to keep off of her lawn. Character Summary: Pyrite was a rather unique foal, instead of making a mess with her toys she would always put them in nice neat orders and make sure that everything was as good as it could get. Also she didn't have the typical toys nor friends for a female foal and into her fillyhood. She would always hang out with “The Boys" and play with “Colt Toys" such as Little green Guards ponies. All through out her fillyhood she had a bit of a wild streak when it came to fire. She loved to watch it and follow its form. She just found it so beautiful that she could not help herself, even the smoke intrigued her. She would set small fires in fire circles and such, just to watch them burn themselves out. One day she became a little over zealous, she forgot that corn oil was terribly flammable. The fire caught the canister of corn oil and quickly became out of control. Scared and not sure of what to do she froze, the fire quickly spread and engulfed the surrounding area. She clamped her eyes shut and felt a hum in her skull and a tingle on her flank. For all she knew this could have been her being burned by the fire. But no, she felt no pain. After a few moments she opened her eyes slowly and saw the flame had abated. All except for a small serpent of fire that was floating idly in front of her. She eyed it curiously and as she did she lost her concentration and the flame choked its self out. She immediately ran home to her parents to tell them what had transpired, they were a little concerned but mostly happy for her. She would practice day in and day out to try to create that flame again and manipulate but to no avail. She could not ignite a fire with her magic no matter how hard that she tried. She finally gave up and moved on to trying to manipulate an existing flame. She was surprised when a mere candle could provide enough of an ignition source to start a raging inferno. She surmised that, although she could not create fire, she could manipulate its form, intensity, direction, temperature, and all sorts of other variables. She began practicing with smaller and smaller sources of ignition until she found that a simple spark from flint and steel gave her enough of a source to start a raging inferno. Pyrite was absurdly pleased with her new found talent and so where all her Colt friends. When most of her stallion friends enlisted in the Royal Equestrian military she could not help but enlist as well. Although she chose to take the path of an Office instead of an Enlisted Pony. She was trained in the finer arts of command along with the deadly arts of combat. During this time she gained even more control over her ability, refined what she could accomplish with it, and even came up with some new tricks the REA Unicorns had overlooked. She was put in charge of Company B, 2nd Brigade of the 83rd Magus Regiment as a Lieutenant. She saw some action during this time, mostly skirmishes. Her shills were noticed by the Brass and she was promoted into the I Order. After more than a few years, and more than a few Ops. She was promoted to the rank of Major. The years wearing on her she decided that she needed a break from the military. Pyrite Honourably retired from the ranks of the I Order. She moved back home to the Solstice Heights Foothills where she was soon given the job of Forest ranger and Fire Marshal. Her job entails making sure that ponies respect the forest, cleaning up after themselves and what not, rescuing lost ponies, even organizing some fun events for Foals so they can learn about the forest first hoof. Since she can manipulate fire the fire chief job was just a given. She can snuff out cooking fires and home fires saving property and pony lives. The most important job though is when those two jobs overlap, she organizes the fall underbrush burning and keeps that inferno in cheque. She has also had her fair share of Forest Fires to put out before they got too out of hoof. Pyrite currently lives alone in a small home made out of a large oak tree. This doubles as her office and fire station. With a small Veg patch out front and a pump well out back, she is pretty much self sufficient. Some ponies may see her life as, “roughing it" for such a skilled pony, but she sees it as the “Simple Life" and loves every moment of it. Personality:Very cheerful and just a very nice pony. She loves her current job but occasionally misses her time in the military. She is rather organized and neat, not overly so however. She is by no means a girly pony, she fits in more with the stallions than she would care to mention. She was a brilliant tactician during her service, but now she plans out controlled burnings of the forest instead. She loves to travel and mostly stays to underdeveloped rural areas, this is where she feels most at home. Spells, Abilities, and kit: Pyrokinesis: Pyrite can control fire but she can not create it. Size, direction, heat intensity, form and other attributes she can control. But the initial burst of pure energy that is required to start the fire has to come from another source, or a preexisting fire. From this she has found numerous uses for this skill. From creating distractions on the battle field, to picking locks by melting the tumblers, to even keeping her yard clear of snow in the winter. It was explained to her that her Pyrokinesis works by the mechanic of her feeding the fire with the Aetheric Energy of the surrounding area. Her magic lets her access this vast sea of energy and link it to the fire. She is merely a conduit through which the energy flows. This can be very taxing especially when working with massive fires and energy. Even though Pyrite is very skilled at the use of this ability she still needs to be very careful. Fire being fire in its nature tends to consume and the Aether can be very capricious. This can lead to some very bad situations if not handled properly. Bracelets: Pyrite always has four bracelets on, one on each hoof. They alternate from flint to steel. These grant her the ability to click her wrists together and create the spark that is needed for her to manipulate the fire. She can either click them together or on a hard surface such as rock. As long as there is a spark she is good

Rivet watched the magician skeptically. It was not in her nature to just accept something as magical, even if she was a unicorn. She knew what magic was and how it could be applied, but she didn't understand the appeal. She also knew that without the aid of a unicorn's horn they could not preform magic. Since Spade's horn was not glowing he was not using magic, it was mere sleight of hoof and distraction. Rivet was far more concerned about the little pink filly, Whirlwind. She could not help but empathize with the little pegasus, after all Rivet was also handicapped. But what she was more concerned about was how the little filly was handling her new handicap. Rivet had been born mute, she had not lost something that she at one point had. Whirlwind, however, had been able to walk at one point and then lost that precious ability during a tragic accident. Something inside of Rivet just identified with the little filly. Also there was a small part of Rivet that was very concerned about the filly flying around her house and knocking things over. There were so many things precariously perched on shelves and lying about. If the filly were to go tearing through the house as fillies do, she could have either gotten injured or caused a great deal of damage to the house. Rivet began to look a little worried. Her magician guest said something about more magic and the little filly seemed to be rather enthused about the proposition. Needless to say Rivet was a little concerned about the upcoming display. 'Should I say yes to the next show? Oh I hope he doesn't get hoofsie again.' Rivet pondered. She put on her best inviting smile and nodded her head in agreement to the next magic show. She was doing it for the little filly. Whirlwind sure looked like she could use a laugh and some entertainment. 'Oh what can it hurt, just so long as he doesn't grab at me again.' She thought as she took a sip of her tea. She closed her eyes for a moment and listened to the steam rushing through her house. Her ears twitched in circles. She was listening for anything abnormal, a hiss, a whistle, anything that could denote something was amiss. 'Nope, sounds all good.' She sighed in relief. A leak or damage to the system could spell disaster. Rivet's house was running at more than three times the normal operating pressure of a Victory class airship. A small pin prick in a pressure bearing line could chop a leg off, a little more than a pin prick, the entire system would explode catastrophically. Rivet took another sip of tea with her eyes still closed. She started to run some calculations, those always calmed her down. She waited for the next show to begin. Her thoughts raced from steam theory to all sorts of different things, including braces that could help little Whirlwind walk again.

CLASSIFIED DOUBLE TOP SECRET EYES ONLY BY THE ORDER OF THE ROYAL EQUESTRIAN INTELLIGENCE NETWORK Name: Sable Capote Alias: Operative Alabaster, The White Shade Sex: Male Age: Stallion [Analog mid 30's human years] Species: Unicorn Pelt Color: White Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style: Mane: White Tail: White Styling: Mane and tail are always kept in an impeccable styling. Moderate length, neat and clean cut. Clothing: He insists upon wearing loud, eye searing, Hawaiian shirts. Eye Color: Pink Cutie Mark: Cloak and Dagger Physique: Height:Shorter than an average pony. Build:Not muscular. Slight and wiry. Very agile. Albino. Residence: Previous: Stalliongrad: Kuznita District, REIN Academy Stationed: Aquellia Current: Unknown Roleplay Type: Crossover RP Occupation: Previous: Ret. Operative of the Royal Equestrian Intelligence Network Rank: Colonel Current: Security analyst for Griffon Empire, intel not reliable. Motivation: Previous:To be the best Operative for the REIN that there had ever been. Gather intel, and disseminate propoganda. Current: Stay hidden from the REIN and most every military organization. Spend his (forced) retirement in relative comfort. Likes: Lying, cheating, stealing, conning, and all sorts of nasty things. He loves a good drink. He loved his job before he was forced to retire. Dislikes: Now the REIN and other military branches of Equestria. Dupes, Rubes, morons, pretty much ponies in general (Although he hides it very well). He dislikes when a plan does not go his way, however rare that is. Character Summary: Sable Capote was born in the Kuznita District of Stalliongrad to an unknown family. His name is even not known to be true. At a young age he had to learn to cheat and steal to get by. The times were hard. He learned at an early age to deceive other ponies with acts of sleight of hoof and misdirection. The streets of Stalliongrad were tough but rewarding. Soon while experimenting with his magic he found that he had the ability to blend into crowds despite the fact that he normally stuck out due to his albinism. He slowly began to perfect the art of conning ponies. One day while he was sleeping in his parent's home, the ponies of the V order kicked in the doors and windows. They kidnapped him and â€Ârelocated†his parents. He was brought before the highest ranking officer that was stationed at Stabil Krasnyi, he was told that he could either join the REIN or be shipped off to prison. Sable opted to attend the academy and then be inducted into the REIN. At the academy most of his peers resented the fact that Sable was a natural at the con-game and most other elements of subterfuge. He was never a book smart pony but rather very street smart. His grades on written tests were less than average, but his grades on practical exams were a league above the rest. He did not graduate top of his class but the brass in the REIN noticed how well he scored on his practical exams. They quickly inducted him and immediately sent him off on missions in Aquellia. After several years of missions deep within the heart of Aquellia there was an incident. CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED CLASSIFIED. After that incident he was forced to retire from the REIN. His current whereabouts are unknown. His current employment is unknown. His current circumstances are unknown. He is assumed at large[highlight=black] until confirmation of his [highlight=black]demise can be provided. REQUIRED PSYCH-EVAL OF SUBJECT SABLE COPOTE Personality:There seems to be a deeper resentment hiding behind his veneer of friendliness and happiness. Almost as though he is constantly putting on an act to hide his real personality. Only after numerous and intense sessions were we able to discern this fact though. It is deeply entrenched within his real personality to keep this other personality in-front of him at all times. Outer:Bumbling happy going and friendly. Maybe a bit overly friendly. He is very clumsy, almost to the point of tripping over his own hooves. He makes conversation with anypony with in earshot. He loves to drink at fancy bars and have fun. He openly admits to committing certain acts during his time in the REIN. Inner: Mostly an enigma. Seems to be nasty, cold, calculating, and very adept at his job. He was trained extensively in, espionage, counter espionage, surveillance, and close quarters to medium range combat during his time in the academy. He is devious and cunning. One can not trust anything that he says or does. It is all to further his own goals. Most of what he says is outright lies if not complete fabrications of his imagination. He is not delusional, he would be classified as a sociopath. He detests almost all military personal. This seems to stem from the incident. He does not trust anyone other than himself and would rather be on his own than spending time with anypony. Subject is VERY dangerous. Should be confined at all costs. Subject should not be approached unless one is in the company of a guard squad. Apprehend and detain by any means necessary. Major Spells: Perception Filter: it shifts how other creatures see him making it very easy for him to blend into crowds. Flash & Bang: Bang is achieved by small explosive devices, he uses his horn to create a bright flash that temporarly blinds and disorients opposing ponies.

Coal stopped whistling as a faint voice filled his ears. They twitched but he didn't immediaely recognize that someone was speaking to him. He stoked the fire and moved the ax head around in the coals so it would be better heated. His back was turned to the grey stallion that was standing in the front of his shop, and he made no indication of turning around to speak with him. Faint leathery wing beats could be heard circling around the shop. A soft brown blur darted around Chase's head and then his flank. The flies abated from nibbling on the grey pony's flank, as though they had just disappeared. The leathery wing beats shifted all around Chase, it was almost impossible to pinpoint the direction that they were coming from. Finally the brown blur darted towards the roan stallion standing before the forge. It negotiated its self and hung from the massive pony's ear and chattered. The pony turned his head towards the chattering and caught a glimpse of the other pony out of the corner of his eye. The stallion looked a bit surprised at the visitor and turned about and walked toward the other stallion. Sooty, the bat, was still hanging from his ear, eying the visitor suspiciously. "Akh, ah deent seh yeh der. Plezd tah met yeh! Ahm Kohl Bretfer an des ez meh ferge. Ah ken mek -ne'tin yah ned! Ah elso -ave deh herdest stheel en E-quest-ria. Wat'cha beh neden wee pohne? Shez? Plegh? Acks?" Coal's voice boomed. He peered over the stallion, thin and not very muscular. He wouldn't be needing farm equipment most likely. Coal though about what this city slicker of a pony could need from his shop and why he would come walking all this way out to the forge in person rather than just send him a letter asking for a part to be made. Being that Coal's forge was so remote he did most of his business via the mail and shipping lines. Luckily he had met a rather exuberant zebra on one trip to Hoofington who was able to ship almost anything to and from Coal's remote location. Quite an odd zebra but Coal was pleased with Monty's ability to ship in some rather rare metals and minerals out to him. Coal's train of thought halted as his eyes fell upon a heap of metal parts and strange looking levers floating in the air behind the grey pony standing before him. Coal shifted his feet a little and craned his neck to get a better look at it. He hadn't the foggiest as to what it might be. Although he was a blacksmith, Coal was not very 'Mechanically Inclined'. He could fabricate parts from drawings or other parts, but he was lost when it came to putting the parts together to make a functioning machine, he left that up to the pony who ordered the parts. His mind wandered to an odd little mare that he had met on another trip to Hoofington. Now that pony was definitely better at putting things together than he was. Come to think of it, he had shipped more than a few disassembled components to her on various occasions, and she was one of his best customers. Coal shook his head slightly, ever mindful to not dislodge his ear's guest. "Ahn wet beh dat der? Sem'ten dat neds teh beh fext? Et 'az seh meneh pertz. Et leks ahl breken, -ow mene pertz yeh ned fer dat tin?" Coal asked the grey sweat drenched pony. Comparatively Coal looked like it was a balmy temperature outside and as though he hadn't been working at all. Other than the soot that covered his body, but that was hardly noticeable due to his roan pelt.

River twitched his ears as the little deer said something about friends and then bolted off. He sighed slightly, this had happened before. Most other ponies would eventually run out of the room when they spent time with him. He was used to it and went back to tending his plants. But something different happened this time. The tiny deer beast came back! River pranced a little as she squeaked and muttered. Finally somedeer who wasn't going to run away when he showed them his plants! His eyes grew wide as saucers when Chotchkie pushed up the glass of the enclosure. River began to scramble at the tiny deer for fear of her eating his flower. Something surprised him though. On the tip of her tongue a tiny bee could be seen shaking and then alighting on the flower. River silently walked up to the enclosure and watched with awe as the bee pollinated the flower that had sat for years in that enclosure. Normally River would have pollinated the flower with its self by hoof but this was a unique solution to an ever present problem of his. He gave a crooked smile at the little bee and wedged the top of the glass enclosure open just enough for the bee to get out when she was done working on the flower. River looked back over at Chotchkie as she spoke about friends again the flower being sick by its self. He turned his head to the opposite side and looked deep into her eyes. One could see the cogs and gears turning in his frazzled head, pondering some statement of great importance. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the deer beast before him. He inched closer to her, without hesitation or indication he brought up a hoof and poked her in the shoulder. He felt the fuzz of her pelt against his hoof and the warmth of her body. His concerned look instantly faded and a look of sheer joy took its place upon his face. He pranced around in circles clicking his teeth together and whinnying. It seemed as though he was questioning if the little deer that stood before him was actually real, just a figment of his imagination, or something more sinister sent by THEM to torment him. She was real, no doubt remained in his mind and he was terribly pleased with this revelation. He stopped prancing for a moment and made a motion with his hooves that seemed to convey the notion of staying put. River then darted off into the lush foliage of the jungle yet again. Laughter could be heard echoing off of the limestone walls of the cavern. The laughter abated and silence engulfed the tiny deer and the plants surrounding her. Without a sound River came skidding to a halt next to her from her rear oblique. River knew many circuitous routes through his private jungle. He had a small clay pot, about 5 inches in diameter in his mouth. He placed it gently on the ground and nudged it towards Chotchkie. The pot was full to the brim with a pack of small blueish purplish plants. Their flowers clung tightly to a canter green stalk. The bottom blossoms were much larger than the top blossoms, this created a tapering effect to each of the flower's general shape. There were a good bunch of these stalks all filled with the blossoms. River smiled proudly at the pot and its contents. He then cast his gaze up to Chotchkie. He tried his best to put into words what the flowers were for. “Muscari botryoides, Blue good colour. Store the LIGHT, keep DARKNESS at bey. You keep, take, friend? No friends in the DARKNESS, no friends in the LIGHT. THEY don't like friends. Safe friends. Plants friends. Deer thing friend?†He smiled a crooked smile again hoping that his message got across to the little deer beast. He was having a wonderful time with her. The night was growing ever closer and hoped that she would be able to come back some time.

Sweet Symphony stretched his neck before a faint grey aura engulphed his horn. A tendril of magic reached out and prodded a ramshackle sofa that was lying in the corner of the secondary office room. He took a deep breath, this was quite a bit larger than his baton. His magic wrapped around the sofa's middle. He heaved with all his might to get the pile of rubbish up off the floor. He was rewarded with the sound of springs and boards creaking as the sofa inched off of the ground. He concentrated and began to float the sofa towards the front doors of the building. The wreck bobbed up and down with each hoof-fall. The next step was going to prove a little more difficult, he had to open up the doors. Another tendril of magic peeled off of the main tendril causing the sofa to sink a little in the air. The new tendril clicked the lock open and pulled the doors inwards. The stray magic rejoined the main body and the sofa was pushed out towards the curb. He heard a soft voice pierces the darkness of the old barn asking where the sofa had come from. “Don't you know that all abandoned buildings have a broken sofa? It is a law.†He retorted in a dry tone. Now that his job was done for the moment he figured it would be a good time to pour himself and Maple Scoops a cool glass of Iced Tea. He dusted himself off and trotted over to the main office space that they were using for a temporary house. He found the pitcher and began to pour two glasses. 'This may be a tonne of work, but it feels good to be here. Off of the system as it were. I just hope that our bits don't run out before the job is done. Well at least Maple is still working, that will give us some leeway. I hope she is as happy with this place as I am.' His mind rambled for a few moment. He was just thinking over their situation and how everything was going to turn out. Hoof beats could be heard and the building protested their intrusion. They could have been anypony but Sweet was expecting them to be his beloved mate's. They were the only ones here after all. He walked out of the main office with the two iced teas in tow. He had a smile on his muzzle as he wove through the corridors that lead to the main meeting area. “Scoopey, did you get that poster hung? I was hoping that we might get started soon on the renovation. . . .†He said in a cheerful tone before noticing that there was a strange pony leaning his face on their floor with a mallet in his mouth. Sweet immediately put the two glasses down on the floor, spilling some of their contents. He was not accustomed to having unannounced visitors, nor did he appreciate them rudely entering his now home without so much as an introduction. He was a little perturbed by the intrusion but tried to stay civil. “And who might you be? You do realize that this is a place of business and not somewhere you can sleep your cider off for the night right? Maybe you could find a nice bench in the park to sleep on? Where did you get that mallet? It seems to be one of ours.†Symphony interrogated the intruding pony. His tone was civil but had a biting edge to it.

Chris gagged a little at the mention of puke. The familiar metallic taste filled his mouth as he swallowed in hopes of making the sensation go away. His nose twitched along with his ears, he smelled and heard the stream! “WATER!!†Chris exclaimed with a little more glee than he seemed possible to muster at that time. He picked up is walking cadence into a slow canter. His legs start to get in their own way. 'Damn this is hard.' He thought. He sped up a little more, a trot. 'ooOOoooOOoo Now this is much easier!' He pondered why moving more rapidly would be easier on four legs than moving more slowly. These thoughts quickly dispersed when he broke the underbrush and found himself at the edge of a crystal clear, moderately quickly moving, river. Chris pranced about a little before plunging headlong into the crisp cool water. He splashed about like a silly foal and dipped his muzzle into the water. He took large gulps of it before stopping to catch his breath and look at his companians. “Hay come on in!! The water is fine!†He shouted as he paddled about the river. The banks were shallow and the river was not all that deep. It was perfect for learning how to swim with four legs. Occasionally he would kick himself some how as he paddled but he quickly got the hang of it. “Now somepony said we needed willow bark? Or some other types of plants? Do you two think that Equestria has the same plants as Earth does? Would they look the same, or have the same properties? I mean this is all made up after all.†He asked the two mares that were traveling with him.

Thanks Tunder! Really the work-space was just set up when I took that picture, it won't stay clean for long. I have art supplies in cabinets in other rooms, and all sorts of industrial stuff out in the shed and garage. I am not a very neat person! Haha. I am honoured that you looked at my thread! Your custom ponies are just astounding really. I am going to try my hoof at a 80's Cheerilie and a Twilight. Now did you make the pony's "clothes" by hand or did you find them somewhere. At the moment I am trying to make a hood for Gwen and although I have made one, it clings to tightly to her noggin. I want it to hang more loosely so I can actually fit her mane under it. ^^ Any advice on pony clothes making would be appreciated greatly!

Hay again! Thanks for the kind words Cherry and Scotchie!! I have not submitted them to EqD, I am not sure how to be honest. *ponders pony tattoos* But how would they look when I was 80? HAHA Here are some shots of my new and improved Work-space! I am rather entertained that I now have a Pony modding works-space to be honest. I never thought that would happen. Anywho, lets get on with it shall we? I have started another custom pony and am planning on posting the WIP to this thread. As well as editing this post in particular to show all you crazy ponies what I spend my time and money doing. So the concept!! First off her name is Guinevere and she is an archer pony! (Thanks Dio and Scotchie for coming up with a silly idea that I could jump off of!) She uses her magic to manipulate her bow and is an expert markspony. Her pelt is a "Lichen Green" and her hair will be a dark brown. I am planning on having it in an up-do such as a bun. Her tail will he cut short and tied back on its self. You may ask yourself what good is a sniper-esque pony with out camo. That is a good question! Thusly she is going to have camo paint on her face and fore-hooves. Along with her bow she will be equipped with a Gillie suit to better blend into her surroundings! I know it is AMAZING! Now on to the pictures! These will be in chronological order as best as I can manage! That is where she came from and her first coat. Close up of body coat. Close up of noggin coat. No she isn't a zebra. Those are her camo-stripes! Face Paint! Looking stealthy! Alright I am not going to post a step by step at the moment but I will post some of what I have done. I am using acrylic paint for all of this. I am fairly sure that everything will come out alright. I have lots of tiny paintbrushes that make life SO MUCH easier. The base I am putting her on will be semi-realistic like terrain. I am going to make her a gillie-suit, quiver, bow, and some arrows. She will be levitating the bow in the process of making a shot when she is done with. As for now I have much more work to do! And I can tell you that it has been a blast so far! ----------------------------------------------------------------Update---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright ponies!! I have some more pictures for you! I have only worked on her hood for the gillie suit and some of the flocking. Confound work, it takes me away from ponies. I am not 100% pleased with the hood so I am going to make another one in a different style to see how it comes out. This one is more like a head wrap than a hood. Gwen standing on the Flocking. Flocking and sand-ing-stuff done. Hood / head-wrap. Back of the noggin cover. Noggin cover from far away. I shall update if I do more work on her! I am most likely going to have the hood completed by this evening! *hooves crossed* ----------------------------------------------------------------Update---------------------------------------------------------------------------- At this point in time I have not worked further on the hood. It was just far to annoying. I will try to get it done eventually. But I have progressed on other parts of the project. I have gotten the Gillie saddle almost completed, and I painted her cutie-mark on. I have cleaned up some of the missing paint spots and the like. I am getting a little better at painting, even though I am still not very good. So here are the pictures! This is the painted base for the Gillie Saddle. Gillie saddle with the second under coat. Gillie saddle with the added top brush. Cutie-Mark!! Well for now that is all I have gotten accomplished! There will be more to follow, along with the stand. I still have to do some work on the base where Gwen will stand. Adding grasses and what not. Also I am waiting on her hair along with other the hair for my Rainbow Dash and Rivet. So more updates will be soon in the making!!! And Flickr yet again for her behind the scenes shots and such!

Hello again! Yes it is me, I know you are tired of listening to me. Well too bad. I wanted to post this in a separate post because it is such a drastic departure from what the first post was speaking of. Let's get on with it! CUSTOM PONY TIME!!! ooOOoooOOoo Exciting I know! Just today I finished my first custom pony. Mind you it is not your typical custom. With that in mind I present you with . . . *drum roll* . . . Ether! The queen of the internet, or something! Ether is watching you always. Those are her hoof ornaments. Forgive me I am not a skilled painter. That is her Cutie-Mark. 101 Well there she is! She is a complete rehair with multi-strand telephone cable. Her necklace, hoof ornaments, and even her tail scrunchy are the same material as her mane. Her cutie mark is " 101" Binary code. Really I don't know her back story or anything, just her name. The thought came to me as a, "Hay wouldn't that be neat." So I found my loom of wire and away I went. She is a Rarity base model if you can't tell. I pulled all of the stock hair out and enlarged the tail hole first. Threaded the wires through individually and then bound them together with, of all things, a soda bottle pop-ring, thingy. Once that was done I went about the mane. This was the hard part, Hasbro is SLOPPY with their hair placement number one and number two the holes were TINY! I had to make a "Hole-poker-make-em-bigger" tool. These I am selling for $20 each. (Just a joke there, I sharpened a paper-clip to make it.) I fed each wire through each hole individually again and pulled them through the neck joint with a pair of hemostats. After tying a knot in each wire I would pull them back into her head and move on to the next hole. I did her in a row manner. As in I worked across her mane and not down. That saved me a TONNE of trouble. I put her back together, painted her Cutie-Mark on. (After wiping Rarity's off with 100% Acetone.) Then it was just a simple style and photo shoot!! Anyways, I hope you like her. She is my first jump into real customization of ponies. If you have any questions or comments on any of my work feel free to ask. I don't bite ... much. And FLICKR again for her behind the scenes shots and such!

Alright everypony, if you didn't already know or guess, I am going to be trying to make customs. Mind you this will be my first foray into the land of toy customization but I figured what the hay. So here goes nothing!! I started with simple styling, just to get my hooves wet as it were. (With much help from Flutterscotch and RCTwilightsparkle I might add. Thank you ladies!) If you want a bigger view you can open the image in a new tab! First up is Pinkamina. I know I know, she does not look scary, but I wanted a simple style for my first go. Next up was Rarity!! Then I actually got somepony to like my work!!!! It was amazing! Brianblackberry commented on how "well done" they were and it went from there!! I remade both Pinkamina and Rarity and here they are! These are the ones that I made for Brian. I tried new methods out on these ponies. I used actual curlers rather than Nerf darts!! I like how their hair came out better than the originals. I am very proud to be sending these to Brian! Here is Applejack and Fluttershy!! (Once you start you don't want to stop!) I just adore Fluttershy! On RCTwi's advice I made her a little more curly than the show depicts and I was very pleased with how she came out. AJ Was just a barrel of fun to make! Yes her hair is bound with actual string. Her bangs are not perfect but I am a perfectionist. Okay with all that out of the way I'll detail a little how I went about it. After I got them home and whispered in their ears that they were pretty ponies as I brushed their manes. . . I mean what?! NO, I am manly I swear!!! *sighs* Well I did brush their manes when they were dry just to get some of their knots out. That helped a bunch actually. I rand them under cool water and brushed out their knots again. Hasbro is not kind to their ponies hair! Now comes the washing. I combined orange Dial liquid soap, and Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo in equal amounts and well washed their manes and tails with it. This was done under luke-warm to warm water. MAKE SURE TO GET IT ALL OUT! This is where I personally ran into trouble. You are supposed to condition their hair and then wash it again. Every time I tried to do this however, their manes came out all oily and just very bad. I was using Suave Professionals Rosemary and Mint, and some to think of it, that conditioner does the same thing to my hair when I use it. So I am not going to say don't condition your ponies. I am sure it works just perfectly for some people. In my case however, I got my best results with just a thorough washing. I styled Rarity with curlers and bobby-pins, larger curlers for her mane and a smaller one for her tail. A grand total of three curlers. Pinkie and AJ I styled with very tiny rubber-bands. I attached their hair in the position that I wanted it to their legs and that was that. Fluttershy on the other hand was a little difficult I have to admit. I used the large curlers in all of her locks and tail, again a grand total of three curlers. However I did not pull them as tightly as I did Rarity's, and I used more of a "spiraling" wrapping pattern. Now for the drying, I have tried three different styles and can not tall the difference really, other than the speed with which the process is completed. You can air dry them, simple and straight forward. You can use a hairdryer, just be careful you don't want to frazzle their hair with the heat of the thing. This works very quickly and if you are an impatient pony you might want to try this. Personally I use a heat lamp set in a desk lamp. It is one of those ceramic infrared reptile lamps! (Yes I have a Rose Hair tarantula that needs it. Her name is Lilly.) I set the ponies about 6+ inches away from it and let them dry. I turn them occasionally so that they dry evenly. Again with this method you need to be careful of the heat, they are plastic, you can melt them. This is the middle of the road on speed. It takes a few hours to get them perfectly dry. I like it because I feel that it drys the hair without mussing the style, and it is faster than air drying. Once they are dry comes the fun part! The reveal! You get to undo their manes and tales and see your work! It will look a little scraggly at first if you are doing a pony that needs curlers, just brush her hair gently in the direction that you curled it and it will start to look much better. Now I know that most Collectors frown upon this part, but I am a stylist not a collector so NYAH! I give them haircuts! *gasp* I know it is a scary thought! You don't have to do this part. I choose to because I think that it makes them look much better. I have my own pair of very sharp skizzers (scissors) that I use to cut manes. You can do this however you like. You can cut it like you would cut people hair and try to make a rounded edge or some such. But for a nice straight cut I suggest finding your spot, folding the hair over the bottom blade, and making a swift cut straight through. ALWAYS ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION! If you are not sure about cutting it but want to. It is easier to make the mane LONGER than you want it first and then trim it up. You can't put the hair back if you cut it too short though! Well there you go! That was my escapade into Styling ponies! I assure you that there are more to come! Even some actual Custom Ponies!!!! *winks* On the horizon is the styling of Twilight and the rehairing and subsequent styling of Rainbow Dash! I would love to hear your opinions on my work! Also HERE is my Flickr stream so you can see some of the "Behind the Scenes" shots!! And before haircuts and such! Again a HUGE thanks to Flutterscotch and RCTwilightsparkle! Without you ladies I would have never been able to do this!!