Blueblood

Feng, unsurprisingly, missed the muted regret in his old foxy friend's voice, still feeling the tease from his sister. A situation not helped by the follow up from Rongyu. "Ai! Uncalled for! I do not look at all convincing or attractive in a dress!" His protests immediately undercut by his sibling. "Speaking from experience, eh big bro? They have to pull you from a covert job because you weren't maid to order?" Feng was not quite able to suppress the grumpy look that confirmed that, yes, the experiment had been tried, and his boss had not been impressed with his efforts. Yin cackled, her mood already picked up, even if her energy wasn't. "Well, sure thing." She nodded at Hanabi. "You can come inside as long as you ain't come to take me away- ai!" Making a noise of similarly offended surprise as 'Shiratsuyu' passed through her in the mist, Yin looked back over her shoulder with a shocked expression that quickly shifted into a shrewdly assessing one. Hanabi would see the same expression mirrored in Feng, confirming if it needed to be comfirmed the family resemblance. "So..." She said, forcing her tone back down to feigned disinterest. "Your superior officer?" "My immediate subordinate, actually." "*Snort* If she's a sub, I'm a sandwich. Speaking of, you want me to shout down for some take out?" "Buckets of Wingapore noodles sound great right about now." Feng, with effort, re-established control of himself, filing away the revealed abilities of Rongyu as she returned to signal the all-clear. "Right, come on." With a wing, he gestured Hanabi to follow, as the four gathered around a tea table, Yin briefly excusing herself to yell down at a ground floor restaurant to start their kitchens up. "Long Kong's finest'll be here in a few." She said upon return, swishing a tufted tail as she looked over the party. "Well, if you ain't here to arrest me, I gotta say I don't buy that you're here for a social visit. Mind telling me what's up? I won't ask for all yall's real name, I just want to know what crazy scheme my big bro dragged you all in." Feng took a big breath. "It's a long story..." He tried to tell it as briefly as possible, reporting that he was on a mission from the Empress to perform a sting operation on the Triad. Yin herself listened, deliberately impassive except for her tail, which was lashing with undisguised vigor as her eye went from Hanabi to Rongyu in turn, watching for confirmation. "Okay... that explains why my brother is here, but not how in the name of the wish-granting stones he got you both to come along. He might have decided to be a concubine to the powers that be," She winked at Rongyu as she continued their joke, "But what about you two?"

Despite the pained whimper which Amby had emitted after impact, the fall wasn't the worst pain she'd every experienced, even in her short little life. Cute as she was from horn to hoof, not every part of her always worked as good as it later would, and stumbling and scrapes were a part of everyday life for little colts and fillies. But there was something else about this fall that would hurt worse, something that resulted from a slight snag in the wood floor, catching a bit of the lace on her dress. Without noticing, Applejack had just pulled her up, resulting in a- *r-i-i-i-p* The sound scraped across her eardrums like steel wool sandpaper, as the little filly suddenly looked down and saw it. The tear. In the dress. Auntie Rarity's precious gift to her little princess, ruined forever! "*sniff...* It's... dress... AAAAHHHHH!" She was too little to fully articulate the pain she was feeling inside herself right now, poor thing. Something precious being ruined, disappointing a generous Auntie, aware that leaking from the eyes and nose was the least cute thing she could do right now... all she could do was cry to her mama, and hope that somehow made it all better.

Texture... Gloomy had to admit, she hadn't really given that much thought to that particular aspect of food, though she could see how it would affect a pony sensitive to it. And on reflection, there were many instances of food that she could recall that, while edible raw, were only really appetizing when cooked. "Similar to how mushrooms are really dry and spongy when raw, but really nice when cooked. I've always liked those earthy flavors... though I had so much of them growing up, that might just be because I had to grow to like them." Taking hold of one of Sugar's coffee mugs in her magic, Gloomy took a sip, contemplatively. "Hmm... this is good, though I can definitely feel that I'd only want one cup. It doesn't do for a poet to get too wired up!" The one sip had woken her facilities enough to restart her rhymes, and she smiled over to the earth pony across from her. "Yeah, the bulk is probably going to matter more than weight. There's only so much you can fit on your gait."

Hearing Sugar talk about packing brought home to Gloomy that... this was real, she had found a friend and was bringing her home with her. "So this is all really happening, then..." It was a good thing that Sugar wasn't bringing too much, since she couldn't rightly recall how much free space she had inside her treehouse. Either way, though, it was going to be a cozy fit. Not that she minded the prospect of living so close to her new best friend... Looking over to see the mare stretch did much to stimulate her, it had to be said, enough to get her off the bed and stretching herself, her mind already moving from one set of dreams to another. Ah, young infatuation... that's at least what it was, she had to know by now. "Mmm, I do like coffee, actually, though I tend to go darker with the roasts, mostly because they don't pack as much of a punch, and I can drink two cups without being wired all that much. Although, I tend to have less sensitivity to bitter things in taste, just like I do with sad poetry. Mom never had to force me to eat my broccoli!" She giggled at the memory. "I would like to try your blonde roast, though."

Gloomy had just been about to open her mouth and suggest they get out of bed for breakfast, but once Sugar pulled her back into a snuggle, the unicorn did nothing to resist. Long loneliness ending suddenly tended to make a mare loath to give up contact when not necessary. She was quite happy to let Sugar nuzzle into her chest fluff, returning the gesture to the top of her head. "Hmm... it would seem so. That does mean we might just fall asleep again, though. Did you have anywhere you needed to be today?" Probably not, actually, given she'd just left her previous job at Canterlogic.

Mornings in the forest village of Bridlewood tended to be rather cold; the sun would only have just arisen, and even then its light and heat must filter through the trees. So why did Gloomy Sonnet feel so warm, as birdsong called her from slumber with a yawn? She blinked, looking down at an unfamiliar bed without comprehension, before catching a glimpse of a light coat and sparkling scarlet mane. Memories of yesterday came back to her, of a long walk from Bridlewood to Maretime Bay in search of a friend... and the fact that she'd found one! "Oh..." She said, softly to herself, not sure of how to handle the situation, besides waiting for Sugar Moonlight to wake up. Hopefully she would soon; Gloomy didn't remember where the tea or coffee was in this house!

While family was a topic that Queen Haven was always happy to open up to, succession was... less so. Flick would be able to see it in her face now, since she had settled in long enough for her emotions to show. The scrunched muzzle and pinched eyebrow were pretty unmistakable. "Should anything... unthinkable happen to Zipp, Pipp will be prepared as best we can to fill her role. Otherwise... desire must be subject to duty. Both of my daughters have enjoyed the perks of royalty, but I have not let them forget that it comes with responsibilities. Much was given, therefore much shall be asked." Which was to say, the Queen was not wanting to broach the topic. "I would... appreciate you not touching on the subject again. It was... not always a peaceable subject of discussion in the family."

"I do, as a matter of fact." Queen Haven's response was quick and without hesitation. She even chuckled as Flick related why he felt it was a young pony's game. "Well, then it would seem that I'm hardly aged at all, then! Flattery like that will get you everywhere." Some explanation might be called for, though, and by now she was willing enough to say, "Of course, one of the primary reasons is, again, family bonding. With one daughter as a dancer finally getting a chance to stretch her wings for real, and the other who has studied aerodynamics for years... I can hardly let them leave me behind, can I?" She smiled, leaning forward a bit in a lower tone. "And do you want to know something? When I was younger filly... I dreamed their same dreams. It's why I indulged them, you know; my firstborn and heir spending so much time in her laboratory. It used to be mine, years ago. Thinking that maybe, one day, she'd find a way to bring it all back... which she did, ultimately, just not in the way I expected."

There was a difficulty with "chipping away" at some ponies' personality presentations because one thought they were artificial. Queen Haven may have worked to build how she presented herself, but that didn't necessarily mean that anything she showed wasn't her 'real' self, as it were. She could laugh in public, and she allowed herself to do so, chuckling along to the comments of the guards tackling them. "Perhaps I should hold a tournament for my affections, bring back the old traditions? Though, I suppose sky jousting would be considered needlessly restrictive, so we'll have to do it on the ground." The topic turned soon to hobbies and what a royal did in her spare time, which was a fair enough question. "Normally, I try to carve out whatever time I have for my fillies; my parents weren't always able to be there for me, but I could see the efforts they made for the times we had. My father, for instance, would take an hour for lunch, bolt down two sandwiches in five minutes, and spend the rest with me. Now, I don't condone such uncouth eating habits, and when left to myself I rather do like to sample such luxuries and take my time with them. Good food, good drinks, good massages... of course, the trouble with hobbies like that is that they take up double-time, for all the working out one has to do to maintain one's figure in the face of it! That said, flight practice burns calories like nothing else! One more thing to thank my daughters and her friends for."

Hello, hello! It's nice to meet you too. Friendly neighborhood admin Blueblood here, welcome to our little corner of the internet. Relevant links: If you're interested in our Discord community, link is here: https://discord.gg/4kyZsXAs OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 4 (Friendship is Magic) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/416-character-applications/ OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 5 (A New Generation) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/471-character-applications/ Please use the standard form found here: PM me if you have any questions, or if you've filled out an app and want it stamped. I'm a little booked solid on what RPs I can fit into my schedule right now, but if you want to plan things out or spitball ideas, let me know!

One thing that was common among all pony tribes was a general level of creativity. While not all ponies decorated everything, pretty much all ponies decorated something. Even the most spartan house would have one shelf full of notepaper journals, stories, or drawings. For Sugar Moonlight, her creative outlet seemed to be her own body, first and foremost, with the rest of the house mostly serving to show what its owner valued. Family, and the keepsakes thereof. It did warm Gloomy's heart to see that, even as that selfsame muscle was made to flutter by the look the other mare was giving her. But that active heart was warring with a tired mind, and by the time the unicorn hauled herself up on the bed beside the earth pony, she was yawning yet again, unconsciously leaning into Sugar's warmth. "Mph... it's good home... warm... not alone..." Still in her scarf and beret, she was half asleep, dozing while leaning against her new roommate. Seemed the journey and the chili between them had done their work.

Taking up the giggling Glimmer and securing her between her own wings, Scarlett beamed. "Is it too much to say that I've waited for it ever since Sky was born? Though, given that Windy has been teaching him, I don't doubt that he'll have to slow down for me!" Following along with Candy, she arrived with the happy couple, taking up a spot beside her own husband as everypony found their seats. She spared a glance towards Morning Dew, just in case the other grandmother wanted a turn with the little one. Wing over wing, Sky was leading with Wind Dancer up to the head of the table, positioned so that each incoming pony could shout a greeting on the way up. He spoke in a low voice to Wind Dancer, "We have to have some of the best event organizers in the city by now; I was worried leading up to this day that things were going to get crazy right about now!" He looked around, as the small group of guests they both invited were followed by members of the general public, some fans, some passers by who got interested in seeing who got hitched today. "We'll see if the ground stays clear long enough for the dances!" It wouldn't really be Sky and Windy's 'first dance,' given they'd performed together before, but the symbolism counted!

Gloomy gave a sweet and tired smile at the suggestion. "Sure. Lead the way, sparkly grey." She giggled slightly at her silly rhyme; she must be tired if she was so easily amused. Still, she would be happy to follow Sugar Moonlight to a place of rest. "Although... my grandmother used to say that a bed was good for two things, and that neither of them were talking or thinking. It took me a while to figure out what she meant by that."

Ambrosia beamed like a pleased little princess...as long as mama and Mr. Teacher were showering her with due praise. But eventually the conversation moved on to the rather less interesting topic of her big brother. Still, she tried to stay still like a good little filly, but it was hard. Her active little mind was growing more bored by the second, and her imagination was beginning to kick into gear. This was like one of those... whatyamacallits, Galas that orange-mama would sometimes talk about. A place where ponies grandly gallop, or something like that. Or, apparently, stand around, talking, waiting for the most beautiful pony at the ball to appear! Well, no prizes for guessing who that was. Amby, dressed to the nines as she was, began to picture herself there, posing like a model to show off just how pretty she and her dress were! And as the conversation went on, the posing grew more and more exaggerated, until she over balanced and fell on her face. "Ooof! Ow...."

Hello, friendly neighborhood admin here! Welcome to our little corner of the internet. Your intro's just fine, no worries! If you need any onboarding help, want some introductions, or anything, feel free to PM me! Relevant links: If you're interested in our Discord community, link is here: https://discord.gg/4kyZsXAs OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 4 (Friendship is Magic) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/416-character-applications/ OC's and Cast Member apps for Generation 5 (A New Generation) go here: https://www.canterlot.com/forum/471-character-applications/ Please use the standard form found here: PM me if you have any questions, or if you've filled out an app and want it stamped. I'm a little booked solid on what RPs I can fit into my schedule right now, but if you want to plan things out or spitball ideas, let me know!

Gloomy pondered Sugar's answer, reflecting on how even when one wasn't happy, it was hard to recognize when another was walking along the path that would lead there. In fact, if the one happy pony was exceptional, it seemed most ponies preferred to herd around their misery rather than follow, unless something truly spectacular happened. "I guess then that sometimes the only thing we can decide to do is something different than our sad yesterdays, and hope that the universe takes care of the rest. I wouldn't have thought so myself, but then I found you once I did." And here the unicorn smiled again, looking directly into her eyes unafraid. Soon after, though, the heavy dinner began to have its effect, and she yawned. "Whooaaooo.... it's been a long day for me, and it's bed I long to see." The weariness of the journey here, staved off by the excitement of a new friend, was beginning to come back in like an incoming tide, swamping wakefulness in a soft fatigue.

Moonstruck from the first, many would have thought Sky Sailing would sleepwalk through his life. But right now, in the moment where every good thing that could happen in a dream was physically real in a city park, he'd never felt so awake in his life! "That's true! And yet here we are in the daylight, even if it's shaded." He let out one wing to try to find a place around Wind Dancer's dress where he could wrap it around. "Come on, I think the rest of the ponies want to celebrate." "You're darn right we do!" Nor'Easter called from behind his son, which prompted Luna to announce the beginning of the reception. That done, Sky would head with Windy over to the entrance to greet each of the guests, before the cutting of the cake. They took their place, ready to receive congratulations from each in turn. Scarlett, meanwhile, was torn between reveling in her joyous emotions, and watching out that little Glimmer Starlight didn't fall from her perch as her honorary Auntie drew both her and Golden Bit into a hug. "Goodness, that was a sight! I would never have thought the Princess would treat our son as special as, well, we think he is." It wasn't a public acknowledgement they were used to getting for their colt. "Ooh, the reception is starting! I'll make sure they save a corner piece of the cake for you, miss Bit! Oh, wait, it's round, isn't it?"

Sugar wasn't wrong in that the whole situation with the great loss and return of magic called for a poem; it called more loudly than anything else ever had to Gloomy. Up until now, however, she had felt herself far too unequal to the task, the emotions that were to be evoked too foreign to her experience. And yet, being here with this mare now, she could almost reach out and touch it, the words echoing in the back of her mind like a memory to vague to give exact verbiage... "You are right. If we are lucky, we won't have to wait long until it sees the light." She smiled, thoughtfully, letting the inaudible words collect in the darkness of her mind, patient as an angler, not rushing to fish them out. In the meantime, she listened to how Sugar grew up, tales of a fairly ordinary life, but one always colored by fear, as opposed to loss. "I think, all told, I'd still rather be sad than afraid, if I had to choose. I don't envy how you grew up." She tilted her head as she thought about it for another second or two. "And you know, if anything, Izzy Moonlight proves that happiness is something you can choose to be. And if you don't choose to be happy, do you deserve to be so?"

Spoiled considered. Her 'usual' was on the higher end of the services offered, but if this visit was on Rose, and with the return of Lotus... "Actually, I think I will step up today's visit. It has been a while since my last, and with the full family here, it would be a shame not to celebrate the occasion by going all out!" She shed her outerwear to hang on the hangers in the waiting room closet. Lotus had not lost her eye for a customer's tension after so many months away, Spoiled was glad to hear. "On my mind? Besides all the various cares of my new work...?" She paused, wondering how much to share, before sighing and deciding to let the rest of the family know what Rose did already. "Family matters. I feel my own rather drifting apart, of late."

Ambrosia beamed upon the teacher, fully coming out from behind Applejack. This teacher sure was smart! He knew a great dress when he saw one. "Is from Auntie Rarity!" She said brightly, clip-clopping cutely over to where she was indicated to take a seat. She had to giggle, though, as he soon proved to be as silly as he was smart. "No, mister Teacher, his name is Zappers!" It really was just Zap, but any brother of hers really deserved at least one more syllable to his name. He was related to the cutest, most adorable filly on the planet, after all!

The couple, as they sat, were served a complimentary pot of green tea, which Kahz then took upon himself to pour into each of the cups set on the table. The steaming scent of the matcha within the brew was stimulating, for him exotic, for his date, familiar. "You bear much weight in your profession, then? I suppose having other ponies bring their own problems and stresses into your office all day does that. There's more of a rhythm in my own work, practice and prep building to a show, and all the problems are only my own." He put a forehoof around Yu's shoulders as she nuzzled against him, squeezing a bit to feel the tension spoke of in there, as he drank in the flavor of her affection while the tea cooled in his cup. "In any case, I'm happy to be here for you... I only wish you were here more regularly."

"Growing up?" Gloomy thought as she took the last few bites of her second bowl, thinking back to her little fillyhood. "It was... well, everypony there... felt the loss of magic. We all knew we were supposed to have it, but we didn't. But at the same time, we didn't know exactly what magic was, so every time we felt sad, we all could say that whatever we were missing was part of magic. Not many unicorns even tried to be happy with what we had... we felt, somehow, that if we gave up feeling sad over what we'd lost, we'd eventually forget, and then never be able to get it back." Though the memories were not felicitous, she was the sort of mare who could always smile at irony, so she did. "Funny thing, the one unicorn who did try to be happy was the one who helped to bring it back. I guess that says something too." She put her bowl down beside Sugar's, sighing as she sat back, feeling a little stuffed. "As for me personally... I found after a while I could get used to feeling sad... I could even express how sad everypony was, which seemed to make them feel better, if not good. But now... now I really am starting to feel good for the first time. And that's a little strange and scary, because I don't know how to write, well, Sunny Sonnets."

As it turned out, Spoiled Rich was about to choose the perfect day for redeeming her spa visit voucher gift from Rose. Not that she expected any lesser fortune as her due. Being Mayor of a bustling and growing town was hard work! Rose understood that, and Spoiled was beginning to actually consider the changeling a friend. Besides that, of course, the Twin's Spa was the only one in town, and she had been a frequent customer in more more social and less busy days. How much of a good customer that made her... well, that was up to how professional Aloe and Lotus were feeling that day, no doubt. Given how busy the spa had been relative to its staff, she had scheduled herself to enter in as close to the actual opening time as she could, so as not to risk her massage spot being taken. So, when she pushed open the door, ringing the bell to find Lotus there after so long an absence, she remarked, "Well, Miss Lotus, I am glad to see you saw fit to return to us at last! After so long without so much as a letter, you had left many doubts in the minds of our fellow townsponies."

The vows spoken, Sky began to hear some gasps and reactions in the crowd mixed with cheers. He paid them or what they were reacting to little heed, however. He had a beautiful mare in front of him, who had just promised to be with him for life, and this called for an immediate clasping of her with wings and forehooves and a long kiss. His introverted mind blocked out the world for about a solid half-to-full minute, before he finally pulled back to see a world much more shaded in its look than before. Looking around with puzzlement, he took a bit to catch Luna's expression and look up at the sky. He laughed to see the eclipse. "I dreamt the moon would look over our love; I guess I should have expected my dreams to come true, given that you agreed to marry me, Windy." ~Scarlett~ The mother and grandmother in the red pegasus each vied for control over her attention, from her boy being married infront of her, to her little grandfoal, already stretching her wings out to perch on Auntie Candy's horned head! This was one of those core memories, all intense with emotion and happiness and tears. One feels the heavens move to mark it, even if they are literally still fixed in their courses. However, in this case, Princess Luna herself was shading the occasion! A blessing, considering how precious shade was in the desert sun. "Oh, how lovely! I've... *sniff, sob* never been so happy!"