Ciraxis

You back? YOU BACK! Happyhappyhappyhappyhappy.....!

No king rules forever.

The two of you have taken an titanic responsibility and amount of work on your shoulders. The fact that you did this willingly speaks far more then I can add in words alone.

I wish you good luck in your lordship. Remember, while nothing is perfect everyone have your backs - and in that lays the true strength of our community.

Oh...and I guess it call for a PARTY!

4/5 Good quality, but sate my curiosity....who she is?

I wish for the strength to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Let's go hyper heh? 4,5/5 becose it remins me of

What does Scouter say about it's power level?

"If we have I certainly can't recall! I am so terrible with faces"She said and chuckled

[colour=green]"....Well, I don't think it matters much anyway if we came across each other or not."[/colour] unicorn shrugged. [colour=green]"Free drinks? Excuse me but how exactly is this profitable for you?"[/colour] the eyebrows over his sunglasses rose noticeably. [colour=green]"I don't mean to be offensive, just curious."[/colour] Squall added explanation.

And then the other stallion had entered and unicorn barely contained his surprise after slightly turning his head. This guy was absolutely enormous! Swift always believed that his own Old Pony - an Earth Pony himself - was huge. But huge was understatement when describing the guy that had entered Lady establishment.

[colour=green]"Well...sompony was eating his share of vegetables."[/colour] swordstallion though.

The one of big pros of wearing shades was the ability to observe otherponies without them noticing that they were being watched.

Swift Squall studied Bones movements with the corner of his eye - but more from habit then actual then actual intention.

The way of walking, muscle movement and stance told Squall that he was a soldier. Amusing. It appears that Swift meet a REA members wherever he would go. But something in this pony was unusual. A quick glance at the stallion flank provided the answer.

[colour=green]"A boxer..."[/colour] Squall mused quietly to himself. Yes, the strongly developed front legs indeed hinted that he used them way more then the hind ones.

With his curiosity fulfilled unicorn stallion shifted his attention back at the Lady [colour=green]"Is that orchard behind the shop yours?"[/colour] Swift asked.

Done and Ready. Removed any mentions of any alternate alias of her.

Yes, I would like to have this application still open.

Expo! Let us join forces in creating better, chairless world! The Order of Rainbow Stool could use support of poster of your attitude. Know that you not alone!

Unexpectedly Swift regained consciousness. It wasn't obvious at first, since he kept his eyes closed, trying to sort everything.

[colour=green]"So soft. A couch? Ahhh...I can hear them. Guess everything is alright then."[/colour] unicorn deducted. He wished to just lay where he was and rest but sound of talons scratching on the wooded surface made him slowly open his eyes. Staring at ceiling he couldn't distinguish shapes, his vision blurry. Dismissing this as a simple paint pattern, Squall tried to sit.

[colour=green]"Dagnabbit!"[/colour] swordstallion blurted out as the world spin around him, and he was forced too support himself with one of his front legs. Unicorn sighted as he regained his balance.After that Squall slowly turned his head towards source of two female voices. Recognizing big splotch of red as Fire he asked.

[colour=green]"So...Everything went fine?"[/colour]

After that he rubbed his head with his other hoof. His head, hit by the piece of concrete earlier started to really hurt right now.

[colour=green]"....Did I drooped my blade? I can't feel it."[/colour]

Edited. Please inform me if I missed something.

On the downside...their parents either liked patterns or had very little imagination. Which is not strange seeing who Brass Hat is.

Kidding! I am looking forward for interacting with another family member.

Err, yes, yes. I wish to eep it open. Sorry for delay...again.

So here he was - Red Delicious, a small rural settlement on the country central highlands...known more widely as the Solistic Highs.

While he was well traveled, Swift Squall couldn't honestly say that he visited this cozy village before, it looked like a nice placed to sightsee. A shame that he neither had time nor proper looks for such thing. After a rather foggy and sleepless night unicorn wasn't the sight for a sore eyes. A wet and frayed dark brown duster, messy mane and tail, eye bags due too lack of sleep and on top of that all a sheeted sword resting on his back. Somepony could tell that he was sellsword cruising for a bruising, and Squall couldn't blame for such assumption.. Yet in the eyes of the traveling swordstallion that gazed above his shades were shining a noble determination and sense of purpose.

Right now Red Delicious seemed to still be in a phase of slight morning drowsiness, extended by the warm sun rays. Unicorn welcomed the golden orb with relief - at least he would dry quickly - but it seemed that it made everypony stay in the beds a little longer. That was a problem, as Swift was looking for some answers and directions.

But look! It seemed that a small shop abutted to an orchard was already 'Open'. Good, while he traveled quite a distance with what he had, a grumbling stomach reminded him that both filling it and and taking more provisions would be a wise move. That, and maybe a hour long nap afterwards. Swift Squall hadn't any arguments to disagree.

Without a second though noble trotted to the door and opened it with his magic.

[colour=green]"Good Morning"[/colour] he greeted the shop owner. In his warm yet husky baritone Lady could hear a slight weariness.

Squall didn't bothered with starting a conversation at first, instead glancing over the shelves taking mental notes what he will take with him. The treats that rested at them looked rather tasty.

But after a few unintentional glances at the pink maned mare, a feeling of familiarity appeared in his head. Kind of inevitable for somepony traveling as much as him.

[colour=green]"I am sorry...did we meet before?"[/colour] swordstallion asked her directly. Eyes behind the shades squinted a little, for Squall wasn't sure if it was pleasant encounter or not.

[colour=green]"Oh Sure...I am as open as a clam. And if I remember correctly, half the time you end up in my grip Blusty"[/colour] swordstallion reminded his friend. Swift moved to the billiard table. Unicorn grabbed first cue with his magic and then both the rack and the balls.

[colour=green]"And since all the drama is behind us, can we move to what Mr. Abbot was about to say?"[/colour] unicorn said twirling the cue beside himself, while placing the balls on the table.

Swift ears perked up when Fire mentioned the archaeological sites. That was what Swift concluded as well. From his perspective it looked like the bald pony wished to hire them for some mission of sort.

[colour=green]"That supposed to be the vacation."[/colour] noble murmured while making the first strike. Watching the balls moving on the table, Squall walked around for the next shot while grabbing the chalk to use on cue.

[colour=green]"But I am new to this little group. I have no more to say then this glasses kid or so-he-says Royal guard."[/colour] he thought.

"There's a little shop in Canterlot that sells all kinds of odds and ends. Most of it's cra..er...Bric-à-bracs, but there's usually something of interest there. I was thinking of stopping there if we didn't find anything of interest at the wooden gift store."

[colour=green]"The shop of oddities....I will ask you for address after we finish then."[/colour] unicorn nodded while striking the balls again, and placing the two in pockets by doing so.

Ok...ok....I am cool. But I swear too Celestia, if someone will show a bee spandex I will scream. <creeps>

An OOC Topic for this adventure. Because we really need one.

First off...who is still with us on this little bandwagon? Please post if you are.

Second - just as Taco suggested - this round of posts should be the last before we start Act 2. If there would be no objections I will post next, wait for all off you to replay and then sum this up with one last post.

Act 2 will happen somewhat two days later (from quest perspective) on the luxury liner on course to Roam. Also up to debate should the following Act's be still [OPEN] or [CLOSED].

Not sure if there are enough slots open left Sonic (or maybe SRG?) but once again I venture into your den, and once again with wish of ponification.

But easy request it will be not, for Ciraxis wishes too see a pony form of no one else but King of Heroes. Yup, it's favorite jerk of many (including myself) Gilgamesh from Fate/Stay Night.

Of course once again I also made sure that this character was not ponified yet to give you privilege of anteriority.

Just in case if this one picture was not enough of the reference I found some more inspiration material too use.

I myself would prefer him with armor on, but if clothing gives your trouble I will understand. But enough of my rambling. Now...can you really draw King of Heroes, Sonic?

Aaaaand finally finished this. Took me long enough. Did I beat a record or something? Oh and all critique and advice would still be appreciated.

"Swift, I see what you're doing, but we are too far away for the spell to work properly. I can carry you closer to the kraken."

[colour=green]"No....stay...away...or else...[/colour] he replayed in between gasps, worring that she get hurt. But two tentacles that smashed a pier surface next to him made him sway on his legs. A piece of concrete - sent flying by the sheer force - hit unicorn in the head. His concentration almost broken by the impact and pain, convinced stallion to change the opinion even if his blade still waved from left to right like if nothing happened.

[colour=green]"Uhhh...please...help...."[/colour] he murmured, allowing himself to be carried away. What probably surprised the mare was how limp Squall was right now. It seems that he wasn't joking about being feed poorly by the corsairs and lack of sleep after his daring escape.

[colour=green]"C-closer..."[/colour] he asked, doing all in his might to not drop his weapon. Red mare did what he asked [colour=green]"Good...t-that's....that's enough"[/colour]

Swift commented. He took a deep breath before speaking at the kraken, with the same commanding tone he used earlier.

[colour=green]"Sleeeeeep.....Sleeeeeeeeep....Sleeeeeeep"[/colour] he repeated that one word like some mantra. It must've been great effort for him to speak properly right now, without stutters or pauses. And little by little, his hypnotizing voice appeared to take effect. The tentacle swings started too slow down, becoming easier too dodge with each moment. The cephalopod 'eyelids' seemed to become heavier. And suddenly - too everypony surprise - kraken made a gurgling noise, wrapped his arms around pier and rested it's gargantuan body in the shallow water next to it. The wet sound that followed up must been a snoring.

[colour=green]"I don't...believe it...That worked...."[/colour] Squall said. Still being in her hooves he turned around his head slightly. Unicorn smiled weakly, released his weapon from his magical grasp making it fall to the sand below, and then finally fainted.

(OOC: While I should be picky how a pencil pusher managed to joint lock a Equestria equivalent of trained commando, without such skill being mentioned within Quillhart application. [Or more importantly, how earth pony can do this and remain standing?] I will just play along.)

[colour=green]"What?[/colour] surprise flashed through unicorn mind when Quillhart cough him. It was a really sloppy by the Swift standards and he could probably shake him off. But the fact that someone could cough him by surprise, at all was enough to make him freeze for a moment. Not to mention heavy training leg-bracelets.

[colour=green]"WHAT?!"[/colour] another thought flew in his head when he saw a very, VERY sharp quill making it's way to his throat. Why it always had to be the quills? Were the ballpoint pens too expensive or something?

Worse yet, the look in earth pony eyes showed that Quillhart wasn't in the same reality as everypony else in the bar. Swordstallion yanked his head to the side just as glint of consciousness sparked in writer's irises. The quick reflexes of both ponies spared Squall from getting an unwanted tracheotomy.

While most of his face remained unmoved, the glimpse that Swift gave the still vibrating quill revealed that he wasn't completely unaffected.

"Sorry sir, I am a little tense today." Quillhart shock his head to clear his head. "Let's just forget about it." He then remembered the question that he had been asked, so he turned back to Fire Walker with a fairly guilty face.

[colour=green]"Apology accepted...but being tense is not a reason to behave like this."[/colour] Swift said in dry, but calm tone. If this kid expected him to explode in anger, Squall must've disappointed him. But just when Quillhart turned around to face Squall again, he found out that unicorn was just before his face.

[colour=green]"But you definitely should not forget about this! Did you consider what could happen if place would be a lot more crowded? "[/colour] Swift scolded young earth pony. He wanted to chew him on the lack of respect for his seniors but gave up after seeing Quillhart worried expression. Squall sighted and continued, his baritone much softer then before.

[colour=green]"I....listen kid...I know not what makes you panic so much, but you need to control yourself. Otherwise you will hurt yourself and others."[/colour] Swift paused, not sure what to say next. He wasn't very experienced with such talks yet even when speaking to friends, not to mention a stranger. So he just pulled out his quill from the dartboard and hoofed it back to him with his own telekinesis.

[colour=green]"Muggo...Since you going for drink anyway, mind if you can give this youngster some calming herb tincture? On my tab"[/colour] he asked a bar owner.

While she was pretty concerned on what Quillheart had to say, she was easily distracted by Swift Squall's confused expression. "I try to make friends wherever I go.", Fire winked at the stallion, "That's the Canterlot way! Say, if I didn't go out of my way to stumble into this tavern, I would have never met Muggo' and Dunder. We would have never came across the fabled right eye of 'King Kungaloosh' And we would have never helped Prince B...er, youknowwho find his father, and I definitely would not have met you, Sir Squall.", she let out a sigh, "My life would have been a good deal more boring. Boring-er. Not sure that's a word, but it would really stunk without you guys." she gave the male a quick hug, "Oh, and Dunder and I would have never helped you with your house problem!

[colour=green]"Canterlot way, huh? Wish I was as trusting as you Fire..."[/colour] he gazed at his half empty juice glass. [colour=green]"You guys are one of the best things that happened to me."[/colour] he confessed. His face flushed up a bit when he hugged him, but not by much.

Morning takes off his hood and looks around seeing other ponies, he also see's various items he can't quite identify, " Say, where did you get those?"

[colour=green]"The usual. Ancient ruins, deals with the Nightmare, shops."[/colour] count responded before taking a sip [colour=green]"That said, they aren't average shops most of the time. You either need right connexions or hefty of money. Or just know where to look."[/colour]

He listened to Swift as he went on now turning to face Dunder. [colour=#afeeee]“Your friend is quiet the friendly one.”[/colour] he said jokingly,[colour=#afeeee] “Is he usually that way? Or is it just around new faces?”[/colour]

[colour=green]"Depend's what you mean by usuall."[/colour] Squall meddled in before Blusty could respond [colour=green]"I am better at Thursdays and worse at Mondays."[/colour] he responded with joke of his own, while keeping a straight face. While he could answer about Abbot proposition as well, uncior did not feeled that he should. After all it was Fire tickets and her vacation. Not to mention that he was new to the little merry band himslef.

Squall was too focused on channeling his trump technique to notice the coming of REA. He didn't even noticed that cloud off dust was set up by the pony until Fire welcomed the landing Sergeant.

[colour=green]"Ohhh...good..."[/colour] he said in relief. One could hear great weariness in his otherwise warm baritone. [colour=green]"We can now leave this to army spellc...."[/colour] unicorn begun but quickly stopped. Even through he looked around he couldn't find a familiar robes of the battlemages. Swift closed his eyes and sighted heavily.

[colour=green]".....You brought no wizards..."[/colour] he stated the obvious fact to the Acclaim [colour=green]"And despite having no real means to stop this thing Sergeant you say us to retreat? No....I've seen one settlement razed once and I will not see one again. Even if this thing have to slither over my broken body!"[/colour] he growled in much harsher tone. It seems that Acclaim managed to push one of his anger buttons and make Squall lose some of the cool.

[colour=green]"Now that they broke my concentration. I can not start again....What can I do?"[/colour] he asked himself in his mind, while rubbing his temple with one of front hooves.

[colour=#FF0000]"Hi, nice ta meet ya. So any ideas how to get the walking piece of calamari out of here? Maybe we can have a big sea food fry?"[/colour] He said jokingly. But did lick his beak a bit at the thought of some fried calamari. It had been awhile since he had some of that.

[colour=green]"I am trying to find one. And stop thinking with stomach like some....animal..." [/colour] he scolded Razor at first, but in that moment an expression of enlightenment flushed out through his face.

[colour=green]"A trick that Candy showed me....maybe it's worth a shot..."[/colour] he wondered.

Just as the smokescreen started to clear up, Swift trotted forward before the group - his sheathed blade in from of him, pointed downwards. He poured what little magic he has left through the weapon, making the gems on scabbard and hilt shine extraordinary. And then, as gigantic eyes were focused just on him he just started waving the sword from left to right, like a pendulum.

[colour=green]"Sleeeeeep...."[/colour] swordstallion said in the commanding voice.

I have a question! Will the map be changed to reflect the present availability of Crystal Empire?

Wow....I kind off forgot about this one .

Errr...I promise that I will finish next week?