Tempest Rime

((OOC I was even spelling pneuma wrong, it's got a silent p I forgot about. Derp)) Mal glared at Scale. This was the sort of moron they let into the university, where she'd been denied. What a worthless, unfair system they had. Just because her magical talents didn't meet their specific ideas of what was proper. "Advanced. Pyro. Clastic. Pneuma," she hissed, her irritating manifesting notably in her voice. "Pyroclastic, as in relating to lava, pneuma as in the spiritual essence of a being. That's got a silent... ugh, here, do you have some paper, I'll just write it down for you so you don't have to worry about spelling. And only the first edition will do, as I said, they removed the spell due to it being too destructive. Er, difficult, I mean." She glanced at the building. "No, the guards weren't looking particularly willing to let me loiter around, I'll wait out here. I'm not in any rush, though if a stallion keeps me waiting too long I do start getting antsy." She put a mildly threatening emphasis on the last word.

Mal didn't respond for a few moments. She shook her head to clear it and glanced up and down the streets, checking to be certain nopony had pursued her. Once she was satisfied she wasn't in the clear she started at the pony she'd run into, unsure how she was going to deal with being spotted. "Me? Oh, I'm nopony, really, I just... was in town for some... things." Mal's attempt at acting natural failed utterly. "Um, so I'm... sorry for bumping into you." She choked out the words and grit her teeth in disgust at the act of apologizing. It went completely against her nature to do so, but she was trying to avoid suspicion, so she did her best. "And who might you be?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Thanks," said Pinkie with a grin as Carousel freed her. She frowned at Dark. "I suppose I could free, you, but first you need some kind of punishment for trying to prank me and failing. Hmm..." A ding came from the oven. "Aha! Cookies!" Pinkie skillfully pushed the oven door open with one hoof, nipped a pot holder in her teeth, and used it to grab ahold of a cookie tray. The cookies smelled of cinnamon, and were a bright chartreuse in coloration. She set them atop the over and sniffed. "Hmm... promising. No fire or ice this time. She carefully took a tiny nibble before offering them to the others, to ensure they weren't dangerous. The taste was completely normal, cinnamon and sugary, with just a hint of rainbow. It was mild enough now that it wasn't overpoweringly spicy, and instead only server to enhance the flavor nicely. The texture was what really surprised the pink party pony. The only way she could begin to describe it was like chewing on lightning bolts. It crunched when bitten, before immediately crumbling into almost powder, and it sent prickly tingles down her spine. Her eyes lit up, literally, with a mild light the same blue color as her irises and she shivered pleasantly. "V-v-v-v-v-v-v ooOOooh, wow, that's GOOD! I knew I could do it! You guys have GOT to try these!" She didn't give Dark a chance to refuse, shoving one unceremoniously into his mouth. She offered one to Carousel much less forcefully, holding the tray out to the unicorn.

Mal scoffed. "My fire doesn't catch unless I tell it to, though I suppose they didn't know that. If you happen to know a copying spell, that'd do, but I'd really prefer an exact copy rather than one that's been manually copied over with potential errors. This is the closest I've ever really been to a spell that might actually work for me, so I'd really like to be exact." She paused before explaining in more depth. "In layman's terms, you know how ponies all have a special talent reflected by their cutie mark, right? Well, for unicorns, that talent affects the way your magic comes together, that's why magic that suits your talent comes easily, but most magic outside that is all-but impossible. In my case, my special talent precludes spells that provide creative or restorative effects. Put simply, my talent is destroying things, and most magic isn't designed for that." She frowned. "Why would I want a glass eye, it's not like you can see out of them, and I wouldn't be able to show off the battle scar as easily. Besides, it wouldn't stay in, the manticore took out the eyelid and a good chunk of the muscles around the eye along with the eye itself, a glass eye wouldn't stay in." She flashed Scale a twisted smile. "Besides, I still got the better deal. He ended up with a foot-wide hole through his chest."

87%, booyah. Lost a bunch on the fan music and fan video questions, but that's about it.

"Uh, they probably would have, but I got a bit angry when they told me I couldn't check it out and torched some of their records. But that's not important, the book I need is Advanced Pyroclastic Neuma by Shady Oak, first edition. There's a spell in it that didn't make it into the later additions, 'cause it's supposedly too difficult for a normal pony, since it doesn't manifest via a standard auspicious matrix. There's references to it in a journal I read, but they didn't go into detail about the spell itself." She looked over him. "And yeah, you do. Scrawny doesn't necessarily mean weak, but you look kinda... I dunno, fragile. Like a puppy, just waiting to be kicked around a bit. I'd volunteer to help you out with that, but I really want to try out that spell. Not everyday I can find spells that fit my talent, you know." She idly scratched her nose with a knee as she spoke, brushing the hair off her face and casually revealing her missing eye, making it look almost accidental.

The arrival of the second guard called for a change of tactics, now she could try to get the first guard in trouble. Antagonizing both at once was too dangerous, but turning them against each other might still work out. "Aww, what's wrong?" Mal sneered at Radiant. "Mister boss pony put you in your place?" She turned her glare to the captain. "My business? Oh, this guard and I were busy having a nice little discussion on the relative merits of our glorious leaders," she said snidely. "At least, until you came along and spoiled it. And before that, I was just resting my poor, tired hooves before heading home from a late-night house call, and enjoying the nice quiet night brought to us by the lesser princess, according to Radiant Steel here."

Mal frowned. He hadn't given a reaction she'd quite expected, neither obstinate nor submissive. Oh well, an upfront willingness to help would work just as well for her purposes, and she thought she'd spotted a glimmer of intimidation when he'd looked over her. "Oh, nooooo," she said perfidiously. "It's just that, there's a book I want to study in the student library over there, but apparently the library policy is to not check books out to ponies who aren't enrolled in the university. So, assuming you are enrolled here, I want you to check it out for me. You are enrolled here, aren't you? I mean, you look it, but that pusbag in there will want to check to be sure."

Mal's face lit up with a grin as the pegasus got angry. She'd struck a nerve there. Time to see how far she could take it. Her tone shifted to one of mock innocence. "Contemptuously? Why, whatever do you mean? I'm only asking a simple question, I mean, it's hardly inconceivable that somepony who imprisoned her own sister for a thousand years might have some difficulties in her relationship with said sibling later on. If anything, you're the one being contemptuous by implying that the well-known truth is itself somehow compromising to Princess Celestia. Do you mean to imply that she has something to hide, hmm?" The unicorn's voice dropped to a hiss. "I wonder, if another conflict did arise between our sovereigns, where would your loyalty ultimately lie? And how far would you go for the princess of your choice? Would you kill the other for them, hmm? It could happen, you know, you really ought to be prepared. Just in case." The nastiest part of this line of heckling was that it was, in fact, quite possible, a fact that gave Mal a giddy thrill when she thought about it.

"Ashton!" A piercing call interrupted him. Lola had spotted the balloon on its approach and finally made her way to rendezvous with them as they landed. "Fantastic, you managed to make it into town, I was considering organizing a search party for you. You know, I wandered all over that blasted forest after we were separated, and I didn't see a single interesting creature. I guess the stories about that place are all rubbish." "Oh and Dellios is here too, how marvellous." She turned to the other griffin. "I'm glad to see I didn't put you off the thought of traveling. It's good to have another griffin around, you know, just earlier I was having a discussion with a rather naive earth pony, and in my irritation I accidentally used a hunting metaphor. Talk about a faux pas." She glanced over the other two ponies. "I see you've picked up a couple of cohorts as well," She smiled pompously and addressed them directly. "Good morning, I am the Lady Lola Silverbeak, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She gave a gracious nod to the strangers.

An angry, scarred and pierced blue unicorn stormed out of the library. Malediction was fuming, muttering loudly to herself. "Miserable waste of oxygen, I ought burn his tongue out, student use only, bunch of dross." She stopped in the courtyard, glaring around venomously. She'd exhausted every other possible location, this was the only copy of that wretched book she could find. Possibly the only copy left in the country, though she wouldn't be surprised if there was a copy secreted away in some hidden vault of the royal library. Her gaze wandered to the unicorn sitting on the grass. Now there was an idea. "Hey, you. Four-eyes. Do me a favor will ya?" She stepped right up to where he was lying, towering over him and leering perniciously. This twerp had pushover written all over him, and Mal wagered she could boss him into doing anything.

((Mal is a nasty piece of work, heh)) "Why? I didn't see any signs saying I couldn't be here? Or did our high and mighty overlord decree that enjoying her sister's night time was illegal? Are things getting frosty between the royals again already?" Mal's voice dripped with scorn and she sneered derisively at the guard. She stayed leaning casually against the wall, very consciously avoiding making any motions that could possibly be considered aggressive. Her gaze, however remained unblinkingly on the guard. "Proud, huh? I dunno if I'd be all that proud if my job was to fly around at night and harass innocent ponies."

A spark of flame lit up the shadows as Malediction summoned up a tiny flame to light up the shadows. Somepony had locked themselves out of their house, and she'd had to make a house call to let them in. After the job was done, she'd slunk into a secluded area next to the castle where she'd been loitering in the dark, brooding. She squinted into the gloom, trying to make out who had called out to her, as if there had ever been any real doubt. The glint of the guard's armor only server to confirm what was already apparent from the self-important call-out. Give a pony a badge or some shiny armor and they think they suddenly have the right to tell you what to do. Mal briefly considered her options. She couldn't get into a fight with a guard without repercussions, but she had no respect to spare on their ilk. On the other hand, they usually just ignored her, even when she tried to antagonize them. She decided to make a game of it. She'd see how mad she could get this one without actually giving the guard a reason to arrest her. The blue unicorn let the question go a few moments before finally replying. "Who wants to know?" She leaned against the wall as she spoke, feigning disinterest.

Updated with a Relationships section, inspired by Cat Napper.

Updated with a Relationships section, inspired by Cat Napper.

"Hi Granny Smith," said Pinkie Pie cheerfully while completely ignoring the old mare's warnings. She grabbed Gummy off her back and sat him down next to the big lizard. "There you go, now you can make a new friend!" Pinkie turned her attention to Cookie Sweets. "Yep, that's me. I don't really know why he doesn't have any teeth. It makes feeding him kind of difficult..." Pinkie trailed off and a faraway look came over her for a moment. She shuddered briefly before changing the subject. "Cookie, huh? I don't think I know anypony by that name, you must be from out of town. I know pretty much everypony in Ponyville. I don't know you either, miss lizard salespony." Pinkie smiled happily at Skink, whom she had not yet associated with the name written atop the cart.

I used to love Mr. Pibb until I went vegan for a few years and couldn't drink it, since it contains lactic acid. When I finally gave up and started eating real food again, my tastes had drastically changed. Mr. Pibb has that sort of bitter aftertaste that milk does, it utterly revolts me now. I generally tend to drink Mountain Dew, Doctor Pepper or Pepsi, just because they seem to be the easiest to find the cane sugar versions of (Throwback or Heritage they call 'em). The cane sugar sodas are sooo much better than the corn syrup ones. Jones sodas also use cane sugar, and their green apple sodas are great.

Ouch. Well, be careful, the Harry Potter movie isn't going anywhere for quite a while, it's not worth getting any more injured over.

A curly-maned pink earth pony bounced happily down the road, taking her pet alligator for a walk. She hummed to herself, enjoying the pleasant day until her wandering gaze settled on the most fantastic sight she had seen in at least a week, maybe even more. She gasped and lept into the air, her eyes going wide before she dashed toward the big cart filled with reptiles. While Pinkie Pie had been walking, Gummy had been resting lazily on her back, his 'walk' actually being more of a sun bath. When she jumped, he was given a rude awakening, and he reflexively grabbed a mouthful of Pinkie's curly mane, yanking him along for the ride. "Oh my gosh you have reptiles!? Do ya have any alligators like my Gummy here, do ya, do ya, 'cause my poor widdle Gummy hasn't even met another alligator before, though I don't think he's met any other kinds of lizards before either, well, except Spike of course, though I don't think he really counts 'cause dragons can talk and all, but even though Gummy's got tons of friends like me I sometimes think he might be lonely being the only lizard around, can he meet some of them?" With scarcely a pause for breath, Pinkie continued. "Oooh, I wish I could buy one, but Mrs. Cake explicitly forbade me from getting any more reptiles when I got Gummy, she said 'Pinkie Pie, that thing can stay, but keep it out of my bathroom, and don't bring home any more reptiles, please, one is enough.' and I was all 'awwwwwww' and she was all 'grrr' but she's the boss and at least I got to keep him, even though he scares ponies sometimes, I mean, I don't know why, he's not scary at all, he's got no teeth and he's just the nicest sweetest little guy ever, not like that cat Rarity's got, she can be a real meaniepants sometimes. The cat, I mean, not Rarity, Rarity's super nice and generous, though she does get kinda angry sometimes, but usually only when people really deserve it." As Pinkie rambled on and on, Gummy simply stood on her back, looking nonplussed.

Tempest deposited the debris from the flower pot into its proper trash receptacle, turning back to the other ponies with a slight smug look, which was instantly swept away when the deluge of water came streaming toward them. Tempest herself instinctively zipped into the air, over the top of the flood before flitting about in a panic while the water subsided. "Aqua! Are you alright?" She darted down in time to hear her new friend give Granola a stern talking to. She landed next to the hippocamp, adding her own icy glare to the collection of upset faces staring down the poor brown earth pony. The trash pail she had deposited the broken pottery into had been overturned and its contents strewn about. "I'm sorry Aqua," said Tempest angrilly, "This is not the introduction to Ponyville I was hoping to give you."

I think most of the chatter ended up on IRC or in other threads. But anyway, I'm pleased as punch that the Mal/DC threads got picked as one of the top 3. They were certainly a lot of fun to write for I'm super excited to see what brian comes up with for it.

Yeah, though the Alvin and the Chipmunks one from a while back was pretty horrific too. I'm greatful that they didn't butcher this one, if the trailer is any indication.

Another Silverbeak! Hurray! What kind of relation to the clan were you thinking for her? Obviously, she seems to know nothing about the family, and they probably went to lengths to avoid Felicity herself being discovered, but Lola would at least know her parents, since it just doesn't do for the next head of a noble family not to know their own family tree.

Not gonna lie, I never liked Winnie the Pooh, but I am still extremely glad they didn't turn it into another 'CG cartoon characters in New York' abomination.