Tempest Rime

"Hmmm, news..." Pinkie pondered for a moment. "Well, there's a bunch of new ponies in town, like sooooo many it's crazy, I mean it's not like we never used to get new ponies, but lately there's been a lot more. I wonder if it has something to do with the whole Black Snooty thing. I'm sure you heard about that, though, that's old news by now." "Um... oh oh! You heard about my friend Rainbow Dash winning the Best Young Flier competition in Cloudsdale, right? She was so totally amazing, I mean she's always amazing, but she was extra amazing, and I even got to go see it, cause Twilight found a spell to let us walk on clouds and everything, and that's where I tasted liquid rainbows, and normally I like spicy food, but they were so spicy I couldn't even handle them, which is why I thought cooking with them might be a good challenge. And... uh, what were talking about again, I'm kinda hungry." Pinkie eyed the chocolate cake hungrily, and pranced over to it. She was a split second from taking a large bite out of it when Mrs. Cake darted out of the back room and scooped it up in the nick of time, carrying it back into the kitchen with her. Pinkie's jaws snapped shut on thin air, and she looked around confused for a moment.

Mal glared at the griffon. The fool was just begging to be taught a lesson on underestimating unicorn magic. Unfortunately, letting loose with a firestorm in front of a self-proclaimed servant of Celestia was a lot more trouble than she was looking for. She let out a hissing sound as she held her tongue, fuming. She addressed Skye's question first, without turning her angry gaze from the griffon. "If you mean my name, it's Malediction. If you mean my profession, it's locksmith, but only because burning things doesn't pay the bills." Mal didn't mind the idea of someone getting hurt, but she wasn't about to start anything now, either. "Truce, then," she spat. "As for those disgusting lizards, there's a few in Canterlot. Most of them were born there, in the magic academy. I try to avoid their ilk as much as possible, though."

"Temperamental... clouds?" Lola was taken aback momentarily. "I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean that the clouds themselves blew up your uh..." She glanced through the hole in the lab, too try to see just what kind of a place it was. "Oooh, a laboratory? How curious, I've not seen much pony technology before. Were you making clouds? I've heard that pegasus ponies have turned weather manipulation into quite the burgeoning industry." She ignored his attempts to downplay the accident. She'd worked with a lot of scientists before, and his attitude was far from off-putting. The best advances in science always came from those who were willing to take risks, anyway. The small dragon, however, was a much greater source of interest. "Oh my, are you... a dragon? How adorable! I had no idea dragons looked so cute when they were little." "Ah, but I've forgotten my manners, I appologize, I am Lola Silverbeak, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. And to answer your question, little dragon, I am traveling east, to Ponyville, and eventually to Canterlot. And who might you gentlemen be?"

"Yeah, sure you could take a manticore, oh, unless it talked. Then it's much too scary for you." She scoffed. "Besides how is black supposed to be less threatening than earth tones? If it's camouflage, then black or blue would do you a lot better, what with the fact that you can fly. You could easily swoop down on an unsuspecting pony in the night, and there'd be nothing they could do about it. You're practically made to be a nighttime killer." Malediction rolled her eye at Skye. "Asked, paid, you're still working for her, only this way you're an unpaid sucker as well. And I have in fact seen a forest fire. At least a small one. The light of the flame filtering through the forest canopy like a million glowing emeralds in the night sky..." She got a faraway look. "It was... beautiful." She blinked and returned to the present. "Uh... brother? Oh, uh, yeah, I haven't seen any griffons around here before. Tough luck, though if you ask me, you're better off without family tying you down."

"I've never met a griffon, but I did meet a manticore once, and he wasn't too hesitant about trying to make a meal out of me. Morality is moot when you're starving to death. And I don't see why color would matter at all. Ponies come in all sorts of colors, they don't mean squat. You really want something to distinguish yourself by..." Mal tossed her hair, showing off her empty eye socket. "Get yourself some nice battle scars." At Skye's mention of libraries, she scowled. "Yeah, I've just about given up on the trash they keep in the libraries around here. I'm not bad at magic, but the worthless spells in all the books don't jive with my fire. I need to find some magic with some guts to it." She sighed. "I don't supposed whatever you can do is any different. Fire doesn't really seem like something a winged deer would have an aptitude for. Besides, if you're on Princess Celestia's payroll, you're probably not allowed to teach anything worthwhile anyway." She spat the name of her sovereign with contempt.

"I'm a bored unicorn, what with all the impotent bravado the two of you are throwing at each other, that's what I am." At the peryton's mention of Celestia, her mocking grin instantly vanished, replaced with an unfriendly scowl. "Asked by the princess, huh..." The last thing she wanted was to attract the notice of that tyrant. She considered leaving now, but the prospect of new magic was tempting enough to take the risk. He could just be bluffing. Mal's frown deepened as the griffoness spoke again. It seemed as though things were not going to lead to a fight after all. "Is that really all it takes for you not to eat someone? They just have to speak. So, what about small foals, before they learn to talk, would they be fair game? Or maybe somepony who was mute. You know, I have wondered just what ponies might taste like, have you ever eaten one?" Her smile reappeared as she considered it. She turned her attention back to the peryton. "I'm just a humble scholar of magic," she said insincerely. "I was just hoping to see something exciting, is that reeeally so hard to imagine? I mean, you obviously know what most ponies are like, imagine that a thousand times over and you get Canterlot. Dullest city in existence, if it weren't for the magical resources there I'd be gone in a heartbeat." She spat in disgust.

"Oh me?" Mal smiled at the peryton. "Don't you fret about me. I just heard you yelling and thought there might be something interesting. I'm cerrrrrtainly not looking to make any enemies." She rolled the r casually. "I was actually hoping I might learn something. I certainly didn't mean to intrude on your little patch of worthless forest." She glanced back at the griffin, her tone changing to outright mocking. "And what about you? Are your kind really so easy to scare off? I wonder what everypony back home in Canterlot would think of a big scary black griffin getting chased off by a little deer, hmm? Don't worry about me, I'm not looking to interfere, this peryton certainly seems to be confident enough he can deal with you himself, and if he can't, well... That's fine too. Besides, what's the good of a bit of ultraviolence without someone to watch. And it's not like pony cities have a lot of excitement." She gave a slight giggle, but backed off a little. She wanted them to have a little more room in case her presence was putting them off, though she didn't go too far for fear of losing sight of them through the bushes.

"Hmmm..." Mal circled around the peryton to get a better view. That strange sparkle to his antlers was intriguing. "Is that magic? I didn't think perytons could do magic. Or maybe it's a different kind of magic." She was suddenly torn. She wouldn't mind seeing a fight, but a new kind of magic could be just what she'd been looking for. She frowned for a moment before deciding that if the peryton's magic wasn't enough to sway a fight with a griffin, it probably wasn't worth learning anyway. "Well, are you two gonna fight already, or are you both just big talkers, hmmm? Lets see some blood," she jeered. Her itch was getting really bothersome, and her good eye started to twitch in sympathy. She grinned widely in anticipation and stared at the two creatures, her eye darting back and forth to see who would make the first move.

Malediction was out in the forest below Canterlot. A wretched place, nowhere near as exciting as the Everfree, but she was sick of that stuffy city. Her eye socket itched, but she didn't bother to scratch at it, letting the nagging irritation fuel her unpleasant mood. Out of boredom, she melted a few holes into nearby trees. The fact that the ghastly holes would probably kill them made her feel a bit better. The sound of raised voices caught her attention. She thought she heard the ring of actual anger! Her curiosity piqued, she tromped through the bushes noisily to get a closer look. She was far from stealthy, but she didn't really care if she caught the attention of whoever it was. Subtlety was never her forte, anyway. She pushed through the bush and finally caught sight of the source of the voices. A griffon and a peryton!? Just running into either of those in these parts was almost unheard of, and from the sound of their last exchange, they were fixing to fight. "Oooh, a fight!" She sneered, a provocative edge to her voice. "Can I watch? I've never seen a peryton get torn to pieces before."

Lola scratched down notes at a furious pace, nearly using up her note pad. It was not only intriguing, it gave her a solid idea of what she needed to look for to further her research. Certainly there had to be some way to manipulate the aetheric energies through physical means, even if it ended up being less versatile or precise than unicorn magic. She didn't want to betray her true goals to this unicorn, however, it might damage her pride. She had gotten about everything she could out of Trixie, at least for now. "Well then, Great and Powerful Lady Trixie, I think I have all the information I can use for now, I'll need some time to digest it. And of course, you have my deepest thanks for aiding me in getting out of that terrible forest. Oh, could I get your address with the local postal services, in case I need to contact you again?" She blinked as an earth pony called out to them. He was holding some kind of telescope... no, there was something odd about it. Curiosity took ahold of her, and she sauntered over. "Hmm, I'll help you out, on one condition. Tell me, what it is that you are doing."

"Hmm... Well, start taking it down a bit, at least, that way if you do crash while I'm out it'll be less damaging. I'll be back in a jiffy." Lola sighed and flew out of the basket. She scouted out a little ways with little success. After a few minutes she headed back to the balloon, not wanting to lose sight of it out here. She caught back up, and was just about to holler out to Ashton to try to land in one of the smaller clearings, since the damage from a rough landing would still be significantly less than from a full-scale crash. Before she could say anything, however, another gust walloped into her. The wind just missed the balloon, sending it careening off to the side before Lola lost sight of it. She, however, plummeted into the canopy, narrowly missing a few large branches that would have broken bones. In a rather skillful bit of flying that she wished someone else had been there to see, she managed to recover control of her flight under the trees, evading a few more large branches and making a fairly graceful landing. After a quick sigh of relief, some compulsive straitening of her ruffled feathers, and a fruitless look around for any interesting creatures that might have happened to be nearby, Lola made her way back up to the canopy and looked around for the balloon, but it was absent. Either it had crashed, or Ashton had managed an emergency landing somewhere. She briefly accounted for her possessions that were still on her, her purse and her parasol, which had thankfully not been unfurled in the gust. She then set out to search for the balloon. It could be that hard to find, right?

"Yes, Microbursts. They're small columns of wind that gust downwards abnormally fast. Could be quite dangerous. Look," she pointed down at the forest below, which had been shredded by the short gust. "It's enough to poke holes in the canopy. Stripped the leaves right off there. Still too many branches to land though..." She peered around, even though Ashton had already looked around, figuring his eyesight wouldn't be as keen as her eagle eyes. He was correct, however. "I should scout out for a clearing, the forest may be interesting, but the last thing we need is to get stranded in it. You'll be alright alone for a moment won't you?"

Lola visibly relaxed as Ashton wandered off, though she didn't even realize it herself. His peculiar temperament baffled her. Between his thoroughly common interests and his equine demeanor he was incredibly difficult for her to wrap her head around. Sterling, however seemed much more her sort, it was quite a relief talking to her. Lola considered Sterling's offer to change her accommodations. "Hmm... well, I am tempted, but I have another companion who isn't here, and I'm not certain if he will stop by for me to tell him. I suppose I could just have my room changed... oh, but then I make it seem like I'm not willing to share the same lodgings as my lower class companions, I don't want that either." She sighed resolutely. "No, no, thank you, but no. I shall endure. It's only for one night, after all." At the news that her family's name had spread this far already, Lola smiled slyly. "Ah, I hadn't expected anyone this far away to know of us." She lowered her voice somewhat. "Hmm... so what exactly have you heard, if you don't mind my asking? Nothing good I hope?"

Harsh. As Twilight would say: "Tough love, baby."

Tempest returned Dash's smile with an unamused glare before turning to Strawberry Orange. "Well, I don't want you to think me unwelcoming, but I do have to get these forms filed and sent off to the regional offices in Cloudsdale. It's been nice meeting you, but I really must be off." With that, she departed, quite content to avoid dealing with Rainbow Dash any more than was necessary. They might both be on the weather team, but they were about as different as any two ponies could be. She did not want to ruin the tour by bickering with Miss Dash the entire time. On her way out of the park, however, she spotted a distinctive pink pony, and smiled. She might not be able to properly guide the newcomer around, but with a quick word and a gesture, she directed the earth pony towards the others. Miss Orange would get a proper Ponyville welcome. (Exit Tempest, Enter Pinkie) "Raaaaiinbow Daaaaaash!" A pink blur came streaking towards the two pegasus ponies, zipping up the side of a tree with apparent ease in order to reach a height closer to where they were hovering. "I heard there was somepony new in town!" She smiled widely at Strawberry Orange. "Hiya! I'm Pinkie Pie! I heard Dashie was gonna show you around, can I come!? I love meeting new ponies! We could go to Sugarcube Corner! That's where I work, we bake all kinds of goodies! I'm Pinkie Pie, did I mention that yet? What's your name?"

"Vanilla, with no topping-wait, no. Cherries. I like cherries. Not a fan of chocolate." Tempest sighed and looked away. She kept bouncing between angry fuming and melancholy sulking. This was pathetic. Here she was being miserable, moping in a restaurant by herself. "Could I even be more pathetic?" she blurted out unintentionally. She paused, realizing she had spoken aloud, but just saying that sounded weird. "Uh, I mean, confiding in somepony I just met about my problems. Er, you know what, nevermind. I just really need that drink."

Tempest blinked. "You've heard of me? Really?" She huffed, someone was talking about her behind her back, surely nothing nice. "Well, then, you seem to have me at a disadvantage, Mr. Diomedes. I don't believe I've heard of you." She realized he was being unsociable again, and attempted to tone it down. "Ahem, excuse me if I am a bit short, I'm not feeling all that well at the moment. I apologize in advance if I get a bit irritable. I for one don't have any plans, I... uh, if you don't mind, I wouldn't be adverse to joining you in a quick flight, though I'm hardly an athlete." She stretched her wings and winced suddenly. "Ouch! Oooohhh, and I'm a bit sore from pulling double duty yesterday." She frowned. This probably wasn't the best idea, but she didn't want to go home yet, and she had nothing else to do. Besides, she could use the practice dealing with unfamiliar ponies.

Lola smiled as they set off. She felt a little bad about leaving Delios behind, but there was not much to be done for it. She was about to strike up a conversation, but noticed Ashton busying himself with something or other. She pulled out a notebook and did a little brainstorming, but she hadn't had any inspiration since she set out. She finally gave up on inventing for a bit and noted the wind picking up. "Well... the wind seems to be cooperating well, we're already deep over the forest." She grabbed the side of the basket as a sudden gust shook them. "Er, perhaps it's cooperating a bit too well. Do be careful, we're getting some peculiar microbursts."

Lola paid no attention to Ashton's irritation, attributing it to hunger, and to the generally poor manners of the lower classes. The hostess seemed like a much more urbane individual, and thus made a more promising pony to converse with. "We actually already made arrangements in town, though had I known this place was here I likely would have preferred to lodge here." "Spreading out one's investments is a wise business stratagem, it's always beneficial to have a backup source of income, in case of unforeseen circumstances. Ah, but where are my manners, allow me to introduce myself. I am Lola Silverbeak of Talonopolis, and this is my traveling companion, Ashton Stone of Rockwington. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Lola extended a claw to shake... appendages... with the pegasus. She hoped ponies shared that custom in spite of their hooved legs, and that she wasn't just making a fool of herself.

Pinkie smiled as she placed her order, settling on the danish. "Nope, when I visited Appleloosa our train got ambushed by buffalo. They turned out to be pretty nice though, so it wasn't that bad. We didn't see any dragons or diamond dogs on that trip, but they are around. They weren't even all that far from Ponyville." "Appleloosa's ok, but all the real excitement is here around Ponyville. We've had all kinds of crazy stuff happen here. It's always fun! But anyway, it's still a good thing to have a friend around to help you out, just in case. Even if nothing bad happens, everything is more fun with your friends." "Hmm, so how does Sugarcube Corner sound for the party? We host a lot of parties there. I'll have to check with the Cakes to be sure, but they're usually happy to host. I guess we could do something out in the park, too, though it might be a little late to be outside by the time I can get everything ready."

"Uh, hello." Tempest was not used to being suddenly greeted out of nowhere by strangers, but maybe the white pegasus new this red one. The people in Ponyville were a friendly lot, and she'd gotten that a lot when she first moved here, but by now she had faded into the background fairly well. Her suspicious were half confirmed when Knightly recognized the newcomer. They still weren't making proper introductions, though. How could anypony converse without a proper introduction. She was having difficulty just thinking about them without names to put to their faces. "I'm Tempest Rime," she said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

We have an audiosurf group you could join, heh: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/erasernubs Also, I'm RabidWeevil on steam.

Aetheric fields, now that was something she could use. Certainly there must be some material that could affect them, and if she could manipulate them, she could hopefully find a way to tap into it directly. Even if she couldn't create full spell effects, it was a vast, untapped source of power, it could even make coal obsolete! Her attention snapped back to the unicorn as Trixie continued. "What about the differences in creating effects of radically different natures. I have heard that most unicorns can only manage to create effects that are related to a specific area of expertise. Is that perhaps because of their mentality in controlling it? It does sound like it takes a very flexible mind to manage a variety of spells, are the processes behind their creation very distinct?" As she followed, the trees thinned, and Ponyville was just starting to be visible on the horizon, just barely visible in the growing dawn.

"Wha- me?" Tempest was taken aback for a moment. She was surely not very interesting. "I'm nopony special, I'm just on the weather team. Mostly paperwork and filing and stuff, because I'm too small to handle a lot of the big stuff. I've never even been as far as Fillydelphia, and the only griffins I've seen are the ones that came through here on that airship. Oh, and I guess there was one Miss Dash was friends with, though I didn't actually meet her." Normally she'd be making some excuse to leave around now, but she had none, and the hangover nagging at her thoughts was distracting her from making something up. "Um... I'm good at math, I guess. And at making frost..." She sighed. She was so boring.

Lola huffed. "Well, suit yourself. Either way, we won't have time to make it all the way if we don't leave as soon as the balloon is ready, it'll already be a delay. Why don't you stay here and get this ready, I'll fly back to the inn and see if he's there. He may simply be asleep." Without waiting for Ashton to reply, she set out. She checked the inn, and asked around a bit before leaving messages with the innkeeper and at the Rhinestone Quarry, letting Delios know that they had headed out ahead of him. She hoped he would catch up with them by the time they reached Ponyville, but she couldn't spare any more time to wait for him. She returned as the balloon was nearly filled. "Well," she announced, "he wasn't at the inn or the tavern, and nobody had seen him. I left a message for him, but we should head out while the wind is favorable. It would be nice to have him around to help with dead air, but I suppose we shall have to make do."