Bramble Rose

I thought we had one of those in the show already - Rarity!

It was a touching moment, a beautiful moment, a confusing moment. One that deserved to exist in limbo, away from the world and all interruptions. Doctor Whooves suddenly gave a cry. "OH, hey! Trixie! Not that I need ... um ... this is totally under control, but if you wanted to - ACK!" A wet, spurting noise sounded from under the cart, followed by the sound of the earth pony spitting out something nasty. "UGH *ptu* Awwwuff! *ptu ptu* that tastes FOUL! OK, this is slipping, if you could just- Whoah! whoah! don't go anywhere! Hoooold it! Where are you going!? OYE! Trixie, the thermal coupler is slipping!"

Rainbow Dash swallowed nervously. Always more questions. Why was *this* one even important? "Um ..." she said, softly. "I ... that's ... hard to say, really. I don't think my friend's ever been in a serious relationship of any sort ... it sometimes seems like it's just a silly crush ... but sometimes, well, it seems that she's all my friend can think about. My friend puts up with just about anything for her." Aw, man. Rarity was her friend, and Dash couldn't let her think that Dash was trying to choose her future, after she found out Dash was talking about Rarity ... "I mean, it's ... I dunno if it would work out. My friend is is ... younger than the artist. The youngest of all their friends. I doubt the artist would be interested in somepony younger than her ... but, hey, you know me. I always think you should charge ahead, even if you don't have a chance, or else you'll never do anything." She paused, thinking about this, then added quickly, "So of course I'm gonna help my friend, no matter how it turns out!"

Sweetie Belle felt terribly nervous. She seemed to upset the customer, and she'd tried to be so polite about it! "Oh, well, if you wish to come back another time, we can certainly set an appointment so you don't have to wait!" she chirped up, eager to please, "But if you have the time to wait, I'm sure she'd be delighted to see you in about ten or twenty minutes! If you wish to come back later, it really would be best to set an appointment so you'll know she'll be free!" Sweetie Belle glanced over to see Prince Blueblood still busy with Rarity, so she picked up the pot of tea she'd brought out for the customers, and poured another three cups, placing them on the tray. She was about to race back to the three ponies waiting, but she remembered Prince Blueblood's words. Instead, she lifted her head high, lifted her little hooves delicately, and walked slowly over to deliver the tea. She set the first cup down before Guiding Light. "I'll wait for someone to ask me, then," she promises him, with a nervous little smile. The second cup went to Apple Bumpkin, with a smile. "I can get a bit of apple juice to add to this, if you want," she says cheerfully. And the third cup she set before Dusk Aegis. "And for you, sir, if you choose to stay and wait!" she chirped hopefully.

What nonrenewable substance are you needing to make renewable?

Doctor Whooves smiled wanly to Trixie. It was nice to have along somepony who understood how lonely it could be ... but as she started talking about comfort and closeness, he got more and more nervous. Oh, man. Trixie really had it *bad* for him! These moments were always so ... awkward. At least the control panel was disabled at the moment - there would be no accidental deployment of the alchemical fire suppression foam, or some mistaken launching of the TARDIS system ... Woooog, that had been a disaster. But still ... there were all these ponies who, even if they couldn't hear them ... could still see them! It was going to get all ... emotional! Happily, discussion of deadly danger came in to derail that topic of conversation! "Oh, no, they're not intelligent at all, my dear! The clockwork robots might seem quite responsive, but they're just acting according to a very careful set of orders given them at the endowment of their animation! It's just a thing, Trixie - It doesn't get scared off. It doesn't get happy, it doesn't get sad, it doesn't laugh at your jokes. It just follows orders!" He paused. "And ... you told it to flee." He suddenly slipped his harness and leaped up into the air, punching one hoof up. "That's it! The Royal Canterlot Voice! Of COURSE! You gave it orders in the command voice! Now we can control them!" He glanced back at the avalanche they'd just finished causing, and frowned. "I wonder if we could fix the ley lines back the other way ... that is, without making this entire section of the countryside explode ... " he mused. "I'm 73% sure we could do it ... "

(( Just so you know - I move from the bottom of my RP list - the ones that have been updated the longest ago - and check upwards from the bottom of the list. So if you start posting uselessly to the thread saying, "Why isn't this updated?" it means it'll take longer for me to get to it, generally speaking. If you want to hold an OOC conversation poking people to post - a private message generally works better. ))

Rainbow Dash held her breath a moment. What was the mare like?! Rarity wasn't following the script! How did you describe Rarity without letting on that it was, in fact, Rarity! Couldn't she just ... give her advice?! If Rainbow Dash was asked to pick out a gift for someone like her, she'd be able to answer right away! But ... Rarity always needed everything perfect, the first time. And that gave her the first line. "Well ... she's ... a perfectionist. She always likes everything right the first time." No, wait, that sounded bad. "That is ... she's an artist. She ... paints? Yeah, she paints! She's an awesome painter. Whenever she paints a pony, she makes that pony look totally gorgeous!" Yeah, that was the ticket! Paint, not cloth, and it became easy! "Yeah, she goes to these fancy events in Canterlot so she can show off her art to the snobby, rich ponies there ... um ... and she likes it. She ... " Why was Dash never able to say 'no' when Rarity wanted to try a new dress on her? Why was she friends with Rarity in the first place? They were so different! She looked up at Rarity, and her voice softed a little, and she gave a little smile. "She knows how it feels to want to be the best. To put all her time into trying to be the best. To practice all day long. And when she's not practicing, she's thinking about a new design. For her painting. She never gives up, never." Dash laughed, and shook her head. "That sounds stupid. I doubt any of that helps ... I just don't know how to describe her."

CrafterKatie chipped in helping with Winter Wrap-up this morning! She turned in three stacks of snow-bricks, and redeemed them for an enchanted bow (Power V) a stack of arrows, and a diamond! Thanks oodles, CrafterKatie!

"The matter?" Dash exclaimed. "No, of course not! Nothing's the matter! I'm Rainbow Dash! What could be wrong? Naaawww. Though, I mean, if you want, I could use some advice on something. Nothing important, just a little thing..." Subtle, Dash! Remember, Subtle! "See, um, I have this ... friend ... " she gestured vaguely, "who's totally not me ... " Perfect! Nice and vague. "and this friend is totally into this ... fancy sort of a pony who's all ... like, into gems and clothes and stuff, kinda like you are. And this friend, who's not me, wants to get something for this other pony for Hearts and Hooves day." She started talking a bit faster, then, gesturing with her hooves as she talked, "And my friend thought, hey, maybe a book would be nice, and to get this other pony a Daring Do book. Except maybe that's not romantic enough, and this pony likes clothes a lot, so maybe my friend could get her a Wonderbolts costume, except ... that might not be fancy enough. And you like fancy stuff, and clothes, and stuff like that, so I thought that you could let me know what sort of thing you'd like for Hearts and Hooves day?" She gave a big, innocent-as-possible grin, her wings flaring with excitement at having pulled it off so well. One could almost hear the faint 'squeee' sound effect of total innocence. "Then, of course, I could tell my friend what to get for that other pony!" she added quickly. There! Rarity wouldn't have a *clue* that Dash was actually talking about her!

Dash couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Ah, what, and hand in my daredevil license? Yeah, that's what I wanna be known as - Rainbow Dash always dresses in style!" She let out another laugh. "That's more your sorta thing, you're the one who's always the prettiest around." Dash did kinda wonder what sort of dress rarity had in mind - but that wasn't important! "No, no, I was just, kinda, dropping by to chat. See, um, how you're doing and stuff." She gave a wave of her hoof at the shop in general. "See how you're doing, and ... chat about ... stuff." Oh, Geeze, Dash! You can do better than this! What's wrong with you? "Did you know the Wonderbolts visited the school the other day? That must have been so awesome for the foals! Was Sweetie Belle all excited?"

(( Coming in from: A Hearts and Hooves Gift )) Rainbow Dash paused outside the Carousel Boutique, steeling herself. She was used to crashing and burning on her own terms - Rainbow Crash strikes again - and she could handle that. She'd just keep trying and trying and trying again and again. That's how she got as awesome as she was now. What really worried her was letting down her friends - she had to play this cool and subtle. Course, every time she walked into Rarity's shop, nothing went the way it was supposed to - and four times out of five, she ended up being dressed up in some fancy getup. course ... sometimes it was actually kinda cool, when Rarity made it specifically with her in mind ... but sometimes it was just stupid. And for some reason, Rainbow Dash just couldn't find it in her to say 'no' to Rarity, no matter how stupid the outfit looked. Well, if that's what it took ... then that's what it took. She took a deep breath, and stepped inside. The bell at the door rang as she entered, and she smiled in relief to see the shop empty except for Rarity. Good! That meant she had free rein! "Heya, Rarity! How's it goin'?" She leaned casually against the nearest table, trying to seem really calm and cool. "Looks like things are goin' kinda slow for you?"

I agree with you, Ginger Mint. I felt the same way when I saw that scene - mind control is not good.

Bramble Rose smiled eagerly, leaning forward as he listened to Ornatia go on about Itaily. of course, Itaily, he should have known that! Her accent, her reputation ... he'd just been caught up in the Japony art in the room. But oh, these stories! It energized his imagination, though some of her assumptions about Equestrian ponies were a little jarring, especially for one of his background. "Oh, that sounds wonderful!" he said warmly. "I cannot *wait* to travel to Roam for the next show! The thought of cities built out over the ocean, hanging from the edge of a cliff, it sounds beautiful! I have heard much of the architecture, and to see it myself ... well, you have certainly traveled more than I, so you know that there is no substitute for seeing it with your own eyes." His mental image involved a city much like Canterlot, but over an ocean instead of over a forest. He thought, then. "Well, I grew up in Canterlot, myself. Now there's a city obsessed with beauty ... everypony trying to outdo each other. Appearance, in Canterlot, is everything. My own history was more scholarly - I was raised mainly by my dam, Doctor Silk Scroll, who is a tenured professor at the University of Magic. She was the go-to-mare whenever they needed someone to attend a party and get a few donations, so I also got a chance to see the high-class life, even though we ourselves weren't quite as wealthy. Canterlot ... is a wonderful place to live. It sounds like how you describe Itaily. Every building is a work of art - even if it's a donut shop. The streets are a maze, and if you take a new turn, you'll find that there was a lovely little fountain or statue tucked away in a corner that you never knew was there." Bramble pondered... he didn't want to go into too much detail. Talk about them, not yourself ... but she had asked. "But for myself, I took classes in the University of Magic on magical theory and geography. I did my dissertation on magical syncronization between background magical auras and ponies, with a focus on ether-atypical pony focuses. For instance, Pegasus ponies who live on the ground and work with animals, or unicorn ponies with a focus on plants instead of more etherial matters." He turned slightly to the side, to let his flank show - the rose-and-heart cutie mark giving a nonverbal explanation of why this topic mattered so to him. "Of course, I found there's not really any *work* for someone with that kind of specialization. Currently, I live in a primarily earth pony community, trying to get some practical application of my theories ... and I mainly do modeling for the bits, and for the opportunity to travel." The unicorn ran his hoof down his suit jacket lapels self-consciously. "I'd never have thought of myself as the modeling sort. I was actually in flower delivery, but one of my early deliveries was to Glitzen, and he instantly asked me to model for him. I think you might be surprised, Ornatia, at exactly how in-tune with the earth many Equestrian ponies are. With my specialty in magic, I can often *feel* the earth-leylines vibrate with each step some of them take." He pondered. "So, I suppose the unicorn community in Canterlot has the fascination with beauty, and the earth pony community I live at now has the connection to the earth ... but Itaily has them both at the same time?" he offered to Ornatia, not wanting to suggest that Itaily was 'normal' in any way. He was so excited to go visit, after her description! It sounded wonderful! It sounded ... It sounded like someplace he might fit in. He took a deep breath, then let it out. "But ... listen to me go on! I do hope that was what you were wanting to hear, Ornatia, because I want to hear more about Itaily! And Ashton, more about the land of the Gryphons! Paint a picture with words that I can see the things I never have seen!"

Ashton is somewhat excitable at times. He means well, but his views do not reflect the views of the admins. The view of the admins is not that it was brohoof's fault, but rather, that we had no problems with griefers till we were suddenly listed on brohoof, and got a flood of new ponies from that. I am thankful you took down our listing - it was I who asked 4TeamG to request that. I personally never saw it as brohoof's intent to attract griefers to our server - the post was obviously an excited "Look at all the great pony servers out there you can enjoy!" But once that was up, we started getting more new ponies than we could handle, and the griefing started. The worst griefer that found us through the brohoof listing - sadly, don't remember their name - had gotten their hooves on some thousands of TNT, probably through an item replication hack, and had blasted out a giant cavern underneath Ponyville. We ended up having to roll back the entire server. Apologies for hurt feelings.

Ahem. Horse Apples and Ponyfeathers. Having been the *possessor* of false bravado at PLENTY of times during my life, I can confidently state that it does exist. Knowing several individuals whom possess such false bravado, I can confidently state that I am not the only case.Exactly what studies are you referencing? Exceptional work there, Ginger! Sadly, I don't have the time to do quite the same just at the moment, so I can't rebut. I repeat, incidentally, that comparing Rainbow Dash with athletes is invalid. Rainbow Dash is not an athlete. She is a weather technician. She *dreams* of being an athlete. She's one of those folks who works in the factory, watches the game at home, then heads out to play with their buddies in the empty field, and whichever team she's on always wins, and she's always dreamed of trying for the big leagues.

I wouldn't pretend to say anything about 'all athletes', but Rainbow Dash is not 'all athletes'. Also, please note - Dash *doesn't* compete. She's *not* a professional athlete. She is a weather pony with a dream of being an athlete... and competes with non-athletes. The only time she's ever competed is for the 'Best Young Flier' competition, as far as we've seen. Plus, looking only at Rainbow Dash and not at a 'class of athletes' that have a superficial resemblence to Rainbow Dash ... It's not just her fear during the Best Young Flier competition - if you notice, whenever she's challenged - especially by Applejack - she always has this brief "Oh ponyfeathers" expression before she firms up and puffs out her chest and acts big and tough. She frequently has this expression on her face like she's nervous, and then quick covers it up.

Heh. Shanna was fun, Boss Hoss! Rainbow Dash was just kinda all over the place! Congratz, all!

To encourage Winter Wrap-Up in Ponyville... I will exchange one stack of 64 snow bricks for 1 basic raw material or monster drop of any sort. Yes, that means I will exchange one stack of 64 snow bricks for 1 diamond, or one blaze rod, or whatever. Just please do the snow gathering around Ponyville, and remember to fill in your divots!

olsonarts - I'm not even sure who you are, and you have only 22 posts. Please don't yell at us, and instead just tell us what your minecraft name is, and what happened. drew094 - whitelist updated.

Rainbow Dash nodded encouragingly to Tobias, then her wings buzzed and she lifted up into the air. "Then we'll start nice and easy, just like back at flight camp!" she encouraged him. Of course, the drill instructor at flight camp had pushed them all really hard, but Tobias didn't need to know that. She started off in graceful circling glides around the field, taking it easy, just thrilling to the feel of the wind through her fur and feathers once again.