Bramble Rose

Bramble Rose blushed a little to learn the stories he'd heard were so very wrong - but he was glad to at least learn the truth. Then his eyes widened as he recognized the mare who'd just come in - it was Ornatia! The designer who'd been at the table next to Glitzen's, at the Gallopocus show! Oh, he hoped she didn't recognize him! No, no, of course not. He had his normal cutie mark back! "Ah, Ornatia!" he said brightly. "So glad to finally meet you!" He gave a gentlecoltly bow, taking off his hat for a moment. "I am so sorry I missed the last show - Glitzen tells me the dress you made was absolutely lovely. I can't wait to see what you've put together for us this time." He smiled then, and looked between both of them. "Seems I'm the only local pony here tonight, then. Miss Ornatia, can I take it that you're from somewhere near Japony, then?" He gestures to the sand garden. "Is this somewhat like home for you? Please, do tell us about your lands! Are they as lovely as you?" Oh dear, that was horribly cheesy. It was this outfit. He always felt more suave than he actually was when he wore this outfit. Clothes made the pony, after all!

Silk Scarf nodded a bit... she knew what it was like growing up in that kind of environment - except her dam just went to the parties, and almost never threw them herself. "Oh, I know how that is," she assured Max. "I got my cutie mark at just one of those sorts of parties." Oh, shoot! She shouldn't have said that! What if he asked for her cutie mark story now? She didn't have one of those prepared! "But you run your whole business yourself? That sounds like quite a lot of work!" she said, an impressed note in her voice. "I find it hard enough to organize my own life, and I don't have nearly your level of success." She lowered her voice and leaned a little closer to max, her soft voice secretive as she shares, "And don't worry about me... I drank more than that back in college... and those sorority parties weren't nearly as classy as the ones you and I are used to. Though I haven't had a drink in over a year now... oh no! I wonder if I lost my tolerance? Nah, I'm doing fiiiiiine." She gave him a big grin to show him just how fine she was. "But you gotta make room for some fun, or else work'll burn you out. It's proven," she says, nodding sagely, "a little stress relief makes you work more effectively."

Purple blinked in confusion as Carrot tried to tell her about the 'carrot family way'. "Nae it ain't!" she cried, "Ye feed 'em, that's th' way! Nae give away yer favorite thing in th' world!" She was distracted briefly by Apple Bloom coming in. "Hiya, Apple Bloom!" Purple Haze chirped up cheerfully, giving a wave, but the distraction was very brief as she looked back to Carrot - looking to be winding herself up. "Oi swear, big brae, if'n Oi was nae here tae take care of ye, who knows where ye'd be? if'n ye were ginnae give away yer favorite poster, why nae tae th' pretty pegasus yer seein' who's a big fan? Ye dinnae have tae do everythin' th' filly next door says jes cause ye think she's a looker! Oi-" Her building monologue got cut off quite suddenly by Carrot's hoof in her mouth, and a muffled "mmph!" was the only sound she could make. ( Planned these posts with Brian - since Carrot's post is next! )

Rainbow Dash let out a soft laugh. "Man, Pinkie, every time I start to think you and I are thinkin' the same thoughts, you go and think something *totally random*." She shakes her head in amusement, rolling her eyes. "I *do* wanna see that prank book, cause that sounds cool! But for helping Spike, we do agree on one thing! Only Rarity knows what he should get! But see, that's what a Wingmare does for her friend! No disguises needed!" Rainbow Dash flourishes her sky blue wings again. "I'll just be real subtle-like, and start a conversation with Rarity, and hopefully not end up wearing something ridiculous again, and when I come out, I'll know just what we need!" She thought a moment, tapping her hoof against her chin. "You can still wear a disguise, though, Pinkie, if it makes you feel better!" (( OOC: Heh, and yeah, I've been sharing this around on chat, but me and Phil already have plans for exactly this conversation, so I can bring Rarity into the thread. ))

Whitelist updated with Wilsonbl72 and DannyMirage

Doctor Whooves smiled softly as Trixie tried so hard to compliment him without making it obvious she fancied him, tried to convince herself that there's no way she'd find competition for his affections. He nodded a bit to Trixie. "I know about being lonely," he said in sympathy. "That feeling you get when you turn to nudge somepony and go, 'wasn't that fantastic?' and realize there's nopony to nudge." He let out a soft sigh. "Or when you need a hoof, but no one's there to lend it. It's not pleasant, having to be clever all by one's self." He let out a soft sigh. It wasn't till he'd actually said it that he realized it was actually true. "It's a fortunate thing when two lonely ponies meet each other, and can depend on each other and be clever together. No need to complicate things... just enjoy not being lonely." He trotted on with the cart, silent for a few breaths. "So," he finally said, "do you have *any* idea why those clockwork ran away when you shouted at them? That didn't make a lick of sense!"

Rainbow Dash took one last look over all the tables - everything seemed to be going really smoothly, even if the salad wasn't part of the plan. It didn't seem like it'd hurt - in fact, it was probably one of those good ideas Twilight would get all eager about for being an efficient and fair use of time, or something. And the plant team leader had OK'd it, so that was the end of Rainbow Dash's worry about it. She gave an encouraging nod and a smile to Ginger Mint, then turned back to Shanna. "Awesome, Shanna! I knew I could count on you!" Rainbow gave her an even bigger encouraging grin, and patted her on the shoulder. "I'll go make sure the other teams all have their messages, then!" She hauled back, and started to zip off, then paused in mid-dash... she fluttered her wings slowly to float over to Lampwick. "Are there any messages you need me to carry?" She waited *just* long enough to hear any response from Lampwick before streaking off into the sky.

Bramble Rose perked up, and got even more interested, setting his glass down on a nearby table and looking more directly at the other pony. "Diamond Dogs, really?! I've heard many stories about them, but don't really know much! Can they really turn into stone to avoid detection, and find gems through some sort of sixth sense?"

Rainbow Dash let out a snort. "What, me? Scared? I'm Rainbow Dash! I don't get scared!" Except her fear of letting him down, of course, but he didn't need to know that. Not that it was being *scared*, exactly ... she just needed to make sure she did her job well. Oof, that wing was sore. Even that short hover had it throbbing. Well, a good strong flight should work that soreness out! But she needed to make sure Tobias was up to it, first. She finished her stretches and started her wings a-flutter, lifting up into the air, and offering her hoof down to Tobias. "Shall we take a few short laps around the field to test out how we're doing?"

Sweetie pranced in place eagerly as she was told that she was invited! "Oooo! Thank you so much! I'll go, of course! Oh, I'll have to ask my parents, but I want to!" She mused for a moment. "Oh, I'll need something to wear. Rarity will help me with that, just like she can help you!" She was lost in her imagination for a short time, then said, "Oh, and I'll have to find someone to go with me!" She turned her head to look thoughtfully over to Prince Blueblood, fantasies playing out in her head. Sweetie shook her head. Work first! She was a shop assistant now! She looked up to Apple Bumpkin and Guiding Light. "Ah, yes. Of course you can wait for the Fabulista Rarity to be ready, and I'll be glad to spend time with you in the meanwhile! Would you like some tea, or a cushion to sit on, while you wait?" She thought a moment more. "I don't know if I could make a trip out there, but I'll be glad to visit with you while you're in town. Are you staying with your cousins?" (( The thread is closed, I assume Dusk got Rarity's permission to join? )) She blinked, then, as a pony came in and tried to push past everyone waiting to cut in line. "Excuse me," she said to the two, and trotted swiftly up to Dusk Aegis. "Good day," she said primly to him, "But I'm afraid the Fabulista Rarity is busy just now." She held up her notepad, and took her pencil in her mouth. "Would you like to make an appointment, or would you care to wait for a while until she is ready for you? It may be a while, as Rarity always takes the time to make every customer has the perfect outfit!"

Rainbow Dash watched around to make sure everything seemed to be going smoothly. She nodded in satisfaction - it all seemed to be working as planned! She blinked a bit at Granny Smith's seemingly crazy cries, but who could tell why the old mare did what she did? Always made some sort of sense. She just touched her hoof to her forehead in a quick salute, then zipped off to help ferry finished baskets alongside Shanna, grinning to her as they worked to swiftly fill the two carts with the filled baskets. Dash felt relieved. Everything was running much smoother, now. She felt like everyone was making real progress! She felt, for the first time today, that they might manage to pull this off on time, two years in a row! She grinned over to Shanna. "So, you think if I head off to make sure everything else is running smoothly, you can handle delivering these baskets yourself? Or do you need me still for this first load?"

One of the mares, a soft green one with bright red hair and a wrench for a cutie mark, looked up in confusion. "Where are we?" she asked. Doctor Whooves clapped her on the shoulder "The desert, of course! Nothing special, you've just been eaten for a couple years by a spirit lantern!" he looked over and nudged a stallion wearing a very out-of-date pith helmet. "And you've been gone for a little longer than that. Spectacular hat, though!" But it was Dio's suggestion that finally got him moving. "Ah, yes! Wonderful idea!" He looked around at the dozens of shaky ponies, and the few spare diamond dogs. "Let's all head to town for a bit of a fry up! I'm famished! Great way to end an adventure!" He paused, and nudged a few socks out of the way, and his eyes brightened. He picked up a deep red and grey diamond-patterned sock. "I was wondering where you'd popped off to!" He slung the sock over his shoulder, then picked up the little abandoned lantern in his teeth. "And I know *just* where *you* can go!" The lantern gave a faint little blue flicker of response, as Doctor Whooves happily walked forward, leading the whole mob back towards his cart - and past that, towards the town of Appleoosa. There was a train full of ponies who were very, very, very late in arriving.

Purple Haze let out a sigh of relief, dragging her hoof through her purple-and-orange hair. Her big brae hadn't noticed, and - she froze. Oh NO! The pegasus filly had noticed! Purple Haze froze in terror. What should she say? What should she say?! Everything had been going so perfectly! She didn't want to ruin everything! That's the OPPOSITE of what she wanted to do! She sat there, silently, for two long seconds... before inspiration hit! "Nothin'!" she cried, "It's nothin'! Oi'm jes' a talkin' bush! Ne'ermind me!" She facehoofed. A talking bush? That wasn't inspiration, that was stupid! Maybe she'd had a long day of work and would buy it...

Sweetie Belle pranced in place with concern, glancing at all those dusty apples, then back over her shoulder towards the Carousel Boutique. She gave a whimper, and then set to with a rag, helping shine up the red apples as fast as she could. The big apples had a tendancy to slip from her little hooves, and maybe a couple got bruises on them, but she did as good and as fast of a job as she could! She barely even gave a squeak as Scootaloo raced back to the Boutique along with Applejack, even letting out a worried little, "Faster, Scootaloo!" She clung tight to her friend's sides, lowering her head against the wind blowing in her eyes. She stumbled along after her friend, clung to her worriedly, hugging at Scootaloo and holding her breath as she watched and waited to see if Applejack could rescue her sister!

Purple Haze was confused at Dawn's objection to the idea of being a brave and noble knight, but was easily distracted by praise to her food. Her face lit up with delight, and she pranced in place excitedly. "Oooo, really?" she squealed. "It's not tae much cheese? Oi was worried bout th' cheese. Or maybe nae enough sauce?" She sniffed nervously at the plate, all eager to please. "Ooooo, Oi'm sae glad ye loik it!" Then she turned to Carrot, barely waiting for an answer. "Now ye, big brae! Ye've gotta try it, too!" She seized up the plate with the other carrot ranch chimichanga in her teeth and pushed it eagerly towards her brother!

Rainbow Dash peered down curiously as the owner of this shack went running off... didn't he want it put out?! The deluge of water the two clouds were releasing upon the shack weren't going to last forever - and of course, the roof was keeping it from getting inside. Dash narrowed her eyes... This might require a bit of demolitions to destroy part of the building, just to keep the whole building from being consumed... a grin started to spread across her face. One Exploding Rainboom coming up! Her wings started fluttering in preparation. The strange pony came rushing back to the shack, a flask in his teeth. NOW what was he doing? Was he expecting to carry water one flask at a time to try to put out the flames? Dash sighed. Eggheads. She shook her head and got ready to dart off far enough to pick up speed on the way back ... when suddenly there was a loud FOOOMP! inside the shack. Foam erupted out of every window and door, and out of the holes and cracks burned into the roof. One jet of foam caught her right in the face, and sent her spinning backwards through the air in surprise, landing unceremoniously on her tail amongst the bushes, with foam dripping off of her face and hooves and spread wings. She wiped one hoof across her eyes to clear them, and looked up at the shack. The fire... seemed to be out! "What ... was *that*?" she asked in amazement.

The stacks stretched out around them - it honestly just seemed like the stairs had simply led to another part of the library - a part long unused, the air thick with the scent of musty old paper. While it seemed that strong efforts had been made to keep this place clean and tidy - the dust was slightly encroaching, the old books and scrolls collecting a thin layer - or a thicker layer in some deeper crevices. They all seemed quite old, and had strange titles, these secret books - titles none of the ponies would ever have heard of before. "Ye Secrete Diary of Princess Gaia" read a book in one shelf, and "Charms and Potiones for Increasing Magickal Potency" in another. A third area held a series of books purporting to be a "Ftudy of Ye Creaturef of Ye Depthf," the first book of which was a slim volume with a secondary title of "Furviving Underwater." Despite the vast multitudes of books found in this large secret chamber, there was only a single path lit - the most dust-free and clean route through the otherwise dark and lightless room. The remaining hundreds of possible paths were shrouded in darkness.