Bramble Rose

Bramble Rose shuddered at the thought of clouds moving on their own. It just seemed so ... unnatural! But he didn't want to think about that so much. Douglas' reassurance warmed him, and he smiled up to the big stallion with a sense of fondness. He hoped that the larger stallion's reluctance to talk about his cutie mark, earlier, was just modesty and not truely that he thought it wasn't important. The big stallion seemed to be everything Bramble wanted to be - big, strong, able to dig in and do his part. World-travelled. Rough and rugged. It'd be a shame if he didn't really appreciate what he had, when he had so much! He sipped at his tea, then ate a cookie, trying to think of something other than how everypony seemed to think he was some small, delicate little pony. Ginger Mint's comments on the subject gave him pause. "Well, true," he said. "A false dichotomy for the purposes of discussion never holds up, when you look at the larger picture... " He grimaced a little. "I know I am often subject to the ideas other ponies have about me, or what they expect of me. But I don't want to listen to that. I'll overcome fate, that's for certain." He gave a little grin. "But it's awesome to meet someone who understands."

Doctor Whooves blinked in surprise, looking at Malediction. He'd never seen a pony do a 180 like that before. It actually made him feel a little better - he supposed nopony was completely beyond help. Not that he trusted her for a moment, but it still made him feel better. He nodded to her a bit, raising one eyebrow, a smirk to his lips. He spoke to Lyra first, though, putting his hoof on her shoulder, giving her a confident smile. "Well, look who's all heroic! I'm sure these ponies are safe with you and Trixie. Just keep your cool, and don't get overwhelmed. Remember - your talent is music. It's all about the timing." He called after Trixie, as she darted out, "Remember that we're supposed to be the distraction!" The words were almost lost in the concussive bursts, and the glow of light that came from outside. "Well..." He turned to Malediction. "Must say. You pleasantly surprise me. Let's go do something stupid, shall we?" He grinned a huge, eager grin, ducked under the harness of his three-wheeled cart, and darted out the door to see what could be seen. The street was mostly empty - there were only two clockwork ponies stumbling there, blinded by Trixie's blast. Doctor Whooves watched the desperate herd of ponies galloping down the street towards the beach, then looked around to orient himself, muttering quickly. "Let's see... if the sun is that way... Hoofington would be over that way... the hoofington ley line would pass through there... and if that peak there is Mount Saddlecrest, then the Canterlot ley line would lay down that way. Hrm. well, that *is* the most powerful ley line here... " He grinned over to Malediction as he finished these musings. "Right! Let's lead them up that way, then, to test your idea! Following that ley line should make them quite a bit stronger!" He reared up in excitement and then started to run, letting his cart bump against the two recovering clockwork ponies to get their attention, then galloping pell-mell up the street, in a completely different direction from Trixie and Lyra.

Purple Haze let out a soft laugh as she tossed in some round crinkle-cut carrot chips into the garlic-and-butter in the skillet. "Really? Ye think a superhero follows th' rules? Ye think Superstallion lets th' city guard take care a th' bad guys? Ye think Batmare reads criminals their rights? Oi'll tell ye what, laddie, steppin' outside th' rules tae do what needs doin' fer th' good ah all is what a superhero does! And ye cannae be evil tae th' core if'n ye want tae do good in th' end!" She gave the skillet a shake over its small flame, then went over to check the boiling water in the next pot. She turned the fire down a bit and added in a few spices. "And dinnae worry bout moi big brae. He's a roit pushover, he is. Loves everypony. But Oi'd be roit tickled tae be yer frie- ... a pony ye dinnae hate!" She winked at him. "Oi'll even give ye a chance tae convince me! Tell me about how ye did somethin' evil wot turned out fer th' best!"

The tiny, fluffy, ten-legged critters were balked by the barrier only briefly - the horde itself seemed to pause, confused or curious, as they looked at the nearly invisible barrier. One bright pink critter raised one leg, tapping at the barrier, and watching a blue ripple spread across its surface. A series of chittering squeaks sounded from the horde of creatures, and then quiet again. An eerie quiet as they all stared at each other across that magical wall. "Well, then, that's useful," Doctor Whooves said with relief. "Nothing wrong now, I guess, your nocturnal highness. There's something familiar about these, but I can't quite remember... I need a library, and luckily, this castle has-" A pale green critter opened its toothy great maw wide and bite a hole out of the barrier as big as its body. It skittered through to the side with the ponies, then paused. It quivered, hunkered down upon itself, and then seemed to explode outwards - to one side of the pale green one, there was now a bright blue one, and to the other a soft lavendar. A red critter followed suit, taking a bit and then splitting into three versions of itself, then a third, and then the whole hoarde was voraciously devouring the invisible shield, the mass of critters trippling in size as they ravenously turned the wall into swiss cheese, and then nothing. Doctor Whooves smiled brightly, perking up. "Oohhh, *that's* what they are! Manasprites! Well, I never! I thought they'd exterminated those little critters years ago! You see, they multiply as they eat magical energies, and -" Doctor Whooves paused. "Oh, of COURSE! All the missing guards are UNICORNS!" He smacked his hoof against his forehead. "How could I have missed that?! Well, this explains everything! What a relief, I-" The horde, finished with its appetizer of a wall, started to swarm forward once more, and Doctor Whooves scrambled backwards. "Oh. OH. Right! Talk later, run now!" He turned and fled before the now even more numerous swarm, turning and rushing up the corridor, back towards where they had come. He unerringly took turn after turn, following their route back to the entrance, his hooves beating frantically over the stone floor as he followed his impeccable memory's path... Right into another swarm of Manasprites! He scrambled to a stop, his eyes wide, as their sharp teeth snapped at mid-air. "AYIPE! Not that way!" He turned and fled down a totally random corridor, then another, leading the group as they avoided pocket after pocket of Manasprites, till he finally fled through a door and slipped to the side. After guards and princesses both had slipped through the door, he slammed it shut and threw the latch to lock it, then let out a breath. A scrabbling of legs scraped along the other side of the thick wooden door, but it seemed to hold. Doctor Whooves let out a long exhalation and looked around. They were in a series of room. If there was a way out of these rooms other than the door, he didn't quite know yet, but at least they weren't being set upon at the moment. Old furniture and tables suggested this had once, a long time ago, been some sort of meeting room, or perhaps a guard barracks. "That'll hold 'em. Eat through magic walls in a breath or two, but good solid wood ... well, they've no taste for it. Well," Doctor Whooves said. "Well, well, well. Hrm. Manasprites. And the two most powerfully magical ponies in all of Equestria. Two of the nearly most powerful sources of magic in all the land... Well. It's not as bad as it could be. At least the Elements of Harmony are still back at the Sister's Palace in the Everfree Forest, or over in Ponyville, and not here at the castle. Oooo, I wonder if they can devour Discord's magics? That might be good or bad, not sure. It'd certainly be an *interesting* experiment..." he mused to himself, getting a little distracted.

Bramble Rose nodded, smiling brightly. How lucky he was, to have met such a friendly pony - a home, and a job, and a friend, all on the first day he was here. What a wonderful fortune! "Well, if you like. But I don't mean to be charity... It's my first time out on my own. I lived at home all my life, and all through the Academy, but this is my chance to make something of myself! A brand new start, and all that! Heh. I never expected to get such a perfect job as this - I was pondering ideas to hire myself out to the farmer ponies around here for special jobs ... like ... if their apple trees got sick, or some sort of blight on a field of celery. Show that my ... particular brand of magic is quite useful." He glanced over at Lily. "Unless, ah ... I'm not the only one with this brand of magic.. .*^_^* I hadn't met any terraresonant unicorns back at the Academy, or in Canterlot at all, much less a floraresonant unicorn! Though I suppose I didn't meet all the unicorns... " He quickly stopped himself from babbling. "Oh, um. But yes! I'd love to have a tour! That would be wonderful! Gotta know where I'm staying, right?"

Bramble Rose leaned forward as Douglas told his story, his lips parted slightly, completely entranced by the tale. Now *that* was a tale of a true stallion! Guts and muscle, against the forces of nature! Hard work and loyalty and honor! Going out to see the world, to travel and have adventure, to know, really know, what all was out there! He wanted to do that! He wanted to do that as soon as he had the bits! But he did kind of like it in Ponyville... but to be out there, being a real stallion! "That's ... an *awesome* story!" Bramble breathed, eyes alight. "I wish my cutie mark story was that amazing!" His attitude just became more energetic as Ginger mentioned her thoughts on the philosophy of being. "Oh, absolutely!" he agreed. "That's the classic question - magic or mentor? Are our actions per-determined by the patterns of magic flowing through our being? Or is it something we create as part of ourselves, out of what we are brought up in, and our personality? There's been disagreements on that for ... oh ... hundreds of years!" He leaned forward, putting one hoof on the table to represent one side, and one hoof on the table to represent the other. Then he brought them both together. "What so many ponies seem to miss is that it can be both. Sure, our internal resonance influences us with appropriate patterns, but that doesn't make choices for us. We make choices for ourselves, one way or another - and even led by our magical patterns, well ... lead some ponies to water, and they'll drink. Lead other ponies to water, and they'll look up and think, "Hey, I think I smell some better water over that next hill ... let's go explore!" He grinned with enthusiasm. "We don't have to be determined by what we're born as, by our magical nature, by anything. We decide who we want to be, and we chase that. But at the same time, if we're going to make our choices in a knowledgeable fashion, we need to understand what's influencing us, so that we know what we're really choosing!" Bramble settled back, blushing. "Ah. Well, anyway. That's what I think. I didn't mean to just ... go off like that. *^_^*"

Purple Haze frowned a bit. "If'n ye wanna make everythin' better, how do ye wish tae be a villain? Oi'm afraid Oi dinnae quite unnerstand... " She rubbed at her chin with one forehoof as she pondered over this. "And Oi dinnae see how ye kin make everythin' better by bein' mean. Oi mean, if'n ye be mean, ye'll jes' make other ponies want tae be mean... cuz ye're doin' th' same thing tae them. Meanness makes more meanness." And she smiled up to him, then, a bright and cheerful smile. "Besides, Oi'm bein' nice tae ye, and ye're nae chasin' me with a baseball bat! Ye're bein' nice tae me! That's th' great thin', roit? Friendship makes more friendship, roit? Oi mean, sure ye need tae stand up tae the meanies when they chase ye with baseball bats, but that's wot heroes an' wot are fer, innit?" She nodded firmly. "And if'n ye get chased by baseball bats, Oi promise Oi'll stand up nextae ye tae help ye." She patted Dark Core on the shoulder. "Oi'll protect ye, Dawn, dinnae worry! Oi'm roit good in a scrap!" She hunched her head and glanced around quickly. "But dinnae tell me big brae, roit? He gets all upset when Oi get in a scrap."

Purple Haze shook her head. "Nay, nay, tis twenty-five, silly! Twenty-six is a roit big number! An' four's a lil' number! Ye cannae turn a big number inta a lil' number by subtractin' one! Ye need tae know this stuff so's ye kin count out bits when ye sell stuff!" She said, urgently. Sure, school was terribly boring, and most of the information was useless... but you HAD to know enough to count out bits! Otherwise you couldn't sell carrots! "See," she said, "Subtractin' one is like countin', except in reverse!" "Ach! Aye, he'd be here fer sure, me big brae, if'n Oi'd ken tae them bein' here afore t'day! Miss Cheerilee dinnae tell us ahead wot we'd be expectin' t'day!" Purple Haze gave a soft sigh. "An' sure'n Oi'd have brought somethin' of me brae's tae have them sign, if'n Oi'd known. Ah well." She took another garlic-friend carrot stick. "Twenty-five minus one is Twenty-four..." She held out the jar towards Peebee again as she pondered... Well, maybe she could just get a bit of parchment signed... then she could tape or glue the parchment to whatever her big brae wanted the signature on! Yeah, that's the ticket! She casually reached out one hoof and planted it on top of a frog hopping by, holding it, wiggling, to the ground as she gave the issue of what to do for her big brae some serious consideration.

Purple Haze bounces up happily. "Aye, giddae, Big Sis! Oi'm roit tickled tae see ye at last!"

Bramble Rose smiled a gentle smile to Douglas' demuring about art, his eyes sparkling lightly. "Well, I must admit, art shows are more fun if you consider it a game to play with the other ponies there - finding the most interesting spin to put on the art. It's rather like a performance, in a way." He listened, then, to Douglas' prevarication about his cutie mark, his green eyes intent on the stallion. "I find it hard to believe that it's as dull and boring as all that, Sir. After all, if you have it for a cutie mark, it must mean quite a bit to you. I rather am fond of the idea of travelling all over, I must admit, seeing all that Equestria and beyond has to see." Beyond that, though, the small unicorn declined to push the issue. He was curious why that cutie mark meant so much to Douglas, but he didn't want to push too hard. Bramble listened then, politely, to Ginger Mint, enjoying another of the cookies, his gentle gaze turning to her instead. Her cookies had such a gentle flavor, and they were so delicate in the mouth. He had to take care not to eat too many of them - he did not want to be rude. But they were lovely, and wonderful with tea! He ordered a cup of clover tea, and settled in to listen to her story. "Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that," Bramble Rose hastened to assure her, as she demured that a pegasus ancestry had no place in preference. "There are magical flows all over - and we tend to be more comfortable in places where our own internal resonance matches the external flow. Pegasus ponies tend to prefer the aerial flows, unicorns are more comfortable with the strong surges of the primary ley lines, and earth ponies are more comfortable with the solid, slow resonance of the earth. However, when family lines start to cross, that internal resonance doesn't necissarily match the external phenotype!" His normal nervousness faded away as he spoke on the issue - his honors presentation had been on this exact subject - a subject he'd had a personal interest in. "For instance, a pegasus with unicorn ancesters might find him-or-herself drawn to Canterlot, and the studies of the stars, or of the primal flows. An earth pony with pegasus blood may find himself staring skyward longingly - because of that invisible, unheard, unseen resonsance that they can feel on a subconscious level." "Take me, for instance. My sire was an earth pony - very traditional." Well, not entirely traditional - those romance novels were definately unicorn-ish. But still, Desert Rose had been big, powerful - a train puller, at one point in his life - an impressive figure of a stallion, that his dam had fallen in love with during a research trip, after she hired him to carry her instrumentation around. He was everything Bramble wasn't ... "Anyway, he named me in the earth pony fashion, and I had that earth-pony resonance with the ground. My magic doesn't manifest in the normal unicorn manner - instead, I resonate with earth magic. Plants, specifically. It's one of the reasons I was so keen to take part in the Running, this year. To test my theories." He smiled a bit abashedly. "It's also how I got my cutie mark. It's ... um ... a somewhat embarassing story." He blushed, glancing up through his eyelashes at Ginger and Douglas. "There was a garden party my dam had gone to, and she'd brought me along. I was supposed to be a good foal, standing tall, behaving myself, like all the other little foals. But the estate we were at bordered a forest, and I got drawn away from the little fillies I was supposed to be standing by to go see what was over there. I was standing on the edge of a hill when the ground crumbled under me. I fell down the muddy hill and into a giant batch of wild rose vines. I got all scratched up and started howling fit for anything ... completely embarassed my dam, of course. Everyone at the party came to see what the commotion was, and that's when I yelled at the plants to stop hurting me ... and they did! The vines pulled back a bit, and made a little circle for me to stand in, and let me out of the thicket. That's when I got my cutie mark. Or at least, we found that out once we finally got all the mud and tree sap off." He swallowed, and realized he'd been babbling on entirely too much. Oh no! He wasn't supposed to be talking about himself! "But, um ... now I am quite curious what you *did* put into that tea!" he said, lamely, trying to show some interest in the others.

Bramble Rose smiled even more brightly to Douglas, his eyes shining happily as he tossed his long silver mane to one side. "Oh, I'm so glad you like it. I do often eat breakfast here, they have the most lovely clover muffins." He patiently listened to Douglas talk about the weather, too, reminding himself to keep eye contact and to nod encouragingly. He paused, then, feeling slightly panicked. That about summed up everything you could say about weather, unless you were a professional pegasus weather-pony who knew how everything actually worked. How on earth did the weather constitute a subject of light conversation?! OK, don't panic, there's always sports to talk about. He had tried dutifully to become interested in sports as a good, stalliony pursuit when he was a younger colt, but he always ended up feeling slightly bored after a while, and the rules frequently managed to confuse him. The players kept swapping in and out, and there were *so many* of them, he didn't see how some stallions were able to rattle off rosters and rule references like they were second nature. He did respect the strategy and memory involved, on a mental level, and the dedication to physical well-being. But how do you convert that into small-talk? Think, think, think. He was relieved by the arrival of Ginger Mint, a bright white smile showing in his lavender face. "Ah, Miss Mint! How lovely to see you! I'm glad to see you again!" Whew. With her arrival, it was perfectly acceptable to reprise the subject of weather so that she could give her input as well. That would give him at least ... thirty more seconds of conversation to fill. Ooooog, he really hadn't thought this out. He tensed up as he glanced up at the turned-around poster. Had he put it up right-side around after all? She was looking at it! But it was just white? What was she talking abou- understanding hit him, remembering when his dam had dragged him along to a series of modern art showings. She thought it was supposed to be that way! Now that was a subject he could spread some horse apples over! "Oh, yes, interesting work," he said to Ginger, smiling in relief. "I think it's actually an emotional piece more than a seasonal piece. The, uh ... Emptiness of Self, very zen. Represents how we want people to see us as a blank slate, uncluttered by preconceptions." He grinned slightly at his cleverness. That was all very true, after all! "I don't think we need to worry about winter just yet, thankfully. Or else my poor autumn blooms would be in quite a state by the time I got home, I haven't moved them into the greenhouses yet. No, winter is usually scheduled to be sculpted at least a month after the Running of the Leaves, so we should have some time yet. There's still the Spooktacular traditions to keep, after all!" He reached out at her offer, taking a cookie and biting into it. "Oh!" he said, surprised, looking down at it. "Oh, these are *very* good!" he said encouragingly. He felt a need to add to the conversation. Be proactive, not reactive, his Sire had said! But weather and sports were done with... wait, think. Back in school, what had those other guys talked about when he'd hung out half-invisible nearby? He thought back. Well, they'd whistled at passing fillies, but that wouldn't work here. They'd talked about fillies, and sports, but rarely the weather... They'd talked about carts and wagons... His dam had always said that the one subject every pony loved to talk about was their own cutie mark, whether student or professor. His sire'd said quite the same, whether lawman or shady varmint. Right! He took a deep breath. "So, those are interesting cutie marks you both have! Plants, a favorite subject of mine, of course, and ... a wagon wheel? That is very fascinating! How did you manage to come by those lovely marks?"

Rainbow Dash has too little self confidence to really stand up for herself. Rarity can push her around a lot easier, because Rainbow is scared of losing her friends.

Baron von Hoofington grinned a toothy, eager grin as Brazil Nut leapt at him with that hated cry. Theirs was an old rivalry - no time needed to assess each other's fighting style, or feel each other out. They knew each other too well. Brazil Nut was bigger, stronger - Baron von Hoofington had to be faster, wilier. Despite being on only his hind legs at the moment, he nonetheless gave a little hop into the air - a hop that a flutter of his wings turned into a larger leap. As Brazil Nut's wild charge passed under him, he kicked out with one hind hoof to send the brazen adventurer tumbling along the bar's counter. Ha! Score one for the little pony! He was just landing and turning when one of Brazil Nut's hooves caught him across the jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. He rubbed at his jaw, grinned up at his adversary. "Oh, so zat's how it iz, ya?" He leapt forward with a wild, exultant, and not-quite-sane grin, looked in hoof-to-hoof combat. The two stallions and the mare trying to grab Martini were having a hard time of it. One stallion ducked the first bottle Martini threw at him, glancing backwards after it, and looked forward to let out a triumphant "Ha!" just in time to catch the stool in the face, knocking him head over hooves. The other stallion tried to dodge and bumped into the mare, sending them both tumbling over each other. The mare smacked the stallion with an exclamation of "Idiot!" before the card table crashed into both of them. The hail of items from all around the bar had them stumbling and off-balance, desperately trying to recover. The last stallion, trying to grab Survey, seemed to be doing much better. There weren't many saloons with bookshelves, but these books were carefully chosen. The stallion contemptuously batted down the first book, "Roughrider Relics - Lost Treasures of the West," as well as the second, "Desert Plants - A Survival Guide." There were a couple western romance novels - "Love at High Noon," by Louise LeMare, and "Heartthrob Shootout" by Desert Rose, which the stallion ducked while barely trying. Book after book flew at him, such as "Makeshift Weapons - Make the Most of your Surroundings," and "Gold Digging - How to Get More Lumps." The massive stallion either batted the books aside or ducked under their arcing path, till he was standing over Survey. "No books left," he chuckled down at the little unicorn, looming ominously, a great big grin on his face as he contemplated that he would be the only mook to have succeeded in catching one of these annoying pests. He didn't even notice the giant swarm of books floating over him, not till they all fell atop him in one giant heap. All that stuck out from under the pile was a single hoof that twitch-twitched weakly, then went still. Baron von Hoofington flew off the bar counter to crash loudly into a shelf full of bottles behind it, laying there amidst broken glass and spilling booze. He groaned, wiping at the side of his mouth with one hoof. He'd gotten in several good hits - Brazil Nut would be limping for a day or two, he was sure - but he'd gotten several good hits, too. The Baron carefully reached up to make sure his hat was still there. Phew, it was. He let the room stop spinning for a moment before getting back to his feet with a soft growl. Woog. Everything swam just a little before him. He thought that he was even hallucinating a little - he could swear he could see the first half of the key laying on the bar right in front of him! ... That was it! He darted forward and grabbed up the key in his teeth, the chain dangling from his mouth. "Fine, hyu vin zis round, Doktor Nut! But I vin ze day!" He turned and ran, darting out past the side of the bar and up the staircase, letting out a crazed cackle as his hooves thumped loudly and swiftly on the wooden stairs. Those nuisance ponies were all piled up in a heap in front of the front door, but there were other ways out! He lowered his shoulder as he crashed into the door at the end of the hall, breaking into one of the rooms for rent. A green filly jumped up out of bed, her yellow mane in curlers, blinking the sleep out of her eyes ... she focused on Baron von Hoofington ... and then let out a shrill and piercing shriek of terror. "Oye, Don' vurry, fohlen! I vill-" He didn't get to finish as a pillow hit him in the face. He brushed it aside and tried again. "I vas sayink-" Another pillow hit him in the face. He brushed that aside, too. "Oye! Vot do hyu-" He ducked a table. "Hy t'ink hyu over-reacting -" A rubber chicken flew past him. He stopped and looked back at it. "Now dot's just vierd."

As Lyra stepped forward to speak to the foal with such sweet kindness, and such determination, Doctor Whooves moved back a step, closing his eyes and letting out a long, relieved sigh upon sight of the huddled seashore ponies. They were all right. He'd been worried about that. Always hovering in the back of his mind, but he couldn't let it consume him. Now He could let it go, and the relief rushed through him almost as dehabilitatingly as the worry could have been. More than anything, his heart ached to see little Sea Foam so injured. The foal was such an adorable little sort, always trotting in and out of the wavelets on the shore, worrying his mother that he'd go too far and get washed out into the sea... always bringing back the most interesting detritus that had washed up from who knows where. Exploring the beach as far as his tiny little legs could carry him. It made him feel rather guilty for how exciting it still felt to see these ancient maintenance devices up and running - the opportunity to study them. But ... even that excitement paled before his driving need to see these ponies to safety. All that was driven out of his mind as Malediction snarled at the foal, and at the survivors, shouting at them and raging at them and ... threatening to leave the foal behind? He gritted his teeth, seeing nothing but white for a few seconds... he opened his eyes, glaring at her intently, and was about to step forward when Trixie's own reaction cut him off. Such a soft, confident response. He swelled with pride... he knew she'd had it in her. From the moment she'd faced off against that Ursa Minor, despite knowing that her stories were a lie, just to try to keep the good faith of those two foals... to try to protect them from their own foolishness. He stepped forward and touched a hoof to the foal's shoulder. "Don't worry, Sea Foam," he said softly. "You can count on the Great and Powerful Trixie to protect you and bring you to safety." The little foal looked up with his wide, trusting eyes, and then a bright smile spread across his face despite his pain. "Doctor Whooves!" the foal cried, "You've come to rescue us!" The other ponies perked up, looking over. "Oh, thank goodness!" said one of the foal's parents. "I should have known that once something weird showed up, you wouldn't be far behind." They stood up, coming over. Doctor Whooves laughed awkwardly, looking almost embarrassed. "Oh, nonsense... I just came by looking for some of that magnificent seaweed salad. Sea Breeze, Ocean Breeze, you know I can't resist those salads. Not like last time with those pirates, and that all-devouring slime... but goodness, how did you escape the notice of all those giant clockwork ponies for days?" The survivors looked confused. One of them stepped forward to say, "All what ponies? There's only one of them, right?" Doctor Whooves coughed. "Well... ah ... they might have gotten a little riled up somehow." He glanced briefly at Malediction. "There's just a couple more now... I don't think breaking down a bunch of historical old ruins and making them more ruin-y will get the clockworks all riled up ... but I have an idea. A few of us... myself included... can go get their attention and run off, getting them to chase us. While they're after us, Trixie can take the lot of you and head for safety! Once you get far enough away from the lay line, you all should be safe... they can't travel along the shore. I don't think. Unless there's a ley line along the shore..." He glanced at Trixie. "Can you see ley lines?"

Purple Haze sat in a desk back next to Peebee. She wasn't all *that* excited about the Wonderbolts, either ... but she knew her big brae was. If she'd know before she came, she'd have been able to bring him along! More exciting to her was that her friend Peebee was here! She didn't get to see her old friends so much since she moved in with her big brae, and even though she knew that Peebee wasn't here *just* to see her ... it felt like she was! But Peebee had been hiding away and not coming out, and that made Purple Haze sad... there was so much they could do together, and they even had extra time! Right now, though, she was just going through her things to figure out what to get them to sign. Her Big Brae was always going on about getting things signed... maybe she should try to get home and get his posters, then bring them back! Maybe one of the fillies on the posters would be here, and he did really like those posters! But no, that'd take too long, and she'd get in trouble, and then even with the signature he'd still be upset. Her school books? Naaaa. Maybe the brown paper covers on the schoolbooks... nah. Scratch paper, at least... her jar of carrot snacks? Nah. She slipped one out and nibbled on it. Um. "Twenty Seven minus one is Twenty Six!" she counted the snacks. Now *that* was math that was useful! She offered a garlic-fried carrot stick to peebee. "Twenty Six minus one is .... ?" Maybe she could get them to sign her bags? Except her big brae couldn't wear her saddle bags, they were too small for him, and they had her mark on them. Ohhhh, what could she get signed for him?!

Bramble Rose arrived at the cafe and looked around - huh. He seemed to be the first one there. That was new! He smiled, let the matre'de know it was a party of three, and settled down at a table. His horn glowed a soft green color as he floated the daisies on the table to join their fellows on the next table over, replacing it with his vase of great big red and orange blooms. He fancied they looked like fireworks, frozen in time. His telekinetic touch carefully settled several leaves into place, primped over the floral display, making sure it looked good, then he glanced around. All right, still nopony here. He could wait patiently. His hoof tapped nervously on the floor. It was just new friends meeting, no big deal. He glanced up at the wall and froze for a moment, then glanced around quickly to make sure the other two ponies hadn't snuck up on him, yet. He jumped up and circled the table to the wall. There, in front of him, was an advertisement for Glitzen Glamour's shop. The advertisements were all over town, he could hardly keep ponies from seeing them, but he could try to keep from sitting underneath one of them. This one showed a picture of Bramble posing while wearing a stallion's formal saddle, a top hat, and ... good gracious, a monocle. He wasn't partial to saddles, himself, he much preferred jackets, but he didn't decide what to wear for the posters. Well, except that he'd put his hoof down quite firmly and refused the double pay to model filly wear. He quickly pulled the four tacks out of the advertisement and glanced around, looking for somewhere to put it. He spotted the stallion approaching the table, and his eyes widened. Panicked, he just turned the advertisement around and tacked it awkwardly back to the wall, so that it looked like somepony had clumsily posted a plain white sheet of glossy paper for some reason. He hurried around the table and sat back down, waiting for the stallion, smiling up to him through his long lashes, a bright and disarming smile on his faec. "Ah, hello!" he said brightly, then paused, uncertain how to proceed from there. How did ponies do small talk, again? Weather. They talked about weather. Or sports. "Lovely weather we're having. The Cloudsdale crew did a good job today. Saw that lovely rainbow-maned one chasing down stray clouds earlier. Boy, can she fly."

Sweetie Belle squirmed in absolute embarassment as Sunrise tried to encourage her to sing in front of others. Ooohhhh, it was so nice of her to pretend that the little twiddle of a song had been decent, but to suggest singing in front of others?! Oh, no, no. Oh no. That was just too much! She perked up, though, at the question of a fashionista, about to declare herself as a fashionista. But with Apple Bloom's plan, Sweetie Belle jumped up all eager, her cardboard crown falling off, half-knocking one wing off as well, in the excitement of such a magnificent plan. "Oh, that's a GREAT idea!" She cried, happily. "OOoo, that's just what I need for my cutie mark! Not capes or stage costumes, but a really awesome, beautiful, ball gown! Just like big sister Rarity makes! Oh, we'll each have our own special dress, and we can have a great big fashion show! And ... and ... and then I'll have my cutie mark at last!" Sweetie Belle jumped up and down excitedly, a great big beaming grin on her face, and immediately started heading for the door, getting rid of her cardboard wings. "I know just where the fabric is! Let's go, let's go!"

Purple Haze stopped and looked over at Dark Core, a confused expression on her face. "Ache, now, why would ye be gain tae do that? Roit bonnie colt ye are, Oi cannae imagine ye bein' mean! Wot's th' point of it?" She bundled about the kitchen, then, collecting up her bowls and mixing spoons and whatnot, starting to dump flour and sugar in, and other esoteric ingredients. "An' woi ye nae jes go tae school? If'n ye wannae learn, it *is* free, ye know. Ye dinnae have tae steal what people give ye free! That'd be loik if'n Oi offered ye some carrot cake, then ye pushed me down, said ye dinnae want it, then snuck round behind moi back tae steal it! Woi go tae sae much trouble?"

Updated with parts 3 through 5! I hope ponies here enjoy them!