Bramble Rose

Doctor Whooves stood next to the cart, and next to Lyra, looking out quite contentedly over the sea. Ahhhh, it was moments like these that he treasured, where he had only history to look forward to, wonderful history, glorious knowledge, with no threat to life or limb, no emminent danger, no suddenly malfunctioning cart that he needed to fix before they all died ... And then Trixie came running out crying about everyone missing, and something approaching. Ahhh, well, he knew it was too good to last. And then there was a *sparking* noise, a sound of fluids spilling out onto the dark sand, and Doctor Whooves was moving before Mal was even halfway out from under the cart. "NOnononoNOnoNO!" he cried desperately, leaping up into the cart and looking down to the small gap between the wooden floor and the metal box in back. "What did the mean old mare DO to you?!" he cried desperately, jabbing his front hooves into some insulating socks and throwing the top of the box open. A fierce green and blue glow illuminated him as he reached in, tinkering. "NonononoNONONONO!" he cried in anguish, "Oh, baby, oh, sexy, don't worry, I'll fix you! I'll make you all better!" He pulled out a small log, a log burning with leaping, flickering blue and green flames, and tossed it over the side into the dark sand where it smoldered and burned contentedly. He peered into the open box. "You put a HOLE right through the interlocator gearbox! A great bloody hole!" It was as if Mal had no importance other than the inconvenience she put him through, all his attention was now on his cart. The sea, the ruins, the shacks, the salad, all were forgotten. Mal may as well not have even been there, nor Lyra or Trixie. And certainly not the large, lumbering thing coming up out of the waters, slightly bigger than the largest stallion, covered in slimy purple and green seaweed and barnacles, plodding along on four heavy feet through the surf to mount the beach, letting out a strange and moaning noise, and a quiet chittering clatter as if of a thousand mandibles all chattering hungrily at once, the salt water pouring out from underneath the thick coating of seaweed in huge gouts as it made its way from the briny depths.

Baron von Hoofington blinked and tilted his head to the side, staring at the bartender. Was she... denying him? Oh, she had it, all right, the little liar. He knew she had it... why would she say she didn't? A brief flash of rage clouded his vision, and his hoof shook. She wasn't taking him *seriously*! She thought he was a joke! Just like all the others did! He forced himself to stay calm. He wouldn't just jump on her and pummel her for her insolence. No. He was a calm, collected, civilized pony. He had minions to do the pummelling for him. He sighed. They always picked the hard way... He gave a little jerk of his head to signal the minions to approach her. ... ... ... He looked at the minion. Why weren't they moving? He nodded his head towards her again, his eyes widening in exasperation. The minion ... oh, who was that ... he had a rock on his flank. Rocko? Rocky? Whatever, he finally jumped and let out an 'oh', and hurried forward to circle around the bar. Baron von Hoofington sighed. Why, oh why was it so hard to find good help? "Vell, dot iz a pity, Fohlen," he said softly, stepping up to the bar. "it vould haff been much easier to just buy it from hyu. Now, ve vill haff to heh... do dis in a much less pleasant manner..." A large stallion came in on either side of Martini, grabbing her and dragging her out from behind the bar, shoving her along roughly till she was pressed down against a table. Baron von Hoofington gestured to one of the ponies that was left with him, and the earth pony mare handed him a scissors. "Hrmmmm... let me zee... Vell, I hear dot short tails, zey are in fashion, yez? Vy don' ve zee vot ve can do about makink hyu ... fashionable? Ya, ve make hyu a big hit vit de colts ... den ve cut off hyu mane ... und if ve do not haff ze trinket by zen ... vell, ve see about makink hyu an earth pony..." He made the scissors snicker-snick threateningly.

Baron von Hoofenstein stepped into the watering hole, giving his wings a flap. His dark green coat was half-hidden by the fine white pinstriped suit he was wearing, and he tipped back the white Panama hat perched atop his short-cropped blond mane. "Oh, no, Fohlen" he said, and gave a soft, dry chuckle. "Ve are not ... thirsty." A half-dozen rather larger earth ponies stepped in behind him. Martini knew their sort - rough and violent stallions, willing to do anything for a couple bits to rub together. Most of them were looking grim and dangerous, but one perked up his ears, looking up at Martini, excitedly disagreeing. "Actually, boss, I'm kinda-" "Shot OP!" the Baron cut him off, bristling. Good minions were *SO* hard to find. The right entrance was so important for conducting a business deal properly. To soothe his nerves and settle his excitement, he took a moment to take off the tiny small round reading glasses from his muzzle, polish them, and then put them back on his nose. Dreadful, hot weather out there - he was going to get burned, he just knew it. "Ve are actually lookink for a shmall bit of jewelry held by vun Martini Paradise ... I hope, perhaps, dat ve haff found her, yes? Und dat ve kin come to an ... agreement. It iz a shmall t'ing, hyu haff, un blue gem, set into vun half uf un shmall sphere, ya, Fohlen? Hyu vill find I am villing to be qvite generous." He gave a cold little grin. She'd better find his offer generous ... he'd been tracking this half for so long. It was time to finally see some progress. If she wouldn't be convinced by bits ... if such a poor pony as she wasn't convinced by bits, unlikely as that seemed, the minions would certainly seal the deal. They were, perhaps, a bit much - but it was best to be prepared, in case she was feeling stubborn.

Purple Haze led the way down the road - she knew the way as surely as her brae, by this point. She chattered near-nonstop about the sorts of dishes she might want to make - carrot potatoe casserole, or carrot pizza with ... garlic sauce? noooo ... white sauce? noooo... oh! Ranch dill! That'll be bonnie! And a carrot pot pie, of course. And more garlic-roasted spicy carrot fries, cause those were ALWAYS good. But she wanted to make something new, and ooohhh, what could she make? She was *completely* blind to the dark looks Carrot was sending Dark Core, or the nervousness that Dark Core himself was showing. Dawn just must be nervous about meeting new people, she knew, that would be it - and the best way to take care of that was by feeding him, just like her dam and grand-dam had shown her! And for Carrot... "What's t' matter, brae?" she asked lightly. "Ye're two burrs in th' yoke an' no mistake. What's got ye pullin' a crooked furrow t'day? Market was nae bad, was it?"

Ohhhh, I misunderstood. Mane, sorry!

Name: Bell Curve von Hoofington, aka Baron von Hoofington ( of the Hoofington Hoofingtons ) Sex: Male Age: Stallion Species: Pegasus Pelt Color: Deep green, almost black Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style: Blond mane, kept neatly trimmed and under a hat. Eye Color: blue eyes Cutie Mark: A bell-curve with an x-y axis. Physique: Whipcord Lean Origin: Hoofington Roleplay Type: Mane Occupation: He iz ze villain! A gentleman villain! Motivation: He vill show zem. He vill SHOW ZEM ALL! Likes: Bits, power, bells, and hats Dislikes: CURSE HYU DOKTOR NUUUUUT! Character Summary: MINIONS Baron von Hoofington usually has a crowd of unnamed minions around. If they're not actively doing his dirty work, they're probably in the next room *waiting* to do his dirty work. CUTIE MARK STORY Bell Curve always loved the sound of bells. The small, tinkling bells of a cash register, the chimes at a shop door, the small hoof-bells rung during the midwinter season, all were lovely. Bell choruses were some of the most beautiful music ever... the clang-clang of the pony-drawn trolly was a symbol of the busy, modern city! Bell Curve especially loved the deep, booming gongs of the larger bells. These bells only rung for important reasons - to mark the time, to close the market, for weddings, for coronations... and he got his mark the first time he was able to ring the bell himself! And he knew, that someday, all these important bells would toll to mark his own greatness! HISTORY Bell Curve was not well-accepted by his family during his foalhood. For starters, neither his dam, the Baroness, nor his sire, the Baron, were a pegasus ... but Bell was. His sire was distant from him and his dam, and his dam sometimes yelled at him as if it was his fault that there was a rift between them, that it was his fault that his sire no longer trusted his dam. He never understood why he was different from all the other foals around him - why he had wings and they didn't. When he was very young, he hated his wings, and he often went crying to his dam. He tried to match the earth ponies on their own terms and couldn't - he wasn't as strong as they, as stable and solid as they ... but he was faster, and when he started learning how to use his wings, he became faster yet. When he finally, finally was able to win the school races and do well in gym, the other young colts started accusing him of 'cheating' by using his wings. Why should that be cheating? The other students weren't accused of cheating by using their greater size and strength! This taught him an important lesson - that the world will crush you underfoot, try to force you to their battlefield, unless you use EVERY advantage you possess. They were born stronger, to nicer families. He was born with wings, to a richer family. It wasn't what you were given, it's what you did with it, and he was going to do great things, no matter what these small-minded earthbound foals thought. He poured himself into his studies, into gym, into working out, into understanding everything he could, till he was the finest in his class. One day, he got into a fight when another colt accused him of using his sire's money to pay off the teachers. His sire showed up at the acadamy headmaster's request while the fight was being taken care of. When asked why young Bell would get violent after such a mild accusation, the young, battered colt stood tall, though half the size of the unfazed colt he had attacked. Bell said, with fire in his voice, "Because no one else will help me! No one else will do anything for me, so I just gotta do it myself! I'm going to be the best all by myself, no matter what I have to use to do it! He's just jealous cause all he got was muscles, and I got brains!" After that meeting with his headmaster, Bell's sire started acting very strangely. He would meet with Bell to talk about the young colt's homework, about what happened at school, about Bell's friends - of which he had none. At first Bell thought his sire was trying to make sure Bell didn't embarrass him, and strove all the harder to do magnificently, and never let his temper get the better of him again. After a long time, though, with his sire continuing to show interest in his life, and buy him small gifts, Bell finally realized - his sire was proud of him! What a strange thing! His sire started teaching him about ponies - how to get them to like him. How to withhold compliments, and give them sparingly, so that the compliments had an impact. How if you were kind all the time, ponies took you for granted - but if you were sparing with your words of praise, they came to crave that praise. How to manipulate them, to get them to do what you want... and more importantly, to think it was their idea in the first place. It didn't matter what you did - what mattered was how you did it. Ponies could excuse any evil as long as you were civil and stylish about it - but what ponies truly could not stomach was impoliteness and honesty. This was when Bell started collecting hats. A pony could never be truly stylish without a good hat. Bell fully realized that his sire was using these same techniques on him - but his sire was just all the prouder when Bell started pointing it out. Bell didn't care if it was his idea or his sire's idea, didn't care if he'd been manipulated to do it, but he became the first of the Hoofington family to make some valuable business connections in Cloudsdale, and his sire swelled with pride. His sire's good opinion meant more to Bell than a whole wagonload of bits. When his sire died, the rest of the family maneuvered to get Bell declared illegitimate, and despite all he could do, they succeeded. They had the advantage, after all - his sire was the only one who'd ever given him a chance. Fine. Despite them stealing the title from him, he still considered himself the true successor to his sire - Baron von Hoofington. And he would gain enough bits, enough power, that they had no choice but to acknowledge him. His family would HAVE to call him Baron, and kneel before his power! And if they wouldn't, vell, he vould make zem PAY! NOW Baron von Hoofington will deal with anyone; diamond dog, griffon, noble, or commoner; as long as they can get him one step closer to the money and power it will take to claim his rightful position. He will pursue business contacts, manipulate nobles, or dig for ancient treasure. Really, the ancient treasure part is the best part - to take out from under somepony's nose something valuable that had been there for thousands of years, but they were too blind to see it. What a rush! However ... he started running into ... competition. Goody-goody treasure-hunting ponies that kept foiling his wonderful plans. Doctor Whooves, with his ridiculous contraptions. Doctor Brazil Nut, with that magnificent hat the Baron had somehow consistently failed to steal. Oooo, how he wanted to steal Brazil's hat! That would show him! No matter how many times he stole some ancient artifact from under Brazil's nose, that pony always got away with that stylish hat, and the victory just seemed hollow. And of course, the times Brazil got away with the artifact too were just too frustrating to consider! DAMN that pony! Oh, he'd show them. He'd vould show zem all!

A bright smile spread across Purple Haze's face as a familiar foal burst out of the clubhouse! "Peabee!" she cried, happily, though she couldn't believe it! Peabee was so small! When did she get so small? Purple Haze couldn't run forward to meet her, not with her baskets of snacks, but she stood there, braced, as Peabee bounced around her with such incredible energy! She totally and completely ignored Mack's grumbling about passwords. He *always* grumbled about the passwords. But she did follow him in towards the drinks, she was thirsty! "Eeeee! Ye ne'er saw it?!" she cried happily to Peabee. "Aye, Oi got it just 'fore Oi left! Oi was home 'sperimentin', it was a family party, roit? An' oi mixed in a lil' bit ah this, a lil' bit ah that... um... in moi gram's signature dish ... " She blushed a bit at her audacity... though she'd totally do it again. "When moi folks all made a bruaha bout how was moi gram's best batch e'er, Oi could nae hold it in! Told 'em all bout how Oi'd made a few improvements! Ooooo, Gram was *mad*. An' proud! An' that's when Oi got me mark! An' since Oi got me mark, twas time fer me tae go travelin' tae live wit' other family afore gettin' a place ah me own! Since me brae was roit there fer th' party, Oi went roit with 'im back tae Ponyville!" "But 'nuff bout me! Wot've ye all been hoiting 'bout, then? Oi've only popped in fer a short time, so ye've gotta fill me in on all th' loose talk, roit? Wot's Oi've missed?"

Doctor Whooves eyed Mal with a raised eyebrow. Not that young? If that little paint balloon-throwing colt was out of middle school, it wasn't by much. But he let it drop - self-deluded ponies rarely appreciated it when you pointed it out. And then she started snarling and threatening the sweet kindness that was Lyra with green fire. No way he was letting her anywhere near ancient tomes of powerful magic. He'd already made that mistake two or three times too often. "Well," he said, with an energetic lift to his voice, "I'm afraid that I don't know of a library in the ruins near here. I could be wrong, though - finding one there would be a great discovery! We're just stopping off on the way through, you know how it is. Long trip and all, sightseeing. But I hope that you indeed find a way to fix what's wrong with you!" He leapt into the cart once more, and let out a cheerful cry of, "Come along, Lyra!" He knew Trixie would be in quickly, and he fully approved of his lovely companion keeping her ego quite large around an obviously unstable pony as this. But he doubted being left a couple miles behind would dissuade this pony. He was going to have to keep his eyes open when they got to the port ruins. Doctor Whooves waited for Lyra and Trixie to get into the cart, then cranked at a lever on the control panel, pumping it several times before pulling out a knob and letting it snap back into place. He waited a few moments, and when it didn't turn over, he aimed a very practiced kick back at the engine box behind him with a loud, deep metal *gong*, which was immediately followed by the wheezing *vworp vworp vworp* as the cart leapt into motion, zipping off down the black-sanded beach with blue puffs of smoke lifting up behind them. The ruins were only a couple miles further down the rocky shoreline, old buildings made of giant rocks as big as his cart, but barely one standing atop another any longer. The large stones stretched far out into the sea, with a few pillars reaching up above the waves here and there, making huge stone wharves that generations of ponies had used to tie their boats up against. At the closer side, a tiny little collection of newer wooden buildings stood, silhouetted against the dark sea. "Originally, this was an incredible stone quarry!" Doctor Whooves cried as he worked at his controls furiously, trying to keep the 'vworp vworp vworp' of the steam engine running smoothly, maintaining the pressure through an esoteric series of movements. "The original support stones for the base of Canterlot Castle and many other ancient wonders came from here, carved out by the combined efforts of earth pony miners and their diamond dog allies! When the veins of purple marble ran out, though, followed soon after by the white marble getting played out, the common stone was no longer valuable enough to haul over long distances! At its heyday, though, this place had trade routes open to every major city in Ancient Equestria! The main city had actually been out there on the peninsula!" He pointed with one hoof out over the water, where the breakers rose up with white foam against the huge stone quays. "Those piers out there are actually walls of buildings, and most of the city has half-sunk under the water! But the seafaring ponies who still live here make the most amazing seaweed salad, and I'm hungry!" Strange, though. There should have been at least a little indication that somepony was here - a bit of smoke from the chimney, the light of a candle in a window. He drove up by the ramshackle homes looking out over the sea, and the cart eased to a stop, its wheezing noises echoing off against the surrounding countryside and fading away. Doctor Whooves leaned on the edge of his cart and smiled happily, looking out over the dark sea, the cloudy sky, and the ancient, water-smoothed stones that history had mostly forgotten. "Ahhh," he said, ever-so-contentedly. "What a view!"

Sweetie Belle squirmed with excitement as everyone got into the spirit of things, and even surpassed her own imagination! She had forgotten all about the -eths! "Ummm... I don't ... uh ... I know nay exactly how Princess Celestia talkeths ... but .... tis how the princesses talketh in all ye olde stories with knights rescuing princesses and stuff!" She sipped happily at the tea, so delighted that she could have actual tea at her tea party! She listened with rapt attention to Sunrise's story of her cutie mark, holding her breath as the unicorn filly talked about being tied, and being up against the pegasus... she smiled so happily at the story, and looked back at the ball on Sunrise's flank. She didn't even *hear* the stranger at the door. And then Starlight was getting ready to sing! She *loved* music, so much, and she settled in with an eager lil' wriggle to listen to his song! But then he was looking so scared, and so nervous,and ... oh no! He didn't like singing in front of other ponies, either! She felt a little cold pit in her stomach. She hated it when everypony assumed *she* would sing in front of other ponies, she didn't understand why everypony always assumed she'd be singing ... and here she was doing it to someone else! "Oh, I love that song!" she said to Starlight, making her voice bright and cheerful! "Would you mind if I sang it with you?" She hopped up to her hooves, standing on her little chair, and tapped her front hoof against her chest as she cleared her throat. "ah-hem ... ah-ah-ah-hem ... lala..." She started off singing softly, and sweetly... o/~ Twinkle, twinkle, little staaaaaar, how I wonder where you are... o/~ Then, suddenly, she belted out a strong and fierce cry. o/~ TWINKLE TWINKLE! TWINKLE TWINKLE! TWINKLE LITTLE STAR! o/~ She jumped down off the chair and struck a 'real rock powah' pose. o/~ TWINKLE TWINKLE WHEREVER YOU ARE! ROLLIN' THROUGH THE SKY SO HIGH! LIKE SOME GLITTER IN THE SKY! o/~ One could practically hear the electric guitars wailing in the background as she rocked out on the song. o/~ TWINKLE TWINKLE WHERE YOU AT! IN THE SKY WITH YER SHININ' HAT! LOOK DOWN GRANT MY FIRST STAR'S WISH WAY BETTER THAN THAT WISHIN' FISH! WHEN THE BLAZIN' SUN IS GONE WHEN HE NOTHIN' SHINES UPON! THEN YOU GET OUT ALL YER RIGHT! TWINKLE, TWINKLE, ALL TH' NIGHT! THEN TH' ROLLER IN TH' DARK! THANKS YOU FOR YER FIREY SPARK! COULDN'T SCOPE WHICH WAY TO ROLL! IF YOU DIDN'T TWINKLE SO! o/~ And, as if she hadn't just shook the pictures off the walls, she suddenly struck a sweet and innocent pose as she softly crooned, o/~ Up above the sky so hiiiigh... like a diamond in the skyyyyy... o/~

Purple Haze grinned bigger and bigger as Miss Cheerilee and the other foals came up to her tiny little cart one at a time to sample some of her food. Her big brother had made this cart for her, just like his big one, except sized just right for her, so that she could help him when he was at market - and now, here she was, all by herself, serving up delicious carrot dishes as nice as you please! And everyone was so happy with it! Her grin was so wide it made her cheeks hurt, but she couldn't stop. She happily served up some carrot cake to Diamond Tiara, who seemed so *nice* as she smiled, and gave the friendly filly a smile back. She was obviously one of those rich ponies, from how fancied-up she was, but it was nice to see that just cause you were rich didn't mean you had to be a snob. She giggled happily as the little colt so excitedly piled pizza and a burrito onto his plate, and smiled giddily up to her new teacher at the praise. She helped pass out food giddily, so glad to be doing a big-girl job like this, just like she was all grown up, and everyone was *so happy*, too! Then some of the other foals started their show-and-tells, and she watched, enraptured, with everyone else. She pounded her hooves against the ground enthusiastically when Sunrise finished her demonstration. She was going to be *so fun* to play ball with! Yay! And even with the flub at the end, the magic trick *was* neat! She would never have thought of how to do something like that! Ooo, everyone had such neat talents! Sweetie Belle looked up at the demonstrations nervously. She applauded happily for each one, of course, because they *were* so neat! But everyone had such neat talents! When, oh when was she going to figure out hers? Fear made her tummy turn over, and she only poked at her sampler plate, as she sat next to Champ, feeling a bit awkward. Grim was over talking to those mean girls, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and she wasn't sure where her other friends were... But still, Champ was being nice... for Champ... "I know you're not a baby... but even big ponies get hurt. And then they need help till they get better! I know *I* wouldn't want to get so badly hurt that I'd need all those bandages... whatever happened?" she asked him softly, a hint of worry, but also of interest in her voice. She'd heard he'd been on a big adventure! And while she kept getting pulled into adventures that she really would prefer *not* to be on... they were still exciting! Even more so when they happened to someone *else*!

Doctor Whooves smiled warmly to Lyra's eagerness. His talent, his special talent, had always been about time... history being one of his great loves. To see a pony so eager just to see a piece of the past... it warmed his heart, to know that there were more out there than just himself who found delight in the ancient world. And on top of it, he recognized the cute filly from his own town of Ponyville. "But of course, Lyra! We'd be *delighted* to have you along! I'll give you a special historian's tour of the ruins! It'll be a blast! I didn't know you were interested in such things!" He raised an eyebrow then at Mal. "Oh, I assure you, this buffoon has been broken for *quite* a long time, but that has nothing to do with me answering you and you not hearing it. Do try to keep up, we move fast around these parts. If it needs repeating, I said no, the library isn't here in the ruins, so no, you don't need to worry about us going the wrong way. But thank you so much for the thoughtful concern. I do believe I know you, as well ... you're the one who was dancing tango with the little kid at the Gala, right? As for the rest of the introductions ... The Powerful Trixie, there, is the one who cancelled your flames, the photographer there is Lyra, and I am simply Doctor Whooves, a ... historian." He lowered his shoulder and rammed against the cart, trying to knock it free of the glass again. he stepped back and let out a soft *hrmmmmm*, looking down at the purple-black glass thoughtfully as he considered his next move.

Doctor Whooves nodded slowly to Celestia. "True, but we haven't found out what's going on yet ... and this seems familiar, but I can't put my hoof on it... " He stepped back another step, and then looked around quickly as faint skittering noises sounded echoing in the halls around them. dots of light started appearing, in pairs, in the darkness beyond his lantern, and into the glow cast by his light came another little creature, this one a bright pink, then a third, of a pale green, and a fourth, of a vivid purple. Then three more. Then another two. Then five more... Their too many legs carried them along the floor, the walls, even the ceiling, moving in short little bursts forward as they appraised the five ponies ... but their baleful gaze seemed especially to focus upon Celestia and Luna. They started letting out cute little squeaking noises, as if chatting with each other, and the skittering noise echoing through the hallways increased, from the movement of who-knew how many more of these? "But then, that's what libraries are for!" Doctor Whooves said quickly, backing up much more rapidly. "Research, that seems to be the thing of it!"

Purple Haze trotted along happily. Fet Loch, home sweet home, the loveliest lake in the Nimbus Highlands, the prettiest land in Equestria! It was so nice to see Ma and Pa again, even though she loved living with her big brae back in Ponyville. But still, this was where she grew up. And after the hugs and kisses and food and more hugs, there was only one place to go to really feel like she was back, at least for a little bit. The dark green filly headed over towards OldOak, blending in with the surroundings even with her orange and purple mane. She followed the lazy river up to the fork. She hopped her way across a long tree trunk that had fallen across the river ages ago, balancing a basket of carrot treats on her back. She pushed through a bush, and saw the old hideout. And, of course, Mack was guarding the door! "Oi! Mack, Oi'm back! Lemme in, Oi've some snacks, 'aven't Oi? Z'anyone else here, then?" He couldn't possibly ask her for a password, right? She hadn't been here in months! She didn't know the new password!

Doctor Whooves took hold of Trixie's preferred hoof and drew himself from the cart, grinning broadly. "Magnificent!" he cried, totally unfazed. "You, my dear, are a jewel amongst unicorns!" He peered down at the frozen wave of glass with great interest, but some deep, profound instinct drew him around, posing with Trixie, a hoof over her shoulders and a broad and cocky grin on his face just as the camera went off. *click* "Neat indeed!" he agreed. He seemed to have already forgotten about the green flames still flickering, and hardly gave the photographer a thought, as he hopped down onto the black sand and peered into the depths of the darkly purple glass, letting out a low, appreciative whistle. "You don't do things by halves, do you? This is a lovely piece of work! Style, my dear, sheer style... no, no, we're not at the library yet. This is just a stop on the way... gotta take a reading, here. This is the start of the journey not the end, but the journey *is* the fun part after all!" He didn't really seem to be paying attention to Malediction at all, not a whit, till she mentioned the ruins. And at that magic word, he spun around. "Ruins?" he said, eagerly. "What ruins?" He peered around brightly, as if figuring out where he was. An odd thing for the driver to have to do, in a journey. "Ah! Right, of course! Bridlebank! Once the Black Sands Beach, and the Stone Swath before that! Ancient ponies used this place as a rock quarry to get black rock from, elegant black stone for magnificent architecture. You know, the workers around here were known for their carrot pasties, delicious recipe, found an old copy of it once. Course, it hasn't been made for over two thousand years. Welllll, two years. Wellllll, if you count me, of course. Other than me, two thousand." He paused, then his mouth pursed. "Oohhhhhh, those ruins!" he cried eagerly, as his train of thought caromed back on track. "Have we already gotten that far?! Oh, I *love* the port ruins of Bridlebank! Oh, Trixie, you'll just *love* this, I'm sure, and it's just the right place to take a reading. And there's this *wonderful* little town next to the ruins where they have the loveliest flute music! Weeeelllll, more of a village. Weeeeellllll, it's a shack or two. But good flute music! And a seaweed salad to die for! Come along, Trixie!" And he turned to the cart and started working to free its wheels from the solidified glass that had hardened around the rims.

Sweetie Belle watched happily as her big sister swept the floor, the brooms swishing along as if they were alive as they carried the water out, buckets floating along to either side. The bobbing motions of the brooms suggested a tune in her head, but she couldn't put words to it. "I know which room is which!" Sweetie protested! "And it wasn't my fault!" Her voice wavered just a little bit. She still felt bad about that one, but she turned to go back to the hallway. As she passed by the second door, she looked at it. "stupid wobbly doorknob," she said, thumping the door with her hoof. The bottom half of the door swung inwards, and the little foal let out a squeek as she half-stumbled into the storage room. She backed out quickly, and stood shaking in the middle of the hallway, looking around nervously as she held her breath, waiting for something to fall. ... ... ... She let out her breath with a relieved sigh. woooooo... thank goodness. She went onto the third door, and headed inside. This time, on coming back, she walked *very carefully*, watching where her hooves were setting down, with the suds slopping over the edge of the bucket and seeping down the side onto her back. She smiled proudly as she got back to the main room, without making any of a mess at all!

Doctor Whooves was lost in the joy of it. History, right around the corner! Something no pony had seen for ages! A new companion to show off to - er - to share in the delight of the unknown! And she was pretty good at showing off, too! What a magnificent adventure this would be! He piloted his cart just a little more carelessly than usual, making his jumps bigger, faster, more wild - just for how cute she looked as she clung desperately to the edge of the cart, her cloak blowing wildly in the wind of their passage. He gave the wheel a twist, and leapt another hill, letting out a joyful cry. Then he saw what he was jumping into. A wall of green flame, terrible and fierce, burning brightly ahead of him! And he was in mid-air, spinning the wheel was useless! He spun the wheel to the side, throwing his weight in the opposite direction. "Trixie!" he cried, desperately!

Sweetie Belle swelled with pride as everyone got into the feel of the make-believe. In her mind, they *were* princesses, in their royal castle, beautiful and marked with amazing cutie marks, wearing gorgeous gowns and jewelry! She winked at Apple Bloom with a small grin. "Oh, no, I didn't make the cookies myself. The .. ah ... Royal Corner of the Cubed Sugar were kind enough to make Royal Treats for our royal selves!" She smiled But when real tea came, with even more sweet treats, she was overjoyed! "Miss Sugar Cube, you have our royal thanks for so generous a gift. Know that you may ask a favor of the Royal house of the Crusaders at any time, and we shall answer it!" She responded, then, to Sunrise's question. "This symbol, it is the symbol of the Crusaders! The insignia symbolizing... ah ... the quest for ... for meaning! And knowledge! And, ah ... true purpose! That all young foals will know their cutie marks! Forsooth! And verily!" "And now, we shall sip our lovely tea, and perhaps our good young page will do as good young pages should, and favor us with a lovely song to ... um... soothe our ... uh... our mel... melon ... melon colory?"

Purple Haze laughed and tilted her head to the side, looking over at Dark Core. "Nae, ye dinnae need tae worry bout that, Dawn! Woi would he be mad at me fer sharin' a meal wit' a hungry foal? Moi big brae's a generous sort, an' he'd ne'er turn away somepony in need!" She ran forward happily, her saddlebags bouncing on her back, to press her shoulder against Carrot's, and give him a pony hug with a happy little noise to see him. "Oi missed ye, big brae! An ye're late, but this toim it's all good, oi made a new friend!" She turned and led him expectantly back to Dark Core, a bright smile on her face and a prance to her step. "This lad's a one wot cares 'bout learnin', 'e's named Dark Core, but he's more a Dawn, innit he? An' 'e said Oi could call him Dawn! If'n it's allight with ye, Oi asked 'im tae come back tae th' farm wit' us so 'e could get his tummy full fer a change. 'ookit him, 'e needs a meal, sure enough! A bit of a fry-up'll do him roit good!"

The sea, endless and ever-moving, raised a constant rush of wave and wind. White birds winged by far overhead, circling as they searched for food, and the waves themselves lapped over the dark stones and black sand of Briddlebank Beach. Small, dark crabs scurried along the shore, ducking from stone to stone, hiding from the white birds above. Beyond the large boulders along the shore, dark trees swayed in the everpresent wind, the soft sounds of the sea, the land, and the sky, all mixing together in the harmony of nature. Amongst this rocky shore, a strange sound intruded itself. A repetitive wheezing sound echoed 'vworp, vworp, vworp' across the landscape, starting out soft, then growing louder and louder. A blue light appeared glowing behind a hill, and then a cart like no other sprang over the hill and down onto the beach. This cart had no pony pulling it, nor anything else, but seemed propelled by its own need for movement. A ship's wheel was at the front of the cart, and a brown pony with a slicked back, dark-brown mane manned that wheel, a manic grin on his face. Behind him in the cart was another pony, a soft blue unicorn pony with a silky pale blue mane, garbed in bestarred garments of royal purple. And in the rear of the cart, the blue glow came from the metal box back there, which belched out clouds of blue smoke and glowed with a flickering blue light as the contraption bounced haphazardly across the landscape. "Woooooo! There you are, beautiful! That's my girl!" cried Doctor Whooves as he gave the wheel a spin, then hammered on a control panel wildly, pulling levers turning dials almost randomly. "She almost got away from me there, but I got her under control! Only a little further! I told you I could get us there faster, Trixie!"

Purple Haze smiled happily and gave a little hop up into the air with excitement. "Hurra! Oi'm rether new tae these parts, sae Oi'm glad tae make a friend roit quick loik this! Oi'm ginnae be whippin' up a storm a'cookin', anyhoo, fer Show n' Tell tamarrae, an' Oi'll be roit glad fer sommat other than me brae tae tell me wot's bonnie an' wot's scuppers, specially a fit lad loik yerself!" She smiled happily and gave a lil' nuzzle at Dark Core's cheek, already teeming with excitement over having someone new to cook for!

Trixie found herself making her proud declaration to a stairwell, lined with clocks and trinkets. Here, behind glass - an ancient, time-weathered painting. There, in a case, were several shards of pottery from thousands of years ago. A sheet of paper bearing a copy of two thirds of a map with recognizable terrain .. but without the cities in that area. Instead, it showed cities that trixie knew weren't there. The bottom of the stairs took a sharp left, and here, Trixie found it. Cool air, and stone walls, made up the basement of the small house - a much larger basement than the house above. The tick-tock-tick-tock of clocks was omnipresent down here, too. Here, Trixie saw a ramp up to a set of slanted doors at the top, and down here Trixie saw the wreckage of her wagon. The remnants of the ceiling were suspended from the roof, the broken base was lifted off the floor on supports. One of the wheels was propped up against a nearby wall, and a second was nearby, clamped into a vice, half-repaired. To the other side of this area, were her belongings. Only half of a bookshelf had any use left to it, and it held piles of her books. Other books were tucked away into boxes, among the piles of scrap wood, pots and pans, some spare cloaks and hats. Amazingly, one of her fireworks launchers was still intact, and there was a barrel of fireworks to go with it. "Well, Miss 'I don't know' Trixie," Doctor Whooves said, taking the fixed wheel and sliding it onto the axle. "If they're yours, all you have to do is ask for them. Good thing you showed up, though - I was getting all ready to leave on another trip. Finally figured out where the Ancient Royal Library got buried three thousand years ago. Off Southwest by the Buckingshore Beach. I think. I have to take some readings, first ... thus the manavane. But you'd not be interested in that. You have your books... and... whatever's left of your wagon. I'm sure you can fix that with your magic. You must be glad to get back to ... whatever it was you were doing."

Purple Haze's eyes widened with excitement as her big brae offered the flowers to the pretty pegasus filly. She tried really hard not to make any noises, but she wanted to squee and stamp the ground with her front hooves! Instead, she just hunkered down and squirmed eagerly, watching with wide eyes. How exciting! How romantic! How surprising! She didn't expect carrot to pick upt he hint so quickly! Maybe there was some hope for him, yet!

Purple haze nodded. "Aye, aye, ye kin have roit strong Dawn types, s'good name. But jus' needs a mite extra tae really make it pop, y'ken? But Oi'm glad ye loik it!" she said merrily, completely misunderstanding his last comment. "then oi'll call ye Dawn as a nickname!" She smiled happily, feeling a giddy leap inside as he complimented her food. "Oi'm glad ye loik 'em, an' ye're welcome tae 'em! Oi've a roit plenty back home! Made 'em moiself, Oi did! An' a bunch a other things, too!" She walked with him back round front the school, hoping her brother would show up soon ... but now with a bit of hope that it wouldn't be *too* soon! "Oi'd love tae share 'em with ye, an' ye sound loik ye could bear a good feed, aye lad?"

Sweetie Belle gave a tender little smile. "Well ... I'm sure I'd have fun at the real Gala, but I don't know about you fillies. You seem to like things a lot more exciting than I do. But I do have some ideas on how to have a lot of fun here at Tea Cozy's!" She smiled brightly and went to go get Apple Bloom a pair of cardboard wings and a little cardboard horn, painted up very close to Apple Bloom's own yellow coat. She, herself, was wearing white little cardboard wings, bouncing on her back with every happy step, and she had set up the room for her tea party - borrowing Tea Cozy's tea set for the purposes, but also having brought ribbons, and makeshift banners, out of cloth 'borrowed' from Rarity's shop. And on one wall, there was another cardboard decoration - the royal seal of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, except that the foal in the seal had wings and a horn. She smiled brightly. "And now that Apple Bloom is here, we can stop drinking pretend tea, and we can break out the juice and cookie! Don't worry, I didn't make the cookies myself! And we can play games!"

The inside of the cottage was different, more spacious, than the shabby outside would suggest. The first room was large, two stories tall, and seemed almost to be bigger on the inside than the outside, cluttered as it was with brick-a-brack of every description. With a glimpse of movement in the opening between two bookshelves, however, Trixie saw herself standing there, the 'bigger on the inside' illusion created by a large collection of mirrors hidden amongst the junk. Books were the major theme - new books, ancient books, tomes of magic in ancient Royal Script, and engineering books written in the sharp-edged characters of Griffon writing. They lined the walls, lined the staircase up to the second floor. in the center of the room was a round table, covered with levers and gems, buttons and switches, and a crystal standing tall in the center. It was connected to long cables that ran out - some through windows, some through the door Trixie had just entered, to the various contraptions outside. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen, but several doors hung open. And everywhere, the constant ticking of clocks big and small. Upstairs, the book theme was replaced by clothes. Enough clothes for a clothing shop! Most of the clothes were well-fit for this Doctor Whooves, jacket and coats, ties by the score, shelves of hats of every description. Several racks of clothes, though, were obviously not for him - massive suit jackets for massive Clydesdale ponies, or petite, delicate dresses for fillies. Tick tock tick tock. Doors everywhere. This door led to a small room which had one wall dominated by a huge black box, with a huge circle in the center. It had a dial marked 1 to 11, and a small lyre sat in the middle of the otherwise empty room. Tick tock. Another door led to a laboratory, filled with vials and beakers, liquids and solids, strange ingredients filling the shelves. Tick tock. Another door led to a mechanical shop, with wrenches and screwdrivers and hammers scattered about all over, a forge set up in one corner, and half-finished devices piled up on every available surface. Tick tock. The next door opened onto a hallway. At the end of the hallway, there was a flicker of movement changing the light streaming through a half-open door, and the soft hum of off-key music drifted out. "Now you see, Iron," came Doctor Whooves' far-off voice, over the constant tick-tock of clocks, "This wreckage shows ... oh, right. You disappeared. *sigh* No one to talk to anymore..."