Bramble Rose

Doctor Whooves sighed sadly... he knew when talking just wouldn't be enough. "Well," he said, "I hope your rush for progress won't cause us to have to come in conflict with each other. I hardly rely on Unicorn magic, and am a great believer of science... but all things have a unique power, whether magic, or science, or muscle, or just words. But I'll hardly convince you, my dear, I'm quite afraid. I wish you the absolute best." Then he turned to Trixie. "And I'll have to beg my leave of you as well. Now that this is working, I have quite a few things to do. There's this wagon full of books and magical tricks that was wrecked in the town square lately, by an ursa minor, and since no one else was taking responsibility, I took the initiative to retrieve everything so that I could fix what I could and store the rest for when that unicorn mare comes back. Wouldn't want such an impressive collection getting absorbed into the library." He ducked his head, picked up his bags and the manavane, and turned to head into his rickety little house, pausing to peer at several of the devices littering the yard as he went by.

Purple Haze smiled and set her saddlebags down, offering the little sack of carrots. "Woi, thankee! Oi made 'em moiself, an' there's a bunch more back home, sae nae a worry. Just was a lil' snack fer th' walk... quite a long walk, an' me big brae was supposed tae be here a while ago, though now Oi'm glad he dinnae get here on time, cause Oi kin meet ye! Here, we kin share 'em!" She ducked her head to take one of the smaller pieces and drew back, chewing happily. "Dark Core? Ach, Thet's a wierd name. Wot kind of parent names their foal Dark Core? Thet's nae good. Ye need a better name then that! Hrmmmm... with those hints a red in yer mane, it's ... a mite loik th' sun peekin' out after a full bhoona black night. So ye should be Dawn! Nae, nae, cannae have that, too girly, an' yer nae girly. Somethin' stronger, then... Dawn Justice! Nay, that's silly, an' still tae girly. Silvered Dawn? Nae, too artsy-fartsy... " she rubbed a forehoof over her chin, eyes narrowed as the lil' foal tried to figure out a better name for him. "Oh!" she said, as an afterthought, "An' Oi'm Purple Haze!"

Bramble Rose felt a little awkward, stretching out his neck like to that to get his chin over her neck, and a faint chill rose in his heart when she chuckled at him... but then the music was ending, too, at the same time, and she was smiling so tenderly. He breathed again. He nodded, a big grin on his face. "Oh, yes. Very lovely music... and I'd love to head back out to the garden. Much more my style, as you well know." He hesitated a moment, then started walking that way, leading once again. As he briefly got ahead of her, he took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, soothingly. Wow! Oh, wow! This was the best night ever!

Purple Haze rolled her eyes to herself, listening to her big brae bletherin' on about th' stars. She dinnae know why he was so fascinated with stars, when carrots were down here on the ground! She doubted there was even a carrot cons... constile... consolation! But she supposed that pegasus fillies must find it more interesting, or at least this one. She hoped. Maybe she was as much of a nerd as Carrot was! She laid down the developing bouquet, considering it... she added a few leaves. Yeah, that's the ticket! And a little curly vine! And one nice white little flower to set off all the pinks and purples! Yeah! She pondered it thoughtfully. That'd do! she gathered them up and carried them back to the hill, peering up and waiting for *just* the right time... there, they were both turning towards the telescope! Carefully, she snuck up the hill, crouching low to the ground. Light as walkin' between the carrot rows! She slipped up *right* behind the two older ponies, and laid the bouquet down on the blanket between them, then disappeared into the night. Stealthy! Yeah!

Doctor Whooves blinked at the look on Luna's face, that faint fear, that was quickly washed away by embarrassment. What an odd set of reactions. She had been scared before, too ... "doesn't do to forget history," he said softly to her. "And even worse to be scared of it. After all, she never made you strong - you made her strong." He gave a nice wink at Celestia as she downed the drink, delighted that she was enjoying herself, then trotted away. "But I've talked enough. I do that. I think it's someone else's turn to be interesting." He gave a lil' wink at Trixie as he passed her.

Doctor Whooves blinked, and turned his head to look at Dio with a surprised expression. He turned quickly around, slightly unsteady on his feet, to give the pegasus a closer look, his eyes narrowing. "Now, listen here," he said firmly, seriously. "You're very right. What can an earth pony do? Nothing! No firepower? Madness! To talk to them? Unlikely! It's all quite impossible!" He narrowed one eye, and opened the other a little further. "But there's one more thing you're right about. And it's the one thing that will save all of our lives. I am, quite possibly, the most crazy pony you will ever meet!" He grinned fiercely. "And I have no idea how to give up, or how to fail! Ponykind has only moved forward by those who didn't know they could not succeed!" He turned and looked off to the horizon, at the blue glow that was slowly receeding. "And besides. There's this *thing* I do. A plan, you could say. I'm very, very good at coming up with an idea at *just* the right time." He grinned, tapped his cutie mark, the hourglass. "Because that's what I do. And each of you, you know your strengths as well. So I'll tell you what I'm going to do." He turned back to look at them. "I'm going back to where I found them. I'm going back to the underground temple in the haunted cave. And I will find out what is going on, and I'll find out what they're guarding, and I'll find out how to stop them. And I will be very, very glad for all of your help. Especially you, Willow Wisp, since you seem to already know what they are. I'll admit, I'd never have recognized them as wisps, and you sound like you know a lot more about them than I do." He grinned broadly. "And just as a grand finale ... I think I'll survive, as well." (( Continued in Night Riding - Into the Cave! ))

Bramble blushed, himself, at Muddy's own compliment. She had no idea what she was talking about, but it was certainly nice to hear it. Him, handsome? Well... it must be the clothes. Glitzen did know what he was about, after all. And he'd taken care of Bramble's hair, too. He laughed, softly, and just pressed close, in the dance, feeling a swelling in his chest, trying not to let the fierce blush in his cheeks show too much, his head resting atop her neck in a gentle affection. "You take my breath away," he said, softly. "And you've made my Gala."

Sweetie Belle smiled down to Starlight softly. "She might... adults often get upset about odd little things... but Scootaloo and Apple Bloom explained to me that if we want to get our cutie marks, then we're going to have to be brave." She tried to keep that smile happy and sweet, even though there was a faint ache inside her chest as her friends hurried off. She'd put a lot of work into making this little Tea Gala! She made horns and wings, so they could all be princesses! And she'd listened to all of Rarity's stories about how prim and proper and quiet and dignified everyone at the Gala was supposed to act... She sighed, and got to her hooves. "You can stay here if you want, Starlight," she said to him softly. "But I need to support the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Then she headed off, her little legs hurrying her around the ferns to meet up with everyone else, her little white cardboard wings bouncing over her back. She gave a wan little worried smile. "Hey, girls! Apple Bloom, I have a costume for you, too, so you can be a princess! I mean, this'll be way better than a real Gala... Rarity said that Rainbow Dash was sooooo bored last year, and that AppleJack didn't have any fun, either. And just because they're going back again this year doesn't mean... that is ... you probably won't ..." She paused and gave a soft sigh. She knew her friends ... there was no point to arguing. "We're going to the gala, aren't we?" She rolled her eyes and started to take off her cardboard wings, suddenly all businesslike. After all... she knew her friends would be bored... but SHE knew that SHE would love the gala! "OK. What are we gonna wear, and how are we gonna get there?" She eyed Apple Bloom's getup. "The inside-out capes are a nice idea, but we'd at LEAST need to add a nice white saddle to the gold skirts! And Sunrise will need something to wear, too!"

Doctor Whooves couldn't help but grin broadly as both princesses drank of the glasses he had given them. Nor did he really want to avoid it. He loved to mix things up a little bit - if it got too stuffy, he just started going mad. And this party was just about the stuffiest thing he'd run into, though he was making his own fun! Surprising how much party those stuffy old mares had in them once they'd gotten a few banana daquiris. He grinned softly to Luna. "You don't have to lose all of Nightmare Moon," he said ever-so-softly for no ears but her own. "She was part of you, just as much as this face is. You just need a nice balance between her confidence and your sweetness and beauty." With that, he gave her a kiss on her cheek, then turned to Celestia. "Oh, and to both of your highnesses," he said brightly, "I have the distinct pleasure of introducing a new companion of mine - quite a unicorn, with a incredible potential. At your pleasure, I present the Lovely and Powerful Trixie!" He bowed again, his forehoof gesturing behind him to his companion.

Modified to include new profession(s) and the new picture by MudBug.

Bramble blinked at MudBug's words, and the way she snuggled into him lightly... Suddenly he realized. They weren't just dancing! They were having a romantic moment! He was having a romantic moment with a cute filly! She was being romantic with him! On the dance floor! And not just any filly! It was *MUDBUG*! A big, wobbly, goofy grin spread across his face, as he lightly nosed at her ear ... and promptly fumbled over his next several steps, though thankfully he managed to stay upright. "Oh," he said, softly. "Oh, thank you. My mouth sometimes runs away with me and says stupid things. I just meant... I feel comfortable with you. That's a good thing!" Though now his stomach was filled with butterflies... oh, ponyfeathers, this was a romantic moment! What do you do in romantic moments? Compliments never hurt! "Your eyes are gorgeous," he softly said. "Like petals of a phlox... and the diamonds on your mask gleam like dew drops on those petals..." Was that corny? He couldn't tell if that was too corny...

Purple Haze let out a soft *eep*! She'd forgotten this wasn't recess, but was in fact show and tell! And she had to show off her cooking! She caught the ball on her chest, dropped it to her feet, and bounced it up once before kicking it back to Sunrise. Then she hurried over to where she'd left her cart! "Aye, Oi spent most th' noit cookin' it up!" she said happily, "Mi brae wouldnae cook it fer me! If'n Oi were nae here, he'd eat not but raw carrots alla time!" She spoke up as the other foals gathered around, so that everyone could hear. "Oi, this here's th' basic wavy-cut carrot chips, an' this is garlic-roasted spicy carrot fries. Here we've a carrot potatoe casserole, an' here Oi made a carrot pizza wi' a ranch dill sauce, an' here's a Carrot Pot Pie! An' here, Oi've somethin' new Oi've nay tried afore! Cheesey Shredded Carrot Burritos! An' fer desert, Oi've made some tomato-carrot smoothies!" She smiled happily at Grim's compliment, glad that someone seemed to like carrots as much as she did! "Well, Oi kin always give ye a bit o' everythin', lad!" Sweetie Belle followed along with Grim, still softly singing Willow's song, till she reached the cart. She ooooed appreciatively over the selection. "Oh my! There's so many choices!" she said happily! She picked one of the plates and smiled sweetly. "Thank you *so* much! This looks wonderful! You have such a special talent!" She giggled softly. "I'll have two plate of the samplers, please, so I can bring some to Champ!" She made soft noises of approval as Purple Haze spooned lots of different carrot dishes onto the plate, then a second plate, and Sweetie Belle balanced one plate on her back while she carried the other in her teeth over to Champ. She set it down next to him. "Oh my... that looks like it hurts... let me know if you need some help with anything, all right?"

Purple Haze got up to her hooves slowly and carefully, feeling a bit sore from that landing. "Nay, nay be havering like 'at, Oi cannae fault ye fer fallin' when Oi was tuggin yer tail lik'at." She looked over the colt appraisingly, a small smile spreading across her face. He was kinda cute, though the colors didn't quite seem like him. "Nay gaen tae avoid bullies? An' sneakin' intae school? Come tae think of it, Oi dinnae remember seein' ye in class... though Oi'm new here. What're ye about?" While she was talking, she checked her backpack. Her books were all right, but her snack bag had gotten crushed. She pulled it out, and looked sadly at the remnants of the garlic-roasted carrot sticks she had carefully tucked away for the walk home. "Awww..."

Bramble let out a soft *heh* to Inkwell. "Well, I just ... don't expect other ponies to like flowers as much as I do. Especially at night." He wasn't sure what to say to Fluttershy - if she was glad to be done with it, and didn't want to be reminded, he could hardly ask for her autograph! That'd just be rude! And then a big red familiar-looking pony with a bird making a nest in his mane?! What was he supposed to say about that? As his nervous pause went on, it became harder and harder to think of something to actually say. Oh, no, Bramble thought to himself. This is so awkward! I need a distraction! Why can't something just... fall out of the sky?! A griffin fell from the sky and landed right next to them. Bramble blinked. Then he grinned. Thank the first ponies! He admired her fine choice of clothing, and how it certainly framed her colors so wonderfully. "Oh, and we have another visitor! I have never met a griffin before! I've heard of how strong and fast they are, but I'd never heard that they were so beautiful!" He gave a polite bow, dropping over one knee.

Sweetie Belle glanced around when she saw a motion out of the corner of her eye, seeing Apple Bloom there jerking her head around. Sweetie smiled happily and waved her hoof. "Oh, Apple Bloom! We're over here!" she said happily. "I made you a pair of wings and a horn so you can be a princess, too!" She smiled happily as Starlight came by with milk and cookies. he was so *adorable!* "Why, thank you very much, page!" she said cheerfully. "Princess Sweetie Belle is pleased." She took two of the cookies and moved them to her plate, then turned back to the others, with a worried expression. "Running off to the Gala?" she asked, with a worried tone. "Oh *my*... that sounds terribly dangerous, and even if we didn't get hurt, Starlight is right - we'd get in a whole lot of trouble! Can't we try for nice, *safe* Cutie Marks for a change?" Then she let out a soft *giggle* to Sunrise Beach. "Oh, Cutie Mark Crusading is where we try all sorts of different activities to try to find the one that will give us our cutie marks! We try out all the potential we have for still being able to be good at anything!"

Bramble grinned reassuringly. How could MudBug be nervous? If he could dance, surely anyone could dance. "Sure thing," he said warmly, around the rose. "It starts with you taking the rose from me, and holding it in your mouth, and then we just have a little shuffle-step: towards me, and back, towards you, and back, to the side, and back, then repeat." He started to demonstrate the step, contentedly, stepping much closer to her. Very close. Why wasn't he nervous anymore? He was always nervous, and then screwing things up. This was so cool! "I'm glad you were here," he said softly to MudBug, as they danced so very closely, his soft whisper warm and tender. "when I saw you in that dress, I got really, really nervous ... you look so gorgeous! But now it's just so easy to dance with you ... I think it's cause I don't think of you as a filly, you're just a fellow gardener, working the soil!"

Doctor Whooves hrmmmed at both the others' words. "Being great's not about how many blokes you help ... it's about how many you make sure don't get hurt." He finished tinkering with his screwdriver inside the manavane and gave a satisfied nod as he looked over it one last time. "You can't pay off a death toll of even one innocent death, not even if you help a thousand others. Even if that means you only make a step in the right direction, and let others complete the journey..." With a negligent flick of his nose, he closed the lid, and fastened the latch. "Because Greatness isn't about how many remember you, or how they remember you, it's not about how powerful you are, or how much you can do. It's about doing just the right thing, as just the right time - with understanding, even the smallest nudge can have a huge effect. It's about whether or not you do something worth being remembered, and understand exactly what you're doing." With a light tap of his hoof, he sent the manavane to spinning slowly around. The slow spin came slowly to a halt... reversed... went back the other way ... slowed sooner, then went the first direction again, till it finally came to a rest pointing directly at Trixie. He smiled up at the pony gently. "Think of someone important to you. Would she say that the things you'd done were great?" He glanced back at Lola. "Are the heroes of science ever those who didn't care about the price? When building something, you know that if you use the wrong materials, or take shortcuts in the process, the final product is flawed. The same goes for the big picture - if you do things for the wrong reasons, in the wrong ways ... it taints the final product."

Purple Haze looked up at the colt's situation, stuck there, her head tilted to the side. She got down, circled round him, and hopped up against the wall on the other side, one hoof curled before her, again, as she examined the situation. "Oi'm workin' on it, keep yer hooves on," she said patiently. "An' th' bullies are already all gone. Ye could always get sommat tae keep watch for ye, or leave th'same time as th' teacher! Dinnae have tae sneak out a window tae avoid folks, jes ken tae slip by at th' right time!" She nodded to herself, coming to a solution. "Besides, imagine if they came 'pun ye now, roit? Brace yerself, this moit hurt just a tetch!" She reached her head up, grabbed hold of his tail near the base, jumped up, so she'd drop a few inches before yanking on his tail with all her weight, hauling him bodily from the window. She let out an *OOF* as she landed on the ground, and thus had no air left for another 'oof' as the bigger foal landed atop her and knocked the rest of her air out.

In Ponyville, Tea Cozy was a wonderful older mare who kept a wonderful little darling cottage, and was always happy to help with the foals of the town, keeping watch over them when their guardian were busy. Miss Tea Cozy's house was rather busy this evening - so many of the adults were gone to the Grand Galloping Gala, and their foals scattered amongst the various caregivers of the town. Here was a small scene where some foals sat around a small table, perched on little stools, with a toy tea set laid out before them, and several stuffed animals sharing seats with the foals. Sweetie Belle happily sat there at the table, lifting a teacup before her, and pretending to take a sip. The little white unicorn had fake cardboard wings tied to her back, and a little cardboard crown perched lightly atop her pink-and-lavender curly mane. "I say," she said to the orange pegasus foal with a short-cut purple mane next to her, "This is a simply marvelous tea, Princess Scootaloo! It goes together marvelously with the cookies and cupcakes!"

Time. That's what Doctor Whooves loved - Time. The tan pony with the slicked-back brown hair was always aware of the passing of time - wasted time, waiting time, time crunches. Humor was in timing. Knowledge was in history, of time past. People never understood time, really. There was the time to run, the time to fight, the time to explore... and the time to kick back and relax. He hurried through the gala, having been blessed with an over-exuberance of energy. Even relaxing, he could never keep himself down to a simple walk. Even when he moved at a slower pace, his legs always swung out a little more than they needed to, he had little extra movements of his head, his eyes darting around. But for now, he just hurried. There was something important, something he *had* to do, something for which, he knew, the time was now. He could just *feel* it. He burst through the large doors into the main hall smoothly, without spilling a drop. There they were... and together! Wonderful! His hooves carried him over to the princesses and stopped, but his body didn't quite notice that his hooves had stopped, and he tilted forward, tipsily... except the two princesses knew that the good Doctor Whooves always seemed on the verge of falling over from too much moving around, even when completely sober. He was wearing a brown coat with a tan undershirt which seemed slightly rumpled, and there were ... some kind of white shoes on his forehooves. There was a tie, but instead of being tied neatly round his neck, he seemed to have repurposed it into a headband, the brown tie hanging down along the side of his face. "Your highnesses!" he declared brightly, skipping directly past all the other ponies in the receiving line and ignoring their baleful looks at his impoliteness. His quick eyes took in Celestia's tired expression, hidden behind a polite mask, and Luna's nervous bashful shyness, the uncertain looks she shot at her subjects. Ah, wonderful! He was right on time! He turned first to Luna, and gave her a deep bow, somehow managing the graceful gesture while balancing a glass on the top of his head, and a glass perched on top of his nose. "Our Princess of the Night," he said floridly. "What a beautiful evening you have put together for us! The stars shine brightly, the breeze is cool, and moon is gorgeous in the sky for all those ponies sneaking off into far corners of the garden for a little time alone, and it all combines for a refreshing evening that truly encourages ponies to enjoy themselves! Thank you, ever so much, for the work you have put into making this night truly memorable for all here!" He spoke the words loudly, so that the ponies in the receiving line could hear it, too, but his voice softened with the next words. "And now, you are enjoying the Night Life, I see? The Night Life *is* known as the time of partiers and those with a zest for life!" He grinned encouragingly to the darker princess, dipped his head, and slid a Banana Daiquiri off onto his hoof, the drink splashing through the air and all falling into the daiquiri glass without spilling a drop. "To you, I present this Banana Daiquiri, which is quite possibly the world's most perfect drink, to help the beautiful Princess of the evening to loosen up and enjoy herself, upon this gorgeous night that she herself has made." He grinned, and his last words were a whisper, so that no one further away than Luna could possibly hear. "After all we have shared together, what could ponies possibly do to frighten you?" And then he turned to Princess Celestia. "Your majesty! Thank you again for engaging once more in the dull task of putting up with all of us status-seekers and boring diplomats, always being so careful for just the right thing to say for fear that someone will gasp at them!" Surely, there were a couple of gasps at that, in the receiving line. "Your duty and responsibility on this, a night when everyone else here has the sole responsibility of enjoying themselves, is truly commendable! I salute your infinite patience and your dedication to the demands of your station! And to you, I present this Banana Daiquiri, to bolster your fortitude and provide that slight little bit of playfulness and impish glee that you are otherwise often denied in your duties!" He grinned, then. "I've been here a couple hours, now, and there hasn't been a single monster, magical catastrophe, or example of science-gone-wrong that demanded my attention" He paused, glancing around, as if waiting, then a big grin spread over his face. "not even after saying *that*! I'm actually getting an evening off! Surely this is the Best Night Ever!"

Doctor Whooves blinked, glancing back at Celestia as the thing chittered hungrily at her. When he looked back, the little fluffball was quivering. Suddenly, a fuzzy leg, twice as long as the body, popped out of the fluffy mass on one side, then on the other, and then again, and again, till the fluffball was a blue, fluffy, ten-legged spidery thing. The legs lengthened and grew leaner, lifting the fluffy body up off the floor. Doctor Whooves took a step back, something resonating in his memory. "That's not a parasprite," he said hesitantly. He'd read about cousins of the parasprites... what was it he'd read? Visions of chaos, swarms, and disasters floated across his mind. it was something ancient, he knew. Something gone for not hundreds, but thousands of years ... comon, Doctor. You're the history expert. What is it? Another flash, a full scale extermination order. One of the few in history. What could countenance that? The fluffy lil' blue creature rose up, its eyes glowing with a soft pink glow, and opened its mouth again, letting out another cheerful little chitter around the two mandibles that emerged from either side of its mouth, and it skittered forwards towards the three ponies. Doctor Whooves retreated again, uncertainly. The eagerness at finding some huge, slavering monster seemed to disappear before this single tiny, fluffy, spidery creature, replaced by nervousness and dread. "Hold on there," he tried to reassure it, "We're not going to hurt you ..."

Bramble had no idea who'd requested the Tango, but he wasn't looking around to see who else was so dancing, his eyes fastened upon MudBug's, and shining with excitement. As she finished her spin, her skirts flaring marvelously, he leaned forward, the little unicorn trying to lean 'over her' so that she would dip back. He brought up one forehoof behind her lean, but not actually touching her. That was the trick to this dance, at least for the first part - not actually touching. "My mom's a professor of note at the Academy," he murmured, and then the music brought him away from her. Without thinking about it, he ducked his head, his hat rolling down his foreleg. He caught it, tossed it back up, so it landed on his head, and it worked right this time. He ducked his head, pulled the silver rose from his lapel, and held it in his teeth for her, as he stalked after her across the dance floor, his whole being alight with the joy of dancing. Sure, his special talent involved flowers... but there was a reason that the flower on his cutie mark was a rose. For the first time in a crowd, he actually felt like he knew what he was doing, and had no reason to prove himself. If he hadn't already had his cutie mark, he was sure, he'd be getting it now! "She felt I was finally old enough to come to de Gala wit'out embarrassing her," he said, around the rose, as their faces were once again inches apart.

Oh my ... I don't know, Canterlot is a long way away, and we could get into *real* trouble... Couldn't we try for, I don't know... Cutie Mark Stay-at-home party marks? We could always throw our *own* gala here at home!

A great-big thank you to the admins who've helped keep this board up and running, putting in so much work to it. And another thank you to the new mods, who've taken on the responsibility of this new position.

Purple Haze looked up at the sound of a clatter just around the corner. She would have discounted the noise, quiet as it was, except that it was immediately followed by angry muttering and yelling. She glanced around to make sure her brother wasn't there, and then stepped around the corner to investigate. It was easy enough to follow the frustrated cries, and she found a black rear-end with a red tail hanging out of a window, scrabbling at the wall, obviously stuck. Purple Haze stared up for a moment, taking in the situation, his position, and trying not to giggle. "Oye!" she finally said, "Ye know, there is a door just round th' corner, roit?" She hopped up, resting her forehooves on the wall as she looked at how he was stuck with a cocked head, one hoof against the wall, the other curled in front of her chest. "Ye need a tug tae help ye get out, then?"