PyroBlaze

Dox was... not thrilled about the climate in this area, but hey, he could live with it. Especially if it meant he could talk to a fellow mage about any discoveries he may have made. To that end, after tracking the magical energy of the unicorn, he found himself in front of a door, which he promptly knocked on. The sooner he got out of the cold, the better. Sure, fire magic was keeping him warm, but if he could be warm without using energy, all the better.

I feel like I should use Dox more, so I'll go with him.

I mean, there's the obvious Sombra with Dox or Magnus that we could do.

We could. I’ve also got this guy we could do something with.

Yeah, we could do some rp

Same

“Of course I don’t think I’m the only one that gets angry, that’d be ridiculous.” Pyro rolled his eyes slightly as he watched the fire, falling silent for a moment before responding to Luna’s other question. “Why do I get angry? Because I want to keep ponies safe, so when I can’t I get mad at myself for failing and the threat for existing. Pretty sure most ponies get mad when others are unapologetically rude to them, so that happens too.” He sighed, looking over at Luna. “If you mean why I don’t have some kind of system to manage my anger, I do. It’s typically a problem when it’s a quick burn, when I don’t have time to let it out.”

“Yes, a pet dog sounds like a very manageable thing to turn into. Turning into a different quadruped seems like it would be an easier transition to handle.” The stallion nodded, still smiling at the zebra. He didn’t really want to be here any longer than he had to at this point, since it was clear the zebra would not be forthcoming with any knowledge, and Dox didn’t feel like forcing it out of him right now.

Magnus let out a low growl after the smack, but soon enough reigned in the anger and released the hold on one of his blades. It never left the sheath, but had anyone else done that it very well might have found a new temporary home. As it was, he had no desire to make Hou an enemy, so restraint was in order, even after that. For now, he listened, taking in her words. He had planned to make his family suffer, perhaps cripple them so they couldn’t fight back, but he supposed he would have plenty of time for that once he took over. When the talk turned towards what he was to do to earn her help, he focused entirely on her, nodding along to the information. He could likely just take the book without them noticing, but this was a better plan. If all that was needed was the information and there was nothing special about the physical object, copying it meant they still had their book and therefore would be less likely to know that anything had happened. “Very well, I shall copy the book for you. We will both gain knowledge we desire. Was there anything else, or shall I get started?” He said, examining the pyramid for a moment before stowing it away.

The mare looked towards the sound as she heard somepony speaking to her. Seeing what she thought was Fluttershy’s energy, she smiled, though once she processed what was said she tilted her head briefly. “Oh Sunny, you sneaky bird you.” She said, laughing softly to herself before continuing. “My apologies, it seems my bird has led me into your sanctuary, probably so he could play with the other birds around here. My name is Solar Flare, it is a pleasure to properly meet you, Fluttershy. At least I hope that’s you...” The unicorn finished, sticking a hoof out to shake.

The changeling in disguise listened to the zebra’s words, taking them with a grain of salt. He imagined it would be difficult to replicate transformation abilities through potions, so some drawbacks or dangers were to be expected, but something was telling him that the zebra wasn’t exactly telling him the truth. Very well, it wasn’t like he was going to do the tests on himself anyways, not when he could iron out the kinks by testing on others. “That does sound intriguing, and rest assured that I shall take every precaution.” He nodded, smiling at the zebra for a moment. “Now, if you don’t mind, I shall extract that sample you asked for.” Walking behind a wall and making sure he was out of sight, he pulled out a vial that already had blood in it, kept fresh through magic. Waiting a moment longer to sell it, he walked back over and presented the vial. “Here you are. As for what to transform into, perhaps something manageable like a dog.” He said, giving another smile.

“Well, that is regrettable, but understandable. Very well then, I suppose we can start with transformation. Perhaps a way to replicate a changeling’s natural ability.” The stallion said, rubbing his chin for a moment. It would be interesting to see if they could pull something like that off, and if there was anything in there that would teach him more about the potential of his own abilities. Who knows, maybe he could enhance himself even further with the new knowledge. There was always room for improvement, nothing was ever truly perfect.

Pyro nodded at Luna’s words, taking a moment to take in the forest scene she had created. By the time he looked back, Luna was throwing the fire to the ground, and he was worried about a forest fire for a moment before remembering this was all a dream. He sighed as he sat down next to the campfire, watching the flames as he thought about what to say. “I have always thought of fire as a living thing, essentially. It needs to be fed to grow, let alone exist.” He shrugged slightly before continuing. “The problem is, my fire seems to feed on my anger. It gets stronger when I am angry, and the stronger it is the harder it is to control. Even when I’m not actively using it, I can feel it building up inside me as I get angry, and that energy has to come out eventually. Makes me wonder which would be easier sometimes, finding ways to control the flames in those scenarios or find a way to sever that link.”

Pyro blinked a bit in confusion at Luna’s response, not really sure what to make of it until it became clear they were in a dream. He remained silent though, letting the alicorn finish before he responded. “Dreaming? Wow, it felt so real...” The unicorn looked around at the disappearing scenery for a moment before looking back over. “Well yeah, I use it to add some effects to music acts like that one. Depends on the artist, but sometimes I even make the fire into shapes like creatures and have them move around. I’m good at using fire magic when I can remain in control.” He responded, about to start a demonstration when he realized that probably wouldn’t prove anything about his abilities in the waking world. At least he had his fiery cutie mark as some measure of proof.

Solar Flare was enjoying herself, all in all. Chasing her bird Sunny through the fields, she couldn’t help but smile and laugh. Little did she know that her feathered friend was actually leading her towards Fluttershy’s sanctuary. Luckily for her, Sunny was smart enough to lead the blind unicorn through the open gate as opposed to straight into the fence. Sometimes she wished she could see things like rocks and other non-living things the way she could see things that were alive with her magic, but that was partially why she had Sunny in the first place. Thankfully, that very magic-based sight let her avoid running into any of the ponies that seemed to be in front of her. Solar had arrived just as the filly finished speaking, but it wasn’t a voice or energy she was familiar with... speaking of, the only one she recognized looked like Fluttershy from the times they had met during her time at the school of friendship. Being the resident healer for the school, Solar had ‘seen’ the pegasus a few times. Seeing that his pony was ok, Sunny gave a goodbye chirp before flying off to play with the other birds around. Solar wasn’t too worried though, she knew he’d come back. For now, she sat down nearby the group, enjoying the nature around her and humming a happy song to herself quietly.

"Perhaps we should start with your selection of potions, Dr. I am interested in seeing what you have to offer in that regard, and what I can learn from them." He smiled at the zebra. He had to wonder what that 'self-discovery' entailed, but he didn't want to reveal his true form if this zebra truly could cast curses. He didn't have the time to deal with dispelling one of those, or any of the effects of said curse before he managed to get rid of it. He was a busy changeling after all, knowledge wasn't going to collect itself, and knowledge was another form of power. "As I said, I am a scholar, so perhaps we could exchange knowledge as well, so we can both walk away from this smarter than before." He chuckled slightly, nodding at the zebra while he waited to see where the potions were being kept.

The first one to come down the road was a relatively unassuming brown unicorn with a slicked-back mane, reading a book as he walked. In truth, it was a changeling in disguise, and one that had been around for a very long time. Dox looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow at the sign before looking towards the zebra and smiling a bit. “Well hello there, good sir. Your sign intrigues me, what is it that you are offering, exactly?” He asked, stowing the book and smiling over at the zebra. “I am a scholar, and I do so enjoy learning new things. My name is Rising Star, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hope, huh? That’s a pretty name.” Tiger smiled, giving a nod to the changeling before the hippogriff showed up and gave Blueblood a report. The earth pony chuckled as it finished, and he was given some instructions. “Right. I’ll get right on that, boss. Let’s go see these issues, Cloudy.” He nodded to Blueblood and Hope before letting Cloudy lead him off to see what he could do about what was going on. “So, where are these fires? We should deal with those first.” —————————— Kireina nodded as the mare accepted her offer, turning to dig through her bag, and put the book away, and eventually coming back out with a brush in her hoof. Moving behind the counter, she decided to start with the part most visible and began brushing Bonbon’s mane. She would get to the tail eventually, once things were back in order up top. “My name is Kireina Hinode, it is a pleasure making your acquaintances.” She said, smiling politely at the two with her introduction. The longma fell silent after that, focusing on her task for a moment or so. She may not want to get her hooves dirty most of the time, but the state of the mare before her made her want to help. A pony must look their best, and clearly this pony needed a bit of help to get there. “What brings you here, Mr. Chipper? I do not believe I have seen you around town before.” She asked eventually, glancing between the brush job and the unicorn.

Solar Flare once again found herself wandering the halls of the school with her bird, mostly following him to avoid running into any inanimate objects. Thanks to her magic, she could tell where living things were nearby, so following her bird was no real trouble. The blind unicorn was the resident healer at this school, primarily, but there hadn’t been much to do today. That was good that nobody needed her skills, since that meant nobody was getting hurt, but that also meant she was left somewhat bored. Oh well, she preferred that everyone stayed safe anyways. Eventually, she found herself outside, and sat down in the grass to enjoy the nature around her while Sunny played around in the air.

Correct. She can’t fly without the help of magic, just thought it would be cool since she’s an alicorn originally. Could be from a pegasus parent, perhaps.

Magnus listened silently as she spoke, rolling his eyes when it became clear this was about trying to win some male’s approval. Eventually, he sat down a bit behind her, watching the horizon for the moment. “So he was stringing you along, either forget him or get your revenge. He does not deserve your love, so give him hate or nothing at all. You have too many creatures that actually care about you to throw it all away because this one turned out to be a liar.” He said, glancing over at the griffon. “Throwing yourself off the cliff only makes things worse. At worst, the liar is happier and your crew is miserable.”

“Yes, I am of a Kastroti family originally.” Magnus responded, falling silent as Hou continued speaking. He nodded when she suggested he already knew who she was, which he did well enough to know she would be helpful to his goals. As long as she didn’t betray him, he cared little about what she did outside that. “I have been around long enough to know that nothing comes for free. If these challenges of yours are the price you set, I shall face them.” He said, nodding resolutely before a bit of a cruel smile appeared on his face. “I shall very much enjoy making them suffer.”

Seabreezer looked at the mare as they made their way inside, giving her a pat after Draco deposited the coin. “Twelve? Well, that’s a good start.” She chuckled before taking her seat at the table. Seeing as she really had nothing to contribute to the conversation on favorite meats, she busied herself by stacking empty mugs in various positions. Talk of royals though... “Who needs ‘em anyways? You shouldn’t be in charge just cuz your parents were. Royals are dumb.” The mare spoke, finishing a pyramid of mugs and taking a moment to admire the accomplishment.

Magnus had been watching her in silence for a few moments, wanting to see if she actually planned to go through with it. He waited until the very end, though just as the rock fell over the edge his sword cut through the rope. “I never would have taken you for a coward before, but the evidence is overwhelming. So much for caring about your ‘family’ on that ship too, it seems.” He said, approaching somewhat as he cut the rope off her midsection and tossed it aside with his magic. “I’ve suffered my share of hardships, and yet you don’t see me tossing myself off any cliffs.”