PyroBlaze

Scarlett shrugged to herself, sitting back as more of the group showed up. She held back a small laugh at the mare that tripped, watching as Rose helped her back up. Seemed like an interesting group so far, though a bit weird that only the two stallions looked like they’d be any help when it came to combat. She wasn’t sure how good Rose was, but the other two definitely didn’t look like they could do more than basic self-defense. Oh well, they needed other skill sets too, ones that hopefully were being filled. ————— “Hey yourself, Rose.” Tiger chuckled, returning the wink as he stopped nearby the group. He would’ve helped the bat up, but Rose beat him to it. When the other stallion approached and asked his question, Tiger gestured to Rose.

Ishi nodded at Ice’s words, pressing a button on the table that called a guard in. He wrote down some instructions as one came in, giving the paper to the guard with another nod as they bowed and left again. “We shall provide you with the information, one of our copies, once we are certain it no longer holds sensitive information. On the off-chance you lose the report, we don’t want our enemies to learn our secrets.” Ishi said, looking over at Nira as she said her piece. “Yes, having had the pleasure of working with Nira over the years, I can say she is quite capable in both combat and healing.” He said, smiling a bit at Nira as he finished. —————— Feather wasn’t entirely sure what Myth was trying to do with that spell, perhaps just added privacy, but the fact it was countered by birdsong was interesting. At least she assumed that was the cause, since one of the fake birds landed on Myth afterwards and seemed to glare at them. The pegasus mare zipped around the fake bird a bit, looking it over and wishing she could get her own somehow. It’d really help on missions, and it’d just be cool to have around. “Wow, these golem things are really cool! Now I want one for myself. I wonder where I could go to get that done.” She hummed, finally setting down next to Myth again.

It didn’t take much longer for an airship to show up in the sky, with a large-winged mare at the prow. It came to a stop above Rose and Aloe, Scarlett soon flying down to meet them both. She gave a wave to Rose with one of her claws, landing in front of the two mares. “Did I keep you two waiting? I’m hoping I’m not the last one here, we’ll probably need more than just you two to augment the crew for this.” She hummed, looking Aloe over a bit. —————— The next to arrive was Tiger, strolling in with his typical outfit and spear. He gave a low whistle at the sight of the airship, impressed by it. He hadn’t seen many airships, let alone set hoof on one, so that was exciting. It also seemed the whole party was mares so far, at least the ones on the ground. “Yo, name’s Tiger Blood, nice to meet you both.” He said, nodding to Aloe and Scarlett.

“Improving it? What do you mean by that? And I am not sure fixing it would be helpful in the end, as I have developed ways to see more than eyes can by themselves. Plus, I would have to relearn what everything was.” Solar Flare hummed to herself, looking closer at Rose. She thought the other mare was a unicorn at first, but now it seemed like there might be something more there. Similar to a changeling in disguise, really. “As for how long, as long as I can remember.”

“<Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. With hindsight, you can say almost anything could’ve been handled better. Still, nothing wrong with learning from past mistakes.>” He said, humming slightly as he listened to her continue talking. When she pulled out the stone, he looked at it, sorting through his knowledge to see if he knew anything about it. Off the top of his head, all he could find is it’s name. He would have to research it when he could. “<You know how I feel about collecting the past, so I agree that collecting these artifacts is not a waste of time, even if only to preserve the history and learn from it. As far as making artifacts of your own, I would certainly be interested in seeing how that turns out. Twilight certainly is a mighty foe, judging by what she’s done in her life, it would be a tough fight even with my own vast versatility to draw on. Knowing many different types of spells and how to utilize them together can overcome someone stronger than you, but fighting someone that thinks the same way and also has more raw power is very difficult.>” Dox nodded, watching the sky again. “<That said, I would be very interested in what you could make for me, perhaps it could be something I help with.>”

Dox had left behind the need for sleep many years ago, though he could still do it if needed, and was currently reading a book. Even in the low light of night, he could read just fine by utilizing his changeling abilities to gain eyes with night vision. He was very relaxed, having set up a myriad of protection and alarm spells, there was very little chance of anything sneaking up on them. Likewise, he knew Hou was up and moving around, so once he finished the page he closed the book and put it back into the bag, then went to stand next to her. “<Can’t sleep, Hou? Anything you want to talk about?>” He asked, following her gaze up to the stars above. It was pretty fascinating, really, what could be up there besides what could be seen with the naked eye.

“Well, we appreciate your desire to do this with us instead of trying to go behind our backs. It is better to work together on this than chasing each other down.” Ishi nodded, smiling as Nira accepted the task of helping Ice and her group. He did notice that Nira seemed to be holding something back, and he waited for Shiroi to finish before asking her. “Please, Nira, you may speak your mind.” He said, urging her on. ———————— Feather wasn’t entirely sure what Myth was talking about with Raven, but she wrapped a wing around Myth anyways in a friendly hug for a moment. “I’ll help you any time, Vis, just let me know what you need.” She said, smiling at the two mares. “You too, Raven. I’m happy to help out.”

Sorry, been busy, and not entirely sure what to do right now

Tiger was having lots of fun tonight, but it seems like Berry was reaching her limit as far as alcohol was concerned. Fair enough, he supposed, and he nodded at her words about only drinking water from here on. Jade and Midnight's kiss actually made him a bit jealous, but he didn't want to force anything on Berry if she was feeling too drunk. Plus, unless he was reading things wrong, Jade wasn't that interested in him unfortunately, but that was fine since he was mostly interested in Berry anyways. Speaking of, he got up and slid behind the bar with her, partly to help with serving the drinks, partly to keep an eye on her liquid intake like she suggested, and partly just to get closer. He nudged her playfully as he helped where he could. "If you want, we could move on to something else." He winked, glancing over at Midnight and Jade as they kissed.

Tiger arched an eyebrow at the mention of Rose’s shop, but before he could ask any more, she left him alone on the roof. He didn’t even know where to start looking for that shop of hers, but maybe he’d keep an eye out the next time he was wandering Ponyville. For now, with Rose gone and Nil not back yet, he kept watch on the surrounding area, whistling a tune to himself. ——————— Solar Flare had not really been paying attention, so the sudden appearance, to her, of another pony next to her made her jump slightly. Seeing it was just a unicorn, and a mare judging by the voice, speaking to her, she gave a friendly smile. “The groom. I am a coworker from the Friendship School, I work as the school nurse there, healing what ails the students’ bodies.” She responded, nodding a bit. “My name is Solar Flare, who are you, Miss?”

“By all means, my apologies that it is too much for you.” Ishi replied, nodding to Myth. “If you require to go to the meditation spots, Shibo here can guide you. Shibo, keep watch, and take them to the gardens if they require.” With that, he left Myth and Feather together with Shibo and went to continue the discussion in the room. “Hou Shuren, hmm? That does sound like it is a Long Guo name, so that is likely a better source of information as to her origins.” He said, agreeing with Shiroi’s assessment as he read the file. “We will likely have to go over the reports again with this new possible cause in mind to see if there’s a pattern to investigate, but thank you for the information. As for which islands these reports came from, we shall provide you with a list and reports of what happened where possible.” Ishi hummed slightly as he went over the report again, glancing at Nira briefly as he thought through the problem. “Nira? Would you mind accompanying them on this mission? They sound like they could use some help, and having a native to guide them could prove very helpful.”

“Indeed, these circumstances are quite unfortunate.” Ishi said, walking with Shiroi as the group made their way into the more secure room. He definitely noticed that one mare taking an interest in Shibo, perhaps they could have a chance to meet later about that. Once in the room, he turned back towards the visitors and nodded to Ice Storm. “Here we are then. I hear that you are here because of an evil sorceress? I shall do everything I can to assist, within reason of course. Where should we begin?” He asked, taking on a more serious expression.

“No, I think I would remember fighting a hydra. I have fought dragons before though, and other less conversational wildlife, so I can figure it out.” Tiger said after a while, shrugging a bit as he watched their surroundings. Honestly, Rose was pretty good looking, and he’d probably go after her if not for Berry. He really felt like he had hit it off with her, and he really didn’t want to mess things up. —————— Solar Flare continued to sit where her seat was, not wanting to get up and trip all over the other seats around. She could see there were others around, but they seemed engrossed in their own groups already. Meanwhile, Sunny the bird flew around the building, watching the others in the building. Spotting a familiar pony, he flew down and perched nearby Fluttershy, chirping happily.

Ishi was, on top of being the head of the investigative department, the younger brother of the Shogun, so he was currently next in line. In any case, the stallion was dressed in a somewhat fancy outfit, one fit for meeting with foreign dignitaries. Or retired ones, in Luna’s case. With his pet golem by his side, he also bowed at the entrance of their guests, waiting for Shiroi to finish speaking before talking. “Konichiwa. I am Ishi Masayoshi, the Shogun’s brother and the Ōmetsuke. This is Shiroi, the Gijitsu-sha. It is a pleasure to meet you all.” Ishi said, giving a friendly smile as the anubian jackal golem, Shibo, sat and watched the group. Feather was remaining silent, standing near Myth as she watched things progress and let Ice and possibly Luna do most of the talking. She was especially watching Shibo, wondering if she could get a flying pet golem.

He wasn’t sure he agreed on her statement about things not ending. On the contrary, everything had an end. Hou had pushed her end far away, barring unforeseen circumstances, but that did not mean it wasn’t coming eventually. The world itself would end eventually. Her talk of getting out so you could live to fight another day though, he could agree with that. He was familiar with that strategy, being a former thief and all. There was no benefit to fighting a losing battle. “I was more asking about how you prolonged your life many times beyond the typical lifespan.” Magnus explained, watching her as they spoke. “I may want to find my way to something similar in the future.”

“You know it.” Tiger winked at Jade’s comment. “That’s what happens when you practically grew up in the arena.” He added with a shrug, falling silent as songs started up again. He sat back and enjoyed the music Jade and Midnight chose, though once Berry’s song started up, he nodded along, making his way back to the stage and sliding in next to her in order to sing the male parts. He wrapped a hoof around her in a hug as they sang the song together. As it ended, he gave her another squeeze before letting her depart if she wanted. The next song wasn’t made for duets, but she could sing it with him if she wanted. “ Dear pain, oh, it's been a long time Remember when you were holding me tight I would stay awake with you all night Dear shame, I was safe in your arms You were there when it all fell apart I would get so lost in your beautiful lies I let you go but you're still chasing Go ahead, you're never going to take me You can bend, but you're never going to break me I was yours, I'm not yours anymore You don't own me ”

“No worries, Nil, I won’t let anything actually dangerous pass.” Tiger nodded, watching as all the creatures on the roof left until it was just him and Rose left. He sat down, watching as more guests approached and listening as Rose spoke again. “A journey into the Everfree to hunt a hydra? Sounds like a good challenge, count me in.” He replied, nodding to Rose as he continued his watch. It sounded like this would give him a good chance for a good fight, probably multiple from what he’d heard of the forest. “Well, since we’ll be working together whenever this goes down, maybe we should get to know each other better. I’m from Hesperia, and was the arena champ for years back home.” ———————— The next guest to arrive was a white-coated unicorn with a red bird on her shoulder. She was wearing a dress she got from Rarity, who also ended up helping the mare into the clothing. Being blind made it hard to do stuff like that, after all. She could ‘see’ living things, or their spirit, essentially, but that did not extend to non-living things. Even wooden structures were invisible to her, but that’s why she had her bird. Solar Flare stopped in front of the door, smiling at the one guiding others to their seats as she waited for her turn.

Well that was a bunch of interesting information about the races around here. Feather listened, humming a bit as their guide explained things. It was kinda fun learning about this place, and she was looking forward to seeing more of it. For now, she flew along near Myth, sticking with the group. “I wonder what all they get from dragons. Can they eat gems like full dragons?” Feather wondered, speaking more to Myth than Nira or the rest of the group. “Hey, Vis, what do you think those golem things will be like? I’ve never seen one before.”

“I can do both, Nil, it’s called multitasking.” Tiger responded, sighing a bit. “There’s only so much one pony can do to combat Ponyville’s chaos though, especially an earth pony.” He added, leaving it at that for now. What was he supposed to do to stop teleportation or flying? Especially if it was posing no actual threat. When Gallus came by, he opened his mouth to speak, but Rose beat him to it and seemed to take care of the situation. “C’mon, Gallus, did you really think showing up drunk to a wedding was a good idea? Blueblood’s wedding, at that.” Tiger sighed again, trying to do as Nil said. He could probably dodge the cat, but he didn’t really want to test that theory. Especially since they worked together.

Tiger rolled his eyes a bit at Niil’s response to the mare, though he was sorta distracted from answering by Berry addressing him. He looked down at her, returning the wave gladly. “You know it, Berry! I’d join you now, but I’ve got work to do.” He responded, glad that she wanted him to join her later. He also returned Jade’s greeting, though he was still iffy on her. He was warming up to her, but there was still that nagging feeling that something was wrong with her. “Yeah, she’s pretty great. And of course, you have to have good hoofwork to be an arena champ.” He responded to Rose, looking back over to her. It was also then that another unicorn dropped out of the sky. Tiger blinked, glancing towards where the stallion came from while they seemed to try communicating with Nil.

Flux listened silently as Flaire spoke, taking in what he said with a serious expression. She wasn’t entirely sure what to say after it was all said and done, so she simply nodded and gave an affirmative noise. There wasn’t really anything to say to that, not that she could think of anyways. She let the moment pass in silence, giving a small sigh afterwards. “Well, I can’t make you get over your feelings towards changelings, but hopefully you do someday. Just like ponies, there are many good ones out there, but you still need to watch out for the bad.” She said, looking over at Flaire.

Tiger was happy for those three, really, he just wasn’t sure what to think now. He had been kinda hoping to get with Bluey, but he supposed that was kinda off the table now. Oh well, seemed like a bad idea to do that with his boss anyways. At least Berry seemed like a good possibility at the moment, hopefully he didn’t screw that up somehow. For now, the earth pony was lounging on the roof with his fellow guard Niil, watching those that entered the wedding. He wasn’t exactly expecting a mare to pop into existence up here with them, but he rolled with it. “Fine by me, I don’t mind having a pretty face watching things with us.” He responded, giving the mare a wink. “Name’s Tiger Blood, who might you be?”

Feather, emboldened by Myth’s response, kept telling her about what was around them. The pegasus had kind of forgotten that Myth wasn’t completely blind, and even if she had she wasn’t entirely sure how much the unicorn could see. When Myth stopped short, she followed her friend’s gaze to the meat stand. It gave her a bit of pause too, but she was more used to seeing meat-eating creatures around. “I dunno for sure if they’re the cause, but it looks like there’s some kind of pony/dragon hybrids around.” Feather responded to Myth, looking around the area. For all she knew though, there could be griffons around somewhere. That was something that their guide could answer though.

Dox rolled his eyes, giving Hou’s pun a small chuckle. He nodded at the information on her nutritional needs, filing that away so he’d remember it. “[Sorry, don’t mean to keep bugging you.]” He added, sliding his own pun in before they got to the clothing store. He picked out his own outfit, a few varieties in case they needed to switch. Of course, he could just shapeshift, but this worked even if he somehow didn’t have the energy to shift. He gave some money to the creature running the shop, floating the parts he wasn’t already wearing in a bundle next to him. “<Well then, lead the way to this food.>” He said, smiling over at Hou. It was always nice to experience the culture of the places he visited, it gave him more insight into them. Plus, knowing your enemy was helpful, so those experiences could come in handy should he find himself against the culture.