PyroBlaze

Looks great to me! Thanks!

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0TEf4F-UjctKqp0GGUmTHtPfQ

Magnus hummed, giving a single nod in response to Sombra’s words before he seemed to get distracted by Twister. The unicorn watched for a moment before speaking again. 
 

“Now then, I assume we will meet at a future date to do this training, and you appear to have your hooves full at the moment. I am Magnus Durum, find me in Canterlot when you are prepared to teach.” He said, the illusion standing up after and giving both a nod before vanishing. The real unicorn stood in his hiding place, giving the two another look before walking off under cover of invisibility to find this Hou and see what she had to offer. 

Well, this would likely be an interesting experience, if a short one. He’d never been around Ponyville during their wrap-up, so he guessed tomorrow would be the day he got to see what that was like. Probably wouldn’t take too long, with how little snow was out there, but Tiger was willing to help however he could. For now, he was getting a pre-bed workout in in the room he had rented. Wasn’t much, just a local inn, but it worked fine for him. After his workout, he stood fully before falling onto the bed and stretching out. This earth pony was tired, and he needed some sleep before the next day. 

2 minutes ago, GoldenDaze said:

 

Hmm.. is there any characters you just want art of? Like you don't have art of them yet? Or do and kinda want more? haha

I mean, there's a lot of characters without real art in there... I can never seem to get enough of Tiger though. 

Same, really. Dunno what I would ask for right now.

Just now, SirAizen said:

 

Yes - You'll probably have to go through Candy first, XD

Or maybe he could just share, have fun with both at once. ;3

36 minutes ago, RainbowFoxxy said:

A little pony pic of one of my newer OC's Lamp Light! He's one sexy stallion 😉

 

A sexy stallion indeed. Tiger wouldn’t mind a piece of him. 

Cool, thanks! I wanted to get a pic of my new changeling baddy. Not sure what he should be doing though. Here’s the references and app though. 
 

True form: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0_Xf3KX7pOkHLqweu6M1r17og
 

Typical disguise: https://share.icloud.com/photos/0mO7Wd95SNApPcX-iBfXyQhyA

App: 

Good snugs. If I can, I’ll add another pic to your list. Assuming it’s ok with you, of course. 

Tehengu stayed at the ready for a few moments after everything died down, just in case, but he eventually relaxed enough to move towards Midnight and help her get to safety if she needed it. It seemed they had survived this time, which was good, but now they had to remain vigilant even more than usual to make sure this didn’t happen again. 

Such good work coming from you... can’t wait to see more!

“They are unicorns, yes, and there is some magical skill present. The three of them could probably beat me, and it seemed like my father had found ways to make up for his lack of sight the last time I did reconnaissance. I have no doubt I could take them down one-on-one, especially from stealth, but I would rather be prepared for the worst-case scenario. The cornered beast is often the most dangerous.” Magnus said, keeping his gaze even as he watched Sombra. Maybe he was getting somewhere here after all, but on the other hoof, the more time he took here the harder it would be to find Hou. 

Name: Dox (Hei Xue)

Sex: Male

Age: Much older than he looks. Appears to be an adult
 

Species: Changeling (qilin)

Eye Color: Red (Blue, the whites turning black with use of dark magic)

Character Color: Typical changeling black, with multiple bright purple patterns across the surface. (A darker pale green, with dark red scales. The horns curl down behind the ears and are mostly the same green as the skin, aside from the dark red spiral.)

Mane/Tail: The mane is a spiky mowhawk that is mostly gray, though there is a slight almost flame pattern of red and orange near the head. The tail is a simple shock of gray. (The mane is a spiky mowhawk in front, though more curved spikes. In the back the hair is longer, reaching past his back with parts that curve back up near his chin. His tail is a long one of flesh, mostly bare of hair besides the fur. All the hair comes off the bottom, a bit of a spiky mass trailing down most of the length. Both are primarily black, with the ends of the spikes being blue.)

Physique: Both his true and qilin forms are taller than average, and muscled enough to enter the realm of being physically imposing. He likes to add blue claws to the ends of his hooves in his qilin form. 
 

Residence: A small castle on a mostly secluded island, and a tower in the wilds of Long Guo that functions as a small school on occasion. 
 

Occupation: Evil sorcerer, occasional teacher (disguised as a unicorn), and ex-hero

Cutie Mark: His Hei Xue form has a purple pentagram as a cutie mark. 

Unique Traits: 

   Magic: Over the many years, he has studied many different forms of magic, and is adept at most fields. He can utilize every form of elemental magic well enough to use different kinds simultaneously. Of course, as a changeling he is naturally good at transformation and illusion. On the darker side, he primarily utilizes blood magic. 

   Transformations: After extensive study, he has found ways to improve his body permanently using his natural transformation abilities, and has replaced parts of himself to strengthen his body and mind. Likewise, utilizing blood magic in conjunction with his natural abilities, he found a way to lengthen his lifespan and eliminate his hunger for love by using the life energy inherent in the blood of others. 

   Combat Training: He is no slouch with a sword, though nowadays he mostly fights from range with his magical abilities. Still, he is a formidable opponent up close, using all his tricks in combat. 
 

   Information Network: He has gathered many information sources through the students that came through him. Mostly academic knowledge, like new developments in magical fields, though also some more hidden knowledge sometimes. 
 

History: Dox was born quite a long time ago in a hive that is long forgotten now in the wilds of Long Guo. He was never satisfied with his existence in the hive, even early on in his life. Being just another drone among many never sat well with him, he always felt he was meant for more, so as soon as he was confident in his ability to survive alone, he snuck out of the hive and never looked back. His aimless wandering eventually led him into a town, and he felt drawn towards the local mage. Immediately discovering his love for learning, he apprenticed under the unicorn, learning all he could about magic. Of course, it was mostly about how to use magic to help others or make tasks easier, with some methods of defending them from threats as well. At least it made the townsfolk like his disguised form and kept him well-fed, so he kept voraciously making his way through his master’s teachings and helping the town until he ran out of things to learn.
 

Still feeling like he needed more, he began training with the guards in an effort to take a more proactive role in defeating threats, and hopefully the fame of being a hero would sate his needs. He spent years in that town, helping them out with magic and steel and spreading the name of Guang Jian, until a threat arrived that none of them could deal with. Dox had been away at the time, and returned to a devastated town. He was smart enough to realize that he likely would’ve fallen with them had he been there at the time, but it also ignited a new passion for strength in him, both magical and physical. Thankfully for him, it didn’t take long to find a place for him to hone both as he stumbled upon a hidden building in the wilds. It was the home of another mage, one that had much to teach. 
 

Unbeknownst to him, this new mage also delved into the darker aspects of magic. As he learned more and more, the lessons inexorably moved towards dark magic, but his desire to learn all he could kept him going. The longer he went, the more he began thinking his old way of life was a foolish one, and he began dedicating himself purely to the benefit of himself as opposed to using his new strength to help others. 
 

Under this mage was where he began his experiments to make himself stronger through combining his natural magic and the new dark spells he had been learning, his first target being the hunger for love, which he had been sating by invoking the name of the local hero. Technically it was his name, but he felt no connection to it anymore. After extensive work, he eventually discovered a method that might work, so he tried it. Taking a forest animal for the first try, he took its blood and infused it into himself. He instantly felt better, and somehow a little younger. Even that little bit sated him for far longer than his typical feeding methods, so now he had an excuse to retire his old persona for good. 
 

After inventing the Hei Xue persona, or an early draft of it at least, he took it to the largest city nearby to spread the news. The hero was dead, and Hei had killed him. Wielding his old sword as “proof”, he put his hero years behind him and disappeared back into the shadows to gather even more strength. First, he used the old mage for the only thing he was still good for, a food source. Dox kept him around for as long as he could as he gained strength and made adjustments to his body. Eventually, when his second master was spent, he left, wandering again to try out his upgrades. More sightings of the evil Hei Xue brought out plenty of would-be heroes for him to test on, and he found he enjoyed this infamy more than the fame he gained as a hero. 
 

After making his way beyond the physical borders of his homeland, he discovered a good island to make his home base and spent some time building his fortress. By that time, he had truly started to notice the benefits of his new feeding method, as he had stayed in his prime well past it, and showed no signs of the physical degradation that came with growing older. Even so, he had experienced much, and felt he should pass his knowledge down, and one location immediately came to mind as to where, that of his rebirth. Traveling back to the old decrepit building, he transformed it into a tower to teach in, connecting it to his fortress through a portal in a secret room. 
 

Once construction was complete, and he gathered materials for magical learning outside the dark arts, he gathered his first students. He wanted to share knowledge, yes, but he also wanted to learn from them, discover new things together, and scope out candidates for agents, true apprentices, and possibly his next meal. 
 

Ever since he simply worked on gathering strength, wether that be new knowledge, more agents, or strengthening the name of his persona. 

Personality: Generally driven by his desires for knowledge and worthy competition, he will use subterfuge on occasion, but he will not back down from a fight if that doesn’t work. His level of friendliness largely depends on who he is interacting with or what form he is in. For example, he is often rather friendly with other scholars, especially towards his students, since they can help him gain more knowledge and he actually enjoys a good academic conversation. In combat, he is unlikely to show mercy, but if you see him it is more than likely actually him. He prefers to face his foes face-to-face, partially because it makes it easier to feed and partially because he figures if one can manage to actually land a hit on him, they earned it. He is rather outgoing, and will not hesitate to initiate a conversation unless it would be smarter to not do so. 

Summary: A truly vampiric changeling mostly in it to collect knowledge and find others worthy of fighting or passing knowledge to. 

Magnus fell silent as the others responded to what he said, frowning a bit at their responses. It seemed they didn't understand his desire for revenge here as much as he thought they would. Or maybe Sombra was simply assuming the revenge was of a smaller scale than it was. There was three targets in his family, as well as that traitorous group of thieves that picked him up. He couldn't exactly expect them to know about the thieves, but he did say it was his family that kicked him out, not just his father.

"It is more than just him. I would also have to contend with my mother and sister, as well as any guards that deign to get involved. And afterwards, anyone who would seek to 'bring me to justice', and depending on how I feel about it at the time, any challengers to my takeover." He said simply, focusing more on Sombra at the moment. It might be time to move along and find Hou after all, but he would at least stay to see what Sombra said to that beforehand.

“Well, it’s a lot easier to unlearn that softness than to learn passion, I feel. A bit of work, and she’d be fitting in just fine.” Seabreezer shrugged, watching as they came to an agreement and the mare joined up with the crew. And of course she immediately jumped into a little speech. 
 

“You wanna get going for that fun? Or should she get the tour beforehand?” The hybrid asked Draco, looking over at her captain. 

Kireina had been spending the train ride reading a book before the young pegasus flew over and asked the two of them how excited they were. The longma put her hoof on the page to mark her spot before looking over to the pegasus. 
 

“Oh, it seems like quite the interesting place to visit. There is so much to see, and plenty of history to learn about.” She smiled slightly at the thought of all the art that had come out of the region. She was looking forward to getting there, all right. Once the pegasus flew off again, she would go back to reading unless something else interrupted her. 

I'm down. Too tired to contribute ideas right now though.

Magnus remained silent for a moment, frowning at the memories that question drug to the surface. Still, he supposed there was no harm in answering that question truthfully, so after a moment more of silence after Twister had finished, he eventually answered the question.

"My idiot of a father decided that staring at a bright light was a good idea, and somehow it was my fault he went blind from it. I saved us from being stranded in the ocean, and they kicked me out for it." He said, anger seeping into his voice. Clearly he hadn't forgiven or forgot that incident, even after all that time. He glanced at TT after that, not sure why she had emphasized the word star like that, but he saw no reason to bring it up.

Seabreezer shrugged at the name, though the follow-up brought forth a small chuckle. She liked this girl's fire, and it seemed Draco did too, judging by how he decided to just take over and push her aside a bit. Oh well, there was nothing else to really add at the moment anyways, so she listened to the two speak. She hummed slightly as the mare spoke of why she was here, eventually revealing she was indeed looking to join up, if just for the money. That was as fine a reason as any to join a pirate crew, she supposed, she wasn't gonna complain about that.

"Sounds good to me, we could use more crew that know what they're doing in the more advanced departments." She nodded, smiling slightly. "I'd welcome you aboard, but not the captain, so not my call in the end, really." She added with a shrug, glancing over towards Draco. 

Well, that was unfortunate. Now he would have to track her down before speaking to her. That was an issue for later though, there were still two others in the clearing and it seemed his little illusion had finally been spotted. He took a moment to decide what to do, eventually figuring he may as well see what Sombra had to offer before moving on. 
 

As the illusory clone started walking closer to the two, Magnus used a bit more magic to throw his voice and make the sound come from the illusion.

“Me? I am simply someone looking for ways to become stronger, to get revenge for some unjust wrongs committed against me. I’m sure you understand that desire, and I am sure that someone of your caliber could teach me something useful.” The illusion said as it stopped at a comfortable conversational distance. Magnus had to wonder how compatible their magic would be, as he liked to manipulate light, and Sombra was more focused on shadows, but he would just have to wait and see he supposed. He wasn’t entirely sure what had happened to the pegasus either. Or how much of it was new. Probably all of it, but he had seen some strange things over the years, so he wasn’t going to rule anything out. 

“Aye, we have been, so we can keep going.” She nodded, watching the sky while she listened to him continue talking. The mare gave a lazy mock salute at his order/plan, tossing her own bottle nonchalantly before Draco suggested they head out for some more fun. 
 

“Sounds good to me, nahodha.” She smiled, standing fully again and following the stallion off the ship. They really didn’t get far before another mare showed up though. Seabreezer tilted her head, looking over the kirin as she spoke. “Who’s asking, mtoto? Looking for trouble, or looking to join?”

You could link the apps, if you have them. Might be better descriptions in them. 

“Heh, yeah. It could get kinda crazy at times, but hey, it’s home.” Tiger chuckled as he shrugged, smiling over at AJ as she got ready for the kiss. “Well, you’re in for a treat then.” He chuckled again, leaning in to meet her halfway as he went for a full mouth-to-mouth kiss. He would hold it for a bit, though if she wanted out sooner he wasn’t going to stop her. When it ended, he would lightly nibble her lip as they pulled apart, releasing it fairly soon and giving her a wink. 
 

“Yep. That was as good as I thought it’d be. Thanks for everything, maybe I’ll see you around. Might be sticking around for a while, got a job offer recently.” He winked at her again, giving her a chance to respond before he started packing it up and moving along. There was more to the line after all, they should get the chance to experience this too. 

Magnus watched the scene silently, listening to what was being said as he further contemplated what to do now. From the looks of things, the mare in control was getting ready to move along, which could be good or bad for him, depending on if she noticed him and how she'd react to his presence. Perhaps it would be better to simply reveal himself. Or leave and approach her later, though that came with it's own sorts of issues, like why he would know anything about her. Still, either one could end up with him getting the same treatment as that pegasus, and from the looks of things it wasn't all that desirable of a process to go through.

For the sake of sating his own curiosity though, he created an illusion of himself on the other side of the group from him with his ability to manipulate light. For now, it was simply standing along a path, watching the scene. He'd have to see how they'd react to another newcomer before considering actually revealing himself.