Pretzelparty

Yanhua was hoping to involve herself in the conversation but as soon she got the words up, Feng brought up the empress and felt as if somepony just shot an arrow in her side.  Her eye twitched, though it was difficult to notice: seeing as both eyes were still closed. When Feng continued that thought about the monsters, much of the wind was sucked out of her sails.  "Y-yeah... I'm... sure the herbalist would know." Tempest might be able to feel the gaze on her from the kirin with the unopening eyes, particularly on her horn for the time being, eyes momentarily opening when she saw the sparks. 

She casually took a step back from the possibly dangerous mare. Eyes only barely opening as the possibility of Feng being harmed crossed her mind... But soon something caught her attention: Some Scent on the wind. The mare sniffed softly and perked up a moment, was that... wolf? Another wolf? She'd smelled someone like her in this town since she'd arrived but it was one she knew. This one seemed different.  She turned her head a moment towards Nensho on his lonesome. The stallion was making his way over, seemed she'd been noticed as well. 

A whisper, thank goodness. She'd hate to have been outed by a possible friend beside her crush, "Seems that we do..." She whispered back. Another mention of the Empress Made Yanhua shudder. The words feeling like a bludgeon that dealt a blow right to her gut. This was getting Stressful, having a troubled mind was a surefire way to have her disguise start to tear. "If you don't mind, friend. I'm under cover at the moment... but it's been too long since I've gotten to speak with another so like myself. Well, there's one back home but we're still a bit different."Somewhere in the palace Wuya had probably dealt with a sudden sneeze, "This whispering will probably start looking suspicious so..."

She turned to Nensho and smiled, "I don't think you were around for my introduction. I'm Yanhua, Chef of the Long sun Dynasty. This is Feng of the Watch, Tempest Berrytwist Shadow and ... I don't believe I've gotten our earthy friend's name."

Unlike a certain imperial guard, Yanhua was finding herself fairly content after gorging herself on cupcakes earlier. She always did seem to have  a big stomach even when she was little.  Now with the fresh chance to see the world more she could expose herself to more food and recipes! Such aspirations would have to wait as she caught wind of her dear friend Feng down by the pavillion. She qualified as one of those competing , even if she did only really do the cupcake eating contest. 

She took her time walking up, enjoying the sight of the stallion's stretches. The chef could just be admiring his form while exercising... she needed a role model after all if she was going to work off those cupcakes later. That's it... and nothing else. The sudden belch caught Yanhua off guard. What started out as a stifled snicker soon turned to a short fit of laughter that completely gave away her presence. Once all those chuckles were out of her system she made her way over to the tuckered stallion. Soon noticing that some dark purple unicorn approached him first. Something inside her flared up and she picked up speed... only for another mare to join in. 

Only really paying enough attention to hear parts of Feng and Tempest's conversation, the cook finally arrived to hear something from the earthy looking pegasus. "Nonsense." She sauntered up with her usual smile and unopening eyes, "If we ran into such a worm I'd scare it away. That is if Feng hadn't already intimidated such a beast with his natural presence."  Now in range, she dipped her head to the pair of equestrians. "Yanhua. Head chef of the Long Sun Dynasty. It's a pleasure to meet you."

This was probably not the most elegant of competitions that Yanhua could have inserted herself in, but some part of her (the chef part) couldn't resist trying some Equestrian confectionaries of various styles. Some of the tourist magazines she'd been going through had said that Ponyville was home to one of the best family of Baker's in the country! Nevermind that little spot in the pamphlet seemed to have been paid for by the Cake family. Still, the corrupting influence of advertising aside, She couldn't really resist the delicious scent on the air. 

Perhaps such an display of her 'iron stomach' as the announcer so eloquently put it,  might not be the best impression of the eastern lands she was supposed to be representing along with Feng today. On the other hoof: Free food and a chance to see if there was something she could learn from the westerners. Pushing any anxieties on Feng watching her aside, Yanhua approached the stand and made her application. Then took her seat at her table, the competition was pretty stiff it seemed. Two dragons in the running? Dragons in Equestria were supposed to be able to eat minerals. She could only imagine how quickly they'd be able to tear through warm dough and she soon didn't even need to let her mind do the work as Smolder and Spike began. 

"Oh my..." She said almost sounding intimidated, "Speed hm?" She seemed to be wrapped up in her own thoughts for about a second before the announcer pony asked her if she was still up for continuing.  With a mischievous chuckle she nodded, "Stand back a moment please."  

Yanhua sucked up a deep breath through her nose, her chest puffing up before she unleashed a large puff of minty green colored smoke and flame. It wasn't hot and didn't even seem to hurt. It functioned not unlike a unicorn's telekinesis and with such 'oomph' put into it the kirin  managed to launch the table up into the air  few feet... along with the big pile of cupcakes! The crowd at first had a bit of panic but soon that mass of green flame rose up above the kirin turning into a flashy miniature vortex that caught the falling cupcapes. At the small bottom of this funnel of magic sat the kirin with her mouth open. 

One popped out and she chomped it down, noting each flavor that met her tongue as it came down and swiftly chewed then scarfed them down with a surprisingly ravenous intensity. The magical whirl of fire diminished along with the cupcake pile held inside. In no time at all it was down to the final mote of flame and the final pastry that was snapped up with a contented smile from the royal chef. 

"Those were amazing! Do you have any I could take home? Oh! could I meet the bakers. I'd love to get some pointer---... Oh, Hang on." She noticed a rapidly growing shadow appearing on the announcer's nose. Just as it was about to come down on his face she lunged forward and snapped it up with a grin, "There we go!" 
 

Hogo-sha blinked at Anu's rather casual admission of a throne stolen from him. He was surprised at how easily he was able to say such things. Were such people so common around here? 

"A stolen throne? Are you and unjustly exiled prince?"  HE asked as he curiously circled once around Anu, "I'd only heard such things from books. I never imagined to run into a real one, let alone two princes in the same day!" Hogo-sha smiled and dipped his head down before Anu, deeper than before in the efforts of showing respect proper to Anu previously held position. "But yes, we should stop obstructing those wishing to use the road..."

When the group left for the park, Hogo-sha promised to meet them there. He knew he'd not be pleasant company on the back of the great cat. While he didn't have a ride, the noble looking dog somehow managed to arrive at the park in the same timely manner as the rest of them. Still with kerchief in paw he waved over to the group with his free one. Once the big cat was settled along with everyone else. The well dressed pup decided to sit a bit away from Nilaavin in the hopes of keeping his allergies from flaring up any further. When Blueblood brought up Anu's predicament again, Hogo's tail started to wag. " You must certainly do, your highness." He smiled at the princes words,  "Perhaps we may even be able to assist in reclaiming it for him someday!"

*This post submitted for judging*

This long vacation had been quite the experience. Thank goodness, Nensho had talked Toboe into some time off... And helped her concoct an alias to play in this contest under. It was nice to run around in a look that wasn't so tiring to maintain around ponies. Now she could just walk around and not worry about any cameras or journalists from back home trying to make a bit or to by making some story about her. If word got out she was playing in these games the effect on her reputation would be questionable to say the least, especially if she lost. Well, all of that was irrelevant now.

She'd come out of her favorite dress shirt and felt oddly exposed without it. It made the stretches she was doing at the starting line feel rather... embarrassing. Thank goodness most of the attention and cheers she could hear from spectators came from one weird looking kirin in an apron waving little flags. When she looked closer she couldn't help but notice that mare had her eyes closed while she cheered and those little flags seemed to bare the image of that Longma that went before. Was she his marefriend or something? No-no... Focus. Focus on the goal ahead. That Folksy pony announcer was sure to be introducing her soon enough.

"Seems we got another visitor from way outta town...a Tuckered Hay-me?"

"It's Tokkuri Hime!" She barked out in frustration, "That was only funny the first time!" The Kirin huffed through her nostrils and took her last couple stretches, then got into her her starting position. Her body like a tightly compressed spring of steel: Every fiber in her being ready, focused, and primed to burst through this course and take home whatever prize was to be won... even if she'd only started actually training herself in any serious capacity about a week ago. Much as she loved the work for the family and time behind a bar counter, she hated what it did to her physique sometimes.

When that little red flag swished about she zipped right forward with a small cloud of dust behind her. Dust that soon became bits of dirt, and finally splashes of Mud as she met the mud pit. She snickered as she felt the thick mire surrounding her body cover her up to the shoulder, If there was anything in this course she knew she'd be able to handle: It was this. Memories of her and Nensho hopping around, playing in the rain came immediately to mind. For the sake of propriety back home she had to stop indulging in the simple pleasures of muddy puddle hopping. In her adult years it seemed she'd finally get to have a bit of fun in the mud again! Her speedy gait had been slowed somewhat , but only just barely as she was out almost as fast as she went in. The kirin looked almost disappointed when it was over, yet she moved on to the next trial with bits of mud still splashing off her now eighty percent brown coat.

WIthout breaking her stride 'Tokkuri' moved on ahead to the barrels. Climbing them wasn't going to easy, at least not with mud still caking her hooves and an earthen paintjob that hadn't fully dried caking her coat. 

Not one to back down from a challenge, she hunched down and leapt from one barrel to the next. Stumbling at first from the layer of mud on her hooves, her balance off for some leaps and threatening to tumble down. On the worst stumble where she was sure she'd end up tumbling backwards she dug down and leapt to the top barrel. She felt the container wobbling under her weight and uneven distribution. In the hopes of steadying herself and stepped about... and then the barrel along with her rolled back down the hill of barrels with a series of wooden thuds that made the barrel roller cringe all the way to the bottom before leaping off and hoping that such a display wasn't considered disqualifying. 

With the longest part of the stretch coming up, the kirin realized she may as well use up the bulk of her stamina for it. She was more familiar with running with her head low so she ended up with a couple confused looks from the crowds as she ran forward with a great burst of speed,  already panting and huffing in her excitement. She left quite the trail of dust behind her that an ill timed wind blew towards some of the spectators, leaving what appeared to be Feng's most passionate fan hacking and staring daggers into the runner's back.  Feeling that glare 'Tokkuri' gave a dismissive snort, not that anyone would see at this point. 

With what she considered the most fun part of the course over and done with, the kirin moved along to the table of pies and with a swift motion of her tail brought each one onto her back. She knew that this wasn't going to be her best moment: She may have tried to carry herself with some grace back home, it was never something she felt she was inclined towards. She could already feel those pies starting to wobble on her back as she carefully marched along. She'd been raised to carry herself a certain way but her siblings were always so much better at it then she was... She could think of three of her siblings who could probably do this part of the course without batting an eye. Instead, 'Tokkuri' was here shakily weaving in between the poles. She had to freeze for a second on the first and seconds turns when she thought one of the pies was about to fall.

On the third turn she flinched as she felt her muzzle itch. She cursed the season in her mind before hurried made her way to end with all the pies still on her back... though the crusts on top of the two bottom pies seemed suffered some minor damage. With a small smile the kirin let out a sigh of relief, "Well. That wasn't as hard as I'd tha-HACHOO!" The sudden sneeze made the participant reflexively buck and then the pies went up into the air... and feel back down on her, rendering the contestant a bigger mess than before. 

At first she was speechless but she quickly licked off some Apple from her nose and shrugged, "Hm... Still tasty! Anyone have a towel?"

At first Fiver only heard Daze's voice as no louder than a whisper when contrasted with the roaring winds around the group. She tried to look around but those same winds stung her eyes when she turned into them, making the mare wince and turn away from the sound of Daze's voice. Fiver was about to try and take flight herself to get closer to the athlete, but Daze's quick flight then rough landing brought out a sigh of relief.

Fiver offered her hoof to help her fellow former passenger back on her hooves, "Glad to see you're okay, Daze."

 Hearing Zelda and Loose Cannon voice their thoughts on the situation, Fiver was left in thought. She turned towards the direction that their car had just sped down, "There could be a cave or something at the base of the mountain. If the train car is in good enough shape at the bottom... we might be able to find some signal flares in it for emergencies. " She looked back to the group, "We still have our luggage right? Did anyone bring any emergency supplies? There could also be some shelter in towards the mountains... and the first rule of waiting to be rescued is to stay where you are... or at least close to it."

Hogo sniffed at the air a few times. With all the myriad scents in the air it made it difficult to really tell. The smell of foreign flora, musk of unfamiliar Fauna, and odor of ancient primal magics buried beneath centuries of rainforest all meshing together: like the olfaactory equivalent of looking at a messy watercolor painting. Through all of that, the wolf could smell something very close by. "It almost smells like... Ponies." He said as he continued to sample the air, "It's muddled with the smell of the jungle, perhaps they might be natives?" 

Just after he raised that possibility, the dui could hear the sound of drums in the distance. A steady, Rhythmic beat echoing faintly through the canopy. Hogo-sha may have been fairly well educated (even it was by his own paw), but his knowledge on the local tribesponies was lacking. To this dapper canine it could have been welcoming drums, the background music for a coming hunt, or maybe even a marriage ceremony. He turned to Pocket as he made his way to some thick bushes nearby, "Any idea what those drums might be for?" He asked as he lifted up some of the large leaves to let the unicorn have free entry. Hogo's magic shrouded him for a moment to make himself a bit smaller so that he wouldn't stick out so much... and he even managed to turn off the little lightning bolts too. 

He crouched down beside pocket, listening carefully in case he could hear any hoofsteps coming close...

Hogo-sha did not back off from Tempest's hook he took it full on as came in... just as he'd been Hoping. Bringing her antlers in for the headbutt might have seems a good idea but while her opponent ws fast with his fist, he was faster with his teeth. Those jaws snapped down on Tempest's antlers and Took hold tight. In a swift motion, Hogo-sha lifted up the cow in an arc in a grapple then tossed her back down to the ground on her back. Once she landed, the dog brought up his foot and tried to bring it down hard onto her stomach with great force. The Dog was already smiling down at her, still enjoying this bout.

"I'd love to speak more about this with you, Miss Raven. I'm sure I've plenty of stories to share with you. I'd also be glad to learn more about your friend Sombra." As Raven made her way to inside alongside Sombra, Hogo-sha looked down both passages of the hallway. Was this dark in this corridor previously... he could have sworn that it wasn't, but then again he'd had his nose to the floor until a moment ago.

Hearing Sombra's bedgrudging admission that he found something was good enough for Hogo-sha. The wolf's tail began to wag behind him at the words of praise, some instincts never fade it seems. "I can assure you, friend." The wolf took another deep breath and sniffed a few times at the doorway, "If there's is any notable magical disturbance than this is the room it shall be in he--." And then a book soared off a shelf and collided with Blueblood's Muzzle. Hogo-sha's hackles rose and he let out a deep growl towards the bookshelf, the yokai having a dramatic staredown with the ominous bit of furniture/storage space. When No other books came out to meet the group he turned around  to face blueblood, "Are you alright?" He asked as he circled once around the stallion. He seemed to be alright, save for the bloody nose and even that wasn't terribly bad.
 

Before Raven and Sombra came to inspect, Hogo-sha leaned in and took a curious whiff of the book. He flinched and had to back up, bringing his paws to his muzzle and fighting the urge to retch. His tone was tense and hurried, "It... Definitely has magic around it." It felt to the wolf as if he'd walked into a perfume store. For a nose so sensitive and in tune with magical auras it was like a massive sensory overload that made his stomach turn from the shock. 

The floating head beside the body calmly nodded as Ossia went on to describe the world that their adversary had come from. Sounded pretty standard. The usual dark future, something gone wrong, attempted dimensional invasion. Hardly anything She'd not heard of in the newspapers since she'd awoken. Despite Lus' earlier bluster she knew that she wasn't strong enough to take on an alicorn level threat on her own so she'd let the villainess set her sights on The charging cyborg.  Those energy discs were impressive a sight, one doesn't often get to watch a villain on par with a natural disaster fight. 

With remarkable speed hte enforce dodged the energy discs earning an impressed whistle from the Hexxer, "Huh... seems she's getting faster. I guess I'll just have to get up close and try and keep her in place while you try and take her down. I'd tell you not to hold back, but I know you won't already." The body and head charged forward as shadowy tendrils emergers at her hooves. Each one striking swiftly and wildly at the cyborg, the myriad shadows being used to keep her busy while the body thrust forward with her umbrella in an attempt to pierce at a weakspot in that chassis.

Hogo-sha gave a solemn nod to Sombra as he made his way inside. The wolf clearing his sinuses with the kerchief until both Blueblood and Raven made their way around the corner: He'd hate to look so uncouth around his new companions. His pride would never allow such a thing. With a wrinkle of his muzzle the kerchief was stowed away in his coat pocket, after being swiftly folded into a neat square. The jacket was firmly secured on his back by some harmless static cling. 

Raven's approach made him smile and puff himself up a bit to try and look as regal as he could, the stalwart princely look his was going for lessened a bit by  a reflexive sniffle at the dust still in the area. "Most of my kind are able to change our form, In my experience it's sort of like learning to walk." He rolled his shoulders as he got comfortable out of his disguise, "At first it took concentration but eventually it is as easy as thinking about it! It's easier for some than others. As I'm sure I've demonstrated we can be jostled out of them by a strong enough  disturbance... in my case a dust bunny attempting to make a burrow out of my muzzle. I can do others forms but the diamond dog shape is the easiest for me to maintain normally." He cleared his throat and bowed his head, "A pleasure to meet you as this face, Miss Raven."

Blueblood had most assuredly been worn out by the introductions. This hadn't been the first time his disguise had been blown around the prince(ss), "I'll be happy to answer any further inquiries once we finish the investigation." Hogo-sha took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled some wisp of plasma that soon floated up beside him, functioning as a lantern that lit up these darkened halls around him for a few feet. "Shall we continue before I end up opening up another door with an overly loud sternutation?"

Fiver was the last off the train, at first trying to figure out the why. Did someone on this train not want any of them to get to the empire? Was someone here more important than they were letting on? Noone in their cabin seemed to be hiding anything while they were getting to know each other. She looked closely at the damaged coupling closer, trying to memorize how it looked before she grabbed her luggage and jumped out into the frigid winds. 

Having her suitcase in hoof made her stumble in the air, her balance offsuit by the heavy case. She tossed it to the side of the tracks as the car sped backwards down the tracks. It landed beside Zelda's in a snowbank that was only growing with the increasing amount of snow coming down. Fiver rushed over to the rest of the group as the winds continued to howl. While they were loud, at least they weren't so booming as to prevent anyone from talking. 

One didn't get into the Wonderbolt academy by panicking, Fiver certainly didn't. In times of emergency like this she needed to keep a cool head as best as she could. IN this frigid wind, no problem at all... hopefully. She could already feel her teeth started to chatter. "I-is everyone okay? Nopony-- or griffin- injured?"

"Hmm... shortening my tail? I've never tried that before." He thought a moment, "I'll give it a try when we reach. Just give me a reminder in case we end up getting chased by something big and menacing." The wolf laughed a bit as the pair strolled through the rainforest. While, Hogo-sha's  interest had always lain in his kind's magic and martial skills, he coudl always take a moment to appreciate an exotic locale such as the basin.  Some of these plants were particularly interesting to watch in passing. One of them seemed ot just snatch a big dragonfly out of the air. 

"I hope we don't end up meeting a bigger version of one of those." He shuddered at the thought, "In regards to shapeshifting. There are many who are better than me, my family is friends with a fox who may as well be one those O&O Mimics." Somewhere in Long guo, a chef sneezes out of the blue and panics as she has to start over on the dish she was working on. Back in the basin, Hogo-sha's ears twitched in sync with pocket's own. Hogo-sha lowered himself a bit and raised his head to sniff curiously at the air, hoping to find some hint in the air what might be approaching. Glowing eyes flicked to pocket as he mulled over the scent approaching, "Should we take cover?"

Kaminari is approved!

Hogo-Sha smiled at Raven and nodded, "I shall do my best, Miss Raven." Since he was being entrusted to lead the way for the time being, Hogo-sha strode up ahead and tipped his head back. He took a deep breath of the air around him, holding his eyes closed as he tried to sort through the myriad scents in his head. He turned his head and took a few more steps forward, sniffing rapidly until his ears perked up! "Ah! I think I've found something." The canine kneeled down and smiled as he noted a more pleasant magical scent wafting on the aether a good distance down the hall, "It's shifting a bit... but mostly stable from what I can tell." 

Soft footsteps echoed down the spacious hallway along with the faint sound of the group's magic bloodhound rapid sniffing. He wasn't sure how it felt for the rest of the group :in addition to the thick sense of dread hanging over the hall, Hogo-sha could also say it smelled... not so much foul, but stagnant. If all haunted or cursed areas gave off this strange magical scent, Hogo-sha could certainly say he'd be able to sniff out another one: He'd be in no hurry to, but still it was possible.

Ears swiveled as he listened to the rest of party converse amongst each other. This visiting canine only paused in his search to itch his muzzle, odd scents magical or otherwise always bothered him. One fairly long walk later, Hogo-sha could tell he was getting close. He picked up the pace a bit and brought his nose to the floor as some old instincts took over. He went around the corner ahead of the group as he was sure he was coming up to the chamber but froze as he felt something get yanked up his muzzle. This must have been a section of the castle the cleaning crew had slacked off on as some dust bunny soon found itself pulled into the regal pup's muzzle. 

The shock left Hogo-sha gasping in deep gasps as reflexes took over,  "GAH! AHH! AAH!" He felt himself tensing up and through his tearing eyes he could make out the outline of a large door. Before he could say anything about finding the room he'd been sniffing out something needed to be taken care of.

"HAAAAHH-GSHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

A loud sneeze echoed through the hallways and when Hogo-sha opened his eyes, he noticed the door was now open. He blinked his eyes and laughed awkwardly as he brushed a bit of moisture from his eye, "Sorry, Everyone. Had a rough encounter with some dust but... I found the spot!" He blinked once the rest of the group came around the corner, his tail wagging ever so slightly, failing to realize he was now on all fours and in his true form. The glowing eyes, flowing tail and little sparks of harmless lightning popping across his fur and about the same size on all fours as large stallion.  "We didn't lose anyone, did we?" He asked rather casually as he took his kerchief in his paw and held it to his nose, "Something wrong?"

Once the luggage issue was well and sorted out, Fiver let out a sigh of relief. It was still a shaky sigh, however given this very unusual situation. Fiver smiled at atLoose as she got back up, "Somehow I think we've all got a bit of bad luck tonight. Let's hope it doesn't last." She stretched her wings a moment, "... and Sorry about the luggage I think the shaking knocked mine loose. I don't think it's all mine." Now that she had her bag, Fiver may as well tote it with her on the way to the front of car.

FIver's jaw dropped as she say the outside. "Um... Yeah... it uh did." The flyer took a deep breath and took note of the speed of the train. They were definitely slowing down. Cold winds were howling around the cabin. Visibility was low, so it was nearly impossible for her to tell just how far away their train had gotten from them. "Uhh... Well... if we've been detached from the train then... hangon. We're... goin backwards..." Wheels started clicking in her head and the Color drained from her face a moment. They must be on a incline, "Does anyone know if we were going up a hill... and how far we got? If we go backwards and keep gaining speed we might need to jump off this car."

"King Sombra? ... -that- king sombra? The stallion who ruled an empire with dark magic? You're... -that- sombra?" He said his tone betraying his disbelief, "... Well um. You're looking quite well for your age." He cracked a slightly awkward smile and dipped his head, "If you are who you claim than, well I suppose it is a pleasure to meet such a notable historical figure." This was turning into quite the strange day. Haunted Castles and shadowy stallions claiming to be ancient kings? Equestria was truly a fascinating land. No wonder Father had wanted to visit for so long.

Bringing his attention back to Raven, Hogo-sha sniffed a few times at the air and had to stifle his urge to retch. He'd caught a whiff of that sour, rotting smell that Sombra had alluded to earlier.  "Well the rankness of whatever curse has befallen this castle is definitely an obscuring presence. I might be able to sniff out where this magic is weakest... or at least in the general direction of where it is weakest." The foreign dog looked between the group, his own knowledge of equestrian magic rather limited. 

"Well... To be honest, I'm not that skilled at Shapeshifting. Seeing as Diamong dogs are still... well, canine they seemed easier to keep the shape of for a while. I have a pony form I've used in the past but It's felt so awkward to move around in." The wolf looked to his paws as they trudged along through the grass, pondeirng pockets words about equestria being safer. Yokai poachers and their contacts probably didn't come so far out to the west... so maybe he could try and relax like this once in a while. "You raise  a good point about your country, it often seems one of the most kind empires in the world. Especially with that friendship school."

Pocket's explanation of his 'curse' was an amusing one. He'd heard things like that with some yokai as well, "Hmm... I had to really train myself to use some of skills I have. Some Of us Yokai seem to have similar... 'cantrips' you called them? I think my father has one that acts up whenever he sneezes. He produces large amounts of mist and can even exhale it and make illusions or alter someone's perception." The wolf's ears flattened, "I seem to mostly just make loud noise and fierce winds.... well , also lightning. I can make that. I do have a reflexive shapeshift spell for situations when the diamond Dog look won't work."  As Hogo-sha walked behind a tree he came out as a stallion dressed in similar garb as his diamond dog form and with the same color scheme...

 

His gait was a bit stilted and awkward, Having slowed down somewhat before shifting back to his wolf form with a sigh. "So hard to get used to." He muttered before looking eagerly at the map, "I'd love to meet your mate someday, She sounds very kind and knowledgeable!" 

As the two went along, like Pocket had predicted: the flora began to show changes... and not far off they could see the outline of a water's edge. Hogo-sha rubbed a paw to his nose as the smell of spores and exitic vistas got to him. "Seems we are making good time!"

"A pleasure to meet you, Raven and ... Sombra, was it?" The  seemed to be in thought a moment, "That name sounds  so familiar. but either way if you are sensitive to the ebb and flow of magic perhaps I can help with that. I may not be a pony but I can certainly sniff out odd magical manifestations if they pop up. Though this place feels a bit saturated in mystical energies." Hogo-sha eagerly shook the offered hoof, he was careful not to do it too hard or too soft for this new aquaintance. "Don't worry about inexperience in social matters... for most of my life I only had my family for company until I set out on my own... It's still can be a bit overwhelming some days."

Once the hoof was freed from his grasp he dipped his head, "I am eager to assist however I can, Miss Raven."

At Blueblood's mention of curses, Hogo-sha's ears perked up. "I know some about curses, but only a certain type and... a yokai's curse could be different from an Equestrian based curse. Most of ours are based on  broken pacts and can affect the one who made it the same as the one they made a pact with. Sadly,  I can't say I'm the most knowledgeable enchanted either... this sword was made by a friend for me and only she knew how to place her enchantment on it..." He grinned as Blueblood proposed starting up, "I'm excited to see the quest begin!"

"I don't know much about them either to be honest. But, may as well look into it. Not gonna learn anything sitting around on my bu-UGGH!" Soon the violent shaking of the cabin began. Fiver was caught off guard by a mile and fell on her side from the intensity. Taking a moment to get back up, Fiver rubbed her head as she surveyed the results of their cabin's surprising quake. "That... doesn't seem at all good." she said rather flatly, "Anypo-- er anyone hurt?"

Fiver didn't waste anytime to start helping with the luggage. She figured she'd start helping out with getting any heavier cases off of Loose cannon and Zelda. Seems some might have over packed with how heavy some of these were. Before this trip started, Fiver made sure to pack what she could, but not so much that she'd get a work out just lugging her things to and from the station... though maybe what was average for her might have been heavy for someone not athletically inclined. Fiver hoisted her own bag off Loose with an awkward smile one could hear in her voice, "You okay there?"

Hogo-sha nodded his head at Blueblood's response. It was good to have the approval of the prince. Being in this form was nice, but having to use digits and walking on two legs was very awkward. It also made casting any magic harder to do and if this menacing air was any hint, he'd need to make use of all his faculties sooner rather than later. Blueblood bringing up the existence of an expert on this kind of things put him more at ease. Maybe this expert would be welcoming of a yokai's input, "I shall be upfront about my nature with this expert. If he practices some odd magics then I wouldn't want to obscure any of my own magical nature from them."

As Blueblood and Hogo-sha drew closer to this expert, the diamond dog noticed that curious scent of dark magic from earlier growing stronger and stronger until they finally ran into a veru curious pair: A mare with an azure coat and a strapping stallion with a nice mane... that he swore he'd seen somewhere before. He could scour his mind later, there was evil that needed thwarting! 

The diamond Doog offered both the umbrum and the unicorn a formal bow, "Arashi Doro no Hogo-sha. My friends call me Hogo-sha... or Stormy." Straightening himself back up he would look between the two of them, "Are you the experts that, His Highness spoke of?"

"You are definitely not crazy." The diamond dog sniffed at the air a few times, "I can feel it in my bones. Something is -very- wrong here... Smells like dark magics. Heady and heavy on the ... aether, is it?" Hogo-sha was glad to have made a good enough impression on the prince to be trusted to tag along on this visit to the palace. He hadn't expected to run into such a thick aura of dread and unease in a place that some days seemed the very heart of happiness in this land. "I'm feeling genuinely uneasy..." He muttered to himself just under his breath, "Your Highness, I don't suppose you had any ominous dark artifacts shipped to the palace recently?"

While there was a hint of levity in the 'diamond dog's' tone, he was worried. Yokai, like ponies were very deeply tied to magic... though in his travels and studies Hogo-sha always heard that they could be especially vulnerable to dark magics. Whether it was a vulnerability to corruption or if it just meant that it was like garlic to a vampire, he wasn't sure. Frankly, he wasn't in a hurry to test it out. It was kind of far back on the to-do list. At the very back somewhere. With Blueblood around and his pride on the line however, this dog was not about to make himself look like a fraidy cat. Especially with the knowledge that the prince's personal 'cat' would never let him live such a thing down. 

"If things get too dangerous, would it be a bother if I dropped my disguise?"

The wolf pondered Pocket's words a moment, "Bakemono?... Well that is technically true. I prefer 'Okami', as does the rest in my family." Hogosha looked over to the stallion with a smile, " As for the disguise... Well, I usually stick to the diamond dog form so as not to stick out too much. That, and it's the only form I'm able to maintain consistently for long periods of time and not be knocked out of them." The wolf sniffled a moment as they grew closer to the verdant jungles, "... And I was raised to be careful around ponies, there are still some in Neighpon who'd love to take my hide for a coat." Like he'd ever let such a thing happen, Hogo-sha loved his coat and all the little arcs of harmless lightning it produced. 

"My father got to see first hand the rougher days between yokai and the Neighponese. He seems to have gotten past it mostly, but he raised the rest of us to be careful..." He heaved a small sigh, "... enough about my habits! I've yet to hear about the inspiration of those hearts that floated off your horn? Is that some sort of condition of ponies? Some sort of love curse?" 

As they drew closer the fauna around them seemed to change more and more. Rich shades of green, exotic leaf patterns, curious smells, unfamiliar bird calls. It was almost overwhelming! Hogo-sha wrinkled his nose at all the strong scents and levitated a handkerchief to his muzzle, "Hmmm... I think the map of the basin is in the back-left pocket of our bags, could you get it?"

Our new Neighponese Hero is approved!

After her drink was poured by Pathfinder, Rose offered the explorerer a smile and a nod of her head: her reserved way of saying 'Thank you!" She scoured her mind for a few seconds to dredge up the information, "... Well I've learned that The magic I create is a sort of field of destabilizing energy that take breaks down other forms of energy. I've been trying to learn other ways to apply it and the effects it can have. Some experimental for the most part, I've been hoping to create a spell that could be useful for mining operations." She took a sip of her drink... that was possibly the longest explanation she'd ever given.

Squall's speech was certainly a stirring one. More than Rose could ever say she'd feel comfortable saying, She could always appreciate the stallion's gumption in taking the lead of most situations. At first she was going to ask what "Non sufficit" meant but it seemed that Pathfinder was ready and able to better explain what Squall was getting at. Getting more perspectives in general was very useful in a variety of subjects. Now with the world opening up, perhaps they should aim for the truly exotic. She liked Pathfinder's suggestion of somepony from Acroneighos, but militant as that city was it was still very much a pony perspective...

"I think I have an idea that would be interesting to pursue if challenging after the beginning. Neighpon has an interesting history behind it and many aspects of it's culture might be unusual to us... but I as thinking that if we are looking for unique perspectives than maybe we should look into the Yokai. They have a strange way of living and seem to be fairly knowledgeable. I understand they have rocky histories with the ponies and kirin of Neighpon in many parts. It seems like an interesting opportunity... and if we need a lead, apparently a yokai whose lived long enough that he was around before the events of Nightmare moon is working on Applejack's farm for a while: he seems fairly talkative." Rose had been around for the Running of the leaves and was in the stands when this yokai revealed himself... it was startling but in the end the day seemed to end in good spirits.