A Fearful Sun (Closed/See OOC)

[PrinceoftheNight]

After a while, Darky finally decided what to pick. He went for a simpe, yet quite beautiful and charming flower. It's petal were white and had some black colors inside it. It was a moon flower. He smiled and walked with everypony else. It looked that Stiletto got the sun prize. He was disappointed that nopony got the double prize, but it was a free game, so it didn't mattered that much now. He smiled after seeing that she had picked a hat. It made sense why she wanted one. Walking in the sun all day was quite tiring and a bit annoying.

 

He then looked around for other things to do. There were several other games, but he didn't seemed that enthusiastic to go to them, plus, entertainment started in an hour. they didn't had that much time f he wanted to see Luna

 

He then turned to Glimmer as she spoke. "Oh... yeah. I'm not that used to them, honestly, but I can't think on enything better for Lu-" He stopped himself before he said that name. He blushed a bit and looked away. "For the pony I want it to give to..." he said, a bit embarrassed at that. "Sorry..." he turned around when he calmed down. "I sometimes can't control myself..." he said sighing. He then smiled to her. "But if you have a better suggestion, go ahead and tell me." he said smiling to her.

[Avery]

As Stiletto got her new prize, which was a sun symbol hat, she wore it on her head and claimed it to be a hot one. To which Avery turned to her and almost let out a laugh, only to subdue it so that he wouldn't get noticed. But that had failed with her questioning him, saying that she's going to need one if it's going to be sunny all day. Which he had to agree, even though he's naturally warm and comfortable around most heat sources, today was beating down on even him. He looked at Stiletto and let out a small chuckle.

 

"Well, I didn't really expect you to be all chipper like that, especially coming off with a joke like that. Heheh, still got me though." he said looking around at the games around. Though he did notice the flower that Dark picked out, he then looked at the others and noticed only Stiletto had got a different item. He chuckled to himself, thinking it was silly that everyone got flowers, but to him this flower was unusual, unique in its own way. He pondered about giving it to Stiletto, then again, she didn't seem to be much into flowers. He shrugged the idea out and went back to looking through the faire.

 

Though, he soon spots a game that catches his eye, saying quite surprised "They still have this game?!" he then jogs over to a classic game of knocking over bottles from the table. Though, everyone knows that these bottles are sturdier than the average bottle, sometimes not even being knocked down! Though, Avery clearly had a spark in his eye that he could knock it down, somehow remembering this game. He took a look at a nearby sign, to which it read:

"I can't speak, so this sign is here for the rules:

 

1: No magic; sorry unicorns, gotta play fair.

2: No climate advantages; means no supportive wind from pegasi.

3: Stay behind the white line in front of the counter.

 

Knock all of the bottles down to get a super prize!

Knock half down to get a regular prize!

3 balls for 1 bit"

 

"Wow, even has the same rules... huh, I guess even some things stay after a while." he says looking to the green Pegasus that was running this game, nothing was wrong with her in appearance, so it was a guess that it must've been some health condition for her not to speak. But behind her was the usual plushed prizes and accessories. The 'super' prizes were the large stuffed prizes in the back. Looking at the Pegasus again, her cutiemark was that of stitching so it could be thought that she made all these herself.

 

Avery turned to wave the others over "Hey! Let's try this one before we head over to that show!" he says before hearing his stomach growl, looking down with a bead of sweat dropping down his side. He nervously smiles and saying "Aha... and maybe something to eat after?"

[Zealot]

Glimmer beamed as she heard dark confess that it was for somepony else. Oooh, another pony with a crush, that was fun. She was happy to help if she could, even if it was just helping to select a gift. "That's okay," she reassured him with a kindly smile. "I don't know who you're giving it to. If they like flowers then, well, that's the right thing to get them," she advised, glancing around the prize tent. Indeed, there were a lot of things there but Glimmer couldn't really think of anything better. "I don't know, it's pretty and it should get their attention. I mean, it seems pretty rare right?" she asked with a slight shrug. "I'm sure Lu... Lulu? Lunmina? Luticia? Luminesca?" she asked, randomly guessing with a happy giggle. "Or umm, you know. You don't have to say if you don't want to," she admitted with a slight shrug.

 

Meanwhile Stiletto frowned slightly. What did he mean that he'd not expected her to be 'all chipper'? She could be happy and bubbly when she wanted to. Or did he think her all serious and no fun? She seemed a bit lost for words at that, shrugging and trying to say something, but failing. That was a bit of a blow, if he didn't think her particularly funny or happy. After all, she was, right? Well, to be fair everypony else's happiness was making her happy. That was how it worked after all, Glimmer was happy, Avery was happy and Dark was happy, so that meant she was happy, their emotions swirling around her and carrying her along. She had wondered once if she actually had any emotions of her own. She was sure she did, but there was always that doubt. 

 

Ahh well, it didn't matter, she followed Avery to the next game stand. It was a game she'd seen before of course, and no doubt it transcended time. Ever since there were balls and bottles most likely. She was pleased Avery remembered the game though, another whiff of the pony he'd once been past the cloud of uncertainty that surrounded him. "Sure," Stiletto enthused as he said he wanted a try. "Then we can... wait, didn't you just eat a cake?" she asked with a chuckle. "Oh dear... Your mother better not say I'm overfeeding you or something. I'll be pointing my hoof at you I will," she joked.

[PrinceoftheNight]

Darky blushed a bit more as Glimmer said that, and even more when she tried to guess the name. Oh dear, somepoy help! I'm dying! Darky sighed and shook his head t calm down. As soon as it faded, he turned to her. "Thanks. I would apreciate that. I.. can't control my self..:" he said as he sighed. He put the flowed on his bags, making sure it was safe and the apples didn't crushed it. After a moment of thinking, he decided to put it beneath his wing since it was less likely it happened something to it.

 

He then turned around and saw that they were heading towards another game. "Lets move on." He said to Glimmer before he trotted over to the other stand where Stiletto and Avery were. Hmmm.. throwing the ball and knock off the battles. Simple but hard most of the times. He then turned to Avery when he talked and chuckled a bit at his belly. "Here..." he said as he gave him an apple. "This will do for now."

 

Once he gave it to him, he turned to the pony and put a bit in the counter. "I will play first." He said smiling as he grabbed the balls and walked to the line behind the counter. He smiled and grabbed one with his hooves, put the flower in his bag and then stood up in his back hooves and used his wings to balance himself. Once he was ready, he folded them and let himself down, then threw it. The first one was a complete miss, flying over the bottles. He used the same technique for the second one and threw it again, hoping for the best.

[Avery]

Avery was glad to hear that they could play the game and possibly get something to eat afterwards, though hearing Stiletto's comment he quickly looked side to side and blinks, as if trying to not to bring that up. He chuckled nervously when she chuckled, though hearing her joking nature made him retort in a silly way. "What?! Oh come on, you can't do that! Who knows what she'll do if she finds out! ...Well, better make it a secret then haha!" he snickers, he always liked Stiletto's witty nature to make the best of a situation. Of course, she needed to, else she'd fall to negative emotions flowing around, but hearing that as just a natural response was... refreshing.

 

Though he was snapped out of his thought as Darkness gave him an apple for a snack. Avery blinks and smiles to the treat, nodding a thank you before starting to eat the apple. Nice and crunchy, just how he's always liked them. There were a lot of things here at the Faire that reminded him of something, which was surprising to say the least. He still has no memory to go back to, but events of those past events are still fresh as this apple. But he doesn't remember anything but the event in question, no pony was recognizable, not even the places he was at, just the objects that seemed to be common around Equestria he seemed to have a fair bit of memory of, which is to be expected.

 

Though he snapped out of his thought process when hearing a clank and a shuffle as Darky decided to play the game first! And his second shot was a successful hit! Though it only knocked two bottles down out of the six that were stacked there. One more good throw in the right place might just let him get a prize! Avery was just glad he got the chance to play this game again, it's one game he actually remembers. It's always been a game of the keen eye and knowing where to throw, and if thrown just right, it'll knock down all of the bottles in one go. Of course, there was weights in the bottles themselves so that it wouldn't be THAT easy. It was just an enjoyable game to play either alone or with friends.

 

Though as he trails down the lane of thoughts once more, he takes a look at his bitten apple, seeing it shine in the sunlight. He thinks about it for a moment, before splitting the apple in half and hovering the none eaten piece to Stiletto, asking "You want a bite? I know I can't be the only one that's hungry." Though as the games progressed and as each prize was given, Avery decided that he'd let everyone else try their turn at the game, as if he already knows what's going to happen if he tries right now.

[Zealot]

Glimmer smiled as Dark accepted her help. It seemed that Stiletto wasn't the only pony with a crush, Glimmer thought that exciting. Perhaps she could help in not just one love story, but two. "Great," she enthused with a bubbly giggle. "No need to be nervous. Or to control yourself, if it will be then it will be," she supposed with a nod. Still, it seemed that Stiletto and Avery were meandering off, and she doubted that Dark would want to talk more about his crush with her. After all, they might be around. She let the topic slide for now and deigned to follow the pegasus to the next game, which just so happened to be that age old bottle game. Glimmer had played before, and she'd never been much good at it. Still, she was happy to watch. 

 

Meanwhile, Stiletto was laughing happily at Avery's retort. Of course, she was going to say no such thing. It had made him laugh though, and that was something. Still, she stepped aside to let Dark have a throw, casting the actress a look as she approached as well with a happy smile on her face. Stiletto didn't know what Glimmer had talked about with Dark, but she was glad to see the two getting along. The first shot was a miss, the second a hit, she cheered her friend on with an enthusiastic chuckle, "Come on Darky, you can do this." Her usual technique was to bounce the ball on the table, though she did wonder at it's effectiveness. After all, it was usually a ping pong ball being used. That ball didn't look like one though. 

 

Still, her attention was diverted by Avery, asking if she wanted a bite of his apple. She wasn't really all that hungry, but she accepted nonetheless. "Sure," she replied, taking the offered half of the apple and sinking her teeth into the juicy fruit. "Thanks," she said with a nod. In fact, she was hungrier than she thought she was. The pegasus took a look at Glimmer behind her, wondering if the actress was hungry. She didn't think so though. 

[PrinceoftheNight]

After seeing that he managed to bring two bottles down, Darkt smiled. "Yeah! " He said happily, now it came the real chalenge, bringing down the last four. He only had one ball left, so it would be quite the challenge, still, a nicly placed throw would make him win! He smiled to Stilleto when she cheered to him, "Thanks." He said to her after she talked to him, then turned back to the game. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on where he was going to throw it. Right at the center of the 4 bottles. That had to be the best spot to thow it so he could bring most of them down.

 

Once he had focused, he gave a step back and stood up in his back hooves again, using the same technique he used before. He took another deep breath and soon he left himself fell down, then throwed the last ball. "Come on... come on..." he whispered to himself as he trhowed it. The ball flew as he expectd, going straight to the middle of the bottles, now he just hoped it was strong enough to at least bring one down.

[Avery]

As Dark threw his ball to hit the bottles, it struck them with more force than the previous and caused them to separate gently, but the structure of the bottles was more than toppled as three more bottles fell behind their stand leaving one standing. The mare running the stand stamps her hooves in delight as she waved to Dark. She then pointed to the sign which had the rules, mainly telling him about the one regular prize for knocking down half or more of the bottles down. She then waves her hoof to the regular prizes that she had hung around her stall, which consisted of cotton stuffed animals of all kinds. Be it birds, lions, tigers, bears, turtles, dragons, you name it! She had most of what anyone would want!

 

Avery in the meantime, smiled to Stiletto as she accepted his offer, looking back to Dark's game as he eats his piece of apple with an audible crisp crunch. He exclaimed about the victory, but with apple in his mouth all he could get out was a "MMM!" all the same he stamped his hoof on the ground. Though who would be next? He certainly doesn't want to yet, otherwise he might let the others down with what he'll do. But all in all it was a good time to be had! Though... he felt faint, his vision was darkening, but his eyes were wide open. He takes a sturdy breath and steadies himself, trying to force it away. For now, it seemed to do the trick as he didn't seem nearly as tired as he was before.

 

The Mare at the stand put the bottles back in place as she got Dark his prize, though she would point to the others and then to the sign again with a curious look, as if though trying to ask 'would anypony else like to play?' Avery was going to play, he found the stand in the first place, but he looked to Glimmer and Stiletto to see if they wanted to play a round.

[Zealot]

Stiletto and Glimmer both cheered in unison as Dark managed to knock down the other bottles and win himself a prize. The prize? A nice cuddly toy by the looks of things. "Nice going," Stiletto exclaimed with an enthusiastic chuckle, biting at her apple. "Whahch gunnuh pihck," she garbled through a mouthful of apple. Indeed, she frowned as she said that. Perhaps she ought to wait a little before speaking again. Unfortunately though, this time she didn't see Avery's little stumble, preoccupied as she was with Dark and the game.

 

Glimmer did notice the slight stumble though, happening to glance Avery's way and she frowned slightly. Stiletto had told her of Avery's little lapses in concentration, or whatever it was. She moved over to him and gave him a reassuring smile, not wanting to press the subject and embarrass him. Still, she did keep an eye on him for a few moments until it looked like he'd recovered. "Hey, want a go?" she asked with a chuckle. "I'm no good at these things, I can't throw all that well," she admitted with a shrug. 

 

Once she'd finished her apple, Stiletto raised a hoof at that, looking at the pair. "Mmm," she gulped. "I'd like a go, if that's okay with you guys," she said with a slight smile. If Avery said yes then Stiletto would step forward, taking one of the balls and waiting for the bottles to be set up once more. She put her bits on the table nodding once she had a clear shot and threw, the ball bouncing on the table then towards the bottles. She didn't know if the technique would work, but she hoped it might. It seemed to make sense to her. Heck, that might even not be allowed.

[PrinceoftheNight]

Darky smield after the bottles went down, but stomped a hoof after the last one didn't fell down. Well, 5 out of 6! It was worth it! "Great!" He said smiling after the game was over. "Well, I did better than I expected to be honest." he said shrugging a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof. "Hehe, anyways. Time for the prize!" he said smiling as he walked to a side of the counter to see what he would choose as a prize for managing to bring 5 down. He would rather have one of the big ones, but a regular sized one would do just fine. He didn't wanted Lona to have to carry a plushie that big back to the castle. He could carry it, but meh.

 

Once in there, he looked at the plushies. He looked at them and started thinking. What animal would Luna like? Well, she was the princess of the night, so perhaps a night related animal would do just fine. Hmmm....
After a moment of looking, he found something interesting. A really adorable spider plushie, similar to the one Luna played with at her first Nightmare Night after her return, but this one was way more adorable and soft. He took it and thought for a moment. Would she like that one? It was hard to tell. Hmmm... think think think... ​

[Avery]

Avery turns to Glimmer and smiles to her, chuckling slightly to her choice of not playing on this game. "Hey that's fine, no need to play if you don't want to." Hearing that Stiletto wanted to play made him nod in agreement "Sure! Go right ahead Stiletto, I was planning to go last anyway. Let's see what you got! Heheh" he chuckled as he watches Stiletto go up to shoot her first ball toward the bottles.

 

The ball bounced off the counter and toward the bottles, which would hit the top bottles, which took three bottles off! A grand first shot! Avery called out "Nice shot!" as he watches the rest of the game, which Stiletto had a good chance at getting a big prize if she played her cards right. ...or... threw the balls correctly. You know, that sounds weird when you say that out loud.

 

Avery decided that he'd take this moment to get to know Glimmer a bit more. He turns slightly to Glimmer to ask "Say, Glimmer, how many faires have you gone to? As far as my memory lets me remember, this is really the only one I've been to! I only remember this game because it was a common game in the... the... hm... well, I guess I don't remember where I saw it before, but it wasn't at a faire, I know that much. Heheh" he says lightly, still watching the game from here.

 

Meanwhile, the mare working at the game stand watched Dark as he tried to select his prize. She looked up at the prizes available to him, then back at him, wondering what he wanted to get. Of course, many ponies that came by here chose an adorable plush to give to someone else, be it for their children or a sweetheart. She began to wonder if he was going to do the same. Then again, he wasn't exactly asking the others about what they want, so he could be alone and just thinking about what to get. Though as Stiletto shot her first shot and knocked over the first three bottles, she claps her hooves together briefly in celebration of that score.

[Zealot]

Stiletto smiled as she managed to knock the top bottles off with relative ease, "Yes," she enthused, seeing her tactic work. That must be the right way to do it then, bounce on the table. Even if it lost momentum, one made up for it with accuracy. With only a few bottles to go, she was well in for a chance of getting a big prize. Maybe, maybe not. It didn't matter, she was just playing for fun really. Still, the pegasus took aim at the bottles once more and did the same as she had before, bouncing the table. It would probably arc over or do something unexpected. Perhaps it would knock one of the bottles, maybe not.

 

Meanwhile, Glimmer was happily observing Stiletto as she played. She cheered as Stiletto managed to knock down three bottles. Well, what did she expect. Stiletto was a pretty good shot with a crossbow. Being a reconnaissance flier probably helped, she used it all the time. Or so Glimmer thought. 

 

In actual fact, Stiletto had only ever fired her crossbow in training, and once by accident. She'd never actually been in any kind of fight outside of training. She'd been on plenty of missions, but she'd always been so good at her job that she'd not managed to actually have to fight anything. Avoid contact with the enemy, that she had needed to do on multiple occasions. Actually going against them, no, that wasn't her thing.

 

Never mind. Glimmer was distracted by Avery asking her about the number of fares she'd been to. The actress shrugged, "I dunno," she remarked. "I think I've been to plenty of things like this, every so often. Heck, I've even been to rodeos. Fillydelphia, where I come from, is a bit like that. A little rustic, but nowhere as rustic as somewhere like Appoloosa, or something. I remember we always used to have a faire like this, and there were other times when we celebrated Nightmare Night, Fall, a lot of things really." She chuckled at that, remembering the good times she'd had with her family there. 

[PrinceoftheNight]

After a moment of thinking, he decided for the cute spider plushie. He knew Luna would like it, since it was the same one she used her first Nightmare Night in ponyville. Well, it was the same model. This one was as blue as her, and it was just a cutie. It would be hard to resist to it's adorableness, not even he. He giggled a bit and put the little plushie on his mane, giggling a bit more. It looked silly but cute on him like that. He then walked with the others.

 

"Look what I got." he said giggling as he looked up to the plushie on his mane. He flapped his wings happily and smiled brightly. That plushie made his day somehow. Surly it was because he was going to give it to Luna, most likely. He then turned around to see Stiletto play, cheering her up so she could get the big prize and not just a regular sized one like his, not that he complained though

[Avery]

Sadly, the arced throw of Stiletto's next shot barely went over the top of the bottles. Though the ball bounced on one of the bricks keeping the tent in place and bounced up and onto the bottles, somehow... staying on the middle one. Seeing this, Avery tilts his head, slightly surprised that it happened. "Hey, that was a neat trick, nice Stiletto!" He smiled as he watches the last ball be thrown.

 

Though he looked over to Dark as he walks over with a little spider plush on his head. Avery looks at it and blinks, pointing at it "Hey, looks like you got a spider on ya heheh. Better swat it away before it bites you!" He chuckles to himself, knowing it was a plush that he had won. Though, who dislikes a little fun in jokes? Even if it was minor.

 

Avery looks back over to Glimmer as she talked about her previous ventures through faires like these. Though he tilts his head in curiosity at the word "Rodeo", never hearing a phrase like it before. He then says "Well, they all sound like fun! But, if I may ask, what in the world's a 'rodeo'? I haven't heard of those before, are they some kind of faire like this? Or is it something else?" he asks with honest curiosity. He was getting more and more intrigued about learning whatever there was out there, as he's barely seen anything outside of Ponyville here.

 

Meanwhile, the mare running the game saw Stiletto's second shot after giving Dark his prize. She circled around the stand where the bottles were, confused as to how the ball stayed put on the middle one. Though, she pokes it off so that it wasn't a distraction for the next shot. She gives a cheery smile however, as if saying 'that was a very cool throw'

[Zealot]

Stiletto turned as she was distracted by Dark and accidentally threw the ball. It bounced wide, pinging off a tent pole as everyone saw and then balancing on the middle bottle. The pegasus was surprised that such a thing had happened. What were the odds? Very low, that was for sure. She coughed, staring at the shot for a few moments then blinked. "Yeah," she said, still sounding a little shocked. "I meant to do that... totally what I was gonna do. Uh huh," she glanced suspiciously around and smiled at the attendant. "Guess the Steelheads managed to teach me something after all," she mumbled. 

 

With that, the pegasus took aim for her final shot, waiting for the mare to push the other ball off the bottle and to get away before she threw. Wouldn't want it to go into the poor mare's eye or something now. No, that would be terrible, she shook off the thought. The pegasus took aim and decided to opt for a different tactic, throwing the ball straight into the middle of the stack this time, intending to at least knock the bottle she had winged earlier. "Oh, you're goin' down bottles," she cheered as she threw.

 

Meanwhile, Glimmer shuddered as she saw the plush spider. Oh dear, a spider. Why did it have to be a spider? Anything but a spider, absolutely anything. All the legs, the choppy pincers. Ugh... The poor mare wasn't fond of insects. Granted, a spider isn't an insect. She hated them too. A plush wasn't so bad, but still, she didn't overly like Dark's selection. Still, she wasn't running for the hills because of it. Perhaps the reminder of the fact that spiders existed was enough to make her a little uneasy. "A... a rodeo?" she asked, when Dark had finished. "You've never heard of a rodeo? Oh... yeah..." she trailed off, forgetting Avery's lapsing memory. "Well, it's a show. Earth ponies are fond of them and since, well, my parents were all earth ponies so I usually got dragged to them. Fun though. There were loads of events and games held there. It's sort of like a show really. There's rope lassoing, bull fighting, rodeo tricks. Yeah..." she said with a chuckle. "I can't really describe it. You'd have to see one to really know what it was."

[PrinceoftheNight]

Darky chuckled a bit at Avery's comment. "Really?" he said smilinga  bit as he looked up. "Oh, don't worry. He is trained." he said smiling as he turned aorund and saw the shot Stiletto made. Well, that was quite the interestig and amazing shot! "Wow, good one!" he said smiling to Stilleto. How did she managed to do it? He didn't knew, but it was amazing! "Come on, I know you can win!" He said smiling before turning around.

 

He noticed taht Glimmer was a bit... distant? Perhaps it had something to do with his plushie. He understood, since a lot of ponies disliked spiders, but this was just so cute! He chuckled a bit and when she was turning around, then flew above her and silently laid the plushie in her head, just as a small innocent prank to her, and whit that he would know if she was indeed afraid of them or not, still a risky move.

 

He flew down silently beside Avery and smiled to him before turning to Stiletto making her final shot, bu also looking at Glimmer every now and then to see if she noticed the plushie at some point. He heard what they were talking about but decided not to add anything to the conversation, since he had never felt like going to one. Perhaps this year he would go to one with them.

[Avery]

The shot that Stiletto had made was a great one, as her ball shot toward the bottles and knocked down two of the remaining bottles! The last one being the one on the right, as it stood there gathering sunlight. However, that ball was more persistent than it seems, as it bounces off one of the signs in the back that labels what prizes there were and aims right at the other bottle. It bounces off and lands silently beside the table, the bottle itself topples to and fro for a moment before staying still. So close! Yet so far.

 

However the mare running the stand kept notice of the way Stiletto was using her shots, so while nobody was looking knocked the other bottle down. She claps with her hooves and points to the big prizes. Though when Stiletto begins to choose, the mare tries to get her attention, trying to convey that her shots were cool enough to let her get a big prize. Afterwords, she rubs the back of her head with a small blush. Might be a sucker for amazing shows like that.

 

Avery in the meantime listened to Glimmer as she tried her best to explain what a rodeo was. It did seem interesting, a show that most Earth ponies enjoy. It included rope lassoing, bull fighting, rodeo tricks... but none of that even clicked with him besides bull fighting which he thought was just a crowd pleaser of bulls trying to head butt eachother over and over. Though he nods his head, hoof to his chin saying "I'll have to give it a watch when I have the chance to, it sounds very interesting!" he smiles.

 

Though he saw that Stiletto had gotten a big prize, which he grins and cheers "Alright Stiletto! Way to go! So, my turn right?" he asks as the mare running the stand nodded and hurried to set up the bottles once more. Avery walked over to the counter and placed a single bit to get his set of balls for a shot. Though he only picks up one with his magic "Keep the others over there, I only need this one." The mare was intrigued at this choice and took the other balls away. Avery stepped back and lined his body up with the bottles.

 

Though as he did he threw the ball into the air, and started to juggle it, bouncing the ball with his elbows and his head as if he was testing how heavy it was. He started to get into it, as he bounced around himself, preforming some tricks as he bounced the ball on his body. The mare running the stand raised a brow, wondering what he was doing. Though after a few moments, he bounced back into place and knocked the ball high into the air. He then said "Sorry, just needed to know how good it was."

 

The ball fell down from the sky and as it did, Avery lined up his hoof with where the ball was going to be and shot it with a great force toward the bottles, right smack dab in the middle of them and causing them all to scatter and fall to the ground. The ball itself knocked against the metal pole in the back and bounced back to Avery who bounced it upwards and started to juggle it once more before setting it back on the counter.  He grins to the mare as she was left in awe about the scene. She shook her head and points to the large prizes.

 

Avery decided to take a sun bird as he set it on his back as if it was perched there. He trots happily back over to the group to show off his prize "Look at this! Never really seen a bird like this before, it's really neat." Of course, this bird was mainly for the holiday, as it had sun symbols on its belly and wings. That didn't stop Avery from thinking it was interesting. He then asks with a very happy tone "Well, where to next? This is really exciting" he certainly seems really happy, almost like he hasn't had this much fun in ages.

[Zealot]

Stiletto gawked once again at her shot. Just how she was getting it to bounce like that was unknown to her. Perhaps something was screwing with the ball, perhaps not. She assumed that it was just luck, or unconscious skill. "Yeah," she claimed with a chuckle. "Totally meant to do that one too," she enthused, shaking her head. "Ahh dear, what is going on with the ball though. Seriously?" she asked, looking away for a moment, giving the pony time to knock over the last bottle. "Hmm?" she asked, looking at Dark and then Avery. Had he just flown over Glimmer? Hmph.

 

She turned back and smiled as she saw all the bottles knocked over. "Damm. I guess I really know how to swing them," she enthused with a chuckle. Quite, she'd managed to knock most of those bottles over by chance. Well, it was an impressive display nonetheless, and Stiletto headed over to collect a prize for herself. She smiled at the stall pony as she went by, then looked at the plushies. Indeed, what to get?

 

Glimmer nodded as Avery indicated his desire to see a rodeo sometime. Indeed, she thought he might like that. It would be a new experience for him, but at the moment so was everything else. "Yeah, if you can. I remember they were enjoyable... Though I sort of felt a bit isolated, I was pretty much the only unicorn there. I knew I was welcome though, it's fine." She didn't notice Dark fly up and put a plushie on her head of course, she moved back when Avery indicated to do so and the spider fell to the floor. "Oh, gees," Glimmer said and jumped slightly at it's sudden appearance. "Umm, Dark, you dropped this," she said, motioning to the spider.

 

With that though both mares looked up and saw Avery destroy the bottles. Stiletto raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes. "Show off," she teased, going back to looking at the prizes. Eventually she selected a large bear from the selection. "Ahh, this will do. I could use something to cuddle at night I guess," she said with a shrug, putting the bear on her saddlebag. "Thanks by the way. Oh didn't catch your name," she queried the stall owner.

 

The actress looks down at Avery, inspecting the sun bird. "Is that a phoenix?" she asked. "I heard Princess Celestia has one of them. Cool. Umm, next?" Glimmer asked, looking around. "Well... we could look around a bit. I think the entertainment was gonna start soon though."

[PrinceoftheNight]

Darky chuckled a bit as his little prank had a small effect on Glimmer. "Oh, my bad." he said smiling as he walked over to the plushie and picked it up, then used his wings to clean the dust out of it. It was as good as new after he did so. He smiled to it and put it back in his head with the flower he got earlier in the other game. The spider was it's guard. He then turned to the others when Avery started flying up. It was his turn at the bottles.

 

He looked at how he lounched the ball and... wow! He got them all in one shot! That was rather amazing! He chuckled a bit more as stilleto called him a show off. He felt the same about him. "Yes, that is a phenix." Darky said to Stilleto after Avery showed them his prize. "And yes, Celestia has one. Philomena I think it is her name. I usually see her flying around during the day." he explained. "Is is somwhat rare to see one, well at least seeing another one but her." He then said smiling.

 

He then turhed to Glimmer as she spoke again. "Sure, we can have a small walk before going to see the entretainment." he said with a small smile to them.

[Avery]

Avery chuckled at Stiletto's mention of being a show off, though he didn't mean to, it just really... came naturally to him. Though hearing her comment about getting the large bear, he stopped for just a moment feeling a bit sad, though he quickly shook it off, looking around a bit confused. That was odd. But getting back to Glimmer and the others, they were saying that the bird he got was supposed to be some kind of phoenix. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the bird again, though turning his head back around hearing that Princess Celestia had a Phoenix as well.

 

"What's that? Mother has a Phoenix?" he said with curiosity shining in his eyes "I didn't know that... I'll have to ask her about it when I go see her later. I've heard legends about phoenixes, but never actually got to meet one" he said tilting his head. though hearing about what Dark was saying about where to go to next, he nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Take a break from games and have a walk around, see what else there is. Yeah."

 

Though with Stiletto and the stall owner, the poor mute mare blinks several times, looking around as if to find something to show her name with. After a few seconds, she brightens up and reaches down below the counter and pulls out supplies, most likely the ones she uses to make the plush toys she's giving out as prizes. She takes a hoof full of cotton stuffing and places it on the counter, then digging through the supplies again before bringing out a spool of thread and putting it next to the small pile of cotton. She then points to the cotton, then to the spool of thread, then to herself with a smile.

 

Avery noticed Stiletto talking to the stall owner and trots over to hear what was going on. Though, halfway to the stall itself, he slows down and spreads his legs out to balance himself. Lowering his head with a grunt of what seemed to be pain, soon kneeling on the ground. "Ugh... w-what's going..." his breathing grew to breathless pants, as if he was just about to faint.

 

The stall owner saw this and points to Avery, soon, coming out of the stall itself and over to him seeing what's going on. What happened? He was just full of energy a minute ago, now he's on the ground breathless! Though not exactly close to him, she still looked at Avery wondering what in the world was going on.

 

After a few moments though, he started coughing violently. "OW... Ow, that hurts.. OW." But as he coughed, black smoke also emerged from his coughs. And after a couple more, he fell over, hardly able to breathe properly as a cloud of black smoke hovered over the group. However, it then began to swirl and dive onto an open spot within the alley.

 

The ponies around were wondering what was going on with the black smoke, and the stall owner retreated back to her stall and closed the curtain. However, that black smoke began to take shape of a pony. And it... looked almost exactly like Avery, only with bat like wings and cat like pupils with silver eyes, a very dark grey coat with pitch black hair. It took a moment to stretch, as if just getting up from slumber, baring its sharp teeth which it snarled with after a moment. This being's aura was very intimidating, almost like it was fear itself. Could this be what was in Avery before? It's pure darkness...

 

Avery was barely able to get up, only able to sit up to even look at the doppelganger. The doppelganger itself looked back to Avery and grins, speaking in a very low tone "Oh... forgive me for my intrusion. But staying would've been deadly to my health." it looked to the others slowly, still grinning until catching his sight onto Stiletto, in which he frowned and sighed. "But I shouldn't remain long, after all... I lack the proper tools." the doppleganger crouched down with wings spread "Good luck with your predicament, you may need it " it then took off into the air, up and out of sight into the sky. Never to be seen again today.

 

Avery tries to stand up but to no avail, trying to say something but being too out of breath to even do THAT. The stall owner peeked out, shaking her poor hooves trying to see what happened. The ponies hovered around before realizing that the threat of the problem was gone, but that didn't stop them from keeping their eyes on the sky in case it somehow came back. Avery shook his head, before finally saying "...What... the hell... was that...?"

[Zealot]

Stiletto frowned slightly at the stall owner as the mare seemed to shuffle for some object or another. When she retrieved the two items Stiletto was still puzzled as she indicated the cotton and then the spool. "Uhh, Cotton Thread?" she asks. "Cotton Spool?" she asked with a bit of a smile. "Your name is Cotton Thread, nice to meet you. Are you uhh," she trails off, noticing that the mare may well be mute. Indeed, she'd not been told that directly but... well... why else would you get out two random objects and try and tell another pony what your name was through that. "You know, mute?" she asked again, trying not to be too harsh about it. "Ahh, sorry. I don't want to pry or anything. It's just, well... can I?" she breaks off, her hoof extending out towards the mare. Of course, she intended to touch hooves and use her empathy to communicate with the mare. She'd never met a mute before, and she wondered if she could use her empathy to some level of communication. She'd done it once or twice, used emotions and thoughts to translate into a kind of mental telepathy. Perhaps she could use it again. She wouldn't have the chance to right now though.

 

Glimmer meanwhile nods at that, agreeing with Dark. A small walk would be nice, seeing what the festival had to offer. Nobody could charge her for looking after all. "Yeah, let's do it," she enthused with a happy smile. Her slight start was behind her, though she did think the spider looked a little funny on Dark's head like that. She chuckled slightly. "I've never seen a phoenix, but..." she breaks off, her eyes becoming wide as she sensed something wasn't right. 

 

Indeed, when Avery seemed to collapse to the floor the actress turned back to him, looking him over with bewilderment. She had no clue what was going on. 

 

The pegasus turned immediately as the mare pointed, forgetting the use of her empathy for the moment. "What the?" she asked, feeling a little nervous. Was he having some sort of attack? Everything felt wrong for a few moments, dark and oppressive. She shied away from him, her wings flaring in distress. "Oh..." she swore violently. "Get back, I don't know what's going on, but it's nothing good," she shouted, sounding genuinely afraid. Indeed, everything was fear right then, and the poor empath was simply too taken by it to do anything. She reached for her crossbow, but it was absent. Instead she staggered back as the figure emerged. 

 

In contrast, Glimmer narrowed her eyes and stood her ground defiantly. She seemed a little different in that moment as the creature spoke. It was hard to really describe, the sudden threat had sparked something in her. Her stance was the stance of a pony who was ready for battle, not one of a helpless actress.

 

Still, the creature was gone as quick as it had appeared. Poor Stiletto had backed off and was now hiding under the table of the mute pony's stall. She was stricken with fear and panic, it was all she could do. Hide. 

 

Glimmer blinked, waiting for a few moments as she watched the creature disappear into the sky. Then she seemed to snap out of whatever had taken over her and she rushed to Avery's side. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? What..." she shook her head. "I don't know. Dark, can you help him up?" she asked, turning to wherever the stallion had gone to.

[PrinceoftheNight]

Darky smiled to Glimmer as she started to talk and agreed with him. "Yeah. Walking will help us calm down and have a nice moment to see what else should we do after entr-" Darky then added, then heard Avery... cough. He turned to him and saw that he soon stumbled to the floor. "H-hey? You alright?" Darky asked Avery as he took a step towards him. He then saw that he stood up again. "Oh, thanks Luna you a-" He said, then stopped again as he saw that he was having a hard time to breath, then coughed... some black clouds? Well, that was... odd... to say the least. He saw as the mare running the stand went to close her shop, most likely on fear, then turned to where the smoke was going. Wait... was it taking the form of a pony? It looked like it.

 

Darky frowned a bit after it finished. It looked... like Avery. He was about to say something when the copy started talking. The way he looked and talked... it was clearly evil. "H-hey! Wait!" Darky said after the evil copy stopped talking and flew way. He growled something and turned to Glimmer as she called him to help Avery. "S-sure!" he said as he ran towards Avery to help him stand up. "I... I don't know. It looked like some sort of Evil version of you..." He sort of explained to Avery. "Try... to picture you with the same colors as me, but darker... and with bat wings..." he added, trying to describe his appearance the best he could.

 

After a moment he looked around. Who was missing? Oh, stiletto. He looked around for her and then saw she was hiding below a table. He ran to her. "Hey, you alright?" he asked as he stretched his hoof to help her get out of the table. "It is safe now, come on." he said to her. Of course, he made sure that Avery could stay up first, after what he went trough...

[Avery]

Cotton, the mare running the stall, gently looks out of the stall after opening it up fully, seeing the dark creature gone. She looks over to the group, where Avery was having a hard time getting up. She looked to the group of friends for a moment, before deciding to help out too. But she nearly trips on something! What was that? Turning around, she sees that Stiletto had taking shelter under her stall. Cotton was about to tap her shoulder, but she hesitated, seeing how much she was shaking.

 

Meanwhile, Avery was trying to get up for himself. Answering Glimmer's worries with "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... out of breath." He was helped up by Dark, who was trying to explain what the creature looked like, to which he replies "I know that... he was looking right at me... only question is, what was he doing in me..? Doubt anypony will know." he took a deep breath to calm his breathing. It seemed that the doppelganger left no trace of where he went, he was just gone. Avery shook his head and looked around. Glimmer's staring off to wherever that freak went to, Dark was helping him, Stiletto... wait, where's she? "Hey... where's Stiletto? Is she alright?"

 

Avery took another look around, then noticing at the stall, that part of her tail was sticking out. She's... hiding? Avery then had a sudden thought come to his head, as he then slightly panicked, but quickly calmed himself down, remembering that she's easily moved by other's emotions too. He walked toward the stall, where Cotton was idly looking by, wondering what would happen. She didn't know how to help someone that was so stricken with fear. Though looking over, she sees that the plush animals that the others were given were on the ground, she looks back to them then the plush animals before picking them off the ground to hold for the others.

 

Even though Dark offered a hoof to help her out, Avery pushed it down shaking his head. He steps closer to the stall before dropping down to look underneath it. Seeing Stiletto afraid like this wasn't catering his mind any favors, but he tries to remind calm. He reaches a hoof to Stiletto, offering his aura which was purer than before "Hey, it's alright. Take a deep breath. Do you want to go home for a bit? Try and relax?" he says in a calming voice, trying to help Stiletto out of her forced fear induced state. Of course, he was just trying to help her out, he didn't really know what to say to actually calm her down, but this was what he can offer at least.

[Zealot]

Stiletto was still in a state of total shock. Being influenced by that much dark energy and fearful emotion wasn't just a shock, it had felt painful for her. It had been like being hit by a sheer wall of energy, and not the good kind. For the moment, she was stunned and cowered under the table. She was shaking and sniffling, trying to get a grip as every kind of horrible fearful thought coursed through her. It had been so sudden and overwhelming though, the poor girl was in a fit of terrified tears. Heck, the monster may be gone but for Stiletto, well, it wouldn't be vanquished that easily. 

 

Glimmer stayed back as the two stallions decided to go and see if Stiletto was okay. She didn't want to crowd the mare after all. No, instead she decided to stay back with Cotton, though Glimmer didn't know her name. She did look up in the sky to make sure the thing was gone, but then looked back smiling at the stall owner who was holding their plushies. "Did you want me to hold those?" she asked politely, smiling at the mare. Another thing to note was that, while the monster had only just gone, there was a slight note of calm in the air. The ponies who were still in shock wouldn't be starting to panic, instead they would feel safe and secure. A little odd, but that was probably for the best. None of the ponies would start to panic.

 

Meanwhile, the terrified pegasus shuddered at the sound of Dark's voice, then Avery's. The fear was still holding on to her, starting to slide away a bit however thanks to that strange calming effect. She felt a little better, but was still quite scared. Still, the auras that were close to her felt nice and tempting. "D... Dark? Avery?" she murmured fearfully, looking up at the sheet as a hoof poked through it. She stuttered something, sounding unsure and fearful. After a few moments of silence she gingerly took the hoof and allowed herself to be helped up and out from under the table. She still had tears in her eyes and she shook, unsteady on her hooves. "I..." she stammered. "I think I need a hug."

[PrinceoftheNight]

Darky nodded to Avery when he gestured him to stand back. Well, Stilleto wanted to be with him, so he gave a step back shortly afterwards. He wanted to help, but knew this two required time alone and saw how fragile Stiletto can be. He then heard what Stiletto said. A hug? He smiled a bit and used his wing to push Avery towards her gently. He knew he was the one that should do that, not him. Even though he wanted to do it also, it was not his duty to protect her in that moment, it was Avery's. "I will be with the others if you need me." He then said calmly to Avery before trotting to where Glimmer and the mare, who's name was apparently Cotton Thread, but the didn't knew that, juts caught a small glimpse of her name.

 

"Hey, you are... uhm... Cotton, right? Nice to meet you. Let me help you with that." he said with a small smile to her as he walked to where they were and started helping to collect the plushies from the floor. He found his little spider plushie and put it in his head again, then flew around, moving the plushies from one place to another, trying to put them how he remembered they were in the first place.

"It is rather calm right now." he said as he worked and looked around. Odd that just after a monster, sort of, just appeared, the ponies around were not that frightened. Still, they looked somewhat shocked by it. Well, it still had to be something rather normal to them, since Ponyville was usually attacked a lot.