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The Pavilion


Blueblood

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"Looks like we were right, Boneless Two. As usual." A tall, poncho-sporting stallion seemed to have popped up out of nowhere, standing at the very edge of the large tent, watching the others currently lounging underneath, who were staying cool, resting up, or chatting. Cheese Sandwich had gotten a feeling that something good was going on in this part of Equestria, and he was right. Bleachers, a big tent, and more than a few known faces? Some big event was going down here. By the looks of it, one phase was already complete. "I think we were a little late, though. We're getting rusty, I think." By the looks of it, Cheese had missed some sort of eating competition. Here and there, a few folks seemed to be struggling to hold their cookies - or whatever they'd been eating. Probably some sort of baked dessert, based off of the smell Cheese had caught on his way here. Poor fellas. The buzz of the contest was usually all that kept them from losing their lunch. Once it was over, all that remained was sheer willpower - In Cheese's opinion, it took lots of guts to take part in an eating contest. Sure, eating a lot was something he'd had more than a few experiences with, as a party planner, but this kind of eating made the pony a bit uncomfortable at times. Oh well - It wasn't like anyone was making him do it.  

Anywho - Big event! Cheese Sandwich had come all the way up from Las Pegasus, where he'd had the most difficult time trying to get a large group of tourists together into one big partying-machine. It wasn't that they didn't like partying - It was just insanely difficult keeping them together long enough to enjoy any festivities! To be fair, Las Pegasus was pretty flashy and distracting for newcomers. Even Cheese himself had been lost for a little while, trying to make sense of all the attractions and sights. Still, as usual, the party pony had gotten the job done. It had been costly in time, though - Cheese had only sensed the sporting event going down once he'd left the city. So maybe Cheese was a day or two late here. He was here, though! Sure, watching the events would be exciting and all, but he was really here for when everything ended, so that he could set up one giant, crazy celebration after all the awards had been given out. If one had already been planned, then he could make sure that it was as big, loud, and crazy as possible. Oh no, no pony here would be forgetting this event for a long time.

Of course, there was a bit of time before everything ended. Cheese could afford to enjoy himself and watch Iron Pony activities from the sidelines while he waited. As previously mentioned, though, it seemed like this particular event was over. That stank. Worse than old cheese, sour milk, or your grandma's musty basement. Cheese Sandwich didn't let it get him down too much. He could spring back from virtually anything, and this was no different. Instead, the pony decided upon checking out the competitors and other spectators. Maybe he could get a few words from them, just to get an idea of how things were going currently. Cheese lowered his cowboy hat some, so that the brim shaded his face a little more, taking careful steps through the mishmash of bodies. There were a few faces he recognized. The young dragon Smolder was pretty hard to mistake for anyone else around these parts. Cheese wasn't too surprised that she'd show up for an event like this. There was another pony that seemed to have the attention of many under the tent, a tall, dark mare that Cheese vaguely recognized. He couldn't quite remember the name, though, or who they were, exactly. Only that he'd seen the face before. She looked rather grumpy. . . Nothing a good joke (or prank) couldn't fix, of course! in fact, he was just about to go do just that -

 - A flash of pink caught Cheese's eye. The stallion blinked, tracking it. No mistake about it, Pinkie Pie was here too. Cheese smiled, pulling off his hat and letting his brown curly hair pop out. He couldn't keep his act up when another party pony was around. She seemed like she was talking to someone, though - And who was that with her? A green fellow that Cheese had never seen before. No matter - He could just go up and ask, hopefully! Not now, though. It seemed a bit rude to just barge in like that right then, though Cheese was known for his spontaneity. Instead, why not pay that grumpy mare a visit, if only to make them smile? Cheese made a beeline towards the mare, stopping right beside them and giving a cheery wave, grinning like a fool. "Heya there! Pardon my asking, but why so down? This is supposed to be a fun competition, right? I think so. Do you think so, Boneless Two?" Cheese took the rubber chicken off his back, waiting for it to reply. It was a rubber chicken. Those do not reply. Still, Cheese acted as if everything was all fine and dandy. "Of course it is! Besides that, folks get to eat all the pastries they want over here. I just gotta find 'em. . ." Cheese glanced about for a moment. "Anywho, the name's Cheese Sandwich, miss. Who might you be? I coulda sworn I'd seen your face from somewhere. . . Have we partied together before?"

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“Wagh!”, the orange scaled dragon thought she blended so well into the background. But nope! Her blending abilities were no match for this Daring Do enthusiast!
 
She asked if the young dragon had seen a ruin lately...”Well...Sort of..”, she glanced over at the angry armored mare. That was one ruined pony. Broken horn. And probably a broken heart to go with that horn. “Somebody needs to help that gal...Get her out of her armor...Take her out dancing..”, she whispered before clearing her throat and shifting topics, “That Spike....For such a little fella, he’s as brave as a dragon ten times his size.”, she didn’t want to brag, but the Headmare was more than happy to let the dragon borrow both Spike and Miss Fluttershy.
 
“I’m always up for adventure...But erm...”, she glanced at the odd mare, “Who are you, and why are you dressed like Daring Do?" This was something she probably needed to know, " Also, I’m almost done..”, she pulled out a small calendar, “Making up for a week I missed in school...Erm.....Can’t do it then...Group assignment....”, she was assigned with a certain blue griffon on that one. Ho-Boy.....”Having te.....er..meeting with Fluttershy....”, she ran through a few more days....”You’ll just need to find a non-school day you can borrow me..” Oddly enough, one of her assignments was to hang around with an ‘unique’ new friend while doing something new. That surely fit the bill!
 
Smolder smiled and waved at the odd Pinkie/Thorax team-up...."Not so well..", she whispered back to the king's question about her IRON PONY accomplishments, "But the games so far have been entertaining at least....Just need more lava-surfing and arm wrestling.', she added with a grin. "Then I'll be on the top of the board..."
 
"Huh.", she noticed an rather silly stallion stroll into view. "Didn't know Miss Pie had a brother.", she nodded at the poofy mane-wearing stallion....What a weird day this has been so far...
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“What?” Tempest asked, she sounded genuinely shocked by what Feng asked. She blinked at him, then put her bottle of rum down. She eye’d up the pen and paper as if it was going to hurt her somehow. After a few moments of starin she takes it in her muzzle and places it on the desk. “I… You really want that?” She asked, the coldness to her tone almost lost as a tiny spark of something can be seen in her eyes that was not hatred or contempt. She was shocked by the fact he wanted her autograph and seems so honest in it. Maybe it was thanks to where he came from he acted and felt so different. 

 

Taking the pen in her muzzle she put it to paper and got to work puting down the words. Tempest, big and bold. She was half way done with Shadow when some pony had to break the moment. Berrytwist Shadow. How come every time some pony used her old name they had to mess it up somehow? And then mix it with her new name? It was like getting smacked in the face with an earth pony buck. Fizzlepop Berrytwist was gone and there was no going back to her. She was gone long before Tempest came in to being. That mare, that name was dead ages ago to a filly all alone in the world. All it did was bring back pain, loneliness and repressed memories. 

 

The taste of ink snapped her out of it. Spitting up the broken pin and some ink she blinked at the half done autograph, ruined by ink mixed with spit. She needed to relax, Deep breaths… Than he came. Why. Why was this town FULL of them. There was no end, no peace. She wanted to see the town aflame, ash in the air as every last one of them was muzzled in to silence. Was that too much to ask for? She was at her breaking point. “NO! NO WE NEVER DID!” She screamed at the pony, her voice full of rage. “I never have and never will!” She snapped her head at the mare that miss spoke her name with eyes full of evil. “I am Tempest Shadow. That is my one and only name and all it has ever been.” with that she falls back in to her seat. 


Why did she do this. Why did she come out here. Every time she tries to interact with others this happened. Why didn't she just take the ship to Hesperia? She’d been better off. She’d never fit in here. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. “If you must know why i’m so unhappy it is how every pony must force themselves up in to my day. I was doing fine. I was happy. So if you want me to be happy don’t dogpile me.  Just… Give me some space ok?” she asked, opening her eyes to look at Cheese and Yanhua then to the rest hanging about. she was makeing a mess and it was her falt in the end. not theme. "I'm sorry." It was not alot but even that felt hard to say.

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It was starting to get a little crowded around the pavilion, with many ponies splitting into their own conversations without really opening up the space.  Feng didn't mind so much; he'd long since gotten used to the crowds in Huangjing, though that had been a bit of an adjustment the young colt from the mountains had to make back when he first joined the Watcher's Academy.  Mostly, he dealt with this by focusing his attention on one thing at a time, which did end up looking a little rude from the outside, perhaps, but he'd begun to suspect that Tempest Shadow was a mare in need of sustained positive attention.

 

And if her reaction to asking about her autograph was any indication, Feng was right.  "Oh yes.  You really were impressive out there, and I think I learned something from your performance.  Why wouldn't I want an autograph?"  He kept up his smile as she began to write her name... but then it all seemed to come apart.  

 

He supposed he couldn't blame Yanhua for coming in; he had been paying her unconscionably little attention since they arrived in the pavilion, and even he didn't suspect Tempest's name would be that much of an issue for the mare.  Cheese, though... Poor Cheese sandwhich was the brick that broke the camel's back.  Cheerfulness was great when one is cheerful, but to a hurting heart, it's a bit like pouring apple cider into an open wound.

 

Feng weathered the outburst, immediately shifting back into 'guard mode.'  This was a situation that needed to be contained, and he was a stallion trained to deal with these situations.  Turning to Cheese, he put a polite but firm hoof upon the other stallion's shoulder.  "I really think you should move along, sir.  Until things have calmed down a little bit."  His voice was like thick oil poured over troubled waters, but one that would brook no inflammatory response, lest the incautious pony wanted an explosion to the face.

 

To Yanhua, though, he could only give an apologetic look.  Tempest was a mare that needed help, and Feng was just the sort of guy that did so without needing to think about it.  In many ways, he remained the same young colt that had been a friend to her when she was lonely and needing it most; and he hoped she would understand right now.  Addressing the rest of the crowd, he cleared his throat and said, "I'm just going to escort Miss Shadow off to the side; I would kindly ask that none of you disturb her for the next few minutes."

 

And with a pat to the maroon unicorn's shoulders, he spoke softly, "Come along.  Just off to the corner here; get a little bit of cold water.  We all need to cool our heads, that's all."

Deep breath, situation contained.  Hopefully this wouldn't put too much of a damper on everypony else's good time.

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"Her? Yeah, she can be a grump. Well, you'd be a grump too if you were super cool badflank who wasn't off having adventures like you should be. Tempest Shadow: Commander of Armies. Terror of the Innocent. Really has a nice ring to it! I wish I ran across the Storm King when she worked for him. She'd have been really cool to fight against while trying to steal the Staff! Did you know she turned three of the Princesses to stone, all pretty much at once? I hear she has elite fighting skills and athleticism. Hopefully she calms down a few octaves and learns to relax, because then I'm sure she'd be fun to adventure with,” Pathfinder said wistfully, her mind flooding with book cover possibilities as she also listened to Smolder's schedule.

A non-school day it would be. “Oooh, weekend adventure! How about this weekend? I'm not heading back to Snowfall's place in Stalliongrad until Monday, so I should have all the weekend to have fun in a ruin with you! Tell me, have you ever fought Screamer Bats? You might need to. They scream but it is more of a mental attack that confuses you. I think they don't like dragons though, so maybe you'll scare them. You should have lots of fun! We can even give you a pith helmet. I have a lot of officially licensed Daring Do pith helmets! Can't go adventuring without one, right? I don't have any purple or orange ones, though. Sorry if color matching was important! I'll also train you how to use a spear, too. Not because you'll need to spear something, but I think the ritual requires positions and moves that need spears. I could be wrong but hey, the golems are gone soooo...I'm sure there isn't anything else bad that could happen!” Pathfinder asked, going through her saddlebag. She put a pith helmet on Smolder and smiled. “This'll be so much fun!”
 

Speaking of fun, there was a Pinkie Pie! She wasn't very close with any of Twilight's friends because, frankly, she didn't think Twilight was able to prepare them for the level of awesome that Pathfinder had. Luckiky, Pinkie Pie was on the same wavelength in terms of enthusiasm about life, even if it was wasted because it wasn't spent on adventure. "Hey there Pinkie Winkie! Nah, I got here too late to run it. Always next year though! Perfect score remains perfect. I tried to see if that score could impress the Wonderbolts enough to allow me to see their old, closed off training ground near Mt. Everhoof, but they claimed they didn't know anything about it. Pssh! Magically enchanted wind that makes it impossible to reach the top sure sounds like Wonderbolt training to me," she said with a laugh, patting Pinkie on the head.

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"I just don't understand what's her deal...If she wanted to be alone and not covered in crazy ponies..." The only one they were missing was Silverstream. Just fill her up with some sugar and she'd probably join the crazy bouncing along with Pinkie and what might be her brother. "This is probably the worst place to be...The rest of Ponyville is probably deserted." The odd pony-dragon person wisely tried to help her find a slightly less crowded area.  Ugh. She really needed to look into that. Was it possible that ponies and dragons were compatible?
 
Smolder was slightly confused about her last comment. "Fight bats? You don't fight bats, you just let them flutter away, but if they want to fight us, usually a little 'pwosh' of fire their way would scare just about anyone..", she pretended to shoot fire.."I wouldn't hurt them of course as Miss Fluttershy would freak out if she found out. Probably give me that dirty look of hers...The ol'Flutter-eye.", she paused as the odd pony placed one of those adventurer hats on her. Hopefully this was an actual real pith helmet and not some cruddy Nightmare Night costume hat. "Thanks." She would go on an little adventure with this crazy mare and even use it as a school project.
 
"I currently reside over at the new school near the big castle...It's really hard to miss. Just ask for Smolder.", the dragon added with a wink.
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“Uggghhhhh... THAT could have gone way better.....”


If only Sunset Shimmer had made that final shot, she would’ve won that ribbon for sure and have been able to brag to Twilight all about it. True, she had a projected 1-in-25 chance of hitting that Golden Cupcake, so the odds were never in the Equestrian girl’s favor to begin with. Still though, although she choked on the last shot despite doing everything right, Sunset could have gotten lucky had she bothered composing herself correctly on ALL her attempts. But nope; Miss Shimmer blew it by repeatedly letting frustration get the better of her while target shooting.


*groan* .....It was that ring toss debacle at Equestria Land all over again.


Etched with a permascrowl face, Sunset Shimmer wandered the grounds aimlessly, spectating the occasional challenge here and there. The fiery-maned unicorn needed a little bit more time to cool down first before she could return to Twi’s Castle and convincingly claim everything’s fine. Who knows; maybe Sunset would find something before then that’d keep her mind off her loss.


Without realizing it, Miss Shimmer had neared the Iron Pony pavilion, not taking much heed of what was going on around her.....

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(just gonna snap back and forth in time for a brief moment to complete conversations :D )

 

Pinkie received the head pat from Pathfinder with a trademark eyed bugged giant grin. She'd always been a fan of Pathfinder and her antics, finding a kindred spirit in the go get em' nature that Pathy had in spades. Plus she always had stories of adventures. Crazy out there stories that were right up Ponk's alley! 

 

"OOOooooo, secret training grounds! Sure does sound top secret! Maybe me and you can go investigate that sometime!" She nudged the mare fondly. "Okie dokie Pathy Wathy! See you around I'm sure!" 

 

With that she bounced off in search of more ponies to meet and greet. 

----

 

As she went she noticed quite a few ponies make odd faces when she came near. She giggled, it was probably her amazing amounts of energy and her winning personality! Some ponies could be so shy! Yep she's need to make sure to say hi to that purple unicorn and that spotted pony. They both looked like they could use another friend!

 

Soon she found herself in conversation with a super nice mare named Sea Salt!

 

"Oh wow! You've got fish as pets huh? What kind of fish?" As she spoke Gummy blinked up at their newest friend. He slowly reached a claw out towards Finnie. "Wow, he hardly ever does that!" Pinkie watched in fascination as her gator reached for the light blue mare. "Looks like Gummy wants to come on over your way! You mind a passenger for a couple minutes?"

 

She smiled broadly as the pegasus spoke of the cloud diving event. "Well that explains the water then! Fish as pets and the diving event. Something tells me you like the water!" Finnie was super nice and Pinkie felt happy to be making a new friend! She did notice another pony not far away with a scowl on her face. Perhaps Finnie knew her? "Is that mare," She nodded in Ali's direction. "a friend of yours? She looks kinda down..."

----

 

Thorax smiled back at the young dragon as she spoke of more dragony types of exploits. "Yes you're right Smolder. I'd love to see you in a lava surfing competition! I'm sure they have those in the dragon lands. Must be quite the sight!  Perhaps if they had a shape shifting competition I'd be making the record books too!" He sighed. "But the barrel weave will have to do for now!" 

 

Soon Thorax found himself wandering back towards the area Pinkie was in. She was talking to a blue pegasus and Gummy was doing his best at being the center of attention. Thorax smiled, these pony folk were always the interesting lot!

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Feng may not know how lucky he was to have all of his teeth the second his hoof touched her shoulder. But for all the temptation to lash out on some pony and make them understand how she felt. she… Feng was right. She needed to cool down. Getting out of her seat she follows Feng to a more quiet and secluded spot. Well it was not too far away from all the going on it gave the space she deeply needed.

 

“I can't stand this.” Tempest says glancing over at the growing crowd. “I feel out of place. Did years ago and still do now. I found a home and lost it. It may not have been the best but it was one.” She let out a deep breath. “Thank you for... being… Nice.” She added in a tone that made it seem like she was not used to saying such a thing.


Looking to Feng she flicked an ear and studied him more before feeling like she needed to… explain something. She had to get it off her chest. “Deadname.” She mutters out in a deadpan tone. “The name they keep saying. It’s a deadname and what its tied to makes me…” She had to shut her eyes, she hated saying this and it took some force to do it. “Uncomfortable.” She wanted to explain it better but found no words for it. She hated speaking like this. She looked pathetic. Weak. Deep breaths. "Cold water sounds nice."

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Sea Salt smiled largely. She loved talking about her fish, well, big fish. Mammal fish. Fish mammals? Whatever their classification was, Finnie loved to talk about them. Most ponies didn't know much about dolphins, and it made her sad. "I got two dolphins, Mr. Bubbles and Sprout. Mr. Bubbles is really feisty, but Sprout is a gentle creature. They both perform with me in my arena back at home." Her little wings fluttered in excitement. She did miss her babies. 

 

Finnie blinked hard when she noticed Gummy stick his little claw out at her. The blue Pegasus had a wide range of emotions now. She was slightly above the ground, her wings flapping hard as she cutely fangirled over the little gator. "I wouldn't mind this little baby on me anytime, mate," she cooed, letting the reptile sit on her back. This was the happiest the hippie was in a while. 

 

Finnie opened her mouth to respond to the pink pony, "I love water. I actually do shows with my dolphins, tricks and all that. You should come sometime, Pinkie Pie." The blue mare then turned around, looking at Ali. "Yeah, she's my friend. Though, she'd never admit it." 

 

"I ain't no pony's friend," the mare hissed, shooting daggers directly at Finnie and Pinkie. 

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Well, that was something to take note of. Evidently her name was something a sore spot for her. Yanhua nodded slowly at Tempest's outburst, "I see." She'd never seen so much anger on a pony's face before. This mare must have a story to tell, a very intense one: Though not here. Among a crowd of strangers wasn't the best place to lay one's past bare for all to see. That was something Yanhua had been avoiding doing for the past couple years for the sake of one special pony.

 

Now that Longma was giving her an apologetic look before heading off. The chef's brow furrowed , but she nodded once and turned back to Nensho. With Feng out of earshot and tended to the emotionally wounded unicorn she spoke more openly with the disguised Okami, "Hm... Well I think you've better chances with  your friend than I do with mine... I hope that the things you love about them aren't what keeps you away from them." She looked back to Feng as he tended to Tempest and heaved a conflicted sigh, "Is this special wo--pony what brought you all the way to Equestria, Nensho-san?"
 

 

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Feng took a seat in front of Tempest, indicating he was ready to listen and speak as long as she needed him to.  "You're welcome!"  He replied to her unpracticed gratitude, in a tone that indicated frequent and easy use of the expression.  Besides that, though, he was quiet enough to let her speak, and what was perhaps more important, struggle through the choking silences.  Getting up only to fetch two cups of water, he gave one to the mare and sipped on his own before speaking.

 

"I see you view your past like I view my ancestors."  He said at last.  "I left my home village very far behind, hoping to escape from their legacy of failure.  But wherever I was, there was always one longma who knew who they were and how likely I was to end up like them."  His muzzle curled into a somewhat ironic smile.  "I could hardly leave myself behind, you see.  And thus I could not escape my past, there was no option but to wrestle with it.  And maybe, perhaps, come to a peace with it at last.  I cannot say that I have, though, yet."

 

It was about here that Feng noticed another unicorn mare approaching, one which unbeknownst to the pair of them, could probably speak quite eloquently to the subject at hoof as well.  In any case, sighing a bit internally at the loss of privacy, the Watcher greeted the oncoming Sunset with as much politeness as he could.  "And I suppose you could sympathize as well?  It is a hard thing to have one's past as an enemy, yes?"

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!!!


Being lost in a cloud of negative thinking didn’t prevent Sunset Shimmer from hearing a stallion’s words aimed precisely at her direction. The young mare turned towards the stranger; a stranger who either knew Celestia’s former apprentice by reputation or somehow saw straight through Sunset’s heart. Both options seemed highly unlikely to the unicorn, which mentally put her on guard.


Oddly enough, Sunset Shimmer identified the stranger’s companion as none other than Tempest Shadow, a defector from the Storm Empire whom Princess Twilight had spoken about before in great length. In truth, Sunset had always been curious to meet this villain-turned-heroine, but the fiery-maned unicorn couldn’t let go of what the longma stallion had just said to her.


“Uh,” Miss Shimmer trotted over to Tempest and the longma, filled with suspicion; “I don’t believe I’ve ever met you before. Are you supposed to be some sort of... eastern mystic?”

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“I can understand that.” Tempest says back, the worry in her voice slipping away back to the same cold monotone voice she liked to use. “Every time I see myself I am greeting with my past. Hunting me. I don’t know if I can ever come to peace with my past. Not yet at least.” She shakes her head and looked over at the unicorn mare he called out at. Ugh.


“Eastern mystic?” Tempest snorted hearing that, almost like she was about to laugh but choked it down. “That’s not how you great something. That’s like asking every earth pony you meet ‘do you farm?’ first.” She says back to the unicorn. “Even if what he asked you was not much better…” With that she glares at Feng.

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Whether or not the final truce had been signed, Fēng was at least sufficiently at peace with himself not to mind sudden assumptions on the part of foreigners.  All the less so, since his eye, which don't forget was that of a trained Watcher, had caught the fact that Sunset felt his remark to be extremely apropos to her.  Small wonder, then, that she thought of it as 'mystical.'

 

"Oh, I'm more of a warrior than a mystic, if you must know."  He replied with a shrug and a grin.  "Though the Empress says I can be unexpectedly wise.  Mostly comes from the fact that there's not much to do when laid on your back in the infirmary other than read and think!"  He laughed, though the commonplace way he took that occurrence spoke to either the danger of his profession, or his recklessness in pursuing it.  Six of one, half a dozen of the other, as they liked to say around here.

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Nensho hummed as he watched the other conversations around him. He gave a sigh of his own at Yanhua’s words, mulling them over for a bit before responding. 

 

“Perhaps, perhaps not. I’ve known her for a very long time, pretty much my whole life. I’m just worried what will happen to our relationship if she doesn’t feel the same way... You might be right though, she doesn’t have anyone else she’s pining for. Well, that I know of anyways.” He said, giving a slight chuckle and shrug. “And I guess you could say that, though she’s only here because of me. She needed a vacation, so I convinced her to take one. I take it you’re here because of him though. I feel you, you don’t want to bring it up either... Maybe we should both just buck up and do it...”

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A blush appeared Sunset Shimmer’s cheeks as Tempest Shadow of all ponies scolded her for an impolite greeting. Heh, at least the self-described warrior was in the same mess as her, so... hooray? And Empress, huh? Back at Celestia’s School, Sunset learned that some old dude was the guy in charge over in Long Guo. Maybe the Equestrian girl ought to keep a better track of developments beyond her birth country’s borders, although as it was, she already had her hands full living in two worlds.


“Well, what can I say?” Sunset bashfully rubbed the back of her head with a hoof; “At magic school, we were taught how some creatures are able to naturally read minds or predict the future without casting spells at all. ESP’s an extremely rare ability mind you, with only a tiny handful of proven documented cases, but it isn’t unheard of.” Miss Shimmer could testify from personal experience, but technically speaking, that only counted in the Mirror World.


Sunset turned towards Tempest, offering a foreleg to shake in a genuine gesture of friendliness. “The name’s Sunset Shimmer, by the way. You might not have heard of me Tempest Shadow, but Princess Twilight has told me a great deal about you, and how you helped her vanquish the Storm King. I wish I could have been there alongside the Princess and the others when they could have used my aid, but geez, how do I put this... I live far, far away from here these days.”

 

The unicorn didn’t forget about the longma she accused of mysticism; “So you’re a warrior who serves the Empress of Long Guo, huh? How is she compared to her predecessor; Emperor Xin, was it?” Better late than never to keep ahead on foreign affairs!

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Tempest leaned her to the side like a dog as a hoof was offered to her. After staring at it for a few moments she picked a hoof up and poked Shimmer’s hoof. It looked as awkward as it felt for Tempest. “Sunset Shimmer… Sunset Shimmer…” she mutters, rolling the name around in her head before something clicked. “You were in the news… some years ago. A run away was it? Welcome to the club, I need to start making shirts and hats for us.” She says with a soft chuckle at her own joke. “I do not blame you for living far, far away… don’t know why you’d want to come back to this place.”

 

Looking at Feng she flixs an ear. “I do know the Empress runs a good ship. It was on my recommendation we did not see her lands as… safe to invade. Unlike here she has a real army.” Tempest chokes back a giggle. “If you can even call what we have here even close to one… I took on a full squad by myself. I’d call it a show but it was so depressing even my own storm guards found it just disappointing to watch. So maybe it was good you weren't alongside them Sunset.”

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Hearing about ESP's reminded Feng of stories he'd heard about some of the legendary followers of the Harmonious Path.  Supposedly pursuing ascetic discipline could grant preternatural powers of perception.  The longma himself was fairly skeptical of these stories, however; never having met such monks himself.  Plus, there was the tale of his great uncle who had literally starved himself in pursuit of said powers, without any kind of result.  "That may as well be."  He shrugged.  "Sharp eyes and educated guesses do a good portion of that for a long sun, or a pony, in my experience."

 

The newcomer mare and Tempest seemed to be getting along fairly well, which was good.  Not that the longma could empathize much with their desires to stay away from Ponyville, he was having a great time here!  Though, if their experiences here were anything like what he felt at the thought of visiting his home village... yeah, he could understand that.  At the mention of the late Emperor, Feng's ears perked up again, and he replied.

 

"Oh, the old Emperor died shortly after I began my training; I don't know all that much about him.  His daughter, though...."  His eyes grew clouded with a dreamlike gaze, and he sighed.  "...is marvelous."  The poor boy was clearly lovestruck, which lent credence to the fact that he'd been sent overseas to save face in the court of the Dragon Throne.  Romantic musings were cut short by Tempest's offhand mentioning of a scuppered intention to invade; the burgundy mare was something of a buzzkill when it came to romance.  Still, probably for the best that Feng sobered up ASAP.

"Oh, well, we certainly do pride ourselves on our forces, and I think justly.  There is also the matter that such an act of aggression would have incurred the wrath of the heavenly dragons upon your heads as well.  The king of the long is a personal friend to the Empress, as well as a longstanding ally."  Taking a quick check around, he noticed the pavilion seemed to be emptying.  

"I think the next round of events are starting up soon.  I plan to compete in several more, and cheer on my friend Yanhua when she competes as well.  She's been a fantastic supporter so far.  Would you like to come along, grab one last drink before the round?"

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Sunset Shimmer couldn’t recall if she ever met who had as much difficulty grasping the idea of a hoofshake as Tempest Shadow... but there was a funny bone in her body, at least. The broken-horn mare’s quip actually made Sunset think seriously about how she could be doing more to touch base with fellow people like herself who were recovering from once losing their true selves. “I’m mainly here today because Princess Twilight asked me to come.” She bashfully glanced towards the Friendship Castle at the town's edge; “But I’m not kidding when I say that I come from a town far crummier than this place. All in all, I find Ponyville pleasantly quaint!” Spoken like a true city girl.


If Tempest hadn’t jutted in, Sunset would have relentlessly teased the longma warrior who obviously crushed on his Empress. But maybe there was a chance to do that later! “Sure!!!” Miss Shimmer excitedly responded to the offer; “I’m not entering any of the other contests, so I’m free to cheer everyone else on!” This was exactly what the mare needed to get her mind off her horrid luck earlier.....

 

*EXIT SUNSET SHIMMER*

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