igordragonian
(I sort of counted votes- Blue neautral, Oldwolf toward this name..)

Ponies look worried as Lettersprite has collapsed.
"Mister Lettersprite?"
But Agony and Bubble Guard shoo them,maybe with an air of confidence- of ponies who know what are they doing to his home.

(Feel free to describe the house and etc')
BlueHamsterBean
(I'm fine with the name 🙂 )

With the help of Tea Agony and Bubble Guard, Lettersprite slowly makes his way back to the door of his apartment building. A worried looking Mrs. Hudsneigh stands inside by the central staircase, but calms and leaves the three of them to their business upon seeing her tenant back safely.

Lettersprite removes the scarf once he can feel the building's floor beneath his hooves again, breathes a sigh of relief, and returns it to Tea Agony.

 "My thanks to both of you, and my apologies: the great outdoors have never been... easy for me to process. I look up at the sky and fear I may fall up into it, though I know that's nonsense of course. 

He gets a good look at his new friends and recognizes Tea Agony from the debate.

 "Ah! I remember you spoke up on my behalf out there. While I rebuked your words, it was nice to know that there was somepony standing by me: thank you. 

He then realizes the door is still open, and hurriedly closes it, breathing a sigh of relief once the sky is out of sight.

 "So what might your names be? You have heard mine, but it would be remiss of me to deny my saviors proper hospitality at the very least! Come: my apartment is on the third floor. I have a freshly brewed pot of chamomile tea and some chocolate biscuits, ah, 'cookies' to the non Trottish, to share. 

He canters up the stairs at a surprising pace for such a non-athletic pony before coming to a light oak door, which he opens to reveal a comfortable, if not spacious, room.

In one corner is a bed with a variety of blankets for those cold Trottish nights. Next to it is a side table with a glasses case, small clock, pen, and stack of blank paper on it.

To the opposite end of the room is a door to a small, finely furnished restroom with a rubber duck visible on the side of a bathtub in the dim light.

On the street side of the room, there is a window covered by a curtain next to a small stove and pantry next to another side table. A tea kettle rests on the stove, and as promised, a pot of hot tea is on the side table next to an open tin of cookies.

In the center of the room is a small table with two chairs, which is something Lettersprite seems a bit self conscious of at the moment.

 "My apologies: there isn't really room for a third chair, but I can sit on the bed. Please! Make yourselves comfortable!" 

Lettersprite then goes about the business of pouring Tea Agony and Bubble Guard each a cup of tea. He moves the tin of cookies to the table in the center where the two may sit if they feel so inclined.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony doesnt want to disrespect the host so she accept his hospitality. She sit down and wait patiently for the tea.

She strikes conversation:   " My neame is Tea Agony and I work for Starswirl the Bearded. Also, let me guess, that rubber duck was a gift from Starswirl the Bearded? I never understood his obsession toward them."  

Speaking about him naturally makes Tea agony both warm and nostalgic. She wish Starswirl the Bearded had never left the castle.
DaOldeWolf
"  Its just not fair. He always makes these kind of decisions. I am surprised the castle manages to stay in one piece considering the weird ménage he picks.  " BubbleGuard adds admitting his own annoyance on being unable to give feedback on prior recruits.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony sigh, point toward Bubbles:   " And this is Bubble Guard, also working for Starswirl the Bearded. "  
igordragonian
Some ponies stare from the window, with worried expressions.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite catches a glimpse of a worried looking pony through a crack in the curtains, sighs, and ties a stocking around his eyes like a headband before opening the window by feel.

He calls out to the ponies below.
 "My apologies for making a scene: suffice it to say that the outdoors have never been my friend. Rest assured that I am feeling much better now, and I swear that while I might look a bit mad with this stocking around my head, that I am sound of mind as well. Thank you for attending the debate, and I wish you all a fine evening!" 

He pulls his head back in and closes the window and curtains again by feel before taking off the stocking. He looks from the stocking to his guests and shrugs.
 "Reserve your judgment please: stockings are quite handy on cold winter nights." 

Lettersprite's ears perk when Tea Agony mentions Star Swirl.
 "Oh! So you've met him too? Haha! He is a rather eccentric pony. I met him during the early negotiations for the Treaty of Everfree now taking effect in Trottingham; that's where he told me about rubber ducks! I didn't understand them at first myself, but there is a certain satisfaction to squeezing them." 

Then Bubble Guard speaks, leaving Lettersprite somewhat confused.
 "Decisions? Menage? Oh! Has he sent you to find a new pony to staff his... mansion? I don't know where he lives actually: he wasn't forthcoming on the matter when we met." 

He takes a sip of tea before continuing.
 "I suppose an eccentric mage is wont to attract eccentric assistants, no? So who's the lucky pony if I might ask?" 

He then takes a long sip of tea.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony wait for him to stop sipping his tea and swallow it before answering:

  " You, actually. He asked us to recruit you. "  
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard then adds. "  Though I must add that the decision is yours. We wont force you to join us.  "
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite looks to his teacup, over to Tea Agony, over to Bubble Guard, and back to his teacup again before slowly sitting down on his bed.
 "I suppose you have my thanks Ms. Agony for waiting until I'd finished my sip: the world usually likes to take advantage of embarrassing comedic potential like that, but my bathrobe remains unstained for your efforts." 

He stares at the ceiling for a long moment before looking at his two guests again.
 "Did Starswirl mention why he wanted legal assistance? I assume that  is  what he's after: you don't come to me for advice on wizardry or heroics... Is it the revocation of privileges that troubles him? I wasn't aware he had many to be revoked to be honest. He's a talented mage to say the least, but he isn't a noble. Heh, rather uncommon for a unicorn of his standing that, good on him I say!" 

Lettersprite pauses for a moment to refill his teacup but does  not  take a sip this time. His brow furrows as an idea crosses his mind.
 "Or is it the privilege of these enigmatic new rulers who are to manage the three kingdoms one day that troubles the great mage? He was reticent as to who they were: all he would say is that 'they weren't ready yet' which did him no favors during negotiations." 

He sighs and leans back.
 "No matter, I think I am inclined to accept either way for the sake of my previous work. Will Star Swirl be coming to Trottingham, or does he want me to travel? Because the latter option may take some time to arrange: I've only traveled once in my life, and it took some planning as you might imagine from my little moment outside. I spent the journey under a tarp reading books while trying to ignore the motion of the cart." 

He shudders at that memory, and takes a quick sip of tea to calm his nerves before going on.
 "I may also need a day to set some affairs in order: my brother will need somepony to keep an eye on him if Dr. Wattsneigh is out of town, Mrs. Hudsneigh, no relation, will need to be notified, and my fellow lawmakers will need to be informed of my impending absence as well."

"Actually, did Star Swirl have an estimate of how long this affair will take to resolve? A rough estimate would be nice, though I should be able to tell my colleagues of unforeseen developments and delays by letter." 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony sigh and says:   " Im not a mare that like comedy... And I didn't know you were that much aware of the situation. It means our situation might be more at risk then we thought. IN any case, it is not a position that is easy to get out. You would have to sign a legal contract to protect Starswirl's secrets. Also... Its a position that will lead you to both adventure and expentionnal growth. One where you will have to be a teacher... and a guardian of the most important ponies ever. "
  
She get a legal contract out of her mane and put it on the table. The contract involve a salary and a clause of erasing memory if the pony were to retire from his position.

  " We have the best cook in Equestria, the best lodging and the best library after the one of Tronningham. And the access of Starswirl library, you would be able to increase your aptitude to magic theory and more as well. But I hope you arent afraid of childrens and have the patience to deal with them. Im a mother myself and we have other childrens to at the castle.In short, your job would be one of being a private tutor and legal consultant."  
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard still wondered about how trustworthy he would be. "  And while I understand the importance of thinking on our own self. I must also inform you that while there are benefits to be gained by accepting this job, there are also rules and restrictions that you must abide to. I must ask for your complete cooperation when it comes to such matters as the one in charge of taking care of the staff.   "
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite studies the contract, raising an eyebrow at the memory erasure clause, but remembering that such things are fairly common in the laws of the unicorn kingdoms.

He sits back and takes in his guests' words, thinking them over, before returning a serious look and speaking.

 "So Star Swirl is hoping to hire me for a more permanent position then..." 

He puts a hoof to his brow and closes his eyes in thought for a moment.

 "While he has met me only briefly, he must know that I will not be able to simply leave my position in Trottingham without making  some  arrangement to continue my administrative services here, nor do I think he would wish that. Were I to accept this, I would have to be able to send regular letters to the Trottish parliament..." 

He looks to Bubble Guard
 "And yes, I understand that this would be a security concern, but remember that such things are not unfamiliar to me: my job for the past twenty years of my life has required that I literally keep state secrets, including the Treaty of Everfree in its earlier stages, before it was revealed to the public." 

He stares at the ceiling for a moment, keeping his eyes there as he continues.
 "Yet I cannot deny that you came at a good time to request this: with the Treaty of Everfree mostly sorted, I don't expect I would have much to busy me any time soon." 

He looks back at the two ponies before him.
 "...Children, you say? I admit that I am inexperienced in dealing with them, though I expect that dealing with politicians on a regular basis may have appropriately steeled my nerves for such a task... 'guardian of the most important ponies,' from your wording, I take it that these 'important ponies' are children too... interesting... and I would be instructing them. I expect I could do this." 

He sighs and rubs his temples again.
 "I also expect I will be inclined to take this position, though I would like an evening to think it over, and a day to make arrangements with the Trottish parliament should I accept. I feel I should emphasize that I feel I  must  have contact with my nation's government, yet that I would also respect the contract's secrecy clause." 

He looks them both straight in the eyes.
 "I am a pony of rules after all: my life has been dedicated to building and maintaining them." 

His gaze softens. He then notices that the room has grown darker as the evening has progressed.
 "Do you have a place to stay for the night? If you wish, I could arrange for you to stay in two of the apartments in this complex tonight. I do beg your patience in these matters: please understand that this decision has a great deal of gravity." 

If the two ponies allow him to take his night to decide, he will agree in the morning, and GM willing, his correspondence with the Trottish parliament can be arranged in less than a day actually, with him ready to leave the following night. What do you all think?
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard looks at Tea Agony and asks her. "  What should we do about "that thing" we have to take care by tomorrow? Afterall, you know the reason we came here in such a rush before.  " He isnt sure if he cant speak more on the subject yet considering the situation.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony nods to Bubbles:   " Thank you Bubbles for reminding me. M. Lettersprite, Master Starswirl need your help tommorow evening and I can craete a portal that will lead us there for you to spend the night in a guest room. Take it as both a favor for Master Starswirl and a trial for the job..."
  
She explain the lawyers, the fact they need to hide the childrens and a room full of dangerous artifacts and how they want to spy on everything inside the manor.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite looks between Tea Agony and Bubble Guard a few times once the explanation has been delivered before leaning back and looking at the ceiling for a few moments.
 "...So this is an urgent and complex matter then. Wonderful." 

He leans forward again with a hoof under his chin, sighing as he looks back to Tea Agony.
 "Sorry, sorry: I should have known that Star Swirl wouldn't have come to me with a simple job. Nopony does really... A portal, you say? Could similar magic be employed to allow me to inform the Trottish parliament of my imminent absence? A more permanent method of communication with Trottingham would be ideal in the long run, but that can be puzzled out later I suppose." 

He relaxes slightly and takes a sip of tea before continuing.
 "As for the problem you are facing, I expect I may have a solution, albeit an unprecedented one. You see, under the Treaty of Everfree, the authority of the newly declared Equestrian Alliance is greater than that of any of the kingdoms: if the castle were to be declared a state building of the Alliance, the kingdoms would be unable to pry into its affairs without substantial legal action and evidence of wrongdoing." 

He sets down his teacup on a saucer before speaking again.
 "The problem is that no such buildings have been declared yet, and the procedure for doing so is still unclear and likely subject to some debate. That said, I think I should be able to lay a strong foundation for the castle's status as such a building; certainly enough of one to keep your secrets safe for the time being. And if I am to work with you, Star Swirl, and his young proteges for an extended period of time, I should be on hoof to deal with any complications down the line." 

He looks between Tea Agony and Bubble Guard again.
 "Well then, if my efforts are needed so soon, then I suppose I shouldn't tarry. I will pack some essentials, leave a note for Ms. Hudsneigh, and be back in a moment... Just, please at least put  some  thought into alerting the Trottish parliament of my absence: I'm not sure how they would react to my disappearing without a trace, but I imagine it would cause a lot of unpleasant fuss and bother." 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony says:   " Master Starswirl can definitely warn them tommorow morning. And I am sure with your guidance and Starswirl status, there wont be any problem. "  

Tea Agony is openly impressed by Lettersprite now. He managed to find a loophole just like that and suggest a viable solution to their predicament. Although she had being able to help with the laws, diplomacy and bureaucracy up until now, the world was changing while she was focusing more on her maternal duties and on her legal charges. Too fast for her to keep up.

Tea Agony wondered what would be her future now... She had being Starswirl most loyal servant but now that he was gone, she felt a hole in her existence as well. FOrtunatly, her family was enough to fill her with happiness but she wish she could improve, somewhat.

In any case, she wait for Lettersprite to do his luggages and suggest a few things needed. She remind them we need to hurrt to get a good night sleep as the day will be difficult tommorow. They have to hurry...
DaOldeWolf
"  Whatever the case might be. I will wait for everything to be formally settled before I begin my usual ritual.  " BubbeGuard replies knowing it was better to wait just a tiny bit more before explaining the rules of the castle.
BlueHamsterBean
As promised, Lettersprite returns about twenty minutes after leaving to pack his things with a modest amount of luggage, a piece of paper in one hoof, and a pen in his mouth.

He sets the luggage down on the bed, places the paper on the table, and writes a quick note. He leaves a bag of what sounds like bits on top of the note.
 "My rent for the month. Ms. Hudsneigh will likely be a mite cross with me for leaving with little notice already: best not forget my rent too." 

He then picks up his luggage again and looks between Tea Agony and Bubble Guard expectantly.
 "So, how does this portal spell work? Do we need to hold hooves or something? Pardon my ignorance: spells have rarely been relevant to my line of work... Is this, 'ritual,' a part of this?" 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony go make sure the front door is locked, then her horns glow and a silver round portal appear, large enough to cover the front door. The other side show a lighted empty bedroom with a fireplace with a fire cracking in the fire place, providing soft warm even to the place in Trottingham.

  " The ritual is mostly Bubbles explaining to you the rules in Starswirl castle. We can do that once the portal is close, its very draining so everyone hurry on the other side please! "  
DaOldeWolf
"  Hey! Those rules keep everyone in the castle safe!  " BubbleGuard complains. "  And its the abridged version, too. Imagine if I had to talk about all 15 rule manuals.  " BubbleGuard remembers that this isnt the time to be wasting on a discussion. He jumps into the portal to the other side.
igordragonian
The portal warp as usual for Agony and Bubble.
For Lettersprite this must be a new exprience.

They arrive, about a hour after midnight into the exact room where they ha e teleported from.
Starswirl is asleep, while a loud argue is heard outside at the corridor.
"Get back into your room. You WON'T trot around in this castle' a voice which Agony and Bubble recongnize as Tailwind.
If they get out to the corridor,they see the beauiful lavender coated pegasi maid, stand infront of a handsome and determined looking soldier-
 https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6e/60...0aad3f3ab9.png 

Some might recongnize this soldier as Flash Magnus-the bravest soldier of Cloudsdale.
Who fought off dragons-even the dragon-lord himself.
He look weary tired and angry.
"Look ma'am. I am a friend. NOT an enemy. I just want to drink something"
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite nods slowly at Tea and Bubble's descriptions of the Ritual.
 "I see... I will do what I can to pay my due attention when you administer this 'Ritual' then." 

Then Tea Agony casts her spell and Lettersprite, a bit startled by it, charges through after a moment of hesitation. He takes a moment to make sure he's still in one piece when he gets to the other side, and when satisfied, takes in his surroundings.
 "Great sun above... This is quite the impressive manor Star Swirl has here Ms. Agony, and that was an impressive trick back there. Heh, what I wouldn't have given for something like that as a colt traveling to Lawndon!" 

He then notices Star Swirl snoring and does a double take before quietly chuckling.  Heh! Even the greatest of mages snore. 

Then the argument catches his attention and he sees none other than Cloudsdale's greatest hero arguing with a maid.  This... Is getting a tad surreal. 

He stands in place awkwardly shuffling his hooves and looks to Tea Agony and Bubble Guard, figuring they might have the best chance of resolving this.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony goes to Flash Magnus and apologize:     " Mister Flash Magnus, I suppose you are part of Starswirl's team? I am not surprise to be honest... I apologize if the hospility is lacking but we were caught unprepared and with a few... emergencies on our hooves. Ms Tailwind, please go ask Sugar Rush if she can give a glass of hot milk to our guest. In exchange, you will deliver it to his room where he will stay for the rest of the night. We can discuss tommorow morning during breakfast, which will be at the break of dawn. I suggest you try to get some sleep."   

(Corrected)
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard breaths in as he was about to get ready to begin his ritual but as soon as he notices this other individual, he keeps the air inside his mouth. Embarrased by his unfortunate display BubbleGuard lets out his breath out by blowing. "  I´ll wait until later to finish.... I mean to begin.... I mean whatever.  " BubbleGuard replies as he gets tired trying to explain himself.
igordragonian
Tailwind calm herself.
"Alright... just be careful." And fly away.
Flash Magnus's expression soften,looking after the lavendar maid.
"What a mare.. such energy and vitality..." he chuckle.

"Why, yes I am. And you must be Tea Agony. Right? Starswirl has mentioned you more then once." He give a respectful bow, even if he looked exausted.
He saluted to Bubble Guard.
"And you must be Bubble Guard. It's honor to meet a warrior like you."

He nod. "Yes. So said also Stygian.. but..." he smile a bit with shame.
"I might fight griffins and dragons to defend ponykind on regular, but I can't sleep without a good drink." The brave soldier admit.

He notice Lettersprite. "I don't think I recongnize YOU." He ponder.
"Well. I apologize for the inconvience. Starswirl want us out of here before dawn."

Bubble Guard also remember, that Deepwood got the mission to follow the trio of beraucrats, both for their safety and catching if they are planning something sinister.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite sheepishly fidgets at Flash's gaze before waving a hoof and replying.
 "Ser Magnus! It is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance: the name's Lettersprite. I've met your friend Star Swirl previously working on the Treaty of Everfree, but all I know of you are the stories really: both those commonly told and those Star Swirl found appropriate to share. 
Lettersprite smiles warmly as he continues.
 "You seem to be a fine group of friends! As for why I'm here, well, apparently Star Swirl needed a legal consultant, and thought I could be of some assistance." 

He looks to Bubble guard.
 "So... if you would like Mr. Bubble Guard, we could perhaps move to a separate chamber to allow you to tell me the dos and don'ts of this castle without disturbing your employer's rest?" 
He gestures to the snoring Star Swirl at the desk.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony goes to Magnus and does a slight bow of courtesy:   " I'll make sure to tell Starswirl to treat his allies better. I feel like you all deserve to sleep in a good bed and eat a good meal at the castle once in a while. If Starswirl trust you, so am I ! "
  
She ask respectfully:   " Please, let's wait at your room for that glass of milk. Lettersprite is right, we shouldnt stay in the hallway, it could disturb all the guests sleep."  
DaOldeWolf
"  Welcome to the castle!  " BubbleGuard raises his hoof to salute the fellow soldier. "  My name is BubbleGuard. The one in charge of everypony in the castle. I hope my staff has been treating you all well since your arrival.  "

" Of course. We can finish everything back into your room. " Bubbleguard replies to the suggestion given by Lettersprite.
igordragonian
Flash Magnus chuckle. "Well, you are much nicer, if may I be honest.'
Magnus say.
"Starswirl is all secretive, quite dodgey when we ask anything about his private life. But sure. Let's to to me room.'

He lead the way, another door open and another weary pony get out.
 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DzR3MNnV4AI0nfL.jpg 

A lavender unicorn, looking eldery. Her curved horn and garb hinted at her homeland being the Cherry Blossom Empire.
The staff newer then Lettersprite might understand this is none other then Mistmane.
Her beauty and idealogy have redeemed Empress Sable Spirit and brought a great change to the empire.
The Staff even have fought intentioanly or not, against the attempt to regress the empire back.
"Magnus. Dear. Always so loud."
"I apologize,Mistmane." Magnus say.
"I couldn't sleep, I wanted something to drink,and one thing led to another.'

-"Nothing to apologize for. It is an excuse to meet the fabled staff of our wizard friend.'
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony gasp but quickly recover. She bows like she would for royalty:   " It's an honor to meet you Madame Mistmane. If you need anything while you are here, just say the word! "  
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard puts his hoof covering his mouth. He looks at the reaction from Tea Agony and wonders what could be the reason behind such enthusiasm. It was quite notorious to actually see her so energetic. "  Miss Agony, are you feeling alright?  " BubbleGuard moves and puts his hoof on Tea Agony´s head to check her temperature thinking she might have gotten sick.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony rise up and push Bubbles away:   " I am fine. I just think Mistmane noble heart has more value then any royalty title she could have or gotten. It's not my fault if you cant recognize greatness when you see it."  
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite stands in the hallway and blinks as events rapidly unfold. He doesn't recognize this unicorn, but can see the reverence Tea Agony has for her. He waves awkwardly at Mistmane and gives a short bow.
 "Pleasure to meet you Ms. Mistmane. I take it you are a friend of Star Swirl's as well? Lettersprite's my name..." 

At a genuine loss as to what should happen next, he waits for the more experienced staff to decide their course of action.
igordragonian
Mistmane shake her head.
 'Now, now. No need to argue. Beside.. I am thankful- I have heard you were of great aid to Sable Spirit, my dearest friend.'  she bow her head.
 'Pleasure to meet you, Letter Of Sprite'  she bow her head again.

Magnus lead to his room.
 -'Well...' 

Anohter pony burst into the room-
 
 'Ah! Magnus! Are you trying to hide a victory feast from ME?!' 
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard is surprised to meet the huge pony. He isnt sure about whom he is until he sees the shovel. That is the moment he makes the connection. " Excuse my boldness, but may you be that famous pony who saved a whole village with a single shovel? " BubbleGuard declares in admiration.
igordragonian
 "No, Rockhoof. Just a glass of milk. For me. Somehow..."  he gestured toward the group.
 "Aha! I knew I could trust you Magnus!"  the huge pony say loudly, and turn his attention to Bubble Guard.
 "Why yes, it's me. Rockhoof"  he confirm.
 "And you must be Bobby Goo? Right? The guard who never smile, and Starswirl make whole conspiracies just so-" 

Mistmane put a hoof on Rockhoof.
"Please... we just met him. And you have misprounced his name,I afraid'
DaOldeWolf
"  Its totally fine. I know my name is a bit hard to get right.   " BubbeGuard shrugs off the situation. "  I am also in charge of the protection around here. No harm will come to anypony while I am around.  " BubbleGuard declares proudly.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite's eyes glaze over a bit at the arrival of Rockhoof on the scene. Rockhoof, while not Trottish, is well known in Trottingham as an exemplar of earth pony heroism. Most of the mythological epics and poems taught in universities tend to focus on a pegasus or a unicorn, yet this pony seemed to have the right characteristics to capture the imaginations of contemporary writers.

Already seven ballads in Trottingham along had been written of Rockhoof's deeds, and many earth ponies look up to him as a model earth pony: strong, honest, honorable, and kind.

Well, Lettersprite liked to think he was two or three of those things, strong not being one of them, but didn't really see the point in comparing himself to the famous shovel user. He appreciated what Rockhoof had done, but was keenly aware that his example hadn't convinced the world that earth ponies could excel as intellectuals. A shame, that: earth ponies were rarely thought of as being stupid, but most other ponies just seemed to assume they were all farmers or craftsponies. It was silly, really: somepony has to organize the workers and write laws to protect them, no? And what about the times you need a better fertilizer? Better call an alchemist. Yet nopony ever remembered those things...

Lettersprite vigorously shook his head to clear his mind.  There I go daydreaming again 
He then cleared his throat and waved at Rockhoof.
 "Lettersprite: charmed to make your acquaintance Mr. Rockhoof." 

He then bent close to Bubble Guard's ear and whispered the following to him.
  "Is every evening here this... eventful? I'm curious is all."  
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony nods to Rockhoof:   " A pleasure to meet you sir. Your tales speak for themselves. Do you need a refreshement as well, just like Sir Magnus? "  
igordragonian
(sorry)
 'Yes! Please! Crushing dragon looking demon things all day, can make one pony thirsty you know, ma'am.'  he nod to Agony.
To Bubble Guard he chuckle.  'Aye! I can see that! The ol' unicorn has lot of faith in you! Aye!' 
After a tap from Mistmane he remember to adress Lettersprite.
 'Why, well the meet. Quite bookish for your kind, aren't you? Meadowbrook might like you!' 

Mistmane smile with buddah calmess.  'So... is Sable Spirit alright? Is she happy?'  she ask the staff members.

Sugar Rush appear with a tray with milk and cider glasses to everypony.
DaOldeWolf
"  By the way, has anyone heard a group of bureacrats? We are supposed to meet with them today?  " BubbleGuard replies remembering the matter at hand and the main reason they were outside recruiting Letter to deal with the legal situation.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 "  By the way, has anyone heard a group of bureacrats? We are supposed to meet with them today?  " BubbleGuard replies remembering the matter at hand and the main reason they were outside recruiting Letter to deal with the legal situation. 
 

Tea Agony sigh:   " I keep in touch with the royal librairians. Now her reign is going smootly and seem seem to recover. It had come at a step price however, one she is starting to recover from. But overral, yes, she will be fine and her subjects love her."  

She nods toward Bubbles:   " Indeed, those bureaucrats are coming tommorow morning."  

She sigh, ears dropping sadly:   " I really wish we could all drink, eat and talk about your adventures and have the time to socialize. But Starswirl seem to think nothing of value will comes to that and want you all to return to your big missions by tommorow. Its so sad..."  

She take the cider, not the milk. She need the alchool.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite, still somewhat baffled by this encounter with ponies of such renown, nods with a distant look in his eye as Rockhoof speaks, though the mention of Meadowbrook stirs a memory.

 "Meadowbrook? Would you happen to be speaking of the acclaimed alchemist and healer by that very name? Hmm, to be honest, I didn't know that you all knew each other. One might say you are a league of extraordinary gentleponies I suppose. But no matter, it would be nice to make her acquaintance at some point, though I'm afraid our specialties are somewhat different. Thank you ser Rockhoof: I wish you a peaceful evening's rest!" 

Then Tea Agony mentions that the lawyers are coming tomorrow morning.
 "Wait, WHAT? They're coming tomorrow? Why the bloody Tartarus did nopony tell me they were coming so soon? Sorry, sorry: it's just that I'd been expecting to have some time to write up the initial documentation for getting the castle declared a safe house of the Equestrian Alliance. If they're arriving tomorrow, I'd best get writing! So, umm... is there a properly equipped study nearby?" 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony nods:   " Alright, I'll bring you myself to our study in the library. Please follow me."  

She levitate that glass of cider and drink it down the hatch before giviing back the empty glass to Sugar Rush with a " Thank you"

Sugar Rush is amazed by the compagny. She blush seeing sir Magnus and seem to casting him glances the whole time you guys were talking. She feel very little compared to all those ponies and was not saying a lot because of it.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
 Then Tea Agony mentions that the lawyers are coming tomorrow morning.
 "Wait, WHAT? They're coming tomorrow? Why the bloody Tartarus did nopony tell me they were coming so soon? Sorry, sorry: it's just that I'd been expecting to have some time to write up the initial documentation for getting the castle declared a safe house of the Equestrian Alliance. If they're arriving tomorrow, I'd best get writing! So, umm... is there a properly equipped study nearby?"  
 

"  I am sure you will be up for the task. Master Starswhirl has never made a mistake when choosing ponies for the jobs at hand.  " BubbleGuard replies with confidence and a smirk in his face. "  Still, the tudio sounds like a great place to lay out the basic rules and asuch I should follow you there.  "

BubbleGuard turns his attention to the legendary ponies. "  Its a great pleasure to have met all of you. I hope your stay at the castle is a nice and warm one.  "
igordragonian
Rockhoof. "Well. We didn't met each other until this little unicorn.. what his name...." he tapped his beard.

"Stygian." Mistmane reminded of the little unicorn's name.
"Yeah. Sticky. Not the strongest, nor bravest,not even that smart... but his deep care for his village has united us."

Magnus smile to Sugar.
"You are awfuly quite. Are you a dragon spy?" He tease.

Mistmane bow her head respectfully to Bubble.
"The honor is mutual"
---

Corncupia at such hours actually work in the library-fixing books and putting them in place. "Hrrm? Such commotion in such hour?"
Emmerlaus
Sugar look at him with a disappointed expression:   " I know you made your reputation in facing dragons Mister Magnus but under this roof, would you mind considering every races as equal and not an enemy? Master Starswirl accepted a lot of special creatures here, including a half-dragon. Hearing some accusation would really hurt her..."  

As for Cornucopia, Tea Agony has no patience whatsover:   " Its an emergency. We need access to the study or we are all out of jobs and its late, I might be intoxicated and we can discuss everything in the morning but for now, we are going to the study. We will need papers, quills, ink and I'll go fetch a huge pot of coffee for Master Lettersprite here if he feel the need to have some. "  

On that, she guide Lettersprite to the study and make sure its confortable and ask him what books does he need and whatever ese he might need before she leave him to his work...
DaOldeWolf
"  But wait! Before you begin, I want to finally give you a quick rundown on the Golden rules of the castle:

1. Nopony is allowed to use magic while inside spell components room. It gets explody very easily.
 1.a No kissing or hugging BubbleGuard in such or any magically stuffed rooms.
 1.b Bat ponies are especially forbidden from doing this.
2. Anypony who wants to check the spell books in the library needs special permission from Mr. Cornucopia.
3. Entrance is forbidden into either Starswhirl or the princesses´s rooms without permission. The same applies to the three artifact rooms.
4. The princesses have a really strict schedule so don't do anything that might disturb this.
5. No running on hallways or stairs, dashing in the kitchen is perfectly fine and Miss Tailwind is exempt of this rule.
6. There is an infirmary, go there anytime at any hour if you feel bad or are injured. Golden Hour would attend you there.
7. Follow the schedule of your activities and always use the proper attire and/or equipment.
 7.a Apples are not formal attire, no matter how much Night Shift tells you otherwise.
 7.b Ask a friend for help. We are all in this together.
8. Anypony is allowed to come to BubbleGuard´s room at any point in the night for assistance or snacks.
9. Always work in harmony with everypony.
10. In case of invasion, follow instructions given by Deepwood. Especially if it involves parasprites.
And finally the extremely MOST important rule of them all. I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER AND ABIDE TO THIS RULE THE MOST SINCE ITS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY. NO SNACKS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!!! Not a single one. NO EXCEPTIONS! NO SNACKS! EVER! FOR NOPONY IN THE CASTLE!

And since you are joining the castle, I want to make one thing very clear. As soon as you become a member of the staff, you become one of my responsibilities and your protection falls under my work. Do your part in making my job easier.  " BubbleGuard replies out loud. "  There are techincally more rules but follow these ones and we wont have any problems.  "
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite gives Sugar Rush a polite nod and takes a glass of milk. He then downs it in one go, puts the glass back on the tray, and moves to follow Tea and Bubble to the study.
 "My thanks Ms... I'm afraid I didn't catch your name? Ah! Sorry: I must get to work on this proposal for the lawyers tomorrow! Have a fine evening! Perhaps we can speak tomorrow!" 

And with that, Lettersprite gives the assembled legends a respectful nod and raises an eyebrow at Bubble Guard's talk of laying down the rules.
 "Very well Mr. Guard. I will endeavor to listen attentively." 

When they arrive, Lettersprite nods to Cornucopia and offers a hoofshake.
 "My apologies: the matter truly is urgent. My name is Lettersprite; I've been hired as a legal consultant, and I need to draft a document. Your name is?..." 

But before he can exchange further pleasantries, Bubble Guard gives him the promised rules run down. Lettersprite listens closely, though he grows increasingly confused by the odd specificity of the rules listed.
 "...Ok, I think I understand everything except 7a and 10, though I don't expect to have difficulty following them. Ahem, might I ask why snacks are prohibited in the evening? Also, does tea count as a snack? That seems oddly... specific. Ah! But that's not important at the moment: I must get writing!" 

Once a pen and paper are available, Lettersprite sits down and begins drafting the castle's charter as a safe house of the Equestrian Alliance and will work for as long as necessary to complete a final draft.
 
 Spoiler: Roll 
I figured I should roll Law here.
  Law  - (4d6b2)[ 3 ] +2Advantages+4

If this counts as ensuring just legal conduct, then my Special Purpose negates drawbacks. I get my advantages from Job proficiency: Lawyer.
 


Edit: Ok, so that roll was a 9 total with advantages... Wow, I rolled a 3 after rolling 4d6 and taking the highest ^^;
According to the manual, this is a success if the task is simple. It is nearly an average success... Drat.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
 But before he can exchange further pleasantries, Bubble Guard gives him the promised rules run down. Lettersprite listens closely, though he grows increasingly confused by the odd specificity of the rules listed.
 "...Ok, I think I understand everything except 7a and 10, though I don't expect to have difficulty following them. Ahem, might I ask why snacks are prohibited in the evening? Also, does tea count as a snack? That seems oddly... specific. Ah! But that's not important at the moment: I must get writing!"  
 

"  I plan to revision and include all fruits preemptively at some point. And rule 10 is there because we have been invaded before. Sometimes not even at our castle.  " BubbleGuard wonders if he might be making it even more confusing though he i just fine as long as he follows them. He does make a correction about the last rule.  "Technically, you can come to my roon if you want to eat any kind of snacks safely. Or bring your own and eat them at Tea Agony´s room. But beside those two options, I cant guarantee your safety on the castle if you fail to fulfill the rule. Its only food though, you might drink whatever you want without issue. Also, dont try to be a smartass like Mr Highnote, the ex music teacher and think you can cheat the rule by eating healthy food. The tragedy involving those carrot stick will not be soon forgotten." BubbleGuard then stops and gives a minute of silence for Highnote.

BubbleGuard considers that he might be scaring Lettersprite and adds quickly with a nervous smile. "  Mr Highnote is fine. He just decided to leave the job after the awful experience. They always leave..... Anyway, we have Open Book covering the job in the meantime.  " BubbleGuard laughs as if he was in a casual conversation taking about something funny.
igordragonian
 Flash Magnus's Room 

Flash Magnus's eyes widen in terror for a moment.
"Half dragons exist? And they walk among us?!"
He gasp. "I must report to General Ironhead about this!" And then be stop and laugh.
'Hahaha. Fair enough, fair lady, you got me scsred there for a moment"

Mistmane smile calmly 'I don't think she is laughing, Magnus dear.'

-----
 Library 

Corncucapia grunt as herd of ponies charged into his teritorry.
"I guess it is time for me to sleep,here the papers, quill and evenrything you need. Please don't trash the library too much."

"Eeee. You wrote this rule for me?' Echo a sweet voice and from the ceiling a shilloute with yellow slitted eyes,pounce Bubble Guard and kiss him upside down, then spin down and land.

A blue batpony, freckles cover her face and dark orange mane, and hop earring decorate her left ear.
Her flank was bare... she might be the oldest blank flank that Lettersprite has ever seen.
"You see newbie? A whole rule! Written for me!' She squealed, this one had quite the energy.
Emmerlaus
Sugar is very disappointed in his reaction. It really hurt, she's really annoyed too.

Sugar sigh and her voice is one of controlled irritation:   " No, I am not laughing. I was expecting more from you Mister Magnus. The world is changing and we stopped being mean to other type of ponies, why wouldn't other species or special ponies shouldn't be given the same empathy and understanding? After all, Im not blaming every pegasis because of Cloudsdale special "boiler room" so why..."  

Sugar gasp, realizing she spelled out something she shouldn't have said... Her ears drop but her expression is a strange mix of frustration, anger, sadness and anxiety... She takes a deep breath and goes in the nearest open door and put the tray of glasses in her hoof to put then on a counter. She rubs her eyes once her hooves are free as her eyes were getting a bit moist.

=====

Tea Agony point out:   " With the baby, Im no longer allowing ponies in my room after midnight. My family needs its sleep. Having a nice night time Echo dear? "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
  Flash Magnus's Room 

Flash Magnus's eyes widen in terror for a moment.
"Half dragons exist? And they walk among us?!"
He gasp. "I must report to General Ironhead about this!" And then be stop and laugh.
'Hahaha. Fair enough, fair lady, you got me scsred there for a moment"

Mistmane smile calmly 'I don't think she is laughing, Magnus dear.'

-----
 Library 

Corncucapia grunt as herd of ponies charged into his teritorry.
"I guess it is time for me to sleep,here the papers, quill and evenrything you need. Please don't trash the library too much."

"Eeee. You wrote this rule for me?' Echo a sweet voice and from the ceiling a shilloute with yellow slitted eyes,pounce Bubble Guard and kiss him upside down, then spin down and land.

A blue batpony, freckles cover her face and dark orange mane, and hop earring decorate her left ear.
Her flank was bare... she might be the oldest blank flank that Lettersprite has ever seen.
"You see newbie? A whole rule! Written for me!' She squealed, this one had quite the energy. 
 

"  Ahh, Lady Echo! the moon of nights, the sun of my days. Its a pleasure meeting you here.  " BubbleGuard replies with a gentle bow. BubbleGuard shows forth a more calm and sincere smileashe speaks to her. "  How have you been doing? I hope you havent been causing any trouble?  " BubbleGuard jokes.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite pauses for a moment after Bubble Guard finishes speaking and then clears his throat.
 "My apologies Mr. Guard: I had been under the impression that the snacks clause was under rule 10.  Rule 10 makes sense then, but why exactly are snacks banned at nigh-" 

Then the blue bat pony literally drops into his life and he can do little but stand in stunned silence at this unexpected arrival. Lettersprite had heard of bat ponies, but he'd never seen one before, and he hadn't expected to meet one tonight.  She's rather... lively, isn't she...  Eventually, he regains his footing and offers this new pony a hoofshake.
 "Yes, I am a newbie... You may call me Lettersprite: it is a pleasure to meet you, Ms?..." 

Then Bubble Guard greets her by her name and he commits it to memory.  Echo... I suppose it's an appropriate name. 
igordragonian
Flash Magnus frown.
"Excuse me ma'am. Are you implying I am suprmacist of sort? To let you know, against clear orders I have saved a griffin village and convinced the higher ups to solve our issues with them with diplomacy. Sorry if I am not thrilled by beasts who have burnt and gobbled my comrades. And I am too tired to deal with conspiracy theories. I think I'll go back to sleep. Thank for the drink." And with that, he crawl into bed closing his eyes, and like any soldier, can fall asleep just like that.
There is an akward silence for a moment.
--------

Sweet Echo nod. "Yes, sis!" She nod to Tea Agony  "I just has gotten back. For some reason, in the Cherry Blossom Empire they are sure, Mistmane will be here this night,and asked of me to bring her a letter." She chuckle.

To Bubbly Guard she add another nuzzle.
"Nope! Well. Sort of. There are a small camp at the edge of the forest, with trio of stuffy old ponies. I made scary noises. It was funny. Deepwood was angry." She giggled.

The bat pony ignore the hoofshake and jump and hug Lettersprite.
"And I am Sweet Echo! A mail pony, Deepwood's sister, Tea Agony's sister in law, fresh auntie, the oldest blank flank akive aaand most importantly!" She fly back to Bubble Guard.
"Marefriend of Bubbly Doo!"
BlueHamsterBean
Letersprite's eyes bug out and he stiffens at the sudden hug. He calms down after a moment, but is still a tad uncomfortable in Echo's vice grip of a hug.
 "I see...  gasp  Ms. Echo...  wheeze  Charmed I'm sure, but I'm afraid I'm having trouble...  gasp  breathing! 

He lets out a sigh of relief when she releases him to nuzzle Bubble Guard some more. He grins weakly at the two of them.
 "I see. Well, I'll look forward to working with you Ms. Echo. Ah, but I should probably start writing... Hmm, a bunch of stuffy old ponies. You don't reckon they were the lawyers do you? Hmm, interesting." 

And if nopony interrupts, he will begin drafting the document declaring the mansion a safe zone of the Equestrian Alliance.
DaOldeWolf
"  Eeh. I am sure they are fine  ." BubbleGuard declares  not worried about those ponies. "  I just hope DailyDelivery is doing just as fine.  "
Emmerlaus
Sugar sigh but doesn't say anything to Magnus. She close his door for him to sleep in peace.

She nods to the rest of the guests:   " Im sorry you had to see this. My family suffered a lot because of Cloudsdale... and its military regime. Rest assure that it will not affect the quality of he food I'll be making or my politeness to you all. Im... sorry you even had to see this."   

Sugar look like she messed up, big time. She clearly feel guilty and it shows...

========

Tea Agoy clear her throat to everypony:   " Please, let's Letersprite here work. I will bring you coffee if you want, a rare delicacy that is provided here in this castle. Everypony else, let Letterspirte alone in this study."
  

She push, gently, the ponies toward the study exit.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite shrugs in half hearted agreement with Bubble Guard on the subject of the lawyers.
 "I suppose an evening in the woods under the watchful eye of this Deepwood fellow you mentioned shouldn't leave them in a terrible spot, though I can't say I've heard of Ser or Madam Delivery? Are they a friend? A mailpony perhaps?" 

Then Tea Agony begins clearing the room and Lettersprite nods to her in thanks and trots over to the desk. His ears twitch at the mention of coffee.
 "My thanks Ms. Agony, I shall get to work promptly then. As for the coffee, I would rather like to try it if it isn't too much of a bother: it's a mite hard to come by in Trottingham. Our trade relations with Saddle Arabia are, well, nigh nonexistent: the distance is too great by land and often perilous by sea. Only the most experienced sailors make the voyage, and by your words, I take it that it is similarly difficult to find near... actually, where are we geographically speaking? Ah, my apologies: I am getting distracted again. Now then: a draft." 

And with that, Lettersprite will begin writing. When the coffee arrives, he takes his first sip black, and finds it unpalatable, his second sip with sugar, and finds it pleasant yet inferior to tea, and then his third sip after adding milk and rather enjoys it that way. He will have to consider it as an occasional substitute for tea on the proper occasions. Perhaps celebrations of some sort given it's rarity.

In the morning, he is tired and jittery, but awake. The sooner he sleeps, the better though.
igordragonian
Rock Hoof and Mistmane also disperse.
But in the corridor, new(?) Pegasi aporach Sugar Rush.
Beautiful by her own right, with scent of foriegn perfumes of distant lands.
 
Her smile isn't... goofy, it's serene.
It seems nothing can't upset her.
"Greetings' she say with strong accent.
"I do not know what cause your pain, but I just see it in your eyes." She say and pull a small glowing green gem.
"..it's topaz. An unique gem from my village. In the darkest, it shine the brightest- don't forget to hope." She smile
-----


Morning.
Starswirl gather the main staff including Lettersprite. (And Sweet Echo would beg Agony to babysitt Midnight Snack)
"...I am very happy you could make it. Thank you.' He nod.
"Can you handle it, while I lead back the pillars into our quest?'

At the corner of the room stand shifty and nervouse little young unicorn.
 https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/my...20191225020741 

"I understand it's a bit of a sudden, but I we need to face great dangers for Equestria.'
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard is joining the reception, mainly to help provide with the security. He knows that his poor conversational skills wouldnt be of much use but he was hoping that between Agony and Lettersprite that everything would be dealt with appropiately.
Emmerlaus
Sugar Rush is surprised... and the topaz look and smell so tasty! Buts he actually refrain from saying or even looking at the topaz like a dragon would. For her, Somnambula, who didnt introduce herself, seem so... easy to get along and her beauty makes jealous a bit envious as its hypnotizing.

Sugar blinks and says:   "T-thank you. I hope we can talk more openly and in lenght tommorow, Miss...?"  

After she present herself, Sugar smile and present herself:   " Im sorry for the late introduction. My name is Sugar Rush, cook at the castle. I am the daughter of Glitter Storm, small noble pony at Cloudsdale and my father, Golden Hour, is the castle doctor. I must say you have good eyes Somnambula. I hope, no puns intended, to meet yo more often at the castle."  


===========

Tea Agony put her hoof down:   " NO! This is NOT finished! You are risking your life out there without so much as a single report or news about your activities, without the d-decency to make sure we are ok a-and and..."  

Sugar Rush goes to Tea Agony and hugs her. Tea Agony cant handle it anymore and she cries in Sugar Rush embrace. She mention:   " It was a lot for her to see you in this state yesterday master Starswirl. I am sure it's not surprising for you that Tea Agony see you as a second father to her right? "  

Sugar Rush look at Starswirl and their is a rare gleam of reproach in her eyes. She doesn't want to say it but in her mind, Starswirl is messing up. The Staff felt abandonned and it had being harder for poor Tea Agony.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite is present in body and is mostly present in mind. It's easy to tell that he was up late by the bags under his eyes. He nods respectfully when Star Swirl  acknowledges him.
 "I admit the request was a bit sudden, but I understand the situation was difficult to expect. I cannot guarantee success, but I have done my best, and that has often been sufficient." 

Lettersprite knows nothing of the dangers facing Equestria, but is confident that the great mage and his fine friends can handle it, which is why he is surprised by Tea Agony's outburst. Well, one reason: he wasn't aware the Staff were so close to Star Swirl.

Regardless, he remains silent: he cannot judge that which he knows nothing about.
igordragonian
Starswirl sigh
 "...I understand. But there is a lot in stake here. And I cant risk the princesses meeting the pillars... it's a very complex situation, and I trust each one of you. You have passed countless tests. There nothing left for me to teach you."  

The little unicorn walk forward with folded ears.
"Please... forgive me, ma'am. I was the one who gathered the pillars.. I... am just too weak to save my village.'
Emmerlaus
Sugar turn to the little unicorn:   " This is not your fault. It's Starswirl's detached attitude that is the problem. I can see why he never married."  

Tea Agony suck up her tears and whisper:   " Stop it Sugar. I-I'm fine. "  
DaOldeWolf
"  Sir, dont worry! We can handle this.  " BubbleGuard replies trying to fill his master with confidence. "  Our staff should be more than prepared thanks to our new addition  "
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite continues to listen to the conflict unfold, but does not immediately say anything. He does turn over the idea of a married Star Swirl in his head, and from the limited conversation he's had with the stallion, also finds it difficult to imagine. That said, he's in his mid thirties and single, so who is he to judge.

Then Bubble Guard speaks and Lettersprite nods in tentative agreement before yawning despite himself. He looks around sheepishly before clearing his throat.
 "Ahem, yes, I will do what I can to remedy the situation... though I regret my inability to rest last night. If we expect we may have some time before the lawyers' arrival, it may be prudent for me to take a short nap. Otherwise, I see few predictable barriers in our path." 
igordragonian
Starswirl seems a bit akward.
"I don't like it anymore then any of you... but for my skill and power I have duties. And yes. This is why I never married." He say sadly
"But this case is even beyond my induvdial power. Rips have been ripped in the fabric of reality! My chaos sensors have gone wild! Only the greatest heroes of Equestia have a chance to stop it! And you, my dearest staff, have an as important, and maybe more important task. While me and the pillars will fight for Equestria's existence, you are tasked with Equestria's future. This is just the way it has to be."

The small unicorn feels out of place.
"...I see that Starswirl is so important for you all." He say.
"From what I have seen, he and the other pillars are truly great! I am sure Starswirl will get back in no time! And also.. he might too busy for this... hut since I am so useless, I could at least write a journal..." he smile sheepishly.
"From what I have seen, Starswirl isn't one to waste words in tales... but I am. So you will know everything that happened, and it will be like we were all together!'  The unicorn at least try to be kind..

Starswirl chuckle.
"And I trust you Lettersprite, of course."
Emmerlaus
Sugar look with bright eye at that little Unicorn:   " Quite the sensible fellow aren't you! We would greatly appreciate it. Do you want something sugar? Maybe a refill of coffee, mister...? "  

Tea Agony look... defeated. She sigh, nods weakly:   " I understand master Starswirl."  

She looks with a small faint hope hiding within, from the corner of her eyes, at the exchange between the little unicorn and Sugar.
DaOldeWolf
"  Are you okay, Miss Agony?  " BubbleGuard asks raising an eyebrow. "  Miss Sugar, may I ask for some milk instead?  " he adds wanting to take the chance seeing as she was offering coffee. He could use a drink himself.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite nods to Star Swirl before yawning despite himself, grinning sheepishly afterwards.
 "Well then, I can only hope this business reaches its ideal conclusion and swiftly. Do take care, all of you..." 

When the subject of beverages comes up, he will look between Bubble Guard and Sugar Rush before yawning again.
 "Err, I suppose my preference depends on whether I can get a bit of rest in before the lawyers arrive. Milk if I can and coffee if I cannot... Do we have an estimated time for their arrival? You had mentioned that they were being tracked Mr. Guard?" 
Emmerlaus
Sugar point out:   " Im pretty confident we have what you would fancy Mister Lettersprite. tea, Coffee, Milk, limonade, iced tea, cider... You name it! And of course Bubbles, I'll bring back some milk!"   

Tea Agony make a big sigh and says:   " I. am. fine. Let's just get this day over with so I can return to feeding and cuddling my baby boy."  
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard sighs knowing it was a futile attempt. At the very least, he could hope that motivation over all would remain positive. "  Alright then. Lets go and meet with our special guests. I am counting on the both of you.  " BubbleGuard replies hoping that his words would at least help with the motivation.
igordragonian
 "S..Stygian."  he blush bit from the positive attention. He seems a bit flinchy, as if he is used to be scolded a lot.
 "I would preffer sweet tea if you don't mind ma'am." 

The farewell is heartfelt. Starswirl at first try to act distant and setoic,but pshed by Mistmane, he give an akward hug to each staff member.
Sadly Deepwood miss him, by being on a  mission.
Starswirl give each staff member a small magical trinket.
Seemingly a joke trinket which relate to their personality.
To Tea Agony he pass to Deepwood for an example, a branch, which could spin an object or pony upside down.
Which not only relate to Deepwood being a batpony, but also e couraging him to look oppositly and be optimistic.

-----

Deepwood get to the castle about a hour after Starswirl's departure.
"We have fifteen minutes until they come."

--'

Trio of middle aged ponies arrive,carrying themselves with self importance.

one is a male earth pony, with grey coat,and brighter grey silver mane, purple eyes, and heavy rimmed glasses. A large suitcase carried on his saddle.
Also a red ribbon with a golden medal (not unlike this one  https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20180325123334 ) his expression is quite sour.

there is also a male unicorn, with a white coat,and grey balding mane, and a bit of a goatee, just like the earth pony, he carred a suitecase and a medal. He wore a monocole.


the third, were probably the most interesting looking- female pegasi, orange with black stripes, her cyan white mane collected in a bun.
She wear golden glasses with a chain,alongside the suitcase and the medal.
Those are the Appraiser Pan Equestrian Squad. Or P.E.S.Q

How will the Staff meet them? Where are the princesses?
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite elected not to take a nap in the end, taking another cup of coffee and thanking Sugar Rush.

When Deepwood returns and informs The Staff of the incoming lawyers, he nods and picks up a small stack of paperwork he has assembled.

He waits at the front entrance for the castle's guests, remaining inside and leaving the matter of these princesses to the more experienced staff.

When he sees the lawyers approach, he looks up from his paperwork and waves them forwards. He notes their frustrated expressions and sighs, expecting this will be difficult.
 "Ah! You three must be the delegation from the Three Kingdoms. You may call me Lettersprite: a pleasure to make your acquaintances I hope, sers and madam...? Well, anyway, we have much to do: the proprietor of this castle, Court Magus Starswirl, has asked me to draft a motion to declare this residence a neutral safehouse of the Equestrian Alliance under the Treaty of Everfree." 

Lettersprite will hand over the pile of paperwork to the lawyers for review.
 "I would very much like to have your assistance in bringing this motion to the Alliance Council to be processed. Until it has been, I'm afraid the investigation of the manor will have to be suspended under subsection 8.2.17 of the Treaty of Everfree, and may be suspended indefinitely from then on depending on the suspicions and evidence of the Council... my apologies: you have come a long way for this, and it would seem you had a difficult night from the way your carry yourselves. I may be able to procure a warm, energizing beverage for you if you so wish at the very least." 

Lettersprite will give the lawyers time to review the proposal and check what notes they have on the Treaty of Everfree. He will answer what questions they have, though he has to suppress a yawn from time to time.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony prepare an official welcoming in the lobby. It's not a celebrtion its more a welcoming thing.

Their is nice music in the air, smelled candles selected to ease tension, tea and cookies ready near the entrance, a table to sit down and chat where Lettersprite had being sitted already.

Tea Agony... look like a buttler?! She look like a patronned, her air are tied in a bun, with small glasses that makes her look dignified and A kit that almost makes her look like a stallion. Her manners are impeccable.

Unknown to most, their is hidden magical runes under that table. Nothing life-threatening, only something to appease mood and relax everypony.

She had being perplexed by the magic item Starswirl had given her... a crystal-like box that couldn't be opened normally. Starswirl assured her the box would open when the timing was right. She put it no mind but she had whispered to him to stay safe out there.
igordragonian
Deepwood is quite a taken aback by his wife's looks.
He point at Lettersprite. "Does this one belong to us?"

The earth pony apparaiser nod. 'Ah. I have heard of you. If you were a bit older, we would have recruicted you. I am Bill by the way" and offer a hoof for a shake.
The pegasi hold Bill's hoof. "Don't get to friendly here.'she frown.
"I am Paper Tiger. And this is Max-"

The unicorm cough.
Paper Tiger roll her eyes. "SIR Max Tax. And as a general rule- ALL privliges are reexamined.'
Sir Max Tax nod. "Actually, we didn't said it earlier, but the Alliance Council does have suspicions and concerns about the activity here. We need to discuss, what justified the treaty in the first place, and what justify it under the alliance council"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony:   " Please sit down honored guests. "
  

Once everypony is sit and served tea , cookies and ... special brownies made by Sugar under Tea Agony suggestion. All the staff knows to not take them and keep it for the guests should they want some.

Tea Agony:   " Although our lawyer here explained it clearly, please explain to us your concerns. We will be glad to listen as long as you also read carefully the documents provided. Each of you have a copy and dont worry about staining them, we have more copies if needed."  

At no point they questionned the legality of the documents provided by Lettersprite. Tea Agony suspected they knew the Staff had something here.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite nods at the three lawyers' introductions, nodding at each, though he raises an eyebrow at Paper Tiger's adversarial attitude.  Paper Tiger... isn't that a phrase from overseas? Bah, something to consider when my brain isn't fogged by weariness.  Outwardly, he nods and beckons them inwards.
 "Well I am glad to have your names, please, do come in. I'm not much of an outdoors pony myself." 

Lettersprite sits down at the table and will have another cup of coffee. He sips it slowly, but pauses when he hears that the treaty itself is being questioned by those who signed it. He considers this before sighing and putting his cup down.  Well, if the ponies of my nation debate it in the streets, why wouldn't the nobles and bureaucrats? 

He rests his head on his steepled forehooves, yawning despite himself before speaking.
 "I suppose I am not surprised that there is confusion and mistrust of the Treaty: it is unprecedented. Nonetheless, if I recall correctly, it was a mutual desire to make trade and travel easier between the borders of the Three Kingdoms that justified it. I was present at the negotiations actually: there was much disagreement even then, but that common point was something they could rally behind. But there is no need to take my word for it: the justification is given in subsection a 1.2 of the Treaty's preamble, though I respect that the legislation is yet young and is a mite... verbose, even for a document of its importance." 

He nods at the question of what justifies the motion to declare the mansion a neutral safehouse.
 "That should be on page three. The justification is twofold: firstly, while the Treaty was agreed upon, no actions have yet been taken to enable effective communication between heads of state in neutral territory. If business is to be conducted fairly between Alliance nations, such a place will be needed, and there are few places more neutral than the Everfree Forest. Secondly, no place has yet been decided upon for the hosting of diplomats from outside of the Three Kingdoms who may have political rivals within one or more of them. If we are to be hospitable to trading partners overseas, this will be a necessity." 

It may or may not escape the three lawyers that while each of these propositions are beneficial to the functioning of the state, they also conveniently mean that the manor will see infrequent traffic, and what traffic does come through will likely be announced beforehand.

Lettersprite leans back after finishing his explanation and takes another long sip of coffee before speaking up again.
 "I am curious to see how this proposal is reviewed by the Council: the new bureaucracy is untested, and it is my hope that a few kinks will be worked out of it in the process of reviewing my work. Though you mention suspicions of this place: I am curious as to what, specifically, you mean by that. I know little of this manor, though I would be keen to learn." 
igordragonian
Bill smile. "Golly. You see? Maybe I am more of numbers pony, but we Earth Ponies have talkers among us!'

Max Tax sigh. "Look. It was just an inoffensive jest. No need to bring it up here. No one actually doubt the capabilties of any tribe. That the point of what are we doing!"


Paper Tiger sip her coffee listening. Her tail flip, and her eyes travel over the room,like a tigeress waiting to prey.
"Well. It's very convient for this castle. Isn't it? The forest is inhospitable to ponies and other creatures of civilization. If not for the ranger of this castle-" she motion toward Deepwood. 'We would have been devoured by eldrtich monstrosities- wolves made of timber! What merchants would pass such a territory?" She ask. "I'll tell you what merchants- none!'

Max Tax nod. "We don't doubt the honest intention, but in practice, the forest weren't used to travel- worse,since Lord Rockfeller has visited the forest once, the rumors of the forest's dangers have became worse! What diplomats can we bring here? They will declare war in an instance!"
Bill nod. 'Yeah. The forest.. is kind of suck."

Paper Tiger continue. "So its neutraility, is meaningless in practice- what it actually does, it give a free roaming ground for potentialy dangerouse projects in a place, nopony will investigate!"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony mention:   " The fact that it is remote and now in a land worth conquering or fighting over is in fact an advantage to the location. The Earth Pony nation already gave Starswirl their full support, so did the Unicorn nation. Pardon my bluntness but we would not have survived so far if it was impossible to bring goods over as well. We have our ways and our traveling routes among the forest. Besides, the documents provided clearly state that we are not fighting for independancy but rather providing a last bastion if your alliance were to fail, for every pony nations. A remote location that is hard to invade or take over is actually what is best to protect important royal ponies of every nations! "  
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard grumbles in the background. He cant believe the nerve of those ponies to be trying to get their way so much completely. Still, he knew that it was for the best for him to let them handle the situation by themselves since he tended to make matters worse by interfering.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite nods calmly at Paper Tiger's words and is about to respond when Tea Agony beats him to his own counterargument.  Clever lass 

He clears his throat.
 "Ms. Agony has already expressed my reasoning for choosing this location: the environment provides a natural defense against intrusion and espionage. As for the concerns of hosting diplomats and the incident with Lord Rockefeller, I would like to remind you of the powerful distrust that still lingers between the Three Kingdoms and within the complex trade network built between them and other peoples of the continent and beyond. There are many officials who yet have reason to fear for their safety when staying in the wrong kingdom, and as Ms. Agony has already expressed, there exist those with the proper expertise capable of mitigating the dangers of the Everfree. That said, I am sorry to hear you had an unpleasant night to say the least, and you are correct that patrols would have to be expanded to make the use of this estate feasible. This is something that can, and will be done." 

He then looks in the direction of Paper Tiger.
 "As for your concerns about projects conducted here, that strikes me as an issue to be resolved in the presence of this mansion's owner, if for no other reason than to know which trinkets to touch and which to observe from a distance. If the council has specific concerns about his conduct, they should be formally stated as per the constitutional subsections on proper legal process of, well, all three kingdoms and the new Alliance. Do not mistake my intent: a central goal of the Treaty of Everfree was to encourage open conversation between the governments of the Three Kingdoms and other ponies in power, but such things must be done properly." 

He yawns and cleans his glasses with a hoofkerchief before putting them back on and finishing his thoughts.
 "I will speak with my client once the opportunity presents itself. Radical changes in government have historically been followed by a flurry of compromises and negotiations: I expect the signing of the Treaty will be no different. In the meantime, I would ask you to deliver my proposal to the Council and tell them that I will be speaking with Star Swirl during the proposal's review period. From my limited interactions with him, I doubt he will like the idea of his mansion being turned upside down, but you are correct in pursuing equal treatment under the law. My hope is that an agreement can be reached between him and the Council that will allow him to act as the keeper of this place, mainly because he knows it best, and as has been previously established, measures will have to be taken to make it suitable for guests." 

Lettersprite then turns to Tea Agony and Bubble Guard momentarily, saying the following.
 "In the meantime, we will have time to better prepare this place and ourselves for future guests." 
He then looks back to the three lawyers and finishes his thought.
 "I have presented my justification in word and text, and have made my wishes clear. I propose we adjourn to begin our respective efforts, though I doubt this is the last time we will speak. Are there any further questions you have before we take our leave of each other?" 
igordragonian
Paper Tiger frowned a bit at Tea Agony, not liking her tone- but her logic was sound.

Deepwood groaned, when Lettersprite has promised more patrols. Beside overworking he liked his forest, clean of noisy ponies. But that what it is.

Bill nod. 'That sound fair,'

Sir. Max Tax relcunatly nod. But stop. 'Don't rush, Bill my friend.' he say.
'The Presence of Starswirl is another issue of worry- there are... rumors, of him collecting group of powerful ponies, and we can't figure out why. He is indeed the greatest wizard, about it there is no doubt- but it seems like, there is something that concern Equestria as a whole- and this is beyond his understanble need for privacy in his studies. We want- No- We NEED more cooperation.'

Paper Tiger is adjusting her glasses.
'I can agree, on signing on a temproary extension of the original treaty. You will be given time, but we will be back of a second and more through inspection in the future. We also, before the inspection will test those promises, and upon them the future of the treaty will be decided. Are the any objections for that?'
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite winced at Deepwood's groan and gives the bat pony a sympathetic look.  If I had a farthing for every job I've had dumped on me, I would have nine pounds and tuppence... We really need a more intuitive currency system in Trottingham. 

Lettersprite nods at the three lawyers' words and offers a hoof to shake.
 "This is something I can agree too, and something I am confident my client will be receptive to. He has a great deal invested in this treaty: a treaty, I would like to remind you, that was written in part to build trust between the Three Kingdoms and important figures. My thanks for your patience in the meantime: when should we expect you to return?" 

Once the lawyers have left, Lettersprite will stifle another yawn before turning to face Bubble Guard with a curious expression on his face.
 "I was unaware that the Alliance Council itself had reservations about Ser Star Swirl: had I known, I would have prepared a different proposal... My apologies: I am afraid I was forced to concede more than you would have liked. Nonetheless, I meant what I said: this could easily benefit all parties involved down the line. If the Alliance cannot trust Ser Star Swirl, it would be weaker for it." 

He cleans his glasses with a hoofkerchief before looking back to Bubble Guard.
 "Still, if there are items or personnel you would like to conceal, now would be the time to arrange for that. I expect the Princesses may wish to take a brief holiday if possible... They are not confined to this mansion, are they? I cannot think it would be healthy for foals their age..." 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony snort, activate subtly the calming runes but its too late for her:   " They can't trust Starswirl, even if he is the one who came up with the spell to save Equestria. He is the one who managed to improve the life of everypony here who were living long night that lasted months, with days that last months too.  And NOW, that he is fighting outthere for threats that would risk the whole Kingdom, they STILL don't trust him? I think the REAL issue here is that they simply think Starswirl would want to take over the 3 nations. Don't worry, he won't. He could have done so a long time ago if he had wanted to and everypony knows it. Everypony was depending on his spell to raise up the sun and moon for a time, before he train the Unicorn nation to raise it. But do not worry, we will let you make sure any nobles here will be safe and comfortable coming here in case of an emergency and you will be able to do your little inspection another day. Just make sure to send us any guidelines we need to apply to beforehand if we need to remodel the castle or something. We WILL cooperate. "  

She takes a deep breath:   " I am... sorry. We are all lacking sleep here. But you need to realize how discourtous your words toward our boss your little inspection made us feel. Especially with such a close deadline, with no announcement whatsoever, with no chance of Master Starswirl to come back in time. For us, it felt like you knew he was away and were aiming for that exact moment... Yes, it could be coincidential but still, you will need to work with us if you want us to work with you to. Consider us part of this agreement to and stop being so openly distrusting of us. It will only create more hostility. Starswirl proven how he want to help everypony in Equestria. Questionning that fact now is just a slap in our face."
  

Tea Agony wanted them to realize she is no fool in this matter. Their timing was indeed seemingly perfect and they just admitted they knew Starswirl was away AND they admitted being worried he had reassemble a group of powerful ponies for "some reasons".
igordragonian
The apparisers do shake Lettersprite's hoof.
Bill most eagerly.
Paper Tiger.  "We will be back in 60 days."
"Farewell." Sir. Max Tax said.

----

Money Bags sigh. "They just nervouse at powers outside of their control. Maybe they even have a hunch about the princesses. Secrecy give birth to suspicion. This is the nature of ponies."

Deepwood:"Bah. Together we can worse then some noisy clerks. We can survive everything" and hug Agony, as Sweet Echo pop from hiding and pounce Bubble Guard.

..............
My little pony...

You are all my very best friends....



Tea Agony&amp;Sugar Rush......... Emmeralus.
Bubbleguaed............................DaOldWolf
Lettersprite..............AMBlueHamsterBean
Deepwood.................igordragonian
Sweet Echo...............igoradragoniana
Paper Tiger...............annoyingdragonian
Sir. Max Tax...............Republicandragonian
Bill...............................Chilldragonian
Emmerlaus
  Hop and Scotch  

In the very next day, Tea Agony use her telekenesis to lift a spoon and tap lightly on a glass:   " Attention everypony, I have an announcement to make!"  

Once she have the attention of everypony, she announce: " First of all, I would like you to cheer for mister Lettersprite, who is going to join us as part of Starswirl's Castle staff from now on! "

After some cheering and clapping, she continue: " I figured that the first thing in order is to welcome our new teammates by revealing the biggest secret inside the castle to him... and submit him to his initiation in the same time. "

She turn to Lettersprite:   " Lettersprite, inside this very castle, we are protecting the future of Equestria. Sugar, do the signal please! "
  

Sugar take a deep breath... and whistle very hard. Once Lettersprite start drinking his tea, you hear the giggling of Celestia who appear from an invisible spell. She casted a spell to make Lettersprite tea become bubbly to surprise him.   Drinking it will make him burp!  

Before Lettersprite can spot the fillies, Luna giggle and change the colors of Lettersprite outfit into a bright pink uniform with cupcake motifs on it. Luna appear as well after that.

Both goes to Lettersprite, flying, raising a hoof to shake his own, speaking in unison: "   Greeting Mis    ter Lettersprite!"  

Celestia speak first:   " I am Celestia! It's a pleasure to meet you!"  

Luna follow:   " And I am Luna! Im also happy to meet you!"  
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard starts sweating bullets when he first hears about the biggest secret in the castle but he quickly calms himself down when he understands that she is talking about he princesses. "  Well, I still dont understand why anypony deserves a welcome party. He is jut one of the many ponies that have served this castle.  " BubbleGuard complains. "  I insist parties are a waste of time and valuable resources.  "
igordragonian
Deepwood for once.. looked exausted, as Midnight Snack grew his first fang.
The screeches were unbareable,so he had to fly him around all night.
Midnght Snack were now trying to chew everything and everypony.
Now it was Deepwood's ear.


Sweet Echo giggled alongside the fillies.
"WELCOME!"

Sweet Echo nudged Bubble Guard "Be nice"
DaOldeWolf
"  But Sweety. .... " BubbleGuard sighs and decides to play along. He didnt want to upset her afterall. "  Alright, alright. Just because you asked.  "
igordragonian
"Thank you." Sweet Echo said sweetly and pecked him.
BlueHamsterBean
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Sorry for the wait: I was super tired last night and snoozed instead of posting.
 


Lettersprite looks up from his tea with a smile on his face when the glass is rung. He listens closely to Tea Agony and is beginning to look around the room for this "secret" when he takes a sip of some of the fizziest tea he's ever drunk.

A loud belch erupts from Lettersprite's mouth. He looks at the teacup in bafflement just as his brain registers the sound of giggling fillies... and then a pink cupcake pattern on his bathrobe.

Looking a tad alarmed, he scans the room, freezing when he sees the Princesses.  Wings... and a horn... wha- 

He blinks once, blinks twice, and then begins laughing. He claps his forehooves for a few moments before rubbing his temples with one of them.
 "Ahahahaha! Well, this was... unexpected in ways I can only begin to express. Nonetheless, I can appreciate the prank. Well done!" 

He adjusts his glasses, takes another sip of tea, belching once again, before giggling and looking back to the Princesses.
 "Let me guess, my beverage has been enchanted to induce... tea agony, aha! I take it you are the royal wards of this manor I have heard so much about. I am well and truly pleased to meet you! I admit you are not as I had imagined, but on the other hoof, nothing in Ser Star Swirl's manor has been thus far." 

He extends a hoof in their direction to shake if they wish.
 "I do look forward to working with you Princesses Luna and Celestia. I have been tasked with instructing your highnesses in the study of law: I will warn you that I am told my explanations can become... verbose, so I encourage your highnesses to tell me when I need to summarize." 

He winks and pretends not to hear Bubble Guard's griping. He looks down at his cup of tea, furrows his brow in concern, and then sheepishly looks back to the Princesses.
 "Err, would your highnesses mind reverting my tea to its original state? I am afraid it will be somewhat difficult to sip as it is." 
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood for once.. looked exausted, as Midnight Snack grew his first fang.
The screeches were unbareable,so he had to fly him around all night.
Midnght Snack were now trying to chew everything and everypony.
Now it was Deepwood's ear. 
 

Sugar goes to Deepwood and Midnight with a bowl. Its full of banana paste, honey and peanut butter.

  " I made this for your little Nighty if you want to try. It should distract him enough from munching your ears. And their is a additionnal dose of potassium in there, to make him sleep like a log after breakfast. "  

Tea Agony:   " Everypony here have some secrets. Some have not even started to reveal them mind you,"    she says, directly glaring at Bubbles with a knowing smile. She return her attention to Lettersprite when Bubbles look deeply uneasy:   " But every secrets will be revealed eventually. Just give the ponies time here. For exemple, my name is linked to an old Unicorn tea ceremony, a specific part called " The agony of the leeves " where the tea leaves are "suffering" to make the best tea. Its a old fashion, noble name for the Unicorns but I know its going to not last. Its very unsettling after all."
  

The Princesses look confused:   " Humm, no we cannot undo it? But we can drink it like that! "  

They make your tea liquid levitate to their mouth and drink it happilly. Sugar, realizing what is going on gasp and cover Midnight's ears with her hooves and her own ears with her wings.

The Princesses suddenly burp very loudly, in a Canterlot ROyal pony voice could!

   " BUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRPPPPPP!!! "  
 
   " BUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRPPPPPP!!!   

The table shake from the sound wave and even a window burst open from the shockwave! Tea Agony use her telekenesis to make sure the food is not wasted and that most of the chairs stay in place so nopony is hurt. She groan from the effort though, doing so while covering her ears.

After that, the Princesses giggles, then laugh at everypony astonished reaction.

Sugar look a bit peeves:   " Girls! Stop messing around and go eat your breakfast, its going to get cold! "  

The Princesses obey happilly, going to their seat to eat and munch on cupcakes and pancakes.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite naively offers his teacup when the princesses say they want to try some, and raises an eyebrow when Sugar Rush covers the admittedly extremely cute foal's ears.
 "Oh come now, while I'm sure a batpony's hearing is quite sensitive, surely a mere burp could have no hazardous-" 

And then it happens: the single loudest noise Lettersprite has ever heard, and coming from the mouths of two fillies no less.

It has been hypothesized that earth pony magic does not, in fact, have anything to do with agriculture, but rather is a bond with the earth itself. A bond, that when disrupted, say, by extreme elation or emotional distress, can result in the pony becoming untethered from the ground in a more literal sense.
Had a scholar of earth pony magic been present, they would have said his reaction was decisive proof that this hypothesis was correct, considering he jumped six meters directly into the air before landing back in his chair, eyes spinning in their sockets for a few moments before refocusing.

He looks across the faces of each senior staff member in shock before looking down at his toast and cleaning his glasses with a hoofkerchief. He then looks back to Sugar Rush.
 "My apologies: I will endeavor to follow your lead in the future... Their highnesses are indeed special fillies...  very  special fillies..." 

Lettersprite takes a contemplative bite of toast, swallows, chuckles, and then looks back to the princesses.
 "You know, your ability to raise your voices as just shown could be quite useful when presiding over a court of law as a judge. You would have little need for a gavel." 

He winks, and then continues unsteadily eating his toast, letting the post-prank and post-burp jitters work themselves out.
igordragonian
Deepwood, Midnight Snack and Sweet Echo all cringed in pain at the Royal Burp.
For them it was even louder, with an annoying ringinf noise.

Midnight Snack started to cry, but Echo did a wierd soothing whistle which have calmed the baby down
"That ok Snacky." She cooed.
"The big scary princesses just playing around. Don'chyou worry!"

Sweet Echo blinked.
"Sorry. Sorry. I was always the little sister. I might have said something wrong.'



Deepwood grunt. "Well. Their pranks are special if nothing else."
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard considers the situation and shivers at the though of his many secrets being revealed. There was a lot of stuff going around recently and the new changes had left him feeling quite insecure about his situation. BubbleGuard offers his hoof to Sweety hoping to receive some support. "  Sorry. I suppose I am a bit anxious.   " BubbleGuard admits  as he sighs.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony sigh: " Alright, back to subject: We will be going to the Earth Kingdom soon. I have made an appointement with Trottingham's royalty. This is also where we will have the vacations we promised the Princesses. "

  " YAAA    AAY! "  

The Princesses are excited and clasp their little hooves together while giggling.

Tea Agony continue after this small interruption:   " The Earth Pony Kingdom royalty are actually our allies. I'll explain to Lettersprite since he is new here but our nurse was actually the only spy that managed to bypass our vigilance and get information about the Princesses. And they are ok with them getting the reign of Equestria as long as they dont lose their wealth and importance in their own cities. They think very practically, which is good for us. In any case, I want to make sure we have their cooperation in maintaining the secrecy of this place, as well as making sure we stay on the same page for this new treaty. Lettersprite, you'll be in charge of preparing a list of things worth sightseeing in Trottingham. Anything we should be wary off going to Tronningham?    

Sugar ask:   " Is it wise? I mean I thought the political climate right now isnt the best? "  

Tea Agony shrug: "   We will be fine I believe. Trottingham is very safe.   

Sketch Book, one of the teachers in the Staff, look uneasy:   " I'll stay here if nopony mind. I... I dont have good feelings for Tronningham."  

Celestia suddenly ask:   " Can Grandpa Golden can come too? "  

Sugar face light up as they mention her dad:   " Oh that is a sweet idea sweetie! "  

(I know I know, chit-chatting but I'll try to concentrate on my plan for my next posts. FIrst I wanted to make sure if you guys want to do anything special for this adventure. I can adjust it accordingly)
DaOldeWolf
"  Well, I totally look the part of earth pony. I dont think I will have any issues being around them.  " BubbleGuard proclaims agreeing on the concept.

" You are the embodiment of anti earth ponyism. You will stick out more than even a unicorn or a pegasi would. " Harvest Moon complains. " Stay away from crops. We dont want to be ran out of a settlement. "

" I will admit that physical appearances aside, I might still need to work on my plant caring capabilities but what are the chances that I might have to water any plants on our journey? " BubbleGuard replies hoping the rest would agree with his premise.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite finishes the rest of his breakfast as Tea Agony speaks, raising a curious eyebrow when she says they're going back to Trottingham, and then dropping a pancake on the table when he hears the Princesses are supposed to take power eventually and that the nobility agreed.

He pauses for a moment before sitting back in his chair with his hooves steepled in front of him.
 "...I was somewhat curious as to which principality the young mistresses were to inherit, though I admit the newly born nation of Equestria had never crossed my mind..." 
He sighs and rubs his forehead as he continues.
 "I, like my country, have no problems with this arrangement, albeit under different conditions: the nobility wish to retain their wealth and status, while I would like Trottingham's proud tradition of  constitutional  monarchy to continue. I dearly hope the Queen and King are of the same opinion, otherwise the political climate will only become more hostile once this is revealed to the public... Though I imagine that isn't going to happen any day soon, so we have time to prepare." 

Lettersprite's expression softens as he looks back to the Princesses and he chuckles.
 "You've much growing up yet to do after all your young highnesses!" 

He looks to Tea Agony and steeples his hooves again.
 "As for sightseeing, I would highly recommend Buckinghay Palace, the preserved abode of Chancellor Puddinghead, and the Tower of Lawndon if you've a taste for the macabre: it serves as a grim look into the times before the Hearthswarming armistice... Though I expect we may wish to wait to bring the Princesses there until they have lived a few more years. Also, the bakery of Smart Cookie's descendants is a place tourists must visit: the baked goods are truly sublime, and they even have a little cafe!" 

Lettersprite pauses for a moment to see if anypony else shows his enthusiasm for baked goods before clearing his throat awkwardly and continuing.
 "Regardless, you also had asked about dangers, and off the top of my head, the only real ones would be the more, ahem, 'eager' protestors of the recent treaty, and cutpurses... Our recent attempts at industrialization have done wonders for the economy, but have left many ponies with less time and bits than they would like, and truthfully, I do not blame them. It is my hope that industrialization will be regulated carefully by Parliament, and thus far, my hopes seem to have been answered... but I digress. Trottingham is a mostly peaceful place, though its citizens are more vocal than those of other countries perhaps. Bear in mind that if a pony loudly voices their opinion to you, they most likely mean you no harm, and are simply happily exercising their right to candid discourse." 

Lettersprite listens to the reactions of the rest of The Staff as he finishes his last pancake before Bubble Guard's comments take him by surprise.
 "Oh, so you're not an earth pony then? Ah, pardon: that is likely a personal affair, though I am happy to inform you that lacking skill with crops will not see you ostracized. Were that the case, I would have been imprisoned long ago, aha!" 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo listen tentavily.
"It sound a bit complicated..."


When Bubble Guard's is questioned, she hug him protectovly.
"Bubbly Doo is an unicorn! Don't you see how handsome and noble he is?!" and then add a giggle.
"But yes. I guess that why he never give me flowers..."

She look at Agony. "Can I come too? I never was in Trottingham before!"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony sigh and turn to Lettersprite:   " Mister Lettersprite, our first meeting was... unexpected. If you come with us, you'll need to be under the open sky so we can be sightseeing. Will you be ok? "  

(I need to ask before I can move on)
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite tilts his head curiously at Sweet Echo's response before shaking it quickly to clear his head and answering.
 "I see: my apologies. I did not mean to offend either of you." 

Lettersprite deflates a bit as cold, hard reality sinks in.  Oh, right, open skies... 

He clears his throat and looks over to Tea Agony.
 "Well, that depends: do you have a long hooded cloak available? My usual means of traversing the city is to obscure my vision with such a garment, focusing on the ground and only stealing the occasional glance at street signs when necessary. I do not tend to... move with alacrity, and it is fairly stressful for me, yet it is something I can and have done on a semi-regular basis in Lawndon. Though perhaps it would be best to leave me in a building located centrally to our desired destinations where I could be reached quickly should the need or fancy arise." 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony sigh:   " Mister Lettersprite, then you will be staying at the castle. You cant watch over two energetic fillies if - "  

Luna ears are folded seeing this... She ask:   " Is it better if its during the night Mister Lettersprite? I can maybe help with your problem if its the case..."
  

Everypony look at her, surprised. She blush a little: "   What? Master Starswirl asked for my help to make a pair of glasses that show the night sky even during the day. Its both to help "light sensitivity", thats what he said anyway,  and be able to gaze at the star constellations. It's very neat!  
DaOldeWolf
"  That is certainly great. I cant wait to file it under one of our three magical store rooms. I will need to clasify it based on power, capabilities, range, duration and overall flexibility.  " BubbleGuard replies getting excited. "  But, coming from one of the future rulers of Equestria, I am sure it will definitely fall under MAR.  "
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony seem deep in thought and says:   " Celestia, Luna, you will be given a responsability. You will have to take care of Lettersprite while he show you around town. Im sure it will help you grow up as responsible ponies if you manage to do it. "
  
Luna ears perk up:   " That seem different! I mean it's the first time we would have to take care of somepony else... Would you let us babysit little Midnight eventually if we do this?"  

Tea Agony smile seeing Luna enthousiastic about it:   " If you become responsible and mature enough for it, maybe one day... This would be a step in the right direction."  

Celestia seem slightly disappointed but do not voice her opinion on this. She simply seem to concentrate on her breakfast.

Tea Agony continue:   " We will leave in two days. I reserved a few hotel rooms at the " Royal Peacock Playa ". If anything else, there is a pool there to swim into so dont forget your swimsuit. "
  
======

Two days later, packages are made and Tea Agony open the portal to that city. They actually arrive on the roof of the hotel, close to the pool. Since its before its opening time, nopony is here yet.

She apologize:   " Sorry, its the only place where I knew Lettersprite would be at ease while not creating a disturbance from the locals. Can someone find a way down? "  

Sugar goes to the obvious door that everyone can see and realize its closed.
BlueHamsterBean
 Before arrival 

Lettersprite fidgets slightly in his chair before speaking again.
 "I... Well, I think I may have unintentionally misdirected you Ms. Agony: it... it isn't so much open skies as it is the sounds and sights of a thronging crowd. The cloak is supposed to distract from overwhelming stimulation rather than the sun or the moon: I can assure all present that I have no fear of celestial bodies." 

Lettersprite thinks for a moment, twirling a fork in a hoof in that strange way earth ponies seem to be able to before looking back to the assembled ponies.
 "I suppose I could move more effectively if guided by the hoof of another pony: that way I can keep my eyes away from the crowds and can simply contend with the sounds. I have navigated dense populations in the past for my work, and I will do so in your employ when necessary, but-" 

Then Tea Agony voices her plan and Lettersprite silently opens and closes his mouth a few times as he processes it.
 "...I ...Looked after by ... Well I suppose ..." 

He sighs and leans back in his chair with a hoof to his forehead. His ears twitch when Luna compares this to foal care and he reddens slightly before removing his hoof from his head and leaning forward again.
 "Very well: this plan does seem in line with my earlier suggestions, though we will see who ends up chaperoning whom in the end. I look forward to getting to know your young highnesses better." 
 Between the meeting and arrival 

Lettersprite approaches Bubble Guard shortly after the meeting in private and taps him on the shoulder to get his attention.
 "Excuse me, Mr. Guard, pardon the interruption, but I, well... There is no entirely polite way of asking this but what exactly are the Princesses? They are ponies: this much is clear, but they have an unusual biology and much greater magical power than most foals their age... Are they Star Swirl's children? I would hardly be surprised... My apologies: that was hardly an appropriate inquiry. I feel I should say that whatever these fillies are, whoever these fillies are, I will treat them with respect and kindness: it is clear that they are are foals at heart." 

Lettersprite pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing.
 "I only ask so that I will be best informed to care for them." 
 At the hotel 

 Lettersprite, still unused to magical travel, has to take a second to reorient himself upon arrival. He raises an eyebrow at their destination but deflates a bit when Tea Agony explains her reasoning.
 "Oh... How considerate: thank you, though wont this establishment be closed? It's only-" 

Then Tea tries the door and finds it locked. Lettersprite sighs and looks about for a fire escape (required by law).
 "There should be an exit in case of emergencies such as fire. I can likely explain to our plight to any authorities: this wouldn't be the first time I've stayed in a building beyond closing time. Nonetheless, the exit must first be located." 
igordragonian
 Before 
Sweet Echo has reached Letterspirite.
"Don"t feel bad. I used to have something even worse. Ponies couldn't stand me. If you ever feel a need to talk.. I am all ears!"
---


Sweet Echo has also joined, adoring a new sun hat and sundress
DaOldeWolf
"  They are.... well. Its kind of hard to explain. I could say they are talented and unique among pony kind. I could say they are the future of our society. I might even say that they are the only beings capable of handling all three kinds of pony magic.  " BubbleGuard answers the question to the best of his understanding. Even while being his right hand, Starswhilr kept a lot secret to himself when it came to the little ones. BubbleGuard never tried to ask anyway, since he trusted Starwhirl´s judgement.

----------------------------------------------

BubbleGuard tries his best to pass as any other earth pony or at least his idea of them. He tried to be silent but attentive though his act might seem a bit cheesy and unnatural to some. "  How are you all doing so far?  " BubbleGuard asks concerned about the rest.
igordragonian
'Well, does Agony's illusion looks good on me?" Sweet Echo ask.
"It's kind of off putting to look at the mirror like this, Bubbly Doo."
her mind race. "Oh. Bubbly Doo? Do you preffer me.. like this?" she ask
Emmerlaus
  " A POO    OOL! "  

The Princesses seems to not care about anything else. They switch clothing with a swap of magic and teleport above the pool and fall in it in a big splash.

Tea Agony facehoof, turn to Sugar:   " Please convince them to behave Sugar. "  

The Princesses suddenly teleport out of the pool. Luna speak first:   " It's c-c-cold! "  

Both are shaking from the cold water. Sugar sigh and use her control over fire to hug the girls like she is a heated water bootle. Its a warm hug that dry the girls softly, who seem so cute and innocent snuggling into Sugar. She says to you guys she will catch on once they are dried, which shouldnt take long.

You find the fire escape stairs... but you can see how high this building is. And the fire escape clinging sound and with the wind, its a bit frightening.

Roll an Heart roll if you have to use those stairs to go down.

===========

You manage to reach the first fire exit and you notice this is is going to be a long way down as they cant be opened from this side.

Tea Agony roll her eyes:   " Honey, could you see if you could open a window and open the fire exit door for us? "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 'Well, does Agony's illusion looks good on me?" Sweet Echo ask.
"It's kind of off putting to look at the mirror like this, Bubbly Doo."
her mind race. "Oh. Bubbly Doo? Do you preffer me.. like this?" she ask 
 

"  Do not worry yourself! You look great! You always do!  " BubbleGuard happily replies back. "  Now, I am a bit surprised on my disguise. A change of cutie mark with makeup and a hat?! Talk about a disappointing disguise. But I will admit I appreciate the straw grass as a replacement for my bubble wand. Still, I cant believe I am that forgetable to not require more.  "

 
 Spoiler: ooc rolls 

Fire!
 (2d6+1)[ 9 ] 
 


BubbleGuard just calmly tries to go with the rest.
BlueHamsterBean
 Back at the mansion 

Lettersprite pauses at Sweet Echo's... reassurance?
 "My... thanks? I will take that in its intended spirit." 

In response to Bubble Guard later, Lettersprite gives the unicorn a blank look.
 "...That ...regrettably clarifies little I'm afraid. It would seem difficult to explain, yes, though we seem to have some time on our hands. My apologies: I understand that this may be an unwanted or uncomfortable intrusion... Perhaps a better way of asking this question would be to inquire as to what I should expect from the young Princesses: they seem to be capable of much, and no doubt will prove difficult to watch over. Kindly or not, they are foals, and foals are wont to find trouble." 
 At the hotel 

Lettersprite checks himself over again at Bubble Guard's inquiry before replying.
 "I seem to be in one piece: should I be concerned about anything in particular?" 

Then the Princesses disappear from view momentarily only to cannonball into the pool. Lettersprite jumps about half a meter into the air at this sudden disturbance, but recovers quickly. He blinks once or twice watching as the fillies are dried before looking away with a sigh and continuing his search for a fire escape... Which is successful in a decidedly uncomfortable fashion.

Lettersprite looks down at the several stores drop in front of his face and pulls his head back, taking a deep breath before chancing another look.
 "Well... I've found an exit, if you've the courage for it..." 

He sits at the edge of the roof for a few moments before looking back to the party sheepishly.
 "Perhaps we could descend together? I've found the company of a small group to be a fine way to ward off anxiety." 

OOC: Lettersprite is proposing we act in harmony: that way we could use the highest of our Heart stats ^^
Emmerlaus
 OOC: Lettersprite is proposing we act in harmony: that way we could use the highest of our Heart stats ^^ 

Since Igor is taking his time to response and that our newest player is showing initiative, I'll post an early UPDATE and give you a freebie! Lettersprite attempt was a success! XD

===========

Sugar come flying with the Princesses. When they hear Lettersprite suggestion, Luna shake and fly toward Lettersprite:   " Good idea! Im not leaving you out of my sight! "  

Celestia roll her eyes a little but agree with the idea. They are dried again now thanks to Sugar.

As Sweet Echo was about to open a window, it blast open. A security pony is there, an stallion unicorn wearing a suit looking threatening: " WHO GOES THERE ?! "

Seeing so many ponies, He frown and use a shield to block the entrance, yelling: " INTRUDERS ON THE ROOF! PROTECT THE PERIMETERS! WARN THE STAFF! "

You hear scramble behind him, two other security ponies arrive, two of them pegasis. They fly toward the group and they look threatening.

The Princesses are startled and Sugar fly toward Lettersprite and put herself between the Princesses and the pegasis...

( Im giving you a chance to calm them down. Roll another Heart roll. Since Tea Agony is there, I can make her roll if you guys want and act in harmony?)
igordragonian
Before-
'Daa''w' Sweet Echo cooe.
'You are always my Bubbly Doo in any shape and form.'


----

Sweet Echo smiled and waved.
'Hello, friends! What a misunderstanding! I am sure we all will laugh about it later!'
She sweetly, and flutter (assuming she is disgusied as a pegasi)
'We are just a very friendly tourtists! My name is Sweet Echo! I can't help but to admire your dedication to your job!'




Heart+Charismatic

 (2d6+4)[ 5 ][ 6 ](11) 
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite raises an eyebrow at Luna, but smiles and takes her comment in the intended spirit.
 "My thanks young Highness Luna. Let us proceed down this fire esca-" 

Then all Tartarus breaks loose and Lettersprite stands stunned for a moment before Sweet Echo speaks up and he comes back to his senses. He sighs and canters over to the officers with one hoof in the air.
 "My apologies for the inconvenience good officers: I am afraid that this tableau was the direct result of a personal weakness of mine. My name is Lettersprite: you may have heard of previous instances in which I have been found in odd buildings because of my fear of crowds. If you have not, then I expect your senior officer will have, but that is immaterial: due process must be followed." 

He puts his hoof back on the ground before continuing.
 "To elaborate, my recent acquaintance, Ms. Tea Agony, was kind enough to transport our party to the Trottish Isles by magic, and decided to have us arrive on a rooftop to avoid the bustle of the city for my peace of mind. I would not have done this myself, though I appreciate the intent with which she acted. We have, nonetheless, transgressed, and I would be happy to answer any questions you have back at your station if you wish, while I act as my team's attorney of course." 
 OOC : Since we are acting in harmony, I was thinking that Lettersprite could use his Law skill along with Sweet Echo's Heart attribute, with the idea being that Lettersprite would smooth over the legal difficulties we are in once Sweet Echo had calmed down the guards. If this sounds ok, then my roll would have been this,  (4d6b2)[ 11 ] +3 + Sweet Echo's Heart (4?). If we want to go with Igor's roll instead, that's fine too: it was posted first ^^;
Emmerlaus
Between Sweet Echo charms and Lettersprite etiquette, The Pegasis seem less wary but stay close to the window. When they see the Princesses disguised as pegasis, they even smile.

One of them, a deep red pegasis stallion with a yellow mane, says warmly: " Just doing our jobs. You are at the suite height of this hotel, not everypony can rent them you know. "

Took a moment but a mare in a red hotel suit come to see you. She seem as inexpressive as Tea Agony and after you say your name, she nods and finally show a professionnal smile: " You are booked under the Tea Agony name. For simplicity sake, I'll ask for you to be escorted back to your room's floor rather then front desk. Welcome to the Golden Honey hotel! "

As you pass throught the suite floor to get to the stairs, a little pig with cute red bow and a bell bypass the  sniff at everyone. Once at Golden Hour, it seem to take a liking to her and put his little hooves on her legs and snorkle, with begging eyes. He takes it in his arm, chukling: " Well aren't you a little cutie! "

The princesses of course are interested. Luna shrug and whisper something about Splinter being better but Celestia ignore it and go rub its cute little belly.

The clerk, however, finally noticing what is happening, stop and turn around: " You better let that pet pig go before its owner see that. "

Relunctely, Golden Hour does that. That's when you hear a voice by the end of the hallway: " TRUFFLE! TRUFFLE! "

Hearing the voice, the pig flee in the opposite direction. As it disappear in the corner of the hallway, a adorable young earth pony foal that look like Celestia and Luna age (at least in apparance) come across the corner, half trotting, half running. It see the big procession of ponies and hesitate a moment before he see the Princesses. He lock eyes withthem and goes ask them: " Excuse me, did you see a adorable little pig with a red bow? "

Celestia look at him with a fascinated glare and point out the hallway behind them. Before Luna can also says something, the foal run in that direction, yelling " Thank you! "

Celestia ask Sugar: " Would it be fine to come back to this floor to play with him and Truffle? "

At this, the security ponies give Sugar a warning, firm look of disapprouval. They arent saying it but but there is no way they would allow this to happen.

Sugar sigh, try to console Celestia: " No sweetie but Im sure they will heat up the pool so we can enjoy it later at least! "

The hotel clerk, hearing this: " Indeed. We only warm the water up in opening hours, when a pool guard can be there. Prevent midnight swims in it."

Celestia look confuse, ask: " Midnight can freeze in freezing water? Wow babies are impressive! "

Sugar: " Its an expression honey."

==========

You finally reach your rooms where you can finally unpack. Tea Agony announce she is going downstair to both pay for the room, fill the papwerwork and directly go see "who she has an appointement with", to not cite the royalty.

Celestia and Luna are eager to try the warmed pool and begs you guys to come with them to enjoy it... what do you do?
DaOldeWolf
"  I´ll be there to take care of the little.... I mean the fillies. Everypony else, go and have some fun yourselves.  " BubbleGuard declares knowing his duty was to stay by the princesses ´side especially on environments that require supervision.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo were bunch of smiles and giggles. Even if she didn't have shown case her intelgence, happy and positive ponies were usually pleasant to hang with.

She joined the princeases's whines about not playing with Truffle.

---
Sweet Echo has sported a red one piece swimsuite
"I'll come! Maybe I'll get a swimming cutie mark!"
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite sighs in relief as the tension drains from the atmosphere, and then pauses when the mare in the red uniform reveals they had a reservation. He raises an eyebrow at Tea Agony, but shrugs and canters down the staircase, thanking the guards one last time for their patience before going.

Lettersprite is distracted by the sights inside the hotel when the pig comes barging by, nearly tripping him as it does. He reacts with bewilderment, but nods in understanding when he sees it is apparently a pet. He is somewhat surprised by the hotel staff's reaction to the idea of playing with the colt, however.
He approaches one of the staff members, coughing politely to get their attention, before speaking.
 "My apologies Madam, but might I inquire as to the identify of the colt who just passed through? He seems important to you at the very least, and I am wondering how best to conduct myself around him if he is nobility or something of the like. Ah! But where are my manners: my name is Lettersprite: a pleasure to meet you, Ms???" 

Lettersprite sees the rush to the pool and is suddenly glad he brought his swimsuit when they mention it will be heated.  I haven't had the luxury of a nice warm soak these past couple days: I would be a foal to turn down such a blessing from the skies. 
He turns to Bubble Guard to interject before turning back to the hotel staff member he was speaking with.
 "Ah! Mr. Bubble Guard: I will likely be joining you above in a moment." 
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard nods in agreement agreeing to the company. After all this time, he had learnt to trust the rest of the staff when it came to heavy duties even those mainly involving his own job. "  Thanks. I appreciate the company. Lets do our best to keep things safe.....  " BubbleGuard remembers to try and be nicer as requested by his Sweetheart and adds. " ... and have some fun together. "
igordragonian
Sweet Echo screached happily in aproval of Bubble Guard
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
 Lettersprite sighs in relief as the tension drains from the atmosphere, and then pauses when the mare in the red uniform reveals they had a reservation. He raises an eyebrow at Tea Agony, but shrugs and canters down the staircase, thanking the guards one last time for their patience before going.

Lettersprite is distracted by the sights inside the hotel when the pig comes barging by, nearly tripping him as it does. He reacts with bewilderment, but nods in understanding when he sees it is apparently a pet. He is somewhat surprised by the hotel staff's reaction to the idea of playing with the colt, however.
He approaches one of the staff members, coughing politely to get their attention, before speaking.
 "My apologies Madam, but might I inquire as to the identify of the colt who just passed through? He seems important to you at the very least, and I am wondering how best to conduct myself around him if he is nobility or something of the like. Ah! But where are my manners: my name is Lettersprite: a pleasure to meet you, Ms???" 

Lettersprite sees the rush to the pool and is suddenly glad he brought his swimsuit when they mention it will be heated.  I haven't had the luxury of a nice warm soak these past couple days: I would be a foal to turn down such a blessing from the skies. 
He turns to Bubble Guard to interject before turning back to the hotel staff member he was speaking with.
 "Ah! Mr. Bubble Guard: I will likely be joining you above in a moment."  
 

The receptionnist clerk tone become cold and strict: " If you really are a lawyer, I'll consider this a temporary as a brain fart from your part. Let me remind you that the hotel's clients have the right for their privacy unless asked by a police officer for investigation purpose. If I were to disclose such information, I would be guilty of a breach of conduct. "

As you reach the elevator and the door close, she sigh of relief as the security ponies remain on their floor behind. She wait a moment before saying: " Sorry about my tone earlier. With so many ears that could hear us, I needed to be firm with you. The suite floor is especially tricky. They pay a lot of bits for their confort and privacy. You have no idea of what I have seeing within those walls over the years... All ponies doing my job have juicy stories to tell. Some even made the news..."

(If you want her to talk, I suggest a Mind roll. Not a Heart roll. That is the hint I'll be giving you.😛)
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite blinks twice at the sudden hostility from the receptionist before nodding and beginning to canter over to the elevator.
 "My apologies: I was unaware it was something so sensitive. Good day..." 

He fears the worst when the receptionist follows him into the elevator but is relived when she apologizes and explains the situation.
 "I see, there is no need for apologies then: this is clearly a much more difficult situation that I had initially intuited. Most hotels I've stayed in have housed less... controversial guests. My condolences for all the unfortunate events you must have witnessed..." 

Lettersprite pauses for a moment, turning over the receptionist's words in his head.  Some of these guests made the news did they... I wonder if any of this made it to the courts. Lets see if any of this strikes a bell. 
And he will review his memory of legal cases that made the news involving those staying at this hotel.
 (4d6b2)[ 10 ]  2 advantages (increase die roll by 2 up to 12 max) +5
 Edit : This looks like a 17 to me.

After an awkward silence, Lettersprite realizes he has neglected his new friend here again and clears his throat.
 "My apologies: my mind was wandering. I have introduced myself, but might I know your name? I expect we may be seeing each other fairly often for the next few days. Fear not: I will endeavor to tread carefully and avoid making reckless inquiries in the future." 
Emmerlaus
« Oh my apologies! My name is Rose Ink. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. And as long you understand, it’s fine. Feel free to come at the reception desk if you need anything. »

Lettersprite suddenly realize his earlier comment really was said too impulsively. Because of their privacy policy, hotel are often used for less savory practice. He suddenly remember a story about hotel involving the mysterious death of a Pegasus stallion. No infractions, no magic detected and most bizarre of all, no cutie mark or anybody who knew this pony. He used a fake name and it was impossible to track where he came from or who was he really.

It wasn’t in THIS hotel however... but he suddenly remember another story of a eccentric earth pony alchemist who had being without a place to stay that wanted to finish his experimentation and came here, secretly bringing equipment involving alchemy and grimoires. His room exploded, his body nowhere to be found and injured several other guests in the process. Rumored to be from... wait... the D’Magic family?! 😉

He remember that the D’Magic family are rumored to be a cursed bloodline of earth pony. Nefarious to the extreme and dangerous to be around.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite's expression grows grim for a moment as he recalls those headlines and investigations.  That's right: I'd forgotten hotels were a magnet for strange happenings... Let us hope nothing untoward comes of our stay. D'Magic... I feel like I've heard that name recently... I'll ask Ser Bubble Guard if one such pony is employed among the Staff when I see him. 

Lettersprite offers a hoofshake to Rose Ink.
 "No worries, no worries at all: in retrospect, I really did put you in a difficult situation in the lobby. Again, my apologies for that: most of the time I stay at a hotel it is by necessity and only for a single night, so my understanding of the culture is not as well ingrained as it could be. Nonetheless, I will endeavor to remain mindful of what I intend to say. I will be sure to take you up on your offer Ms. Ink should I have any questions!" 

Otherwise, Lettersprite will wait for the elevator to reach the top floor before wishing Rose Ink a fine day and moving to join the ponies at the pool.
Emmerlaus
After giving you your keys, Tea Agony bring you... to the floor right below the suite floor. Its a long and boring way to start the trip and the Princesses are restless.

By the time you get your rooms and unpack, its soon the time to go to the pool at its opening. You can chat before you go there as you change and unpack or I can skip to the pool scene.
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard decides to accompany the princesses at the pool. "  Lets have a good time by the pool but remember ladies, we need to respect the rules of use at the pool and the safety indications made for the staff.  " BubbleGuard replies.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite goes to his room and fishes out his swimsuit from his trunk. He takes a look at it and signs dejectedly. Anypony observing can see why: it's not exactly ugly, but it is old fashioned...
It is a slightly faded white and blue striped one piece suit. Next to it in the trunk is a pair of bulky goggles whose lenses make the wearer's eyes look to be about twice their actual size.
 Well at least using father's old suit saved a few bits... though it's cost may have been paid in the currency of my self respect. 

Lettersprite takes a deep breath and finds a private place to put on the suit, looking like something out of an old portrait when he exits. On the way to the pool, he notices Bubble Guard making his way there too.  Well, I did have a question for him. 
Lettersprite approaches Bubble Guard, and clears his throat, noticing the Princesses are there too and deflating a bit when he remembers his current attire.
 "Ahem, Mr. Guard, I have a brief query for you on our way to the pool if you don't mind. I believe there is a member of The Staff from the DaMagic family? I'm afraid I have forgotten who: I have been... otherwise occupied these past days. Ah, but to clarify, I only ask because I believe I may have some... unfortunate news for them. If I recall correctly, a tragedy befell one of their relatives here at this very hotel in the past... I had forgotten that hotels in Trottingham are often the sites of unusual and hazardous happenings... This was one such incident." 

He pauses for a moment before sheepishly speaking again.
 "If they are not with us, we may wish to pass this news along..." 
Emmerlaus
When you arrive to the pool, some ponies were already there, waiting for it to open. All rich ponies from what it seem. Latest fashion, laughing and looking at your group at first by rolling their eyes and then ignoring you lot.

However, as the lifeguard  unicorn open the gate after heating up the pool, a few other ponies join you guys... Including the young pony from before and ... with his pig pet?

His pig pet is now wearing a swimming suit... that looks a lot like Lettersprite suit. Old style but its surprisingly adorable on him.

The young foal look glad to see Celestia and Luna, wave at them : "H-hey! Hi! You're the girls from before! Im Decorum, nice to meet you! "

Celestia and Luna seem excited to talk to him but as you do...

Somepony who was with him look a you with a strange look... Its an Earth Pony too but his gaze is sharp and calculating.

Further away, some rich ponies seem to be talking to the lifeguard in a hush tone...

=========

What is the equivalent of an "Insight" or "perception" roll again? Its mind right?
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard gets immediately tense the moment he hears his family name being mentioned. BubbleGuard swallows hard before he answers. " Umm.... there is. In fact, three members of the staff are from that family tree. " BubbleGuard replies but calms down after he hears the reasons. "  Nonsense. I dont believe in ghosts.  "

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

 (2d6+3)[ 12 ] 
 
BlueHamsterBean
 Before pool 

Lettersprite nods solemnly when Bubble Guard says there are three members of the DaMagic family among The Staff.
 "I see... well then: it seems we have three ponies to console. It truly is a shame... I have heard ponies speak of the fearsome reputation of the DaMagics, but it seems inequine to render them pariahs, especially when it comes to matters of death. Alas, something every family must deal with..." 

He pauses momentarily, looking into the distance for a moment, before turning back to Bubble Guard.
 "I regret to say that the stallion's name escapes me, but I will endeavor to relearn it so that the bereaved are properly informed. He was an alchemist: this much I know. But enough of such grim matters: we have a pool to soak in and foals to entertain!" 
With that, Lettersprite winks in the Princesses' direction and makes his way to the pool.

 At the pool 

Oh dear... there are a lot of ponies at the pool today.
Lettersprite freezes up for a moment before gathering himself and cantering towards a less crowded area of the pool.
 I've already put on the suit: I'd be a foal to turn back now... it's not the biggest crowd: I can manage. 

He carefully enters the water, appreciating the warmth, before lying in the pool such that his ears are underwater to block out the noise of the other ponies. Nonetheless, he hears muted snippets of conversation drift by. Of particular interest is the Princesses' introduction to the young colt with the pig: this "Decorum" fellow.  He seems friendly enough... 

But Lettersprite can't shake the feeling that he's heard that name before...
 
 Spoiler: Rolls 
  insight  - (2d6+2)[ 5 ] 
 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo is more preparing herself to get a swimming cutie mark, rather then hotel ans family dramas!
She go with Celestia and Luna try to hype them.
 "Wouldn"t be cool if we all gotten our cutie marks on the same time, and had matching cutie marks?!" 

She clap happily.
 "Let's do a race! On a 3! 1, 2annnnd 3!'  she jump into the water, propelling her wings
Emmerlaus
Bubbles notice as he says he doesn't believe in ghost that the Earth pony who was with Decorum eye flinch as he overheard about the D'magic point Lettersprite mentionned. He suddenly look at Decorum and the Princess worringly.

In fact, you only notice now that a lot of ponies were judging you guys from the moment you arrived.

Even the ponies talking to the lifeguard are mumbling something about " I thought you said nopony used the pool in the morning, that it was the best time to socialize! "

The lifeguard look apologetic but only Bubbles can see how annoyed he is. He seem almost relief to see Sweet Echo running and jumping in the pool, ending his little meeting with the snob ponies, yelling and going to Sweet Echo side of the pool: " HEY! MISSY! NO RUNNING AROUND THE POOL AND IF YOU WANT TO JUMP, GO TO THE DEEP SIDE OF THE POOL, ON THAT PLANK RIGHT THERE!" and he point the other side of the pool.

Bubbles rolled so high that he notice the snob ponies around the pool are carrying flask to drink from... The kind of metallic flash who ponies use to carry alchoolic drinks. Which SHOULD be against the rules of the pool! One of them, an Unicorn mare, have move her chair closer to the border of the pool into the sun instead of remaining of the shadow of the fence around the pool.

Decorum and the Princesses seem to really be into their conversation and Decorum suggest to play with balls in the water. They realize that Truffle also know a few tricks! He can run atop a ballon in the water and he seem to enjoy the laugh and the attention eh is getting. Swim very well too for a pig. Sweet Echo is invited to the shaningans since she seem so lively and willing to play with them.

Sugar on the other hoof is talking to her father, distracted by that. Seem like Golden Hour felt near the pool and she was worried about him. He seem fine, he just say he will rest in the long chair and that it will be better in a few minutes.

=======

However, Bubbles rolled so high that he notice something else... The foal and fillies re playing a game where they have to push the ball in the water and the other have to try to catch it... but It seem the Princesses are sneakily using their magic on the ballon to make it have twist and turns. Its harmless and only basic telekenesis... and they are doing it underwater... Nopony seem to have noticed at all but Bubbles did.

Suddenly, before Bubbles can decide what to do with the situatio, the ball goes out of the pool and hit Lettersprite on the chest! It was so sudden that he fall on one of the chair, unharmed. The pig, Truffle, actually flew with the ball and land on Lettersprite laps.

Decorum swim near the near of the pool, looking apologetic: " Are you alright mister? "

The princesses are laughing and saying: " He was just spooked, that's all. Right Mister Lettersprite? "

Luna whisper something about the matching swimming suits of Lettersprite and Truffle and how both Lettersprite and Truffle look cute together like this to Celestia. She wanted to be subtle but Lettersprite and Bubbles could hear it.
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard is a bit annoyed at first when there are stared at for simply being there. BubbleGuard mutters to himself though trying to avoid any unnecessary conflict. Still, his anger grows when he sees the amount of violations to the rules at the pool especially considering the snooby attitude of the other guests. BubbleGuard was about to face the lifeguard when he notices the situation with the princesses. The whole thing would have to wait since their situation was potentially compromised. "  Oh my! Little ones, what are you doing? Have you forgotten our rules when going out? Especially near a body of water.  " BubbleGuard replies trying to remind the fillies about proper behavoir at the pool.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo simply enjoyed herself- swimming was like flying but.. opposite!

Splashing, swirling water out of her mouth like a fountain. Sje The disguised bat pony swam to the edge of the pool. Her eyes widened, and as her pupils looked rounded looked even more innocent- if usually she was like a kitty, her expression was like of a puppy.

"Rules? We were just playing Bubbly Doo! Why don't you join us?" flipping her wet mane from her eyes.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite furrows his brow at the stares they are getting, but sighs and looks away.  Ponies from the so-called "upper crust" I take it: skies above they can be a nuisance... Best not to antagonize them though. 

Any further thoughts he may have had are, however, interrupted by the sudden, and surprisingly forceful impact of the beach ball on his stomach as well as the surprise arrival of the pig. The wind is knocked out of him for a moment, during which the Pricnesses' comment on his swimsuit reaches his ears. At first, he flushes in frustration, but his expressions softens a moment later.  They're foals: they didn't say it to be cruel. 

Lettersprite looks down at young Decorum and nods in the affirmative to his question.
 "Yes, I am thankfully unharmed: thank you for your concern. That was most kind of you! Ah, but where are my manners, my name is Lettersprite: a pleasure to make your acquaintance young Mr... Decorum? If I overheard correctly?" 
He smiles at the colt before turning to the Princesses with a raised eyebrow when they imply that it was the pig that launched the ball.
 "Well... I cannot be exactly sure of what happened, though ballistic beach balls are not uncommon in a pool. As for the good little pig here, I must say he was... surprisingly aerodynamic, though stranger things happen. The laws of Ser Issac Neighton are not the laws I studied." 
Emmerlaus
Decorum:  " That is my name yes. And I wouldn't know mister, Im just a foal. "  he look a bit sheepish saying so.

The pig seem happy on Letterspirte laps, making puppy eyes and sqeaking softly, taking Lettersprite towel corner into his mouth and looking at Lettersprite expentingly.

Decorum chuckle softly:  " Mister Lettersprite, I think my little Truffle likes you and want to be pet by him. I would be grateful if you could dry him up and take care of him while me and my newest friends play together? Would that be inconvinent for you? " 

Since none of you rose an issue about the upper class ponies complaining or even balantly breaking them, they ignore your group soon enough and and 2 hours goes by before the foals have enough playing and are much more relaxed then before.

During those two hours, Sugar and Golden Hour eventually joined them and the atmosphere at the pool was very lively. The earth pony who seemed to be relief it was pegasus joining in the pool but he kept a close eyes on the group this whole time.

Once the ponies are getting out of the pool, that black earth pony goes to Decorum, handling him a towel. Decorum smile and nods at him:  " Thank you." 

He goes to Lettersprite and see his pig his happily sleeping on Lettersprite laps. Decorum laugh softly and take his pig back.  " Thank you again mister Lettersprite. Bastion, please, would you mind rewarding this pony for me? " 

Bastion nods and from his melon hat get a small bag of bits to give to Lettersprite.
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard tries to stay closer to the Princesses to hopefully prevent any further dangerous play. He doesnt mind what the rest are doing for the moment though he hopes they are enjoying themselves. "  Little ones, I hopeyou are still having fun but in a more safe manner.  "  BubbleGuard replies trying to remind the girls of the proper way of interacting on the pool.
BlueHamsterBean
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Sorry it took me so long to write this! I'm settling into a summer schedule and it's being a bit weird.
 


Lettersprite chuckles jovially at Decorum's apparent concern about being a foal.
 "Aha, well I am by some definitions a grown stallion, yet my circumstances are often beyond my full comprehension. Have it on good faith from a humble student of law that age does not necessarily make a pony wise, nor youth a pony foalish. But I digress: it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance young Mr. Decorum!" 

When he is asked to look after little Truffle, Lettersprite raises an eyebrow, but sighs and smiles at the colt and his pet.
 "Well, I suppose I've little better to do, and your friend Mr. Truffle seems amiable enough: we have an accord! In addition, Truffle and I seem to have coordinated our style of dress, though you have frugality and my father to thank for that, albeit indirectly. Suffice it to say that he had little need of his old swimsuit so far away from the coast." 
He looks over to the Princesses and sighs, shaking his head.
 "Enjoy your time playing with my young charges over there. Be wary: they can be quite the handful." 

And with that, he will keep a close eye on Truffle near the edges of the pool, swimming a few laps with the pig to get his exercise in but matching Truffle's pace so he doesn't lose sight of him.
When Decorum and his friend Bastion arrive, he gently holds Truffle for Decorum to retrieve, but before he can speak, he is offered a handsome reward...

Lettersprite grins and holds up a hoof.
 "Ah, you are too kind Mr. Decorum, but it isn't truly necessary: Truffle was a fine companion in the time I watched over him. I can see why you treasure him so! Suffice it to say that no reward is required, and... well, not to belabor the point, but as a lawyer, there would be some ponies who would take this transaction out of context to accuse me of underhanded dealings, which is not to say I accuse you and your associate of such things.

The most trying aspect of bureaucracy and law is the foalishness of ponykind: ponies often see dark things where none truly exist, and other times ignore that which would harm them. Hence why I must be careful." 

Lettersprite smiles and offers Decorum a hoofshake before speaking again.
 "But make no mistake: I appreciate the gesture! I wish you and Mr. Bastion here a fine stay." 
Emmerlaus
Decorum eye flinch and say carefully: " ... you really love talking Mister huh? "

The Princesses laugh at that statement, adding stuff to it: " I know right, he doesnt know how to be straight-foward! "

Luna says to Celestia: " H-hey that's not nice! I-Im sure he doesnt do it on purpose! Dont worry Mister Lettersprite, I-I am sure you know what you are talking about."

Celestia: " Of course he is, he is a lawyer! They need to be wordy! "

Sugar: " GIRLS! "

Sugar who get out of the pool seem disappointed in them. This seem to temper them down. Celestia ears are down and she turn back to Mister Lettersprite: " I am sorry if I said something wrong Mister Lettersprite."

Golden Hour sigh and goes to the group: " Hey, since you seem to have make a new friend, how about we ask for little Decorum guardians if you guys can play-"

" - Out of question. "

Bastion tone is suddenly cold and even threatening. As an immediate reaction, Truffle react accordingly...

He squirm and squeal, afraid, in Lettersprite arms, trying to get away...

 
 Spoiler: Rolls 


If you want to desescalathe the situation feel free.

Lettersprite will need to do a body strenght unless Truffle will break free... Or an Hearth check to calm it down.
 
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite deflates at Decorum's response, and the Princesses' words don't help either.  Foals... They speak what they think, for good or ill... 
He sighs and chuckles halfheartedly.
 "My apologies... I suppose I have a lot to say. To summarize, I was happy to take care of Truffle, and no pay is necessary." 

He looks over to Celestia next and shrugs.
 "It wasn't necessarily wrong, but it was a mite... tactless. Lawyers do need to know how to speak as their reputation suggests, but they also need to know how to listen among other things." 

Lettersprite begins to get up to his hooves to hand Truffle over to Decorum and head back to the group, but is startled by the sudden shift in atmosphere when Bastion speaks, and it appears that little Truffle felt it too and didn't like it.
Lettersprite, while verbose as noted, has had little experience speaking to a person's emotions, but is banished if he's going to try restraining the poor thing by force. He instead gently caresses the piglet with one hoof while attempting to talk him down from his emotional distress.
 "Woah! Steady now: there there. He didn't mean you any harm, none at all." 
 (2d6+1)[ 13 ] 

Edit: Double sixes 0.0
igordragonian
Sweet Echo jump of the water to stand by Lettersprite.
"It's alright. Being talky is who you are."
she turn to the angry pony, lifting her wings in somethong like raised hands to show peace.

"Now now. No need to splash around. We are all just want to have a safe fun over here. Right? We are all on the same side, and wanting the same. There is only a small discussion of what is the best way to reach this goal. Right?" She say with soothing tone.


(harmony with lettersprite)
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard breaths in and out trying his best to keep his temper in check. It was slowly built up, the longer issues kept being built up. Still, he decided to let the others engage since they probably would be able to keep a cooler mind than he was. He wanted to keep the princesses safe and he usually had to use force even if it was subtler magical approach.
Emmerlaus
Lettersprite manage to calm the poor little piggy down as the little thing was literally trying to climb over him to jump behind the chair. With the snort of the pig right next to his ears and a soothing tone, he manage to calm it down enough to relax a but with some head scratches. Its still nervous but you can almost feel Truffle insecurity about this whole thing.

Meanwhile, Sweet Echo didn't do not as good... As she get out of the pool WITHOUT drying herself first, she splash all over Bastion clotches. You can feel he is ANGRY, eye twitching... But Decorum, looking down and with ears down, looking so depressed and defeated, says: " I get it, I'll go back to my room without a fuss. But you are scaring Truffles ahain..."

That attract Bastion attention. Seeing that Truffles still feel nervous, Bastion takes a deep breath and retract his intimidating aura. With a cold look, he nods toward Decorum who then get back Truffles.

The Princesses, getting back their shock, are now looking at Bastion with disgust and anger. You can FEEl this is NOT going to go down lightly and considering the power they weild, its not going to be pretty!

(Another Heart roll everyone, please, to calm down our little angels before they make the situation even worst)
igordragonian
Sweet Echo fold her ears.
she has oopsed once again.
The disguised bat pony fly into ear, spinning amd diving down to make the biggest water splash she could.
"WATER BOMB!" to distract them back for games.


---

Body?
 (2d6)[ 2 ][ 3 ](5) +2
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite freezes when Sweet Echo gets water on Bastion's clothes, but breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Bastion relent at the thought of scaring
Truffle again. He hands the still slightly shaking pig to Decorum and gives the colt a pat on the shoulder.
 "May the rest of your day be much less complicated: steady on good lad." 

Lettersprite then turns around and sees the livid expressions on the Princesses' faces, and he can't help but recall those pranks they played on him not but a few days ago...  Oh dear, this could end poorly. 

Using the moment of distraction created by Sweet Echo, Lettersprite swims over to the fillies as quickly as he can and puts what he hopes is a calming hoof on each of their shoulders.  I really do need to learn how to speak to foals better... 
 "Steady now, steady... that wasn't fun to watch, yes, but before you act, ask yourselves this: would what you are planning help ponies, or hurt them?" 
He attempts to pull them closer into a hug if they wish, and continues.
 "You are very strong fillies, and you will grow into exceptionally strong mares: I know that after just a few days knowing you. Please, use that strength to heal, not harm." 

And I do believe that that is another Heart roll (I'm rolling separately here because I don't have anything that would help Sweet Echo's action, sorry &gt;.&lt;).
  heart  - (2d6+1)[ 9 ] 

Edit: drat, I was hoping for a 10 &gt;.&lt; Could this be a partial success? They're under the Checks and Difficulty Targets tab.
 Rolls 
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard runs to the princesses side ready to use his bubblewand if it becomes necessary to protect the princesses from damage. "  As Mister Lettersprite says. Lets all calm down. There is no need to let this escalate.  " BubbbleGuard adds.

(hoping to add harmony to the roll)
Emmerlaus
Although the Staff try to reach for the fillies in the pool... They practically ignore them. They look at each others, nods and look up at Sweet Echo diving into the pool.

As soon as she touch the water, a big splash of water reach out everywhere around the pool. All other clients around the pool are splashed and now grumpy.

The splash was so big that the water of the pool was removed by a third!

The other customers are cursing and the lifeguard sigh, like he hate his job, and goes to the Staff: " Im sorry ponies but I'll ask you to leave. I already warned you that diving in the pool is only authorized from springboard. Besides, you'll have tons of complains from the other customers if you dont leave immediately."

The Princesses are looking disappointed a bit but goes to a stunt Decorum and wish him well, hoping to see him again...

(Mind roll to notice anything unusual before going to the next scene please?)
igordragonian
Sweet Echo lower her head.
'I am so sorry...' she sigh, pass by Bubble Guard, avoiding his gaze, quite certain she has dissapointed him.
Now she is on the other end of her behavior- passive as noodle.
Sweet now try to keep to herself and avoid further problems.


Mind
 (2d6)[ 3 ][ 4 ](7) +1
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite falls forward when his attempt at a hug fails, face planting in the water just before the splash happens. He resurfaces just in time to hear they've been kicked out and sighs.
 Well at least they don't suspect magic was involved... 

He dutifully exits the pool, giving the life guard a sympathetic nod as he leaves, trying to avoid the crowd of ponies in the general area.
As he begins readying himself to leave, he looks around to see where the Princesses wandered off to, and more importantly, whether they are being supervised.

  Mind  - (2d6+2)[ 11 ] 
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard sighs.  Who could have expected so much trouble at the pool?  BubbleGuard though to himself. "  No need for you to apologize. I should have kept a better look on the little ones while we were at the pool Nothing would have happened if I had been a bit more careful.  " BubbleGuard replies while trying to cheer Echo up.
Emmerlaus
Sugar goes to the girls, say to Decorum: " We are at the room 844, if you or your guardian change your mind. "

As soon as she's in the stairs with teh door closed, she rebuke the girls: " That huge water wave was your doing girls isn't it? "

Celestia and Luna look both guilty but also defiant. Celestia grumble: " That Bastion pony is bad. Truffle knows it. Animals sense those things. "

Luna is not saying anything, looking a bit less defiant then Celestia.

Sugar sigh, says to the girls: " Well you ruined your own fun. No more pool for you today. We will go for lunch after a good nap. "

Golden Hour seem thoughtful about something but seem hesitant to say it. In the end, he simply ask Sweet Echo: " Are you sure you are ok Miss Echo? You seem out of it. You shouldnt feel so down, everypony here knew it was the our little protege fault. "



 
 Spoiler: Results of Mind rolls 
Bubbles and Lettersprite realize they didn't see Bastion anywhere after the huge wave hit everypony. Lettersprite however, realize that his melon hat was still on the roof and that Truffle has being knocked unconscious right next to it. probably fainted from the sudden wave.
 
igordragonian
"No no no! Bubbly Doo!" Sweet Echo shake her head, her mane whipping water everywhere

"You are overworking and over burdening yourself as it is! I just tried to distract the fillies and have forgotten the rules!"
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite pauses when he notices Bastion is missing.  ...Curious. Something to mention to Mr. Guard. 

His eyebrows both shoot up when he sees Truffle unconscious and unsupervised. He gallops over and picks up the poor piglet before galloping back to Decorum.
 "Young master Decorum! Here: I'm afraid he's fainted from the shock of that sudden wave. Poor thing: some rest should do his heart good. Oh! And here is the hat." 
He pauses, panting, as running is not one of his strongest skills, before patting Decorum on the shoulder and smiling weakly.
 "My condolences that your day should take such a foul turn: I dearly hope it improves from here on out. Right then: as I said before, steady on good lad!" 

Lettersprite reaches to tip a hat to Decorum, but realizes halfway through that he isn't wearing a hat, so he turns it into a half-hearted salute. He then makes his way to Bubble Guard away from Decorum and clears his throat. He whispers the following to his boss.
 "Mr. Guard: I... noticed something that might interest you. I know not how he did it, but if you were paying attention during the little incident back there, Mr. Bastion... vanished. He was there one second and gone the moment the wave made landfall... I am not a superstitious pony, but I have seen many strange and wonderful things these past few days... I expect that this Mr. Bastion may be more than he seems." 
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 "No no no! Bubbly Doo!" Sweet Echo shake her head, her mane whipping water everywhere

"You are overworking and over burdening yourself as it is! I just tried to distract the fillies and have forgotten the rules!" 
 

BubbleGuard shakes his head in disagreement. "  It is MY JOB to look after your safety. If things dont work out appropiately, it is in part due to my mistakes.  " BubbleGuard gives Sweet Echo a kiss on her forehead. "  Lets work together towards improving if you still feel like you share responsability.  "


 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
 Lettersprite pauses when he notices Bastion is missing.  ...Curious. Something to mention to Mr. Guard. 

His eyebrows both shoot up when he sees Truffle unconscious and unsupervised. He gallops over and picks up the poor piglet before galloping back to Decorum.
 "Young master Decorum! Here: I'm afraid he's fainted from the shock of that sudden wave. Poor thing: some rest should do his heart good. Oh! And here is the hat." 
He pauses, panting, as running is not one of his strongest skills, before patting Decorum on the shoulder and smiling weakly.
 "My condolences that your day should take such a foul turn: I dearly hope it improves from here on out. Right then: as I said before, steady on good lad!" 

Lettersprite reaches to tip a hat to Decorum, but realizes halfway through that he isn't wearing a hat, so he turns it into a half-hearted salute. He then makes his way to Bubble Guard away from Decorum and clears his throat. He whispers the following to his boss.
 "Mr. Guard: I... noticed something that might interest you. I know not how he did it, but if you were paying attention during the little incident back there, Mr. Bastion... vanished. He was there one second and gone the moment the wave made landfall... I am not a superstitious pony, but I have seen many strange and wonderful things these past few days... I expect that this Mr. Bastion may be more than he seems."  
 

When spoken to, BubbleGuard turns his attention towards Lettersprite. "  He did? I was kind f centering my attention towards the young ones and didnt pay much attention to the surroundings. Are you sure about this?  "
BlueHamsterBean
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 When spoken to, BubbleGuard turns his attention towards Lettersprite. "  He did? I was kind f centering my attention towards the young ones and didnt pay much attention to the surroundings. Are you sure about this?  " 
 

Lettersprite nods gravely before replying.
 "I cannot explain the how of it, but I am very much certain that Mr. Bastion was present one second and gone the next. As a matter of fact, I've not seen him since the incident..." 
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard wondered about this occurance. "  Do you recall any suspicious or notorious activity from him before his disappearance? It might have been a magic item or some sort. Or he could be capble of using magic himself. Try to recall anything. I am sure, its bound to be useful.... like exactly where was he standing?  "
igordragonian
Sweet Echo smiled somberly at Bubble's words.
She perked her ears at Lettersprite.
"Maybe he had a invisibilty artifiact thingy?:
Emmerlaus
Celestia:  " Wait, doesn't that mean that poor Decorum is without a guardian though? Wouldn't that be dangerous for him to stay alone? " 

Luna look at you guys hopefully but isnt saying anything.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite pauses in thought for a moment before replying.
 "I admit that Mr. Bastion was merely in my peripheral vision when I last saw him, but let me think for a moment: something may come to me. As for where he was standing, I am quite certain he was in the path of the wave next to young master Decorum." 

Lettersprite shrugs at Sweet Echo's suggestion, not having any idea himself at the moment. When the Princesses speak, he freezes and looks back in the direction of the pool.
 "I... believe Decorum was by himself last I saw him... nonetheless, I would be wary of approaching him while we do not know the full extent of Mr. Bastion's abilities. Mr. Bastion's thoughts on the matter were  extremely  clear..." 
 
 Spoiler: Mind Roll 
To see if Lettersprite can remember anything more about what transpired:
  Mind  - (2d6+2)[ 8 ] 
 
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard wonders about the situation. There was always the possibility that he wasnt behind the act but that was also just another possibility. "  Maybe we could inspect the general area and look for some clues.  " BubbleGuard suggests.

 
 Spoiler 

Body or mind roll check to search around?  (2d6+3)[ 14 ] 
 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo would try to help Bubble Guard

(harmony)
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite sees his friends heading back to the pool and calls out to them, concerned.
 "Wait! Weren't we just expelled from the pool area? You might wish to be discreet!" 

He will otherwise stay back and wait nervously with the Princesses to see what trouble his new friends get into.
Emmerlaus
The moment you come back on the roof, all eyes lock on you and there is groans and low voices speeches. The pool lifeguard was talking in private with Decorum but he notices the changes of mood around the pool. He finally turn to you guys and groan as well, scream: " The security is already coming! If you are still on the roof when they arrive, you'll risk being expelled from the hotel all together! Do not coming for the rest of the day, how many times should I say it?! "

Seeing you are coming back, Decorum gasp and runs to you guys but stop at a respectable distance. He seem to be hesitating about something...

 Truffle is conscious again, trotting behind him. Seeing you guys arrive, he runs to Lettersprite and gives him a leg scratch, squeaking doing so. Then he trots to Sweet Echo and climb on her leg to give her a kiss with his groin and squeal softly. Its like he is trying to be comforting...

The lifeguard frown, saying: " Boy, would you mind staying here? The guards will be there soon..."

Seeing his pet acting this way, it seem to give courage to Decorum to say what he wanted to say: " Ah hum. Hi again. W-would you mind coming back with me to my room? T-Truffles likes you a-and his intuition is good about ponies. Last time the security guards scared him so... I-I'll rather not have to chase him again. "

Celestia and Luna goes to him and hugs him:" Sure! You have anypony else waiting for you there."

Decorum is scarlet red from shyness. He just shake his head to says no... Celestia and Luna gasp: " Wait seriously?! "

The girls look to Sugar, with an imploring look. Sugar answer before you can chip in: " Of course we will bring you back to your room. Besides, I think the roof is off-limit for us today. Cmon, let's leave..."
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard thinks for a moment. "  It will just take a moment. I think we forgot something around here. I promise not to take long.  " BubbleGuard replies hoping that would be enough to avoid conflict and get a quick look.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite winces at the life guard's castigation before looking to Bubble Guard and whispering to him.
 "Perhaps we can have our questions answered without risking arrest by indulging young Decorum's request more expediently? If you really wish to look, perhaps I should take him back to his room with the princesses so he is not inconvenienced." 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo giggle as she felt tickled by Truffle.
'Sure! No problem at all!" she say happily
Emmerlaus
The lifeguard gives a knowing smile: " Tell me what you forgot and I'll look for you. You don't have to-"

One of the angry unicorns on the side yell very loudly: " We are all tired of you ponies. Leave now or I'll make a complain to the hotel owner myself. Now, mister Lifeguard, could you please close the pool gate to make sure they don't comeback in the perimeters? I think it will show where you stand in the matter, at least until security arrives..."

The Lifeguard bow to the pony who spoke and goes lock the gate. Then he start ignoring you guys...

Sugar has a bit of smoke coming from her nostrils at that treatement. Truffles seem to sense Sugar's anger and goes back to Decorum, looking at Sugar a bit worried.

Celestia whisper to Sugar: " Mommy, you are scaring little Truffles! Please! "

Sugar takes Celestia in a hug, take a deep breath and calm down doing so. Truffles seem satisfied and return to walk between everypony, asking for attention.

========

(none of you rolled anything so unless you want to roll something, you want us to skip to the next scene? How do you want to approach this mystery disappearance?)
DaOldeWolf
After seeing the reaction, he decides to follow the advice given by Lettersprite. "  Alright, lead the way. And, could you follow us Sweety? We could use your bat pony skills to look for clues.  " BubbleGuard requests wondering a bit about the curse.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite nods and gestures to Decorum to lead. He will walk alongside Decorum as they make their way into the hotel. Lettersprite sighs and gives the colt a sympathetic look.
 "My apologies for the continued disturbances: things have not gone as we had planned either. ...Quite frankly, I'm honored you still wish to associate with us." 

Lettesprite lets a few moments pass in silence before quizzically looking to Decorum again and speaking.
 "Actually, if you don't mind my inquiry, why  did  you wish to leave the pool with us. I am by no means displeased: you are a fine young stallion... Is everything alright?" 
Emmerlaus
Decorum first call back Truffles who then  jump on Decorum's back. That little piglet certainly is agile!

Decorum: " My parent's are away on a business trip, they told me to stay with Bastion at all times. My last bodyguard couldn't protect me. It was Truffle who sensed the bad ponies before I could and he fled. I chased after him. That's... that's how I avoided being ponynapped that day. Since then I trust Truffle judgement. He is not the most courageous pet but he always try to make friends with the good crowd. A-And beside... "

He look at Luna and Celestia  but cant maintain to look at them. He ask with difficulty: " I... I would like, if you so n-no inconvenience to do so, t-that we take some times to a-all know each other. I...  dont have the occassion to make friends of my age a lot s-so... if..."

He voice crack a bit, seemingly embarassed. Luna goes to him and hugs him: " My mommy always teached me that a hug always fix everything. "

Decorum is startled, seemingly confused, blinking a few times. He doesnt return the hug but he is not fighting it either.

Celestia  raise her hoof and says: " Do not worry Decorum! Any pals of us will not be put in danger in any ways! I swore and oath as a the futur ruler of-"

Sugar: " CELLY! "

Truffles seem startled but is staying on Decorum's back. Eye twitching, Golden Hour goes to truffle to rub him on the head, instantly calming the little pig.

Celestia blinks a few times, shrug: " I dont care, I swore an oath and you can't - "

Sugar sigh, says to the group: " We should probably go warn the reception desk, find somepony who knows his parents. We will be in his room in the suite in the meantime. Better protected. Anyone has a better idea? " "

(Yay, first time the princesses break their disguise lol)
igordragonian
Sweet Echo smiled warmly.
"Brave fillies." she cooed.
"I am quick! I'll find his parents in no time! Names and descriptons will make it even quicker!"
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite's eyes go wide in shock when Decorum says he's been through foalnapping attempts, but remains silent. His face falls and he sighs and pats his shoulder.
 "You're a brave young stallion to leave the house... definitely braver than me... Well, steady on then: where would you like to be brought? You will likely have to lead the way." 

Lettersprite smiles as the Princesses work to calm Decorum... until Celestia blurts out the wrong thing and Lettersprite almost trips. He tries to pass it off as having been nothing, but unlike many lawyers, a liar Lettersprite is not...
DaOldeWolf
"  I dont know. Thi would be an added responsability for our already big group. Are you sure you are up for the task, Sweety?  " BubbleGuard asks wondering how much she was interested in solving this matter. He wouldnt want to miss an opportunity to show her resolve on a subject matter as delicate as this one.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 "  I dont know. Thi would be an added responsability for our already big group. Are you sure you are up for the task, Sweety?  " BubbleGuard asks wondering how much she was interested in solving this matter. He wouldnt want to miss an opportunity to show her resolve on a subject matter as delicate as this one. 
 

Celestia look at Bubble trying to look innocent... but it just look naughty.

Celly:  " Me? I'm a kid and on a vacation here. One we earned by behaving nicely. Im sure you are competent enough to take temporarily take responsability for one more foal Bubbles. You stress too much."
 

Decorum: " O-Ok! My room is this way!! "

Some of the security is actually pass by you on their way to the roof but ignore you guys, unaware why they were called to the roof. Some are still on the suite level and recognize Decorum... but not you guys apparently.

The Unicorn guard from before, chief of them, goes to Decorum and respectfully ask: " Mister Decorum, it's a surprise to see you here without being chaperone by your personal buttler. Would you please tell if if those ponies are with you? "

Decorum nods: " Yes, they are with me. As for my buttler, he disappeared on the roof. W-Would you mind look into it? "

He nods: " Of course! I'll send orders to check around the hotel to make sure he has not fall off the building, as well as warn your parents of the situation. "

He turn to the Staff and bow his head in a gesture of respect: " Thank you for bringing him here, we can take it from here."

Decorum eyes becomes straight up. Truffles on his back seem to suddenly become a bit nervous."

Decorum: " I said those ponies are with me. I wont leave the floor without either a guardian or my parents but for now, they are my guests! A-and guardian of my friends so d-don't be difficult, please."

The security guard chief seem to hesitate a short moment before smiling: " Very well. But if they enter your room, your parents will be charged for anything your guests broke, steal or anything else that happens. They are now your family responsabilities."

Decorum nods: "F-Fine."

The unicorn nods and let you guys pass. He courtly says: " Have a nice day! "

As soon as you are pass the corners, he barks order to send someone at the reception of hotel to warn the owners of room 999 of the situation here. At no time they mention their names.

The room itself is... very luxurous. A king size bed, another room just for Decorum and Truffle, a magic freezing box that contains food and drinks, VERY soft and clean carpet, a bathroom so clean you could eat on the floor. Their is a a lot of rich looking package and ornaments everywhere.

Even at the Staff's castle, nothing is THAT extravagant!

Sugar and Golden Hour seem taken aback but recover quickly. Celestia and Luna on the other hand are speechless and open jawed. Seeing this, to break the tension, Decorum says: "W-Would you like something to drink? I have some fresh pineapple juice if you want"

=====

(Sorry I know I kinda stole Igor thunder but you might help the guards if you want... Or work on your own to do so? Im sure Sweet Echo could try to get the information she needs to do it herself if needed. Dont let that stuck up Unicorn stop you from doing what you feel is right lol)
igordragonian
"I can get to the roof in no time!" Sweet Echo is eager to help and fly as fast as she can to the roof
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite furrows his brow when the security chief attempts to separate them from Decorum.  The poor colt has ponies after him... could this be another trap they are attempting to lay? 

As they leave the Lobby, Lettersprite pays close attention to the body language of the officer, looking to see whom they go to speak with next as well as how they conduct themself.
  mind  - (2d6+2)[ 8 ] 

Upon reaching Decorum's room, Lettersprite, perhaps surprisingly, takes the inside of it in stride. It isn't terribly uncommon for the wealthier ponies in government to furnish their homes in such a manner, and he has been to a few of them in the past

He thinks about Decorum's offer, before shrugging.
 "I would be happy to accept as long as it does not cause any trouble for you with your family or with the hotel. We seem to be attracting a fair bit of that..." 

He then looks around at his fellow ponies and furrows his brow again before speaking to Decorum once more.
 "So... Has Mr. Bastion vanished before? If so, when has he returned, and if not... is there anypony else you trust in town? We could likely get you to a safe place of your choosing if you wish. Something here... well, perhaps it is the atmosphere of the place, but something feels wrong..." 
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard whished Echoo good luck as she leaves the premises. BubbleGuard then follow Lettersprite to Decorum´s room as planned. BubbleGuard declines the offer a drink. BubbleGuard tries to stay on guard looking for anything that might be suspiciou while letting Lettersprite do the talking.
Emmerlaus
(Since Lettersprite took some initiative, Im going to reward it! No stealth roll needed 😉)

Lettersprite managed to be forgotten by the Staff, at first as his pace slow down and he retract a few steps to be right at the corner of the hallway, unseen by the security staff. He doesnt see the Unicorn Chief  but he can hear him call for " Tower Siege ". The other pony ask him who was "those ponies" with the "pig foal"... Althought they are looking to be discrete by lowering their tone, they can be hear by him at least for this part:

- Chief, You think they are going to be trouble?

- Oh but I sure hope so! Maybe then maybe Red Carpet will stop being on our case! Go look at the receptionnist desk, find any infos you can find about those ponies. I'll treat you to The Prancing Pony after the job if you find me any..."

But then they seem to move away and their voice are too faint to be heard.

===========

On the roof, Sweet Echo is... not treated well. But as long as she doesn't land on the roof or enter the pool area, The lifegaurd pony is letting her have a look around, starting to believe Bubbles might have being telling the truth about "forgetting something"

Unfortunatly, only the melon hat of Bastion remained. And from where he was, its extremely unlikely he fell off the roof, too much distance was between where he was and the edge of the roof... Its like... he vanished into thin air!

==========

Bubbles is actually being treated very nicely by Decorum. Although he refused the juice offer, it turns out Decorum has a pack of cards and he knows quite a few games.

The Princesses, Decorum, Sugar and Golden all play a few cards game that even he never heard off before. Decorum took a bag of cookies and passed them around.

Everyone is having a nice time...

(If you want to find clues about Decorum identity, feel free Bubbles. There is clues in the room 😉)
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard glances around partially admiring the room and at the same time looking for anything that might be helpful. Obviously, he wasnt trying to be too on the nose. He compliments the decour while he checks around. "  I must say your taste is impeccable.  "

 
 Spoiler: OOC 


Mind or body roll to look for clues?  (2d6+3)[ 10 ] 
 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo doesn't mind the lifeguard, actually, while fluttering she aporach him.
"Hey, Lord Tights Of The Uptights! I have kind of an impoetant question-"
she show him the hat.
 "Did you happened to see the pony who wore it? There is a kid and he is kind of worried about him."
BlueHamsterBean
 Before entering the room 

Lettersprite frowns when he overhears the conversation between the security staff, but figures he's pushed his luck far enough already and quietly canters back to his friends.

On the way, he tries to remember whether or not the names Tower Siege or Red Carpet should mean anything to him.
  Mind  - (2d6+2)[ 7 ] 
If they are ponies of notable legal interest, I'll roll Law as well.
[roll=law]4d6b2+5[/roll]

Before entering the room, he takes Bubble Guard aside for a moment and fills him in on what he overheard.
 "Not to alarm anypony, but I'm afraid the security department has a vested interest in removing us from Decorum's room. I'm not certain as to why, but we may wish to be ready for trouble at a later point in time. Until then, we do as my ponies always have: we keep calm, and we carry on." 
 Once inside 

Lettersprite participates in the games, but notably does rather poorly in any game that involved bluffing. He will accept a cookie when they are offered.

Otherwise, he is not confident in his position to ask personal questions of Decorum, but from his seat, he will take in the details of the room.
  Mind  - (2d6+2)[ 6 ] 
Emmerlaus
Decorum look at Bubbles with compassion: " Im sorry mister but we don't choose the design of rooms in a hotel. But as for how this place is, I must admit its not bad. I would have not mind something simpler though but I am a big fan of the magic box, its convenient."

Bubbles spot a symbol on one of the luggage, with a noble crest attached. You rolled high enough to know its connected directly to Earth Pony royalty but the color is different. But still, it must be very close to Chancellor Puddinghead. What is strange though is the need for needing a hotel room if they are so close to Earth Pony royalty...

Another thing he realize is that their seem to be a photo album on one of the desk. Although the pictures would be in black and white, there must be picture of his family inside...

================

The lifeguard frown. He sigh shake his head: " You are cute but you don't know how to talk to ponies isn't it? Whatever, I was surprised that the foal guardian was nowhere to be found after you splashed around. Not even sure why the foal left with you ponies instead of security. "

Seem like he doesn't know anything.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo chuckle.
'Well, usually, being cute worked for me, but I guess it isn't enough with stuck up ponies. But thank you! I'll keep looking!'

She now fly to the last place, he was seen, and try to trace, if in the unlikely case, he became invisble, the closted path, and just go there.
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard wonders about his finding and tries to keep the talk going. "  I can see how. Magic can sometimes make our lives easier. By the sound of your description, it seems like you have stayed in better places? Why did you decide to pick this hotel?  " BubbleGuard asks with curiosity, leaning a bit forward as he asks.
Emmerlaus
Decorum look at the fillies, confused, who giggles and then he return his attention to Bubbles: " You mean my parents mister. I don't want to be rude but... Im just a kid. I cant take a hotel reservation you know? But as for better places goes, I was shocked when my parents told me other rooms don't have it. Its a shame for the other ponies..."

Luna change the course of the conversation by asking Decorum what he likes to do at hobbies, which Decorum gladly explain how he loves swimming, reading and cooking with the staff at his parents place when they allow it.

========

Sweet Echo realize that with the sun above, the water already dried up on the side of the pool. She cant make up anything from the remaining water hoofprints as it seem a few poniues already walked everywhere around the pool, probably security.

It seem like a fruitless effort to keep searching here...
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite, confident that he has reached his limits of observation, sighs and focuses on the game he is involved in instead of straining his eyes looking around the room.

He listens as Bubble Guard speaks to Decorum before shrugging and looking to the Colt during a lull in his chat with the Princesses.
 "Erm... Young Master Decorum: please do not take this the wrong way, but how long should we expect to be staying here? You are exceptionally pleasant company, and we will not leave a colt to fend for himself of course, but... well, is there a guardian of some sort we should contact about Bastion's sudden disappearance? ...Assuming this is unusual for him of course. I cannot say. You said you trust those whom do not upset Truffle, and that seems wise all things considered: are there any other such ponies whom we should reach out to?" 

Lettersprite produces a hoofkerchief from his jacket and cleans his glasses with it as he continues.
 "At the very least, it would be nice to know there were other friendly eyes on you than ours should trouble find you." 
Emmerlaus
Decorum ears drop: " My parents will definitely be worried once they learn about Bastion disappearance. But they are working hard to become gouvernement official and being part of the... what's the word... parlement? In any case I know they will probably send a relative to pick me up once somepony get in touch with them... "

Luna seem unable to relax, her ears are down: " C-cmon it cannot be that bad right? Im sure Bastion will be back soon... "

Celestia seem also weirdly hesistant but just ask: " What if... wait where is Truffles?! "

Its at this point you all realize that the little pig who was just content to be in his little bed to take a nap seem to have vanish too!

Immediately Bastion drop his cards, look around nervously: " Truffles, TRUFFLES!! "

You soon realize that the Truffles doesnt seem to be in the room...

For the first time, you all realize also that Luna seem to look VERY guilty and close to crying, looking around hoping to find the little pig too but too nervous to really join the search in the room.

Celestia ears are low too, with some guilt showing on her face.
DaOldeWolf
"  Have your parents spoken to anypony? I mean besides the hotel staff.  " BubbleGuard decides to ask trying to broaden the scope of possibilities. "  Please, I beg of you to try to remember.  "
igordragonian
Sweet Echo sigh.
She then search the outskirts of the hotel
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite nods as Decorum describes his situation.
 "I see... We can contact them if you wish. My apologies... I did not mean to cause you pain." 

Aaaand then the pig goes missing  Oh simply marvelous: just what we needed! 

Lettersprite gets up to start searching when he notices the Princesses' unusual behavior. He canters over to Luna and puts a gentle hoof on her shoulder before whispering the following to her.
 "Steady on young Luna: we'll find Truffle yet... do you have any idea as to what may have happened? Truffle is dear to Decorum... it would be best if we locate his old friend with alacrity." 

Rolling Heart in case we feel it is necessary to see what is bothering Luna.
  Heart  - (2d6+1)[ 3 ] 
And rolling Mind to notice any clues as to where Truffle may have gone.
  Mind  - (2d6+2)[ 14 ] 
Emmerlaus
Decorum shrug: " I dont think so Mister, sorry? "

That is all you can get from him before he is too worried about his pet then continuing the conversation.

=========

Luna take a deep breath, grab Lettersprite... And teleport with him as soon as Decorum is not looking.

Sugar is looking at Celestia, asking what is going on, Celestia answer: " ... we just wanted more time with our new best friend. And that Bastion clearly needed a nap  since he was being so cranky. All I did was use my magic to make Sweet Echo splash in the pool bigger but I think Luna spell was more... drastic? I didnt say anything cause I trusted her..."

After a moment, Luna and Lettersprite comes back in the room via teleportation. She has Truffle in her arms but he is jump down from her as soon as she appear in the open.

The little pig seem angry from the snorting and angry squealing he is doing. Decorum pick up his little pig and hugs it, which seem to distract Truffles from his anger for a moment as it seems to be looking around in confusion.

Decorum is just glad to have Truffles back that he doesnt ask any questions.

(Lettersprite will have quite the story to tell, I'll PM him what he experimented just now.)
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite stumbles backwards as if recoiling from a recent assault before tripping and falling flat on his butt.
 "Whinnying blimey! What in Tartarus!? Wha..." 

He looks around the room, confused, before turning back to Luna with a look of bafflement and concern. The sound of Truffle's oinking distracts him for a moment though and he nods appreciatively at the pig.
 "Oh... ok: good. Mr. Truffle made it back safely." 

He turns to Luna, still breathing heavily from his recent exertion, and raises an eyebrow.
 "I was concerned that strange... pony? I think? May have caught Truffle on the way out... yet he appears to be safe. Good." 

He takes several deep breaths before sighing loudly and giving Luna a pleading look.
 "Young Highness Luna, please, for goodness sake, explain what that was! Where were we, and what was that strange equine?" 

Lettersprite then falls backwards and just lies down to take a breather. Whatever just happened seems to have taxed the lawyer greatly.
Emmerlaus
Luna is defensive: " I-I dont know! It's a etheral dimension! Master Starswirl explained to me its a deviancy made from teleportation spells, to make them possible to begin with. You know, where unicorns body end up between teleportations? He told me that I should continue to try to use a magic inside, that would be useful once I get my cutie mark. There was never anypony else inside of it before! It shouldn't have anypony inside! "
DaOldeWolf
"  Its fine. Dont worry yourself, Young Master Decorum. If you remember anything, do let me know.  " BubbleGuard replies trying not to press the issue any further. "  So, lettersprite, what are your thoughts?  " he asks still not knowing about any of the interactions between the princess and him.
Emmerlaus
As Sweet Echo is lurking around, her bat ears hear something near the reception clerk desk. She see a security pony there, being told that about the ponies in your room? Its all hush-hush and whispers but you can hear it on the other side of the window outside.

You cannot see who the security pony is talking to but its saying that the ponies in your room reserved under the name of " Tea Agony " and that's she rumored to be working for Starswirl the Bearded, being one of her student.

Do you wanna continue spying or move along? if you do wanna continue spying, roll for stealth.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite blinks twice before signing and laying flat on his back, looking at the ceiling.
 "...Alright: I don't fully understand what you just told me young Highness Luna, but I take it that it bodes ill... Do be careful with that magic of yours: it seems we do not yet fully understand how it works..." 

He looks over to Truffles and waves a hoof lazily at the pig before furrowing his brow and sitting back up.
 "Hold on: we've found Truffles, but what happened to Bastion?" 

About this time, Bubble Guard approaches Lettersprite, and the lawyer can only stare for a brief moment before realizing he is being rude.
 "Pardon me: it wasn't polite of me to stare...

Suffice it to say that Luna and I... journeyed somewhere... I know not where, but Luna said it was a place mages go in between teleporting? Truffles was there. I am not by any means a mage...

But to answer your question, I recommend we send a letter to Decorum's parents as quickly as possible... assuming he wishes us to do so." 
DaOldeWolf
"  What do you mean? Did something happen?  " BubbleGuard contains himself knowing the answers would probably arrive if he were to follow instructions. "  Did you hear that? We might be of assistance afterall, Young Decorum.  " BubbleGuard replies trying to get the young one´s atention and hopefully getting him on board with whatever plan Lettersprite had in mind.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo does try to keep spying.




 (2d6)[ 6 ][ 3 ](9) +3
Emmerlaus
At the mention of Bastion name, Truffles squimish angerly. It surprises Decorum drop on the floor.

Luna sigh, point at Truffle: " When the sun set and that Truffle sleep, Bastion should have appeared. He would have felt like he took the best nap of his life and just woke up. I basically put him in Truffles dreaming world. But I dont understand why that ghostly pony was there and how Truffles was brought there... He messed up with my spell, somehow."

Decorum gasp and look at Luna like she suddenly dangerous. He tales a few steps away from Celestia and Luna.

"Why would you do that?!"

Celestia look hurt seeing Decorum acting like that. She bow her head in defeat: " Cause we never had friends before and we didnt want to end things at the pool because of your guardian? He clearly didn't like us and... well we wanted to spend more time with you. "

Decorum doesnt seem to know what to think...

(Suggestion: I can give you a suggestion in the OCC if you arent sure how to respond to that)

=============

Sweet Echo peek at the window. Its the nice clerk from before that escorted to the reception desk. She seem unhappy, conflicted and pressured.

She is facing a pegasus pony named Tower Siege. Her tone is slightly intimidating when she speak: " Who cares about that?! What, you want Red Carpet to have our heads or something? You know how to gather information, why didn't you do it?! "

" Cause I am not to give personal information to anypony, not even you! So STOP asking! "

" Well if you did do it, maybe you would have know that one of them is a member of the D'Magic family. "

The clerk seem surprised by this info... and afraid.

" " H-How?! Is it true?! How did you learn that?! "

(Should I do small cut so that you interrupt them at some point? Or you plan to keep hiding and not showing yourself?)
DaOldeWolf
"  Ummm....  " BubbleGuard looks nervous bout the reveal but tries to help calm things down. "  Lets try to calm down. If its a magical situation, it might still be reversible. Let us worry of the solution for the moment.  " BubbleGuard is still unsure exactly how yet but he assumes Lettersprite already worked of something with the princesses.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite continues to listen as everypony attempts to clear up the confusion, but two things stand out to him during the conversation. He sighs, and turns to Decorum, holding out a hoof in a placating gesture.
 "Our young charges are... special. Special, but they are foals like yourself, and they speak the truth when they say they don't usually have much company... Today has been a very good day for them, and I hope it can be a good one for you too in the end, but to that point, I think I may have a thought as to why we didn't find Bastion in his dream realm young Luna." 

Lettersprite gets back up on four hooves and clears his throat before continuing.
 "Young Master Decorum: you said Bastion made Truffles nervous? Moreover, you trust in Truffles' judgement? ...What I saw in that strange space was certainly not Bastion, but who is to say that Bastion ever truly existed? It is possible that he was a spirit of some sort in disguise, and that what we saw truly was his realm young Luna." 

He looks between Bubble Guard and the Princesses.
 "Does this explanation fit within the bounds of known arcane theory?" 
igordragonian
(Unless it become violent, Sweet Echo would wait it out)
Emmerlaus
(Sorry, I had prepared an update and then lost all my post. Had to rewrite everything)

Bastion seems confused, ask: " How would we know anything is real then?  When would bastion had being replaced by... Truffles?! What is wrong with you? "

Truffles seem to squeal a lot more then usual, squealing while looking at you ponies in the eyes. Truffles began to scratch it behind the ears and he seem to calm down, like its a spot that is very relaxing for the little pig. Truffles continue: " I wouldnt know when it happend sir Lettersprite. I think we should warn someone who could help? Im not sure what you saw when you brought back Truffle."

The Princesses looks at each other then Luna reply to Lettersprite:" Your guesses are as good as ours. Its a first for us."

========

Tower Siege sigh, shake his head: . Doesnt matter how I learnt it. What we need to do now is prepare for the worst. The guardian of the foal on the suite number 904 have disappeared. Vanish into thin air. Imagine what would happen if the journalists hear of this...

" A-Alright alright! I'll look into it. Man, today is really a bad day..."

Then Tower Siege thanks the pony in front of him and leave.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite scratches the back of his neck briefly as he continues to cogitate.
 "Well... How long have you known this Bastion fellow? Has Truffles always reacted to the mention of his name like this? I am mostly going off of what I have seen, and what I know of Truffles' instincts." 

Lettersprite sighs, looks over to Bubble Guard and shrugs.
 "Truth be told, I am grasping at straws for the most part I'm afraid, though we have other matters to attend to. We need to find a proper guardian for young master Decorum here as soon as equinely possible..." 

He then looks over to Decorum sheepishly before continuing.
 "Though we are happy to accommodate any desire for privacy you may have in this matter. If you wish for a telegram to be delivered so as to conceal the identity of your parents, we are more than happy to wait, and to either deliver it or accompany you if you wish to do so yourself." 
Emmerlaus
Decorum shake his head: " I known Bastion since 5 years I believe. And Truffles never reacted this way as just the mention of bastion name - Truffles?! "

Truffles seem to struggles from this sensation of pettiing and wanting to move away from Decorum. Then he start crying...

Decorum is confused at Truffles emotionnal distress. Then he sigh and says: " Please contact the front desk at the main floor. They know how to contact my parents and who they are and how to do it quickly. Im sorry but I think Truffles doesnt feel like himself. He must have being scared witless in that other world. I'll take a nap with him, if you guys dont mind."

Celestia and Luna look defeated hearing that, nods. Celestia say weakly: " Im sorry again Decorum. I... I hope we can play together again someday."

Decorum seem to be pensive for a short instant and then nods: " Im sure one day we can laugh about this and I'll be happy to give you another chance... but no more magic trickery like this one. And I cant speak for my parents. Or bastion if we ever found him again... Now excuse me but, you know..."

He make a small head gestures toward the door. Sugar sigh and she takes Luna while Golden Hour take Celestia out of the room.
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard thinks for a bit about the possible choices to deal with this. "  Well, there are a couple of alternatives we could use. The first would be trying to do the whole thing in reverse. The second would be the recipients and be sent to wherever they had gone.  " Bubbleguard brings up the suggestion as he tries to think of any other alternatives on the matter.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite strokes his chin contemplatively when Decorum says that he's known Bastion for 5 years.
 "Hmm... Well then, that does cast some severe doubt on my hypothesis... I am sorry I could not be of more help: good day young Master Decorum, and do take care." 

Lettersprite follows the rest, but cannot help but ruminate on Truffles' distress... surely there must be some cause for the poor dear's anguish?

He takes a closer look at Decorum and the pig, attempting to determine whether or not something has changed about either of them.
  Mind  - (2d6+2)[ 5 ] 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo choose to follow the scary yelling pony
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo choose to follow the scary yelling pony 
 

Unfortunately, she is outside the building. Sweet Echo tries to follow her throught the other windows but soon realize she cannot.
igordragonian
What is stopping her?
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 What is stopping her? 
 

Glass windows, walls... You can try to break in somewhere or go by the front door and catch up? 🤨
igordragonian
Sweet Echo tap her chin, decide to go to check on the clerk.
'Wow! This was surey a spoooky pony!'
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite continues to ruminate on the distress of Truffles and can't shake the feeling that something is off, though he can't quite put his hoof on it...

He turns to Bubble Guard and whispers the following.
 "Mr. Guard: something is't quite right... Truffles is upset, and yet nothing is obviously wrong... I can't figure it out, but tell me, have you noticed anything new about Decorum? Truffles seemed to wish to escape him which was extremely odd..." 

Lettersprite sighs and shakes his head.
 "This is a task better suited to my brother really: he is the detective of the two of us... Well, seven, but he's the sibling I am closest to." 
DaOldeWolf
"  Odd? I am not sure what you mean.  " BubbleGuard replies unsure on how to answer the rather peculiar question. He tilts his head slight as he asks back "  Why? Is there something that I might be missing here?  "
BlueHamsterBean
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 "  Odd? I am not sure what you mean.  " BubbleGuard replies unsure on how to answer the rather peculiar question. He tilts his head slight as he asks back "  Why? Is there something that I might be missing here?  " 
 

Lettersprite nods and looks over to Decorum as he continues.
 "Well if you think about it, why should Truffles feel uncomfortable around the pony he has known and loved for what is presumably a considerable amount of time? Truffles did not appear to have any such reservations prior to the incident with young Highness Luna... And the pig's instincts do seem to be rather keenly honed." 

Lettersprite sighs and rubs his temples.
 "I cannot quite place my hoof on it, but there is something about this entire situation that Truffles seems to have gleaned that we have not... It is at times like these that I dearly wish I could speak with animals." 
DaOldeWolf
"  Speak with animals? Well, I might know the pony for the job. Its a goodfriend of mine and the brother to the lovely Miss Echo.  " Bubbleguard replies back ready to go meet with him for the answers that were needed.
BlueHamsterBean
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 "  Speak with animals? Well, I might know the pony for the job. Its a goodfriend of mine and the brother to the lovely Miss Echo.  " Bubbleguard replies back ready to go meet with him for the answers that were needed. 
 

Lettersprite furrows his brow in thought for a moment before successfully recalling the face of Deepwood from his brief time at the mansion.
 "Oh yes! I belive I know whom you refer to: brown batpony? Black mane? Somewhat dour demeanor? Fascinating! I would not expect him to have an affinity for wildlife, though that is merely representatve of my preconceived notions more than anything else I'm afraid." 
Lettersprite rubs the back of his neck with a forehoof sheepishly.
 "Truth be told, I had only heard of batponies in Breezie tales prior to arriving at your mansion. Breezie tales always get things wrong though, so I really hadn't the faintest idea of what to expect... I should try speaking with Ms. Echo and... Mr. Deepwood? I believe his name was? It could be informative." 
DaOldeWolf
"  Precisely. We can probably get more insight of the current situation with their help. Since you are new, I reccomend you to always look for the staff for any assistance you might require. They might be a bit eccentric but they are all really capable in their respective fields.  " BubbleGuard declares with quite a bit of pride.
BlueHamsterBean
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 "  Precisely. We can probably get more insight of the current situation with their help. Since you are new, I reccomend you to always look for the staff for any assistance you might require. They might be a bit eccentric but they are all really capable in their respective fields.  " BubbleGuard declares with quite a bit of pride. 
 

Lettersprite nods as he continues trotting along.
 "I am not at all surprised to hear this! I am no expert on magic, yet even I can see the extent of Ms. Agony's skills for example! That being said, I am not entirely certain as to the specific talents of each staff member: if I am to seek their assistance, would you mind explaining their abilities and roles to me? This way, I will be able to seek out the correct pony for consultation." 
Emmerlaus
Sugar listen to you guys for a while and finally says: " ...You know that Deepwood is at the castle right? And that it would be much more efficient to ask tea Agony to spare some time to come back at the hotel? "

Golden Hour look a bit  surprised: " Oh? She share her husband cutie mark now? How can she talk to animals?"

Sugar: " Deepwood teached her and she concocted a small spell to help her when the language barrier was too much."

It comes at a surprise to you all, as Tea Agony never flaunt this skill before. Before you can recover from your surprise, Sugar fly away, saying: " I'll go to the reception deck, be right back!"

Sugar is a fast agile flier, by the time she reach the counter, she see Sweet Echo and ask: " Oh there you are! Look, I need to call tea Agony real quick, the situation have evolved. Anything new from your end? "

========

As soon as Sugar is gone, The Princesses look at Bubbles and Lettersprite: " So what now? I mean, it kinda ruins the vacations if you guys need to work on this..."
igordragonian
Sweet Echo nod.
"A spooky pony called Tower Siege seems to be involved in this. I tried to follow him, but he gotten away"
DaOldeWolf
"  Nonsense. I firmly believe that matters f greater importance hold the key to our brighter future. Dont worry about it.  " BubbleGuard replies trying to be reassuring to the princesses´plight. Not to mention, he didnt want them to feel bad about it later in life if they could try to solve this right now. "  I am still your bodyguard and your safety also involve matters of the heart.  " BubbleGuard grins.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite nods when it is revealed that Tea Agony can also speak to animals. Because he has almost no prior idea as to what the Staff's abilities are, he is not nearly as surprised.

He is, however, somewhat surprised that the Princesses are concerned about interrupting his "vacation." He blinks once, and then chuckles heartily.
 "Ahahaha! Oh dear me, my apologies: I should not laugh. You see, I had completely forgotten that this was supposed to be a vacation in the first place!" 
Once he manages to control himself again, Letterspirte smiles at the Princesses as he continues.
 "Please, do not fret: to be quite honest, I have not done much work for you and the staff yet, so I was not entirely ready for a vacation really. ...Given the strange political landscape of hotels, I expect I may be called upon to use my skills at some point during our stay: once we have navigated this mystery, then I beleive I will be ready for a rest." 
Lettersprite winks before turning his attention to the hallway ahead once more.
Emmerlaus
Sugar sigh, says: "Repeat what you know, in details, to the rest of the crew. FOr now we need to call for..."

The reception clerk said: " How may I help you," attracting both girls attention. They did the relay of the message and the unicorn clerk write it down and made the message "poof" out of existence.

" Message sent. is there anything else I can help you with?"

After assuring her that no, you were about to leave when a teleportation bang happened in front of the hotel. You see Tea Agony enter, her mane frazzled, crooked glasses, clearly angry. She spot Sugar and Sweet Echo, walk down to them almost intimidetly.

She push BOTH of them into the evalator and once the door is closed, she says: " Those girls are in so much trouble..."

Meanwhile, TEa Agony and the group finally reunite. Sugar seem to want to calm Tea Agony down but she is  FUMING. 

Celestia and Luna, afraid of the sight, hide behind Golden Hour. The stallion refuse to bulge and stand protectively in front of the Princesses. Frowning, he says:

" You are scaring my granddaughters, Miss Agony. Please calm down. Otherwise, I wont allow you near them."

His tone is decisive and seem like he is ready to die on that hill.

Tea Agony finally stop, glare at the girls intimidely... her horn is glowing slightly, like she's holding back from casting a spell.

(I suggest you de-escalate the situation guys 😦)
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite stops dead in his tracks when he sees Tea Agony's expression and, well, her mane and glasses.

He raises a hoof to say something, but the situation escalates beyond his ability to run damage control rapidly. He stands in silence for a few moments during the standoff between the two Staff members before clearing his throat and cantering over to Tea Agony.
 "Ahem, I beg your pardon Ms. Agony, but... ermmm... what exactly happened to you? Perhaps if we told one another the reasons we were angry we could come to a mutually beneficial arrangement?" 
He also whispers the following in her ear and jerks his head at one of the hotel workers.
  "...Also, remember where you are: it would be unwise to start what could become an international incident here, espceially with the Manor's legal status currently in qiestion." 

[roll=Heart]2d6z[/roll] +1 (unless we use someone else's Heart stat by acting in harmony), +situational modifiers.
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard tries to put himself in the middle to disrupt the discussion. "  I recommend we try to listen to reason. we cannot emotion cloud our judgment of the current situation. We can address anything more deeply after everything has been solved.  "

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

Working in harmony here.
 
igordragonian
"Siiiiiister!!!" Sweet Echo screech happily as a distraction(!)
and land between her and the others.
"So much energy! You got to admire that in a pony right?" She try to smooth her.
"But how about.... instead of doing stuff that you might regret later- (and believe me,I know everything about doing regretful things) how about that instead of that, you take a deep breath-" And Sweet Echo dare to step closer and put a supporting wing on her sister in law.
"And try to explain, what made you so worked up, so we all can work on this together?'

----

Heart 3+talented
 (2d6+4)[ 6 ][ 4 ](10) 
Emmerlaus
Sugar also join her father, seeing that talking wont do and some smoke come out of her mouth...

But after hearing your plights, her horn stop glowing. She takes a long breath... and hugs Sweet Echo, even for a moment. Very unusual.

Once she let her go, she use telekenesis to put back her bun together and she repair her glasses. Now only the coldness in her eyes show she is still angry, which is a good sigh.

She finally says: " I received a message that the rascals here used magic on a bodyguard of a certain Decorum. This is a old fashion name like mine and I fear the worst for it. Lesson number one: those who have old fashion names should be treated as pony with a particular background. This one is no exception. And as for my dreadful apparance, I hit the hotel magical protection while I tried to teleport back here. It hit me and I think, from the pain, I might have some internal injuries..." She raise a hoof to stop Golden Hour: " Of which we will wait to check me for until I solve this dire crisis. Because unaware of you all, I assure you it is. "

" Now, where is that piglet in question? "

(Now that Decorum is alone in his room, will you wake him up? Or is there other details you think you should mention about this ordeal? Like a certain apparition Luna and Lettersprite saw?)
igordragonian
Sweet Echo look worried she shake her head.
"look, we have here Bubbly Doo, we can handle you get some doctoring, on you. Right?' she looked at Bubble Guard.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite lets loose a discreet sigh of relief upon the confrontation's defusal. He seems somewhat alarmed by the idea of smashing into a barrier while between... planes, or something, you know, magical, but seems to understand the severity of the situation once Tea Agony explains the reason for her frustration.
 "Then we have no time to waste: we must right this as soon as equinely possible! To which I believe we may have an... unusual solution. If you would come with me Ms. Agony I would be much obliged: we can discuss matters in greater detail while en route." 

Either while walking to Decorum's room or perhaps going somewhere else if the rest of the party feels so inclined, Lettersprite gives as many details about the incident with Bastion as possible.
 "--So upon comforting young highness Luna, I was transported to some strange otherworld between spaces in which I had a rather jarring encounter with a hostile equine apparition who's features neither I nor Luna recognized. Thankfully, young highness Luna managed to escape that... location along with young master Decorum's good friend Truffles, a pig. That is, as a matter of fact, where we would like to have your talent in understanding animals applied: Truffles seemed uncomfortable with Decorum upon returning, which was... concerning given the pig's intuition for danger. We were hoping that perhaps you might be able to determine the source of Truffles' distress, and in doing so, illuminate at least a portion of this mystery." 

Lettersprite pauses upon catching Tea Agony up on recent events before turning to her again and whispering a question to her.
 "...If this question is out of place, please do not feel compelled to answer it, but when you said young master Decorum is among the Big Names, which one might that be? If there are to be consequences for the events of the day, I, as a lawyer perhaps could be better prepared for what we might face if I better know the risks involved." 
Lettersprite shrugs before looking ahead.
 "I leave this to your discretion Ms. Agony." 
DaOldeWolf
"  Miss Agony, due to the current stakes and the fact that I cant be in two places at once. I think it would be imperative for you to keep an eye on all of the staff members currently at the hotel while I take care of the little ones.  " BubbleGuard replies showing a pretty serious look. "  I know I can trust you to take care of my staff in the meantime.  "
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 "  Miss Agony, due to the current stakes and the fact that I cant be in two places at once. I think it would be imperative for you to keep an eye on all of the staff members currently at the hotel while I take care of the little ones.  " BubbleGuard replies showing a pretty serious look. "  I know I can trust you to take care of my staff in the meantime.  " 
 

Tea Agony see it as Bubbles refusing to use his magic to heal her, contrary to what Sweet Echo asked from him. Adding the insult to injury, he called the staff   HIS   Staff!

Her eyes are cold looking at Bubbles but she nods:   " Don't worry, I'll do MY part. Just point me to his room."  

She listen to Lettersprite explications. To answer his question, she answer: " His parents include the royal prince favorite cousin, second in line if the royal family were too fall. But first in line if we consider they dont live in this city normally so if every branch of the Earth Pony royalty were to fall here, they would be contacted to take their place."

She knock on the door but nobody answer. Decorum doesnt answer Tea Agony voice but then Celestia ask: " You think they still asleep? "

On the other side of the door: " Wait, Celestia? Is that you? Is that miss with you? "

You all realize that Decorum didnt answer because he didnt recognize Tea Agony. As soon as the door open, Bastion in his pyjamas greet you but he seem guinely grumpy to see you guys...

(I suggest you smooth things out. Remember, he was going to take a nap and he is worried about Truffles)
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite sighs and facehooves when he sees Decorum in his pyjamas.  Right... he was taking a nap. 
He peeks at the colt from behind his hoof as he speaks.
 "My sincerest apologies young master Decorum, but we returned because we believe we may have a means of determining the source of Truffles' distress. My colleague here, Ms. Tea Agony, just arrived and can understand the speech of animals. That being said, I had completely forgotten that you were going to take a nap: considering that this is a possible lead in discovering the whereabouts of Bastion, we would very much like to speak to Truffles as soon as possible, though we do not wish to disturb your rest for any longer than may be necessary..." 

Lettersprite looks between Decorum and Tea Agony and sighs again.
 "The choice is yours, though I implore you to grant us this one last moment of your time for the day..." 

OOC: Have a Heart roll if you need one. If Tea Agony has something to add and has a better Heart score, we can act in harmony and use her attribute perhaps?
  Heart  - (2d6)[ 4 ]  +1 (or Agony's bonus)
DaOldeWolf
"  Of course, I better put you to shape for the task.  " BubbleGuard replies realiing his mistake of not healing before making the request. BubbleGuard takes his bubble mix and casts his healing bubble spell.

 
 Spoiler 

Healing bubbles is a DC 8 spell.
 (2d6+3)[ 8 ] 
 
Emmerlaus
As soon as Lettersprite mention "speak with animal", there is noise inside the room. When he mention "speak with Truffles, The little pig, no longer wearing his bathing suit, bypass Decorum to tackle Tea Agony, making her fall on her back with a groan of pain.

Truffles seem to excited to even notice what he did and is squealing frantically while on her belly.

Tea Agony was about to say something when the Bubbles hit her, envelopping her and Truffles... before suddenly, the magic bubble pop and get absorbed into Truffles,  without healing Tea Agony. 

Decorum is stunned by what happened and visibly upset. He say loudly: " TRUFFLES! That is NOT a way to treat a lady! What is going on with you today ?! Im sorry miss, my little Truffles is is feeling under the weather today, he had a very stressful day. "

Tea Agony reply: " ...That's because he isn't your Truffles. But it spoke too fast, I need to - OW! My back."

Decorum, who was about to get Truffles back, stop before reaching out to grab it. He look at you guys suspiciously. Sugar does however, swiftly grab the pig and hold it midair. The Pig desesperatly try to escape her graps but is unable to. She warm him with a low growl and in a threatening voice: " If you dont behave, I'll turn you into bacon. "

At that threat, little Truffles calm down but there is tears at the corner of his eyes, looking at Tea Agony with desperation. Golden Hour frown and very assertively says: " that is enough Tea Agony! You are injured and you need healing NOW! I will no longer stand aside while we ignore this matter! Especially since you might have a back injury! Bubbles, please, heal her immediately! "

Tea Agony try to get up but it seem to painful to do so... She look embarassed and in pain. From her mane, little Elusive, her pet magical moth, get out and whizzle around curiously.

Luna and Celestia look at each other's, a bit confused at everything that just happened.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite is visibly surprised by Truffles' sudden tackling of his recent employer, but is more concerned by what she reveals about "Truffles" and her antagonistic attitude towards the pig in front of Decorum.

He puts what he hopes is a reassuring hoof on Decorum's shoulder before looking to Tea Agony.
 "Ms. Agony: please, so not threaten this pig in front of Decorum! Let us... let us all calm down a touch. We've all had a pants day and it isn't over yet, but if we think this through, we may yet find our answers." 

Lettersprite looks to Decorum and shakes his head in sympathy.
 "You have my deepest sympathies: this was not how you expected your day to go..." 

After a brief pause, Lettersprite looks to Tea Agony again.
 "You say this is not Young Master Decorum's pig: who is this pig then? Moreover, I believe I saw a spell enter this pig that seems to have been intended for you? For your wounds I take it? If so, does this pig need immediate medical attention?" 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo's ears folded as Agony more or less ignored her pleas.
" Sis! Doesn't shouldn't Midnight have a healthy mommy?¤ 
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo's ears folded as Agony more or less ignored her pleas.
" Sis! Doesn't shouldn't Midnight have a healthy mommy?¤  
 

Still on her back, she answer   " Then convince your coltfriend in healing me. He first ignore your plight to do so and then somehow, he heals the pet instead of me? Bubbles, if you ARE going to heal me, could you hurry up and improve your aim? "  

She seem in pain, tired. Everypony can see in her eyes that she had a rough day.
igordragonian
 "Bubbly Doo?"  Midnight beg
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard scratches behind his neck with a nervous smile. "  I´ll try my best to get you this time though I am a bit unsure how it failed the first time.  " BubbleGuard replies a bit confused about the situation.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

 (2d6+3)[ 8 ]  DC 8 for healing bubbles
 
igordragonian
"Thank you bubbly doo!" Sweet Echo coe
Emmerlaus
This time, it seems to work. For extra measure, Sugar flew back a little bit with Truffles in her grasp.

Tea Agony make a long sigh as her injuries are finally healed. She takes Golden Hour hoof to help her get on her feet. Then, after adjusting her bun and repair her glasses, she look at Elusive and use another spell on the little flying moth.

They seem to know what they are doing, Elusive goes to Truffles and makes "bzzz" sounds next to the pig who then start to franctically squeak. Tea Agony eye twitch and says:   " He says he his a pony named... Ba... Baton? Baron? Speak slower! Ah, Bastion! You guys know this pony? "  

The Princesses gasps, Luna look confused even as to how that might happen. She frown, deep in though, several emotions on her little face comes and go.

(roleplay time! Did you see this coming?)
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite blinks once, then twice, and then sighs, rubbing his temples with a forehoof.
 Magic... will there ever come a day when it actually makes sense? 

He canters over to Tea and Bastion and crouches so he is eye level with the currently porcine pony.
 "Yes Ms. Agony: we do know this pony. He is a guardian of young master Decorum whom Luna decided to ...teleport ...I think. Magic is not my area of expertise." 
He then looks Bastion in the eye and bows his head.
 "You have my deepest apologies Ser Bastion: we will do what we can to reverse this and to find the true Truffles... It seems that magic is a practice fraught with danger." 
igordragonian
"You understsnd Truffles? I... thought it's Deepy's thing!" Sweet Echo  is excited but then worried.
"Sistea? Are you alright? You are all twitchy and wierd..."
Emmerlaus
Decorum look... weirded out. And angry. But he bite his lips, refraining to do anything. He look away from Lettersprite

Tea Agony eyes keep twitching, ears following. She says: "  This spell is difficult as it is Echo, please don't distract me." 

Elusive keep buzzing for a while before returning to Tea Agony mane. She drop her spell and take a deep breath.

At this point, Luna take a step and says:   " I... I think I can solve this issue. I-I know I messed up b-but... I think it's linked to the special dimension I can have access to. I... If... I mean... Nevermind. "  

She looks embarassed, scared and full of shame. She take a step back to return next to Celestia who hugs her. Celestia say in a low voice:   " Its ok Luna, I believe in you..."  

(After everything that happened and Luna messing up   TWICE  ... do you think you guys can forgive her and let her try to solve the issue?)
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard still remembers the reason why they were working together. "  I´ll trust you, Miss Luna. I know that you are worried right now but you need to believe in yourself if you expect this spell to work.  " BubbleGuard replies trying his best to be encouraging. He then looks at the rest and makes a movewith his face almost as if trying to tell the others to cheer her up. If the princesses were to become rulers one day, they had to encourage them to grow. At least, that was how BubbleGuard saw it.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite pauses when he hears Luna speak up. He looks between her, Tea, Decorum, and Bastion before sighing and turning to Luna.
 "I don't think we have the luxury of excluding anypony from this discussion, and you are a powerful mage young Luna, though perhaps let us talk about our intended strategies first before we employ them? You likely have ideas that Ms. Agony does not, and Ms. Agony likely has thoughts that you yourself would not consider." 

He adjusts his glasses before speaking again.
 "I find that two ponies collaborating on a project is more effective generally speaking: I assume this is also the case in magic?" 

He then canters over to Decorum and just sits down next to him with a sigh, muttering the following under his breath.
  "Honestly, it's amazing anypony can wrap their heads around magic when its rules are so... well, arcane."  
igordragonian
"Well, I have no idea what is going on!" Sweet Echo cover for her fear and confusion with loud energy

"But I know about messing up stuff, Luni Wooni." she say more softly.
"And if you did something wrong, for your own sake, it will be good of you' fix it! And I can help, I'll do anything!"
Emmerlaus
When Lettersprite approach him, Decorum take a small step on the side, with enough distance for Lettersprite to be unable to touch him. He still seem wary, with negative thought filling his eyes as he look at the group with apprehension. He answer back:   " And I can't wrap my head about your group. Truffles wasnt afraid of you... yet your group use dangerous magic like its nothing. Once this is done, I want nothing to do with you guys."
  

His eyes linger on Truffles in Sugar's grasp, like it was his last straw on his self control, the lingering hope you'll fix the situation.

The princesses doesn't realize this unfortunately. Luna seem to regain some self-worth and confidence from your words of encouragement and she turns to Tea Agony:   " Miss Agony, I-I think... Truffles is inside his body, somewhere. Its complicated but if you trust me, I'll open the door of Truffles mind and get Bastion out. We just need an empty room to do it to do it. "  

Once you all agree and with retiscence from Decorum, you enter his room since its the closest. Standing all round the bed, Luna ask fro Truffles to be put on the bed and for Bastion to relax and not resist if he want to recover his own body.

Luna close her eyes for a moment... her mande start swirling around her and a shadowish world full of stars seem to surround the room in an instant. Sparkles of stalight show in her mane and on her own float a dark energy. She suddenly open her eyes and blast Truffles's body with it. Slowly, a bubbles surround Truffles that close the bed from the rest of the room. Soon, Bastion seem to erupt from the small piglet body and land on the bed, snoring loudly.

But then, something unexpected happen... a ghostly figure appear within the Bubbles and start cackling :   " FREE AT LAST! I AM THE GREATEST D'MAGIC ALCHEMIST THAT - wait... Was't it too easy? It was like the door opened by itself... "  

he look around and see the lingering shield. he snort: " Thanks for freeing me I guess... Now, who is going to be my host... Oh, that stallion is sleeping perfect! "

he was about to lunge at Bastion When Luna suddenly shielded Bastion with another shirld. The D'Magic ghost slammed in to hit, unable to penetrate it. He groaned: " YOu... You... "

he suddenly seem dizzy, tired. Luna eyes seem like full of starlight as she say softly: " You are the one who messed up everything today. You are dead and yet still lingering here. You deserve the eternal sleep. Go on, clam yourself down... and sleep peacefully..."

The D'Magic Ghost try to resist it but it seem he cannot, soon, he fall down but instead of hitting the bed, he slowly dispurse into mist. Once the mist is completly gone, vanshing into think air, Luna drop the bubbles around the bed.

Truffles seem pale and as Golden Hour rush to examine it, you realize you were all holding up your breath. The starry sky around you guys seem to retract and rush toward Luna. her mane is still looking like a starry sky... but her flank is still shining brightly!

Soon, it reveal... A few dark blue clouds with a moon inside!   Luna just got her cutie mark!   
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite notes Decorum's reaction but takes no offense.
 "Quite frankly, I can't say what possessed me to involve myself in the first place, though it has gone well enough so far. Fear not: we will be out of your mane soon enough... I hope." 

He raises an eyebrow at Luna's words, but does not question it, instead studying Tea Agony's face. Seeing that she, presumably, sees no issue with this reasoning, eases his concerns.

And then the light show starts... and then a full grown stallion comes out of a pig... along with a ghost... and then Luna gets her cutie mark.

All Lettersprite can do is stare with his jaw dropped.
 "...What in the! H, how? A mere! No, not a mere... but still a!" 
He holds his tongue before he says anything stupid but thinks the rest of it.
 A foal commands such power... Perhaps the other kingdoms' fear of Star Swirl's young wards is more justified than I had thought... Should one of them ever decide to reign as a tyrant... 

He bites his lip before he can finish that thought.
 ...I suppose that is where we come in: they exist, and we must ensure they learn what they must to rule kindly and justly, for rule they most certainly will. I'm not sure there's a pony in the world who could stop them given a few years. 
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard accompanies Luna trying to ccher on the way. BubbleGuard could only hope for the best and he knew he had to trust her since there was a lot at stake including the Princess own confidence and self image. BubbleGuard jumps a litle when he sees the ghostly image emerge from the bubbles. "  The story about the D'Magic ghost was true?!  " BubbleGuard replies shocked. This wasnt something he was used to at all.

As the issue gets resolved, BubbleGuard is amazed to see the princess has amanged to get her own cutie mark. "  My dear child, you have managed to not only solve the issue at hand but also reach a new level in self discovery.  " BubbleGuard uncharacteristically hugs the Princess with pride. He couldnt believe what he had just witnessed. BubbleGuard could barely hold his tears of joy from the whole situation. He soon realizes what he had done and moved back. "  Umm... I am sorry. I suppose I got caught up in the moment  "He apologizes with a pretty red face.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo fluttered her wings happily, and gave  Luna a big hug.
 'Well, now it's offical- you are superior to me, Luna Woona! A pretty cutie mark! Also very bat ponish!' 

She cooe at Bubble Guard.
 'OoooOOoooO. Bubbly...' she cup his chin up.
 'It's ok to cry! It's very exciting! Don't be shy!' 
DaOldeWolf
"  I am fine. I am very proud of what the one of the little ones have managed to achieve by themselves.  " BubbleGuard replies. "  Anyway, we should all get back together now that we have deal with all of this.  "
Emmerlaus
The light in Luna eyes slowly dim to return back to normal. She sigh of relief and then smile as she is being smothered with attention and love. Sugar and Golden Hour also join the hug, each of them congratulating Luna. Celestia seem... sad and a bit envious for a moment before sighing and putting back a smile on her face and go congrats her own sister with a hug.

Luna go back to Bubbles, giving him another hug:   " Im sorry Bubbles about your relative. I really had to give him the peace of a eternal sleep, he wasn't a good pony. He was desperate enough to try to steal the life of somepony else. I..."  

Decorum seemed... fascinated by the scene. He was a bit overwhelmed and wary. He didn't know how to feel and was very confused. He whispered the words " bat ponies " with a frown, not sure what to think of this new information. But he was scared at the mention of "D'Magic" and was now looking at Bubbles like someone was watching something that might explode at any moment. He run toward the other side of the bed before saying in a panicked voice that attract your attention:

  " You ponies are accepting D'Magic ponies among your staff?! ARE YOU INSANE?! "  

Both Truffles and Bastion seem to slowly waking up. Bastion look utterly relaxed and happy, not realizing where he is. He whisper:   " Wow, that nap was so good! Didn't sleep that well in... where am I? "   

Truffles on the other hand seem to wake up more quickly at Decorum scream. He look around, shake his head in confusion but seem much more awake then Bastion.

Tea Agony is whispering things in Celestia hear as this go on, consoling her in not having her cutie mark yet before Luna.

NOTE: I suggest you diffuse the situation. I can make Tea Agony diffuse the situation if needed or try to do so after you gave it a try.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo nuzzled Bubble Guard.

she is a very loud in her cheers.
the mare narrow her eyes.
 'How is it a problem? Bubbly Doo is the best pony I have ever met!' 
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite sighs and rubs his temples when Bubble Guard's lineage is revealed. He looks to Decorum and shrugs.
 "I cannot speak to the hiring policies of the Staff, but I can say that I have not seen Bubble Guard do anything untoward in my time with him. I think you will find that blood matters less than one may think in determining a pony's nature." 

He lifts one of his forehooves before speaking again.
 "My entire family, save myself and my brother, are farmers. This is most certainly not the forehoof of a laborer: this may seem insignificant, yet the same principle applies." 

He then wilts slightly, lowering his head.
 "Though chaos has admittedly followed in our wake, and for that, I apologize: we will not trouble you further." 
He puts a hoof on Sweet Echo's shoulder and shakes his head.
 "We should probably go: making a scene will not help." 

OOC:
I'm happy to use this argument to act in harmony with someone else. This is probably a Heart roll I'm guessing?
 (2d6)[ 11 ]  +1 or +Someone's Heart
DaOldeWolf
BubbeGuard remains silent. When it come to his own family, he was always a bit unsure on how to feel about it. He decided to let the others handle the delicate subject for themselves.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
 Lettersprite sighs and rubs his temples when Bubble Guard's lineage is revealed. He looks to Decorum and shrugs.
 "I cannot speak to the hiring policies of the Staff, but I can say that I have not seen Bubble Guard do anything untoward in my time with him. I think you will find that blood matters less than one may think in determining a pony's nature." 

He lifts one of his forehooves before speaking again.
 "My entire family, save myself and my brother, are farmers. This is most certainly not the forehoof of a laborer: this may seem insignificant, yet the same principle applies." 

He then wilts slightly, lowering his head.
 "Though chaos has admittedly followed in our wake, and for that, I apologize: we will not trouble you further." 
He puts a hoof on Sweet Echo's shoulder and shakes his head.
 "We should probably go: making a scene will not help." 

OOC:
I'm happy to use this argument to act in harmony with someone else. This is probably a Heart roll I'm guessing?
[roll0] +1 or +Someone's Heart 
 

(Darn it, you are LUCKY you rolled so high!)

Your argument seem to calm down Decorum to some extend but it doesn't reassure him as it didn't try to argue about the very nature of the D'Magic curse.

Bastion seem to regain his sense at Decorum argument and goes in the other side of the bed and try to be intimidating: " I'll ask you to leave this room immediately. Nopony here want to create an incident right? So leave. Immediately."

Tea Agony want to add something but Sugar sigh and whisper something in her ears. After a good moment, Tea Agony nods and say:   " Of course. Have a nice day, both of you. It's a shame though, our proteges seemed to get along with one another before you woke up. Farewell, Mister Decorum, Mister Bastion. May you stay well and healthy until our next meeting, if destinies must have it."  

You are all encouraged to leave the room. Suddenly, you hear a squealing and you see Truffles coming and go to the Princesses. He snort, rub on their legs like a cat and squeal a bit before returning to the room, with Bastion frowning and closing the door.

Tea Agony bring you all to your own room, make the Princesses sit down. She look stern and angry:   " Now, coworkers, tell me why I shouldn't send those two fillies back to the castle at this instance, stopping the vacation right now? "
  
The Princesses look horrified, both saying:  " BUT - " 

Tea Agony horn glow and no other sounds can escape their mouth. Tea Agony says:   " Your jobs are to listen right now Princesses. I wasn't there to surpervise you so your tutors will decide your faith"  

NOTE: This is the part of the epsidoe where we must conclude if somepony learned a valuable lesson. Thats how the XP system work. So feel free to say anything  you think was worthy to note and if you want to defend, or not, the Princesses for their behaviors.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite simply nods at Bastion's request and begins to make his way down the hall, pausing briefly to look back at Decorum, nod, and sigh.  And here I'd hoped I'd made a new friend for the first time in... goodness me, has it truly been so long? Not that I blame him... 

As he canters back to their room, he thinks over the events of the day... especially of the last few minutes.  I thought they were simply foals... yes, wings and a horn makes for a handful, but they are more than that... what in Tartarus have you signed up for old chap... 

He then looks over to Luna and Celestia, their expressions at the moment unreadable, though the situation familiar.  I, too, had a habit of ruining vacations for my family... it's hard to bring a pony as afraid of crowds as I am anywhere without making a scene...

Mighty mages or not, they are still foals, and will make mistakes. They need to be able to be young so they can grow! 

Once back in their room, Lettersprite listens to Tea Agony as she begins her lecture before sighing and shaking his head.
 "And what, exactly, would sending them back now teach Ms. Agony? I am not certain it would do much good." 
He looks over to the princesses and pauses for a moment in thought.
 "...I thought you two were simply foals: remarkable foals, but foals nonetheless. I was not wrong: to say you are grown would be incorrect, but you are much more powerful than I could have ever imagined... And that terrifies me, not because I fear for myself, but because I fear for you!" 

Lettersprite pauses to collect his thoughts, looking between Tea Agony and the princesses before continuing.
 "History has taught equanity that when the young are given power, they grow up too fast, and that is a true tragedy. It is in our youth that we learn how to live our lives, and we do so by making mistakes. When our mistakes can have great effects, we fear making them, and we close ourselves off from further development!

...In the end, you turn out like me: a stallion of some thirty eight moons with maybe one or two friends, because getting close to ponies is hard and fraught with error! ...I stopped because I thought it wasn't worth it: I'd drive them away because they'd think a stallion who breaks down crying in a crowd wasn't worth it." 

Lettersprite stops speaking for a long time, seemingly shocked by what he just said.  ...It's frighteningly easy to convince yourself that you aren't lonely when you're busy with work. Hmph, maybe that's why I hate vacations: too much time to think. Nonetheless... 

He turns to Tea Agony and shakes his head.
 "Perhaps you know this better than I, but with our young charges, we should expect their mistakes to be greater in magnitude than those of most foals. On any other trip, this would have simply been a temper tantrum... I am inclined to treat this incident as such, not just because Luna fixed the problem on her own, but because she and her sister must not come to fear mistakes... instead of sending them back, ask them what they learned, and how they will do better next time: from that, they will grow.

They will grow where I did not." 

After finishing his speech, Lettersprite sits down and takes a deep breath, tired from speaking as he did. He is silent for a long time before quietly muttering the following.
 "I cannot be a foal again, but maybe I can learn to live in less fear if I follow my own advice... if I learn from my errors instead of condemning them. Either way, let this be a lesson to you young Highnesses: just because a pony is old does not mean they are mature, hah." 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo smile.
 'Fearing mistakes is the biggest mistake!'  she agree.
 'There always be ponies unhappy, with us living our lives- try to live happily, and if you step one somepony, just say sorry- and we should celebrate the cutie mark!' 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony listen to the Staff reasonning and seem lost in thought. Meanwhile, Golden Hour goes to Lettersprite and put a comforting hoof on his shoulder and smile to him:   " Well said! But you know, all grown ponies are the same. Don't look to much down on yourself. Im older then you and still do mistakes and I still fear some things. Nopony is fearless. Come at the nursery once in a while if you want to chat to an old buckaroo like me! "  

Sugar goes to Celestia and Luna, hugs them and says:   " Now girls, what did you learn today? "  

Celestia start, look away:   " I shouldn't be envious of my little sister of getting her cutie mark before me. I should be glad for her. I can only hope I wont earn mine the hard way like she did. "
  

Luna look a bit happier at being reminded she got her cutie mark but try to look solemn, saying:   " Well... I shouldn't act rashly with magic when I think someone is being treated badly and try to resolve it otherwise? Oh and that I am Luna, the dream traveller and the ghost crusher! I will be the sherif of the night, make everypony safe and beat all the bad guys when the sun is down! "  

Tea Agony sigh:   " I think you are all right. We promised this vacation after all and even if mistakes were made, Luna getting her cutie mark is a awesome occasion! Miss Celestia, if that can make you feel any better, how about you decide our first activity this afternoon? I reserved a nice restaurant where we can all pot it suggestion for Celestia to decide. It wont be as nice as Sugar food mind you girls so dont be critical about it ok? "
  

The Princess agree in unison, clearly glad they aren't getting punished.

Somewhere, in the hotel, a pony is sitting inside a beautiful, luxurious office. Tower Siege, the bodyguard, just finished his report... A deep voice behind the deck says: " Interesting... It seem the magic surveillance in my hotel was a worth investissement. Those two foals seem to be able to use a kind of magic that can shortcircuit it... Starswirl The Bearded protege heh? Maybe... just maybe... that day will come! "

He start laughing in an omnious way... But that is a story for another time.

   THE END
   
DaOldeWolf
    ～The great betrayal ～    
Its 2 in the morning. Everything seems to be pretty calm in the castle or so it seems at first. A tired trotting slowly approaches as everyone in the west hall (where the PCs rooms are located except BubbleGuard´s) is called upon suddenly by a screechy and loud voice. "  EVERYONE! WAKE UP! We have no time to waste! He will be here any minute. You must leave the castle before its too late!  " You are received by a pretty roughed Charcoal Knight. He awaits outside the hall barely able to hold his breath.

Tailwind is the first to speak trying to calm him down even putting her hoof behind his back. "  Relax. Try to slow down so you might explain what is going on.  " Charcoal Knight replies negatively. " There is no time to lose with explanations. Its my duty to protect you all considering the circumstances. I cant let any others be lost in the scuffle. We already lost Harvest Moon and Money Bags. I cant let anypony else fall into his hooves. "

Charcoal Knight motions with his hoof to follow him. "  I´ll explain on the way. The castle isnt a safe place anymore. And we will need all the hooves we can get if we are to save the princesses and Master Starswhirl.  " Tailwind reacts to the news by jumping in the air. "  What?! The princesses and Starswhirl have been captured! This is terrible news! Do tell us, who is behind this?  "

Charcoal Knight sighs and bits his lip almost as he couldnt say. "  There is a reason no alarms have been heard. And he knows this castle better anypony else. The one who is capturing everyone and the one who has betrayed us all is..... my brother BubbleGuard!  " Charcoal Knight starts running once again. "  Follow me! We have to run! He is coming!  "
igordragonian
Sweet Echo felt she just has closed her eyes.
She fall with her down from the bat pony sleeping stamp, thunder of pain burst in her head as she roll.
",Whaaat?"

She did had a nice evening with Bubble Guard. Didn't she?

Her eyes widen and she let a bat screech.
"It's impossible! Bubbly Doo would never do such things! I got to find him!" she spread her wings intending go fly the opposite route to find Bubble Guard.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony sleep schedule was a mess since Midnight had started to get his teeth. But when she overheard Charcoal Knight in the hall, she whisper to Deepwood:   " Buy me some time. There is inconstancies in his story. Starswirl shouldn't have being there. But just in case... it's time for plan " Big D ". Honey, we prepared ourself for this. Oh and say to the staff we need to regroup everypony! "
  
She put her war attire... which is a enchanted bathrobe able to nullify any kind of water magic. She goes to an chest and retrieve an invisible item. She seem to tie her around her instead of a bathrobe belt. She then take her son from his Crib and give him something to put him sound asleep:a concentrate on calming herbs Deepwood make for emergency. The baby couldnt take too much of it but it was an emergency.

Only then she goes outside and go to Deepwood, put Midnight in his clutch:   " Open a window and go darling. This is my fight. Protect our son at any cost. "  

Sugar arrive, worried and still in her pyjama. But sleepy.

Once Deepwood leave, she stop the Staff:   " I am now in charge of this operation. First off, we need the magic mirrors. Sugar, go fetch yours quickly, the one in a donut shape! Second, Charcoal, bring us to the major artifact room while you explain to us what happened in detail. Then once we each find a defensive artifact, we can go fetch Sketch Book and Golden Hour. Nopony will be left behind!  Now cmon! "  
BlueHamsterBean
  "What in the ruddiest blazes of Tartarus is the matter?!! It is not even yet the crack of dawn!"  

Apparently not a morning pony, Lettersprite emerges from his quarters still wearing his nightgown and night cap, his eyes bleary. He groans as ponies yell and apparently... prepare for combat?
 "...Umm, I beg your pardon, but... Ms. Agony, should I trouble myself with this? I am about as far from a competent combatant as you can get... And hold on,  Bubble Guard  is ostensibly the foalnapper? ...Of two of the strongest mages I have ever seen? No! Verily! Could Mr. Guard even successfully coerce the Princesses if he used the full extent of his powers? ...Powers that I am still admittedly ignorant of." 

He pauses for a moment stroking his chin in thought.
 "There may be an unseen aspect to this situation that we may not have considered is me point." 
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo felt she just has closed her eyes.
She fall with her down from the bat pony sleeping stamp, thunder of pain burst in her head as she roll.
",Whaaat?"

She did had a nice evening with Bubble Guard. Didn't she?

Her eyes widen and she let a bat screech.
"It's impossible! Bubbly Doo would never do such things! I got to find him!" she spread her wings intending go fly the opposite route to find Bubble Guard. 
 

It doesnt take her long to fly back to meet with BubbleGuard. BubbleGuard is shockingly not wearing his scarf though a medallion hangs on his neck and twelve mirrors floating around while spinning. There are also many huge bubbles surrounding him. Sweet Echo catches the moment that BubbleGuard traps Wood Chuck inside one of those bubbles. Wood Chuck faints inside the bubble. The bubble then pops and with it no traces seem to be left of Wood Chuck. BubbleGuard turns his attention to Sweet Echo.

"  Hello my dear Sweety. Look at me! I am controlling almost the whole staff´s power. Just three mirrors left to complete the whole set. I still have only caught three members of my beautiful staff so I suppose there is still a lot of work to do.   " BubbleGuard giggles and bubbles come out of his mouth. Suddenly, BubbleGuard stops giggling to hold his head in pain with his hoof. " Sorry sir! I will get back to work now. " BubbleGuard once again goes to smile at Sweet Echo. "  Well, I suppose its time to capture you, my dear.  "

 
 Spoiler: Sweet Echo 

You have time for one action before BubbleGurd decides to attack.
 


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony sleep schedule was a mess since Midnight had started to get his teeth. But when she overheard Charcoal Knight in the hall, she whisper to Deepwood:   " Buy me some time. There is inconstancies in his story. Starswirl shouldn't have being there. But just in case... it's time for plan " Big D ". Honey, we prepared ourself for this. Oh and say to the staff we need to regroup everypony! "
  
She put her war attire... which is a enchanted bathrobe able to nullify any kind of water magic. She goes to an chest and retrieve an invisible item. She seem to tie her around her instead of a bathrobe belt. She then take her son from his Crib and give him something to put him sound asleep:a concentrate on calming herbs Deepwood make for emergency. The baby couldnt take too much of it but it was an emergency.

Only then she goes outside and go to Deepwood, put Midnight in his clutch:   " Open a window and go darling. This is my fight. Protect our son at any cost. "  

Sugar arrive, worried and still in her pyjama. But sleepy.

Once Deepwood leave, she stop the Staff:   " I am now in charge of this operation. First off, we need the magic mirrors. Sugar, go fetch yours quickly, the one in a donut shape! Second, Charcoal, bring us to the major artifact room while you explain to us what happened in detail. Then once we each find a defensive artifact, we can go fetch Sketch Book and Golden Hour. Nopony will be left behind!  Now cmon! "   
 

Charcoal Knight stops in his tracks the moment she starts giving orders. "  The ponies in the other two aisles have been told to evacuate though I came to inform you alone to avoid risking their lives in the process. Should we leave them to their onw devices, especially Sweet Echo?  " Charcoal Knight replies worried though he decides to follow through the orders. "  But if you think this might help, then lets go.  "

Charcoal Knight takes out his sword and with a quick slash cuts open through the air creating a portal directly to the hallway where the artifact rooms and BubbleGuard´s room lie. Charcoal Knight jumps through the portal to the other side. "" Charcoal Knight seems tired and barely able to keep the portal open. " Please, hurry! Jump through! "


 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
   "What in the ruddiest blazes of Tartarus is the matter?!! It is not even yet the crack of dawn!"  

Apparently not a morning pony, Lettersprite emerges from his quarters still wearing his nightgown and night cap, his eyes bleary. He groans as ponies yell and apparently... prepare for combat?
 "...Umm, I beg your pardon, but... Ms. Agony, should I trouble myself with this? I am about as far from a competent combatant as you can get... And hold on,  Bubble Guard  is ostensibly the foalnapper? ...Of two of the strongest mages I have ever seen? No! Verily! Could Mr. Guard even successfully coerce the Princesses if he used the full extent of his powers? ...Powers that I am still admittedly ignorant of." 

He pauses for a moment stroking his chin in thought.
 "There may be an unseen aspect to this situation that we may not have considered is me point."  
 

Tailwind is quick to approach when he hears his argument about the current situation."  I totally agree with you! We have to learnt more about this situation! What should we do? I implore you. Let me go with you! We will be safer together and we can keep each other´s back protected. Please!  " Tailwind suggests by whispering to him.
Emmerlaus
Tailwind goes in the artifact room, go directly to what she knows can give an advantage against Bubbles magic. She has no time to worry about Sweet Echo.

" Let's get the items that give immunity to water magic! There should be quite a few. We dont want to be trapped in one of his Bubbles! Tailwind, once you get one of them, go fetch your mirror too, Like Sugar did! "

She get a few amulets: " Those will protect you once from any elemental magic and reflect them back at him, no longer in his control! Only useable once so make good use of it! "

She turn to Sugar: " Sugar, we need a way to feed him! Remember that rules after not eating food after Midnight? Well I think it's time to break it! " She give her a spoon: " That's for force feeding anypony! It force itself into the designated pony mouth and need a breaking curse spell to remove it. It will even close the pony mouth to prevent anything from spilling! Put anything in the spoon and it will create endless production of what is in the spoon to go throught the pony throat! " She get a bottle: " Lava pepper essence! The hottest pepper in existence! Put here in the artifact room because it was too dangerous to use in the kitchen!"

Lettersprite receive a large shield: " I know you arent a fighter Lettersprite but this shield can carry and protect anypony. Nopony can see in the forcefield in will create once its activated, anypony but you the user. Your job will be too carry our cutie Mark Mirror and protect them. If the Princesses are found, bring them inside your shield too. "

To Tailwind she give a necklace: " The Banshee Necklace! Make your powerful voice a weapon to push back anypony in a cone in front of you! It will make anypony struck with it dizzy, missing with their inner ear. Careful to not get us struck with it! "

Tea Agony finish with : " We have 17 amulets of elemental absortion and reflection. Now, let's get going! We need to save everypony!"
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite buckles momentarily under the weight of the shield before catching himself and inspecting the artifact for any signs of how to activate it.

He follows Tea Agony as she proceeds through the mansion, looking about with an expression of confusion, nervousness, and fatigue.
 "Ahem, well, you have my thanks Ms. Agony, though... I am curious how one activates this artifact... Also, what kind of abilities should I expect Mr. Guard to use? I only just met him after all." 

He yawns and narrows his eyes as he looks ahead.
 "Regardless, I will do what I can to keep the young Highnesses safe... which is a sentence I never imagined I would say, but here we are." 
 What a truly barmy world we live in... 
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
 Lettersprite buckles momentarily under the weight of the shield before catching himself and inspecting the artifact for any signs of how to activate it.

He follows Tea Agony as she proceeds through the mansion, looking about with an expression of confusion, nervousness, and fatigue.
 "Ahem, well, you have my thanks Ms. Agony, though... I am curious how one activates this artifact... Also, what kind of abilities should I expect Mr. Guard to use? I only just met him after all." 

He yawns and narrows his eyes as he looks ahead.
 "Regardless, I will do what I can to keep the young Highnesses safe... which is a sentence I never imagined I would say, but here we are." 
 What a truly barmy world we live in...  
 

Tea Agony literrally force Lettersprite to sit down on his flank on the shield with his telekenesis. It looks like she has lot of practice to use telekenesis to move ponies... Her telekenesis is strong!

As soon as Lettersprite sit down on the large fleet, it "hummms" and start floating two feet amove the ground. She says:   " It move with your thought. Its a flying shield. "  
igordragonian
Deepwood nod. "I know you can sort this is out" and then fly.

****
Sweet Echo's eyes widen.
"Bubbly?! What the fang are you doing?!"

"CHUCK!" She gasp and screech.
"Bubbly Doo! This isnt you!"
She fly toward him, with huge doe eyes. "Bubble Guard! If you love me, stop this!"

---

Heart, Charismatic

 (2d6)[ 4 ][ 2 ](6) +4
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tailwind goes in the artifact room, go directly to what she knows can give an advantage against Bubbles magic. She has no time to worry about Sweet Echo.

" Let's get the items that give immunity to water magic! There should be quite a few. We dont want to be trapped in one of his Bubbles! Tailwind, once you get one of them, go fetch your mirror too, Like Sugar did! "

She get a few amulets: " Those will protect you once from any elemental magic and reflect them back at him, no longer in his control! Only useable once so make good use of it! "

She turn to Sugar: " Sugar, we need a way to feed him! Remember that rules after not eating food after Midnight? Well I think it's time to break it! " She give her a spoon: " That's for force feeding anypony! It force itself into the designated pony mouth and need a breaking curse spell to remove it. It will even close the pony mouth to prevent anything from spilling! Put anything in the spoon and it will create endless production of what is in the spoon to go throught the pony throat! " She get a bottle: " Lava pepper essence! The hottest pepper in existence! Put here in the artifact room because it was too dangerous to use in the kitchen!"

Lettersprite receive a large shield: " I know you arent a fighter Lettersprite but this shield can carry and protect anypony. Nopony can see in the forcefield in will create once its activated, anypony but you the user. Your job will be too carry our cutie Mark Mirror and protect them. If the Princesses are found, bring them inside your shield too. "

To Tailwind she give a necklace: " The Banshee Necklace! Make your powerful voice a weapon to push back anypony in a cone in front of you! It will make anypony struck with it dizzy, missing with their inner ear. Careful to not get us struck with it! "

Tea Agony finish with : " We have 17 amulets of elemental absortion and reflection. Now, let's get going! We need to save everypony!" 
 


 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
 Lettersprite buckles momentarily under the weight of the shield before catching himself and inspecting the artifact for any signs of how to activate it.

He follows Tea Agony as she proceeds through the mansion, looking about with an expression of confusion, nervousness, and fatigue.
 "Ahem, well, you have my thanks Ms. Agony, though... I am curious how one activates this artifact... Also, what kind of abilities should I expect Mr. Guard to use? I only just met him after all." 

He yawns and narrows his eyes as he looks ahead.
 "Regardless, I will do what I can to keep the young Highnesses safe... which is a sentence I never imagined I would say, but here we are." 
 What a truly barmy world we live in...  
 

Charcoal Knight and Tailwind bring back all the artifacts requested by Agony and oddly enough, one item she didnt request for. The item has a necklace with the image of an alicorn. "  I am sorry if I brought this but I wouldnt want BubbleGuard to get their hooves on this one artifact. It drives you mad. Mad with magic. But alicorn level magic is still a tempting proposal even with its drawbacks.  " Charcoal Knight explains himself to Tea Agony. " So what is the next thing to do? "


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood nod. "I know you can sort this is out" and then fly.

****
Sweet Echo's eyes widen.
"Bubbly?! What the fang are you doing?!"

"CHUCK!" She gasp and screech.
"Bubbly Doo! This isnt you!"
She fly toward him, with huge doe eyes. "Bubble Guard! If you love me, stop this!"

---

Heart, Charismatic

[roll0]+4 
 

BubbleGuard approaches her for a second seemingly. "  I....  " BubbleGuard holds his head in pain. "  Yes sir! I know. I´ll go fetch the others.  " BubbleGuard looks up at the mirrors. "  Show me the locations of Golden Hour, Sketch Book, Cornucopia and Daily Delivery.  " 4 mirrors fly down and BubbleGuard watches them thoughtfully. BubbleGuard turns his back on Echo. "  Charcoal´s mirror, use my brother´s portal spell. Send me to the main entrance. Daily Delivery and Golden Hour are mine.  " The mirror creates a portal of fire just like the ones that Charcoal Knight could make. "  Go back to the rest and ask them to surrender. Tell them I will engage them with the full power of the staff if they dont. BubbleGuard jumps into the portal and disappears.  "
igordragonian
 Sweet Echo  cry.
 'NO! STOP! ' she beg, and for a long moment, fall and sob covering her face,
She take a deep breath, and determination cover her

 'I will save everyone, Bubbly Doo. Like the real you, would have wanted, I will also save YOU. Not even you can stop me! YOU HEAR!?"  she yell, as she spread her wings, and fly her way back, her make up ruined and tainting her face.


 'SisTea!'  Sweet Echo yell with the relativly new nickname.
 'Bubbly went all cookie bananas! He went to the main entrance to capture Daily Delivery and Golden Hour! We gotta do something! Should I fly there, or  can you zap us there?!' 
Sweet Echo is on brink of panic, but she try to keep her resolve.
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite yelps as he is hoisted into the air and plopped somewhat unceremoniously on top on the shield. He sits very still for a few moments, blinks, and then tries thinking of moving forwards.
Presumably, he does, and makes further attempts to get a feel for piloting this... device.
 "...Blimey, you really do have a fascinating set of tools! I'll follow along then, just show the way and I'll-" 

It is at that moment that Sweet Echo arrives in an obvious state of distress. Lettersprite listens quietly, though one can intuit his feelings about the general situation from the way the fur of the back of his neck is standing up on end.
 ...If Ms. Agony is taking such measures to confront Mr. Guard... and if she can lift me up like a misbehaving foal... oh ruddy hay, what have you gotten yourself involved with my good lad. 

He clears his throat and looks between Sweet Echo and Tea Agony.
 "Ahem, well then... I suppose to the main entrance we go?" 
He begins to float his way in that direction before stopping and looking over to Charcoal Knight.
 "That necklace... if it is truly as dangerous as you say, then perhaps I should carry it inside this barrier such that Bubble Guard will be less likely to get his hooves on it... I do not care to see what he is like should he use it..." 
Emmerlaus
As they exit the major artifact room, Tea Agony is holding a bag full of items.

Sugar hear the news, her eye twitch, she turn to Tea Agony, smoke being released from her mouth and flames in her eyes:   " Tea!"  

Tea use magic to activate Sugar mirror to open a portal:   " Hop in everyone! Lettersprite, you hide that mirror!"  

The mirror leviate to Lettersprite, entering the blue opaque shield its hiding and you can all now go save Daily Delivery and Golden Hour.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
  Sweet Echo  cry.
 'NO! STOP! ' she beg, and for a long moment, fall and sob covering her face,
She take a deep breath, and determination cover her

 'I will save everyone, Bubbly Doo. Like the real you, would have wanted, I will also save YOU. Not even you can stop me! YOU HEAR!?"  she yell, as she spread her wings, and fly her way back, her make up ruined and tainting her face.


 'SisTea!'  Sweet Echo yell with the relativly new nickname.
 'Bubbly went all cookie bananas! He went to the main entrance to capture Daily Delivery and Golden Hour! We gotta do something! Should I fly there, or  can you zap us there?!' 
Sweet Echo is on brink of panic, but she try to keep her resolve. 
 

"  He went what?!  " Tailwind replies shocked holding her face with both hooves in shock. "  Yes, we have to make our move then. We cant left him catch anymore of the staff. No matter how crazy he is acting.  "


 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
 Lettersprite yelps as he is hoisted into the air and plopped somewhat unceremoniously on top on the shield. He sits very still for a few moments, blinks, and then tries thinking of moving forwards.
Presumably, he does, and makes further attempts to get a feel for piloting this... device.
 "...Blimey, you really do have a fascinating set of tools! I'll follow along then, just show the way and I'll-" 

It is at that moment that Sweet Echo arrives in an obvious state of distress. Lettersprite listens quietly, though one can intuit his feelings about the general situation from the way the fur of the back of his neck is standing up on end.
 ...If Ms. Agony is taking such measures to confront Mr. Guard... and if she can lift me up like a misbehaving foal... oh ruddy hay, what have you gotten yourself involved with my good lad. 

He clears his throat and looks between Sweet Echo and Tea Agony.
 "Ahem, well then... I suppose to the main entrance we go?" 
He begins to float his way in that direction before stopping and looking over to Charcoal Knight.
 "That necklace... if it is truly as dangerous as you say, then perhaps I should carry it inside this barrier such that Bubble Guard will be less likely to get his hooves on it... I do not care to see what he is like should he use it..."  
 


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 As they exit the major artifact room, Tea Agony is holding a bag full of items.

Sugar hear the news, her eye twitch, she turn to Tea Agony, smoke being released from her mouth and flames in her eyes:   " Tea!"  

Tea use magic to activate Sugar mirror to open a portal:   " Hop in everyone! Lettersprite, you hide that mirror!"  

The mirror leviate to Lettersprite, entering the blue opaque shield its hiding and you can all now go save Daily Delivery and Golden Hour. 
 

"  We have no time to lose!  " Charcoal Knight nods and opens another portal to the entrance. On the othher side of the portal, you can see BubbleGuard launching bubbles against Daily Delivery and Golden Hour. Daily Delivery seems to be blocking the projectiles with all the letters at his disposal.

Daily Delivery speaks up. " Come on, BubbleGuard! You are family. There is no way I would ever attack you. Stop this! ". BubbleGuard creates a bubble to protect himself. "  There! Now, you cant even hurt me even if you tried. Still, I am certain you will remain at the defensive. You couldnt let anything happen to your crush´s dear Papa.  " Golden Hour looks at Daily Delivery with a bit of surprise.

Daily Delivery´s face turns red. "  BubbleGuard! You know that is supposed to be our secret! I have even done my best to protect your own crush when we went on missions together. How could you this? " BubbleGuard smirks knowing he had made him lower his guard and prepares to launch another barrage of bubbles to capture them both. "  Ha! I gotcha now!  "
igordragonian
Sweet Echo still shaken.
"Bubbly Doo! Stop! I beg you!" her voice shake as she try not to cry again.


---

heart+charismatic
 (2d6)[ 6 ][ 4 ](10) +4
Emmerlaus
Charkoal charge first, bursting Bubbles defense with Tailwind's distraction.

Sugar Rush then fly above Bubbles and   STORM HIM WITH FIRE!   It hide him for a moment and the flames are so intense that the ground is red!

Tea Agony, as soon as she can see Bubbles again, make her horn glow and in a pop, teleport Bubbles away...

Sugar Rush fly to her dad in hug.   " Dad! Im so glad you are ok! "  
  
Tea Agony sigh in relief, order: " Let's mask the mirrors and be at hooves lenght if we need to destroy them. I dont know why Bubbles needs them but destroying them should hinder his plans, if anything else. Now, focus ponies! Now that Bubbles is gone, we need to find the Princesses and Starswirl! "  
BlueHamsterBean
Lettersprite floats onto the scene before coming to a complete stop upon witnessing the pyrotechnics display. He stares for a few moments before sighing heavily and looking around for any sign of the Princesses.
 Please let this just be a rubbish dream: honestly, when did I wander into a fairy tale... or possibly an epic saga of some variety. 

He moves about the battlefield cautiously during his search, keeping an eye to the sky in case it decides to fall down at some point, because why wouldn't it?
To find any sign of the Princesses:
  Mind  - (2d6+2)[ 6 ] 
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I am so sorry for taking so long to reply: this week has been difficult, and I haven't had much energy. In a few weeks, I should be much more reliable because I will have finished my last for-credit college course! From then, it's just research research research, which is fine by me.
 
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo still shaken.
"Bubbly Doo! Stop! I beg you!" her voice shake as she try not to cry again.


---

heart+charismatic
[roll0]+4 
 

Sweet Echo´s words stop BubbleGuard´s attack in place. The capturing bubbles burst and disappear. He turns his attention to her. "  Sweet Echo.....  "


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Charkoal charge first, bursting Bubbles defense with Tailwind's distraction.

Sugar Rush then fly above Bubbles and   STORM HIM WITH FIRE!   It hide him for a moment and the flames are so intense that the ground is red!

Tea Agony, as soon as she can see Bubbles again, make her horn glow and in a pop, teleport Bubbles away...

Sugar Rush fly to her dad in hug.   " Dad! Im so glad you are ok! "  
  
Tea Agony sigh in relief, order: " Let's mask the mirrors and be at hooves lenght if we need to destroy them. I dont know why Bubbles needs them but destroying them should hinder his plans, if anything else. Now, focus ponies! Now that Bubbles is gone, we need to find the Princesses and Starswirl! "   
 

Its at this time that Charcoal Knight takes the opening to cut through the barrier with the assistance of Tailwind. BubbleGuard is caught off guard as the bubble is destroyed but before he could act at all, he takes the flaming attack directly. "  Ugh.......  " he hols his ground while withstanding the attack. "  I am still not done yet!  " And finally as BubbleGuard is getting ready to counterattack, he is taken by Agony´s spell.

"  So, where did he go? Did he escape?  " Charcoal Knight asks confused.


 
 Originally Posted by BlueHamsterBean 
 Lettersprite floats onto the scene before coming to a complete stop upon witnessing the pyrotechnics display. He stares for a few moments before sighing heavily and looking around for any sign of the Princesses.
 Please let this just be a rubbish dream: honestly, when did I wander into a fairy tale... or possibly an epic saga of some variety. 

He moves about the battlefield cautiously during his search, keeping an eye to the sky in case it decides to fall down at some point, because why wouldn't it?
To find any sign of the Princesses:
[roll0]

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
I am so sorry for taking so long to reply: this week has been difficult, and I haven't had much energy. In a few weeks, I should be much more reliable because I will have finished my last for-credit college course! From then, it's just research research research, which is fine by me.
 
 
 

Tailwind goes and grabs all the mirrors. " Well, we better keep these with us. We dont want them on Bubble´s hands. " Taliwind giggles as he looks back to Lettersprite.

 
 Spoiler: OOC for BlueHamsterBean 

Do not worry about it, I am glad you are here. I hope things take a turn for the better down the line. Good luck with college!
 
 Spoiler: Extra for your character 

Lettersrpite notices how Tailwind seems way more happy and relieved than expected considering the circumtances.
 

 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony roll her eyes, take the mirror before Tailwind can touch them:  [B] " I did what needed to be done. Lettersprite, you take the mirror inside your shield. Destroy them if somepony try to take them away from you. That's your job as our shield bearer. And this way, any spying eyes will not be able to see something else then you."  

If Tailwind tries to touch them still, Tea Agony will say:   " I am NOT in the mood Tailwind. Touch those artifacts and I will make sure to send you where Bubbles is... or his corpse. I'll let you guess. It's still dark and I'll rather be in bed then dealing with this whole mess!. "
  

She turn to Charcoal:   " Now that the imminent problem is dealt with, Charcoal, you own us a explination. Why Starswirl came back without noticing us? What happened with Bubbles? And most of us... WHERE ARE THE PRINCESSES?! "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony roll her eyes, take the mirror before Tailwind can touch them:  [B] " I did what needed to be done. Lettersprite, you take the mirror inside your shield. Destroy them if somepony try to take them away from you. That's your job as our shield bearer. And this way, any spying eyes will not be able to see something else then you."  

If Tailwind tries to touch them still, Tea Agony will say:   " I am NOT in the mood Tailwind. Touch those artifacts and I will make sure to send you where Bubbles is... or his corpse. I'll let you guess. It's still dark and I'll rather be in bed then dealing with this whole mess!. "
  

She turn to Charcoal:   " Now that the imminent problem is dealt with, Charcoal, you own us a explination. Why Starswirl came back without noticing us? What happened with Bubbles? And most of us... WHERE ARE THE PRINCESSES?! "   
 

" Hey! I can help with those mirrors. We are on the same side, did you forget? I am also the maid of the castle. I am more than properly prepared to handle a few mirrors. " Tailwind proclaims a bit upset while she crosses her arms.

Charcoal Knight is taken aback when Tea Agony starts raising her voice at him. He considers the question as he opens his eyes widely in realization. "  You know? That is a pretty good point. Why was Master Starswhirl here? Or why were the princesses outside the castle so late at night? I have been so shocked about the incident, I dont think I considered any of the facts on the matter.  " Charcoal realizes he probably isnt making sense and decides to explain himself to the rest about what he means.

He decides to describe what he knew. "  As you may all know, Harvest Moon, BubbleGuard and myself were taking care of the night guard for the night. With Night Shift´s injury and Deepwood busy raising a child, me and my brother had to fill in. Everything seemed to be going fine if a little bit boring. When I was walking to the meeting point to report to BubbleGuard, I heard the princesses´screams.  " Charcoal Knight stroke his goatee as he keeps explaining.

"  That was when I saw it. BubbleGuard trapped Master Starswhirl and the princesses in bubbles. The bubbles pop off and all three of them were gone. BubbleGuard looked really scared. I dont think I have ever seen him this worried. he took out a small jewel out and ate it.  " Charcoal Knight makes a disgusted face. "  I am not sure why he would swallow that but not after that he started talking to himself. He threw away his scarf and started his attack on the castle. He used the same spell to capture Harvest Moon who gave me a bit of extra time to warn everypony. Then I began waking everypony up.  "

Charcoal Knight remains puzzled. "  Now that I think about it. I am not sure why Master Starswhirl was here. So early in the morning and unannounced. Or why the princesses were outside. I am not even sure about why BubbleGuard did anything now that I think about it. He started acting all cuckoo all of a sudden. What do you think, Sweet Echo?   " Charcoal Knight asks Sweet Echo for her thoughts on the matter.

Daily Delivery remains in silence with a red face as he looks at Sugar Rush with her father. He turns to Lettersprite and whispers " Hey! Did you guys hear anything that BubbleGuard said to me? Please tell me that you guys didnt hear anything regarding my feelings for certain somepony. " He begs at Lettersprite.
igordragonian
"A- a corpse?!" Sweet Echo gasp, hissing angerly.
"Are you of your mind Tea?! He clearly is controled by something.. or something! Did you really hurt him?!"
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 "A- a corpse?!" Sweet Echo gasp, hissing angerly.
"Are you of your mind Tea?! He clearly is controlled by something.. or something! Did you really hurt him?!" 
 

  " Not now, Sistea in law. We need to investigate first. Then I'll reveal Bubbles fate. And After hearing Charkoal Knight tale, we all need to be wary of each others. Let's not get into paranoia level yet but we need to get more information about that crystal. Charkoal, do you think it could have being taken in the artifact room? Do you think we have something that could detect if a pony as such crystal in them? We need answers here!"   

While Tea Agony is concentring her efforts toward Charkoal, she move closer to him, in case Sweet Echo tries something silly.

Sugar roll her eyes, turn to Letter:   " Not sure what you are talking about but could you guys get a grip? My daughters are who knows where and we should focus about the troubles ahead. Sweet... I... I dont know what Tea Agony did right now but I believe the situation is already too confusing and stressful. Let's rescue Starswirl and The girls first. Then everything else can wait. "  
igordragonian
"How do I know AGONY-", And Sweet Excho emphasing the world with malice.
"Isnt controled by what ever controled Bubbly Doo?! Huh?!"
She hiss angerly.
"Maybe it's all a scheme to get Starswirl and the princesses! I dont think we can trust Agony with that!" She pant.

"You cant even say if Bubble is ok or not? I am not going to trust you! How any of you can?"
Emmerlaus
Sugar look like she swallowed awful medicine. The words are hard to get out of her mouth as she admit:   " Im... sorry Sweet. I know I would be mad too if it had being my own father that Tea brought to unknown fate... But, if not Tea, I trust Charkoal Knight. He might have his flaws but he is honest to a fault and more straight then an arrow. And even he is taking the disappearance of his own brother in stride. But... Look, let's reach to a compremise here. Let me talk to Tea ok? "
  

Sugar goes to Tea, asking her:   " Tea, I dont know what you did to Bubbles but... he is in a position he could be questionned? Or get that crystal removed from him, so we can study it? "  

Tea hesitate and nods:   " ... Maybe. But... We were able to surprise Bubbles here and lucky that he didnt have time to counter our attack. And I doubt he will answer truthfully even if questioned. I planned for his betrayal, not that we would need him after that! "  
igordragonian
Sweet Echo frown doesnt leave her face.
"You have PLANNED for this?!" She greet her teeth.
"That it. If you didnt hurt Bubble, I can save him! Just dont get in my way!"

And she dash off with an expression of determination, looking for a certain scarf outside

----

Using speedster to act twice. (spending valor)
And she fly fast as she can to get to the princesses first.

Body(?)
 (2d6)[ 5 ][ 6 ](11) +2
 (2d6)[ 4 ][ 2 ](6) +2
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
   " Not now, Sistea in law. We need to investigate first. Then I'll reveal Bubbles fate. And After hearing Charkoal Knight tale, we all need to be wary of each others. Let's not get into paranoia level yet but we need to get more information about that crystal. Charkoal, do you think it could have being taken in the artifact room? Do you think we have something that could detect if a pony as such crystal in them? We need answers here!"   

While Tea Agony is concentring her efforts toward Charkoal, she move closer to him, in case Sweet Echo tries something silly.

Sugar roll her eyes, turn to Letter:   " Not sure what you are talking about but could you guys get a grip? My daughters are who knows where and we should focus about the troubles ahead. Sweet... I... I dont know what Tea Agony did right now but I believe the situation is already too confusing and stressful. Let's rescue Starswirl and The girls first. Then everything else can wait. "   
 

Charcoal moves his head in a negative motion. "  Unfortunately, the artifact rooms where part of BubbleGuard´s duties just like the boiler room is mine. I am not certain of everyting inside them. But on the other hand, I recognize the amulet around BubbleGuard´s neck. I know of it. Its the counterpart to my alicorn amulet. It has the grand power to give visions of the future. Its called the Oracle´s Eye.  " Charcoal replies.

In the meantime, Sweet Echo is able to find BubbleGuard´s scarf with great ease. Pretty close to where Charcoal Knight declared that the events ocurred. After that she begins her search around the castle but a few places within remained sealed from her. Those places being the castle vault, the panic room, the artifact rooms and finally the castle dungeon
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony hesitate... then groan:   " FINE! Charcoal, you cannot come with us. Now that Bubbles activated the trap I sent him into, any D'Magic member who get close will be affected to. Find Sweet Echo inside the castle and make sure she isn't doing something desperate. Tell her that she's wasting her time trying to free Bubbles on her own. Anypony else who tries... will become food for what is guarding it."
  

Tea Agony lead you to Harvest Moon garden and she use telekenesis to reveal an underground entrance in between roots of a giant tree. A staircase is below and Sugar Rush use her flames to light up the way. Eventually, you arrive to see a metallic cage, surrounded by glowing roots. Inside the cage, you see a weakened Bubbles, gasping for Breath.

Tea Agony tone is cold:   " Bubbles, how does it feel to have every bit of its strengh sapped and your magic nullified? Not even an outside magic, ghost or mental manipulation can penetrate the space inside your cage so don't try to play dumb. I being preparing this trap since I knew D'Magic were employed with Starswirl, with Harvest Moon help. Years of magic applied, layers after layers, to make sure we have the perfect trap against any D'Magic members. I have ONE question for you and your life depend on your answer: Where are Starswirl and the Princesses? "  
igordragonian
Sweet Echo would try to break into the artifact room, trying to use the scarf to stop the magical defences.
If she meet anypony she would warn them of the madness of both Agony and Bubbls
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony hesitate... then groan:   " FINE! Charcoal, you cannot come with us. Now that Bubbles activated the trap I sent him into, any D'Magic member who get close will be affected to. Find Sweet Echo inside the castle and make sure she isn't doing something desperate. Tell her that she's wasting her time trying to free Bubbles on her own. Anypony else who tries... will become food for what is guarding it."
  

Tea Agony lead you to Harvest Moon garden and she use telekenesis to reveal an underground entrance in between roots of a giant tree. A staircase is below and Sugar Rush use her flames to light up the way. Eventually, you arrive to see a metallic cage, surrounded by glowing roots. Inside the cage, you see a weakened Bubbles, gasping for Breath.

Tea Agony tone is cold:   " Bubbles, how does it feel to have every bit of its strengh sapped and your magic nullified? Not even an outside magic, ghost or mental manipulation can penetrate the space inside your cage so don't try to play dumb. I being preparing this trap since I knew D'Magic were employed with Starswirl, with Harvest Moon help. Years of magic applied, layers after layers, to make sure we have the perfect trap against any D'Magic members. I have ONE question for you and your life depend on your answer: Where are Starswirl and the Princesses? "   
 

BubbleGuard seems pretty calm if a little dizzy. He seemingly ignores Tea Agony as she arrives seemingly talking to somepony else. "  Yes. Nope. Hard to assess.  ". Many small bubbles still come out of his mouth as he laughs. The bubbles seem harmless though. He finally looks at Tea Agony. "  Hello! Is it daytime yet? Where are the mirrors? Where is my brother? And where am I?  ". He sees that Sugar Rush is with her. He vows down as he speaks up. "  Sorry about the spoiling and using you as a distraction. It was all pretty harmless just like my spell. a sleeping spell followed by a teleport. Not that it matters now, right?  " BubbleGurd giggles as more bubbles come out his mouth.

 
 Spoiler: OOC for Sugar Rush 

Sugar Rush knows of this state BubbleGuard is in. She has seen it before back on BubbleGuard´s birthday celebration. He seems to be under the effect of having eaten bubble berries.
 


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo would try to break into the artifact room, trying to use the scarf to stop the magical defences.
If she meet anypony she would warn them of the madness of both Agony and Bubbls 
 

It doesnt seem to budge at all. The rooms seem to be completely sealed off. Sketch notices her and approaches. " What are you doing here? Dont you know? The castle is under attack! We have to leave this place. "
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony simply continue asking:   " Where are Starswirl and the Princesses?"   
igordragonian
Sweet Echo breath heavily.
"Yes! By Bubbles and Agony! They went mad with magic!" She wave the scarf.
"We need to find the princesses and stop the unicorn rampage!"
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony simply continue asking:   " Where are Starswirl and the Princesses?"    
 

BubbleGuard looks at her absent mindly. "  I suppose I dont need my pendant anymore. What is your plan now? Is Deepwood away?  " BubbleGuard seems to try to take it off himself and failing miserably.


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo breath heavily.
"Yes! By Bubbles and Agony! They went mad with magic!" She wave the scarf.
"We need to find the princesses and stop the unicorn rampage!" 
 

" Oh my! The castle is being attacked by two ponies! " Sketch Book replies shocked. " Do you know what they are after? "
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony groan. She takes a long branch of wood and ask Sugar to get the necklace from Bubbles... or beat him with it, if he tries anything.

   " I dont have to answer any of your questions traitor. "
   

(Should Sugar roll?)
igordragonian
 Bubbly Doo were after olden Hour, Sketch Book, Cornucopia and Daily Delivery... and he has captured Starswirl and the Princesses. I--I think. Then Agony did..  something  to him. She refuse to make sense. I can't trust her either!' 
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony groan. She takes a long branch of wood and ask Sugar to get the necklace from Bubbles... or beat him with it, if he tries anything.

   " I dont have to answer any of your questions traitor. "
   

(Should Sugar roll?) 
 

BubbleGuard doesnt resis for the amulet to be taken. "  Nothing can stop everything from falling into place.  " BubbleGuard replies in resignation.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
You can roll or use the special talent from Sugar Rush to make an automatic success for cooking. Sugar Rush has done this before.
 


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
  Bubbly Doo were after olden Hour, Sketch Book, Cornucopia and Daily Delivery... and he has captured Starswirl and the Princesses. I--I think. Then Agony did..  something  to him. She refuse to make sense. I can't trust her either!'  
 

" Oh my! Something certainly must be done. We should probably get the whole staff together, right? Everypony needs to hear about all of this. " Sketch Book replies as he tries to fix his glasses in place after the shock of the news.
igordragonian
 'Yes! I... don't want to hurt either of them, but something made them go cookie bananas! Let's grab anypony we can!' 
Emmerlaus
Sugar fly fastly to the kitchen and whip out fire berries cookies. They are still a little hot. Its amazing how fast she managed to make them.

Tea Agony:   " You want to spit out that crystal you ate too? Or we will have to do it the hard way? "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
  'Yes! I... don't want to hurt either of them, but something made them go cookie bananas! Let's grab anypony we can!'  
 

 Cornucopia went into the library to hide with Night Shift. They should still be there waiting for my return. I left them to get Tailwind. She has been a bit distant with me these last few days and I hope I can prove my worth by taking her to safety. Is she alright?  Sketch asks Echo concerned.


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Sugar fly fastly to the kitchen and whip out fire berries cookies. They are still a little hot. Its amazing how fast she managed to make them.

Tea Agony:   " You want to spit out that crystal you ate too? Or we will have to do it the hard way? "   
 

"  Crystal?  " BubbleGuard rubs his chin thinking about the question. "  Ah! You want one piece of Sir Starswhirl´s enchanted rock candy? I think the rest should be at his office. I....  " BubbleGuard stops speaking as he holds his head in pain. "  Sorry, sir. It wont happen again.  "
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
  Cornucopia went into the library to hide with Night Shift. They should still be there waiting for my return. I left them to get Tailwind. She has been a bit distant with me these last few days and I hope I can prove my worth by taking her to safety. Is she alright?  Sketch asks Echo concerned.



"  Crystal?  " BubbleGuard rubs his chin thinking about the question. "  Ah! You want one piece of Sir Starswhirl´s enchanted rock candy? I think the rest should be at his office. I....  " BubbleGuard stops speaking as he holds his head in pain. "  Sorry, sir. It wont happen again.  " 
 

Tea Agony snort:   " Master Starswirl is the one you think you are talking to? Then what were his instructions to you? "  

She prevent Sugar to give him the cure. Bubbles is much more easy to get answer from in that state.
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard looks suprised but doesnt respond. He coughs bubbles nervously and then seems to listen quietly. "  I wont answer anymore questions until you pass the test.  " BubbleGuard replies in a demanding tone.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 BubbleGuard looks suprised but doesnt respond. He coughs bubbles nervously and then seems to listen quietly. "  I wont answer anymore questions until you pass the test.  " BubbleGuard replies in a demanding tone. 
 

Tea Agony sigh and ask him what is his name, just to make him open his mouth and shove Sugar Rush cookies inside his throat forcefully with telekenesis. No time for chewing, she send them directly in his stomach in a cartoonish way.
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard falls for the trick and ends up swallowing the cookies. BubbleGuard´s breathing slowly calms down and the bubbly laughter stops. BubbleGuard looks at both Tea Agony and Sugar Rush. He slowly gets teary eyed and to big shock, BubbleGuard starts to cry. "  My precious staff! I cant believe I just put all of you under this pain.  " BubbleGaurd flinches in pain for a bit. "  Sir, we have to stop.  "
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 BubbleGuard falls for the trick and ends up swallowing the cookies. BubbleGuard´s breathing slowly calms down and the bubbly laughter stops. BubbleGuard looks at both Tea Agony and Sugar Rush. He slowly gets teary eyed and to big shock, BubbleGuard starts to cry. "  My precious staff! I cant believe I just put all of you under this pain.  " BubbleGaurd flinches in pain for a bit. "  Sir, we have to stop.  " 
 

Tea Agony realize that his drunk state maybe wasnt the right state of mind to question him after all.

  " Bubbles, its that gem right? We have a way to remove it from your stomach if you are willing... "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony realize that his drunk state maybe wasnt the right state of mind to question him after all.

  " Bubbles, its that gem right? We have a way to remove it from your stomach if you are willing... "   
 

BubbleGuard waves his head as a negatory. "  Its a special candy created by Sir Starswhirl. Its like a magic potion but quite easy to carry. You ingest it to get the effect....  " BubbleGuard still teary eyes but seems to have realized something as he spoke the last part. "  That candy was mixed with bubble berries, Sir?  ". BubbleGuard looks down in disappointment. "  ....anyway, the one I ate allows me to telephatically talk with Sir Starswhirl while he is away in his mission with the Pillars. He can hear me talking like this and I can hear him when he speaks.  " BubbleGuard slightly flinches and then explains. "  He isnt exactly happy about me revealing this to you but if we go to his office, I could easily found you some to communicate with him.  " Surprisingly enough, BubbleGuard´s tears are starting to turn into bubbles and floating around.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo imagnation ran forward.
'I... dont know. She didnt seemed to mind how Agony act. Maybe.. it's a mind control plague! Fang! We got to do something!"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony ask:   " Why did you need the mirrors then Bubbles? That was part of the test as well? "  

Tea Agony feel... cornered and defeated. She has spent so much planning, energy and time to plan this trap... and it seem the true culprit wasn't even Bubbles if what he says is right?!

She hesitate and ask:   " Give me the mirror inside your prison Bubbles. That's where I hidden mine. The magic is nullified inside your prison but... The mirror has the ability I seek. It should work again once I have my hooves on it. I need to make sure of something. "  

(Tea Agony special talent was to be able to see if somepony care about others and how trustworthy they are. It was a special magic cutie mark of her she has not used in a while, not since Starswirl asked her to background check the Staff and see what profile works best together EDIT: She assurely did it for Lettersprite though, almost forgot about that lol )
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo imagnation ran forward.
'I... dont know. She didnt seemed to mind how Agony act. Maybe.. it's a mind control plague! Fang! We got to do something!" 
 

Charcoal arrives at the scene. "  Good, I found you! I was getting worried it would end taking a while. And you too, Sketch! I am glad to see you are both safe. The issue at hand should be pretty much solved so we can go back to normal  " Still, he isnt the only one joining in not much after. Tailwind and Golden Hour appear to be carrying half the mirrors each on one wing and using the other and their front legs to carry a fainted Lettersprite. " Hello! Lettersrpite just fainted and we decided to take him to the infirmary. " Tailwind explains.

Sketch Book tries to warmly greet Tailwind but Tailwind seems a bit apathetic about it. " Thanks but we are more worried about tending the weak. Since everything has been solved, why dont you go Sketch and fetch Night Shift back into the infirmary too. I am sure he could use the help too. "

Sketch Book looks disappointed but leaves to meet back at the library with Cornucopia. Before leaving, he makes a suggestion to Sweet Echo. " Lets meet at the infirmary, alright? " He forces a smile and then leaves.

"  A bit strange. Lettersprite looked fine before I left.  " Charcoal mentions with curiosity. "  Anyway, I forgot to ask, what are you doing here?  "


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony ask:   " Why did you need the mirrors then Bubbles? That was part of the test as well? "  

Tea Agony feel... cornered and defeated. She has spent so much planning, energy and time to plan this trap... and it seem the true culprit wasn't even Bubbles if what he says is right?!

She hesitate and ask:   " Give me the mirror inside your prison Bubbles. That's where I hidden mine. The magic is nullified inside your prison but... The mirror has the ability I seek. It should work again once I have my hooves on it. I need to make sure of something. "  

(Tea Agony special talent was to be able to see if somepony care about others and how trustworthy they are. It was a special magic cutie mark of her she has not used in a while, not since Starswirl asked her to background check the Staff and see what profile works best together EDIT: She assurely did it for Lettersprite though, almost forgot about that lol ) 
 

"  The mirrors?  " BubbleGuard thinks about the mirrors since he was technically not in the right mind when fulfilling the duty. "  The mirrors are important to the invaders, the Shades. So, I suppose you could say it was more about keeping them safe? I suppose. I would at least assume so. Right, sir?  " he grabs the mirror and passes it to her without delay.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

That name rings a bell. Sugar and Tea Agony remember hearing about the Shades during the past when a pony just like Sugar Rush appeared and tried to ruin a birthday. All for the supposed sake of saving the future.
 
igordragonian
"Wait! We shouldn't-" she call after Sketch.
"Split"

Sweet Echo raise an eyebrow at Tailwind.
Not a subtle pony she ask
"Is everything ok between you two?" Perking her ears, narrowing her eyes, trying to figure her out.
After a long moment she turn to Charocal.

"I am trying to save everypony from Bubble and Agony." dropping the nicknames.
"They went mad. Actually... maybe you did too?"  She fall back, holding the scarf like a whip.


---


I want to do the parallel to insight of D^D?

I guess Mind?

Tailwind
 (2d6)[ 5 ][ 5 ](10) +1


Charocal

 (2d6)[ 1 ][ 3 ](4) +1
Emmerlaus
Tea as she receive the mirror, groan:   " Gosh Bubbles, you know they can become a fake version of pony and you still expecting the voice of "Starswirl" in your head to be the real one?! Its probabbly a shade pretending to be him! Stop talking to it! Now, Lettersprite... we..."
  

Realizing he isnt there, she takes a deep breath:   " I'll swear later, when nopony is around to hear it. Fortunately, we can teleport to the other's mirror with the mirror themselves! Sugar, Im warning you, It might not be the real Golden Hour. First, Let's make sure everypony he is the real deal... then we go fight the Shades!"
  

She check using her cutie mark talent, with the mirror as help, if anypony here is to be trusted and how deep their connections are with her and the rest of the Staff... Then teleport those she can trust into the other mirrors!

( no rolls for that right? Since its using Magic items? 🤨)
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 "Wait! We shouldn't-" she call after Sketch.
"Split"

Sweet Echo raise an eyebrow at Tailwind.
Not a subtle pony she ask
"Is everything ok between you two?" Perking her ears, narrowing her eyes, trying to figure her out.
After a long moment she turn to Charocal.

"I am trying to save everypony from Bubble and Agony." dropping the nicknames.
"They went mad. Actually... maybe you did too?"  She fall back, holding the scarf like a whip.


---


I want to do the parallel to insight of D^D?

I guess Mind?

Tailwind
[roll0]+1


Charocal

[roll1]+1 
 

It is strange but Tailwind´s demeanor, despite the cheerful nature, is quite cold and apathetic. There is definitely something strange going on with her. Sketch seemingly ignored any comments when he left. He looked like he was in a rush. Taliwind answers the question. " I just feel bored of him. He isnt that interesting. His attempts at winning me back kind of make me laugh but at least he is motivated. " Golden Hour glares at Tailwind. " Anyway, we can keep the discussion for another time. We have to go and have Lettersprite checked up. " The three then leave the scene too.

Charcoal seems to be a bit harder to understand mainly for the lack of interaction between him and Echo. He looks nervous and kinda upset though. "  You might be right about the crazy part. I feel bad because I feel good. I have always been on the side to BubbleGuard´s many adventures and numerous friendships. He gets the best stuff and he has always been the one that gets acknowledged. Like we arent equals. And for the first time, I am in a better position and I feel I might finally get a chance to shine. And I still feel bad because I am happy for BubbleGuard´s misery.  "

Charcoal looks at Sweet Echo in the eyes. "  Have you ever felt like this? You have you brother Deepwood. Dont you ever feel like he is the one that gets all the glory? Like he is more important than you  " Charcoal asks as he rubs his goatee.


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea as she receive the mirror, groan:   " Gosh Bubbles, you know they can become a fake version of pony and you still expecting the voice of "Starswirl" in your head to be the real one?! Its probabbly a shade pretending to be him! Stop talking to it! Now, Lettersprite... we..."
  

Realizing he isnt there, she takes a deep breath:   " I'll swear later, when nopony is around to hear it. Fortunately, we can teleport to the other's mirror with the mirror themselves! Sugar, Im warning you, It might not be the real Golden Hour. First, Let's make sure everypony he is the real deal... then we go fight the Shades!"
  

She check using her cutie mark talent, with the mirror as help, if anypony here is to be trusted and how deep their connections are with her and the rest of the Staff... Then teleport those she can trust into the other mirrors!

( no rolls for that right? Since its using Magic items? 🤨) 
 

BubbleGuard understands what she is trying to say. "  That could certainly be a concern if I hadnt sent those lying scheming monsters to our dungeon. Fake Starswhirl and the evil princesses should still be trapped behind bars with no way to communicate with anybody. He couldnt talk with me even if he wanted to. Still, I am grateful I was able to caught them off guard. The shades are usually extremely silent and quick creatures.   "

When nothing happens by the command of Tea Agony, BubbleGuard decides to explain the thing about the mirrors. "  It might be better if I explained to you a bit more about those mirrors. The mirrors only possess the universal mechanic of knowing the immediate position of staff members though they cant differentiate between shades and the real deal. So, when asking them for the position of a staff member, it might either give the position of a staff member or a shade depending on which is closer. As for getting the mirrors to do something, well the more demanding the task, the better it is to have more mirrors. I believe a request such as yours would require at least a combined effort of Charcoal´s mirror plus yours and mine. The mirrors can do almost anything when they are together.  "

"  Precisely the reason, we had to make sure we retrieved most of them.  " a voice speaks. In the blink of an eye, a second Sugar Rush appears near the entrance. "  Our new ally wants us to take what is rightfully ours and we just have to make sure we can fulfill his expectations.  "

The second Sugar Rush is suddenly held in place and then thrown against a wall magically. "  My, my! Bittersweet! You are speaking out of place. Where are your manners?  " The disembodied voice speaks. "  I think we must thank our unwitting allies for capturing the nopony for us  " A second Tea Agony appears just beside the cage.

BubbleGuard´s face turns in horror. "  Dont engage in combat with the shades! They are too dangerous!  " BubbleGuard warns Sugar Rush and Tea Agony. BubbleGuard tries to get out of the cage for the first time. "  We got to run! In straight combat, none of us have a chance against them!  "
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony snort:   " I thought you were secretly colliding with those things Bubbles... Therefore I came with a solution. Sugar Rush, limit the mouvement of my other me please!"  

Suddenly, the giant roots surround the shades burst from the ground and surround Bittersweet while Sugar Rush surrounded with flames the one looking like TEa Agony. Bubbles had to move or get licked by the flames!

Tea Agony horns glow with a silvery, mirror like light and then a cube of mirrors materialize around both shades and shrink and shink and shrink... until they are the size of of a music box before teleporting out.

Tea Agony:   " Now we can maybe have a breather. Wait... One moment..."
  

Sugar Rush absorb back the flame she created, extinguishing most of them and the roots start healing themselves. Tea Agony is lookinga round then says irritated:

Tea Agony:   " Where the Tartarus has Lettersprite and Daily Delivery goes?! They were right behind us!!! "  
igordragonian
(Sorry. I have reread over and over the explantions about the mirrors, and it gotten through my thick skull. That part of the reason it took me so long to reply)
So Deepwood just fly)



Deepwood have a very bad feeling. He feel he has to do SOMETHING. He use the secret tree  house, and place Midnight Snack over there under the care of a mama bear and family of squirrels who had a feud with this said mama bear, but Deepwood resolved.
And also a sparrow.

Deepwood himself fly back to the castle with a company of a band of wolves. And a single bat.
What would they see?


----
 Sweet Echo bite her lips. She used to do such things, so she felt hypocrite saying what she saying to Tailwind.
"It's unfair. You should at least tell him, that you feel that way. He is so lost and worried... speaking of which... arent you worried from the way Agony behave?"


She sigh and look at Charocal.
"Well... for me and Deepwood is actually the opposite. I was the sweetest among our big family and clan, and almost no matter what I did, ponies liked me... until the point I crosses too many lines. And as a filly,  our parents blamed my shengians on him.. so.. he ran away."
She fold her ears.

"...Maybe that why me and Bubbly relate so much.It might sound wierd... but when you really think of it, it isnt fun to be the one who cast the shadow. I find my adventure here to bw humbling- and... it open me to new horizons. I even lost my cutie mark- but it's just means a new chance!"
She shake her head. "We should... get going"
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony snort:   " I thought you were secretly colliding with those things Bubbles... Therefore I came with a solution. Sugar Rush, limit the mouvement of my other me please!"  

Suddenly, the giant roots surround the shades burst from the ground and surround Bittersweet while Sugar Rush surrounded with flames the one looking like TEa Agony. Bubbles had to move or get licked by the flames!

Tea Agony horns glow with a silvery, mirror like light and then a cube of mirrors materialize around both shades and shrink and shink and shrink... until they are the size of of a music box before teleporting out.

Tea Agony:   " Now we can maybe have a breather. Wait... One moment..."
  

Sugar Rush absorb back the flame she created, extinguishing most of them and the roots start healing themselves. Tea Agony is lookinga round then says irritated:

Tea Agony:   " Where the Tartarus has Lettersprite and Daily Delivery goes?! They were right behind us!!! "   
 

"  Dont expect this to work for long. I dont think there is anything that can keep them out of the castle.   " BubbleGuard warns them. "  I dont think they cant be erradicated either....  "

BubbleGuard remains serious and looks at Tea Agony. "  So, what are you planning to do now? The staff is still in danger and I am still trapped here. And there are more shades than just those two  ". BubbleGuard nods a couple of times as he seemingly listens to Starswhirl.


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 (Sorry. I have reread over and over the explantions about the mirrors, and it gotten through my thick skull. That part of the reason it took me so long to reply)
So Deepwood just fly)



Deepwood have a very bad feeling. He feel he has to do SOMETHING. He use the secret tree  house, and place Midnight Snack over there under the care of a mama bear and family of squirrels who had a feud with this said mama bear, but Deepwood resolved.
And also a sparrow.

Deepwood himself fly back to the castle with a company of a band of wolves. And a single bat.
What would they see?


----
 Sweet Echo bite her lips. She used to do such things, so she felt hypocrite saying what she saying to Tailwind.
"It's unfair. You should at least tell him, that you feel that way. He is so lost and worried... speaking of which... arent you worried from the way Agony behave?"


She sigh and look at Charocal.
"Well... for me and Deepwood is actually the opposite. I was the sweetest among our big family and clan, and almost no matter what I did, ponies liked me... until the point I crosses too many lines. And as a filly,  our parents blamed my shengians on him.. so.. he ran away."
She fold her ears.

"...Maybe that why me and Bubbly relate so much.It might sound wierd... but when you really think of it, it isnt fun to be the one who cast the shadow. I find my adventure here to bw humbling- and... it open me to new horizons. I even lost my cutie mark- but it's just means a new chance!"
She shake her head. "We should... get going" 
 

((No worries. ))

The entrance to the castle seems to be fine. There doesnt seem to be anything unusual going on at least so far. There seems to be no resistance or threats for that matter. Since its still pretty dark, its also pretty silent. He makes his way to the main entrance with his army behind him. As he opens the door, its none other that the dragon faerie familiar, theone to open it. "   Master Deepwood! What are you doing ? And with such a big army?   "

__________________________________________________  ________________________________

"  Yes, of course. Where should we go? I saw that you wanted to enter into one of the artifact rooms? I can help you get in if you want.  " Charcoal replies making a sincere offer to help. "  The truth of the matter is that any D'Magic can open the doors. They arent supposed to be open by anyone but Starswhirl but us tend to make magic act wacky and unstable in the right conditions.   " Charcoal takes out some dust and forces himself to sneeze. The door then opens by itself. "  Done! You should now be capable of continuing your pursuit.   " He smiles.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony groans:   " Bubbles, you are LUCKY to dating my sister-in-law otherwise I wouldn't give you a second chance. But for that, you'll need to forsake Starswirl. He left, no longer is part of the Staff and in fact RESIGNED from his position at the Castle. If you swear on anything you hold dear to stop listening to Starswirl, I'll allow you to help us with this crisis as long as you OBEY ME until this crisis is over. Then we can establish a vote for who will be the figure of autority inside this castle once and for all. I dont have all day to argue with you however so You'll need to answer now. Do you wish ti compluy to my demands or root inside this cage until you die? "  

(If needed, I'll roll a persuasion roll in OOC)
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony groans:   " Bubbles, you are LUCKY to dating my sister-in-law otherwise I wouldn't give you a second chance. But for that, you'll need to forsake Starswirl. He left, no longer is part of the Staff and in fact RESIGNED from his position at the Castle. If you swear on anything you hold dear to stop listening to Starswirl, I'll allow you to help us with this crisis as long as you OBEY ME until this crisis is over. Then we can establish a vote for who will be the figure of autority inside this castle once and for all. I dont have all day to argue with you however so You'll need to answer now. Do you wish ti compluy to my demands or root inside this cage until you die? "  

(If needed, I'll roll a persuasion roll in OOC) 
 

BubbleGuard remains silent as he thinks. "  I cant. I am sorry. My interests will remain with the safety of the staff. Charcoal might be easy to push around but I am not. And my time is almost up, so by the end of the day, I dont think it really matters what happens to me. I have already accepted my fate.  " He declares in a pretty calm tone. "  As for your safety, you probably would benefit more if you decide to free me. I will promise to protect you using my magic if you do. And with the shades out, I am the only pony that can ward them off. As for Sir Starswhirl, I will also say that he has something to say to the staff now that the cat is out of the bag. You can either decide to trust me or like you said I can stay and rot inside this cage.  "

BubbleGuard seems to be listening now to Starswhirl again. "  There is no issue about that. I just saw her shade. She is the real one. We can trust her.  " BubbleGuard makes a pause. "  I trust her. That should suffice. Remember sir, I trust my staff. I am sure she´ll do what is best.  "
igordragonian
Deepwood.
"Well. Things are bad. And I felt bad,for leaving things like that. So I am here to see if I can make it not as bad." He explain in his rethoric, that shy away from positive words like "help" "care"

Deepwood perk his ears.
  "I am at the Hall Tea. Dont worry, my friends take care of him at you know where"  
Deepwood didnt fully trustes telepathy to not to be overheard.

  "I also bring a reinforcment."  
-----

"Thank you!" Sweet Echo chrip.
She frown.
"We should hurry. They are trying to play with our heads!"
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 BubbleGuard remains silent as he thinks. "  I cant. I am sorry. My interests will remain with the safety of the staff. Charcoal might be easy to push around but I am not. And my time is almost up, so by the end of the day, I dont think it really matters what happens to me. I have already accepted my fate.  " He declares in a pretty calm tone. "  As for your safety, you probably would benefit more if you decide to free me. I will promise to protect you using my magic if you do. And with the shades out, I am the only pony that can ward them off. As for Sir Starswhirl, I will also say that he has something to say to the staff now that the cat is out of the bag. You can either decide to trust me or like you said I can stay and rot inside this cage.  "

BubbleGuard seems to be listening now to Starswhirl again. "  There is no issue about that. I just saw her shade. She is the real one. We can trust her.  " BubbleGuard makes a pause. "  I trust her. That should suffice. Remember sir, I trust my staff. I am sure she´ll do what is best.  " 
 

Tea Agony get Bubbles out of the cage, ask him:   " I swear Ill make you live longer then you think Bubbles. Now tell me, how can you discern the shades from the real ponies then? You says you can figure out who they are? Is it linked to why they call you a "fake pony"? WHat's up with that?  "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony get Bubbles out of the cage, ask him:   " I swear Ill make you live longer then you think Bubbles. Now tell me, how can you discern the shades from the real ponies then? You says you can figure out who they are? Is it linked to why they call you a "fake pony"? WHat's up with that?  "   
 

BubbleGuard thinks about the questions and then immediately responds. "  Yes! It took me a while but I found a way to separate the two. Rather than worry about identity, I decided to choose intent. Just make a spell that only those with no ill intent can join. That way, no shade will be able to join. The capturing spell worked on the same principle.  " BubbleGuard explains before making a pause with intrigue. "  As for the second question? I wish I knew. My only guess is that its probably related to the fact that there is no shade of me.   " BubbleGuard replies as he tries to think more on it. "  Starswhirl has never been specific about the shades´true nature so I am only working by what I know.  "
Emmerlaus
  « Then I can work with that! An intention filter to the spell spell is easy if I contribute my cutie mark talent into the spell!»  

Yea Agony cast her Telepathic Connection spell. Every shades location appear in her mind as as well for every staff member. The staff members however, the true ones, receive a telepathic connection link.

Yea Agony sigh in relief as it work. The spell had required a bit more magic and concentration to put in place.

She sense her spell interfere with Bubble own way to keep in touch with Starswirl… Feeling vindictive, she makes sure that whenever she doesn’t talk to another Staff member, she makes sure Starswirl hear the loudest, most annoying, maddening screech in existence.

Receiving Deepwood message, she says:   « Let’s regroup in the hall. Deepwood is the closest. Then we can go save the other’s! »  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
   « Then I can work with that! An intention filter to the spell spell is easy if I contribute my cutie mark talent into the spell!»  

Yea Agony cast her Telepathic Connection spell. Every shades location appear in her mind as as well for every staff member. The staff members however, the true ones, receive a telepathic connection link.

Yea Agony sigh in relief as it work. The spell had required a bit more magic and concentration to put in place.

She sense her spell interfere with Bubble own way to keep in touch with Starswirl… Feeling vindictive, she makes sure that whenever she doesn’t talk to another Staff member, she makes sure Starswirl hear the loudest, most annoying, maddening screech in existence.

Receiving Deepwood message, she says:   « Let’s regroup in the hall. Deepwood is the closest. Then we can go save the other’s! »   
 

The spell seems to reach almost every staff member except the three that BubbleGuard captured (Harvest Moon, Money Bags and Wood Chuck). Strangely enough, she can feel the spell reaching every staff member except those three but at the same time, there are 8 additional non presences (with no ill intent) she can feel besides the staff members and the princesses. Of those 8 extra presences only three seem to be familiar to Tea. Of all the presences she could reach, the only ones conscious were BubbleGuard, Sugar Rush, Sweet Echo, Deepwood, Sketch Book, Charcoal Knight and Daily Delivery. These means that 4 shades are currently trying to pass as staff members. Those 4 being: Golden Hour, Tailwind, Cornucopia and Night Shift.

Of all of these connections, its Daily Delivery screaming the first to be heard. " HELLO?! IS ANYONE AROUND?! PLEASE SEND HELP! I DONT WANT TO BE HERE! I REPEAT: SEND HELP! ".

After Deepwood speaks and Tea Agony gives the order, Sketch Book is next to respond " What is going on? I have been informed of not one but two coup d'etat by Sweet Echo. I demand answers before I will accept any orders given by any of the two. "

BubbleGuard speaks up knowing it was important to bring forth one detail to the real staff members. "  Everyone! I beg you all to follow the rules of the castle especially the no midnight snack one!  "


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood.
"Well. Things are bad. And I felt bad,for leaving things like that. So I am here to see if I can make it not as bad." He explain in his rethoric, that shy away from positive words like "help" "care"

Deepwood perk his ears.
  "I am at the Hall Tea. Dont worry, my friends take care of him at you know where"  
Deepwood didnt fully trustes telepathy to not to be overheard.

  "I also bring a reinforcment."  
-----

"Thank you!" Sweet Echo chrip.
She frown.
"We should hurry. They are trying to play with our heads!" 
 

"  Master Deepwood?  " replies the small faerie dragon confiused just silently looking.

__________________________________________________  ____________

" I will go and meet as soon as possible. Should I scourt the rest of the staff there? " Charcoal Knight asks wondering if he should look for the staff members and bring them there. (I will point out that Charcoal still doesnt know about who is a shade and who isnt.)
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony try put Elusive on the magical shield and see if she can communicate telepatically with him. Only if it doesnt perturb her spell she allows Bubbles to be on it. Otherwise, She will continue screeching into Starswirl mind.

She go to Deepwood and kiss him.

In Deepwood, Sugar and Bubbes mind only:   " We need to go to the infirmary. The False Golden Hour is there with Lettersprite. They might still have the mirrors and we need to rescues Lettersprite. This should allows us to deal with the false Tailwind as well! "  

To Daily Delivery and Sweet Echo:   " FIrst Daily Delivery, tell us something only the real Daily Delivery should know! Something recent and intimate? You travelled with Sweet Echo a lot, tell us something she can confirm! "  

To Sketch Book:   " Sweet Echo is panicked and confused. There is shapechanging foes however. Im the real Tea Agony. If you are unconvinced, ask me something I should know. It should be something they shouldn't know, like Princess Luna got her cutie mark dealing with the remnants of a D'magic alchemist ghost pony during her last vacation."
   (Yeah, she answered the question herself but thats the point lol! He can ask another question if he is still unconvinced)

They go toward the infirmiry, charging forth.

(Also, the filter Tea Agony put is about discovering which ones have POSITIVE BONDS among the staff. SHe can also detect ponies with ill intentions also. Its both)
igordragonian
Deepwood pat the dragon faerie.
 "Well. Tea having it under control. So dont assume the worst ever scenario"  he smile.
He blush a bit when Agony kiss him, still not used for expressing affection infront of others- but he kiss back. Even if shyly.

 "Bubble?"  he look at him.
 "I thought you have finally explosed!
If you are ok some stupid shades have nothing on us! Snacks or without them!"  he brag and add, just to be consistent with himself.
 "Maybe.' 

Deepwood think.  "Echo? In panic? That cant be good- her mood is quite contagiouse. Fang" 
Deepwood sigh.
 "I bet my friends could tell the diffrence between a shade and the real deal"  he motion to tbe wolves.
 "Unless the shades can also copy scent.. that would be bad. So I guess we should assume that- so never mind." 

---
Sweet Echo meanwhile would enter the room, if what Charocal did has allowed it, ignoring Agony's voice.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Who is Elusive? I cant remember....
 


Tea Agony can hear Starswhirl flinch with the noise.

"  I think we should take care of the safety of the staff. I sent some staff members into my special room, my dear friend. You know the one, right?   " BubbleGuard replies with a wink as soon as he sees him. "  I am not sure we are ready to face against this enemy but I talked to Starswhirl about letting you all know the truth.  "

" Umm.... something intimate? I am so scared right now. Its like so dark.... let me think. Remember when we sent a letter to the D'Magics and you got to meet BubbleGuard´s parents house and you got really excited and wanted to go inside? " Daily Delivery tries his best nervously.

" Look. I am a bit confused but I am open to resolving this. I am planning to meet with Sweet Echo an the rest of the staff at the infirmary. Meet us there. We can all talk together once we are all there. " Sketch Book suggests.

__________________________________________________  ____________

Charcoal Knight follows Sweet Echo inside the artifact room. "  I´ll help you look for whatever you are looking for...  "
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
  
 Spoiler: OOC 
Who is Elusive? I cant remember....
 


Tea Agony can hear Starswhirl flinch with the noise.

"  I think we should take care of the safety of the staff. I sent some staff members into my special room, my dear friend. You know the one, right?   " BubbleGuard replies with a wink as soon as he sees him. "  I am not sure we are ready to face against this enemy but I talked to Starswhirl about letting you all know the truth.  "

" Umm.... something intimate? I am so scared right now. Its like so dark.... let me think. Remember when we sent a letter to the D'Magics and you got to meet BubbleGuard´s parents house and you got really excited and wanted to go inside? " Daily Delivery tries his best nervously.

" Look. I am a bit confused but I am open to resolving this. I am planning to meet with Sweet Echo an the rest of the staff at the infirmary. Meet us there. We can all talk together once we are all there. " Sketch Book suggests.

__________________________________________________  ____________

Charcoal Knight follows Sweet Echo inside the artifact room. "  I´ll help you look for whatever you are looking for...  " 
 

All in telepathy:

To Sketch:   " The fake Tailwind is there with the fake Golden Hour! Don't go to the infirmary alone! They knocked Lettersprite unconscious and should have the magic mirrors with them! We are close to you, we will regroup soon! Dont go there alone or they will make you an hostage!"
  

To Daily Delivery:   " I believe you! We need to go save Lettersprite first as it seem you are not injured or in any risks right now. We will come rescue you as soon as possible Daily! "  

To Charcoal Knight:   " I am with Bubbles. Once you arm yourself, come to the infirmary. We might have an hostage situation. Pick an item that could save Lettersprite if needed if you find one."  
igordragonian
Deepwood nod.
'I am not sure I underatand it all, but me and my goons are ready to move."

He look at Bubble.
"So... today you are exploding?"

----


Sweet Echo walk inside. "I dont know. What can stop mad unicorns without hurting them?" she look around.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 All in telepathy:

To Sketch:   " The fake Tailwind is there with the fake Golden Hour! Don't go to the infirmary alone! They knocked Lettersprite unconscious and should have the magic mirrors with them! We are close to you, we will regroup soon! Dont go there alone or they will make you an hostage!"
  

To Daily Delivery:   " I believe you! We need to go save Lettersprite first as it seem you are not injured or in any risks right now. We will come rescue you as soon as possible Daily! "  

To Charcoal Knight:   " I am with Bubbles. Once you arm yourself, come to the infirmary. We might have an hostage situation. Pick an item that could save Lettersprite if needed if you find one."   
 

Sketch Book thinks about the situation and then responds. " I suppose I will head back with Sweet Echo and Charcoal Knight then. "

Daily Delivery is next to respond " I cant see a thing but alright. I´ll just imagine its one of the weird detours Echo and myself get involved into on ocasion. "

Charcoal Knight replies with a simple "  Affirmative!  "


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood nod.
'I am not sure I underatand it all, but me and my goons are ready to move."

He look at Bubble.
"So... today you are exploding?"

----


Sweet Echo walk inside. "I dont know. What can stop mad unicorns without hurting them?" she look around. 
 

BubbleGuard thinks about it. "  Maybe..... I could also mean many possibilities. I wont really know until it happens, I guess.  "
__________________________________________________  _____________________________________
Charcoal Knight thinks about it. "  Tea Agony took most of it but we still have the capturing sphere. It can capture one pony without fail. You just throw this small ball and it shall capture them in an interdimensional prison. Useful against rogue ponies.  "
igordragonian
Deepwood look cocmerened.
"Is there a way to stop it?"


---

Sweet Echo frown.
 "Agony such a control freak... she probably planned dor this! I cant believe I have looked up to her so much!" She shake her head.
"But we have TWO crazy unicorns! Is there a way... to instant heal them?"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony to Sketch Book:   " Im on your position in less then a minute. DOn't move! Then we can try to make the fake Tailwind says where she is holding the real Tailwind together! Sweet Echo... is in panic mode. Im not sure what she will do but she might compremise the rescue mission with her paranoia. " 
 

(I think Im ready to face the Shades taking Lettersprite hostage. Deepwood Canterlot voice should prove handy with his own mirror lol)
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard replies back that he doesnt know if there is way to stop it to Deepwood as they continue moving forward. They soon meet with Sketch Book. He seems a bit confused. Starting with BubbleGuard assisting them. " I am so confused right now.... ".

"  Should we fetch the rest of the staff members through the simulation room?  " BubbleGuard asks Tea Agony.

__________________________________________________  ___________________________

"  Something to heal? I dont think so. If there was an easy way to constantly heal everything, we wouldnt need a doctor at the castle.  " Charcoal Knight admits.
igordragonian
Deepwood give worried glances at Bubble, but keep him and his wolves alerted.
 'Echo is in panic? She usually... quite fearless. What happened?" 


----

Sweet Echo search the room.
 'Maybe something to get into their head? To see what is wrong and to fix it...' 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony think about how to answer both and reply:   " We dont need the others and time is off the essence. There might be complication if we go save them first. Lettersrpite had the mirrors, that's what is important. Darling (speaking to Deepwood), since you can fly and your hooves are free, take your mirror and make sure the other mirrors are with lettersprite at the infirmary please! Now each of you focus! No more chitty-chatting until we save Lettersprite. Talk in your mind if you need to but if we can stealth our way to the infirmary, it could give us the advantage! "
  

Tea Agony doesnt want to admit to her husband that she put Bubbles into a cage made especially for him since she always thought he would betray the Staff at some point. If Bubbles want to explain things however, she doesnt have the energy or concentration to prevent it at this point... She takes her frustration out by screeching into Starswirl ears until she sense he let go of his connection with Bubbles soomehow.
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard looks down and begins to explain to Deepwood. "  I am sorry. Its all my fault. If I hadnt taken some rash decisions, none of this would have happened. I basically got poisoned and created this mess by eating some bubble berry magical candy.  " While his response might surprise Tea Agony, Sugar Rush can remember BubbeGuard doing something pretty similar in the past for her.

They finaly get to the nursery room and hear the shade´s voices inside in what seems to be a celebration of sorts. "  Its done! We can finally begin the invasion as properly expected.  " Tailwind´s shade replies.

__________________________________________________  ________________

Charcoal Knight keeps searching the room as he thinks about the specifications given by Sweet Echo. "  There is the circlet of the mind. It lets one enter the mind of others. I wouldnt necessarily say it lets you fix anything but you can at least read their mind and try to reason with them while inside......  "
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony ask Bubbles in her mind:   " You know what they are talking about? Otherwise, let's barge in and attack them at the count of three..."
  

(This is for letting a chance for Igor to regroup if thats what he want, mostly. Otherwise, Sweet Echo could be the second boss so to speak after they deal with the shades inside the infirmary)
igordragonian
"Yes!" Sweet Echo said with victory. "The capturing sphere for Agony and the Circle for Bubbly doo!"
She look at Charocal. "You take the spehere,I'l take the Circlet"

---


"But who gave you-" Deepwood shake his head.
He just... place his wing over Bubble's back, before letting go.

Deepwood spread his wolves
"Wouldnt it be better to listen to them, and prepare an ambush? We have the numbers, and if we get it, it will be a space in their control"
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood spread his wolves
"Wouldnt it be better to listen to them, and prepare an ambush? We have the numbers, and if we get it, it will be a space in their control" 
 

In telepathy, where this whole conversation happened:   "The mirrors allow for teleportation. We need to act fast, preventing them using them for their invasion plan! Stop questionning my orders! Now... 3... 2... 1... GO!"  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony ask Bubbles in her mind:   " You know what they are talking about? Otherwise, let's barge in and attack them at the count of three..."
  

(This is for letting a chance for Igor to regroup if thats what he want, mostly. Otherwise, Sweet Echo could be the second boss so to speak after they deal with the shades inside the infirmary) 
 

"  I dont know. Shades mostly act  out of spite as far as I can tell.  " BubbleGuard replies from his own limited knowledge on them


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 "Yes!" Sweet Echo said with victory. "The capturing sphere for Agony and the Circle for Bubbly doo!"
She look at Charocal. "You take the spehere,I'l take the Circlet"

---


"But who gave you-" Deepwood shake his head.
He just... place his wing over Bubble's back, before letting go.

Deepwood spread his wolves
"Wouldnt it be better to listen to them, and prepare an ambush? We have the numbers, and if we get it, it will be a space in their control" 
 


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 In telepathy, where this whole conversation happened:   "The mirrors allow for teleportation. We need to act fast, preventing them using them for their invasion plan! Stop questionning my orders! Now... 3... 2... 1... GO!"   
 

As the group burst in, they see the four shades around the bed where Lettersprite is currently sleeping in. All for of them raise their hooves (and their wings in three cases) as a sign of surrendering. "  You came here for your friend? You can have him. Or is it the mirrors you are looking for? You can have them all, even the freshly created mirror of Lettersprite.  " The shade Tailwind then laughs.

" We feel generous enough, we will even guve you 8 extra mirrors for free! " Night Shift adds as he uncovers 8 new mirrors and puts them gently on the floor and then raises his hooves up again.

" One must wonder whose mirrors are those, right? " Shade Cornucopia adds taunting.

"  Where...? How....? What did you monsters do?  " BubbleGaurd replies trying to keep his temper in check.

" We just snagged a few past staff members and prevented them from leaving. We wouldnt want them to stop being part of this jolly family. Not to mention, the shades that come with their existance. We also took the liberty of adding a few extras some time ago with a bit of help from our friendly neighbor Hoofini. He even helped us learnt a lot about the power within the mirrors. "

 
 Spoiler: Tea Agony: Make a mind roll to identify the mirrors DC: 10 

 
 Spoiler: If successful 

She knows who would own three of the mirrors:
-They belong to Clarity, Soothing Heart and Blowhard Joe.
 

 


"  You were the ones that let Hoofini out of his cell?!  " BubbleGuard replies shocked. "  Wait? Extras? What extras?  "

 
 Spoiler: Sugar Rush: Make a mind roll to remember the chars from the Hoofini episode DC: 10 

 
 Spoiler: If successful 

She remembers the 5 kidnapped individuals: Gin Ale, Daydream, Bloodfeast, Open Book and Flare Scales.
 

 


"  We have done way more than just that but why talk about the many ways we have tried screwing with you all. Lets just say we have worked many times in the shadows.   " Tailwind replies with a grin.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony open the door... The wolves charge and surround the Shades. Sugar Rush kick one and bodyslam it on the top of now of a dog pile. Sketch Book wanted to help but seeing we were doing fine, simply closed the door behind us to make sure nobody escaped somehow.

Deepwood used his Canterlot Voice to order them to stay down.

Tea Agony used the same spell she used before: the shades were suddenly inboxed, shrinked and teleported away. Tea Agony is panting, tired but satisfied.

While you guys make sure Lettersprite is ok... She discover a pile of mirror to her horror.

  " Bring them to my room. The mirrors cannot be used in my room, for good or worst. We can question those Shades and then go to bed after, now that the immediate crisis is averted. Bubbles, you arent allowed in my room though. The end of the world would not give you a green light for that, same for Charcoal Knight. So I suggest you find Sweet Echo and calm her down while the rest of us question them. You can also free the others from the simulation room. Once you are done, you can try to find Daily Delivery. Not sure where he is though... "  

At those last sentences, she look a bit defeated. Its clear that she's tired and just want to go back to her bed.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo's scene?
----


Deepwood look pained as Tea Agony speak like that to Bubble.

"I... dont get what is going on. Where are those shades coming from? How do we know there arent more?"
DaOldeWolf
" You are not in charge of me, Miss Agony. I told beforehand what I plan to do. I must see how the rest of the staff is doing and see if they are all safe and sound. And if possible bring them all into the simulation room.  " BubbleGuard replies.

He turns his attention to Deepwood. "  While I dont know the answer to the first question. I can at least answer to the second one. There is one shade for every member in the castle. Well, to be more precise almost everyone in the castle has a shade. I dont have one which is why I suggest the simulation room as a safe room. No shade of me, no way to even reach the door.   "
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 " You are not in charge of me, Miss Agony. I told beforehand what I plan to do. I must see how the rest of the staff is doing and see if they are all safe and sound. And if possible bring them all into the simulation room.  " BubbleGuard replies.

He turns his attention to Deepwood. "  While I dont know the answer to the first question. I can at least answer to the second one. There is one shade for every member in the castle. Well, to be more precise almost everyone in the castle has a shade. I dont have one which is why I suggest the simulation room as a safe room. No shade of me, no way to even reach the door.   " 
 

Tea Agony massage her temples: " Sorry Bubbles... Im just... tired. I used a lot of magic to trap those Shades and I dont have enough sleep under my belt to try to be nice or remember everything. See you later once the sun is up."

She climb on Elusive that help her get to her own room.

Sugar Rush accompagy her until she reach her room and then fly back to Bubbles and Deepwood to save the other member of the Staff.
igordragonian
Yes!" Sweet Echo said with victory. "The capturing sphere for Agony and the Circle for Bubbly doo!"
She look at Charocal. "You take the spehere,I'l take the Circlet
igordragonian
Deepwood give a hug to Agony before she go.
"Rest well." he say quitly.


"It wont get worse" he promise.


He turn to Bubble
 "Why dont you have one?"
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard goes to meet with the rest of the staff with Sugar and Deepwood. As they walk, he hears about Deepwood´s question and ponders on it for a bit. "  I wish I knew the answer.... Shades have a special dislike for me and my brother for that curious trait. Its really strange. As far as I know only Charcoal and myself lack this trait and I dont feel like either of us is particularly special. The simple fact that even Sugar Rush and Harvest Moon have one makes me think that its not a pony only trait either. Shades seem to come for any living creature with an advanced mind of their own. Elusive and my special familiar dont have one either or if they do, I havent seen of it.  "

BubbleGuard pauses "  Sir Starwhirl is probably the only one that knows that might help shed light on this matter but I would like to gather everyone to contact with him. The shades have existed ever since I first arrived at this castle. I am the forth staff leader this castle ever got. I am just the one that has lasted longer. Everypony else that has been in this position is currently jailed in the dungeon downstairs. All three of my predecessors, all three crazy to the point of being too dangerous to leave alone.  " As he finishes, they arrive to the hall where both BubbleGuard´s room and the artifact rooms lie.

__________________________________________________  _______________

"  Alright then. Sweet Echo. We have a plan.  " Charcoal Knight declares trying to sound excited about the whole thing.
Emmerlaus
Sugar ask:   " Well in that case we have to disregard magic as the source that can create shades. It really seem to be the mind. I hope Tea Agony plan to get rid of them really works. Now careful, Sweet Echo is inside! Lets not stress her more then she is right now! "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Sugar ask:   " Well in that case we have to disregard magic as the source that can create shades. It really seem to be the mind. I hope Tea Agony plan to get rid of them really works. Now careful, Sweet Echo is inside! Lets not stress her more then she is right now! "   
 

BubbleGuard nods still wondering about the shade´s source. The group enters the artifact room to meet with Sweet Echo. "  Hey! We come in peace! I am hopeful that you are both fine.  " BubbleGuard replies.
igordragonian
Deepwood is look concerned.
'Crazy? At the dungeon? Why?'
He... feels he has an idea, just beyond the reach of this thoughts.

===

Sweet Echo wear the circlet.
'only Bubbly Doo, and Sistea may come in' she say, with a shaking voice.


Deepwood:"Echo, stop this nonesense!' he bark.


Sweet Echo. 'Please! Dont worry! I'll fix everything!'
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard goes to hug Sweet Echo. "  I am really sorry of what happened. I made a bad judgment call and put you all at risk. I hope you will find in your heart to forgive me.  "

Charcoal Knight is kinda taken back in surprise.
Emmerlaus
Sugar simply wait, respecting Sweet Echo space right now. But she's ready to transmit any information toward Tea Agony who has not stopped the telepathic spell for now.

Sugar sensed Tea Agony was feeling... different when they seperated. She could swore she saw a tear on Tea Agony face before her door closed. Although she wanted to ask what was wrong, she was wise enough to wait the next morning, when everypony would had a good night sleep.
DaOldeWolf
The night comes to the castle and everything seems silent, almost sinerterly so. BubbleGuard raises the alarm. "  Everyone! Wake up! We have to evacuate immediately. The castle! The castle is being consumed by the shadows!  " BubbleGuard screams out loud. For anyone opening their eyes, they can see parts of the castle being engulfed in darkness and seemingly ceasing to exist.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo flinch when Bubble Guard aporach her.
 "Is that really you?" she ask with narrowed eyes, unusually seriouse.
"I-" she is surprised by the hug. But consider to use the circlet anyway-

Deeowood order the wolf to organize into an unit.

Does the echolocation of the bat ponies aid them?
"After me!" Deepwood lead the way.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony is not waking up unless the sun is up.

Sugar Rush had started cooking a bit when she hear the alarm. She goes see Bubbles, both curious and wary: " How much time we have? "
DaOldeWolf
"  I wishI could tell but I dont know and unfortunately I lost communication with Sir Starswhirl. We should hurry though because we dont have much time.  " BubbleGuard replies confused and frustrated. "  Yes! That might help, old friend. Lead the way!  "

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

There is many ways to around this. How would you guys like to go? Trying to save everyone? Just escape? Try to look for something to try to stop this?
 
igordragonian
Deepwood would try to use his wolves to find everypony.


Sweet Echo probably can guide another group if we split up
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 "  I wishI could tell but I dont know and unfortunately I lost communication with Sir Starswhirl. We should hurry though because we dont have much time.  " BubbleGuard replies confused and frustrated. "  Yes! That might help, old friend. Lead the way!  "

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

There is many ways to around this. How would you guys like to go? Trying to save everyone? Just escape? Try to look for something to try to stop this?
 
 
 

Sugar look angrily at Bubbles:   " Start being your own pony! Now, what do we have in the artifact rooms that can deal with shadows? Any light or sun artifact we could use? "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood would try to use his wolves to find everypony.


Sweet Echo probably can guide another group if we split up 
 

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

Since they will be taking action in the sahdows, I think a small heart roll should be made to make sure they push forward and dont stay in place in fear. How about a heart roll against DC 10 to succeed?
 


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Sugar look angrily at Bubbles:   " Start being your own pony! Now, what do we have in the artifact rooms that can deal with shadows? Any light or sun artifact we could use? "   
 

"  We never found a way to damage them or keep them contained for a long period..... besides banishing the staff from the castle forever....  " BubbleGuard repies with sadness. "  We could invade Sir Starswhirl room and look for more information on the shades source.  "
Emmerlaus
Sugar raise an eyebrow:   " You know, you never got to admire Tea Agony work. About how she trapped them inside her own room. If you guys made up, Im sure this crisis could being averted... but fine. We can try your idea first."  
igordragonian
Echo's heart check-
 (2d6)[ 1 ][ 2 ](3) +3


Deepwood Heart Check
 (2d6)[ 3 ][ 4 ](7) +1
-----


Sweet Echo screech happily. 'This is a great plan!'


Deepwood shake his head. 'Agony is tired..... if we aren't forced to, we shouldn't disturb her'
DaOldeWolf
"  But I do appreciate her work. I dont think there is anypony in the castle, I wouldnt call talented.  " BubbleGuard answer to Sugar. "  Speaking of which..... we need to help her get out of this. We cannot let anyone be swallowed by this darkness.  "

The animals seem to be quite scared to move from the darkness swallowing everything. "  Should we try something different?  " He asks the two bat ponies.
Emmerlaus
Sugar:   " Fine, let's wake up Tea first and she can help us go throught Starswirl office. She was organizing this room before Starswirl even left. She knows it even better then him."  

Sugar knock on the her door, firmly:   " TEA! There is an emergency! The castle is being swallowed by darkness! "  

Tea is heard inside and she finally appear. A but more rested then before. When she see Bubbles though, she has a take cack and hide a glare. She nods to him politely however.

  " Sorry but I'm not leaving this room unless a pony I trust can guard it. What do you need? "  
igordragonian
Deepwood go to Agony.
"We got to go! The castle is doomed! The shadows are everywhere!"


Sweet Echo stand by Bubble's side look sad and worried.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood go to Agony.
"We got to go! The castle is doomed! The shadows are everywhere!"


Sweet Echo stand by Bubble's side look sad and worried. 
 

Tea Agony smile seeing her husband and say:    " No, not now that you are here. Please guard my room for me while I help Sugar and Bubbles deal with this issue. Dont let anypony enter this room ok? And dont listen to the small ponies in the mirror boxes. They are shadow version of ourselves."    

Once Deepwood agrees, she follow them to Sarswirl office and search =for something that could help with the current situation

Organization, searching, investogation:
 (3d6)[ 1 ][ 3 ][ 5 ](9)  + 3

EDIT: Sugar will give Harmony to Tea Agony roll and I suggest Bubbles too
igordragonian
 'I dont think there anything that could help us here! We got to get out!' 
but if she insist he would comply.



Sweet Echo to Bubble Guard. 
'What if.... I have used the tiara on one of the shadows?' 
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Sugar:   " Fine, let's wake up Tea first and she can help us go throught Starswirl office. She was organizing this room before Starswirl even left. She knows it even better then him."  

Sugar knock on the her door, firmly:   " TEA! There is an emergency! The castle is being swallowed by darkness! "  

Tea is heard inside and she finally appear. A but more rested then before. When she see Bubbles though, she has a take cack and hide a glare. She nods to him politely however.

  " Sorry but I'm not leaving this room unless a pony I trust can guard it. What do you need? "   
 

"But we have to evacuate. I don't think we have any time to waste". BubbleGuard declares more than a bit worried.


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood go to Agony.
"We got to go! The castle is doomed! The shadows are everywhere!"

Sweet Echo stand by Bubble's side look sad and worried. 
 

BubbleGuard gives a gently pat in the back trying to comfort her.


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony smile seeing her husband and say:    " No, not now that you are here. Please guard my room for me while I help Sugar and Bubbles deal with this issue. Dont let anypony enter this room ok? And dont listen to the small ponies in the mirror boxes. They are shadow version of ourselves."    

Once Deepwood agrees, she follow them to Sarswirl office and search =for something that could help with the current situation

Organization, searching, investogation:
[roll0] + 3

EDIT: Sugar will give Harmony to Tea Agony roll and I suggest Bubbles too 
 

She manages to find some of the objects that BubbleGuard had talked about previously like his special spells in candy form. She also finds Starswhirl's mirror.


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
  'I dont think there anything that could help us here! We got to get out!' 
but if she insist he would comply.



Sweet Echo to Bubble Guard. 
'What if.... I have used the tiara on one of the shadows?'  
 

BubbleGuard wonders what would happen if they followed her suggestion. "I am not sure..."

(I will be posting from my cellphone. Sorry for the lack of text color)
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony take the few object and a book about shadow magic she had being laying around. She fleip the book page with telekenesis, end at a page, quickly read it and close the book. She run toward the exit:   " Good! It confirms my suspicions! Evacuate everypony that is not willing to be sent in the shadow own dimension. The castle is being engufled there. Bring everypony in my room that is ready to fight for the Princesses well-being! "  
igordragonian
Deepwood:"Can YOU at least get evavuted? I am a guard. This is my job"


Sweet Echo. "Maybe I could understand them! And heal their mind! That was my plan to help you, Bubbly Doo!"
DaOldeWolf
" Leaving so soon? I was hoping for a little catch up while making my delivery. It is truly a shame you all have to go..... " replies a voice in the shadows. BubbleGuard gets ready to face against the pony. " I am not interested in fighting. I wouldnt be able to fight you all. My real life self never had any talent for fighting. I will come out and show myself. " Slowly, the shade comes out and reveals herself to be Clarity.

BubbleGuard is shocked to see her here. "  But how? Clarity left this castle long ago. And a pony´s shade ceases to exist after the pony that they come from leaves. How are you still here?  " BubbleGuard replies.

" Its rather simple. The Clarity you knew never left. We took her to the shadows. " Shade Clarity pauses for a moment as she lifts a book with her unicorn magic. " But enough about that. I came here for a small delivery. A token of appreciation from your dearly departed boss. Sir Starswhirl the bearded and his band of heroes have left this world even at the cost of our great late ally, the pony of shadows. But we will take care of the rest. No reason not to take over this for ourselves. "
igordragonian
Deepwood stand between 'Clarity' and the rest.
 'What nonesense are you spouting? Things are bad, but Ol' one can handle everything! Stop lying! And where is the real Clarity?!' 


Sweet Echo give a look at Bubble Guard. She nod, and stand by Deepwood's side, activating the tiara to enter Clarity's mind.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony is confused a bit... but now that the other members of the Staff interfered, it felt wrong to just capture imposter Clarity.

She decide to go with questioning instead:   " You are talking like you arent one of those shadow-reflection ponies. What are you then? And what are your goals here? Capture us as well? Take over Equestria? "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood stand between 'Clarity' and the rest.
 'What nonesense are you spouting? Things are bad, but Ol' one can handle everything! Stop lying! And where is the real Clarity?!' 


Sweet Echo give a look at Bubble Guard. She nod, and stand by Deepwood's side, activating the tiara to enter Clarity's mind. 
 


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony is confused a bit... but now that the other members of the Staff interfered, it felt wrong to just capture imposter Clarity.

She decide to go with questioning instead:   " You are talking like you arent one of those shadow-reflection ponies. What are you then? And what are your goals here? Capture us as well? Take over Equestria? "   
 

" Its not lie. Starwhirl is gone and soon the only anomaly within pony kind should disappear too. Then us shadows should drag all ponykind into the darkness and take their place on this realm. Then we will do the same with griffons and dragons and anything else we find until this whole world is ruled by shadows. The best part is that there is no one that can stop us so there is no issue sharing this with all of you. Harmony is gone with Starswhirl. The princesses have been captured and the castle and its staff should fall to the darkness in just a couple more minutes. Even the combined powers of the staff are meanigless. You have nothing to do but resign to a life in the shadows. Even your magic cant keep us contained.
 " Clarity gloats for a moment " But look on the bright side. Sooner or later, everyone will be together in the shadows for all eternity! "
igordragonian
Deepwood spread his wings and hiss.
"Over my dead body!"


Sweet Echo look horrified with a dark realiaztion.
"Oh no." she shake her head and step forward.

"Wait! Does it matter if the victim is willing?  Take me and release the fillies!"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony open the window behind the false Clarity with Telekenesis, subtly.

She then ask:   " Since its where we are going next, what is the shadow realm like? "  

In bat pony cliketing language, she says to Deepwood that the window behind CLarity is open now and that we can push her out once we need to regroup.
DaOldeWolf
"Clarity" is taken back by the lack of fear in the faces on such matter. " How can you be so calm about it? I was expecting a bit of dread or at least some begging but you are open to going there?! Its a place full of shadows and nothingness. Its an empty place! " She replies in shock trying to instill fear. " How can this be? Why would anypony not be afraid of our power? " She replies scared as she melts back into the shadows.
igordragonian
Deepwood narrow his eyes, understanding what Tea Agony expect of him.

He say flatly. "Yes. Here. We call it monday." 

and dive toward "Clarity" and try to headbutt her out of the window.
---

 (2d6)[ 5 ][ 5 ](10) +4
--------


Sweet Echo find herself swearing with awe.
"Fang."

"Maybe..." Sweet Echo wonder. "My exprience with the void magic would help us here."
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony assist Deepwood in pushing false Clarity out of the window with telekenesis, giving it a +2.

Once we got rid of her, she says: " I need to send a letter to a friend of mine, who know where Midnight is. Only then I can go into the darkness to do my job properly. "

She sigh, returning to her room. She look at Bubbles with a defeated look. She seem... defeated, depressed. She shrug and say: " Whatever. You can enter my room if you want Bubbles but don't use magic. The defensive spells in here would activate then and we need you alive"

Inside, in a section of the room, you see a small collection of mirror boxes. If she put a hoove on one of the boxes, it become transparent like glasses and you can see the trapped shadow ponies inside.

" Want to question them? They cant get out of this prison. Ad being transported in another dimension wont stop the spell defense around my room to stop working."
DaOldeWolf
"Clarity" is thrown out by the combined efforts of Deepwood and Tea Agony much to her surprise. " This aint over! You will fall down and wallow in the shadows! " Clarity screams as she falls. BubbleGuard nods at the suggestion given by Tea Agony. " Understood. ". The two tiny shadows look very calmly from inside their tiny "jail". "So, you have decided to return. What brings you here?" replies Bittersweet.
igordragonian
Deepwood shrug. "Still monday"


Sweet Echo touch their trap, trying to sense how similiar it to the void magic.


Deepwood turn to Bubble Guard. "Would.light scare them off?"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony ask the shadow inside:   " Why did you make more mirrors? What did you need them for? And why are they so important for you shades in the grand scheme of things? "  

(sorry guys for the delay!)
DaOldeWolf
"We didnt make those mirrors but they are important for one reason alone. They tell us when a new shade is about to emerge. When a pony gets their mirror, it also means that enough time has passed for a shade to appear." one of the two shades responds. "We wanted to see everypony together before we took them all to our ver special realm." She grins maliciously. "I must assume that our plan is working great."
igordragonian
Deepwood:"Can light fight them off?'


Sweet Echo touch their trap, trying to sense how similiar it to the void magic.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood:"Can light fight them off?'


Sweet Echo touch their trap, trying to sense how similiar it to the void magic. 
 

Tea Agony softly say to Sweet Echo: « Those mirror like cage are more sturdy then one would suspect miss Echo but be careful with them. «

She’s ready to use her telekinesis if needed to put back those cages back on the shelves.
DaOldeWolf
"  BubbleGuard knows the only "cure" but I am certain he wouldnt want to use it.  " the other shade replies.

"  Leaving forever is no cure. Especially with the princess trapped. And the staff. If you would really allow us to leave, you wouldnt have capture them all!  " BubbleGuard replies angrily. He wants to shake the container with the shades inside but keeps himslef from doing so. "  You really hate the staff leaders. What have I ever done against you? What has any of them done.  "

"Ah, yes. The staff leaders. As I have been informed, you are the forth one. And the next one in line of getting into the dungeon. A shame, your time is running out. I would have enjoyed seeing you rot in a prison." the shade Tea Agony replies. "Nopony will stop us! You should just wait in line for the shadows like the rest."
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony take the one of mirror boxes, shake it and put it back down:   " Stop giving us attitude. Torture is easy to do to somepony in your position. Now, how can we find the princesses in the dungeon you have in the shadow realm? "  
igordragonian
Sweet Echo add.
"Please? I am sure it more fun for you, to give us a chance, just to see us fail!"


Deepwood is looking confused and desprate
Not sure what can he do.
He look at Bubble and Agony with hope for  somethimg 
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony take the one of mirror boxes, shake it and put it back down:   " Stop giving us attitude. Torture is easy to do to somepony in your position. Now, how can we find the princesses in the dungeon you have in the shadow realm? "   
 

"  Go ahead. We will eventually just "go poof" and return to the realm of darkness. We are in a position to victory. We have nothing to gain from helping you.  " Fake Tailwind replies. "  .....but if you give us something nice, we might talk.  "

"  Give you wahat?  " BubbleGuard asks confused.

"  Something like a good zapping spell on you. It would definitely be amusing to see.  " Fake Tailwind replies.


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo add.
"Please? I am sure it more fun for you, to give us a chance, just to see us fail!"


Deepwood is looking confused and desprate
Not sure what can he do.
He look at Bubble and Agony with hope for  somethimg  
 

The shades all smile at the suggestion. "  That sounds pretty tempting.  " They look at each other for approval. Then Fake Agony steps forward. "Fine. We can do that. The whole staff lie in the center of the darkness sealed in our crystal monolith with the princess at the very center. It should be easy to see since at its pinnacle rests the sphere of darkness."
igordragonian
Deepwood ask.
"How do we get there?"


Sweet Echo flutter her wings.
"We can make a fun game out of it!"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony realize that... she might not be the best there is after all to solve this problem. Her sheer disgust and anger toward the shadow ponies made her forget the basic of etiquette and how it can be used as a shield and sword. Sweet Echo was able to use it with such finesse that the shadow ponies gave them information without having to force them.

She realize... she has become rusty. Tired of it even. Tired of living of putting off a mask and pretending to be somepony else. But then... she realized to she lacked kindness.

This weird piece of enlightement came at no warning. She decided to go next to Deepwood, ears down. She look... defeated. So many things went wrong today, despite even how prepared she thought she had being.

She put her head on his chest and close her eyes. She clicked in bat pony language: " After we save the Princesses, do you mind if we take a vacation? Just you, me and Midnight? "
igordragonian
Deepwood is a bit surprised and worried hugging Agony, which they rarely do in public.
"I guess it wouldn't be the worst idea ever"
DaOldeWolf
"Just wait a couple more minutes and you´ll be there." The shade taunts.

"  So, I am right in guessing that we will be going there, right?  " BubbleGuard declares just waiting to hear the others´opinion.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony shrug:   " There is no other options to retrieve the Princesses. But... after all this, I'll consider if I want to retire from this life or not. It seem no matter my preparations... I'll never be ready enough for the next disaster and we will have to improvise on the fly. And I think all that stress is getting to me, more then I realized. My... My family deserve better. "  

She sigh and say:   " At least I need another vacation. "  
igordragonian
Sweet Echo nod enthusiatly.
"Of course Bubbly Doo! We need to save the princesses!"


Deepwood pat Agony's back.
"There always be disasters, even if not magical ones. I am sure that if you'l ask around ponies no matter where they live, something always go wrong. And sure... vacation might not be terrible... but it actually might be." Deepwood even smile a little.
"But that ok.  We got each other, you among us have great abilities, we can face anything, and you know what? Even if we fail, we had a great time until then"
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard´s first instinct is to call for the rest of the staff to reunite so they can all be together when it finally happens. The staff is soon all gethered at Tea´s room and not a moment too soon since the whole place starts to collapse and be engulfed in the darkness. Everypony feels like they are descending into it. Magical artifacts from the castle also fall with the ponies down into the abyss. Some of the staff members areact scared to the situation though they all remain prety close as they gently land on something that feels like stone.

You can all barely make out the surroundings. A dim light illuminates at the top of a mountain with the surrounding area being made of flat cold stone and black crystals scattered around. "  I dont think I have ever seen a place as lifeless and barren as this one. How could something like this even exists?  " BubbleGuard wonders at loud.

"  Well, we arent here to enjoy the view. We should get moving.  " Charcoal Knight casts a spell to create a wisp of light. "  This should help us see where we are going. So, where exactly are we headed to?  "
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony nods: " Indeed. It makes no sense. No vegetation mean no food. How does shadow ponies even survive in such a land? "

Its a question directed toward the imprisonned shadows. Once they answer:

" In any case, we should probably step outside, see how the rest of the castle fair from the ordeal. The rest of the staff can stay in my room for now. I'll silence the shadows and dont come close to their boxes. Im sure you know it would be bad for all of us if they were freed. "
igordragonian
Sweet Echo stops by the dark crystals hypnotized, remembering the void magic that has cleansed her of her cutie mark.
Sweet Echo touches the crystal, trying to.. sense... anything



Heart-3
 (2d6)[ 1 ][ 2 ](3) +3


Deepwood look around.  'Well... maybe this place has it's own ecology, and if we can understand it... we can overcome it.' 
He look around, trying to compare the place to his exprience with nature/



Skill-Survival
Mind?
[rollv]2b3d6[/rollv]+2
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony nods: " Indeed. It makes no sense. No vegetation mean no food. How does shadow ponies even survive in such a land? "

Its a question directed toward the imprisonned shadows. Once they answer:

" In any case, we should probably step outside, see how the rest of the castle fair from the ordeal. The rest of the staff can stay in my room for now. I'll silence the shadows and dont come close to their boxes. Im sure you know it would be bad for all of us if they were freed. " 
 

"  We dont need food.We are superior beings. We need NOTHING!  " declares shade Taiilwind. "  Just imagine how much effective your world will be when we establish the ne order.  "

Sketch Book is the first one, they gaze upon in the distance. "  This is such a sad place.  " He replies as he checks the surroundings and putting most of his attention on the crystals. He then notices all of you and waves his hoof. " Hello? Are you all fine? "

"  Yes! Stay there. We will be with you in a moment.  " BubbleGuard declares.


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo stops by the dark crystals hypnotized, remembering the void magic that has cleansed her of her cutie mark.
Sweet Echo touches the crystal, trying to.. sense... anything



Heart-3
[roll0]+3


Deepwood look around.  'Well... maybe this place has it's own ecology, and if we can understand it... we can overcome it.' 
He look around, trying to compare the place to his exprience with nature/



Skill-Survival
Mind?
[rollv]2b3d6[/rollv]+2 
 

When she touches the crystal,it starts to glow and it shows within in an image of 4 ponies. You recognize them to varying degrees. One of them is Hoofini, the first staff leader and a prisoner of the dungeon. The second one is Soaring Heights, a pegasus that currently resides in the dungeons. The third is Strong Troat, another prisoner of the dungeon and the second staff leader. Finally, the last one which everypony should know as Starswhirl. They seem to be exploring an unknown area while discussing how important it is that they find the right place.

"  I wonder what that was?  " BubbleGuard replies as the images fade away. BubbleGuard touches the crystal once again and the same scene repeats itself. "  Nice discovery, my dear. You have found something that might be useful to us. The fact that these images are here, must mean something.  "

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

Deepwood knows that no animal could live here either. Its pretty possible that nothing alive could survive long term on this dimension.
 
Emmerlaus
Before leaving her room, Tea Agony told the group of ponies inside she is sealing it tight. Only her can exit or enter the room once she leaves. She explain how to use the food dispenser magic item in her room if it takes them too long and where the bathroom is. She also seal the sound coming from the trapped shadows and repeat again to not get close to them or release them.

She isn’t sure if it’s the real Sketch Book but she warn him to go hide in his own room… if he can penetrate the castle natural defense.

Once Sketch Book is no longer of concern, she is interested by Sweet Echo discovery.   " Maybe it shows events that happened close to it? So Starswirl is actually is with a group of other ponies? Safety in number, that's good. "
  

(What should we do with all the mirrors again?)
igordragonian
Sweet Echo clap her hooves
"I am not sure what this discovery means, but it surely exciting! Well! We have a game to play!"



Deepwood nod. "...Very well." but draw a bow and arrow just.in case.
Cleartly disturbed by what he see...
but being always disturbed trained him for this.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Spoiler: OOC 

Up to you all to choose what to do with the mirrors. Also, you are already in the shadow dimension. It was engulfed in darkness. 🤨
 


As the ponies keep exploration going. They seem to find the place to be completely empty and desolated. It seems like nothing is keeping guard of the place. "  We are almost at the center. Try to stay clear. We dont want to lose sight of anyone.  " BubbleGuard suggests to the rest.

Up ahead, they find the rest of the staff looking around at the huge crystals that surround the giant sphere of light floating just above. Inside each of these crystals, there are the missing staff members, some former staff members, the fellow time travelers and even the princesses. All of them asleep.

" What should we do about this? We found them like this but we dont know how we should try to set them free. Especially without hurting them.... " Daily Delivery is the first to reply.
igordragonian
Deepwood:"I think we should focus on finding the rascals"


Sweet Echo keep her positivity.
"Maybe they just need a pony's warmth!" and hug tightly the nearest crystal with forelegs and wings and even land a kiss.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony has a saddlebag and wonder...

" They created the mirrors to be linked with those they wanted to replace right?"

She does an experiment and bring out from her saddlebag one of those mirrors, trying to see if there is any interractions with the prisonners.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood:"I think we should focus on finding the rascals"


Sweet Echo keep her positivity.
"Maybe they just need a pony's warmth!" and hug tightly the nearest crystal with forelegs and wings and even land a kiss. 
 

Deepwood finds the crystals in which the princesses are sealed inside easily. Everypony inside appears to be unconscious frozen in place. This specific crystal doesnt have a reation when hugged compared to the empty ones.


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony has a saddlebag and wonder...

" They created the mirrors to be linked with those they wanted to replace right?"

She does an experiment and bring out from her saddlebag one of those mirrors, trying to see if there is any interractions with the prisonners. 
 

When Tea Agony takes out a mirror in front of the owner of the crystal sealed within, the crystal glows and disappears releasing the pony trapped within. "  It worked! Great job, Miss Agony!  " BubbleGuard declares.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
  When Tea Agony takes out a mirror in front of the owner of the crystal sealed within, the crystal glows and disappears releasing the pony trapped within. "  It worked! Great job, Miss Agony!  " BubbleGuard declares. 
 

She shakes her head: " No, I won't consider this a victory unless we can wake them up from their slumber. Let's try the easiest way..."

She gently try to wake them up by shaking them, carefully, with telekenesis and saying in a voice that want to be urgent but compassionnate:   " Wake up! You are free now! Cmon! "  
igordragonian
Sweet Echo clap her hooves happily.
 'WE DID IT!" 


If what Agony try doesnt work, she try to scream in their ears.
   'GOOD EVENING! WAKEY WAKEY!"   


Deepwood block his ears.
DaOldeWolf
The staff members wake up without a hinch. Harvest Moon even gives a hug to Tea Agony when she wakes up.  Strangely enough the princesses and the "former" staff members remain asleep. They dont seem to react to the screams either.

"  Strange. I wonder if there is more to this....  " BubbleGuard wonders out loud. "  We could try to enter their mind instead, do you still have the mind item, Sweetie? What do you Think, Miss Agony?  "
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony sigh and shake her head:   " I am completely lost on what to do next. It doesn't seem like a bad idea. Harvest Moon, tell us, did you had any dreams while you were asleep? Were you conscious of what was going on around you? "  
igordragonian
Deepwood help and support those who wake up.

Sweet Echo for a moment look concerned? but once Blueguard remind her, she nod happily.
"Yes, Bubbly Doo!" she try to enter Luna's head.
DaOldeWolf
As soon as she activates the magical object, a blinding light engulfs the whole area. As soon as they are light diminshes itself, the small group (made of Tea Agony, Deepwood, Sweet Echo, BubbleGuard and Charcoal Knight) is able to see the new suroundings. Its a small room with a decorations full of stars. There is a bed with deep blue sheets. A small table with a white broken base. On the ceiling, you can see a starry night through it as if it were made of glass. There are a few pictures hanging on the walls with different members of the staff. A few personal objetcs related to some of the staff members are scattered across the floor. There is a centerpiece on a drawer with a picture of Tea Agony besides it. There also seems to be an empty frame with nothing on it.

Strangely enough, nothing that could be attributed to either BubbleGuard or Charcoal Knight can be found within the room. You can hear something that seems to be shaking. A quick glance revelas that whatever that could be making the sound is hiding under the bed. BubbeGuard is the first to check.

"  Please come out. We wont harm you. We are looking for....  " But before BubbleGuard could finish speaking, Luna comes out and quickly goes to hug Tea Agony as she bursts in tears. " Where are we? What is this place? Some horrible creaature that looked like me took me here! Can we go home? "
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony hugs back Luna:  " I know, I am sorry we couldn't prevent this in time. Luna... we entered your head to speak to you. You are free from your outside prison. Can you now try to use your dream magic to wake yourself up? " 
igordragonian
Deepwood look around.
He tap the empty frame but then turn his attention to Luna.
 "It's ok lil' rascal. It bad. But this is the normal bad" 


Sweet Echo is more excited and play with the random items-
how real are they?

She shriek happily as she see Luna get out.
"Woonie! We have found you! The hide and seek is over! " she clap her hooves.
"Hmmmm... maybe my tiara can help?" she ask
DaOldeWolf
" What happened to the bad ponies? Why does one of them look exactly like me? I am so confused. " Luna cries out loud.

"  Umm... err well.....  " BubbleGuard isnt sure about how to address her.
igordragonian
Deepwood try to expalin simply as possible- and as he understand himself.
 'Nothing special. Evil clones. Does it summarize it?'  he look at the smarter ponies.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony sigh, shakes her head:   " Deepwood is right. That's all there is too it. Basically evil mirror reflection, with values opposed of ourselves. They trapped you in their own homeworld and even sent our home into it... but now that we have you, we have hope. You think you can help us wake up everypony Luna? "  
DaOldeWolf
" Why? Who made them? What do they want? " Luna replies worried about the situation. BubbleGuard is the first to respond. "  I kind of wish I knew more details about them myself.  "
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 " Why? Who made them? What do they want? " Luna replies worried about the situation. BubbleGuard is the first to respond. "  I kind of wish I knew more details about them myself.  " 
 

Tea Agony glare at Bubbles and say acidly:   " You still deny the connection? While you and your brother are the only one who can't seem  to ever have a evil duplicate? What, you think I didn't notice?"  
DaOldeWolf
"  I dont really know why I dont have one either. Sir Starswhirl was quite privvy abut what he said on the subject of the shades. I kind of wish we had managed to speak with him before he left us.  " BubbleGuard replies.

" You dont have a clone? How awesome! " Luna cheers.

"  Thanks litte one....  " BubbleGuard replies unsure on how to answer. "  We could still get some more shade info if we use the journal. Or we could try with more of those crystals. They might bring forth more answers.  " BubbleGuard replies.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo clap her hooves.
"Yes! Lets play with the crystals! It's much more fun!"


Deepwood stand between Agony and Bubble.
"We shouldnt let the magical disasters hurt our trusr in each other, no matter how terrible things are. Bubble is... a friend. If we dont trust each other what we have left with?"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony roll her eyes: " I know. Still, I dont like this anomality. Not sure how to research it too without hurting Bubbles so that is an impasse. Sure, let's try to see if those crystal does something else."

She hugs Luna a bit more, closing her eyes doing so. It seem she does need a hug. Luna instinctively realize it and hugs her back.
DaOldeWolf
With an agreemet on tow, the magic item is used to leave the mindscape and return back into the shade dimension. BubbleGuard suggests everypony to look into crystals around the area to look for clues after giving a brief explanation to how they work. The plan is for everypony to search a crystal and ook into its contents then return back with whatever info they gathered from it. After eveyone leaves, BubbleGuard and Charcoal Knight wait with the princesses (and the unconcious ex-staff members) as everypony gathers to search for a crystal.

After everypony returns, everyone begins giving an explanation of what they have found.

Harvest Moon starts " I found out about the first staff leader. It seems like he went crazy with power while trying to get rid of the shades. Hoofini learnt that magic wasnt enough to get rid of them. Pretty useless information if you ask me. "

"  After Hoofini came Surge Wind. He was constantly fooled by the shades and couldnt stop them in their tracks. It is quite difficult to know who is a shade and who is the real pony. Shades can be beaten to a pup. But they eventually come back so its not a fool proof solution.  " replies Tailwind.

" I found out about the third staff boss. Strong Hooves tried to ignore the shades completely hoping that not antagonizing them would bring forth good results. It didnt turn out well either. You cant reason with those things. Even worse, they possess power identical to the pony they mirror. " Golden Hour replies.

"  Well, that accounts for every founding staff member besides Sir Starswhirl.  " BubbleGuard replies. "  And unfortunately, they all know live in the castle dungeon.  "

" My own info doesnt get that appealing. It just speaks about what happened when we all arrived together to be the first staff members. Such nice memories.... Starswhirl was really happy to have both of you here. " Money Bags replies pointing at BubbleGuard and Charcoal Knight.

" Actually, he was pretty excited about having BubbleGuard be staff leader too with Charcoal Knight as assistant. He insisted on BubbleGuard to take the position after the third mistake. I dont get why he insisted so much on it. I didnt put much though on it when it happened but now that I see it again, it is a bit strange. " Daily delivery replies.

Wood Chuck shares his info with movements  My information was about the arrival of your group Deepwood. By this point, BubbleGuard had already changed on how acted.   BubbleGuard acts as if trying to ignore about the last part.

" Speaking of BubbleGuard, mine was about the time when Starswhirl met BubbleGuard while trying to look a solution for the shades. He wondered if the D'Magic lineage might provide with a suitable solution for his issue. He couldnt get a solution but he decided to take BubbleGuard and Charcoal Knight. I can get why he took BubbleGuard under his wing due to his magical talent but why take Charcoal Knight? He has no magical talent at all. " Sketch Book wonders out loud before apologizing to Charcoal for the implications.

"  I know I am not a great caster. I suppose you re right about my situation. Sometimes I wonder about that myself.  " Charcoal admits.

" Maybe but we have more ressing matters. Starwhirl knew that you two where unstable and that eventually you too would vanish into nothing. I am so sorry for it. " Night Shift replies.

"  But the good news is that Starswhirl was sure that the shades had a weakness related to whetever curse started this. So, we arent at a complete loss.  " Sugar Rush replies

" I dont know. Its not much to into. And the fact that mine just spoke about the blind manticore and why he called him for his future visions. Its the unconscious one over there, right? " Cornucopia replies.

"Mine just said that Tea Agony was an important player in this whole situation. It was a big request from Starswhirl to BubbleGuard to protect her." Lettersprite replies confused as he directs the last question to Tea Agony. "So, do you know why Starswhirl wanted you safe?"

Deepwood´s vision was about Staswhirl´s plan for the future of Equestria and how important the two princesses were.

 
 Spoiler: Sweet Echo Crystal Info 

Harmony between staff members is key to saving the future of Equestria. At least that is what Starswhirl is being told from a vision from the manticore. If everypony in the staff acts as one, then the shades can be beaten. No violence is required to do the job.
 

 
 Spoiler: Tea Agony´s crystal info 

BubbleGuard and Charcoal Knight are two halves of the same pony. Originally cut in half in an attempt to prevent a low branch staff member from reaching the top by a member of his family. One kept the magical talent, the analytical mind and the other the physical ability and the passionate heart. Since they arent a complete entity, neither can develop a shade. Starwhirl wanted to see how shades would work with incomplete beings.
 
igordragonian
Deepwood join the conversation.
" "Look, I only know what Ol' One has vision in the big picture- the two rascals taking charge over Equestria, with unity, they have the features of all big three tribes" 


Sweet Echo flutter her wings.
  "Exactly! That it!"  
Sweet Echo smile.
 "Dont you see?" 
she gesture to everypony.
 "The manticore said so to Ol' One- I mean... Starswirl- if we act as one, we can beat them with no violence! We just need to be in harmony with each other!"  
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony... feel... weird.

She rub her head with telepathy as she watch Sweet Echo crustal memory herself to be sure. She look, defeated and shameful.

  " I guess... I should apologize. Again. To all of you. I guess its no longer a real secret but... I was once a secret agent from the Unicorn country. Starswirl saved me, gave me a new job. I really, looked up upon him... then he left us. I always felt I'll be betrayed at some point and Starswirl leaving just... made me even more paranoid. I'm sorry, it's just hard for me to trust anypony. Even after living with all of you for so long, I still kept everypony at hoof lenght. Except for a few who slowly but surely entered my heart like rogues and saw things in me that... that well I guess was always there. It's hard to explain but after maintaining facades for so long, you are so afraid of being vulnerable. "
  
She breaks down crying, continue in telepathy:   " I really thought that if I did my best, he would aknowledge me. That Starswirl... would make me his protege. Teach me everything he knew. He was like a father to me. I always saw Bubbles as a rival and I was wary of him because even if I couldn't find all the clues, I knew something was wrong with him, about the situation... and that secret made me paranoid. I knew it was there, I just didnt know what it was. And now that I know of it... I realize how futile I was. I was so focused on trying to be in control of the situation that... I let all of you down. Im not sure what I could have done differently but... that secret is both devastating and futile. It's riduculous."
  

She put the crystal showing the truth about Bubbles nature in front of Deepwood and Sweet Echo. Both as a sign of loyalty and because... she felt Sweet Echo was the one who needed to watch it directly the most.
igordragonian
Deepwood and Agony arent big on public displays of affection, but he simply hugged Tea Agony

 "I understand. We understand. You jad it terrible
"  he say relativly softly.

Sweet Echo is bewildered.
"Wh-what? Since when?" she is confused.
"You dont remember it? So... are you two magic twins?" she trh to wrap her mind around it.
"Bubbly?" she ask softly.
"Are you ok?"
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard and Charcoal Knight look at each other. "  Isuppose that would answer a few things. My tiny amount of raw magical energy. Why I also got a job. And even why I dont get to do anything as well as you when it comes to position.  " Charcoal replies trying to think logically rather than emotionally.

"  So my last day, I get to at least realize a few things about myself. Thank you Miss Tea Agony. I appreciate not only that you decided to open to us but also because you decided to share what not even Sir Starwhirl would to me.  " BubbleGuard replies. "  I understand if you feel different about me, Sweety. Especially if I am just half of what anypony else is.  "
Emmerlaus
It took a moment for Tea Agony to calm down. But at least she can communicate with telepathy: " Why shouldn't we told you?! I dont even understand the secrecy on such experiement! In the end... Starswirl simply didn't trust us completely. That's all there is to it. But now that we know this conformation, we can move foward. It seem they created those mirror in our world to bind us in the shadows... But YOU Bubble, Charcoal, never had any mirror created on the other side by them. It's only a theory but... maybe only by creating enough on the other side where they cable to cast more shadow to engulf the castle. "

The more she speak telepatically the more she calm down. Not focusing on her emotions and failures and returning to an problem solving state really helps to return in control of your emotions.

She start frowning: " I wonder what would happen if we could reverse the experiment of Starswirl and makes you whole again Bubbles. And I do think the mirrors must be a key or something toward solving this situation. Like a travel path we could maybe use... to go back to Equestria?"

(Should I roll magic theory or something?Biubbles could definitely help. Maybe even Luna!)
igordragonian
Sweet Echo looked scared and confused
"Last day?" she repeat.
"Bubbly Doo.. I dont... understand.."
She felt so... dummy.
"....I dont know! I love you! But.... are you... you? Will you be ok?" she ask, quite inexprienced in those magical
Sweet Echo take his foreleg and look into his eyes with her orange-golden honey eyes.
"How can I help you?" she ask stuttering

Deepwood stand by Tea Agony's side. It hard to hear that about Starswirl

 "What if... we just break the damn mirrors?"  he ask.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Spoiler: From the OOC thread 

 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...-tw/edit#gid=0 

Ok, I made this!

So I guess a Mind roll is... this?

[roll0] + 3 = 7

Do I need to reroll or add something? 
 

Its fine. We will add the +4 from harmony separately. For a total of 11
 


"  I think you might be on the right track. When I was studying the mirrors, I realized they with hold an amazing amount of power. A power I dont think I have seen yet anywhere else. A power of bonds.  "Bubbleguard admits. When the plan about creating a merging spell appeared, BubbleGuard and Charcoal both decided to lend a hand. With their combined efforts in magic, they create the base of a spell to make the merge a possibility. They even guess that by using the mirrors of those with a specialized talent in magic, they can easily cast the spell.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

Merge Spell  DT 14
Target Group +2
Range Seen +2
Duration Persistent +8
Effect Combine +1
Subject Body +1

Reduce the DT of spells by 1 for each mirror used.
 


BubbleGuard hugs Sweet Echo in a an effort to calm her down. "  Dont worry. Whatever happens, I will always love you.  " BubbleGuard replies. "  Could you hold the mirrors that Tea Agony gives you? We will need them to complete the spell.  "

"  I am not sure if breaking the mirrors would help us. We need all the magic we can get.  " Charcoal Knight responds to Deepwood.
igordragonian
"O-ok..." Sweet Echo say weakly and would obey the magiclt educated ponies.

Deepwood look concerned. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony revise with Bubbles the magic theory they know. It's... refreshing in a way. It's not something she had considered possible until now.

To Deepwood:   " Put the mirrors of the staff in a circle, in a equal distance to each other. What I mean is the Staff members currently staying at the castle when the portal to this shadow world was opened. I believe it will gives us a better chance to connect toward the time and space in our world if we do it this way..."
  
As they work on it, they establish a formula that should be able to fuse those mirror together. Tea Agony guide the bubble magic of Bubbles around the mirrors and all the bubbles slowly but surely fuse together to amake a bigger bubbles, fusing the miror in a flash of light that grow stronger in the process...

(I'll let you Wolf show the results lol)
DaOldeWolf
The top of the frame of teh new mirror grows big as it sprouts wings and a horn. The end result is a big mirror floating in the air with teh frame on the top resembling that of an alicorn. "  Its impossible. This is.... alicorn magic! We have created a mirror that has the same power as an alicorn.  " BubbleGuard replies quite sure of himself. The mirror releases a rainbow light coming out from its reflection. "  If this theory is right, we might be able to receive its power if we shower in the light from the mirror.  "

BubbleGuard steps into the rainbow light to test the theory and hopefully confirm its effects. A horn and wings sprout from BubbleGuard. BubbleGuard moves a bit shocked. "  Fascinating! So this is how it feels like. At least it doesnt seem to have any painful effects. Its still kind of weird to have wings and a horn now. A bit strange even. So, this is the combined power of the staff. We could probably have a few of use change into alicorns but I am not sure whether this would be permanent change. And we have to be careful about this. So, what do you guys think? Anyone else wants to try?  "
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 The top of the frame of teh new mirror grows big as it sprouts wings and a horn. The end result is a big mirror floating in the air with teh frame on the top resembling that of an alicorn. "  Its impossible. This is.... alicorn magic! We have created a mirror that has the same power as an alicorn.  " BubbleGuard replies quite sure of himself. The mirror releases a rainbow light coming out from its reflection. "  If this theory is right, we might be able to receive its power if we shower in the light from the mirror.  "

BubbleGuard steps into the rainbow light to test the theory and hopefully confirm its effects. A horn and wings sprout from BubbleGuard. BubbleGuard moves a bit shocked. "  Fascinating! So this is how it feels like. At least it doesnt seem to have any painful effects. Its still kind of weird to have wings and a horn now. A bit strange even. So, this is the combined power of the staff. We could probably have a few of use change into alicorns but I am not sure whether this would be permanent change. And we have to be careful about this. So, what do you guys think? Anyone else wants to try?  " 
 

Tea Agony is surprised by this... She ask Bubbles:   " Humm, Bubbles, please, could you try to use your wings and Alicorn magic. New powers are nothing without control. "  
igordragonian
Deepwood is hesitante.
"I am not sure how will this shmagic deal with us bat ponied and-"

Sweet Echo gasp. "Fangs and moonshine! You are so handsome!" And she jump to hug him
"Let's be alicorns together!!!!"
DaOldeWolf
BubbleGuard smiles at Sweet Echo´s comment. "  Yes, of course you can join me in this experience. I wouldnt have it any other way.  ". He then turns to fulfill Tea Agony´s request on the matter. He flaps his wings and manages to stay afloat for a bit without issue. Then he tries to cast a spell. It takes him a bit more effort but he manages to create bubbles. "  Flying should be relatively easy, as long as we just use it for basic stuff. I think as long as we use magic that relates to us as individuals, casting should be easy.  "
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony nods:   " I'll right, I'll trust you."   Secretly, the words itself feel so weird for her to say.

She step in the rainbow light, becoming an alicorn in the process. Happy with her new wings, she fly a bit and it seem easy enough.

  " I must admit, I could get used to such feeling... Im quite sure I could use my telekenesis to improve my flight maneouvability if needed. If only I could keep such wonderful gift! It open up so many possibilities! And lets not forget we need to wake up Celestia... I wonder if now that we are alicorn, it would be easier to wake them up... Maybe with the rest of the Staff? We should get them here! "  
igordragonian
Sweet Echo jump after Sweet Echo into the rainbow light.
"Alicorn sisters!!!" she yell with energy


Deepwood is more reserved  "Maybe I better stay normal- this shamgic stuff wierd me out,and maybe you would need a normal pony"
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo jump after Sweet Echo into the rainbow light.
"Alicorn sisters!!!" she yell with energy


Deepwood is more reserved  "Maybe I better stay normal- this shamgic stuff wierd me out,and maybe you would need a normal pony" 
 

Tea Agony hugs Sweet Echo back and turn to her husband:   " It might be more effective if all current members of the Staff does the transformation, honey. Besides, there is nothing to be ashamed off. Our apparence seem to suit us no matter what we changed into thus far. If we needed a normal pony, I would suggest someone like Dairy, who didnt stay close to the castle most of the time. His magical anchor point wouldnt be very effective because of that."  
igordragonian
Deepwood still look worried.
"I am a bat pony, I might destory the magic.. somehow...
I... dont know..." he look concerned.

He faced countless monsters and wierd magic occurances, but transforming was... wierd and scary.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood still look worried.
"I am a bat pony, I might destory the magic.. somehow...
I... dont know..." he look concerned.

He faced countless monsters and wierd magic occurances, but transforming was... wierd and scary. 
 

Tea Agony goes to her husband and put a reconforting hoof on his shoulder, while wispering in squirrel speak:   " That excuse didn't sound believable at all dear. I assure you there is no pain involved and you have nothing to scared off. Nobody will judge you if you admit it's because you are scared but is it this scary to you to become like the rascals? Careful at your choice of words in front of Luna. "  

(sorry for not playing fair Igor lol)
DaOldeWolf
"  We could use all the magic we can get. Lets all do this together..  "  BubbleGuard suggests hoping the rest will join in the transformation. Charcoal Knight steps forward as he transforms himself. "  Wow, with this amount of power, I can probably create a portal to take us back. But first, anyone that wants to try this out, should be getting ready to do it.  " He the waits to see what the others wil do.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo get a horn after she is showered by the rainbow-
A horn appear on her forehead- she get crossehed as she screech happily.
"I have a thing! On my face!"
The horn glow with orange magical aura in the color of her eyes.
"Can I zap lasers?! if feel so much energetic! Come on Deepy!"




Deepwood with a heavy sigh of dread pass through the rainbow.
Deepwood pant heavily.
"This power... how.. to handle it!?"
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo get a horn after she is showered by the rainbow-
A horn appear on her forehead- she get crossehed as she screech happily.
"I have a thing! On my face!"
The horn glow with orange magical aura in the color of her eyes.
"Can I zap lasers?! if feel so much energetic! Come on Deepy!"




Deepwood with a heavy sigh of dread pass through the rainbow.
Deepwood pant heavily.
"This power... how.. to handle it!?" 
 

Tea Agony gives some advice to her husband.   " Breath in deeply, focus on calming your heart. Remember what I teached you about meditation."  
DaOldeWolf
"  So, what happens when we finally return? What is going to be the big plan?  " Charcoal Knight replies. "  Should we beat them to a pulp?  " Charcoal concentrates for a moment and with a quick move of his sword, he cuts open a portal back to their own home, the castle.

"  That wouldnt work. At least not permanently. What we need its to know their true weakness to put an end to this once and for all.   " BubbleGuard replies as he looks at the others. "  What do you all think?  "
igordragonian
Deepwood is focused on breathing, stare cross eyed at his horn.


Sweet Echo giggle as she try to levitate objects with her horn.
"...They seems very... spiteful- maybe they just need the old batty hug!"
Emmerlaus
Sugar point out:   " No, now that we have all this magic, we should focus on waking up Celestia. "
  

Tea Agony:   " I agree! "  
DaOldeWolf
"  Should we try the magic item again? We could also try casting the spell. We could make a mass version of it.  " BubbleGuard thinks out loud about the suggestion for waking the others.

"  We could also cast a new spell to wake everyone missing up. It shouldnt be hard to accomplish.  " Charcoal Knight adds.

 
 Spoiler: Options 

 
 Spoiler: Option 1: Use the item to get inside Celestia´s mind 

No DC required but you will only wake her up
 

 
 Spoiler: Option 2: Mass spell version of the item in spell form 

DC 18. Can be used to wake up the rest of the staff and Celestia
 

 
 Spoiler: Option 3: Mass wake everypony 

DC 22. Can be used to restore everyone even the non staff members
 

 
 Spoiler: Option 4: Anything else that you might decide to do instead 

I am open to other decisions and options
 

 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo flutter her wings.
"Let"s wake Celestia! Maybe she can help with the spell?"
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo flutter her wings.
"Let"s wake Celestia! Maybe she can help with the spell?" 
 

Tea Agony nod:   " Another alicorn should make the spell easier. Beside, those among us need to be familiar with their new abilities before we try to help waking up the others as a group."  
DaOldeWolf
With the combined alicorn power, casting this spell is an absolute breeze. Once inside, they appear just in front of what seems to be an outstandingly beautiful castle surrounded by flowers. There is a small sun set in place just above the largest tower. "  So, Luna´s and Celestia differ in how their mind spaces are set. I suppose Princess Celestia´s more extroverted self would have a more open space in mind. Where should we begin the search?  " Charcoal replies.

"  If I had to guess, maybe the tallest tower from which the sun rests just above? We could fly up there with our new wings or go front door. What do you all think?  " BubbleGuard asks the rest.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony doesnt hesiate:   " Let's fly toward the top! Cmon Elusive, let's fly together!"  

Her pet magical moth come out of her mane and  try along Tea Agony with joy!
igordragonian
Sweet Echo flutter her wings.
"LETS GO!"


Deepwood crosseyed staring at his horn with concern

"A-alright..."
DaOldeWolf
The group flies to the top without much issue. Still, the window on the outside seems to be completely closed up. The curtains are keeping any sight to the inside. "  Should we knock? Just enter?  " BubbleGuard wonders outloud.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 The group flies to the top without much issue. Still, the window on the outside seems to be completely closed up. The curtains are keeping any sight to the inside. "  Should we knock? Just enter?  " BubbleGuard wonders outloud. 
 

Tea Agony chuckle at Bubbles hesitation:   " If she's sleeping, does it matter? "  

Tea Agony use her telekenesis to unlock the window, open the curtains and open the windows. All of this noiselessly.

Tea Agony take a careful look inside before entering...
igordragonian
Deepwood look intense on ready for *something*

Once, Tea Agony open the window, Sweet Echo launch herself there.
DaOldeWolf
No sound can be heard inside the room. Celestia´s room is quite more polished than Luna´s. It even has a more regal appearance.  BubbleGuard looks around wondering where she could be.
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 No sound can be heard inside the room. Celestia´s room is quite more polished than Luna´s. It even has a more regal appearance.  BubbleGuard looks around wondering where she could be. 
 

(We are already in the room? I'm guessing she isn't there?)

Tea Agony light up the room, turning on the magic lamps.

 " Princess? Are you here? We don't have time to play hide and seek and your sister is worried about you..." 
igordragonian
Sweet Echo yell

"CELESTIAAAA!!!"
DaOldeWolf
((Yep, you are in the room. ))

No response is heard from Celestia. "  Should we be worried? It seems like there is no one here. Of course , she could be somewhere else in this place? Should we divide and search?  " BubbleGuard suggests to the others.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony sigh:   " Let's search the room first. I hope we can find her sooner then later, so we can get back to our world."
  

She start looking in the sheets and under the bed, Elusive also flying over there and look for her as well.
igordragonian
Deepwood try to use his ranger skills to find any clues

---

I use it elementary-
I imagine it use mind
and then +1

 (2d6)[ 6 ][ 3 ](9) +3
DaOldeWolf
The echo bounces of the walls of the castle and spreads across. While her bedroom is empty as witnessed by Tea and Elusive, Deepwood detects a presence in the floor below.
igordragonian
Deepwood perk his ears.
"There somepony here!"
He hiss and stomp.
"Show yourself!"
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood perk his ears.
"There somepony here!"
He hiss and stomp.
"Show yourself!" 
 

Tea Agony raise an eyebrow:   " You sense someone? In this very room? They are hidden with magic maybe? "  

(Igor, wolf said it was in the floor BELOW. So we proably need to find some stairs or fly to the window below LOL 😉)
DaOldeWolf
No response arrives. "  We could try outside the room.  " BubbleGuard replies as he points to the only door in the room. "  We got the rest of the astle to search.  "
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 No response arrives. "  We could try outside the room.  " BubbleGuard replies as he points to the only door in the room. "  We got the rest of the astle to search.  " 
 

Tea Agony open the door with telekenesis and goes first toward the it. Unless stopped, she start climbing/going to the other room followed by Elusive.
igordragonian
Deepwood and Sweet Echo follow as well
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony open the door with telekenesis and goes first toward the it. Unless stopped, she start climbing/going to the other room followed by Elusive. 
 


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood and Sweet Echo follow as well 
 

The group all manage to get downwards without any issue. A small noise was faintly heard not to far away. "  She might be close. Should we divide and search around?  "
igordragonian
Echo:" I am with you, Bubbly Doo!" Echo anounce.

Deepwood:"....We wont lose each other like that?"
Emmerlaus
 No need to split up. We have two bat ponies with us. Hubby, Sweet, please start eeping a little more and we will find her in no time. I just wonder why she would hide from us though... Sure we look like alicorns now but we seen stranger things over the years. For us, it's just Monday! 

Unless somepony point that out, this is actually the first attempt at joking Tea Agony does. 😉
igordragonian
 "Alright. I guess it isnt too terrible of an idea." 

And Sweet Echo happily stay in group and both search.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Echo:" I am with you, Bubbly Doo!" Echo anounce.

Deepwood:"....We wont lose each other like that?" 
 


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
  No need to split up. We have two bat ponies with us. Hubby, Sweet, please start eeping a little more and we will find her in no time. I just wonder why she would hide from us though... Sure we look like alicorns now but we seen stranger things over the years. For us, it's just Monday! 

Unless somepony point that out, this is actually the first attempt at joking Tea Agony does. 😉 
 


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
  "Alright. I guess it isnt too terrible of an idea." 

And Sweet Echo happily stay in group and both search. 
 

The echoes from the bat ponies led them to the garden in the back where shockingly enough Celestia seems to be having the time of her life. " This place is amazing! Just like in my dreams. " she notices you from afar and waves her hoof up. " Come here! We can have so much fun in this place.Wanna play something? "Celestia suggests the group and especially to the confused BubbleGuard who expected her to feel like Luna did in her own mindscape.
igordragonian
Sweet Echo inexprienced with mindscapes and the other regular things the staff deal with just nod cheerfully.

 "Sure! What are we playing?" 

she jumped to play with Celestia.

Deepwood shake his head.
 "Look, you rascal. You are in danger, we have to get out of here!" 
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo inexprienced with mindscapes and the other regular things the staff deal with just nod cheerfully.

 "Sure! What are we playing?" 

she jumped to play with Celestia.

Deepwood shake his head.
 "Look, you rascal. You are in danger, we have to get out of here!"  
 

Tea Agony look at the two bat ponies in scuccession and sigh, shake her head, but cant help but give half a smile as she says:

  " Sweet, this is no time to play. And although my hubby is a bit dramatic here, he has some raison to worry. While you were having fun here Celly, your sister was in danger. "

  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo inexprienced with mindscapes and the other regular things the staff deal with just nod cheerfully.

 "Sure! What are we playing?" 

she jumped to play with Celestia.

Deepwood shake his head.
 "Look, you rascal. You are in danger, we have to get out of here!"  
 

" There is no reason to leave. Look at how amaing this place is. We can all stay here together forever. Those horrible creatures cant find us in here " Celestia declares trying to keep the cheerful mood.


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony look at the two bat ponies in scuccession and sigh, shake her head, but cant help but give half a smile as she says:

  " Sweet, this is no time to play. And although my hubby is a bit dramatic here, he has some raison to worry. While you were having fun here Celly, your sister was in danger. "

   
 

" There is nothing out there for us. We dont have anything to try and fight. We can stay here instead where we are safe. Those other versions of ourselves are strong. Stronger than any of us. I couldnt do anything against mine. " Celestia replies ina bit more sad tone.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony roll her eyes:   " So you want to give up? Letting everypony down? Without even considering US in the balance or what we have become? Do you think our new wings and horns are just for show? "  
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony roll her eyes:   " So you want to give up? Letting everypony down? Without even considering US in the balance or what we have become? Do you think our new wings and horns are just for show? "   
 

" Mine didnt help at all. I am so weak. " Celestia admits outloud. " I couldnt protect Luna. And he is gone. Starwhirl´s gone. Those creatures told me that he isnt coming back. "
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 " Mine didnt help at all. I am so weak. " Celestia admits outloud. " I couldnt protect Luna. And he is gone. Starwhirl´s gone. Those creatures told me that he isnt coming back. " 
 

Tea Agony rise her chin:    " Once you get your cutie mark, you'll get stronger, I promise. Luna talent lies in soothing everyone and protecting them when they are the most vulnerable. I do believe, when you find your purpose, you'll be able to protect them from every threat. Believe in yourself is the first goal to achieve something. Even if you fail once, you rise up and try again and approach the problem differently. We all had to deal with Starswirl absence... but lingering on what happened simply wouldn't help. The past is history, the future is a mystery... But today is a gift! That's why it's called the present! "   
igordragonian
Sweet Echo look around. "It would be kind of boring to just stay here.. there is a big world out thhere! And Ol' One- I mean Starswirl.. do you think he would want you to be stuck here?' 
She try to encourage her.


Deepwood look at Celestia.
 "Look, have I ever told you how I got my cutie mark? A terrible story, but the gist of it- I waas alone and starving, until I have found.. critter friends. They have guided me- a robin and a bat. We can guide you- we can.. endure." 
DaOldeWolf
" But what if it isnt enough? " Celestia replies worried as she bits her lip. " How about you show me what you can do? If you manage to prove to me that this new power will be enough I will put my trust in you and return together. "

 
 Spoiler: Challenge 
Its pretty simple. Just cast 3 spells. Be creative! You have +10 on any spell you decide to cast for the time being so go ahead and go wild. 😎
 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony chuckle... then laugh heartily:   " Oh, Celestia... You have no idea what potential has an alicorn isn't it? Step back everyone! I'm about to go...   WILD!   "  

That last word was spoken with authority, power and grandeur. Her horn glow in a tranlucid white, luminous color. As she does... the world itself start shaking!

The tower and castle they were in start dissambling itself, brick by brick. Each of them start assembling themselves in front of them in four columns... then as they are fastly rising, everypony realize those aren't column... they are shaped like ponies legs!

Soon, a bat pony made of stone is rising in front of them... And its eyes open in white translucid light.

  " Phase one, complete. Time for phase two! Honey, you'll be its voice! Your screams will shatter reality itself! Bubble, you'll be increasing its defense and protect us in case anything happen. Sweet, you'll be it's wings! Sugar will be boosting its light with her flames! Celestia and Luna... will be its heart! "  

She start giving roles to everypony as the mouth of the giant golem open to let them enter, lighting the area even more as the interior of the golem seem to be made of... sweet comforting light.
igordragonian
 "Yes, Tea dear."  Deepwood was anxiouse about the magic  he was always facinated by it, but also suspicouse and afraid.

But he would go out of his comfort zone for his loved ones.
He flew ater Tea Agony, taking his seat
(I imagine it like arcane power rangers megazord)

   "Do you see, rascal ?!"   the golemzord's voice has boomed, making the fabric of reality around to shake. His own curved a bit horn (like Sombra's) radiated with golden aura.


Sweet Echo gasped with a screech.

 "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeèe!"  cupping her own face with joy.

She took her seat, a bit above the others, spreading transparent magical  energy wing s that grew to fill the gap under the golemzord's wings activating it.

 "Magic is so much fun!" 
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
   " Phase one, complete. Time for phase two! Honey, you'll be its voice! Your screams will shatter reality itself! Bubble, you'll be increasing its defense and protect us in case anything happen. Sweet, you'll be it's wings! Sugar will be boosting its light with her flames! Celestia and Luna... will be its heart! "   
 

"  Aye aye, captain!  " BubbleGuard replies trying to play along. He creates a defensive bubble barrier as instructed and prepares to resist and repel each an any impact from the opposition. Charcoal watches meanwhile a bit disappointed.


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
  "Yes, Tea dear."  Deepwood was anxiouse about the magic  he was always facinated by it, but also suspicouse and afraid.

But he would go out of his comfort zone for his loved ones.
He flew ater Tea Agony, taking his seat
(I imagine it like arcane power rangers megazord)

   "Do you see, rascal ?!"   the golemzord's voice has boomed, making the fabric of reality around to shake. His own curved a bit horn (like Sombra's) radiated with golden aura.


Sweet Echo gasped with a screech.

 "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeèe!"  cupping her own face with joy.

She took her seat, a bit above the others, spreading transparent magical  energy wing s that grew to fill the gap under the golemzord's wings activating it.

 "Magic is so much fun!"  
 

Celestia is starting to get thrilled as she awaits what is next to come.
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony notice the disappointed Charcoal and goes to him:   " What"s wrong? I thought you would be delighted to try using some magic powers."  
igordragonian
Sweet Echo shriek.
"Yeah! Add your own flare!"
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony notice the disappointed Charcoal and goes to him:   " What"s wrong? I thought you would be delighted to try using some magic powers."   
 

"  I dont know. I am a bit jealous. Bubble has always been the one to get the center stage. I wish i I could help here.  " Charcoal admits.


 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo shriek.
"Yeah! Add your own flare!" 
 

"  Like what? My specialty is offensive magic rather than utility . "
igordragonian
Sweet Echo extend her forelegs.
"Do a sword! Or other badflank weapon!"
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Sweet Echo extend her forelegs.
"Do a sword! Or other badflank weapon!" 
 

Tea Agony join Sweet Echo:   " Indeed! You are an alicorn now! Don't you feel the magic flowing through you? Try using it! "  

(Sorry for the awful delay... Life begin to return on track since my painful breakup with my GF)
DaOldeWolf
Charcoal feels motivated from hearing those words and creates a huge flaming sword as requested. He coud barely contain his appiness for being included in.
igordragonian
Deepwood groan.
 "I think we are ready as ever we'l be" 
Emmerlaus
 
 Originally Posted by DaOldeWolf 
 Charcoal feels motivated from hearing those words and creates a huge flaming sword as requested. He coud barely contain his happiness for being included in. 
 

Tea Agony smile at him and give him a friendly poke:   " Seems like you just needed a little push. You know, you should really join my husband in some of his training sometime. "  

To Deepwood:   " Agreed, unless someone else want to participate? "   She turns to the NPC cast with a smile.
DaOldeWolf
 
 Originally Posted by igordragonian 
 Deepwood groan.
 "I think we are ready as ever we'l be"  
 


 
 Originally Posted by Emmerlaus 
 Tea Agony smile at him and give him a friendly poke:   " Seems like you just needed a little push. You know, you should really join my husband in some of his training sometime. "  

To Deepwood:   " Agreed, unless someone else want to participate? "   She turns to the NPC cast with a smile. 
 

Celestia is waiting with eyes of wonder. She wants to see where this is all going. " Is this starting soon? " Celestia jumps up and down excitedly.

BubbleGuard looks at the rest waiting for the sign of confirmation about it starting. Charcoal Knight gets in position to help in the protecting with BubbleGuard.
igordragonian
Deepwood nod.
 "I think so! Let's crush this disaster through!" 
Emmerlaus
Tea Agony:   " Ok, LET'S DO THIS! "  
DaOldeWolf
((I was iind of expecting you guys to describe the spectacle of the act but we can skip that part if you want. ))
igordragonian
Deepwood radiated even more power from the Golemzord, rocks and walls might collapse and levitate from it.


Sweet Echo has extended the energy wings even more, each flap make a super sonic boom