Fifteenth Starfall (Post-dated to after the Arcade event)

[stormbroken]

[A. Visual]

[Well here's a face that hasn't been on the scrolls much recently; you'd be forgiven for assuming she disappeared, given that the only sign she was still around was the tangible lack of Harvey Finevoice losing his damn mind. She seems to be mostly unchanged, though, aside from a bit of tiredness around her eyes and her hair being more than a little nappy.]

Hey. Someone mind telling me what I missed over the last month or so? I got the latest tabloid trash, but past that and the wedding, something is bound to have gone wrong in that time frame.

[There's a long pause as the pegasus tries to remember what she was originally going to add, but after a minute she seems to get it, looking aside awkwardly.]

And... hey. Anyone know how to take care of birds? There's... uh... one around here that got in real bad shape because of the bad winter we had, and then the whole thing with Tirek, and... [Cough.] ...look, what I'm saying is that it doesn't have the feathers left to fly any more, and I was trying to find out if there was any way to help it heal faster. Not magic or something silly like taping the feathers back on, but... I dunno.

Anything.

[And just as awkwardly, Flare shuts off the scroll.]

[B. Action - Ponyville streets/Night Market, daytime]

[Some time after her post, the pegasus is skulking through town with a singular destination in mind - a cart that she's seen set up in the Night Market. That wouldn't be too out of place, except it's the very end of spring - temperatures are getting higher, the sun is getting brighter... and Flare is huddled up in a thick, full-body cloak. She had to give credit where it was due - Nephenee's Hearth's Warming giff was indispensable. She might be drawing a bit of attention, though, in her desire to avoid it.]

Comments

[kuukai]

Man, I'd almost furgotten how annoying it is ta take care'a those things.

[ Red bear's munching on a pear. What a scare! ]

Agency's a mess but tha's pretty much normal at this point. Ponies've come and gone.

[stormbroken]

Agency'll get better. 'm sure of it.

[...right. Madoka was from Homura and Kyouko's world, wasn't she...]

You okay?

[kuukai]

Hm? [ She's scribbling furiously on her scroll even as she talks to Flare. ] Oh. Yeah. Homura's actin' weird, not filterin' fur once -- Teddie's actin' weird, prob'ly cause there's two Yu's now --

[ She shrugs. ] Feels, uh... kinda like I'm the normal one in all this. [ Wiggling her paws: ] Tha' this is normal. Tha' I'm home. Isn't tha' a scary thought.

[stormbroken]

[A low, quiet moment of contemplation.]

I dunno.

It might be, I guess. Depends on if we're meant to want this to be home or not.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[In the Night Market, a zebra works with cheerful purpose. She saw the scroll message, after all, and she is no fool in the slightest.]

[As Flare approaches, she calls out cheerfully.]

Welcome, welcome, come around.

[More quietly and with a confidential smile, she adds:]

I will soon have you off the ground.

[stormbroken]

[Well, she wasn't exactly subtle. Or rather, she tried to be subtle but seriously wanting her feathers back overrode her shame.

Being accosted by one of the guardponies didn't help, though, so when she approaches the stall she sinks a little more into her cloak, ears folding back and voice lowering to a shy mumble.]

Feather flu. Bad case of it. Lost every last feather from the sneezing and molting.

[Delicately, Flare lifts aside one side of the cloak, and, well. She wasn't entirely right - there's still a fair amount of down and semiplume there, but she's completely devoid of flight feathers, and she's lacking a not-insignificant number of her filoplumes, too. She's not totally plucked, but she's certainly not flying any time soon. Just as quietly, she sadly drops the cloak back down to talk.]

I dunno what exactly you could do t'make things "soon". I mean, unicorn magic on pegasus wings is a recipe for disaster, and I ain't as versed in zebra herbology as I could be...

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Ah, that isn't as bad as Zecora feared... though she can understand why it would bother Flare. But compared to regrowing tooth enamel in a flash, feathers are so much easier.]

My dear, I think you'll find
The 'soon' I have in mind
Will be both striking
And to your liking.
But I must ask
Before I complete this task
When did you last eat?
It matters for this feat.

[It ALSO promises to take a great deal of biological energy from Flare, after all.]

[stormbroken]

[Flare blinks, tilting her head and thinking it over. When did she last eat?]

Does broth count?

[She's had a lot of that. Hasn't really gone for solid food in... several days.]

[visual]

[strengthinkindness]

[Did someone say birds?]

S-Sounds like something stress-related....A. well-balanced diet filled with extra nutrients would be a good way to help feather growth...getting plenty of sunlight is also good...

[visual]

[stormbroken]

['Well-balanced diet'... coming from the mare who lived off of poison joke in her teenage years, whose biggest sources of food nowdays are soups and cider... hahahah she's boned.]

And... what if this bird wanted to go spend time with its friends, but didn't want to be teased because of her condition?

[visual]

[strengthinkindness]

[Well, that was a bit of specific problem. Fluttershy has to think for a moment.]

Is...there any way for the bird to have its friends visit it at its home...? I-If the bird is still recovering, it would be understandable...a-and that way the bird can stay in bed so...its friends won't see its feathers...Or at least have a blanket with it all the time...

[visual]

[stormbroken]

...and if the bird is afraid of getting its other bird friends sick...? The doctor said she'd be fine now, but her nest might still have a lot of the germs from before.

You think covering it up in the summer wouldn't cause problems?

[She's sincerely asking. For her...bird friend.]

[B. Action]

[theytookmypants]

A loose cannon cop, living on the edge. His eyes hardened by the crimes he's wittnessed in this tortured town. These ponies don't know how bad it really is.

[Yes that is Crmsn making an otherwise seemingly quiet afternoon working guard duty more fun by narrating to himself.

It's not at all quiet either. We are aware he's a dork, thank you.]

As he walks the streets of the Night Market, a lone figure catches his eye. He idly wonders if they realize just how suspicious they look.

[He pauses a second to swtch into character, his best Bogart.]

Bit late in the season t'be so bundled ennit, sweetheart?

[Action]

[stormbroken]

[If Flare wasn't so distracted with her own shame over the situation, she'd hear Crmsn dorking it up as he approaches her. As it stands, she jumps slightly when she hears another pony right next to her.

Surprisingly, it's only a few inches off the ground. Normally, a spooked pegasus would be a few feet in the air.

Once she's managed to stop her heart from leaping out of her chest, and once she's confirmed that there's no wings anywhere near her - good, she can't risk letting any other offworlders catch this - she takes a deep breath and shakes her head.]

Nnh. Three things. One: Yes. I'd get int' how hot this damn cloak is, but we're in public. Suffice t'say I'd be muttering about lava and dragon flanks. Two: You ain't Harvey, no matter how much you try to make your voice sound like his. Don't call me sweetheart. Three: Casaflanka? I admit th'classics aren't much my thing, I'm not fond of a movie if things aren't explodin'.

[Action]

[theytookmypants]

[When she turns to face him finally, he's conjured up a shadowy looking cigarette that he grins around when he finally see's just who]/i> is under all of that fabric.]

Of all the streets, in all the world, you had to walk down mine.

[The shift between moods is swift and mind boggling as he flucks the fake smoke away in a puff of shadows and buddys up next to his nightly bouncer.]

One of my favorites for the memetic value, to be completely truthful. Noted, on the other two points. What brings you to my neck of the Market, Flareon?

[Action]

[stormbroken]

[Flare Star sighs. She doesn't get that nickname, but she's at least seen Gwen and Mako around enough - and been close enough to Harvey - to recognize it as some sort of pokémon thing.]

If you think you're gonna shove me in a ball, I may have t'rearrange your face.

[As much as she's relaxed, the closeness makes her tense up significantly.]

...in all honesty, I'm comin' off of a bad sick, and figured if anypony could help, it'd be Zecora.

[soulofblue]

There was an arcade attempting to influence ponies' minds via dark magic for a little while?

[Pollo wasn't really going to respond to this but he's kinda surprised no one bothered to mention that.]

[stormbroken]

Flanks and fetlocks... I take it that it's been dealt with by now, at least?

[That's less important, though. She knows about what kind of relationship Pollo was in, and, well. She knows Harvey won't ask.]

Hey. ...you doin' okay?

[soulofblue]

Yes, it's been handled.

[Many people wouldn't consider it handled with Giegue still walking around freely, but Pollo doesn't much mind. He's not one to judge. Flare's next question visibly catches him off-guard though.]

Oh, um. I - I'm doing okay. [He doesn't sound entirely convinced.]

[stormbroken]

[Flare's a pretty big advocate of second chances after all that's happened, so she'd be willing to let the rat out on parole if she knew the whole story. Regardless, she peers a little closer at the scroll.]

If that's the case, what do you want for yer birthday?

[She doesn't know when Pollo's birthday is - though she's sure Pinkie will tell her if she asks nicely - but she figures the question will catch him offguard enough to let a little more of that true emotion peek out, enough of a stray thread for her to pull on.

She's worried about Pollo, even if the two are more "acquaintances because my boyfriend hates you" than "friends".]

Visual

[downstairslife]

I would give it time. There's little else you could do until whatever malady they have has run its course and the feathers have grown back, so.

Perhaps the best thing for them is to rest.

Other than that...there has been the arcade, although I'm afraid most of the diversions there were a bit beyond my grasp.

[Visual]

[stormbroken]

Patience isn't my strong suit, s'the whole thing.

[She sighs.]

S'the second time I've heard about an arcade... apparently it was some sort of evil plot?

[scattered_rose]

Birds? I don't know a lot about them, but rest and a good diet helps.

[stormbroken]

Yeah, I keep hearin' that.

[There's a bit of a wry glance at the scroll after that, though - she hadn't talked LONG to Daniel, but she knew enough about him to see similarities, the same way she did with Dust.]

So, hey. Speakin' of... what's your idea of a good diet?

[scattered_rose]

Well, that makes me feel better over whether it's sound advice or not.

A good diet? [He thinks a moment.] Depends on the activity being done; higher activity needs more nutritional value. Also kind of obvious, admittedly...