[MLP FiM] Bridle Shores Gwyn's Tower/Foxglove's Grove/The Greenhouse

[Mystic Muse]

The Town of Bridle Shores

Far to the west of Canterlot, further still even from Ponyville, a quiet little town is quickly springing up near a large lake.

This is Bridle Shores, situated along a large lake with a natural beach. Not far from town is Mt. Trotia, with a waterfall that feeds into the lake. The town is surrounded by a lush forest which the ponies of the town both use and nurture with delicate balance.

A small business district has started to grow, with a bakery, Dress shop, Grill, Greenhouse, Dojo, Saw mill, snow cone stand, dance academy, and even a soda bar popping up for the citizens of the town.They are also experimenting with new technology such as Floppy Disk’s computer shack or the Doctor's friendship harnessing lab. In addition, there's a farm and a wizard's tower on the outskirts of the town.

Much of the forest is quiet and peaceful, but deeper within the forest lurks creatures far more dangerous…

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OOC Thread



Current possible subplots in no particular order.
1. Our own version of the Friendship is magic storyline
2. Age Regression/progression. Your pony either ages or gets younger.
3. Silvermane's birthday party.
4. Getting Floppy Disc turned into a Pegasus.
5. Dance recital at Foxtrot's dance academy.

[Benson]

Gwyn's Tower

This oddly violet colored tower is the home to the locale enchantress and resident conceited jerkass. There is no door as to discourage visitors not that that would stop 'annoying' teleporters from coming in all nilly willy when they pleased. There is a single window high above the tower in which one would swear to hear an ethereal musical sound. In front of the tower where the window is at, is a personal enchanted garden. It possesses an unnatural "perfect" beauty with smaller dangers that hide among the amethyst themed plants, trees, shrubbery, and even statues. There is a fountain in the middle. A purpuraceous glowing mist surrounds the length of the garden adding to the creepiness. And this is what we call purple prose kiddies, literary.

In the surrounding forest lie creatures possibly found in the Fiend Folio and is as dark and creepy as...well stuff that's dark and creepy...DRATS to this buffy-speak!

[Thanqol]

[The Greenhouse]

Home. And all the lights were off. She should be... No, this was for the best.

Whitefire walked inside, up the stairs, and lay down on his bed. He sighed, glanced outside, and lay his head down.

It was for the best. A show of courage. At last.

As he fell asleep, the last of the magic wore off, falling from his body in silver sparks. She was a filly again.

[Hawkflight]

Silvermane eventually reached the greenhouse, seeing the place dark. Had Whitefire already returned and gone to bed, or was he back yet? These questions in mind, she stepped inside, whispering loudly as she entered. "Whitefire?" she called in a loud whisper. She crept upstairs and poked her head into Whitefire's room, seeing the pegasus laying on her bed, back to her filly form. Smiling, she stood there for a moment, just watching her....

[Thanqol]

Whitefire was fast asleep, but in her dreams, she felt a little warmer.

[Hawkflight]

Whitefire crept forward and nuzzled the pegasus affectionately before turning around and exiting the room. Goodnight, Whitefire, she thought. I'm sorry we couldn't dance today. Maybe another time. And.... She glanced back one last time before walking towards her room. I'm glad you're back to being a filly. You're prettier this way.

[Thanqol]

The dance stayed in her mind.

It was simple. It was so simple she wondered why she couldn't do it forever. Motion and precision. Foxtrot's smile. Things straightforward, logical, making sense. Things that would make sense even in the morning when the heat of the dance was gone and everything had returned to cold, pale sunlight.

But she had already been given her chance for that kind of simplicity.

Over her shoulder she could see faces in the crowd, silhouettes in the darkness. A whole complex web of things and impossibilities. Calling to her.


When she opened her eyes in the morning light, it was with a smile. Because she'd woken back in the middle of all the mess and complexity instead of the boring simplicity. She knew she shouldn't be happy about it, but in this moment she thought it was better than the alternative.

The feeling made no sense. It was probably just leftover adrenaline from the dance.

She got up and went downstairs.

[Hawkflight]

Silvermane was already downstairs the next morning, dancing about as she made breakfast. After all, today was her birthday, why shouldn't she be excited? This would be her first birthday with real friends, aside from Whitefire. She glanced up as Whitefire descended the staircase, smiling widely.

"Morning, Whitefire!"

[Thanqol]

"Good morning, Silvermane," said Whitefire, focus settling back in to her calm but tense posture, "Would you like your gift now, or later?"

[Hawkflight]

"Whenever," said Silvermane. "I was just making breakfast, and was going to visit my animal friends before everypony started wishing me a happy birthday."

[Thanqol]

"Then I shall provide it now. I wasn't able to find a white gem in time, so I had to use blue, which made it a little stormier than I expected..."

Whitefire opened the door to her workroom. There was a tiny puff of cloud hanging in the air, grim and stormy and crackling with concealed lightning. And growing out of that stormcloud was a miniature cherry tree. It's roots sank into the cloudstuff as if it was soil. It's trunk was twisted and knotted, growth carefully guided by tiny slivers of silver wire.

Cloud Bonsai. Spectacularly difficult. This one was a little unstable due to the nature of the thundercloud too. Pulling this technique off was always as much about luck as it was about skill.

"Don't touch the cloud with your hooves, use the insulated silver tongs," Whitefire warned pragmatically.

[Hawkflight]

Silvermane's eyes widened in disbelief as she saw her present. "....Wow...." she said as she stared at it. "That's amazing!"

[Thanqol]

"Try to avoid strong winds as well. It shouldn't need much maintenance, though if it does get wispy grind another blue gem and sprinkle tiny bits in." Whitefire said. "Happy birthday."

[Hawkflight]

"Thank you!" said Silvermane, hugging Whitefire. She looked at the storm cloud thoughtfully for a moment. "Um ... where do I get a blue gem and how do I grind it into tiny bits?" she asked.

[Thanqol]

"There's a mortar and pestle on the shelf there. I do not know where to find such a gem, but it should only need maintenance every six months or so," Whitefire said. As far as she knew, that was a unicorn thing.

[Benson]

Gwynfillion's Tower- Night

Gwyn had both an annoying day and a wonderful time leaning more towards the wonderful. In a day that felt like it lasted forever so much rigmarole had gone down. But she was able to look past most of it this time if only for her coltfriend. The mare greeted Wrymple who simply cooed happily that its master was home. Right now she had mild glow on her...or it could be on the small spell she just cast to assist with the removal of this vintage but ever so fashionable dress, but why argue semantics.

There were a lot of thoughts going on through her head, but she was tired, she'd archive them now and analyze them later. Right now she wanted to sleep, perhaps the ache in her shoulders would ease. She really shouldn't have done the Tango for it was making it worse, but she couldn't find herself to decline Grills for the dance.

The nerd took off her glasses as she drifted off to sleep. The melodious music box continued of course with its melody, however there seemed to be an increased off-ness here and then as it continued on through the night.

[Orzel]

((Due to the Ruins Adventure in the Gen Locations thread, Grills' personally subquest will be done here))

Grills/Forest

After blinking himself to the forest, the brown stallion surveyed the area to gather information about his surroundings. There were trees and bushes. Little furry animals and butterflies zipped around him. And a large boulder sat in front of him.

Grills climbed atop the rock for a better view. He spotted a good cluster of stone with could hold the cave dwellers he sought. The chef also saw what he believed to be his sweetheart's tower. In his normally cheesy way, he blow a fiery kiss toward the stone structure which coalesced thn spread apart into a large heart of flames.

Grills actually hoped she was still asleep and didn't see it. Though it was noon, so he might not be so lucky. But he wasn't exactly close to the tower. Grills really didn't want anypony else to know what he was doing. He was searching for a fire breathing monster afterall. So what he did was probably stupid. Through a dragon hunt isn't that smart either.

The pyromancer leaped off the rock and casted his infrared vision spell. If he was fortunate he'd spot a dragon, chimera, or even a pyrohydra this afternoon. Grills saw a large concentration of heat by the rocks. Maybe today was his lucky day.

[Benson]

Gwynfillion's Tower Morning

The plum mare awoke only to find the ache had now to include itself at the base of her neck. It didn't hurt that much as it only felt like a prick at her neck. She gently rubbed the base of her neck with a hoof and sighed. But whatever, she had things to do, potions to brew, studies to read up on, a Wrymple to feed, and other things. The nerd groped for her glasses on the night stand and put them on. She went on with her morning routine, brewing her morning tea, feeding her purple worm who's stomach was perfectly built for her um...'cooking', she still needed that ground mica....confounded!

[Orzel]

Grills/Forest

After a not-so-long but long enough trek, the master chef found himself in front of a large cave. His heat veason told him there was a huge mass of heat inside. I hope I'm not walking into a volcano. My fire protection better hold up he thought to himself.

Grills slowly walked inside of the cave. He touched the wall to guage the heat of the rock inside. It was rather warm. Whatever lived inside probably would contain the skill he needed. Anypony home?

[Hawkflight]

A blast of flame erupted from the mouth of the cave, blasting right over Grills and hitting the rock behind him. It was fortunate his fire protection held up, or he might have been roasted to a crisp. From inside the cave came a *thunk* sound, like something hitting something else, followed by voices.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"You dumbo. What'd you go and do that for, eh?"

"I'm sorry, it was instinct!"

"This is why we can never have any company......"

A serpentine head poked out of the cave, followed by another, and two more. "A pony who can withstand our fire breath ... most impressive.... One of the heads looked over the pony that stood before it. "And just what brings you here....?"

[Orzel]

The cave

A blast of flame erupted from the mouth of the cave, blasting right over Grills and hitting the rock behind him. It was fortunate his fire protection held up, or he might have been roasted to a crisp. From inside the cave came a *thunk* sound, like something hitting something else, followed by voices.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"You dumbo. What'd you go and do that for, eh?"

"I'm sorry, it was instinct!"

"This is why we can never have any company......"

A serpentine head poked out of the cave, followed by another, and two more. "A pony who can withstand our fire breath ... most impressive.... One of the heads looked over the pony that stood before it. "And just what brings you here....?"

The grill chef pony felt his fire resistance fade slightly and was hasty to recast it. Upon seeing the reptilian beast, Grills gasped softly. He wasn't afraid, but huge monsters tend to take a pony's breath away for a second. When it returned, he spoke in a calm professional speech patterns. Hello there, my hydra friend. The name is Grills, Master Chef. I have come to see if I can obtain a bit of fire breath to roast a pepper or ten.

[Hawkflight]

"You want to use our fire breath to roast a few peppers?" The first head snorted indignantly. The fourth head bashed the first one on the noggin. "You just like doing that, don't you?!" The first demanded.

"Yes, quite," said the fourth head, while the other two snickered. The first head just fumed. "But I do wonder, do you pony folk not have devices to do this for you? I believe you call them 'ovens'."

[Orzel]

Ah. There is more than just heat I require for this recipe. the brown pony shifted his weight with each word. His nose turn turned up as if there was a west coast thug burning trash a distance away. But he could not let the obviously annoyed hydra see his hidden complaints.

A dragonoid's fire breath unlocks the spice I need for the recipe I seek. A mere oven or fire spell cannot replicate the taste of natural fire breath. But only the breath of the furious being blown on a mild pepper will do. he said while floating a container of peppers from his bag to the front of his hooves.

[Benson]

Gwynfillion
Her Tower
The mirror she was always using to check out her reflection began to swirl with a smoky mist which caused Gwyn to lower her ears and furrow her brows. She walked over to it placing her hooves on some of the ornate markings as they glowed for half a second. She stepped back as a low crackling noise emitted as she winced bringing her hooves to her ears for a moment.

"Gwynfillion~" A disembodied voice resonated in a low rumble that sounded like it was made of several different voices. An shadowy image of what vaguely resembled a pony appeared. In place of eyes was a faint orange glow.

"I am here," Gwyn bowed her head slightly. Drats, it was them Dark Forces. She didn't quite like their...encounters but it was something she had to deal with, it was her own fault anyway. "Might I inquire the nature of our meeting?"


"Yes. We are here to tell you good work on finding us that vessel. Took you long enough."

Gwyn said nothing as she was just lucky because really Smoothie just fell into her lap conveniently that day. Good thing she was good at improvisation. "I was wondering...what was up the with the whole 'Troll' Forces nonsense?"

"To throw her off with something so absurd and ridiculous as to not reveal the truth. But acting in such a manner she is now thrown off of our original intent. If she thinks were a silly joke and goes around telling ponies about the stupid references to some film, that's great. What she THINKS what the Dark Forces are is not the same of what we know. You yourself weren't that terrible at improvising.

"Well I did take improv classes at the community theatre years ago," Gwyn said a little pleased with the sorta compliment.

"We don't care."

Well that prompted Gwyn to frown again. "Um...moving on. Well I took Smoothie on as my apprentice as you had wanted once I've aqcuired the vessel. I shall make sure that she becomes your perfect vessel..."

"Good continue to do so and one day we shall reclaim back this world stolen from us by that blasted Celestia, the magic of friendship shall be no more!" The collective voices of the Dark Forces let out a thundering laugh.

"Um, yes, that...forgive my impudence...But why can't I be your vessel, surely I have shown to be incredibly skilled." Gwyn asked with a furrowed brow.

"Haha...foolish Gwynfillion...You are but a weakling compared to the strength we saw in this one when we planted our seed in her mind. Your power is dwarfed by the potential in this one. You may try all you want to increase your strength but you will never be anything, you are nothing more than a pawn. Lest you forget the bargain you had made."

"But," Gwyn bit her lip, "I.." He frowned remembering the bargain she had made. She had no choice then...it was something she just had to do in order to s- "Yes...I understand my place, forgive me I was....out of line."

"Yes you were but we shall let it pass. Anyhoof, continue on shaping the vessel. Soon our time will come. Don't screw up or else."

Then suddenly the mirror before Gwyn returned to normal as all she saw was her reflection. Her eyes looked tired as she looked at herself. She hated these visits from the Dark Forces they were always so...taxing. Thankfully they weren't that often, but still. She placed her hoof on the mirror as if though reaching out for something beyond. Gwyn slumped on the floor tucking her hooves underneath her chest as she laid her head on the floor. She laid there for some time biting her lip, her eyes in a piercing glare at the mirror. She began to hallucinate images in the reflection of the mirror. Various ponies from her life flashed, from her past and present, one annoying one lingered....one foal with a dark blue coat.

She felt...so angry, there was a swelling in the pit of her stomach. A flash of seething anger rose as she shot up standing tensely on all fours. Her tendrils of hair hanging unkempt over her eyes. Her horn glowing brightly as her tower shook and rumbled. Wrymple scuttled away hiding under a nook as the lights in the hanging chandelier began to burst. She hated being second fiddle to anypony especially some dumb teenaged foal who didn't even know how to control most of all her power! She knew she...Gwyn was incredibly strong in the magical arts...She didn't waste away so many years of her life to be second best. She...She didn't work so hard in her studies to have everypo-thing taken away...swept from under her hooves. She grit her teeth as around her stuff began to shatter, pages flying everywhere, it was getting all tempest up in this here tower.

In the mirror a vague non-descript black pony flashed then disappeared. Only to be replaced by a fading away image of Grills. She frowned as all the exertion she was putting herself through was wearing her out mentally. Her expression soften just a little as she loosened her tense body. It was also only making her shoulder's hurt some more. The stuff that was getting flung around dropped to the ground though her horn still glowed.

"This is so pathetic of me," She sneered biting her lip. She pushed up back her glasses that had started to slip. She calmed herself down even though anger still remained. "Throwing a tantrum...like some stupid foal..."

She looked over at the music box that been flown from its position, it was still playing of course. Gwyn frowned as she went over to pick it up by not her telekinesis but with her mouth as she placed it on a decorative corner table. She smiled at the molded figures of a pair of napping together ponies, a mare and stallion, the mare had a plum coat with a ruby mane. Gwynfillion sighed a little listening to the music box, really paying attention to the music. As something that was always playing in the background she sometimes forgot it was there and associated it with regular background noise. She frowned as she closed the music box that hadn't been closed in years.

[Deme]

[Foxglove]

Foxglove had gotten everything ready that morning, and she left the grove with satisfaction. She trotted eagerly to the Greenhouse, and knocked a hoof on the door. Today, she had a long ribbon with her, but she didn't seem to be doing anything with it: it was part of the plan.

[Hawkflight]

"There's a mortar and pestle on the shelf there. I do not know where to find such a gem, but it should only need maintenance every six months or so," Whitefire said. As far as she knew, that was a unicorn thing.

[Foxglove]

Foxglove had gotten everything ready that morning, and she left the grove with satisfaction. She trotted eagerly to the Greenhouse, and knocked a hoof on the door. Today, she had a long ribbon with her, but she didn't seem to be doing anything with it: it was part of the plan.

"Thanks again!" But before Silvermane could say anything more, suddenly there came a tapping, as of some one gently rapping, rapping at her chamber door. Dashing over to the door, she opened it and saw Foxglove there. "Hi Foxglove!" she said.

Ah. There is more than just heat I require for this recipe. the brown pony shifted his weight with each word. His nose turn turned up as if there was a west coast thug burning trash a distance away. But he could not let the obviously annoyed hydra see his hidden complaints.

A dragonoid's fire breath unlocks the spice I need for the recipe I seek. A mere oven or fire spell cannot replicate the taste of natural fire breath. But only the breath of the furious being blown on a mild pepper will do. he said while floating a container of peppers from his bag to the front of his hooves.

The hydra's heads had various reactions, ranging from curiosity to surprise to anger. "A mild pepper, you say?" said the fourth head. "We didn't think ponies had a taste for such things."

"You can't be serious?!!" demanded the first head. "We are not a ... a ... tool for ponies to use whenever they need a few peppers popped!"

"Oh, would you shut up?" grumbled the second head.

"It is a good point though," said the third head. "If you desire this, you must provide us with something in exchange."

[Orzel]

Grills/Hydra Cave

The pony chef hooved his chin. He knew he wouldn't get the spice for nothing. What could a pyrohydra want? They couldn't need any bits since they don't go to stores. And he couldn't feed it, since they are mostly carnivores.

One of the heads was a bit peeved and could be pushed to burn out of anger. But he want to see what they wanted. What must I do to gain access to your flame?

[Deme]

"Thanks again!" But before Silvermane could say anything more, suddenly there came a tapping, as of some one gently rapping, rapping at her chamber door. Dashing over to the door, she opened it and saw Foxglove there. "Hi Foxglove!" she said.

"Hi, Silvermane... Happy Birthday!"

She smiled brightly at her friend and gave her a little hug. Then she paused and looked around this way and that, until she found the ribbon she was carrying with her.

"Hold onto this...Close your eyes...and follow me."

Was she being vague because she wanted it to be a surprise, or because she forgot to tell her? Oh, it was probably both.

[Lycan 01]

[Snickerfilly - Bakery]

Snickers went home last night after leaving Soft's parlor. The next morning, she awoke to discover that she was, in fact... still a filly. "Dag-nabbit!" she snapped in frustration, before bursting into laughter at how silly the situation was.

Snickers took her time getting ready this morning. A warm shower, a nice breakfast, and she even stopped to brush her hair and make it look nice... Everything was going so well. Until she remembered something.

"Ah!" she yelped, scrambling back into the kitchen as fast as she could.

~a short while later~

[----> Greenhouse]

Snickers trots cheerfully through town while whistling a cheerful tune, heading to the Greenhouse to bug Silvermane. A small bakery white box is balanced carefully on her back, clutched firmly between her wings. As she nears the Greenhouse, she sees Foxglove talking to Silvermane in the doorway. "Hello, hello!" she greets them warmly. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything... Am I?" she arches a petite eyebrow.

[Hawkflight]

Grills/Hydra Cave

The pony chef hooved his chin. He knew he wouldn't get the spice for nothing. What could a pyrohydra want? They couldn't need any bits since they don't go to stores. And he couldn't feed it, since they are mostly carnivores.

One of the heads was a bit peeved and could be pushed to burn out of anger. But he want to see what they wanted. What must I do to gain access to your flame?

The heads looked at each other for a moment. "We must confer," said the fourth head. The four heads withdrew into the cave, conversing amongst themselves.

"Hi, Silvermane... Happy Birthday!"

She smiled brightly at her friend and gave her a little hug. Then she paused and looked around this way and that, until she found the ribbon she was carrying with her.

"Hold onto this...Close your eyes...and follow me."

Was she being vague because she wanted it to be a surprise, or because she forgot to tell her? Oh, it was probably both.

Silvermane, for her part, wasn't surprised in the least, probably because this was normal Foxglove behavior. She called back to Whitefire that she'd be back in a bit, closed her eyes, and followed Foxglove, keeping her bite on the ribbon ... or she would have, had Snickers not shown up. She opened her eyes and released her bite.

"Hi Snickers!" she said. She glanced at Foxglove. "Um ... I have no idea," she admitted sheepishly.