Not our world anymore (IC)

[GalacticWar_Xavier]

Rex went right over to the alchemical books and devices, those being his area of emplyoment, or at least, it had been, back in High Azuras. Twilight looked over, knowing that Starling had turned it all off for a reason, "Careful, now, Rex." Amalthea nodded dismissively, "It's fine, Twilight." Twilight looked over with a wierd look, "Huh?" Amalthea looked to Rex who had paused, but saw that he was making his case for him, "One time a love potion was unstable in its harmonic focuses, and it basically went nuclear and exploded with the force of a hand grenade. Rex didn't have a scratch on him, even though he was the one who was working on it." Rex nodded, "I was more upset about how much of the lab equipment I destroyed rather than being hurt at all by the explosion." Nimbus looked frazzled, "Love potions can explode?" Amalthea nodded, "Quite spectacularly, too." Twilight had gotten the point that it was unlikely that Spike could hurt himself on Starling's lab equipment even if he were dumb enough to try to use any of it without his supervision. Instead of delve into the book that Starling had given her, she went to help him with the blankets. Nimbus watched Twilight vanish into the hallway off of the main room, "Flying Feathers, she's already at the 'can't stay away from him for 5 minutes' stage."

[Blue Fox]

Starling walked into one of the side rooms, the one that was supposed to be his bedroom but was now nothing but storage and clutter. It was filled with useless materials such as old metal blast work that had become too damaged to tests spells on, old glass beakers and metal apparatus lay everywhere, cast aside casually. He sighed as he realised just how messy he had been. In all honesty this was probably the first time he had been back here in months and months since he was always working or off out to see new designs or inspiration. He trotted into the room knowing exactly where his blankets were and just as he thought they were at the other side of the scrap heap inside a large draw. He sighed to himself, "Of course they would have to be over there" he muttered as he began to climb over the mess. To his credit he got about half way before slipping on a old batch of Pegasi feathers, falling face first into a pile of old cloths and mixed materials with a large thump. He remembered why he needed these things, of course some of his work took him to clients which wished for anti magic devices such as anti magical armour. He was experimenting with Pegasi feathers and different materials to see if it was possible to actually make a pony magic proof. But it proved impossible through his results and he had to unfortunately disappoint his client. He pulled his head from the old materials and got to his hooves again. He would use his magic to push aside these obstacles but they were stacked in such a fashion to move one risked a chain reaction of everything else.

Winter rested on the couch as Leafrun had now, out of interest, joined Rex in looking at Starlings equipment. She didn't mind as she trusted in Rex's knowledge and maturity. She would still keep a close eye on him though.

[GalacticWar_Xavier]

A towering pile of boxes containing rather heavy equipment began to buckle as some support on the side was taken away by Starling's searching, and it nearly fell over on top of the unicorn, had not a purple magical force caught the boxes, completely halting their descent. Twilight walked in with a slightly shocked look on her face, but as she re-stacked the boxes, she smiled to Starling affectionately, "I just came back here to see if you needed any help. And it looks like I got here just in time." She looked around at all the boxes and piles of different things, "It looks like you sure do alot of work. I'm surprised you're not swimming in bits from all of it."

Amalthea's face grew mischievous as she came up with something to say to Nimbus, just as the door opened and Airimus walked in carrying all the stuff with a levitation spell, followed by Admiralty who was assisting him. Because the Wonderbolts were all wearing their armor, the only set Airimus was carrying was Twilight's. He had the armor strapped to his back and was levitating everything else, like guns and battle saddles, "Yeah..." Amalthea said, "I hope Twilight doesn't end up with a foal-from-the-future." Although Airimus had said that he wasn't much for snide jokes, the comment hit him right in his sweet spot. Airimus started laughing and shook his head, almost at the same time as Nimbus. Nimbus wiped some tears of laughter from her eyes. Admiralty merely shook his head in disapproval.

[Blue Fox]

As Starling searched for the blankets he heard a sizzling sound, except it wasn't like a sizzling sound, it was more like a sliding sound.... like rubbing cardboard. 'Oh this is not good' he said as he spun around to eye where the sound was coming from and sure enough a bunch of heavy boxes were about to fall on him. He winced knowing there was no way he could summon his magic in time. But then nothing happened. He opened his eyes slowly to see a purple magical field kept them from falling before placing them back in a much more steady way. He knew immediately who it was and as he looked to the door he saw Twilight standing there was that smile he'd come to adore. He looked to her with a warm smile as his chest filled with that warm feeling he got when he looked at her. When she mentioned his work and how he should be swimming in bits he turned to continue his search as he sighed casually. "Maybe back when there was more need for magic and magic had more diversity. But in these days people think magic leads to being captured by the Empire, so work is harder to find then it looks. To be honest I make so many types so that I might find one that really finds me my fortune. Or at least that's how it was when I was a young colt. Now that I found my love for magic it's turned more into a hobby and a passion. So the money is no longer important" he said as he looked back to her with a smile which turned to a concerned look when he remembered where they were. "Please be careful, It's a little dangerous in here and I'd hate for you to get hurt because of my mess" he said before noticing the draws he was looking for. He pulled open the draw and began levitating multiple blankets from it, all had different colours, designs and sizes.

Winter laughed at Amalthea's joke, she knew Leafrun wouldn't understand so she thought nothing of it, until Leafrun spoke. "Winter?" he called making the charcoal mare turn to look at him before he continued. "Where do foals come from ?" he asked. Winter's face told everyone that she was panicking, caught off guard and unsure what to say to fix it.

[GalacticWar_Xavier]

Twilight frowned sympathetically as she heard about how the Empire had managed to clamp down on magic not just within their own borders, but also around the world apparently. She hoped that Princess Luna's return would see magical freedom and practice make a comeback. When Starling asked her to be careful around the mess, she nodded and smiled confidently, "I will, but you call this a mess?..." She took another gander about the many things in the room, hoping to make a comment a comment to increase his esteem about it. But she found it really was quite a mess, ".....I've cleaned up messes like this before. If you want I'll help you clean it up at some point." She looked around and realized that this would take the better part of a day, which they didn't have. And if it wasn't going to happen while they were here, then it likely meant that she would actually never be able to help him with it. She didn't take the comment back though.

Airimus heard what Leafrun asked and then crossed his arms and looked over to Amalthea semi-seriously, "What?..." Amalthea asked. Airimus motioned to Leafrun. Amalthea thought she knew what he was going to say, but she didn't know why, "What!?..." she repeated in a louder tone. Airimus brought his palm to his face, "You started this, and now you have to finish it." Amalthea let out an exasperated sigh, "Do you really want ME to explain it?" she asked, "If you insist, I'll be really blunt about it." She finished, ominously. Airimus shook his head, "Then you'd likely have to face Winter Bell for that." Amalthea gave the charocal unicorn mare a glance, she had seen her shouts and magic, "Foals come from mares." Nimbus said nonchalantly, from a resting position, "NIMBUS!" Airimus and Amalthea shouted simultaneously.

[Blue Fox]

Starling laughed. "No that's ok, this is my mess. Thanks anyway" he said as he pulled the last of the blankets, throwing them over his back. "Besides there's a chance I'm not coming back here anyway" he said casually as he made his way back towards her. He had about ten blankets on his back and a few more in case anyone got cold or he was one short. The fact he didn't want to be coming back in here any time soon also had something to do with it. After careful hoof placements and some caution he eventually found himself next to the lavender mare. He trotted up next to her and affectionately nuzzled her mane, something he'd never done before to anyone. But it just felt right to him, like it came naturally. "Come on, we better get back before they cause some trouble" he said with a grin.

Winter flashed the look of death at Amalthea as she claimed she was going to tell him out right. Winter might not know enough to be a mother but she knew enough to know he was still too young for that. She quickly glanced to the young colt who was getting frustrated with waiting for an answer. But then the worst thing could have happened. Nimbus had casually told him where foals came from, maybe not everything or the actual details but what she said was enough to anger Winter. "Watch your tongue !" she snapped as her eyes narrowed at Nimbus, a warning played evident from her glance. Winter wasn't a war pony and she had no illusions that Nimbus would flatten her in a fight. But hell if she wasn't going to give her something for being so outrageously blunt in the presence of a child.

[GalacticWar_Xavier]

Twilight blinked in surprise when Starling nuzzled her mane. She hadn't expected this, but yet, she had. Ever since Amalthea had asked if they had kissed yet, she was wondering when physical contact like this would become a part of their interactions. She then smiled as she felt warm affection build up in her. This all the more solidified what she now knew were Starling's feelings for her, and she couldn't help but share them for him. Starling was helping her learn about a whole new facet of friendship and Harmony, love, like what Hearts and Hooves day was all about. Twilight was snapped out it when Starling said that they should bring the blankets over to the others and make sure that they weren't getting into trouble. Twilight giggled and nodded, "Yeah." she said, simply.

"Shouldn't you have expected that?" Admiralty said from the corner, "Leave it to a Pegasus to throw decency and obligation to the wind." Airimus held up his hands, "Whoaaaa, man, cool it. This has nothing to do with race." Nimbus rolled from her position and got to her hooves, "Oh? Say that again, I wasn't listening..." she said, in a challenging tone. Admiralty strode up confidently to the Pegasus mare, and it was such a sad sight that it was nearly humorous. The top of Nimbus' head was level with the tip of Admiralty's horn, making the mare larger than the stallion, "I said, leave it to a Pegasus to throw decency and obligation to the wind." Nimbus narrowed her remaining eye at the unicorn.

[Blue Fox]

Starling had made it to the bottom step in time to see another Stallion who he hadn't met, squaring up against the larger mare. Now Starling was fairly smart, and he could only guess where this was coming from. Being a Unicorn himself and one from this time meant he knew of the race hate between their cultures and he could already make a educated guess at what could have caused this to happen. He looked to Twilight and gave her a both concerned and apologetic look. "This could get ugly" he said as his expression went slightly more concerned. "You better be careful Unicorn, or you might just find yourself joining the far dream" growled Nimbus angrily. Admiralty didn't look phased by the threat and sneered in response, "Yet another response to be expected from the likes of a Pegasus" he replied with the same amount of venom. The other two Wonderbolts had risen and flanked Nimbus almost on instinct, the two humans looked to be trying to fix the situation leaving Winter, Rex and Leafrun over in the corner by themselves. The bickering and arguing went on for a few minutes longer, Learfun had watched for a few minutes before quickly scurrying towards Winter as he felt a little scared, feeling from the vibe they were giving out. Of course Leafrun was a Unicorn and not only did he not need to hear this but he also had extra sense to negativity and feelings in general. "Winter, I'm scared" he said as he moved closer to her, slightly behind her. Winter felt a new emotion come on, something primal and instinctual to family, similar to how she felt with Summer when she was a filly. Her brow furrowed.

"You don't know when to shut up do you!" snapped Nimbus as her hoof dragged against the floor. "And you don't know when your being stupid, but I can expect that from a Pegasus!" replied Admiralty as he tipped his horn threateningly. "Please !, calm down both of you" pleaded Amalthea but it went unheard. Nimbus was in the verge of charging the Stallion and she was about to make her reply when an explosion erupted from the corner.

Winter watched the two argue for a minute, her brow still furrowed before she looked down to the colt. "Darling, put your hooves over your ears please and keep them there until I say so" she said softly and waited for Leafrun to do so before she leaped from the couch, anger taking over from her usual soft and sweet demeanour. "ENOUGH!!" she boomed pushing her Resonant Magic through her lungs like the book had taught her. The sound had thunder clapped through the building making it shake for a second, a crashing sound echoed upstairs from the sounds of things falling over. Nimbus, Admiralty and the others jumped and turned towards the fuming charcoal mare. "There is already so much horror and bad in this world and the last thing it needs is more from ponies that should be united like true Equestrians should be" she shouted before raising one her charcoal fore hooves, showing them one of the four ringlet friction burns that had stained from the shock therapy. "This here represents exactly what happens when you let these stupid petty arguments cloud what really matters here. Friendship, harmony and every virtue that stands for good. If we argue amongst ourselves, we let them win, so buck up or by Celestia's mane I'll put you both down for a time out !" she shouted, almost growling the last sentence. Winter had seen enough negativity to see her through a life time, she wasn't about to see her friends fight and what's more she was not going to let them argue in front of children. "Nimbus!, you know better then to reveal such things to children and you!" she said pointing at Admiralty. "You need to learn quite fast how we work here because as far as I'm concerned race is not important and I WILL not tolerate racism, got it!" she snapped, scolding both of them before she made a 'hmph' sound and turned her back to them, trotting over to Leafrun. She gave him a look to let him know it was ok as she smiled down at him.

[GalacticWar_Xavier]

Twilight saw Admiralty and Nimbus facing eachother and thought it was just a conversation until Starling said that it could get ugly, very soon after that the two had began arguing again. Twilight froze up, the vibe of anger surrounding them was far worse around them than any other she had ever felt. She could tell that Admiralty HATED Nimbus for whatever reason, and the way he was talking, the Pegasus race in general. Nimbus had instantly gotten defensive and steadily more angry at the unicorn stallion until she was making straight up death threats. It was horrible to witness. Twilight didn't know how to help the situation, she didn't even know if she could. Airimus didn't quite know what to say either, he tried to get inbetween them at one point, but one of Nimbus' strong fore hooves came along and pushed the human back to the sidelines. Rex had retreated to Airimus' side, the human being his best friend out of the group, "What are they arguing about!?" the baby dragon asked Airimus, the human shook his head, "Nothing, literally nothing."

Twilight bit her lip as the situation looked like it was about to turn violent when she leaped into the air as Winter's booming voice shook the building. For a few moments, Twilight's ears rang and she wasn't able to hear anything, but it returned and she heard things like things falling over and a dog in a neighbor's yard begin barking in distress. Twilight felt her heart ache as Winter spoke about how they shouldn't be bickering and how the world was already so cruel and what it had done to her. She thought that Nimbus would accuse Winter of being on Admiralty's side, but the grey Pegasus mare simply turned as Winter was finished and went back to where she had been laying. Twilight cantered over to Nimbus, "Nimbus, I-..." she began but the Pegasus shot her a warning glance, "Later, Twilight Sparkle... Later..." she said, her tone starting angrily, but it softened as she finished.

Twilight let out a sad sigh, but managed to give Winter a grateful smile. Airimus threw off his hood and ran his fingers through his hair and looked over to Amalthea with a 'could have been worse' look. Leafrun once again hugged Winter tightly, he always felt safe around her, but now more so than ever before.

[Blue Fox]

Starling had nearly hit the roof when Winter had exploded onto their argument. When the charcoal mare was finished and returned to the young foal he began handing out the blankets in silence as he felt awkward with the tension. It was now dark outside and it wouldn't be long before everyone started resting for the day tomorrow. When he finished giving out the blankets he gave the final one to Twilight before he laid a blanket on the floor where he could find space, he lowered himself to his haunches and sighed as he felt his muscles relax. "That's better" he muttered to himself before he looked over to Twilight, allowing himself so really admire her at that moment. She was definitely beautiful and what was even better was that she was really smart. He suddenly felt a warm feeling that a pony feels inside when they realise they have a special some pony, one who they really like and likes them back. He smiled to himself as he came upon the real realization.

Winter hugged Leafrun back just as tightly, enjoying the embrace. She liked that Leafrun looked up to her and had thought this was what it was like to be the big sister. He brought her so many memories with the way he acted and the innocence he held. It reminded her allot of her relationship with Summer, but unlike their relationship which was cut short, she was here now and she wasn't going anywhere. She set the blanket down on the couch with her magic before settling down on it herself. Leafrun hoped up beside her and entwined himself in her hooves. She smiled softly at him before she decided then and there that she would sing him a lullaby, but this one was special. It was the one Summer would sing to her when she was his age. She waited for him to get comfy before she spoke. "Would you like me to sing you a lullaby ?" she said softly. Leafrun looked up with a shine in his eyes as he nodded quickly. She smiled at his enthusiasm before composing herself.

"-A gentle breeze from Hushabye Mountain
Softly blows over Lullaby Bay
It Fills the sails of boats that are waiting
Waiting to sail your worries away

It isn't far to Hushabye Mountain
And your boat waits down by the quay
The winds of night so softly are sighing
Soon they will sail your worries to sea

So close your eyes on Hushabye Mountain
Wave good...bye to cares of the day
And watch your boat from Hushabye Mountain
Sail far away from Lullaby Bay.-"

"Good night"


Her words came softly and carried a delicate tone that seemed to sooth and calm those who cared to listen. She used no magic in her music as she sang to the young colt. Of course she could have but she felt she was cheating by using magic in songs which could be sang without out it. Despite this new magic she had inside of her she would only ever use it out of necessity, never for the manipulation of the art she loved. Through the song she saw Leafrun's eyes get heavier and heavier as he drifted off, his breathing came heavily to confirm he had reached the land of sleep. As Winter hit the final lyric she smiled lovingly at the colt in her hooves, happy to see him getting good rest.