Scene #2524: Ancient Lights In Forgotten Skies

Owner	Pose
Mortimer Balman	Far out from the bulk of the Multiverse is lonesome Poqmori, alone with a single moon, floating lazily around a small yellow star. With all the great cities abandoned and overtaken by the wilderlands there is virtually no light pollution to interfere with an absolutely /magnificent/ view of the stars. From space a bright blue-white trail can be seen as people gather from Poqmori's Gate less than a quarter AU from the planet proper. A massive comet with a core of solid metal, wrapped in stone, wrapped in tremendously thick ice. Within the vast desert continent of Grouda, as night begins to fall and the sands begin to cool, the comet is not yet visible. It will be in a matter of minutes though. Settled upon the buried remains of some long forgotten town atop a stone that could easily be mistaken for a small mountain, is where all the offworld guests are being guided to by Mortimer and his fellows. The sounds of wild pokemon in the distance can be heard- many Fire and Ground types if you know the cries well- but they aren't very interested in the strange offworlders. The only source of non-natural light for thousands of miles can be seen coming from some lanterns that have been set up around the 'picnicking' area. The smell of meat and vegetables and fruits being fried on shishkebabs. The sound of beers being cracked open and laughter as Mortimer and his Pokemon crew tell stories about their younger years, back when these empty lands were not so empty. Also it helps that there's a giant Gelgoog Marine-type Mobile Suit like half a mile from where they are so you can find the area pretty easily if you're not part of the party that would have been transported along with them at the beginning of the day.
Dukemon X	Duke had been invited to come along, though when he does meet Mortimer, the pokemon anthro will find the small four foot lizard is actually a tall near right foot armored figure. Who has a cooler on his shoulder. It seems the Knight Digimon wanted to be sure he carried his own weight when it came to bringing items. Which inside were that of sodas, beers, and even water. There was some bags of chips, nuts, and ice-- which once the food goods were out, Duke dealt with the ice. Among the group, the Knight found a place to lean his armored frame against, looking up at the stars high above. His gold eyes seeming wanderlust and distant. Perhaps off in his own thoughts of things he was starting to remember and things still so long forgotten. Yet Duke always felt at home under the stars, it was his peaceful time, a time that brought a 'smile' to the Digimon. His gold eyes though did fall to Mortimer and his pokemon crew before he tilts his head gently. "Thank you by the way for letting me come." For those who never met Duke, they get to see him in a better state, for those who hadn't seen him in awhile-- they were in for a treat given the form he was in; They may not even realize it is him at first!
Hitoshura	Hito has come for the comet, having heard about it through listening to Union frequencies. Not feeling very comfortable in a social situation around people he's never met, he almost brought a companion with him, but decided the best way to interact would be without a crutch. He brought a variety of snacks from Ai, melons, berries, and a bunch of demon snacks with him. He deposits them on the table with the rest of the fruit, and grabs a kebob. Having gotten a little food, he looks around at all the guests, and just kind of tries to blend in. This comet only comes once every 100 years, huh? Hito has seen meteor showers and the like, but this promises to be pretty interesting. He waves to the others, but kind of keeps his distance for now. He settles down on a blanket he brought, and just kind of waits.
Rarity	Fortunately Rarity can provide some additional light from her horn for the walk... Not that it's really necessary considering Mortimer is a walking bonfire practically. The unicorn lets out a faint sigh as she looks around. "Why is it the post disaster worlds are always so many shades of grey and brown?" The observation/complaint probably doesn't surprise anyone that knows her. "At least there is some overgrowth to break up the drabness with a little color, but still! Is it not depressing enough without being all... saturated in grittiness?" "Overgrowth.. saturated... grittiness..." Sweetie Belle murmurs around the pencil in her mouth as she, sitting on Rarity's back, jots down on a notepad. A trip to another world will be perfect material for the inevitable 'What I Did On My Summer Vacation' report that will come up when school starts next fall.
Staren	Joining the moon in orbiting around Poqmori is a a spaceship dropping out of FTL. It is styled to look like a castle with a massive serpent coiled around it, not that there's anyone there to see. It's a small ship, the size of a couple of busses. Staren's not close to the comet either, of course. Not like he can see it with the naked eye from his cockpit. "Alright... Locked on to Mort's transponder." Staren walks back to the transporter, and beams down to the picnic area. A glowing red beam of light shines down from the sky, then coalesces into a humanoid form, which fades to reveal Staren, in some kind of safety orange tight-fitting spacesuit. He looks around, "Hi guys!" and waves, then unzips the suit and pulls his helmet off, stepping out and pulling his signature coat from his bag, then folding up the suit and stuffing it away (the helmet softens and collapses somehow). His ship is pressurized, of course, but safety is important. "Mortimer! Rarity! Whatsisname! Who's your friend?" Staren looks at Hitoshura curiously. "Wow. The sky is so dark without the light of the leylines..."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight Sparkle has been looking forward to this day. Seeing another world's comet will be so exciting! Since Mortimer brought all the things for the picnic, she came along when he and his pokemon first came to the area. She has spent much of the day helping Mortimer get things set up. Spike too is here, helping in whatever way he can being a little dragon. Twilight also brought a few things herself. Pinkie Pie was happy to provide plenty of Poqmori Pies, as she called them. They are basically different kinds of pies, ranging from banana cream to apple to pecan, that are dyed or otherwise designed to look like a flattened out map of Poqmori. Who knows how Pinkie got a map of Poqmori? The pies are all spread out on a picnic blanket waiting for people to cut into them. As her friends start arriving, Twilight smiles happily and waves to them. "Hello everyone!" Spike waves too, even as he cooks something on a kabab with his own fire.
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer rips a hunk off beef from a kebab and throws it over to a half-snoozing Absol beside Twilight Sparkle. The beast opens one eye and an invisible hand catches the meat in mid-air, bringing it into the ancient monster's mouth. Falstaff then closes his eye and goes back to his half-snoozing state. "Hah! Good catch old man. Heyyy! Welcome to my homeworld, fellas! Specifically, welcome to where my home town used to be! I was born about five miles.. North by northeast of here. This here is Old Peterson's Rock we're all standin' on. Well it used to be New Peterson's Rock but I figure after thirty thousand some odd years, it's gotta be Old." A grating laugh. Switchbait flutters over to Rarity, and waves a wing. A small wave of psychic presence blows dust off of her hooves and mane. "<Greetings, madam Rarity, little Belle. We are pleased you could make it! I feel it important to note that this is not a post /disaster/ world, madam Rarity. Rather, post /civilization/. There was no destructive demise, simply a decline.>" Reder sniffs at Duke for a minute. "<Oh yeah hey Duke, how you doin' kid? Awesome, you brought more beer! And ice! Put it on over by the Sarge's fire there. Yo! Staren! You bring any munchies, or are we feedin' your lazy robot ar->" Reder is cut off when Switchbait levitates a frying pan and CLONGs him on the head with it. "<Language, you savage! There are children present.>" Reder is however on the ground all @.@ faced. Roll, from somewhere on Falstaff's back, giggles a little birdy giggle.
Dukemon X	Duke chuckles at the display from the pokemon about and when told here to put down the cooler he nods and does so. "Got it." Avoiding the frying pan of DOOM. Once he does put it down, he rubs his hands together a bit, before looking over to Mortimer. "Ah, so that serves the other purpose for the location then. Not only a beautiful view of what we are going to see, but also a place of great fondness." Duke tilts his head. "At least... I hope it is." He looks upward with his gold eyes. "This is also going to be my first time seeing such an event, so I'm grateful the weather is good and," His eyes go over to all present, "within good company." He knows Rarity and he spoken to Twilight /once/ on the radio, but not like this. Not in this form. He does extend his hand out to Staren first, a voice nor face he recognizes at all. "Hello there, I'm Duke. A Pleasure to meet you." Duke looks over to Rarity, he would smile if he could. "Rarity, it is good to see you again. Looking fantastic as always." His eyes then go to the young one writing a report. "...what are you writing?" He also gives a wave to Twilight and Spike.
Staren	"Falstaff, Switchbait, Reder, Sweetie Belle... Duke, that was it!" Staren continues greeting. "I brought some food, relax." Then... "Twilight!" He brightens and runs right up to her for a hug, nuzzling and holding her for a moment. "It's been too long. We gotta do stuff like this more often..." He takes one arm off her and half-turns, looking up at the sky. "Stargazing a rare astronomical event, that's romantic, right?" He grins at her, then lets go and steps back. "Duke, good to meet you too." he shakes the offered hand, then looks at Hito curiously. "So, um, who are you? I'm Staren. Researcher of Problems for the Union."
Rarity	Rarity gets a dusting off from Switchbait, and shakes her head a little to flick her curls back into place afterwards. "Thank you... and I stand corrected. Though one cannot deny the differation is not easy to make with an unfamiliar eye for the land." She also waves a hoof briefly to Duke. "Good to see you as well." Sweetie Belle doesn't even seem to notice as the whuff of Butterfree flaps buffet her curls, so she doesn't look up until she actually hears the typh-morph's voice. "Hello Uncle Mort!" She waves at him with her notepad before hopping off Rarity's back (finally!). "I'm taking notes for when I have to write a report about this in school." She makes a cute scrunchy nosed expression. "Miss Cheerilee -always- asks for summer vacation reports for some reason." Rarity.. just.. has to resist really hard to facehoof when Staren has to -ask- if the event is romantic.
Hitoshura	"Hi, I'm Hitoshura Nago, but most people call me Hito," the young man says. He smiles at Twilight and says in greeting, "Hello." His tattoos aren't glowing, but the low light does make his eyes shine just a bit, a yellow-green that will pierce the night later. He looks at the pies,"Those look amazing," and cuts a medium sized piece out of one of them. He does get a little of the pie on his shirt, but a strange look comes over him. Apple pie. A moment of intense happiness, and then, the sadness of a forgotten memory. In the next instant he's over it, back to enjoying the moment. "Thank you for the welcome," Hito says to Mortimer. He finishes off his kebob and goes for one of his own melons. Slicing it into pieces, he eats a few of them. It's a strangely reddish melon, but he looks like he enjoys it, licking the juice from his fingers before thinking the better of it and wiping it on his pants. Hito smiles at Duke. A legit knight, that's pretty cool, he thinks. "I brought some melons from Ai. They're a bit different, but you might like to try some. The rest of the snacks are pretty good, too," he says. He grabs another kebob and sits near the others. He listens to Staren introduce himself, and Rarity's commentary.
Mortimer Balman	Switchbait frees to Rarity. "<Admittedly so. Grouda has always been a desert since before recorded hist'ry though- this is how it has always been. Terne, on the other hand, well.. Another story entirely.>" Mortimer in turn laughed down at Sweetie and held out a fried apple for her. "It's good practice fer keepin' yer memories alive! And if you save it you'll always have a diary of these times, aye?" Reaching down to fuzzle her little mane, he'd go back to his fire to continue slow roasting some more food. He does however pause. First at Staren, mimicking Rarity by facepalming when Staren asks. "I swear Staren yer a good lad and all but somedays I wonder if you don't lick magnets." He then notices Hitoshura. "Ah, hey there, uh.." Long pause. "..I don't think we've met, have we? If we did afore I'm sorry- you know how it goes. The first thing that goes as yah get older is memory, then the second thing is.. Memory. Hey grab yerself a chair if you want- you say yer name's Hitoshura? Alright well I'm Mortimer Balman. Put yer snacks over with the rest, yea?" The little delibird Roll bounces off of Falstaff's back so that she can squeal and rush over to hug the little filly, while Reder shakes himself out. "<Ow.. You keep that crap up Switch one of these days I'm gonna put you through the onion blossomer.>" The butlerfree snorts, "<So long as I have the advantage of flight and cooking skill, I see that as unlikely.>"
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight blinks as that slab of meat is caught near her. She smiles softly as Falstaff claims it, then gives him a pat on the head. Then...Staren! Twilight giggles happily as he appears and wraps her forelegs around him in a firm hug while she nuzzles in return. "Yes, I believe observing a rare astronomical event under the minimal lighting provided by the stars and the comet itself qualifies as a romantic instance." she says before releasing the hug. Then, Hito introduces himself. Twilight smiles to him and holds out a hoof. "I am Twilight Sparkle. It is nice to meet you, Hito!" she says. When that bit of pie lands on his shirt, she giggles just a bit. "Pinkie always makes good pies." she says, but her ears splay a bit when he suddenly looks kind of sad. Luckily, he brightens up quickly enough. All in all, this is a happy scene, and Twilight is always all smiles when her friends are smiling.
Dukemon X	Duke nods to Staren, then listens to Sweetie explain the report. He crouches down, the armor seeming to not effect his range of moment or hinder him really in any way. "Oh. I see. I always wanted to go to school when I came here to the Multiverse, as I don't remember if my world had one or not. Education is important, or so I keep hearing... and I think I can believe it too." He chuckles a bit. "I bet you'll have the best report out of all of 'em, kid." Duke says with a cheerful tone in his voice, as he goes to stand back up. With an easy step he goes to look over to Hito as he explains who he is. He then extends out his hand for a shake. Hito may note when he does shake his hand, its actually warm, instead of cold like steel /should/ feel. "Pleasure to meet you, Hito. I'm Duke, one of the Multiverses local Digimon." He says with an amused sound in his voice. "Also sometimes local pain in the neck." He continues with the good cheer with a smile in his eyes. "Got a pretty good crowd here," He says looking back to Mortimer. "Hopefully the chips and popcorn will help offset the numbers." Yeah, Duke is a bit worried that everyone will have enough. Duke returns to leaning against part of structure that may remain here or a rock cropping. His eyes close gently as he listens to everything around him for now.
Rarity	Sweetie Belle squeaks as she's ruffled. "Don't do that, Rarity will have a fit at my mane being messed up!" Though it sounds like, and by the way Rarity reacts with an abrupt "I will not!... muttering much." she was more teasing her older sister than objecting. Plus she gets ambush-hugged by Roll shortly afterwards while nomming on the apple.
Staren	Staren rolls his eyes at people facepalming at his question. It was rhetorical, just because he answers other people's rhetorical questions doesn't mean he can't use the technique himself to imitate normal social discourse! Since Twilight answered him he doesn't say anything about it though. "Hito, huh? Nice to meet you." He looks at Duke and Sweetie Belle. Wow she is squeaky. "Going to an alien world /does/ sound like a pretty cool report. I hope the other students believe you." Problem noted. Staren's brain solves it immediately: "Would you like a video recording of this?"
Hitoshura	Hito says,"Pleased to meet you, Mortimer. Thanks for hosting." He takes Twilight's hoof and shakes it gently. "Nice to meet you, too, Miss." wondering if she and her friend share any properties with the rare unicorns of his world, and then, to Duke,"Good to meet you, Duke," and shakes his hand as well. The warmth is unusual, and Hito notes it. Hito smiles a little more easily, feeling more relaxed. He notices Rarity and sibling as well, offering a shy smile, and to Sweetie Bell,"Man, school seems like forever ago. Enjoy every moment you can," He says. "Nice to meet you, too," he says to Staren. He seems pretty cool, too. He proceeds to put his food offerings with the rest. "So this comet, it comes here every 100 years? How does it.. navigate the multiverse?" Hito asks. He sits with the rest of the gang, enjoying himself thoroughly. A video of everyone? Well, that would probably be okay. As long as it doens't go viral or anything.
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight seems a bit confused herself when everyone starts facepalming (or facehoofing). But, then talk of school starts. "Oh! I loved school! I studied hard every day to make sure I did the best I could! It was my dream to become a studen at Celestia's school of magic, but you had to have the best scores to even be considered." Twilight's horn glows softly with purple light, and a piece of pie floats upward and onto a plate, then over to her, along with a fork. She carefully takes a bite, then nods. "A video report would definitely be impressive." she agrees before offering Staren a bit of her coconut cream pie. As Duke and Hito introduce, Twilight smiles warmly to them. "Are you two friends of Mortimer's as well?" she asks them.
Mortimer Balman	Taking a break from his roasting of foods, Mortimer plops his butt into a lawn chair. Reder bounces up onto his lap, then up onto his shoulder. Roll scampers back to Falstaff's back and starts pointing a flipper at the sky. The comet begins coming into view. A flash of bright blue and white, like someone just lit a fire. A streak of twinkling light follows in its trail. Mortimer lights up a pipe with his breath and begins puffing. "They call it Suicune's Breath, because she made it ages upon ages ago in some epic war in the Heavens with horrors long dead and forgotten. From it was born the divine beast Lugia, the White-Gold Dragon, some eight thousand years before my birth." A pause to smoke. He was already recording all this but eh, let them make their own videos too. "The comet is not a natural thing. Suicune took it from her divine breath and crafted it from the hardest stones, and the strongest steel wrought in Victini's forges, and then wrapped it in frost from the coldest depths of the Void. It obeys the natural laws of physics and whatnot only to a limited extent- a token gesture to the universe, if you want to think of it like that."
Dukemon X	Duke listens to the story Mortimer has to present about the comet they are soon to witness in the sky above. He tilts his head ever so faintly. "So, it was created by your goddess as a symbol of her power... or... as a reminder about that war so long ago fought?"
Rarity	Rarity floats one of the shiskabobs of roasted fruits and veggies over to herself, biting one of the pieces off and chewing thoughtfully upon it. Then looks up, squinting at the faint glow in the skies overhead. "... If it is made of ice, why does it glow like it's on fire?" The science nerds present are probably going to give her time for the common misconception about coments being burning balls of space stuff. Sweetie Belle sets the half eaten apple doen and picks her notepad back up, scribbling down a few notes. "So it's kind of like how Celestia and Luna control the Sun and Moon in Equestria. Phenominal power, but done to watch over their subjects."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight takes a seat on her rump in the sand, watching as the comet starts coming into view. When Rarity asks her question, Twilight pipes up. "Comets often appear to glow because of the cloud of gases and ice particles it leaves in its wake as it nears the star it orbits." she says. Then, she blinks. "Of course...if it does not follow the usual laws of physics...it could have a magical glow all its own."
Staren	Staren smiles as Twilight reminisces about school so happily. "Ooh, pie! Is this from Sugarcube Corner?" He eagerly takes the offered bite. "Mm!" Staren looks from Mortimer to Sweetie. "The comet... and its tail," he nods at Twilight, "glow with reflected sunlight, much like the moon." He looks to Mortimer again. "So... what purpose was it made for? Just to be Lugia's egg? Is it now just a floating, purposeless shell?"
Hitoshura	"I've only just met Mr. Mortimer, Ms. Sparkle," Hito says. He watches her move things with her horn. Also pretty cool. "Wow, that's some history." he says to Mortimer. Given Hito's background, legend and history don't exactly separate for him. He gets that some things are stories, but the proof is appearing before his eyes. He wants to say more, but the comet confounds his ability to describe for the moment. This will be something he will always remember, hopefully. Hito listens to Rarity, not understanding the difference either, and then to the others. "Maybe sometimes beauty doesn't need a reason," he says, finally getting out what he's trying to say,"Or maybe it helps us remember where we come from,"
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer shakes his head. "Suicune is no goddess. She is a divine beast, born by Mew. She carries the Winds and Rain with her wherever she runs. When the world was first made in fire and earth, and the primordials seas boiled, Suicune ran across the endless, scorching flames, carrying Storms behind her to cool the world down. She did not stop running till her paws were charred black as a starless midnight sky." A small pause to smoke, and take a sip from a beer. "Nay, Sweetie. Not much like Celestia and Luna t'all. Victini is nothing like Celestia.. He is a beast of war, not benevolence. Suicune is somewhat more, but only incidentally so. Both are beyond mortal notions of good or bad, kind or cruel. Also, Twilit there is right. It's leaving a trail like a 'normal' comet would. But that ice will never be fully melted, so the comet shall last forever unless destroyed by some tremendous force." Switchbait frees, "<It was Lugia's egg, yes. But it was only that after it was a weapon. P'raps in the future it may be used as that again- one does not throw away a perfectly good sword, after all, even in times of peace- but for now it is, so far as we mere mortals are concerned, a thing of beauty to be enjoyed at regular intervals."
Rarity	Rarity reachs over to put a foreleg around her younger sister's shoulders and hold the filly next to her side. "Well regardless of purpose it is quite the sight to see. Like a diamond tumbling across a blanket of black speckled with glitter and sequins."
Dukemon X	Duke hears the explanation and 'ahs' softly. "One day Mortimer, I will need to sit back with you and listen to the tale and stories of your people's history. These legends of history always amaze me really. So much to be seen and heard." His gold eyes open and he looks up at the sky to see the comet coming in. "Makes one wonder if the new people starting to rise have the same history or if they have created a new history under these same stars..."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight sits quietly as the story continues. When there is a lull, she shakes her head gently. "It is rather amazing that a weapon can look so lovely. Let us hope its destructive power is never needed." she says. She shares more pie with Staren and nods to his question. "Of course. Pinkie Pie was more than happy to make us several pies. And somehow, she found a map of the topography of Poqmori to help decorate the pies."
Rarity	Rarity flatly, "We just don't question how Pinkie Pie does what Pinkie Pie does anymore."
Staren	"Ehf, I hing a ho--" Staren starts, then chews his pie. "Eh, I think that whole 'we're mere mortals, it doesn't concern us' thing is kinda sketchy. Is anyone here really 'mere'? So, it's a weapon? Like how, do the gods slam it into stuff? Morg once helped the Union build a giant cannon to shoot asteroids at stuff. Then Fluffy took him over to cause havoc with it, but he'd been expecting that and regularly wiping his memory somehow, so it was actually a trap for Fluffy, who was tricked into inundating itself with ambrosia, and then Morg came back to life, ascended to godhood, and put Fluffy in a small jar."
Hitoshura	Hitoshura watches, and now listens to Staren,"That story's pretty good, too." He wonders who Fluffy and Morg are, but doesn't know if this is the right time to ask.
Mortimer Balman	Mortimer pauses his storytelling to sip at his beer some more. "Yea.. Lotta history in an old world. I've been privy to a lot of it, but admittedly, a lot more of what I know is just.. Legends, really. No way t'prove things." A shrug. Reder hops down off his shoulder to grab some meat off a kebab, as the comet streaks overhead. It has an extremely long tail, which sparkles and glitters brightly. "We are 'mere' mortals, Staren, because we do not do the things that Gods and Divine Beasts and demigods and whatnot all do. We don't shape worlds. Their histories sometimes, p'raps.. But we.." A pained look passes over his face. Horrid memories fill his vision for a few moments. "...Well.. Maybe yer right, and 'mere' is a misnomer.." Shaking his head a little.
Staren	Staren blinks at Mortimer. "Well yeah. I mean... they stopped Nightmare moon, and we all stopped Discord, and that's just one world! How many worlds have I helped save now? I've literally lost count. Zombie apocalypses, killer video games, and each gives rise to heroes who help /other/ worlds too... I'm a figure of myth on Afterus. I'm actually thinking of maybe trying to mentor that Noah kid, see if I can direct his... impulses towards proactivity in a positive way. If he lives he's gonna be a god someday, right? Just this past weekend, we got to test the resonance cannons on Behemoth. They didn't kill it, but who knows? Maybe they can be refined into something to kill the Simurgh, and then I'll have set in motion events that saved yet /another/ world! I mean..." Staren scratches his head. "Not to brag, but yeah, we /do/ do this big, worldshaking stuff all the time. It's kind of the point. I mean, someone's gotta do it, and we can, so we do! /But/..." "/But/, it is important that we do regular stuff too. Like going on romantic stargazing dates with our girlfriends," he puts an arm around Twilight, "Or hanging out with friends eating at a cool comet-watching picnic. Otherwise..." He looks up at the sky. "...Otherwise, we might forget what we're fighting so hard to give /other/ people. And then take it away because we're thinking about some high-minded ideal and not /life/. Hmm..."
Rarity	"Mere hardly describes anything we've seen people do around here," Rarity agrees. Though doesn't press on the matter because she sees that look in Mortimer's eyes briefly. Let's not put the poor old morph into one of his post-trauma zone outs. She does notibly hold Sweetie Belle a little closer though, partially to keep the young unicorn's attention on the show in the skies overhead. Don't need her seeing Mort close to one of his episodes, either.
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight snuggles in against Staren as he puts an arm around her. "If we forget why we are fighting, we risk becoming one of the creatures that we fight against." she says before nibbling on her pie some more.
Mortimer Balman	Being in a state of heightened awareness, Mortimer notices Rarity- and while his first instinct is to feel some degree of hurt, another thought immediately overrides that, one that agrees with the marshmallow pony's assessment. "I'm ah.. I need to stretch my legs for a few.. I'm gonna go for a walk. I'll be back in a bit. Reder, why don't you or Switch tell some stories, yea?" Reder's ears flick a bit, "<Sure, Sarge.>" Switchbait starts to open his mandibles, but Reder shoots him a look and they clack closed. Mortimer sets himself walking away from the group, hopping off the side of the large rock. Reder meanwhile immediately provides a distraction- "<So hey, you guys wanna hear about how the Sarge tamed Falstaff, here?>" He prods the side of the great, ancient Absol with a dewclaw.
Staren	Staren smiles and holds Twilight a little tighter when she leans against him, nodding at her comment. He shrugs slightly when Mort goes for a walk, then says, "Yeah, sure!" to Reder. He's genuinely interested!
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight perks as Reder offers up that story. "That story must be rather interesting." she says as she stays snuggled against Staren. Spike, meanwhile, makes a gagging motion as he watches Staren and Twilight.
Rarity	Sweetie Belle oooos as she picks up her pad again. "I can add how pokemon are tamed to my report then!~" Spike's little gesturing doesn't go unnoticed, but all Rarity does is just smile and bat her lashes at the young dragon.
Mortimer Balman	Reder hops up from his spot and finishes off his chunk of beef. "<Ahh.. Well not every Pokemon is tamed the same way, Sweetie. Each one is different- just like people. Now Falstaff here, well he's always been like this. He was old when I was young. They used to fear him out at the edge of Contiki- the mad beast that lives way up in the Ranjes Heights. The Old Man of the Mountain, wherever he appears then tragedy surely follows!>" Cue music, as Reder hops and bounds over to where Sweetie Belle and Rarity are settled. o/~ "<He's got a short white beard, and a crooked stare. He tramps through the boroughs, with the folks all scared!>" He leans in and makes his eyes go a little uneven, then hops back and squints one eye shut, baring his teeth, "<And there's a hunger in his eye, as he passes them by- the Old Man of the Mountain!>" o/~ The old wartortle bounces up onto Falstaff's head- the Absol is now wide awake and has something of a frown on his face. o/~ "<He wears mangy hair, and his claws are bared! And he's as strong and slippery as a Dragonair!>" Falstaff makes an annoyed grunt and snaps his head up to try and bite Reder, but the 'tortle is expecting that and flips right off his head, casting a long shadow from the fire. "<His cares are none, and he fears no one! He's the Old Man of the Mountain! Oh he talks with the pidgey when he's lonely, and he sleeps with the stars for a tent!>" Casting his claws up out at the starry skies as the comet flies overhead, then leering over the assembled group, "<And he'll eat you up if he's hungry, and it won't cost him a thin yen!>" o/~ With a pirouette and a somersalt he's back on Falstaff's back, who appears to just be resigned with an unamused frown on his gnarled old face, "<And he'll live as long as an old oak tree, he tears through fools like you and me- they always sighed, and jumped, and cried, at the Old Man of the Mountain!>" o/~ Reder finishes by leaping off and landing just outside the circle of picnickers, grinning a toothy grin.
Staren	OoooOOOoooo. Staren smiles and leans forward with interest at the sond, then claps at its conclusion! And waits for the explanation to continue.
Rarity	"Uh, no offense Mr Reder, but," Sweetie Belle scratchs the bottom of her chin a little anxiously with the eraser of her pencil, "you do realize 'tent' doesn't really rhyme with 'yen', right? Maybe 'And with not a yen he's spent' would work?" All the same she's still making notes though. "That does sound like one of Rainbow Dash's campfire ghost stories though, so you certainly got the ambience." Rarity is just... completely unsurprised at the sudden musical accompiament. This is pretty normal as far as Ponys go.
Mortimer Balman	Reder just kinda shrugs. "<Kinda doesn't, yeah. But "ryo" would have worked even less- that's one of the old timey coins they used to use. So anyway..>" He'd hop back into the circle and into where Mort was sitting because hey why not. "<So we were at this place called the Bar and Brawl. This wonderful mountain of muscle of a woman called Bertha ran it. Absolute sweetheart, always had tasty stuff for us after a fight. Sarge and I were trainin' up for a big fight with this jerk-arrrr.. This jerk called 'Race', who was kinda like the Sarge's rival so far as Fire goes. We get finished sparrin' with a local Trainer, and as we're gettin' some beer there's a huge commotion. Falstaff waltzes into the Bar and Brawl lookin' like he just had a fight with a stack of blenders strapped to a Golurk. That's a big golem-like war-pokemon, by the by.>" A pause to wet his throat in beer, mmm. Yay for beer! "<Flops over in the corner bleedin' all over the place, anyone who gets close gets cut or bitten.>" Reder scratches his chin, trying to remember. "<It was.. Gigan, local chief of police, came in. Says if someone can't get that thing under control by the time the strong-arms get there, poor old son of a b---gun will have to be put down. Public safety and all, Absols can /wreak/ disaster just as well as /predict/ it.>" It is EXTREMELY HARD for Reder not to cuss around Rarity but Switchbait has the frying pan floating right next to him, aimed straight for his head. "<Sarge figures that'd be da--rrned unfair. So he tries to reason with it. We figured out right fast, somethin's broken in Falstaff's head. But you know us stupid jarheads, we can't stop pokin' at ssss...tuff. So it ends up in a big brawl with me hanging off Falstaff's tail blade, Sarge got him in a headlock, and both of us are cuttin' cut up by psychic blades the whole time, till he finally runs outta oxygen and falls over.>"
Staren	Staren listens with interest. Although, Reder's constant rewording to avoid swears makes him wonder if this story, which apparently involves a lot of violent stabbing, is really appropriate for Sweetie Belle. Ah well, that's more of Rarity's call anyway isn't it?
Rarity	And if Switchbait wasn't there with the pan Rarity could of easily magiced something at him. Though that doesn't seem necessary. Granted it's more out of concern of what her sister hears than herself, but without the vulgarity the story isn't -that- bad. They are talking about pokemon, and they've seen enough of them for 'psychic blades' to not necessarily mean stabbing someone with something. Even if that is the way it's meant. Sweetie's more likely imagining some kind of more magic-like thing that just helped knock the cranky absol out.
Mortimer Balman	Reder continues, after finishing off his beer. And cracking open another one. "<So we manage to drag him out of the Brawl, get him back to our.. I hesitate to call it a "place". The apartment we lived at was less of a "what" and more of a "why", y'know what I mean? Real /dive/ of a place. The kind of place where the roaches carry switchblades and try to steal your wallet. He wakes up minutes after we get him there, and the fight is on again. He's trying to chop us up with his mind-blades but Sarge.. Well, chokes him out again. This continues for like, five or six times, seriously. But after a while Falstaff realizes we're not trying to /kill/ him or something, he lets us start treating his injuries. ...Or it coulda been that all the blood he'd lost was making him too tired to keep fighting, either or. So we get him patched up enough to take him in to a PokeCenter, the resident Joy helps us get him patched up, and we head out. Sarge rents a car so we can get him back to the mountains where he belongs, but Falstaff.. Well. ...He started /eating/ the car. About that point we realized he was hungry.>" Shaking his head with a laugh, Reder keeps going, "<So we go out to this Torchic Wings shack at the edge of town- Sarge has to basically wrestle him to the ground and threaten to choke him unconscious at least a dozen more times because Falstaff keeps jumping at people at the slightest provocation- and then after we /finally/ get him some food and water, he starts warming up to us. When we were finally able to convince the car people to help us get him up to the mountains like /two weeks later/, he refused to leave the Sarge's side. Dumb old mongrel. Look where you are now!>" Falstaff merely looks at Reder tiredly, then slowly rises to his massive clawed feet, and slowly pads over to Rarity and Sweetie Belle, then flumps down beside them and lets out an enormous yawn, and rests his head down beside them both.
Rarity	Rarity reachs over to give Falstaff's non-horned side of his head a light ruffle. "He doesn't seem to be complaining right now." Sweetie Belle giggles a little too, leaning back against the fluffy beast to watch the comet more, making a cute little yawn of her own. It was getting close enough in its pass to be pretty big and bright now. When fall comes this report was going to get her an A+ for sure!
Mortimer Balman	Reder chuckles some. "<Heh. Guess not.>" Shaking his head, Reder leans back to watch the giant comet streak overhead, staring idly at the twinkling tail. Roll is of course, sound asleep by this point on Falstaff's back, and Switchbait has snuck off to go find Mortimer. The night air is cool but not cold or bitter, and the fire provides just enough warmth to balance it out and make it all a very comfortable early summer's night..