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"I wasn't trying to beat you Rhapsody." Maple says as she slips through the bars easily and heads toward Rhapsody.
"The other team is trapped, and I'm not going to be able to help them without you... so I'm going to need you to trust me just long enough to save them. okay?"
Maple doesn't wait for a reply and hunkers down ... using her magic to again get skinny enough to get in beside Rhapsody.
Spoiler
Maple begins to change shape into a large powerful stallion ... not unlike Mr. Night Cap.
"I'm Not actually as Strong as Mr. Night Cap, so move as quickly as you can Rhapsody." ... "save the others..." the rubble lifting off Rhapsody as Maple Cap grunts under the weight.
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"No, I'm pretty sure you're stronger then Night Cap ever will be." Rhapsody states nonchalantly, doubting that the earth pony could even lift even this effectively. She uses what little space she has to squeeze out. Once she is free, she grabs maple by the tail and pulls her free from the rubble.
"Let's get going."
Spoiler
"I might have to hug you later... Maple says, shifting back to herself, once Rhapsody had let go of her tail... Maple had given it slightly better than even odds that Rhapsody might have left her there... since she hadn't Maple wasn't going to risk freaking her out by shifting while Rhapsody still had ahold of her.
Maple took to the air, as she moved over to the area where the other team was trapped... while it looked stable there wasn't any point in risking it until Rhapsody figured out what they should do.
Scarlet had (albeit briefly) considered asking Wanderlust if he needed a hand, as he vividly remembered some ponies reactions to his 'workspace'. He'd also thought about doing some shopping, but decided against since he really wasn't that hungry. So he took to the sky for a slow flight home to his warehouse pad/cubbyhole and picked up a hot sandwich on the way.
After unlocking his door, Scarlet trotted in and started divesting himself of his saddlebags, adventure kit and food for the night. Dumping his bags on his bed and his sandwich on the small corner table, Scarlet pulled a bottle of something fizzy from his tiny fridge and sat down.
Scarlet Spectrums room was, while not tiny, very utilitarian. A bed with basic white sheets and cover. Black desk of drawers and chairs, small wardrobe, tiny fridge, one ceiling light and a desklamp.
So far, so normal. Until you looked up.
Then you'd see that most of--though not all--of the ceiling was taken up by a mass of scruffy looking maps that had been (only slightly) inexpertly stuck together to form a largescale map of Equestria. Hanging from these maps via either pins or (in a few cases) nails, were a myruad of coloured strings that charted his criss-crossing escapades avross the land. Most were brights colours marking his freelancer work, family adventures, or in the case of a grey strand, one of Aunt--Shales musical tours. The shortest and most recent strand was a twist of mixed colours represented his new STOMP friends. Much like there still a slightly frayed string representing his old STOMP friends.
The one that stood out the most though. The one that connected the old amd ne STOMPers. The one that made the whole like a little spiderwebby...
Was the thick, black (he'd been in a bad mood when making it) string that stood for his search to rescue Rain. It started entwined with the old STOMP team string. At the point Rain was 'lost' and followed his increasingly sporadic questing for clues, artefacts, history or magic that could allow him to recant the strange backfiring trap spell and somehow get her back.
[colour=#ff0000]"And today has giving me a new thread tominvestigate,"[/colour] he said as talking to somepony. Turning to his desk, he rummaged around for his notebook, shoving disorganized piles of loose ramblings onto the floor, until he remembered that both his notebook and picture of Rain, were back at the Keep. With a resigned sigh, he scribbled a reminder pn a stickpad and stuck it the fridge door. Then he took the vegatable curry sandwich and his drink over to his bed and settled down. Eventually drifting off while thumbing through another Daring Do adventure book.
Static answered took down most of the light in the room so there was only some candle light to illuminate everything.
[Maybe she'll be flattered.]
[She'll be creeped out.]
[Maybe the baking molds were so bad she won't even recognize them as being pony shaped, let alone her.]
[They weren't
that bad.]
[Did I make the fruit tray? I think I forgot the fruit tray.]
With a deep sigh, he opened the door.
"Hey, Anchors! I hope you're hungry." He led her to her seat at the table where the pancakes were already served.
"I'm still learning how to make just enough for the number of ponies eating. I actually still have enough batter and blueberries to make a lot more...and they don't take long at all to cook up. So...you know...if you want more."
Good grief! How is it he
still couldn't keep himself from rambling on around her?
"Also, that one's Matcha, that one's Jade Citrus Mint and that one's Rooibos," he said pointing to each in turn.
So...now what did he say? She'd be leaving for months. Aside from some Morse Code signals, this would likely be the last conversation they had before she left...and he couldn't think of anything to say!
