Entry 9, Part 3 (Look Before You Seer)
The trip up the mountainside was dull and uneventful.
Wish I could add more to that statement, and delay the transposing of the far more complicated Canterlot visit until later, but there’s really not much else for me to say.
I mean the ponies aboard were perfectly content with letting resting dragons lie, my seat was perfectly comfy with a nice scenic view, and my snacks were perfectly edible so I don't know how else to make the train ride sound interesting! A pair of curious foals did try to strike up a conversation with me at one point, but their parents quickly pulled them away before they could even say hello. “It might bite you,” is what I overheard one of the adults whispering which was, in all fairness, a valid concern. If I was in that mother’s horseshoes, and I saw MY children approaching a sharp-toothed creature without my say, I likely would have made the same call... though I would have done so with significantly more tact.
Must have been Canterlotians or something.
At least the privacy they granted me was nice, even if the agonizing boredom was not. My usual go-to strategy for passing the time is to write in my diary, but that’s not something I can easily do in a public space. One or two ponies are usually fine, as I've done such around Red Gala, Solaris, and Princess Bluebelle before with only minor difficulties; but any more than that and my concentration tends to get shot. Reading, my backup strat, also fell by the wayside once I realized the only book I had on me was The Poisoned Barb because I’m a vain author who hates looking at her old work. I did manage to get my claws on an issue of the Ponyville Times before I left the library, but the newspaper only served to remind me that I no longer have the patience to read dry business articles or sports headlines anymore. Or maybe I never did in the first place?
With every tool in my arsenal seemingly exhausted, time slowed to an unbearable crawl.
This sadly gave me plenty of time to think.
“What if Solaris already knows about Artemis thanks to his foresight?” I pondered to myself. “What if he already knows what I am thanks to his phoenix?” I theorized in the silence. “What if he’s going to gaslight me about Stardust, or not take me seriously?!” I started to fear, as the worries compounded with each passing minute.
What if what if what if; my mind kept spinning "what-ifs” into existence until I legitimately became sick to my stomach. Every click and clack of the tracks, and every field of trees we sped past only multiplied this pain tenfold as we drew ever closer towards Canterlot, and ever closer towards Solaris. True I had plans set up for how to approach the Prince, and true I had backups to the backups to the backups, but in the end it was all for naught. Left to my thoughts, my thoughts betrayed me at every turn.
At some point I came to the conclusion that the doubts needed to be silenced, the words needed to halt, and that the second-guessing needed to cease and desist, lest I drive myself mad before I even reached Canterlot. I knew in that moment that shutting off my brain was the only hope I had left for escaping the flaming hell that was my mind...
… thus I did just that with the aid of a borrowed doll.
No, really.
In my desperation for something mindless to distract myself with, I ended up digging heatedly through my purse until I stumbled upon Sweepy Belle’s much beloved Power Pony toy. Hoping to avoid his parents confiscating it as punishment for reasons I was not made privy to, the young unicorn had entrusted it to me sometime before the Boast Busters incident had made me forget all about it. Though I’m probably committing some sort of faux pas by referring to the item as anything other than an "Action Figure," with it’s interchangeable clothes and wide range of movement I’m finding it hard to describe the object as anything other than a doll made for colts.
Now I’d like to clarify that I didn’t resort to playing with the toy right out of the gate. Upon spotting it in my satchel, I had initially pushed it aside as I went about looking for something a little more grown-up to do. It was only after I had literally turned the bag inside out did my eyes wander back towards the plaything and consider it a second time. My past and current self began a shouting match shortly thereafter; as part of me wanted to preserve my dignity, while the other wanted me to embrace my juvenile instincts.
I’m embarrassed to admit how easily the latter won the debate, or how the simple trinket managed to hold my attention for multiple hours. The childish acts of posing it, dressing it up in pretty ribbons, and placing it next to the windowsill to pretend it was flying all managed to engross me for reasons I’m currently struggling to articulate. Maybe it was because the colors were pleasing to the eyes, or maybe because holding the pseudo-plastic in my claws somehow felt natural? Heck, maybe it was simply the novelty of possessing a toy at all that did the trick! My seven years of dragon life had been quite devoid of such up to that point, after all; as the first three were spent being a toddler who hated being a toddler, while the remainder was used up becoming Dusk’s number one assistant.
The last time I recall playing with a toy in earnest was way back on Earth, when my father gifted little eight year old me a dark skinned Barbie shortly before his passing. It wasn’t some generic one either, if I remember correctly; he had altered it slightly to make it look like me by adding braids, and by painting its eyes forest green... Now that I think about it, I wonder whatever happened to Lil' Barb? I know I used to display her proudly on the hutch overlooking the kitchen, the one that stood beside the TV room. Maybe Ashley took it as a memento of me after my passing? She always wanted to play with it when she was a child herself, but every time she asked to have it either Jason or myself would lightly tease her back by saying, "You don't want your grandpappy to curse you from beyond the grave, do ya'?!" Her little pouts never failed to make me smile, though one time she did try to steal the precious thing while we weren't looking an-
I just wasted four whole pages of this diary writing about dolls.
God I’m pathetic.
Long story short, I spent the train ride unironically playing with a toy until I arrived in Canterlot. Acting my age without using Scooteroll or Sweepy Belle as my excuse felt nice for a change.
And that’s as far as I wish to go on this topic for now.
◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠
Ahhhh Canterlot…
“Out of my way, dragon.”
“Begone from my sight, horrid little thing.”
“Where are your papers, dame?”
… The capital of jerks and jerkettes.
Boy it's 'great' to be 'home'.
“Eve Sparkle and Dusk Lyons of House Shine have my papers, buddy,” I shoot the last pony, an obviously new guardstallion, a dirty look for his demand. Random checks on the flipping streets? That’s new... Flashing him a royal sending seal, an item very few others possess, I continue heading down the sidewalk and towards my destination; Canterlot Castle.
“That’s insufficient proof, girl,” the pony matches my pace, cutting me off.
Uggggh. I don’t have time for this.
Pushing his muzzle away from me, I give the rookie an earful. “Go to page thirty five in the little cheat book I know you have stuffed in that training tinfoil you call armor and you’ll see my ‘smiling’ face next to the words ‘Solaris’ Squire; do not disturb’.”
Taking another step forward, I start to walk a tad bit faster as I try to-
Twinkle twinkle twinkle
“Are you being real with me right now?!” I sharply whip my head back towards the armored unicorn, the one who had just lifted me off the ground with his magic. “I have a four-o-clock appointment with your soon to be ex-boss to get to!”
“I don’t appreciate your tone,” the flankhole with the muted colors snarls in my face.
“And I don’t appreciate your existence!” I snarl back harder.
Twinkletwinkletwinkle
“Why you stupid little lizar-”
“Good sir, are you seriously thick enough in the head to lay harm upon House Shine’s property?”
?!
That voice…
… No.
Please… no.
Anypony but her.
The newbie guard’s magic remains tight around my form as he turns his gaze in the speaker’s direction. Though I can’t turn my own head far enough to see who it is, I can unfortunately hazard a pretty accurate guess thanks to her deceptively dulcet tones.
“Lady, move along,” the gruff stallion grunts bitterly, trying to be intimidating. “There’s nothing to see he-”
Clip clop
“It's common knowledge that your superior officer, Captain Gleaming Shield, abandoned her household's seat in order to focus on her career many moons ago," the ‘lady’ interrupts with a sharp tongue, and horseshoes clicking upon the paved street. “House Shine’s current inheritor is now her younger brother, Dusk Shine, good sir,” Clip clop "And Dusk Shine, as I certainly do not have to remind you, is Prince Solaris’ personal protégé, and current wielder of the recently rediscovered Element of Magic.”
“Hmph,” my not so little pain in the scales snorts back cockily. “So?”
Clip clop
“So, good sir,” the accented mare counters, approaching closer. “House Shine is destined to become quite powerful in the coming years, so I'd highly recommend not damaging their things in the meantime. Doing so can be likened to social suicide in this town, but any pony worth their cutie mark knows that fact already... or, at least the ones that want to keep their minimum wage jobs; correct?”
“...”
“...”
...Twinkletwinkle twinkle… twinkle… Twink-
All at once the magic holding me aloft ceases, causing me to belly flop onto the pavement.
Ow.
“This city is going to Tarturus,” the dude with clear anger issues mutters crossly to himself. Without sparing another word towards either of us, he then retreats down an alleyway long before I have the chance to memorize his highly reportable armor number.
With the crazy pony well and truly gone, I now find myself alone on the open streets with just me, myself… and…
Bleh
My ‘savior’.
“...”
“...”
I huff under my breath…
… right before thoroughly swallowing my pride.
“Thank you kindly for your assistance,” I curtsy stiffly, my head held low in a show of respect.
Every fiber of my being is screaming at me not to do this, to not grant this monster any kindness. After what she did to me, after what she took from me all those years ago; she doesn’t deserve any respect whatsoever!
She’s horrible!
She’s demonic!
She’s… she’s…
… Red.
Not Red Gala. Not the kind Red. Not the Red who’s my friend, who I can lean against for strength.
No… she’s…
“Madame Rum ‘Red’ Gibed,” I manage to spit out, completing my declaration of gratitude towards my former taskmaster.
Ugh! Even if she did just save me a headache, I shouldn’t be doing this! I shouldn’t be treating her like a person! She sure as heck never saw ME as one back when she was instructing on how to be a proper lady, or forcing me to become a slavish assistant...
“How are you this fine day?”
... so why in the infinite multiverse am I freaking being polite to her?!
I want to growl. I want to shout. I want to singe her, even just a little bit.
Yet… I can’t.
I’m…
…
… I-I’m too afraid of her to even try.
“Still woefully unemployed thanks to you,” the mare tsks in reply, her face a mask of cold indifference. "The current head of House Bluebelle can hold a grudge that would make even a lowly griffon envious. Finding work in this town has been… difficult, as a result.”
“My deepest apologies, Madam,” my cadence remains cruelly locked in ‘perfect-little-lady’ mode. “I wish for good fortune to bless you-”
Before I could finish, the slender scarlet pony trots on by me without a second thought.
“... soon,” I complete my sentence, as I rise out of my bowing. “Ikmo pedlr,” I spit angrily in English once she’s gone.
What an unpleasant reunion... and the worst part is that I feel like I owe her now for the save!
Bleh bleh bleh! It's four years too late for her to have suddenly pulled a conscience out of her plot! I bet she only stepped in because she thought my charge was somewhere nearby, and figured that she could make herself look good enough to hire by playing the hero.
I wouldn't put it past that manipulative, two-faced harpy to try something so underhoofed.
“Someday I’ll tell her to back off,” I reassure myself, resuming my walk towards Canterlot Castle. “Someday I’ll be brave enough to say it to her face.”
Goodness I hope so.
I really, really hope so.
“One fight at a time though, Barb,” I remind myself, keeping the internal dialogue going; trying my best not to dwell on the ugliness that had just occurred. “Solaris first, Madam Red second… the world third.”
Er, getting a little ambitious there aren’t we, Self?
“Hey, after the fight I had with Princy? I feel like I can take on anypony.”
Even Madam Red, or Prince Solaris?
“W-well… Anypony but them…”
Right.
“Right,” I agree, totally not looking like a crazy person. “I’m Solaris’ Squire, and he’s been training me to be the social brains to Dusk’s brain brains, so I bet I can outsmart a bunch of other ponies if I just tried.”
To what ends?
“Eh… Fun ones, mostly, I guess.”
Neat.
“Maybe I’ll try to become a lawyer in the future." I suggest, mulling the idea over. "I am pretty well versed in laws and legality already.”
Hmmmm… Nah.
“Yeah. You’re probably right.”
Would be pretty tight though.
“Oh without question. I can see it now; Defense Attorney Barbara, the Dragon of Justice!”
In your dreams.
“Maybe, actually! I do seem to get those now for some reason.”
Well that’s only because Artemis almost committed treason.
“Snrk,” I snort at my own ponderings, winding down this weird self-conversation. “Hey that kinda rhy-yyyyyyhhhnnnoooo!!”
… Rhyno?
“N-not rhyno, a rhino!” I amend my thoughts in a hush, as I take a step back from the very, very strange creature that had just appeared in my path.
Between me and the castle gates stands a horned beast the likes of which my eyes have never seen in the flesh. Standing about as large as Butterscotch, the thick skinned mammal stares resolutely out over the horizon, acting like a sort of sentry.
Actually… On second look, they might actually be one.
Largely undersized standard issue armor can be seen wrapped tightly around their barrel, almost choking the poor thing. There’s a golden helmet lanced through their horn too, looking quite ridiculous with its uselessness. Even the enchantments on the metalwork seem to be failing, as only a small portion of the creature’s body looks to be changing to match the white coat colors of Solaris' Royal Guard. The rest is a sort of orangish yellow, with their horn being a striking cornflower blue.
Even with all the weirdness surrounding them, the rhino still cuts an imposing figur-
“Halt! State your name and business here.”
EEP
Almost tripping backwards, I flash the rhino a suspicious look…
… before my head tilts to the side, and I come to realize that the normal looking guardmare next them was the actual one talking.
“State your name and business here,” the pegasus mare sighs as she repeats herself. Clearly I’m not the only one whose had a similar reaction today.
“O-oh, right,” I shake my head, returning to the present. “Barbara The Dragoness; Property of House Shine, Assistant to Apprentice Dusk Shine, Squire to Prince Solaris... I’m here on royal business.”
“Ah, the four-o-clock. Gotcha,” the sole pony in the gathering nods pleasantly. “Didn’t know you were the one on the docket today, Barb. Aren’t you and Dusk down south in… whatwasitcalled… Townsville these days or something?”
“No, you're thinking of Ponyville,” I correct, as I rack my brain trying to remember this mare’s name. Those stupid armor enchantments make everypony look the same. “The city of Townsville is to the west.”
“Oh wow, you two moved to Ponyville?” the guard laughs conversationally, ignoring the flipping rhino beside her. “That wacko’s nest? How did you two ever get Gleaming Shield's blessing on that?”
“Wasn't that hard,” I shrug. "We just had Prince Solaris himself royally decree it to be so.”
“Hah! A little decree never stopped the captain before!”
“Maybe,” I smile politely, though I am growing a little impatient. “But… speaking of Prince Solaris…”
The guardmare looks at me funnily for a couple seconds before at last realizing the time.
“Right right, your royal business! Sorry,” she quickly apologizes. "Let me get the door for ya’.” Shooting her non-pony partner a confirmatory gesture with her wings, the pegasus proceeds to knock the large double door behind her with two solid kicks.
Whomp whomp!
The rhino does the same…
WHOMP WHOMP!!
FUMP!
… with mixed results.
“Ugh! Darn it, Twinkle Scout, not again!” the guardmare flaps into the air, avoiding the debris from the now collapsing stone portal. “I told you to be more careful!”
The rhino, who apparently goes by a very girly pegasus name, squeaks softly as they shy away from their partner’s judging glare.
“Sigh… Head on in, Barb,” the actual pegasus here suddenly commands, knocking me out of my observing. “Be sure to watch your step too.”
“R-right,” I stutter, regaining my focus. “Right. Keep up the good work, um,” glancing at the larger of the two, I take a wild guess at their pronoun. “Ladies?”
Twinkle Scout’s lips twist upward into a tiny smile thanks to this.
Nailed it.
Jumping slightly up onto the downed doorway, I leave the two guards behind as I make my way inside.
"First an aggro guard, then a rhino guard?” I ask aloud, unable to keep all these sudden musings in my head. "What’s going on?”
Canterlot may be a trash city, but Gleam’s mares and stallions are usually well behaved and organized. They’re also usually only ponies; last I heard the old law preventing non-equines from enlisting still hasn’t been repealed, so how did Miss Rhino, or ‘Twinkle Scout’, come to be?
I’m all for more inclusion, especially in Equestria’s capital, but I don’t think that’s what’s going o-
Trip~
Aaannnndd here comes the ground.
Again.
Right after I was told to watch my step too... At least I’ll be landing on carpet this time instead of pavement.
Whoomp!
“U-universe?" I groggily groan out from my faceplant. “We need to have a serious talk about all your physical comedy lately. Just cause I have scales doesn’t mean I get to be a punching bag.”
The universe, being the base coward that it is, ignores me.
“Owie.”
The object that I had just tripped over, however, does not; revealing that it wasn’t an object at all, but instead a pony. Rising to my knees, shaking away my daze, I turn towards who I had unintentionally bumped into…
… only to have my heart plummet into the very pits of my stomach.
It's a foal.
I had just hurt a little foal.
“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” I scramble to my feet; my body shaking as tears start leaking not from the baby's eyes, but from my own. “I-I didn’t see you there! Are you okay?!”
A light grey colt stares blankly back at me with squinting, orangish-brown peepers. Tiny infant glasses can be seen lying next him, most likely knocked off in the collision. What's a defenseless foal doing in a castle unaccompanied?!
Before I can ask anything more, the toddler with the dark brownish mane begins to open his mouth.
My nerves go from shaken to shot as I brace for well deserved, terrible twos level wailing.
“Is that you, Barbara?”
But a deep, masculine cry is what I receive instead...
...
…
... Sure.
Why not?
I wasn't using those now fried brain cells anyways.
“Can you hoof, er, claw me my glasses please, dear?”
“...”
Operating on autopilot, I reach over and present the foal with the inkpot cutie mark his spectacles.
“Here you go, um... Mister Crow Inkwell?” I politely address the pony who I think I now recognize, and who I’m about ninety nine point ninety nine percent certain was a full grown adult the last time I saw him.
The left over point zero one percent is only there because I'm starting to wonder if the pretzels I ate on the train ride up were expired.
“Ah. Thank you,” the unicorn child with the voice of a stallion replies, as he utilizes his fat baby hooves to place the specs back on his face. “And thank you for being on time for the meeting too! Prince Solaris is waiting for you in the throne room, little one.”
“Cool,” I slowly nod, as I continue to look down at Prince Solaris' seasoned Event Planner.
I make no attempt to hide my intense staring.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“... Sorry, Mister Inkwell, but I have to ask. Did you do something with your mane? You look a little different today...”
A long, annoyed sounding sigh is my only reward for my icebreaker.
“Miss Barbara, I regret to inform you that you're the seventh person to try that line on me since the incident," Crow deadpans, turning my face red with embarrassment. So much for being original. "While slightly more amusing than 'did you lose weight?', or 'is this why they put warning labels on youth cream?', I'd rather prefer for you to keep in mind that I am still your senior, and thus am just as deserving of respect as I did when my age was in the double digits.”
“S-sorry, sir," I apologize with wilting ears. "It was rude of me to joke about... whatever this is you're going through."
“Ah, do not fret, child" he casually waves me off. "I’ve grown used to the indignity inherit in this most unfortunate predicamen-”
“There you are!”
“Eep!” Crow then jumps, as a new voice suddenly startles us both. “Oh no! Gotta go!”
Before I could even ask what the hell, the technical toddler gallops off as fast as his stubby legs can carry him... just in time for a castle nursemaid to skid round the corner and continue her pursuit.
“Crow you naughty jaybird!” the mare shouts furiously as she rushes past me, fresh nappy clenched in her teeth. “We talked about this!”
“Put me in another one of those blasted things woman and I’ll personally end your career!” the youthened pony yells back at his irate caregiver.
“Bigger brats than you have tried and failed, little man!" she retaliates, her words growing faint as she speeds off to parts unknown. "Get back here this instant or I'll shove your flank into a filly onesie and hoof you over to your parents!”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Already have your outfit picked out for you, sweetie~ Pink frills, see-through skirt, and it says Princess Puddlepants on the plooooot!!!”
With that final, traumatizing, exchange, the odd pair finally disappears out of sight.
What also left along with them was any semblance of normalcy that remained in my bizarre life.
Ooooooh boy.
Think I’m starting to maybe see why Solaris has been too busy to write to me lately. Aggressive guards, rhinos, and now shrunken stallions?! What the actual hell is going on around here?!
T-this is crazy! This is insane! This... this is…
Chaos.
…
… Oh sheet.
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Oh sheeett
And that's when the golden apple dropped on Barb's head with enlightenment.
10709529
Best way of getting notified for when a chapter is out is when the author replies to your comment.
Glasses, on.
Page, clicked.
Aw yeah, it's reading time.
It wasn't worth the wait because now I have to wait even more for the next chapters.
My two pennies down below.
Hmm, my first thought was Discord but that can't be right. He doesn't show up until much later. I probably missed some hints that are going to be obvious when the reason behind the current chaos is revealed, but for now I'm gonna trust in simplicity. It's a dream! It would explain everything so nicely. The stupidly aggressive guard that refused to listen to Barb, the save from someone who really wouldn't have bothered, a rhino guard with armor that barely fits and has a name more fit for a Pegasus, and finally Mister Inkwell as a toddler. Of course this can all be explained away as coincidence and magic - we've seen spells like these in the show, magic that causes people to get mad at each other, the magic of plot armor, and transformation spells. But! All of these incidents at once? Might be a tad much for it to be mere coincidence. The biggest reason for this "theory" is Barbara has just now begun receiving dreams and may have fallen asleep on the train due to her boredom.
But then the fact this is written in a diary kinda ruins the dream theory.
I don't need sleep, I need answers. In the meantime, I'll be having conniptions.
Edit: Oh yeah,
If I recall correctly the proper spelling of this is 'nought' in this case.
10709668
...
...
... (Reads through past comments)
… It's been roughly five years or so since I've last been called out on a grammar mistake like this...
... Sigh... Cue the clip:
Joking aside, I'm hoping it won't be too long before I finish up the second half of this episode. It's been a good long while since the last Solaris talk; gotta make sure this coming one hits the right balance of informal and cryptic readers have come to expect from him
As for your guesses...
...
... See you next time
I internally smile and get light hearted every time this shows up in tracking.
Im surprised the aggro guard didn’t get himself court-martialed. Must be the ‘ole Canterlot pride stuck up his plot.
Considering implying drama followed by a mundane explanation is your modus operandi, I’m just gonna sit here and wait to see. No assumptions this time.
Theyre not dolls, theyre Action Figures.
Chaos is early? That dont make no sense.
What fun is there in making sense.
Oh, S
t.
I'm surprised that Barb didn't see the similarity of her own life experiences and what happened Inkwell. Of course Barb had to go through the whole indignity of growing up again, while Mr Inkwell is probably just waiting for a counter spell.
10709895
Hmmmm, maaaayyybbbeee...
... maybe not
10709985
t chaos" reveal. Next chapter I DO have Barb touching on the similarities though not only with Crow (From double digits to one), but with Twinkle Scout (Changed from one species to another) and Anon Guard (Altered Personality) as well.
On the cutting room floor lies a take of this scene where Barb assumed Crow Inkwell (Raven Inkwell from the canon-verse, in case that wasn't obvious) was another person just like herself; a reincarnate (One of these days I'll come up with a better word for it, I swear). She tried to weasel a confession out of him using the skills she used on Artemis... but in the end I felt the scene was going on too long for what would ultimately end up being a red herring, so I shrank it down (pun intended) to this quick exchange. I think it flows better now with the past two reveals this way, and doesn't distract too much from the "Oh s
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk
The bigotry poor Barbara faces fills me with rage. I always put myself in the protagonists shoes when reading, and in incidents like this, I never know the best way to respond. Just ignore it? Lash back calling them all "Bigots"? Either way, it must be painful.
10710095
Reincarnator
10709668
Unless barbs interference has led to him/her escaping early or the stone prison was damaged when it was moved so some chaos magic is leaking
10710095
There are a couple of ways to go about naming stuff.
My idea would be “a Stranded“.
It would be inoccuous and fits the mental aspekt a lot better than “a reincarnate“
10710234
That sounds plausible and was something I hadn't considered! Time will tell if that's truly the case
10710228
I am leaning so very, very hard towards this one
10710255
Hmmm... A Stranded could work, considering the mechanics behind who gets reincarnated and who doesn't guarantees that all parties involved will always be-
Oops~ Spoilers
I only tease because I love you all <3
10710179
Only that He's Dedicated to Roses 2 was very much worth the wait
10709914
Hmmm... I have used that set up quite a bit lately, haven't I? Reveal followed by explanation, reveal followed by explanation... Pretty comfy and predictable, right?
Would be pretty jarring if that suddenly wasn't the case someday...
...
...
... See you next time
10710947
You cannot unnerve me, I’ve grown immune to your charms~
For those like me that don't know much
What does that mean?
Oh paper
10711060
*Blushes*
W-well, ikmo pedlr stands for... Well ikmo translates to "Ugly". As for pedlr...
...
... Hehehe, Barbara's got a bit of a potty mouth
Language warning; unlike the cute "Oh sheet" at the end of this chapter, pedlr stands for something a little bit more spicy.
With heads up in place... Barb called her former taskmaster an ugly bitch.
Somepony get a bar of soup
10711624
Modern Children... They say the most strange things.
10709599
Ah, but was it the golden apple of enlightenment? Or the enlightened golden apple? Given that Discord's on the move right now it could go any of half a dozen or ways. Chaos could have the idea of enlightenment played straight (not something one would expect but Chaos might go that route just because no one would expect it thus it would be the unexpected change), or it could use hamfisted word play to either use enlightened as another word for 'luminescent' or interpret the 'light' of enlightenment as lightweight. Then it could either be the 'enlightened' golden apple, as in an enchanted apple that is the recipient of the effect, or the golden apple of 'enlightenment', being enchanted to place the effect on the first thing it touches. And then because Chaos, if it's the latter does it effect Barb's whole body? Just her head that was hit? Just the collection of scales/fins that was touched? Do small patches of golden light randomly emit from random parts of her body?
If anyone's curious, yes this is sometimes a thing I do. Taking a small thing like what I replied to and just running with it.
10725699
I can wait.
Welp, I just binged the series in two days (and nights) and caught up, so it's time to play the ol' waiting game.
10709699
Well, have another correction.
10757155
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... Thank you