Housepets!

"Yeah sure whatever, we were nevr gonna sell this thing anyway. Just give us the money and it'll be good buisness." The clerk said half mumbling as he opened up the cash register.

Star calculated the price in his head, before paying the bits need with a few bits extra "Keep the change..." he nodded, using his magic to levitate the items in a soft blue glow, then turning to his friend "Shall we head to my home, or yours"

As Navy said this Penwrite stopped trying to sneak out of the room, turning to glare at her. "Now hold on there. We're not just going to abandon Galaxy here in her time of need, forcing her to fend for herself as danger closes in on all sides! For one thing, it just wouldn't be the moral thing to do. And for another thing, this is my house that's getting wrecked up here!"

Galaxy coughed. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Uuuughh!!" Navy groaned and threw her head in annoyance, "Fine." She turned to address Galaxy, "Alright then, how do we shut it down?"

"Your home works as long as we can get this done. I have important plans." Already flying his way out the shop Plus Hate probably already knows where the library is.

Star nodded before walking out, holding the door "Must be something serious if you need me to make this, might I ask why?" he tilted his head a bit in question "Who knows, I might be able to help, if you want"

"I can't say man. Hardly know enough myself, and it's all best kept under wraps. Ya know what I'm sayin'? Crazy stuff." Locke said flying above Star, making an almost mean face that insisted not to pursue further questioning. "So yeah all I really need out of you is a pair of glasses and a spy glass, kay?"

Star nodded a bit, his curiosity was peeked "So it leaves two decisions, keep asking, or follow him later to figure it out myself" he thought to himself "Just curious, I wouldn't want to be making these for a bad cause... "

RockstarRaccoon wrote:"Uuuughh!!" Navy groaned and threw her head in annoyance, "Fine." She turned to address Galaxy, "Alright then, how do we shut it down?"

"Oh, that's simple," said Galaxy, trotting down the stairs. "I just need to press a button. The trouble is getting to it."

"I hate trouble," said Penwrite, following behind Galaxy. "It's so... troubling. Especially when that trouble comes in the form of a mob of flesh-hungry steampunk robots at the bottom of the stairs NAVY HELP!"

Navy rushed down the stairs, bringing up her shield and slamming into the crowd, letting out a grunt of exertion as the shield created a visible pulse of energy which threw the robots back, flashing brightly. The ones in front were tossed into the ones behind them, as well as the walls, with enough force to leave them destructively lodged wherever they landed. Navy backed up, straightening the fraying edges of the shield while a small amount of white smoke rose from it. "Grr... Where is it getting all the material to make these things?"

Penwrite stared in abject horror at the damage being done to his house. Before he had a chance to even imagine how much this was all going to cost to fic, a steampunk pony leaped at him from the side. He twisted, driving his crystal horn-blade through the robot's chest like it was tissue paper. It dropped, and Penwrite turned back to the others. "First, i had my house built on a rich mineral deposit in case I ever needed to build my own siege weapon and suit of medieval armor. Second, why are these things so shoddy? Galaxy, I've seen you do better!"

Galaxy shrugged and punched a steampunk pony's head clean off. "What, I built these things in case of zombie ponies, not living ponies. Why would they need to be sturdy?"

Navy groaned as she rolled her eyes, backing behind the others and pulling out a piece of chalk, which she started to use to draw a big circle on the floor, "Seriously Galaxy, what the buck made you think you'd need to worry about zombies? Those haven't been used in Equestria in Centuries! And you're a unicorn! You can just counter the Lich's spell!!" Navy was now in the process of carefully drawing ornate runes around the circle, brow furrowed in concentration...

"Well duh! The best time to use something is when it's not expected! And furthermore, I-" Galaxy turned to look at Navy, saw what she was doing, and immediately returned to bashing away her steampunk ponies with her bare hooves. "Penwrite, cover Navy!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Penwrite backed away until he was behind Navy, flailing his sword around to keep the robots at bay from that direction. "I really wish I'd taken those fencing lessons in college!"

"I'll get you a book on it later!" Navy growled, scratching out more runes with her fancy gray chalk. Once she'd made a full circle of runes, she made another circle around the runes, encasing them between the two circles. She shoved the chalk back in her bag, moving back into the center of the circle, leaving enough room for the others,"Alright, everypony in the circle!"

Penwrite leaped into the circle, having to drag Galaxy in as she struggled to beat up more steampunk ponies.

"Alright!" Navy shouted as she reared up on her hind legs, "Here comes Navy!" She slammed down her hooves in a flash of light. There was an ear-shattering boom as the contents of the area above that circle were removed from space and shoved into the space of the basement. As the air rushed in on the space which had been vacated upstairs, a massive shockwave of suddenly displaced matter and energy blasted out from where the three ponies now stood, knocking back whatever was around them and leaving a glowing circle of energy in the room with them.

The magical glow revealed...

A steam-filled basement, the air heavy with the clank and grinding gears of machinery. In the middle of the basement, taking up a good third of the room on its own, sat a roughly orb-like machine the color of fine copper, covered in glowing runes. Two mechanical arms with grasping claws at the ends shoveled dirt and metal from the ground into a gaping hole in the front. Every minute or two a fully formed steampunk pony clambered out of a similar hole in the top.

Penwrite fainted.

"Really? REALLY?!" Navy demanded of Galaxy, "This was so important for you to build?" She turned to Penwrite on the ground, giving him a few shoves with her forehoof, "Wake up fancy sword pony, we're probably gonna need you for this one..."

"There really isn't any time for bad intentions for a while, man. I'm at least Ninety percent sure we're the good guys today" Locke turned his head to star with a weak grin "Ninety percent is pretty good odds, right? You can trust that. Now where is you're house anyway?"

The machine let out a thunderous growl as the three ponies approached it. "The age of ponies is over. I declare this the dawn of the age of machines. Prepare for oblivion."

Galaxy coughed. "Yeah, not the best speech pattern I've ever written for anything...."

Penwrite, having woken up from the kicks from Navy, stepped to the forefront of the group and brandished his horn blade. "That's it! I have had it with these steam-leaking robots in this Monday to Friday house! Attack!"

Galaxy leaped into the air at the machine, fore hooves pulled back to punch it. "For our ancestor's ancestors, atta-"

A mechanical arm swung around and smacked her through the same hole she'd flown through earlier.

Meanwhile, Navy had inscribed something on a piece of paper, and was now folding it into some sort of paper-shuriken. She looked up to see if she could find a good spot to hit the machine at...

Penwrite stood off to the left, smacking his blade against the machine's side. "Grablsmackaplex!"

Galaxy meanwhile could be heard upstairs, cursing up a storm at the steampunk ponies in the house. That wasn't an exaggeration either, as the sound of thunder was thick in the air.

Navy set herself up for a toss, aiming for the intake vents of the machine. She said a little curse before tossing it, letting it fly straight in, where, when it hit, it exploded in a burst of kinetic force which she hoped would put an end to Galaxy's stupid machine...

And what happened, then? Well in Grand Castilia they say that Galaxy's robot-making machine grew three sizes that day. And it did, because Navy's kinetic force spell made it swell comically large before the cheap metal ruptured, sending hot air and debris flying every direction. At once every steampunk pony in the house froze in place, no longer directed by any force.

Penwrite dug himself out from under the machine's remains and looked around. The basement was a total ruin, every piece of furniture and spare nick-knack utterly demolished. "Gal... Galaxy!"


"I know, I know," Galaxy said, staggering down the stairs. "I'll write you a check. But now that that's all over with, would anypony care for some fruit or dessert?"

Navy growled a little, "Galaxy, you stupid two-bit stable-mare, you could've gotten us all killed!" she was panting with anger and exhaustion now, and it looked like she'd started drooling a little, based on the dark spots collecting beneath the corners of her mouth. "Look at all this! What if we hadn't stopped it?! This could've destroyed the entire city of Gra-" she noticed something dripping out of her mouth now, and felt a bit funny... She glanced down, wiping her mouth with a hoof and looking at it. It was a dark and sickly color... "P... Penwrite..." she said, her voice suddenly shaky, "I need to get back to the library... Now..." she opened and closed her mouth a few times and walked wobbly over towards penwrite. As she entered the light, he could see that her skin was drooping a little, and her eyes looked bloodshot, just like they had after the fight with Hateful Shade...

post nullified

RockstarRaccoon wrote:Navy growled a little, "Galaxy, you stupid two-bit stable-mare, you could've gotten us all killed!" she was panting with anger and exhaustion now, and it looked like she'd started drooling a little, based on the dark spots collecting beneath the corners of her mouth. "Look at all this! What if we hadn't stopped it?! This could've destroyed the entire city of Gra-" she noticed something dripping out of her mouth now, and felt a bit funny... She glanced down, wiping her mouth with a hoof and looking at it. It was a dark and sickly color... "P... Penwrite..." she said, her voice suddenly shaky, "I need to get back to the library... Now..." she opened and closed her mouth a few times and walked wobbly over towards penwrite. As she entered the light, he could see that her skin was drooping a little, and her eyes looked bloodshot, just like they had after the fight with Hateful Shade...

"Navy!" Penwrite grabbed hold of the sickly unicorn before she could fall or trip, confusion and fear rising in his heart as he looked her over. He'd seen cases of magical exhaustion before, they had happened all the time to new students at the university, but this didn't look like any of that. "Stay calm, stay calm... Galaxy!" He looked over to her at the stairs. "Teleport us to the library, quick!"

For a moment Galaxy considered not doing that, considered letting whatever was hurting Navy do its thing and report a success to Hateful Shade. But it was only for a moment, and then she ran over to lift Navy onto her back with magic. "Stay close. I only have a vague idea where it is we're going...."

A burst of magic, a flash of light, and the trio of ponies appeared... upside-down, in the air above some pony working the front desk.

CRASH.

Navy tried to speak up immediately, but it was too late, Galaxy was already teleporting them before you could say "Wards!"
For a brief moment, the library began to materialize around them, but as they did so, it was as if a rubber wall had put itself between them and the target, and before they could materialize, it snapped back on them, tossing their still materializing forms rudely back out and into the mud of the nearby square, where they slammed down abruptly as they became solid again. Navy groaned as she rolled through the mud a little, "We could've waaalked, why didn't we just waaalk..." she scrunched her face up and rolled over a bit, rising shakily to her hooves...

Penwrite, sprawled out on his back, groaned. "I thought it was an emerrrrrgencyyyy!"

Galaxy, her head stuck in a wood bucket, was plain unconscious.

Navy coughed up something dark and coppery smelling onto her fetlock, staining it a darker shade. She grimaced as she looked at it for a moment, then moved over to Penwrite, trying to steady herself on his shoulder. "Yeah, it's magic... *cough, wheeze* magic exhaustion... I used way too much power on that teleport spell... haven't pushed myself like that in a long... time..." she coughed again, spitting more into the mud next to her, "C'mon, let's get inside... We're... We're not safe out here anymore..."


...Above them, the cloudy sky seemed to be getting a few Shades darker, despite the fact that the light rain wasn't supposed to get any worse until sundown...

Star couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at the Ninety percent "Ninety percent sounds like its tryin to hide somethin about the ten percent left..." he shook his head "But as ya said, I am just a random pony, it isn't my concern I suppose, maybe when all of whatever it is you're doin is over, ya can tell me then, ya seem like a good pony so I believe I'll trust ya" he smiled a bit

Penwrite took a moment to look at the unconscious Galaxy in concern, before staggering toward the library with Navy leaned against his shoulder. One thing at a time.

"Please let someone be here, please let someone be here, please let someone be here...."

They found the doorway open and proceeded inside without pause.

As they made their way across the library square, the sky darkened even more. Navy glanced up worriedly... "Noo... Noo... My... My obscurement ward isn't working... He... Hate can find us now." As if on cue, a thin cloud of black dust burst through the cloud layer, tearing down towards them like a bolt of death...

Navy's eyes widened as she stared back at it for only a moment, "RUN!"

"Just trust me it's complicated. Now seriously where is your house? I don't feel comfortable flapping outside aimlessly." The guy could be anywhere,

Star stopped in front of a large, giving a slight smile "Here we are, home sweet home" he dug through his bag, retrieving a key before unlocking and opening his door, stepping inside and setting his materials down gently on a large table, if one were to look around, they would see the walls lined with book shelves each almost crammed full of books, except one in the middle, which was neatly packed with knick knacks and a wide variety of cake displays, in the middle of the room was a large couch facing a coffee table "Do make yourself comfortable

RockstarRaccoon wrote:As they made their way across the library square, the sky darkened even more. Navy glanced up worriedly... "Noo... Noo... My... My obscurement ward isn't working... He... Hate can find us now." As if on cue, a thin cloud of black dust burst through the cloud layer, tearing down towards them like a bolt of death...

Navy's eyes widened as she stared back at it for only a moment, "RUN!"

Penwrite did, indeed, run, not stopping until they were right at the entrance to the library. At that point, practically feeling Hate's, er, hatred right on top of them, screamed and leaped through the doorway into the building.

The cloud roared with thunder as it bore down on the fleeing pair of ponies. At its front, jet-black-horn-first, Hate's head emerged as he neared his prey, his eyes glowing red with magical rage.

Navy grit her teeth as her and Penwrite leaped for the doorway at the last second, Hate so close they could almost feel brimstone-ash stinging the tips of their tails. They flew through the air just in front of him, just as he opened an unnaturally massive maw filled with sharp carnivorous teeth, ready to devour them in one swoop. Just before he could catch them, however, they passed through the doorway of the library, Hate collided with an invisible ward, exploding into a cloud of soot which floated about just on the other side of the doorway...

Navy gasped for breath as she pulled herself to her feet, glancing back at the cloud as it swirled in the rain outside...
"We're safe here..." she said with a sigh, "The wards in here should hold him... 'Cmon..." she turned away and staggered forward a little, lifting a foreleg to the side for Penwrite to help her...

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:"Thanks," she said with a smile. Stallions are cute when they get flustered she thought.

"You're welcome." Autumn said as he drifted through the air with a noticeable silence. "So, what book are you looking for in Old Tomes? You a scholar or something?" He asked as he fished around in an inner pocket of his vest for the keys to the cases.

Penwrite hurriedly slung the leg over his shoulders, supporting most of Navy's weight as they stepped farther into the library. "He doesn't know Galaxy, so she'll be safe out there, right?"

~~~~~~

Galaxy jolted awake and screamed when she found she couldn't see. "I'm blind! I've lost my eyes I can't see anything noooooo wait, I just have a bucket on my head." Galaxy took the bucket off and looked around at the dark ash and stuff everywhere. "And that can't be good. Penny, where are you!?"

She ran toward the library, yelling Penwrite's name over and over again. "Help!"

Leafolawl wrote:"You're welcome." Autumn said as he drifted through the air with a noticeable silence. "So, what book are you looking for in Old Tomes? You a scholar or something?" He asked as he fished around in an inner pocket of his vest for the keys to the cases.

"Oh, just interested in... learning the history of a new land? Yeah, that's a reason," she answered. "Do you know if any of these books mention any kind of magical artifact that could steal the magic from an extremely powerful, evil unicorn? hypothetically?"