Status Quo: Restored
IC date: Autumn 12, 1007
OOC date: October 1, 2012
PCs: Blackbird, Jellybean, Rusty-Gears, Snowfield, Typhoon-Wave
NPCs:
GM:

It's a crisp, late afternoon day in Horseshoe Harbor, and for the first time in a week the sound of children at play is drowned out by the sound of the usual commerce and reconstruction of everyday harbor life. Everywhere, that is, except the town square. Thanks to some easily retrieved herbs the fountain in the center of town has been turned into a magical bubble bath. Foals go in one side and come out adult ponies on the other. Well, assuming they come out at all and don't just splash around like idiots in the suds. Whee~

Not all of the Poison Joke-regressed foals are so keen on baths, however. For those ponies there are a few stallions and mares patrolling the town and grabbing any little kids they can find for a splash in the fountain. So far this has been largely successful with only the occasional actual filly casualty getting doused.

Snowfield is one of those mares, having just completed a successful hunt for a certain elusive little white pain in the flank. She carries her prize overhead, magically hoisting him by the scruff as she trots across the square towards the fountain.

Said pain in the flank is flailing and shouting at the top of his little lungs. "YOU'RE SUCH A DUMB FLANK-HEAD!" Blackbird howls, clawing at the air and trying to squirm his way out of her magical grip. "SOMEONE! HALP! I'M BEING FOALNAPPED! I DON'T KNOW THIS PONY! HAAALLLPPP!!!!!"

A rust-and-oil pinto bounds along after them, doing quite a job of yowling herself as she tries to trip Snowfield up. "Put him down! Let him go! You can't take us anywhere, we don't gotta do what you say! We don't wanna bath! YOU'RE A BIG MEANIE!" Grumpgrumpgrump boingboingboing.

Jellybean is in line with the other foals, trudging towards the bubble bath. He's not dragging his hooves or anything but his head is down and he's fidgeting while he waits for his turn to come. Behind him is Typhoon Wave. "Typhoon?" he says, "I've been thinking. I really like you, but when I was a grown-up I had the worst time trying to tell you that. What if we go back to being grown-ups and we both try to pretend it didn't happen or something?"

Snowfield isn't gonna take no guff from nopony. "You're smelling awfully rank yourself, foal," the forest witch says, voice dripping with irritation. She tosses her head back to gesture in Rusty's direction with her horn and pick up the oily little pinto. "Jeez, what have you been rolling in, grease? I'm sure that half of those spots aren't supposed to be there."

She continues on her merry way towards the fountain. "I thought little fillies and colts were supposed to like bubble baths," she ponders aloud, giving Blackbird a little shake to get him to stop complaining. It's probably just gonna make things worse. "There's… I dunno, suds and things. It's fluffy and you can give yourself a big stupid beard."

Blackbird scowls at Snowfield, and then starts trying to box at her from his floating position. "You let her go, you plop-eating hoof-nosed son-of-a-buckeyed-bonker! When I get outa this, I'm gonna— I'm gonna— " The colt stops abruptly, eyes widening as he points at a nearby Watch pony overseeing the thing, and he starts screaming. Just… screaming. So much screaming.

Typhoon-Wave blinks, laying her ears back shyly. What is he, a mind-reader? She'd been thinking the same thing. Jelly-powers aside, though, it seems like a legitimate concern. "Well, I… I don't know. Do you think we would?" Of course they would. She rubs the back of one leg with the opposite hoof. "It's so much simpler like this. Grown-ups make things so… so… complicated."

Squeak! Hefted! Rusty squirms about, kicking and flailing. "Lemme go! I don't wanna bath! I like grease! I'm s'possed to have spots! Put me down!" She may well be grease-coated. It's the sign of a good mechanic!

Jellybean makes a little whining noise, scuffing the cobblestones with a hoof. "I think I might. I don't know why grown-up me is such a dummy but he really can't make up his mind about anything." The line edges closer to the fountain.

"Keep screaming," Snowfield says as the Watch pony rolls his eyes. Blackbird is hardly the first Joke'd foal to suffer a bad case of Pinto Pan syndrome. "Maybe you'll blow your lungs out and it'll be quiet for a while." Rusty's complaints get a short bark of creepy laughter from the forest witch. "You can like grease again after you're big enough to properly appreciate it, instead of just making a mess for the mess' sake."

She glances back at Jellybean and Typhoon being dumb about their feelings. Admitedly, her interactions with Jellybean hadn't usually involved Typhoon in any way, shape or form so she had no idea that the pegasus had a lady love, but she has to agree that knowing him he'd probably just mess it up. "Want me to push your faces together and say 'Just make out already' once you're adults again?"

SCREAMING. SCREAMING SO MUCH. ALL OF THE SCREAMING. Blackbird screams until he's red in the face, and finally has to stop to pant for breath, and he looks back at Snowfield before scowling heavily again. "You're bad at this!" he shouts. "I hate you! I HATE YOU! You're a TERRIBLE PONY and I'm NEVER TALKING TO YOU AGAIN! Except for now because now will annoy you and I like annoying you, you runty stupid ugly thing out of time that EATS POOP FOR DINNER!"

Rusty-Gears glares, kicking out her little hooves at her as if it'd somehow break whatever magical floaty powers the forest witch has. Stupid unicorns, how do they work?! "I appreciate it! We were making things! And they're gonna be awesome! And you're not gonna get to use any of 'em, 'cause you're a big meanie!" She's not as articulate at insults as her partner-in-dirtiness, but she's just as passionate about it!

Typhoon blushes faintly, looking over at Snowfield and tilting an ear. "What? …Hey, you're the pony who didn't want us to tell you happy birthday."

Blackbird flails a little more and then gasps at Rusty. "Don't tell her about the time machine!! That's a secret! She'll just go wreck it with her big fat flank!!" GASP.

Jellybean makes a little 'meep' noise and somehow finds more 'into himself' in which to shrink. "B-but what if that doesn't work? What if I get scared and do something stupid? I like liking Typhoon, I don't wanna stop just because grown-ups are dumb about liking ponies!"

THAT got a reaction. Snowfield's face twitches when Blackbird gets to the tail end of his string of insults. "Fine, you want me to put you down, you little runt? This is me putting you down." Her horn brightens considerably as, with a toss of her head, she flings Blackbird fountain-wards. She glares at Rusty as if to say 'You're next if you don't hush up'.

When Typhoon mentions the birthday fiasco she sighs. "Will you please not bring that up? It's not anything special, I just wanted some cake." Jellybean's insistance he's gonna mess things up earns him a stern expression. "Look, I'm not here to play relationship counselor. I guarantee you that you are absolutely going to screw things up and do something incredibly stupid. If she really likes you back then she'll just roll with it."

The group (sans Blackbird) is just about at the fountain. They only have a few more precious seconds to change their minds and make a break for it! Well, except for Rusty, she's just gonna be dropped right in the water momentarily.

» Snowfield rolls 1d10 (Three Point Shot) — Result: 10 | Sum: 10

"Yeah!! That's right! You put me down! Don't call me a runt!! YOU— AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" The tiny colt goes flying, flailing his legs wildly as he soooooars over the line for the fountain. He smacks first into Seafoam's carved face, and then flops down, back-first, into the fountain. The little foal sinks under the water with a gurble, as other ponies around watch in surprise. Wat. A few applaud Snowfield.

"Blackbird!" Wail and flail. "You mean mean pony! You can't go throwing ponies around and… and… don't clap for that!" she chastises the crowd with a huff. "You're all big meanies!"

Typhoon blushes and looks sideways at Jellybean. "…I do really like you. But I get all… scaredy about it when I'm grown up. And then I think you don't like me. And then I just do stupid stuff."

Jellybean eeks when he sees Blackbird get hucked into the fountain, which seems to help him make up his mind. "Well, let's not do it, then! We can grow up the regular way and maybe learn not to be dumb ponies about things like this!" With an eager flap of his wings the little colt dashes out of the line, urging Typhoon to follow him and getting ready to take off.

"And now you're a big meanie, too," Snowfield says as she reaches the front of the line and drops Rusty into the fountain with a *sploosh*. "You two are next. Get in the pool and grow— oh, no you don't." The unicorn reaches out for Jellybean with her terrible magic powers. "You two are the most competant weather pegasi this town's got, if you think I'm gonna hear an earful from the mayor for letting you guys run off you've got another thing coming."

SPUTTER. On the other side of the fountain, a big-sized sopping wet Blackbird spits out a fountain of water and coughs a bit. "Wha— what… Where the heck am I?" The Watch ponies stationed nearby who are by now used to the confused adults start to shepherd him out. "Rusty— wait. Snowfield— what?" Geez, these long legs! What! He stumbles out and snorts water, going cross-eyed for a moment as he tries to piece together what had just happened.

Rusty-Gears goes sploosh! And splutters and coughs. And flails! And finally pops her head out proper-sized again. And covered in bubbles! Sniff sniff snort sneeze. "What the heck… Why'm I in the fountain?"

Typhoon gives a startled squeak, but spins on her hooves and spreads her wings. That sounds like a plan to her! Surely she won't grow up to be as shy and silly all over again.

Jellybean lets out a startled yelp, flailing his little legs with all his might against the inexorable grasp of unicorn magic. "Let me go, let me go! I don't wanna grow up, I'll just mess things up!" In the process of all his flailing he unintentionally bops Snowfield on the nose with one of his hooves, breaking her concentration just long enough for him to break free. He dashes off and with a hop, a skip and a jump he's airborne, trying to catch up with Typhoon.

"Just hold on a moment, Blackbird," Snowfield calls out to the other side of the fountain. "As soon as I dunk this featherbrain I'll be around and explain everything." Her momentary distraction gives Jellybean the opportunity he needs to flail around without affording her the chance to dodge and the spell breaks upon the nose bop. "Ow, hey! Get back here!" She takes a few galloping steps after the pegasi then gives up. "Ah, whatever, they can't hide forever. I got two in, that's my good deed for the season."

The unicorn trots around the edge of the fountain to meet up with the re-stallioned Blackbird. "How are you feeling?" she asks with an inquisitive tilt of her head and a lean in that speaks of someone with no respect for personal space. Hopefully the schoolteacher won't be unsettled by Snowfield's own adult proportions.

Blackbird blinks owlishly, looking over at Rusty, then back at Snowfield. Which makes him squawk. "Wha! Snowfield! You're— oh yeah. I remember now." He pauses, then gives her a sheepish look. "Uh. Sorry. About…everything." Cough. "I'm feeling okay, I suppose. You should probably take a turn in the fountain too, though, unless you like being, uh… older."

And flee! After a short pause that may or may not have been intentional as she tries to get her wings working - but conveniently let's Jellybean catch up! - away Typhoon goes, wings buzzing frantically. She's not gonna grow up, no way!

Rusty ahems a bit. And sneezes again. And moves to somewhat sheepishly clamber out of the fountain herself, shaking off bubbles and casting a quick glance at her re-marked flank. "Uh… …Yeah. Um, sorry. About… that. Uh…"

Snowfield nods. "You're feeling okay? That's good." She nods to herself and then abuprtly turns on her hooves and gives Blackbird a buck to the torso. "THAT'S for calling me a runt, you oafish pissant!" she declares with a scowl. Being a little kid is no excuse for making size cracks about the forest witch. To the significantly less greasy Rusty: the unicorn simply replies, "No harm, no foul."

Freedom! Glorious, aimless freedom! Jellybean flies alongside Typhoon Wave looking both excited and maybe terrified (okay definitely terrified, this is Jellybean) about the prospect of what lies ahead. The part where he's flying back to his house suggests he hasn't really thought about this whole 'on the run' thing very much.

"Yeah," Blackbird nods, and — "OOF!!" He clatters backward into the fountain and crashes into the water before sitting up again. "…Deserved that," he chuckles. "Sorry. I really honestly didn't mean it. I was just… uhh. A pissant." Cough.

Rusty-Gears winces. Ouch. She tilts an ear, moving over to Blackbird to help nuzzle him up out of the fountain. "You okay?"

Typhoon is right behind him! Little wings buzzing away. Hey, a house seems as good a place to hide to her as any.

"You're darn straight you did," Snowfield says without missing a beat. "And there's no point in me jumping into that bubble bath. It might be Poison Joke for the rest of you, but for me it's gotta be some kind of magical effect. I'm the only one who got bigger, after all." She waves a hoof in demonstration.

"Yeah," Blackbird chuckles, nuzzling Rusty back as he scrambles out again, sopping wet and bearing a hat of bubbles. "Well, maybe it thought making you bigger would be funnier than making you smaller. Joke works in mysterious ways. And it couldn't hurt just to try. I mean, the cure's right there."

Rusty-Gears giggles a bit, raising a hoof to poke at his bubble-hat. Foals might like bubble baths. Apparently some grown-up ponies do too! She looks over at Snowfield. "Yeah, you never know. I mean, it seems odd it wouldn't be related, it happened at just the same time."

"No no no," Snowfield says with the tone of one who thinks she knows far more than anypony else in the room. "You don't understand. It has to be a magical effect for me. I've run into Poison Joke before. It hasn't done anything to me before, I don't see any particular reason why it would start now." She glances at the ponies frolicking in the fountain. "Perhaps I'll speak to the Watcher, she undoubtedly knows the correct diagnosis." She seems disinclined to enjoy a bubble bath.

Blackbird hmms, thinking a moment, before breaking into a small smile and trotting around Snowfield's other side. He gives Rusty a look over Snowfield's back. A let's-do-something-mischievous look. "Well. In any case, I'm sorry for what I said before, and for being a pain in the rear as a foal." And then he — hopefully with Rusty's help — shoves her into the fountain.

Rusty-Gears catches his eye and matches his grin. Yay, mischief! She edges around Snowfield, waiting for the right moment to assist with the shoving.

Snowfield apparently is not expecting any sort of retaliation from the two adult ponies. "Which reminds me, I have some serious concerns about a few choice words you dropped while you were a colt, Blackbird, especially with regards to— woah hey HEY!"

*sploosh*

Blackbird grins brightly and leans over the fountain, leaning down to fish under the surface with Rusty's help and pull the foal-sized Snowfield out again. He drops her gently on the cobblestone and chuckles. "You were saying?"

Rusty-Gears chuckles, tugging her out carefully. "There we go. Now we're all right-sized again."

A water-logged mess of a foal is dragged out of the fountain. When placed on the ground she has her legs splayed for maximum stability and looks for all intents and purposes like an ornery cat. She glowers at Blackbird and Rusty in between glancing at her own body.

Blackbird pats Snowfield a little. "Pretty sure you got joked too," he says gently. "Sorry. Just figured it'd be easier to dunk you now. If it was nothing, then it was nothing."

Rusty-Gears nods. "Yeah, better find out now than go ages without fixing it. Though I imagine whoever you were going to go to would have told you the same thing." She glances over at Blackbird. "Is everyone in town just getting doused?"

Snowfield slooooowly turns her gaze towards Blackbird and lets it linger there until it becomes uncomfortable for him. Then the horn turns on and she tries to pick him up again. "We are going to dialogue," she says icily as she makes her way down main street and out of town.

"I…er." Blackbird looks away. Uhhh. But then he's suddenly lifted in all his adult glory an he erks! And flails! "Uh— yes— yes'm!" he stammers, before he waves goodbye to Rusty. Er.

Rusty-Gears blinks. "Uh… okay… um… is this a private dialogue, or…" this is directed after Snowfield.

"Private," Snowfield says plainly without even sparing Rusty a glance over her shoulder. "I shall return him when I am done with him."

"Tell Sadaka I loved heeeeer!" Blackbird calls.