The End Of Mad Mare S Madness
IC date: Spring 30
OOC date: April 20
Location: Outskirts of Town
PCs: Sunshine, Ruby-Blossom, Sadaka, Magpie, Tale-Chaser, Tick-Tock
NPCs: Stormcloud
GM: AJ

It has been several days since the last 'encounter' between Sunshine and Stormcloud. One rainy afternoon that revealed them to be the broken halves of the same pony everybody suspected them to be, while also revealing there to be a time limit on their existance apart. Though there have been little signs to show Sunshine's fading state over the last few days, what with the little filly's desire to scamper about and get into muddy situations and whatnot, today has the white filly acting sluggish.

This happened quite suddenly. One moment Sunshine was chasing a butterfly, possibly to try and show it to her friends, and the next she was sprawled out in a patch of grass, making an impression in the ground with her face, with said butterfly perched on one of her ears. Mumbling something about 'finding Stormcloud'.

As though sensing the iminent, and very possibly final confrontation between the two halves of one pony, the weather has alternated between times of sunshine, and moments of cloud cover, the clouds in question grey and ominous while they last…

Magpie is right there beside Sunshine. When the filly collapsed, she got really worried. So now she has the kid on her back, marching into town with a determined look on her face and no idea what the heck she's doing.
When Tick-Tock sees Magpie marching into town he instantly reconises the look on her face as one of somepony who is determined to do something but doesn't know what they're doing but when he sees the filly on her back he rushes over to see if he can help.

Tale Chaser spotted the pair of them before long and hastened to join them. Which he did. Now he walks alongside Magpie and her diminutive charge, head hanging and expression low. "Maybe we should- is there… do you think we could find someone to help…?" he asks, and not for the first time. "Maybe, um- the two… the two goons. Maybe if they know we have a plan to stop Stormcloud they'll help us out?" Naive much?

Magpie gives TC a quick little nuzzle. He's adorably stupid sometimes. "I don't think minions work that way," she says qiuetly. "I guess I kinda hope if we just mush 'em together maybe they'll just… y'know. Stick." She looks over at TC. "I have some tape in my bag… if that might help…

Sadaka is moping again. This seems to be her default setting, anymore. Mope mope mope. But she perks up a bit when she spots Magpie - and then pricks her ears in alarm when she sees Sunshine getting an impromptu piggie back ride. She squeaks and scrambles over, nearly tripping over one not-quite-tucked-in wing in the process. "Sunshine! Magpie, what… what happened?"

Tale-Chaser glances at the bag. He doesn't seem so sure. "Really? She was really mean to them. You don't think they'd want a nicer boss?" He looks from the bag, to Sunshine, and reache sover to nudge her gently to see if she's gotten any better and maybe is just pretending to be floppy still to score a free ride.

Tick-Tock finally makes it over to Magpie and TC, a little out of breath and says "I'm a doctor is there anything I can do to help?" This isn't strictly false either as Tick is a doctor, just not a medical one.

As Magpie, Tale Chaser, and Tick Tock march down towards town, she very well may feel the hairs of her mane standing on end. Clouds float calmly in front of the bright sun, casting another long moment of darker shade everywhere, and it's in that moment that the familiar heavy hoofbeat of a pony whom isn't quite all pony strikes up. Clop, clop, thump, thump…

The small group is being followed. Maybe a few blocks back, by the very mare Sunshine mumbled for moments ago. Stormcloud watches the small group of ponies…minus one important figure. Which may be why she's making an appearance now. There's no Ruby to tell her off. Just a bunch of kids…and one 'doctor'. No problem…

Magpie glances up at Tick-tock. "Um.. hi." She shuffles her hooves and peeks back at Sunshine. "I don't think she really… uh… can get help from a doctor…"

Tick-Tock smiles and says "No I don't think one could. A couple of bandages isn't going to fix that but enough about doctors is there anything I can do?"
Tale Chaser adjusts his spectacles and regards Tick Tock cautiously. "What… what kind of a doctor are you? She's- it's sort of a… a soul sickness," he mumbles, not quite convinced himself. That and he's distracted. Distracted by the sound of hooves.

The young scholar turns and peers up the road behind them. "Did anypony else hear that…?"

Sadaka did indeed hear that. She's gone stiff, ears back and eyes narrowed, looking somewhere on the scale between angry and terrified. She twitches her ears this way and that, trying to pinpoint the exact direction of the hoofbeats and put herself between Sunshine and thataway.

Tick-Tock straightens his own glasses and says "I guess you could call me a doctor of everything but on second thoughts don't because I don't like to boast." His ears quickly perk up and he whips around when he hears the noise.

Magpie 's ears lay back. "Oh," she says to Tick. "You're a /scholar/," she says, her tone suggesting a life of useless unemployment. She slowly turns, then, ears flicking. "What did you hear?" she whispers to her cute scholarly coltfriend.

Tale-Chaser winces as if struck. He doesn't answer at first, glancing between Maggie and Tick Tock, and slowly glances up the street. "Hoofsteps…" he mumbles, staring for a moment. He then looks back to Tick Tock. "She, um, her spirit got split from… from another pony. Do you know some kind of magic to put them back together…?" He sounds skeptical, but, hey, who knows. Maybe a pony who just happens to ahve a magical solution to their every problem just showed up at the right time. Stranger things have happened.

Tick-Tock says "Now how many scholars do you know that A, live in tents and B, make clocks? Actualy, don't answer that. We have more pressing matters on our hooves like, as this fine pony just mentioned, unsplitting this young filly which should be straight forward if we can find the other part of her."

Clop, clop, thunk, thunk, clop, clop, thunk, thunk.

Stormcloud lazily draws closer, and closer to the assorted group of ponies. Not even really hiding herself, it seems Storm's found a few ways to entertain herself throughout the week, given the assortment of accessories she's sporting. Several expensive-looking items of jewelry one can only assume doesn't belong to her hang off her neck and either ear. A cape of dark red coloring. A big chapeau with a great feather stuck in it.

And a small pack strapped around her, with a drink holder on one side and a popcorn holder on the other. There's even popcorn in it!

When she's noticed, and within maybe thirty feet of the group, she stops, her eyes fixated on the small filly on Magpie's back. "Oh don't mind me. I'm just enjoying the show. This is the part where the main heroine dies a tragic death and the whole town turns out to pay homage, isn't it?" A piece of popcorn is fetched from the holder. "/Please/ tell me I haven't missed it yet. I've been waiting all week!"

Magpie coughs. "…yeah, well, see, finding the other half is the easy bit," she says to Tick. "We gotta get 'em back together without the other half squashing this half, is all…" She looks back at the unconscious filly. "…I'm so sorry," she whispers.

Sadaka flattens her ears, and flares her wings a bit, and half-scoots half-bounds over to stand between Stormcloud and Sunshine. She'd growl if zebras could. Instead she snorts a bit. "Well at least that takes care of findin' her," she mutters aside to the rest of the little 'group'. She seems less than pleased with this, admittedly.

The color drains from Tale Chaser's face, and then his neck, and the rest of him, because blood is fluid and all of his blood is sort of retreating as far away from the scene as it can, because this is pretty scary stuff. He's watching Stormcloud, of course, stricken.

When Sadaka takes up a protective stance, it seems to rouse Tale Chaser a bit from his stunned state. He shakes his head briskly, sets his lips in a firm line, and strides forward to stand beside Sadaka. And a little ways behind her. "Yeah…" he says.

He then raises his voice and calls out to Stormcloud. "If she dies, you will, too," he says. "You can't- you're not gonna be able to live without her."
Tick-Tock bites his lip."I should be able to do that if I'm able to subdue both halves and I'm pretty sure I have some things back in my tent that could make this easier, but back to subdueing them," says Tick as his horn starts to glow a little "I've never actualy tried this spell before but here we go," and there is a white flash and Tick colapses to the floor, Stormcloud and Sunshine completely unaffected

Magpie glances sideways at Ticker. "…/scholars/," she mutters.

Sunshine starts to come around, a soft noise given and the white filly's head lifting. "Magpie..? Did we find her..?" she murmurs.

Stormcloud turns her head away at the bright flash and subsequent collapsing of a pony. She snorts to herself. That was mildly entertaining.

Then those coal-black eyes shift to stare at Sadaka and Tale-Chaser. "I'm supposed to care, right? Self-preservation and all that? I'm just checking the script here, I forgot to read it before this little drama started." She throws a leg over her forehead. "Oh /no/, whatever shall I do? I /must/ let you put that /thing/ back inside me then! Or else my world will /end/! Woe is me! Woooe is meeee!"

Faux-drama ended, Stormcloud casually fetches her drink from her holder, bringing it up for a loud slurp. "…Was that about right?"

Tale-Chaser lifts a hoof and rubs his nose with the back of it, face falling as he considers Stormcloud's little tirade. It makes him frown. A lot of things are making him frown. He wishes he had a good encouraging book to curl up with. "I just don't see what you really have to gain from hurting her," he says. "S'just… it's kinda nihilistic, isn't it? If you're not looking out for yourself, who ARE you looking out for?"

Magpie shifts a bit to look back at Sunshine. "Yeah," she says gently. "We found her. She's being all sarcastic at us now." She adjusts her newsie cap, opens her saddle bag, and pulls out a bag of ball bearings. "Niwhut?" she asks, blinking at the seapony colt. "Um… I mean, yeah! Do you wanna die?" she shouts to the big mare.

Sadaka blinks and glances back over her shoulder at the flash, twitching an ear. Well. …There goes adult support. Uh-oh. She doesn't pay attention for long, though, looking back up at Stormcloud. And then over at Tale Chaser. "She's /crazy/," she states bluntly. "I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't care about anypony, herself either." She frowns. "…But… but /we/ care about Sunshine, an' we're not gonna let her die, even if it means dealing with you. I'll hold you down myself if I gotta!" she snaps up at the much-taller pony. Yeah, /that's/ gonna work, mm-hm.

Stormcloud puts her drink away, buffing her hoof on her chest. "Eyup. That's it exactly. I'm crazy. I'm crazy, and suicidal, and just plain mean. Haven't any of you been paying attention? Anyway." Stormcloud grins down at Sadaka. "I'd like to see you try, shorty. Look, I'll even make it easier for you." The big grey mare carefully settles herself down, folding her metal legs beneath her, then her forelegs. She carefully arranges the popcorn where she can still get at it. "…Welp. Here you go. Let's see how long you can hold me down for. Even if you could, do you have /any idea/ how to join two pieces of a magically broken pony?" She snorts.

But Sunshine, in the quietest little voice ever, probably right next to Magpie's ear whispers: "I think I do…"

Magpie 's ears twitch and her eyes widen a fraction. She tries not to give any indication of what Sunshine said. "What?" she whispers.

Tale-Chaser's ears flick back behind himself, catching the hint of talking. He isn't sure what they're saying, but they are saying something. Hopefully this means there's a plan. Which means… someone needs to keep being tank.

Tale Chaser glances between Sadaka and Stormcloud, then frowns at Stormcloud. "You don't really… sound convinced, though. Just crazy? That's it?" He reaches up and scratches the side of his head, then pushes his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with a hooftip. After a moment's consideration, he shakes his head, and sighs to Sadaka. "Okay, um… you grab her… her front legs, I'll take…" His voice falters by the syllable. "the b-back?"

"Get her so she can't move…" Sunshine whisper/mumbles to Magpie. "I think I can do it from there."

Stormcloud is waiting. Expectantly. Sipping her drink, eating her popcorn, maybe adjusting her hat. "…Well? Or is this not good enough? Wait, wait." She starts to unfasten the harness, pushing the drink and popcorn aside so she can sprawl out on her side instead. "There. Fighting chance, fillies. I can't make myself any more helpless for you!" Yes, she might have just called Tale Chaser a filly. Poor skittish bookworm.

Sadaka doesn't need much more invitation than that. She's angry, and stressed, and kind of scared herself, and there's no more time for second-guessing! She waits for an opening before bounding at the grey mare, jumping astride her and trying to hold her down by the neck, because hey, that seems as good a place as any to hold a pony down by.

Wait, what?! "No! Sadaka, it's a trap!" Magpie starts to run towards the crazy mare, and Stormcloud too…

"Eeeeee!" squeals Tale Chaser, romping along after Sadaka. Then tripping and sprawling to the street with a grunt. Tackle aborted! He glances up, at Sadaka, at Stormcloud, pushes to his hooves, and flings himself at the melee! To try and grab Stormcloud's face and hold on. And just before he seizes her- or attempts to do so- "Wait, a trap!? But-" But nothing! Roll to grapple faces!

"That's more like it!" Stormcloud shouts, just moments before being pinned down by a winged zebra filly and a grappling seapony colt! She even gives them a couple seconds to feel like hey, maybe they can hold a full-grown mare down!

Alas, Magpie's words ring true. A trap it is, the mare taking full advantage of Sadaka and Tale Chaser's willingness to be so up close and personal to wrap her forelegs around the both of them! Then she puts her metal legs to good use, hydraulics lifting the mare upright, and the foals with her. "Ally-oop!" the mad mare shouts again, fully intending to fall back and go all wrestlepony with the two kids!

Remember foals, these moves are performed by trained professionals. Do not try this at home!

Yipe! In hindsight Sadaka /really/ should've seen that coming, yup. She flares her wings out, trying to make herself as unweildy as possible. And kicks! Kicks and flails and punches, because there's a neck right there and she's gonna hit it. Maybe she's learned a thing or two from Blackbird after all, 'cause for such a tiny zebra, she's got a pretty sizable kick to her.

Tale Chaser also kicks! But he's scrawny. So it likely isn't much to worry about. The young seapony can naught but flail in Stormcloud's grip- although he does manage to throw a couple of hooves up and over his head as he sees the ground swinging around towards him in so threatening an arc. Seaponies have always had a questionable relationship with land and it looks like Chaser is not about to challenge that norm. 'I hope my glasses don't break,' he thinks. 'That would make this even worse.'

Some ponies feel they have the weight of the world on their shoulders; Stormcloud on the other hoof suddenly feels like the weight of the world is resting on the middle of her back - and not figuratively. Suddenl Ruby! The turquoise mare /sits/ right on Stormcloud's back - under normal circumstances this challenge would likely be overcome - but Ruby, Ruby is pregnant as pregnant could be - why some might speculate she's due anytime. Speaking of due - Stormcloud will likely be due for a visit to the chiropractor after this. Naturally such a weighty introduction is bound to put ground Stormcloud's sinister plans.

Magpie slams her hat back on her head. "RUBY!" She dashes forward with a wild grin. "You're here!"

"Ahahahahahah-ooof!" Suddenly Ruby! Stormcloud, interrupted mid-suplex, finds herself right back on the ground without completely getting to pull off that harsh introduction of ground to Tale-Chaser's forehead or Sadaka's wings. Neigh, instead it's Stormcloud whom is kicked repeatedly by tiny legs, until she has to let zebra and seapony go under the weight of a new foe.

"…Nnngh. Ruby…How do you /do/ that?" the mad mare growls, attempting to get her legs under herself again. If there's a more serious effort to be made, Stormcloud's metal legs may yet give her an advantage! "Get offa me before I buck you off you crazy cow!"

Tale Chaser promptly rolls away from Stormcloud, eyes wide, glasses all askew. He doesn't even have time to put them on straight! The seacolt scrambles away from Stormcloud, glancing back. Ruby? But…

Well! This is as much of a rally as they're going to get. Tale Chaser scampers right back into the fray, circling around, and tries to nab one of Stormcloud's rear legs and hold onto it from the side. Maybe this way she can't kick with it. Maybe he'll get lucky and find the little switch you push to make them fall off. They have one of those, right? A fall off switch?"

Freeeee! It takes Sadaka a moment to realize this enough to stop kicking and flailing, and actually scurry to her hooves. Not without one last kick at the big pony's nose, though! And then she's off after Tale Chaser, snagging a leg to try and hold it down. She's not looking for a switch, but she is looking for joints to smack. Because if she knows one thing from watching Papa Blackbird and Ms. Rusty do their inventing, it's that you can throw mechanics totally out of whack if you give the right joint a good… whack!

Magpie charges at the big metal-legged mare with a shout that's half battle cry and half terrified scream. "AAAAAAAA!" Incoming foal delivery!

Ruby swiftly smacks Stormcloud upside the head while sitting on the struggling mare's back "Knock it off!" she snaps loudly. "You're not allowed to pick on other ponies." authorative, motherly tone go! "Watch your tone, young lady!" despite all the firm tones and angrily puffed cheeks she gives Maddie an affectionate little pat on the head…while Maddie gets beat with a stick "Everypony just calm down for moment, will you?" huff! "I don't even know what's happening!" She pats Maddie's lower back, just above the mare's tail.

A kick to the nose! A whack to a metal joint! A clinging seapony clinging to her other leg! And the weight of one and a half-ponies sitting square on her poor back. Stormcloud looks like she might be down for the count! Holding her smarting nose, the metal-legged mare finds herself bore back down to the ground again, her ears snapping up to see Magpie coming in hot with Sunshine still sprawled across her back. "…Oh no you don't…" she growls, her dark eyes practically glittering.

"I said /get off/!" she yowls, and cueue violent thrashing! Metal legs flailing, the mad pony squirms out from beneath the bigger mare by sheer force, leaving behind her hat and shiny things! Just so she can rise up behind Ruby and give her a swift smack upside the head in kind! "I've had enough! If you're going to throw your big butt around like that, I'm gonna put these legs to use and start stomping heads!" Raaaaaaar!

Tale Chaser is sent sprawling by the flailing, head over bonker. His glasses fall off his face, skittering to the road nearby- intact, but lost. The young scholar blinks rapidly as he sits up- no beady little eyes here, though they are decidedly unfocused as he tries to direct himself back at the melee. "Leave- leave her alone!!" he calls, charging towards Stormcloud, or at least the blur that is the same color as she!

And then likely bouncing off to land on his duff in the street. "Oof! Maggie, where-" he calls out, unfocused gaze wheeling over the nearby blurs. "Where's Sunshine!?"

Sadaka is also sent toppling, landing in a pile of pony and clockwork with a little "Oomph." She shakes her head dazedly and clambers back up, springing back towards the fray and flapping her wings to try to get some leverage away from those flailing metal legs that can probably kick /much/ harder than she can. Where /is/ Sunshine? That's a good question, but she hasn't got the time to look!

Ruby turns to glare at the now freed Stormcloud - it's a firm, motherly glare to say the least. "Sit. Down. Now." she begins to push up off the ground with her back legs, in a manner that almost suggests she's ready to /make/ Stomcloud sit - however that works. But her 'threats' are interrupted as she's promptly smacked upside the head by Maddie; this was unexpected and incites a burning glare from Ruby…

Magpie in an instant loses her trepidation. "DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!" she shrieks furiously when the mad mare strikes Ruby. Her horn flashes with a ruddy glare and her hat flips off her head, a packet not much bigger than an inch square whipped from under the sweatband. The hat rolls away, discarded, as she rips the packet open with her teeth and throws the contents — about a teaspoon's worth of grayish powder — right in Stormcloud's face. "AMNESIA DUST!" she shouts (as if the cry would make it stronger).

Ponies tumbling everywhere! Two mares rearing up about to go rounds! Stormcloud is all but ready to give Ruby a real what-for when-

"AMNESIA DUST!"

POMF! Stormcloud sneezes! Coughs! Sputters! And promptly falls on her rump. "Wha-" Sneeze! Sneeze!! Cough, cough! It may as well have been poison for what all was in that little package.

The effects, however, are rather immediate. The angry metal-legged mare slumps and tips over, her coal-black eyes glazing over, turning almost as grey as the rest of the mare's coat. "…guh…" She might even be drooling. Just a little.

"I think you got her." Sunshine whispers from Magpie's back, picking that moment to slide off and land on wobbly hooves. "U..um… How long does that stuff last..? Should we tie her up?" Sunny immediately blushes from such a thought! "Y-you know, just in case she g-gets violent?"

As the cloud of dust clears, Tale Chaser is flat on his back in the road, eyes swirling, and typically mussed mane moreso. Looks like he took a bonk to the noggin in the melee. For the moment he seems utterly out of it, gazing up at the sky without much comprehension.

As the cloud of dust clears, Tale Chaser is flat on his back in the road, eyes swirling, and typically mussed mane moreso. Looks like he took a bonk to the noggin in the melee. For the moment he seems utterly out of it, gazing up at the sky without much comprehension.

Sadaka is likewise flopped out on her belly, looking slightly dazed and sneezing a bit herself, nose and side showing early traces of a few good bruises. One wing's looking a bit askew. But she's already trying to get up again, adrenaline pumping a bit too much to stay down just yet! Even if the fight /seems/ to be over… for now, at least.

Magpie pants and stamps and glares at the unconscious evil mare. At Sunshine's quiet question, she slowly settles back… "Uh… I 'unno? I only had the one dose… Fizzy took the rest." She picks the filly off her back and sets her on Stormcloud's head. "Better get… whatevering."

Magpie hesitates… gives Sunshine one last quick hug. "I'm gonna miss you!"

Ruby sits there on the ground in shock and awe at what just transpired; swiftly turning her gaze to Maggie. "That better not be permanent." she sharply barks - clearly aggitated; Maggie's answer only brings a frown to Ruby's face. "You…shouldn't mess with ponies minds…" she blinks "What, wait what?" clearly running to catch the bus on this one.

Magpie tearfully pulls out the duct tape.

Sadaka blinks, and looks between Stormcloud, to Magpie, to Sunshine… and squeaks, limping over quickly. "Oh… oh geez… o-okay, um… do… do you know wh-what to do? …Do we g-gotta use the tape? Do… w-will… I…" she gulps thickly, looking a bit teary herself as she looked Sunshine over timidly. "…You… you c-can do this. We… we'll be here. An'… and y-you'll still… you'll still be you." Right?

Ruby-Blossom flails her front legs wildly. "Nopony told me this was happening! You can't go and make these plans without me~" adorable whine~

Sunshine gulps, standing on her wobbly legs, now atop Stormcloud's head! After taking the hug from Magpie, she hesitates, glancing down at Stormcloud, then up at the rest of the assorted ponies. "Um… W..well that can wait just a moment." she says, hopping off of Stormcloud's head. That way she can bound over to all her friends to give them each a big hug too! "I think I know what I'm doin'." she states, somewhere along the way. Ruby gets hugged, and Sadaka… "I had to grow up a little. I think I did! You all helped me. And it was fun, too. I got to be all real and a kid and everything." She scampers off to hug Tale Chaser! Then comes back to give Magpie another hug. "But… I know I need to be a complete pony again. A-and I think I can do it without being crazy like her…" she says, pointing at Stormcloud.

Ruby swiftly snags Sunshine into what is less a hug, and more of a bone-crushing glomp that is held long enough for Ruby to whisper /something/ to Sunshine before the small foal manages to wiggle free.
Sadaka hugs her back. For a moment she clings! Before she catches herself and lets go again, sniffling and wiping at her eyes.

Tale-Chaser groggily pushes himself upright just in time to give Sunshine a hug in return, though as she scampers off, he looks decidedly confused as he watches her. What? Who? Oh- well. She's friendly, at least, and he's not about to say no to hugs.

Magpie isn't even tryin' not to cry, 'cause she's gonna miss the silly li'l filly! She clings to TC instead, though, mashing her cheek against his neck.

Tale-Chaser hooks a foreleg around Magpie and gives her a squeeze. Again, not all with it, but sometimes it's easy to figure out what the right action is. He follows Sunshine with his despectacled squint, a look of concern on his face.

Ruby-Blossom finds a pair of nerdy glasses on the ground beside her and promptly places them upon her muzzle; causing her eyes to grow all biggish while making her look utterly dork-like.

The dark grey slightly-drooly mare's eyes flick up at the filly when she's addressed. Looks like she's already starting to get a bit of her senses back. Sunshine takes a deep breath. "Stormy… You're mean… You're a bully… But everybody has a mean side, and a good side to keep it from being mean all the time. B-but that good side works best when it has friends… Friends help keep the bad things from being so bad, and that includes you. S-so now we're gonna be a big pony, and not a meany-mean pony, and they're gonna help because they're /your/ friends too, and friends help friends be nice!"

Stormcloud's eyes narrow, but the mare can't seem to say much more than a quiet gurgle. Wow that dust was strong!

Sunshine blushes, hopping up atop Stormcloud again and sitting down on the big ol' mean mare. "I guess that's it then." She inhales a deep breath, leans over, and touches her nose to Stormcloud's! And holds it there.

…And holds it there…

…and holds it there…

But nothing happens. Stormcloud manages to turn her gurgling into a chuckle. "That's it? All that sad sop stuff and it doesn't even work? What, did you think just because you made some friends, everything would be alright? Do you think this is some kind of kids sh-"

*KRACKOW!*

Lightning! Out of nowhere the dark clouds above split apart with a dramatic peal of lightning and thunder, striking down where Sunshine and Stormcloud were! By the time the bright flash fades away, there is just one pony left behind.

An off-white, black-maned mare, metal legs gleaming in the sunlight. The pony formerly known as Mad Mare, whole once more. If unconscious, and missing any trace of a cutie mark.

Magpie twists to press her face into Tale Chaser's shoulder when that lightning crashes down. She peeks out. "…Did… did it work? Is she… is Sunshine… in there?"

As the bright flash fades, Tale Chaser looks up from where he'd squeezed Magpie protectively against himself. Or where he'd huddled, terrified, against her side. It's hard to tell. Could have been either. The seacolt frowns at Magpie's question, then sits up and shifts forward. "I… can we…" he asks, quiet and hesitant. "Should we wake her up…?"

Hopefully somepony's paying attention to Ruby - cause Ruby totally has /that/ look in her eyes; it's that mischevious beyond mischevious look that entails Ruby's considering something that would put any of the foals hijinx to shame.

Sadaka jumps at the lightning, starting back a bit. She blinks a few times over at the mare left behind before sitting back on her haunches, ears drooping a bit. "I… guess it worked," she mumbles after a moment, not looking… entirely optimistic about this.

Magpie slowly walks over and touches the sleeping mare, running a hoof over the lighter spots…

Tale-Chaser hovers behind Magpie, approaching the downed Maddie with obvious trepidation. He blinks a few times and frowns, then turns away to start poking around over the cobbled street.

Without deterrent Ruby trots over to the unconscious Maddie with a little huff. "She's had this coming for MONTHS."

SCANDALOUS! Ruby plants a kiss square on Maddie's muzzle, a firm muzzle to muzzle affair tha'ts more than a little friendly! Totally inappropriate, and unexpected for anypony save Ruby! That's how you wake a sleeping mare, right?

It only takes a minute for the unconscious pony to begin stirring after Ruby goes and kisses her. Like she were awaking from a deep sleep, without really understanding what happened, the metal-legged mare sits up and stretches her real legs up with a mighty yawn! "Nnnngh… Oh…by Luna's bristly chinhairs my head /hurts/…"

Sadaka flattens her ears, blinking and skittering back slightly as Maddie stirs. She crouches down slightly and tucks her wings in, trying to make herself small(er), but can't /quite/ seem to bring herself to flee the area.

Ruby beams! Success! See her logic wasn't flawed! So there Ruby is, sitting beside the waking Maddie while wearing a pair of glasses that makes her look ridiculous! "Maddie!" she beams - happy to see /Maddie/ who she actually liked prior to this whole ordeal - that's right, Ruby liked Maddie before it was cool!

Magpie looks up at the dazed mare. "Um.. S-sunshine?" she asks, peeking up at Maddie.

Tale-Chaser furrows his brow, not finding what he is looking for. Probably because what he is looking for is on Ruby's face. He glances about, squints, and tries to interpret the stripey blur nearby. That's probably Sadaka. The seacolt moves to sit beside her, squinting towards Maddie and Ruby for a moment, then leans over to murmur to Sadaka. "Is, uh- is she going to try and hurt us again…?" he asks.

Maddie? Sunshine? For a moment the off-white pony doesn't seem to respond to either of them. "…mm…" Both hooves on her head, she takes a moment to lean over. "…ine…" comes a soft murmur. Then louder. "Sunshine. My name." Her ears flick back. "Sunshine Stormcloud." She stares at the cobblestones near her metal legs. "I used to hate that name."

Speaking of silly things, the odd mare glances around, gaze falling on Sadaka and Tale-Chaser. "…Um. No." Her ears flick back. "I don't think I'm going to hurt anyone for a good, long while, thank you. I think I could use a good night's sleep to figure out what the hay is going on in my head though…"

Magpie lets out a squeal and launches herself forwards. She wraps her hooves around the big metal-legged mare. "It woooorked!" she shouts.

Ruby purses her muzzle - not entirely sure she's /happy/ that Sunshine's been changed; after all - she knew Maddie before and that was 'alright'. "You can use my bed…" she suggests.

Sadaka peers over at this… Sunshine Stormcloud, whatever her name is now. She doesn't seem quite as sure as Magpie that this 'worked'. She wipes a hoof across her eyes, and then across her nose, wincing and wriggling it a bit - yup, there's a bruise there. She twists around to get to work adjusting the slightly bent wing, tugging it back into place and straightening it out, in a fashion that rather looked like preening if it weren't so metally.

Tale-Chaser glances at Sadaka. She isn't much for answers, but it sounds like Maddie is. The seacolt glances up, watching Maddie's blur for a moment longer, then pushes to his hooves. "It worked, then? That's fascinating…" He moves to adjust his glasses as one always must when saying something is fascinating, but there are no glasses there. Oh. Uh. He smooths his mane back instead and then holds his chin thoughtfully.

Oof! Hugged! Sunshine blushes, ears still flicked back, but she gives Magpie a hug anyway. Because, hugs. "Yeah, worked. Except now I have a memory of you both carrying me around, and hitting me in the face with amnesia dust." She sighs, and leans to the side, conveniently against Ruby. "Right. Give an old mare a hoof then, would'ja? These legs of mine are all sorts of stiff after letting kids beat them up."

Then Tale-Chaser reminds her that there are others present too! "…Ah. Well." She rubs the back of her head, gaze drifting towards Sadaka. "…sigh. Look. If by 'worked' you mean I'm back together, then yeah. I'm…whole. And I don't feel like I'm being magically pushed to hate everything I've ever done like I was before." She side-glances at Ruby. Then back at Sadaka and Tale-Chaser. "But I'm still the same me. Just…" she rubs her chin thoughtfully. "…I guess not as violent about hating my name. Or other ponies."

Ruby is already carrying one extra pony so what could offering a hoof to Sunshine hurt? She's right there where Sunshine expects her to be when the other mare leans into her! Job well done! "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be plenty spiteful after meeting the siblings." she playfully beams.

Tale-Chaser glances at Sadaka, taking his cues from her. He's new around here. He don't know nothin' 'bout no mad mares. The zebra seems to have a clue, though. Zebras usually do.

Ruby realizes she should probably return Tale-Chaser's glasses, and thus promptly waves Maggie over to take them.

Sadaka might not be the best one to take cues from at the moment! She's quite effectively gone back to moping. Staring down at her hooves, not quite bothering to try and put on a cheery face. "…Good. Great. It… it worked. Yay." She flattens her ears, reaching a hoof up to rub at the earringed one. "…I'd better get ho-… to Mr. Jellybean's. I… I've got homework," she mutters, getting to her hooves and backing for the path.

Ruby-Blossom huffs cutely "Sadaka - come by tomorrow, we'll have cake."

"Huh? Oh…" says Tale Chaser, watching Sadaka's blur grow blurrier. He blinks a few times. "Take care, Sadaka. Thanks for, um…" His voice trails off as he realizes he's not really the one that should be thanking anypony, here. "For helping, n'stuff."

The glasses light up rose and hover across to drop on Tale Chaser's nose. She blinks and trots over. "Hey! What's wrong? Sunshine's okay! She's not gone!" She hugs Sadaka. "Aren't you gonna go let her know you're happy?"

"Uh," says Tale Chaser, as his glasses land in place. He smiles some behind the skewed lenses. "Thanks…"

And then he turns around to hastily turn them over because they landed on his face upside-down.

Sunshine blinks as Sadaka starts to mope off. And again as Magpie trots over. The metal-legged mare gets up on her hooves with a little help from Ruby, even gives the other mare a quick nudge with her nose on the cheek, then starts to trot off to catch up too. "…Sadaka." But she stops short of actually doing anything like hugging. There's a lot of baggage there! "What…Ruby said. Come by tomorrow. I wanna talk." Her head dips, ears pinned back. "Please…"

Ruby-Blossom nods softly and readies herself to assist Sunshine back to the Salon, and her big comfy bed. "Yeah, you need to rest."

Magpie gets on Sunshine's other side. Maybe Sadaka has issues with 'er, but Magpie doesn't.

Tale Chaser looks back and forth between Sadaka and Sunshine a few times. Land dwellers! He shuffles over to stand near Maggie, and shuffles a hoof while he waits for everypony to go so he knows where to follow them off to.

Thus does Sunshine-Stormcloud, with Ruby and Magpie's help, and Tale-Chaser in tow, walk the confused mare off to the Mane Event, and upstairs, to let Sunshine crash within Ruby's big fluffy bed! Where she lays, to deal with her new status as 'whole pony' once again. So much to think about!

Tale Chaser sits in the waiting room and munches a cookie.

Magpie gives Ruby a nudge. "You can sleep in my bed," she offers. Y'know. Now that she doesn't have Sunshine sharing… and, y'know. All that. Before she goes, though, she has to hop up beside the big mare with the metal legs. A quick nuzzle… and, "Tuck tuck tuck tuck tuck." Just like every night this last week.

Sunshine blushes as she's tucked in, returning Magpie's nuzzle and pulling the filly in for a quick hug. As ponies leave her to get her rest, the ex-Mad-Mare stares up at the ceiling. Wide-eyed as her own filly self ever was, misted over…

…and the barest hint of a smile crossing her features as a tear or two streaks down.

~Fin