⇨ THE REALM OF DREAMS

[ringleaders]

Who: EVERYONE!
When: S1:D8 - S1:D18
Where: Visiting the Realm of Dreams.
What: The carnival arrives at a new location and has its first performance week with the new cast, as outlined here. This is a general mingling log for convenience purposes, but players are welcome to make as many other logs for this purpose as desired.
Warnings: Could be a lot of things, around these parts.

THE REALM OF DREAMS↴ As the carnival arrives at its first stop since its recruitment phase, and prepares to put its new band of workers to the test. In the meantime, there is a whole new world of dreams and nightmares to be explored, and threats to be faced on carnival turf. As of S1:D11, the carnival will be opening its doors to the creatures within, and the carnival will be open daily from noon to midnight, though the connection to the realm will be constant. This is an all purpose mingle log for the full duration of the stay, so please mark top levels with some estimate of what days they'll be occurring on. Please bring any mod questions to the original plotting post.

Comments

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Fair questions, without a doubt.
Did you perhaps consult a scout?

[Which she herself hadn't done, she has to admit, but...]

For me this place holds little fear.
I wish to at least see what's near.

[pipers_son]

Probably should but I’ll admit I haven’t
Who knows where they’ve gone and went?

[Does that sound like he’s being a little lazy? whups.]

But hey now! You and me together, we’d be nice and safe
So what do ya say ta us goin’ on a little date?

[His laugh says he’s not serious about the “date” part. Probably.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Your proposition is quite fair --
Though I never knew you saw me as a mare.

[Zecora's amused smile answers his laugh in kind. Truth be told, Zecora expects that if her voice were just a little less round at the edges, most everyone in this carnival would have no idea whether she was a mare or a stallion.]

[pipers_son]

If ya ask me, whether mare or stallion
Either makes a fine companion~.

[Pushing himself up, he rolls his head about a little bit.]

Anyway, give me a moment, and I’ll dress a bit more appropriate for a bit of explorin’. Gotta look at least a little decent, don’t ya think?

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Then let me amend, and say each is fine
But my natural shape is wholly equine.

[Which is perhaps more to the point. Zecora settles down on her haunches, the better to wait for him -- assuming, of course, he won't take long.]

[pipers_son]

[There’s no need to worry. For all that Joker likes to dress up, that’s strictly for the work portion of the week. It takes too long otherwise. Soon enough, he returns, dressed in a sensible enough coat and zipped up boots peeking out from them.]

[Ignore that he may or may not have a knife hidden somewhere in it. Better safe than sorry.]

Hope I didn’t keep ya waitin’~. Ready now?

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Zecora notes the change with casual indifference. She'd never quite figured out why humans always, always wore clothes, but she could accept the fact.]

A minute or two is no grief
When company is a relief.

[Getting back to her feet, Zecora turns towards the gates. The first step out into the realm of dreams proper ought to be dramatic, but she takes it without any thought for its import.]

[pipers_son]

[Listen, his skin is thin and he has no idea when it might randomly turn into a blizzard out there. Better to be prepared.]

[If the step out is supposed to be dramatic, Joker missed that memo, and instead gives a whistle as their surroundings twist and ripple at the presence of new people.]

A lot more interestin’ when it’s not just a sight!
Now ain’t that a fine delight.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Color Zecora impressed. And delighted! Sights such as these are everything she'd hoped to see when she signed her contract.]

I wonder what Princess Luna would say
If she stood by our side today.

[pipers_son]

[Driven by curiosity, he steps closer to some steps that seem like a path floating in midair, with steps made of literally honey- they drip down somewhere into a place he can’t see. It’s kind of interesting.]

What about all of this do ya think would catch her fancy?
The magic, the sight, or somethin’ else entirely?

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

She is the Princess of the Night
Who guards our dreams from fright.
What she would see here, I can not say--
This is her domain, I do not see it her way.

[pipers_son]

Huh! Ya learn somethin’ new every day
I think I could appreciate that kinda royalty
Too often other kinds just sit on their crowns
Instead a spreadin’ the help around

[Curiously, he gives a few hops onto the stairs to see if they’ll hold his weight.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

In Equestria, the title 'Princess' is earned.
A pony must be worthy to be turned
To an alicorn if they're not born that way.
Like our Princesses of Night and Day.

[Zecora has far less skepticism about the stairs, merely pacing along with her usual steady gait to keep up with him.]

[pipers_son]

Now that sounds like quite a lotta work
Not the kinda route that lets ya shirk
But what's the meanin' of "earned"?
That's a bit vague, ta my concern

[He starts skipping the steps a couple at a time.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

One must be worthy
To become royalty.
And prove that the crown
Will not weigh them down.

[Zecora doesn't skip. Zecora paces along, steady and calm, as always.]

[pipers_son]

Is there some sorta test?
Ta prove that they fit best?

[They reach the first landing, something that seems like a graham cracker if Joker had to guess. Someone went to bed hungry.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Dreams are a very silly place, Zecora muses.]

Twilight Sparkle passed her test
By proving at friendship, she is best.

i apologize for nothing

[pipers_son]

Ha, that doesn’t sound like it’s a test that’s really dramatic
But if that’s how it is, I guess it’s true ta say: friendship is magic

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

To tell you the stories would take some time
And you might not believe this poor zebra's rhyme.
Changelings, magics, Nightmare Moon
If you knew you'd sing a different tune.

[pipers_son]

Someday you’ll have ta tell me the tale!
And how they got victory ta sale
But I imagine that’ll be for another time and place
And now while we’re wrapped in dreamland’s embrace

[And there’s the top of the honey stairs, leading up to… a giant beehive. Well, that makes sense, he guesses. Carefully, he looks around to make sure there’s no actual bees.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

I wonder if the honey
Tastes good, or simply funny.

[Zecora has the same worry, quickly rifling through her mental list of magic for a ward to shield them. Wards are still quite new to her, but basic protection ought to be well within her capabilities...]

[pipers_son]

Honestly, it ain’t the taste I’m concerned about
But if its residents are in or out…

[With a huff, he takes to the air, tentatively taking a look (from a distance!) into the hole. There doesn’t seem to be movement…]

I think we’re clear, for the time bein’.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

Giant bees would be no joke.
But to calm them, we could use smoke.

[Though not an apiarist, Zecora has had cause enough to gather honey or beeswax in the past.]

[pipers_son]

Well, since you've gone and mentioned that
Do ya think we could bring dream honey back?

[He makes a sweep around the hive, double checking everything but absolutely grinning.]

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

If dreams are not real
Then what do we now feel?

[In other words -- considering where they are now, anything goes, right? Zecora tugs up the hood of her cloak, letting her head vanish beneath its shadows save for her eyes. Said eyes always glow an eerie yellow from beneath it, despite being blue -- and that isn't a carnival change.]

If we fail to avoid detection
Trust me to provide protection.

[Completely trust her, in other words...]