"You're an Alicorn and have the accelerated metabolism inherent to Alicorns?" She shrugged, and grabbed another drink.
"I'm young, and I hardly ever drink." She grinned. "So it's going to be really embarrassing when you lose."
Cricket chuckled, and down yet another drink. A few minutes later, and the two were tied at six apiece, with no sign of slowing down. What Cricket had neglected to mention was that her Changeling physiology allowed her to metabolize alcohol at a rate that rivaled an Alicorn or a dragon. She really only drank for the taste.
She shook her head. "Nope. Are we just wasting time here?" The door opened, and Nightshade walked in. She'd changed her mane and tail. They were slightly longer, and the dyed streaks were gone. "...time travel," she continued, placing a newspaper dated for the next week on the bar. "This should be interesting!" Without another word, she turned around and left.
Cricket pulled a page loose and started reading. "C'mon, lotto numbers... Oh, that B*TCH! She blacked them out. And what's this about Raven donating a duck pond to Hollow Shades?"
"She's your kid. I figured you would know." She set the paper down, and the picture showed the area around Raven's old house. Where the house should have been, however, there was a large round pond, formed from what looked to be a blast crater.
(FYI, We have an OOC chat. This is a not revival, but based on an old thread, and it is a little bit, sometimes a large bit, of everything.) Edmond: (sitting down at the bar) Dusty, have you got anything strong?
Winsdor pulled down a bottle of 190-proof corn liquor and poured Edmond a glass. "You recognize the place?" Cricket asked. "Looks like a bomb went off."
Nova glanced over at the picture and nodded. "So I was right, after all. Nightshade wishes to provide Raven with closure." ************************************************************************************************************ Nightshade tended to schedule herself a long lunch break on days when she had to teach the beginner classes, and she found herself with two hours to kill. More than enough time to dash to the Canterlot archives. If she was going to force Raven to face the past, then she need to know more about what happened.
"I just hope nopony gets hurt..." ************************* (Scene separation theft.) The most readily avaliable piece of information was that, coincidentally, that house in Hollow Shades is where a mortal Azrael spent most of his foalhood. This would explain any affinity for the dark he had, but whether this has anything to do with the attack wasn't made clear right away.
Nightshade made a copy of what information she could find. In her research, she learned that while the home had been left to Raven, it had been seized by the city as a result of a decade of unpaid property tax, and condemned due to structural damage caused by neglect. After a short trip to the main office of the Equestrian Revenue Service, the back taxes were paid off and the deed had been transferred to a holding company she had set up several years earlier. She still had some preparations to take care of, but that would come later. It was almost time for her final class of the day.
