He rolls his eyes, "... Considering I'm going to probably get into a fight that I don't want to, because somepony..." Mat glances at Rush, "Signed me up to capture a pony... yes."
"Sure. But if you hurt an innocent pony... well, let's not sugarcoat it, I'll break your ribs, dude."
Nightshade was not, in fact, in Maya's house. She was nearby, watching in amusement as her friends searched for her. Hide and seek was a fun game. She wondered what other games she could play with them?
"You know what?" Dusty stopped before even coming into view of Maya's houses. "She is smarter than that. A few minutes, and I'll have enough magic back to Detect Life. I hope that works."
Mat shrugs, "I'm not going to break his organs... maybe a few bones... but it's not like I'm going to kill him."
"Hey," said Nightshade, rising up from the ground behind him. "No fair cheating." She was, to put it mildly, unpleasant to behold. Her entire body was a hairless mass of scar tissue, and her left eye, crushed during the fight, was a cloudy white. She grinned toothlessly and reached for her chest, plunging her hoof into her own body. A moment later, she pulled the hoof back out... along with her heart. She tossed the still-beating organ at Dusty's hooves. "Nothing to detect now! Bye!" In a puff of pink smoke, she was gone.
"Fine. I'll have it ready tomorow," said Maya. "Fifty Bits." "Nighty..." Raven stepped back in horror. "In all my bucking years..." Dusty quickly shook off his shock. "Nightshade. I have made it very clear I work with brains. Tell me which organ you think I'm looking for. Please, don't make this difficult."
"Oh, FINE," she said, floating lazily overhead. "You're no fun at all. I'll have to do something about that." She landed near her discarded heart, and kicked it over to Raven. "Here. I think you were wanting this, right?"
Maya quickly hid the Bits below the counter. "You didn't get this one from me, dude. This one's legally considered a Schedule I." Dusty raised a magical barrier around Raven, blocking the heart. "Nighty..." Raven stepped back again, shaking. "Stop. Please."
Maya shrugged. "According to Asmo, that depends where you are. Ponyville, big no. Canterlot, you're fine."
"Stop? STOP?! Why should I stop, little Bat? I'm finally free!" "Dear Goddess... look at her hooves!" Winter's voice was shaky, clearly terrified. Nightshade's hooves were starting to change. A tiger's paw. A dragon's claws. A crow's talon. A dog's foot. Her body, too, was changing, lengthening and growing with each passing second.
Zeran growled. "that's not good... there's only supposed to be one draconequus native to this world!"
"OH, YOU'VE GOT TO BE *squee!*TING ME," Dusty snapped finally, cracking his soft spoken demeanor briefly and raising a big shield in front of the group. "Nighty..." Raven shuddered and fell to her flank with her ears flopped down. "C'mon. It's me. That still mean anything to you?" "Still depends where you are," Maya said seriously. "You the one who makes and sells this stuff?"
