EcstaticWind

@@Hypn0ticD, "Can I see it...?" "Sure." Pinkie said, going strangely quiet as she waited for the reaction. And when she got the reaction she was waiting for, she couldn't help but laugh. "How are you...? This is impossible! Y-you can't be here!" "I'm hungry." She said, interpreting his first shocked words as him asking how she was, rather than asking how she was there in the first place. The third part received a response that would seem sarcastic if it came from anypony else, except for Pinkie. She gave him a confused look and asked, without any trace of sarcasm, "Is there a sign that says 'No Pinkies allowed'?"

@@Hypn0ticD, Aegis started to calm down as Shawn held him, though he was beginning to think that maybe he was getting dependent on Shawn. It felt kinda nice when Shawn stroked his back, though. Helping to ease the tension in his body. 'No, no. I'm a male. Not...ah, nevermind. This is all just making it easier for me to get a headache.' He thought while Shawn climbed into bed with him. "Normally, I take a girl on a few dates before I go to bed with 'er! But I think I make an exception tonight!" Aegis giggled softly, partly to make himself feel better and partly because he enjoyed how Shawn tried to keep positive. "We can fix that. I wouldn't mind going out with you sometime." He said, resting his head on Shawn's chest. --- Chrysalis lay on the bed, once again silently fuming. Sleep currently eluded her, and the cause was literally right in front of her. The room they'd given her was more or less the closest physical representation of her own personal hell, with all the pony posters everywhere. A reminder of her past mistakes, the arrogance that cost her a victory, underestimating the power that resides in a pony's heart. 'They call me a monster and a villain... What do they know? Do they have thousands depending on them for everything? Do they feel the weight of thousands of minds calling to their queen everyday? No. They don't understand how it feels. And these naked apes...They understand even less and now they see fit to taunt me with events they know nothing about.' She thought. She put a pillow over her face to try and block out the pony pictures, while also making a mental note to inquire about alternative living space. She'd honestly prefer to sleep on the couch at this rate. Give Stephen/Shawn/whoever-this-room-belonged-to their room back. Who knows, maybe that Pegasus would be happier in a room full of this pony stuff. 'Then again...maybe I've just had a really bad day. And all of this pink and pony stuff... Ugh. I don't mind pink, but there's so much of it!'

@@Hypn0ticD, He didn't believe her! After she told him everything that she and her friends had gone through! It took a little while for her to think of something with her stomach rumbling the way it did. 'How can I prove I am who I say I am? And can we be friends after?' She thought as they went in. Once they were seated, she looked over the menus and didn't know what half of this stuff was. Was it even food? She didn't even know what kind of creature he was and she'd been talking to him the whole time. "Alright, you're getting food on my dime, so the least you can do is at least tell me what your friends' numbers are, so you can get home!" At this, Pinkie shifted a bit, flashing a sheepish grin. "Well, uh, y'see, the thing is, we don't actually...have one. Nopony does." She started rummaging in her pocket for something. Then she found it. A certain coin from Equestria. "Aha! Here's your proof, Mister Doubty-pants. Do you believe me now?" She said as she held the coin right in front of his face.

@@Hypn0ticD, "Good evening to you, too." Chrysalis said dryly when the twins caught her leaving Aegis' room. "She's fine, by the way. I'm glad to see you're so concerned." She was aware that she was being mostly ignored, which burned her up inside. But she had to keep her composure. She was a queen, after all. Even as she was told to go to bed, she maintained a cool indifference. "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted. Goodnight, gentlecolts." That, fortunately for the twins, was the last they'd hear from Chryssie for the night. --- Aegis was sitting in a huddle, scared and lost in thought when Shawn and Stephen came in. He remembered how he'd been in Equestria. Happy, laid-back, always eager to go travelling and learn new things and see what adventures he'd fall into. In a single night, he'd lost his confidence and may as well have been violated by that changeling. When Shawn asked if he was ok, his only response was to uncurl and wrap his arms around Shawn. "Please don't leave me alone tonight." Aegis said, now very paranoid and on the verge of tears.

@@Hypn0ticD, Pinkie blinked when he asked her real name. "Well...I don't usually go by my full name, but it's Pinkamena Diane Pie. My friends are Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. We're from Equestria, which is probably a whole other world from here." Pinkie started going on about some of their adventures together, probably digging herself deeper into a grave she didn't see. After a little while, it finally occured to her to ask where she was. "By the way, where are we? It looks kinda like Manehatten, only with a teeny smidgen less colour." She said as her stomach grumbled. "Huh? Hungry already? Do you know any good places for food?"

@@Hypn0ticD, Stephen's fears weren't exactly unfounded. As everyone else drifted to sleep, the former changeling queen stirred. Humiliated and in pain, she silently fumed in the bed and tore off the bandages covering part of her face. 'Ever since that creature appeared in front of my ancestors... things have gotten progressively worse for us. Everything I've done is for the good of my hive. I only did what I had to do...' She thought, crawling out of bed an silently creeping to the door. She opened it a bit and peered out. 'Good. They're asleep. Shawn is brimming with love right now, so is that Pegasus in the next room. Maybe not true love like Cadance and Shining Armour, but the attraction between those two is enough to restore some of my power.' Going after the twins hadn't worked out in her favour last time, and she had a little...unfinished business with Aegis. So she crept into the room they gave the Pegasus, guided by her feelings for Shawn. The Queen stood over the Pegasus like a vampire observing their sleeping prey, before bending down and angling the former pony's head and kissing her on the lips. A soft pink glow began transferring from Aegis to Chryssie, and her injuries started healing. She waited a few more seconds before cutting the link, and there was no damage to Aegis at all. She'd just think she was more tired than she thought. Of course, Chryssie had the worst luck. As she turned to leave, Aegis woke up... "What are you doing?!" The Pegasus yelled. Chryssie didn't even look back at her. "Just getting a midnight snack. Hope you didn't mind." She said dryly, though she couldn't resist a smug smirk. Aegis tried to get up, but everything felt hazy. She felt strange, and then it occurred to her what had happened. She touched her lips and went quiet. "I...I never thought...that would be my first kiss..." "It's never quite what you imagine, is it?" Chrysalis said, leaving the former Pegasus confused yet again.

@@Hypn0ticD, "Goodnight Shawn." Aegis said, waving back before closing the door. He'd made another leap from upset to happy thanks to Shawn, who he found to be quite a nice guy. He changed out of his T-shirt and cargo pants into the large T-shirt and sleeper pants. He paused in the middle of getting dressed to look in the mirror and discovered the extent of the changes to his body. While he knew he would look like a female native, he hadn't figured that he'd look so...attractive. While his chest was flat and his shoulders were more masculine, his face and hips were noticeably feminine. "Oh. Well, that's...not bad, actually." He said, moving away from the mirror to finish getting dressed and climb into bed. He'd figure things out in the morning, when his mind was working properly. But for tonight, he just thought of Shawn until he fell asleep.

@@Hypn0ticD, "I came here looking for my friends, but I guess they didn't hear me calling out to them. What's a cosplay group? Oh, and by the way, my name's Pinkie Pie. What's your name?" Pinkie asked, her motor mouth kicking in at top speed now that she had an audience of sorts. If even one pony listened, she'd throw a party. "It's not that cold, is it? I feel just fine. Then again, it could be colder where I'm from... or it could be my super snazzy hoodie. It's nice and soft and warm." She began to go on a tangent about her hoodie, though how she knew what it was is anypony's guess. Still, she may as well follow this guy, since he knew his way around the place. She might even run into her friends on the way, which would be great!

@, @@Commander Tangent, @, @@Scribblegroove, ((OOC: Apologies if I godmod anyone. Just want to get things moving again.)) “Everypony ready? ‘Cause it’s showtime!” Gilda called from the cockpit, flicking a switch to open the door once the ship landed. The holographic screens could only show so much when the world looked like some kind of strange jungle or forest. The plants were overgrown and dark vines with light blue leaves hung from the trees. The grass under their feet was blue and soaked in glistening dew. The air was thick and heavy, almost suffocating, but it was breathable. Things started to move around, the bushes rustling with the activity of small unseen animals scurrying away from the armed and armoured Rangers. Screeches and chirps filled the trees, and the strange forms of alien birds peered down at the visitors. In front of the squad, a strange furred creature crawled out from its hiding place, not quite taking notice of them at first, then peering quizzically at them when it did. It made no obvious attempts to attack nor any attempts to run away. Gilda smirked from the doorway of the ship. “I wouldn’t piss this fella off if I were you. These guys are pretty nasty when provoked, but they don’t seem to mind helping us Rangers out. We’re still trying to figure out why that is, ‘cause they just help out for no apparent reason.” The creature looked like an alligator with a rounder head, longer legs, cat-like ears and a layer of soft fur. Its behaviour suited that of a cat, right down to how it was purring when it looked at the group. Faith approached it with a look of wonder in her eyes and a smile on her face as she reached out to touch it. The creature pressed the top of its head against Faith’s hand, still purring as she proceeded to pet it. “He’s friendly, guys. Do you think he’d let us ride on him?” She asked enthusiastically, in contrast to her normally quiet and shy self.

@, @@Commander Tangent, @, @@Scribblegroove, Gilda sighed. It looked like the briefing was over. Now... just the wait before landing. Three hours passed by without incident, save for the occasonal argument among them that was swiftly resolved. A beep and a flashing light confirmed that landing procedures had begun. "Strap in, bozos. It's showtime!" She said, darting past them to the cockpit where she started the landing process. The holographic screens showed the trees in increasing detail as they got closer to the landing zone. From the screens, the trees seemed to be covered in pink-ish leaves, with strange red coloured wood. They were covered in black vines with blue leaves and thorns. Strange things that might have been birds screeched in the sky, and there were...things moving around on the ground and in the trees. This was a glance at the surface through the ship's sensors. They were now in Old Equestria. ((OOC: Sorry for the poor quality post. Just wanted to get things moving before I head off for a course.))

@@Hypn0ticD, Aegis ran on autopilot for the most part, from exiting the hospital to the car trip. When they arrived at the apartment, he snapped out of his trance as Shawn helped him out and led him inside. The mess wasn't really surprising. His own room was like that and his dad's room was worse. When Shawn pointed Aegis to Stephen's room, he started to feel anxious but just nodded. Considering Chryssie's behaviour hadn't done her a lot of favours in getting the twins on her side, Aegis believed it was best not to complain. Before he could get too worked up, Shawn had gone into his room to get a change of clothes and offered them to Aegis. What came next actually helped to cheer him up a little. He gave a small smile as Shawn started to stumble over his words. "I think I can manage clothes. Thanks anyway, Shawn." Aegis said, hugging Shawn and giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

@@Hypn0ticD, At this point, Aegis just felt tired. All he wanted to do was sleep. He'd figure out the rest of his situation in the morning. He slumped to the ground when Shawn let go, picking himself up slowly. Drained, tired, and not in the best of moods. Yep, that's about time to call it quits. He walked beside Shawn as Stephen wheeled the unconscious Chryssie to the car, unsure of what to say or if either brother was angry right now, which added awkwardness to the list of things Aegis currently felt. His movements just kind of happened while Aegis seemed to retreat into his own little world in attempt to deal with everything that happened tonight.

@@Scribblegroove, "Been living under a rock, mage? It's the same damn Chaos magic that's made it damn hard to live on the surface. Most of the old history was lost when our ancestors ran to the Citadel, but they say it was Discord's work. Others say it was Nightmare Moon that did it. All we know for sure is that it turned Equestria into a completely different world. And that is why whenever we get wind of a data cache, we go for it." Gilda said. She sighed and answered the rest of his questions with what little she knew. "You'd probably know more than I do. Can't give scientific BS, but I can tell you what I saw with my own eyes when I went in one of those places. I saw my CO get blasted by something, and his body started...twisting. Warping into...I dunno. Something! And that's when I booked it outta there. Like I said, I didn't stick around to find out much. The rest of the squad followed, but we got separated on the way out. Two weeks later, another squad found 'em dead. That's all I can tell you." With that, she turned to Stinger, less rough than she had been before. "Got an alternative plan? This is the mission we were given, we have spare kits for occasions like this, and did I mention there's a bonus? Yeah, they knew it was gonna be dangerous, so we complete this mission, and you guys get bonus pay."

@@Princess-Sunbutt, "Chicago? Michigan? What's that? And I guess there's...No, my friends are all missing. I got sent to find them, but I ended up here. I'm getting super worried about them. I mean, they can handle themselves fine, but we're really really really good friends and the thought of them being in trouble..." At the midway point of her stream of words, her hair deflated and turned dull and straight. She sat and slumped against the wall, just poking at her covered...uh, hooves? Whatever they were, she just kinda poked at them. "I just...hope they're ok. Could you...well, could you help me find them?" She said, brushing her hair out of her face and looking up at the guy pleadingly. She had to find them. She had to...

@@Hypn0ticD, Aegis struggled against Shawn's grip, but a lack of energy combined with most of that energy being spent knocking Chryssie out rendered the effort futile and he eventually gave up struggling, going limp in Shawn's grasp. And then it dawned on him what he'd done. "Sorry... I didn't mean to hit her so hard. I just...I stopped thinking clearly. Is...is she ok?" He asked, his mind going into a panicked state once again. This world just kept throwing stuff at Aegis and he needed a break soon. Chrysalis stirred for a moment, then she, too, went limp. The poor woman hadn't seen the blow coming and in her weakened state, probably couldn't have done much about it, anyway. From the looks of her, she'd probably be out for a few hours. And she'd been so close to feeding, too.

@, @@Commander Tangent, "That ain't all. It was a squad of six. 3 Soldiers, a Medic, Tracker and a Tech Specialist. It says here they were carrying standard equipment, so salvage from them wouldn't be worth much. You can get that stuff on the Citadel. But it's an abandoned bunker from Old Equestria. Looters don't go in there, so there's a lot of stuff down there. But be careful what you pick up. I don't want to file paperwork if any of you bite it down there." Gilda said. Though she wasn't going to admit that this mission was starting to make her nervous. Faith raised her hand, speaking up for once. "What can we expect to find down there?" Gilda looked at Faith for a few seconds then shrugged. "Bad stuff. Accounts differ from Ranger to Ranger, but everyone sees shit down in those places. Some see ghosts, others say they saw corpses get up. I've only been in one and I didn't stick around to find out what I saw. As far as I'm concerned, it was just a bad dream."

@@Hypn0ticD, "I don't need much." Chrysalis said, going strangely quiet as she reached out to cup Stephen's face. Right now, the only thought going through her mind was how much she needed to feed. Any positive emotion would do, but she needed it now. Her way of feeding seemed... rather intimate, but that didn't concern her just yet. Outside, Aegis kept a lookout for signs of Chryssie and Stephen when he heard a bit of movement from a nearby janitor's closet. He broke free of Shawn's grip, ignoring his own unsteady movements and walked over to open the closet door. Inside, he saw what looked like Chryssie about to kiss Stephen. At this sight, Aegis finally snapped, grabbing Chryssie and spinning her around to face the angry Pegasus-turned-human. The last thing she saw in those few seconds was a fist colliding with her face. But Aegis was too worked up. He drew his fist back again for another punch...

@@Princess-Sunbutt, Pinkie glanced at the...she wasn't really sure what it was. Anyway, he seemed to be offering help. Help for what? Oh wait! Maybe he knew where the others were! "I'm fine but I do need help. Have you seen my friends anywhere? Ya can't miss 'em. Seen anypony around with purple hair? Or rainbow?" Pinkie asked, getting rather close to this poor guy and demonstrating her complete lack of understanding of the concept of personal space. "Oh, and I have no idea where I am, but it wouldn't be as fun if I knew where I was, would it?" Pinkie asked, most likely reinforcing the idea that she was crazy. That was ok, since some ponies in Equestria considered her to be crazy, too.

@, Gilda's eyes narrowed at being called 'that Gryphon', but given how she treated them, she figured she'd have to ease up on her temper. Easier said than done, but she was gonna try it anyway. She just turned to the Minotaur and said, "I don't feel like going over it multiple times, so wait 'til the kid stops retchin' in the bathroom. In the meantime,” She started serving out some bowls of pasta on a tray. “Pass these out to the others, would ya?” @, @@Commander Tangent, @, @@Scribblegroove, After that, she re-sealed the pot and put it in the fridge with the shaken up cans from before, fetching a fresh 6-pack and a loose can for herself. As she sat down, Faith came out, looking quite green and holding her stomach as she slowly made her way back to the others, leaning on the wall for support. Gilda waited until the whole squad was together before bringing up a holographic panel that displayed the word ‘Confidential’ until Gilda opened the intel to the squad. “Everyone listening and reading this? Good. You’re being inserted into the forest, over here,” A small section of the forest, highlighted as ‘Zone A –Low Risk Mission Area’. “Another squad went missing in there while trying to recover a data cache we found in an abandoned bunker from the Old World. Mission priority is to find out if the squad is alive or dead and evac survivors. The data cache and old world tech are secondary objectives, so don’t decide you’re going to risk the mission for a bonus. Squads die that way.” Faith looked through the intel in front of her. Among the list of names was one she recognized. A Unicorn she used to be friends with when they were foals. Little Light, so named for her light spells and how she used to be so confident. If she was alive, maybe she knew something about where Faith’s brother was. Gilda set down her bowl and held up a talon. “Another thing. It might be a low-risk zone, but the bunkers are a different matter entirely. They’ve been abandoned for hundreds of years and Chaos might’ve seeped in, so no one knows what’s down there anymore. Keep a lookout and watch your teammates. Can’t offer much more than that, aside from maybe a prayer for the poor bastards who died in there. Any questions?”

Faith would've raised her hand at Gilda's question, since she usually did the cooking, but her lack of confidence meant she just stayed quiet and refrained from drawing attention to herself. She felt a little better when Agnus smiled at her, though. Of all the people here, Agnus was the one that made her feel safe. Of course, her good feeling was wrenched away when the ship launched. She felt like her stomach was being pushed through her body and let out a soft whine of discomfort, trying not to throw up. It got better as they levelled out, but the first thing she did once it was safe to move was rush to the bathroom. This was shortly followed by the sounds of a girl throwing up in the toilet. Sounds Gilda heard as she came back down the ramp. "Sounds like a first time flyer. What's the kid's name again?" She asked, moving to the kitchen, picking up the fallen cans, setting the pot back on the stove and rummaging through the cupboards for something else.

Alex Jones @@Miss Reaper, @@Astral Legend, (OOC: Sorry for godmodding, but we can’t wait around much longer.) If the kid was going to protest, he didn’t get the chance before he started to collapse. Alex darted forward to catch him before he hit the ground, cradling the kid in his arms. “Gotcha. Yeah, you need some rest badly. Now, let’s get y’all inside.” Alex said, mutter something about his accent switching soon after. He walked slowly, staying beside the girl in case she needed someone to lean on for support, though having a kid in his arms made it difficult to open the door. Eventually, he managed it, though. Inside was a small hallway which split off at the end, with one way leading to the living room, which was fairly spacious and had a doorway to the kitchen, which doubled as the dining room. The other way was a staircase that led to the second floor where the bedrooms were. Alex led the girl into the living room and set the kid on the couch to sleep. “So, uh, have a seat and I’ll get that tea and something to eat. Anything in particular you’d like?” He asked, suddenly seeming a little awkward. Then again, he’d brought a girl and a kid into his home and he had no idea what to make of this if his suspicions were correct. He’d have to wait and see, and try to get a hold of himself while he’s at it. --- Aegis Dare @@Hypn0ticD, Aegis just tapped on Shawn’s shoulder while he called out for Stephen. “Why don’t we just ask at the desk if anyone’s seen him or the weirdo, Chryssie? The place is full of people, so someone’s bound to have seen where she took him.” He said. At the same, he was looking around for any sign of where they went. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see anything. In his frustration, he started twirling a lock of his pink and black hair around a finger, trying to sort things out in his head. Never once questioning where he got the habit of toying with his mane from.

@@IridscentNionios, "This is a fully stocked kitchen, if you couldn't already tell. And I don't need a master chef, Boy Scout. Just seal up the pot on the stove and stick it in the fridge until we're steady. Everyone else, strap in. We're movin' out." Gilda said, already on her way up the ramp to the pilot's seat. She muttered something under her breath as she took her seat and started firing up the engines, eager to get this mission underway. Anyone who wasn't on the ship was getting left behind, as the door sealed shut. There was a rumble through the ship as it started to take off. "Fasten your seatbelts, bozos!" Gilda called out, waiting for a minute before engaging thrusters and heading out from the Citadel. Holographic panels that substituted for windows flashed on the walls by the bunks, showing them moving over the Citadel until it gave way to vast alien landscapes barely recognized by anyone. The mission had officially begun.

@@Scribblegroove, Gilda looked up as she got a pan out of another cupboard. "Yeah. Aren't you hungry? It's just canned pasta and sauce without any meat, but it's better than what they serve up in the barracks. Any of you who have your own apartments, be glad you don't have to eat that crap." @, Gilda resisted the urge to facepalm. This minotaur was starting to get to her with his fixation on guns and working with metal. "If you want more firepower, then go build your own ship. I don't know what you've heard, but we're not going to be attacked by another ship. The crazies down there don't have them. They don't have anti-air because they're doing more important things, like surviving raids by the more vicious animals down there. Our weapons are meant to fend off the larger flying animals. There's no workbench in here, either." @, "They'll be along or they get left behind when we get the all clear. Siddown and take it easy for a bit. Takes a bit for the suits to figure out their own damn system." Gilda said to Atheia as she cut into a can and emptied it into the pan over the electric hotplate. After that, she went to the fridge and got eight cans, shaped differently from the ones she got from the cupboard. "Anyone thirsty? It's just carbonated apple juice, but it's still pretty good." A buzz and a light flashing on the wall alerted Gilda to an incoming message. She waved a hand over the light and a holographic panel appeared, the message playing not long after. >Sergeant Gilda, you have been given clearance to launch. Ensure your squad is prepared. Command out.< "Or they can be on top of things for once. Anyone here good at cooking?" Gilda asked, looking to the squad. Meanwhile, Faith had moved closer to Agnus, since the robot was the one she was most comfortable around. She'd anticipated having a rough start, but not quite to this extent. She'd have to start standing up for herself...eventually. For now, she'd just make sure she took the Hippogriff's advice of keeping her gun loaded and keeping them alive.

Aegis Dare @@Hypn0ticD, "Whoa! Wait a second, Shawn! I'm not that steady!" Aegis exclaimed, surprising even himself with how his voice sounded just then. Not that it stopped him moving, of course. He didn't expect Shawn to stop, nor did he really want want him to, considering who Stephen was with and the kind of stuff she did. Didn't stop him feeling irritated and annoyed at this turn of events, as selfish as the thoughts were. It had to happen just as Aegis was feeling good, didn't it? Right when he'd just gotten the bulk of his worries off his mind where he could think rationally without agitating himself further. And right when he was getting comfortable with being his situation. Of course something would come up then. Something always came up when things were going well.

@, Gilda raised an eyebrow (or the gryphon equivalent thereof) at the minotaur. "We've got a chaingun and homing rockets for any flyers that come our way, and a pair of retractable gun turrets up top. You want more guns? Build your own ship. This is a drop-ship, not a warship." She said in a dry manner. By the sounds of it, she'd heard that kind of comment before. @@Commander Tangent, @@IridscentNionios, She then turned to the others as they started figuring out who slept where. "I don't really care what you do. Just don't mess up my ship or I'll kick your flanks until you pay for the damages." When Faith stepped on board, Gilda grinned evilly. "You're in luck, little missy. Your coltfriend over there offered to let you share his bunk." Faith blushed and stammered incoherently, as if trying to say something but failing. Eventually, Gilda just covered the girl's mouth to stop the rush of babbling. "Relax. I'm just messin' with ya. You're gonna have to get used to being teased, missy. Especially around me. Think of it as a learning exercise." @, While the now red-faced and speechless Faith took a seat on one of the beds to recover from the shock, Gilda went to the kitchen and got a bunch of cans from one of the cupboards while answering the hippogriff's question. "We'll be taking off as soon as they give us the all clear, then it's about 3 hours to the LZ. Once everyone's on board and you've got your stuff in order, we're heading up that ramp to the command centre for the briefing. Our medic should be recovered by then." Gilda said with a sly grin at Faith.