Illiad Easle

@Blitz Boom Jelly Drop sounds like a great replacement for Janet. While she won't have much access to the castle and the Order, she could have an in with the thestral side of the Archback group, we could say that one of her grandparents on her father's side was a thestral of the Fastar clan, and we can make one of her grandparents on her mother's side a zebra of the Mohotma tribe (Since it looks like she has some zebra in her, but if that was just a style choice we can ignore that.) She'd be born while the mountains were up, we could say her mother is part of the Children, so living in the mountain, which is why she would go to the same school as Janet and Spectral. Maybe her mother died during one of the altercations between the groups? It would explain her father's more zealous position guarding ever since. I'll leave whether she was killed by a zebra, a thestral, or if the circumstances of her death were too confused to determine who was at fault, up to you. (And whether Jelly knows the truth about it or not. Maybe part of her father's distance is his efforts to find who is responsible for his wife's death?) That would be an interesting murder mystery side story, but that's all up to whether you're interested in it. I'd also be fine with both of her parents being dead and having her be adopted by some of the children or even some of the Order (To elevate her to the same level of access as Janet had). Omen, One thing to remember is that the gates are still open in this universe, Fort Tartarus becoming a stronghold of loyalists after Discord's defeat. Regardless, I have some ideas, maybe she could be in whatever camp the other Blitz is in? Like she was another captive of the loyalists and Blitz spared her (Or her strange nature allowed her to survive) and she stuck around afterwards? Yazid, he could fit in with the zebra, whether in the group that follows the elders and remains or in the group that follows the general and ventures forth, I could see some interesting stories for him. They're all good options, whichever (or all) you pick to stand up just let me know and I'll write their starters.

@Blitz Boom (Null) Arcade's expression grew worried too, to match Null's, but it seemed he had the same idea that she did, that trying to talk more here would only cause more damage. It was at the very least obvious to both of them that they were quite new at this. Arcade knew his magic was too crude to grab the paper fox with without risking damaging it, so he simply joined in running with Null to keep up with the fox, showing that he did have some impressive stamina for a dwarf unicorn, likely from all the time in the facility running from the horrors kept there. (Ranger) Ranger nodded, "She greeted us when we first arrived at the hotel, got us situated and all. She seems nice, more so than the few I met before, but I don't really have much experience with changelings to say if she's a model example of her species or anything like that. As far as ponies go, she'd be one of the better ones I've met." She would hear the commotion in the stairway from Null and Arcade chasing after the paper fox, "Sounds like they're back, and hopefully with the feathers. What do you think you'll be able to do with them?"

@Blitz Boom Those all look like good characters, I'll give them a more detailed read once I have more time to respond!

@Skylight Scintillate Nova looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well, she's good at cooking with fish, since her clan had a lot of them growing up, but our clan doesn't have as good of access to fish so we don't get to eat them often. But she helps when we do have some." "Well, the tower was cool, and its cool that this whole place is so high up on a mountain, and where we just were was cool, though that was mostly due to Princess Luna being there." He shrugged, "It's just all so different from back home, when I go exploring in the forest, I'm usually all alone, but here you can't hardly go anywhere without running into somepony!" He nodded, "It's like when we have outings to visit the zebra or the ponies at Archback, since they're awake during the day too. It would be rude to make them adjust to us when we're visiting them." Nova was thoughtful again as Speckle talked, waiting for her to finish before responding, "Um, well, I don't really know I guess? I mean, I don't dislike Princess Luna, both the way I was told she would be and the way I saw her be, I was just surprised that she was different. I don't know if I could say if I like her after only just meeting her, but... hmm... I guess I did like her before meeting her." He let out an exasperated huff, "Having friends is harder than I thought." He didn't seem mad or disappointed, just confused as to his own feelings on the matter. "It's not that my clan wants ponies to be unfriendly, I think it's more of a 'be careful' sort of thing. Friends can hurt you in ways enemies can't. That's what they taught me anyway, so I'm supposed to be careful, and being stoic is one way to be sure...?" He shrugged again, "It made a lot more sense back home, I'm not so sure about it now." As to Princess Twilight and Speckle's final question, his expression was hard to read, likely because he himself didn't know how he felt. "Um, I guess I want to be friends with ponies who want to be friends with me? Maybe... ponies who can help me to be better?" He shrugged, "It's all new to me, I never thought I'd really get a choice." Nova was lost in thought as he went through his own preparations to sleep. This night had brought up a lot of questions for him that he had not previously considered. Sure he was excited about seeing the show, but he wondered about how friendship was supposed to work, and how different it seemed here from back home. His dreams were more troubled than usual. As to specifics, The Fastar clan only seemed to maintain strong relationships with their closest neighbors, being the Mohotma clan of freed zebra slaves and the Children of the Moon at Archback Mountain. They had cordial relationships with the other thestral clans, but mostly remained aloof. Thestrals from the Fastar clan were encouraged, if they were able, to serve in the Canterlot guard and other forces under Princess Luna's command, as well as other armed forces in other nations, focusing on defense. This gave the clan a reputation of fierce and loyal warriors who spoke little and questioned less, but were nonetheless reliable when it came to acting in the best interest of those they served. Those caught engaging in corrupt activities were often banished from the clan before even their superiors could take action against them. When it came to romantic engagements, thestrals from the clan were encouraged to seek partners from other pureblooded thestral clans, though in recent years batpony partners of sufficient purity were also accepted. As it pertained to Luna herself, the notes were more sparse, and Luna admitted as much that she had limited her contact with the clan given how zealous they were towards her. Unlike other thestral clans, she had not had to dissuade them from worship towards Nightmare Moon, instead they had a picture of her in their minds from before her incident, one she thinks they learned from the zebra and the Children. They considered her a stalwart protector, stoic and almost unapproachable, and had patterned their lives and culture after those ideals. She believed that this devotion had led to their success in maintaining and growing their strength as a clan, and as such feared that altering their perception of her would damage their culture, and weaken their society. (I'll write about Luna in Nova's dream next time, sorry for the delay!)

@Blitz Boom I was already phasing out Spiral in favor of Power, but that won't be for some time. I think you could take charge of the decisions Spiral makes as consul without having to take over role playing that character. There aren't many major decisions between now and the election, but I'll prompt you for them as they come up and you can speak in general terms about them. As to Janet, if you want to play a different character at that bastion that's perfectly fine, we can even reset the situation there and play it from the beginning. If you're not interested in that sector though we can leave it alone.

@Blitz Boom (Sorrow) The mare would lift the pegasus onto her back before moving to follow Sorrow, but they didn't get too far before the mare stopped to look back at the craft, "Sorry, protocol, can't let the loyalists have it." She retrieved her rifle with her magic, then took a deep breath before launching a spark towards the craft, which was soon engulfed in flames. "Sorry I couldn't get you out Crank, you'll be missed." She turned her attention back to Sorrow, "Lead the way." Assuming that didn't stop Sorrow from bringing them back to Ponyville, they'd arrive to find a new defensive line set up around the ruins of Twilight's castle, though there was no sign of the attacker having left. Maybe it was more to keep the ponies from getting too close, and risking it making another strike? They were quickly approached by Applejack, who looked no worse for ware, but seemed quite relieved to see Sorrow unharmed, "There you are Sorrow! I heard that that thing went after you, and no one knew where you had gone. I was worried..." She shook it off, before looking towards the mare and the injured pegasus, "Who are your friends here? Are they from that plane that flew over?" The mare looked shocked at the sight of Applejack, like she was seeing a ghost. (Briar) Queen Permu wished him well as he left. (We can pick this line back up after the Panic arc is resolved, unless you have other ideas.) (Blitz) Silver looked conflicted as she reviewed the notes on the whiteboard, she didn't respond to Blitz yet, which gave her time to take in more fully what the whiteboard said. It was titled Colonel Panic, and down the center column there was writing that read somewhat like a prophecy: Ponies in a refugee area will be attacked by a metal creature, accompanied by the message "Return Baseplate to Colonel Panic or be Destroyed." They will struggle to survive. A large cloud will arrive, attack the creature to distract it. A green pony will do battle with it and succeed. On either side of this column several lines pointed from sections of the center column to diagrams and documents with extra information. Refugee area: Ponyville? Somewhere in Equestria? Metal Creature: Diagrams and blueprints signed by Silver Studs and Tower Shield for some sort of complex automaton. The Silver Tower? Another based off the designs? Baseplate: Some sort of item or artifact? Maybe a codename? Colonel Panic: Iterative, presented in older prophecies. Refers to the creature? Or some controller? Large Cloud: The Æther? Some other cloud city or ship? Green Pony: Power? Silver eventually took notice that Blitz was still there, "Oh, sorry! Um..." She looked over the board, "I don't know if you can without upsetting the prophecy... I hope Plein hasn't already complicated it." She sighed, the worry apparent, "I can't ask you to go down and try and save her. You have your own foal here to worry about. It would kill me if you went down and ended up one of that creature's victims. But if you won't be discouraged... try to stay out of that creature's way." Power would return soon after, with Euclid, his father, in tow. The unicorn had aged pretty well, keeping himself rather fit for a unicorn. Blitz wouldn't have interacted with him too much, as his work kept him busy, but she had likely interacted with his wife Dinky as she was growing up, or as she had spent time with Power as he grew up, having had a hoof in his transfer to his new body. "What is it Silver? Deep Science? Really?" She passed over the documents that Power had given her, "Power says it was Deep Science encrypted, and visually it could be the Silver Tower research automaton." His expression grew a bit more surprised as he read the paper, "Baseplate... Could only be one. That's the Kernel down there." Silver raised an eyebrow, "Your weird briefcase thing?" He rolled his eyes, "I had to leave it behind at the evacuation of Silver Sigma. Looks like it figured out how to leave, but likely degraded after all these years." "It's hurting the ponies down there, shot down Plein." He nodded, "Then we'll have to kill it." He looked up at the whiteboard, "You have a plan?" She nodded, "Well, a prophecy, from Illiad." Euclid snorted but Silver continued. "When he showed it to me, I saw a pony like Power go down to stop it." Euclid's expression grew stern, "Absolutely not. I'd rather try and take that thing myself than send him down to deal with it." Power spoke up, "I could do it, I wouldn't even be in danger. With enough power I can move this body away from my gem. Fight it while my core is all the way over here, and out of harms way." Euclid still didn't seem convinced, maybe Blitz could interject? (Blackwater) (Don't really have more on this line until Blitz is in position to get spotted by Molotov's new bot. We can pick this thread up again then. Unless you have other ideas?)

@Blitz Boom @Cheerilee I was waiting to see if @Cheerilee would post again, but I guess they're not going to? I'll post tomorrow to keep the story going.

@Skylight Scintillate Princess Luna simply nodded before taking her leave, "May the stars guide thee Princess Twilight." (I'll put the notes at the end) Nova didn't look too sure, having been taught from a young age that thestrals weren't supposed to let others solve their problems for them, especially not non-thestrals, but he figured that Twilight might be an exception, being an alicorn. Besides, it would be more like seeking instruction, and that was encouraged, it wasn't like he was asking her to solve his problems for him. He nodded, "I wondered what those were for!" before moving the food into the one she pointed out, "That does make it much easier to carry, that's really cool!" He smiled at that, "Yeah, my mom helps with the clan feasts when she can, and many comment that it tastes better when she does, though she says that the clan can't handle the level of spice she would want to put in. She saves that for us at home." He seemed to like talking about food. Nova was happy to hear that he wasn't alone, maybe some of the other thestrals back home did the same thing, and just didn't talk about it? When it came to sharing his stories he grew a bit more bashful, "Oh, they're nothing special. Really it is just pretending that I'm surveying. Maybe I can show you some of the places I found though?" As it pertained to their activities later he was a bit confused, "Late? The moon's barely risen! Or," he paused, "Ah, the show is during the day isn't it? So we'll have to sleep earlier to be up in time for it. Alright. It should be easier to sleep this time after all this good food." He looked thoughtful, "Well, Princess Luna is... different... than I thought she would be. I thought she would be more stoic, more like the clan elders, but she was, friendly?" He shrugged. "I didn't hear much about Princess Twilight before, but she sure talked a lot, even more than me, and she seemed to care about me, which I didn't think would happen. It's like she wanted to be my friend? But I'm hardly important or special enough for that, she has so many ponies here more important than me." (Notes on the Fastar Clan) Twilight might be surprised at the stack of papers waiting for her, no doubt sent by Princess Luna. It seemed that the lunar princess was no less studious than Twilight herself, at least where it pertained to meticulous note taking. The Fastar Clan was founded just over 200 years prior, with clan history stating that it was founded by Starlight, last of the Whitetail clan, and Fastar, a mysterious creature the likes of which had not been seen before or since. The history stated that Fastar had requested to not be documented as to their appearance, and that one like them would come one day to retrieve an artifact they had used to defend the clan as it grew. The clan grew over time mostly unifying other clans that had been decimated over the centuries following Nightmare Moon's banishment and the subsequent vilification of thestrals by Equestrians, a sentiment that had only recently started to soften with Luna's return. As such the clan grew to be fiercely independent, defending their territory with more vigor than any clan before them, and commanding a fierce loyalty to the clan above all others. This rigid doctrine had kept the clan strong and united, growing when other clans dwindled and dissolved, integrating into larger communities. It stands presently as one of the few remaining pure thestral clans on the Equestrian continent, and the largest concentration of thestrals outside of thestralia (An island off the coast of minostralia, the home of the minotaurs) The current clan leader is Euler Fastar, his daughter Starlight Fastar being trained to replace him. Starlight is only a few years older than Nova is presently. The clan's diet is omnivorous, an even mix of foraged and cultivated fruits and vegetables from the surrounding Shimmerwood Forest, as well as hunted small game. They trade in a limited capacity with the nearby zebra village for the food that they cannot grow for themselves. Their primary exports are labor in the form of sending thestrals out to work in surrounding nations with the money returning to the clan to fund any necessary items, and Shimmerwood, a magical wood that glows when charged with magic, making for a useful torch without risk of fire and for building supports for mines. Given their zealous defense of their territory, they are the only ones with access to this wood for trade.

@Skylight Scintillate Princess Luna thought on Twilight's comments before nodding, "We will visit the young colt tonight in their dream and seek better understanding. Perhaps thou couldst visit them on the morrow? It would be unwise to crowd or overwhelm him. We can share with thee our notes on his clan before thy visit so that thou mightest be better acquainted." That said, unless Twilight had other questions for Luna, she would be off back to the castle to watch the dreams of those who slept during the night. Nova shrugged, "Well, you are a bat pony rather than a thestral, but you live her in Canterlot and have seen Princess Luna more than once, so they should be interested in you for that. And my parents are kind to me sure, but I can tell they wish I fit in better with the other young thestrals." Nova nodded, folding his wing to serve as a sort of bag to hold any leftovers he could gather unless a better option was presented to him. Once outside he'd think on her questions, "Well, I haven't met my mother's clan. They are mostly towards the coast, just east of Canterlot. My parents actually met here when she was visiting and my dad was freshly in the city guard. My mom tells me that they work more with dyes and spices, trading a lot more openly with the ponies around them." As to spare time, he shrugged, "Normal things? I like to explore the forest around the village, see if I can catch any of the wildlife running about. Sometimes when I'm exploring I make up stories like I'm some important adventurer looking for a new place for the clan to settle. But no one really wants to hear about that so... yeah." He shrugged again, not seeming too down about it. "How about you? What do you like to do?"

@Blitz Boom (Null) Grey looked conflicted, but shook it off, electing to move on rather than get into a deep discussion about it. It was a moot point anyway considering what she had planned. Nine took a bit to respond, "Well, I don't have 'ears' per-say, and privacy's not really an option given our configuration. I'd just get your memories when I got back. I just thought you would appreciate me not weighing on your words or decisions." "Besides, it's been a long time since I was last outside of your body. I think we could both use the break for a bit. I just need your permission to temporarily leave your service." If she granted him leave he'd wait until her wing crossed the shadow of a building, then she'd feel him slide out of her mind. It was a strange sensation, like she had been occupying the same space as someone else. It was suddenly so much quieter, both in her hearing and in her mind. It seemed that Nine had both been improving her hearing, as well as being the source of some of the idle thoughts in her brain. Which made a bit of sense if the communicated telepathically, it was more that Nine's idle thoughts had been mixed in with hers, quiet enough that she couldn't tell the difference. She also suddenly felt warmer, like she had finally shaken a layer of snow off her coat. The most obvious difference was that the diamond feathers in her artificial wing went from black back to the original clear color they had originally been. It also felt a bit heavier and slightly less responsive than before. Not enough to hinder her flying, but enough to notice that Nine had been contributing. If she didn't grant him leave he'd stick around and nothing would change. While Arcade did not reject her kiss, he wasn't as invested in it as in previous occasions, and in fact seemed the slightest bit uncomfortable by the display Arcade didn't look too reassured by her response, looking away, "I'd prefer if we talked sooner. Ardee has her own room, we could talk tonight? I'd rather not be sitting on these thoughts for the whole trip back. Also, I can't say I know what other things you'd have in mind, is there something important we haven't done yet?" As Null seemed disinclined to talk about this sort of thing right now, Arcade would let her move on to other things without argument. Arcade nodded, "We should at least check in with her, let her know that we heven't gone and abandoned her again. We should at least give her the option to join us." (Ardee) Ranger snorted at that, "You have no idea." She shrugged, "If you think there might be something else in there then it's worth looking. Hopefully it's not another invisible trap that you'll trigger by accident when you go looking for it. And I agree that we should warn the queen that someone might be controlled by this other kitsune. Maybe she's noticed some suspicious activity? Still, we should stick around here so Null and Arcade can find us when they're done with whatever's keeping them."

@Blitz Boom One last comment, I fixed the timeline! Rereading earlier information I found that on page 8 I set the current time as about 1-2 years after the crisis, or about 4-5 years since Null and Void were abducted. I think that's where I got the five years in my mind in later points of the story. This change only affects the numbers, and makes many events, like the state of the clones, a bit more believable (Since now they only had to survive 1 year rather than 5 on their own, and makes the ages of the foals correct without adjustment.) We'll say that when they closed the gates marks 2 years since the crisis, and use that as the measuring stick for anything else that needs a time reference. We can also say that the crisis made keeping track of time difficult, so many are confused as to how much time has actually passed, to better explain when different creatures think its been different amounts of time. Alright, that's all for now, don't want to overwhelm you with information.

@Blitz Boom Unedited, the first seven pages on the forums is 335 pages of text. Granted, a lot of it is quotes and extras, so the real amount of text is likely closer to 100 pages, but still, that means we've likely written over a thousand pages between us by this point.

@Blitz Boom I'm finding that there is a lot of lore I'd love to share, like Basher's history, the Consul's history with Luna, Nine's history with Luna, among other things, but Null and Void aren't often in a position or disposition to want to learn about those sorts of things. I also don't think it would make sense to just have one of my characters ask about it for Null or Void to hear. Any thoughts on that? I was considering that, at least for the histories surrounding the Grey maybe one of your changeling characters would be interested? One of them could try to get to know Basher, or be assigned to watch him and end up getting him to open up a bit? I'm also planning an arc for the Grey involving Mercy, which will loop in Void temporarily (Her getting to see a Mercy ceremony like Null got to watch a Vengeance one.) So I figure one of your changelings might also agree to work on the new Mercy side of the Grey rather than sticking with Vengeance? Further, you could have one be Vengeance, one be Mercy, and one be both, but that's up to you and how you think they would react when the option is presented to them later in the arc. I'm setting up for them to go up against Moth (Basher's second lieutenant, and that will let me swing in some of the ideas that I didn't get to use between Null and Basher, like an actual fight at the penthouse party.) Second thing, I'm getting ready to reformat the earlier sections of the story into something that can be posted on FiMFiction. Looking at the first arc, which is the first seven pages of this RP, there are only two changes I have in mind, and I don't think they'll have any long reaching effects. I want to spread out the events before they get frozen to take a few more days. Presently they're only there for like 48 hours before getting frozen, and do a bunch of testing in a short period. I'm planning to just spread the major events into their own days and put in filler small tests in between just to pace out the story a bit. I want to clarify what 990 is and their effect on the story. Originally I didn't have big plans for that aspect, but on reading back through I found an interesting through line I could use: 990 in the original papers is a sort of harbinger, an entity that warns of future events. Who plays that role in this universe? The same entity that gave them their curse, and thus would be able to interact with them magically despite the curse. I'm talking about Phi. This only changes some descriptions, and there's enough time between this arc and when they go to the dead oasis to maybe forget having seen him before. This also adds in a better way to distinguish between 990/Phi, and Nine pretending to be Phi in Null's mind. Phi can be seen and talked to by both Void and Null, but only Null can see Nine. So the first dream is unchanged, but in the second dream (When they get separated) Null sees something different than Void as Nine taints the prophecy. Given the two of them never talk about this later the difference is not detected. Any thoughts / concerns about this? I'll send you a copy to read through before I post it if you want. The working title I have is "Null & Void: Escape from Deep Science" I plan to have "Null & Void" precede the titles for each story in the series, so the second book would be "Null & Void: The Gates of Tartarus" Or something like that.

@Blitz Boom (Null) Grey shook her head, "If all they know is how to cause harm, how are they supposed to not do that when they leave? Sure, while they're here they're doing harm for the right reasons, but afterwards? Like Basher said, it's the only path he's ever walked. And Us cleaning their record with Karma doesn't change how others see them." Grey raised an eyebrow at that, but she didn't seem too concerned, "I think Nibiru knows a thing or two about how to do this job, and I'm willing to try something different from the status quo to see if things improve." Grey snorted, "From this list, it wouldn't surprise me if someone wanted to, but you can rest assured that you wouldn't deserve it. Now, I'm not in a position to give you targets, but I've heard whispers in the shadows that you might know someone who owes exactly enough to clear your debt." She shrugged, "If you'd rather let someone else take care of them, there's no shortage of targets in the cloud layer, but I'm sure Vengeance has a target in mind worthy of your skills." If Null had nothing else to ask of Grey Mare, they would be allowed to leave so she can get back to work. As they were leaving Nine would speak up, "Per your earlier comments, I'm sorry if I've steered you wrong before. And, well, when I did steer you wrong. I had hoped that your learning of my involvement in your previous... ideations... would have helped, but I see that my influence has had some deep and long lasting effects on your psyche." There was a pause, "If you want, you can take a break from having me in your mind. As long as you need. I figure you won't want me in your ear while you talk with Arcade." Speaking of, they were now outside the building, and Arcade spoke up, "Can we talk? About us? Not like, out here in the open or immediately, but soon, and somewhere private. I just..." He sighed, looking away, "All this time I've spent with you, it's different than anything I've had before, but that also means I don't know if we're doing it right or not. Like, I didn't know how bad I had it in the labs before Mistress came along. Still, I worry that you're not happy, and that my presence is contributing to your unhappiness." (Ardee) She shrugged, "Anything is an improvement from the lab I grew up in." It was noncommittal, but RD didn't seem keen on going anywhere at the moment. She was more worried about figuring out who she was to consider future adventures. Ranger looked confused, "I wonder who would have triggered it? Basher and I left while they were still painting it, so it couldn't have been either of us, could it?" She shook her head, "I don't remember him using paint, I think he got whatever he was using from a sort of inkwell? It smelled like something, kind of like how some of the scientists would smell on occasion." She looked more concerned, "So like, temporary mind control? That's worrying." She looked away, seemingly a bit bored. "I wonder what's taking them so long to come back with the feathers. I hope they didn't run into any trouble out there."

@Skylight Scintillate (Sorry for the delay, I was going to post on Sunday but my computer killed a drive so I've been dealing with data recovery for the past few days) Luna was surprised by everything Twilight had to say, "Well, thou hast already said much of what we had intended. Alas..." She discretely looked over at where Speckle and Nova were, "We fear getting closer to the young colt would only further isolate him from his clan. There is such loneliness in that colt, such as I have felt before. He is rejected of his peers, and they are unlikely to believe should he say that we spoke to him. Reversing the way, should he say that we were distant with him may only serve to further isolate him. Despite this path maintaining our reputation with his clan, I do not wish to see the colt isolated so." She sighed, "Thou hast more experience with me when it comes to such... complicated social matters. What dost thou think we should do?" Nova brushed it off, being stirred from his thoughts by her apology, "It's... its alright, you didn't know. The thestrals back home think I talk too much. They all try to be stoic like Princess Luna, but I'm just... not that way. My mother tells me it's something I got from her clan, apparently things are different there, but we haven't visited them since they're so far away so I don't know for sure." He shrugged, still a bit down but not wanting it to bring down the mood, "Um, we should get going, right? Or are we allowed to take some of the leftovers home? That's usually what happens after a feast in my clan, any food left over is divided among the group, after portions are set aside for those unable to be present of course."

@Cheerilee (Spiral) The atmosphere of the council chamber had changed from when the meeting had started. While before Spiral had held the council's full support, it seemed her proposal had caused several members to consider the prospect that Spiral's goals did not align with what they thought was best for their constituency. Ever since the coup against Apollo independence movements had held very little popularity, which had been the aim of the council for years in an effort to promote unity. For the Consul to come out as pro independence would undermine a lot of the council's efforts to promote unity, indicating, at least to some, that unity had only been pursued out of convenience rather than a genuine desire to become united. They wouldn't comment on this now, but it would come up in their adjusting of their own reelection campaigns over the next few days and weeks, a few changing their support to Power over Spiral. This still left the question as to what should be done seeing as the scouting craft had been downed, inaction could cause issues given the popularity of who had gone down with the craft. (More below) (Janet) Spirit chuckled at Janet's comment, "Heh, you almost called yourself a low-life there!" Her expression grew a bit more serious, "You really shouldn't call your classmates lowlifes though, you don't see Spectral acting like that, do you?" She looked concerned at the end there, as though she worried that Spectral might act like that. Spectral was one of her classmates, a quiet pegasus colt that mostly kept to himself in the back of the room. Janet didn't know who his parents were, like she didn't know or care to know the parents of the rest of her classmates. If she went in search of her classmates she'd find them in one of the recreational areas built into the side of the mountain near where the school was. Almost everything at Archback was built into the mountain in some way, and there were larger recreation areas in some of the hollowed out portions of the mountain, but they had built this one on the outside of the mountain to allow for sunlight, which had been in fairly short supply when the area was surrounded by mountains. Most of them were playing, a few were gathered to discuss what rumors they had overheard, and Spectral was sat in the corner reading a book. @Blitz Boom (Sorrow) She'd find the rifle pointed in her direction when she spoke up, the mare frantic, but as she had not moved closer and made no move to approach she was able to calm herself somewhat. "I, I'm fine, I think? Could be shock though." She looked herself over, then stopped suddenly, "Shoot! Delta!" She rushed towards the front of the craft, looking for a way to move the glass dome, "No no no not you too, hang on!" She gripped the dome in her magic, setting down the rifle, and broke the upper hinge to let the dome tilt away from the craft so she could push it away with her magic. With the dome out of the way it was easier to see inside the craft, the pegasus hanging in the straps was missing a wing, the missing wing pinned by other straps to the side of the craft where the wing had been torn off. The mare moved to get the pegasus out of the straps, carefully lowering her. If Sorrow approached she'd see that the pegasus was still breathing, faintly. The mare looked over at Sorrow, "There's a medkit over on the inside where I came out, hurry and grab it please!" If Sorrow ventured inside the craft, she would find the kit strapped to the wall of the rather cramped interior, as well as the dead body of an earth pony who was rigged into some sort of pedal mechanism. It seemed like most of the blood in the craft was from him, and the several holes in his body that lined up with the holes in the craft. If she returned with the kit the mare would quickly set to work patching up the pegasus to the best of her ability, muttering softly, "Cmon Delta, you can pull through this, stay with me." Once patched up enough she would turn her attention back to Sorrow, "She needs more attention than I can provide, is there somewhere safe near here?" (Briar) Queen Permu sighed, "It is hard to say. There is no telling how any surviving queens may react, I fear how much might have been sacrificed in order to stay alive. Some may have entered into bad deals or isolated themselves against all others. In the early days of the crisis there were hives who joined Discord in order to be spared, and those who closed themselves off in order to stay safe from them. The world may not be safe for any changelings for a time, but I will do all in my power to ensure that she, and all other friendly changelings we encounter, are protected from those who would do her harm." (Blitz) Silver had been about to respond to Blitz's reaction to finding the old note, her face darker than she had seen it before, when they were interrupted by Power. "Mrs. Easle" "What!" "Your daughter, she was on a scouting expedition. Her craft was downed." She lost all of her previous anger and annoyance, "W-what?" "She was sent to investigate an anomaly we saw, that was attacking a group of ponies below." He passed over some documents, the same that had been given to Spiral. Silver looked over the papers, her expression growing more serious when she saw the description and the message that had been decoded. "Power, go get your father. Tell him that Deep Science has come back for us." Power started to protest, but shut up when Silver shot him a look, "Yes Ma'am." As Power left, Silver pushed aside several stacks of papers to reach a white board, which she flipped over to reveal a complicated set of notes on one Colonel Panic. "Here you are, right on schedule..." (Blackwater) Access smiled, "Well, if you think you should hurry I won't stop you, but I'd advise against rushing this. Like you said we may only have one shot at this with the calm, so better to have it properly tested and prepared than rushed to production, right?" "As to your wife, how is she doing? I don't think I've run into her lately." (More as an opening for you to introduce her than to have idle chat)

@Blitz Boom @Cheerilee I was going to post today, here and elsewhere, but my computer decided that today was the perfect day to have one of my drives fail, so now I'm stuck dealing with that. Sorry.

@Cheerilee Fair enough, we'll leave it where it is for now. You can let me know if you change your mind.

@Blitz Boom I didn't think it was that odd, at least what she said wasn't odd, and it did give me some ideas for the future. Both for Null and Arcade's relationship and for the Grey moving forward.

@Blitz Boom (Null) Basher didn't look away as she made her rant, but he didn't seem impressed by it, "I don't need or want your pity. But take it from me, having died more than once myself, it didn't help. Here, you can distract yourself. There?" He chuckled, "The fire doesn't hurt, it's the regret. You torture yourself there, but it sounds like you're well acquainted with that already." He looked like he was going to say more but the window suddenly darkened, Gray Mare sighed as she led the pair away. The adjacent cell held a sleeping unicorn mare, one Arcade would mention was the mare he had taken out on the wall while Null was fighting Basher. Her marker read: Pop 'Birdie' Fly. Debt: 200 years. Arcade's expression was one of concern, given what she had said. He had not been expecting that sort of revelation, much less that Basher would be the one to get her to open up like that rather than him. He looked away. Once they were out of the prison hall Grey Mare sighed, "He's right, in a way. The Grey is not set up to rehabilitate its members. The logs are full of those who paid their debts, left, and incurred new debts not long after." She shook her head, "Maybe that needs to change, but the Grey has..." she looked thoughtful, as though listening to something, "Huh, maybe not." She shook it off, returning her attention to Null and Arcade, "You probably don't want to spend any more time here than you have to. Let's get your rewards sorted out." She would lead them back to her office, pulling out a paper as she sat in her chair, "So, Null Pointer, having been judged to owe 50 years over..." She looked surprised as her eyes ran down the paper, before looking back up at Null, "... That's quite the life you've lived, I didn't realize you had it so rough. No wonder Vengeance only asked a pittance of you." She shook her head, "Anyway, you've earned five years for killing Firebird the griffon, and seventy years for the capture of Vivace. You had previously promised thirty five years to three of my agents for their support. Given the circumstances I would understand if you would want to reduce their share." She turned to Arcade, "I, hmm" she looked confused at the top of the paper, "You can just call me Arcade" She nodded, "I figured, I didn't expect quite so many numbers and letters. Anyway, you are owed a debt of several lifetimes. Likely more than you'll be able to use before the end of your life. The Grey is at your disposal for whatever you should need. Twenty years on top of that is a trifle, but Vengeance is grateful for your assistance in capturing Pop." (Ardee) She looked thoughtful, "If you know someone who can see spirits, that would be helpful. I just want to make sure they've moved on and that they're not like, following us." She nodded, once inside she would point out the wall that the other kitsune had been writing on, "He was writing some strange symbols that disappeared after he wrote them, and he was rambling about something I didn't understand. I wasn't paying too much attention other than that he had some sort of magic that kept my arrows from hitting him."

@Skylight Scintillate Nova looked a bit uncomfortable with this line of questioning, "Oh, um, I don't know, I..." He sighed, looking away as many thoughts went through his head. You talk too much You're too loud You're weird Leave us alone Go bother someone else Go away Go Away GO AWAY Twilight might notice that Luna had returned her attention to the group, her expression one of concern as she studied the young thestral colt. She recognized the feeling, loneliness in a crowded room, being misunderstood, rejected, it pained her that she had been so dismissive of him before. She resolved that something needed to be done, later, maybe when the colt was asleep she would visit him. (It seems like they've been here long enough, but if you had other things you wanted to have happen here at the dinner then you can ignore the part below for now.) At the moment though, she saw an opportunity to alleviate his troubles at least a little as she rose from her seat, "Alas my friends, the time has come for us to depart. We hope thou hast all enjoyed these festivities. We bid thee all a good evening." As she turned to leave, she hailed Twilight to join her, "Princess Sparkle? A word?" She would proceed outside so they could speak privately without the shield that they had used before. This would also give Nova and Speckle a chance to speak just the two of them for a bit.

@Cheerilee Per your post in the Æther thread, how far do you want to push this before you leave? This wasn't really set up to be a short term RP, but we can move forward until you leave and just leave it wherever it lies? Or we can just leave it alone here rather than getting invested to the point that you don't want to leave when the time comes. Up to you in either case.

@Cheerilee I'm sorry to hear that you'll be leaving, but if you think it will be for the best then I would hardly want to get in your way. Per your characters here, I was already starting to set up Power replacing Spiral as the Consul, so she can fade into obscurity when you need to leave. Janet is not attached to any of Blitz's characters, and Archback is far enough away from the Project that there won't be any interaction for a while, so there's no worries there for your departure. We can play that out as long as you want. Anything else?

@PerlsteinProps (Spiral) Most of those gathered looked shocked at that proposal, "Split the Project? That was never part of the plan!" Another spoke up, "Most of the sections are bespoke, unique, how would one even draw a line for equitable distribution?" "Why should the Equestrians get any part of it? They didn't build it. If they want to leave they can leave, but they can't expect the rest of us to cripple ourselves for their benefit." "The Equestrians have helped keep this project going this whole time, surely that deserves something?" "The world out there is hardly suited for there to be rival factions at this point. If we divide we'd be just as poor off as those ponies we're passing over. Besides, we'd have to work out trade agreements, establish borders, erect a whole new system of government." "We have to consider that anyway, with the ponies already on the ground." "United we have all of our resources together, everyone working to a common goal. Just because we've arrived doesn't mean the Project has changed." "And who would lead the Equestrians? Or the ones who remain? Are you suggesting that half of the Children be sent off with their parents? Or are you going to ask them to choose between staying here and going with their parents? The Equestrians are all over 40, hardly suited to rebuild society from the ground up. It's clear that the future belongs to the Children, maybe they should be taking a bigger role in decisions?" The arguing would continue, it seemed like this was a very unpopular proposal that had ignited long seated tensions in the council. The lively discussion meant that most of the council was not paying much heed towards Spiral. But one nearby spoke up, "Who's to say that those below aren't responsible for the destruction of the craft? And how do you suggest we get into contact with them when they've already demonstrated that our crafts are not safe?" "And how can we ensure that a rescue team would not meet the same fate? We've never sent down a rescue operation before, all downed craft were considered compromised. No one aboard has training for rescue operations." It seemed like the council required more decisive leadership, but with discussion brewing of a separation the council was already more divided than before, and more than a few were suspicious of her motives. (Janet) Nightshade didn't notice Janet's glare, and Spirit found her pout more cute than annoying, but still her expression was concerned, "Well that's hardly a nice way to ask for information, you won't often get what you want by being mean." She sighed, but decided to elaborate. "Relations between the zebra and the thestrals have been... tense... for some time now. The younger zebra have talked about leaving, splitting off from the elders, and now that they have a chance to, it looks like they're following through with their plans. They're not scouting, they're leaving." @Blitz Boom (Sorrow) There wasn't any smoke coming from the crash, nor any sign of fire. It looked like it had mostly landed fine before it had hit a large rock that tore one of the wings off the craft. Arriving at the front of the craft, there was a good amount of blood on the front dome, and the pegasus inside that she had seen before was limply hanging there, suspended by a number of straps and wires. She wouldn't have long to investigate before the side of the craft opened, and a unicorn mare stumbled out. There was blood on her tanish grey coat, but she didn't look injured, more dazed. She carried something reminiscent of a rifle in her magic, and moved to take shelter in the shade of the undamaged wing. She looked frantic, breathing heavy, looking everywhere but not really seeing. She sat leaning against the craft, weapon ready, as she closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. Sorrow would need to approach this carefully, lest this mare turn violent. If sorrow could detect death, she'd know that one pony in the craft had died. (Briar) Queen Permu looked thoughtful, and a bit unsure. "It would perhaps be safer to take care of those affected before risking a transformation. They may well be stronger in their new forms. Alas, if only there were more seeds, so a proper test could be done." She shook her head, "No, meddling in such magics is what drove my mother to madness. Your understanding of the plan is acceptable, establish contact, forewarn any that will heed, and we will do our part to protect you and yours from the rest." She nodded, her expression sad. "It pains me that it has come to this, and we hope they will not take advantage of your honorable pacifism. Were she alive, I'm sure their queen would have been delighted to meet you." Briar would then be dismissed if he had nothing else to ask of her. (Blitz) Silver couldn't meet her gaze, "I... I had hoped that he'd survived. I knew it was stupid, foalish to think he could have survived where so many others failed. But Discord was HERE." She sobbed, "If he died, he would have wanted me to move on. I stubbornly believed that he wasn't dead, somehow, so I wouldn't have to. I don't want to move on. But holding on like he's still out there... it hurt me, it hurt Plein." Under the stack of papers that Silver had pointed her towards, Blitz would find a strange note. It was addressed to Silver, and it looked like it had been read many times. If she skimmed over the note, she'd see it came from someone who had claimed to have met Illiad before the event, in another world, and that he had survived by being sent there. The note was unsigned, and frankly the claim was hard to believe, which made it odd, or perhaps not so odd, that Silver had kept it this long. Given the age of the paper it seemed just about as old as the schematic documents she was looking at, meaning it couldn't have been written too long after the Project set off. (Molotov) Access snorted at that, "Yeah, we changelings mature quickly, you can't just go by our appearance or demeanor." Access looked thoughtful, "Couldn't you send a bot out to collect it? Now that they aren't lingering on our doorstep it should be a bit safer to send out bots to try and gather things right? Plus, I'm sure everyone else is wondering what the rest of the world looks like after all this time. A bunch here have never seen it outside of pictures or stories." She shook her head, "It's go right over their heads I'm sure, mine too. Plus I think the thought of banishment might not boost morale. Probably better you just work on it with your team or by yourself, and once you have some solid proof of your theories we can tell others the results. I'll let mother know what you've found, it should at least make dad happy to know that there's more of a chance now than before."

@Blitz Boom I've been reading back through old sections while I wait, so I've found other hooks we might need to address: Cherish's friend Crow, there was a thought that there'd be an encounter between her and Elef on a hunt one night. We can wrap this into the Elef arc. Sharing the bounty. Null promised a portion of the debt to the three changelings, but given how things shook out she might not be as generous as she had initially planned. How much she gives will determine if she's cleared her debt or not. She'll get her official reward for the griffon she killed on her first journey to the cloud district, Firebird. Arcade is due some reward as well, since he took out one of Basher's lieutenants, but he'll probably just give that reward over to Null There is one other lieutenant that Null has met, so if she doesn't clear her debt now she could go after her next. Otherwise we could have the changelings go after her. That's all I remember so far, I don't think this changes anything about the present, just reminders for the near future once Null is done talking to Basher.