Starforce

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

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She was a bit more concerned with this revelation, but it did give her an idea, "If you could move your soul into another body, then maybe if there is an extra soul inside of me, they could be moved to another body too? Or... I could move, then I could meet her?"

"That is definitely something in the realm of possibility. I will have to ask the others about that, but if it is true if there is an extra soul inside of you, it would do you both better to be separate, so then you could meet her properly."  Spiral would say in response to this, hoping that it would be possible to do so.
 

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She listened intently, nodding to herself, "That sounds like what the Empress wanted to accomplish. Maybe one of her other ventures succeeded when I failed? I used to be the one who moved the sun and moon, back when I was in the Arcane Nexus. Or rather, I moved them when I was asked to, and after I froze everyone, no one asked me to move them anymore, but I noticed that something else did."

She cocked her head to the side, "So now that these alicorns are gone, and I'm not in the Nexus, who is moving the sun and moon now? Did they form a new order of mages to take over?"

Spiral's eyes would widen slightly upon this revelation and she'd walk a bit closer. "You used to raise the Sun and Moon? Can't say I expected that...I don't know who raises the Sun and Moon these days, though. The alicorns who once ruled us are dead as far as I know, and beyond that, is unknown, at least to me. Can you explain to me more about the Empress and her ventures?" Spiral asked, wanting to know more about that. 

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She looked less sure, "I only heard rumors, from those who had been sacrificed, but the Enigma Machine was something that the Earth Ponies had built to fulfil a similar role to what the Arcane Nexus did for the unicorns. It produced a series of machines far superior to anything the earth ponies had previously developed. It completely stopped the unicorns advances towards Terra Firma, and even pushed them back in places. Had I not frozen everyone, they might have eventually won."

Spiral would nod to this, "We haven't heard of anything like that in our history as far as I am aware. All of what we are taught, is that the three tribes were once warring against each other then the Windigoes would appear because of the division and discord of the three tribes, then they had to work together, and love each other - and the Windigoes went away, and Equestria was founded on their unity. At least that is what I know, there is a lot more to it, obviously, but the details of it, are most likely lost to our history...now with you, we have a living witness to it all..." 

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"I'd offer a story myself, but I've said everything I got, that's foal friendly. Another time."

Spiral would nod to this, "Another time, yes." she said, clearly interested - but wishing to do that at a later time.

Spiral would wait and then would watch the specialist arrive. She'd take a careful look at him and take in his physical appearance, he was a very interesting and unique stallion. Definitely one that had stood out against all the others she had seen so far for the most part. His zebra-like mane and tail to her, may indicate that he has a vested interest in Zebras. Looking at his cutie mark - it made perfect sense. Seems like he unlocks memories and brings them to the surface if she had any guesses to that.

Spiral would give a slight bow before him as a sign of respect, before she'd explain the situation in full to him so he knew what the situation was, then she'd step back and allow him to do what he needed to do - and would not interfere with it. She'd sit back and observe the situation closely for the half hour it took for him to read into her memories. Upon seeing the tears across Memory Lane's eyes, she would look on with sympathy. 

She'd listen to Memory's explanation, and would accept it. "So, she has multiple personalities but not multiple souls...this is all probably from when she was used as a focal point for all that magic, fried her mind. She is going to need mental treatment for a long time, if I had any guesses...we can't expose her to any more trauma, she must be kept safe. When Aurum comes about, we will let you know, so you can come again, to look into things from her side." Spiral would say, calmly. 

@Blitz Boom @Illiad Easle

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She looked concerned, "I, well, if there is another soul inside me, I'm sorry they weren't able to move on like the others."

In regards to the infighting she nodded, "That sounds familiar, just like before."

Spiral would nod to what Nexus said, "I am sure that if there is indeed another soul inside of you, we could have someone who is qualified to detect such things, come take a look and tell us if there is?" Spiral would suggest, though it was clear she would only accept such a thing if Nexus desired it. 

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"You're a body snatcher?"

Last rose an eyebrow. She were tempted to just call Spiral a leech, but even for her, that seemed kinda rude. So she just went with body snatcher, which were still descriptive enough. Something to ask about another time maybe, when there weren't more pressing issues. Best they focused on Nexus/Aurum for now.

"Never would've guessed it. I figured you were the most regular one, in this group."

She'd lower her eyebrow again, then move ahead with things, She wanted to know, but at the same time, this did not sound like foal friendly story time, so it would have to wait. Maybe if she exchanged stories of body snatcher she had met before, it would be a fair trade in tales, at some point? Thou8gh hers related more to a cursed forest that controlled others, via a strange fungus, and insects turning the bodies of victims it dragged in there, to living hives, under their control. Rather grizzly stuff honestly, once you got into the details, which she sadly knew all too well.

Now that she thought about it, who were the normal one at this point? The nearly extinct plant guy, the resurrected body snatcher, the changeling who didn't seem to know her own powers, the alicorn filly with potentially multiple souls, or her? It better not be her. Things would have to be rather strange, for her to be the most normal.

Spiral would chuckle to Last's comments, and look over to her, her eyes rolling to gaze into Last's own. "That's a rather colorful way to describe it. Though, I don't blame you for asking. You haven't seen what I actually look like, nobody has. I originally died over 300 years ago in an explosion, and it was only thanks to the one called "Trixie" that I was brought back...though she improperly did the spell, resulting in my soul being brought back into being inside of her, rather than my body being brought back as she intended...I used her body as my own for quite some time, until this one was gifted to me." she said, standing there, and showing her dull orange-grey body to Last, smirking somewhat, hinting that she looked far more impressive originally. 

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She looked confused by the new information, "Alicorns? I've never heard of those. They'd have to be very powerful to get the ponies to stop fighting, albeit temporarily it would seem. And millennia..."

She looked thoughtful before nodding, "That sounds about right, for how long it was quiet after I froze everything."

It seemed that she was aware of just how long she had been sitting there, while Aurum had not.

Spiral would allow Last to answer this first, though she would follow up with saying, "Celestia and Luna, our previous rulers had enormous power that allowed them to raise the Sun and Moon themselves and their loyal populace commanded some of the most sophisticated and trained armies to ever walk this world, though, that all collapsed when Discord took over, and overthrew Equestria and destroyed everything that stood in his way...damage that will never be reverted." Spiral said with a distinct frown.

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She nodded, "Okay, this looks like the sort of thing the Earth Ponies would build, or that the Enigma Machine would produce. Is Trojan another name for Earth Ponies?"

"Trojans themselves are multiple creatures, including various ponies. There is a large population of all types of ponies who consider themselves Trojan, there are many of them aboard this vessel. What is the Enigma Machine?" Spiral would ask curiously.

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She shrugged, "If you think it's best, I'm not opposed, can we do it now? I'd rather not wait to find out."

 

If they asked the guards outside about it, they'd indicate that the changeling doctor had given them the contact information for a full panel of different specialists considered trusted that they could call on if needed. One of which was mentioned to be both good at soul magic and memories.

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Last went and handled asking, and would return with the list. However, as she were not all that knowledgeable about science and such, someone would have to explain to her eventually, what most of these actually did. She did see the word soul further down though. That seemed promising.

"Might I please ask that you tell me what the paper says? Unless it is in braille, I cannot read it."

"I'll let the Spiral cover this. Too many words I ain't getting on this paper."

Spiral would look to Last and Briar, and would nod to them. "It says we can contact various specialists that are on call, that can help us out here. If there are no objections, I'll go ahead and contact them at once." Spiral said, and if there were no objections, she would contact the guards and ask for the one that was good at soul magic and memories to come down to give Nexus an examination.

@Blitz Boom @Illiad Easle

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She thought for a moment, but nodded, "I appear to be healthy, and unharmed, despite my time in the amber. It seems to have preserved me quite well over the years, though the process seems to have had unanticipated side-effects." She motioned towards her wings, "I've also noticed that many of my magic nodes have been greatly strengthened. Perhaps a lingering effect of all the souls used to power the Arcane Nexus."

She did not seem at all perturbed by her account of her history. Whether she didn't care, or simply didn't grasp the severity of the situation, was unclear. One thing was for certain, Nexus was far more in control of herself and her powers than Aurum was.

"Could very well be. I would say that you could even have another soul inside of you, like Last said. You said you were Aurum after all, and you don't seem to remember anything that happened after we freed you. A lot happened. To sum it up, there was a lot of infighting aboard this vessel. The former leader was more interested in his own personal power rather than the good of those aboard, and we had to remove him from power...forcefully. There was another group lead by a traitor changeling named Red who shapeshifted into an Alicorn and lead another uprising, we had to deal with her as well..." she spoke.

"You see, Nexus, Aurum, or whatever your name is - Equestrians, Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns were ruled by Alicorns for many millenia, and the desire to worship them comes first and foremost. Our entire society has been lost and destroyed by war, the former alicorn leaders being killed in that war. I was never there to witness any of it, only the aftermath. I was...brought back to life by someone a while back, and inhabited her body for a considerable amount of time until I was able to find this one." Spiral said to Nexus.

"For your safety, we have to keep you a secret from the populace for now. The populace aboard this construct are still reeling from the infighting we had to deal with a week ago. For your information, this construct is for all intensive purposes, a city-sized airship. I'm not sure how it works, exactly, but it was built by Trojan scientists if I remember correctly." Spiral stated.

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Nexus frowned at that, "Oh, I guess that isn't surprising. That is sad though, that there is a potential friend inside of me that I can't meet. But I'm happy though, that she did not get absorbed like the others."

She shrugged again, "Well, best to make of it what we can while we can, right?"

She sat down, a small smile on her face, as she watched the others to see how they would react.

"More or less that is more evidence for my suspicions that her soul or consciousness is contained inside of you. I don't know for sure, though. We'll make the best of our situation, try to, and perservere through it, just like we have for the years that we've been aboard this vessel." Spiral said, calmly. She gave a small smile back.

@Blitz Boom @Illiad Easle

Spiral would approach Nexus quietly, looking down at her curiously. She wasn't sure what to make of this - nor was she sure why Aurum was calling herself Nexus. "We freed you - though, one of us died trying to save you." Spiral would say to her, walking up to her carefully. "Are you okay? We are here to help." she spoke, looking off to the others. She would communicate with Briar and Last mentally, "It seems like she has a split personality if I had any guesses..."

@Blitz Boom @Illiad Easle

Spiral was silent on the talk about Chrysalis. She wasn't technically alive when all of that happened - nor did she experience modern day Equestria at all. From what she gathered of it, it seemed fairly utoptian and life was peaceful. In a way it was something to be envied - yet the laziness and complacency of the ponies showed that modern Equestria had lived in an erroneous false reality coloured by their easy life. Spiral didn't have much else to say, and simply nodded to Coxa and thanked her for her time.

Upon hearing Aurum's word's, Spiral's ears would perk up despite it being a mental affect - "Coping mechanism, most likely. She is repeating what she said earlier...as if in a catatonic state. Like a turtle going back into it's shell." Spiral would say to Last, quietly. 

@Blitz Boom @Illiad Easle

Spiral would look to Dr. Coxa as she was asked about the possibility of a triggering event. "Aurum remembered the events leading up to her encasement. Aurum did not want to be worshipped, nor did she want to be admired - but her mother abused her, to put it lightly." Spiral would say in a saddened tone, looking down at the floor. She would look towards Dr. Coxa with hope though - "I hope the technology exists aboard so that her sight could be restored." she would say in a hopeful manner. That would go a long way in getting Aurum acclimated to life aboard the project. As for the rest of what was being spoke of, Spiral would not comment on it. "If you wish to see what Aurum had showed me in her memory, I can show you, with my memory. I have the ability to show things in other's minds. It's not particularly pleasant though.." Spiral would say to Dr.Coxa.

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

Spiral would look to the Changeling who had entered into their room. She stayed rather quiet until Briar and Last would explain things to them. Spiral would trust this Changeling as this was something that was discussed with Consul Write earlier. "Aurum is...emotionally unstable and not ready to deal with the world. She doesn't understand a lot of things and this information appears to send her into a sensory overload. We must take things slowly and carefully with her." Spiral said, and extended a hoof for the Changeling to shake. 

@Blitz Boom @Illiad Easle

Spiral would sigh and shut her eyes - as if she was feeling pain from that memory she viewed through the telekinetic spell. She'd observe how Aurum would fall unconscious. Evidently completely overwhelmed by her emotions. Spiral would walk forward and watch how Briar would lift her up gently, and put her somewhere she could rest. Spiral would look to Briar and Last as they spoke about what happened. "Terrible memory she showed me. The Empress, her mother wanted to abuse her to hold all the power of those deceased unicorns. She was forced to do that..." Spiral sighed, a look of hate coming across her face for a second as she looked away. Spiral didn't like those who hurt foals.

 

@Blitz Boom @Illiad Easle

Spiral would allow Briar and Last to explain what an alicorn was to Aurum. While she wanted to do that herself - they had gotten to it first, and she saw no reason to stand in their way of providing a just explanation. "Yes, all of that is correct. Good explanation. The drive of Equestrians to worship alicorns and accept them as leaders is a powerful one. It leads some to act irrationally, to the point where it puts the lives of others into danger. Now there are no more alicorns - except you, Aurum. Celestia and Luna lost their lives, and our way of life was completely destroyed by a powerful being of Chaos, known as discord, years ago..." 

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

Spiral would relay her memories of the whole ordeal - from the moment they entered underground to the moment that Spiral had freed Aurum from containment down there. Aurum was able to see all of what Spiral had seen - and Aurum had also seen that one of the ponies she was with - Light, had sacrificed himself so they could escape. After Aurum had seen enough, she would walk towards her calmly upon seeing her crying.

"You make your own choices. Find your own purpose. You will learn this with time, and you'll be alright. We are here for you to help guide you - but it's up to you to make those decisions. There are many other ponies here who are not ready to see an alicorn yet." Spiral would state simply, so Aurum could understand what she was saying. She didn't want to scare Aurum more with other memories she had of the events where they took power over the Project. 

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

Spiral would try to talk to directly into Aurum's mind but her being blocked out like that annoyed her somewhat - although she didn't say anything about it and focused on talking with Briar and Last for now.

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"Lady Spiral. Warrioress. I am honored to meet you then. Aurum holds many questions as to what happened between her memory, and her ending here, and I hoped there would end being answers to find for her. I am assuming that you would know some things?

But where are my manners? Briar Trapjaw, at your service. And this is my ward, Brittle Buzz. She's shy, so please forgive her for her reaction to your presence."

Spiral would look back to Briar and Brittle. She would nod in a formal fashion. "All I know is that she was trapped down there and there was a lot of disturbing stuff. We found her inside some sort of...Energy Nexus, upon piles and piles of severed unicorn horns. The Empress, a malevolent one was the one behind it all. Very dangerous. Not good, to say the least." she sighed.

"One of the ones we went with ended up losing his life down there. Sacrificed himself to save us. His name was Light." Spiral would add. 

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"Long as you are aware, then you will hear nothing of it. Let us all start freshly, shall we not?

As for your question, Lady Spiral, I assure you that you are not interrupting. In fact, I were speaking with Aurum just before you arrived, about a few things, which I hope you might be able to help with. One being a chance to set up a doctors appointment. Some words from her mother, have given rise to worries she may have diabetes, and I'd like to be certain of it, rather than gift her treats, which could end up being dangerous to her. I have a doctor whom I trust, who I hope would suffice. Aurum is currently still uncomfortable trusting new beings, but seem to have some faith that I wish her nothing bad, so it would seem to be best for her, to work with those whom I know can be trusted.

But you have only just arrived. I will not chase you off with this in mind so early. Please, have a seat."

Spiral would sit down across from them, her eyes occasionally looking over at Aurum.

"The Consul and other leaders have ordered that Aurum be kept separate from the Public under all circumstances, until she is able to find herself acclimated to her situation. I have commissioned a special amulet for her to wear that will hide her wings when she is ready to go out into the Public. Under no circumstances, is she to be referred to as a Princess." Spiral would say in a bit of a more formal tone. "I would imagine she needs to get looked at by a doctor, when she has calmed down, we can arrange that." Spiral would state. 

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

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The Consul nodded towards Maud and Spiral, but listened as Last brought up her concerns. "The Equestrians, as you'll remember, had no issue living under Apollo's rule until the most recent event. Unfortunately we don't have the time or resources to brainstorm a new system of governance nor can we allow the period of anarchy that will develop if we try to transition. We've got enough problems as it is getting everyone on board with this council arrangement. This Project can't survive another coup, so while we do everything in our power to get things back to normal I'm going to need you Maud to keep the Equestrians in line however you see fit. They chose you after all, if you think it is best that they be kept from Alicorns I won't fight you on that."

Maud would nod in agreement with the Consul. "So it will be, then. At least until Aurum is adapted to her circumstances - as are we." Maud would say, not having much else to say at the moment about this. She'd watch silently as Spiral and Last would leave. 

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The Consul nodded, "I'll have one commissioned and sent to you so you can enchant it. Hopefully convincing her to wear it will be less difficult than it has been for Plein."

"Excellent." Spiral would say, pleased with this. Spiral was thankful the Consul was so easy to talk with. 

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He sighed as he looked over the documents, "Of the 5 million creatures aboard, about 3 million are Trojan, 1 million Equestrian, and 1 million others. Luckily this issue was resolved very quickly, only 10 thousand fell under Red's influence, and the vast majority surrendered afterwards. In all, 5 thousand died between the three fighting forces, and an additional thousand were deported after refusing to surrender. Proportionally not all that many were lost, but thousands more were injured which has led to the labor shortages we have now."

(I forgot how big the Project was. All things considered this revolution was over remarkably fast for a group of this size.)

 

Maud would be instructed to return to the other Equestrian councilors and continue her efforts to stabilize the remaining Equestrian population in terms of political stability.

Spiral and last, in proceeding towards where Aurum was being kept, would find two guards stationed there, the same two who had helped protect Aurum from those following Red.

"That is a lot more than I thought. We are lucky that we managed to succeed in restoring order. I have no doubt we'll be able to go back to normal in due time." Spiral would say in a respectful fashion as she would leave, following Last to where Aurum was being kept at the moment. She was a bit excited to see her again. Spiral was very shocked by the amount onboard the project itself.

Maud meanwhile, would return to the others and continue the tasks she was doing at the time there. She was pleased with the meeting she had with the Consul. 

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Aurum would turn her head towards the wall that had the door as though looking through it, "Two more are coming, they've been stopped by the guards."

Spiral and Last would be stopped by the guards, who recognized them from before, "Glad to see you two made it out the other side. All due respect though, we've orders not to let anyone disturb them without the Consul's approval."

If they showed the document they had from the Consul they would allow them to enter the room.

Aurum would move away from the door such that Briar was between her and the newcomers, but wouldn't put a bubble up just yet as she waited for them to make the first move. The periodic flashes of light indicated that she was still using magic in order to see them.

Spiral would turn to Last and smirk slightly as she would show the document to the two guards, and she'd enter into the room. Spiral would look to Briar, her eyes falling upon him curiously as she took in his forms. "I have not seen you yet. It is a pleasure to meet you - my name is Spiral Spell." she spoke with a slight bow and looked to Aurum.

"I am the one who found her and rescued her. Last and I, were instructed by the leadership of the Project to keep her safe and to help her learn. I hope we are not bothering you." Spiral would say to them.

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

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Consul Write sighed, "The only reason we're discussing this is because of the danger she poses. That is the extent of the 'Special treatment' she is entitled to. Her being an alicorn is only relevant in regards to her power level and how the Equestrians would react."

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He looked them all over, "Contrary to the prevalent Equestrian belief, Trojans do not believe that one's race dictates their ability or right to lead. Aurum is not meant to be a princess at all. Whatever she is meant for will be for her to decide, as any pony would. Due to her heritage, she may expect to be referred to as a princess, but I would ask that you not do so unless asked to."

Both Spiral and Maud would agree with this statement here. "Yes, that is a problem the Equestrians will have to get past. I may be an Equestrian - but this obsession with Alicorns has to stop. It nearly cost the lives of those aboard the Project, and who knows, what would happen - if they found out that she was an alicorn? They'd be all over her, when she doesn't understand the implications of what she is..." Spiral would state and look to Maud.

Maud would nod. "We must make sure it doesn't." Maud would speak in an ominous tone, looking back to Spiral, then the others. "The Equestrians must be kept away from all Alicorns in the future or we will possibly risk another event like we just did." she would add, in a neutral manner.

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The Consul nodded, "Best solution is to make her wandering a non-issue by disguising what she is. If we can reliably keep her wings hidden then no one would suspect her of being anything more than a blind unicorn filly with exceptional magical prowess. Maybe a sort of amulet that contains the spell to hide her wings? Spiral, is that something that would be feasible, magically?"

Spiral would nod. "That is most definitely possible. I myself do not know how to craft such a thing, but I do know that amulets can be used to give the wearer various abilities - so this is definitely something someone can do. I can provide the spell for it, using my shadow magic to conceal her wings, possibly, but the rest I will need someone else to do. She'd have to be taught to keep said amulet on in public." Spiral would say in reply.

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He nodded again, "We're not planning to fully separate them of course, just free him up to resume work with the Agriculture sector, which was hit the hardest in terms of having Equestrians who either died or were removed from the Project. Which is another reason why I am opposed to Spiral taking up a parental role, as if any on this Project has a claim to it, it would be him, and up to him who should share it or have it if he doesn't want it."

"That is a reasonable thing to say. I will have to meet with him directly on this. I am not sure if he knows that I am the one who originally found her." Spiral would speak to him. However, she had a question, "How many Equestrians were removed from the Project? And how much does the combined loss of the Equestrians compare to those who are currently aboard?" she would ask curiously.

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"Of course, whoever is sent will be chosen by Queen Permu personally for that exact reason."

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The Consul sighed, but nodded, "Alright, I'll let Spiral lead with Last supervising. Last will need to be present whenever Spiral is interacting with Aurum, and everything falls under what Briar agrees to."

He signed off on a document and passed it over to them, which detailed what they had agreed to in regards to Aurum's care. "Spiral and Last, go ahead and bring this to Briar, see what he thinks, and work out with him how we'll go forward. I expect regular reports and to be informed if anything goes wrong."

 

Spiral would appreciate Last's comments about Light. Light was indeed someone who gave the ultimate sacrifice so they could succeed in their mission. For a bit or so, she would go silent as she would play through the memories she had with Light. He was an odd sort, but, a good sort. Better than her, anyway. 

Spiral and Maud would read over the document, and they both would sign it. "I am ready for what I have to do." Spiral stated, while Maud would remain with Consul, awaiting whatever his instructions were for her. 

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

Spiral would greet Last briefly as she entered but didn't do much more than that. They had more pressing matters at this point in time, although Spiral wanted to get to know Last more at some point in the future.

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Consul Write shook his head, "Out of the question, especially considering your history, who's to say you wouldn't manipulate her like you did Trixie? Besides, there are dozens of other orphans who have been here a lot longer, it wouldn't be fair to give Aurum special treatment in that department."

Spiral would wince slightly at this explanation, although it was understandable. "If you don't trust me you can have others with me to watch over me and her. Plus, she's an alicorn filly, she's not a regular pony so she does deserve some kind of special treatment in terms of how we handle her. We do not want to...make her up to be a Princess for the Equestrians, do we?" Spiral asked.

Maud would look to Spiral. "No. We don't. We cannot risk the presence of Alicorns around the Equestrians, it would be best that the Equestrians do not lay eyes on Alicorns again, knowing how they reacted." Maud would say in a matter of fact tone. 

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He nodded at that, "Yes, that's an important consideration. Given how powerful she is it would likely be impossible to contain her should she decide to leave."

"Do you have any ideas how we would be able to prevent her from leaving? We should be sure that she doesn't feel like she is a prisoner, she must be kept calm and collected - but that doesn't mean that she won't try to escape though." Spiral stated, seemingly unsure of how they would be able to contain her. 

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He shook his head, "Not to my knowledge, and U was led to believe that they were rare to begin with. We do have a number of blind unicorns, but that does remind me of another option: We have a good number of changelings who owe no loyalty to alicorns, thus would not be so affected to see her. They could appear to be unicorns to start out, and help her transition to not minding the other races with their magics hopefully allowing her to see the creature under the race. The records aren't great from as far back as she appears to be, but I don't think changelings were known back before the unification."

Spiral and Maud would agree with this suggestion, as the alicorn filly would need to learn to be around other races eventually. "This sounds like a reasonable plan, although we'll need to make sure that she won't get uncomfortable once she knows of the presence of Changelings. But, we'll have to make sure whoever we use for this is trust worthy, and able to keep a secret." Maud would state calmly. 

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He sighed as he wrote a number of things down, "So it seems we're in agreement to hide her wings, and keep her secluded until she can be comfortable in public spaces. It would likely be best to get language taught before introducing her to the rest of the Project, then she can learn the rest in school with the others introduced as someone picked up in a previous cycle." He looked at Spiral, "I'm not opposed to you teaching her, and I'd appreciate if you took the lead given what you know of her history, but you should have some changelings to assist you. I also don't want you to become a mother figure to her. If it comes to that we have other options."

Spiral looked to Consul Write. In truth, she wanted to raise the filly because she was the one who found her. Upon seeing that filly, she realized that she wanted to care for her and raise her to be better than what she was in the past. That innocent filly was another reason she gave up her previous lust for power. "I understand that you don't trust me, and you can have whoever you want assist me, but, I was the one who found her - so I would like to do my best to keep her safe and teach her what she needs to know. I want to care for her." 

Maud would look to Spiral. "Your previous history of manipulation is not something I would personally trust you with, but given that you were the one who put Apollo down and aided us, that is more case for me to trust you. Not without supervision, though." Maud would say to Spiral, in agreement with Consul Write. 

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

Maud and Spiral would arrive into Consul Write's office. The two of them hadn't seen each other in about a week and would exchange formalities before sitting down in the office. Maud had of course been busy dealing with the Equestrians and helping them deal with the aftermath of the events, while Spiral had been busy helping with the cleanup and damage assessment of the Project. After a week, the hallways and other structures inside the Project had repairs underway. Spiral had been very busy with these affairs, and found this to be a good opportunity for her. 

"I am the one who rescued the young alicorn, so I would like to take her somewhere secluded on the ship and get to know her. She knows of me, I am not sure how much she would trust me - but I am sure that with time, she will trust me. Perhaps I can...raise her." Spiral spoke, stretching out a bit.

Maud would look to Spiral. "It's best that she is completely kept out of public sight as much as possible. The Equestrians can't find out about her - especially not so soon." Maud spoke in a matter of fact tone. "What we can do, is come up with ways to calm the populace and how such information may be revealed in the future, when the inevitable happens. We must have backup plans incase the alicorn filly gets loose." she stated. 

Spiral would look to Last. "You and I can watch over her. You can guard her and keep her safe from anyone who would threaten her. How does that sound?" she spoke, but would of course let Play Write comment before she said anything further. 

@Blitz Boom

Very interesting character. I look forward to interacting with him in the future. I wonder how he will react to finding out that Spiral is the one who freed Aurum.

@Blitz Boom @Illiad Easle

I don't remember much about Briar, can you explain Briar to me more? Spiral and Briar could potentially have an interesting dynamic, just that I haven't had much of an understanding for your side of the story. 

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

I was thinking about having Spiral interact with Aurum more when a chance rises. I am not really sure what to do with Merlot or Trixie. Hmm. Maud had a lot of focus throughout her arc, so could potentially explore her relations with Play Write more. 

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

Maud would have agreed with Play Wright's style of leadership and was satisfied with the idea of a council. Truth be told, she did not have much of an opposition to the Trojan Culture or their way of life - as she had made clear to Play Wright at one point. What Maud had been up to for that week mostly involved leading clean up and repairs. She had the idea that those who had been deceived would be put to work to fix the damage to the ship if they were capable of doing so. 

She was in support of removing the more rebellious Equestrians from the Project, those who had refused to accept that they were wrong - in her eye, they were nothing more than traitors who remained that way even after being proven that they were deceived. After they had fixed up the damage from the fighting, Maud would seek to establish cordial relations with other cultures aboard the Project to affirm good relations and a positive working aspect going forward.

Spiral, meanwhile would have also attended the repairs. She'd use her magic to remove the wall she made during the fighting, and would volunteer for fixing up the project. If anyone asked her about it, she'd say that she was doing it as a way to atone for her own mistakes in the past. 

With there being pilots needed to fly the project, Merlot would volunteer and would recommend that Crank would also do as well. Perhaps they could get lucky enough to get into that piloting position. Due to shifts, she would still be available to do her previous roles - being a pilot for smaller crafts, and being a guard when it was needed of her.

Trixie wouldn't have done anything all that remarkable. She would also attend the repairs of the ship and offer her time for the benefit of the Project. She wanted to do more, but wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do.

@Illiad Easle

Mind if you do a re-cap on the state of affairs onboard the project? It looks like the Trojans have now won. 

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

Sounds perfectly fine to me. I would like to have some sort of scene where the characters take command of the project and deal with the aftermath. But we do not have to roleplay that all the way out, it can just be more or less described in a post sometime in the future to the scenes as they are now. 

I do not find myself interested in playing Trixie currently, I do not know what to do with her.

Maud and Merlot interest me the most. Spiral would more or less be willing to do anything Maud does, and I figure that she'd get something out of having be the one to have defeated Apollo. We can definitely take a break, but do you mind discussing things and planning out stuff for the future here? 

@Blitz Boom

Maud had fully expected Apollo's talons to sink into her neck and end her life. Her eyes remained open. Unwavering. Cold. If she was going to die, she would be sure to stare in the face of death. Fortunately for her, death never came.

Spiral, meanwhile had let the Thestralium go from her hooves as Maud would feel the sudden flames on her neck. The two of them were blinded by what had happened and were sent back. They both would wordlessly get up, enough in time to observe the results of what was happening with Apollo. Both of them didn't do anything as they watched Apollo's death silently. It was a rather gruesome affair - watching his talons transform into a molten mass of Gold. Then they would watch further as his body grew more and more disfigured thanks to the gold poking out of his body where his body moved.

Spiral's expression was more of a grimacing one. In all her years - what she was seeing before her eyes was the most disturbing. Maud however, was more stoic. Her eyes cold, watching the life fade from Apollo's eyes. Maud would take a step forward and looked over everyone. Maud winced somewhat, indicating she was in pain from the burn marks on her neck - they'd remain there for a lifetime.

"Take care of the dead. Respectfully. Before you ask - that includes Apollo as well." she would say to the Equestrians who had fought on her side and then turned to the rest. "As for the rest of you, we've got a peace to establish. Enough have died today. Now, we must assume control of the Project and end any remaining fighting onboard." she spoke, clearly. 

It wasn't a mere statement. It was an order. 

@Blitz Boom @Illiad Easle

My post is now edited. 

@Illiad Easle

I must have missed that detail. Will edit shortly! 

@Illiad Easle @Blitz Boom

Spiral would narrow her eyes to Apollo upon that statement. "I don't deny what you speak of. You swore to keep this Project Running. We'll do so without you." she'd narrow her eyes as Maud was about to speak. They wouldn't have had the time to offer any further rebuttals to Apollo as he would charge towards the two of them.

His intense speed was rather shocking. Both of them attempted to dodge him as fast as they could possibly move - Spiral would manage to dodge Apollo. Maud wouldn't be as fortunate as Spiral would be. 

In Apollo's grasp, Maud's eyes were narrow. Inside of her eyes was pure hatred for the leader of the Project. Apollo had been a leader who ruled with power and ferocity - he had certainly had the skills to lead. In a way, she admired him - but she also hated who he became. Instead of leading with fairness - he became dangerously powerful and prideful. Threatening those who followed his orders with death should they not do what he wanted them to do. Maud had taken advantage of his prideful nature - that being a tell tale sign that he cared more about his pride rather than what was was the rightful course of action.

Now, Maud was in his grasp. To be honest, if she was going to die - she had been satisfied with her life. She got to experience life as a normal pony. Got to pursue her passions. Grow up to be the older sister to an important figure, such as an Element of Harmony. Surviving the largest Cataclysm in all of history. If it was going to end here, it was a pretty good run anyway.

"I wouldn't put too much faith in last words. If you are lucky - you'll get to have your own." Maud would say coldly, keeping her gaze locked onto Apollo's eyes.

Spiral would take the chance to take a step back, and charge at Apollo as fast as her legs could carry her. As Spiral lept in the air quickly - she would position her Thestralium shard between both hooves, putting all of her bodily force into her charge - targeting Apollo directly towards that of his claws holding Maud up. This was because Spiral wanted to weaken him where he was directly holding Maud.