open Casual stroll

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

Vates smiled, both at Rosa being accommodating and the levity brought about by Lin and C. G. She hoped she could find friends who have this kind of dynamic when she ventures forth if given time to acclimate to the world outside. However, it will have to wait for a while, as she and her fellows will have some work to do for Lady Scarcity. For a moment, she felt the weight of her old existence lift off her shoulders, no longer burdened by the things that could have been; it was a good feeling she hoped to experience some more. 

On 2024-06-25 at 6:44 AM, Blitz Boom said:

Discord I believe, caused an anomaly in the process, due to his highly chaotic nature. By all accounts, Hammond is more than capable of feeling, and understands the base principles of emotions, am I correct, Lady Scarcity?"

"You are indeed. My dear Hammond have grasped things with ease, but even before being it explained, things as pain, or hunger, were things he felt. He needed only words for it."

"Yet Omen does not work as such, and thus she is a special creature, even among her own kin. Yet I digress from the base point, which is simply that if my hypothesis holds true, you are doing the right thing in being aware of your own shortcomings, as the sudden capabilities it would hold for understanding and a want to do everything for that, would likely be overwhelming, as you seek your own place in this world. Even if you would give life, as it were.

“Discord can be… irresponsible, given his chaotic nature. From what my fellows and I have been able to learn about him, he is chaos incarnate, a being that is could very well be the physical manifestation of the concept of chaos. That disposition would then reasonably extend to his decision-making capabilities.” 

“But, even that isn’t entirely true, as he has shown he is capable of change. He may not abandon his nature, but being able to integrate into pony society nowadays means he could channel his chaos into more… positive outlets. That much we learned from our time with Sen, Lin, and Omen, leaving us to reassess him. As for our guesses on what Mother’s magic is truly capable of, we can only speculate, as that is her domain.”

The golems wouldn’t attempt to pry into the more personal aspects of Mother and her powers. They were content to leave that as an unknown to them. After all, being an immobile repository of knowledge for an untold number of lifetimes left them with an unexplainable urge to let things be without a curator to gather and store information.

But, Magus had given his thoughts on the matter, and his sentiments wouldn’t change. To him, there was a possibility of him coming back to the dark realm and giving one of the formless ones a life outside. However, the time spent in the orb left him plenty of moments to reflect on how much of life he had missed out on, and time would be set aside to discover just how much he truly has to learn or relearn before he can deem himself ready. 

On 2024-06-25 at 6:44 AM, Blitz Boom said:

As for what I seek... Longevity is ever the most important, but I would welcome more power if it were possible. Not that you'd have to worry. I am not one for seeking thrones or chaos. I fully enjoy society as it is, and I would find the constant spotlight that a throne would provide, to be dull and stifling. Yet power would be good, to make me more efficient at dealing with problematic elements, as well as protect myself, and those near me, if certain individuals might turn foolish enough to try something. I have gotten far on wisdom and cunning, but there are times when more direct methods are the only conflict solving solution.

Yet I would ask something of you too: Your plan, what might it be? You are not aiming to make me a lich now, are you? I find longevity rings hollow, if I am yet dead, and little more than a glorified specter.

So do tell, what is the plan? And do not skimp on the details please."

The golems had given the matter some thought, and though Harrowmark was brought up, their scope was for a more limited purpose. Magic was a tool, and like all tools, it is only the actions of the one wielding it that will determine whether it was truly benevolent or malevolent. Still, hearing about the stigma of death magic gave some much-needed perspective on how they can approach the problem before them and execute their solutions to lead to an amicable outcome. There wasn’t a need to resort to desperate actions, not when their plan had no consideration for time. 

“If it will assuage your concerns, we never considered death or turning you into a lich. We brought up the use of a phylactery as a means to safely store the magic from within the statue so it can be harnessed in a controlled environment.”

“That said, a tainted phylactery is asking for a disaster to happen, which is why we suggest building our own phylactery instead. The main materials include quicksilver, steel, and unalloyed gold, all used to fashion a box through a mixture of alchemical and specialized smithing methods. The gold’s purity, when paired with an internal quicksilver lining, will ensure nothing will taint the magic sealed within the box while making it ‘malleable’ to further refinement. Once the box is constructed, a lengthy ritual conducted at a place with highly concentrated magic will be required to give it the necessary properties to fulfill its intended purpose.” 

Lin listened closely for the next part, as she was also curious about how all this would go. Though seemingly convinced at first, she would interject. Something was missing from the explanation. “That still doesn’t explain how Ms. Scarcity will receive the magic you extracted from the statue. How will you or the box do it?”

“That is true, which is where this will come in.” Magus proceeded to create a visualization of a golden needle, its handle an ornate jeweled flower. “Once sealed in the box, one would only need to pierce themselves with this needle, made with the same gold as the box, to safely siphon the magic sealed in the phylactery. An alicorn’s magic is potent, and taking in all of it at once can be disastrous. As such, dosing one in limited amounts will prove safer; the unwanted aspects, such as growing an unnecessary pair of wings, can be isolated and remain sealed, hence the need for the ritual.” 

It seemed the golems knew what they were doing, though it still didn’t shed light on how exactly would parts of an alicorn’s magic be picked and chosen. Perhaps the golems, through their mention of needing the magic isolated for further study, will handle that. 

“Lady Scarcity, I hope you are not squeamish about this part of the process. We recognize that trust is important in delicate matters such as this. Thus, if you so wish, you and your associates are welcome to oversee the process. That will be especially true for the ritual, as we will need to gather and localize residual magic for the phylactery. Would this be an acceptable arrangement?”

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@EQ_Theta

2 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“Discord can be… irresponsible, given his chaotic nature. From what my fellows and I have been able to learn about him, he is chaos incarnate, a being that is could very well be the physical manifestation of the concept of chaos. That disposition would then reasonably extend to his decision-making capabilities.” 

“But, even that isn’t entirely true, as he has shown he is capable of change. He may not abandon his nature, but being able to integrate into pony society nowadays means he could channel his chaos into more… positive outlets. That much we learned from our time with Sen, Lin, and Omen, leaving us to reassess him. As for our guesses on what Mother’s magic is truly capable of, we can only speculate, as that is her domain.”

"Several of his kin have taken to be more constructive to society, but they were always the *lesser* draconequui. Discord were ever counted as the strongest, and the most chaotic of the bunch though, so him changing paths are definitely noteworthy.

Some of his more reasonable siblings have more experience with it though, and might need to help him from falling in again, I could imagine. Fright especially I would imagine, would be thrilled of his development, but Avarice and Voracity, or Gluttony or whatever she calls herself these days, would likely be intrigued too. Might mean they'd get a chance to see him again, and it is not as if there are thousands of them that they can connect with.

...Truth be told, I am not sure if ever he were told of them, and how they were doing... I have to go to Ponyville, soon as I am able. Mayhap I can find out afterwards. Ancestors know I will likely need something to distract myself at the time."

He were referring to how he had to go and speak with that odd draconequui in the forest, as Zhu had told him to. Truth be told, he were not sure if this were the right decision for him, as Zhu had caused as many disasters as he had seemingly prevented, and he might just be the newest pawn in one of his actions, but he wanted to believe that there were hope, even if his father might not be able to accept what had become of his son, the truths that he harbored, or what he had to tell of his mother. And yet, he needed to try, despite what might come from it. He owed that to him, as a bare minimum.

"But I mean not to prattle on for ages on end. You have important matters to attend here. Perhaps some other time though, we might talk about things. I may be able to shed light on things, and as C. G. would undoubtedly refer to it, *Nerd out*."

"Awh. You might be the biggest geek that's ever been spat out of our home, but ain't nothing wrong with that. You just excelled at info, while I owned big time on disguises. And you got good grades for it, bookworm."

"We can't all be naturally gifted."

"Takes a lot of work, to be this good. Remember what I look like without it all on?"

"I'm not convinced even your parents remember what you look like."

She'd grin at that, and tap him playfully on the shoulder. It'd be fun messing with him again, but yeah, they had something to do here, and it were getting all serious and stuff, not long after their little talk with Magus.

10 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

“Lady Scarcity, I hope you are not squeamish about this part of the process. We recognize that trust is important in delicate matters such as this. Thus, if you so wish, you and your associates are welcome to oversee the process. That will be especially true for the ritual, as we will need to gather and localize residual magic for the phylactery. Would this be an acceptable arrangement?”

Scarcity would listen, delighted to a certain extend of what she heard. Lin asking a question she herself then did not need to were good, as were the general explanation the golems gave her, and general assurances that she would in fact not turn into a lich. She did not chase life this much, just to end up embracing death. That seemed fairly counter intuitive to her.

"Yes, what you say sounds agreeable to me.

Let me start by assuring you that I had always intended to bring at least one associate to any treatment I might receive. It is nothing personal dear, but in my line of work you learn that trust is a valuable currency, that takes something to earn. As such, it is often better to have assurances, in case things goes in an unfavorable direction. Becoming a lich would be one of those, but it is good to hear that I needn't worry about such a grizzly path.

Make sure to let me know exactly what you need, and in what quantities, when you are able. Including if you need a specific place to conduct the required magic. I will make sure to have all the arrangements done in a timely manner. That can include housing, if required. I would think having a base of operations to start from would be agreeable, yes? You would also need to be registered as citizens in the Canterlot registry, to properly partake in much of regular society. A banality often required from new or old, emerging races. It ensures it is harder to claim some of them as mere exotic pets, among those fools who still tries to linger as close to the slave trade as they can. Bugs to be squashed on sight, but they make use of every loophole they might find, to claim ownership of sentient races."

She'd get a brief moment of distaste over her face, as she thought on such individuals. She did not treat them kindly, if she found them, and that were why it were exceedingly rare, that anypony dared to bring sentient beings to one of her auctions. The few times it did happen however, the judgement were swift. Depending on the severity, they might simply face corporeal punishment, and some menial labor. Or it were like with the kitsune pups, that were set up for sale, with the promise of luxurious fur coats, and she would have them dragged off for punishment, and later give them to Le Perinne. What happened to them afterwards, she did not ask about, but just knew that they were not seen again. She assumed that the elder dragon either ate them, or had them work indefinitely, under threat of being devoured.

Cruel? At times yes, she were. Such were the world she traversed, that you sometimes needed to be. And when it came to those who would kidnap children to sell for such barbaric means, she were more than happy to prove how exceedingly cruel she could be, when you found yourself not simply on her bad side, but as the focus of her rage.

She really should make contact tot he village again one of these days, and see how the kits were doing. It gave her some peace of mind to see them frolic and enjoy themselves.

"Moving from that however, I do find the application you mention intriguing. So the magic would be applied over time, rather than all at once, for a more safe application? Most fascinating.

If so, would it be safe to assume that you could apply the full package as it were, given enough safe applications over time? An issue with suddenly sprouting up as an alicorn, is the increased scrutiny that would come when it happened from one day to the next. If over time however, I could have the groundwork done to make things coincide better.

Not that I aim to flaunt it all the time. There are plenty of illusions and such to make use of, to make myself less visible, when I wish for peace, but sprouting as a full alicorn, would certainly make the cover story I were preparing much simpler, if done as said, at a later time. I simply did not think it a real possibility, without it happening before I could make proper arrangements.

Yet I can imagine that might require more work on your part, than were originally intended, yes? So too will making the phylactery. Perhaps we can come to an agreement to still keep it fair for all involved, hm? I would hate for you to feel as if you were not duly compensated."

Sure she could coast on her having made a deal already, but certain things they might need, like the staff, proper citizenship, a home- Such things were trivial and simple to have handled for her, and it were imperative that they and her remained on one another's good side. For both this, and potential other future dealings. They were very resourceful after all. It would be a shame to make strangers or enemies of them, when they could have such a wonderful working relationship going instead, for centuries on end.

As for the deal... She had given them life, and they would extend hers, yes. That were what they agreed on. If she amended the deal in her favor now, it were only reasonable that in turn, she had to sweeten the pot too, to keep it fair, were it not? Sure she needed to get more materials, but that were always going to be required, as the tools for this procedure, were simply part of the arrangement, just as the orb were for them.

It were intriguing really. The chance to become a real alicorn. The ability to fly through the air, and flaunt herself socially even more. Especially when new avenues popped up over time, and status as an alicorn held some prestige. She simply hadn't thought it feasible, and had *settled* for a more limited alternative.

===================================================================================

 

@Lawyer Slip

He barely had a chance to show off his forms, before the good doctor would lean in and hug him. She had been given permission, and she craved hugs. Frankly if she didn't hug somepony every so often, she started to feel jittery and wrong. Probably what Pinkie felt like, if there had been too long without a party. And just like the little pink peculiarity, Ziggy would act on the itch.

"Hehe, silly alicorn, my smell's from perfume."

She would pull away, and take out a small flat bottle from one of her pockets. It looked like a see through bag for candy, crystallized into a harder form. The liquid inside carrying white and red nuances, with the text *Madame Flair's Exotic perfumes*, lovingly written on the glass in cursive. Looked fairly professional, albeit out of the ordinary.

"She's this mare that sells specialty perfumes in Las Pegasus, but she's started to send out stuff to many places. I walked in there once because I was curious, and she said this would be perfect for me, since I already looked sort of like a candy cane. And it's true! I do look like that, and I love the smell of peppermint. It's fresh and yummy, so this is just the sort of thing I like.

And you're being silly, about the kits. We aren't gonna chase them down and drag them away. They're new in town, and I bet they're feeling a bit isolated. This is waaaaay far away from Neighpon after all. They'd probably be thrilled to see others wanted to talk to them. Especially since Ponyville can sometimes be less inclusive of creatures they haven't run into before, I'm told. Zecora had a real hassle for instance, and it'd be sad for them to get so far away, just to only see others shunning them.

The fact that they look really fluffy is in no way clouding my judgement."

She couldn't even say the last part convincingly enough, to make it a good lie. The smile on her face, and her general... Everything, made it hard to believe she wouldn't want to hug them, because they looked very soft. Also she were really bad at lying. She wore her emotions on her sleeve as they said, and that just wasn't very useful, when it came to tell a tall tale.

"Heh. Anyway, what're you gonna do now? You won over Rainbow Dash, and got a friendly rival, Slipstream. And we got a real fun show. But what's next on your agenda? Something fun?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
"Good." Solar simply said "In that case, know that if you ever stay longer than myself, you are free to come knock on my door if anything comes up, regardless of the time; I am a late worker myself, and due to the physical changes made to my body, my need for rest is greatly lessened, and thus my sleeping is...infrequent." while in the train, some topics naturally had to be kept to lesser discussion, but there was still lot that could be said "And naturally, while a result of lot more throughout screening than in usual situations, it is important to make sure the construction crew does not stumble upon information not relevant to them." "Nothing we handle is critical, but basic professional confidentiality is expected." 

"One more thing, if at any point you have any issues, be it even as something relatively minor as increased stress, I hope to hear about it if there's anything I can do to ease it." "I rather have you waste my time than keep bottling up something that has greater impact later." "Things like that are of course also entirely private, so you don't need to worry about them appearing somewhere later." it may have been slightly unexpected coming from him, or maybe not, he didn't know what kind of image he had made of himself, but it was something that while also genuine, was in big part practical thing, he had seen it in his old commander's way to lead, Strict but caring was a fit description for her, and having seen what happened when the replacement came and dropped the caring part, it was clear to him how important taking care of your staff and soldiers was. 

-------

The situation in the wing was now fully up to Leviathan, as both Charir and Ruby would stay as they were until she took action to break it up, meanwhile Ruby kept talking with Spicy. "Yes, you can keep him, I've had my share of undead already." "And if you do end up finding something about the pair that woke the thing up, I wish to know too." while she didn't say it out loud, her eyes told that it wouldn't end well for those two, they also carried the implication that if Spicy's brother was anything more than accidental part of this, their partnership didn't protect him.

"But, there's another matter for us to discuss, you no doubt have several questions; I also wish to discuss the future of our little partnership, not only because of the obvious, but because while otherwise a flop in more ways than one, this experience has revealed complications; complications which make it so that the pony you used to do business with, has to take a break at best, and die at worst." 

---------------

"There's nothing we can do here at this moment, so let's go." Sheska stated, though before they left, Trox walked to the workshop building, and with his metal arm carved to it 'Inhabited, stay out'; It wouldn't keep anyone out, but it should be enough to keep anyone in need of home from considering it.

The two kobolds read the board, discussing things with each other in their own language, and ultimately they did decide take bunch, which were: anything to do with collecting something from the forest; it turned out that the things found in the everfree forest were quite similar to what they knew; though they left anything to do with lost objects, only making a mental note of those, in case they happen to stumble upon them. They also took the things related to insects and any other potential 'smaller scale' creatures that they could realistically deal with with their lack of good weapons, but didn't take things like the mutant frogs and the draconequui, as they didn't have the equipment to deal with bigger or more...weird creatures, and were not really experts on dealing with highly magical beings like draconequui.

For investigations, they left those for now, though again made mental notes in case they'd find things out while exploring things for their own reasons, and the protection job they also skipped for now due to lack of equipment and familiarity with the forest. 

If Neon didn't have anything to say or such, they'd then see if the mayor's office was open, and seeing the assistant, Sheska would address them in polite manner "Is the mayor available, we'd like to discuss matters of residence." they would of course tell their names and answer any other potential question

 

 

 

 

 

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-06-28 at 7:29 AM, Blitz Boom said:

Make sure to let me know exactly what you need, and in what quantities, when you are able. Including if you need a specific place to conduct the required magic. I will make sure to have all the arrangements done in a timely manner. That can include housing, if required. I would think having a base of operations to start from would be agreeable, yes? You would also need to be registered as citizens in the Canterlot registry, to properly partake in much of regular society. A banality often required from new or old, emerging races. It ensures it is harder to claim some of them as mere exotic pets, among those fools who still tries to linger as close to the slave trade as they can. Bugs to be squashed on sight, but they make use of every loophole they might find, to claim ownership of sentient races."

“Though taking in ambient magic and concentrating it into any single area is one option, it would be time-consuming. We do have an idea about where it can be done without gathering magic from elsewhere, but we will need to make sure it still exists and if it is reachable. It is where Vates performed her divinations in private, hewn into a mountain built on a solitary island in the Neighgean Sea.”

“The temple on the island is the main site of interest, but finding it may require referring to historical records. With luck, some modern texts can point to its location and condition. However, an alternative would be required if the island has sunk to the bottom of the sea.” 

“With regards to other concerns, Lady Scarcity, your considerations and foresight are appreciated. A workshop with a study may be all that is required. We would not want to take advantage of your generosity, and having enough space to construct the phylactery would suffice. That said, we may need to avail of a smithy to construct the phylactery, but allow us some time to formulate the schematics for it before we can act. The other aspects can be left to us once we begin working with a capable smith.” 

Truth be told, there was an alchemical component to the creation of the phylactery. Unalloyed, or pure, gold is tricky to work with, as its purity comes with the caveat of being malleable, and durable it is not. It can be shaped, but without something to hold it together, it will lose its form. A steel frame would fix that, but care must be taken to avoid mixing its properties with the gold. However, thanks to advances in the study of magic, it could be used to hold the materials in place without the magical properties fading away too quickly. 

As for living arrangements, it was rather odd and unexpected that the golems would need to think about this now. Spending several lifetimes in an orb at the mercy of the elements or numerous individuals meant putting less consideration on where they stayed. Now, the reality was hitting them bit by bit, but given some time, they could acclimate their thought processes to be on the same level as Canterlot’s citizens. It’ll be nice to be a part of a thriving society again, but one could hope it sustains itself through its discoveries and not destroy itself in the process. Some parts of history shouldn’t need to be repeated. 

On 2024-06-28 at 7:29 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Moving from that however, I do find the application you mention intriguing. So the magic would be applied over time, rather than all at once, for a more safe application? Most fascinating.

If so, would it be safe to assume that you could apply the full package as it were, given enough safe applications over time? An issue with suddenly sprouting up as an alicorn, is the increased scrutiny that would come when it happened from one day to the next. If over time however, I could have the groundwork done to make things coincide better.

Not that I aim to flaunt it all the time. There are plenty of illusions and such to make use of, to make myself less visible, when I wish for peace, but sprouting as a full alicorn, would certainly make the cover story I were preparing much simpler, if done as said, at a later time. I simply did not think it a real possibility, without it happening before I could make proper arrangements.

“Maybe I can jump in and offer a suggestion? Why not use magic to create a fake set of wings? It can be part of a cover story  that involves taking an interest in flying and using magic to conjure some wings to make it feel more… uh… natural, I guess? I mean, when I briefly passed through Ponyville long ago, I heard a story about a unicorn mare using magic to create butterfly wings for herself.”

“Seriously, Lin?” Sen raised an eyebrow at her sister’s tale. Her suggestion was sound enough to work without being too farfetched, but the story was something else. “That’s not really believable or likely to happen. Would those wings even work for somepony who can’t fly naturally?”

“I don’t know, but that’s not the point. What I was going for is a simple cover story to avoid drawing attention to the alicorn transformation. If there are no wings yet, either a cover won’t be needed or one could just say they have a passing interest in experimenting with flight using illusory wings. If alicorns are a big deal in Equestria, the princesses will catch on to the news that someone that isn’t royalty has their kind of powers.”

Though the longma may not be thinking along the same line as Scarcity, Lin’s train of thought wasn’t entirely wrong despite being possibly born of paranoia and overthinking. Likely almost every pony in Equestria associates alicorns with positions of power. The most overt ones are the royal sisters, Princess Twilight, and Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire. If word were to go around that an alicorn outside of royalty was found, the existing alicorns would want to investigate. That would draw a lot of unnecessary attention toward Scarcity. However, she did mention that she was already working on her own cover story. 

However, the golems, despite having no strong opinions on Scarcity becoming an alicorn, were following the discussion and picked up on her wanting the transformation to happen. Her wording made it seem like she already thought about the matter before and had something in mind, hence the mention of already preparing a cover story. 

“I believe you may be mistaken, Lin. This is something that Lady Scarcity has already contemplated; the transformation is wanted.” Videntor turned to the mare now, having considered what the longma had to say and understanding her point of view. “However, Lady Scarcity, what Lin is suggesting, by my understanding, was a precaution. I believe it is from a place of understanding things from another perspective.” 

On 2024-06-28 at 7:29 AM, Blitz Boom said:

Yet I can imagine that might require more work on your part, than were originally intended, yes? So too will making the phylactery. Perhaps we can come to an agreement to still keep it fair for all involved, hm? I would hate for you to feel as if you were not duly compensated."

“Giving us a chance at life again is something we have full intentions to repay, Lady Scarcity. However, we are currently in a state where we… cannot determine what more we could want. Spending lifetimes without taking considerations for ourselves left us lacking in a full understanding of what it is we truly seek to do or achieve.”

“The process of putting our accumulated knowledge together for this plan… the outcome could be its own reward. Then again, may you permit us some time to discover what it is we want. Moments spent in reflection may hopefully give us clarity on this matter. However, we have previously expressed our need to disseminate the knowledge we accumulated in the orb, possibly making them public knowledge through books.” 

Some of the golems had expressed interest in seeing the world, while others simply wanted to work on the agreement made with Scarcity. There was once a desire to simply fade away and embrace oblivion, but that one may not be such an enticing course of action, at least for the moment. What they can agree on was that time to ponder this would be what is best, even if the outcome of their examination would mean no further compensation for additional efforts expended on the current matter.

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Catpone Cerberus

"I assure you that you will be aware if I am stressed. I *crack* under stress more literally than most would think, though I have my methods in case it starts a chain reaction. A little gift from the O. M. I.'s alchemist, that have proven very useful in quelling an eruption event. Though i doubt that will be an issue in office. Paperwork is a comforting activity, with even more large piles more something I see a challenge, than something frustrating and stressful. Field work in a heated situation would be more likely to cause that, depending on various factors.

Please do not take it as an incentive to pass me for field work though. I do like fresh air and would like to be of service in more places as required. But I will of course focus on the task at hoof first, take care of what paperwork is there currently, and see what I may be able to find for recruits. I should have an update on the state of things within the next two days at most. Depending on whatever or not the official I need to commune with, will work with any degree of speed. If not, I will let you know, as it will cause a delay."

Magma honestly looked forward to getting to work. There were likely a veritable mountain of paperwork too. An unfinished building, new agency, several missions, with a leader that didn't enjoy the paperwork? There would be quite a lot to do, more than likely. What a delightful return to normality.

She'd spend some more of the way, try to ask in to what paper work had been done, and what were still lacking. she assumed most, but it were best to make sure, in case he also needed some for stuff like insurance, both for personnel and the building, or other things that one had to think of as a base, when they started a new operation. Especially in a government building, as that sort needed regulation things like fire safety and various insurance papers ready, if not done in advance.

============================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Hey, don't you get any sorta ideas. He's my brother, I'll rattle out of him how much he knows, but this here? He wouldn't have kept that from me. Cause he darn well know that if shambling deer skeletons were shambling 'round this place, it'd be considered not only a cursed place, but also a heritage site. The deer would legally have first picks on what'd happen here. If it'd been let out that he let treasure hunters scamper 'round a place like that, it could cause a right mess, between deer and ponies. And that link still ain't the strongest y'know. So sanctions on him, or anypony making a mess of the place, knowing what was there, would be extra harsh, just to make a point that it's taken serious.

I'm gonna deal with him, and try to look into who did come about and cause this ruckus, but right now, I'd need to go to Canterlot and talk to the egg heads at the cultural heritage site department, or whatever they're calling themselves these days. Gah, bloody nightmare meetings is gonna take forever."

Spicy hated sitting in meetings. She was a traveler, and a poker player, among other less legitimate things. She liked action, and cold hard bits. Sitting in meetings were non-profitable, and about as exciting as watching paint dry in slow motion. It were infuriatingly slow and tedious. But she had to now, because of what had gone on here. And due to her new companion, it might even take longer. Or it could take less, 'cause he'd creep them out. Honestly she were hoping for the second one, but knowing her luck, the egg heads would instead start to dust him for clues or something.

"As for our partnership, I'll find something lucrative to make up for this, and get back to you on it. I've gotten some leads to check out recently, and were planning on going and skimming the good stuff for myself first. But in the interest of fairness and all that, I'll just keep it ready for you to grab everything not nailed to the floor.

And while I'm at it, pretend you were never here. You'll be tracked down asked questions if you do. Just let me handle the background mess of sorting through the several layers of bureaucratic nonsense and figure out who stiffed who here, and focus on the blue one. I'm guessing she's having a less than stellar time in there?"

Leviathan had calmed down some, but did still like to be here, in the embrace and warmth of the others. Though she would try and detach herself from Charir for the time, to raise an arm out of her wing and dragon protective shields, and flip Spicy off.

"Yeah, seems fair.

You folks got anything else? If not, I'm gonna go on my way. Lots to do, and it won't suck less from waiting it out."

=======================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Neon would look as they picked out some of the options on the board. It seemed that they had work lined up already, and it were some relatively simple, down to earth things too. Well, they didn't chase the big game at least, so there were that at least. She were sure they'd be fine. They looked like they knew what they were doing at least, yeah?

"Good to see that there's some things that catches your eye. Just try not to overexert yourselves, okay? Wouldn't want you to be dragged broken into the hospital all of a sudden, or eaten by an Ursa Major. That'd be a terrible end for your story."

It were half jesting. She were pretty sure they knew that if a giant bear came after them, that they shouldn't stay and try to make a stand. They had survived so far without being eaten by a bear after all, heh. Though she did hope they'd try not to stretch themselves thin. Stress were a dangerous thing too, in its own right. Especially in the Everfree, where being inattentive or panicking easily, could get you wounded or killed.

On 2024-06-30 at 12:48 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

If Neon didn't have anything to say or such, they'd then see if the mayor's office was open, and seeing the assistant, Sheska would address them in polite manner "Is the mayor available, we'd like to discuss matters of residence." they would of course tell their names and answer any other potential question

The mayor's secretary would rise her pale head from the papers she were sorting through, and pushed her glasses up, before answering the group that had shown. Two unfamiliar ones, and then one of the nurses from the hospital. Or were this the one that had recently gotten promoted to doctor? She weren't sure currently. With all the things that had happened, both her and the mayor had been busy with things, and it wasn't easy to keep track of everything in town by then. It mattered little though, she supposed. It were still one of the locals, that had come with two most unusual potential residents. Ponyville had attracted a few of those in recent times. Not of this race, but in general.

"I think the mayor is available right now. Feel free to go in."

"Thanks Raven. Don't worry, we won't take too much of her time."

Going into the office, the mayor were indeed there, though her head were currently stuck out of the window, where she'd be seemingly finished with chatting to a bat pony. A right big one by the look of things too, which in this town - especially considering the time of day - made it rather obvious who this were, to Neon. The kobolds likely remembered Officer Stargazer too though, even from this limited angle. Though he weren't smiling when they saw him. He were more neutral then.

His ears vibrated as he heard the door. It might not make a lot of sound, but if they hadn't knocked, he could hear it all the same.

"Work calls. Take care not to stress yourself, Mayor."

"You too, Officer. Give my best to Jelly."

"I shall."

He would depart, and she would close the window after, then get back to her seat, behind the large desk that sat center stage in her office.

"Sorry for the delay, we had something to discuss after the recent troubles in town. I am Mayor Mare. What can I do for you today?"

====================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2024-07-01 at 1:07 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Though taking in ambient magic and concentrating it into any single area is one option, it would be time-consuming. We do have an idea about where it can be done without gathering magic from elsewhere, but we will need to make sure it still exists and if it is reachable. It is where Vates performed her divinations in private, hewn into a mountain built on a solitary island in the Neighgean Sea.”

“The temple on the island is the main site of interest, but finding it may require referring to historical records. With luck, some modern texts can point to its location and condition. However, an alternative would be required if the island has sunk to the bottom of the sea.” 

“With regards to other concerns, Lady Scarcity, your considerations and foresight are appreciated. A workshop with a study may be all that is required. We would not want to take advantage of your generosity, and having enough space to construct the phylactery would suffice. That said, we may need to avail of a smithy to construct the phylactery, but allow us some time to formulate the schematics for it before we can act. The other aspects can be left to us once we begin working with a capable smith.” 

"I can provide a state of the art smithy, owned by a well respected smith. Once the materials are prepared, and your schematic finished, you shall have an ideal workspace to finish things properly.

As for the island, there are several in that ocean, but it is rather large, and some have indeed been reclaimed by the ocean... Time taken into effect, I believe it best if I ask a few scholars on this, that specializes in the right area. It will take some time, depending on if it is a known location already, but I have no doubt they will find me an answer. I will require some details of the island in question in advance though, of course. It will help narrow the search.

If it is underwater, perhaps there is still something that can be done. Though it will depend on the state and location. But I think it best we discuss options, when we know what we have to work with, hm?"

She were already thinking over the various beings she had to get hold of, favors to cash in, bribes to set in, scholars to call upon, and a list of half a dozen things that had already sprung to mind, when it came to still using an underwater location. Or if it had not fallen down, various international laws when it came to small islands. This were a hurdle to pass, but she would see it done. And if it did so much safer, it were by far the wisest path to wander. The prospect of growing an extra head, or exploding, were not overly tempting to her. Better to spend the extra time and resources, to do it in a safe fashion.

On 2024-07-01 at 1:07 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“I believe you may be mistaken, Lin. This is something that Lady Scarcity has already contemplated; the transformation is wanted.” Videntor turned to the mare now, having considered what the longma had to say and understanding her point of view. “However, Lady Scarcity, what Lin is suggesting, by my understanding, was a precaution. I believe it is from a place of understanding things from another perspective.” 

"I blame her not, and she is not wrong. There are indeed a spell that can make you grow magical wings."

She had listened to the argument there were with amusement. having looked into similar things in the past, she knew of the spell in question, but also why it were that it were not widely used, and she enjoyed the opportunity to speak once again, if something she were well aware.

Rosa liked doing so too, but he were currently talking with C. G. Or rather, they were whispering to one another, and judging by the raised eyebrows, the things they told one another were surprising at times.

"The problem with the spell in question, is that is expends quite the amount of magic, and doing so the more you use said wings. The amount of skills it takes to conjure a functional pair and maintain them, and the difficulty in keeping focus on both flight and magic usage, made it rather cumbersome. It is far simpler to use levitation, or a teleportation spell. The former of which takes less magic and finesse, and the latter being of comparable difficulty, but more efficient. I can't say I've heard of one using the Flair Flight in my life time. Though of course, there could also be other spells. Some more unique too, as there comes times when unicorns find themselves with unique magical abilities, so one can never disregard the option that one can do far better, than what lies in old tomes.

As for your concern, it is appreciated, but unnecessary. It is a good deal easier to have a believable story about alicorns, than mere longevity. It will still require work of course, but I have some preparation time, that I can make well use of to have everything handled.

In the end, the truth becomes what I decide it is."

It would not be the first time she had influenced what were considered to be the truth, by all accounts. Evidence planted, stories made, certain testimonies made impossible with footage and witnesses, etc. Her extensive network of contacts and favors owed, were part of what made her an asset, but Scarcity were a threat, in large part because she could manipulate the truth to suit her needs. A fact that many of her enemies had been on the receiving end of, and the stories of such things were as good as any shield or barrier to her. The mere threat of what harming her might cause you, were a substantial deterrent. Especially in a world like that of the black market, where paranoia were an asset, rather than an issue.

"As for the princesses, there is precedent for wild alicorns, surviving with their sanity. It will require wandering carefully upon a knife's edge to make everything fall into place, but I have went through a plan for that time and time again, over the years. Every beat of the aftermath, pondered and rethought countless times, as I once sought the full ascension. Yet due to the nature of either having to partake in the monarchy in a high, yet overly scrutinized position, or having to try and wait for a random burst of the right magic, and then praying I were among the few that would live with my sanity intact, it seemed wiser to simply lower my expectations, and focus in on the most important part of the ascension process: The longevity.

Rest assured that on my end, things shall go well, with even the less anticipated results, causing me little in the way of concern. including if Princess Celestia attempts to have me assassinated, out of fear to the line of succession. Her and I will have little issue coming to an agreement, preventing such things, when the time is right.

But I wouldn't want to bore you with the details. Everything shall unfold, in due time."

On 2024-07-01 at 1:07 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Giving us a chance at life again is something we have full intentions to repay, Lady Scarcity. However, we are currently in a state where we… cannot determine what more we could want. Spending lifetimes without taking considerations for ourselves left us lacking in a full understanding of what it is we truly seek to do or achieve.”

“The process of putting our accumulated knowledge together for this plan… the outcome could be its own reward. Then again, may you permit us some time to discover what it is we want. Moments spent in reflection may hopefully give us clarity on this matter. However, we have previously expressed our need to disseminate the knowledge we accumulated in the orb, possibly making them public knowledge through books.” 

Some of the golems had expressed interest in seeing the world, while others simply wanted to work on the agreement made with Scarcity. There was once a desire to simply fade away and embrace oblivion, but that one may not be such an enticing course of action, at least for the moment. What they can agree on was that time to ponder this would be what is best, even if the outcome of their examination would mean no further compensation for additional efforts expended on the current matter.

"Of course darling. Take what time you need to ponder, and reflect upon things. I shall stand ready when you are prepared. Ah, but do keep in mind, to not begin to spread unsubstantiated rumors, yes? I am but a humble antique dealer, and ponitarian. More than happy to help such fascinating new residents to our fair city, as a favor to a friend of yours, that I have known for some time. Hardly any reason to begin telling tall tales, of me being involved in unseemly things. It somehow never seems to end well, for those who tries to smear me like so."

 

She weren't warning them, or threatening them. Scarcity were merely informing them that it would be in their best interests, to not try and slander her, as it usually did not end well for those who attempted such a thing. Best to keep certain aspects of their relationship to themselves, and all would have a much nicer time, yes?

"Perhaps you would like for some peace of mind to think things over now then? I can lead you upstairs, and you can sit and decide between one another what you wish to do, while I find you some residence seeking forms. Standard paperwork for Equestrian occupation, by non-equines, that will help you establish a foothold in the country, once it have passed the proper offices for approval."

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-07-04 at 8:02 AM, Blitz Boom said:

As for the island, there are several in that ocean, but it is rather large, and some have indeed been reclaimed by the ocean... Time taken into effect, I believe it best if I ask a few scholars on this, that specializes in the right area. It will take some time, depending on if it is a known location already, but I have no doubt they will find me an answer. I will require some details of the island in question in advance though, of course. It will help narrow the search.

If it is underwater, perhaps there is still something that can be done. Though it will depend on the state and location. But I think it best we discuss options, when we know what we have to work with, hm?"

“Let us not go into this too hastily, Lady Scarcity. Allow us to make all of the necessary preparations; if we can do something to lessen your work, that will be on us, including locating the optimal place to perform the ritual and finding sources for the materials. From our very distant time, we may still be able to identify where and how to extract the rare materials we’ll need for the phylactery.”

“As for the temple, if it is underwater, I doubt it will be useful to what we set out to do once the phylactery is built. Another ‘place of power,’ as we sometimes call it, will be required. It just happens to be the one that first comes to mind when we think about such a place. Ancient sites of great importance where magic was prominently used are likely alternatives. But, yes; let us discuss options once we have the specifics laid out.”

The golems hoped to put their accumulated knowledge to great use for their task, itching to be able to use their newly gained autonomy and independent actions to work. When that wouldn’t be enough, there was still the orb, now a simple repository of knowledge. Then again, they once also stated it could amply the wielder’s magical abilities if they were to channel their powers through it, which may come in handy later on. 

After all, anything that could ease the work on Scarcity’s end was something that could benefit themselves as well. As long as everyone has the tools to get their task done, a seemingly impossible task can be rendered possible. And if something was lacking, the golems might provide something that can close that gap. 

On 2024-07-04 at 8:02 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Of course darling. Take what time you need to ponder, and reflect upon things. I shall stand ready when you are prepared. Ah, but do keep in mind, to not begin to spread unsubstantiated rumors, yes? I am but a humble antique dealer, and ponitarian. More than happy to help such fascinating new residents to our fair city, as a favor to a friend of yours, that I have known for some time. Hardly any reason to begin telling tall tales, of me being involved in unseemly things. It somehow never seems to end well, for those who tries to smear me like so."

 

She weren't warning them, or threatening them. Scarcity were merely informing them that it would be in their best interests, to not try and slander her, as it usually did not end well for those who attempted such a thing. Best to keep certain aspects of their relationship to themselves, and all would have a much nicer time, yes?

“Thank you. The space you provide is very much appreciated, Lady Scarcity.”

“And you need not worry about us speaking ill of you. You’ve given us much to be thankful for, and it would be wise to maintain the positive working relationship we are building. Frankly, our previous predicament – namely being sealed in the orb in the first place – was the product of a similar situation. Discretion and careful maneuvering is not new to us, though we hope for something more positive and fruitful, whatever form that will take.”

Scriniarii silently recalled the moments leading up to him and his fellows being sealed away in the orb. Many lifetimes ago felt like an eternity, but this memory was still fairly recognizable despite not being as vivid as before. A deal made with numerous strings attached didn’t sound good then, but ensuring some form of continuity for the scholars’ race was the goal. It was out of desperation that they accepted, and even then, not all of them made it to where the golems are now. 

The stakes didn’t seem so high this time, and maybe it was as good a time as any to hope for something better. They would still exercise caution and maintain their vigilance, but it didn’t sound like a bad idea to slowly integrate themselves into this new age, little by little.

On 2024-07-04 at 8:02 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"The problem with the spell in question, is that is expends quite the amount of magic, and doing so the more you use said wings. The amount of skills it takes to conjure a functional pair and maintain them, and the difficulty in keeping focus on both flight and magic usage, made it rather cumbersome. It is far simpler to use levitation, or a teleportation spell. The former of which takes less magic and finesse, and the latter being of comparable difficulty, but more efficient. I can't say I've heard of one using the Flair Flight in my life time. Though of course, there could also be other spells. Some more unique too, as there comes times when unicorns find themselves with unique magical abilities, so one can never disregard the option that one can do far better, than what lies in old tomes.

As for your concern, it is appreciated, but unnecessary. It is a good deal easier to have a believable story about alicorns, than mere longevity. It will still require work of course, but I have some preparation time, that I can make well use of to have everything handled.

In the end, the truth becomes what I decide it is."

“I did recall hearing a story about how a unicorn was once able to let them walk on clouds, but I guess that one isn’t relevant to the discussion or maybe what you’re planning, Ms. Scarcity. I just thought I’d bring it up and get it off my chest.”

“It seems like you’ve really thought this one through to the little details. Well, I suppose we’ll drop the matter now and not worry about it.”

The siblings did have other matters in mind while this went on, evident with Sen beginning to show signs of exhaustion despite having woken up from the dreamscape excursion with the kitsune. One could assume the task may have conferred some amount of rest, but traversing a supposed incorporeal plane followed by the matter with the golems was unexpected for the longma. Even Lin was beginning to feel it despite having rested.

“By the looks of things, it seems like the golems are going to have a positive working relationship with you. Are there other matters that require our presence, Ms. Scarcity? We wouldn’t want to intrude or take up more of your time.”

Sen didn’t state things so plainly. Though he may be hiding what was happening back home, it wasn’t out of malicious intent. Scarcity very likely had other matters on her plate, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to add one more to that list, especially if it was something that concerned the longma siblings. The mare said a mouthful, but it was enough to prove that she had thought things so thoroughly. Complicated as the concerns may be, there was something to be said about how she broke them down; it was rather admirable. She had something to gain, and now it was slowly inching closer to her grasp. No need for them to ruin the moment, and they could refocus their efforts on the necessary preparations. However, if Scarcity’s curiosity would posit the question, the siblings wouldn’t hide the truth; their matters back home simply seemed small and distant compared to what was happening at the moment.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
Solar nodded in acknowledgement to the response, though stress was only part of what he meant, as due to the potential nature of what could come on her desk, she may have read detailed descriptions of things that would horrify most ponies, not that that was a high line to cross, since being herbivores, ponies in general could be quite...squeamish, he knew it as well as everyone, he hadn't been a jaded soldier for his whole life either after all. 

For Magma's question, Solar explained "Most critical paperwork required for the operation of the unit itself have been done, as those were taken care off by the headquarter staff, but other than that, it is a lot." "A lot of is old cases that were reopened for me to look into them, which are mainly waiting for to be rewritten in proper formatting, and things like to be archived paperwork on materials, furniture, and other things I've purchased that are related to the operation of the unit." "To put it shortly and bit crudely, most of the especially older paperwork is the kind that will be put directly into some filing cabinet somewhere never to be seen again." "Not all of course, but it will be easier to explain the full extend when you can see them. There is also the matter of what information you are allowed to give and to who, but that is a matter to discuss when the employment is official." 

-------------------------------------

Charir would loosen his grip when he's feel Leviathan move, though if he only loosened a bit, or if he separated entirely, depended on the type of movement, if it was only the arm and things relating to them, he'd only loosen enough to free her arm, but if it was full movement, or she did something like actively pushed him to the side, he'd let go entirely, following the situation to see if there was anything further he should do. He of course had no idea what it was Leviathan did with her hand, but observing her mood and such as she did it, he assumed that whatever it was, was some kind of negative action.

Ruby continued addressing Spicy "While I'm of course glad you will make up for what was ultimately mistake from your side of this mess of an operation, that is not what I asked." "While I did expect you to be relatively fine with my true nature, as you have history of working with those with hidden nature..." she was of course talking about Marley "..., and you had an idea that I was hiding my own true nature, even if you were wrong on what that nature was; I find it hard to believe you don't have any questions." "Not only that, but as stated, my transformation into the pony you know as Ruby Shine, has complications, and thus, said pony will be unavailable for some time, in best case scenario; as I have to study these complications to see if it is something in my end, or merely a side effect of the dark magic inside the building; And in the case it is something in my end, the worst case scenario, the pony will not be available again, and I'll have to create a new form, which will take anything from few weeks to months, depending on various things; which means that if we are to do business during this time, it is done with me at my full size, the effects of which I hopefully don't need to explain to you."

---------------------------

"Don't worry about us, we are well aware of our limits." Trox said, touching the shoulder of his metal arm, while generally he had taken that whole situation lot better than his sister, his metal limbs were a reminder to him too, it was the closest he had been to death in his life, and it had changed a lot, for both of them. "Besides, with our track record, it will be someone entirely unrelated who'll be dragged to the hospital somehow." while a joke, it was also an acknowledgement which Neon was no doubt aware of, since Onache and the Coastal guard had both been brought to the hospital by them, and Light had almost gotten injured while travelling with them, though that was his own fault for trying to play the hero; there were also the ponies they had beaten up, that while nothing permanent, probably had some of them at least visit the hospital. 

When it came to stress and the Everfree, that was just another Tuesday for them, not only were they used to living under constant stress since...well always, but the Everfree forest was probably also the closest thing to their home in this Equestria, if not the entirety of this world, as it was like a tamer version of the cursed forest that covered their half of the Equestria. 

The siblings did recognize Stargazer, not only from the little they could see, but also from his voice; they may have disliked him for being a guard, and may not have enough respect to use his name when talking about him, but that didn't mean they didn't keep his name and face in their minds; when your natural habitat was living among massive groups of your own kind, who ultimately looked quite similar to each other, and had lot of same sounding names, your memory for individuals tended to become relatively good, and you learned to pay attention to things outside appearance alone.

They did knock, though the knock wasn't especially loud, as they saw no reason to make it loud. 

"Sheska and Trox, though no doubt you've heard our names in some context, per the 'recent troubles'." Sheska introduced "We are here to talk about residency stuff." "We have decided to take over an abandoned dwelling in the forest, someone called 'Blitz' used to live there, if that helps you to know what we are talking about." "We are here mainly to register it as inhabited, so that things like mail can find us, we were told that it could be a good idea to do, even if it isn't technically in the town." if Neon had come in with them, they vaguely gestured towards her when they said 'we were told', to signal that it was something she had said. 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 7 by Catpone Cerberus

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@EQ_Theta

On 2024-07-06 at 3:52 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Let us not go into this too hastily, Lady Scarcity. Allow us to make all of the necessary preparations; if we can do something to lessen your work, that will be on us, including locating the optimal place to perform the ritual and finding sources for the materials. From our very distant time, we may still be able to identify where and how to extract the rare materials we’ll need for the phylactery.”

“As for the temple, if it is underwater, I doubt it will be useful to what we set out to do once the phylactery is built. Another ‘place of power,’ as we sometimes call it, will be required. It just happens to be the one that first comes to mind when we think about such a place. Ancient sites of great importance where magic was prominently used are likely alternatives. But, yes; let us discuss options once we have the specifics laid out.”

"I would hardly call it hasty, but rather a matter of practicality. I know quite the few creatures, and maintain both ownership, and oversight, over a great many kinds of peculiarities and items, both mundane and of great value.

As an example, in the time it would take you to travel to the sea, I could have several associates already searching for the specific place, as well as alternatives. And while you seek for a trace of one raw material, I could have procured a notable quantity, safely stored and ready for use.

Because of the means available to me, I am one to often work on preparations, and acquisition, depending on the deal in question. It increases my reputation and value, the more efficient I am, and it can be rather hard to simply let it be out of my hooves, with how used I am to it being otherwise.

Ah, but you are fresh to wandering the world once more, and I can understand a certain want to not just traverse it, but also sitting with some level of autonomy. Being handled fully, I could imagine it being little different from being carried in that orb again, hm?

Perhaps I might offer a compromise? I will keep an eye out for information for the time being, and if you find yourself to a point where you cannot acquire or find everything that you seek, come to me. I can take over from there, yes?

I don't need an answer on the spot, if you need time to think of it. Simply ponder it, and let me know when you have come to a consensus."

It were slightly annoying not to deal with these things herself, as it would be much quicker, but she were used to dealing with difficult clients. These were simply difficult in their own way. An understandable one honestly, yet she did so prefer if they left such banalities to her. Ah well, she had other things to work on still, that could keep her attention and focus, whilst they went and handled what things they could. In time, she were sure they would come to her. So many tended to do so.

"Though I must insist on at the least procuring something more suitable for your staff, Magus. I have use of the costume later this year, and the staff completes the ensemble quite nicely. I have something available that simply require to be shaped, if that is preferable?"

Truth be told, she did actually like this staff back. It had been offered as a proof of concept, but she were wanting for the entire ensemble to be used by her daughter for Nightmare Night. She had a few months left to work with, and could have this done within the hour. A few more, if it had to be formed by her associates, so she had plenty of time to work with, but the longer it were away from her, the more time it had to get damaged in some fashion.

On 2024-07-06 at 3:52 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Thank you. The space you provide is very much appreciated, Lady Scarcity.”

“And you need not worry about us speaking ill of you. You’ve given us much to be thankful for, and it would be wise to maintain the positive working relationship we are building. Frankly, our previous predicament – namely being sealed in the orb in the first place – was the product of a similar situation. Discretion and careful maneuvering is not new to us, though we hope for something more positive and fruitful, whatever form that will take.”

"It is good to hear that we can both agree on the right to privacy. I'd hate for something as simple as common curtsey to sour our blooming partnership."

It were good that they had some common ground to work with here then. A healthy understanding of not sticking your nose in where it didn't belong, might sound simple, but some just simply couldn't grasp it, and ended up having to face the consequences. Yet doing so were often tedious, dull work, as she rarely enjoyed having to do so. Not when it came to business associates at the least, since she mourned the loss of potential, that would be lost when their bond broke.

On 2024-07-06 at 3:52 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“I did recall hearing a story about how a unicorn was once able to let them walk on clouds, but I guess that one isn’t relevant to the discussion or maybe what you’re planning, Ms. Scarcity. I just thought I’d bring it up and get it off my chest.”

“It seems like you’ve really thought this one through to the little details. Well, I suppose we’ll drop the matter now and not worry about it.”

The siblings did have other matters in mind while this went on, evident with Sen beginning to show signs of exhaustion despite having woken up from the dreamscape excursion with the kitsune. One could assume the task may have conferred some amount of rest, but traversing a supposed incorporeal plane followed by the matter with the golems was unexpected for the longma. Even Lin was beginning to feel it despite having rested.

“By the looks of things, it seems like the golems are going to have a positive working relationship with you. Are there other matters that require our presence, Ms. Scarcity? We wouldn’t want to intrude or take up more of your time.”

"No no, worry not dear. I will handle things well with our new companions here, and help situate them into Canterlot. A bit of paperwork, a showing of myself with them in public, some well placed words- It will be trivial, I assure you. You are all welcome to leave for now, and recuperate, while we handle things between us.

Ah, though a minor correction: The spell to make you walk on clouds? That is no mere rumor. They use that in Las Pegasus, so the tourists can traverse the cloud layer. It's done marvels for tourism in the past few decades, that the entire upper section is no longer pegasi only.

Until next time, do try and keep yourself somewhat safe."

She assumed they would simply find their own way out. Omen would indeed open a gate in fact, which would lead - after a short trip through Mother's realm - to her room in Sen and Lin's home. She had not seen theirs, so she picked the one she knew of. She assumed theirs were nearby, and that they wanted to sleep at home.

Scarcity would meanwhile have Hammond transport herself, and the golems if they so wished, to another location. A quaint cabin in the forest near Canterlot, the capitol rising tall and majestic not far from the road leading there. It were a fully functional home, with the commodities that one would want for, but it were also clear that it weren't often lived in. Likely more used for its semi-isolated position. Not somewhere you'd just go, unless you lived there, but excellent for say, providing an entry point for a group of strange new life forms, that wished to enter Canterlot proper. It were best that they didn't suddenly materialize in the midst of town. It would just add more questions, and slow process down.

As for Rosa, he couldn't join if Sen and Lin returned home, as that were not a place he would step hoof currently. It would just make things more troubled. Instead, if there were no need for him, he would ask if he could be dropped off in or near Ponyville. He had something of import to do.

(The golems' intro into Canterlot can be done off script, or the groups get split. Your call)

==================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Of course, sir. There are protocols to follow, and certain information to make confidential. I shall look forward to seeing that in more details, and learn which particular kinds of facts are best kept secret, which ones should be publicly available, and so forth. And it would seem we have not long to go now. I hear the flute."

The train would indeed just have let out the sound of it nearing the station. It didn't feel like that long, but then again, they spent a fair bit of time going over details, and having a nice conversation. A professional one at that. *sigh* How she had missed just having some of those, and then look forward to bury herself in paperwork. It couldn't help but put a smile on her lips.

There were of course much to do. She could imagine getting control of the filing system, writing the doings of today, finishing several other reports that had likely gone unfinished, etc. were gonna take most of the rest of the day. Just hours and hours of dusty paper pushing...

It might sound miserable to some, but to her, this sliver of normality were something she had yearned for, since her accident. Being accepted and doing such work, reminded her of better times, and made her feel like she were less of an outsider. Like she actually belonged somewhere again, which had been a sorely lacking feeling for a while now. Much as she tried to acclimate and fit in, fact remained that she wasn't the pony she used to be. By all metrics, she were an elemental now, and yet she did not belong among them. She had gone and tried to mingle, but they simply paid her no heed.

In some way, that hurt more than being expunged. At least had she been chased out of there, it would help her feel like she were still a pony, rather than an elemental. Being wholly ignored though, made her feel more as if she were neither.

Her new boss though? He were perhaps a little cold, but Solar had accepted her, taken her input on things, and even offered her purpose again, in an official job, that made use of some of her expertise. She owed him much, and through hard work, would she repay him. He would see that it were no mistake to give her this chance.

=================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Spicy would simply shrug, at the notion that she might have questions.

"I'm a small fish in a very big sea, Ruby. And small fish get along better by not asking too many questions. You get too noisy, and you might end up attracting the attention of one of them bigger fish.

Am I curious? Sure. Never seen or heard of a dragon able to make 'em look like a pony. Or change size like this, beyond Ancalagon. But I'm thinking me knowing the backstory ain't important, and dragon-pony treaty be darned, I'm thinking you aren't beyond chomping me if I start being an issue, or frying me down to ash.

'Sides, ain't none of my business. I disguise myself as a legit mare, but I rummage the black market. Lotta layers behind the front. Yours is just more literal, yeah?"

Seriously, she didn't really care. She were curious how it worked, but magic were funny sometimes, and she heard the weirdest stories sometimes. Ain't none of her business this one could cramp herself into a tiny shell. They had a good working relationship, that had taken a hit here. Her focus outta be on what'd help with that, and not on being a noisy lil' bugger, who already stood on thin ice. Might end up meeting the afterlife way sooner than she wanted to if she were, cause being frank, if Ruby wanted to kill her, probably not a whole lot she could do about it. Not here, in the middle of nowhere.

"And I'll try finding ya a place that's spacious, when you go looting. Or you can let me know if you'd rather I give it a wait, until you got a new form whipped up. Either way, I'll pay my debt, don't you worry 'bout that. Nor about your need for a break. All things being what they are, it makes a lotta sense."

Leviathan - having now cried out for the time being - would get out from her protective layers of beefy guardians, and address the mare too, before she got much further. A bit of a puffy face from crying, but Spicy figured it were probably best to not make a joke 'bout that, or she'd get a lightning bolt up her nostril.

"It better be a Good room, pony. We got trashed and cursed in this place. We could have died."

"Aye, it will be. I wandered into this, thinking we'd all make a mint. Instead this place is a bust, and you folks had a bugger of a time. I don't like my books being outta order, so don't worry, it'll be something that makes up for this sort. You just focus on ya girl there, aight? Sounds like she can do with the support, while she sorts through this whole magic thing. Which I dunno the first thing about, so I hope you folks have good luck with that.

And if we need to speak, before you get shrunk down again Uby, it ain't a bother. There's plenty places to wander and talk outside of the cramped city quarters. Heck, might be we'll end up having a meeting in Fillydelphia. It's got a lotta pony and dragons co-living there, so the place got some real big homes, and meeting spots. Nopony would batter an eye if we had a chinwag there."

if there were nothing else, she'd be on her way, and the deer would follow her. Though he would briefly stop, look towards the dragons, and give a slow bow. He seemed confused to an extend of why he had done so afterwards however. Perhaps more of a reflex, than a conscious action? Hard to say, but perhaps their next meeting, he'd be less unnerving.

Levithan however, would go and apologize for breaking down the way she had. It wasn't the sorta thing she outta do, emotional or not. She should be large and in charge, not covering like a whelping, though she appreciated the comfort they offered her. It honestly helped a lot.

if they were not done with Spicy, it would happen later. Long as she were here, Leviathan weren't gonna apologize for how she were. She didn't want the pony to see this, and the deer would keep simply observing them, with his large, dark eyes.

=======================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Ah yes, I have been informed, though briefly of the things you have done in town. I still need to read the entire report, but Officer Stargazer were adamant that you and the kitsune were of great assistance in not just apprehending our latest culprit, but also helping several victims. You have my gratitude for all the help you provided, and lives you saved. We are not used to unfortunate things happening this rapidly."

It also didn't help their guard presence in town were essentially whoever went through, and Stargazer. And much as he tried, he couldn't do everything. He needed backup, and the princess had to take responsibility for that. Twilight might still be young and inexperienced about these things, but she had a town to govern, and ponies to keep safe. She had to think of such things, and when she returned from wherever she had gone this time, she fully intended to speak with the young alicorn about this. The situation were not sustainable at this rate, and would only serve to make Stargazer go down with stress.

"As for your request, there is no formal lease on the hut in question, so you can take it over with a simple vocal claim. Blitz is a sweet filly, but very unorthodox, and somewhat dangerous though, so I would advise you caution, as you clear it out for your personal use. There might still be some of her handiwork laying around, and some of that can be quite dangerous."

"Don't you worry mayor. I took them to have a look, and they already cleared out the place. There weren't any nasty surprises. I think she have picked up everything fancy at this point."

"Well that's a relief at the least. It have sometimes proven difficult to dispose of the things I have sometimes needed to confiscate from her.

In any case, I will have you registered. Let me just find some paperwork..."

She'd rummage around her desk, and soon after bring forth some papers for them to sig. They did not specify an address, but that were likely due to these being premade for the new homes being built in town, to handle the influx of new residents they had in recent times. Better to simply leave a few details off, and then fill out the blanks when everything were done nicely, yes?

There'd be a feather and ink quill for them to sign their names, and once it were done, she would set it aside, to allow the ink to dry proper.

"Thank you, and may I be the first to welcome you as official residents of Ponyville. In case you need tit written, your new address is considered Everfree Resident 4. The postal service don't like to go into the forest, but they will keep anything for you in the post station, for that address.

I hope I am not intruding too much, but might I ask if you are planning on continuing what Blitz did? We have needed to keep the fire department on alert since she moved into the forest, and it would ease their mind to hear that new residents were not planning on causing more fires. I would also like to ask if perhaps, you have questions for me, or about Ponyville? I take it Nurse Neon-"

"Doctor Neon. I finished with good grades and everything."

"Congratulations. Hmhm, yet as I were saying, I am assuming that Doctor Neon have been showing you around, and telling you things. But perhaps there is something more official you'd like to have covered? I'm always happy to help guide our new residents, if I'm able."

She punctuated the doctor part this time, with a smile on her face, and Neon chuckled slightly. There were no maliciousness to find here. Simply a bit of playfulness, as she corrected her former statement.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
"Speaking of protocols." Solar responded, getting ready to exit the train, pausing only if someone walked between them or they were otherwise separated in a way that normal speaking voice wasn't enough "While certain level of respect is of course expected, you will be employed under me, so the other officers don't have authority to overrule what I tell you." "Or in other word, while they expect you to 'sir' them, they have no right to demand anything from you without it going through me." "Though of course they hold authority in matters they oversee." "It is similar case with the civilian staff, while the staff overseeing the archives for example, have no authority over you or I, the moment we enter the archives, they are the top authority." "In the same way, if I'm not present, you will be the top authority in the matters we oversee. " probably not the best way to explain it, but as he had stated before, this whole commander thing was alien to him.  "Any attempt to undermine this authority, is to be reported to me." as he said the last sentence, it was the first time during this conversation when it sounded almost like an order, he didn't take kindly to those trying to step on his, or his staff's figurative toes. 

-----------------------

While Ruby appreciated that Spicy seemed to have sense, she wouldn't have asked if she had any questions, if she had a problem answering said questions; she may have fallen into several dragon stereotypes, but she didn't play games, she was direct dragon, and until actively acting, what she said was what she meant, and even when acting, there tended to be hint of truth behind everything she said. 

Ruby opened her wing after Charir had separated from Leviathan, folding it closed after stretching it a bit, her wings were still bit numb from spending time in the pony form, it was quite unique feeling, as they were not only unused in that form, but actively nonexistent. "We'll discuss the details when time is such, I'll track you down if you haven't contacted me yet." it was meant as a simple statement, but one couldn't ignore the undertone of the wording, she wouldn't try to track her down, she would track her down.

For Leviathan's apology, Ruby spoke in her usual manner "I may not understand it, and while I may, in full honesty, find it slightly pathetic, it is not something to apologize for." "Emotion, fear, and other such, are reflexes, instincts, and we have only so much control over them." "My lack of them is in the same way, an instinctual response, we do not hatch cold and fearless, Charir is enough evidence of that, it is simply an adaption for survival, an adaption you have had no reason to form." 

"And really, the only one that should apologize, is myself, as me ignoring not only my own, but also Charir's instincts, is what lead to this in the first place. Yes, you dismissed it when I brought it up, but it was me who decided not to insist on it." "So ultimately, it is not your emotions that are the problem, but my lack of them, for if I had felt something, we wouldn't be here in the first place." 

-----------

The kobolds acknowledged the gratitude by closed-eyes nodding, but left it to that, they didn't need praise for what to them was just acts of common decency, doing what they can for the interest of common good, but at the same time they didn't start acting all humble like, they just acknowledged that they had been thanked and went on with their lives. They waited as the mayor did her thing, not addressing the explosive situation further, since Neon already said everything necessary.

Feather and ink was, to say the least, ancient technology for the two kobolds, as it hadn't been used by anyone in their world for quite a while, until you counted collectors and other individuals interested in ancient things and methods; However, they had no trouble using them, as due to their need to lay low, and their scavenging lifestyle, they had used lot of different means of writing things down, and feather and ink was actually from the easier end compared to some solutions they had come up with. The signatures themselves were simply their names, Sheska and Trox, though the mayor wouldn't be able to tell for sure, as they wrote them in their most proper form, written in kobold alphabet, which was different from 'normal' letters. 

Trox answered the question, since he was the one it was relevant to "I do tinker, and explosives are in my skillset, however, as I'm not yet aware of all the materials I have access to, I cannot say how much of those I will or won't do." "Though, it should be mentioned, that with years of experience with military grade explosives, I know how to properly handle that stuff without causing any fires, so your fire department should be at ease." 

"For questions, there is something we'd like to ask; while we have indeed been shown around, we'd like some kind of more general idea of what is available, a simple list or something." "More specifically, we'd like to know where, if available, we can get raw materials and equipment for things like construction, medical purposes, tinkering and so on." "We are planning to become self-sufficient, but we do need things to get started." 

 

 

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-07-12 at 5:13 AM, Blitz Boom said:

Because of the means available to me, I am one to often work on preparations, and acquisition, depending on the deal in question. It increases my reputation and value, the more efficient I am, and it can be rather hard to simply let it be out of my hooves, with how used I am to it being otherwise.

Ah, but you are fresh to wandering the world once more, and I can understand a certain want to not just traverse it, but also sitting with some level of autonomy. Being handled fully, I could imagine it being little different from being carried in that orb again, hm?

Perhaps I might offer a compromise? I will keep an eye out for information for the time being, and if you find yourself to a point where you cannot acquire or find everything that you seek, come to me. I can take over from there, yes?

I don't need an answer on the spot, if you need time to think of it. Simply ponder it, and let me know when you have come to a consensus."

“That is true, Lady Scarcity. Apologies if it sounds like we wish to simply take matters into our own hooves. It has been lifetimes since we had bodily autonomy, and being able to work and move simply because we now could is something my fellows and I have been looking forward to doing.”

“Rest assured that whatever areas we will for short in, we will turn to you for assistance and guidance. We understand that, given our status within this current age, we do not have the same level of influence as you. And that means we wouldn’t have the same access to resources as we once did in our day. What little we have left is information, and even that is likely to be outdated now.” 

Though the golems knew Scarcity didn’t need an answer soon, they already made up their minds about the matter. Time was of the essence despite not being in a rush, but the little bit of pride they had in them wanted to remain, even if it was simply being able to do something useful with what they had. Lifetimes spent within an orb left to the whims of whoever stumbled upon it meant their freedoms were very much lacking. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, but they were determined to regain the aspects of living that they had sorely missed.

Beings like Sen, Lin, and Omen, who didn’t seek much, even when they had something to gain, were a rare kind that seemed to stump them. The scholars had their own share of experiences with such creatures, but there was no telling why they chose not to gain something. In contrast, the pursuit of power was common among the ambitious to achieve their own goals; however, how power will be used is up to the one who will eventually wield it. The golem scholars will be watching what Lady Scarcity will do with that power once she gains it. 

In the meantime, Magus would return the staff loaned to him. Despite how good it felt to be able to regain a semblance of an old life, it would be better to wield a catalyst that was truly his. 

“Yes. That would be most preferable. The task of shaping one is, in old times, a personal undertaking that speaks of the shaper. Though the practice may have likely fallen out of favor, it will be nice to simply partake in it for old times’ sake.” 

On 2024-07-12 at 5:13 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"No no, worry not dear. I will handle things well with our new companions here, and help situate them into Canterlot. A bit of paperwork, a showing of myself with them in public, some well placed words- It will be trivial, I assure you. You are all welcome to leave for now, and recuperate, while we handle things between us.

Ah, though a minor correction: The spell to make you walk on clouds? That is no mere rumor. They use that in Las Pegasus, so the tourists can traverse the cloud layer. It's done marvels for tourism in the past few decades, that the entire upper section is no longer pegasi only.

Until next time, do try and keep yourself somewhat safe."

“Hmm… then I guess haven’t seen a lot of Las Pegasus to know about that one. So much for seeing the world… I suppose now we’ll take our leave. Will you be all right? It’s a different world out there from long ago.”

“Adapting to the world now is going to be challenging, but this is a chance that we won’t let slip by. It will be interesting to see everything that is new and different. In time, we will find our place, but let us worry about that. Farewell, friends; to our health and to each of our plans, may they be long and prosperous.”

It was about time to head off into their separate paths, and the golems would follow Scarcity and Hammond through a gate and into a cabin. A comfortable place by looks, but a stone body may not be able to feel and experience sensations the same way the flesh would. Still, there was time to experiment and learn, and they were certain there was plenty of time to do so now that they could live and move about. From here, they awaited what Scarcity would show them and how they would go about exploring Canterlot.

As for the siblings, they would soon bid Rosa and C. G. farewell, though they wouldn’t leave without giving the former a little bit of information regarding what comes next for them back home.

“Rosa, before we head off, there’s something that you may like to know. That big meeting with the elders? It’s happening soon. In a day, we’ll be heading off to travel to where they’ll gather. I’m sure you have things you’re busy with, but we’ll keep what you told us in mind and hope for the best with what’s to come.”

“Stay safe, Rosa. It is always good to see you again. If time permits, maybe we can catch up and let you know how it went?”

“And it was nice meeting you, as well, C. G. Don’t make things rough for Rosa, all right?”

The siblings would stick around for some quick words from Scarcity, Rosa, and C. G., but they would walk through the gate Omen created back to their home. It was still about an hour past midnight, giving them some time for rest, though whether the time will be sufficient is difficult to say. Come morning, there’ll be much to do for preparations. Some folks in the village would need to be informed about what will happen. 

(I think we can split the groups to do a brief intro to Canterlot for the golems before having the rest of their story happen off script)

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@EQ_Theta

On 2024-07-14 at 4:18 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“That is true, Lady Scarcity. Apologies if it sounds like we wish to simply take matters into our own hooves. It has been lifetimes since we had bodily autonomy, and being able to work and move simply because we now could is something my fellows and I have been looking forward to doing.”

“Rest assured that whatever areas we will for short in, we will turn to you for assistance and guidance. We understand that, given our status within this current age, we do not have the same level of influence as you. And that means we wouldn’t have the same access to resources as we once did in our day. What little we have left is information, and even that is likely to be outdated now.”

"You would be surprised what ancient, seemingly outdated information can be worth, to the right buyer.  You might still have something of worth, if said information can be verified in some fashion."

One thing that Scarcity knew well, were that the most valuable thing in the world, were information. Not only new information, or things that some would prefer not having out there, but all kinds. Including ancient knowledge, that could in some way impact history, or bridge a gap in story books that were simply unknown. Such as the Pale Winter, the origins of the Dragon-Pony war, and the fabled Draconequui Empire. Those were the big ones, but there might still be something of value in other things they knew, and she would be happy to listen in, and try to see if perhaps she might act as a middle mare for a lucrative sale of said information.

At the least, the Canterlot Library, would be happy to offer some funds for a book of ancient tales, even if they were mundane things, from the viewpoint of beings who were actually there.

On 2024-07-14 at 4:18 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Yes. That would be most preferable. The task of shaping one is, in old times, a personal undertaking that speaks of the shaper. Though the practice may have likely fallen out of favor, it will be nice to simply partake in it for old times’ sake.” 

"A reasonable thing to want. Give me but a half hour after we have handled your introduction into Canterlot, and I will have something more fitting for you to work with."

It were hardly an issue. Quite frankly, she knew exactly where the things she wanted for this were. She just needed to dig out the right box. That were the only thing that were going to take time in all of this, so it would be something quickly sorted.

As to why she had so easy access to that? Pure gems and the wood she had in mind, were often useful, and valuable, so she made sure to have a substantial surplus ready of either. Especially the gems could end up being valuable, in case the economy crashed. There were still a good market in trading these with dragons, so those would retain value to some extend, as would they in several other markets, as they had practical usage.

On 2024-07-14 at 4:18 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Rosa, before we head off, there’s something that you may like to know. That big meeting with the elders? It’s happening soon. In a day, we’ll be heading off to travel to where they’ll gather. I’m sure you have things you’re busy with, but we’ll keep what you told us in mind and hope for the best with what’s to come.”

“Stay safe, Rosa. It is always good to see you again. If time permits, maybe we can catch up and let you know how it went?”

“And it was nice meeting you, as well, C. G. Don’t make things rough for Rosa, all right?”

"Awh, don't you worry. I'll leave your boy almost as good as new."

THe grin on her face, said that the *almost* were debatable, but they had several things to catch up on too. Some treason, some supposed death, new employment- They both had some tales to tell, and they'd appreciate the time to do so. Though Rosa still worried that she had other motives. Though for now, he had other plans, so she would have to wait for the time being. For now, it were for him to say some parting words to his friends.

"Get rested, and do whatever you can, to remain out of trouble. This close to the meeting, even the most minor of infractions, will be used against you. Be respectful, keep your cool, and don't be disappointed if you seemingly go nowhere this first meeting. You are to establish a connection, and ensuring the place of yourself, Omen, and Elder Ghilan, remains as they are now. Long as none of you are stripped of placement or station, it is a win.

I wish you the best of luck, my friends. When next we meet, I hope to bring you news of my own too."

He would bow as they would take off, through Omen's gates, and soon after Lin and her group would be home again. Hopefully nothing of note would happen, and Sen would be able to get some sleep. Omen planned to simply sit a place where she could look up into the sky, and try to think. If so, she would not move, until she were addressed by someone.

Back with Scarcity, she would look around the hut they were now in, and spread her right front leg out, in a presenting manner.

"I welcome you to another one homes in my possession. A nice and quiet little escape from the busy city life.

So then, I propose the following for entering the town: You simply wander as a group, and seek entrance from the bridge. You will not be able to avoid seeing it. When you are there, they will begin to ask questions, and ask for references. I ask only that you tell them that you were told to bring word to the antique vendor Scarcity, by her friend Ruin Diver. Ruin is a reasonably well known archeologist, so at least one of the guards should know of him. The elder guards are often stationed here, to mentor younger guards in proper protocol.

Now then, we need to find you a cover story for why you were there in the first place. I would suggest to say that Ruin returned your orb to these statues, after he located them in one of his recent digs, and he sent for you to join society, after he determined you were both sentient and safe. He tends to do some of his deeper inspections on his own, and holds many a curious thing with him for prolonged periods of times, so it would be well within the realm of possibility. Long as he collaborates my story. Which he will, I assure you.

Of course, there is always the option to instead wander together, and I can simply say that you were revealed during a recent dig, and I personally went to greet you, and bid you welcome to our fair capitol. I finance several digs, and expeditions for things of history, from both the museum, and other organizations. I but need to handle some paperwork later, and the evidence will support this story impeccably.

I would let you decide which you prefer. The first option would make use of one of renown, to easily cover the backstory, with little more than my sharing some words with a friends, to have things fit accordingly, and I will then welcome you to Canterlot on his behalf. The second requires a little more finesse in the background, albeit slightly, and will give you the benefit of been seen by a well known member of Canterlot's high society, trusting you enough to walk you to the gate.

If you want the least questions, I would suggest the second option. I would be able to vouch for you, and I can spin quite the ironclad story in the background, for the guards to later see and confirm. But I will leave you with the choice."

She did somewhat do this to show off something. Both that she meant it, when she said that she could make the truth be what she wanted it to be, and that her network were vast, and able to accommodate quite the varied amount of tales, among other things. As well as show how well she would be in crafting a sensible tale on the spot. One that did not involve her requesting these of course, as there would be more dreary questions, if it were said that she personally paid for these golem bodies. She could still make it work, and spin it to her favor of course, but it were more time consuming to do it in that way.

==================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"That were fairly standard protocol from Center Zero actually.

The town were filled with scientists, working on many things, each with our own area. I worked for instance in a sub-division of the biochemical lab. It were divided into five sectors, and in ours, us that worked there had authority. We would speak respectfully to one another, for the most part, but there were a matter of expertise, that decided who had the final say in things. The exception being if we had ones in from other departments to look at something that pertained specifically to their expertise. In that case, they were the one we had to defer to. And of course, there were then ranks within the specific lab itself, with me being on the lower end, as an assistant researcher. Though still above general assistants, as I were assigned a specific professor.

It works much better that way, when you are dealing with scientists. The more linear and precise the authority structure is, the simpler it is to handle minor disputes, and make the work continue with fewer complications.

There were of course the high counsel too, in case of major disputes, or grave misconduct. Usually held by the six highest ranking scientists in town, and the head of the Boom family, due to their seniority and expertise into the structural integrity of the town.

I can assure you sir, that I shall be on my best behavior, and do things according to logic and protocol."

And so, she would follow him as the train would finally begin to grind to a halt. A small rush of excitement fluttered in her chest at the prospect of what were to come. Mere seconds later, and the doors would open, and they would finally be able to see their destination in all its glory. Or rather, the town in which their destination were. The office itself were of course the important part. As were it that she had to find shelter at some point, but one thing at a time. She had some paperwork to engage with first, and that did take precedent. It should not be too hard to find an inn after she were done, and then in the morning, she would need to get in contact with the bank, to begin some transfer of funds.

She were not rich in the slightest, but she had some means to work with. Enough for a rented room for the time being she would think, and then a little to spare. Depending on how things had accumulated the last year or so. She had been busy, and not had much chance to do more than deposit the part of her pay she did not need for the month, and let her father handle some investments int he background. He assured her that it were the wisest option.

*sigh* She had to still contact him, but she could not risk it, before she knew she were under control of herself. The favor for the O. M. I. were one proof of concept of that, as were this now, which would likely leave her time to make contact soon enough. Hopefully her parents had not been told that she had perished, and thought this a cruel joke.

=================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2024-07-14 at 2:06 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"We'll discuss the details when time is such, I'll track you down if you haven't contacted me yet."

"If I ain't out and about, I'm probably at a casino for some tournament. Shouldn't be hard for ya to track me down if you have the drive.

I'll try being in touch within a week or so.

Now come on then lad, we got some walking and talking to do."

She'd signal to the deer, as she put the wagon on her shoulders, and began moving along. He did not understand her words seemingly, but did grasp the concept of being led away, and she were apparently the one he had chosen to follow. It would be interesting to see how this whole thing were gonna turn out, but the deer might have some choice words about it. The traditionalists especially, could be some real stuck up types.

On 2024-07-14 at 2:06 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

For Leviathan's apology, Ruby spoke in her usual manner "I may not understand it, and while I may, in full honesty, find it slightly pathetic, it is not something to apologize for." "Emotion, fear, and other such, are reflexes, instincts, and we have only so much control over them." "My lack of them is in the same way, an instinctual response, we do not hatch cold and fearless, Charir is enough evidence of that, it is simply an adaption for survival, an adaption you have had no reason to form." 

"And really, the only one that should apologize, is myself, as me ignoring not only my own, but also Charir's instincts, is what lead to this in the first place. Yes, you dismissed it when I brought it up, but it was me who decided not to insist on it." "So ultimately, it is not your emotions that are the problem, but my lack of them, for if I had felt something, we wouldn't be here in the first place." 

"Seems we're both struggling on our own end of the spectrum, huh? I'm too emotional, and you're too cool.

What say you that we just agree this was a mistake on both our ends, and try to be better, yeah? I frankly should have trusted you and Charir more in there too, instead of going crazy by the mere chance that you could've been hurt. If I had been thinking straight, I would have dashed out of that room, and blasted that pile of bones with a lightning bolt or something. Staying in there, not focusing... I messed it up. I just..."

Leviathan looked down on her hands for a moment, pondering her words. They had stopped shaking finally, and she felt her inner turmoil more or less being gone now, having boiled over, and now evaporated into thin air.

A moment like this, and she'd look up again, meeting Ruby's eyes.

"I couldn't focus on anything, beyond you possibly being in danger. But I'll try and get better, and next time some pile of bones tries something, we'll stomp them to dust.

*sigh* But let's look at the positives. We're all alive and mostly well. What say you both that we go and have a nice hunt to try and relax? It's easier to think with a full stomach."

She for one, could really do with an eel right about now, but they were far from the sea. She'd find something else to munch down on somewhere, and she really did think that it would help them to just have a nice, simple hunt and eat, while they figured out their next step. Ruby being how she were now, were gonna limit them for a time, but they'd sort through this. Long as they stuck together, she felt like they'd weather most things.

=======================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

The news that Trox seemed to know general safety rules, and how not to cause issues when he worked on explosives, were honestly a relief. Not as much as it would have been, to hear that he wouldn't use it at all, but the big issue in this regard, had always been how reckless Blitz were. The fact that she got out of so many things mostly unscathed, despite not having many thoughts about safety, were a staggering miracle. As were it that the damage had mostly been rather minimal. Hopefully, the downward trajectory would continue with the new residents here, rather than get worse.

"It is good to hear that you are more cautious than she were. As said, a sweet filly, but a little too reckless for her own good at times.

As for your request... Wait a moment please."

She'd go behind her desk to the cabinet on the right, and rummage around the second drawer on the left for a few seconds, before she pulled out a rolled up poster of sorts. When she put it on the table, and untied the ribbon around it though, it would be shown to fold out into a map of Ponyville. Showing every shop, places of interest, and where one might find things they needed during a regular day. It even included the new area, that were being constructed, with a notice to come and talk to the mayor, if you were interested in moving to the great town of Ponyville.

It were clearly a map meant for tourists, but it would work all the same.

"Ah, here we go. Now, as you can see, we have several places of interest in Ponyville. The ones you would need, are a little spread around.

Most metal you would be able to find at Steel Shoe's Smithy. He has a container of metal scraps, as well as general product, and are the primary one to get hold of, in case you need something already made, or easy to mold with.

Though we do have a new resident not on the map. A dragoness in the forest. She informed me when she settled down, that she could procure and sell raw iron and other metals as needed, in case it was required. As well as shaped rocks, which have been helpful to some building efforts. She has a poster up near the apothecary for now. You could read that when you went there, as he'd be the primary one for various potions, elixirs, or what else you would need for medical purposes. Though if it is more specific plants, I'd suggest trying to find Zecora in the forest. She is a zebra, and a rather traditional one at that. She would likely be willing to trade items, if you ask her nicely."

The mayor would point to a few other places, that could have various things, such as the open market and the greenery, where common herbs and plants for food would be, a trinket shop, and the bakery. Though the last one were mostly because it was a very nice place to go and mingle a little with the other locals.

"Ah, I should mention, that if you will procure raw materials from the forest, please remember that there are laws against mass deforestation, or hunting down rare and protected animals. As well as over-hunting in general. The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place, but it does not mean that it is considered okay to recklessly plunder it. I am sure that you have restraint, but I find it is best to say it, just in case.

Have you any work in mind for the time being?"

"They're gonna handle some of the things on the bounty board."

"Oh? That would be good. Some of the tasks can sit there for months, until a passing bounty hunter takes it up. it will be good to clear the board somewhat reliably."

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-07-16 at 6:36 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Get rested, and do whatever you can, to remain out of trouble. This close to the meeting, even the most minor of infractions, will be used against you. Be respectful, keep your cool, and don't be disappointed if you seemingly go nowhere this first meeting. You are to establish a connection, and ensuring the place of yourself, Omen, and Elder Ghilan, remains as they are now. Long as none of you are stripped of placement or station, it is a win.

I wish you the best of luck, my friends. When next we meet, I hope to bring you news of my own too."

For a brief moment, the siblings exchanged mortified looks with each other, apparently recalling their altercation with the hunt master’s second. It wasn’t a good impression despite only happening within the village. Sen felt a knot in the pit of his stomach, while Lin took a deep gulp, both hoping that what went down wouldn’t get brought up later. They both knew, at least to some degree, that they had to stand up to a bully; they didn’t doubt their decision to do so, but the method may not have been the best way to go about it.

Still, they hoped that this wouldn’t be brought up, and there was some confidence that Elder Ghilan would be understanding of the circumstances. He was an ally, but even now his patience with the siblings and Omen could be tested. One could only hope the situation wouldn’t lead to his trust in them being broken. For now, Rosa’s advice was welcomed, and they’ll go into the next days with his words in mind.

The siblings bowed and returned home, with Sen immediately prepping himself for rest. The night sky was rather bright, the full moon now out in clear view. By the looks of it, tonight was a good night to rest and reflect on what is to come in the days ahead. Though for Sen, he was minutes away from dozing off.

“Rest now, everyone. We only have a day to prepare, so we’ll need to make the most of tomorrow. See you in the morning!”

“I’ll just be in my room, Omen, but if you need anything, just let me know. It’s not like I’ll be knocked unconscious again or anything, though it makes me miss what it was like to sleep.”

It was past midnight in the village, and nothing much would stir under the moonlight. It was a peaceful time that would soon be followed by the break of dawn. Peering up from the canopies was the morning sun, and an attentive ear to the ground would notice the sound of footsteps by the front of the hut. There to greet Omen and the siblings, once they're up and about, were Elder Ghilan and Xin, both patiently waiting to be let inside the hut.

On 2024-07-16 at 6:36 AM, Blitz Boom said:

So then, I propose the following for entering the town: You simply wander as a group, and seek entrance from the bridge. You will not be able to avoid seeing it. When you are there, they will begin to ask questions, and ask for references. I ask only that you tell them that you were told to bring word to the antique vendor Scarcity, by her friend Ruin Diver. Ruin is a reasonably well known archeologist, so at least one of the guards should know of him. The elder guards are often stationed here, to mentor younger guards in proper protocol.

Now then, we need to find you a cover story for why you were there in the first place. I would suggest to say that Ruin returned your orb to these statues, after he located them in one of his recent digs, and he sent for you to join society, after he determined you were both sentient and safe. He tends to do some of his deeper inspections on his own, and holds many a curious thing with him for prolonged periods of times, so it would be well within the realm of possibility. Long as he collaborates my story. Which he will, I assure you.

Of course, there is always the option to instead wander together, and I can simply say that you were revealed during a recent dig, and I personally went to greet you, and bid you welcome to our fair capitol. I finance several digs, and expeditions for things of history, from both the museum, and other organizations. I but need to handle some paperwork later, and the evidence will support this story impeccably.

As for the golem scholars, they’d soon find themselves in another of Scarcity’s homes. A comfy place that they could find themselves living in if they could establish a foothold in modern society. Alas, they were new, and their best bet was living in a workshop. But, it wasn’t the time to fantasize, as it was time to get to work. 

It was rather fortunate that they discussed cover stories earlier, as this situation will also be taking advantage of one to facilitate entry into Canterlot. Both options presented were intriguing, but the path of least resistance, or questions, was already enticing to the golems. There wouldn’t even be a debate, as the group huddled around, mumbling among themselves about their approach before turning back to Scarcity with their answer.

“We have decided to go with the second approach. It may be better for us to avoid drawing in unnecessary questions.”

“Being able to move around a little more freely, within reason, sounds like the way to go. The way we see it, establishing a level of trust among those living in Canterlot would be best, especially if movement around town later on would be necessary. As for the rest of the burden of eventually building up trust on an individual level, that part will be up to us.”

It seemed like a dynamic was developing among the golem scholars now, with Scriniarii taking up a sort of de facto leader of this group. Though the others would pitch in where their insight would be beneficial, they have appeared to settle on Scriniarii being the main “talker,” so to speak. However, the urge to work with their skills and efforts was something Magus also looked forward to, if only because he could begin fashioning his own catalyst. To him, having his own tools was enough of a start to reclaiming a little something that was his own, independent of another. 

“Shall we proceed, Lady Scarcity? The allure of having an alicorn’s powers is a tantalizing prospect. I admit, my fellows and I are, as the saying goes, ‘itching to get to business.’ If we can start, what you seek could be within your grasp sooner.” 

Edited July 21 by EQ_Theta

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
"Good to hear such is already familiar to you, however, I brought it up not because I thought you'd have trouble with it, but because some in the military do have trouble understanding it." Solar responded "Especially those who are newly promoted, they tend to get bit over their heads with their newly gained authority." "There are also those who simply don't know it, be it because they don't know who you are, or because they have never been in the environment before." It could also be bit complicated sometimes, since it meant that two individuals had authority over each other depending on the exact situation.

As they walked, Solar pointed at points of interest related to Magma's upcoming job "In that direction, you can find the barracks, while not relevant for your duties at this moment, you may be visiting them now and then when we have someone who actually sleeps there." "And you are also free to use them if you have no other place to stay for now, you'll have full privacy, as I don't sleep there." "I live in that direction, my door is always open, be it in matters of work, or something else...you can also commission paintings from me if that's your thing." he said the last part in slightly humorous manner, but it was also true, he was a painter in his talent, and his free time was spend painting. 

"That shop sells paper and everything else you could ever need for paperwork, while it shouldn't be necessary, if you run out of anything you can get it here, I'll reimburse anything you may have to buy, as it is not your responsibility." 

He'd then eventually lead her to the headquarters, continuing on giving directions, pointing where the archives where, where the offices of relevant individuals were and so on, ultimately ending up in his, their room, where he would ask her to make herself home as he went to get the necessary employment paperwork. 

The space was rather normal, there was a front desk, empty at the moment, and then further in was Solar's desk, and to the side there was a separated conference room, which was under construction at the moment. Around Solar's desk was lot of paper, all the work in progress paperwork presumably, behind it there was a reinforced locked box, thought Magma had no real way to know what was in it. On a table to the side, there was a machine of some kind, that had a slots for paper to go in and come out. 

There was a locked box next to the door, which was connected to a mail slot on the hallway, basically, a mailbox build into the structure, though this was not unique to this room, as due to the classified information that moved around, such was necessary. Decoration wise, there were some paintings here and there, landscapes mostly, some with sunset, or sunrise, snowy weather and so on, it was varied, but there was one thing common with them, none of them were in clear sunny feather, the sunset/sunrise one being closest to that, everything was picturing such a time or weather that the sun wasn't there. 

Other than that, it was a normal office, with everything one would expect from a military office. 

Solar would be gone for some minutes, before coming back with some papers; there were two different types, a work contract, which was normal in every way, though notable difference to one one would get in normal office, was mentions of extra pay for things like field work or danger. The other was a form where Magma would acknowledge and agree to the required confidentiality, and where she'd acknowledge the potential punishment for breaking this confidentiality. What came to pay and such, they were better than in average office, due to the nature of the work, but at the same time, Magma wouldn't find herself among the elites of Canterlot any time soon. There were several copies of each, all of which she'd need to sign.

If/when she would get things signed, Solar would take all but one copy each, and would welcome Magma to the unit with a shake of a hoof before leaving to bring the various copies in right places; he'd be gone for couple of minutes before coming back.

 ------------------------

"I wasn't entirely in my right mind in there either, and, as much as I hate admitting it, your concern for me was founded." Ruby admitted "I am capable yes, but the unfortunate truth is that in my pony form, I am absolutely useless, and were I to transform in most areas of that place, I would, at best, been able to empty the immediate area enough to transform back to be able to move." the pain in her leg reminded her of that fact, the injury was no longer visible, as the damaged skin was under her scales, but was very much not healed yet, in fact, transforming to her real self had made the pain slightly worse, as the burned skin didn't transform properly, making it feel like something was constantly pulling on it. "If nothing else, I've come to realize the need for extra form, one that is simply a smaller version of myself." while she spoke mostly in her normal manner, it was apparent that she wasn't kidding when she said she hated admitting it, it was almost...painful, to say it out loud that her physical might meant nothing in there.

As mirror to Leviathan, when Ruby stated her conclusion, pondering, she looked up towards the sky, before returning her eyes down on the smaller dragoness once more.

"But I agree, that we all should let out some steam in a form of a good hunt, though..." she then addressed Charir, having a short conversation with him, and while the young dragon was still shaken, the conversation seemed positive "...Charir agrees, though his wish is to do it as far from here as possible, which I do agree with, no point taking a risk here." Ruby had an idea for what to do next, as any pony business was out of the question for now, but she would wait until after the hunt to suggest it, as she wanted everyone to be in their right mind.  

-------------------

"Thank you, and don't worry we have lived in a forest for our entire lives, we know how to use nature without destroying it." Sheska mentioned "Not to mention the relationship our kind has with resources in general, we don't waste things." "When it comes to work, as she stated, we'll start with some of the bounties, and see how reliable of a source for income it is. We'll look for something more if necessary" "Our goal is to make enough to get the space and materials to reliably exercise our own professions, mine being tinkering and related crafts, and Sheska's being healer and other related expertise." 

Sheska was thoughtful for a moment "That actually brings another question, though I'm not sure which of you two would be better to answer it." "I have a reason to believe that your kind's understanding of my kind is limited at best, so if I were to write a medical journal on the matter to make sure my kind gets the care they should, how should I proceed?" 

 

 

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@EQ_Theta

On 2024-07-19 at 4:32 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Rest now, everyone. We only have a day to prepare, so we’ll need to make the most of tomorrow. See you in the morning!”

“I’ll just be in my room, Omen, but if you need anything, just let me know. It’s not like I’ll be knocked unconscious again or anything, though it makes me miss what it was like to sleep.”

Omen would have moved outside, after Sen had gone to bed. She wished for a better angle to gaze up into the sky, and as such, she stood just outside the building, her gaze fixated upwards, without a muscle moving on her throughout the night. The morning dew having as often the case, put a thin layer over her, along with whatever grass and leaves that the wind would have blown upon her, whilst her eyes looked directly into the rising sun. It did not damage her, as it would if others did the same, and the sun's trajectory were fascinating to her. In large parts due to how it would be pulled across the sky by Celestia, at least for some of the way. In times past, her influence on the moon were also well seen, but these days, it had the touch of Luna once more. It was an interesting change. One she had not seen since back when both princesses were around, even though she had missed what had happened, when Luna was trapped in the moon. She just came back to see that strange pattern, and no Luna across the sky.

She did not know how long she stood and waited for her, but she did know that she had a lot of weeds growing all over her, when she did finally decide to move. This would happen a few times, every now and again over the years. It were just something that came to pass sometimes, when you didn't have to move. Discord had made her odd, and somewhat hobbled together, but more than anything, she were resilient. Likely because he wanted to make sure that she could handle all of his odd games, and didn't think about it too much. Considering he thought she had died from old age, while he had been in his statue, there were seemingly a lot that he didn't know about her.

As she heard approaching steps, she would calmly walk from the side of the building, and over to them, where she would calmly raise a hoof and wave at them. They may have already known she were there though, as she hadn't moved before that, and it might have been noticed by others. She weren't hurting anyone, but starring up into the sun whilst still, did tend to make some thing of her as a doll left out, or a statue with a wig and false tail hairs, due to the constant movement of both her mane and tail. Or just a bit odd, but she likely hadn't broken any rules.

"Hello. Are you here to find us?"

Her voice whispering in their minds, were gonna be a thing that had hopefully been brought up to the elders. Omen were quite literally unable to speak in the traditional sense, and it might not curry her favors. Then again, it seemed most so far in the town, had little to no issue with it, and focused on other things. The huntsmaster apprentice for instance, hadn't seemed like he even really noticed.

The range of this could also cause problems, if the elders were situated far from her. They might need a translator of sorts, but they likely had prepared things right for the meeting. Omen had been in this town for some time, and she didn't hide what she did. Except for any mention of Discord, and not opening gates in the open, lest she were made to.

On 2024-07-19 at 4:32 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“We have decided to go with the second approach. It may be better for us to avoid drawing in unnecessary questions.”

“Being able to move around a little more freely, within reason, sounds like the way to go. The way we see it, establishing a level of trust among those living in Canterlot would be best, especially if movement around town later on would be necessary. As for the rest of the burden of eventually building up trust on an individual level, that part will be up to us.”

It seemed like a dynamic was developing among the golem scholars now, with Scriniarii taking up a sort of de facto leader of this group. Though the others would pitch in where their insight would be beneficial, they have appeared to settle on Scriniarii being the main “talker,” so to speak. However, the urge to work with their skills and efforts was something Magus also looked forward to, if only because he could begin fashioning his own catalyst. To him, having his own tools was enough of a start to reclaiming a little something that was his own, independent of another. 

“Shall we proceed, Lady Scarcity? The allure of having an alicorn’s powers is a tantalizing prospect. I admit, my fellows and I are, as the saying goes, ‘itching to get to business.’ If we can start, what you seek could be within your grasp sooner.” 

"It sounds as if we are in agreement then, how delightful. When we approach the gate, do please let me lead the word then, and soon enough, you shall wander the streets freely. I think you will find our fair capitol to be a marvelous spectacle of sights.

And while I do appreciate your eagerness to work, do try to remember not to rush yourselves too much. I have patience, and if you believe some degree of trust with the locals to be an advantage - which I would agree with, on many levels - then remember to spend some time to mingle. It would help if you were situated in the town proper really, as then they would see you on a regular basis, and most would find you more relatable as neighbors, than tourists.

I can arrange for something suitable. You would be surprised how much real estate I have in my portfolio. The Old Town is not an area that have historically sold in great numbers. And due to Canterlot wanting that part of town to be flourishing with life again, the buildings are somewhat cheap to acquire, due to certain incentives, with further ones if you can cause the houses to be lived in. Even if you were to spread far and wide around the country, and beyond, having a base as it were, and especially one at the capitol of one of the world's main powers, would be quite usable, would you not agree?

But one step at a time, yes? We will go and watch those later. First we should have you enter the city proper."

Officially, she owned about a dozen houses in the Old Town. Unofficially, she had some shell companies around, some others who handled purchases on her behalf, and so forth, and she did own over half of the houses there, in actuality. She believed it would rise some questions, were she to have all of them in her name, and so took some detours here and there, as it were. They were able for rent or purchase by others of course, no strings attached, but they also presented her with options, in case she needed them. As she tended to like to say: She liked having solutions, for problems that had yet to occur.

Her dear friend Dawn had much the same idea. A problem solver too, with a scope that she couldn't ascertain in full, just as Dawn didn't know all of hers. Still they knew more than they should of the other, and it had come to the point where in Scarcity's eyes, there were two options: Competition, or friendship. And she much preferred having good relations, rather than waste time, effort, and resources on a petty feud. There were plenty of work for them both out there after all.

Dawn had agreed, though she had expected as much. The mare were no fool, and she too had nothing to gain, but much to lose if they started having a feud occur. Besides, it were good for them both to have one they could speak about unseemly stuff with, at a large scope. She said certain things to Sen and Lin, the golems, Rosa, etc. But none had the full picture. Neither did Dawn, but it were more than most. Not including her dear Brick Wall of course, whom she trusted fully. Not enough to not have contingency plans for him going rogue, but she had plans for anything. Including if she herself, would suddenly start to act up. With all the various mind issues one could get, magically and naturally, it were foolish not to.

As they got to the bridge soon enough after, she would follow the path ahead of the rest, and as expected, the guards would take notice of the odd group approaching, but seemed uncertain what to do, when Scarcity were shown in front of them. Except for one. A stallion in his high twenties. Green coat, yellow mane and tail, and as most Solar Guards, a pegasus. He would approach, smile on his face, and take off his helmet in greeting to the mare.

"Lady Scarcity. Full good it is to see you this fine day."

"And how delightful it is to see you too, Tangle Growth. Are your wound healing well dear?"

"It's doing mighty fine my lady. Thank you for asking. And hello to you too, sergeant."

He nodded towards Brick, who simply grunted in response. The former sergeant were not much of a talker, at the best of times. But his former squad knew what his grunts were, and a lot of the guards still referred to him by his old rank, even now, several years after he left the guard. In full honors too. Scarcity just gave him a better job offer, after they shared a tumultuous chain of events. One that ultimately drew him in more, than the rank and file of the guards.

"Who are your company, if I may ask?"

"Of course you may dear. These are some new friends of mine. Denizens of ancient times, uncovered during one of the recent digs I financed. Marvelous creations at first thought, yet found to be vessels for old souls. It's a lengthy tale, but the short of it is that I believed that simply talking of our fair city were not enough. They should come and experience it, and be welcomed to this beautiful country of ours. I can assure you that they are perfectly peaceful, and I gladly vouch for them."

"Never heard you to be anything but sound of mind, Lady Scarcity.

Welcome to our fair city then. Might I ask your names please?"

The guard seemed friendly, whilst the others were still somewhat uncertain. But they weren't hostile. More confused. Scarcity's endorsement did matter to them quite a bit, as she were a prominent member of Canterlot, and known to a fair bit of the population for various reasons. It were just odd to see creatures of stone here, even if the hues of color and looks of them, were rather lifelike. 

==============================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2024-07-21 at 1:07 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

As they walked, Solar pointed at points of interest related to Magma's upcoming job "In that direction, you can find the barracks, while not relevant for your duties at this moment, you may be visiting them now and then when we have someone who actually sleeps there." "And you are also free to use them if you have no other place to stay for now, you'll have full privacy, as I don't sleep there." "I live in that direction, my door is always open, be it in matters of work, or something else...you can also commission paintings from me if that's your thing." he said the last part in slightly humorous manner, but it was also true, he was a painter in his talent, and his free time was spend painting. 

"That shop sells paper and everything else you could ever need for paperwork, while it shouldn't be necessary, if you run out of anything you can get it here, I'll reimburse anything you may have to buy, as it is not your responsibility." 

"I will require a bit of time to see about a dwelling of my own, so I am full happy that the barracks are an option. It should hopefully not be something that takes a substantial amount of time however, so your paint brushes won't be collecting dust for too long.

As for paper, I will keep the requisite forms at hoof. I can imagine we may end up needing quite a bit of that, depending on the reports that have to be filled out. I tend to be rather thorough."

She would honestly enjoy greatly a piece of art for him. Good or bad, the scientist in her were fascinated by the idea of art from beyond their world. Though it were also something she would enjoy as a sliver of life to her eventual dwelling. She hadn't had much of that sort of thing for a while. Some stuff had been lost in center Zero. Others had been lost when she accidentally set them on fire. The rest were stored elsewhere, sealed up and secure away from her. It would come back when she had a home again, but for now, it were best to just keep such things at bay.

On 2024-07-21 at 1:07 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

There was a locked box next to the door, which was connected to a mail slot on the hallway, basically, a mailbox build into the structure, though this was not unique to this room, as due to the classified information that moved around, such was necessary. Decoration wise, there were some paintings here and there, landscapes mostly, some with sunset, or sunrise, snowy weather and so on, it was varied, but there was one thing common with them, none of them were in clear sunny feather, the sunset/sunrise one being closest to that, everything was picturing such a time or weather that the sun wasn't there. 

Other than that, it was a normal office, with everything one would expect from a military office. 

Solar would be gone for some minutes, before coming back with some papers; there were two different types, a work contract, which was normal in every way, though notable difference to one one would get in normal office, was mentions of extra pay for things like field work or danger. The other was a form where Magma would acknowledge and agree to the required confidentiality, and where she'd acknowledge the potential punishment for breaking this confidentiality. What came to pay and such, they were better than in average office, due to the nature of the work, but at the same time, Magma wouldn't find herself among the elites of Canterlot any time soon. There were several copies of each, all of which she'd need to sign.

If/when she would get things signed, Solar would take all but one copy each, and would welcome Magma to the unit with a shake of a hoof before leaving to bring the various copies in right places; he'd be gone for couple of minutes before coming back.

She were fascinated by the pictures she were seeing. Considering the lack of a particular element in them all, she would think these to be made by her new boss? She were no art critic, but to her at least, they looked great. Considering what snippets she had been told of his previous life too, the theme made a good deal of sense too, as either how things had looked where he came from, or to avoid depicting Celestia. Potentially out of concern that it might somehow beckon her? Or distaste over how she had become, in his world? Potentially he would rather just not have to look at her, nor let others see how bad it had become. Plenty of potential reasons, but she could simply just guess currently. Perhaps in time, she would understand.

She would admire these as he went to get the paperwork ready for her to sign. Seemed fairly standard, and not too different from the stuff in the lab. A little less mentions of potential death by biohazards, fauna, experimental breeds, etc. but still fairly recognizable, and reasonable to expect signatures on. Though she would read every page, before she signed anything. She had been raised that only a fool would sign something, without having read it, and it had made her avoid a few scams in her life to do so. Yes it were sometimes slow, regardless of her reading at a fairly high speed, but she would rather invest the extra time, and be certain that she didn't sign her soul away, or something less horrifying, yet equally as detrimental.

Pay, benefits, hazards, confidentiality, NDA's... Everything seemed to be in order, and the pay were honestly more than she expected. Working in Center Zero, had not exactly been great pay. Not for a researcher at her level anyway It made up for it with free food and lodging, but also somewhat tight boundaries, to maintain secrecy. So she hadn't an issue signing everything, and shake Solar's hoof, and then returning to admire the paintings, until he returned.

"I take it that you have painted these? I like the looks of them. They are well made, and adds a bit of personality to the office."

========================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Oh, I wasn't gonna do it here either. Knowing my luck, the local fauna is cursed too somehow, and will make my bones melt. Let's take a nice Long flight away from this place, and find some good hunting grounds. I could honestly do with some eel right about now, if I had the chance... You two ever tried shark? It's not bad honestly. Spices make it better though."

The thought of getting way away from here, were mighty appealing right about now. She felt like she wanted to sleep in a hole in the ground for a week, but she'd fly to the ends of Equestria, if that's what it took for them to be feeling better, and more safe from this dumb. Though hopefully not literally, as she'd probably crash from the skies at some point, if they actually went that far.

She'd spread her wings, and stretch the leathery appendages out a little. It felt nice to be outside, and have them able to be used once again honestly. She did not like confined spaces like that temple. It felt limiting, and more like a trap the longer you stayed in there. Which this one had been, but just, buildings in general, she needed some space to the walls, to feel comfy.

"*sigh* And I'll tell you this Ruby, I think you'd do well with a smaller version of yourself. It'd probably feel more comfortable, and you look a lot better this way, than you did as a pony. It felt such a shame to me, that you had to hide yourself, behind a soft skin like that. Dragons are very accepted these days, so you can come around like any pony does. I do, barring a few places. And those places suck anyway.

There's a lot to like about you Ruby. And those who can't understand that, can get punched in the face."

She'd wait to hear what inner plans they'd have, before they'd take off. She might have to lead the way, depending on what fancied their tastebuds, but she were happy to follow too. Long as it was away from this place, that she'd probably fly in a big circle around for the next few decades.

============================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"I can answer this! I'm the medical professional and all here, hehe.

So, I wasn't gonna bring that up yet. Y'know, wanted to wait until we had you settled in and everything, but a medical journal would be super helpful, in case something goes wrong. Either with you, or other kobolds. I don't think there's a lot of literature on you folks out and about. At least not in Equestria, so anything of note could help save lives, rather than the grizzly old method of trial and error.

Ideally I'd say to come in for a thorough check, with me and a couple of other doctors. We would ask some questions, run some tests, give you a full checkup, and ask in to how it differs from doing it with ponies, at most steps of the way. Then we'd have everything written down, pass it by you for errors or miscommunications, and then it will be published through the official medical board, which will have it distributed via medical journals around Equestria. Stuff like this gets read and studied by medical students, doctors, nurses, you name it. We're required to in most cases, when it comes to new information about non-equine races. Especially in these days, when Princess Twilight is causing us to connect with so many new and old, unfamiliar species.

If you don't want the exams, you could also have everything written down, we'll have it reworded to fit the more textbook, clinical style that is needed for the journal, and then I run some basic tests and examinations myself, just to verify. And don't worry about the tests. In either case it's small stuff like a small blood sample, a few lose hairs or scales, claw clippings, that sort. We won't give you a biopsy or the like. That sort is rarely done on ponies even, and non-ponies? Nearly unheard of.

...Actually now that I think about it, one of my fellow doctors had to do one on a dragon not too many days ago, on the dragonesses request. I wonder if that's the one in the forest..."

"I assume you mean Nerzhei? It could be. She told me she has some issues with migraines, when she arrived here a few weeks ago."

"That would fit what I heard. Huh... Hopefully the results are positive.

Anyway, that's the process for getting the knowledge out there, friends. The medical journal tends to also credit the authors monetarily for new stuff. It's not a lot granted, as it's mostly for the prestige and science that stuff is published, but it's better than nothing."

"If you want it to be only for the local area, I'm sure you can find some sort of agreement with the hospital too, but I will leave that up to you. Myself, I am simply happy to hear that you both have such entrepreneurial ideas. It is always good to see new business grow in our town, although of course, it will take some time. Would you like for me to prepare some baseline paperwork for permits, until such a time as you are ready to begin something?"

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

The occasional hunter would often wander back and forth to get a view of Omen sitting outside, perplexed at her strange behavior. They usually had something in their rules about heckling anyone out in the evening if they weren’t up to no good, but this instance gave them pause. Or rather, it gave them many, especially if it meant regularly circling from their patrol routes to the hut where the siblings lived. There wasn’t anything they could pin on Omen, though if a certain someone was out and about, he’d have made something up. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and the night went on with expected solace. 

It was not all hunters moving about in the early hours leading up to the sunrise, and eventually, Elder Ghilan and Xin were present to greet Omen. It was a little unnerving to see the weeds growing all over the Ki’nathar, but knowing the brand of oddity that was to be expected, the two kept their reservations to themselves. 

On 2024-07-23 at 7:28 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Hello. Are you here to find us?"

Her voice whispering in their minds, were gonna be a thing that had hopefully been brought up to the elders. Omen were quite literally unable to speak in the traditional sense, and it might not curry her favors. Then again, it seemed most so far in the town, had little to no issue with it, and focused on other things. The huntsmaster apprentice for instance, hadn't seemed like he even really noticed.

The range of this could also cause problems, if the elders were situated far from her. They might need a translator of sorts, but they likely had prepared things right for the meeting. Omen had been in this town for some time, and she didn't hide what she did. Except for any mention of Discord, and not opening gates in the open, lest she were made to.

“Good morning, Omen. We saw you were outside earlier and thought you were, uh… busy with something. But, the elder and I are here to check in with you, Sen, and Lin.”

“I, or rather, we came to speak with you regarding what you can expect on the way to meet with the elders. Is everyone up? May we come in?”

Not too long after, Sen and Lin walked up to the entrance to the hut, greeting their visitors and welcoming them inside. The largest space in the hut was a “common room” of a sort where everyone was expected to have their meals or discussions with themselves or guests. Huts normally didn’t separate the inner space into different rooms, but Sen’s and Lin’s father made it a point to have some privacy for everyone. Today, everyone would be in the common space to talk about what’s to come.

“Elder? What brings you here this morning?”

“As I have told Omen earlier, I wanted to let you know about what to expect on the way to the meeting with the other elders. On the way, we’ll be stopping at some forest outposts and spending the night at one. These areas are less guarded by village hunters, but I can assure you of their safety. It’ll be about two days’ worth of traveling before we get to our destination.” 

“I heard about those outposts, but I didn’t get a chance to stay in one, let alone guard it. But what’s this got to do with Xin? I thought it was just us going?”

“Because we normally should have the huntmaster’s second with us for security. However, after the recent... incident involving all of you, bringing him along would be troublesome. It would be better to bring someone you’d be more willing to have. Xin has the training despite no longer being an official hunter, and you are, at least, not hostile towards one other. It’ll be one less headache for all of us. I hope you will accommodate this arrangement. So, have you all begun with your preparations? If not, now’s a good time to ask your questions about what to bring and air out any concerns about the meeting.” 

He wouldn’t admit it just yet, but there was another reason Ghilan was present but he hoped he’d get this part settled first before getting to the main point of his visit. Everyone can stand to benefit from additional knowledge as part of their preparations. As for himself, having privacy was of utmost importance, but given the nature of the things he’d be discussing, doing so in the siblings’ home was the best way he could set things up. 

On 2024-07-23 at 7:28 AM, Blitz Boom said:

And while I do appreciate your eagerness to work, do try to remember not to rush yourselves too much. I have patience, and if you believe some degree of trust with the locals to be an advantage - which I would agree with, on many levels - then remember to spend some time to mingle. It would help if you were situated in the town proper really, as then they would see you on a regular basis, and most would find you more relatable as neighbors, than tourists.

I can arrange for something suitable. You would be surprised how much real estate I have in my portfolio. The Old Town is not an area that have historically sold in great numbers. And due to Canterlot wanting that part of town to be flourishing with life again, the buildings are somewhat cheap to acquire, due to certain incentives, with further ones if you can cause the houses to be lived in. Even if you were to spread far and wide around the country, and beyond, having a base as it were, and especially one at the capitol of one of the world's main powers, would be quite usable, would you not agree?

But one step at a time, yes? We will go and watch those later. First we should have you enter the city proper."

“I… Yes. It’s been a long time since we have had social interactions outside of those built upon contracts. Long years spent as disembodied spirits meant we interacted on necessity and on another’s terms. Being able to take control of one’s direction and actions is something that we have to work on again.” 

“But think about it, Legatus. Being able to see more of how the world’s changed is something we hoped to do. It was only a distant dream then, but now it’s real. Now we should take advantage of the possibilities opened up to us.”

The other golems nodded in agreement. Exploration was one of their old pipe dreams that didn’t think would come true. For now, it’ll all be small steps until they can get their bearings. What comes after is the next bridge they’ll cross when they reach it. 

Without further ado, the golems followed Scarcity into the city. The bridge was their first stop, and it certainly felt like an obstacle to the golems who needed to brush up on interactions outside of their rather limited social circles. To a certain degree, the five moved about as if they were rather confused, taking in the sights but often adjusting their direction back to Scarcity to keep themselves on the right path.

Once they’ve made it to what might be a security checkpoint, the golems decided to play this cool and collected. They had their designated talker who’d speak on behalf of the group, and he had been quietly rehearsing his response in his mind. Being able to adapt to any possible turn of events was something that could benefit them, but in the heat of the moment, knowing what to say is just as important a skill, even if the situation didn’t seem so threatening.

On 2024-07-23 at 7:28 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Who are your company, if I may ask?"

"Of course you may dear. These are some new friends of mine. Denizens of ancient times, uncovered during one of the recent digs I financed. Marvelous creations at first thought, yet found to be vessels for old souls. It's a lengthy tale, but the short of it is that I believed that simply talking of our fair city were not enough. They should come and experience it, and be welcomed to this beautiful country of ours. I can assure you that they are perfectly peaceful, and I gladly vouch for them."

"Never heard you to be anything but sound of mind, Lady Scarcity.

Welcome to our fair city then. Might I ask your names please?"

“Thank you for welcoming us. I am Scriniarii, and these are my fellows: Videntor, Magus, Legatus, and Vates. It is as Lady Scarcity says; she is showing us your city. We are looking forward to seeing it and how much the world has changed since our time. If I may ask, are there places in the city that you recommend we visit?” 

Scriniarii thought it might be best to approach this conversation by expressing interest in the city. After all, getting to know the location and what they could hope to see would help in acclimating to their new setting. If time permits, perhaps a simple stroll could help clear the golem scholars' minds and hopefully, they could find solace. At the very least, they wouldn't be wandering around town looking lost and confused.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
"Yes indeed, it often surprises others but my talent is actually painting." Solar confirmed, moving to his desk to stat moving the papers to the empty desk that was to be magma's desk now; it turned out there was some organization to the papers, as there were different colored paper trays they were in, or more accurately, on, as the piles went far beyond the walls of the trays "Not that I blame them. as my cutie mark is hidden under the metal; Painting just wasn't a viable career if I wanted such luxuries as food on my table." he was born to a privileged family yes, but things like wealth were...unreliable back home, and you had to keep up certain level of respect from certain individuals to keep it, which was only possible through providing something useful for the war. "Interestingly enough, my talent was part of why I ended up where I did, my previous commander chose me for the unit because, in her words, I had unique eyes." 

"I figured it would do some good to give this place some decorations, they also work as reminders for myself, for why I'm here." after moving everything from his desk, her walked to a cabinet and took out a pile of empty papers, and few papers with something on them "Everything you see is things I saw for the first time after arriving here; back home, there was only hot sunny desert, and occasionally when behind enemy lines, dark forest not too different from the Everfree forest." he chuckled "I'm probably the only creature in this world who enjoyed getting lost in a snow storm." while he seemed good spirit about it, it had hit him pretty hard when he had first realized just how much of nature was absent in his world, even things that were usually seen as negative, like storms, heavy rain, cold weather and so on, were to him new, sometimes awe inspiring things, as for his whole life he had only known heat and sand, with occasional humid dark forests of the Night-realm.

He then pointed at the different paper trays "High priority, these should always be done first and as fast as possible, normal priority, still important, but there is a list of things that are more important, and of course low priority, mainly things going to the archives, done when you have time." The amount of paper corresponded with priority, the high having least papers, and the low having the tallest pile. "These..." he pointed at the filled papers he had taken from the cabinet "...are formatting guides." "That cabinet has things like paper, oh, and..." he levitated few boxes next to the desk, they had things like 'Archive', 'Solar command', 'Night Command', 'Princesses', etc. written on them "...these are where you can put the paperwork that's ready." "You are of course free to make any changes to the organization methods you feel fit." from the way he spoke, it became apparent that he hadn't really prepared for new staff to appear so quickly "Ask me if I forgot to mention something." but it did allow his more...pony? side to come out a bit, as the uncertainty did break the cold, overly militaristic outer shell a bit. 

"And with that...welcome to the team; if you have any questions, be it about the work, about me, or anything else, feel free to ask, other than that, you can start working when you are ready. I'll gather some things and then brief you about the unit, what exactly we do, and bit on the history of my world, as it is relevant for understanding the information that goes through you."

---------------------------

Ruby had to stretch her wings a bit before she could take off, the truth was that the transforming had always had some effects on her health, mainly physical, as it strained her body, it was nothing serious, or permanent, but it did mean that longer she spend in the pony form in one go, more certain places in her body ached when she shed the limited form. "Maybe I should ask my more magical kin if they happen to know any better way to do this whole transforming thing." she responded half-thoughtfully "And while I'd be willing to fly to the sea for you to be able to get what you want, even if I'm not a fan of marine prey myself, I believe it is bit too far for Charir at his current state." Charir was lot better already, but it was clear that he was still bit scared, and he seemed to also be exhausted, which, Ruby was too in full honesty, it had been quite the draining experience.

She'd take off, and would wordlessly try to take the lead, which if let to happen, would have her leading them towards north, though she'd land before the forest ended, as it was the optimal place for prey. If Leviathan didn't insist otherwise for reason or another, there they would split up to hunt, but neither Charir nor Ruby would come back with prey, and instead they'd return with the prey already consumed, as evidenced by them not having cleaned themselves yet, which they'd proceed to do; this was a reminder of the fact that regardless of everything, they were still solitary creatures, something Ruby would also verbally express if Leviathan asked about it; They enjoyed Leviathan's company, Charir especially much, but when it came down to it, when they needed time to clear their heads, it was best done in peace. 

Though if Leviathan had brought her own prey with her, hoping to eat together, she wouldn't need to be alone still ,as it would take some moments for the two other dragons to clean themselves, and even after that, both of them would lay down, because as previously mentioned, they were exhausted.

------------

Sheska first addressed the answer to her question "I prefer writing things down myself, not because I'm directly against tests, but because they are simply unnecessary; I have studied generations worth of tests and trial and error, I know my kind better than you'd ever learn even if you cut me open and analyzed every part of me." "I of course understand confirming the information with whatever methods you have, and understand that some of the terminology I'll be using may need further explanation, but we'll get to that when it's relevant."  "Point being, I'll probably go with the second option." "I just hope my expertise won't be downplayed just because I haven't gone through whatever your culture deems as 'proper training'." "Wouldn't be the first time I'm called 'just a healer' by someone who can't do half the things I've been forced to do." 

There was hint of what could best be described as professional frustration in her voice, as the general distrust towards ponies cracked to the surface a bit again, and she would have probably broken into a rant of some sort if Trox didn't cut in with a gentle pat on his sister's shoulder "We'd appreciate if you could prepare them yes..." it was clear that he purposely interrupted his sister, "...though, if I may, what exactly would these permits be? Are they simple business permits, or is there some...artificial limits, to our chosen fields?" they already knew that Sheska wouldn't be able to work in the hospital due to not having gone through the proper channels to be called a doctor, but that they understood, however, if there were some legal limits for example in what Sheska would be allowed to do as a healer, then...well, they'd not be respecting those. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2024-07-28 at 2:22 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Interestingly enough, my talent was part of why I ended up where I did, my previous commander chose me for the unit because, in her words, I had unique eyes." 

"I figured it would do some good to give this place some decorations, they also work as reminders for myself, for why I'm here."

"I'm no art critic, or somepony who have much of a knowledge or fascination with art. But I do like a good view, and these are nicely done in my eyes. It adds personality, and something of a calming presence. A discernable eye for detail, is also something that I can appreciate, though this is from the perspective of a scientists. An artist of a different nature, in a matter of speaking."

Magma would smirk amused for a moment as she thought on this. There were some similarities, that might add to her enjoyment of this. The work, the details, the research into making sure it was done right, and getting the correct materials for it... There were a process that not just anyone could do. A science in its own way, and one more pleasant to look at when done, than most of what those as her tended to work on. Medicine or various fungi for instance, just didn't have the same effect as a nice painting for most beings.

On 2024-07-28 at 2:22 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Everything you see is things I saw for the first time after arriving here; back home, there was only hot sunny desert, and occasionally when behind enemy lines, dark forest not too different from the Everfree forest." he chuckled "I'm probably the only creature in this world who enjoyed getting lost in a snow storm."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I hear some of the locals in the Pinewoods enjoy just wandering and embracing nature, wherever they end up for the time. Then again, there are a lot of tales around them, due to how rarely they leave the frozen north, so I can't verify the accuracy."

There really weren't many of those who wandered around other places. Those who were acclimated through living their whole lives up there, found most other places too warm for their taste, and didn't like big cities. More outdoorsy types, that reveled in nature in all its brutal splendor, and found cities confining. Barring the Crystal Kingdom that were, as it were situated in their general area, and they had a good relationship with them. At least these days, after the change in leadership.

Stories went that the true locals there, were descendants of ponies exiled from the Crystal Kingdom, before the hibernation happened, but there were no official records of that, and other stories said it were the former guards of the city's border, who were locked out when it got separated from the rest of Equestria. Didn't really matter she supposed, but it still fascinated her on a slow day. Maybe someday, she should actually go there? Wasn't like she couldn't keep warm anymore after all, and long as she didn't appear to threaten the local spiders, she would be welcome enough, she would assume. Those at least she did know about, due to the oldest son of the Boom family's fascination with spiders like that. Some notes she had found, indicated his first breakthrough in stable AI had been modelled around one in fact.

A shame she hadn't seen it, but perhaps there were some parts left over that she could examine some day. For now, she would put her focus on the mess of a filing system in front of her. A fine enough baseline, but it really needed some reorganization to me more effective. As it stood right now, she didn't even know how he would find something if he needed to with any ease. Say if he needed the exact papers she were going to fill out here later. Would he be able to do that within 15 seconds? She didn't think so, and thus, this needed some change. Though the cabinet were usable at the least, so she could work with this. Things just had to be done better, and then she would eventually request a proper filing cabinet, to get everything sorted more appropriately. But all in due time. For now, she had what she needed to make things work. The rest would come, as she got to sorting through it all.

On 2024-07-28 at 2:22 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

He then pointed at the different paper trays "High priority, these should always be done first and as fast as possible, normal priority, still important, but there is a list of things that are more important, and of course low priority, mainly things going to the archives, done when you have time." The amount of paper corresponded with priority, the high having least papers, and the low having the tallest pile. "These..." he pointed at the filled papers he had taken from the cabinet "...are formatting guides." "That cabinet has things like paper, oh, and..." he levitated few boxes next to the desk, they had things like 'Archive', 'Solar command', 'Night Command', 'Princesses', etc. written on them "...these are where you can put the paperwork that's ready." "You are of course free to make any changes to the organization methods you feel fit." from the way he spoke, it became apparent that he hadn't really prepared for new staff to appear so quickly "Ask me if I forgot to mention something." but it did allow his more...pony? side to come out a bit, as the uncertainty did break the cold, overly militaristic outer shell a bit. 

"And with that...welcome to the team; if you have any questions, be it about the work, about me, or anything else, feel free to ask, other than that, you can start working when you are ready. I'll gather some things and then brief you about the unit, what exactly we do, and bit on the history of my world, as it is relevant for understanding the information that goes through you."

"I understand what is expected from me from my work here in the office, thank you. Straight ahead, I would inform you that the organization of the paperwork will change, as boxes are an improper storage option for paperwork. Though those I am informed that are to be sent elsewhere, will of course be put into proper containers for the inevitable transfer. I will offer some recommendations for cheap, yet effective things that makes for more secure, and proper storage for in house and outgoing materials.

I will begin sorting through things proper as soon as you depart for the presentation, but I would like to ask something, sir: As there are outgoing reports, I assume that we are to keep a copy on hoof in our storage, for the outgoing mail, yes? In case something goes wrong, or there comes a further update to a related topic further along? If so, I would like to ask if I should make two of each report, or if you prefer to mark the ones that are not simply for our eyes only? Keeping a proper paper trail is important, so I would assume the former, but I would appreciate knowing in advance, as it will also impact the way things get sorted."

While the office setting made Solar more equine and less robotic, it made Magma more professional oriented. Her stance, tone of voice, and even the look in her eyes, all showed that she took her duty here seriously, and were ready for work, soon as her superior officer would be on his way.

She'd mellow out in time, but she wanted to make a good impression on her first day of work, and thus the more jovial aspect to her would take a seat for a time, while she prepared to get cracking on what were a large amount of documents, where she had to make copies of several, if not all she assumed. She looked well forward to this.

==================================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2024-07-28 at 2:22 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

Ruby had to stretch her wings a bit before she could take off, the truth was that the transforming had always had some effects on her health, mainly physical, as it strained her body, it was nothing serious, or permanent, but it did mean that longer she spend in the pony form in one go, more certain places in her body ached when she shed the limited form. "Maybe I should ask my more magical kin if they happen to know any better way to do this whole transforming thing." she responded half-thoughtfully "And while I'd be willing to fly to the sea for you to be able to get what you want, even if I'm not a fan of marine prey myself, I believe it is bit too far for Charir at his current state." Charir was lot better already, but it was clear that he was still bit scared, and he seemed to also be exhausted, which, Ruby was too in full honesty, it had been quite the draining experience.

"Hey, there's plenty of fish in the area too. The sea's gonna still be there some other day, when we get around to it. Frankly I just wanted to get way off from here, but I think you're right. It's been a taxing day, we best just get some prey, and hunker down somewhere else for a bit. Whatever magic and mysteries we'll go for later, we can talk over once we've gotten some peace, yeah?"

Don't get her wrong. Leviathan were thrilled that Ruby were more open to talk to her magical counterparts in her homelands, about things like this magic she had employed so far, but it just didn't seem like the right time to go on a lengthy chatter about this. They were all hungry, and shaken up. Let them get some food, and clear their heads a bit. Maybe even get some rest. The more impactful things they could get to later, when the time was right for it. Be tonight, tomorrow, or next year. They had the time to sort through it.

On 2024-07-28 at 2:22 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

Though if Leviathan had brought her own prey with her, hoping to eat together, she wouldn't need to be alone still ,as it would take some moments for the two other dragons to clean themselves, and even after that, both of them would lay down, because as previously mentioned, they were exhausted.

Leviathan would show up later than the other two, grinning all over her face, with something halfway stuck in her mouth. Something that gave a big crunch once she bit into it proper, as she flapped a meter above ground and finished her mouthful of grub. She couldn't really say anything before she were done with it, so she'd chew it all down, then giggle slightly, with a big grin on her face.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, but I just had to go and capture a few more. Seriously, you gotta try this."

She'd hold up a half dozen regularly sized lobsters, cooked via magic and still steaming warm in her hands.

"The local river had a real bounty of these. Still plenty out there, to keep the population up, but ten won't be missed. Wanna try some? This stuff's some of the best food you can get your hands on inland."

She'd offer them both some, as she flew closer. If they weren't interested, that was fine. She could eat a few more, and save the rest for later. Even cooled down, they'd still taste good later, and she could heat them up a bit again. Right now she were just giddy that after how rotten this day had been, she had found something that brightened it up a little, and she wanted to share with those closest to her.

=========================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2024-07-28 at 2:22 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

Sheska first addressed the answer to her question "I prefer writing things down myself, not because I'm directly against tests, but because they are simply unnecessary; I have studied generations worth of tests and trial and error, I know my kind better than you'd ever learn even if you cut me open and analyzed every part of me." "I of course understand confirming the information with whatever methods you have, and understand that some of the terminology I'll be using may need further explanation, but we'll get to that when it's relevant."  "Point being, I'll probably go with the second option." "I just hope my expertise won't be downplayed just because I haven't gone through whatever your culture deems as 'proper training'." "Wouldn't be the first time I'm called 'just a healer' by someone who can't do half the things I've been forced to do." 

"Oh, some will always be dismissive and snooty. I get those too sometimes, since I were just a nurse, and only just became a doctor. You learn to tune out those beings eventually, and just focus on the majority who will listen, and find your input valuable.

For what it's worth, I promise to give it the full over medical jargon change when you're done, and make sure to credit you properly, with just me as an assistant in the footnotes. It'll help add some more eyes to it, when it's signed by a doctor, and I for one, won't judge you on a lack of expertise. You'd know more about kobolds than any of us, so I am more than happy to let your expertise speak for itself, and trust your written word. Gonna look forward to it for sure."

The mayor would go and rummage under her desk, and then pull up a notebook, and a pen, that she would put on the table. Though she didn't say anything yet, as the conversation moved along.

On 2024-07-28 at 2:22 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

There was hint of what could best be described as professional frustration in her voice, as the general distrust towards ponies cracked to the surface a bit again, and she would have probably broken into a rant of some sort if Trox didn't cut in with a gentle pat on his sister's shoulder "We'd appreciate if you could prepare them yes..." it was clear that he purposely interrupted his sister, "...though, if I may, what exactly would these permits be? Are they simple business permits, or is there some...artificial limits, to our chosen fields?" they already knew that Sheska wouldn't be able to work in the hospital due to not having gone through the proper channels to be called a doctor, but that they understood, however, if there were some legal limits for example in what Sheska would be allowed to do as a healer, then...well, they'd not be respecting those. 

"There's no limits per se, but there is paperwork to handle, to set up a proper shop in Ponyville. It avoids issues with some who just shows up, sells some tainted wares, and then scurries off with their ill gotten gains. One of several examples of what can happen, if things aren't done properly.

I assure you that you have nothing to worry about, long as everything's above board. Ponyville have a diverse range of professions in and around our town. From inventors and bakers, to miners and alchemists, among other things. Zecora is one of our more unusual vendors, but even her exotic craft is welcomed here. I just need some basic information when the time comes, and in the meantime I will have the paperwork sorted.

As for what you have to write, can I offer you a notebook? I keep some around, in case it is needed. Feel free to keep the pen too."

It were essentially all she had to say on things here, lest the two had more to bring up. Plenty to do in her line of work after all.

========================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2024-07-26 at 4:14 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Good morning, Omen. We saw you were outside earlier and thought you were, uh… busy with something. But, the elder and I are here to check in with you, Sen, and Lin.”

“I, or rather, we came to speak with you regarding what you can expect on the way to meet with the elders. Is everyone up? May we come in?”

The leaves and foliage that had blown on to her during the night, were falling off rapidly, now that Omen were moving, though her fur were still glistening with morning dew. It would take months of her standing still, before she would get covered with actual vines growing in her fur, not a single night. Though it had understandably still been weird to the guard. Technically she wasn't doing anything wrong, but she were just... Weird. Though that didn't mean she were dangerous, and if anyone tossed string at her, they would see so. Which would likely happen some day. She couldn't avoid that stuff forever in this town.

"No, I were not busy.

I do not understand things as easily as most does. So sometimes, I just stand and look into the sky, and think. Sometimes it helps me to understand things."

She had managed to fit a few things better into her head, but there were a lot to deal with here, so there were still a lot backed up, that she needed to think over some other time. But now she had said what it were she were doing, so perhaps that would be good, yes? She worked under the assumption that it were important for them to understand her, and know that she was not a dangerous creature. So telling them some of the stuff that was not on her banned list, were probably good, yes?

On 2024-07-26 at 4:14 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Elder? What brings you here this morning?”

“As I have told Omen earlier, I wanted to let you know about what to expect on the way to the meeting with the other elders. On the way, we’ll be stopping at some forest outposts and spending the night at one. These areas are less guarded by village hunters, but I can assure you of their safety. It’ll be about two days’ worth of traveling before we get to our destination.” 

“I heard about those outposts, but I didn’t get a chance to stay in one, let alone guard it. But what’s this got to do with Xin? I thought it was just us going?”

“Because we normally should have the huntmaster’s second with us for security. However, after the recent... incident involving all of you, bringing him along would be troublesome. It would be better to bring someone you’d be more willing to have. Xin has the training despite no longer being an official hunter, and you are, at least, not hostile towards one other. It’ll be one less headache for all of us. I hope you will accommodate this arrangement. So, have you all begun with your preparations? If not, now’s a good time to ask your questions about what to bring and air out any concerns about the meeting.” 

"I am not hostile. Mother says we are not allowed to hurt others, so I do not.

But it is good that he does not come. I told him to not hurt my friends. It is easier, when he is not there. I can go when you want."

He might try shooting an arrow at them or something, but she had her senses up, and if she felt something like that, a gate would get in front of it. She would not let him hurt her friends, and she would keep her promise if he tried. It would maybe not look good on her, but she did not think of that. They were her priority, not someone who tried to bully her. Beings like that, could go to the edge of town, and think about what they had done. Or the forest, if they still didn't listen.

"It sounds like the elders are far away. Do they live in a larger town than this?"

Omen did not have any concerns about this trip. She were more or less incapable of so, but she did have questions, yes. Most focusing around mundane, trivial stuff, such as the outposts, and the town. Perhaps the elders too, though they would see where the conversation would go, as they went to talk inside. She would let her friends speak first though, once they were inside, as she assumed what they asked, might answer things better. They would also think of the important things too. They were rather smart to her. Even if they used fewer longer words, than Rosa did.

 

On 2024-07-26 at 4:14 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“I… Yes. It’s been a long time since we have had social interactions outside of those built upon contracts. Long years spent as disembodied spirits meant we interacted on necessity and on another’s terms. Being able to take control of one’s direction and actions is something that we have to work on again.” 

“But think about it, Legatus. Being able to see more of how the world’s changed is something we hoped to do. It was only a distant dream then, but now it’s real. Now we should take advantage of the possibilities opened up to us.”

"I do agree that you would do well in not simply reading about the world, or hear of what is in it, but also from experiencing it. And as you say, you now have the freedom to wander and witness yourself, without having the need for one to carry you around, or agree to egregious terms. Certainly we have our dealings, and I hope to have more in the future, but you will find that barring a few notable exceptions, I do not aim to restrict the freedom of my associates. Only those few who have a need for a tight leash, as they would otherwise cause too many problems on their own. But you haven't shown a fascination for mayhem, so what would there be to worry of, hm?

Yet still, there is truth to the saying that travel is well, but home is best. Having a base you can always return to, or consider your point to rendezvous about what you have seen out there, would be beneficial to you."

Would she also be able to keep somewhat tabs on them? Yes, but she did not need them to own a house for that. Scarcity had a vast network of associates, and she hardly ever had a hard time finding someone, that she were looking for. Though she did commend those she did have difficulties with, when she eventually found them. It were delightful to her to need a bit of effort to get something as simple as a search done at times, and showed some potential in her targets, that influenced how she approached them.

On 2024-07-26 at 4:14 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Thank you for welcoming us. I am Scriniarii, and these are my fellows: Videntor, Magus, Legatus, and Vates. It is as Lady Scarcity says; she is showing us your city. We are looking forward to seeing it and how much the world has changed since our time. If I may ask, are there places in the city that you recommend we visit?” 

Scriniarii thought it might be best to approach this conversation by expressing interest in the city. After all, getting to know the location and what they could hope to see would help in acclimating to their new setting. If time permits, perhaps a simple stroll could help clear the golem scholars' minds and hopefully, they could find solace. At the very least, they wouldn't be wandering around town looking lost and confused.

"Well you sure seem like you're a nice bunch. Mighty fine meeting you, Scriniarii."

You heard stories when it came to golems. About them going on a rampage, being soulless husks with not a thread of decency of civility to them, how they were monsters, etc. This one? Was as Scarcity said, they were peaceful, and from the way they were acting right now, they seemed perfectly civil too. No reason to deny them entry really. Especially with who were vouching for them, and the others guards did seem to get more at ease, as the conversation proceeded.

"As for places to go, there's plenty. I'd normally recommend travelers to start at one of the fine eating places we got in town, but I think perhaps you wanna hear of things to see. I'd say the library is a great place, when you want to catch up on things that have happened, in a calm environment. Books from all over Equestria and beyond, gets sent there, to be read by curious minds, young and old.

There's also the theaters, with the best one in my opinion, not the Canterlot Opera. I'd go further in, and have a look at the Garden Lights theater. It's a smaller place, but it has a great charm, and the actors are excellent."

"Oh, I can only agree. It is a wonderful establishment, with an atmosphere that the larger opera can't capture as well."

She were honestly surprised that he knew of, and even recommended this theater. Most would simply mention the opera, as it were far more prominent, but it seemed they were dealing with a guard of some culture. What a delightful development. Perhaps she should have a closer eye on him at some point, and see if he had more surprises behind the jovial front.

In regards to the eateries, he just assumed since they were stone, that they did not need food. Which were actually correct, though what also were, were the fact that they still could eat it. It would just solely be for the pleasure and feeling of doing so, rather than for a bodily need for it. The Stone Matron wanted those inhabiting her golems, to feel as alive as were possible, so sensation, the ability to eat, and so forth, were things she painstakingly assured were part of it. She still couldn't make them rely on sleep, so most didn't do so, but they could rest if they worked on it. It just took effort, that normal creatures did not need to expend.

"Most certainly, Lady Scarcity. And speaking of atmosphere, there's also the museum. A place that I know our resident antique dealer here, would likely be the best to tell you more about, due to her contributions to it. As such, I won't spoil what you might see there, but it is worth a go.

There is also the clubs in town, if you want amore lively setting. The Three Rays, and Clinkerville are excellent for that, if you want something lively, without it being just filled with young folks. Though if that's the thing, the teens tends to hang out at Madre Haro. You can recognize it by the letters they use for their front, since they're all scavenged from placed that didn't last throughout the years.

But if you wanna know the best place? I would personally say to follow the road here, and get to the main street in Canterlot, and just have a nice, slow walk down it. It will show you a nice slice of what out fair city have to offer, and provide you with roads leading you to any other places from there. As well as show off the pride of our nation, the Canterlot Castle, in which resides our radiant princesses, Celestia and Luna.

Anything else I might be able to help you with, sir?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
"Everything there is outgoing. Thus the labels of the boxes." Solar explained "And what comes to copies, for what's currently there, I've already taken care of that; our copies are currently stored in my desk, as proper storage comes when the construction work is ready." "However in the future, if a copy is needed, it will be specifically mentioned, as we are only required to store what is relevant for our duties; the long term storage is the responsibility of the archive staff. " "Beyond that, we'll store the rough drafts of the reports for two weeks."  "We are to however keep log of reports we finish and send forward, so that in case of something going missing, responsibility can be properly tracked." he walked next to the papers and seemingly randomly took a paper from between a pile "There are some reports that need to be copied though, this being one example." "I have already made the necessary version for us, but as this will be the document releasing the responsibility of certain individuals from us to the guard as a whole, a copy is delivered to each branch of the guard." the certain individuals were the kobolds he mentioned earlier "You can find the amount of required copies from the end of the draft." he pointed at the last paragraph, which went somewhere along the lines of 'copy of this document will be delivered to...' listing the offices of the various commanders and of course the archive. He then put the paper in the exact same spot he took it from, it turned out he knew exactly where what was. 

When Magma would eventually get to look at the instruction on the proper formation and language of the reports, she'd find that a short mention of how many copies were made was part of the reports themselves, it may or may not have been normal in other environments, but it was a factor of information security, as knowing if a copy was missing, or finding an extra copy of something, could mean breach of security.

"And like stated, you are free to do any changes to the organization you wish, and request things for it, I am fully aware of my...unique organization, and apologize for the chaos." "The reason for it is because I don't have a need for as throughout physical organization, as for me, the organization happens here." he knocked on his head, and while that specific part of it was hidden under his mane, there was a distinct bang of metal; he wasn't slightly robotic just because of his upbringing, he was so because he was, simply put, part computer, if his artificial eyes hadn't made that obvious. 

Magma would have somewhere between 20 to 30 minutes to get started before Solar would visibly start getting ready for the briefing he mentioned, he would have been ready earlier, but he realized he hadn't brought everything needed, and had to leave to get it from home, so after going through his desk and some of the storage around it, he informed Magma that he'd be right back, before leaving the room once more. After he came back, he positioned himself such that Magma would have a good view of him; he seemed to have some pictures with him, painted of course, though only the top one would be visible, seeming to be some kind of a map. 

Of course, if Magma had any further questions, Solar would respond to those first.  

----------

Ruby declined Leviathan's offer, she wasn't big on marine life as she had said, nor did she really like her food cooked either; she was also still feeling bit queasy from earlier, and while she had hunted herself a decent meal, she didn't really enjoy it as much as she had hoped, and thus wasn't up for tasting new things either. Charir however, while also sharing Ruby's diet of non-seafood, did take Leviathan on the offer, mostly out of curiosity, because he had no idea what a lobster was, and while not hungry, per the already eaten meal, there was always some room for something small.

He didn't eat it right away though, as he first observed the creature and investigated its anatomy, spinning it around, poking it and so on, and in what was probably a surprise, Ruby seemed to explain to him what it was, of course Leviathan would have hard time understanding what was said, be it maybe some individual words they had gone through with her, but from the way Charir went between Ruby and the Lobster in his attention, it could be assumed she was talking about the lobster.

However, after few moments of this, he went to eat it, once again imitating leviathan somewhat, as after pondering about the correct way to eat it, he simply put it in his mouth, crushed it and swallowed; though since their mouths weren't evolved chewing in mind, but rather for ripping chunks off of pray, he less bit into it, and more just crushed it with his jaws, which if nothing else, was a showcase of their strength, considering his small size. From his reaction, it seemed that he somewhat liked it, he would have preferred it raw, and the taste didn't beat what he usually preferred, but it was decent, and the crunch was quite pleasant to him, reminded him of breaking bone...he may have been an angel compared to his sister, but he was still a predator, and wasn't entirely pure.

As Charir was getting ready to lay down for rest, and Ruby had already laid down, Ruby spoke to Leviathan "I was thinking, pony business is out for now, and I am frankly getting sick of curses; how do you feel about visit to our homelands." "We need to rest first of course, but with what happened in that temple, I'm not comfortable delaying getting rid of this..." she pointed at the amulet "...any longer than necessary." she kept a short pause "I'm going, I'm mainly asking if you'll join me, it is clear that I can't properly watch over Charir as long as I'm this vulnerable."  "I acknowledge that it may be for nothing, but it is currently the best option we have." "Besides, it could be a good vacation for Charir too, to help him forget...this." she knew that Charir probably wasn't happy about the idea of the homelands themselves, after all, he had just fled from there, but she was sure that the idea of meeting the more magical side of their kin would intrigue him.

-------------

Sheska's annoyance wasn't as much with her expertise being downplayed specifically, but rather the implication it had to kobold kind as a whole, she frankly didn't care what some random pony somewhere may think, as she was first and foremost worried about her own kind, they trusted her, and it was their right to get treatment based on their own kind's knowledge, rather than based on the opinions of some other species. Sure she got offended if someone spoke down on her skills, but she didn't get offended for herself, she got offended for all the healers she had learned from, the audacity of someone to even suggest that they had failed to teach her properly. Trox added a small comment on the topic "If anyone needs any more evidence, just tell them to look at me." he was still holding his hand on Sheska's shoulder "I'd bet my remaining limbs that were most here in similar circumstances as we were, I'd be dead." it took away Sheska's annoyance, but only because it was replaced with a painful memory, which did eventually lead to her calming down entirely, as Trox was right, she had saved him. 

Trox nodded to the mayors explanation, Sheska took the offered notebook and pen "Thanks, this will be a start." "Though I have one more question, what is 'above board'?" "I know what the saying means, but what does it mean in practice." "You see, part of the reason why we chose such a place to live, and why even this whole thing took some consideration, is because, well, we are not ponies." "Our culture is very different, be it in how we live, or how we do things like medical care, which is the relevant thing here." "Without making it any more complicated than needed; Healers can take a life." "Mercy killing is something socially, morally and medically accepted in our culture, we of course do everything to avoid it, but it is part of our duty; So if a fellow kobold needs it, I will provide." "Is that a problem?" It was a serious topic, so Sheska was equally serious when she asked it. Trox also added "In general, our morality is formed by our less individualistic nature, could that potentially cause issues?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-08-02 at 7:30 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"No, I were not busy.

I do not understand things as easily as most does. So sometimes, I just stand and look into the sky, and think. Sometimes it helps me to understand things."

“It seems your thinking got the other village hunters somewhat spooked. Don’t worry; I’ve spoken with them about how things may look strange when it comes to you, and I’ve assured them that you are not dangerous. As far as anyone is concerned, you are a member of our village and are afforded protection just like everyone else living among us.”

“Those unfamiliar with you will get accustomed to your strangeness, but we’ve all been there. Just give it some time.”

It was a reality that appeared to cycle back from beginning to end. Folks new to Omen would need some time to adjust to her and the things that make her unique. However, as long as they were accommodating to those, even those strange oddities would become normal. Xin and Elder Ghilan are examples of this for the village, who interact with the Ki’Nathar as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Perhaps others in and beyond the village will see things the way they do.

However, some wouldn’t see things that way. Ghilan is now aware of that and took the necessary steps to ensure no further trouble will come. Sadly, a certain someone wouldn’t see things that way and may try to worm his way back in. For now, the elder has staved off one potential source of trouble, even if he is overstepping his bounds as a leader to many. Things were calm and safe, and he could exercise his authority to maintain that civility.

On 2024-08-02 at 7:30 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"It sounds like the elders are far away. Do they live in a larger town than this?"

“The elders have their own villages and domains to run, so live are far away. Some are smaller villages, and a few are a little larger than ours. However, all elders will travel to a different place to meet, and it will happen in the largest settlement in the forest.”

“I assume that’s where we’re all headed too, right? What’s that place called?”

“It’s called Tara’syl Suledin, the place where strength endures. From old traditions, it was where our ancestors convened for the first time after they were cheated out of their promised place in the new world they’d helped build. Painful as it was, their resolve led them to a life of seclusion and isolationism, never wanting to relive that hurt again. All major decisions that will impact the lives of every longma are decided upon in that place.”

“Now, as far as packing essentials is concerned, you’ll need some food while traveling. Any items you’ll need to bring to the meeting with the elders will be necessary, though securing them will be necessary. You’ll never know what you’ll encounter at the outposts. I’ve heard stories of animals sneaking in and helping themselves to whatever visitors brought.”

“You must be joking, right? I thought those places were guarded.”

“Sometimes, unexpected things may happen, including small creatures sneaking in while you sleep. I fear your little companion may soon have competitors to his food supply if not secured well. In any case, packing light is recommended.” Ghilan glanced toward Shrimp, wondering about what might be interested in taking his food if given the chance. The siblings caught on to this, quietly acknowledging the possibility of it happening.

The largest settlement of the longma was about as big as a small city, truth be told, but the finer details of such a place were relatively unknown to even the elder. He hasn’t been there despite knowing how to go. Such was the knowledge passed down from elder to elder. That said, travel time means packing the essentials to sustain travel for more than a day, but amenities, however limited, are still available at the outposts.

On 2024-08-02 at 7:30 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"I do agree that you would do well in not simply reading about the world, or hear of what is in it, but also from experiencing it. And as you say, you now have the freedom to wander and witness yourself, without having the need for one to carry you around, or agree to egregious terms. Certainly we have our dealings, and I hope to have more in the future, but you will find that barring a few notable exceptions, I do not aim to restrict the freedom of my associates. Only those few who have a need for a tight leash, as they would otherwise cause too many problems on their own. But you haven't shown a fascination for mayhem, so what would there be to worry of, hm?

Yet still, there is truth to the saying that travel is well, but home is best. Having a base you can always return to, or consider your point to rendezvous about what you have seen out there, would be beneficial to you."

“That is commendable, and upholding the agreement we made is something to be expected. There is no need for us to do anything that will jeopardize a budding business relationship, even in this nascent stage. Even mayhem is reprehensible. The thought of it is sickening.”

“I suppose that attitude stemmed from our own experiences, all the way back to the extinction of our kind. The pursuit of power for selfish ends that day showed us that excesses can lead to a grisly end that will end up hurting others.”

Legatus examined the orb he held as the group walked, attempting to distance himself from the events that led to the golems being held within the orb in the first place. They knew what they signed up for, but it wouldn’t have been necessary. Some days, he wished it never happened, but some wishes are just meant to never come true.

On 2024-08-02 at 7:30 AM, Blitz Boom said:

There's also the theaters, with the best one in my opinion, not the Canterlot Opera. I'd go further in, and have a look at the Garden Lights theater. It's a smaller place, but it has a great charm, and the actors are excellent."

"Oh, I can only agree. It is a wonderful establishment, with an atmosphere that the larger opera can't capture as well."

She were honestly surprised that he knew of, and even recommended this theater. Most would simply mention the opera, as it were far more prominent, but it seemed they were dealing with a guard of some culture. What a delightful development. Perhaps she should have a closer eye on him at some point, and see if he had more surprises behind the jovial front.

“Ah, a patron of the arts! My fellows and I viewed similar performances at the amphitheaters. It was always a pleasure to see the tragedies and comedies on stage! I may not speak for my fellows but now that you mentioned it, I wonder if productions like Ultoris Tragoedia have survived.”

“It was especially true with the amphitheater’s construction and acoustics. Even if the most distant spectators can hear the actors as if they were in the frontmost seats.” 

The guardspony’s knowledge was impressive, and the golems were just as surprised as Scarcity with his knowledge of the theater and opera. Performing arts was a staple of entertainment long ago, and it was delightful knowing that said art continues to thrive in the current age. There was no doubt the stories told during such productions have changed or evolved, but having such meant that the dominant culture valued such, enough for it to develop and grow in its own way.

Even Tangle Growth’s other suggestions were worth seeing and exploring. The museum was definitely one of those that were in the golems’ thoughts. Likewise, the castle was just as interesting. It was the seat of power of the ruling monarchs. One could only wonder if they would be fortunate enough to have an audience with the princesses, but the golems didn’t get their hopes up. 

“Thank you for your suggestions. We will visit the places you’ve suggested and more. I believe it would be best to experience the city by exploring the things it has to offer at our pace. Perhaps you could answer one more question? What are Celestia and Luna like?”

It was an odd thing to ask about, at least as far as curiosity for the city goes. However, something about the perception of leaders or rulers piqued the golem’s interest. However, it was merely Scriniarii’s intent to learn about these monarchs and how different they may have become. Discord had changed since they last heard about him, and the same could be true for the two alicorns. 

[Sekel 693]

@Blitz Boom & @Cheerilee

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"Oh, uh, alright," Twilight said in a flustered tone at being suddenly removed from the premises. At the very least they had managed to finish eating before getting interrupted. Once the group had gotten beyond the town's boundaries and were on their way to the train station, the Alicorn cleared her throat. She had no idea what was happening with Macabre and would have very much liked to stick around but at the same time, she had to respect the customs of the townsfolk. "Remind me to give that place a review at some point ... since it doesn't seem like we have nowhere else to go, it's back to Ponyville for us, right?"

@Blitz Boom

DAZZLE GLEAM & DAWN STREAK

"What could have happened here?" Dawn thought out loud, helping Scarcity clear away some dust by beating her wings and sort of funnelling the loose debris towards her. "It's not like there was a battle or anything, right?"

"I wish I knew," Dazzle said, continuing to stare at the broken off scale that had been given to her. It was definitely blue, like her draconic father, and it bore signs of having been scratched off. She had managed to pull herself together and gotten out of her funk to try and be of some help to her new friends. "It could be a molted scale but something tells me this is different. Maybe ... I don't know," she ultimately sighed and watched the mounds slowly get cleared away. Over at Long Stare's corner, more bruised and scratched blue scales caught her attention underneath the mound she was working on.

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"Mainly some tips on being a budding queen," Aurora eventually admitted and swallowed. She wasn't sure how Cheshire would take it so her first question would be a wild one, one that might not sit well with other Changelings. Nevertheless, she knew what Onache thought of her so why not give Cheshire a shot too? Amidst her nervousness, she nodded a bit to make sure she was ready and spoke to Cheshire. "What ... uh ... I do have a question that I want to get out of the way. How do you feel about a surviving daughter of Queen Chrysalis?"

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE & ATZY

"This feels familiar," Atzy commented, sitting back while watching Enzo and Blitz fret over Karmic. She didn't want to blab her origins to Blitz and Molotov but whatever Karmic was seeing, it could go either way.

Karmic was gasping softly, her eyes glowing a pure white as she watched visions pass by her eyes. One was of Molotov falling off the pier they were going towards. Another was of fireworks exploding for no apparent reason and setting the pier on fire. Yet another was of the Gemling queen approaching Atzy while they watched fireworks and whisking her freshly made princess away. She didn't like any of them and yet more kept coming, with each rolling into one another. She couldn't explain what she was seeing because the words were catching in her throat and because she couldn't speak, she began to tear up and wet tracks rolled down each side of her face.

"Then again, she was nothing like the last time," Atzy said worriedly, now approaching Karmic to see if she could figure out how to snap her out of it.

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

 @Catpone Cerberus

On 2024-08-04 at 2:14 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Everything there is outgoing. Thus the labels of the boxes." Solar explained "And what comes to copies, for what's currently there, I've already taken care of that; our copies are currently stored in my desk, as proper storage comes when the construction work is ready." "However in the future, if a copy is needed, it will be specifically mentioned, as we are only required to store what is relevant for our duties; the long term storage is the responsibility of the archive staff. " "Beyond that, we'll store the rough drafts of the reports for two weeks."  "We are to however keep log of reports we finish and send forward, so that in case of something going missing, responsibility can be properly tracked." he walked next to the papers and seemingly randomly took a paper from between a pile "There are some reports that need to be copied though, this being one example." "I have already made the necessary version for us, but as this will be the document releasing the responsibility of certain individuals from us to the guard as a whole, a copy is delivered to each branch of the guard." the certain individuals were the kobolds he mentioned earlier "You can find the amount of required copies from the end of the draft."

"Good. That will make the organizing a good deal simpler. I will make sure to keep this in mind, and have the appropriate paperwork that we do need to keep, be ordered so it will be simple to find what papers might be required, at a later date."

It seemed they were going to need to store far less copies than she had anticipated then, with a lot of the work just being the monotonous copying of some papers to several of the guard branches. Mostly they would keep logs, and personnel files it sounded like. That would not require much space, so a single filing cabinet would suffice, when it came to her requests, instead of a larger construction. Though she did also need something for the various guards.

Considering Equestria had two royal guard branches, one semi-independent guard branch, as well as the police force in smaller areas, where guards were not as accessible, they would need four for that. Then there were the rough drafts, temporary files, anything that the O.M.I. would need, as another somewhat newly established law enforcement branch, and she assumed, a specific drawer for things meant to go directly to the princesses, and that would be another four.

There were technically also foreign affairs, but she assumed those would be sent to one of the former departments, though... There were the newer princess of Twilight Sparkle, who hadn't yet established a guard of her own, and had her own topics she tended to need to handle. Diplomatic ones mostly, far as she heard. And of course, the Crystal Kingdom. It were perhaps best to have a few drawers for that too, in case things needed to reach to them, as they governed separately too. Which would bring the number of drawers up to eleven. If she split their own files up into storage and personnel files, it would fit a standard 4x3 filing cabinet. Yes, that should do nicely.

She'd then need to request a somewhat notable amount of travel briefs for these, but standard, sealable ones should suffice for the vast majority of things, and were not too expensive in bulk. Though some more secure ones should be kept in storage too, for more sensitive things, of course.

Yes, she were getting a fairly good idea of how she wanted things done then, but she would work with what she had for the time being, and then have it prepared for when she had things set up more to her liking.

On 2024-08-04 at 2:14 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

Magma would have somewhere between 20 to 30 minutes to get started before Solar would visibly start getting ready for the briefing he mentioned, he would have been ready earlier, but he realized he hadn't brought everything needed, and had to leave to get it from home, so after going through his desk and some of the storage around it, he informed Magma that he'd be right back, before leaving the room once more. After he came back, he positioned himself such that Magma would have a good view of him; he seemed to have some pictures with him, painted of course, though only the top one would be visible, seeming to be some kind of a map. 

Of course, if Magma had any further questions, Solar would respond to those first.  

Magma hadn't said anything, when he had given his head a clang before he went off for a bit. He were clearly mechanical in some fashion, but she were no engineer. And even then, she got the feeling she wouldn't understand the fundamentals of what he were and could, as it were technology far ahead of their own. It were simpler to think of him as simply part metallic, but otherwise a pony, and don't try to get into further philosophical thoughts on how much pony he still were, if he were mostly machine, etc. It were non-constructive thoughts, and seemed unkind to pursue, considering he had just given her much appreciated work. Though she might ponder such things on dull, uneventful days, yet keep her thoughts to herself, lest it came up in conversation in some fashion.

When he would return, he'd find that Magma had been at work. She had taken all the files out and had them rearranged and catalogued, then sorted them into their specific place, then had prepared the files that needed to be worked on into sub-groups, based on date, and how many copies were needed. Though they were still in their order of importance. She wouldn't mess with that.

Her table were also tidied up, and she were collecting the files that still needed to be filed into neatly sorted piles, when he had shown up, and she would follow along to get her briefing. Though she would first focus on the new paintings he had also brought along. One seemed to have a painting on it? Rather peculiar, but she assumed this were something he needed for the briefing. Perhaps he had painted instructions, and required information? That would be unorthodox, but she would admit, that it did sound like a rather interesting spin on an old idea, as it were.

"Welcome back, sir. I am ready when you are."

============================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2024-08-04 at 2:14 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

However, after few moments of this, he went to eat it, once again imitating leviathan somewhat, as after pondering about the correct way to eat it, he simply put it in his mouth, crushed it and swallowed; though since their mouths weren't evolved chewing in mind, but rather for ripping chunks off of pray, he less bit into it, and more just crushed it with his jaws, which if nothing else, was a showcase of their strength, considering his small size. From his reaction, it seemed that he somewhat liked it, he would have preferred it raw, and the taste didn't beat what he usually preferred, but it was decent, and the crunch was quite pleasant to him, reminded him of breaking bone...he may have been an angel compared to his sister, but he was still a predator, and wasn't entirely pure.

While Leviathan were a civilized dragon, it didn't mean that she were going at these lobsters with a fork and small hammer, to gently pry the meat from the shell. No, she had strong jaws, teeth, and good stomach acid. She were eating the whole thing, crunching through it with great delight. Though she did start at the elbows ats it were, as the flesh were easy and soft to work with from there. Then go to the claws, and then cut off the thin little legs. It left a good chunk she could get into her mouth and just chomp through, bit by bit, without having to halt when she reached the elbows, or have a leg tickle her throat on the way down.

She probably should have tried bringing at least one back with her that were raw, in case they preferred that, but lobsters just tasted so much better when they had gotten warmed up proper. Which to griffons and such, usually meant a pot of water, and then plopping them right into it. She for one, were not keen on wasting time, so she just used magic instead. It was a good deal faster, albeit you had to be careful to not make the insides to ash. Took some trial and error, as well as proper control to get this done. Least for her.

She could handle one more after the one she had been gnawing on when she arrived, and as such, would eat with Charir. The rest of the lobsters would be put on ice. Literally, she'd smack them into a block of it. They could be heated up again after they'd thaw. It'd lose some taste, but it were still better than have them lay around and get stale. Waste of good meat that were.

On 2024-08-04 at 2:14 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

As Charir was getting ready to lay down for rest, and Ruby had already laid down, Ruby spoke to Leviathan "I was thinking, pony business is out for now, and I am frankly getting sick of curses; how do you feel about visit to our homelands." "We need to rest first of course, but with what happened in that temple, I'm not comfortable delaying getting rid of this..." she pointed at the amulet "...any longer than necessary." she kept a short pause "I'm going, I'm mainly asking if you'll join me, it is clear that I can't properly watch over Charir as long as I'm this vulnerable."  "I acknowledge that it may be for nothing, but it is currently the best option we have." "Besides, it could be a good vacation for Charir too, to help him forget...this." she knew that Charir probably wasn't happy about the idea of the homelands themselves, after all, he had just fled from there, but she was sure that the idea of meeting the more magical side of their kin would intrigue him.

"I'm game."

In fact, she were rather enthusiastic about it, and perked up a little as the conversation came up. Sure they had planned to go there eventually, but she assumed it were gonna be a few decades probably, before they got that far. Not just a few days. That it came up now were sudden, and yes, the place still sounded like a nightmare, but it still sounded better than what they had just been through, so she'd take it.

"Anything we outta bring along for the trip? Snacks? Bear carcasses? That sorta thing? You've told me some pretty disturbing things about your homelands, but isn't there any sort of neutral state you can have with others? If you always fought whoever wandered in on your turf, most would end up near extinct in a few centuries. Maybe decades. Isn't there some sort of way to traverse relatively safely? A tribute you can give for passage through, or something? I've done those things before. Works on trolls and corrupt officials, all the same. Though the trolls can swing harder, and have better humor."

Honestly, trolls weren't so bad, once you got to know them. Yes they were vicious barbarians, who had w ell earned reputation for breaking intruders and eating them, but they did have some degree of an honor system. Pay them the right tribute, show them respect, and that you weren't afraid of a fight, and they were fairly sociable. Also had the absolute best party brawls imaginable. She'd been down to the usage of one arm at the end of the last one, and needed three months to recuperate properly, and another two before she stopped finding bone splinters and gnarly hair in her scales, but it had been fun. She'd even been given a lift to where she could rest up properly, from the first troll who had managed to return the use of his limbs and jaw. They healed fast, so they played rough. Reminded her of the brawls she had with the other pups, when she were a whelp, just with less tail biting.

"*yawn* After we rest of course. I'm guessing I'll need what magic I can scrape together for when we get there. I'm just hoping there won't be any killings of kin."

Probably a naive hope, but it were all she had. She really didn't want to kill her own kin, even if they were more like cousins, she supposed. Though if it stood between doing that, or saving Charir and Ruby... She'd get over the death of some random, who didn't get the hint.

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@Catpone Cerberus

On 2024-08-04 at 2:14 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"If anyone needs any more evidence, just tell them to look at me." he was still holding his hand on Sheska's shoulder "I'd bet my remaining limbs that were most here in similar circumstances as we were, I'd be dead."

"Oh, I don't doubt that you know what you're talking about. But some of the higher rung folks in the big hospitals can get pretty stuck-up, with their snouts firmly planted in the sky. It's usually best to just ignore them, and focus on those who're willing to listen. Cause those sorts won't give a hoot, unless it's been written by somepony with twenty years of medical expertise, who is also head surgeon in some fancy hospital or the like. It can be pretty discouraging for some."

When she were a nurse, she knew for a fact that those sorts wouldn't even be bothered to push a paper from her to the trash can, if it landed on their table. And now, they still wouldn't, because what would some fresh doctor, out in the middle of a small'ish town know about real medicine?

And she knew that was the thought, because one of those sorts had come to a lecture to give a presentation, and were openly, arrogantly saying that the best they could aspire to, were to be working for their betters, and listen to them, as they knew better. The demeaning tone when somepony tried asking a question... Urgh. She had known two that had just flat out left the medical school because of that. Bad times.

On 2024-08-04 at 2:14 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

Trox nodded to the mayors explanation, Sheska took the offered notebook and pen "Thanks, this will be a start." "Though I have one more question, what is 'above board'?" "I know what the saying means, but what does it mean in practice." "You see, part of the reason why we chose such a place to live, and why even this whole thing took some consideration, is because, well, we are not ponies." "Our culture is very different, be it in how we live, or how we do things like medical care, which is the relevant thing here." "Without making it any more complicated than needed; Healers can take a life." "Mercy killing is something socially, morally and medically accepted in our culture, we of course do everything to avoid it, but it is part of our duty; So if a fellow kobold needs it, I will provide." "Is that a problem?" It was a serious topic, so Sheska was equally serious when she asked it. Trox also added "In general, our morality is formed by our less individualistic nature, could that potentially cause issues?"

"In broad terms, above board means that you don't scam and cause harm. So for instance, healers selling snake oil, that makes others worse. Or selling fake jewelry, whilst claiming it is not.

We have had some less than scrupulous beings, who tried to earn a quick bit with scams like this, and whilst cheap trinkets are one thing, stuff like medicine that causes more harm than it does good, is a more serious offense. In essence, I will just hear from here and there what is said, on if your potions helps, or what you tinker up falls apart near instantly- Things such as that. You are likely to see me around when you open shop, just looking over things too, but I won't interfere in your process. I'm sure there won't be problems, and as such you won't hear much from me, in an official manner.

However, your other... Activities...

Officially, I cannot condone it. A loss of life, even in grim circumstances, is not something that one in my position can simply stand behind. Unofficially however... I know from personal experience, what assistance in such a case can mean, and how it is a kindness that can be hard to understand.

I believe it best if we simply pretend like we never spoke of this, and whatever you and your kin does discretely, is none of my business."

It were one of those topics that never had a unified response to it, and she could well lose her position, if she openly went and condoned these kinds of things. Especially because of the morality, and questions of whatever it were forced or not. So while she supported the idea, it were best if she simply turned her back, and pretended to not know of this.

"Eeeergh... I'm a medical professional, I can't make a stand on this, and frankly I've never thought much on it, beyond the oath we have to take, to be a doctor. So... I'll just stay neutral on it. Besides, it's a cultural thing, and it's not our place to condemn or condone this sorta thing."

It might be socially acceptable in kobold society, but the concept of mercy killings were the sort of thing that ponies generally didn't like to talk openly about. It were illegal, but some places were just kinda turning their backs on it, and pretended they didn't see anything, as they could understand the need for the practice, under some circumstances. In Ponyville, this were more or less a topic that just wasn't brought up.

===================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2024-08-05 at 2:08 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“It seems your thinking got the other village hunters somewhat spooked. Don’t worry; I’ve spoken with them about how things may look strange when it comes to you, and I’ve assured them that you are not dangerous. As far as anyone is concerned, you are a member of our village and are afforded protection just like everyone else living among us.”

“Those unfamiliar with you will get accustomed to your strangeness, but we’ve all been there. Just give it some time.”

"If they are curious, they can come and ask me questions. It is only him that I do not answer, because he hurt my friends."

It was a dubious honor, being one of the few she didn't simply answer. But he had been after her friends, and would not be sorry for it. So until that changed, he were not worth giving answers. And that change would not come, until Sen and Lin said to her, that he were okay to give answers to. She knew that she were not able to tell herself, if he just said he were sorry, or meant it..

As for the other guards in town, if they wanted to come over and talk, they could. She might answer them, unless she thought it was something that the other one set them up for. So them asking about the young longma that had talked with the foals, were not something she should answer them. But if they wanted to know things about her, or what she were doing, she would probably answer. She had already been told what she shouldn't be telling others about, so the rest should be okay, yes?

On 2024-08-05 at 2:08 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Now, as far as packing essentials is concerned, you’ll need some food while traveling. Any items you’ll need to bring to the meeting with the elders will be necessary, though securing them will be necessary. You’ll never know what you’ll encounter at the outposts. I’ve heard stories of animals sneaking in and helping themselves to whatever visitors brought.”

“You must be joking, right? I thought those places were guarded.”

“Sometimes, unexpected things may happen, including small creatures sneaking in while you sleep. I fear your little companion may soon have competitors to his food supply if not secured well. In any case, packing light is recommended.” Ghilan glanced toward Shrimp, wondering about what might be interested in taking his food if given the chance. The siblings caught on to this, quietly acknowledging the possibility of it happening.

"That is okay. I have the bag with his food here."

Omen would be standing still as she spoke, and at the end, open her mouth. Her tongue now wrapped around the bag that they might have seen on the way up her throat. Dry as ever, and half-way filled with the dried fruits that Shrimp liked. She would take a few out, and swallow the bag again, before putting them up on her head. Shrimp weren't waking up, but he would grab at them with his small arms, and clutch them at his chest, like they were small plushies.

"I have four stomachs. I only use one to eat. So I can carry things in the others.

There are still some bits in the third. Do you want to see?"

She would tilt her head, looking questioning towards them. Considering everything, this might be a bit much, or if they were jaded to her weirdness by now, something that were shrug-worthy as *Yeah, sounds about right for Omen*. She did not know, nor think about it. The elders were supposed to learn about them, and Ghilan was an elder. So it made sense for her to show him things like this, yes?

If they declined, or things moved on, she would simply begin to ask another question. Though if they were curious, she'd regurgitate a few bits, balancing on her elongated tongue, for them to see first. They could take them if they wanted to.

"Are there water on the way there? Shrimp gets thirsty. If there is not, I can go to the lake when we need more."

Due to her gates, she honestly did not need to carry anything with her, and as such, were not in need of stashing up on things. Especially since she didn't need to eat or drink herself.

"If you need me to watch you when you sleep, so nothing comes and takes you away, I can do that too. I do not sleep. That is helpful, yes?"

The plans were likely set, guard duty rotations handled, etc. But she were a helpful sort. Came with being a born servant, without a master. She might decide for herself, but she were made to serve, and would be helpful if she could.

On 2024-08-05 at 2:08 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“That is commendable, and upholding the agreement we made is something to be expected. There is no need for us to do anything that will jeopardize a budding business relationship, even in this nascent stage. Even mayhem is reprehensible. The thought of it is sickening.”

“I suppose that attitude stemmed from our own experiences, all the way back to the extinction of our kind. The pursuit of power for selfish ends that day showed us that excesses can lead to a grisly end that will end up hurting others.”

Legatus examined the orb he held as the group walked, attempting to distance himself from the events that led to the golems being held within the orb in the first place. They knew what they signed up for, but it wouldn’t have been necessary. Some days, he wished it never happened, but some wishes are just meant to never come true.

"Yes, it can often cause you trouble to not approach things with a measure of restraint. Greed is so often the downfall of many a promising individual, and it can be a fine balance to wander. Yet it is best done, lest overindulgence, causes it all to fall apart. Or makes beings you do not want to be the focus off, find it the right time to settle the score.

If you need advise for it, do be free to ask. I consider myself well acquainted with this particular line, and could perhaps be of some help, if you find yourself questioning if you are in over your head."

Scarcity had once been visited by one of those karmic warriors. In her early years, when she had pushed to make a name for herself in the right circles, and she had been warned what would happen, were she to go too far. In fact, she were shown what it could bring, to be an issue, in the grand scheme of balance. Albeit brief, she understood the hint, and began to be more systematic. A lot of gain in her life, and more than she could realistically use herself in her lifetime, but she did much good in places too, and thus balanced out her presence in the world. She did not have the luxury of being one of those meant to be a purely evil, or purely good being, that balanced the scale heavily, in time of need. Nor would she want to be, as she were not some pawn to be unsealed from its box, when there were a need for it.

On 2024-08-05 at 2:08 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Ah, a patron of the arts! My fellows and I viewed similar performances at the amphitheaters. It was always a pleasure to see the tragedies and comedies on stage! I may not speak for my fellows but now that you mentioned it, I wonder if productions like Ultoris Tragoedia have survived.”

“It was especially true with the amphitheater’s construction and acoustics. Even if the most distant spectators can hear the actors as if they were in the frontmost seats.” 

"Gotta enjoy the fun things in life. Can't all be work and looking stoic, or things are gonna go mighty dull, rather fast.

Can't say I know that particular play, but you could do worse than to ask. Who knows? You might be able to give them a new show to put on. They'd love it, I'm sure."

Good to hear these were some cultured folks. Spoke well of them, that they could enjoy such things, though now he himself were also curious, about that play they mentioned. Wasn't something he could recall, but there were so many, and he would admit to not remembering the name of every last one. Might be he had seen it, and the name itself, slipped his mind. or it might be a long forgotten play, in which case they could end up giving them something spectacular to work with. Something that the other theaters, or the opera, had access to, would be a good deal of fun for them, and draw in more eyes to their establishment. It were doing well, don't get him wrong, but the more the better, y'know?

Folks like Scarcity helped a lot with their presence. She were a well liked mare of the upper crust of the city.  It were a great boon to have her come around and give her mark of approval to something. Not that they didn't earn it. He'd been there enough to know that they put their heart and soul into what they put on stage, and it definitely showed.

On 2024-08-05 at 2:08 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Thank you for your suggestions. We will visit the places you’ve suggested and more. I believe it would be best to experience the city by exploring the things it has to offer at our pace. Perhaps you could answer one more question? What are Celestia and Luna like?”

It was an odd thing to ask about, at least as far as curiosity for the city goes. However, something about the perception of leaders or rulers piqued the golem’s interest. However, it was merely Scriniarii’s intent to learn about these monarchs and how different they may have become. Discord had changed since they last heard about him, and the same could be true for the two alicorns. 

"The princesses are the sparkle in Equestria's eye.

Princess Celestia, the princess of the sun, were long our main ruler. She is a kind, patient mare, who leads our country with a warm presence, and rises the sun high above our heads every day. I think you will find her welcoming to your presence, and curious about what stories you might know. Most of the daily things that goes into running the kingdom, is done by subordinates, so she have time to mingle with the citizenry, if she so wishes.

Princess Luna, are the princess of night, and dreams. Celestia's younger sister, she is a very old fashioned, with manners and ways to talk, reminiscent of the olden times, when Equestria were still young. She doesn't show up much during the day, but she is a calming presence, that makes sure that Equestrians has pleasant dreams, and guides those in need, in what way she can, within the dreamscape.

Each of them are the final authority of the two royal guards. Celestia of us Solar Guards, and Luna of the Night Guards. There are also the Coastal Guard, but they are not under the authority of a royal.

In general, I think you would greatly enjoy meeting either princess. Perhaps you might even be lucky, and they wander the palace together, so you can meet them both. Or they are in some part of town, for some event or other."

"I do believe I know where she might be, as a matter of fact. Today is when Sweet Rolls unveils her new, award winning cake recipe, as I understand it. Which includes giving samples to the attendants."

"I heard about that. Celestia would definitely be present for that. Bit of a sweet tooth, our royal highness. It would give you a chance to see her a bit closer, and get an impression better than anything I could tell. Though I am not sure if Luna would be there. She's not know for being the biggest cake enthusiast."

"I feel fairly confident that Luna will be convinced to join the party. You know how Celestia does her best to make her more sociable, and this will be a notable event."

"Heh, I'll take your word for it, Lady Scarcity. Always been a good head on those shoulders."

"Thank you dearie. The compliment is appreciated."

Behind them, Brick would narrow his eyes, about a quarter of an inch, yet he didn't say a thing. Just kept his gaze on this guard, who were having a seemingly casual, jovial conversation with Scarcity.

"Will you be needing assistance in there, in some manner?"

"Oh, I'm sure we will be fine. I know this town as well as my own store by now. Yet of course, they may have more questions to ask."

"If so, just lemme know. Not a lot use this gate, so we got time to chatter with folks that do use it."

===================================================================

 

@Sekel @Cheerilee

"Probably for the best. Things were getting odd here, and if there's gonna be a commotion, it's better to have you somewhere else, that's safe."

"Krrkkrt. There is things we can do in your home too, pony. I wish to bring back words from you, to my queen. She is a kinder soul than her mother, so I think her amendable to approach you ponies in a different way than we have until now. Not that there are many options, as the maidens have left their temple. Without them, we lack worthy adversaries."

"Hmph. Considering what you manetids can get up to, if you are up to your own accord, maybe it would be best to try and reach out. I heard from the townsponies that you are good at making connections like this, your majesty."

Last didn't overly trust the manetids. They are violent, murderous creatures, and they both had countless generations behind them, of warriors that had killed and been killed by the other side. A seemingly endless conflict, that the eternal queen would never let end.

And yet, it were over now. The eternal queen were dead, the maidens gone- It were a new time for them, much as it were for Last and her fellows maidens. Perhaps this new queen of theirs, could be talked sense with. Though she'd remain vigilant, in case it would become a trap. One that Drone potentially didn't want to happen. She seemed okay. For a manetid anyway. but what her queen would do with an outstretched hoof, were hard to say. Maybe try and bite it. Maybe shake it. They would wait and see what would come of it, but it sounded as if Drone were planning on eventually making her way home, sometime relatively soon. And it were irritating Last slightly, that she could actually feel a tinge of sadness over that.

They would get out of town without issues, and the gates were closed by the skeletal guards soon after, and locked. It seemed that the tumultuous time for the town, were about to start. Though Stitch Wraith, who had followed them on their way, would go and press her face up against the gate, to say some last words.

"Hey! It were nice meeting you, princess. When this here's all over, I hope we'll have a chance to chatter again, though it'd probably have to be here. Folks get weirded out by my appearance when I leave town, heh. But hey, maybe I'll take a chance, and test how much you've influenced your town. It'd be a hoot.

Take care of yourself now. And don't worry, your friend's gonna be right as rain here. We might be practitioners of death, but we treasure life."

They would not have a hard time getting back to the thestral town, that were as quiet and sleepy as before. Though there were one thing that were different. A trio of breezies would be flapping about, chasing a small cotton ball, unaware of the approaching guests. If they wanted, they could simply just let them be, and get on their way to the train station. But if they wanted, they could strike up a conversation with them. Breezies were not exactly the most normal of beings to run into normally, though they had been told that there were a town of them in this vast forested area, somewhere. One of the three villages, that lived in here, not counting Sanctuary.

==================================================================

 

@Sekel

"Uhm... I'm not sure it's that simple."

"Ah, you found something, sister dearest?"

Stare would nod, and point them over to where she had been swiping away. More blue scales, in the condition that the last one had been in as well, hidden underneath the dust.

"Hmm. A single scale might well be molting, or getting stuck on a chair, but several, int he same area? Rather peculiar."

"I hope they weren't hurt."

"Now now, let us not jump to conclusions. It may well be nothing nefarious, and merely an accident. This is however, starting to get rather mysterious."

She would tap her chin, yet continue to funnel dust out, as she had thus far.

"Dazzle? If we do not find a definitely lead or answer, might I inquire if I could send someone out here with a more keen eye for things, to see what they can find? A few friends as it were, with tools suitable for finding well hidden clues.

This is your home, and as such, it seems only prudent to ask. I will also need to send those details of your parents appearance around a few that I know can spread the word too. There ight have been sightings over the years, that can be used to pinpoint a direction, or other places one could look for further clues."

"It won't be easy to get done."

"No, but I do wish to help. And you know how much I dislike not being able to solve something that I have set my mind to."

That were true. Scarcity were never one who enjoyed leaving things unfinished, or guessing on things, rather than find answers. She were one who liked knowing things, and be in control. Mysteries like this, fascinated her, and could sometimes become a nagging thought, in the back of her head, util she had found answers.

It were good it were turning out like this honestly. It meant there were a greater chance this were solved.

======================================================================

 

@Sekel

"So That's who your mother is, huh? I kinda wondered.

But you have nothing to fear here. We are not the sins of our mothers, or grandmothers for that matter. Trust me, I know. This here's a judgement free hive, for the most part. Besides, just look at you. You're nothing like her, and that's a real good start I'd say."

Cheshire would grin widely, as open and inviting as ever. What reason had she not to be after all? This were but the daughter of Chrysalis, not the evil queen herself. In fact, that just made it more important to be kind to her. Give her a good example, and great role models, so she'd turn out nothing like her mother.

"I mean, it's not like you're somepony with a shady story, like Queen Harrow, or Queen Carnage. Or Queen Onache, though the first two are worse."

"A strange compliment to be given."

"Oh, she's still plenty horrible. She twists the minds of her victims, and runs them dry. And the last time I saw her, I tried to be nice, and she said she'd break my neck if I dared speaking to her again. She's rather rude."

Onache would smirk slightly at that. Perhaps not a memory to be proud off, but it did amuse her somewhat to remember the situation. It would be... Interesting, once she would be made aware of who she were, but that would be for the future.

""Anyway, wanna come inside, and have a look? Might help calm your nerves to see what we're all about, and you can ask me more questions on the way.

=========================================================================

 

@Sekel

"Very well. Let us try and escalate things slightly then, shall we?"

Holding her up to his face, he would open up his maw. The slight spit on the sharp teeth, glistening in the sunlight. He could eat her here, but he wasn't a barbarian. Instead he'd simply just blow on her. Cat breath, at a stiff breeze, should rouse her out of things. If not, he'd try to slightly bonk her on the head with a claw. He knew seers were prone to be stuck in these modes, but if these were bad visions, which the tears indicated, it were best to cut that short. Preferably without knowing her out entirely, though if it seemed things threatened her life, via these visions, minor force would be taken to use.

*sigh* Could the elders see him now, care for a pony in more ways than simply as a servant that would take longer to replace than to help... They would scoff at the mere sight of him, for millennia to come.

Then again, let them. He doubted he'd be welcomed back home as it were anymore, and it were these small creatures, that had come and broken his chains, freeing him from his long prison, not his own kin. Sure it were not these ones specifically, but the sentiment remained, and after what they had been through, he were feeling slightly fond of these. No need to waste good companionship like that.

"If that doesn't work, try and dip her in water! I bet that would wake her right up."

"Eh, hard to say when it's a vision thing. Might need to cover her eyes or something.- This here's more wild magic than science, so I ain't sure what's gonna be coming off all this."

Enzo would keep the suggestions in mind, but for now, he would see what would happen with his attempts. If naught, then they may continue with the others, though with Molotov's first, as it seemed the least invasive, as it were. Though it certainly fit the energetic personally, of the peculiar little filly, to suggest what she had.

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-08-10 at 7:55 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"That is okay. I have the bag with his food here."

Omen would be standing still as she spoke, and at the end, open her mouth. Her tongue now wrapped around the bag that they might have seen on the way up her throat. Dry as ever, and half-way filled with the dried fruits that Shrimp liked. She would take a few out, and swallow the bag again, before putting them up on her head. Shrimp weren't waking up, but he would grab at them with his small arms, and clutch them at his chest, like they were small plushies.

"I have four stomachs. I only use one to eat. So I can carry things in the others.

There are still some bits in the third. Do you want to see?"

“I… uh… think I’ll take your word about having many stomachs, Omen, but thank you for sharing.”

“That’s something new…. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop thinking about that for a few nights, but… it’s something.”

Send and Lin chuckled at seeing Xin’s and Elder Ghilan’s reactions to that new tidbit of information Omen shared. It caught the siblings off-guard the first time they heard about it, but seeing how others reacted to it wouldn’t get old. No matter how strange some may see the Ki’Nathar, there was something under the surface that hinted that there was more. Though Omen’s brand of strangeness may lose its novelty over time, the first reaction was always a constant that could get the siblings to perk up.

But quickly enough, Ghilan would change the subject to bring the discussion back on track. It was rather nice to have things go well despite the distraction, but he getting used to Omen’s oddities a little more with each interaction. Knowing about her gates would make things a little easier for the group, as packing light could very well translate to packing nothing. Everything would be a stone’s throw away, though he wouldn’t advise it for Sen and Lin. They still need to do the necessary packing.

“Elder Ghilan has told me about this. We’ll be passing by a stream on the way to our destination, so drinking water should be readily available. That also applies to bathing in case we would need it. As for security while we sleep, the hunters stationed at the outpost would ensure we remain safe, as will I.”

“I’m sure you staying up and watching us while we sleep will be helpful, but there’s no need for you to do that.” Sen placed one claw over the Ki'nathar's shoulder, affirming Omen being a member of their village, something that folks in the village are slowly coming around to and accepting. ”You are a traveler, so there is no need to engage in the things that should be part of a hunter’s job.” 

“However, as you are Shrimp’s caretakers, I hope you will do what you can to make sure he’s behaved, all right?”

Sen and Lin nodded in agreement. Though Ghilan understood the question was mostly directed at Omen, seeing as the refraction was usually perched on her head, it seemed like the siblings were just as responsible. He was fairly certain that the little one would listen to them, so he wasn’t too concerned. However, there was another thing that left him very concerned.

“There is another reason why I am here. What were you thinking going into those ruins?! You know going in there is taboo!” The elder’s voice went from upbeat to serious, though remaining hushed, his emotions slowly shifted as his tone and speed lowered. As for the siblings, they hoped this would have been kept among themselves and Xin, but it seemed like that wasn’t the case. They could only remain silent out of guilt despite knowing it wasn’t even their idea to go in, if only because of the trouble they found themselves in after they explored one such ruin. 

On 2024-08-10 at 7:55 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"The princesses are the sparkle in Equestria's eye.

Princess Celestia, the princess of the sun, were long our main ruler. She is a kind, patient mare, who leads our country with a warm presence, and rises the sun high above our heads every day. I think you will find her welcoming to your presence, and curious about what stories you might know. Most of the daily things that goes into running the kingdom, is done by subordinates, so she have time to mingle with the citizenry, if she so wishes.

Princess Luna, are the princess of night, and dreams. Celestia's younger sister, she is a very old fashioned, with manners and ways to talk, reminiscent of the olden times, when Equestria were still young. She doesn't show up much during the day, but she is a calming presence, that makes sure that Equestrians has pleasant dreams, and guides those in need, in what way she can, within the dreamscape.

Each of them are the final authority of the two royal guards. Celestia of us Solar Guards, and Luna of the Night Guards. There are also the Coastal Guard, but they are not under the authority of a royal.

In general, I think you would greatly enjoy meeting either princess. Perhaps you might even be lucky, and they wander the palace together, so you can meet them both. Or they are in some part of town, for some event or other."

It was apparent that the princesses were well-liked, though that perception may be clouded if impressions were given by just one pony. However, the golems trusted that Celestia and Luna were the good individuals described to them. Luna’s powers involving dreams were an interesting finding. Frankly, rulers who involved themselves with the common folk were rare, but learning of this made them sound more endearing. Scriniarii got his answer, and that made him more than inclined to seek an audience with the princesses if time permits.

Then again, there may be a chance to see one of the princesses. Scriniarii felt the urge to divert from their task to attend the event Scarcity mentioned, but his fellow golems may not be as inclined… Perhaps it would be best to consider their actions and priorities for now.

“Celestia and Luna sound like a delightful pair of rulers, and it is good that they are looking after their subjects. To be honest, the way you described them could put some of those who wielded similar power in the past to shame.”

“The sisters as rulers makes for an idyllic image. They sound like they are perfect, and it, admittedly, makes me feel a little jealous of the fortune of having them as your rulers.”

“Ah, but I suppose we shouldn’t be keeping you from your duties, Tangle Growth. I believe the best way to see the city for what it has to offer is to immerse ourselves, and you have certainly painted an interesting and inviting picture. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I hope we can cross paths again.”

Though the golems would like to stick around and chat, there may be more to see in the town. Either that or Scarcity and the group may continue further into Canterlot with their current objective. Come to think of it, the task they set out for the day was to enter the city, and what comes after hasn’t been set in stone. It will be interesting to see what comes next. Maybe they might have a chance to see what kinds of productions are showing, if only in passing. 

Edited August 13 by EQ_Theta

[Blitz Boom 4,627]

@EQ_Theta

On 2024-08-13 at 2:40 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Elder Ghilan has told me about this. We’ll be passing by a stream on the way to our destination, so drinking water should be readily available. That also applies to bathing in case we would need it. As for security while we sleep, the hunters stationed at the outpost would ensure we remain safe, as will I.”

“I’m sure you staying up and watching us while we sleep will be helpful, but there’s no need for you to do that.” Sen placed one claw over the Ki'nathar's shoulder, affirming Omen being a member of their village, something that folks in the village are slowly coming around to and accepting. ”You are a traveler, so there is no need to engage in the things that should be part of a hunter’s job.” 

“However, as you are Shrimp’s caretakers, I hope you will do what you can to make sure he’s behaved, all right?”

Omen would look down on his claw, as it were placed on her shoulder, and raised a hoof up, thinking she were supposed to do the same to him. Like this were a kind of longma greeting perhaps, that she should try and partake in, but she would halt in her calm, slow action, if she were told not to, or he took a step back.

"I will keep watch over Shrimp, but I can keep watch over you too. I can not sleep, and Mother says it is important to help. That we can learn from it."

Shrimp would need some oversight, but he had been mostly nice. A bit of hissing, and there were the one time when he had glitter-breathed someone, but he had been annoying the refraction more than once, and it could be argued that he deserved it.  If it got to that again, Omen would make sure to put a gate in front of that this time, but it should be fine, long as they didn't annoy Shrimp. He seemed to tolerate things well enough, long as you didn't intrude on his personal place. Which were maybe something she should say actually.

"Shrimp does not like when strangers poke him. But you smell like longma. I think it will be okay."

On 2024-08-13 at 2:40 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“There is another reason why I am here. What were you thinking going into those ruins?! You know going in there is taboo!” The elder’s voice went from upbeat to serious, though remaining hushed, his emotions slowly shifted as his tone and speed lowered. As for the siblings, they hoped this would have been kept among themselves and Xin, but it seemed like that wasn’t the case. They could only remain silent out of guilt despite knowing it wasn’t even their idea to go in, if only because of the trouble they found themselves in after they explored one such ruin. 

"Why was it taboo, when you did not know what was there? Or did you know? Then why not tell anyone?"

She tilted her head to the left, looking more perplexed than her normally neutral expression, as something occurred to her.

"...How did you know we were there?"

The elder himself probably wouldn't go there, if it was bad for their kind, so... Did Xin tell him? Why? She were sure there were a reason, but she did not understand it currently. He were a strange one to try and understand the motives off sometimes.

On 2024-08-13 at 2:40 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Celestia and Luna sound like a delightful pair of rulers, and it is good that they are looking after their subjects. To be honest, the way you described them could put some of those who wielded similar power in the past to shame.”

“The sisters as rulers makes for an idyllic image. They sound like they are perfect, and it, admittedly, makes me feel a little jealous of the fortune of having them as your rulers.”

“Ah, but I suppose we shouldn’t be keeping you from your duties, Tangle Growth. I believe the best way to see the city for what it has to offer is to immerse ourselves, and you have certainly painted an interesting and inviting picture. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I hope we can cross paths again.”

"I wouldn't trade our princesses for anypony else. They ain't perfect, but they're the closest to it that I can think of, and Celestia especially, have made sure to grow Equestria into the beautiful country it is today. I hope you'll get to meet them sooner, rather than later. I think you'll find them welcoming, and a rather awe-inspiring sight, I might add.

But you're best off to see, rather than hear. Been a pleasure talking with you, sir. I hope you'll find our capitol to your liking, and wish you the best of luck ahead. If you need a friendly face, come around sometimes. We got some free time here, and I don't mind trading stories."

Tangle would salute them as they were on their way, As would the other guards. Something that Scarcity would respond to, with a cordial bow, and Brick would with a grunt, and a nod of the head towards Tangle. It took a lot to get proper approval from the former sergeant, and some talking weren't enough. But he would accept that he did his job properly, and acknowledge that. Though Tangle did seem to tense a slight amount, as he also saw a warning in Brick's eyes. Feint, but if you had been around him, or heard enough stories, you started to pick up on the small signs here and there.

"It was much appreciated. Take care for now."

They would be able to walk into Canterlot properly now, and frankly, they were going to get some eyes. Though perhaps not as many as they might have expected. From a distance, it could be hard to tell they were made of stone, due to the detail and color variation in their form, to make them look more alive. Most who looked, were either close enough to notice, or were curious about their form. Some others looked towards Scarcity, sending their regards, waves, or a raised hoof and a smile in her direction. And she responded kindly back herself. Words, nods, a small bow- Whatever the situation called for, and depending on who she were dealing with. In one case, it were a simple, slow wink of her eyes, towards a noblemare who seemed to gaze with a neutral glance, for a bit longer than the rest around the town.

Scarcity had everything handled well, when it came to how she were shown to others. The degree of sociability she needed, were expected to have, who to use it towards, what their preferred way of having that done, etc. Dealing with the populace were an artform, and one she were skilled in, she might add. To the point where there were time, when she even questioned herself, if she could pinpoint who she truly were anymore, beneath all the glamour and carefully crafted persona.

But then things happened at times, that got her out of that zone. Something that made her feel certain of what were real. Among them, being when she were spending time with her daughter. A filly whom she adored above all else, and those in her dark circles knew that. Which were why they made sure to keep distance between themselves and her. Sure the majority of the black market regulars, simply didn't much care for causing direct, deliberate harm to kids int he first place, but more than that, they knew that if they even tried, they would become the sole focus of not only Scarcity's attention, but boundless wrath.

There were enough stories and examples to make even Le Perinne not want to be laser-focused on like that. Sure Scarcity could not physically or magically harm the elder dragon, but she knew how to arrange things in such a way, that the karmic servants that could deal with her, and whom the dragoness had thus far kept at bay, would make her their top priority. Among other troublesome things, though they had enough of a professional degree of respect for one another, to have little interest in harming the other. It were bad for business, and they frankly both had better things to do.

As for those sending glances towards the golems... It were vastly mere curiosity, with no hostility. A few seemed concerned, and scurried along. Likely the sort who knew about golems, and could tell they were, but it seemed they attracted vastly more curiosity, by the few who did look. Though most would simply not notice, and move on. They had their own things to do, and couldn't be expected to keep track of every little thing that happened in town after all. Unless there were screaming, or a bunch of guards descending, they had to assume everything were fine. And a few guards did approach, but seeing Scarcity lead them on, and telling them what varied things they were seeing, between greeting others, made them halt, and not approach, but simply leave instead. All but one, but it were a good question if the various golems even noticed him. A pony standing in shadows at various points during their travel, looking right at them. Not approaching, not talking, yet definitely keeping an eye on them.

The town itself had a lot of wonder to gaze upon though, so it could hardly be expected them to notice everything, like a pony that didn't show much of himself, glaring at them with a single, white-iris eye. The Old Town were near, if they went down that path, but going to the capitol proper, were an explosion of sights. bakers, libraries, tinkerers, miners, large office buildings, stands selling a myriad of various things in the markets, the beautiful fountains, clothing shops, woodworks- So much, and more to come, as they wandered through the jewel of Equestria.

(I can't think of specifics right now, but feel free to insert specific places and such if you wish, and we take it from there)

"- and that is Marble Mane's new boutique. A delightfully bubbly mare, with access to such exquisite marble and porcelain, I simply had to have her install certain things of her creation in my own residency. The flooring is simply marvelous in the bathrooms now.

What think you of our fair town thus far? A little overwhelming perhaps? Less than you had thought? Be not shy to speak in honest of what you think, when you gaze around Canterlot."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,599]

@Blitz Boom
Solar started with the unit related info "As stated before, this unit was formed to combat threats from mainly my world, but, the more official mission is 'Identifying, investigating and countering anomalies beyond common means.'" "Other worlds is not a new concept for this world, the princesses have been aware of their existence from the start, in fact, travel between them, and the use of them to counter threats is older than the Equestria as you know it." "Banishing of the sirens being one of more public examples." "However, until my arrival, any potential threats caused by these worlds were reasonably simple to combat, as they tend to be tied to the same rules as this one, and thus same means work against them as against comparable local threats." "But my world, while still tied to the same rules of reality, is unique in a way not foreseen by the princesses; harmony failed, and so, evil has evolved beyond the means of this world." "That is where this unit comes in, I am to build a framework for combating threats from places like my world, or in other word, we are to expect the unexpected, prepare for what we don't know." 

"Obviously, our mission is paradoxical, we are to be ready for something we cannot prepare for by its nature, because if something is well known enough to have commonly known counters, it is no longer our responsibility, so, more realistically, this unit is less about active elimination of threats, and more about quickly analyzing them to find a way to combat them." "That is partly why I was chosen to be the commander of the first generation of this unit; while my knowledge is of course a part of it, my history as the head of information in my unit back home, fits the information focused mission of this unit." "This makes you an important asset for the unit, as most information will be going through you way or another, and that is also why you need to understand the exact nature of that information, thus a history lesson." 

He took the first painting; the paintings were just the cloth, making them take less space than paintings usually did; the first painting was a map, the shape of the land was same as Equestria, but that was where the similarity ended "Our history is mostly same to yours, up until certain point." "At some point before the first appearance of Nightmare moon is where things change, though that part of our history is truly known only by the sisters; However, what is known, is that several Alicorns were created, the means, the reason, or the exact time is not known, but I know it happened, because some of them are on the list of 'kill at sight' still to this day." "The most important deviation however, is with Nightmare moon, as she was never banished to the moon, instead, due to reasons only known to the two sisters, Celestia too was corrupted, becoming a being known simply as 'Daybreaker'" "The reason why this part of our history is relatively unknown, is because anyone besides the two sisters who was there to see it, was either killed by them, or disappeared; and as you can probably imagine, the sisters have an interest to paint their own version of history"

"Next thousand or so years is relatively unimportant, the two sisters went to a war, which is still going on to this day: this is what has lead to our current technological and magical development, as all resources were put to try to out advance the other side; to put it shortly, we quickly moved from arrows and swords to ballistic weapons using explosive power to launch the projectiles, to ranged weaponry weaponizing magic and other kinds of energy; there was a time when our weapons were so long ranged, that you could bomb the opposing side without leaving your room." "However, as defenses too evolved, long range weaponry became obsolete, and we went back to hooves on the ground, close quarter combat; which lead to the current style of combat, utilizing super soldiers like myself, and short distance drones." 

"Notable events during this time were; The invasion of the dragonlands, the extermination of changelings, assimilation of the various minority species into the empire, and the invasion and enslavement of kobolds." "It is also notable that beings like Discord, while known to exist, have not been seen since the sisters' corruption." "It is also important to note that the sisters are not what you think when you hear Nightmare moon; the sisters from my world, have amassed so much power that to call them alicorns is an insult; they are, in short, as close to gods as they could ever be, beings of magic broken out of the limits of their physical forms." 

"This map is what our Equestria looks like now..." he gave the map for Magma to look at from closer, the landscape was quite different, The eastern part of the land was a giant desert, the west was a giant forest, and the frozen north had been replaced with crystals "The Solar Empire, the Eastern half of Equestria, my home, is a never ending desert with a never ending day, and its ruler, Empress Daybreaker, is as cruel as her sun is." "It is an empire of pride and greed, golden buildings, golden soldiers..." he gestured at himself "...and the empress's greatness is to be worshiped." "Luckily she has some sense in her, and protecting yourself from the sun is allowed, until of course you are being punished for something." "Under the cursed sun, thirst is least of your worries." 

"West, The Realm of the Night, or as often called, The night realm, is of course Nightmare Moons domain; overseen by the cursed moon and its darkness, it is a thick, endlessly dark forest, similar, yet worse version of what you call The Everfree forest." "And while the humid cool environment is more pleasant, the nightmarish creatures and literal nightmares inhabiting it balance it out." "Nightmare moon, as her name suggests, rules with fear, and thus is quite sadistic ruler." "To put it shortly, While Solar Empire is cruel physically, in the Night realm, you suffer lot more psychologically."  "The two sisters are very similar, yet also the opposites." 

"In the North, is what we call The Crystal North; During the corruption of the sisters, it was the Crystal Empire, ruled by Sombra, but one day the area was taken over by dark magic and Crystals rivaling the mountains in size, and while most likely caused by Sombra, it is not known what his or his Empire's fate is, as nobody has ever gone in or come out; even the sisters with their immense power have not been able to break through." 

"Outside Equestria, there is what is simply known as The United, it is an alliance on paper, an Empire in reality, that was formed to defend against potential Equestrian attack, I do not know much about them, but what I do know, is that unlike us, their military research focused on biological modification over technological one, which we will get to when I'll go through the known potential threats." 

 

"As I have mentioned, my world is unstable, thus the reason why I'm even here, the situation is not fully understood, but since the corruption of sisters, rips in reality have been appearing, pulling things away and sending them who knows where; it is certain that this is not the only world where things end up, because if it was, you'd been aware of us long before I ever arrived." "What is known, is that it has been getting worse, what started as tiny magical anomalies, has become such that it is taking whole buildings with it, thus the believe that the world will eventually collapse entirely, as with this level of increase, in some centuries, the rifts will be big enough to swallow Equestria whole. And while I'm not expert on the topic, I don't believe reality can withstand that" 

"This is important to know, as with bigger and bigger things get taken, those bigger things also have a risk to end up here." "The situation also has an effect that is by all means good for every other world, as at the time of it starting, all existing connections to other worlds ceased, and regardless of lot of effort, no stable portals have been created since; this is good for us, as it is in the interest of the sisters to flee the collapsing world to other worlds, but as they are unable to create portals allowing it, as they either collapse or lead to dangerous locations, they cannot spread their corruption beyond our world." 
"As stated, reasons for all of this is not understood, but some theories link it back to a landmass that seemed to have disappeared from existence around the time of the princesses corruption, the theory is that the magical surges from something like that could cause the world to start breaking apart." 

"Do you have any comments or questions at this point? Before I go to known appearances and the nature of the potential threats?" 

---------------------

"It is a long flight there, around 10 hours or so I believe, so extra weight is not suggested." "There is few islands hour or so away from the land, so we can stop there for a meal and rest, before entering the homelands, as it is best to minimize the time we spend in the homelands themselves." Ruby stated, she herself would be fine without breaks, but for the two smaller dragons, especially Charir, it would be dangerous to just fly straight there, as he/they would be way too exhausted to protect themselves properly. "For tribute, we are individuals, and the variation is too great for it to be a good course of action, while some could be bribed, and some may let you through because they just don't care enough, others would not care for gifts, and some could even take it as an insult." "The reason we haven't killed each other to extinction, is the same as why we kill each other in the first place." "We are solitary creatures who hate everyone else, so we avoid each other, and while some of course are more blood thirsty than others, most don't seek out fights for sake of fighting, rather, there is usually only three cases where we get involved with each other, need for more territory, greed for treasure, or reproduction." 

"Our pride, which is also a reason for our violence, is also a form of protection, as most, unlike our mother, have principles, we don't go after the young, small, sick, injured, or pregnant; not from some moral reasoning, but pride, for going after those with no chance against you, is cowardice, and only weaklings need to fight those weaker than themselves." 

"What comes to safe travel, as I mentioned before, we will keep to the southern edge of the land, which is populated by the younger population, we are talking everything from Charir's size to about half my size, so they should be mostly smart enough to not try anything." "And if they do try something...remember that I used to be on the top." "I may have not been much use in the temple, but the Homelands are my turf, as some say." She may have been quite literally thrown to the bottom, but it didn't change the fact that she had climbed up by herself becoming the top of her generation for a while, and while she didn't wish to harm the young dragons any more than Leviathan did, she was more than willing to show why she used to be respected. "And it is good to collect your magic yes, not to fight, but flee, and more importantly, get Charir out of there if necessary." "And try to not let the young age of some of them to fool you, they are not like Charir, Charir lost, the ones we'll meet, are the ones who won." It was bit mean to say about Charir, but it was true, he lost, she lost, they were the ones who didn't make it in the homelands.

--------------

"Doctors obsessed with titles sound like a danger for patients." Trox concluded, sure some kobold healers could be prideful too, but they got their pride from teaching others, rather than their own excellence, in fact, from Trox's experience, kobold healers were almost irritatingly modest, even for a kobold, hay, he had to constantly remind his own sister that she had saved his life. 

 

"So I guess we'll see if it becomes relevant." Sheska remarked "Because let's be realistic, we live in middle of a forest, near a pony settlement, with no permanent kobold residents anywhere near; the likelihood that a kobold in such a state will make it to me alive in the first place, is close to zero." "And if I can be blunt, the wording of the question was purposeful, we didn't ask for permissions, only if it would be a problem." They were not Equestrian citizens, not in this world at least, and they would not make themselves such, as they refused to acknowledge any pony authority over themselves, not anymore; this whole address thing, it was just for convenience.  "But I believe that's everything right? We need to head to the tavern to Inform Chega that she can stop paying for our room." 

 

[EQ_Theta 459]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-08-16 at 6:57 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"I will keep watch over Shrimp, but I can keep watch over you too. I can not sleep, and Mother says it is important to help. That we can learn from it."

Shrimp would need some oversight, but he had been mostly nice. A bit of hissing, and there were the one time when he had glitter-breathed someone, but he had been annoying the refraction more than once, and it could be argued that he deserved it.  If it got to that again, Omen would make sure to put a gate in front of that this time, but it should be fine, long as they didn't annoy Shrimp. He seemed to tolerate things well enough, long as you didn't intrude on his personal place. Which were maybe something she should say actually.

"Shrimp does not like when strangers poke him. But you smell like longma. I think it will be okay."

“Well, I suppose I can’t stop you from doing something to pass the time. The nights may be long if speaking with the hunters stationed at the outpost isn’t happening. Then again, if Shrimp prefers to sleep, there may be a small space we could find that he could use for himself.”

“It’s unconventional, but the outpost may have some resources we could use to have something ready. Just let us know what you’ll need, and if it can be prepared, we’ll do it.” 

Sen didn’t appear to be perplexed at Omen repeating his actions back at him. Though it wasn’t necessary to reciprocate, it wasn’t harmful either for her either. Frankly, it was more reassuring, but he might explain the gesture and what it means at a later time. It was just something he picked up during exile when he saw others doing it, and its meaning, if correct, was something he surmised from observing it enough times. 

As for the outposts, the living quarters weren’t going to be anything like the roomier huts, but there would be enough for a small traveling party that is often used by the hunters on rotating shifts. Places like these were small enough to avoid taking up too much in the way of resources but had to be spacious enough to be used for travelers. Protection would be up to the hunters stationed there. If some space for Shrimp was required, perhaps a small cubbyhole could be provided.

On 2024-08-16 at 6:57 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Why was it taboo, when you did not know what was there? Or did you know? Then why not tell anyone?"

She tilted her head to the left, looking more perplexed than her normally neutral expression, as something occurred to her.

"...How did you know we were there?"

Unfortunately, things weren’t so positive now that Elder Ghilan started with an outburst. In some ways, he thought the siblings would be better at conducting themselves now that they were back home. Either that or he may not have done enough to curb their more curious tendencies after having spent years away from their beliefs. However it may be, there wasn’t time to second-guess. He knew they were in the ruins, and that may spell trouble for more than just them. 

“Your friend told me you were all there. Look, Omen, you may not have been told but going into the ruins is something we avoid. According to our beliefs, those places are relics and domains of creatures that aren’t longma, and going into them may draw their ire or curses. You know us to be isolationists who don’t want anything to do with other creatures, and that belief extends to the ruins. It may sound strange or silly to you, but I ask that you understand where we’re coming from and why I am angry.” 

Ghilan came into this conversation expecting pushback of some kind given how odd and possibly silly the longma’s beliefs are, but they came to be for a reason. If anything, he only hoped that Sen, Lin, or Omen would respect it. Xin saw the siblings’ piercing glances aimed right at him, but he immediately stepped between them and the elder. 

“I know I said we should keep what happened to ourselves, but it may be better to have someone who may be more understanding if we came clean.” 

“And it is evident that you’re wrong! Why did you think it would turn out differently?!” 

“Because he trusts you? Or because he’s bending the rules a lot more than expected of any elder in his position? He’s already risking a lot by letting you back into the village.” 

“Regardless of what you all think, I’ve been told about what happened in there. As if there was enough to worry about, now there’s a chance the longma are targeted by creatures who want to enslave us. Omen, seeing as you are possibly the most level-headed and honest among everyone in here, are we in immediate danger or should we expect those creatures to come for us soon?” 

On 2024-08-16 at 6:57 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"I wouldn't trade our princesses for anypony else. They ain't perfect, but they're the closest to it that I can think of, and Celestia especially, have made sure to grow Equestria into the beautiful country it is today. I hope you'll get to meet them sooner, rather than later. I think you'll find them welcoming, and a rather awe-inspiring sight, I might add.

But you're best off to see, rather than hear. Been a pleasure talking with you, sir. I hope you'll find our capitol to your liking, and wish you the best of luck ahead. If you need a friendly face, come around sometimes. We got some free time here, and I don't mind trading stories."

It was quite unexpected to see guards like Tangle Growth being as open to sharing information like that. In olden times from long lost ages, guards didn’t speak as liberally, especially while at their posts. They knew their role and took it seriously, eschewing other tasks in favor of the one they were expected to do. Now, it feels rather refreshing despite how different the times are back then. Perhaps it may be related to Celestia and Luna’s rule; there was a certain level of ease they exuded that still commands respect from everyone. It was admirable among other things that made the populace look fondly on them. 

“Many thanks and a good day to you, Tangle Growth. We’ll keep what you said in mind.”

The golems smiled and bowed, their stature and form mimicking the bow they picked up from the longma siblings, before moving on and into the city. As they walked past the city’s walls and into the myriad of shops, there was a distinct ivory and gold color scheme throughout the place, a drastic difference from the other locales they had seen in the past. Though even some previous civilizations they’ve come into contact with have had identical color palettes, this one stood out. 

Odd looks and gazes were common, but this was about expected as part of their new reality. When others stared, the golems would smile and give an assuring nod that they weren’t dangerous. They may have an air of strangeness to them, but it wasn’t something that would get them down. For the most part, it did the job, and it put a lot of the locals’ fears and uncertainties to rest. Even the various guards that approached them had their concerns assuaged, as Scarcity’s presence added another welcomed layer of assurance. 

As they went through the town, the various boutiques and cafes were the standouts among the different businesses in operation. Canterlot Carousel, Silver Frame Art Gallery, and Restaurant Row were just a few of the places that caught the golems’ eyes within the main town itself. It was a far cry from the agorá of their times when stalls were mostly makeshift tables covered under tents; now the shopkeepers had properties and spaces for themselves. Even those who sold food had their own fully-fledged stores to prepare them instead of carting their products from somewhere else. 

On 2024-08-16 at 6:57 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"- and that is Marble Mane's new boutique. A delightfully bubbly mare, with access to such exquisite marble and porcelain, I simply had to have her install certain things of her creation in my own residency. The flooring is simply marvelous in the bathrooms now.

What think you of our fair town thus far? A little overwhelming perhaps? Less than you had thought? Be not shy to speak in honest of what you think, when you gaze around Canterlot."

“Overwhelming is one way to put it, Lady Scarcity. Daunting is also another word that comes to mind, but it is an interesting place nonetheless.” 

“Aside from the theater and library, I definitely would like to see the museum. And also the Silver Frame Art Gallery, if time permits. It would be interesting to see how art has evolved through the styles and mediums of various creators. Come to think of it, even the way you described Marble Mane’s boutique made it sound like they are artists in their own right; it is impressive.”

“Coming from a time when cities limited their opulence to the main buildings that wanted to draw visitors’ attention, seeing the entirety of a city’s buildings reflect that reputation is new and unexpected. An entire street dedicated to restaurants and another for clothing and boutiques were some things I didn’t think were possible. Does modern pony culture take pride in cuisine and fashion? I admit, past cultures didn’t place much emphasis on these things compared to now, but times are different.”