open Casual stroll

[Rising Dusk 26,015]

@Blitz Boom

It had become a mix of amusement and approval every time Dusk was able to witness the large spider bot interact with the ponies she has today.  Using what limited appendages and movements she had available was impressive enough as she shook hooves with Cloud Dust.  It was also about this time that Dusk was starting to realize he would forever be know as Interloper while everypony else at least got their names close.  Even though most the ponies in the community just called him Detective since his promotion.  Huh, now that he thought about it, his actual name was hardly used anymore.  Oh well, he chuckled.

"She says hello and that she comes in peace," Dusk translated and produced a heartful giggle from the orange maned pegasus. 

"She also wishes for you not to put her in the crusher," he told Cloud Dust, but then blinked on why he so, considering he could have just told her that wasn't going to happen.

"She's funny.  Why would we do that?" Cloud Dust giggled and lowered her hoof after a moment of hoof shaking with the spider bot.  The thought of doing so seemed rather absurd, as none of the ponies in the yard would even dream of putting such a pretty chassis in the crusher, or furnace, or any scrap pile really.

 "She may have been raised with the wrong impression of ponies," he replied with a shrug.  Not that he could blame her, considering how nervous Molotov was about pitchfork wielding ponies.

"Hehe, that's just silly," she giggled again.  "Well, I better get back to work.  It was nice to meet your Felicia.  And nice to see you again Detective," giving the pair a smile as she turned about and returned to her work with the crusher.  Rising Dusk returned the smile and waved farewell to the pegasus.  Turning just in time to watch Rusty rejoin them.

"Well my dears, that concludes our tour.  I need to get back to work myself," the older mare expressed and turned to face the spider bot.  "I hope you enjoyed your visit Felicia.  Please feel free to visit again."

 

[Sekel 685]

@FanOfManyShows

WATTS MECHANO

"You want to try something different rather than ask her out," Watts replied in a dumbfounded tone as she looked over her shoulder at the mare. She recognised her from earlier talking with that weird paper creature and looked back at Enigma. "You're really an enigma, Zealous," she smirked.

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE/ATZY

This shut Atzy up for a few brief seconds before she could formulate any thoughts. She ignored everything Karmic tried to do to get control back and shook herself. Maybe some diplomacy would help her case instead of snarling the minute she got control? She cleared her throat and tried the diplomatic approach. "My, my. You are an angry fellow when provoked. I'll have to be careful about that in the future. As for my 'deal' with Karmic, it's more of a wait and see approach. Neither of us wanted to end up like this, yet when this mare opened up a chest, I latched on and didn't let go. Does that satisfy you, you big kitty cat?"

@Blitz Boom

AURORA LIGHTS

"I hardly think I matter at this point," Aurora mumbled, noticing everything going on from her own cell close to Onache but spoke loud enough for Onache to react. "Maybe it would be best if I join you? But you said you didn't want weaklings. That's probably why Queen Chrysalis threw me out in the first place."

@Blitz Boom, @EQ_Theta, @Seamore Sandwich, @Moonlit, @Storm Shine, @Lucid_Nightlight, @BloodDrops

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"That is quite a backstory," Twilight coughed, trying to compose herself. She didn't expect to be given a quick history lesson and made sure to file the information about this Sphinx for later. "What kind of riddle did you give Ahuizotl and this Pharoah?"

[Blitz Boom 4,422]

@Lucid_Nightlight @Dji @Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @Storm Shine @EQ_Theta @BloodDrops

"So you are saying that we need to share love with one another, and you that I need to let go of my hatred towards Thorax? I assumed it were something more substantial when I saw the others change."

She had been there when the transformation happened, standing in shadows some way from them, and slipping away before she got noticed, as she were sure that nopony there would be forgiving about the presence of the Slaver Queen herself anymore. Especially the ponies, and they had Discord in tow. Soon as his magic was usable again, she would be a goner if she attempted anything.

Happy were about to respond to this, but halted, as he saw his queen turn towards the changeling who he honestly hadn't really taken notice of before now, because she had been so quiet. Kinda creepy honestly, but whatever floated her boat.

"I accept only the strong, because my hive cannot be too large, or it will be impossible to feed. If I go through this process, I may be more lenient on my requirements."

It was hard for her to speak kindly, after all the years doing exactly the opposite of that, but it were meant as a somewhat nice gesture. If she were able to get through the process, and no longer needed to worry about how her hive would need to be fed, she could expand without that being an issue. She would simply need enough land to get through it, as well as water and perhaps, considering them no longer needing love as a food source, some kind of vegetation. All things which this pumpkin-headed one could assist with, and which she seemed eager to do. A fortunate situation.

While she addressed this, Happy found his turn to speak.

"I don't hate ponies, and honestly, Thorax's kind were almost more disturbing than anything to me. I can let go. What about you, my queen?"

They locked eyes again, and he fell back into those predatory, searching eyes once more.

"Fine. or the sake of my hive, I will... Regret, what I felt towards Thorax and his kind. He have sacrificed more for his people than I gave him credit for."

You could almost her that it hurt her to say this, but the words were sincere. She couldn't lie here after all, and being faced with the facts, she were forced to admit to herself that as much as it hurt her pride, Thorax had been a better leader than her, since he were willing to make himself into something that had caught the ire of almost every other hive, all to ensure his subjects had a better life than what he had seen before that. And in the end, had she not always said that the only thing that truly mattered for a ruler, that they did was best for their subjects? No matter what?

It was a tough one to swallow, and doubly so when she had to factor in that it were ponies that had caused her to face it, so she needed a little time to actually process things and set her pride aside, which were the point where Anomaly leaned in towards Lucid with a huge grin on her face.

"That's an awesome idea! I'll take care of snacks and you get the party streamers, little hats and that sort of thing?"

A party sounded like a great way to celebrate everything. Deals made, lives changes, and more color-bugs. If that wasn't worth celebrating she wasn't entirely sure what today were. Lucid's half-draconequus status? Okay, they may have to celebrate that later. Kind of a birthday of sorts.

Meanwhile, Happy went over and cleared his throat to get his queens attention. Back in the human world he would've gone with poking her on the shoulder, but the last time he had tried to do that to Onache, she had nearly broken his hand, and this was a way more tense situation for her.

"Ready, my queen?"

"...How exactly are we to *share love?*"

Bad jokes from his side had actually gotten him a broken hand, so Happy refrained from making an obvious one right now.

"I don't know. I guess just try to push what we have towards one another like a Care Bear?"

"Which is what?"

"Sorry, human joke. But it kinda feels like just taking the lunchy feeling of love, relax your mind, and just push it ou-"

Happy tried to go through the motion of how he though this was supposed to happen as he talked, and before he knew it, he truly did give off something akin to what he mentioned before, and before he knew it were encapsulated in a floating, shining cocoon. Onache had... Difficulties simply letting go too, but seeing her most loyal drone - and quite literally her only remaining hive-member - going through that for her sake, seemed to help on things, though the excess of love she fired off were far greater than Happy's. He usually ate passively and were sated enough, whilst Onache had gorged not long before entering the desert.

(Insert shiny scene where cocoon breaks from the show, just with Onache instead of Thorax) (Aurora can join in on this too, if wanted)

The cocoon shattered and for the first time she could recall, Onache felt oddly whole, as she floated towards the ground, and felt the dry desert air drift past her.

"Awh, you look so much nicer now. Here, look in the mirror."

Anomaly got a mirror and held it out in front of Onache, who had to blink a few times at what exactly she were looking at.

"...I have chest fluff?"

For some reason, no matter what else she saw in the bizarre imagery, this was the thing that stuck out to her the most. She had always had hair before, but that had been in her mane and tail, which had now become more membranous instead. How in the world she had this though, when Thorax had not had a single strain on him though, puzzled her. Were this a thing for queens? Or her hive specifically?

She got the answer a few seconds later when Happy burst out, sporting the same chest fur as he fell into the sand. Grace had never been his strong side honestly, yet he seemed like he were actually nauseous over what had just taken place. A likely reaction to his role as still being a human changeling. He were now varying stages of green and yellow, with the same eyes as Onache, sporting similar, but bigger wings, and had a pair of what seemed like goat horns on his head,a long with the regular one, yet he didn't have membranes. He kept his long hair and tail, although now, it were less blue and more towards a lighter pink color. He also still had claws, though she had expected those to soften somewhat into something more akin to the hands he had before she turned him.

"Awh, you two are just adorable. Do you need anything? Huh? Huh?"

Anomaly jumped up and sown, shaking the mirror that Onache had returned to staring back into after glancing towards Happy, while the mixture in question were looking at his now whole, lighter hands, and trying to get used to this queasy feeling he had after getting through this.

"Urgh, I need a drink... Preferably a scotch."

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Honestly, I have no idea why there's a desert all of a sudden in the forest. Wasn't there the last time I was taking a stroll. Pretty weird, huh?

And let's see... Guess there's a whole bunch of new towns around from when you were around, but the princesses are still ruling, and the biggest environmental change I can think off right now, is down south of Equestria. You know that giant desert that used to be there? About 600 years ago, that suddenly bloomed into a lush jungle overnight. Nopony have any idea what that's all about, but it sure is weird. I was thinking about taking a trip there one day to figure out what's happening in there. Gotta save up some vacation days first though."

Berry scratched her head a little as they went on towards the river that should still be running a little further from here, trying to think of anything really impressive that had gone on that she hadn't mentioned yet. She had several of what she would define as major things, but she needed her charts to really prove her point about how it was all connected, otherwise she was just gonna sound crazy. Couldn't have that, or she'd perhaps get sent to the loonie bin again, and once had been plenty enough for her.

"Tirek escaped from Tartarus once, so that was kinda crazy. Oh, and Discord is back. I guess that one counts as being major. He got loose from his statue and wrecked some havoc, then got turned to stone again and now he's free and reformed. Pretty weird, but he's an overall fine enough guy now. Still a huge troll though."

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@Catpone Cerberus

"Around 10-20 times a year. You'd be surprised how many of these things that're around and have long since been stripped mostly clean by regular looters, adventurers, and archaeologists. A few we have to reopen, but we stay busy even without that."

"Of course, considering you can feel out valuables, perhaps we should revisit a good deal of them again later on, if we are to continue working together. There may be things trapped in the walls that have eluded everypony's eyes."

"Spot on there. It's not our main business to go around and scavenge already opened sites, but when we're in the areas, we don't see an issue in having a glance and seeing what might be lurking within. Far more fun to find one that's pristine though, that's where the real bits are.

Remember, we're not talking about your average pony grave here. These are places where ponies and other beings throughout history got buried with the valuables, or some cultists were there, etc. Few times it also turns out to be prisons for some kind of malignant entity, but this one ain't fresh, so we don't have to worry about that. Fair warning though, if you see anything with locks and seals on it, try not to touch it. It might be some kind of disease or curse."

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@EQ_Theta

"So Scarcity is a friend? Okay."

It sounded a lot like it. They helped her, she helped them, it sounded like friendship. She wasn't sure what the talk about influence meant, but it seemed important, so this Scarcity had to be an important friend. Omen would like to meet her at some point. or perhaps she had, and she had forgotten? Not everypony she had interacted with had given her their names, and others had fallen out of her mind because it wasn't much of a meeting to begin with. Just a few words, then away she went and never saw them again.

"It's something like that, yes. And in regards to the tides, Lin is right, it is in regards to water rising and falling. Low tide the temple should be accessible, while at high tide it may well be covered. It's a complicated matter how it works, but essentially, the sun and moon plays a strong factor in it, with moonrise tending to be when the tide sits the lowest. At least outside Equestria, where the sun and moon rises at set intervals. With the princesses raising either one here, I don't know what our window is, but when we see it, we need to react fast."

It were hard to really get anything scientifically going in regards to anything that had to do with the sun and moon in Equestria, since the princesses handled that lighting. How? Why? That were questions for historians he'd say. Rosa had never managed to find an answer that made sense at least, with his best bet being it having something to do with a kind of 
force field* hanging over the entire country and messing with things, but even that had holes and flaws. Honestly, in this situation, he'd just go with the reason being magic, and then walk away from the conversation. It was far easier like that.

"Wait for the water to be low, then temple?"

"Essentially that, yes. And I think it's about time to get some rest so we can get there in good time, unless there is anything else?"

Rosa wasn't even sure he could sleep tonight, and if so, then it would most certainly not be a peaceful one, yet he needed his energy. When this was over, he could drag out his waking cycle a few days more so he'd eventually just collapse on his own and have a nice, dreamless sleep. One where he'd be completely defenseless, but it beat having to wrestle nightmares.

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@Rising Dusk

"ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝕔𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜. 𝔼𝕩𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣."

These ponies were nice and all, but there had been some idea about how ponies would react to her based on how she were designed. Not only were she a large, sturdy version of one of the creatures they may encounter day to day, but considering she had been made to defend, she had also been under the assumption that she were supposed to be terrifying. Something which were strengthened by Molotov's paranoia about being seen as less of somepony who were advancing science, and more like a mad stallion toying with the concept of life itself. A fitting description of him in her mind, but apparently something that he didn't like being put to his name.

She had long assumed that there were some exaggeration in what he said, yet how much exactly were based in truth? She didn't know, so the safest option had been to assume that many things would go wrong, and that she'd be seen as a mockery of life or a threat, if not terrifying.

Yet, these ponies had started to turn around her view on how ponies might react. They were all surprised when meeting her initially, but overall the encounters were friendly and pleasant, as long as she remained the same, which were only fair, and a far better outcome than she had expected. Why, Felicia were even feeling sad that she had to wander away from it when Rusty had to get back to work, and the other resumed their duties as well. She understood that they had a function to complete though, and this were but the first meeting. Perhaps another time, she could arrive at a more fortunate time, and who knew? She may even be able to help with something, like Rusty had suggested earlier. It intrigued the spiderbot to think what would come out of that.

"𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕓𝕪𝕖 ℝ𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔻𝕦𝕤𝕥. 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕡 𝕪𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤. 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖."

Rising her leg and waving again were starting to be a little easier, but she sure would appreciate a sign or something instead. It were simpler than performing an action her body was not build to accommodate.

With the others going back to work, Felicia turned to Dusky again. Still her favorite pony by lengths, even if she had enjoyed meeting Rusty and her crew.

"𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕠𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠𝕠, 𝕪𝕖𝕤? 𝕀 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟."

She were fully capable of finding her way back herself if it were, as she had mapped out the path they took here into her memory, so if Dusky needed to return to work, she would do so. His needs were important too, and she couldn't keep taking him away from his job, even if he was a good translator. In fact, she were quite sure that somewhere in town, there had to be somepony needing him present, and she were keeping him. It was not a sustainable thing to be selfish and keep him to herself then, even if she had his file under the document *Best friend* in her system.

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@Victoria Sponge

"Ah okay. Well, I'm sure that there'd still be a market for jam as it is, seeing how much bread gets made and sold in Ponyville. No major wheat farm like the Apple family orchard, but there's a bunch of respectable fields around, and jam works pretty well with it.

Perhaps I'll buy some too to test out a few things too when everything is settled in. I'm always looking for new flavors to put in my sweets, and I've never really tried using jam in any of it so far. Could be fun trying to work with that. And speaking of fun... I'll try and have a chat with Pinkie when I get back home again, and ask her to keep a distance when it is. She's friends with a shy mare, so I'm hoping she'll understand the situation. If she won't, we'll figure something out. Can't have our new town members moving in with a bad taste in their muzzles."

Pop wanted to help whatever way she could to make things easier for Citrus when him and Raspberry would move to Ponyville, up to and including asking a few associates of hers to keep Pinkie at bay. Not by force, since that would be like attempting to halt the ocean with a spoon, but they'd be able to distract her with others targets for her partying needs. Perhaps Glamour Hoof would be the best of them really. He tended to have a need for somepony to arrange a festive setting now and again, and they were both nuts. Match made in an asylum right there.

Benny on the other hoof, had been more focused on Berry and her reaction to his usually friendly greeting. Usually it worked, but the mare had been more timid and terrified of dragons that he had thought it seemed, as she silently shrieked and scuttled backwards, whilst he stood there and slumped his ears, looking as guilty as a puppy that had just been found doing something bad.

What was it he had done that caused this though? Had it been the sudden movements? The teeth? Oh Celestia, that was it, wasn't it? He might not be large and terrifying, but he still had the sharp teeth of a predator, and with the poor mare not being fond of dragons already...

When Lemon helped Berry with enough support to try to approach Benny again, he didn't say anything at first, but just kept looking at her apologetically, and with his lips covering his teeth this time. As they got to the point where she suddenly held a hoof up to greet him, he very slowly, and very gently, placed her hoof in his hand and gave it a slight shake before just as carefully letting go of her.

"You don't need to apologize ma'am, I'm the one who should be sorry. I should've presented myself better than I did. Please forgive me."

He said all of this calmly, whilst still keeping his lips covering his teeth. It made his voice sound a little weird at times, yet not to a degree where he couldn't be understood.

"I know that dragons have a bad reputation, and sometimes for good reasons, but I swear on my badge that I have no intention of hurting anypony. If I in any sort of way appears threatening to you, it's not intentional, and I really hope that we can get along.

And speaking of Cupcake, she is a real sweetheart, Berry. And an impressive baker too. I'm sure she learned a great deal from you."

Benny hoped that complimenting Berry and her daughter were going to make things a little better. Ponies seemed to like compliments, and talks about family, and he really had no other idea what to talk about otherwise as an opener. That he were part of the guards? A nice thought, but his badge - or okay, more of a stamp of sorts - were on his armor, and that were back at the hotel room. Pop hadn't wanted him to bring it, in case something seemed out of place and he felt like stepping in to take care of what the local authorities should be dealing with instead. He still had a photo of him at the graduation in his bag though, but he didn't want to risk sudden movements right now. If the teeth alone had set off a panic attacking, rummaging through the saddlebag to his left would most definitely also do the trick.

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@Dji

"It's a start, insect mush."

He knew it was a petty response to being called a big kitty cat, but it was an annoying nickname. Certain members of his people had fought wars over less annoying nicknames, but quite frankly, Enzo just didn't care enough. Apathy had started to enter his mind at around the same time his wants when he got out of the temple had loosened up. To begin with, he wanted the entirety of Dragon Land to burn for the transgression, but then time passed and staying angry and vengeful all the time stop meaning anything. There wasn't anyone else but the vermin anyway, so what was the point?

So apathy began sneaking in over him, and his demands went more towards just getting a town to rule with an iron paw. Then a few servants of his choosing and a real temple, then just for half the crops in a given month, and so forth. Before he knew it, he just wanted someone to come around and talk to him, as well as someplace better to sit and some fish. The occasional treasure hunter that came for the element he actually wanted to succeed sometimes, just so he could go out and try and gain this, but there were hardly any, and they tended to fall for the traps the ones who build this place had set.

Honestly, if the two that had at last gotten to him hadn't been so arrogant, he would have let them straight through and told them to get that stupid thing off his neck, but instead he gave some resistance, as well as some pretty tame riddles. A little loophole in his forced contract there, in that while he had to give riddles to surrender the element, it did not need to be tough ones.

That all aside, he had a more pressing situation in front of him he supposed, though at this point, Enzo just let out a sigh - making sure the warm breath fell upon the mare - and went down on his belly again.

"You need to set terms, or you'll end up fighting one another, until the vessel is no more. Unless you have a way to regain a vessel outside of this one, is it not in your best interest to get along? Or are you aiming for her to lay an egg and be hatched within it? I have heard stranger tales than that."

You could both hear and see that he had lost that flare of anger that was present before, and just energy in general. He'd like to really get invested, but he just couldn't keep up being so riled forever. That sort of grudges were more befitting of his parents. Why, if they had been called what Enzo had, and been faced with the same attitude, Atzy/Karmic would currently be pulverized, or at the very least prepped for mummification. Mom especially had always been a traditionalist like that.

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@Pr0m4NV14

"Please just call me Nerzhei already. I don't particularly like the formal talk."

It had only ever come into play once she got to Equestria, but she had found that hearing her being called generic things like ma'am, miss or madam, quite frankly began to irritate her after a while. It was understandable for one who just met her, and she hadn't shared her name. That was fine. But when it kept happening over and over again from the same being it began to get on her nerves.

A good thing she were somewhat blissful right now - considering the circumstances - as it counteracted how annoyed she were with today as a whole, and by the current lack of her furry little friend. Made her more neutral in it, rather than seeming like too much of a big grouch.

"I saw her going down the aisles, talking about jokes of some kind. You should search the comedy section.

...Correction, we should. I want to know why you two are going to talk about a war, with spirits. Or even how."

Nerzhei put down the book she had been holding in a pile she thought it belonged in, judging by the title *Jam making 101*. Didn't seem to match the others she had found, but she were starting to suspect that some of these had been knocked down and mixed up, which she had put in their own pile, that had to be sorted again at some other time.

Rising up, she thought about what Mike just said, about the necklace and spirits. It sounded like necromancy to her, which were going to be nothing but bad news, and had to be monitored. How a pegasus could do that were a question for the ages, yet that was just another question that had to be answered in some fashion, which were why she would follow Mike as he went out to find Sorrow. The mare in question indeed standing over at the comedy aisle, and reading through a book of puns.

Edited September 30, 2018 by Blitz Boom

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @BloodDrops @Dji @Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

"Now all we need to do is work on the hive, which should be easy once we have the perfect location. Since you're reformed, we don't need to build it on limestone. So, what would you consider to be an ideal location for building the hive?"

Lucid was happy to see things solved without violence. To him, this was the perfect outcome, especially with the party idea that Anomaly seemed to agree to.

"We'll need a chocolate fountain, marshmallows, one of those colorful floors, and a whole lot of soft drinks!"

When Lucid heard the joke that Happy told, he covered Pringle's ears so that the lizard wouldn't hear it.

"Hey, not near the innocent lizard!"

After hearing Happy's comment on needing a drink, Pringle looked up at Lucid.

"Pringle, even I'm not legally allowed to drink, so what makes you think that you are?"

Pringle stared at the poquus.

"Yes, root beer is fine."

 

[Pr0m4NV14 837]

@Blitz Boom

“Sorrow! Sorrow!” Mike called out, his hooves rapidly clicking on the hard, shiny floor as he trotted down the Comedy Isle.

”Sorrow, I know you’re kinda booked with those jokes that might be tickling your spine, but there’s something I need you to cover.” He said to the taller Pegasus, placing the book on the shelf with it open to the absurdly short entry that had interested the young Earth Pony.

”I found my ancestor in this book, and there  isn’t much to cover. I was wondering if one of those really kind um.. Spirits would know something about the Shadow War?” He said, pausing to find a polite way to refer to whatever was Leigon.

 

”Neeh... Ner.. (Mike proceeded to botch the name of the dragoness) said that you’d be in here.”

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Blitz Boom
Nada listened patiently as berry explained, though yet again she didn't really know what he was talking about, since Discord and Tirek both had first appeared after her exile and she never really had went to the south-side of Equestria, but she had an idea who Discord could be, based on his name. "Yet again nothing you said rings any bells, but based on the name, I assume that Discord had something to do with the two times when everything went weird?" "And speaking of weird, it indeed is odd that desert just appeared out of nowhere....wait..." she suddenly realized something again "The princesses?" "Are you talking about those Alicorn sisters training under that bearded one?" she had already forgot his name, thankfully "They too are still alive? and ruling nonetheless?"
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As Spicy started explaining, Ruby found herself more interested than she had assumed, she had never really thought about searching through old burial places for treasure, but now that she thought about it, she had read somewhere that ponies used to put lot of things in them. But as Spicy mentioned curses, she started thinking about the risk and worth of exploring the sites, because though many pony diseases didn't effect her that strongly, curses were something even she knew to stay away from, and malignant entities, they sounded like something that could be a help on her guest to riches if it wasn't personal haunting type of thing, she needed to investigate that a bit at some point. "Interesting, I have never really thought that this type of thing could be that profitable, but now that you mention it, it makes sense." "Maybe if this ends up being worth it, I could consider Marley's suggestion." Speaking of Marley, Ruby was getting hungry and could feel her stomach rumbling, they were in a forest now, so that wasn't a problem, but she needed to get away from the two to hunt some food, though she was going to do it in her pony form, because she didn't want to end up roasting the two by accident. 

[EQ_Theta 414]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight @BloodDrops @Dji @Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

Fluttershy looked on in awe as the transformations happened before her eyes. It was the outcome she had hoped and seeing this change for herself, it was every bit as accurate as Starlight said. Amidst the situation she found herself in, this one was more than just a nice distraction. Now that Onache and Happy metamorphosed into the changelings resembling thorax and his hive, it was time to plan for the future. 

It wasn't her area of expertise, but having enough friends acquainted with the changelings meant it was possible to start anew with less difficulties. Perhaps going to Thorax was a first step towards rebuilding. It would be a little easier with having fewer subjects to manage for now, and things could gradually grow steady with time. Maybe it was high time to see things from a different perspective.

"May I suggest going to Thorax?" Fluttershy turned to Onache, still marveling at the transformation. Seeing fluffy hair on a changeling was something unexpected. "Finding a place suitable to rebuild the hive is a start but it would be a good idea to learn about it from someone who has first-hoof experience with the challenges of starting anew. It would make things a little easier if you had an idea of what to expect. I heard he had problems with a changeling who refused to change like him and his hive."

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

@Blitz Boom

"I guess you can say Scarcity proposed a mutually beneficial deal. Both sides get something good but we have to hold up our end of the bargain. Who knows what kind of pony she'll be if we don't succeed. But I guess that's something we shouldn't worry too much about. We can talk more in the morning, everyone. Better get some much needed rest."

"Alright then," Sen nodded and looked to everyone in camp with a smile. "Rest well, everyone. We've got a big day tomorrow!" 

Sen turned in for the evening, harboring some conflicting thoughts about what had just happened today. For one, it was nice to see Rosa feeling better, even if it might be a temporary reprieve before the feelings of dread return, if they would. Coming from personal experience, it could happen. But having friends and just being able to talk about it makes bearing that kind of burden a little easier. Sen's been having fewer nightmares ever since, and having both Lin and Omen for company always put him at ease. On the other hand, bringing up old wounds just makes trying to forget them more difficult. The swamp brought it out and being able to move on from it... it wouldn't make things easier. He didn't have to go in to swamp to remember how much of a wreck he when he returned home.

As for Lin, not being able to sleep meant she'd be watching the fire tonight. It was relatively simple: add fuel when it was going to go out but not too much to keep the flames small. Perhaps they had too much kindling for the evening. Either way, it was just her and Omen left to keep watch. She opened a gate back home to retrieve some reading material to pass the time, though she still had something on her mind. 

"Omen... something's been bothering me. Remember that talk we had back at the village? About chaos and how you don't feel like you'd fit in a world that was more orderly than the one Discord made? I'd want to ask if it was okay if we could, I don't know, talk to Discord about this when we get a chance. I thought maybe if staying with me and Sen in the village for prolonged periods of time isn't for you, you'd have a realm with an amount of chaos you're comfortable with to go to." 

Edited October 1, 2018 by EQ_Theta

[Seamore Sandwich 470]

@Blitz Boom

 

Marcus responded quickly, “Why do you not heal the white-eyed in the Sacred Springs?  That has always been the way.  The white-eyed would be brought to the Sacred Springs for their Reawakening.  It was a very important ceremony where their life essence would be restored, and their amulet would be transferred to the next to take their place.  How could this be forgotten?  This must be rectified!  And none were to be forced into such a life!  I am apalled at this behavior!  We must restore this order to what it once was!”  He turned to Sugar Lime, and said loudly so all could hear, “Please bring me the elders, that they may answer my questions!”  It wasn’t said in a way that directed the anger towards Sugar, just loudly so everyone would know he would not tolerate such behavior, and that this was not what he stood for.

[BloodDrops 762]

22 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"So you are saying that we need to share love with one another, and you that I need to let go of my hatred towards Thorax? I assumed it were something more substantial when I saw the others change."

She had been there when the transformation happened, standing in shadows some way from them, and slipping away before she got noticed, as she were sure that nopony there would be forgiving about the presence of the Slaver Queen herself anymore. Especially the ponies, and they had Discord in tow. Soon as his magic was usable again, she would be a goner if she attempted anything.

Happy were about to respond to this, but halted, as he saw his queen turn towards the changeling who he honestly hadn't really taken notice of before now, because she had been so quiet. Kinda creepy honestly, but whatever floated her boat.

"I accept only the strong, because my hive cannot be too large, or it will be impossible to feed. If I go through this process, I may be more lenient on my requirements."

It was hard for her to speak kindly, after all the years doing exactly the opposite of that, but it were meant as a somewhat nice gesture. If she were able to get through the process, and no longer needed to worry about how her hive would need to be fed, she could expand without that being an issue. She would simply need enough land to get through it, as well as water and perhaps, considering them no longer needing love as a food source, some kind of vegetation. All things which this pumpkin-headed one could assist with, and which she seemed eager to do. A fortunate situation.

While she addressed this, Happy found his turn to speak.

"I don't hate ponies, and honestly, Thorax's kind were almost more disturbing than anything to me. I can let go. What about you, my queen?"

They locked eyes again, and he fell back into those predatory, searching eyes once more.

"Fine. or the sake of my hive, I will... Regret, what I felt towards Thorax and his kind. He have sacrificed more for his people than I gave him credit for."

You could almost her that it hurt her to say this, but the words were sincere. She couldn't lie here after all, and being faced with the facts, she were forced to admit to herself that as much as it hurt her pride, Thorax had been a better leader than her, since he were willing to make himself into something that had caught the ire of almost every other hive, all to ensure his subjects had a better life than what he had seen before that. And in the end, had she not always said that the only thing that truly mattered for a ruler, that they did was best for their subjects? No matter what?

It was a tough one to swallow, and doubly so when she had to factor in that it were ponies that had caused her to face it, so she needed a little time to actually process things and set her pride aside, which were the point where Anomaly leaned in towards Lucid with a huge grin on her face.

"That's an awesome idea! I'll take care of snacks and you get the party streamers, little hats and that sort of thing?"

A party sounded like a great way to celebrate everything. Deals made, lives changes, and more color-bugs. If that wasn't worth celebrating she wasn't entirely sure what today were. Lucid's half-draconequus status? Okay, they may have to celebrate that later. Kind of a birthday of sorts.

Meanwhile, Happy went over and cleared his throat to get his queens attention. Back in the human world he would've gone with poking her on the shoulder, but the last time he had tried to do that to Onache, she had nearly broken his hand, and this was a way more tense situation for her.

"Ready, my queen?"

"...How exactly are we to *share love?*"

Bad jokes from his side had actually gotten him a broken hand, so Happy refrained from making an obvious one right now.

"I don't know. I guess just try to push what we have towards one another like a Care Bear?"

"Which is what?"

"Sorry, human joke. But it kinda feels like just taking the lunchy feeling of love, relax your mind, and just push it ou-"

Happy tried to go through the motion of how he though this was supposed to happen as he talked, and before he knew it, he truly did give off something akin to what he mentioned before, and before he knew it were encapsulated in a floating, shining cocoon. Onache had... Difficulties simply letting go too, but seeing her most loyal drone - and quite literally her only remaining hive-member - going through that for her sake, seemed to help on things, though the excess of love she fired off were far greater than Happy's. He usually ate passively and were sated enough, whilst Onache had gorged not long before entering the desert.

(Insert shiny scene where cocoon breaks from the show, just with Onache instead of Thorax) (Aurora can join in on this too, if wanted)

The cocoon shattered and for the first time she could recall, Onache felt oddly whole, as she floated towards the ground, and felt the dry desert air drift past her.

"Awh, you look so much nicer now. Here, look in the mirror."

Anomaly got a mirror and held it out in front of Onache, who had to blink a few times at what exactly she were looking at.

"...I have chest fluff?"

For some reason, no matter what else she saw in the bizarre imagery, this was the thing that stuck out to her the most. She had always had hair before, but that had been in her mane and tail, which had now become more membranous instead. How in the world she had this though, when Thorax had not had a single strain on him though, puzzled her. Were this a thing for queens? Or her hive specifically?

She got the answer a few seconds later when Happy burst out, sporting the same chest fur as he fell into the sand. Grace had never been his strong side honestly, yet he seemed like he were actually nauseous over what had just taken place. A likely reaction to his role as still being a human changeling. He were now varying stages of green and yellow, with the same eyes as Onache, sporting similar, but bigger wings, and had a pair of what seemed like goat horns on his head,a long with the regular one, yet he didn't have membranes. He kept his long hair and tail, although now, it were less blue and more towards a lighter pink color. He also still had claws, though she had expected those to soften somewhat into something more akin to the hands he had before she turned him.

"Awh, you two are just adorable. Do you need anything? Huh? Huh?"

Anomaly jumped up and sown, shaking the mirror that Onache had returned to staring back into after glancing towards Happy, while the mixture in question were looking at his now whole, lighter hands, and trying to get used to this queasy feeling he had after getting through this.

"Urgh, I need a drink... Preferably a scotch."

 

The Sphinx had been pretending to be sleeping, though she infact had been watching the whole thing, she waited until she was sure of the outcome and then stood up and looked down at them contented, they now met all of her criteria and she was very pleased at that, she had been away for too long that's for sure. She flicked her tail and purred at the outcome, just as she had predicted and without any prompting from her, well not much at any rate. She preferred the whole cute reformed look, so it was much better then the evil slaver look, though she would have preferred the opposite in her youth. 

"Well, you two look ready to start a hive together, now that you no longer are a parasite on the local vicinity i'm sure you will get used to your new looks. And on what you need, you have it right here, if you will agree to live in it and take care of it" she said with a smile. She pointed to the temple with her tail which suddenly came much closer to the group, "when you step inside it then it will change to what you would need it to take care off your new hive" she said with a smile.

The crown upon the Sphinx's head turned bright white and started to glow, making her much more pleased with herself. She had done the right thing after all and this problem was solved. 

 

22 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"Now all we need to do is work on the hive, which should be easy once we have the perfect location. Since you're reformed, we don't need to build it on limestone. So, what would you consider to be an ideal location for building the hive?"

"Why build it when they can have my temple since I no longer need it. I have no purpose here since my goal has been achieved" she giggled. She had another place to visit now, a more permanent settlement.  

 

On 9/30/2018 at 12:51 PM, Dji said:

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

"That is quite a backstory," Twilight coughed, trying to compose herself. She didn't expect to be given a quick history lesson and made sure to file the information about this Sphinx for later. "What kind of riddle did you give Ahuizotl and this Pharoah?"

The Sphinx turned her attention back to Twilight. She smiled "Oh a rather simple one, Ten Fish are in a Tank. Two drown, Four swim away and Three Die. How many are left?" she told her, she flicked her tail "The Pharoah knew no evil so logically solved it in his own time, where Ahuizotl only saw evil and was tricked into the easy answer" she chuckled. She liked tricky questions and fools who rushed into them.

"You can guess it Princess, but I will only be explaining one of your questions if you do. One your all going to be thinking about now" she remarked. 

 

5 hours ago, EQ_Theta said:

"May I suggest going to Thorax?" Fluttershy turned to Onache, still marveling at the transformation. Seeing fluffy hair on a changeling was something unexpected. "Finding a place suitable to rebuild the hive is a start but it would be a good idea to learn about it from someone who has first-hoof experience with the challenges of starting anew. It would make things a little easier if you had an idea of what to expect. I heard he had problems with a changeling who refused to change like him and his hive."

The Sphinx blinked at the suggestion and watched both her and Onache wondering what she would say to the idea. "I concur, unless you plan on invading him still. Getting to know him might make you friendly towards him, though if your still thinking of invading then you will probably want to know how he thinks to be able to attack him successfully. It matters not to myself" she said with a small chuckle.

She was pretty sure that Onache could rule on her own, after all she transformed to provide for her hive, more noble then enslaving others and breaking there minds.  

[Rising Dusk 26,015]

@Blitz Boom

Rising Dusk wasn't afraid to claim this outing with Felicia as a victory, although he would still reserve caution.  The scrap yard crew were a good bunch, but not everypony in the city, or even Equestria larger, were going to be the same.  There were still ponies out there that mistrusted even close non-pony allies, and Felicia was just a new being to add to that list.  In time though, hopefully the large spider bot would get to learn that those few should not turn her away from the many friendly ponies that are out there.

"Felicia says farewell and that she'll return sometime for a visit," the midnight blue stallion translated for the crew one last time before giving them a wave of his hoof.  Turning, he made his way toward the exit to the scrap yard.  Again though, forever the Interloper.  At this point hearing it caused the detective to let free a slight snicker, but he didn't break stride on his way out of the scrap yard.

"Worry not Felicia, I don't have work today.  We can walk back to the workshop and finish that cage project with Molotov," he explained.  Getting back to the road that separated the scrap yard from the maze of alleys that would be their paths back to the workshop.  Dutifully looking both ways to make sure the roads were still mostly clear of busy taxis and ponies.  Still looked like they were pretty much in the clean and Dusk trotted across the street to make his way into the alley.

 "If you not longer have the love for filling the function of a guard, you may want to consider taking up Rusty's offer and see if you may want to find a new one at the scrap yard," Dusk brought up, being a bit more chatty than his trip over here to begin with as they reversed their trek through the hidden shortcuts of the city on their way back to her home.  After saying that though, he might have to make sure Felicia knew the difference between a normal job and what she experience as the warden of the workshop.  He wasn't quite sure of her grasp of the concept of only performing duties for only a hoof full of hours and then the rest were her own free time.

[Blitz Boom 4,422]

@Lucid_Nightlight @Dji @Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich @Storm Shine @EQ_Theta @Lucid_Nightlight

Onache turned from the mirror and looked around her, trying to find words but every time she attempted, it were about to come out as a snide comment, and she closed her muzzle before she let those words out. With what she were presented with here, and the connections she were going to have to make because of the laws of this land that had been set, she had to strain herself to not accidentally insult anypony right now.

"We're getting a roof over our heads? I dunno who you are miss, but that's mighty kind of ya. Thank you."

Happy was still looking for that drink, but was starting to think that there just wasn't something like that here. And if there were, it were likely going to be some weak cider. You know what? He'd take that right now. The sphinx's offer was really nice, and he responded to it as you should when given a home - minus the jumping up and down whilst screaming - but this were a weird situation, and his stomach was feeling sort of queasy, so yeah, he could really use a drink.

"I dunno what a scotch is, but I have some spiced pumpkin latte. Eh? Eh?"

Anomaly began poking him with this wooden cup almost filled with a liquid straight out of a coffee bar, though Happy were better off not knowing where it came from. If his stomach was bad, then knowing he were drinking from a draconequus's head was likely not going to help.

"Better than cider. Thanks."

Happy grabbed the cup and began to take some sips. Wasn't too bad really. Warm, smooth flavor, everything. Reminded him a little of home unfortunately, but nevermind that.

"...We will take the offer, and make the temple our home. Much appreciated."

Onache finally found her tongue and talked to the sphinx, who everything considered, were owed the most right now in her mind. Words were all fine and good, but a temple were something else. A malleable one at that. A fine start point for a miniature nation.

"As for Thorax... I will send word to him, yet if he answers will remain to be seen. I did not treat him kindly when I were stationed with Chrysalis, nor many others in his hive. We will see if he can let go of the past and look forward.

And the changeling you're referring to is likely Phalanx. One of his many siblings, and one of the few I saw did not change before I left the hive. A tough nut to crack that one, unless you apply enough pressure and beatings to get him in line. I suppose I would need to apologize for that one if I meet him."

Onache had not been a kind changeling when she worked for Chrysalis for a time. She had been supposed to train the changelings in fighting, and made the sturdier, and so she did. Partially by beating them senseless, and tormenting them until they broke, at which point she could begin rebuilding them into something more useful. If she were to try and connect with Thorax, she'd have to try and say sorry for that, along with her actions in general. She had been one of the crueler and more infamous changeling queens outside from outside Equestria, and she had never had an issue living up to her reputation. That sort of thing gave you enemies among the kinder of their kind, which were those she now had to communicate with. Not the most fortunate of situations, but it were what it were.

Her eyes next went to the princess, who were speaking with the sphinx about history of all things. Surprisingly jaded that one were it seemed, since that were the thing that drew her in, but Equestria tended to be a magnet for all kinds of weird and wrong things. She supposed that not everypony would be able to get through a life of that without being unable to find every weird thing all that enticing.

"Remember that the deals are still in place, princess. We will show no hostility towards you, and in turn, you won't attack us either."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. You're all too serious. It's time to party!!!"

Anomaly broke in before the queen could go any further and then began to use her magic to snap all kinds of edible things into existence. Mostly snacks from a lot of different places she had been and tasted, along with bisquits that looked like her, soda that looked more like glowing lava lamps, several bowls dipping sauce and nacho cheese, along with varied other things. Lucid were supposed to be in charge of small hats and such, so she let him have his fun with that, and focused on the biological matter that were food and drinks.

"Try the chocolate, it's with Saddle Arabian butter milk. It's delicious."

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Man, you've really been out of the loop.

Discord is the Spirit of Chaos, who got himself turned to stone by Celestia and Luna millennia ago. He broke free a few years ago, caused some weirdness, and now he's a good guy. Sort of. I don't really know how deep that rabbit hole goes, you'd have to ask his marefriend Fluttershy about that."

Berry had seen Discord being insanely jealous and even talking to himself about feeling left out when Fluttershy were talking with others before. She wasn't sure if there was an actual relationship going there - and she sure as hay wasn't gonna poke to him about that - but it was pretty obvious that he had a crush on her at least. Heh, crazy old loon.

"Tirek was a centaur that stole magic, got trapped in Tartarus, got out and rinse repeat. I wasn't home at the time, so I didn't really see anything, just heard he got himself locked up again.

And yeah, Celestia and Luna runs this show. I'm not too big on that history as it's kinda boring, but at some point the three pony sub-races got over their bickering, and the alicorn sisters were chosen as their leaders. They've been at it ever since. Except Luna. She got herself trapped in the moon for a millennia after going ballistic over her work not being appreciated enough, and trying to cast the world into eternal night. Still amazed she isn't hostile to Celestia for doing that to her, but that's their weird life, not mine.

They were also the ones that stopped Discord the first time. I'm sure that gave them some street cred when it came down to choosing leaders."

The stream wasn't into view yet, but she could hear the water flowing down the river. A few trees more and presto, fish for her new friend. Here was hoping it wasn't going to get too graphic and shark-like.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Like I always say: Why let morals stop you from getting rich?"

Spicy were hoping more and more that this mare were going to be legit, and not some kind of turncoat, undercover agent, or untrustworthy when it came to the actual work. She seemed like the right mix between dangerous and lacking in morals to really get somewhere in this world, long as she got a little helping hoof towards it, and Spicy would be more than happy to provide that. For a cut of the profits, of course. This wasn't a charity.

"I for one would welcome some intellectual company for a change. It can get tiring speaking to this meathead sometimes."

"Itching for a fight, are we tough guy?"

"Hardly. I could grind you into dust in seconds. I'm just saying that it would be a good change of pace to speak with someone else for a change. And circling around to some of our old nesting spots wouldn't be a bad side effect either. I have a few feathers to ruffle here and there."

"Thinking about Officer Goldie again, are ya? Wasn't one restraining order enough for you?"

"She simply enjoys playing hard to get. Remaining confident will eventually swoon her and grant me a fine mate, whilst you're going to be an old spinster and die alone, surrounded by your money."

"And if you keep that up, and I'm gonna add to that pile by selling your first clutch of eggs on the market."

"If you want to experience old age, you're not getting anywhere near them."

With the two of them going at eachother extra hard right now - seriously, how did they get along on a day to day basis? - it could prove a good enough distraction for Ruby to wander off and not be taken too much notice of.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

"Believe me Lin, I've only seen a sliver of the pony that Scarcity actually is, and I'm guaranteeing that you're right in not wanting to catch her ire. But we have plenty of time to go, so there is little to worry about unless something have happened at the temple. We'll worry about that when we get there though. Be at peace."

Lin had already vented her concerns about their *friend* so Rosa saw no issue in adding his own, minor observation to support her claim. No matter how much she were spied on, by no matter how many of his kind, there wasn't a shred of evidence against her. Plenty were seen, as she brazenly shoved it in their faces just to discourage them when in the end, they wouldn't find anything, and that was a tough one to pull off. How exactly he had no idea, but if there was one thing he could say about Scarcity without the shadow of a doubt, it were that she were a problem solver, and may Celestia have mercy upon the poor beings who became her target.

That being said, they still had about a day and a half to go, as the swamp had not taken too long to traverse - the panicked running may have something to do with that - so if they got there before midday, they would have long enough to even wait for the tides, in case they were not in their favor when they arrived.

So he fluttered up to the sturdiest branch he could see, and swung his tail around the best branch he could get a reasonable grip on, then closed his wings around himself. It were going to be some time before he dared attempt rest, but he'd try, and hope the nightmare's weren't as severe as he feared.

Omen said goodnight to both him and Sen, then spend the foreseeable future starring at the bat pony and how he were sleeping. She may have spend the entire night doing so, like when she kept watch over Sen in previous times, if not for Lin, who decided to speak with her after a trip through a portal. Where it led, Omen had no idea, but it seemed to be inside a building, and she were getting things from there... Were she stealing? Seemed like it, but it wasn't like that was really a problem anyway. Omen barely understood any laws as it were, so she didn't see anything wrong in it.

The words that came from Lin confused her though. It sounded like something the two of them could have talked about, and the questions afterwards made sense enough, but when had they talked about this?

"We were in a village? When?"

She still had a massive blank space in her memory after she had to clear her head and handle the orb, so between them going into the forest to look for the village and Mother's realm, she only had fragments, and nothing she could grasp at right now seemed to indicate a village. Huts and other longma? She thought so, but it were barely any that came to mind, and the area it laid in were a complete bust. It were like she had been on small pieces of land a few times that looked like a place in the woods, but it were too brief to get any idea of the details around the place.

Perhaps she should just answer the other questions, and then Lin would fill her in about the first things?

"Mother says it's home, but it feels wrong. Too stable. Always the same.

Master Discord can make the world right again, but the snake man says it's wrong. Ponies says it's wrong. You want us to talk to him about... Making a little of the world right again? Many places nopony lives, but don't know if master will. Fickle is he. Never know what he does."

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

 

@Rising Dusk

The cage project. A strange little construction that could mean much, but it were still in the beginning stages. Magic applications and construction only, with nothing truly tested yet. Felicia were aware that the two ponies had high hopes for it, but she didn't think it were going to work so soon. Though, Dusky and Molotov were determined little ponies. They may yet end up surprising her.

As they went on their way towards the outskirts of the scrap yard, Felicia were thinking about the optimal time for her to perhaps wander away from the workshop and go here. Night were ruled out as per her agreement, she'd need to watch out at least sometimes, and when the ponies slept seemed like the most important time to stay there until her replacement got made, but further she didn't get with that thought before Dusky asked her a question that she considered as taking priority. Partially because her current line of thoughts could be done at night, when there was nopony there, and partially because the officer took priority over several things in her mind.

"𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕞𝕪 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖. 𝔸𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕘𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞. 𝔹𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕤𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕖 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖. 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤."

The scrap yard was a great place, with some lovely ponies that she would have no issue both helping with whatever Rusty had in mind, and against potential attackers, but Felicia had not wanted her freedom to just go to 1 other place. She wanted to be out in the world and explore it, even though she knew that it was at this point, a very bad idea to even try. She didn't know the laws of the land, nopony knew her, and since she couldn't speak in ways they understood, things could get ugly. She had to wait for certain upgrades before it was possible, though in the long run, she were going to wander off and explore on her own. Potentially with somepony. There had to be somepony whose function were to explore, or travel a lot, yes?

"𝕀 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕡. 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕥𝕠𝕠, 𝕪𝕖𝕤? 𝔻𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜?"

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

 

@Seamore Sandwich

Sugar just stood there, stunned and with a quivering lower lip.

"Then... They died for nothing? Everypony that's-"

He felt a meaty hoof on his shoulder and looked around to see Brute had taken a grip in him.

"What's done is done, try and focus on the present."

She admitted, it was a weird one to follow, but essentially it sounded like this cult or whatever it were, had been sacrificed because some scriptures had been altered, forgotten, or just removed. It frankly made her want to punch some teeth out, and she completely understood the reaction of Sugar, but if they were to get this resolved, he had to get a move on.

"I-I'll get them... Dear Celestia, what have we done?"

He mumbled the last to himself as he scurried out of the room and headed for the elders room in haste, with Brute joining him in case some actual pain had to be doled out. Tears began to drip down from his face before he even exited the room, but he tried to ignore it and just moved on. He didn't even see the concerned look that Belladonna gave him on his way out. She wasn't the biggest when it came to emotions, but she still felt sympathy for her brother at what he had to face now. Something she had tried to tell him for years mind you, yet now were not the time to bring that up. It would be tactless.

So instead she looked up towards the irate Marcus, who had surprised him with both his outburst, and his response. She had ventured a statistical guess that his view on their situation would not have been favorable, but the things he said about a spring, and being revived... It were far too late for her parents, but her brother could get a second chance at life like this, and that were more than she had ever actually dreamed of. She had simply hoped that he could have his diminished time slowed down, so that he'd have a few more years.

"I underestimated you it seems. Fortunate, though it does bring up the question of whatever the elders neglect were with malicious intent or simply out of idiocy. As I discussed, I would put the statistical odds higher at it being on purpose, as otherwise it would seem pointless to rewrite and destroy older scripture and records, correct? If need be, I can provide evidence if they claim it to be otherwise.

Regardless, you have presented a response that should help clear the olden ways, and save my brothers life. I owe you appreciation for that, though I reserve some judgement until I have witnessed things actually turning around. Words are a good beginning, yet actions speaks louder. I'm sure that you would agree to at least some extend, Marcus."

She spoke to him with a more respectful neutrality than she had before, and didn't spend time belittling the ways she had grown up with, as a sign of good will to somepony who seemed to have a grasp on changing things for the better. His reaction to this were minor compared to what would happen when the elders got here though. That should be fairly interesting.

Somehow, she hoped they would resist being brought here though. The unicorn with the rather large body mass would likely drag them out here by force if needed, and Belladonna could not see herself feeling any amount of pity or sympathy for them. Not unless she had data to prove that in some way, they were also victims, which she found unlikely.

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

 

@Pr0m4NV14

The puns made Nerzhei roll her eyes. She really wasn't a fan of low brow comedy like that unless it was done right, and she wasn't entirely sure if this pony were just messing with her by making them intentionally bad. She still had yet to really get a grasp on how the equines worked, and until recently, didn't care much either. Even when she moved here to Equestria, she had preferred to stay away and to herself, where she could bury down in her studies. Seeing this library though, made her think that she needed to find a place where she could work on making a house within the actual city limits, so she wouldn't be too far away from here. She could imagine spending quite a long time within this place, to a point where she may need to be dusted off now and again.

"It's Nerzhei. N-E-R-Z-H-E-I. Try and get it right."

It was a petty thing to focus on next, as they had found Sorrow - who judging by the giggling, seemed to like the puns - but mispronouncing her name were kind of irritating as well. Just because she wasn't named after some sort of activity or food like most ponies seemed to be, it did not mean that her name should be all that difficult to pronounce.

"Shadow Wars you say? Uhm... I dunno, Legion? Does that ring a bell?"

The only ones who'd be able to hear the response would be the spirit in Mike's sword, and Sorrow herself, though considering the look on the mare's face, you could see that it wasn't all that great news she got back, even from not listening in.

"They say that they used to have one, but he moved on. We'll probably have to go to wherever that war took place and see if any spirits lingered to figure out more. Does it say in any of these books where the Shadow Wars took place? Funny name for a war really."

"War is not entertaining, but more to the point, are you carrying around a skull filled with spirits?"

"No. There's only a few over twenty in there. Far from full."

The dragoness put her index and thumb around her nose, covering her eyes and trying to keep a migraine attack down.

"Just what this day needs. Necromancers."

"Hey, I'm not a necromancer. My grandma is. I just talk with spirits."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Blitz Boom
"I'm noticing a pattern here." Nada commented, her tone was..not pleased, but not displeased either "And what is with everything happening millennia ago?" "I'm not sure if I'm glad or disappointed that I missed that part of history."  she was going to continue, but then she heard sound of river and dashed past Berry, and as she got closer, she could smell the delicious smell of fish she had missed so much.

When she reached the river, she went right for the fishing, and fortunately to Berry, it wasn't too graphic, because she mostly ate the fish whole and even that happened mostly underwater.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ruby agreed on Spicy's comment about morals, though as firm believer of survival of the fittest, to her the concept was stupid invention by the ponies in the first place. She was going to comment on it, but when she noticed the two had started to bicker about nonsense again, so she just shrugged and walked into the forest, she might as well use the opportunity to go eat something, Too bad you two are useful.

When Ruby figured she far enough from the duo, she didn't waste any time and started building a simple trap. Sure it could been lot easier to just turn to her real form and hunt something down, but she didn't want take the risk that Spicy or Marley walking on her and getting roasted out of reflex, and really, she kinda wanted to know their reactions if they walked on her in her pony form eating meat, at least there was change for amusement there if things went wrong.

After she was finished with the trap, Ruby walked deeper into the forest until she found a rabbit that hadn't noticed her yet, she then sneaked behind it and scared it so it started running to the direction of her trap, and got caught in it. She then walked to said trap satisfied smile on her face as she snapped the rabbit's neck so it wouldn't injure her fragile pony-body, starting to take it down, and eventually if she wasn't interrupted, eating it with help of a sharp rock she had found laying around.

[FanOfManyShows 396]

@Blitz Boom

Glancing above, curiosity struck her at what these things were, since they were a new addition to the surveillance this place had before. "Should the flower be much farther from here?" She whispered, still observing above them for more of the guards, or at least what she assumed were guards.

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

@Blitz Boom

The runes that Benny could see, were small, surrounded by what was clearly decorative carvings while the runes themselves didn't take up much, and could easily fit on most objects. "I'd think it'd work, it does work on my feathers, after all."

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

@Blitz Boom

Smirking, Iron teleporting the moment Chow finished talking, with a swift and quick teleportation, almost instantaneous. Astral flailing a bit when they landed in the location. "You could've warned us at least you know!" She cried out, Iron immediately shushing her. Astral sighing and collecting herself. "Well since we're here now... is this it?" She turned around, looking to the door.

"That is it, yes, there isn't much time till they get back, which is why I did it when you finished talking." He said, looking to Chow. "So no warnings, I'll take us out as quick as we came in if something goes wrong. Likely to your new home in Canterlot, haven't seen it myself yet." Astral breathed in deeply, drawing her hoof back before punching the door frame.  "That might not wor-"

The runes sparked frantically as the punch cracked some, and knocked others out of place, the door rattling a bit, whatever she damaged messed up the enchantment on the door, causing it to explode outwards, the door being torn apart and the frame around it, but not damaging much else. "Jeez. They didn't even put a protection spell on that." She shook off the dust from her hoof as she winced a bit.

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

 @Dji

He sighed, glancing down as he attempted to hold back the frustration that boiled up from that one comment. "Well you wanted to know my plans." He stood up, and turned around. "But your interests are elsewhere, clearly." He said, walking off, though still leaving the potential for Watts to follow anyway

Meanwhile, Crystal was watching this unfold, trying to make it look like she wasn't listening in to them. "Likely suspect right there, I do recognize him, too." She said, under her breath and barely audible.

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Dji @BloodDrops @Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

"You're giving them the temple? Well, I guess that means it'll be less work on us and we can focus on the party."

The snacks Anomaly created looked quite nice. Now all Lucid needed to do was do the rest, which would be pretty easy.  With a stomp of his hoof, party hats appeared on everyone, a colorful floor appeared, there were streamers, and there was the most important thing of all... a bouncy castle.

"Now this right here is what a real party looks like. Well... It's nowhere near as good as Pinkie Pie's parties, but we can't be the best at everything!"

The poquus started drinking a whole lot of sodas. Pretty soon, there was a massive bucket of soda, which was almost the sphinx's size. He began to chug down the bucket. Strangely enough, he maintained his own size.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

[Sekel 685]

@FanOfManyShows

WATTS MECHANO

"Hey, I may not have any interest, but I can at least give you some company," Watts said in frustration and followed Zealous.

@Blitz Boom

KARMIC FATE/ATZY

"It would be," Atzy said thoughtfully once she had been given time to process what the Sphinx said. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply and slowly. "At the very least, working together has benefited both my host and me so far."

'I have a name you know!' Karmic shouted to Atzy in her head.

'And so do I. You may want to use it from time to time and I'll think about using yours too.'

@Blitz Boom, @EQ_Theta, @Lucid_Nightlight, @Storm Shine, @BloodDrops, @Moonlit, @Seamore Sandwich

AURORA LIGHTS & TWILIGHT SPARKLE

Twilight thought about the riddle for a good long while. She knew that swimming away didn't mean leaving the tank where the fish lived and dying and drowning are the same thing which left five instead of one. Still, this didn't necessarily mean that five left was the right answer. "Can I ask a question about the riddle? Where did the four fish that swam away swim to? Because swimming away isn't the same as dying and where can they swim to when all of them are inside a tank?"

Aurora gulped at seeing Onache's transformation and pressed up against the far side of her cage away from the Changeling Queen. It's not that she was opposed to this new kind of changeling, she just didn't see any point in it. Not when she got enough love from the ponies around her in her transformed state. "Queen Onache?"

[EQ_Theta 414]

@Blitz Boom

"My village? We were there when we were handling that issue with Solasan. Sen and I wanted to give you a place to stay so we both offered a room at our old home just for you."

Perhaps it was as Mother said back in her realm, that some of Omen's memories weren't processed and there were some gaps she and Sen needed to fill. It wouldn't be a big issue because they planned on showing her the new place when it's done. It should be done by this time, supposedly. Not too much in the way of cleanup and replacing old fixtures and the occasional dusting off of the cobwebs. Their family home was in a state of disrepair, something felt like it could come crashing down anytime soon but maybe not this time around. Of course Omen's room would be barren save for the essentials but the siblings said they'd let Omen choose what she wants for her own private quarters. 

"I guess that's not the main point. I can show it to you some other time. What I'm trying to say is that maybe our village isn't always for you, that maybe you don't like having too much order. Maybe we can talk to Discord and ask him if there is a realm with some level of chaos that you are comfortable with so you don't have to always be in an orderly place. I'm not suggesting we bring chaos back because other ponies wouldn't like it."

Lin paused for a second, feeling like she is blabbering on but not actually getting to the point. She needed something simpler to explain the idea she wanted to get across. 

"Has Discord told you about what a vacation is? Like temporarily getting away from something so you can be refreshed? What I'm suggesting is something like that."

From here on out, Lin would need to keep her voice hushed out of respect to Rosa. Sen could sleep through some talking but she couldn't begin to guess about Rosa. He needed sleep now. 

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

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight @BloodDrops @Dji @Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

So it was settled, and everything looked like it was turning out for the better. Even the new hive will soon have a home to thrive in. Fluttershy chuckled at the spread Anomaly presented and was looking to join everyone. That was, if she wasn't still locked up in the cage. The sphinx's crown was glowing again and it was another problem sorted out. 

"So... that crown is looking bright once more," Fluttershy nervously turned to the sphinx. "Does that mean we can get out of these cages now?" 

Edited October 3, 2018 by EQ_Theta

[Rising Dusk 26,015]

@Blitz Boom

It was quite understandable that the spider bot, who just recently gained her freedom, had adopted the adventurous nature.  Wanting to get out into the world of Equestria and explore, experience as much as she could before finally settling into something that she herself chose.  It of course seemed like a good idea at first, but to Dusk it sounded like jumping straight into the deep end of the pool.  Foal steps needed to be taken.  At this point, he wasn't paying all that much attention to the route they were taking to get back to the workshop, instead deep in thought.

 "Try thinking of the scrap yard as a foundation.  Learn pony habits from a small group first.  Then let them introduce you to some ponies they know and trust.  Meet new ponies and grow your social network, learn new functions.  When you're ready to explore, just keep in mind that you'll always have ponies you can return to.  Regroup, share what you've seen and learned, then go out again.  One day, you'll find a function that you chose.  And I think you'll be really go at it," the midnight blue stallion chuckled as he rounded another corner and crossed alleyways.

The conversation then shifted to his own work.  While it was true that he protected citizens, there was a little more to it than that.  Out of habit, Dusk just recited the common motto of law enforcement agencies.  "To Protect and Serve."  So yes, she was correct with the first part.  The covered law enforcement in a board brush, but his own position with his specific job in the O.M.I. had it's own say of things.  Reaching up, he tapped his chin while he looked up a little at the tall buildings around them while deep in thought.

"My job is a little more complicated that just protecting though," he started while lowering his hoof back to the stone ground of the alley.  "Yes I do protect citizens of Equestria in a board sense, but I have a focus in protections of a magical nature.  Such as dispelling harmful magics from objects and ponies alike to keep them safe.  Unfortunately, we can't be everywhere at once so as detective, I spend most my time investigating crimes that were already committed.  Finding the criminals and bringing them to justice."

He let out a sigh though at the last thought.  "I will always try to talk them into turning themselves in if at all possible.  If I fail to do so, then I will do what I can to detain them.  I will defend myself though or others, when necessary," he concluded, hoping that answered the large spider bot's question.  Has he had to fight while on duty, of course.  Sadly, taking down a criminal isn't as clean and easy as the story books make them out to be.

[Blitz Boom 4,422]

@Catpone Cerberus

Berry chased after the siren as she floated along past her and went right for the fishing. Thankfully, her way of feeding were pretty harmless, at least the times that she could see it happen. Big gulp of fish down to be digested whole - kinda nasty, but whatever floated her fins - and what wasn't... Well, the waters weren't the cleanest when sand from the bottom and fish bits rummaged around, so it wasn't like she saw all that much. Griffons made more of a mess than this, especially when they went for the eyes. She were never sure if they did that to mess with her head, or if that was just the best part.

When the siren would eventually either be sated, or keep a pause in her feeding frenzy, Berry would be sitting at the banks and looking right at her, still not having run off or shown any kinds of disgust. Just curiosity, and a big grin from knowing that her new friend finally got herself some chow she liked.

"Must've been good to get something you like down, eh? And you know, not everything we talked about before happened way back, just the setup. Tirek getting loose, Nightmare Moon coming back and getting purged, Discord being freed twice and reformed, two new princesses and yada yada, all happened within the last few years. It's been pretty hectic."

She could've sworn she had heard something about this little brat who went all Tirek style too and ended up getting trapped in Tartarus as well, but Berry had been fighting a pretty nasty infection from some glass she had cut herself on during some dumpster diving, and had pretty much just been laying out in the hospital and swinging between sleeping ten hours or more at a time, or praying that the pain killers would soon settle in. She heard it after the fact, but even then, it weren't much, since she thought it sounded ridiculous. Seriously, a foal, imprisoned n Tartarus? Yeah right the princesses would do that.

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Should I go after her?"

Much as they bickered like an old married couple, they weren't blind, and the fact that Ruby suddenly wandered off didn't get past them. They just kept the show going, letting off a few more insults before Marley abruptly stopped and asked the important question.

"Nah. If we hover over her constantly, she'll get spooked and take off. She's too valuable for that. Just fly up, and if you see anything fly away from around the area, snatch it up and see if she's sending off letters. If she ain't, give the gal some privacy."

Marley nodded and flew up into the treecrowns, where he'd then silently fly up enough to get an overview, whilst still being hidden by the trees. he was effective in that way. Big, strong, fast, and surprisingly stealthy regardless of how much he filled in the landscape compared to a normal griffon. It made him a hard bodyguard/enforcer to replace, and he knew it, which gave her a little less of a grip on him then she'd like to, but they got along fine and if needed, she could give him a pay cut if he got too out of line for a little and he'd reign himself in. He didn't want to lose any of his pay, nor the bonus he got from whatever they managed to scrounge up and sell.

It may sound like they were two seconds from beating up one another sometimes, but it was just friendly banter. Another plus point for him, since Spicy liked somepony who could match her wits. It made the day to day interactions far more interesting than a stoic brick wall as a bodyguard, like That mare had. Less bulky in it than Marley, but underestimating the silent pegasus had been a grave mistake for many of his boss's enemies, including Marley at one point. He were lucky it hadn't left him with any permanent scars.

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

"Just a few minutes. Keep focused and we-"

Emerald suddenly yanked her head to the side and starred into seemingly nothing, as she felt a ward activate. Not here though, it was somewhere else, and she were getting a good glance of exactly what was going on. Something which darkened her eyes and made her look as if she wanted to bury somepony alive.

"Grrr, your idiot family and your daughters colt-toy have broken into the basement. They've destroyed the door. And now they're riffling through My books!!!"

She felt the anger bubbling up, and her voice starting to raise above the low volume they had spoken so far. It wouldn't draw the attention of the guards here yet, but Sapphire would have to try and calm Emerald soon if she didn't want that to change. Not that Emerald would be here for much longer without intervention, as she were about to cast a spell to bring her back to the only place left in this world that were sacred to her. If Sapphire cared about her new family, she should probably try and hold her sister back, as otherwise it were going to end poorly for the flock that had dared to break into her sanctum.

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

"Alright, I'll have the guys working on it right away. We'll find you before the ceremony, though it may cut a little close."

"Long as it's ready before he gets on stage, it's good. We'll have to improvise with a robe or something otherwise."

"Don't worry Ge- Adviser. You can count on us."

Benny rose up, his palms now wrapped up nicely again and with the feather between his fingers, headed for the blacksmith.

"With that sorted, we have some things to prepare in the meantime, Wings. I'll explain as we walk."

(The next passage of time can be passed, as they go over location, general procedure, and the details of how to pass along the mantle. You can pick up again at night, an hour to a half hour before the ceremony actually starts, where he's likely worried about where his armor and weapon are.)

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

 

@FanOfManyShows

Sheesh that was quick. chow barely had the chance to finish talking before they were there, which were a pretty rapid change of scenery.

it surprised him how nice this place looked though. He had expected like, skulls and a dismal place in a foggy wood. Not a clean basement where everything stood in order that still looked like a witch's place because of the cauldron and ingredients lining the wall, but could just as well be a relaxation room. He'd give Emerald credit for knowing how to make things cozy, just as he'd give Astral credit for being more destructive than she let on.

"Damn Astral, nice hit. No way they're gonna get that patched up again anytime soon.

I'll grab whatever I can from the shelf, you folks... Sense magic or something. I dunno."

Chow went straight for the bookshelf and began grabbing hold of some random books without seeing what was what. This had been what triggered Emerald's wards to go off, and alert her of them, as well as give her an overview. She couldn't hear them, so their next location may be safe, but this one wouldn't be for much longer, now that they'd been spotted.

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

 

@Dji

"I'm not going to be the only one who notices that something is amiss with you, and other may care more to interject. That you may both perish may not concern them in the slightest."

So they were going to think together for at least a little now, despite them fighting? Fine enough he guessed. If it couldn't be perfect right away, they'd have to find their terms and start to tolerate one another, until they either became so mixed up that they eventually become one entity, or whatever may happen. Symbiotes were tricky to really grasp, and he had barely heard of even a few kinds in his time. It may be that one would just eventually take over and devour the other, or they'd be forever forced to share custody of the body.

Enzo lowered his head and softly laid down fully on the grass below him. The grass tickles his beard, but it wasn't enough of an annoyance for him to really bother doing something about it, other than just getting used to it.

"Try and see within, and ask what it is you both want. Find common ground or whatever."

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

 

@EQ_Theta

"Salosan..."

Omen slowly tilted her head from side to side, trying to remember what she could about him. The name had come up before, she recalled that, but had she ever seen him?

"Was he the one Mother gave to our sibling's masters?"

The memory of the longma that had invoked Mother's ire and were gifted to one of their stranger siblings came to mind. Omen couldn't communicate with that particular sibling, as the language used in that realm were far more complex than equine, but she had seen what went on through the portal whenever Mother spoke to that one, and it were a weird sight involving vast towers of bones and pulsating, twisted flesh, along with residents that looked like something a nightmare would wake up screaming from. Mother said it was a very bad place, and the reason why one of them had gotten a sibling, were that she were afraid of what would happen if she had declined. Yet the one that had went there, apparently did well, though Mother mostly talked with that one in private.

Having asked that, she went on to the topic of whatever Discord could and should make a chaos place for Omen to rest in sometimes.

"I want chaos sometimes. Not sure if it's good though. Mother says this is home now, not chaos world. Don't know if she would like this. I would. Master would. Happy are we, but Mother? Not sure. Need to know first."

omen would love a small place of chaos to go to sometimes, like how ponies enjoyed going to the spa, but she didn't know if Mother would approve, since it might go against Omen getting used to the normal, stable world she were in. She needed to know before she could go and ask her master, right? Or perhaps Lin would say it was best? She was Omen's closest sister, and a friend, so her opinion meant a lot to her as well. If Mother wasn't possible to talk to for some reason, it stood between Lin and Discord for a decision. Discord would always pick chaos, so it may all come down to what Lin would say about it.

Times like this, Omen wished she understood how emotions and reading faces worked. It could really help understanding what Lin's facial expression meant right now, and perhaps make it easier to guess what she meant before the longma even said it.

As for Rosa, he wasn't sleeping yet. Not because he was listening in - though he were - but because every time so far he had closed his eyes, he saw one of those in the swamp starring at him with tears in their eyes, and pain planted all over their faces. It were going to be a long night if he couldn't tire himself out soon.

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

 

@Rising Dusk

The plan that Dusky laid out were simple, yet it made a good deal of logical sense. Start at one point, make some contacts, learn how to properly interact with ponies, and then eventually, once everything was ready and the word had spread about her, she could make her way out and see other ponies and whatever else the world held. Perhaps she could still wander through a forest nearby or something though? Just to see something new now and again.

"𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕒 𝕚𝕤 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕠𝕕. 𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥 𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕝 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕚𝕟𝕡𝕦𝕥 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕘𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕪. 𝔸𝕣𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕠𝕔𝕠𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕨."

Felicia would be silent for a moment as she set up a file in her primary memory bank. Until further notice, that would be the plan to follow, though if it dragged on for far too long for Felicia's taste, she may consider simply wandering away regardless and take her chances. A set date of 152 days seemed like an acceptable number to set before that process would have to be reviewed, so she had written that into the document as well.

The next part fascinated Felicia even more though, as she heard about how Dusky's function worked.

It were far more expansive that she had thoughts, and a good deal more intricate than the guard and attack idea she had of how it worked when you followed the law. Dealing with magical objects more than ponies seemed like a strange, but logical way of keeping others safe, considering how even the telekinesis that she had seen Molotov do could have painful outcomes if for example, used to throw things. A way to deal with magic as a whole were likely for the better.

Then came his role in investigating crimes that had already been done. For some reason. Felicia had never considered that a function out here were not to prevent somepony from breaking the law, but rather find those who had done so, and track them down through whatever means were used. less effective, but it made sense that they couldn't be everywhere at once. Some things would happen when they didn't see, and apparently, these *detectives* were the ones who dealt with handling it after the fact. Fascinating. Just like it were to hear that his job entailed more words than physical contact if possible. What a strange concept.

"𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪, 𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣. 𝕀 𝕒𝕞 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕕. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕘𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕕, 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕪 𝕕𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕤 𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕤, 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜. ℍ𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕥𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤?"

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

 

@Seamore Sandwich @BloodDrops @Dji @EQ_Theta @Moonlit @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight

Onache reacted to the party hat falling on her hat by instinctively swatting it off the second she felt it. She did not enjoy hats, and doubly so when it were these thin paper constructions made out of colored paper. It were foolish.

Happy on the other hoof, had mellowed out pretty well after the coffee soothed his upset stomach, and the news that Onache and him would be able to start the new hive in an actual temple, rather than a series of tunnels in the ground, so he just let it sit. What harm did it make really? Besides, it were kind of the time for a celebration considering how everything went.

Of course, a few wasn't able to enjoy it. like Fluttershy and Discord, who were still chumming in their cage, and hadn't been let loose by the sphinx yet. The changeling queen had dropped the chains she were holding once her transformation had begun, and hadn't made a move to grab them again, so the ball was in the large feline's court on that one. Hopefully she'd have a heart and release the trapped folks soon, so they could get on with a more relaxed party. Wasn't really his kind though, considering he lacked his booze, bu- Ouch!

He felt a bottle hit him int he back of the head, and looked over to see Anomaly just keeping on getting snacks in, whilst whistling innocently. Cheeky little thing, wasn't she? Though looking down on the bottle, he could just feel the animosity flow away like water under the stream. It wasn't scotch (sadly) but a bottle of Auntie Mayberry's Finest? He hadn't had this stuff in years, and he remembered it to be absolutely delicious.

So he popped off the cap - which for some reason flew up and exploded like a miniature firework - and took a sip of the syrup-like substance.

"Aaah, that hits the spot."

He cast a glance towards Lucid, who were apparently downing an entire giant bowl of soda, rather than a glass or bottle of something.

"Dang, you're uhm... Sure that stuff ain't gonna cause you to blow up from all the bubbles? Pretty big batch."

In  the meantime, Onache corrected her new hair - it felt pretty weird, but it was easier to style she supposed - and faced the drone who had just addressed her. The eyes that new fell on Aurora were kinder than before, yet you could still see that same hardness lurking behind, that were in the changeling queens eyes before.

"Yes, drone? Speak your m-"

"Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!"

Her words were interrupted by the joyful squeals of Anomaly, who had jumped into the bouncy castle and were jumping around with not a care in the world. Both Onache and Happy could feel the joyful love the strange creature emitted even from over here, and Aurora could likely taste it seep through the air, with a flavor that were along the same lines as regular love, but with an aftertaste of smoked berries and roasted hazelnuts.

"As I were saying, speak your mind."

None of them seemed to speak with Fluttershy for the time being, but she did get some attention, albeit perhaps not the most useful ones. The dracolisk and Lotus, who had been roaming around for food, had wandered back to the cage and after chewing down another caramel, the bunny attempted to rustle the cage a little here and there to see if there were a spot where it would open. The dracolisk on the other hoof, instead tried to bite into the bars/sides, to see if he could chew through. He were full and had frankly just followed because he were now bored, so his enthusiasm were unsurprisingly low.

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Blitz Boom @EQ_Theta @Storm Shine @Dji @BloodDrops @Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

A portal opened and a draconequus with the torso and head of a pony emerged. She had wings of both a Pegasus and a bat pony, legs of a tiger, cheetah, panther, and zebra. She also had the tail of a tiger. The portal closed behind her as she ran over to the pumpkin-headed thing, who was Anomaly. By the looks of it, she seemed pretty excited to meet someone with the head of a pumpkin. What's cooler than that!?

"Hey! I'm Novia! Is that one of those weird masks or is that really your head? If that's your head, then you obviously must be a draconequus!"

Seeing that Novia showed up, Lucid decided it'd be a good idea to go see her. Lucid wasn't gonna tell Novia his feelings towards her quite yet, since he didn't feel ready to do so.

"Oh hey Lucid, where's your stick?"

"I ate it. The sticks power has basically become a part of me and has also made me part draconequus. The official name for what I am is Poquus. I think Anomaly came up with it. She's the pumpkin head you've started talking to."

Novia picked up Pringle and fed him a strawberry.

"He kinda bit Anomaly, so he isn't allowed t-"

"Aw, he was probably just hungry. Is that right Pringle?"

She then fed the lizard another strawberry, which Pringle quickly ate. Lucid looked to Anomaly.

"Anyway, this is Novia, but she probably already told you that."

Edited October 4, 2018 by Lucid_Nightlight

[Storm Shine 1,195]

@EQ_Theta @Blitz Boom @Dji @Seamore Sandwich @BloodDrops @Moonlit @Lucid_Nightlight

 

Discord snapped his talons, dispersing the cage in an 'explosion' of butterflies. "Now there's something for the mortals to ponder." He commented, taking a bite out of his teacup and chewing thoughtfully. "How would a fish drown? Without magic or myself being involved, of course."

[EQ_Theta 414]

@Blitz Boom @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight @BloodDrops @Dji @Moonlit @Seamore Sandwich

While waiting for the Sphinx to respond, Fluttershy drank some of the leftover tea she and Discord had. It has gone cold over time but it would be a shame to waste a good beverage. Discord's been gracious and the tea was delicious, probably picked up something from the Ponyville shop. She thought about the question he posed, sipping a little bit of tea while jogging her memory. She knew a thing or two about fish.

"I suppose if a fish were to stop swimming, it would drown. Though why it would stop swimming is anypony's guess."

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

@Blitz Boom

"Yes, Solasan was given to one of your sibling's masters. He's gone and he won't go after us again."

Those words gave Lin some measure of comfort. Despite what she told Rosa earlier, it was a sobering thought that one chapter in her life ended on a positive note. Those thoughts about Solasan still haunted her, kept her wondering when someone else is going to try the same thing. It was a weakness already exposed and given how many beings Legion had possessed, it was reasonable for her to expect someone had an idea on how to turn her against Omen. Not a good thing at all but they have to remain vigilant from now on. It seems like they'll never truly be safe, not with Solasan's legacy still looming over them. If it was something, Lin at least just wanted to give Omen one less thing to worry about.

"You're right. I suppose we should talk to Mother first about the matter before I start doing anything. After seeing her angry, I don't want her looking at me like the way he looked at Solasan. She hoped we would stay safe so we wouldn't worry her so much, and I really feel bad about making anyone worry. Oh, and before I forget..."

Lin opened up her saddle bag and pulled out a familiar little object she had worked on back in Mother's realm. It wasn't finished at the time but having one extra night to work on some small changes gave her something to do to pass the time. Now that Omen is here, she could finally show her; it's been keeping her a little giddy ever since they parted ways. 

"Omen, remember that lustrous scale I gave you? I wanted to make you one of these." Lin walked forward and slung the necklace on Omen, around her neck, and the fire's light bounced off the gemstones adorning it. Each one gave it a distinct color and depending on the way one looked, the light bouncing off the scale would show a different color, an iridescent look. 

"A necklace with two scales on it: one from me and one from Sen. We never got a chance to properly thank you for your help but we wanted you to have this. Wherever you go, wherever you'll be, there will always be a piece of us with you, literally speaking." Lin chuckled at that last part but hopefully it got the idea across. Unbeknownst to her, Sen was listening in, sleeping fairly close by in the tent. He didn't doze off yet but just hearing those words from Lin got him cozy enough to drift off to sleep. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,421]

@Blitz Boom
Nada didn't stop until she was fully satisfied, in fact, she might had eaten a bit too much at once, but that was to be expected considering how long it really had been since she had eaten a fish. When she was done, Nada floated next to Berry and landed to lay on the ground with smile on her face as she listened what Berry had to say. "Everything still seems like it happened all at once." "And what about the millennia gap between things happening?" her smile faded "I feel like the world is making sure that I remember how long I have wasted by suddenly stuffing millennia everywhere." "I know it's stupid to think that, but I can't help it." 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since Nada wasn't interrupted she quickly finished the rabbit and hid the evidence,  a meal of that size didn't exactly fill her up, but it would be enough until she would have a chance to go for a real hunt without time limit. After she was done with hiding what was left of the rabbit, mostly things that were hard to get down in her current form like fur, she walked to a small puddle she had noticed and cleaned up any blood left in her hoofs and mouth.

She then simply walked back towards Marley and Spicy, her hooves were wet from her cleaning up, but there was nothing she could do about that, not that it was hard to come up with excuse for it.

She arrived to Spicy and noticed Marley wasn't there, it didn't take her long to guess out why "Ah, I assume you have sent your little birdie to spy on me." her tone was calm and nonchalant "He's either very good at that or he never found me since I didn't notice him."

[BloodDrops 762]

On 10/2/2018 at 10:21 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"We're getting a roof over our heads? I dunno who you are miss, but that's mighty kind of ya. Thank you."

Happy was still looking for that drink, but was starting to think that there just wasn't something like that here. And if there were, it were likely going to be some weak cider. You know what? He'd take that right now. The sphinx's offer was really nice, and he responded to it as you should when given a home - minus the jumping up and down whilst screaming - but this were a weird situation, and his stomach was feeling sort of queasy, so yeah, he could really use a drink.

"...We will take the offer, and make the temple our home. Much appreciated."

Onache finally found her tongue and talked to the sphinx, who everything considered, were owed the most right now in her mind. Words were all fine and good, but a temple were something else. A malleable one at that. A fine start point for a miniature nation.

 

The Sphinx smirked and smiled, before nodding, that had sorted that problem out and she no longer had anything to tie her down in this part of Equestria. "Good good, I may pop back this way if I need to do any business this way though i'm doubtful I will have to travel this far again. Though the temple is relatively low maintenance" she remarked letting out a low yawn. 

 

On 10/3/2018 at 2:34 AM, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"You're giving them the temple? Well, I guess that means it'll be less work on us and we can focus on the party."

 "Well I think they will treat it better then someone like yourself. And they need it more" she said pointedly. 

 

On 10/3/2018 at 2:49 AM, Dji said:

Twilight thought about the riddle for a good long while. She knew that swimming away didn't mean leaving the tank where the fish lived and dying and drowning are the same thing which left five instead of one. Still, this didn't necessarily mean that five left was the right answer. "Can I ask a question about the riddle? Where did the four fish that swam away swim to? Because swimming away isn't the same as dying and where can they swim to when all of them are inside a tank?"

 

The Sphinx growled and rolled her eyes, this pony was just rubbish at riddles. "Well if they are in a sealed container, they can't exactly escape from it" she said pointedly. "If they didn't escape they were still in the tank, even those that died were still in the tank. I didn't ask anything about alive ones, just how many were in the tank. So since you can't escape in the tank, that gives you your answer" she purred. 

A large book on riddles dropped down on Twilights bed, that she could read at her leisure. "I delivered you a present at your house, you may read it then return it to myself after doing so" she said with a large grin. 

 

On 10/3/2018 at 8:47 AM, EQ_Theta said:

"So... that crown is looking bright once more," Fluttershy nervously turned to the sphinx. "Does that mean we can get out of these cages now?" 

The cages disappeared leaving the ponies standing on some sand. The Sphinx blinked "yep its glowing, so its time for myself to take my leave. My work here is done, at last" she remarked with a chuckle. 

 

 

[Rising Dusk 26,015]

@Blitz Boom

Pretending to understand the ins and outs of how an artificial mind worked compared to his own seemed rather foolhardy.  It was still rather interesting to think about though.  How much of a pony's mental process was taken for granted and just considered 'the way of things' he wondered.  Felicia's mind though, could really break it down to something a biological creature just considered automatic or instinct.  Dusk could remember things from pretty much every point in his past as if they had just happened.  All the way back to the first time him and his sister were laid in their crib in Canterlot.  An erudite unicorn and very tired, yet beautiful, looking pegasus smiling down at him while his limbs blindly moved about looking for purpose.  His mind probably had a similar filing system Felicia's did, even if he wasn't as actively aware of it.  Something the two shared in common.

A simple nod came from Rising Dusk to respond to his hopefully helpful method of exploring.  He hoped it would help her in the end and the crew of the scrap yard were a good bunch of ponies.  As the afternoon was quickly approaching, the city was starting to come more a live as ponies ventured out to partake of their various lunch routines.  Luckily they were nearly the more deserted East Side of the city, so their bath through the alleys should remain unhindered.

Moving on to her next inquiry brought about an interesting topic consider Felicia might not know the concept of promoting.

"More or less," he started while they rounded into another alley.  "My field is largely unexplored so there is a lot of time I spend learning as I go.  When I was first recruited into the Office of Magical Investigations, I spent most of my time in the basement, disenchanting artifacts that were deemed dangerous.  After a time, I was then sent to also Dispel harm magics that had befallen ponies in the city.  Wanting to do more, I took the officer's examine and became an official officer of the law.  This promoted me out of the basement and I started taking on cases within the city.  Mostly in a supportive role for whichever pony had been put in charge of the case.  Whether from the O.M.I or regular police department.  Even if the case wasn't magical in nature, we still gladly lend a hoof when needed.  A few years learning the ins and outs of investigating and the city itself, I was promoted to Detective.  Now able to take on cases alone, or take the lead of bigger ones if necessary.  And rather recently, within the last year, I've had my cases expanded beyond the city's borders and into all of Equestria.  This all took me about eight years to get to where I am today." 

 

Edited October 6, 2018 by Rising Dusk

[Blitz Boom 4,422]

@Catpone Cerberus

"To be fair, it have been a weird few years, starting around the time when Twilight came down from Canterlot to keep an eye on the old library. It's like weirdness just follows her and her friends around, along with general danger. I'm sure it's part of The Conspiracy, yet how? Why? I haven't figured it out yet, but I'm sure the answer lies somewhere within the secrets to how Twilight became an alicorn. But of course, the princesses keep a close eye on that secret, so that's a dead end. For now."

Berry wasn't sure what she'd do if she actually found the secret. Use it on herself perhaps and see if it worked? Heh, that'd be a fun one. Presenting Berry: The Alicorn of Truth.

...Actually had a nice ring to it. She'd have to think about that some more, though again, a secret to be found before that.Perhaps if she took a trip to Canterlot and looked through Celestia's trash for a month she'd get somewhere? But then she'd need to use her vacation days on that instead of her actual vacation... Decisions decisions, she had to take them later.

"Let's look on the bright side though, right Nada? You're out and about now, and if the Princess of Friendship can hang out with Discord and the changelings, I see no reason why you won't be welcome too. It'd be one hay of a hypocritical thing to do at least.

And hey, you got me to help you out. I ain't leaving my friends behind, short of them trying to get me institutionalized. Friends don't put friends in the psych ward."

Berry would attempt to give the siren a hug again, which may go easier and less stiff now, since the siren had gotten herself a good deal of chow down now. Rest in peace, fishies.

"Anyway, was the fish good? You look like somepony who downed a half dozen cupcakes and fell into bliss."

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

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"I consider myself to be very good."

Marley suddenly stood behind Ruby, having flapped down from the trees above without making a sound. In his talons, a small handful of leaves rested. He hadn't wanted them to fall on the pony and give away anything, though as Ruby were actually a dragon, she may have smelled him a few seconds before he talked.

"Heh, showoff. And yeah, I sent him off to keep an eye on the sky. I like you Ruby, but in our world, you gotta be cautious about cops."

"If it helps, I didn't watch whatever you were doing while you were away. I just looked out for potential carrier birds. We're not here to take away your privacy after all."

His voice clearly reeked of the kind of confidence that just screamed *If I wanted to see you, I could, and you would've never spotted me*, but most of the time this arrogance had been warranted. He was rarely seen, only by those with really good senses, and if it came down to a battle he could keep his own in a confrontation handily. He may not have magic, but his former profession had trained him well in doing with what he had. A pity he hadn't taken well to all of their teachings and ideals, or he may have made quite the effective spy, yet that wasn't his want. A little too *cloak and dagger* for his taste. Plus those clothes... Urgh, what a disgrace to fashion.

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

 

@EQ_Theta

Omen looked down on the necklace she had been given now. It reminded her of the one she had left behind, before trying to go and find a way to help Sen live longer, except the pouch of dried fruit wasn't there too. They likely used those to feed Shrimp while she were away, considering the little thing seemed to like that kind of food, but they could have gone old too she guessed. It confused her how some food started to get moldy and weird when you just left them there, but leaving some pieces around and just starring at them for days on end had taught her a little about things. Not why it happened, but at least that it could, and would, for most edible things.

"I remember this. It looks pretty."

The scale that Lin had taken off before she went away to be healed up, and now one from Sen too? It had sounded like a very important gift before, but now... She were pretty sure that this was a very important, heartfelt gift. Something she should keep on her and protect forever, to always remind her of her two best friends.

Times like this she wondered what it would be like if she were able to cry with joy. Probably would have fitted, yes?

"Thank you. Should I do this too now?"

Omen pulled out her tongue and wrapped around some of her hair, ready to pull. Even when not attached to her, it would still keep flowing like the wind went through it, so it might be important too? It left an impact the time she had cut some of it off when trying to find out what a scissor were at least. Not a good one though, so perhaps not? She's have to wait and see what Lin said.

She wanted to do something for her at least. Sen and Lin had done many good things for Omen, and whatever she might have done, she couldn't really remember, as it seemed to have happened in that village Lin were just speaking about. It didn't seem like she had really given anything back, and this necklace seemed important. Lin looked... Happy at least? Emotions were hard, but smiling likely meant that somepony were in a good mood.

It was a shame that she didn't have scales that she could give to make things completely equal, and she couldn't tear her skin off without it getting weird. She had accidentally done so once before, and it had been such a mess that Discord had made her promise not to do something like that again, so all that she could give of her body were hair. Perhaps she could find something else eventually? She didn't own anything, but she had found weird things through the years. She could get some of them and hope it would do? Everypony seemed to like shiny things.

"And why would Mother be angry with you? We're her children. She loves us. Even the bad siblings."

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

 

@Rising Dusk

Felicia listened intensely to everything Dusky was saying, as they passed into yet another of the abandoned alleys they had passed when going here in the first place.

"𝕀𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕗𝕠𝕔𝕦𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕘𝕠𝕒𝕝, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕥 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙, 𝕤𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟. 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕞𝕖 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟, 𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣."

It was quite an impressive way he had gone from what she could understand. Taking his abilities and building upon them, and climbing the ranks over years to get out of the dusty basement he had been in, and out in the open to expand his workload, and places for his abilities to be useful.

She found herself somewhat in his starting position when first they met. Stuck in her own metaphorical dusty basement, and doing the limited duty that she was assigned. It took him years to do what she had needed a month for, but it did not make her think less of him. Quite the opposite, if he could go from the small starting point he had and follow the light for years on end to become what he now were, he were a well determined being who were frankly inspiring, and only got more with every bit more she learned from him.

Perhaps someday, she could learn him something too. She had a decent library of knowledge from Center Zero that she could share, soon as she got herself a voicebox, which had been downloaded to her files either by accident, or out of another paranoid fit from Molotov about potentially losing everything in a fire or something. She hadn't unlocked all that many of them yet, as he had protected them well, but it was coming along. With some luck, she would eventually crack the code on the genetics files, as she considered Dusky prime for a study in what beneficial traits he might pass on, and if he could do with a lot of them, Felicia would have to see if she could catch him a mate. Pony dating were alien to her, but she knew how to bait prey.

She'd have to decide later on if dangling the officer from somewhere that several mares could see him would be efficient enough, and then question the worth against the backlash she might suffer from him for the action, but one thing at a time. First she had to gain access, then gather more intel, and then eventually, she'd perhaps go hunting with Dusky. Literally.

"𝕄𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕓𝕚𝕘 𝕕𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣. ℍ𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥. 𝔸𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕕𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦, 𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕣𝕒𝕣𝕖?"

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@Seamore Sandwich @BloodDrops @Dji @EQ_Theta @Moonlit @Storm Shine @Lucid_Nightlight

Seeing the newcomer gave a big grin to Anomaly's face. Another draconequus? And Novia was the name of Lucid's crush, so it was even better. Now it wasn't just like a convention of draconequui and assorted, but a matchmaking arena too. This was gonna be fun!

Jumping out of the bouncy castle, Anomaly landed belly up, bounced once, then suddenly grew four hairy tarantula legs on each side of her body that rose her up, and skittered herself a little closer to the newcomer. She were still laying upside down though, but that was nothing she couldn't fix by giving herself a smack, which caused her face to spin around and eventually settle on a position so the world were turned the right way.

"Ooooh, hi Novia! I'm Anomaly, and yeah, I'm a draconequui too. Not very big with the chaos, but I get A+ on biology and theatrics. I think I might've lost some juice in the chaos tank when I died that first time, but eh, who cares? I can still make lots of pretty nature and weird animals.

So, what brings you here? Are you here to smack Pringle? That'd be good. He's a little meaniepants, and my sworn arch nemesis! I would've eaten him if he didn't look all yuck and Lucid threatened me with lots of bad things if I tried."

The changelings looked at this encounter taking place, as well as Discord effortlessly dispersing a strong cage into a swarm of butterflies of all things, and both pretty much had the same idea: They'd had to put a *No Draconequui* sign on the temple. It was fine outside, but this was just getting weirder and weirder, and it wasn't gonna help that there were now one more of them, and the sphinx wouldn't be here for much longer to keep any of their antics in check.

"I hate to ask, but what job are you referring to, miss? Kinda new to this setting, and I'm not caught up on everything."

It sounded a little like the sphinx's plan had been to contain Onache and himself's impact on Equestria, by making sure they got converted and put on ground where they had to play nice with others, but that sounded a bit weird. Seriously, it'd be one complex plan to pull off, what with every other creature here, and the many ways they might've impacted things. They might've wanted to throw his queen into a pool of lava instead, as an example. Wasn't like nopony had ever threatened that before.

Hopefully he'd get a response on this from the sphinx before she took off, but if not, he'd just shrug it off and get on with his life. It'd just give him a headache to think this through too much, and they had better things to do. Like hoping the ponies and assorted other creatures that were now completely free from their chains, didn't feel like beating the colorful bugs up for the trouble.