open Life in Canterlot Castle

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

17 minutes ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"That's true. She should be fine."

"I gotta ask. Were you named Ruby before or after you came to Equestria? Because this language isn't your native language right?"

"Well, we don't have the word ruby in our language." Ruby explained "And we don't really use names, since they aren't really necessary for our style of life, but we still get names in case we make a name for ourselves so to speak, and I was given the name Charir Kethend, which translates to 'Red Gem'." "So I'd say the answer is both."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

18 minutes ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Well, we don't have the word ruby in our language." Ruby explained "And we don't really use names, since they aren't really necessary for our style of life, but we still get names in case we make a name for ourselves so to speak, and I was given the name Charir Kethend, which translates to 'Red Gem'." "So I'd say the answer is both."

"Then you changed your name to Ruby to blend in? Is that right? Are there any other kinds of dragons in your land? A couple days ago you said that you know about other forms of dragon."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

29 minutes ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"Then you changed your name to Ruby to blend in? Is that right? Are there any other kinds of dragons in your land? A couple days ago you said that you know about other forms of dragon."

"Ruby Shine yes, it would be stupid to go around with non-pony name when you're trying to blend in with ponies." "And no, in our homelands there is only our kind, as we have driven out all the others, but I know about them because it's one of the things that are told to each generation to show how much superior we are."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

18 minutes ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Ruby Shine yes, it would be stupid to go around with non-pony name when you're trying to blend in with ponies." "And no, in our homelands there is only our kind, as we have driven out all the others, but I know about them because it's one of the things that are told to each generation to show how much superior we are."

Fluffball climbed out of the saddlebag.

"Fluffball asked if you're so superior, why don't you have a government while other dragons do?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

1 hour ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

Fluffball climbed out of the saddlebag.

"Fluffball asked if you're so superior, why don't you have a government while other dragons do?"

"Because we don't need one, governments are for the weak, because they by definition are made to make creature's life safer and more convenient" "It is herd behavior based on lack of individual capability to defend oneself."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

10 minutes ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Because we don't need one, governments are for the weak, because they by definition are made to make creature's life safer and more convenient" "It is herd behavior based on lack of individual capability to defend oneself."

"I wouldn't say weak. We realize our weakness, so we use numbers and organization to get defend ourselves. It isn't weak, it's resourceful."

He looked at his spear.

"We ponies don't have super sharp teeth or claws, so we took resources and made weapons. Sure, unicorns have magic, but not everyone in the world is a unicorn. If resources like metals and other things help us. And if governments give us an advantage, would it not be foolish for us not to use them?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

9 minutes ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"I wouldn't say weak. We realize our weakness, so we use numbers and organization to get defend ourselves. It isn't weak, it's resourceful."

He looked at his spear.

"We ponies don't have super sharp teeth or claws, so we took resources and made weapons. Sure, unicorns have magic, but not everyone in the world is a unicorn. If resources like metals and other things help us. And if governments give us an advantage, would it not be foolish for us not to use them?"

"We were talking about other kinds of lizards were we not?" Ruby pointed out "They have the exact same claws and teeth as us, yet they decide to act like defenseless prey." "That is weakness, no matter how you put it."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

4 minutes ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"We were talking about other kinds of lizards were we not?" Ruby pointed out "They have the exact same claws and teeth as us, yet they decide to act like defenseless prey." "That is weakness, no matter how you put it."

"Maybe so, but I'd say Wyverns have a good reason. They are more built to fight and hunt as a group. Think of them as the wolves of dragon kind."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

4 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"Maybe so, but I'd say Wyverns have a good reason. They are more built to fight and hunt as a group. Think of them as the wolves of dragon kind."

"We all come from same bloodline originally" Ruby said "And they evolving to act like prey doesn't make it any less weak." "And wolfs too are weak, acting like prey." "And they clearly are weaker than us, because even when they banded together, they were still driven out of our lands."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

12 minutes ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"We all come from same bloodline originally" Ruby said "And they evolving to act like prey doesn't make it any less weak." "And wolfs too are weak, acting like prey." "And they clearly are weaker than us, because even when they banded together, they were still driven out of our lands."

"I'm not too sure about the Wyverns in general, but I doubt their nations were built in your land since I've never heard them mention it. I can't really change your opinion on what is weak or not, so I won't try."

"I doubt it'd be anywhere near where you are from, but I wouldn't know. But I do know that the two Wyvern nations are at war with each other. I told you about a revolution the other day, but not in what you may think. The small kingdom wants a democracy, which they call a revolution as in a change of way things are done. The bigger kingdom however hates the idea and thinks it is a disgrace to dragon kind. So instead of just agreeing to disagree, they declared war."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

11 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"I'm not too sure about the Wyverns in general, but I doubt their nations were built in your land since I've never heard them mention it. I can't really change your opinion on what is weak or not, so I won't try."

"I doubt it'd be anywhere near where you are from, but I wouldn't know. But I do know that the two Wyvern nations are at war with each other. I told you about a revolution the other day, but not in what you may think. The small kingdom wants a democracy, which they call a revolution as in a change of way things are done. The bigger kingdom however hates the idea and thinks it is a disgrace to dragon kind. So instead of just agreeing to disagree, they declared war."

"Stop calling those malformed lizards dragons, sure they come from the same bloodline, but wyvern is the name of their kind, and it is different from us dragons." Ruby said rather coldly "And sure their nations never reached our lands, but their tribes did, which isn't that different, as a tribe is the beginning of a nation." "And lastly, I have to agree with the bigger kingdom here, they are closer to being right, even with the fact that they too are disgrace for even having a kingdom"

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

3 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Stop calling those malformed lizards dragons, sure they come from the same bloodline, but wyvern is the name of their kind, and it is different from us dragons." Ruby said rather coldly "And sure their nations never reached our lands, but their tribes did, which isn't that different, as a tribe is the beginning of a nation." "And lastly, I have to agree with the bigger kingdom here, they are closer to being right, even with the fact that they too are disgrace for even having a kingdom"

"I wouldn't say that to the Mountain King's face, he'd probably just declare war on your land like he did with the small kingdom."

"The small kingdom probably won't declare war on your kind since they think that would be pointless."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

53 minutes ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"I wouldn't say that to the Mountain King's face, he'd probably just declare war on your land like he did with the small kingdom."

"The small kingdom probably won't declare war on your kind since they think that would be pointless."

"I wouldn't care." Ruby stated coldly "Both because I don't believe that those lizards could do any real damage to my kind, and because I don't care what happens to rest of my kind." "After all, my goal is to be more successful than rest of my kind, and if I was the only one left, I would automatically be the most superior." 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

4 minutes ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"I wouldn't care." Ruby stated coldly "Both because I don't believe that those lizards could do any real damage to my kind, and because I don't care what happens to rest of my kind." "After all, my goal is to be more successful than rest of my kind, and if I was the only one left, I would automatically be the most superior." 

"I wouldn't underestimate them. They are organized and have better numbers. The smaller kingdom is having enough of a challenge as it is. Mostly because they have no real army, so they have a militia fighting."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

5 minutes ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"I wouldn't underestimate them. They are organized and have better numbers. The smaller kingdom is having enough of a challenge as it is. Mostly because they have no real army, so they have a militia fighting."

"And what do you know about numbers?" Ruby asked "Even i don't know how many of my kind there is, and regardless of if there's a kingdom or not, we reproduce just as fast as wyverns, so their numbers simply can't be too different from ours, in fact, now that they are split, only part of them would be in the attack, so my kind clearly has the numbers on our side."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

16 minutes ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"And what do you know about numbers?" Ruby asked "Even i don't know how many of my kind there is, and regardless of if there's a kingdom or not, we reproduce just as fast as wyverns, so their numbers simply can't be too different from ours, in fact, now that they are split, only part of them would be in the attack, so my kind clearly has the numbers on our side."

"Maybe. That is very possible. Heres one thing though, numbers mean nothing when you are disorganized. I must also add the fact that your kind probably would have no idea how to fight an organized army with a whole lot of experience."

"Could your kind get organized? Maybe, but that doesn't over night. They would attack before the opposing side could organize and build up an army. The lone wolf mentality that you say is strong becomes the greatest weakness in a war."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

5 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"Maybe. That is very possible. Heres one thing though, numbers mean nothing when you are disorganized. I must also add the fact that your kind probably would have no idea how to fight an organized army with a whole lot of experience."

"Could your kind get organized? Maybe, but that doesn't over night. They would attack before the opposing side could organize and build up an army. The lone wolf mentality that you say is strong becomes the greatest weakness in a war."

"And they have no idea how to fight huge amount of silent and deadly hunters who are used to fighting things bigger than them." "On the hunters' home terrain nonetheless." "Organization and numbers are not always a strength, it's lot easier to crush ten lizards at once if they are side to side, while it's impossible if all of them come from different direction." "And they have no experience against my kind, besides maybe the oldest ones who have already lost at least once."

"And yes, we can get organized, and really fast actually, in fact instantly, because though we hate each other, enemy of my enemy is my friend and we ultimately want our own kind to survive, and when it comes to time it takes...well, we all know that in that situation the strongest one leads, and until there's someone who has made name for themselves, it's automatically the oldest one, and because we all follow the same hunting tactics, we all will also know right away what to do."

"And I would say that our disorganization may be actually one of our strengths, because our enemy will thing they will have easy victory because of it, like you just did, and one thing I have learned in my short life is that underestimating your enemy always leads to defeat."  

 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

35 minutes ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"And they have no idea how to fight huge amount of silent and deadly hunters who are used to fighting things bigger than them." "On the hunters' home terrain nonetheless." "Organization and numbers are not always a strength, it's lot easier to crush ten lizards at once if they are side to side, while it's impossible if all of them come from different direction." "And they have no experience against my kind, besides maybe the oldest ones who have already lost at least once."

"And yes, we can get organized, and really fast actually, in fact instantly, because though we hate each other, enemy of my enemy is my friend and we ultimately want our own kind to survive, and when it comes to time it takes...well, we all know that in that situation the strongest one leads, and until there's someone who has made name for themselves, it's automatically the oldest one, and because we all follow the same hunting tactics, we all will also know right away what to do."

"And I would say that our disorganization may be actually one of our strengths, because our enemy will thing they will have easy victory because of it, like you just did, and one thing I have learned in my short life is that underestimating your enemy always leads to defeat."  

 

"I guess you have a point in terms of defense. Plus you know more about dragons than I do. It is also known that a common enemy can bring anyone together. Plus your kind could use guerrilla tactics and make the war as long and painful as possible for the invading force until they give up."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

11 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"I guess you have a point in terms of defense. Plus you know more about dragons than I do. It is also known that a common enemy can bring anyone together. Plus your kind could use guerrilla tactics and make the war as long and painful as possible for the invading force until they give up."

Ruby didn't say anything since she didn't have anything to add. Calti came out of the saddlebag and climbed on top of Ruby's head and sat down "Though there could be also a chance that they would bring war to ponies instead since I live among you, in which case I see their victory being very possible, but that wouldn't really concern me."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

6 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

Ruby didn't say anything since she didn't have anything to add. Calti came out of the saddlebag and climbed on top of Ruby's head and sat down "Though there could be also a chance that they would bring war to ponies instead since I live among you, in which case I see their victory being very possible, but that wouldn't really concern me."

"In that case, we would have to distribute the enchantes weaponsnas fast as possible, get our allies such as the changelings and the dragons from the Dragonlands, then we would invade. It would at least be three nations against one. It would be hard fought though. We would have to go into a full wartime economy."

"I'd say we could bring the Yaks into this, but what would they be able to do? Run around screaming at things? I don't think that will work against something with scales."

"Then again, we could just have Princess Twilight and her friends do that rainbow laser thing, but we won't be able to depend on them forever, so while it may work in that moment, it will hurt us in the long run since the more we depend on them, the weaker our military becomes."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

3 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"In that case, we would have to distribute the enchantes weaponsnas fast as possible, get our allies such as the changelings and the dragons from the Dragonlands, then we would invade. It would at least be three nations against one. It would be hard fought though. We would have to go into a full wartime economy."

"I'd say we could bring the Yaks into this, but what would they be able to do? Run around screaming at things? I don't think that will work against something with scales."

"Then again, we could just have Princess Twilight and her friends do that rainbow laser thing, but we won't be able to depend on them forever, so while it may work in that moment, it will hurt us in the long run since the more we depend on them, the weaker our military becomes."

"You forget one of your weaknesses." Ruby said "Your lack of real experience." "You can train as much as you want, but how many of you guards would really be able to take a live?" "What about seeing your own troops fall." "And though that rainbow weapon of the annoying six is very effective, we are talking about creatures with superior intelligence to yours, they will come from many directions, and they may have tactics you can't even imagine." "And lastly, morale, it is tricky with your kind, because high morale would mean your kind underestimates your enemy, which like I said is a mistake, but accepting your own inferiority would bring morale down, and you most likely know why that's a bad thing." "But this time I have a solution for you, princesses again didn't listen me when I told it to them, but it's very important regardless." "Only updated weaponry won't work, you need pride, you need to make it so that your army is proud to fight, like my kind is, that way, regardless of how much superior your enemy is to you, no matter how much you know you are very badly disadvantaged, you will fight, because you're proud to do so, and it would put be shameful to back down." "It's better to lose with pride than give up."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

2 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"You forget one of your weaknesses." Ruby said "Your lack of real experience." "You can train as much as you want, but how many of you guards would really be able to take a live?" "What about seeing your own troops fall." "And though that rainbow weapon of the annoying six is very effective, we are talking about creatures with superior intelligence to yours, they will come from many directions, and they may have tactics you can't even imagine." "And lastly, morale, it is tricky with your kind, because high morale would mean your kind underestimates your enemy, which like I said is a mistake, but accepting your own inferiority would bring morale down, and you most likely know why that's a bad thing." "But this time I have a solution for you, princesses again didn't listen me when I told it to them, but it's very important regardless." "Only updated weaponry won't work, you need pride, you need to make it so that your army is proud to fight, like my kind is, that way, regardless of how much superior your enemy is to you, no matter how much you know you are very badly disadvantaged, you will fight, because you're proud to do so, and it would put be shameful to back down." "It's better to lose with pride than give up."

"You never know what a cornered beast might do."

"You are right about morale though. We need to be willing to fight whatever challenge we face. Sadly enough, no one seems to understand that. Everyone is too use to peace and honestly, I have no idea how we can ever get out of such a mindset. It is something I can't stand. It's all because everyone expects a world of sunshine and rainbows and they don't seem to realize how unrealistic that really is."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

16 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"You never know what a cornered beast might do."

"You are right about morale though. We need to be willing to fight whatever challenge we face. Sadly enough, no one seems to understand that. Everyone is too use to peace and honestly, I have no idea how we can ever get out of such a mindset. It is something I can't stand. It's all because everyone expects a world of sunshine and rainbows and they don't seem to realize how unrealistic that really is."

"And that's exactly what is wrong with your species, a prey that forgets its prey will learn it through the hard way." Ruby stated  "And it's something that can only be fixed in one of two ways, either by teaching reality from the day you're born, or by experiencing that hard way." "And since it's your rulers who too are ignorant, it will most likely be the latter." "And that's a one thing that I like about the captain regardless of how much I hate her, she seems like she understand it." 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

13 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

"And that's exactly what is wrong with your species, a prey that forgets its prey will learn it through the hard way." Ruby stated  "And it's something that can only be fixed in one of two ways, either by teaching reality from the day you're born, or by experiencing that hard way." "And since it's your rulers who too are ignorant, it will most likely be the latter." "And that's a one thing that I like about the captain regardless of how much I hate her, she seems like she understand it." 

"I don't like being prey. Doesn't feel like my thing. Sometimes it feels like I'm not even supposed to be me. It's weird. I think I told you this already, but I feel as if I'm not supposed to be so tiny and weak, like I'm supposed to be something big and powerful. Something durable and strong."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,604]

9 hours ago, Lucid_Nightlight said:

"I don't like being prey. Doesn't feel like my thing. Sometimes it feels like I'm not even supposed to be me. It's weird. I think I told you this already, but I feel as if I'm not supposed to be so tiny and weak, like I'm supposed to be something big and powerful. Something durable and strong."

"Prey never wants to be prey." Ruby pointed out "Why would you want to be weak after all." she had a feeling she knew where this whole thing was going, it would explain why Somnus felt so different to the other ponies regardless of not really being any better, but she dismissed it for now.