private Deep Science 1x1 with Blitz Boom

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null) 

While Ardee was curious, especially when they mentioned eggs, she got the feeling that this was at best, a touchy subject here, and at worst, taboo to bring up. So, she didn't ask any questions, and Arcade similarly didn't press the issue.

When it came to seeing the old theater they nodded, thinking that that would be a good way to move on from the previous topic. Ardee did comment though, "Well, it's not saying much but it's going to be the best theater we've ever seen. Or, well, at least the top 2, since we saw the one in the Top Suits this morning."

Arcade smiled at that, "Yeah, we haven't really seen much of anything before, so a lot of this is new to us, so you'll find us easier to impress than others."

 

(Void)

On 2023-06-24 at 3:50 AM, Blitz Boom said:

Could I ask if you'd please keep it from the others though, at least for now? I want it to be a surprise."

Toupé looked suspicious at being asked to keep secrets, but nodded.

 

On 2023-06-24 at 3:50 AM, Blitz Boom said:

In the vein of that, she had also added that she wanted to see if there were a book about knitting or sowing socks.  There were Crow's glasses too, yes, but she had been told that Void were a glass blower. Maybe she could have a chat with her, to see if she could repair glasses, when she met her the next time? Didn't hurt to ask after all, right? Not that Crow were too bothered about it. She only needed them to read things, but still, it never hurt to know ways, that you might be able to help your friends.

"Hehe, lots to look for. This outta be fun."

As the students wrote Gypsum moved around the room quietly to see what they were writing without distracting them. When Cherish spoke up she looked over at her paper and smiled, "You have many-things there, This one is unsure if you will be able to seek-find all of them today, but you will-be able-to go-back later, if you are good-behaved."

Returning to the front it looked like everyone was done writing, "Good, if you didn't get many-things, that is fine. The helper-researchers will be able to help you find new things if you run out while we are there. You can leave your things here, we will come-back for food and talking after the library. Follow-close, Gypsum doesn't want you to get lost."

She would first usher them outside as she held the door open, then close it behind them before leading the way, walking upright so they would all be able to see her even if they got into a crowd, but she also seemed to be taking a route that avoided the busier areas of town.

The Trojan Central Library sat behind the court and legislature buildings on the outside of the inner ring, facing away from the oasis. It matched the neighboring buildings in style as it was older, and there were still some damaged portions that were in the process of being repaired. Entering the building they might have been surprised to see that the massive bookshelves sat mostly empty, but there were also some crates of books sitting by the research desks. Toupé was quick to ask, quietly, "Miss Gypsum? Why are the shelves so big for so few books? Are there books missing?"

Gypsum nodded sadly, "Well, not missing. Most of the books were taken to the Æther to protect them, and some that were left were damaged or destroyed. So there aren't many here for us. But, this one hopes that you'll be able to find what you seek in what remains."

The others looked saddened as well to hear about the books, even Nova looked disappointed, though Lilac didn't seem to fully understand.

That being said, they arrived at the desk, where one of the helper-researchers that Gypsum had mentioned stood to greet them, she was a younger looking earth pony mare, a few years younger than Void was, "Hello you all, welcome to the library. I'm Data Stream, but you can call me Datum. I'll be showing you all around the library and helping you find out what you're interested in. Do any of you have any questions before we get started?"

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

They'd be led back the path, and upstairs fairly easily, though their guide would speak as they moved along, filling the time, as the hard-working changelings behind them kept going at their important excavation.

"The theater used to be a shining star in Las Pegasus, I'll have you know. Some thirty years or so before we took it over, it were a really classy place, that hosted an immense amounts of plays. The real talk of the town, where you'd be if you were someone.

*sigh* A few fatal accidents and a murder later though, and it got rumored to be cursed and/or haunted, depending on who you asked. Interest started to dwindle, though it were still popular. Then the owner died, and his heir mismanaged things extremely poorly, until he just gave up, and moved to Canterlot. The city took it over, due to unpaid taxes, and it were left just whittling away for about fifteen years. Time and lack of maintenance, wasn't kind on the old building. Was even some talk about just destroying it, and building something else.

I'm happy they didn't though, and instead let us have it. Sure it doesn't have the glamour of its hay days, but it still got charm, and a sense of true theater to it. I don't care how much work we've had to put into this place sometimes. It's all been worth it, to live in such a historic place."

And speaking of the historic place, they'd about this time, get up and be back in the main hall, at which point he'd give them a tour. Leading them around where Gloop and he rested - sometimes Bling too, when she actually had time to sleep at home - past the room where their queen used to rest, without mentioning who used the room last, as that were none of their business, and then on to other rooms. The costume room, had along with several other rooms, been made into minor residential areas, for the less fortunate of their kind to rest, until they got the underground dug out proper. Then there were the next room, which he'd figure they did stop at, since in here were actually a changeling who'd do more than just ignore them, sleep, or wave, confused at whom this were. Or in one case, a changeling looking at Null like she were considering eating her, and were getting... Disturbingly enthusiastic about the thought. Null were more than happy yo just keep moving when they were urged along, not wanting to know what the deal were with this one.

The place worth waiting in his mind, were the kitchen area, where his sister were currently showing a group of four changelings, a bauble of joy jelly, where she would have just added a small swirl of a dark purple gel into it, before sealing the bag shut.

"- and that's how you make schadenfreude in a pinch."

There were scattered *aaah* sounds, as she were teaching another team how to make food better. If they were to get more changelings, she were going to need more hooves helping her with this job. These were currently the newest candidates.

"Hey sis. Don't mind us too much. Just showing some folks around, who were curious. A couple familiar faces, and their friend.

This here's my sister Gloop. She's the primo cook we have. makes sure that plenty of changelings gets fed every day. A real life saver."

"That might be uh, t-taking it a bit far, but I do my part."

She'd look towards them, with her gel back in her hoof, and waved, as she'd float the bag over into one of several bags. One of the smallest, as schadenfreude wasn't a regular emotions they needed. Only a few really had use for that, but they were trying to be accommodating. At least fear and morbid fascination were getting well stocked, after Zhu had come around. He were rather nice about it, when they asked if he minded them harvesting the emotions too, saying that he were pleased that they didn't let things go to waste.

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

 

(Void)

On 2023-06-26 at 7:59 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Toupé looked suspicious at being asked to keep secrets, but nodded.

She didn't like keeping secrets like this from them, but this were a special project, and she wanted to make it a surprise. As well as not cause them to worry about her. This would be safe. They'd see, and hopefully, they'd be as amazed as she believed she were going to be.

On 2023-06-26 at 7:59 PM, Illiad Easle said:

As the students wrote Gypsum moved around the room quietly to see what they were writing without distracting them. When Cherish spoke up she looked over at her paper and smiled, "You have many-things there, This one is unsure if you will be able to seek-find all of them today, but you will-be able-to go-back later, if you are good-behaved."

"Some of them are so I can help my friend. Crow doesn't think the town is safe to be in, so I'm hoping I can learn stuff to help her, until she feels better about the town. She helped me get to school today, so I think she's slowly warming up to things, but I'd like to do something nice for her.

Long as I can find even a few things, that would be good. Lots of things for other times."

Cherish would make sure to put her writing tools back, once she had stopped talking, and Gypsum went on to the next in line. So many fun things to prepare for, but it were probably best that she had all her things packed up before they went. At least in her last school, they wanted them to have tidy desks, before they made their way to other things.

On 2023-06-26 at 7:59 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The Trojan Central Library sat behind the court and legislature buildings on the outside of the inner ring, facing away from the oasis. It matched the neighboring buildings in style as it was older, and there were still some damaged portions that were in the process of being repaired. Entering the building they might have been surprised to see that the massive bookshelves sat mostly empty, but there were also some crates of books sitting by the research desks. Toupé was quick to ask, quietly, "Miss Gypsum? Why are the shelves so big for so few books? Are there books missing?"

Gypsum nodded sadly, "Well, not missing. Most of the books were taken to the Æther to protect them, and some that were left were damaged or destroyed. So there aren't many here for us. But, this one hopes that you'll be able to find what you seek in what remains."

The others looked saddened as well to hear about the books, even Nova looked disappointed, though Lilac didn't seem to fully understand.

That being said, they arrived at the desk, where one of the helper-researchers that Gypsum had mentioned stood to greet them, she was a younger looking earth pony mare, a few years younger than Void was, "Hello you all, welcome to the library. I'm Data Stream, but you can call me Datum. I'll be showing you all around the library and helping you find out what you're interested in. Do any of you have any questions before we get started?"

Cherish were sad too, hearing that a lot of the books just wasn't there anymore. It probably meant there were a fair few things they were looking for, that they couldn't get hold of right now. That was a shame. It were good that there still were books though, but it could be better, if they had more of a variety here.

A metaphorical light pinged over her head though, and just after they got introduced to the librarians, Cherish would hold a hoof up, wanting to ask the librarian a question.

"Miss Stream? I have a dragon friend in the desert,  that hoards stuff that she finds out in the desert. Should I ask her if she have found any books?"

Some dragons had certain... Instincts to work with, that were easier to not listen to than others. Some could ignore the hoarding want entirely, others went to the other far end, stashing piles and piles of gold, and other shiny things in their possession. Others took up collecting stamps, or bottlecaps, etc. to satisfy the need with something more benign. It varied a lot, but when it came to Crow, she were a general, mid to high level hoarder. She didn't refuse to get rid of some of the things she had, but she did collect anything that seemed even remotely valuable, that she found out in the desert. It helped pass time, between hunts, as well as add a level of more calm, familiar to things. She wasn't from anywhere near here, and hoarding made things feel a bit more homely in her cave.

It did mean she had a bundle of various things. Gold, jewelry, cloth, some weird trinkets, debris she didn't know what were for, but looked important, etc.. Didn't do her much good though, when she were worried about the town, and thus, couldn't make much use of the things she had. The two times in the last 24 hours, that she had come to see Cherish, were literally the only times she had been inside the town borders.

Of course, Crow were not the only scavenger out in the desert, but there were plenty to go around, so it were rare that she even met another one out there. Mostly when she did, she'd just take off. Often with something in her mouth, be it loot, or prey. Did also help that she hunted dune foxes, and those critters had a tendency to nick stuff too.

As for if Crow had any books in a condition and kind this library wanted? Hard to say, but Cherish still figured it couldn't hurt asking, in case they needed some. Sure The Æther had taken a lot, but plenty of stuff were taken by the desert too. Maybe there were some that could still be salvaged there.

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null) 

The history lesson didn't mean much to Arcade and Ardee, as they didn't really have a basis to understand how ownership was normally transferred, or how a theater normally operated. The best they got was that the theater used to be really nice before the changelings moved in, and the changelings wanted to make it nice again now. Their emotions would betray their lack of understanding, but also their lack of annoyance or disappointment.

Once they got back to the lobby their curiosity seemed satisfied, though Arcade discretely spoke to Null, "Do you want to ask them about who we're looking for? Maybe they've seen him?"

Given how much Basher moved around, and how widespread the changelings were in the city, they'd be hard pressed to have not seen him and his crew, made up mostly of the pony orphans left in the city. They had several hideouts all around town and had thusfar evaded the guards and the Grey, or perhaps the Grey just weren't interested in them. They'd be able to tell them some of the hideout locations, but would not know which if any the Basher had been at.

 

(Void)

On 2023-06-28 at 3:42 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Miss Stream? I have a dragon friend in the desert,  that hoards stuff that she finds out in the desert. Should I ask her if she have found any books?"

Datum looked curious as she turned towards Cherish while coming out from behind the desk, it seemed like she didn't wholly believe that Cherish had a dragon friend, but would humor her nonetheless. "Well, I suppose you could ask, but dragons tend to be very protective of what they collect. Your friend might want something in exchange for their books, and while the library will pay scavengers a fair price for the books they find, we can't compete with what others are willing to pay for them. So, even if they wanted to trade for them, they'd probably get a better deal elsewhere."

Seeing as no one else had questions, Datum nodded, "Alright then, follow me and I'll teach you how to find things in the library."

She led the way deeper into the library where there was a rotunda with exits heading every which way including up and down. There were large books spaced around the circle of the rotunda, and Datum led them over to one. "This here is an Index. In this library every book is sorted by subject, and for the most part related subjects are put nearby, but not always. Typically the more related two subjects are the closer they tend to be. In order to use the Index you simply look for the subject or subjects that you are interested in, for example..."

She looked over the group, "Does anyone want to share something they're looking for?"

Elef raised a hoof, "Thestral history!"

Datum nodded, "A good choice, and a good example of a compound subject. In the Index, it is often easier to search by broad subject first, like history, then find the sub-subject, like thestral, inside the larger subject. So, first we find History in the Index, then under History we look for thestrals... and... there!" She motioned for Elef to come closer so he could see where she was pointing. "You'll find it in the South section, third floor, hall C, shelf 12."

Elef looked eager to move before she stopped him, "Let me show you how to navigate first. This here is the center of the library, all of the major hallways lead here, so if you get lost, just find a main hallway and follow it back here. There should be signs posted every so often pointing back here anyway. Now," She led the way over to one of the main hallways, the south one specifically as denoted by a large S above it. To the side there was a map. "At every entranceway and staircase there are maps like these that show you where every shelf is on the floor, and where the stairways are to get to another floor. We have little papers here so you can note down how to get to where the book you want is so you don't get lost."

She nodded to herself, "Alright, any other questions before I let you go? I'll be at the front desk if you need anything and Miss Gypsum will be here in the rotunda to help as well. There's plenty of Indexes so you don't all have to share."

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

On 2023-06-30 at 8:00 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Once they got back to the lobby their curiosity seemed satisfied, though Arcade discretely spoke to Null, "Do you want to ask them about who we're looking for? Maybe they've seen him?"

"I'm still looking for an opening."

She'd talk low back, trying to keep this from Ardee. The less she knew, the better. Which were also why she were trying to find a point where she could take this Upbeat aside, and ask him some things. Just needed the proper opening for it.

An opportunity would come, when they were introduced to Gloop, though Null did have to press it a bit herself, she'd wager.

"These two haven't had good experiences with changelings in the past. Mind explaining to them how this gel works, so they'll be a bit more educated 'bout how you do it here?"

"Oh uhm... S-Sure, I wouldn't mind. Cheshire always said it w-were important that we taught others how changelings were, so they knew not to be afraid of us."

While Gloop would explain in short terms, about how the gel were harvested, and how the vats worked - even showed them a currently unused vat - Null would take Upbeat aside, and ask him quietly about what he knew of their target.

She would get surprisingly little actually. Upbeat acknowledged that they knew of her target, once she said that she had been sent to look for him, but either wouldn't say, or didn't know, exactly where he were though. He would however, tell her how to get to an area, where she might find one of his underlings hanging out from time to time. She did however, have to promise him that she wasn't going to try and do something rash, like attacking him. She couldn't say for sure, but he seemed pretty worried about something.

Truthfully, Upbeat were torn on this. On one hoof, he did want to help, and he did not get good vibes, from what he heard about Basher, and those he had gathered to his crew. That said however, he did also know that Rasputin were familiar with Basher, and as such, were not too thrilled about potentially giving up someone he were familiar with, and had seemingly promised to look out for, for just someone. Even if it would be good if him and his were reeled in, before they did something rash.

So he'd give an answer now, but only tell a hangout of one. Not a safe house, even though he knew where some of them were. He had to discuss this with Bling, and figure out what to do. It wouldn't do if Rasputin came back, and found out that they had sold out someone he had been supposed to look out for. They might have to try and find and apprehend him, to keep him in a safe place for the time being, while figuring out what to do. Though it wouldn't be easy. Apparently even The Grey had issues tracking him down.

Granted... He wasn't sure he really wanted to protect this one. He had only heard about others meeting him, but they generally told him that he gave of rather unsettling vibes. But for the sake of Rasputin, he would take this to his queen, and see if he had said anything about what to do about him. Maybe it were just a general notion about leaving him alone?

*sigh* He wished that Rasputin would return soon... He would know what to do here. Bling tried, he knew that she did, but she were still fresh at having greater responsibility. He didn't like that he had to bring a tough decision like this to her, when it affected someone who had given hope to the changelings of New Las Pegasus again. Yet they needed to make some kind of decision on what to do, if Rasputin did not leave instructions before he left, or would return soon, to give his word on this.

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

 

(Void)

On 2023-06-30 at 8:00 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Datum looked curious as she turned towards Cherish while coming out from behind the desk, it seemed like she didn't wholly believe that Cherish had a dragon friend, but would humor her nonetheless. "Well, I suppose you could ask, but dragons tend to be very protective of what they collect. Your friend might want something in exchange for their books, and while the library will pay scavengers a fair price for the books they find, we can't compete with what others are willing to pay for them. So, even if they wanted to trade for them, they'd probably get a better deal elsewhere."

"She doesn't like the town. Too many creatures she says, so she can't get to the vendors.

I'll ask her, and see what she says. It never hurts to try, right?"

Honestly, she'd find that Crow would be rather accommodating to the request, though she did ask for something in return. Books were something that she used to keep the boredom at bay, and make sure that her mind developed, so she did have several books that she could read through. Not all were in good condition, or very impressive, but she still took what she could find.

That said, there were those that she were done reading, or didn't find relevant to her, because they regarded topics she didn't care for, or didn't understand. Stuff like science, or varied historical references. She did like books about culture though. It helped her to see past some of the things she had been made to believe, before coming to Troy.

At any rate, she would have books on offer, and more to come eventually, but she would ask for something in return: Pie. She hadn't been near civilization for a long time, and had few good memories left of it but of the few things she remembered fondly about it, back before everything went down the drain, were the taste of fresh pie. A rarity in her life, even back then, yet one that would be very enticing to her. Something to remind her of better times, and to have some variation in her diet.

Gold were fine she supposed, but it were like what Cherish said: She didn't like to get into town, and wouldn't want to deal with vendors. She hadn't much use for gold, beyond just hoarding it, out of instinct. She could use pie though. Eventually, maybe some nice things for her cave too? Regardless, she'd be able to tell Cherish later, that she were open to letting them have some books, if they could send her some pie. What kind didn't matter much, but she'd prefer a meaty one.

She'd also let Cherish take a book back, to prove that she had some. Even accept to maybe meet with someone, if they wanted to deal with her directly, though not in the town itself. Some weird science book she really couldn't grasp heads or tails off. It were in good condition though, and fully legible. She just didn't understand the complex equations and tedious language. All she knew, were that it were authored by some sort of professor. Said so on on the first page. As for the title? She weren't even sure how to pronounce that.

There would be one tome, that she wouldn't speak off, or have on offer though. She kept that one close. So close in fact, that Cherish hadn't even seen how the book looked properly, beyond it being wrapped in what seemed like leather, and cloth. Crow didn't want to talk about it, beyond saying that she had found it on the body of a thin dragon, wearing some scattered, tattered remains of a robe. One in a pile of various other bones, in poor condition. The bag this book had been in, had apparently been stuck in some rocks, at the end of the remains' skeletal hand.

Whatever it were about, Crow was secretive about it. Said it were something important, that she had to keep safe. Cherish were off course curious, but Crow were her friend. She wouldn't pester her about this, if she didn't want to say.

On 2023-06-30 at 8:00 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Elef looked eager to move before she stopped him, "Let me show you how to navigate first. This here is the center of the library, all of the major hallways lead here, so if you get lost, just find a main hallway and follow it back here. There should be signs posted every so often pointing back here anyway. Now," She led the way over to one of the main hallways, the south one specifically as denoted by a large S above it. To the side there was a map. "At every entranceway and staircase there are maps like these that show you where every shelf is on the floor, and where the stairways are to get to another floor. We have little papers here so you can note down how to get to where the book you want is so you don't get lost."

She nodded to herself, "Alright, any other questions before I let you go? I'll be at the front desk if you need anything and Miss Gypsum will be here in the rotunda to help as well. There's plenty of Indexes so you don't all have to share."

Cherish had almost spouted off one of the things she wanted to look for too, before the librarian had taken them along, to learn more about the layout. She'd keep silent then, and listen in. It were probably important that they knew this, so they could find the sort of thing they were after, without having to ask a librarian all the time. It'd probably be faster too, and they didn't have to try and look for one another, if they got lost somewhere in here.

So she'd follow and listen. It sounded more or less how a normal library were set up, so it should be possible to just sorta find things, right? Maybe she should start then, by going over to D, for Dragon? It had to be nearby, so that would be a good way to start, and to make sure that she had understood the layout properly.

Once the explanation were done, she'd take one of the small papers that they were told they could use for orientation, and looked up towards the librarian, smiling with a glimmer in her eyes.

"Imma gonna look for dragon books. Thank you for our help, Miss Stream."

Something told her that she would be seeing this librarian quite a few times in the future. Either when she came in to read books, in connection with the school, or in case Crow and them came to some understand with any books she'd find. Cherish hoped something would come of that honestly. It would be good for Crow to meet more varied beings from Troy, so that she might feel a little more relaxed around them. Maybe even someday get into town more regularly and for longer time. It could be nice if she were part of the school too, but that were probably hoping for too much.

She might end up part of future lessons regardless though. Once they'd go on field trips, there were a chance they'd run into her out in the dunes, chasing her next meal, rummaging through something unearthed by the winds, or digging to locate something that she had caught a whiff off.

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

On 2023-07-03 at 4:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"These two haven't had good experiences with changelings in the past. Mind explaining to them how this gel works, so they'll be a bit more educated 'bout how you do it here?"

"Oh uhm... S-Sure, I wouldn't mind. Cheshire always said it w-were important that we taught others how changelings were, so they knew not to be afraid of us."

While Gloop would explain in short terms, about how the gel were harvested, and how the vats worked - even showed them a currently unused vat - Null would take Upbeat aside, and ask him quietly about what he knew of their target.

Neither Arcade nor Ardee were fooled by Null's ruse, as while Arcade had had some bad experiences with changelings before, Ardee hadn't really interacted with them before. Still, Arcade simply shook his head and motioned for Ardee to stick by him and listen to what Gloop had to say while Null went to try and get some information. He still kept an eye and ear out for her, just in case something happened.

Once they were back together he'd raise an eyebrow, subtly asking if she got what she wanted out of the changeling guide before stating, "I think we've taken up enough of your time, thank you for being so willing to show us around."

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-07-03 at 4:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

At any rate, she would have books on offer, and more to come eventually, but she would ask for something in return: Pie. She hadn't been near civilization for a long time, and had few good memories left of it but of the few things she remembered fondly about it, back before everything went down the drain, were the taste of fresh pie. A rarity in her life, even back then, yet one that would be very enticing to her. Something to remind her of better times, and to have some variation in her diet.

The library would be willing to work with Crow on that, or with Cherish if she was willing to be Crow's proxy, giving Cherish the money for the books that she could then use to buy pies for Crow. But the librarians would want to meet with Crow in person, to make sure Cherish wasn't just taking books from other places to buy herself pie. The Librarians would agree to meet her outside of town if that made her more comfortable.

On 2023-07-03 at 4:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Imma gonna look for dragon books. Thank you for our help, Miss Stream."

Datum nodded as the rest of the students followed Cherish's example in thanking her before heading off to the other Indexes to find what they were interested in.

Per Cherish's search, she would find that the index boasted quite the collection of books on dragons, but she might be dismayed to find that, when she reached the section that the shelves were mostly bare, the only books remaining being aimed towards a younger audience, which might just suit Cherish fine.

Cherish would also find that the library had several comfortable reading areas where she could take the books that she did like in order to read them.

While the other students seemed to settle in to their topics easily enough, Cherish might notice that Toupé was frequently disappointed by her searches, often passing by where Cherish was sitting with a new set of directions, only to pass back again empty hooved. Despite her apparent lack of success, Toupé didn't seem disheartened. If anything, each failure only seemed to strengthen her determination.

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

"It was nice having you. Take care, and have a good trip around our town."

The others would say farewell too, when Upbeat took the lead on doing so for a start, but seemed less enthused than him. Or well, distracted. Several off them were technically here to be taught after all, and Gloop weren't the most sociable. Many thought she didn't partake in any of the theater work either, and just cooked, but she were actually a very good musician. She tended to be a part of adding music to their performances, back int he day. Piano, organ- Big stuff like that. She liked how the music drowned out her worries. Though she'd never play in front of a big audience. Too shy for that sadly.

They were allowed to wander out without an escort, and when they were outside, Null would halt, and take a few breaths, thinking over things... Including how lame her excuse before probably had sounded. She should probably try and cover it up with a half truth.

"Sorry for kinda pushing you to get a lecture in there. Last time we were here, I got angry, and did some dumb things. Seeing how far up the changelings have gone now, I just needed to know if we'd be okay, if I apologized for it. Seems we're fine now, but I didn't want you two listening in while I were going about that.

Don't get me wrong, it's nothing to do with you. I just don't like feeling vulnerable with an audience. The fewer I have to deal with when opening up like this, the easier it is to get out.

You're a big sister, Ardee. So maybe you'd understand needing to look tough in front of your little ones, that depends on you? Imagine being stuck in that, for near twenty years. It isn't easy breaking out of."

This part were true, and she assumed Ardee might get her on that point. She seemed the sort who had to be tough and take charge too. Especially after their mistress went missing. Might be she wasn't as fundamentally broken as she herself were, but she might still be able to understand the struggle to some extend. Even saying all of this, Null were looking a little uncomfortable, as it were opening somewhat, and well... She'd only really started having better success with that, when it came to Arcade, and with her close family. Others took time, and effort. A lot of it sometimes.

As for what she'd learned? A bit. Enough to know they had to go and check around a certain area in the west area. A dive bar or something like that. Seemed like the place were a hangout at times, for one related to the one they were looking for.

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

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-07-10 at 10:22 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The library would be willing to work with Crow on that, or with Cherish if she was willing to be Crow's proxy, giving Cherish the money for the books that she could then use to buy pies for Crow. But the librarians would want to meet with Crow in person, to make sure Cherish wasn't just taking books from other places to buy herself pie. The Librarians would agree to meet her outside of town if that made her more comfortable.

When it came to that, Crow would agree to meet with them, and would bring some books in good condition, as proof that she did find things like this. One being the aforementioned science book. She hadn't much use of books, that she couldn't understand anything about.

Would likely be a few meetings back and forth, with first Cherish arriving with the book, then having to send messages back and forth for them to set up a meeting, but it'd be fine. Just took some walking power, and for Cherish to convince Crow of this in the first place. It could probably start taking place as early as tomorrow, with a meeting sometimes in the afternoon, or a day after, due to the time needed to run back and forth with messages.

On 2023-07-10 at 10:22 PM, Illiad Easle said:

While the other students seemed to settle in to their topics easily enough, Cherish might notice that Toupé was frequently disappointed by her searches, often passing by where Cherish was sitting with a new set of directions, only to pass back again empty hooved. Despite her apparent lack of success, Toupé didn't seem disheartened. If anything, each failure only seemed to strengthen her determination.

Cherish would've settled in nice and snuggly in a reading area, with one book. It wasn't like a big, important book of culture and such, but it did speak about games and playful things. Y'know, stuff for younger beings, told in a nice way, about dragons. She were sure there were something fun in there, that she could do with Crow. Something not requiring violence, as Crow were her physical superior in basically every way. And maybe it would still teach her some things, albeit through the lenses of a book for young ones. Which really, might be for the best. Getting a more mature one, speaking of various more rough traditions and the history behind them, might expose her to too much of the more feral side of dragons, in a bad way.

That said, she did look away every now and again, reacting to movement passing her by, which seemed to most of the times be Toupé. For a while she just went back to reading, but after a half dozen times, she would put down her book, get up, and go after the young mare. Maybe she needed help finding something? It'd be nice helping, and honestly, it would be less distracting, if Toupé didn't keep walking by.

"Hey, Toupé? Are you having problems finding a book? Can I help?."

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

22 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Sorry for kinda pushing you to get a lecture in there. Last time we were here, I got angry, and did some dumb things. Seeing how far up the changelings have gone now, I just needed to know if we'd be okay, if I apologized for it. Seems we're fine now, but I didn't want you two listening in while I were going about that.

Don't get me wrong, it's nothing to do with you. I just don't like feeling vulnerable with an audience. The fewer I have to deal with when opening up like this, the easier it is to get out.

You're a big sister, Ardee. So maybe you'd understand needing to look tough in front of your little ones, that depends on you? Imagine being stuck in that, for near twenty years. It isn't easy breaking out of."

Ardee raised an eyebrow at that, "I mean, not really? None of us are perfect, and Mistress taught us that it's better for the younger ones to know that it's okay to be wrong, and how to properly make up for doing wrong. Although, we never really had an opportunity to practice."

Arcade also chimed in, "I hope you know that neither of us are here to judge you, being vulnerable won't make us think any less of you."

22 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

As for what she'd learned? A bit. Enough to know they had to go and check around a certain area in the west area. A dive bar or something like that. Seemed like the place were a hangout at times, for one related to the one they were looking for.

The west side of town could prove difficult, as that was the section of town controlled by the Host, and most of it was up on the cloud layer which made sense for a pegasus trying to keep out of sight. Null would be able to get up there fine, but it was pretty high for Ardee to fly all the way up there, and Arcade was another matter entirely being a unicorn. Did he even know the cloudwalking spell?

 

Nonetheless, the pair would follow wherever Null intended to go.

 

(Cherish)

22 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

That said, she did look away every now and again, reacting to movement passing her by, which seemed to most of the times be Toupé. For a while she just went back to reading, but after a half dozen times, she would put down her book, get up, and go after the young mare. Maybe she needed help finding something? It'd be nice helping, and honestly, it would be less distracting, if Toupé didn't keep walking by.

"Hey, Toupé? Are you having problems finding a book? Can I help?."

Toupé stopped, surprised when Cherish called out to her, but shook her head, "It's not problems finding a book, it's problems not finding a book. You see, when the librarian mentioned that many of the books were taken away I started wondering which books were taken, maybe I could find a pattern as to which books are here and which are not, that way they can update the Indexes to only point to the books that are here."

She pulled out her notepad to show the notes she had taken, "So far, it seems that whenever there were more than three copies of a book they would leave one, and I could tell that from the spacing on the shelves for the less popular books. Then they left a lot of the books meant for younger ponies, I guess because despite not being duplicates they were essentially the same. Then, they left behind almost all of their books on Equestria, and that's the part that confuses me, since they seem to have gotten the rest of the nations. Maybe they just ran out of time? That's what I'm looking into, its... fun, actually."

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

23 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

Ardee raised an eyebrow at that, "I mean, not really? None of us are perfect, and Mistress taught us that it's better for the younger ones to know that it's okay to be wrong, and how to properly make up for doing wrong. Although, we never really had an opportunity to practice."

Arcade also chimed in, "I hope you know that neither of us are here to judge you, being vulnerable won't make us think any less of you."

Null smirked a little, and shook her head slightly.

"Wasn't what I meant. Meant you outta know what it's like being protective. I didn't have a mistress like you to try and teach me to moderate feelings, or admit fault. It were just the two of us, running into a world that didn't want us. Figured I had to be tough y'know? Keep my sis safe, don't bring up my own things. Might not sound sane to you, but six year old's ain't high thinkers, and I was the oldest.

And I don't think you'd think less of me but... *sigh* After twenty some years, going through not trusting anyone, and not wanting to show weakness, it isn't easy to let go. The therapist helped, but frankly, I'm broken in ways I dunno how to even describe."

Even saying this, she felt uncomfortable, and like she wanted to hide back in her shell again. It honestly felt like a battle sometimes, and though she didn't like it, it were one she had to fight, or she could end up reverting into old, bad habits. And she definitely didn't want that, now that she had family to think about, and a coltfriend. She didn't want to go back to pushing others away from her again, and end up all angry and alone. She couldn't do that again. Not if she wanted to survive.

On 2023-07-13 at 9:32 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The west side of town could prove difficult, as that was the section of town controlled by the Host, and most of it was up on the cloud layer which made sense for a pegasus trying to keep out of sight. Null would be able to get up there fine, but it was pretty high for Ardee to fly all the way up there, and Arcade was another matter entirely being a unicorn. Did he even know the cloudwalking spell?

 

Nonetheless, the pair would follow wherever Null intended to go.

Didn't matter much were said after, she'd still lead them on to where it were that she had been led to. And of course, this were a flying area, so she were pretty much on her own here, considering the height. Hmm... Might actually be for the best actually.

"Hmm, I honestly wanna go up there. Got told it'd be a good place for me to go last time, but then the whole gang war shot down that idea. Might as well have a look now, and see what the big deal were.

Ardee, I know you ain't keen on flying that high, and Arcade... Well, I can't carry you. Actually, do you know the spell to walk on clouds? If not, someone here should be knowing this sorta thing. Can't only be pegasi that's expected to go in here...

We could have a look around, see if there's like a lift or something, that we're meant to take. Or I could just swoop up and have a look around, while you have a look around the area around it? Up to you."

Honestly, she didn't like keeping them out of sight, but then at the same time, it were nice to handle certain things out of their view. Probably best to hear what they were thinking, while she mulled it over a bit more. Was one of them annoying decision, where *Park them at the hotel, and tell them to stay, and not touch anything* sadly wasn't one of the options.

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

 

(Cherish)

"Maybe it's because they didn't like Equestria? We weren't taught a lot of Troy where I went to school in Equestria, but lots of what I did hear, were pretty mean stuff. So maybe they had a bias? Seems a shame though. Equestria has a lot of history to it, just like I bet Troy does."

Cherish would look closer on the notes that she were presented with, and well, it seemed right. There were apparently a pattern to the missing books. She would've thought that it were random, though the Equestrian books were the odd one out. Though she were pretty sure it was because of the bad history. She didn't know too many details though. Some of the stuff she had been told, were for older classes, and not meant for little fillies. Though the tone she heard things said with, and the snippets you sometimes heard, going past others, it did not sound like they liked Troy. Maybe it was the same the other way around then?

"It's impressive that you saw a pattern in things though. Maybe you'll have talent as a librarian? Oh, or a researcher? My old biology teacher were one of those. He made a ton of notes on things too, and used to tell us that if he had to explain all the things one could research, we'd be in class until we graduated high school. Sometimes he showed us his notes, but we mostly didn't get it. Except for Zum Gum, but he were always a smart one."

Her smile faltered a little, as she remembered the last time she had seen him. The fire, his parents bodies laying around him, trapping him in place while the flames crept closer and...

She felt pale and shaky for a moment, and closed her eyes. She needed a half minute to take some deep breaths, and keep mumbling to herself, the phrases that her new mom had taught her, to try and keep the bad things away, before she had an episode. It helped, though she did still feel  nauseas. Might be she'd just give her lunch to Crow later, so it wouldn't go to waste.

"S-Sorry. Just uhm... Bad memories.

So you like researching things, or is it more books?"

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

On 2023-07-14 at 5:27 PM, Blitz Boom said:

And I don't think you'd think less of me but... *sigh* After twenty some years, going through not trusting anyone, and not wanting to show weakness, it isn't easy to let go. The therapist helped, but frankly, I'm broken in ways I dunno how to even describe."

They nodded at that, while the both of them had been much older than Null when they were thrust into their trauma, they could still understand how it would have impacted her.

On 2023-07-14 at 5:27 PM, Blitz Boom said:

We could have a look around, see if there's like a lift or something, that we're meant to take. Or I could just swoop up and have a look around, while you have a look around the area around it? Up to you."

Looking towards the center of town, it looked like the only structure that reached the cloud district was the Stacked Deck, which just like before required a chip to access. If Null still had her chip for the penthouse or the meeting room they could get into the building, but then they'd have to take the stairs down or up to the cloud layer, depending on which chip they used in the elevator.

If they asked the guard by the Stacked Deck he would snort, "Up there? Ain't nothing interesting up there 'sides the Penthouse, and you can get there from here. You think down here's bad? It's worse up there. Rumor has it that there's still members of Discord's Legion up there, since the golems couldn't get up there to clear them out. Best if you stayed down here." If Null remembered, it had been Grey Mane in charge of the golems that liberated the city, maybe the Grey Mare could offer insight as to how best to get up there? Further, if it really were so dangerous up there, it made sense that the Basher would be hiding up there where even the previous Grey had had difficulty.

 

If Null was determined to fly up there herself, Ardee and Arcade would head back to their room to wait, as well as to ask the staff there if they had any leads on getting up to the cloud layer. It was a bit of a flight for Null to get up there, and conditions would be as described. It was reminiscent of the outer areas of the town below, only made of clouds and occupied exclusively by pegasi and gryphons. There were a few small shops, but they were pretty run down. There was some evidence of how grand this place used to be, but much of it had fallen into disrepair given the state of things below. Hopefully as the city below recovered, more resources could be devoted to the cloud layer above. 

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-07-14 at 5:27 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Maybe it's because they didn't like Equestria? We weren't taught a lot of Troy where I went to school in Equestria, but lots of what I did hear, were pretty mean stuff. So maybe they had a bias? Seems a shame though. Equestria has a lot of history to it, just like I bet Troy does."

Toupé didn't look so sure, "I don't think it's that, since they took most of the books on Cervidas and the Crystal Empire, and they had similar relationships with those nations, at least from what I skimmed. One thing I did notice though is that one of the most common types of books left behind were personal accounts, autobiographies and stuff like that, and most of the Equestrian books that are left are of that type. Maybe it is because of that bias that they left the personal accounts behind, so that the information they did take would be more correct? Like they left the bias behind?" She shrugged, "I'll have to keep searching."

On 2023-07-14 at 5:27 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"It's impressive that you saw a pattern in things though. Maybe you'll have talent as a librarian? Oh, or a researcher? My old biology teacher were one of those. He made a ton of notes on things too, and used to tell us that if he had to explain all the things one could research, we'd be in class until we graduated high school. Sometimes he showed us his notes, but we mostly didn't get it. Except for Zum Gum, but he were always a smart one."

She smiled slightly at that, "That's what I was hoping. But I'm just focused on what interests me, you know? It's just, more exciting? To be looking through the books like this than to just sit down and read one."

On 2023-07-14 at 5:27 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"S-Sorry. Just uhm... Bad memories.

So you like researching things, or is it more books?"

She looked concerned, but didn't press it, "I'm not sure yet, I haven't had much chance to do either, but I think I like both. Sorry to have disturbed you, though you're welcome to come along if you want? I could show you what I meant by the personal accounts, maybe one of them was written by someone you knew?"

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

On 2023-07-18 at 10:11 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Looking towards the center of town, it looked like the only structure that reached the cloud district was the Stacked Deck, which just like before required a chip to access. If Null still had her chip for the penthouse or the meeting room they could get into the building, but then they'd have to take the stairs down or up to the cloud layer, depending on which chip they used in the elevator.

If they asked the guard by the Stacked Deck he would snort, "Up there? Ain't nothing interesting up there 'sides the Penthouse, and you can get there from here. You think down here's bad? It's worse up there. Rumor has it that there's still members of Discord's Legion up there, since the golems couldn't get up there to clear them out. Best if you stayed down here." If Null remembered, it had been Grey Mane in charge of the golems that liberated the city, maybe the Grey Mare could offer insight as to how best to get up there? Further, if it really were so dangerous up there, it made sense that the Basher would be hiding up there where even the previous Grey had had difficulty.

"Peh. I don't put much faith in rumors."

Well, she sort of did. It made her wary of things, but frankly, this were not her general concern. What were, were who she were after, and she might find one of them up there. She had to go, and it seemed there were only two ways there. She didn't much care to talk about it with the guard though, Pompous, judgmental sort it seemed, without any kind of nuance. She were unlikely to get good info out of him about the top side. Too much of a bias by the sound of it.

When away from the guard, she'd rummage her bag, and pull forth the chip she had from last time in here. She figured it might be useful for something, so she had taken it along.

"We can use this to get up that tall building. It's gonna be a hay of a walk though, so you outta decide if you wanna do that, or stay down here for now. And keep in mind, I can't guarantee that we'll find anyone who can put the proper mojo on you, to prevent you from plummeting through the skies.

I don't wanna ditch you, but could I ask you two stay down here, just this time? I'll ask around up there. See if there's someone who knows the right magic to bring you along.

I know you can get through a fall like that, but that doesn't mean I want it to happen. It hurts to see you go through things like that."

If they'd agree, she'd flutter up. A long, long way up, to see what were honestly pretty bad. The Las Pegasus that she had heard so much about, towering in the skies, all more or less in ruins. Was a shame, but sadly just how things went, after the war and all. Hopefully something would change with that, cause this were depressing to look at. The town likely needed more tourists for this place to be worth fixing up though. Hopefully that'd happen. She kinda wanted to see this place as it was in its heydays.

Seeing as she had a target to go for, she would land on a cloud, fold her wings in, and begin to look around. As she'd be alone now, she'd mostly be speaking to Nine. Both for some semblance of company, but also because this were now work, and they had to get ready for things.

"Hey Nine, I think we're about to start searching in honest. Ready to hunt?"

There were less up here... Perhaps that vision would work better in this area, though for a start, she should go towards that hangout she had been told of. It were her only clue currently, she she better follow it.

...It was weird walking on clouds like this though. Even when she had her own, natural wings on both sides, she hadn't been able to walk on clouds, due to her curse, and honestly? This were the first time she had gone and tried proper after the curse went off. She had been kinda worried how it'd go, if she had to be honest. Like she'd find out the curse were not gone after all, and end up plummeting down, unable to get wind under her wings, and splatter all over the pavement far, far below.

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

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-07-18 at 10:11 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Toupé didn't look so sure, "I don't think it's that, since they took most of the books on Cervidas and the Crystal Empire, and they had similar relationships with those nations, at least from what I skimmed. One thing I did notice though is that one of the most common types of books left behind were personal accounts, autobiographies and stuff like that, and most of the Equestrian books that are left are of that type. Maybe it is because of that bias that they left the personal accounts behind, so that the information they did take would be more correct? Like they left the bias behind?" She shrugged, "I'll have to keep searching."

"Ooooh. That makes sense too. Less of the one sided books, and kept more neutral story. That's a good way to make sure you leave with most of the right history."

She had been told of bias in history before. The whole *History is written by the winners* and such things. Rather bad for someone who wanted to keep a history of the world, like The Æther probably did, so it made sense that they kept the most relevant stuff for themselves, just in case there turned out to be nothing to come back to, once they returned. A bit of a shame still though. She had grown up with Equestrian stories, so she never really got much of a full picture of things.

Oh well. There were probably some books that covered that somewhere. Or someone would know that she could just ask. Still plenty of beings in Troy that she could talk with.

On 2023-07-18 at 10:11 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She smiled slightly at that, "That's what I was hoping. But I'm just focused on what interests me, you know? It's just, more exciting? To be looking through the books like this than to just sit down and read one."

She really did sound like a researcher of sorts. maybe she'd one day be a great scientist? She sure sounded and looked like one. It seemed to be what she liked, so it would be a good thing to pursue for the young mare. That were the most important part of choosing your path forward after all, right? It had to be something that you liked, and this really did seem to put some joy in Toupé's step.

On 2023-07-18 at 10:11 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She looked concerned, but didn't press it, "I'm not sure yet, I haven't had much chance to do either, but I think I like both. Sorry to have disturbed you, though you're welcome to come along if you want? I could show you what I meant by the personal accounts, maybe one of them was written by someone you knew?"

"I'd like that, thank you. I need to do something to keep the bad memories away.

I dunno if I'd know anyone who wrote books they'd have here though, but it'd be funny if there were something. Maybe I heard of someone in the books at least."

She did honestly, truly feel happy that Toupé allowed her to tag along. She could use a distraction, and just in general, the presence of others. It helped to keep the bad thoughts away better, once she didn't sit alone, tethering at the edge. So she'd happily follow.

"Maybe you should come around the library when we're not in school sometimes, and see if the librarian could use some help? Might be you'd find your specialty by rummaging around here some more like that? Couldn't hurt to try at least, right? It's important to try things, to see what's gonna end up as your passion."

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

On 2023-07-21 at 3:36 PM, Blitz Boom said:

I know you can get through a fall like that, but that doesn't mean I want it to happen. It hurts to see you go through things like that."

Arcade and Ardee nodded at that, though they were clearly conflicted, Arcade more than Ardee, about letting her go by herself. "Just... Be careful up there, alright? Even if it is just a rumor, I don't doubt that there could be dangerous creatures up there."

 

On 2023-07-21 at 3:36 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Hey Nine, I think we're about to start searching in honest. Ready to hunt?"

"Always"

Nine restored Null's ability to see the paths, and it was clear that the guard below hadn't been exaggerating much when he said it was worse up here. It didn't look like a single creature deserving mercy was wandering about up here, which made sense since it wasn't like there was anything that forced them to stay when they could go down to the safer part of the city below, and a cloud area out of reach of most of the guards would be a prime location for the less savory to hang out. At the very least, it meant she could get a bit rougher when it came to getting answers without worrying about incurring more debt.

Looking down from the cloud she could see the grid Basher had left from before, as well as a few points where it went up to the cloud layer. It looked like he only flew up to the cloud layer from the west side of the city, and predominantly flying up behind the Stacked Deck, likely to minimize his visibility when going up or down. Still, the trails seemed to come and go from an area deeper in the could area before it got too muddled by all the other trails.

She wouldn't have long to observe before it became obvious that she was being watched, in particular there were several eyes on her prosthetic wing.

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-07-21 at 3:36 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Maybe you should come around the library when we're not in school sometimes, and see if the librarian could use some help? Might be you'd find your specialty by rummaging around here some more like that? Couldn't hurt to try at least, right? It's important to try things, to see what's gonna end up as your passion."

She looked intrigued, "We're allowed to come here when we want? If that's true I'll have to come back often. Searching for the pattern has given me quite the list of books I'd like to read later."

They soon arrived at one of the Equestrian sections, and true to Toupé's word there appeared to be more books here than in the other sections. Toupé pulled over a ladder to get at one of the higher up books, "Could you hold the ladder still? I don't want to fall."

With Cherish holding the ladder, Toupé would climb to the top and start trying to pull out a book that seemed stuck in what was potentially the only full shelf in the whole library. This put Cherish in the unique position to actually see under Toupé's lab coat, if she felt so inclined. Toupé's short tail would cover anything inappropriate, but Cherish would be able to see... something... on Toupé's flank.

If Cherish looked, and mentioned it, Toupé would suddenly turn, overbalancing herself to fall backwards off the ladder. If Cherish didn't look, or didn't mention anything, Toupé would be able to tug the book free, which would also overbalance herself, again causing her to fall from the ladder.

She'd be fine in either case, as the ladder wasn't all that tall to begin with, but the fall would cause her to be lying on her back, the lab coat laying open to reveal her flank fully, as well as the mark prominently featured on it. On Toupé's flank was an image of an open book with a magnifying glass set on one of the pages. Inside the lens of the magnifying glass was some sort of mathematical or scientific symbol that Cherish didn't recognize, it looked like a tall table with sharp corners.

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

On 2023-07-25 at 12:41 AM, Illiad Easle said:

Arcade and Ardee nodded at that, though they were clearly conflicted, Arcade more than Ardee, about letting her go by herself. "Just... Be careful up there, alright? Even if it is just a rumor, I don't doubt that there could be dangerous creatures up there."

"Don't worry, I know where to hit so it hurts. Do it enough time, and folks leave you alone. I'll be back soon, promise. Mind taking care of my bag though, for now? Flight's gonna be heavy enough as is."

She'd go closer to Arcade, and put down the bag she hadn't left in the hotel, in front of her coltfriend. She'd be about to turn, then hesitated briefly, before giving him a quick kiss on the nose, and then starting to fly off, a deep red blush going on her face. It was nice having him be worried about her, though she doubted things would be that bad. Just a cloud layer, how bad could it be?

On 2023-07-25 at 12:41 AM, Illiad Easle said:

Nine restored Null's ability to see the paths, and it was clear that the guard below hadn't been exaggerating much when he said it was worse up here. It didn't look like a single creature deserving mercy was wandering about up here, which made sense since it wasn't like there was anything that forced them to stay when they could go down to the safer part of the city below, and a cloud area out of reach of most of the guards would be a prime location for the less savory to hang out. At the very least, it meant she could get a bit rougher when it came to getting answers without worrying about incurring more debt.

Looking down from the cloud she could see the grid Basher had left from before, as well as a few points where it went up to the cloud layer. It looked like he only flew up to the cloud layer from the west side of the city, and predominantly flying up behind the Stacked Deck, likely to minimize his visibility when going up or down. Still, the trails seemed to come and go from an area deeper in the could area before it got too muddled by all the other trails.

She wouldn't have long to observe before it became obvious that she was being watched, in particular there were several eyes on her prosthetic wing.

...Well, didn't take long for her having to eat those words. Seemed like this here were currently the scum layer of town, where all the nasty pieces of work hung out, if they had the chance. She were now heavily reevaluating whatever or not to take Arcade - and especially Ardee - up here with her. Her coltfriend would probably be okay, since he could resurrect, but Ardee could be ganged up on by anything from murderers, to organ harvesters, and everything in between up here.

Felt like there were a heavy amount of thieves too, since she could feel she were being watched, and she knew darn well what were the source of attention. That wing of hers. Likely a few who were waiting, thinking she'd be easy game. They could bring it on, and she'd show them who were easy game here, bucko. She weren't gonna be at the mercy of anyone.

Seemed she had a trail to go at too, at least for a bit. Went further in, then got muddled in... Maybe if she followed that, she'd be able to find something? She'd do that, and see if something came off it, avoiding shady side alleys as much as possible. No need to give the potential trouble-makers up here a large sign that early. Though if they looked for trouble, they'd see she were armed. A large knife, and her blowgun, as well as the pellets with it. She sorta looked forward to trying that on someone eventually. Really see what Boom's little toy could do against a real target. She had them hidden under the bag before, but leaving them, she'd have it on display here. Less to hide them under, barring her wings, and even then, a bit still stuck out of each thing.

For now though, she'd start moving forward, following the trail, but she'd look out for the hangout she had heard about. That would be her first real stop, and this here just her seeing if she could make out more of a real trail.

"Seems like we're in the fun part of town now. I'll stay clear of killing, but I can already feel I'm gonna have to start roughing up a few soon enough. You can feel their eyes too, right?"

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

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-07-25 at 12:41 AM, Illiad Easle said:

She looked intrigued, "We're allowed to come here when we want? If that's true I'll have to come back often. Searching for the pattern has given me quite the list of books I'd like to read later."

"Normal libraries allow that at least. I dunno why they wouldn't do the same thing here."

Normal libraries also let you borrow books, but considering the scarcity, she could imagine that part were out of the picture here. But that were fine too. Nothing wrong going in here to be able to read. They had rather comfy seats after all.

On 2023-07-25 at 12:41 AM, Illiad Easle said:

They soon arrived at one of the Equestrian sections, and true to Toupé's word there appeared to be more books here than in the other sections. Toupé pulled over a ladder to get at one of the higher up books, "Could you hold the ladder still? I don't want to fall."

"I got it."

Cherish would hold the ladder, no problem. Well, it could be one, if Toupé started to wobble around and fall though, since Cherish were a petite pegasi filly. She didn't really have the physical strength to stop something, if the older, young mare would start to lose balance heavily up there, but Toupé seemed like a focused earth pony. The odds of her falling down had to be tiny.

While holding the latter, Cherish did look up, but she didn't look for anything on Toupe´s flank. She were more just looking at the coat she wore. It were kinda weird that she were carrying one of those, but then, maybe she had been an assistant researcher or something, since it didn't seem like she were carrying it to hide any scars? Maybe she knew someone who were a lab worker, back when things were normal? Maybe that was something she could ask about at some point? Toupé and her family were interesting, and she'd love to know more abo- Holy Celestia!

On 2023-07-25 at 12:41 AM, Illiad Easle said:

If Cherish didn't look, or didn't mention anything, Toupé would be able to tug the book free, which would also overbalance herself, again causing her to fall from the ladder.

She'd be fine in either case, as the ladder wasn't all that tall to begin with, but the fall would cause her to be lying on her back, the lab coat laying open to reveal her flank fully, as well as the mark prominently featured on it. On Toupé's flank was an image of an open book with a magnifying glass set on one of the pages. Inside the lens of the magnifying glass was some sort of mathematical or scientific symbol that Cherish didn't recognize, it looked like a tall table with sharp corners.

Cherish had tumbled to the side, not wanting the ladder to fall on top of her. Seeing how Toupé were about to fall, she had not been able to really do anything, beyond perhaps trying to catch her, but Toupé were larger, and more robust than Cherish. The small pegasi were more likely to break a wing, than really soften the fall properly. So her instinct had taken over, and made her tumble to the side, avoiding the ladder, though Toupé would hit the floor. Which would have been an issue, if the ladder were a good deal taller, and the young mare had been less robust, but this shouldn't be an issue. Not even a frail pegasi should really have issues from a small fall like that, though Cherish still skittered over once she had landed, and looked down on Toupé with worry in her eyes.

"Are you okay? You didn't..."

She'd trail off, as she suddenly saw something she had not expected to see. Toupé's cutie mark, which fittingly, looked like something you'd find on a researcher. She had no idea what the symbol were, but that rarely meant a lot. She had known some who had parchment or paper as part of their cutie marks before, and the stuff written were mostly just gibberish, or squiggly lines.

"Wait, did you have a cutie mark before? Did you just not know what it meant? *gasp* Did you just get yours now?!"

She were worried, but now got excited. She hadn't seen another getting their cutie mark in years. It were one of those normal, down to earth school things that she had not been part of for so long, that it almost felt like she wouldn't get to see that again. But here might be one of those times. Or Toupé just hadn't known what it meant. Either way, this were still nice. And it was a cute one too at that.

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

On 2023-07-28 at 4:09 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Seems like we're in the fun part of town now. I'll stay clear of killing, but I can already feel I'm gonna have to start roughing up a few soon enough. You can feel their eyes too, right?"

"At least a dozen. Most are-" Null found herself suddenly pulled backwards as a dagger, followed by a pegasus, passed upward through the clouds below her in what was meant to be a sneak attack. "I think killing them might be required."

Null found herself surrounded, a griffon in front and behind her, two pegasi to each side, at least three watching from above, and who knows who else was waiting below.

The griffon in front of her snapped their talons, creating a small fireball in their paw, "Leetle filly in wrong place. Will take wing now."

The pegasi on either side of her moved in, each of them seemed different, crazed, like a weaker version of Discord.

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-07-28 at 4:09 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Wait, did you have a cutie mark before? Did you just not know what it meant? *gasp* Did you just get yours now?!"

Toupé had been lying still, looking around like she expected something to come out at them given the noise she made when she fell, but Cherish's comments shook her out of her stillness as she tried to move to get a good look at her flank, but the coat kept getting in the way until she took it off and set it aside. Cherish would have to look closely to see the faint scars and bumps on Toupé's back that indicated she used to have wings.

Toupé, once she got a good look at her mark, looked conflicted. It wasn't a joyous expression that most ponies had when they got their mark. "No I... it... it's not what they said it would be..."

Her eyes were focused on it though, it was clear that she didn't know how she was supposed to react. If Cherish didn't say anything to her, she'd eventually tear her eyes away from it and look at Cherish, "I... sorry. It's the first I've seen of it, I don't think I had it before now. What... what does it mean? Do I need to tell someone?"

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

"Really can't go into Las Pegasus without killing someone, can I?"

Sounded like Nine at least had judged the ones assaulting her now, to be the sort who'd only back off if some murdering went and happened. *sigh* Pain in the rear, but they'd see how many would end up falling then, before the rest got the hint, and buggered off. And hopefully it wouldn't be traced back to her. It'd probably cause trouble if it did.

"Here's facts, feather dusters. Smart ones take off and live. Dumb ones stay and get killed."

About a dozen? Well, if they were skilled fighters, she might have an issue. But these were clearly not the smartest of the bunch. The magic-using griffon though, did make her think that something were off about these. They usually couldn't do that. They also usually were smart enough to speak properly, and not like a drunk diamond dog, so something was probably off. Either way, it were probably time for her to start stabbing and slashing.

She'd get to her blow-pellets soon, but it were probably gonna have to start with blades.

Time to paint the skies red, though she hoped some of these were smart enough to get out of here. She had better things to do today, than killing folks.

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

 

(Cherish)

Okay, that sounded weird. Not what it were supposed to? Had she hoped for something else? She supposed that were possible. Marks didn't always become what some wanted them to be. Their paths taking them elsewhere, or the image being less cool than they had hoped for. They didn't really change, so one had to get used to them, and most did. Only a few she ever heard off, that ended up covering their cutie marks.

She did also see something on the back of Toupé, though it were brief, and she didn't focus on it a lot. Seemed like a slight bump or something. Probably just from her falling down, and hitting her back on the floor. Nothing there that made her think it were more than that.

Toupé would end up speaking first, as Cherish were excitedly waiting to her what else she might have to say, once the shock settled down, but it didn't seem like it did. She honestly looked a lot less happy about this than she should, but Cherish sure looked joyful enough for the both of them. She were practically beaming with joy.

"Ooooh, I haven't seen anyone get their cutie marks in years! It's so exciting.

I dunno if anyone can ever say exactly what cutie marks means, but usually when you do something, and it then appears, that means it's showing you what your special talent is, and relates to that. And yours looks like you're good at researching things. Makes total sense too, since you looked so happy and hyped up when you were looking up your book system."

Cherish would turn around, and lift up her dress, so that her flank were visible too. On that, were a cutie mark that looked like two parchments with pink scribble on them, with a waving line made of hearts connecting the two. The right parchment were at the top, and the left at the bottom.

"I got mine when I helped someone at school write a letter to his crush, and nudged them together a little before that, since I could tell they really liked one another. The marks can come from anything really, but it's usually a big deal when someone gets theirs.

Normally you'd go and tell your parents, and then there's sometimes a party. Sort of depends on who and where it happens. I got cake after I got mine.

Your mom is Miss Void, right? I dunno what traditions she has about these things, but I still bet she's gonna be excited to see it. Getting your cutie mark is a big, happy thing."

Biological or adopted, didn't matter much. From what she heard at least, she knew that they had Void taking care of them. She hadn't really heard about Vale, so she assumed that Void took care of them, and were thusly their mom. Alone or with someone, she didn't know.

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

(Discussed in OOC)

 

(Cherish)

Toupé listened closely to what Cherish had to say about marks, and nodded at the end as she put her coat back on, shielding the mark from view. "Alright, I'll tell her when I get home." She still looked conflicted, but from Cherish's clear indication that getting a mark was a good thing, she seemed a bit less worried. She looked over at the fallen book that had caused the reveal, "Well, it looks like I've got something else to read about now. Thanks for your help Cherish. We'll talk again later." She carefully put the book back where it came from, then trotted off in the direction of the Indexes.

It would only be a few more minutes before Gypsum, quite literally, sniffed Cherish out, coming around a corner with her nose high until she caught sight of her, "There you are, it-is time to eat-lunch. Then we-will all share what we-learned."

Gypsum would direct Cherish to head back to the entrance while she went off to sniff out Toupé, and soon enough everyone would be gathered together, and Gypsum led them into a side room in the library that seemed set up for the purpose of eating, so they wouldn't have to leave the library. Gypsum having gone back to the school to gather their packed lunches since she hadn't had them bring them in the morning. Once they had started eating Gypsum asked, "So, who would-like to-share what they-learned?"

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

The big deranged one seemed like he were going to be the tough one. Probably best to take him out first, but she'd deal with the rabble. Time to see what this blowgun could really do, when it was against other creatures. Considering the wall int he desert she had used it on had cracked, she probably shouldn't be blowing at max capacity though. She wanted to cause bruises, not piercing lungs.

So she'd take a step back, and in a smooth motion get both a couple of pellets and the blowgun ready. She'd blow at half strength towards the first griffon, and hit his shoulder, causing him to jerk back over. Didn't pierce, but he'd certainly be feeling this later on. This were the sort of power level she had been looking for, so that were good. She'd then try and shoot the next towards the head griffon, but he wasn't taken out that easily it seemed, and either took the hit, or dodged it, and shot the fireball in his hands at her. She didn't need to be whole, for him to get that wing of hers after all. Plenty enough to set fire to.

She'd dodge that one, and then fire off two more pellets, at two of those he were influencing, that were in the way. Leaving her with two griffons who'd feel like they'd been hit hard later, but without broken bones, or bleeding to death. Though one did fall back into a structure, that would probably make his head hurt like he'd been out binge drinking in the morning.

Also left her with a clear path towards the head griffon, and he did not seem like he were just leaving, so she'd dodge the next shot, and dive in.

There'd be some back and forth up close, with er wielding her knife, before she cut the act, and went in close, knife pressed against his throat, and her sneering up towards him.

He'd either get the hint, and bugger off, along with his lackeys- Or she'd go drastic, and push the knife further... Before retracting it, and slashing his leg instead. The one he'd been using to cast his spell ideally. He wasn't worth her going down for murder charges, and she wouldn't go that far. Unless that didn't work, in which case she'd go and attempt to knock him out. If that also wasn't gonna give him the hint... Well, she had a knife, and his chest was exposed. It'd be quick, though she'd then go around with a corpse behind her, and a bloody knife. It wouldn't exactly be hard to connect her to this one.

Then again, if Nine informed her earlier, that this were one of Discord's lackeys. One of the cruel monsters, who had caused untold amounts of death and violence... She wouldn't play around with warnings, but would slash his throat. She were a worker of vengeance. Sometimes, she'd have the right to be somewhat merciful towards others. Other times... One had to clean a mongrel from the ranks of the living.

She were still new at this job, and thus didn't know exactly what signs to look for. Not even the trails, as she weren't sure how tainted one were exactly still. Nine's input were important, in these early stages of her new job.

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

 

(Cherish)

Cherish were almost beaming, as she heard how Toupé were gonna tell Void later. She bet that it were gonna be a big, happy surprise. Same when it came to her telling her siblings! She were sure they'd all be thrilled to hear this.

Frankly as they were gathered later, it were tempting for her to say something too. It almost burst out even... But she had to bite her tongue on this. Or well, her tomato sandwich, as it were. Toupé should be the one to break the news herself. It were the right way to do things, no matter how giddy and excited Cherish were.

Though she would still raise a hoof, when they were asked what they had learned, and would wait until she'd be allowed to speak up, before telling what she had learned. Because she did learn something earlier, before her attention went elsewhere, as it were.

"I learned that young dragons like to fight with each other for play time, or compete over shiny things they find. I can't do fighting stuff with Crow since she's a lot stronger than me, but I also read about other stuff. Like how they'd clean each others scales for comfort. So I'm gonna find an extra toothbrush, a sharp rock, and something shiny that I can hide for her to find, and see if that'll make her happy. I got distracted before learning a lot more about dragons than that, but I think it's a good start.

Oh, it also showed what a dragon egg looked like. They're pretty, but looked really tough."

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

On 2023-08-02 at 2:38 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Then again, if Nine informed her earlier, that this were one of Discord's lackeys. One of the cruel monsters, who had caused untold amounts of death and violence... She wouldn't play around with warnings, but would slash his throat. She were a worker of vengeance. Sometimes, she'd have the right to be somewhat merciful towards others. Other times... One had to clean a mongrel from the ranks of the living.

By the time she had her knife to the gryphon's throat, Nine had indeed informer her that he was, albeit in a minor capacity which is why he was hiding up here and hadn't yet been eliminated.

Once he was dead the rest were quick to run off, her display had attracted quite a bit of attention, and her combat prowess seemed to have earned her a small amount of respect up here. She wouldn't be accosted by minor thugs moving forward, unless they were especially desperate.

After taking a moment to calm herself, Nine would inform her, "Alright, according to the list that was the one known as Firebird, a minor one of Discord's lackeys. Only wanted for several counts of robbery, intimidation, and one murder. You don't need to do anything with the body, but you'll need to report this to the judges to get credit for it. Looks like you'll get about 5 years for this one."

 

(Cherish)

Those gathered listened to what Cherish had to say, then Gypsum nodded, "Very good. This one thinks you-should ask first, make-sure that your-friend agrees."

She turned to the others, "Who else?"

Elef mentioned that he hadn't been able to find much on thestrals, and that it looked like there wasn't much to begin with given the size of the section. Gypsum encouraged him to keep looking, and to try related topics, maybe the books were just under a different topic?

Teal mentioned that she'd found some books meant for foals that she hoped she could show to Peal and Piecey later. Gypsum told her, and the rest of the group, that they were able to return when they wanted, and could bring others too, but that the library didn't let anyone take books out right now.

Lilac mentioned that she'd found a few books with pictures that she liked looking at, art books, since she wasn't good at reading yet. Gypsum encouraged her, saying that she'd be able to read well eventually, but she didn't need to rush.

Toupé was the last to share, "I, well, I started trying to find a pattern as to which books were missing, and which were left here, and I found a few books to read but I haven't read them yet." Gypsum nodded again, "This one also has trouble with book-finding, or finding book to read. Gypsum is happy that you did find something in the end, and hopes you will learn something more."

Once they were all done eating Gypsum looked to the clock, "Alright, one more hour to read, then you-will-meet the speaker-historian. Go have-fun and learn, this one will find you again when it is time."

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

"A waste of life. All he had to do was leave, and he'd live. Minor cog in the machine like that, I wouldn't have cared to chase down."

She didn't regret it. He had been a threat, seemed to have influence on others, and thus, were likely to go down a darker path later. It just still seemed like a waste of life, that could have easily been avoided. But he made his choice, and considering everything, she could imagine where he had gone because of it. Hard not to think about those sorts of things, however briefly, when you had gazed into Tartarus itself.

...Well, the moment was over. She'd wipe her blade clean, and be on her way. Seemed others weren't as interested in having a go at her yet at least. She could imagine the next who did, would also not be as easy of a nut to crack as this one, so she best be careful. That said, she had enough blood on her hooves for now, so if another shrimp would come at her, she'd probably at worst, break their leg. Much as she had once thought so, murder shouldn't be the answer to every problem.

"Were a time, when I'd hardly bother wasting time going for the kill. Did it without thinking much about it. Sometimes even felt alive because of the act. Reflecting on who I've been... I dunno how to feel about things anymore.

Don't worry, I won't have another episode because of that Firebird. I guess I've just started to ponder more on things, now that I ain't wandering in a cloud of anger all the time anymore. It ain't as easy to just ignore the thoughts these days."

*sigh* Whatever, yeah? He had his choice, she made hers, and now it were time to move on. Hopefully with no more death. The clouds had gotten red enough for today, she'd think. Though she better get done what she came here for, and soon. Time for her to find that lackey she were after. Or better yet, just run into Basher, and then drag his sorry rear down to be judged. After she had asked him why he was such a giant idiot.

Seriously, here he were, back to life again. A new chance, to right things, and save himself from going back in the pit. And what did he do? Seemingly right back to his old ways. How was burning in the pits not a solid enough sign, that maybe he should turn things around? And the pits... That were part of the penance, yeah? The whole point of Tartarus in the first place, to punish the wicked, until they had atoned for their crimes, however long that took? How did that weigh into the judgement? Maybe she should ask the only one here who knew a bit about it.

"Say, I got a question. Someone who're bad, and need to be p8unished. How will it weigh in, when they've already faced punishment before that? We're hunting someone who burned in the pits for a number of years. How does that sort of thing affect their punishment? Is it considered at all?"

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

 

(Cherish)

Cherish nodded when she were told to ask Crow first. Obviously she'd do that. She wasn't just gonna jump her with a toothbrush. That'd probably confuse the dragoness a lot. The part of reading the books, were to figure out what to ask her. Showed that she had an interest in her and everything. She were hoping it would make Crow feel more comfortable. As would her few trips into town eventually, so that maybe, sometime later on, she could join in school. She knew that Crow wanted to learn things. There were a reason why she kept reading books, and scouring around the dunes, for more than just shiny things. The town just scared her too much when she had first met her. But now she had been in it, three times in recent times, so that were good. Granted she still avoided the high street, and went in by side ways, but still, progress regardless of the minor details.

After that, she listened in to what the others had learned. It was a shame that Elef hadn't found anything yet. Maybe she could try and help him find something afterwards? She'd like to hang out with him more. He were nice, and as a hunter, he'd probably be the one that's be the least likely to essentially go and judge Crow harshly, for her ways. Not many ponies in her life, had been okay with hunters, back in Equestria. Not when they had other options, like gems for dragons. Crow didn't need that sort of judgement, and if she had to chose, Cherish wouldn't leave her dragoness friend behind. So it were best to hang out with those who were the least likely to bring that up, right?

...She were a bit biased because he were a thestral too. All of them seemed nice, but thestrals were just enticing, and Elef were more approachable right now. Lilac were a kind filly too it seemed, but her brother were very protective of her, so it'd probably take some time to get close to them. Not that Cherish had an issue with the situation. There had been a lot of bad times in recent years. A lot had gone and died because of it, so most had lost someone, and often everything else in their lives. That Lilac's big brother were watching over her, were a nice, sweet gesture, that made total sense. He just wanted his little sister to be safe, right? Like a good big brother would.

Teal's story confirmed what Cherish had thought, that the library wouldn't borrow books out. The low volume of books were probably why. Had to keep the books close and safe, before the whole place got empty. She also mentioned the little fillies, whom she hoped would be taken here someday, because then she could see them, and Cherish wanted to meet the tiny ones. She bet they were adorable.

Lilac were next, and mentioned liking art more than words. That wasn't bad, and she'd get to learn to read soon enough. Cherish were sure of that. Gypsum were probably seeing this as a sign that Lilac might need a bit of extra help during class too. At least Cherish assumed so. Seemed the sort of thing a teacher would do.

Seemed like her brother hadn't found something to read, as he didn't share. He probably were spending his time, trying to find something for Lilac, and would wait for another time. What a nice colt he were.

On 2023-08-04 at 9:18 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Toupé was the last to share, "I, well, I started trying to find a pattern as to which books were missing, and which were left here, and I found a few books to read but I haven't read them yet." Gypsum nodded again, "This one also has trouble with book-finding, or finding book to read. Gypsum is happy that you did find something in the end, and hopes you will learn something more."

Once they were all done eating Gypsum looked to the clock, "Alright, one more hour to read, then you-will-meet the speaker-historian. Go have-fun and learn, this one will find you again when it is time."

"Okay. See you later then, Miss Gypsum."

She almost said something about Toupé, but she didn't wat to put a spotlight on her right now. Seemed like she wasn't ready to reveal her new cutie mark, or talk about it, and if Cherish started, she might blurt it out by accident. Which were a shame, as she wanted to compliment Toupé, on finding the pattern she had, as fast as she did. It were impressive. At least to her. She hadn't even considered that, before Toupé brought it up in the first place.

As they were departing for books, she'd head towards Elef.

"H. DO you want help finding books about Thestrals? Maybe it's like Miss Gypsum says, and they're under another shelf. Have you tried looking under B for Bat pony? Or maybe there's a shelf for like, night active species somewhere? There outta be something, right?"

If he didn't want help, that were okay too. She'd just go back to the reading room, and finish her own book then. Or at least as much of it as she could, in an hour.

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

On 2023-08-05 at 3:24 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Say, I got a question. Someone who're bad, and need to be p8unished. How will it weigh in, when they've already faced punishment before that? We're hunting someone who burned in the pits for a number of years. How does that sort of thing affect their punishment? Is it considered at all?"

"It depends on how long they were there. The Scout wasn't in there very long at all, given that unicorn could just pull him back out as soon as he went in. That was what made Discord's Generals all the more deadly, that they could just be brought back if they died. Outside of them, the only ones who suffered and left are the Spawn, who aren't capable of earning debt as they are no more than animals in that state. Regardless, suffering in Tartarus is no different from suffering here so far as Vengeance is concerned. It is factored in to their debt."

Speaking of the Basher, he wasn't present at the fight, but news of the fight had already reached him, and he pondered what exactly he should do. He didn't know that Null was after him specifically, but he had his suspicions. 

Null would find a number of younger pegasi watching her from a distance as she explored. They didn't have much debt on them, mostly petty theft, and they would try to escape if Null approached them.

 

Back in the hotel, Ardee had talked Arcade into joining her up on the roof of the Casino. With permission if the changelings allowed it, to try and get a better look at the surrounding city. Arcade agreed since it would give him a good vantage to see Null fly back down.

Better said, Arcade was keeping an eye out, while Ardee was trying to see if she could teach her paper fox companion any tricks, like retrieving an arrow after she shot it.

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-08-05 at 3:24 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"H. DO you want help finding books about Thestrals? Maybe it's like Miss Gypsum says, and they're under another shelf. Have you tried looking under B for Bat pony? Or maybe there's a shelf for like, night active species somewhere? There outta be something, right?"

Elef was surprised that Cherish came to help him, "Oh, um, I guess? I was just going to go look for my other topics, I want to learn about chroniclers too. I got to meet one at the festival a bit ago and I thought their job was cool. Do you know anything about them? Miss Void says they they're similar to historians."

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

On 2023-08-08 at 8:10 PM, Illiad Easle said:

"It depends on how long they were there. The Scout wasn't in there very long at all, given that unicorn could just pull him back out as soon as he went in. That was what made Discord's Generals all the more deadly, that they could just be brought back if they died. Outside of them, the only ones who suffered and left are the Spawn, who aren't capable of earning debt as they are no more than animals in that state. Regardless, suffering in Tartarus is no different from suffering here so far as Vengeance is concerned. It is factored in to their debt."

"Least that's cleared up. I guess he's getting what's coming to him then, with little to balance it out. Soon as we find the bugger that is. He seems a slippery sort."

On 2023-08-08 at 8:10 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Null would find a number of younger pegasi watching her from a distance as she explored. They didn't have much debt on them, mostly petty theft, and they would try to escape if Null approached them.

As she kept going on, she'd look around, trying to find the spot she had to look for. She'd find it eventually - a dive bar that had seen better days it seemed, from the outside - but she did also see a bundle of young pegasi. They seemed to be watching her. Perhaps following her? Might they be scouts for Basher? It were an option, but she wasn't gonna chase after them. A bunch of young with petty theft hanging to them? Probably a matter of survival for them. The world state had left a lot of orphans, and not everyone had a place to stay, or someone to care for them. Didn't mean they didn't need to survive, so they did what they had to.

She could relate to that. She'd not been above stealing if she had to, to make it out there. These might be in the same boat she were. Perhaps they were even working for Basher, and did some stuff for him, in exchange for some level of protection, and even shelter. Was hard to tell, but she wasn't gonna hunt them down. They were just foals, for ancestor's sake. Same... Same as Elef were...

She kept postponing it, but she knew that sooner or later, she had to give him judgement. He had blood on his hooves, and she had a job. But even then, it wasn't easy to even think of a punishment for that, towards someone who clearly hadn't wanted to do what he had. *sigh* Still, it were best it were someone like her who could empathize, right? Give him a punishment that he'd live through, rather than someone else, who'd perhaps be harsher, as they looked at it coldly. She needed to think of that eventually.

For now, she'd send the pegasi foals a small nod, before making her way into the dive bar. It would probably be about what she'd expect, looking at it from the outside. With some luck, she'd be left alone, as she checked if the one she were after, were in here. Might be they weren't, but it were worth a shot, yeah? Though she imagined this place would be riddled with dark threads to follow, even if it wasn't crowded. Seemed the theme for the sky layer currently were the dumpster of the town, to a certain extend.

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

 

(Hotel)

On 2023-08-08 at 8:10 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Back in the hotel, Ardee had talked Arcade into joining her up on the roof of the Casino. With permission if the changelings allowed it, to try and get a better look at the surrounding city. Arcade agreed since it would give him a good vantage to see Null fly back down.

Better said, Arcade was keeping an eye out, while Ardee was trying to see if she could teach her paper fox companion any tricks, like retrieving an arrow after she shot it.

They'd be allowed up on the roof, by some of the staff. Wasn't really a reason not to. They had an area up there where beings could sit around and enjoy the view. As well as a bar, of course, but that were mostly for the sake of sales. The railings were to try and stop anyone from falling over the edge, as that would be horrible. Though just in case, a shifting set of pegasi and changelings would be on guard up here, making sure that nothing unseemly would happen.

As for the paper fox, she could teach it to collect arrows. It would drag them out by folding it's tail around the arrow, and pull. It wouldn't have much of an issue pulling an arrow out, unless it were buried pretty deep, and could carry a few arrows at a time. There were probably a bit of magic involved in it dragging and pulling too, but such were the way with these things. There were a small bit of magic in them, that they could use, but not enough to be a threat to anyone. This sort of thing frankly? Mostly been used historically by the kitsune, to help these little ones carry a scroll, or some pens.

It would eventually start to playfully jerk the arrow back before she'd reach out for it, snickering slightly. It were not a serious situation, so it felt safe in toying a little.

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

 

(Cherish)

"Never met one, sorry. Where I used to live, we just had historians, reading to us from books they got from the library. And Jam Kazoo. He was a travelling bard that came through sometimes. Told us stories with song. He was a nice stallion."

She went briefly a bit paler, and her smile faltered, as she recalled him. She knew he wasn't around anymore. She'd... Seen things. But he had been a nice presence, and it drew in more of the foals when history and tales were told to them like that. It had been a long time since she last saw one of his kind.

"You met a real chronicler though? Are you thinking about trying to be one too? It sounds like you liked what you heard.

I think it'd be nice if you found your talent in that. There's probably a lot of history, and too few left to tell it, right?

How was the one that you met?"

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

On 2023-08-10 at 2:54 PM, Blitz Boom said:

For now, she'd send the pegasi foals a small nod, before making her way into the dive bar. It would probably be about what she'd expect, looking at it from the outside. With some luck, she'd be left alone, as she checked if the one she were after, were in here. Might be they weren't, but it were worth a shot, yeah? Though she imagined this place would be riddled with dark threads to follow, even if it wasn't crowded. Seemed the theme for the sky layer currently were the dumpster of the town, to a certain extend.

The bar looked smaller on the inside than it should have, which probably meant it was a front, and she had the right place.

That being said, she had every eye on her as she entered, though no one moved to stop her. At least one of the apparent patrons were in the group that had attacked her earlier.

(Unless you have something planned for this place)

There were a few open stools at the bar.

 

(Hotel)

On 2023-08-10 at 2:54 PM, Blitz Boom said:

It would eventually start to playfully jerk the arrow back before she'd reach out for it, snickering slightly. It were not a serious situation, so it felt safe in toying a little.

Ardee would start to practice snap movements with her wings in response, appearing to be reaching for the arrow with one wing, only to suddenly nab it with the other wing, sometimes pulling the arrow back so fast that the paper fox was still attached, though the fox would no doubt start to catch on to her tricks, leading her to try more devious methods to get the arrows back.

She had to admit, the little fox was growing on her. Its small size reminded her of the foals back in Troy, and it being made of paper meant that she didn't have to worry too much about caring for it like she would a normal pet.

She had an idea after a few rounds of arrows, she wondered how smart the fox was. "Hmm, if I have you climb on the arrow when I shoot it, could you steer it in the air?" She would wait to see if the fox showed any sign of understanding before attempting.

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-08-10 at 2:54 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"You met a real chronicler though? Are you thinking about trying to be one too? It sounds like you liked what you heard.

Elef nodded, "If I can, I don't know why but I thought the stories were just so cool! And seeing how all the thestrals there looked on them with such... respect? Admiration? I want that."

On 2023-08-10 at 2:54 PM, Blitz Boom said:

I think it'd be nice if you found your talent in that. There's probably a lot of history, and too few left to tell it, right?

How was the one that you met?"

Elef nodded again, "Well, he was old, I think the oldest pony I've ever seen, but he was kind. He was happy to answer my questions even when the other young thestrals had left, I think he appreciated my curiosity. I hope I'll be able to meet him again next year, maybe I could learn how to be a chronicler from him if we can't find any books?"

Their searching still came up empty outside of a few books for foals about bat ponies, only one of them mentioned thestrals, and they only said that thestrals were a type of bat pony without any extra information about history or culture.

As the time was running out, Elef sighed, "Ah well, thanks anyway for helping. Maybe I could help you find something before our time is up?"

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

Since she weren't entirely sure who it were she were looking for - she had a description of the goon, and an idea that Basher himself might be in the area - Null would silently just wander in, and have a look. She'd head for the chair eventually, not wanting to stand out as much, though she would not be sure what to order. She wasn't much of a fan of alcohol. It slowed the mind, and tasted rancid. Most did at least.

"Not much for your taste on the menu, is there?"

She'd look up at the chair she were about to pick, to find that next to the empty eats, were someone already. A figure in a dusty robe, with a mug in front of him, that had been drunk about half from. Seemed to be some sort of... Honestly, she had no idea. She'd just go with *beer* and let him handle that on his own.

He'd put up a paw, and pull back, revealing a kitsune male. This one, were not like the last she had seen. His fur were white as snow, though dusty in places. Came from wandering the desert, no doubt. He also didn't have the joy on his face, that the last one had. He looked like he didn't get enough sleep, and hadn't had a reason to smile for years. Almost made her depressed to look at him frankly. He did know how to fight though, judging by the splatter of blood on the paw, that were resting near the mug. Seemed to have dried some, but were still somewhat fresh.

Odd to see a kitsune care so little for their looks. She hadn't seen others, care so little for their fur before. Then again, she had also only met one, after the world went down the creek. Plenty of reasons to be depressed about things. these days. For all she knew, he had to eat his family to survive. That'd sure kill every smile on her face, both at the time, and ever since.

She couldn't really see much more about him. He were well covered after all. The robe even covered his tail up in full, so for all she knew, he had armor on under this, or carried weapons. Probably weapons. What kind of crazy being would go up here, without a way to fight?

"What's it to you?"

"Me? Nothing. Nothing nothing nothing..."

He'd take a swig from his mug, his paw shaking as he lifted the cup.

"Just not seeing a lot of things, that'd fit your taste. Too heavy in potency for you. *sigh* Though not enough for me... Not for what's to come..."

She'd send this one a weird glance, and then take the free chair the furthest from him. She weren't sure what his deal were, but she didn't much care to find out either. It seemed like he were a little crazy, and she had enough to deal with right now.

If she were asked, she'd try and order some cider. It were among the least gross things one could find in places like this, though any low-alcohol drink would do. Just to give her an excuse, and some time to scout this place proper for her target. She'd find though, that she didn't need to pay for something, as the drink she'd end up getting, had already been paid for, by the weird fox, before she had shown up.

Giving him another glance, if she still looked at his karma, she'd find that he were... Strange. He himself had some karmic debt - violence and theft mostly, with one count of cannibalism - but he also seemed to have a presence on him, that were either faint, or just didn't register all that much to her. Maybe he had been in contact with someone, who didn't have much karmic debt then? Maybe even had a neutral plate? Hay if she knew, but it certainly wasn't from anyone around here. The sky level wasn't for the innocent it appeared.

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

 

(Hotel)

The paper fox was hesitant, but would eventually get curious enough, that it would nod, and then jump up, to sit on the crossbow bolt. Tail wrapped around the arrow, ready to see what they could do here.

The first attempt, would not get far, with it not grabbing on tightly enough, and thus falling off as it were shot. It'd still get the bolt though, and prepare to try again. This time, holding on better, with its paws too. This time, it would manage to stay on, and pull on the arrow, changing its path somewhat. They'd need to train more with this, but this had some potential, if they learned how to work together proper. Maybe at some point, she could end up shooting, and the arrow more or less able to be used for curve shots around walls and such, due to the small paper fox.

Either way, it were having a great time. This were rather fun, and it liked her peculiar ideas. They were unorthodox, and weird. What better time were there, than to partake in things that fit that description? Now they just had to hope they didn't hit someone.

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

 

(Cherish)

"I hope you'll meet him again. It sounds like he made a good impact on you."

Maybe this wouldn't end up being the thing for Elef, but it sure sounded like this were something that had his interest. She didn't know if he'd end up meeting that old thestral again, but she hoped that he would. It sounded like it were something to look forward to, for him. Sometimes, that could really help you get through a tough day. That bit of hope, and thought that there were something ahead, rather than misery and death.

It was a shame there were less good happening after, when they were looking for books on thestrals. Sadly nothing specific there. Mostly just vague references, which were a shame. She had kinda hoped they'd be able to find something too. both for Elef's sake, and because she wanted to read stuff too, once he'd be done with those books. Oh well, guess she just had to hope that Crow would have more luck then, right? Gave her another reason to hurry out to speak with her after school too.

On 2023-08-21 at 8:58 PM, Illiad Easle said:

As the time was running out, Elef sighed, "Ah well, thanks anyway for helping. Maybe I could help you find something before our time is up?"

"Oh, don't worry, Elef. If we're lucky maybe Crow will find thestral books. She hoards all sorts of things out in the desert. I promise I'll tell you, if she does, okay?

Oh, and I have something we can look for. I probably don't have time to read much of it today, but it'd be nice if they had some books on sewing. Even one really. You saw those socks that Crow were wearing, yes? She likes them, but they're falling apart. I'm the only friend she has, so I think it'd be nice if I knew how to sew, so I could maybe try and help her patch them up a little.

I know it seems like I focus a lot on just her, but... I still remember what it's like, to be where she is. Scared and alone, everyone you knew either dead, or worse.

I were lucky, that I got here, and that I got adopted. Especially by someone who tries so hard to help me, with the memories. Crow weren't, and she only has me right now. I dunno. It feels like I should help her too, you know?

Socks isn't a lot, but it's something. Besides, it'd be nice being able to patch my dress up sometimes too. It's not in the best shape anymore."

There had been done a fair bit of work, patching it up, but her dress were halfway kept in place by patches, that were sewn on from the inside. If she knew how to sew proper, she might be able to repair this herself. Which would be preferable, as this held some sentimental value to her, that made it hard for her to just put it aside. Even if it were getting smaller, as she were getting older, and that it were a matter of a few years at most, before she'd end up having to just accept she couldn't fit it anymore.

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

On 2023-08-25 at 3:28 PM, Blitz Boom said:

If she were asked, she'd try and order some cider. It were among the least gross things one could find in places like this, though any low-alcohol drink would do. Just to give her an excuse, and some time to scout this place proper for her target. She'd find though, that she didn't need to pay for something, as the drink she'd end up getting, had already been paid for, by the weird fox, before she had shown up.

Nine would stop her if she tried to drink it, "It's drugged. Looks like they don't want you hanging around here. Hard to tell who might have drugged it, or if it's just a bad batch of cider, but best be careful. I think they know their regulars, and they know you aren't one of them."

Having said that, it did look like a number of the ponies present were watching her, as though waiting to see what she would do.

If she refused to drink it, the bartender would huff, "What, free ain't good'nuf for ya? Maybe try somewhere on the ground."

If she accused it of being drugged the bartender would sneer, "You ain't special fil, drink it or get out."

If she did drink it, or pretend to, the rest of the bar would go back to their tasks, for now.

 

(Hotel)

Ardee smiled as she saw the paper fox was able to have some effect on the arrow, deciding to take a break for now, "Maybe we could give you some wings? That would make it easier for you to do things in the air... then you could get things that I can't reach from the ground." She looked down at her own wings, "Maybe even just a few of my feathers?" She shrugged, "We'll have to ask that kitsune who made you if it's possible."

Arcade was still watching the clouds intently, looking for any sign that Null was okay, or needed him. Ardee came over to him, "There isn't much you can do from down here by looking. Why don't we ask around the changelings? Maybe they know something that she can use when she gets back?"

Arcade sighed, looking away from the clouds, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Might as well start with the bartender up here."

Arcade would head over to the bar, "Hey, bit of an odd request, but do you know anything about a pegasus called Basher?"

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-08-25 at 3:28 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Socks isn't a lot, but it's something. Besides, it'd be nice being able to patch my dress up sometimes too. It's not in the best shape anymore."

Elef nodded, "Sure, I could help you with that. That soulds like the sort of thing they'd have left here anyway."

Sure enough, although the "How-To" section was similarly sparse compared to the rest of the library, it seemed like there had been enough duplicates for them to find a few different books suited to Cherish's interest. Some of them were a bit more advanced than she needed, or were tailored to other types of ponies, but she was able to find one that she could use without too much issue, and just in time for her to start reading it when Gypsum came by looking for them. "We will-meet with the speaker-historian soon, please go-to the main level in the middle, then this one will take you and the others there."

Once they confirmed, Gypsum would head off in search of the others while they made their way down. Toupé was down there already when they arrived. She had a book on cutie marks that she was reading, but she closed it when they approached, tucking it away, "Oh, um, how did your search go?"

[Blitz Boom 4,626]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

Drugged. Of course it were. A seedy, rotten place to the core. Might have been from the kitsune, but somehow, she doubted it. He didn't seem the sort to want that. Then again, he had ordered this... Something was a bit off.

She'd humor them a bit, and just take it to her lips, and pretending to drink.

"Reminds me of my days being a lookout for some drug dealers. They paid me in antibiotics and pain meds. Not the worst bunch I ever had to work with."

She didn't mean the first few bunches, when she were a foal. Nah, those times, she couldn't just be drinking like this. She were instead stationed in places, then raised alarm if someone started to cause some ruckus, or seemed off in some way. Most didn't think twice about how they acted around a foal after all.

She recalled more the time when she were in her older teens. Had to hang around, pretending to drink, but not actually drink. Couldn't get drunk on the job, right? Wasn't honest work of course, but it helped get Void some medicine, and she weren't technically part of the drug gang. She were just... A contractor, more or less. Just for a few weeks, until they went on to the next street rat they could make use off. Couldn't have the same there for too long after all, or it would end up raising suspicion. Awful folks too honestly, but at least they paid what they owed, and didn't try anything fishy. Except for that one guy, but no one there seemed to like him, so her leaving him with a few nasty scars, didn't seem to bother them.

As for here? She'd scour things, but unless her target wee gonna show soon, she would just be on her way. The kitsune caught her eye a few times though. He didn't seem to focus on her anymore, but did look like he were expecting something bad to happen, and soon. Considering this place, he were probably right.

In case no one showed, she would leave soon after, and if she couldn't find a trail outside, would head back below. Not much point staying up here, if there were nothing tangible. At least not right now, though it did give her a place to look again another time.

In case she would still end up getting drugged - say if the drugs in the drink only needed skin contact - the kitsune would scoop her up, and take off if possible.

(I do not control Basher's people as I do not know their plans. Up to you if one shows, and what they then do)

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

 

(Hotel)

The paper fox looked thoughtful of the idea that it would be able to fly. It hadn't considered something like that, but then, it did sound fun. Fluttering about, it would be able to reach things high up, like ink quills, or magazines. Maybe even shiny stuff. They'd need to ask its creator though. It wasn't sure what one could do with it, since it were origami after all. If something could be added, or if only the paper it had been made from were usable, were impossible for it to say.

As for where he were? If they asked around, they'd find that like with some of the other performers, who agreed to things, he were offered lodging, as part of his pay, in the west wing of the casino. He had been offered a better place, but had elected to stay in what were probably the smallest room they had, because it had a fair few plants, and a nice, big rock. A leftover from some art installation, but to him, a perfect meditation rock, so he had been happy about taking the crammed room. Most of his stuff were stashed near the stage anyway, as it were related to the show.

In any case, regarding the bartender, he'd be nice and smile at them as they approached. A fairly regular looking drone, wearing an apron. Most distinct thing, were that he had a piercing of a flower, in his right front fang. His behavior, changed however, as the question were asked, and he'd respond somewhat nervously.

"I eh... K-Know enough to not get involved. I'd strongly suggest you'd do the same, sir."

He'd wander off after that, seemingly to clean some glasses. They were clean already, but he did not want to answer questions about Basher. They could try and ask another though. Some were more willing to speak than others.

Eligible targets were: A server, having a small break with a ball of emotion gel. A maid, that were currently cleaning one of the machines, that seemingly had something spilled over the exterior. And at last, a cat, that were sitting on a nearby pillar, looking at them closely. Potentially another changeling, just in disguise, as no one seemed to really bother it. At least not the changelings, which likely marked it as one of their own.

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

 

(Cherish)

It was kind of a shame really. They had just found a book that she could probably learn from, and then their time were up. It really did fly, when you were having fun, didn't it? Oh well. Now she knew they had it, so it were a manner of just going here in her free time, or the next time they went here with the school, and then read from it. Made her feel all warm and fuzzy, to think that she might be able to repair or make new socks for Crow. provided she could find some materials of course, but maybe Crow had found some yarn or thread in the desert. There were all sorts of long abandoned stuff, that the sands had preserved fairly well. And some that were chew toys for the dune foxes, among other fates, that left things in a less than stellar condition.

Anyway, she would put the book back, and tried to make sure she remembered the title correctly. They could go back to meet the others then, while miss Gypsum went and found the rest that needed to be rounded up.

They'd approach, just to find that they weren't the first there. Toupé were there, and seemed to be reading something she were a bit cagey about showing off. maybe something related to cutie marks? That'd make sense, since she had seemed really baffled about things, when she had gotten her own. Which were kinda strange honestly. How hadn't she been taught about these before the calamity? Most foals started to learn these things, when they were very young. And Toupé looked like she would be old enough, to have gone through a few regular class grades.

Hmm... Maybe they had been part of some sort of isolated place, that didn't put a focus on those things? Cherish didn't know, and she didn't want to ask too much into things, since Toupé should be given the time to explain and show off for her family. But it were one of the things she did want to add to the list of things, that she'd like to ask sometimes. Provided it were okay with them. She wanted to be friends, and being too noisy, might stop that. Especially since she had some things she'd prefer not to talk about. It'd be hypocritical to put down her hoof on that, and not respect that there were things they didn't want to talk about either, at this point in time.

"Hi Toupé! It went nice for me. Elef were very sweeet, and helped me find a book about sowing, though we weren't lucky finding books about thestrals. I'm hoping it'll be one of the books that Crow might be willing to find and trade away someday. It'd be nice if there were more stuff to read about 

How did your search go? Did you find more interesting stuff?"

[Illiad Easle 3,139]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

Null's patience would be rewarded, partially, when a pony took a seat next her her. It wasn't Basher, but Nine could confirm that this pony had been in close contact with Basher. A fact the pony herself confirmed just a moment later. "I see you weren't fooled by the drink. Most fall for it pretty easily."

She passed a photo over to her, it was a picture of Arcade and Ardee on the roof of the casino. "Basher says to back off."

The mare turned to leave, but gave one parting remark, "You won't find him up here anyway, he hates it up here."

If the mare was allowed to leave, she'd kick a hole in the cloud ground and drop through rather than using the door. If Null or the Kitsune went to restrain her however, things would go differently.

 

(Hotel)

Arcade raised an eyebrow at the changeling's evasiveness, but didn't press the issue. As he considered who else he could ask, a male pegasus waved him over from a nearby table, setting down his paper as Arcade and Ardee approached, "I could tell you some things, but you'll have to keep it quiet, understood?"

He looked around at the surrounding rooftops, "You'll want to stay low, he's got eyes everywhere, but they mostly watch from above. They don't typically do much during the day, just watching and reporting, but they'll be quick to get you at night if you're causing problems."

He turned his attention towards Ardee, "I watched you practice with that bow, you've got some real talent with it, but it won't help you much up close, I could teach you how to fight up close if you want?"

Arcade didn't look too sure, but Ardee seemed interested.

Arcade tried to take the conversation back, "Can you tell us where we might find him?"

The pegasus looked thoughtful, "Well, you didn't hear it from me, but I've heard that he's always on the move. However, there are a few places that he frequents more than others, mostly around the outskirts of the city. If you brought me a map, I could point out some spots for you."

Under the table, he held a scrap of paper in a wing, wiggling it to try and get the paper fox's attention. On it he had written an address and a time for that night, hoping to pass it discretely to Ardee without Arcade noticing.

 

(Cherish)

On 2023-09-09 at 4:14 PM, Blitz Boom said:

How did your search go? Did you find more interesting stuff?"

Toupé shrugged, "Not so much interesting as... " she trailed off, "I just have more questions the more I look, but I guess that's the point of this place, to find answers, but also find more questions."

That being said Gypsum returned with Teal, Nova, and Lilac in tow, "Good, we-are all here. We-go to-see the speaker-historian now, okay?"

Gypsum led the way back to the central room, where she then went downstairs to an area full of desks and chairs, as well as a number of walled rooms that were likely private study areas. She led the way into one of the larger rooms, which seemed more suited for presentations than studying, where a camel was sitting beside a large and well lit basin of sand. She raised her head to greet them as they entered, smiling as Gypsum motioned for everyone to take a seat around the sand basin.

The camel spoke in a quiet tone, almost a whisper, but it was easy enough to hear in the room, "Welcome calves, it has been many cycles since last there were young to teach. Miss Gypsum is lucky indeed that she may teach you each day."

The camel adjusted her position to better interact with the basin, moving to touch the sand with a hoof, the sand starting to shift in response, "The magic of camels is this, to interact with the sand, it carries us all along, and in the end we return to it, so life is preserved and hidden within it."

She blew on the sand, as though dusting off a book, to reveal a scene hidden beneath. It was of several camels surrounding an oasis, "Many generations ago, before this great city was even imagined, there was the desert, the camels, and the oases. Some camels would spend their whole lives at one oasis, others would journey the sands to other oases, some would search, and never return." As she spoke the image shifted, showing some camels moving to other oases, and some camels simply disappearing into the sand.

"Over time, camels built up the oases, cleaning them, cultivating their plants, forming them into havens for those less suited for traveling the desert. Every camel managed their portion, and all efforts served to benefit all others. You can't improve the water in just your part, you'll only hinder yourself trying not to benefit others, so it is best to help those around you, so that you may be bettered yourself."

A depression formed in the sand, and the camel poured some water into it, forming a shallow pool in the sand. In front of each of the children, a seed emerged from the sand, "Go ahead, come closer, plant your seed near the oasis, see if you can work together to beautify it."