private Deep Science 1x1 with Blitz Boom

[Blitz Boom 4,705]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

(I got nothing planned for the evening)

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

 

(Ranger)

On 2025-04-16 at 11:01 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Something small but thowable, maybe a beaker? was flung at high speed against a nearby wall when he said her name. While it hadn't been thrown in his direction, it was clear that Ranger did not like having her name mentioned, especially not in this context.

Both the paper fox and Kozue, would bounce slightly backwards, as the vial was thrown into the wall and shattered. They had not expected an outburst like this from Ranger. Sure she had not been thrilled when Rainbow Dash were talked about, but the name itself causing such anger were unexpected, and it surprised them both. Kozue even almost let out a yi- Now wait, he actually Did let out a small yip too. Embarrassing, but he had to go on, and finish what he were saying. too late to back out anyway, since he clearly already got her miffed, to put it lightly.

On 2025-04-16 at 11:01 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She had mostly calmed down by that point, and so wasn't about to lash out at him, but she did shove off the stuff she had been looking through with a bit of a huff before coming over to see what he had found. Her expression grew curious as she lifted one of the figures, "Hmm, what's this? I don't..." She looked over at where he had found it. "Did Arcade? No... he didn't spend that much time in here. Gemini..."

Her expression finally softened after all the time she had spent here, "I would guess Mistress made these for us, and hid them here. Maybe she showed them to the younger ones while I was training. Even if she didn't, I think this is something worth bringing back. We can see if they remember them, and if they don't we can say it was from her."

She would gather them up into a small satchel she had found, wrapping them in some of the discarded papers to help against damaging them, which allowed her to get a better look at them.

It looked like there was a miniature, albeit rudimentary, representation of each of the elements, the princesses, and a few other ponies in the set, though to be more accurate they were all vaguely pony shaped with some color painted on, they didn't have marks or wings or horns, likely beyond the creator's ability to carve or paint, but as a set that was the likely conclusion. Ranger didn't have an issue handling them.

Once they were packed up she looked towards the door, "I want to leave, but there's one last thing to check."

"Sure thing. And uh... Sorry about upsetting you before. I guess I came on a bit forcefully, and crossed a line. I'll try not to say... Well, y'know what, anymore."

He could swear that if the paper fox were able, it would have rolled its eyes at him right now. He would've, in its place, because him stammering out an apology, albeit genuine, were about as smooth as sandpaper.

He still believed he were right, and that Ranger shouldn't be thinking her life were disposable, but he had brought her family into this, and mentioned someone that she clearly didn't want to even hear about. The family stuff alone were going a bit too far, in hindsight. Wasn't like he actively knew them, so though he were still sure he were right, that their lives weren't expendable like this, he should've been more respectful, and not force it as hard.

And considering her stance on the particular ponies they were cloned from, using Dash's name was a whoopsie he should've seen. Like, not to the degree he had, but still. It were maybe not the smartest.

Least it was good to see that the things he found brought a bit of a smile back on her face, and the paper fox were sure curious too, as it was over there, looking over her shoulders and from around her, to get a good angle to work with. It thought them somewhat like itself for a bit, and that they would suddenly be made to spring to life, but it did not seem like that was the idea. It was just still memories, that they would bring back for someone. Who it were? No idea, but it were interested in meeting them, and seeing if they looked somewhat like this. If not, maybe they at least had like, a folder, or a page of a phone book or something. Some numbers would be delicious.

Well, at least it got to see, so it could be patient... For now, anyway. Plenty to look at around here too, so it'd focus on that for the time being, and then think on this later.

On 2025-04-16 at 11:01 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She would leave the room and head further down the hall to a large doorway with a keypad. She started pressing a few numbers on it, without success, before sighing, "Looks like I forgot the code, or I never knew it in the first place. I'll see if they maybe wrote it down somewhere, unless you have an idea as to how to get through?"

The door itself was about twice the size of the other doors here, and solid metal. It looked like it was meant to open upwards. 

The walls around the doorway weren't especially reinforced, not compared to the rest of the walls here, nor were they any thicker than the rest, in case he had any abilities that could break or move through either.

It also wasn't airtight, in fact there was a gap about half a centimeter high at the bottom of the door, like something was keeping it from fully shutting.

Kozue thought over it. Was quite the door this one, and not a regular one either, that was for sure. Well, not the sort he were used to at least, so he had to think this over for a little bit.

While he did that, the paper fox would simply begin to unfold, then slide under the small hole under the door, where it would then reform on the other side. If there were a way to open it from there, it would do so. If nit, it'd wait for a bit, for them to get in, and look around itself in the meantime.

On this side, Kozue would more or less seem to ignore that, then look over the options.

"Hmm, well, I can try a few things."

Sadly he wasn't tech savvy enough to try and magically hack the lock, if it was any good. besides, he didn't know this type. But he'd try a few magical tricks.

First would be to just run a paw over, and see if there were a trace on the keypad itself, from previous users. If there were a lingering trace of any sort, he might be able to get the code like that. usually this worked the best with more recent uses though. But this place had been left alone for so long, that it might work.

If not that, he'd see if it could be budged at all, using some magic to push up from beneath. Yet if it were well stood, it'd likely do very little. This door looked heavy.

Next option would be the see what kept the door there. He might be able to erode the hinges or frame of it, if that seemed an option. A more brute force option, but it were something to work with.

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

 

(Cherish)

On 2025-04-16 at 11:01 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Gemini would nod and show off her mark for Crow to see, since it wasn't covered by how she wore her lab coat now. It was still the open book with a magnifying glass showing a capital Pi.

"I'm not sure exactly what it means yet, but I got it while we were all in the library. Cherish was there, she actually saw it first!"

"I read that pony marks can take time, to understand. But I see a book. Maybe you are meant to read a lot, and be smarter?"

There were a slight bit of hope in Crow's voice, saying that. She didn't really communicate with many that read a lot. Sure Cherish knew how to read, and they did do that at times, but someone who actively read often, to get smarter? She were doing that herself, and it would be good knowing someone else like that. Though pony marks were indeed strange, so who knew what she were meant to do?

"I have seen that strange thing on the book though. Some of the books I found. Not sure what it means."

"I dunno, but yep, I was there when she got her mark! It was so exciting! I hadn't seen that in a long time, and then suddenly Gemini falls down a ladder, and poof: Cutie mark! Well, she maybe got it before falling down, but that's when we saw it anyway."

On 2025-04-16 at 11:01 PM, Illiad Easle said:

They all paid close attention to Crow's guidance as to what they should and shouldn't do while out in the desert, and they seemed excited by the idea of scavenging, Elef only a little disappointed to not be going hunting.

They didn't have questions that couldn't also be asked while they were traveling to wherever Crow had in mind, but they would ask along the way things like:

"What sort of things do you usually find?"

"What's the coolest thing you've found?"

"Is it dangerous to scavenge?"

"Do you get lonely out here?"

"Does the sand bother you?"

Among other things.

The barrage of questions took Crow by surprise, and she took a hesitant step back, and almost took another, before she stopped herself, and cautiously stepped forward again, to where she had been before. If they had looked, they might've seen a brief look in her eyes, like a cornered rat, looking for an escape, but it were fleeting.

"Sorry, I am... Not used to so many, asking me questions.

So... I find all kinds of things, but I prefer to find books.

The coolest thing I found is a book of gold and silver, but I don't understand what it says. It has strange symbols everywhere.

Not that dangerous. Dune hounds are prey, and scorpions can't hurt me. You just be safe, it be okay. Sometimes there is golem things though. Stay away from them. They sometimes try to chase others, but they are slow.

Sometimes lonely, but... I have Cherish. She always been a good friend.

Sand not so bad. I grew up around lots of it."

At that point, Cherish would flutter forward, and whisper something in Crow's ear, that'd make the dragon nod twice.

"Okay. If Elef want, we can hunt a dune hound, when scavenging is done.

And I forgot one thing. Well two.

One is that there is lots of corpses, in the desert. Do not be scared. They just dead, and do not need their things. Sand shifts a lot around. Sometimes, they and their things come up.

And there is strange pony out here. Weird metal wings. He not dangerous, I think, but he hunt golems. I think he is crazy, but he have not tried hunting me. I think he is safe."

As she said the last sentence, the vulture were done with her meal, and took off, with mighty flaps of her wings, towards the north of the desert. Sometimes she stuck around for a little, but she had no interest, when it were this crowded. It got too noisy for her taste.

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

 

(Void)

On 2025-04-16 at 11:01 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The llama let her go soon enough, "Oh, sorry! I should ask first, I know ponies get uncomfortable when too close to llamas, and even though as a llamare my wool isn't quite as strong..." she trailed off, "...It's good to meet you Void."

Void were surprised by getting the hug, especially from one so much nearer her size than normal. In fact, this reminded her a fair bit of when she met Princess Celestia, and the mare went in to giv her a hug as well, just softer, and not as gentle. It were also reminiscent of that because of something else. A feeling- Or rather, the absence of one. Something that briefly made a cold shiver go down her spine, as for a split second, she feared the curse had returned. But that passed soon, as she recalled something she had heard about llamas, and when Illambda herself said so too afterwards, the relief going over her were definitely notable.

"Nono, it's f-fine miss. Honestly, it was just a surprise, and a short reminder of different times.

I... Well, my sister and I, were born with a curse, that drained all magic around us. We only recently had it removed, and I admit, I was worried it had returned for a brief moment. We heard stories about the wool of Llamas, and what it did, but we weren't sure they were true. Funnily enough, when we were on the run, we did head towards Himallama, but our transport got derailed pretty badly, so we ended up going a few other places, before ending in Equestria.

It's a shame. I think your kin may have been more understandable about our condition, than most others we ran into."

Saying derailed was a massive understatement. It instead involved their whole group getting kidnapped, and transported to the Siren Brother's arena island, and after they managed to get out of there, they just ran in whatever direction was the closest out of there. Maybe if they hadn't been hit with yet another bout of bad luck, they'd have found themselves a permanent home, among the llamas. IAt the least they seemed to understand their plight more, so they might have given them a chance. 

Or with their luck, Null's allergies would kick in again.

To prove she didn't mind the feeling of a hug, Void would next go a step closer, and give the llama a hug. Now she knew what to expect, the feeling of nothing, weren't jarring anymore.

On 2025-04-16 at 11:01 PM, Illiad Easle said:

There was a soft knock at the door, which puzzled Selena, but she went out of view to see who it was. Allowing Llambda and Void more time to talk, "Oh, I wish I could be friends with a shiny pony like that! We don't get many ponies in himallama, not before the shaking anyway, and even after it was mostly deer and zebra that came up the mountains." 

"You can try. I think Selena very approachable and friendly. Just maybe best to be sure to ask her, before you hug her.

She's been a large help for myself, and my sister too, since we got here. I don't think things would have gone as well as they did, if it wasn't for her.

Can I ask though, how is Himallama? Is it anything like Zebrica? We tried going there once, but my sister couldn't take it. Something in the fauna I think, made her really sick, so we had to go away, before we got that far, and most of what we heard about Himallama is what we could see on a map, or what we heard about your kin. It didn't tell a whole lot, so I'm a little curious, if that's okay?"

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

 

(Grey)

On 2025-04-16 at 11:01 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The new pegasus's expression would shift as they shared a bit of their histories. She was fairly neutral towards Craven's story, but both impressed and disappointed by Yannit's, "Really? A Blacksmith from a smuggleden interested in carousels?" She snorted shaking her head, "Casinos were always here, down below. The cloud layer used to be what everyone came to see, 'family friendly' and all that, the ground was where the residents lived, and where the adults went when the foals went to bed."

Yannit just shrugged at the comment about being disappointed in her.

"I work with metal, not schmucks. Figured those things might need repairs, and would make for easy work."

Frankly, it would be more suspicious in her mind, if she went here for the casinos. Devil's Creek were never a massive place, and it wasn't like the residents were rich beyond belief. If they actually got enough together to take a vacation to Las Pegasus, they sure wouldn't go waste everything they saved up on the casinos. The entertainment venues were far more interesting, especially when you lived out in nowhere. Wasn't much legal fun to have out there.

Besides, she touted herself a blacksmith. Carousels had some engineering, but it were made of metal, as were a lot of other constructions for foals and families. The nitpickers could work on tech, but it needed folks to provide raw materials for the big things. Sorta like how trains were all fine and good, but you needed someone to lay down some tracks.

Which she also could, mind you. She hadn't picked a profession she couldn't back up. She'd been undercover doing these sorts of things before, and knew her way around a forge. Dirty work, but it weren't so bad, once you got used to the heat, and hammering at metal were a fine way to get some tensions out of the body sometimes. Better than smacking others around she found incompetent, yeah?

On 2025-04-16 at 11:01 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She waved dismissively with a wing and another pony left the bar, "But history's a bore, we're worried about the future. There's a chance here for a real independent flock to emerge finally unbound by that racial unity crap. We've more in common with griffons than those ground ponies anyway, why should we be left with the scraps up here while they get all the good stuff left over? It's in the name, that they're trying to change, Las Pegasus is our town."

She left a paper with some directions deeper into the cloud layer, "The flock can use any able wing willing to fly with it. Especially if you're still any good at smithing. Think about it and come talk to us."

 

With that she would leave the bar.

"We'll think about it."

Craven would take the paper, and look it over, making sure that The grey would be able to see it too, through his headband, then put it into his bag.

They'd both give a small nod as she took off, then go back to their mugs for a bit, before Craven started talking at a regular tone, though he weren't looking directly at Yannit. More just out in the room, thinking out loud.

"Sounds a bit lofty to me. What do you think?"

Yannit again, would simply shrug, seeming consistently indifferent, though her mind raced well with some ideas, as well as thoughts on this being an ambush or trap, and the idiocy in their plan. Separationists like this never succeeded, because most had gotten well used to one another, among the ponies. Especially after the war, folks were huddled closer together, with all kinds of folks. How did they think they could return to the times of racial division? And why would they? Something seemed off about this...

"Eh, work's work."

"Hmm... I guess that's true."

They'd sit and contemplate in silence, and unless interrupted, would just finish their drinks, then leave, and head down to the streets below, to seemingly have a look around. They'd also be on the lookout, to see if they were being tracked. Never could count on trust, when it came to stuff like this.

Of course they could just take off to see the gathering spot right away, but that didn't seem wise. Best to strategize, and think things over first. As well as notice if they were followed, or tracked in any other manner that they knew of.

Edited April 25 by Blitz Boom

[Illiad Easle 3,215]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

After a pleasant evening together the two of them would return to their new hotel room, courtesy of the hotel given their old one had been tampered with by the mysterious kitsune. There wasn't any sign of Ranger being back yet but Arcade wasn't worried yet.

Null would find Nine waiting for her there and would quickly re-enter her mind, the feeling of his presence washing over her, now a bit more noticeable given his absence. "So, did I miss anything important?"

 

(Ranger)

On 2025-04-25 at 2:38 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Sure thing. And uh... Sorry about upsetting you before. I guess I came on a bit forcefully, and crossed a line. I'll try not to say... Well, y'know what, anymore."

Ranger sighed, "It's... fine. This place is just... getting to me is all."

On 2025-04-25 at 2:38 PM, Blitz Boom said:

While he did that, the paper fox would simply begin to unfold, then slide under the small hole under the door, where it would then reform on the other side. If there were a way to open it from there, it would do so. If nit, it'd wait for a bit, for them to get in, and look around itself in the meantime.

It was fairly dark in the room, but that might not matter to the paper fox if it saw things by other, more magical, means. As to the door, it seemed like it operated similarly on this side to the other side, with a keypad, though there was a large red button next to it that might be useful, depending on if the fox could get up to it and press it hard enough to make it work.

 

If the fox decided to examine the room itself though, it was a large room. Similarly sized to the flight area that they had used to get down here, but full of complex machinery and scientific equipment. What stood out especially were the rows of large glass tubes, each large enough to comfortably contain a young pony, and most of them not empty. It looked like there were dozens of them present here.

More clones.

 

On 2025-04-25 at 2:38 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Hmm, well, I can try a few things."

The trace revealed a somewhat random assortment of numbers being pressed, and no number being used too much more than any other, it seemed like the code was changed often and might depend on the user.

It also seemed like there wasn't much energy in the keypad, it may well be that there wasn't enough power left in the facility to run the door even if they had the code.

As to the door itself, it appeared to be designed to lift straight up, like the doors at some fancy carriage depots. Likely to remain shut if the facility lost power. Depending on how strong he was he could lift the door a bit, but it was quite heavy. There was no shortage of things he could use to brace up the door, so he could theoretically lift it a little bit, brace it, then lift again, incrementally lifting the door until there was enough room to get through.

By that time Ranger would get back with a stack of papers with various numbers to try.

 

(Cherish)

On 2025-04-25 at 2:38 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"I read that pony marks can take time, to understand. But I see a book. Maybe you are meant to read a lot, and be smarter?"

There were a slight bit of hope in Crow's voice, saying that. She didn't really communicate with many that read a lot. Sure Cherish knew how to read, and they did do that at times, but someone who actively read often, to get smarter? She were doing that herself, and it would be good knowing someone else like that. Though pony marks were indeed strange, so who knew what she were meant to do?

"I have seen that strange thing on the book though. Some of the books I found. Not sure what it means."

Gemini shrugged, "Maybe? I do like reading, and learning. If you still have one of those books where you saw the symbol, can I read it sometime? Maybe it explains something?"

 

On 2025-04-25 at 2:38 PM, Blitz Boom said:

The barrage of questions took Crow by surprise, and she took a hesitant step back, and almost took another, before she stopped herself, and cautiously stepped forward again, to where she had been before. If they had looked, they might've seen a brief look in her eyes, like a cornered rat, looking for an escape, but it were fleeting.

(I meant for the questions to be spread out as they traveled, not all coming at her at once, but we can go with this. They're excitable children after all.)

They were all attentive listening to Crow's answers, and eager to get started given what Crow had described to pique their interest as to what was out there.

Elef looked a bit less sure when Crow mentioned hunting, "Well, Miss Ada says I shouldn't go hunting without her, but it should be okay to go with you, right?"

In any case, they were ready to follow Crow's lead and get started.

 

(Void)

On 2025-04-25 at 2:38 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"Nono, it's f-fine miss. Honestly, it was just a surprise, and a short reminder of different times.

I... Well, my sister and I, were born with a curse, that drained all magic around us. We only recently had it removed, and I admit, I was worried it had returned for a brief moment. We heard stories about the wool of Llamas, and what it did, but we weren't sure they were true. Funnily enough, when we were on the run, we did head towards Himallama, but our transport got derailed pretty badly, so we ended up going a few other places, before ending in Equestria.

It's a shame. I think your kin may have been more understandable about our condition, than most others we ran into."

Llambda tilted her head to the side, which given the length of her neck made it a much bigger gesture than if she were a pony, "Oh? That's too bad. About the curse that is. I know that magic is really important to ponies so to not have it..." She sighed sadly, "Oh, It's too bad you never made it to Himallama, it's a very beautiful place, wonderfully cold, unlike here."

As Himallama was on the same continent as Zebrica and Cervidas, they would have had to travelled for a long while through the area that had made Null so sick before, and she would be in no state to climb the mountain up to the Himallaman plateau like that.

On 2025-04-25 at 2:38 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Can I ask though, how is Himallama? Is it anything like Zebrica? We tried going there once, but my sister couldn't take it. Something in the fauna I think, made her really sick, so we had to go away, before we got that far, and most of what we heard about Himallama is what we could see on a map, or what we heard about your kin. It didn't tell a whole lot, so I'm a little curious, if that's okay?"

Llambda nodded, "Oh, of course! It's further east than Zebrica and Cervidas, up on the steppes and the plataeu of the mountain. Pretty cold for ponies but perfect for alpaca and llamas. Before the shaking, it was mostly just us up there, the zebra, deer, and reindeer mostly left us alone, only coming to buy our wool and bring us food we couldn't grow ourselves or other trinkets in exchange. There was this one really big changeling, Nirvana, who was like the leader there because no one else wanted to, plus she was very old and knew a lot about being peaceful. She taught me all about being charitable, how helping others can help your soul. After the shaking, we got a lot more zebra, deer, and reindeer than usual, said a creature named Disk Ord was breaking everything? But they were safe up there because all the llamas on the mountain meant that magic didn't work, so he couldn't do anything to them there."

 

Selena returned with an odd expression on her face, looking to Void, "That was a member of the Grey out there, the Grey Mare wants to discuss how those in the Grey could serve Mercy to earn their penance. Any thoughts on that? The service of Mercy is usually reserved for those who have nothing to gain from it."

 

(Grey)

 It didn't look like they were being followed, not like Null had been on her first visit up here at least, but they did attract some attention as the new ponies on the layer. Most of the pegasi and griffons that they would see here were younger, very few over 20, though none younger than 6 or seven, at least that they could see. The few adults they found had clearly seen combat by their scars and demeanor. All around, there was a feeling of slight anger, like they were owed something they had been denied. In the younger ones the feeling was more of a desperation, a hunger, to belong and to achieve.

In short, the perfect ingredients to be whipped into a frenzy with the right charismatic leader, or to turn into a disaster with poor organization. No wonder the Grey wanted this bomb diffused.

[Blitz Boom 4,705]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

It were a strange feeling, having him return like that, but she didn't think it overly unwelcome. It helped having him around, and she had a few times when she had time to think of it, worried that he'd end up in trouble somehow. Like getting stuck in light or something, albeit the times were brief on this matter. A lot had happened after all.

"Yeah, it ain't been silent. Welcome back, by the way."

She'd think through the main things that'd gone on, while she laid down on the bed. Sure was a softer one that the last, which hadn't been bad, but the upgrade were nice. A way of apologizing for the break-in, she'd recon. Frankly she didn't mind. It might mostly be the bed, it wasn't That different, but it were still nice regardless. She wasn't used to bedding this soft.

They'd see what he thought of things as she finished eventually. She assumed he'd have some words, but which ones... Meh, she didn't much care. She had a nice date tonight, and got a lot of things out with Arcade. So things were still good today, ad she were trying to keep focus on that.

As for the kitsune, he were still in town, if the Grey were looking for him. Currently hiding in a dark, run down place, clutching his head, and trying to get a bit of rest. Considering what had happened, they might have questions. If not, he'd hopefully soon enough be someone else's problem.

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

 

(Ranger)

On 2025-04-28 at 11:12 PM, Illiad Easle said:

It was fairly dark in the room, but that might not matter to the paper fox if it saw things by other, more magical, means. As to the door, it seemed like it operated similarly on this side to the other side, with a keypad, though there was a large red button next to it that might be useful, depending on if the fox could get up to it and press it hard enough to make it work.

 

If the fox decided to examine the room itself though, it was a large room. Similarly sized to the flight area that they had used to get down here, but full of complex machinery and scientific equipment. What stood out especially were the rows of large glass tubes, each large enough to comfortably contain a young pony, and most of them not empty. It looked like there were dozens of them present here.

More clones.

The fox couldn't see in here, but it did sense some things around it. Not so far back as the clones, but a big button, that were next to another keypad? That it could sense. Not it were just about getting up there, which were hardly an issue. Just had to get ready, then... Jump!

It would get up there and push the button, but the angle were bad, so it hit it like a... Well, piece of paper. Not good enough. So it would back up, keeping its focus on the button, and then when it were back a meter or so, it would charge forward, jump up high, and swirl, so it slammed into the button with its side, which put in inertia and all its weight. Which might not be a lot, but it should be enough, as it were still folded and firm. If not, it would get frustrated, and then just jump up, and use some magic to make its paw heavier, and slam the button (giving it the same weight a normal fox its size, so still not too impressive). It didn't want to use magic on this, as it had a very limited pool, but it were not getting beaten by a button! Though if this also didn't work, it were just gonna give up, and try looking around, to see if there were something it could sense in the dark, like a key, or some other button. Maybe a light switch? That could be useful. Sure it could tell there were some cylinders, but what were in them? It were mighty curious.

It did actually have a larger magic pool now too though, due to the minostralum, but it were not aware of it. It just figured it were bigger, and smarter, and that were very good with it. Especially as it included wings!

On 2025-04-28 at 11:12 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The trace revealed a somewhat random assortment of numbers being pressed, and no number being used too much more than any other, it seemed like the code was changed often and might depend on the user.

It also seemed like there wasn't much energy in the keypad, it may well be that there wasn't enough power left in the facility to run the door even if they had the code.

As to the door itself, it appeared to be designed to lift straight up, like the doors at some fancy carriage depots. Likely to remain shut if the facility lost power. Depending on how strong he was he could lift the door a bit, but it was quite heavy. There was no shortage of things he could use to brace up the door, so he could theoretically lift it a little bit, brace it, then lift again, incrementally lifting the door until there was enough room to get through.

By that time Ranger would get back with a stack of papers with various numbers to try.

Well that sucked. He had a bit of hope that the keypad were usable, but nope. Not a good enough trace to get a proper answer, with those he found seemingly being switched, random, or personalized. Good for security, sucked for folks like them.

The door were also heavy and well set, so getting it out of frame weren't gonna be a breeze either. Hmm... There were a bit of leverage though. Maybe he could do something with that?

When Ranger returned, he had been working on getting the door a bit up, then place something underneath that could withstand pressure. Then finding something else, use his magic to force the door up a little bit more, then put a new thing, brace himself for the next time, and so on and so forth. It were not fast, and he wish he could just magic it all the way up, but that sort of force were tough. Sure it didn't use physical muscle, but it used magical ones, and his magic weren't immense. He were no elder, and that left some limitations. Especially as he couldn't just use magic to try and smash this door with direct force, because frankly, he had no idea what would happen. This place might collapse, or they'd wake something up with the sudden burst of sound, or it'd be a trap, etc. So he had to try lifting, and lifting with magic, were harder than blasting with magic. It required a good deal more focus, force, and precision, and if he put too much into this, he might well end up laying on the floor with a splitting headache, blood coming out of his ears, and the door slamming down again, in case nothing held it up in the first place once open.

Honestly, if Ranger could get this done with her numbers, he'd be well happy.

"Phew, this is a pain. What've you found? Please tell me it's a code."

Of course, if the paper fox smashing the button did anything, this might get easier. Or harder, if it were a security measure of some sort.

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

 

(Cherish)

On 2025-04-28 at 11:12 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Gemini shrugged, "Maybe? I do like reading, and learning. If you still have one of those books where you saw the symbol, can I read it sometime? Maybe it explains something?"

"After scavenge, I can show you. Maybe you understand it."

She had stacks of books, mostly legible. The expensive looking gold and silver one were of course her most prized, even if she did not understand it right now, but she still treasured her other books, and the library that got the ones in good condition for pies, would see that beyond the deserts effects, they were taken well care of. So the thought of a young pony standing and reading one of those that she had, and hadn't traded or decided to keep were causing her a little hesitation. But Cherish trusted these, so she would chance it, and hope that her little friend were right. 

On 2025-04-28 at 11:12 PM, Illiad Easle said:

(I meant for the questions to be spread out as they traveled, not all coming at her at once, but we can go with this. They're excitable children after all.)

They were all attentive listening to Crow's answers, and eager to get started given what Crow had described to pique their interest as to what was out there.

Elef looked a bit less sure when Crow mentioned hunting, "Well, Miss Ada says I shouldn't go hunting without her, but it should be okay to go with you, right?"

In any case, they were ready to follow Crow's lead and get started.

"It is safe. Just don't chase them into their burrows. They are small. You get stuck.

If something happens, I help."

He was young too. Maybe he needed someone there, to make sure he did not get too hurt? She could do that, yes. She had hunted around here, and other places, and knew what to do. Including when to retreat. She could keep him safe, if he went in over his head, or if a monster came around. Hopefully it wouldn't, but strange things sometimes wandered around the desert. Sometimes openly, sometimes hiding, and other times, if you were really unlucky, uncovered as you approached.

She'd guide them on their way, through the dunes. It were easier if she only had to think of herself and Cherish, as they could just fly, but they had non-fliers with them, and had to accept that. Though the trip still took little more than twenty minutes, which progressed uneventfully. Something did move in the sand briefly, if Elef had his senses about him, he might even find the half-meter-long snake that had halted, soon as it knew there were others, and gotten half-buried in the dune sand, though he might miss it too. Most did after all, seeing as it were camouflaged to blend in near perfectly with the sand. And if he did ignore it, it would move on when they left, and eat a nearby scorpion.

Crow had seen it briefly move, but pretended she didn't. She didn't much care for the taste of snake, and these were not dangerous to anyone their size anyway, so it wasn't worth the attention.

Beyond this, it were just sand upon sand, until they got to where she had wanted them to go. The dunes had halfway reclaimed it already, but the tattered remains of a large wagon did poke halfway out of the sand that were piling up around it, with a few sticks around it suggesting there might be more too.

"Hmm. More buried than I thought now. Will need to dig, but I saw crates, when I was here. Should be things in."

She'd go over to the main wagon, and push her arm down, seeing if she could grab something near the surface, and pulled back the bleached top half, of an equine skull. Had a few holes where there might have been a gold tooth or something like that, but that were gone. Likely taken by one of the dune foxes or vultures, to pretty up their nests or burrow. If it were easy to yoink out, they sometimes did. Could also just be this one had been in a scuffle. A hole just above the eye, suggested an arrow or something similar, had gotten through. Maybe a small bullet? Hard to say, but death had likely been fast.

Regardless, she'd put it to the side, and start digging down, to see if she could get to the crates she recalled. Her clawed hands were well equipped to dig into solid ground, so layers of sand were barely an issue, as she'd scatter what held her potential prize in its grasp. The desert could have this, once they were done with it.

"If any can dig, or do magic, see if you can uncover stuff, yes? Try and ignore the bones. Lots of those out here."

If she were to collect the bones of everyone who had died out here, she could be at this for the next thousand years, it felt like. The dunes kept taking and uncovering bones, or desiccated half-mummies. Probably thousands upon thousands of corpses in various states out here, and it seemed pointless to chase after these remains. They were buried by the deserts whims. It were more than many others got, after the war.

Besides, a skeleton wasn't so bad. Would be worse if she pulled something up with more meat on it.

There would be two more carts, and remnants of something that'd shattered from an attack, spread over three points in a four meter radius, all buried beneath at most a meter of sand. There were things to find in about half of these, and several more corpses.

They could also all just focus on the main one that Crow were on, but it were up to them each. Cherish were helping Crow at least, using her hooves and wings to push sand aside to get more of the bigger cart uncovered, and hoping she wouldn't find more bones. Well, bones were somewhat okay. Something more meaty would be a lot worse.

(dice roll determines your luck)

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

 

(Void)

On 2025-04-28 at 11:12 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Llambda tilted her head to the side, which given the length of her neck made it a much bigger gesture than if she were a pony, "Oh? That's too bad. About the curse that is. I know that magic is really important to ponies so to not have it..." She sighed sadly, "Oh, It's too bad you never made it to Himallama, it's a very beautiful place, wonderfully cold, unlike here."

As Himallama was on the same continent as Zebrica and Cervidas, they would have had to travelled for a long while through the area that had made Null so sick before, and she would be in no state to climb the mountain up to the Himallaman plateau like that.

"We wish we could, but I worry the fauna would have killed my sister before we got there. Maybe some day, I can go and look there myself though. I heard good things.

And yes, magic is very integral to ponies, and several other species too, unfortunately. usually because of personal magic, ward, items that benefits them, etc. Not everyone, but we were rather... Unlucky, on our travels."

Saying they were unlucky were perhaps an understatement, but she'd rather not dwell on those years too much. They had suffered, but they had learned, and survived. Now they were finally getting a life going, and it were better to have focus on that in her mind, rather than constantly dwelling on the past, and letting that direct her every action. She didn't exactly long for the feeling of being scared of the world around her.

Not saying she would try and repress and forget. There were things to have learned from the past, and she'd bring some things up, but standing and talking details about some of the times they got chased out, for the next few hours, were just gonna make her feel depressed. Though she could bring up an example or two that wasn't as long winded if it were asked of her.

Besides, she didn't have two hours for that. The little ones would start wondering where she were, if she were gone for so long probably.

On 2025-04-28 at 11:12 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Llambda nodded, "Oh, of course! It's further east than Zebrica and Cervidas, up on the steppes and the plataeu of the mountain. Pretty cold for ponies but perfect for alpaca and llamas. Before the shaking, it was mostly just us up there, the zebra, deer, and reindeer mostly left us alone, only coming to buy our wool and bring us food we couldn't grow ourselves or other trinkets in exchange. There was this one really big changeling, Nirvana, who was like the leader there because no one else wanted to, plus she was very old and knew a lot about being peaceful. She taught me all about being charitable, how helping others can help your soul. After the shaking, we got a lot more zebra, deer, and reindeer than usual, said a creature named Disk Ord was breaking everything? But they were safe up there because all the llamas on the mountain meant that magic didn't work, so he couldn't do anything to them there."

"Discord, yes. My sister and I met him a few times. He seemed so nice to everyone in Ponyville... I still can't believe what he ended up doing. It's been an unmitigated catastrophe. *sigh* And I can't imagine it will be easy on the other draconequui. It's gonna be a long time before anyone would try and trust their kin again, even if they didn't have anything to do with his calamity."

It might seem odd to care about their kind at all, considering what had gone on, but she couldn't make herself hate those who hadn't a thing to do with this. Most of their kin she'd met or heard about, were weaker than Discord, and spent their time mostly just pranking and goofing around, or doing more small scale mischief. Yet they were likely one and all gonna be judged because of him now, even if she doubted many had followed him in his war efforts. Weren't much fun to play around in the world, if it was a smoking ruin.

She could imagine that most had either hid away, or been killed by now though. Afraid of retaliation from the survivors, slain by them, or brought to death, for refusing to join Discord. Sure some had likely joined in, but she doubted it were many. And those left, might end up hiding for years, if not centuries, hoping for things to ease up. Imagine if one showed here in Troy though, as things were... It were a question if there'd be more anger or fear, but either way, it were highly unlikely to be welcoming.

"But speaking of better things, it's good to hear that there were a safe haven up there, for those who could make it. And that you'd accept those who came too. You probably ended up saving a lot of lives that way.

And I think I heard about Nirvana. Briefly though, I'm afraid. Is she still alive? I know a lot of queens didn't make it through the calamity, and it weighs heavily on those who lost theirs."

On 2025-04-28 at 11:12 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Selena returned with an odd expression on her face, looking to Void, "That was a member of the Grey out there, the Grey Mare wants to discuss how those in the Grey could serve Mercy to earn their penance. Any thoughts on that? The service of Mercy is usually reserved for those who have nothing to gain from it."

Their nice conversation were suddenly interrupted by a very peculiar interaction. one of The Grey here? To work together with Mercy, in some fashion? That were certainly not something that she expected. Now were the question. Put her a bit on the spot, oh dear... Well, she'd try give an answer at least. Hopefully it'd make sense as she went along.

"Ah, well uh... I guess it depends on who it is, among The Grey? I mean, those they capture and make work for them, to earn their penance, probably fit better where they are. They'd only be in it to clear their debt. But there have to be those who volunteered, because they are remorseful of something they've done, and want to atone. The Grey might have been seen as their only option to try and do something that'd matter for others.

So I guess, you'd need to ask The Grey for some who have come to them willingly, and doesn't care about their debt. What sort of work they could do for Mercy though... I dunno. It seems to be based on the individual, so might be best to try and have them send a few, and then evaluate them from there? I can try and help best I can, Selena, but I'll admit, I don't know much about the sort of work Mercy does. I've only really seen... Well, you two. And you seem very different on how you're meant to help."

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

 

(The Grey)

Craven didn't need to be told by Yannit how things were up here. She were better at sensing than him, but he'd wager than most changelings would be able to tell how badly things looked here. Not physically - although it did seem somewhat poorly maintained up here - but emotionally. From the angry and bitter veterans, to the impressionable young, yearning for something better, or at the very least, to fit in somewhere. Impressionable youths... This were a festering storm waiting to happen, and when it did, a lot were going to die. And this without them getting anywhere close to completing their goal.

As he saw it at least, the ground based ones were far more numerous, and included The Grey, and various mercenaries and the sort, as well as changelings who'd like to keep their way of life. These up here were not properly combat trained, and most hadn't the experience to fight properly. They'd end up with the biggest losses, and at most would get to have some of them retreating, and then what? Where would they go? What wouldn't it cause of troubles for all of them?

They had griffons too, sure, but it were a lot of fliers, against magic users. They wouldn't win, though that didn't mean they couldn't cause a lot of trouble before they lost. Potentially even kill someone important down there, like one of the casino heads. And in that case, he worried it would be Bling. Sure she were well liked, but she were also the newest, and the one that were probably the easiest to get to, of them all. Taking her down, were a statement. A bad one, but sadly, he doubted that this group had thought that far ahead.

*sigh* To think that after all the wars they just had, they were now about to enter another... One more along the lines of the old equine racial wars, but with a few additions to either side. It were a tragedy, and one that needed to be halted. He had a few ideas, but that were mostly on infiltrating this, and see if they could defuse it at its source, by taking their leader into custody. Yet they needed more information.

Once they were down, and they were certain they weren't followed, they'd seamlessly change forms as they blended with the crowd, and take the long way to The Grey's base. Sure he wanted to hear what his higher ups had of insight, but they could add that via the eyewear. No, if he needed to know how bad things were, he needed to go and ask Basher, and see if he could ascertain how bad of a storm he had been whipping up.

[Illiad Easle 3,215]

@Blitz Boom

(Null)

"You've certainly been busy, you almost got more done in just this evening than you did the whole time we were here looking for Grey Mane."

There was a pause as Nine perused the memories and Null's thoughts on them. They didn't dwell on any for too long as Null didn't seem to have a particular one to bring up.

"I met up with Nibiru and Mongoose while I was out. There are a few options available for clearing up the last of your debt, but we can discuss that in the morning."

If there wasn't anything that Null wanted Nine's input on, she would be left to sleep peacefully.

(We'll hold this one here until Elef's arc kicks off. Should be in my next post.)

 

(Ranger)

On 2025-05-13 at 5:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

If not, it would get frustrated, and then just jump up, and use some magic to make its paw heavier, and slam the button (giving it the same weight a normal fox its size, so still not too impressive). It didn't want to use magic on this, as it had a very limited pool, but it were not getting beaten by a button! Though if this also didn't work, it were just gonna give up,

The button itself was rather firm, it likely was meant to only be pressed in emergency situations, and perhaps had never been pressed before.

There was no shortage of other buttons or switches for it to find, though most of what it could flip didn't appear to have any effect.

Kozue's efforts to raise the door manually were a bit more fruitful, each small measure the door was raised allowing a bit more light to shine into the room, which made further investigation easier, but still yielded nothing that the fox could interact with to help or hinder.

 

On 2025-05-13 at 5:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Honestly, if Ranger could get this done with her numbers, he'd be well happy.

"Phew, this is a pain. What've you found? Please tell me it's a code."

Ranger shrugged, "I've got a lot of numbers here, who knows if any would work? It's hard to make out what the rest of the words on these papers say."

If he cared to look he'd see that the documents weren't written in a standard Equestrian script, but rather like the letters had all been compressed down to one side for each word. If he knew of ancient languages, it was akin to a form of Cirrin, the ancient pegasus language, mixed with Terran, the ancient earth pony language, or at least the characters were, they still seemed to represent words in Equestrian.

In any case, after a few tries... well, the door didn't open, but something did happen.

There was a sound like something was turning, an ancient cable winding, and the already dimmed lights dimmed further. The door moved up barely a quarter hoof before stopping again.

Ranger would sigh, "I guess whatever would open the door is long out, it was never this slow or stiff before."

If Kozue resumed lifting the door manually, he would find it substantially easier than before! While the code hadn't been able to get the door open, it had appeared to have unlocked the door and moved the counterweight into place.

 

The door fully opened, Kozue would see what the fox hadn't been able to before, with the light from the hallway and his own ability to light up dark rooms.

 

Ranger didn't look surprised to see that the room was full of clones, all of them barely large enough to be considered even premature foals. Instead she looked around the buttons and switches on the consoles before finding the large button by the door that the fox had tried to press earlier, marked PURGE. "Hmm, if the door couldn't be opened, I doubt that will work either."

Kozue would be able to detect that there was till a good amount of magic running through the machines connected to the clones, it wasn't a substantial amount, but it was more magic than they had encountered in the rest of the facility.

 

(Cherish)

On 2025-05-13 at 5:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"After scavenge, I can show you. Maybe you understand it."

Gemini was happy for the opportunity, "I would like that, thank you!"

 

On 2025-05-13 at 5:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"If any can dig, or do magic, see if you can uncover stuff, yes? Try and ignore the bones. Lots of those out here."

If she were to collect the bones of everyone who had died out here, she could be at this for the next thousand years, it felt like. The dunes kept taking and uncovering bones, or desiccated half-mummies. Probably thousands upon thousands of corpses in various states out here, and it seemed pointless to chase after these remains. They were buried by the deserts whims. It were more than many others got, after the war.

Gemini and Teal were a bit uncomfortable at the prospect of finding bones or bodies, but weren't fully discouraged from joining in given Cherish didn't seem to mind.

Elef wasn't dissuaded at all though, and in fact seemed almost more excited now that finding bones was an option.

Gemini and Teal would work closer to Cherish, while Elef would work a short distance away on the other side of the buried wagon from the group.

 

Cherish got the feeling that she was being watched, but of course she was, right? Crow and the others were there with her, if anything it would be strange to not feel watched.

Crow would also get the feeling, but it was more predatorial. Something was watching them, cautiously. 

(That's buildup for the next scene, when the Elef arc starts, I put more details for the event trigger in the OOC in the post before the last one you responded to)

 

(Void)

On 2025-05-13 at 5:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Not everyone, but we were rather... Unlucky, on our travels."

Llambda looked genuinely concerned, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, I hope things are better for your sister and you now?"

 

On 2025-05-13 at 5:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

I still can't believe what he ended up doing. It's been an unmitigated catastrophe. *sigh* And I can't imagine it will be easy on the other draconequui. It's gonna be a long time before anyone would try and trust their kin again, even if they didn't have anything to do with his calamity."

She looked saddened by that, "Oh, that's too bad. I don't know what I would do if someone I trusted did something like that... There were some of the creatures who came up the mountain, who were selfish or mean to the others, but they didn't stay that way for long once they saw that they were being taken care of. A few did leave though, I hope they made it wherever they thought they were going."

 

On 2025-05-13 at 5:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

And I think I heard about Nirvana. Briefly though, I'm afraid. Is she still alive? I know a lot of queens didn't make it through the calamity, and it weighs heavily on those who lost theirs."

She smiled at that, "Oh yes! She's the one who said I should come here, all very smart like she is, she said that in addition to finding Mercy I might find out about my sire. He left before I was born, and my dam died when I was still a cria, so I was mostly raised by Nirvana and some of her smaller changelings."

 

On 2025-05-13 at 5:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

So I guess, you'd need to ask The Grey for some who have come to them willingly, and doesn't care about their debt. What sort of work they could do for Mercy though... I dunno. It seems to be based on the individual, so might be best to try and have them send a few, and then evaluate them from there? I can try and help best I can, Selena, but I'll admit, I don't know much about the sort of work Mercy does. I've only really seen... Well, you two. And you seem very different on how you're meant to help."

Selena looked thoughtful, "Hmm, so perhaps not through Mercy directly, but by completing tasks for Mercy they square their debt with Karma. I think that could work, since it's like how Vengeance operates but in reverse, doing good to those who have suffered rather than punishing those who have injured. I'll have to speak with Karma on that though."

As to how it all worked, Selena nodded, "Usually there isn't too much need for a dedicated avatar or servant of Mercy. Generally ponies are kind to each other and flock together as herds, working to build each other up. It is only in times of crisis when servants of Mercy tend to distinguish themselves, like now, and what they do depends on what is needed."

 

(Grey)

On 2025-05-13 at 5:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Once they were down, and they were certain they weren't followed, they'd seamlessly change forms as they blended with the crowd, and take the long way to The Grey's base. Sure he wanted to hear what his higher ups had of insight, but they could add that via the eyewear. No, if he needed to know how bad things were, he needed to go and ask Basher, and see if he could ascertain how bad of a storm he had been whipping up.

He would be allowed to see Basher, as before, but before he got there he would be alerted: After reviewing the contents of confiscated materials there are several missing items since the reformation of the Grey. Be on the lookout for the following items:

Most of the items on the list were basic weapons and armor, most likely taken by those who had left in the wake of Grey Mane's death. One item stood out though,

53: Basher's Boon, An amulet seized from The Baltamare Basher after his defeat in the liberation of New Pegas. Enchanted with Chaos magic. If found, Do Not Wear.

If anything, he now had another thing to ask Basher about.

 

Arriving at the detainment area the sound of Basher's ball bouncing against the wall, which had become so commonplace when Craven had been on guard duty before, was absent. Basher wasn't known to sleep often (And perhaps was skilled enough to bounce the ball even in his sleep) but maybe he had arrived at just such a time?

Still, before he could get to Basher's cell, the mare in the adjacent cell, the unicorn Birdie who had been Basher's second, approached the bars, "Back already bug? Not time to switch the guard rotation yet, and you seem agitated. See something you didn't like up there?"

Her tone was hard to pin down, almost devoid of emotion, it seemed to fall somewhere between taunting and curious.

What was more interesting is that she identified him as a changeling (albeit with a derogative) despite him being cloaked and potentially disguised. He wouldn't have to ask how she knew that though as she followed up with, "Empathic, so I know a thing or two about being oppressed and rejected. And I know how to read a changeling. You saw how bad things are up there."

[Blitz Boom 4,705]

@Illiad Easle

(Null)

On 2025-05-19 at 11:25 PM, Illiad Easle said:

"You've certainly been busy, you almost got more done in just this evening than you did the whole time we were here looking for Grey Mane."

There was a pause as Nine perused the memories and Null's thoughts on them. They didn't dwell on any for too long as Null didn't seem to have a particular one to bring up.

"I met up with Nibiru and Mongoose while I was out. There are a few options available for clearing up the last of your debt, but we can discuss that in the morning."

If there wasn't anything that Null wanted Nine's input on, she would be left to sleep peacefully.

"Probably for the best. Been a lot happening today, and I could use some few hours of rest.

Least there's been some positive changes. Things I never expected, and keep worrying I'll mess up, but... I'm not gonna stop trying, and hoping it will work out.

It's funny, y'know? Feels like it's a lifetime ago, that all I wanted was to die, and had to struggle to find even a sliver of reason to not toss myself off of the nearest cliff. It's a strange feeling, suddenly to have something to live for."

It was a strange thought, that she'd take with her as she'd drift off to sleep, though it wouldn't impact her rest much. Thankfully her dreams were filled with less heavy thoughts. Just that of herself, her family, Arcade, and a couple of foals that looked like them. Just this time, the unicorn were instead an earth pony.

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

(Ranger)

Sadly he hadn't a clue what this said. Only ancient language he knew off, were vulpine. The precursor to the kitsune's adoption of the more standard Neighponese and Ponish language. yet they were still trained in it, so they could communicate with one another without others snooping in, though it were a limited language. Back from the primitive times, between them being regular wild foxes, and evolving to what they were now.

They prided themselves in their history, and praising their ancestors, so they did not avoid talking of the savage times, but considering they referred to them as such, it were not exactly a secret that they did consider themselves above that sort now, in their more civilized stage.

Still, there were wisdom in learning of the past, and you could not avoid the savage times, if you wanted to understand how they had become what they were. It were equal to the Leyline Doctrines, and the Gate of Spirits, as the trilogy of tales that in the end, made them what they were.

He'd bring it up, but it didn't really seem the time for anecdotes. plus if he went into details, it'd be hours. It were not exactly short lessons.

Anyway, as the codes were pushed in, he'd observe hopefully, and did have a bit of it rise up, as he saw something happened, but sadly it did not leave to a big ol' open door. It seemed time and no maintenance had done a number on this place unfortunately. *sigh* Back to lifting then it were...

He would be pleasantly surprised as he went about that again though, as it were now notably easier to do this. Sure he'd still need things to put under to gain leverage, but it seemed the door had loosened at least, so this would increase the speed by which he could do this substantially.

If the door presented the option to stay still somewhere, as it were open, he would put in the effort to push it as much as he could up to a point, but more than likely he'd have some bricks, planks, etc. keep it up on the sides, tall enough for them to be able to wander in, without having to lean down too much. Sure he could do that, but ponies didn't have the sort of build that his kin did. They needed a little more space.

Getting through, they'd see the paper fox further in, looking around now that there were light to work with. Kozue saw some glass at first, but stepping in, and getting an actual look... He'd pause, just past the door, genuinely shocked at what he were seeing. His jaw even went a little slack for a moment, as he gazed upon the scene in front of him.

"By Zhao Ni herself..."

It would mean nothing to Ranger, more than likely, but to put it in Equestrian terms, this were akin to swearing by Princess Celestia, back in the day.

He'd take a few tentative steps forward, his soft paws crossing floors that had likely not seen others for years, and looked at whatever this thing were.

"These are the cloning tanks? This... I don't even know what to say."

He'd get closer to one of the tubes, looking at the floating thing inside of it. Not even a full foal yet... And oddly...

He'd been too shocked to notice at first, but it suddenly struck him, how much more magical this place were, compared to where they had just been.

Kitsune could feel out leylines in the world. Often times, they build settlements around those places, long as it were also secure to do so. Such were the case of their main village in Neighpon for instance, with the nearby smaller villages build with a similar idea, according to the uneven, sporadic pattern. Barring a few that were chosen due to location more than anything, though those tended to be the smallest ones. Little more than outposts really.

They could feel that, as they were magically sensitive, and this place were certainly more active than the room before.

He raised a paw, to near the glass, trying to feel out if perhaps, the magic were running through these machines, or might even be collecting inside the semi-formed infants. It were not magic as powerful as something like leyline, or even a wellspring, but he might be able to tell, if there were a focus for this. If not the clone, then he'd look around, keeping his senses sharp, and trying to see if there were something he could scan out. Though small amounts, likely meant he'd need to get close, and explore around.

As for the paper fox, it got bored and came over to Ranger somewhat quick, assuming that she had answers, and it were better to listen to her about things. Plus it weren't sure if those things in there might try and jump out and eat them. It all looked very weird to it.

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

 

(Cherish)

On 2025-05-19 at 11:25 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Gemini and Teal were a bit uncomfortable at the prospect of finding bones or bodies, but weren't fully discouraged from joining in given Cherish didn't seem to mind.

Elef wasn't dissuaded at all though, and in fact seemed almost more excited now that finding bones was an option.

Gemini and Teal would work closer to Cherish, while Elef would work a short distance away on the other side of the buried wagon from the group.

Wouldn't take long before Cherish's group would find more bones. The ones that the skull had been attached to. Bleached white and long since picked clean by vultures and bugs alike, it were as surgical as could be. It helped Cherish at least, to not be as weirded out by it, though it also did, that she had seen this before. Wasn't the first scavenge that included dead creatures she were on. Quite frankly, most of them were. A lot had died out here, and left things behind, that occasionally got near the surface of the sands. You had to get to that, to get to the things.

They'd manage to get the whole skeleton out, which also showed what had killed the mare, once upon a time, as the spine had a hard to miss hole in it. Something had seemingly either shot, or ripped out part of their spine, likely killing them instantly. One would hope so, at least. The alternative of bleeding out, paralyzed as the sands engulfed you, were far too horrendous for Cherish to think about.

The box were near the hooves, along with another skeleton next to it, though this were of an animal of sorts. Though if any of them had met any before, they might know this to be from a smaller diamond dog. A runt, or youngling, laying across the crate. Crow would halt herself as she saw it, sending it a look that almost seemed scared, for a brief moment, before lifting out the crate and put it next to the hole. If the others looked, they'd find that the mare skeleton also had a pouch near her back hooves that they could take up too, that Crow hadn't noticed, as her focus were on the crate.

Elef would be in luck, sort of. He'd find a sack, made out of some sort of reinforced leather. Sturdy stuff, which might indicate something of value were in this. Yet he wouldn't be able to just pull it out, even if he dug the entire bottom of the bag loose, which would be around the size of Piecey, or Peal. It seemed to be upside down, so he'd need to find the opening to get it lose, and as he would, he'd find that it were clutched tightly by a gryphon's hand. The more he dug, he'd find that the mummified hand, had a lot of dried meat still on it, and as he'd dig deeper, and find the head, the face were as intact as the rest. Moisture drained from the body, but the gryphon in question still looked upwards, fear seemingly etched into the face, as the husk were reaching upwards, clutching the bag likely with the last bits of strength that had been left with him in life, as he'd tried to use the weight of it to give himself something to pull upwards with.

This were another scavenger, who had run into one of the deserts natural traps. Some considered it quick sand, but it were just a random hole in the sand. A bubble of air, filled loosely by some fine sand on top. Apply pressure, and you'd begin to sink rapidly. This one seemingly being too careless, green, or too greedy, to let go of the bag at first, and when he tried to get away, it was too late. A looter or other scavenger, that came along later on. Maybe someone missed him back in Troy, but it were hard to say. Perhaps if he were fully undug, they would find something in his gear worth scavenging, or potentially some ID?

On 2025-05-19 at 11:25 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Cherish got the feeling that she was being watched, but of course she was, right? Crow and the others were there with her, if anything it would be strange to not feel watched.

Crow would also get the feeling, but it was more predatorial. Something was watching them, cautiously. 

(That's buildup for the next scene, when the Elef arc starts, I put more details for the event trigger in the OOC in the post before the last one you responded to)

Cherish wouldn't bite much notice in it, but Crow did, and rose her head, looking around, a growl slowly escaping her throat.

"Something is wrong. We're being watched."

She wasn't sure from where, but there were something, and it wasn't like a dune hound. There were a big difference between being watched by a predator, and being watched by curious prey. And this didn't feel like prey.

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

 

(Void)

On 2025-05-19 at 11:25 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Llambda looked genuinely concerned, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, I hope things are better for your sister and you now?"

"As good as I think they could be. Thank you for your concern."

It were not ideal, in the case of Null, but it were still better than it could have been. So all things considered, perhaps things had turned out somewhat for the best.

On 2025-05-19 at 11:25 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She looked saddened by that, "Oh, that's too bad. I don't know what I would do if someone I trusted did something like that... There were some of the creatures who came up the mountain, who were selfish or mean to the others, but they didn't stay that way for long once they saw that they were being taken care of. A few did leave though, I hope they made it wherever they thought they were going."

"I can't imagine the princess felt very well about his betrayal, but I can't speak on her behalf, or any others, when it comes to that. I just know the crisis itself, and what he did. His choices hurt everyone,, and I worry what will happen to some because of that. His own kin, those he forced to do his bidding... The war might be mostly over, but the aftermath have barely begun."

On 2025-05-19 at 11:25 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She smiled at that, "Oh yes! She's the one who said I should come here, all very smart like she is, she said that in addition to finding Mercy I might find out about my sire. He left before I was born, and my dam died when I was still a cria, so I was mostly raised by Nirvana and some of her smaller changelings."

While Void weren't entirely sure what those words meant, she knew what sire were, and just filled int he blanks after that, to what made the most sense. Awkward if she were wrong, but hopefully that wouldn't be the case. probably wouldn't matter a lot right now regardless.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother, but it's good that there were someone who could take you in, and give you a good upbringing. It's not easy growing up, having no parents. My sister had to raise me, when we got separated from our parents. She did the best she could, but it's not the same as a home, and parents.

Though I suppose, in yours and our cases, adoptive parents. Though to us at least, blood isn't as important as who were there for us. Still I hope you will find your sire, and hopefully find some answers. Who knows? Perhaps you have siblings somewhere, that you never knew about."

On 2025-05-19 at 11:25 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Selena looked thoughtful, "Hmm, so perhaps not through Mercy directly, but by completing tasks for Mercy they square their debt with Karma. I think that could work, since it's like how Vengeance operates but in reverse, doing good to those who have suffered rather than punishing those who have injured. I'll have to speak with Karma on that though."

As to how it all worked, Selena nodded, "Usually there isn't too much need for a dedicated avatar or servant of Mercy. Generally ponies are kind to each other and flock together as herds, working to build each other up. It is only in times of crisis when servants of Mercy tend to distinguish themselves, like now, and what they do depends on what is needed."

"It's an idea at least, but Karma does have the final say. It's a suggestion worth thinking about though. It never hurts to broaden your options.

It's surprising to hear how Mercy works. I kinda thought it would be like with Vengeance, but I can see it makes sense. There's usually a nice unity, to at least some extend.

Makes me wonder if I've run into one of you before actually... We've been around some places, where there's been set up tents and such for refuges after large battles, or war zones. We didn't stay long any of them, as we didn't want to interfere with any of the treatments, but we've gotten a bowl of food here and there, before scurrying off. Seems like those kind of places, could be fitting at times, for those serving Mercy."

There'd also been a few times where they had broken past the relief camps, because what had caused issues were a cursed item. Either something that were craved by others, or were fueling death and destruction in some fashion. They'd gladly take those things, as they could suppress them, but it were not often it were appreciated. The lure of power, religious reasons, or fear, could do a lot to turn others against them.

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

 

(Grey)

On 2025-05-19 at 11:25 PM, Illiad Easle said:

He would be allowed to see Basher, as before, but before he got there he would be alerted: After reviewing the contents of confiscated materials there are several missing items since the reformation of the Grey. Be on the lookout for the following items:

Most of the items on the list were basic weapons and armor, most likely taken by those who had left in the wake of Grey Mane's death. One item stood out though,

53: Basher's Boon, An amulet seized from The Baltamare Basher after his defeat in the liberation of New Pegas. Enchanted with Chaos magic. If found, Do Not Wear.

If anything, he now had another thing to ask Basher about.

Disturbing news, that necklace... One that changed things potentially, as chaos magic could add a boon to the pegasi, if done right. or it could just cause more destruction, before their defeat. Likely the latter, causing more pointless death...

*sigh* He'd need to bring this up too. It might well be part of this whole operation, and if that were the case, this just got a whole lot worse. like, to an extend where they might need some sort of specialized tool to deal with this thing, before it got out of control.

On 2025-05-19 at 11:25 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Still, before he could get to Basher's cell, the mare in the adjacent cell, the unicorn Birdie who had been Basher's second, approached the bars, "Back already bug? Not time to switch the guard rotation yet, and you seem agitated. See something you didn't like up there?"

Her tone was hard to pin down, almost devoid of emotion, it seemed to fall somewhere between taunting and curious.

What was more interesting is that she identified him as a changeling (albeit with a derogative) despite him being cloaked and potentially disguised. He wouldn't have to ask how she knew that though as she followed up with, "Empathic, so I know a thing or two about being oppressed and rejected. And I know how to read a changeling. You saw how bad things are up there."

Seemed Basher might be resting, or were maybe laying low, for some other reason. He had half a mind going and checking, and possibly wake up too, if need be, when he had been noticed by his second in command.

This was the first time he had ever even seen Birdie, and the first impression were that she liked to taunt others, potentially to rattle them, and give her information. The second were that she were an Empath, which admittedly gave him a small shiver down his back. He didn't personally hate them, like some scouts did, for breaking their covers, but he did find them a little creepy.

Still, he'd answer her. Maybe it would lead somewhere.

"No, I didn't like what I saw. And you know why? Because I see where it will go. The downtrodden and the impressionable, gathering around someone promising them a solution to their plight. An answer bought in blood, and a lot are going to die, for likely nothing even close to the result they want.

Why are you doing this? Why now, of all times? I know the upper layers are rough, but are they truly so bad, that it's worth dying for an antiquated idea of racial superiority, just to better things?

I want to stop this, Birdie. I don't want anyone to die, but I don't know how things are up there, so I can't see how to fix this. Please, help me understand."

He wasn't given her an order. He was pleading with her, desperate and concerned. There were a bunch of fireworks about to explode, soon as a spark would go off, and it would not be pretty. It would be an inferno, consuming a lot of them, and likely sparking retaliation. If the upper layer hadn't been bad before, it surely would be afterwards.

There had to be a solution, but he had to know what had brought this along. The changelings rarely went up there, as it were dangerous, and they mostly cared for their own, who lived at ground level. The few who went up here, were for specific emotions, or to join one of the gangs, and if they joined that, it were rare that they came back, as they had chosen a new flock, that didn't allow them to mingle seamlessly with their old one.

He himself had never been, just hearing stories, and right now, he regretted it deeply. Things were bad up there. Really bad, otherwise this wouldn't have been as attractive to those who lived there. But what was the reason? He didn't know, and he desperately sought an answer. There had to be more, than just pegasi yearning for the ancient times, when those with wings were one group, earth ponies in another, etc. Those were horrible times, and not worth returning to, but apparently they were riled up around the idea, one way or another. There had to be some degree of desperation, for that to be an option, right?

Edited May 31 by Blitz Boom

[Illiad Easle 3,215]

@Blitz Boom

This will be a long one.

(Cherish)

On 2025-05-30 at 6:49 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Wouldn't take long before Cherish's group would find more bones. The ones that the skull had been attached to. Bleached white and long since picked clean by vultures and bugs alike, it were as surgical as could be. It helped Cherish at least, to not be as weirded out by it, though it also did, that she had seen this before. Wasn't the first scavenge that included dead creatures she were on. Quite frankly, most of them were. A lot had died out here, and left things behind, that occasionally got near the surface of the sands. You had to get to that, to get to the things.

Seeing Crow pull some bones out of the sand was one thing, but actually touching some with their own hooves was another, so Teal and Gemini were content to stop digging once they had run into more bones even with Cherish's lack of reaction to the discovery or potential encouragement towards further investigation.

On 2025-05-30 at 6:49 PM, Blitz Boom said:

The box were near the hooves, along with another skeleton next to it, though this were of an animal of sorts. Though if any of them had met any before, they might know this to be from a smaller diamond dog. A runt, or youngling, laying across the crate. Crow would halt herself as she saw it, sending it a look that almost seemed scared, for a brief moment, before lifting out the crate and put it next to the hole. If the others looked, they'd find that the mare skeleton also had a pouch near her back hooves that they could take up too, that Crow hadn't noticed, as her focus were on the crate.

They were a bit more saddened by the sight of the small dog bones, and so quickly turned their attention away and towards the crate as a far better focus, hoping to themselves that the crate would hold something other than more death.

On 2025-05-30 at 6:49 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Elef would be in luck, sort of. He'd find a sack, made out of some sort of reinforced leather. Sturdy stuff, which might indicate something of value were in this. Yet he wouldn't be able to just pull it out, even if he dug the entire bottom of the bag loose, which would be around the size of Piecey, or Peal. It seemed to be upside down, so he'd need to find the opening to get it lose, and as he would,

Elef was hardly so patient as to dig out the entire bag once it was clear what it was, and would instead try to cut the bag open with his sharp fangs if at all possible. If he couldn't cut through the bag he'd then dig further to reveal the taloned hand. He wouldn't dig further than that though, as he would resume his efforts to free the bag from the dead grip by whatever means he could, unconcerned with the corpse that held it.

 

On 2025-05-30 at 6:49 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Cherish wouldn't bite much notice in it, but Crow did, and rose her head, looking around, a growl slowly escaping her throat.

"Something is wrong. We're being watched."

She wasn't sure from where, but there were something, and it wasn't like a dune hound. There were a big difference between being watched by a predator, and being watched by curious prey. And this didn't feel like prey.

That got the others attention, Elef leaving the bag to stand near Crow to see if he could see what she was referring to. He would point out a dark shape in the sky that seemed to be flying vaguely in their direction, "That kind of looks like Miss Ada, she's the guard mare that takes me hunting. Maybe she's watching us to make sure we're safe out here?" He waved towards the dark shape.

Depending on how good Crow's vision was she might be able to confirm that the shape was a dark coated thestral mare, but not having met Ada before beyond perhaps having encountered Elef and her while they were out hunting, might nit be able to positively identify her.

"Is that... did you get hurt Cherish?" Teal brought some attention back as there seemed to be a bit of red on Cherish's white coat near her forehoof, digging in the sand it was easy to accidentally cut yourself when digging, or to poke the frog or the sole (the soft parts of the bottom of a hoof) enough to draw a bit of blood without noticing.

Whether it was her blood or not, or if it was blood at all or just something that had leaked out of a crate or a bone was unclear. As Teal and Gemini drew closer to Cherish to investigate, Elef seemed... off. There was a look in his eyes that Crow might recognize as a hunter viewing prey, looking for a moment to strike, mixed with no small amount of terror, holding him in place.

It didn't last long before he shook himself out of whatever it was that held him there, he started to move towards her, his voice a bit shaky, "A-are you al-"

*wham*

Elef was knocked away from the others, another thestral had swooped down from a nearby cloud at incredible speed to slam into him. He only paused a moment before launching at Elef where he had been knocked back to start attacking him, but it was long enough for those present to recognize him as Nova, who was now wailing on Elef as he struggled to fight back or escape.

Teal was frozen in shock and as such didn't try to separate the two with magic.

If Crow didn't step in to separate the two (and receive a few swings and kicks from the attacking colt herself) then Ada (who had in fact been the thestral Elef had waived to) would swoop in to subdue the colt, and take a few hits to the face before she could pin him down.

If Crow did subdue the colt Ada would land nearby and try to speak to Nova.

(The dialogue is the same regardless of who has him pinned)

"Nova! Why are you attacking Elef?"

Nova would continue to struggle, his eyes focused on Elef, "He's a monster! I have to stop him, kill the vampire, before he kills again!"

Ada looked deeply concerned, "Who- Why do you think he's a vampire?"

"No one told me, I can see it. His eyes, his fangs, they're wrong. They're the same as..." His eyes focused on Ada, widening as he saw, "Yours!" With an impressive show of strength likely driven by desperation he would escape from whoever held him (If Crow was holding him likely more due to fear of harming the colt than being overpowered) so he could strike at Ada, "You're one too! Same as them. Have to kill, have to keep them safe!"

Still, despite taking a few surprise hits (and especially with Crow's help if available) Ada would be able to pin Nova down again, whispering something into her amulet before continuing, "Nova, calm down. Whatever you think is happening isn't true. There are no monsters here, no one is going to kill anyone. Right El-" She turned to look, but Elef was gone. A small pool of blood already soaking into the sands connected to a few drips leading away, and a dark figure quickly growing small in the sky,

headed away from the city. Back into the desert towards where they had first come from.

Ada cursed under her breath.

Two other thestrals landed nearby in full guard attire, one moving to help Ada while the other approached the fillies, Teal and Gemini having moved to stick by Cherish in the commotion. This guard was a younger mare, who did her best to try and keep them calm, "Are you all alright? Are any of you hurt? What happened here?"

 

And so Elef's arc begins

(Void)

On 2025-05-30 at 6:49 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Though I suppose, in yours and our cases, adoptive parents. Though to us at least, blood isn't as important as who were there for us. Still I hope you will find your sire, and hopefully find some answers. Who knows? Perhaps you have siblings somewhere, that you never knew about."

(... Maybe closer than she realized ...)

On 2025-05-30 at 6:49 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Makes me wonder if I've run into one of you before actually... We've been around some places, where there's been set up tents and such for refuges after large battles, or war zones. We didn't stay long any of them, as we didn't want to interfere with any of the treatments, but we've gotten a bowl of food here and there, before scurrying off. Seems like those kind of places, could be fitting at times, for those serving Mercy."

Selena shrugged, "It's possible, I was only directly involved a very long time ago, and very recently, and it was only just before the crisis that I had my own body. So it's unlikely that you ever ran into something I had a hoof in organizing. But most who serve Mercy don't seek out some official sanction first. They just do good for the sake of it, and find themselves rewarded. It's a bit-"

She stopped, her eyes moving like she was reading something as her expression fell, "Something happened with the ponies out on the dunes. We need to go."

She would move to leave the room when Llambda spoke up, "Oh no! Can I help?" Selena paused, but nodded, "I think you can," she turned towards Void who was no doubt already moving to follow, "If that's alright?"

Llambda would stay behind if Void disagreed, but in either case Selena would lead the way at full speed out onto the dunes in the direction of where the other group was.

 

(Null)

(I'm guessing you swapped the races on accident, since Arcade is a unicorn, if you didn't though, that's an interesting twist)

(We'll hold this one until the Elef arc moves a bit more so everyone can come together. Once the other side is into the next morning we'll move Null ahead again)

 

(Ranger)

On 2025-05-30 at 6:49 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"These are the cloning tanks? This... I don't even know what to say."

Ranger shrugged, "Whatever they are, that's where we came from. Or, where they told us we came from. Where they would bring me to remind me that I was expendable, replaceable, whenever I acted out too much."

She returned her attention to the machines, trying to work out the controls.

 

On 2025-05-30 at 6:49 PM, Blitz Boom said:

He raised a paw, to near the glass, trying to feel out if perhaps, the magic were running through these machines, or might even be collecting inside the semi-formed infants. It were not magic as powerful as something like leyline, or even a wellspring, but he might be able to tell, if there were a focus for this. If not the clone, then he'd look around, keeping his senses sharp, and trying to see if there were something he could scan out. Though small amounts, likely meant he'd need to get close, and explore around.

There was a small amount of magic running through the machines, and evidence that it was capable of harnessing a lot more magic and had done so in the past. It felt a bit like a stasis spell, holding everything inside the tanks in suspension, which was likely why they were so well preserved in the tanks.

Or, there was, until Ranger pulled a lever and the magic stopped, the fluid starting to slowly drain out of the tanks. Ranger nodded, "That seems to have done it then. We can leave now."

 

(Grey)

On 2025-05-30 at 6:49 PM, Blitz Boom said:

I want to stop this, Birdie. I don't want anyone to die, but I don't know how things are up there, so I can't see how to fix this. Please, help me understand.

Birdie's expression hadn't changed throughout his speech, though her emotions had some subtle spikes here and there as he had spoken, some anger, some disappointment, mostly hidden by her training. "No, you don't know how things are. Look, I don't mind changelings, but you bugs are so often naive about ponies. Ponies pretend that they're all about peace, about cooperation, but we're not. Blood has bought everything Equestria had. Troy was birthed in blood. The three races only ever cooperated in the beginning under the threat of mutual destruction, and warred for decades before that. Celestia could only keep them together so long as there was an outside enemy for them to fight against. The Griffons, the Umbra, the Zebra, the Thestrals, Empathics, Changelings, because without something outside, they look in for division."

She sighed, "The division was there even before the war, before the crisis. Unicorns and their mountains, Pegasi and their clouds, Earth Ponies and their fields, even inside Equestria there was division, and the same is true here. The cloud district sided with Basher when the Grey came in, and when he lost the district got gutted, even now the casino heads ignore that district, look down on them."

"Why? Because we're tired of being ruled by the rich and powerful who sit on their thrones while the rest of us suffer. Why now? Because the Grey's out of the way and the oligarchs are scrambling to fill the gaps. Are things so bad? You tell me. You were up there, did it seem like an area where a pony could thrive? Or did it look like a junkyard where all the unwanted items were kicked. Next time you're up there, look down, and see everything the way we've seen it. Where everyone down there has everything you want while you have nothing."

There was a bit of concern under the thick layer of resolve though, she seemed confused when he brought up racial superiority, like she wasn't entirely sure what he meant. Maybe thing had shifted since Moth had taken charge, and things weren't as Birdie remembered anymore. After all, she was a unicorn, and Basher had previously employed downtrodden creatures of all types in his gang, not just pegasi.

[Blitz Boom 4,705]

@Illiad Easle

(Cherish)

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

They were a bit more saddened by the sight of the small dog bones, and so quickly turned their attention away and towards the crate as a far better focus, hoping to themselves that the crate would hold something other than more death.

If they wanted to, they could examine the contents of the box itself. If they could open the lock that were. Seemed to be a sturdy metal lock, with a lot of sand in the gears now, so using any sort of key were likely out of the question. They'd need to open it from the inside with magic, smash it, or use some other method. Of course smashing a hole in the side could also work, but that still took force, and it might destroy whatever were in there, which were not ideal. Usually why Crow tended to burn off the area around the lock itself, and just rip the whole thing off, when she ran into some. It were much easier, than trying to fiddle with all sorts of tools.

Of course, in cases like this, just ripping off the lock in and by itself from the get go could be her approach. A focused flame helped a lot, but if the box wasn't solid enough, there were always the chance to set fire to it, which were detrimental in a place where water were scarce. Usually some good old fashioned violence did the trick there, but the ponies could maybe sort this in some other way.

If they did, there'd be a multi-colored blanket covering something on the inside. Folding the blanket out, it would prove to be a woven wall *painting*, showing an alicorn in front of a large army, facing off against a large, feline creature.

The alicorn in question were dark as night, with silky garments adorning her slender form, and white eyes. Her cutie mark, that of an eastern-looking oil lamp, with a sparkling smoke that looked like the night sky, pouring from it, and making a half circle around the lamp.

The feline creatures in question, would be several times larger than her, and to the ponies, likely meant nothing, unless they knew what a sphinx were. Dangerous creatures, that only the foolish or brave, tended to dare stand up against. But Princess Arabian Nights were no fool, and this depicted only one of her many trials and victories throughout her reign. Her fate likely uncertain still, as they were far from Saddle Arabia, but had the fight come to them, she would have fought. And perhaps these enemies of their people, would see that the war would come even for them, and in an unprecedented move decide to fight alongside the lesser ponies. Something which might spell trouble, if the elder sphinxes considered it enough trouble to be worth themselves leaving their mythical capitol, and partaking themselves.

Yet for more local story, this had likely been either looted from, or brought along by, citizens of Saddle Arabia, that were either visiting, or had moved to Equestria at some point. It happened at times, and those who did, tended to bring memories from home with them still. Some pieces of familiarity and comfort.

Whatever the case, beneath this, would be a smaller box. No lock on this simple orange, wooden box, but inside were three small books - a Saddle Arabian prayer book, a book on Equestrian plants, and a heavily used notebook - two jeweled bands, a wooden figure, that looked like Princess Arabian Nights, a set of dice carved from animal bone, in a leather pouch, another small pouch filled with around a hundred bits, a thick letter, and a flute made from animal bone, with the symbol of a cobra spun around it, painted on with fake gold.

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Elef was hardly so patient as to dig out the entire bag once it was clear what it was, and would instead try to cut the bag open with his sharp fangs if at all possible. If he couldn't cut through the bag he'd then dig further to reveal the taloned hand. He wouldn't dig further than that though, as he would resume his efforts to free the bag from the dead grip by whatever means he could, unconcerned with the corpse that held it.

While he couldn't bite through it, and the hand clutched tightly, it were still desiccated, and as such as he pulled hard enough, the hand would snap with a loud, dry crack, and the bag would be free. Sort of. The hand were still clutching the opening, and weren't letting go, but he had gotten so far. He could probably use his teeth to pry the talons open eventually.

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Depending on how good Crow's vision was she might be able to confirm that the shape was a dark coated thestral mare, but not having met Ada before beyond perhaps having encountered Elef and her while they were out hunting, might nit be able to positively identify her.

Crow hadn't a clue who this were, even if she could see them fine. Sure she'd seen some thestrals out here before, but she had deliberately avoided approaching them, as she wasn't the most comfortable around others, and wasn't sure if they were dangerous. Wasn't one of those she had spotted before, but then, it was a rare sight for her regardless, as she wasn't exactly looking for them, and spent a lot of time in her own home, rather than go outside, lest she needed to. Like if she required food or water, or had the urge to scavenge.

It were possible she had seen Ada though at some point, though as she didn't speak to them, she couldn't say one way or the other. She wasn't even aware it were a female name.

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

"Is that... did you get hurt Cherish?" Teal brought some attention back as there seemed to be a bit of red on Cherish's white coat near her forehoof, digging in the sand it was easy to accidentally cut yourself when digging, or to poke the frog or the sole (the soft parts of the bottom of a hoof) enough to draw a bit of blood without noticing.

Whether it was her blood or not, or if it was blood at all or just something that had leaked out of a crate or a bone was unclear. As Teal and Gemini drew closer to Cherish to investigate, Elef seemed... off. There was a look in his eyes that Crow might recognize as a hunter viewing prey, looking for a moment to strike, mixed with no small amount of terror, holding him in place.

It didn't last long before he shook himself out of whatever it was that held him there, he started to move towards her, his voice a bit shaky, "A-are you al-"

Cherish hadn't even noticed the cut as it were pointed out, but when rising her hoof and running it on her forehead, it were good enough. A bit of blood had broken through.

"Huh. I must've hit myself on the wood."

A small splinter had hit her from the wagon. Wasn't something bad, but she'd have to remember to clean it once she were done digging, just in case. Couldn't be too safe out here, right?

While she were thinking on this, Crow's gaze were instead elsewhere. As Cherish wasn't really injured, and she still felt they were being watched, her gaze had wandered, and fallen on Elef, who had a very familiar look in his eyes. That of a predator, hungry for prey. If she also didn't see the struggle and terror he were seemingly also under, which were painfully familiar to her, she would have neared him and growled, to warn him off. She wasn't sure if bat ponies did hunt pegasi, but just in case, she would warn him to back off as the superior predator, before he got any ideas. Cherish were her friend, and she'd defend her from anyone. Including her other friends.

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Elef was knocked away from the others, another thestral had swooped down from a nearby cloud at incredible speed to slam into him. He only paused a moment before launching at Elef where he had been knocked back to start attacking him, but it was long enough for those present to recognize him as Nova, who was now wailing on Elef as he struggled to fight back or escape.

Teal was frozen in shock and as such didn't try to separate the two with magic.

If Crow didn't step in to separate the two (and receive a few swings and kicks from the attacking colt herself) then Ada (who had in fact been the thestral Elef had waived to) would swoop in to subdue the colt, and take a few hits to the face before she could pin him down.

If Crow did subdue the colt Ada would land nearby and try to speak to Nova.

She didn't get the chance before the thestral they had spotted, would have rammed Elef, and started to pound on him like there were no tomorrow, with the colt trying to defend himself against the assault. Though her mind had been on warning him off before, she had a priority list to go through here: Cherish first, then her other friends, as she had said she'd keep them safe, and then anyone else who came along could live or die, for all she cared. This one were openly causing trouble that went against her second priority, so she would go over and try to peel him off, without killing him. Could be he had a good reason for this, but even if not, and he were a hostile, killing a pony were a bad idea. It went against the law of the Dragon Lands, and even though their lord were dead, or missing - she wasn't sure, as she hadn't been there to see the whole thing through - it were still a fundamental rule, that dragons and ponies were not allowed to kill one another, and if they did, the offended side could punish them in whatever way they wished, unless there were special circumstances. Which for any dragon killers, usually meant they got eaten, or burnt alive. The opposite she hadn't a clue about, but they were probably banished.

Also, she didn't want Cherish to see her gore another pony, or wring their necks. It wasn't how she wanted her friend to think about her.

She took some hits back, some of them even hurting, but she were as big as an adult pony, and better built than some teenage pony, so she would eventually have him on the ground, on his back, with her teeth barred. Her gaze glaring at him with suspicion and annoyance. Many questions came to mind, yet she couldn't even get to one, before another addition came, and made her swish her tail angrily a few times. Though Nova might still be able to tell from her gaze, that remained solidly on him, that she could beat him to a pulp if she had the urge, and he were severely testing her patience, to put it kindly.

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

"Nova! Why are you attacking Elef?"

Nova would continue to struggle, his eyes focused on Elef, "He's a monster! I have to stop him, kill the vampire, before he kills again!"

Ada looked deeply concerned, "Who- Why do you think he's a vampire?"

"No one told me, I can see it. His eyes, his fangs, they're wrong. They're the same as..." His eyes focused on Ada, widening as he saw, "Yours!" With an impressive show of strength likely driven by desperation he would escape from whoever held him (If Crow was holding him likely more due to fear of harming the colt than being overpowered) so he could strike at Ada, "You're one too! Same as them. Have to kill, have to keep them safe!"

He managed to get out of her hold, as Crow had eased up, and were trying to calm herself down, as it sounded like this adult were here to handle him, and she might be a danger to her, or Cherish.

A quick glance though, had told her that yes, she had seen this one. It were from afar, and only once or twice, but Crow did remember her look. Ada might also recognize Crow, but if she did, she'd likely more remember the young dragoness noticing her, and scurrying off, either too scared or shy to want to approach her.

It eased her slightly more, and then Nova were suddenly loose, and she were on the sand, though she rose up, and quickly placed herself between these two bat ponies, and the ponies she had come out here with. Her stance threatening, and her wings spread out to shield them, she looked similar to a protective wild animal.

"Stay back. Away from them."

It were unclear if she were speaking to Nova, Ada, or both of them.

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Still, despite taking a few surprise hits (and especially with Crow's help if available) Ada would be able to pin Nova down again, whispering something into her amulet before continuing, "Nova, calm down. Whatever you think is happening isn't true. There are no monsters here, no one is going to kill anyone. Right El-" She turned to look, but Elef was gone. A small pool of blood already soaking into the sands connected to a few drips leading away, and a dark figure quickly growing small in the sky,

headed away from the city. Back into the desert towards where they had first come from.

Ada cursed under her breath.

Two other thestrals landed nearby in full guard attire, one moving to help Ada while the other approached the fillies, Teal and Gemini having moved to stick by Cherish in the commotion. This guard was a younger mare, who did her best to try and keep them calm, "Are you all alright? Are any of you hurt? What happened here?"

Crow had heard him take off, and didn't act on it, as it made sense for her that he'd flee his attacker, and hadn't partaken in attacking Nova more. The other ponies were her concern now, not him.

Seeing two more thestrals appear, after they finally noticed Elef were gone, Crow would take a few steps back, but kept up her defensive defensive stance, keeping  herself between the young ponies and the thestrals.

"S-Stay back! I promised they would be safe. N-Not letting any of you hurt them."

Her voice were more shaky now, and she did look from side to side a few times, fear now getting into her gaze. She stood steadfast still, but her mind were racing, with thoughts that she had to escape, before more showed up. More ponies descending upon them. Guards. Chains. Bad things happening all over again...

She were so shaken right now, that she didn't even notice that right as Elef had left, Cherish had taken to the sky to follow him. Unless she were held back forcefully, she would have flown after him instantly, worried about him being hurt, though she didn't fly as fast as he did. Still she tried, and if she had been held back forcefully enough to keep her there, she would be wriggling, telling them to let her go, and that she had to go help Elef, since he were hurt.

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

 

(Void)

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Selena shrugged, "It's possible, I was only directly involved a very long time ago, and very recently, and it was only just before the crisis that I had my own body. So it's unlikely that you ever ran into something I had a hoof in organizing. But most who serve Mercy don't seek out some official sanction first. They just do good for the sake of it, and find themselves rewarded. It's a bit-"

She stopped, her eyes moving like she was reading something as her expression fell, "Something happened with the ponies out on the dunes. We need to go."

She would move to leave the room when Llambda spoke up, "Oh no! Can I help?" Selena paused, but nodded, "I think you can," she turned towards Void who was no doubt already moving to follow, "If that's alright?"

Llambda would stay behind if Void disagreed, but in either case Selena would lead the way at full speed out onto the dunes in the direction of where the other group was.

"Y-Yes of course. But hurry."

Void's face had dropped in fear, as she heard that something had happened with the younglings out in the dunes. Her ponies, all out there, with something going wrong? She were so sure they'd be safe. That... That everything would be fine! And now they were out there, all by themselves, with something going down?

She barely had it in her to respond before she would bolt out the door, headed towards the desert. She might not have all 4 natural legs, but her false leg were well done, so she'd run just fine, down the streets of Troy, and heading straight towards the edge of it, where they had said they'd go with Cherish.

Finding them out there would be another matter entirely, as all she knew about Crow, where that she lived close to the town, in the desert. That was it. She were a friend of Cherish, who didn't seem like she'd be around cruel creatures, so it were probably not her who had done something, but at this point, Void hadn't a clue, and just knew her babies were in danger.

Unless this were some joke from Selena, but surely she wouldn't joke about this, of all things, knowing how attached Void were to the younglings.

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

 

(Ranger)

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Ranger shrugged, "Whatever they are, that's where we came from. Or, where they told us we came from. Where they would bring me to remind me that I was expendable, replaceable, whenever I acted out too much."

She returned her attention to the machines, trying to work out the controls.

"That's one of the most messed up things I've ever heard, and you've told me horrible things already about this... Den of evil.

What a horrible place this were."

He felt literally sick as he heard that. Adults taking young ones to this place, showing them the unformed ponies in the tank, and letting them know that if they didn't act well, they'd be replaced, and forgotten. Just a footnote in some research paper, like they were nothing. It were revolting, and his mind were conflicted between shock, disgust, a want to have this entire place burned to ash, and feeling it should be kept, just so that others could learn from this horror, and not repeat the past.

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

There was a small amount of magic running through the machines, and evidence that it was capable of harnessing a lot more magic and had done so in the past. It felt a bit like a stasis spell, holding everything inside the tanks in suspension, which was likely why they were so well preserved in the tanks.

Or, there was, until Ranger pulled a lever and the magic stopped, the fluid starting to slowly drain out of the tanks. Ranger nodded, "That seems to have done it then. We can leave now."

"Just give me a minute."

Kozue would wander a bit forth, and stand in the rough middle of where the tanks would face, then pull out an amulet - not the one that he had gotten made via the feather he got - and sat down on his rear down, closed his eyes, and gathered his front paws, with the amulet in the middle.

A sad, yet beautiful melody would escape him, as he whistled a tune, his tail swaying slowly back and forth. There were seemingly no magic involved, and after around forty seconds, he would stop, and get up again, putting the amulet back into his bag. The paper fox would have listened in, but elected to wander around and look for a bit, during which, it saw something that seemed to catch its eye. A slab of paper, that it tore something off, and brought over towards Ranger. And once it got her attention, it would show her a word there, the rest of them gone, likely eaten.

*Speck*

The context were lost, and it also looked like the word were half of one only. Likely it had been a slight misspelling of Spectacle, but judging by the way the fox jumped and waved its tail, it seemed it liked what were there now.

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

 

(Grey)

On 2025-06-04 at 11:02 PM, Illiad Easle said:

"Why? Because we're tired of being ruled by the rich and powerful who sit on their thrones while the rest of us suffer. Why now? Because the Grey's out of the way and the oligarchs are scrambling to fill the gaps. Are things so bad? You tell me. You were up there, did it seem like an area where a pony could thrive? Or did it look like a junkyard where all the unwanted items were kicked. Next time you're up there, look down, and see everything the way we've seen it. Where everyone down there has everything you want while you have nothing."

There was a bit of concern under the thick layer of resolve though, she seemed confused when he brought up racial superiority, like she wasn't entirely sure what he meant. Maybe thing had shifted since Moth had taken charge, and things weren't as Birdie remembered anymore. After all, she was a unicorn, and Basher had previously employed downtrodden creatures of all types in his gang, not just pegasi.

"What I saw, is what the changelings would've been like, without Bling to guide us. Lost souls and bitter veterans, fired up and ready to change things. Violently, if it had to."

He wasn't joking there. Most changelings who came here, had nothing when they entered, and there were a lot that were hungry, poor, and alone. If Hive Cheshire hadn't been there to create a feeling of community, keep them fed, integrate them and so forth, a lot more would have desperately joined gangs, or started to assult others at random. They could have ended up just like the cloud district were. They had gathered around their own leader, but their path had been different, and with him gone, the view had changed on them, and they lived with the consequences. Something that were more severe than before, as now things were worse than ever, and those already down on their luck, had no choice but to get desperate, or likely starve to death in the ruins.

It were easy to hate them, for the gang that had been there, and were now ready for a different assault, but he didn't. He pitied them, that life had been cruel enough, for this to be the end result. Because infighting in itself, were not enough to bring it to here. If it were, the changelings would have devolved into chaos, as they were easy targets to focus down upon. Because they were different, and technically, ponies were prey to them. If you looked at it very narrowly, which some would always do.

More than this had happened, and he doubted that what he heard now, were the whole story too, but she likely didn't know either. Something told him it were accumulated over a long time, and build on many small things too, that caused things to go the way they were now.

Yet it didn't change the fact that this were gonna end in blood, and a lot of it too, and they had lost enough lives in the last few years already.

"I don't blame them, or you what this have come too. Because you're right. The Cloud Layer have been an afterthought at best for most beings, and it's only gotten worse. It's not the sprawling, thriving home in the sky it used to be, and I don't fault them for wanting change. No one deserves to live like that.

But this? They're gathering every pegasus they can get hold of up there. Their recruiters are speaking of basically cleansing any non-pegasus from the town, with a worrying enthusiasm. And then, as if that's not bad enough, they also have Basher's Boon, which I can only assume is going to cause a lot of trouble, since we've been warned it's not supposed to be worn.

I'm... At an impasse here. I have to stop her, or the attack is gonna end up causing a lot of death, but if I do, then nothing changes, and the Cloud Layer will end up going from a slum, to a graveyard. She has to be stopped, but it's not enough.. Not enough..."

He'd let out a tired, heavy sigh, and think over this as best he could. This were a situation that required more than a single drone could handle. He could take out the leadership, but then what? Another would just rise up, unless something fundamentally changed. The pegasi up there, had to feel like they mattered, and had a future. Something larger and more tangible than he could do anything about.

Ideally, the Cloud Layer had to be rebuild, so there were hope again. Homes, businesses, an economy that made them part of the city, instead of its trash heap. But that required the casino heads to get together and work on this, and while he were sure that Bling would see the rational, and compassionate solution here, could the rest? Would they even care, as it would short term cut into their profits? Long term, having the Cloud District up and running again, would be a worthwhile investment. The world were free now (for the most part) and New Las Pegasus were well positioned to be a sprawling metropolis of trade, development, and so forth. A capitol that would make Canterlot seem like a dinky village.

But all of that were ten, maybe twenty years in the making, and the long term cost them in the short run. If you looked at it in sheer, up front cash, it were better to just let the top rot, and think about it later. Potentially going as far as to chase everyone out of there into the desert, and then rebuild it into more luxury accommodations. Which he would not be surprised about, if he were told that were the plan for at least one of the casino heads.

Yet it would long term work better if it were for the regulars. Like Las Pegasus had been in its time as a festive town, yet there were potential for so much more. But how to set that in motion? And how to make the ones up there not feel it were but a symbolic gesture to talk about this? They were still in the slum. Being told that over the years, it would improve, did not fill their bellies and wallets now. And if they weren't helped in some way, they would just gather around the next leader who'd stand up, because at this point, what had they to lose? It were like she said: They had nothing, and those with nothing to their name, would inevitably rise up.

"...Remove one leader, they will follow the next. With nothing to lose, what's to stop that? Even if they won't have the boon, desperation leads to actions...

It's just the perfect storm, that's been long in the making. Basher gave them hope, and instead of meeting those who did, after he lost, and find solutions, they took everything of worth, and ditched the whole place.

There's no simple solution that a single being can do, that can solve this, is there? Take out one, more follows. Ignore the problem, it grows bigger. I follow my orders, and things will grow worse. Go against them, and there will be war.

There's no saving everyone..."

He were having a bit of a crisis of faith here, as he began to grasp more of the magnitude of a problem this were, and his own part in it. He were just a pawn, and he accepted that, but in this case, his actions could only lead to bad results. Sure one of them delayed the inevitable, but it still didn't help those up there. In fact, it might just make it worse, as the powers who be, might flat out feel encouraged to battle them more directly, rather than ignoring them, as it would be somewhat clear that they weren't just gonna roll over and die in silence.

He were spiraling down the rabbit hole here somewhat, but Birdie should still be able to tell that through his semi-rambling, and extended thoughts on this, he were genuine. This were not an act, where he tried to garner sympathy to play her. He were genuinely at somewhat of an impasse, as he didn't want a war, but also didn't want the cloud district to suffer to the point where this would either happen again, or get even uglier.

The Grey Mare, or Birdie, might want to steer him back on track somewhat.

[Illiad Easle 3,215]

@Blitz Boom

(Cherish)

On 2025-06-13 at 5:09 PM, Blitz Boom said:

If they wanted to, they could examine the contents of the box itself. If they could open the lock that were. Seemed to be a sturdy metal lock, with a lot of sand in the gears now, so using any sort of key were likely out of the question. They'd need to open it from the inside with magic, smash it, or use some other method. Of course smashing a hole in the side could also work, but that still took force, and it might destroy whatever were in there, which were not ideal. Usually why Crow tended to burn off the area around the lock itself, and just rip the whole thing off, when she ran into some. It were much easier, than trying to fiddle with all sorts of tools.

Picking open a standard lock with magic was something Teal had no issue with, and honestly hardly considered it something to notice given the facility they grew up in locked things with magic or technology more advanced than a key system. So moving pins and turning tumblers was a fun exercise for her.

The two of them were glad to find the wall hanging, as it was a great distraction from the bones they had uncovered with Cherish. The subject didn't mean much to them, having never heard of Saddle Arabia or much about alicorns other than the Equestrian ones, but they supposed it made sense that there were others before or in other places too.

They would just be starting to look through the other items in the box when everything went sideways.

 

On 2025-06-13 at 5:09 PM, Blitz Boom said:

She were so shaken right now, that she didn't even notice that right as Elef had left, Cherish had taken to the sky to follow him. Unless she were held back forcefully, she would have flown after him instantly, worried about him being hurt, though she didn't fly as fast as he did. Still she tried, and if she had been held back forcefully enough to keep her there, she would be wriggling, telling them to let her go, and that she had to go help Elef, since he were hurt.

 

Teal and Gemini would call out to her, telling her to come back, but they wouldn't think to restrain her, nor would any of the guards go after her given the priority of subduing Nova and Crow being in the way.

Elef did have a head start on her though, and was a decent flyer in his own right, having practiced out here with Ada before. He quickly caught an updraft to the upper air currents, and was soon carried off towards a dim light in the west, maybe the rising sun? More likely the glimmer of New Pegas on the horizon. Whether Cherish would know that was unclear, and if it were even possible to see Las Pegasus from Troy at that altitude was questionable.

The other question was how far Cherish would go in pursuit before turning back, or if she intended to maintain pursuit. If she also found her way up to the upper air currents, and knew how to glide efficiently, while she wouldn't be able to catch up to Elef she would be able to follow him without losing track.

 

On 2025-06-13 at 5:09 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"S-Stay back! I promised they would be safe. N-Not letting any of you hurt them."

Her voice were more shaky now, and she did look from side to side a few times, fear now getting into her gaze. She stood steadfast still, but her mind were racing, with thoughts that she had to escape, before more showed up. More ponies descending upon them. Guards. Chains. Bad things happening all over again...

The guard mare stopped when Crow said to, recognizing that approaching wouldn't help. Crow would be forgiven for not recognizing the attire of the guards as belonging to the outer city guard. She took off her helmet to uncover her face (Which had been covered with wraps and goggles to keep her safe from the blowing sand), shaking out her mane and revealing that while she had the coloration and wings of a thestral, she lacked the slit pupils and fangs of one, meaning that she was more accurately a bat-pony. She did not move to approach, "It's alright, we're not here to hurt anyone. We're guards from the city, I'm Frolicsome, Ada there called for us to come help."

She tilted her head to look at Teal and Gemini, "You two are being cared for by Miss Void, right? She's on her way here." She took a seat in the sand, actually moving back a pace to give Crow more room.

(continued below with Void)

(Void)

On 2025-06-13 at 5:09 PM, Blitz Boom said:

She barely had it in her to respond before she would bolt out the door, headed towards the desert. She might not have all 4 natural legs, but her false leg were well done, so she'd run just fine, down the streets of Troy, and heading straight towards the edge of it, where they had said they'd go with Cherish.

She would hardly have time to notice the changeling with pearlescent white accents waiting outside the chambers, but when they saw that Llambda was in pursuit they joined in running after the group. There would be time for introductions later.

Crow hadn't taken the ponies too far away from the city, and the distance was more quickly traveled by the adults in a hurry than the leisurely ponies had, so they weren't running for long before they reached the group. By that time though Nova had been bound wing and hoof, as well as tying his mouth shut as he had kept trying to bite the guards, and they were preparing to take him back into the city. Frolicsome turned to the approaching mares and stood, moving further from Crow to stop them before they got too close.

Selena was quick to start asking about the situation, her voice completely unwinded as though traveling this far this fast had been no effort, though it was more because she didn't need to breathe air and as such couldn't be out of breath. "I got most of the news from Ada, any updates?"

Frolicsome shook her head, "Nova is bound, Elef and another pegasus flew off in the scuffle, headed west. We've got a pair in the air trying to find them, and a few more combing the area in case they turned back."

Selena sighed, "Not what we would hope for, but if he could fly away he's probably not hurt too badly."

Frolicsome turned towards Void, "Maybe you'll have better luck with this dragon? She seems rather attached and protective of your foals."

 

When it came to Crow, Teal, and Gemini seeing the group approach, they didn't see Llambda as a llamare, but rather as some generic mare whose appearance was unmemorable, but vaguely comforting, like she resembled someone trustworthy. Or, if Crow was untrusting of all ponies, she would see some other creature of similar size to Llambda. It wasn't to say she'd be immediately trusting of the newcomer, given the circumstances, but whatever she needed to see to be a bit more accepting of help from her, she would see.

(As an effect of Mercy's cloak, Llambda, when seeking to serve, is disguised however she needs to be in order to maximize her chances of success without outright impersonation. Like, you won't see her and think that she is someone in particular, but she may resemble them enough to invoke those trusting feelings subconsciously, what that might look like to Crow is up to you, if she even cares to look)

Teal and Gemini wanted to run towards Void when they saw her, but stayed put given Crow's stance and positioning, recognizing and deferring to her as a protector as they had done with Arcade and Ranger before.

 

(Ranger)

Ranger didn't outwardly pay much attention to what Kozue was doing, but she did listen to the song he was singing. Inwardly she was glad that he hadn't objected. Given all his talk about trying to get her to see herself as more than a clone, she had half expected him to try and stop her, to talk her out of purging the lab, or tell her she had done the wrong thing.

Still, she didn't feel as relieved as she thought she would.

 

When the paper fox approached she welcomed the distraction, carefully reading what was written, "Speck? Hmm, is that what you want to be called?" She pondered it, then nodded, "Alright, if you're sure."

She stood up and would move towards the door, checking that she still had the small toys that had been found in the other room while she waited for Kozue to follow, then she'd head back out of the building the same way they had entered without comments on her end unless Kozue brought something up.

 

Once outside she would shake off whatever dust or feeling had accumulated, "I should go to bed, we can try and look at the other place in the morning, if you're still interested in joining me that is. Given what we saw in there, I understand if you're not."

 

(Grey)

On 2025-06-13 at 5:09 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"...Remove one leader, they will follow the next. With nothing to lose, what's to stop that? Even if they won't have the boon, desperation leads to actions...

It's just the perfect storm, that's been long in the making. Basher gave them hope, and instead of meeting those who did, after he lost, and find solutions, they took everything of worth, and ditched the whole place.

There's no simple solution that a single being can do, that can solve this, is there? Take out one, more follows. Ignore the problem, it grows bigger. I follow my orders, and things will grow worse. Go against them, and there will be war.

There's no saving everyone..."

"Sounds like you're ready to consider an offer."

The voice didn't come from Birdie, but from Basher's cell, revealing that he had been listening the whole time. "I don't pretend to be making you the offer specifically, I know your superiors are listening to everything we tell you, so it's more to them by proxy but I'm sure they'll want you involved, as do I."

If Craven came over to where he could see Basher, he'd see that Basher looked a bit more engaged than the casual pose he had had the last time they had talked.

"Recover the Boon, and bring it back to me, and I swear on my wings and heart that I'll serve the Grey loyally, AND bring those that will still follow me, in. Think about it, everything she's asked me for, with no further argument. And, I'll even be willing to throw in some extra information, so long as you are involved in retrieving it."

He leaned back, "Don't take too long thinking it over. My offer won't expire but Moth wasn't known for her patience or long term planning skills."

 

In his blindfold Craven was privy to a message, 'Recovering the Boon is a top priority regardless. But it could be too risky to give it to him. We don't know what it does, or if giving it to him would somehow void the contract he's made. Still, the chance to resolve this amicably by putting him back in change, as well as bringing in the gang to serve, may be too good an opportunity to pass up.'

'Try to get more information out of him. See if he'll tell you what the boon does or what the original plan was. Maybe we can use that to dismantle their efforts and buy more time.'

[Blitz Boom 4,705]

@Illiad Easle

(Cherish and Void)

On 2025-06-17 at 11:09 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Teal and Gemini would call out to her, telling her to come back, but they wouldn't think to restrain her, nor would any of the guards go after her given the priority of subduing Nova and Crow being in the way.

Elef did have a head start on her though, and was a decent flyer in his own right, having practiced out here with Ada before. He quickly caught an updraft to the upper air currents, and was soon carried off towards a dim light in the west, maybe the rising sun? More likely the glimmer of New Pegas on the horizon. Whether Cherish would know that was unclear, and if it were even possible to see Las Pegasus from Troy at that altitude was questionable.

The other question was how far Cherish would go in pursuit before turning back, or if she intended to maintain pursuit. If she also found her way up to the upper air currents, and knew how to glide efficiently, while she wouldn't be able to catch up to Elef she would be able to follow him without losing track.

There were a lot to be said for and against Equestrian schools, but they did educate the various sub-species of ponies well for the most part. That were also true when it came to flying, though it varied by the teacher. Some were more relaxed, and figured if you could do low flying and not fall, that were good enough for the early classes. And then there were those like Miss Choppa, who were - in all fairness - a giant Wonderbolt nerd, and were very enthusiastic about her students being good at flying. Cherish liked the lessons, since it made her feel accomplished, and there were a few cute colts that took part too, though she never approached them. She'd have liked to, but they had their looks on others from her class, and she were a sucker for romance, and trying to help that along, so she didn't get between that. Besides, it was never anything more than her thinking they were cute, far as she knew.

The lessons were a bit hard at times, but Miss Choppa made the classes fun, and it turned out it got in handy once everything went poorly. Or she were just really lucky... Probably both.

Either way, she could follow on the upwind, and would follow him best she could. He were faster, but she could see him, and keep up the tempo well enough to keep vision on Elef.

She had no idea how far away she were getting during this though, too worried about how Elef were doing to have much focus on it. Her mother would have choice words, had she been here. That would probably hit her in hindsight, but her concern for Elef at this moment were greater than her common sense, and so, she flew.

On 2025-06-17 at 11:09 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The guard mare stopped when Crow said to, recognizing that approaching wouldn't help. Crow would be forgiven for not recognizing the attire of the guards as belonging to the outer city guard. She took off her helmet to uncover her face (Which had been covered with wraps and goggles to keep her safe from the blowing sand), shaking out her mane and revealing that while she had the coloration and wings of a thestral, she lacked the slit pupils and fangs of one, meaning that she was more accurately a bat-pony. She did not move to approach, "It's alright, we're not here to hurt anyone. We're guards from the city, I'm Frolicsome, Ada there called for us to come help."

She tilted her head to look at Teal and Gemini, "You two are being cared for by Miss Void, right? She's on her way here." She took a seat in the sand, actually moving back a pace to give Crow more room.

"I... I..."

Crow were nearing panic. These may present themselves more friendly, but they were guards. They were stronger, able to fight and take her down. Chain her. Punish her...

Her eyes darted a few times between the guards and her arm. The branding in her scales, that wouldn't go away, until maybe someday, she'd shed these scales. Had it been smaller ones it would have been more akin to preening for a bird, but these main ones were... It would take a long time, before this would go away. She'd basically have to tear out these scales to get rid of it now - which would potentially kill her, due to the placement - or she'd need to have something else branded on top, which would hurt a lot, but were something she were thinking about doing more often than not.

She stood her ground though. Her breaths rapid and muscle tense, but she did not run off. Being around Cherish for a long time by now, had helped her situation. Were it not for her friend, she'd probably have darted off right now. And if she had noticed that Cherish had left, and thus she weren't defending her, legs vaguely shaking, she might still have darted off. If for nothing else, then to try and catch up to her.

On 2025-06-17 at 11:09 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Frolicsome shook her head, "Nova is bound, Elef and another pegasus flew off in the scuffle, headed west. We've got a pair in the air trying to find them, and a few more combing the area in case they turned back."

Selena sighed, "Not what we would hope for, but if he could fly away he's probably not hurt too badly."

Frolicsome turned towards Void, "Maybe you'll have better luck with this dragon? She seems rather attached and protective of your foals."

Void's heart were racing the entire time she were running, and her mind filled with worries about what might have happened to her darlings. Seeing them stand there, safe behind some dragoness that she would assume were Crow though, it were a relief, as she'd slow down on her approach.

Some sweat were on her brow, but it would take more than this jog to make her winded. She'd run faster and further than this before, with dozens of kilos worth of cursed artifacts and Null on her before. This was barely anything.

What were far worse, were when she heard the update, before she had a chance to speak, and noticed that there were a certain youngling who weren't here, beyond Elef. Seeing their schoolmate tied up were bad too, but the absence of those two, especially considering... She wouldn't think Elef would do anything, but accidents could happen. And think of the dangers out there! They could be hurt, or lost in the desert, and get claimed by the dunes. She couldn't forgive herself if it came to that.

Crow in the meantime, were... Confused. She had been told about Void by Cherish, and assumed it to be her, judging by the light reflecting oddly in one of her eyes, and the false leg, along with her size, color and such. Cherish had talked about her, in case her and the younglings were ever out in the desert, and she might think they were being kidnapped or something. Her presence were a little more soothing, as that meant at least someone she tangibly knew about were here now.

But Llambda were odd. Ponies were... Well, she basically only trusted Cherish, and she were slowly trying to warm up to these other young ones - minus Nova, for obvious reasons - but she did remember a few non-ponies that she had thought were comforting during the hard times. Deer specifically, who had been the majority of a group that had helped her some point before getting here, and tending to her wounds. She felt somewhat.. At ease, she supposed, seeing another, though she wasn't sure if this were one of those she had met. She seemed familiar, but like... Not? It were confusing to her, but said confusion and minor comfort, might help as Void started to speak up.

"Thank the ancestors you're okay. I got so worried when I heard...

You're Crow, yes? Cherish's friend? I'm Void. Thank you for keeping my kids safe, it was very kind of you.

Please, you don't have to be afraid. We're not going to hurt you, or them."

Void spoke softly to Crow, who'd be reluctant, but her stance eased somewhat. If Teal and Gemini would run towards her, Crow wouldn't stop them, and it would make her more certain that they were in fact, here to be helpful, and not to cause problems. But the younglings identifying her would definitely help, so them moving or speaking up, would be appreciated.

She still hadn't noticed Cherish leaving though, so things would probably get worse soon enough.

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

 

(Ranger)

On 2025-06-17 at 11:09 PM, Illiad Easle said:

When the paper fox approached she welcomed the distraction, carefully reading what was written, "Speck? Hmm, is that what you want to be called?" She pondered it, then nodded, "Alright, if you're sure."

The fox would nod vigorously. It wasn't sure why, the name just felt... Fitting, in some way. And as the name seemed to be accepted too, it would eat the letters, and then unfold a wing, to show that the name were currently written along the top brim. It would fade over time, as letters would do as they were *digested*, but it would get other letters over time to replace these, and probably have them other places around its body.

On 2025-06-17 at 11:09 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She stood up and would move towards the door, checking that she still had the small toys that had been found in the other room while she waited for Kozue to follow, then she'd head back out of the building the same way they had entered without comments on her end unless Kozue brought something up.

 

Once outside she would shake off whatever dust or feeling had accumulated, "I should go to bed, we can try and look at the other place in the morning, if you're still interested in joining me that is. Given what we saw in there, I understand if you're not."

Kozue would be oddly quiet on their way out, keeping his eyes nearly closed, and humming as they went along. It would not stop until they were near the exit of the lab, at which point he would use a claw to scratch a strange symbol into whatever nearby surface he could. Then he'd follow her all the way out, and let her have the first word. A trip which Speck had spent bouncing around extra giddy, at now having a proper name of its own.

"No, I would like to join you tomorrow too. This place were... Horrid, but I think it is good that you have someone there you can talk with.

I won't lie and say that this place wasn't bad, but I have the feeling it will get worse, either via memory, or something lingering behind, and it's best to have a buddy along then too, yeah?"

He'd give her a big smile, to try and lighten the darken ed mood somewhat, whilst Spec flew up on Ranger's head, and looked around, to see if there were something of note that had happened while they had been in there. Not a high vantage point, but still.

"Besides, even though I stuffed my paw pretty far down my own mouth before, I'd still like to know you, and where you came from better. Just lemme know if I start yapping off something dumb again, yeah? I ain't always the best at knowing when I should've shut it.

Oh, and uh, thanks for letting me say a prayer in peace in there. I know it might seem silly, but kitsune send our dead off with well wishes, and I think even if they never got a chance to live, they and all others who died there, deserved at least that."

There'd be a few seconds, where he'd let it be said, and take a deep breath of the crisp, outside air, before adding a little more to that.,

"We also have prayers for our enemies. I can remember one that we're taught to use, when we find a poacher for example, but it's extremely rude, and probably wouldn't translate that well."

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

 

(Grey)

On 2025-06-17 at 11:09 PM, Illiad Easle said:

"Sounds like you're ready to consider an offer."

The voice didn't come from Birdie, but from Basher's cell, revealing that he had been listening the whole time. "I don't pretend to be making you the offer specifically, I know your superiors are listening to everything we tell you, so it's more to them by proxy but I'm sure they'll want you involved, as do I."

If Craven came over to where he could see Basher, he'd see that Basher looked a bit more engaged than the casual pose he had had the last time they had talked.

Craven would perk his ears as he heard Basher respond. Didn't seem like he got much from this door as it were, but Basher? It seemed he listened, and he heard something he liked from that. Which were probably not a good thing, but right now, he would take any offer on the table, that might mean they had some common ground to work at. And he should if any, be able to pick one out, right? Those were his followers, that were preparing to strike. He'd know how to handle them.

Of course, he might get manipulated in this manner. That were not lost on him, as he turned and faced Basher in his cell. Quite frankly, if he wasn't being used in some fashion by Basher here, he'd be suspicious, as this seemed the sort of situation where it'd be unlikely not to happen. Yet in the end, did it matter? The Grey or Basher, either of them - or probably both, if he were to be honest - would be using him in this matter. Perhaps by listening to Basher though, it would be for a better end result.

Like Basher said though, his superiors were listening in, and it were up to them to make the choice. All he could do were to listen, and hope for the best.

On 2025-06-17 at 11:09 PM, Illiad Easle said:

"Recover the Boon, and bring it back to me, and I swear on my wings and heart that I'll serve the Grey loyally, AND bring those that will still follow me, in. Think about it, everything she's asked me for, with no further argument. And, I'll even be willing to throw in some extra information, so long as you are involved in retrieving it."

He leaned back, "Don't take too long thinking it over. My offer won't expire but Moth wasn't known for her patience or long term planning skills."

 

In his blindfold Craven was privy to a message, 'Recovering the Boon is a top priority regardless. But it could be too risky to give it to him. We don't know what it does, or if giving it to him would somehow void the contract he's made. Still, the chance to resolve this amicably by putting him back in change, as well as bringing in the gang to serve, may be too good an opportunity to pass up.'

'Try to get more information out of him. See if he'll tell you what the boon does or what the original plan was. Maybe we can use that to dismantle their efforts and buy more time.'

And here were another impasse... It wasn't like he disagreed that it were risky, especially as the boon as it were, were still an unknown in all of this, yet if it led to Basher helping it could be worth it. Depending on what it would do though, of course. He'd assume something bad, but considering it were named after him, it might be one of those *Only the true owner can use it safely* sort of deal. He'd heard of some religious things that were like that. Some pagan high priest with a gift made specifically for him. Or was it her? It had been so long since he heard that story.

Didn't matter though, right? He had his orders, he should try and follow them, if he could.

"They're... Not rejecting your offer, but I can't say they're wrong for being worried about that boon. It's something powerful, but its an unknown quantity. I think they worry that you'd get it, and explode the town or something.

...It can't do that, right? Like... It sounds like it was a thing made specifically for, or by, yourself. Something strong, but it's not like, a bomb or something... Right? Like your original plan couldn't have been something as bad as nuking New Las Pegasus, and start it all over from the rubble. Well I guess it could, but it doesn't sound like something smart. You'd do something else, I hope.

I'd like to trust you on this, Basher. You know them more. They listen to you a heck of a lot more than if I talked to them. Maybe you could get them in line, and we could work towards actually making a real difference. But that boon... I think that's the crux for them.

Maybe you could explain a bit what that is? Is it more minostralum with a spell on it, or something?"

It'd kinda make sense he'd like to look young again, so maybe it was this? It'd probably be the best possible outcome, but something told him it were nowhere as simple. He also assumed he would be told only a little bit, and what the boon's full potential were, would be kept from him, but like he were thinking, he expected to be used. It'd just be nice to know a little about the sort of risk he would get involved in. He wouldn't want to touch something that ate souls or something like that! He had a guilty enough consciousness as it were.

[Illiad Easle 3,215]

@Blitz Boom

(Cherish)

21 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

She had no idea how far away she were getting during this though, too worried about how Elef were doing to have much focus on it. Her mother would have choice words, had she been here. That would probably hit her in hindsight, but her concern for Elef at this moment were greater than her common sense, and so, she flew.

Given Cherish's training in school, and the fact that thestral wings were more suited to maneuverability and agility compared to long distance gliding (Which is what allowed them to excel at close quarters areal combat compared to pegasi) Cherish was actually able to slowly close the distance between her and Elef over time. She'd even get close enough to call out to him, but he wouldn't respond, or make any indication that he had heard her.

(It will take an hour or two before they reach their destination)

 

(Void)

21 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Thank the ancestors you're okay. I got so worried when I heard...

You're Crow, yes? Cherish's friend? I'm Void. Thank you for keeping my kids safe, it was very kind of you.

Please, you don't have to be afraid. We're not going to hurt you, or them."

Void spoke softly to Crow, who'd be reluctant, but her stance eased somewhat. If Teal and Gemini would run towards her, Crow wouldn't stop them, and it would make her more certain that they were in fact, here to be helpful, and not to cause problems. But the younglings identifying her would definitely help, so them moving or speaking up, would be appreciated.

Teal and Gemini would move as though they wanted to approach Void, and would do so if Crow didn't move to stop them. Unlike what one might expect, they did not latch on Void's legs or attempt to hide beneath or behind her, despite there being ample space to, instead getting as close as possible without hindering Void's ability to move, and standing just to either side of her flanks, right at the edge of her vision. It was a trained stance for a defensive position, similar to how they had been sitting behind Crow, giving Void, as their defender, full ability to strike or turn while also remaining visible.

They would not. however, object to Void embracing them once they got close enough.

Teal commented, "We were out here digging with Crow and Cherish, Cherish got a small cut and then suddenly Nova swooped in on Elef out of nowhere!"

Gemini followed, "Elef flew off once the guard mare caught Nova, and Cherish took off after him. Are... are we going to go look for them? It looks like he was heading back towards where we came from." She pointed out into the desert in the direction of New Pegas.

Teal then looked towards Llambda, tilting her head a bit before looking back at Void, "Who's this with you? She looks kind of like Mistress."

Llambda smiled and came a bit closer, "Oh, I'm just a friend, Void here seemed so worried so I thought I'd come and help! Here, do you two want a treat?" She would reach into a bag at her side that Void could see shimmering before pulling out a pair of decent looking apples, especially rare around here as the environment wasn't suited for fruit trees much, which she passed to the two fillies.

If Crow had calmed down a bit, and not immediately flown off upon noticing or hearing that Cherish wasn't there anymore, Llambda would also offer something to her, pulling out something that could reasonably have been in the bag that Crow would like.

 

(Ranger)

21 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

I won't lie and say that this place wasn't bad, but I have the feeling it will get worse, either via memory, or something lingering behind, and it's best to have a buddy along then too, yeah?"

He'd give her a big smile, to try and lighten the darken ed mood somewhat, whilst Spec flew up on Ranger's head, and looked around, to see if there were something of note that had happened while they had been in there. Not a high vantage point, but still.

She had a slight smile at that, "Yeah, I wouldn't have found the toys or been able to get into that room without you. Thank you."

21 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Besides, even though I stuffed my paw pretty far down my own mouth before, I'd still like to know you, and where you came from better. Just lemme know if I start yapping off something dumb again, yeah? I ain't always the best at knowing when I should've shut it.

She sighed, "Well, that was where I came from. Tomorrow, is where we went between there and when Null found us. That's where Effs, Ajay, and Rare didn't make it."

21 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"We also have prayers for our enemies. I can remember one that we're taught to use, when we find a poacher for example, but it's extremely rude, and probably wouldn't translate that well."

She snorted positively at that, but didn't have much to say, simply tired after the excursion. "Well, I guess we'll likely meet at breakfast tomorrow? See what the other two have to say or do before I can head out to the mesa."

Unless he had anything else to add, she would head off towards the hotel at a leisurely pace, seemingly content to have a bit of time with her thoughts alone, except for Speck of course.

(We'll pick this one up after the time jump. There will be a time jump once this night is done for all stories as all the sections above will come together at Red Mesa in the morning.)

 

(Grey)

21 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Maybe you could explain a bit what that is? Is it more minostralum with a spell on it, or something?"

Basher smiled at Craven's uncertainty, "Hmm... I'll say it is a bit more than just some enchanted minostralium. I'll also say that it is something that was made specifically for me, as a reward. Had it been something powerful, or that would have let me destroy the city, I would have used it before Grey could catch and kill me."

He leaned back, "I won't say what exactly it does, other than that, when used properly, it poses no more danger to others than I already did."

 

He seemed to be able to tell that that wasn't satisfying enough an answer, as he rolled his eyes and continued, "Maybe some backstory then? Alright. Back when I was working for Discord as one of his generals, he gave all of his top generals, myself included, a boon contingent on our success. I was able to seize Las Pegasus and so he gave me my boon, but I didn't use it then and didn't have the chance or desire to before Grey killed me and took it. Honestly, I was hesitant. You know about genies right? Well, I heard tell through the wind that some of the other generals who used their boons found that it wasn't quite what they expected. Sure, they got exactly what they asked for, but not exactly what they wanted. Nothing major was changed, and honestly they way he went about it was pretty funny, like what you'd expect to hear he had done before," he gestured vaguely around, "all this. I wasn't in any hurry to discover what trick he had planned for me, so I left it alone. But now I don't exactly have much to lose, so I figure if it is bad, well, I'll deserve it."

He turned his gaze back towards Craven, "There, that enough for your superiors?"

 

"I'm still hesitant to give it to him. But we'll see. His help is contingent on recovering the boon in any case, so he'll have a vested interest in helping us recover it whether we end up giving it to him in the end or not. We'll play along for now. First, we need information on how to stop Moth, and how we might recover the boon and safely return it to him."

[Avery 221]

(Announcement)

Attention all fellow RPlayers! We have a special and fun project going around the RP. Our Readers @Emerald Heart the lead Librarian and the staffs; @Longhauland @Quinch will be taking requesting for any of the RP you may choose to be turned into a scrip storyteller and recorded, place your request here,

https://mlpforums.com/topic/205526-roleplaying-and-reading-and-requests-oh-my/#comment-6298257

 

I hope you all will continue having fun at the RP and with our Readers staffs here in mlpf! Carry on!

[Blitz Boom 4,705]

@Illiad Easle

(Cherish)

It'd take time, but she would gain on him, and would try to call out, yet no response came back. Even after a dozen times, he didn't even seem like he were listening. Maybe the wind were against them? But thestrals had really good ears. He should be able to hear her, which meant that he were ignoring her. Perhaps because he were injured, and couldn't think straight? Poor Elef. He must be so scared! If she kept going, and could go and get hold of him, she were sure that she could get through to him though. She just had to keep on, and they could both go home, and get him some help.

Hopefully he wouldn't end up crashing before that... She couldn't tell the state he were in from this distance, but he could at the least fly, and stay stable, so it shouldn't be life threatening. The panic from suddenly being attacked by his classmate might have him spiked on adrenaline though, and it'd show more once he were still. Like he might have a broken leg or something.

There would be a lot of questions about what happened back there. Later. She had to bring Elef home first. Poor thing must be feeling so scared.

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

 

(Void)

On 2025-07-09 at 11:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

They would not. however, object to Void embracing them once they got close enough.

Teal commented, "We were out here digging with Crow and Cherish, Cherish got a small cut and then suddenly Nova swooped in on Elef out of nowhere!"

Gemini followed, "Elef flew off once the guard mare caught Nova, and Cherish took off after him. Are... are we going to go look for them? It looks like he was heading back towards where we came from." She pointed out into the desert in the direction of New Pegas.

Once out of Crow's range, and close to her, Void would lean down and embrace her kids, holding them tightly. They'd find that she were shaking a little, letting through how frightened she had been when she heard something had happened out here, despite seeming mostly calm and collected before.

The sight, and hearing them speaking so upfront to her, made Crow slowly put down her wings, and ease up from her stance, though she stayed put, assuming that she were still defending her friend. That were until Cherish were mentioned as having followed Elef, and her ears perked up. She'd then turn around, frantically looking for Cherish as she sped around in a circle, her heart rate and breathing speeding up substantially, as she'd then look around in the sky, wings prepared to take off, but having no idea which way to go.

"C-Cherish?!"

Crow were hyperventilating. eventually settling at looking towards the others, fear and panic shining in her eyes. Cherish was her only friend. The only one that she had left in this world, and now she were gone, towards who knew where, with a strange colt no less! S-She wasn't there to protect her. She had to... She had to find her!

These ponies, they... They were going to look for her, and Elef. She had to... F-Following them were her only choice! She had to try and stick with them, for Cherish.

Meanwhile, seeing this happen, over the shoulders of her younglings, she'd find herself worried for this dragon. She knew Cherish had said Crow were her friend, but it seemed without her, the dragoness were falling apart, and rapidly. Teal and Gemini clearly wasn't the only ones who needed the answer.

"Yes, we're going to find them, and bring them home."

Void were however, not planning on bringing her younglings, unless she were given reason to by the others. Null had talked about where she found them, and it were much too dangerous of a place for them to be in. They had others here to protect them now, but she for once, hadn't brought her weapon along, and it were still risky.

*sigh* She really should have accepted that portable one that Molotov offered her, but she were so sure that she wouldn't need a concealed weapon like that... When this were all said and done, she were not going to refuse a second time.

"Cherish means a lot to you, right? Then we could use your help, but you have to calm down, okay? We're not your enemies."

Crow were not convinced of that currently, but throughout her fear, the thought of Cherish being gone, and potentially dying, were a fear far greater than that which she had for these, so she would have to if not trust them, then at least hope they could bring her to where Cherish were, so she could scoop up her friend and keep her safe herself.

On 2025-07-09 at 11:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Llambda smiled and came a bit closer, "Oh, I'm just a friend, Void here seemed so worried so I thought I'd come and help! Here, do you two want a treat?" She would reach into a bag at her side that Void could see shimmering before pulling out a pair of decent looking apples, especially rare around here as the environment wasn't suited for fruit trees much, which she passed to the two fillies.

If Crow had calmed down a bit, and not immediately flown off upon noticing or hearing that Cherish wasn't there anymore, Llambda would also offer something to her, pulling out something that could reasonably have been in the bag that Crow would like.

Crow were still spooked, and on edge, but she weren't going to attack any of them. At most, she might jump back at any sudden movements.

As for what Llambda would be able to pull out, a chunk of Changeling Emerald would be just the thing. Despite its grandiose name, the particular gem were practically worthless. Not hard enough to use in tools, not pure enough for gems, and rather common to boot. It were however, still popular for two things: The first being as a toy, or decorative bauble, as the emerald in question would change color, based on the angle you were looking at it from. It made it something pretty and shiny that weren't too expensive or hard to come by, which certainly had an audience.

The second one though, were due to dragons, as it were a popular snack, among those who traded or lived in areas, where the gem could be mined or sold. It weren't high in nutrition, compared to say a diamond, but the weird way it looked, were present in the taste too. They tended to describe it sort of like a piece of hard candy, with several layers of flavor.

As for why it were called a Changeling Emerald, rather than say, a Rainbow Emerald, is because it were originally found in an old, abandoned changeling hive, as it were cleared out, and cleared up so there could be built houses in the area. More deposits were found since, not all at, or near any known hive, but it were generally suspected that the signs of a hive had just faded with time, and that this gem were a general byproduct in some way, from the presence of changelings, though there were no proof, and it might just be a coincidence, that others had spun out of control. For all that were known, certain changelings just liked making their hive in areas where this type of gem would form naturally.

Be that as it may, Crow's ears perked a little as she saw that, and she hesitantly nearer, slowly reaching a slightly shaking hand out, and would gently grab the chunk of gem. Any movement from Llambda though, and she'd hesitate.  Even this somewhat nicer presence, were not enough to simply snap her out of her apprehension towards being around so many strangers. Several of them armed as well.

"T-Thank you."

Void looked at her from the side with pity. Poor thing were like an abused animal. Terrified of others near her, and what they might do. Had she the time, she would perhaps ask what had befallen her, for things to end like this, but they hadn't the time. Not if they were to catch up to Elef and Cherish. And that beside, she doubted Crow would be very open about things, without Cherish there. The filly were probably the only real friend she had in years.

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

 

(Ranger)

On 2025-07-09 at 11:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She had a slight smile at that, "Yeah, I wouldn't have found the toys or been able to get into that room without you. Thank you."

Kozue would grin slightly at the thank you, with the tip of his tail wagging a bit from side to side.

"Happy to help."

It were honestly nice to be helpful, in more ways than just lifting spirits with his music. That were important too, but having a more tangible way of being useful like this? It felt good. Perhaps Ranger and what happened around her, were truly the sign that he had waited for, to know that it were time to move on, out into the world?

On 2025-07-09 at 11:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She sighed, "Well, that was where I came from. Tomorrow, is where we went between there and when Null found us. That's where Effs, Ajay, and Rare didn't make it."

The grin were well and truly gone as that bit of news came out, and he'd respectfully bow his head down.

"May the souls of your friends rest soundly. I pray we will find a keepsake of them there, that will make you and yours, remember better times."

There had not been a lot of them of course, but it were meant as in less of a focus on how they died, and more of how they lived. Their friends and family, that they had grown up with, yet sadly hadn't made it. Surely they wouldn't be so easily forgotten regardless, but he found that it were easier in the long run, when you had a keepsake. And in some cases, having a burial - even if only ceremonial in nature, due to a lack of a body - and being able to bury something that made you think of them, could help unburden a heavy heart.

On 2025-07-09 at 11:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

She snorted positively at that, but didn't have much to say, simply tired after the excursion. "Well, I guess we'll likely meet at breakfast tomorrow? See what the other two have to say or do before I can head out to the mesa."

Unless he had anything else to add, she would head off towards the hotel at a leisurely pace, seemingly content to have a bit of time with her thoughts alone, except for Speck of course.

(We'll pick this one up after the time jump. There will be a time jump once this night is done for all stories as all the sections above will come together at Red Mesa in the morning.)

"Certainly. I'll have some matters to put in order too, at this point. The signs all point to a new dawn breaking, and with how much kindness Bling and her hive have shown me, I will not simple leave without a word, on on no notice. They deserve better.

Rest well, Ranger, and may your dreams be soothing."

With that, he'd take off back to the city too, jumping and running fast across the dunes. He might not have wings, but he had light paws and a nimble body, well suited for running away from trouble, or traversing through various underground. Some sand would at worst be annoying to clean from his paws later. Though she would be able to see him at times heading back, popping his head up over a dune, or behind a rock, then seemingly being gone., Likely camouflaging himself, but keeping an eye on her, just to let her know that in case something happened, she didn't have to call far for help.

As for Speck... It seemed all the stuff of today had made it somewhat tired, as it imitated a yawn, then spread its wings and spend the trip back doing some simple flying, and this time without folding into a paper airplane. Just a bit of training as it were, where it did wobble a little bit here and there, but it didn't crash... Too much.

In its defense, it had wings less than a day, and hadn't messed things up when it mattered. It were allowed a bit of leeway, in its opinion.

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

 

(Grey)

On 2025-07-09 at 11:34 PM, Illiad Easle said:

He turned his gaze back towards Craven, "There, that enough for your superiors?"

 

"I'm still hesitant to give it to him. But we'll see. His help is contingent on recovering the boon in any case, so he'll have a vested interest in helping us recover it whether we end up giving it to him in the end or not. We'll play along for now. First, we need information on how to stop Moth, and how we might recover the boon and safely return it to him."

Craven were silent, even after the Grey responded to him, for about twenty seconds, with his eyes closed. He were thinking over this whole situation, trying to see if there were something he missed, or some way that this wasn't gonna end up with him being a pawn in a situation that might turn further ugly than it already had, but frankly, there didn't seem to be anything. He were a tool for both The Grey, and Basher now, and regardless of who came up on top after this, it were probably still better than the potential outcome of what were gonna happen out there.

*sigh* He really hoped that whatever came of this, he would actually be doing his to help far more than he hurt... He wanted to join The Grey to make amends for the lives he'd ruined. Ruining hundreds of other lives were not what he had signed up for.

"They're accepting your deal, long as you keep your word. Personally I'm worried about something Discord made, especially considering what you said happened with the other ones, but a potential issue, is still better than guaranteed suffering. Least I hope so."

Why did he feel like such a tool right now?

...Dumb question he supposed.

"So... What do we do? What can you tell us about Moth, that might help us stop her? Ideally safely. I'd prefer it if we could avoid having to kill her, or causing lasting harm. And that goes for her, and your followers.

Also, how safe is it to handle your boon? Do we need a hexbox, or special gloves or something?"

[Illiad Easle 3,215]

@Blitz Boom

(There's going to be a bit of a time skip, just jumping to the next morning when the next group of events kick off.)

(Cherish)

Mostly it was the wind that made it difficult for Elef to hear what Cherish was saying, though he did react a bit when she shouted, pushing ahead a bit faster, maybe he thought he was being chased? He didn't look back.

The sun was just starting to rise when he dropped from the upper air current, heading for a large red mesa standing in the middle of the desert a short distance from a city. It might occur to Cherish then just how long they had been flying, and how far they had gone.

Elef's sudden drop out of the air current might cause Cherish to overshoot, having to swing around and return.

(continued below)

 

(Void)

On 2025-07-22 at 2:13 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Be that as it may, Crow's ears perked a little as she saw that, and she hesitantly nearer, slowly reaching a slightly shaking hand out, and would gently grab the chunk of gem. Any movement from Llambda though, and she'd hesitate.  Even this somewhat nicer presence, were not enough to simply snap her out of her apprehension towards being around so many strangers. Several of them armed as well.

"T-Thank you."

Llambda smiled as Crow accepted her gift, "Oh, Always happy to help."

 

Selena returned from talking with the guards, Nova being carried off with two of them back to the city. "So, there's good news and bad news. Good news is that we were able to find them, and we have a good idea where they're headed. The bad news is that they're too fast for the guards to catch up. But that's not entirely a bad thing, as we have some friends where they're going."

She turned towards Void, "Null is still in New Pegas, right? I'll get a message out to her, she should be able to find the two of them quicker than we can get some guards out there." She seemed to recognize that that wouldn't be enough to placate her, or that it definitely wouldn't be enough for Crow. "In addition, we're getting an airship ready to head out as soon as possible. If you don't think you'd be better suited to care for the ones here, there's room for you to join us." She turned towards Crow, "You're welcome to join as well, or to fly there yourself if you'd be more comfortable. We can get you a map as to where we think they're going."

Llambda moved to stand beside Void, "Oh, um, I'd still like to help. I was heading towards New Pegas anyway, but I can also stay here and help with your foals if you need me to."

Teal and Gemini looked conflicted, as though they wanted to go after Elef as well, but also recognizing that the foals back home also needed their care.

 

Whatever Crow and Void's choices, Selena would indicate that the airship would leave in an hour, giving them time to prepare if they were going to leave with it.

(continued below)

 

(Grey)

On 2025-07-22 at 2:13 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Personally I'm worried about something Discord made, especially considering what you said happened with the other ones, but a potential issue, is still better than guaranteed suffering. Least I hope so."

Basher smirked, "As you should be. Nothing without a price, but sometimes the price is worth paying."

 

On 2025-07-22 at 2:13 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Also, how safe is it to handle your boon? Do we need a hexbox, or special gloves or something?"

He waved dismissively, "So long as you don't wear it, it's safe to hold. At least, I held and handled it plenty while I had it, and I didn't notice any ill effects."

 

On 2025-07-22 at 2:13 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"So... What do we do? What can you tell us about Moth, that might help us stop her? Ideally safely. I'd prefer it if we could avoid having to kill her, or causing lasting harm. And that goes for her, and your followers.

He shook his head, "I wouldn't be so hesitant, she certainly won't be. Though, I think you may already know something about her. Maybe you've even met her? She's gone by many faces and disguises. At least, I'm sure some of the more important changelings here know about her, though they probably know her by a different name, Red."

Depending on when Craven, Yavin, and Mongoose joined up with the changelings here, they may or may not have heard about Red. Red first came to town about a year ago, standing out as the only red accented changeling any of them had seen. She claimed to be from the Stalliongrad hive, like Rasputin had. But unlike Rasputin, she had no restraint on her bloodlust. Violence towards the ponies of New Pegas was one thing, but she had also been violent towards some of the changelings, and had been kicked out of the group after a short while, not to be seen again. Many of the changelings figured that she had simply left town after that, and thanked the stars and mother for it. As such, her tale wasn't much shared with newer changelings.

Nonetheless, Basher continued, "She was always on the move, even more so than me, but never failed to turn up for a fight, like a moth to a flame. Hence her name. Now that she seems to be in charge?" He thought for a moment, "I'm sure you spoke to Razzi or Papa while you were up on the cloud layer? They were in charge of talking to any newcomers and finding information. They'll know where she's gathering, or know where to look for gathering. That's your best bet, play along, wait for her to reveal herself, then get as close as you can."

He nodded, "That's what I would do at least. Like I said at the beginning, I wouldn't hesitate to kill her. She certainly won't hesitate to kill you, given the chance."


[The Next Morning]

(Cherish)

Elef was digging at a hole in the ground when Cherish caught up to him, it looked like a small tunnel had been dug out around a sort of sealed larger tunnel, likely the small tunnel had originally been dug by some small animal, and Elef was trying to widen the tunnel enough that he could crawl through.

Depending on how Cherish would approach, Elef would respond. "You shouldn't have followed me, I'll just get you hurt."

 

(Null)

Nine would wake Null up a bit earlier than she might have liked, "There's a message for you. The Grey dropped it off. That little thestral colt ran off from Troy, along with a young pegasus. They think they're headed for Red Mesa, and they want you to find them and keep them out of trouble until a group from Troy can come pick them up."

 

(Ranger)

Ranger would also be up a bit earlier than most, but was doing her best to move quietly as she prepared for her own excursion, unknowingly to the same destination as the others. She didn't want to wake Null or Arcade as she prepared, grabbing a few brochures for Speck, before heading down to breakfast, hoping it would be available that early.

 

(Void)

If Void had elected to travel on the airship, she and whoever had elected to join her (Like Crow or Llambda) would be on their way towards the Red Mesa. They'd get there in a few hours, and some pegasus guards were sweeping the area around the ship as it traveled, just in case the pair had veered off or landed somewhere else along the way.