searching [OOC] The Æther Project

[Blitz Boom 4,612]

@Illiad Easle

Sorry for the late reply, Birthday madness, and then cooldown after.

I can handle the Spiral parts then as she is faced out bit by bit. And as for Janet, might be simpler to go with a fresh one there. She can fade into the background, and the camera focus elsewhere, as it were.

I see that it were getting to where Spectral were mentioned, and it appeared to be time for him to be approached. I could have another foal in that could then take over from that point, to make it as seamless as possible, and things just go from there? I still have a few characters left in the bank that's on the younger side.

I have Jelly Drop for instance. Bat Pony father, pegasus mother. Light sensitive eyes, hence the shades, and what else you see in the picture, are her large, fuzzy pet spider, Gary.

Why Gary you may ask? Well... Why not?

Anyway, if she's here... One of her parents could theoretically be alive and there too. I never established much about her mother, but this is her father.

His name is Stargazer. I originally have him as a Night Guard, but I can change it if need be, or both he and his wife would be dead. If he's alive, he'd probably be worked hard with guard duty of some sort, leaving Jelly to deal with several things on her own, for a lot of the day. Yet dead or alive, it's in the RP that she always adored him, and wanted to grow up to be a strong, resourceful guard just like him. So she likes to help, and keeps some things on her, that can help. Y'know, some bandages, a flashlight- Minor, easily accessible things, that can be nice in a pinch.

Usually I have this one, as being a creation of Discord, from some plane between planes, where he picked her out, from other formless shadows, and gave her proper form. But Omen doesn't look too old here, so she can be repurposed for this RP, in some other capacity.

Still... Perhaps something usable regardless? Earth pony filly, who were struck by some attack from Discord/other chaotic source not long before the gate closed. She'd have no power from it, but her grey pattern would slowly move around on her body, making it hard to ignore that something were off about her. A bit of a potential social pariah though, considering what the vision of her would remind others off, but would try and reach out every now and again.

Not depressed, but more after everything, just... Numb to it all. She doesn't feel depressed, or sad about how she's treated, or viewed. She's run out of tears to shed for that, nor much joy of any sort. She keeps thinking maybe if she finds a proper purpose, or some friends, it will get easier, but at least when she is alone, there is a kind of cold comfort in the numbness, since she isn't hurting from things at least.

As for what she'd be doing around... No powers, pariah, seems like she could be made to use doing menial labor normally, as she'd still be an earth pony, so she can at least drag/push/lift things.

I have used him so little, I can't even remember his name. xD So uh... Yazid. And imagine him smaller.

So Yazid is a zebra, plain and simple. He enjoys tinkering with elixirs and potions, though he's not much for following the regular recipe books, and instead started from a blank one, and learns through trial and error. Usually he just makes something that others before him have, but occasionally he mixes something that's special, and not in the regular books, if any at all. If they're any useful, is another question entirely, but he'd thrilled regardless, as it's a vector for learning.

His cat is usually there to just hunt rodents and demand pets, not caring much for his various potions. Though he have given her a what he assumed safe and stable healing potion once, where she were hurt, that might have had some side effects. Which ones? I dunno, this is on the fly, as most stuff from me are, but you ever wondered what a cat would be like, if it could breath fire for instance?

Yazid would be a loner, not much for making friends in general, though he'd reach out and talk with others every now and again. Especially if they seemed alone, and needed a chatter. Or in case someone needed a nice healing potion. He's gotten the hang of that one a while back now, and any word on what minor side effects there were before that, is surely just exaggerated. He assures you it's perfectly safe now.

Anyway, those are my thoughts currently. But I can go from scratch, if nothing here works.

[Illiad Easle 3,123]

@Blitz Boom 

Those all look like good characters, I'll give them a more detailed read once I have more time to respond!

[Illiad Easle 3,123]

@Blitz Boom

Jelly Drop sounds like a great replacement for Janet. While she won't have much access to the castle and the Order, she could have an in with the thestral side of the Archback group, we could say that one of her grandparents on her father's side was a thestral of the Fastar clan, and we can make one of her grandparents on her mother's side a zebra of the Mohotma tribe (Since it looks like she has some zebra in her, but if that was just a style choice we can ignore that.)

She'd be born while the mountains were up, we could say her mother is part of the Children, so living in the mountain, which is why she would go to the same school as Janet and Spectral. Maybe her mother died during one of the altercations between the groups? It would explain her father's more zealous position guarding ever since. I'll leave whether she was killed by a zebra, a thestral, or if the circumstances of her death were too confused to determine who was at fault, up to you. (And whether Jelly knows the truth about it or not. Maybe part of her father's distance is his efforts to find who is responsible for his wife's death?)

That would be an interesting murder mystery side story, but that's all up to whether you're interested in it. I'd also be fine with both of her parents being dead and having her be adopted by some of the children or even some of the Order (To elevate her to the same level of access as Janet had).

 

Omen, One thing to remember is that the gates are still open in this universe, Fort Tartarus becoming a stronghold of loyalists after Discord's defeat.

Regardless, I have some ideas, maybe she could be in whatever camp the other Blitz is in? Like she was another captive of the loyalists and Blitz spared her (Or her strange nature allowed her to survive) and she stuck around afterwards?

 

Yazid, he could fit in with the zebra, whether in the group that follows the elders and remains or in the group that follows the general and ventures forth, I could see some interesting stories for him.

 

They're all good options, whichever (or all) you pick to stand up just let me know and I'll write their starters.

[Blitz Boom 4,612]

@Illiad Easle

18 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

Jelly Drop sounds like a great replacement for Janet. While she won't have much access to the castle and the Order, she could have an in with the thestral side of the Archback group, we could say that one of her grandparents on her father's side was a thestral of the Fastar clan, and we can make one of her grandparents on her mother's side a zebra of the Mohotma tribe (Since it looks like she has some zebra in her, but if that was just a style choice we can ignore that.)

Style choice, but I can work with your suggestion to make things easier, no problem.

18 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

She'd be born while the mountains were up, we could say her mother is part of the Children, so living in the mountain, which is why she would go to the same school as Janet and Spectral. Maybe her mother died during one of the altercations between the groups? It would explain her father's more zealous position guarding ever since. I'll leave whether she was killed by a zebra, a thestral, or if the circumstances of her death were too confused to determine who was at fault, up to you. (And whether Jelly knows the truth about it or not. Maybe part of her father's distance is his efforts to find who is responsible for his wife's death?)

That would be an interesting murder mystery side story, but that's all up to whether you're interested in it. I'd also be fine with both of her parents being dead and having her be adopted by some of the children or even some of the Order (To elevate her to the same level of access as Janet had).

I could see the mother's death being something that's still unsolved, being part of why he is more zealous. Because he can't say if it was related to who she were, and thus if her killer might come for him, or worse yet, his daughter. He will be around when he can, but he would definitely want to follow whatever clues he could, or catch whomever did break rules, to ask questions, in case someone had heard something. Both for the sake of giving his wife's memory some peace, and to make sure Jelly isn't in danger. Also to give himself some peace of mind, but he would consider that to coincide with his wife being given justice.

I think Jelly would just be told that her mother had died, and attend what funeral they could give her body, but he wouldn't tell her details. He'd want to protect her from that sort.

This also works well into one of Stargazer's most notable traits in the RP I have used him in: He's sleep deprived, due to needing to use a lot of energy to both do his job, and to be as good of a single father as he is able to. Different circumstances here, but the baseline idea remains the same.

18 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

Omen, One thing to remember is that the gates are still open in this universe, Fort Tartarus becoming a stronghold of loyalists after Discord's defeat.

Regardless, I have some ideas, maybe she could be in whatever camp the other Blitz is in? Like she was another captive of the loyalists and Blitz spared her (Or her strange nature allowed her to survive) and she stuck around afterwards?

I could see the more erratic Blitz finding Omen to be an amusing trophy to keep, as well as having part of her feel some pity for the young mare, for the position she were in. So she'd be kept around, and be one of the few she *liberates* over time, who doesn't have a bomb strapped around their neck, to prevent them from trying to run away from her stronghold. Not that there's many other places to go, but it would fit her paranoia to not trusting those who worked for her enemies before, or might have. Even if they were prisoners.

But Omen not showing any sign of disobedience over time, would allow her some modicum of freedom, in the bomb being removed, with the threat of it being put back on, if she tries something. She will not, and thinking over it further, I have another thing that she could be doing, but I will keep that to myself for now., Some things I wanna keep hidden for when this alternative Blitz gets into things.

Alt Blitz is maybe crazed and could kill you if you did something you really shouldn't have, but she's still a better option for many survivors, than trying to live out there, and long as you don't do something stupid, things will be mostly good for you. She still got a good heart, even if it's shattered and tainted by now, so she can feel empathy and pity. But it can also quickly turn to scorn, so best to not stir the hive.

18 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

Yazid, he could fit in with the zebra, whether in the group that follows the elders and remains or in the group that follows the general and ventures forth, I could see some interesting stories for him.

I could do whatever with him really. But if you want to explore the zebra side of things proper, he'd likely be a good way to do that. Depends if you want a younger, or older perspective on that, since I do have one other, though she'd be more of a mixed race entrance into things here.

Zeehva. She's a fun one, as she can use her magic to pick up residual magic and liquify it. She can't cast a spell with it, but can use in her potions.

When I made her, I had it that most spells would leave some residue, leaving to a droplet or two most times, when you were talking low ranked spells, or when she were late to an area where a stronger spell had been cast. Residue disappears after a time I'd argue, so she had a fair few small vials on her, that she would collect the various types of magic in, then use as were needed.

I also had her as being not a zebra herself, but having married one, and gotten her stripes by proving herself a good enough alchemist, to earn her spot in the traditionalist village he came from. The stripes being added with dye, as a symbol. She's also nicknamed The Weeping Widow though, so you can imagine how the marriage went. But that's more for the OG story. A lot of leeway with her if she'd be useful here. She's a better alchemist, and can add her own spin on things, but she doesn't have the innocence of a youngster who haven't seen most of the darker side of things to her. She's marred by fighting, with scars that won't ever heal fully. And having unicorn blood, might make some look down on her, as I can imagine some more traditional ones, would not be keen on those not pure-blooded, though you'd know better than me, of course.  Doesn't have to be a direct descendant. Could be from a grandmother or something.

Yazid is more the carefree and calm one, that would have to be confronted by the more harsh reality, as things progressed, and have more of an excited, hopeful attitude. The sort who sees things being wretched at some point, but find hope that things will improve. Potentially via something that he might be able to do.

Anyway, wasn't meant to add another one here. Just since you didn't need the more young one for that angle, I remembered this one. Also yes, the two of them share the same creator program. The others are split between two others. One of which doesn't even work anymore.

I can't draw, so these programs are excellent for me.

[Illiad Easle 3,123]

@Blitz Boom

I remember those programs, you showed me where that last one is and I've used it a few times to draft up characters that I've shown you before, it's very helpful!

So we'll add Omen, Jelly and her father, and Yazid. I don't know if adding Zeehva would add much to the story, or if it would just clutter up the situation. We can have her available to show up later, I think she would fit in better at the Himallama bastion anyway, so if/when the story heads in that direction we can set her up.

 

Another idea, I was wondering where to drop the Avarice statue and her accompanying amulet. Do you think Blitz would be tempted by such a thing? The deal offered is that the statue gives power to the amulet wearer proportional to the amount of treasure given to the statue, but similar to the alicorn amulet the wearer is corrupted over time (Like the orange lanterns) and the power granted suffers from diminishing returns.

If she wouldn't be tempted by such a prospect then I'll drop the statue somewhere else, but I think that could be an interesting combination.

Although, maybe it's not a good idea to mix two forms of crazy, and I bet she'd be wary of anything draconequis adjacent after her experiences with the loyalists.

Your thoughts?

[Blitz Boom 4,612]

@Illiad Easle

(Hah! I saw your reply early for once. xD)

50 minutes ago, Illiad Easle said:

I remember those programs, you showed me where that last one is and I've used it a few times to draft up characters that I've shown you before, it's very helpful!

So we'll add Omen, Jelly and her father, and Yazid. I don't know if adding Zeehva would add much to the story, or if it would just clutter up the situation. We can have her available to show up later, I think she would fit in better at the Himallama bastion anyway, so if/when the story heads in that direction we can set her up.

Sounds good to me on all accounts. As said, I brought up Zeehva because she entered my mind as I were writing. It happens at times.  There's no rush, and we'd have something to work with in the future, when we get to the Himallama bastion.

52 minutes ago, Illiad Easle said:

Another idea, I was wondering where to drop the Avarice statue and her accompanying amulet. Do you think Blitz would be tempted by such a thing? The deal offered is that the statue gives power to the amulet wearer proportional to the amount of treasure given to the statue, but similar to the alicorn amulet the wearer is corrupted over time (Like the orange lanterns) and the power granted suffers from diminishing returns.

If she wouldn't be tempted by such a prospect then I'll drop the statue somewhere else, but I think that could be an interesting combination.

Although, maybe it's not a good idea to mix two forms of crazy, and I bet she'd be wary of anything draconequis adjacent after her experiences with the loyalists.

Your thoughts?

I don't think Blitz would fit the bill of one drawn in by the statue. Her alt version here is paranoid and controlling. Giving herself in to worship a statue doesn't seem her style. Trying to blow it up for thinking it some sort of loyalist weapon seems more likely her thing.

But it could have fallen into the hooves of some of her enemies, and they seen it as a useable weapon to try and finally get her down, before she blows up their base too. And if it worked to keep her from doing that even once, they might be willing to keep feeding it, as they saw it being efficient. And at the time when they finally noticed what it were taking from them, it would likely be too late, and they'd be addicted to the power.

Or if you want an individual that could be corrupted... How heavy is that statue? In case for instance, Blitz got hold of it, wanted to blow it up, but someone then stole it, and the necklace.

[Blitz Boom 4,612]

@Illiad Easle

Sorry for the long delay. Had to deal with some family matters for a bit.

I'll get responses out tomorrow, and add in an opener for Jelly into things. I'll wait with the others until there's a setting for me to put them in.  Unless you want me to just try and toss something out there, and see how it goes?

[Blitz Boom 4,612]

@Illiad Easle

I'll edit in something about Jelly later, or tomorrow. Too annoyed to deal with it right now.

I had a lot more written than you see there, but then suddenly, half of what I had written were gone, and Control-Z did nothing. I don't have the time right now to try and scramble my brain on what I wrote for an hour more than this, so I'll just have to wait until later, and put what there is right now, before more goes away.

[Illiad Easle 3,123]

@Blitz Boom

Oof! That's always a pain! 

Whenever that happens to me I always tell myself to write my posts outside the forums first and copy them in, but it happens so infrequently that I forget by the time it happens again. 

No rush, I'll set up Jelly in my next post so you're not going in blind.

[Blitz Boom 4,612]

@Illiad Easle

I edited in something, for some base information.

[Illiad Easle 3,123]

@Blitz Boom

I'm thinking, rather than doing long form stories for the characters outside of our central story (Being the Æther and Ponyville) what if we did rotating short arcs for the characters on the fringe? It would operate similar to how Molotov's arc did, it introduces an area, sets up some characters, gives a brief viewpoint from another perspective, sets up some future event, then ends. This lets us try out several ideas without committing to them long term, and we can always circle back on a story if we come up with future things for them to deal with without having to keep them moving between events.

 

All that to say, I don't know where to take the Archback story right now.

Well, that's not entirely true. We could actually switch perspective to her father in the meeting for a bit, since more accurately I don't know what to do with the young characters there at the moment. 

 

Here's the idea:

Æther and Sorrow's arcs continue normally since they have several main characters, at least for now (We'll probably do a time skip after Panic is taken care of, jumping to when the Æther is setting down the first permanent settlement.)

In Archback we switch from Jelly to her father, getting a more mature perspective on the situation there, and keeping the door open to circle back to the young ones later.

We look at other perspectives to have some brief encounters in, setting them up for use later, and considering where other events are and their state, in case they influence the main arc.

To that end, I have some ideas:

• We have Avarice's statue.
  • It could have landed in the Everfree, and been collected by the fear changelings to the south
  • It could have been found and collected by your elder dragon character, if you have her surviving the 25 years.
  • It could have landed in Blitz's camp. Whether the statue has any influence on her is up to you.
• If Null and/or Void would make an appearance, they would most likely be in New Pegas, but it would be very different than the one we've seen before, given it had to survive 25 years under Discord instead of just 1-2.
• We could get a perspective from Himillama, which we briefly discussed earlier.

 

Any thoughts or ideas come to mind for you? There aren't too many characters from our other story that would have survived the 25 years.

[Blitz Boom 4,612]

@Illiad Easle

Sorry for being late with a reply. Work got busy.

On 2024-10-16 at 11:08 PM, Illiad Easle said:

I'm thinking, rather than doing long form stories for the characters outside of our central story (Being the Æther and Ponyville) what if we did rotating short arcs for the characters on the fringe? It would operate similar to how Molotov's arc did, it introduces an area, sets up some characters, gives a brief viewpoint from another perspective, sets up some future event, then ends. This lets us try out several ideas without committing to them long term, and we can always circle back on a story if we come up with future things for them to deal with without having to keep them moving between events.

Sounds fine to me. A bit of life in the world around them, by exploring shorter narratives with the ones out there. Some of them potentially being useful for stuff later on. It also helps if there's travelers at some point, as we'd have some parts of the world fleshed out this way, among other beneficial side effects.

 

On 2024-10-16 at 11:08 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Here's the idea:

Æther and Sorrow's arcs continue normally since they have several main characters, at least for now (We'll probably do a time skip after Panic is taken care of, jumping to when the Æther is setting down the first permanent settlement.)

In Archback we switch from Jelly to her father, getting a more mature perspective on the situation there, and keeping the door open to circle back to the young ones later.

We look at other perspectives to have some brief encounters in, setting them up for use later, and considering where other events are and their state, in case they influence the main arc.

To that end, I have some ideas:

• We have Avarice's statue.
  • It could have landed in the Everfree, and been collected by the fear changelings to the south
  • It could have been found and collected by your elder dragon character, if you have her surviving the 25 years.
  • It could have landed in Blitz's camp. Whether the statue has any influence on her is up to you.
• If Null and/or Void would make an appearance, they would most likely be in New Pegas, but it would be very different than the one we've seen before, given it had to survive 25 years under Discord instead of just 1-2.
• We could get a perspective from Himillama, which we briefly discussed earlier.

 

Any thoughts or ideas come to mind for you? There aren't too many characters from our other story that would have survived the 25 years.

I think switching to Stargazer would be fine. It'll show more about Jelly too, as his daughter is often on his mind. Especially after her mother died. After the wall opened up, his concerns for her well-being and future have only increased, as well as his worries that he doesn't spend as much time with her as he should.

Think of him as an overworked single dad, whose daughter is his entire life, and you got the base picture. I got some backstory on him from when I used him before, that I can easily adapt to this setting, so it won't take long to set him up, once things begin.

Avarice: All three could work but it depends on how you want her used.

Option 1 would give the chance for you to expand on the hive in question, and give them some proper backstory. I'd likely need to use a drone then, to not make it one sided, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue, and you have control over this setting.

Option 2 would be... Peculiar. It really depends on how Avarice works. Le Perinne would live. She's managed for millennia, despite not being the most physically impressive elder dragon, via her cunning, intelligence, and magic. Even with her estate destroyed, and her entire brood slain, she would be elsewhere, surviving. The safe camp she once had, were in the other world, and rather reliant on Molotov for defenses, so she'd likely have just been in a suitable cave system or mountain range, with a handful of those who she ran into, and could safely bring along. It'd likely be hard terrain if they were to be somewhat safe from the spawn, but there would likely be a place where it wasn't worth the bother. Could also be somewhere underwater. Le Perinne is very magical, and have collected various precious, magic-infused stones, gems and ores, to make rings for herself, that increases it further. She could likely sustain a safe haven deep in the ocean.

So, if you want, there are 2 settings to go with there: Wherever she is currently, or one of the places where she stashed her treasure. Her old home is likely still overrun, as she's waiting for the tide to turn enough that she can assert herself, rather than rush in to a certain death situation, but she assumed her innermost sanctum with all her most precious treasure, would still hold up, due to the physical and magical defenses in place. Whatever it does, is up for debate. If you want the 25 years mark, and where Discord fell, to show a decrease in Spawn roaming around, the story could begin with her becoming aware of that, and preparing to take her home back. If you wanted Avarice in this setting, it could be that she had landed in the innermost sanctum, somehow getting through all the defenses, and thus wakes up in vast riches. Or she could be picked up along the way, by one of the survivors, or her remaining faithful.

Otherwise, it could also be brought to her, by someone being in the area that she manages to control, that had found it whilst scavenging. In either case though, be advised that Le Perinne doesn't fall for mind tricks, if you want someone influenced. It'd have to be another in the vicinity that would cave, if it were.

Option 3, we have discussed in some capacity before. Blitz wouldn't fall for it, being paranoid and untrusting, but the statue could still have crashed there, and they would have brought it to her. Might be she had a chance to entice someone else, then the story could basically start as it were brought before Blitz, who'd look it over, not like what she saw, and have it tossed in storage, until she knew what to do with it. Depending on if it gives off the vibes of something dangerous, in which case she'd have it set up for immediate destruction. Someone could interfere, take the necklace, and use what power were given to make off with the statue. Perhaps take some followers. It would enrage Blitz, and she'd use resources to fight them, which could well be another reason they'd need more and more power, to keep themselves safe. Double points if it somehow could get rid of the bomb necklaces she makes those she doesn't trust wear, until they earned a modicum of trust. Nothing says loyalty, like the chance your head might be blown off.

If it just gives her off vibes, there could be some hidden worship, that would take her a bit of time to find. She have several projects in work at all times, so some things can sit in storage for months, until she have time for it.

If you want Avarice, I do think some variation with Blitz might be good, as it would set things up for when they needed to interact with her later, as it'd give some story and a feel for things. Le Perinne is a fascinating character for me, but she'd not be lured in, and her faithful only worships her, so Avarice wouldn't affect a major character. The hive would be something completely new, which could be fascinating, but I will let you decide.

Null/Void: I kinda get the feeling that with increased chaos, and all the war, the only logical way for Null to end up is dead. She were barely holding on before the war, looking for safe haven. Now? There's barely anywhere safe, and haven't been for over two decades. The most likely scenario would be her dying to keep Void safe, letting her story end as she had often expected. Not the ways he wanted to go, but she always gave her all for Void. This would be no different.

Void would survive, though it would take her time to get past Null's death. Enough time have passed for that, and for her to have gotten established, and gotten a family of her own, but she'll never forget her sister. Not being coddled, and overprotected, would have made her end up differently, as she had to become more independent. She'd retain her kind soul though, yet with some of her sisters hardness. Kindness is nice, but the wise also knows when and how to fight. I could imagine her being a... Not guard per se, but more of a hired hoof. Perhaps for the dragons primarily, as she still have her curse in this setting, and thus protection from them, and various other things. Have to get food on the table, but she'll have some limits on the jobs she'd take. She's not interested in cruelty. If she needs to kill, she can, yet it will be swift.

Could be she were using what time she wasn't called in, to help caring for orphans of the war.

Alternatively, Void also died, but somewhat recently (a year or two ago), and the story will be focused around her daughter. No name thought of yet, but she'd have inherited Void's curse, whilst being a unicorn. I dunno what sort of side effects/usage levels might come from that. I also like the thoughts of Void having twins, but I'd only use one, more than likely. Either the other is somewhere else, or just busy, most of the time. Alternatively, you can have control of her sibling, and explore things from that angle.

Himillama: Sounds fine to me, just need the setting and idea, then sort characters for it.

[Illiad Easle 3,123]

@Blitz Boom

I'll respond to the rest in a bit when I have more time, but I had an idea for one of these that I've got to share before I forget!

Null/Void

Their time in Deep Science is the same, only different at the end where they get out by themselves rather than escorted by the Scarves of Red.

Panic was going to set off the Omega warhead, but was intercepted by 106 (Queen Gelatine)

Pen/Vale instead of escaping go and detonate the Omega warhead themselves, destroying the entire Silver Sigma facility. Only Null, Void, and Panic escape (They don't see Panic leave).

The two of them make their way to Deltrot, which has fewer survivors than before and they are beset by the spawn and Discord's legion instead of just the spawn.

They get a darker introduction to the state of the world, since there is no hope in Troy. So Null's attempt is successful in this version (Up to you though, maybe the darker world keeps her moving?) In any case, Null's death means that Nine leaves the story.

Void stays with the survivors as they abandon Deltrot to head north. They are encountered by a group of Grey (Who were originally headed to Troy in the first story) and are inducted into the Grey in exchange for being kept safe from the spawn and loyalists. So Void enters the Grey and is brought with the rest to Las Pegasus.

Since Discord is still in the picture, the Grey remain in the shadows rather than openly overthrowing the city. The casino heads we had from the first story operating in the background or paying lip service to Discord as a front.

In this way, Void is exposed to Epsilon directly (Which it occurs to me that in the first story Void has not yet met Epsilon) and I imagine the two of them become close. (You never discovered this in the first story, but Epsilon did have the same curse as Null/Void, it just never came up) In this version this shared curse is discovered, which leads the two to suspect that they are somehow related.

They work together to defeat Grey Mane, and Epsilon becomes the Grey Mare, but Void stays on to help her sister run the Grey. Epsilon acting as Vengeance and Void acting as Mercy.

Since Epsilon considers Void family, Void doesn't lose her curse (Optional) and can work more directly with the dragons, since you mentioned that as an option.

 

So, we have the two of them working together for some time under the shadow of Discord, until Discord is defeated. Now the casino heads want to move to control the city directly.

What do you think about that?

We can also tie in Hive Cheshire, depending on how they might be different after 25 years of working under Discord's shadow. They would not have Rasputin this time, but they may have reached the same conclusions on a longer timescale without his interference, and would have received the Top Suits from House as before. 

 

As to Void having children, due to the curse she would be a widow (But that's super common in this world) and having a cursed unicorn could be an interesting character (Maybe resents their mother for agreeing to have them despite knowing about the curse?) 

[Blitz Boom 4,612]

@Illiad Easle

I like your idea, but I can perhaps add a twist, since you mention Nine still being with her, and the path they'd take at the start.

Null wouldn't expect anything good from Troy, and nothing here would make her feel any better about things, so yes, she could openly try and kill herself, though she'd likely be more stubborn here, since this is literally the world turning against them. It's what she's had festering in her head for a long time.

What say that Nine is a bit more... Notable, this time around, and as she is holding the blade to her chest, hoof shaking, as she roils in her inner turmoil, he makes himself known, and he gives her a vision, and an offer. A vision of Void, somewhere else, older but alive, then several where she isn't, with several spawn, or notable figures standing above her corpse, and that of herself too, in some cases. One of those will end up being the end result, if she lives, or kills herself.

Or she can take a third option. Fake her death. Leave Void to get a chance, away from her influence, while they go and get their hooves dirty. No redemption arc. No *for the greater good* nonsense. Speak to her selfishness, and self loathing, and make him convince her that it is the best for Void, and always have been, as so much bad have happened because of her, to the sister she supposedly love.

No, give her the choice, of something that he spins as the one, truly nice thing she could do for Void: *Die*, and kill. Kill until her heart grows numb, and life becomes little more than a fickle thing, that is so easily snuffed out.

For all Void knows, Null is dead, and have been since a little after they got to Deltrot. Torn apart by the spawn. Yet instead she would have gone out, to follow another path, never to contact her again. Be it on Nine's behest, or her getting introduced to an aspect of Karma this way, but kept hidden from others, it would lead to Null eventually entering her life again. Nearly 25 years later, a foal on her back, and blood in her wake.

Alone and on this path for so long, I think she would actually come to peace with herself, over time. Enough happening out there, that her previous issues in contrast, were so miniscule, and pointless. She wouldn't be an angry mess, but had come to accept who she were, and what had been done. She'd be hardened, and surprisingly whole, despite her having gotten rid of her second wing too. She would have needed to cut that off, to give Void a piece to find, to make it convincing that she had been torn apart, I can imagine.

She heads to New Pegasus, when she becomes aware that Discord is dead, thinking that it is time to confront her past. She doesn't know about Epsilon, and I'm assuming they wouldn't have to have known that Null were still alive. They'd assume dead, so why think on where the curse might go? This could also be how she'd have learned to harness it better, over the years. We did think of making her able to use the anti-magic offensively at some point, but did not get to it. 25 years of battle, with Nine's influence? Circumstances might have allowed for it better here.

I dunno if Nine would approve of this, or if he's still even there. Might be that he were purged, or left some time before this, or that he passed himself on to the foal, as a protector of sorts. I am not fully aware of how it would work, but there is also the option to make use of some random god from the world, to have given her an offer, and be in Nine's place/with him. If not at the start, then later.

As for the foal? A weird one, that gives an uneasy feeling to those around it, if they are sensitive sorts, and she wouldn't feel as connected to it currently, as she does Void, even after all these years apart. For her, this foal is her end of a bargain. A boon from something greater, in exchange for a follower of its, to give her a child to bear. Family by blood, but beyond that? She doesn't know yet, and simply waits to see, how time will affect her views of her child.

This version of her, would not try as hard as she could, to improve herself, because she have accepted how inherently selfish and dangerous to others that she is, and that life is nothing special to end. Just a light flickering, that is all too easy to snuff out. She'd have a few weapons with her, as well as magical and cursed objects that she uses as she sees fit, and for those who used to know her, it would look as if a spark did in her eyes. That flicker of joy7 and hope that was sometimes there, having left, in place of acceptance of a world that'd always be at war. That it ended marks a confusing point in her life now, which is why she thinks that now is the right time to go and see how Void have been.

And as for the boon? Nothing in mind currently, but she doesn't resent the curse here, and want it removed. In a sense, it is her shield and her blade, and she have long come to accept that she's not meant to settle down with a husband somewhere, nor die of old age. If her kids dad dies, or the one she made a bargain with somehow overrules it, so he's still alive, she couldn't care less. He was nothing to her then, and he still is. She doesn't even know his name. He was a means to an end, and nothing more.

In regards to Void, I think that the path you laid out makes sense for her, including that she accepts Mercy in this version. Her daughter resenting her would fit with a young adult. Maybe in her early teens, where hormones makes being rational harder? The daughter would likely be unplanned. Void having had what she thought were a few good years, with a dying stallion, only to find out that she were with foal. It's up to you if he managed to see her, before he passed, or not. But the daughter would still blame Void for him dying, despite his condition before she even met him, as living on borrowed time. As well as having her, a unicorn with no magic to actually use. A freak with no power or purpose.

It could make her be more attracted towards her aunt, if Null were included (which would not be at first, but at a later point, as the start should focus on Void and Epsilon, I think), considering Null can harness her anti-magic. I could see her wanting to be able to do that too.

Might overcomplicate things, and Null is just piles of bones stuck in the sand somewhere. Just came to mind, as I were sitting down to reply, after reading this.  It can be left in the dust still, and be completely focused around Epsilon and Void, and I'd be fine with that too.

(Edit, forgot a few points)

The plot about the casino owners wanting to be in charge, would certainly be interesting. And it would likely then coincide with The Grey being more open around the same time now too, yes? Might cause some clashes, though the dragons would likely feel somewhat secure, as they are affiliated with one of them. That being Void.

As for Hive Cheshire, worse conditions would mean even less were alive of the original, I'd think. But to spice things up a bit, let's make it Bling, and one of those who in the other setting were dead. We shall name them... Scene Chewer. Big fan of leading roles, but these days help keep the spirits up, along with Bling. After 25 years, I think that it makes sense that they'd reach the point you speak of, without Rasputin even. Perhaps others than him, would have heard of the ritual, that joined them recently, or they found some texts? I don't know how they'd have found out naturally.

As for how they'd be, if they had to be more careful to not draw attention, they'd likely have become a lot better at being secretive, and not cause a fuss. So they'd be more stealthy, and whilst present in and around the area, would be preparing things a lot in the background. So their food storage would be secretive, as would several of their safe houses, and the placement and harvesting of vats would be done far more discretely, to try not to catch unwanted attention. So publicly, they'd be much the same, but more toned down, to not end up a symbol of hope, that out to be squashed. But in the back, they'd prepare in case things went bad and even have learned how to fight proper. It's against Cheshire's wishes for her kids, but they don't believe her alive in this setting, and Bling had to accept that while the ideals were wonderful, the world was not meant for them at the time. Though she'd hope the next generation would get the chance to live peacefully.

Edited October 22 by Blitz Boom

[Illiad Easle 3,123]

@Blitz Boom

Alright, lots of good things to add, sorry for the delay!

Looks like we're on the same page for Archback and future short stories, I'll set up the transition in my next post.

 

Avarice:

Per the hive, I think I want to leave them alone for now, maybe we put Avarice somewhere she can affect some of them but not all of them? Without a queen it would be easy for them to split.

Let's go with option 2, but with a bit of a modification.

Let's say that Le Perinne has fled the continent, forced to leave much of her treasure and some of her followers behind. I like the idea that she's gone underwater (Sort of bioshock vibes) but she can return later in the story after news of Discord's defeat reaches her. We'll have time to build up Avarice before then, I'm imagining a showdown between the two of them, with Aurum caught somewhere between them.

Anyway, we'll have one or a few of her followers who were left behind put in charge of guarding one of her treasure holds. Discord cut off their communication after about a year, so they've been incommunicado for at least 20 years. More than enough time for their loyalty to have wavered a bit. (Or perhaps they've gathered some others loyal to them rather than to their master. There's options)

They find Avarice's statue and bring it to the treasure hold, one of them finds an amulet held in Avarice's talon. Whoever wears it can hear Avarice whispering in their ear, and gains some measure of power as they please Avarice by bringing her more treasure. Something like the alicorn amulet, but also like what they were promised by Le Perinne, only with more immediate results for their efforts (To further waver support. Maybe those gathered start to fight for control of the amulet once they see it grants power?)

Avarice is drained from her time in the void, and so needs a lot of power to free herself again, so her goal is to accumulate enough treasures to free herself, either by gathering enough minostralium or by attracting powerful unicorns to her cause.

 

If it doesn't make sense for them to bring the statue inside, it could also work that they find the statue in the forest, and are tempted to bring treasure to it where it stands instead, at least to start, so we have the conflict of some of the less loyal stealing from the hold to appease the statue in the forest.

Thoughts on that?

 

Himallama:

Great! I have a character idea there, but I think I want them to show up in Deep Science before I use them here. I like to have my good reveals there. So we'll save that perspective for later, especially since it is so far away from anything else we've got planned.

Here's a hint though, her name is Llambda.

 

Null/Void:

Ooooh! Such good ideas here!

On 2024-10-21 at 3:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

What say that Nine is a bit more... Notable, this time around, and as she is holding the blade to her chest, hoof shaking, as she roils in her inner turmoil, he makes himself known, and he gives her a vision, and an offer. A vision of Void, somewhere else, older but alive, then several where she isn't, with several spawn, or notable figures standing above her corpse, and that of herself too, in some cases. One of those will end up being the end result, if she lives, or kills herself.

Or she can take a third option. Fake her death. Leave Void to get a chance, away from her influence, while they go and get their hooves dirty. No redemption arc. No *for the greater good* nonsense. Speak to her selfishness, and self loathing, and make him convince her that it is the best for Void, and always have been, as so much bad have happened because of her, to the sister she supposedly love.

No, give her the choice, of something that he spins as the one, truly nice thing she could do for Void: *Die*, and kill. Kill until her heart grows numb, and life becomes little more than a fickle thing, that is so easily snuffed out.

Dark, but understandable given how she was back then. 

Nine willing to reveal himself? Hmm... he has been driving a lot of Null's self destructive tendencies for a while in an effort to get herself killed, but I guess when he sees that the news of the world being truly against her has ended up galvanizing her resolve rather than breaking her, he changes her approach.

I'm thinking he uses the same visage as when he spoke to her inside the facility, when he was pretending to be Phi, commending her for her strength and offering her a way out, similar to how you described, where she ultimately decides to fake her death.

We can say that she volunteers to be part of the rear guard of the survivors as they leave Deltrot, or she volunteers to guard the wall before they leave while Void is busy helping serve food or tend wounded or something. In either case she takes advantage of some fighting to make her escape, thus exiting Void's story.

 

On 2024-10-21 at 3:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

For all Void knows, Null is dead, and have been since a little after they got to Deltrot. Torn apart by the spawn. Yet instead she would have gone out, to follow another path, never to contact her again. Be it on Nine's behest, or her getting introduced to an aspect of Karma this way, but kept hidden from others, it would lead to Null eventually entering her life again. Nearly 25 years later, a foal on her back, and blood in her wake.

Null's stubbornness would likely force her to not look back after running away, knowing that if she revealed that she wasn't actually dead would hurt Void more, and not knowing where Void is after leaving. Maybe at some point in the interim she went back to Deltrot to try and find her, only to find the place long abandoned? Maybe even she arrives at New Pegas with no clue that her sisters are there?

 

On 2024-10-21 at 3:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Alone and on this path for so long, I think she would actually come to peace with herself, over time. Enough happening out there, that her previous issues in contrast, were so miniscule, and pointless. She wouldn't be an angry mess, but had come to accept who she were, and what had been done. She'd be hardened, and surprisingly whole, despite her having gotten rid of her second wing too. She would have needed to cut that off, to give Void a piece to find, to make it convincing that she had been torn apart, I can imagine.

Oooh, extra dark, but that gives me an idea for later.

 

On 2024-10-21 at 3:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

She heads to New Pegasus, when she becomes aware that Discord is dead, thinking that it is time to confront her past. She doesn't know about Epsilon, and I'm assuming they wouldn't have to have known that Null were still alive. They'd assume dead, so why think on where the curse might go? This could also be how she'd have learned to harness it better, over the years. We did think of making her able to use the anti-magic offensively at some point, but did not get to it. 25 years of battle, with Nine's influence? Circumstances might have allowed for it better here.

As to her going to New Pegas, we'll say that she doesn't know that Void is already there, but has heard rumors during her travels that many survivors ended up there and were allowed to go mostly undisturbed by Discord there under the Legion's rule. So she heads there after hearing that Discord was defeated, and that there are uprisings against the loyalists seated there, both out of a desire to help out, and the thought that maybe, someone there might know what happened to her sister.

 

As to what happened in the interim. Here's an idea

On 2024-10-21 at 3:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

I dunno if Nine would approve of this, or if he's still even there

On 2024-10-21 at 3:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

And as for the boon? Nothing in mind currently, but she doesn't resent the curse here, and want it removed. In a sense, it is her shield and her blade, and she have long come to accept that she's not meant to settle down with a husband somewhere, nor die of old age. If her kids dad dies, or the one she made a bargain with somehow overrules it, so he's still alive, she couldn't care less. He was nothing to her then, and he still is. She doesn't even know his name. He was a means to an end, and nothing more.

On 2024-10-21 at 3:22 PM, Blitz Boom said:

but there is also the option to make use of some random god from the world, to have given her an offer,

So, Void and Epsilon worked together to kill Grey Mane, and accept Nibiru's offer jointly. Rather than Epsilon becoming the Grey Mare, Epsilon and Void become the Black and White Mares respectively (In title, their colorations don't change) (Although, maybe they do? That would be an interesting twist where Null doesn't recognize Void because she's a different color now?)

Anyway, this alters the deal with Phi, Epsilon and Void working together to bring the God of foresight to the bargaining table to renegotiate the family curse. I'll wait for your input as to what exactly they want and what they'll agree to pay.

Simultaneously, Null could be fighting some powerful loyalists, her antimagic aura protecting her from their chaos magic, when she feels it flicker. Time pauses there as Phi enters her view.

(Why a random god when we can use my underused one here?) Perhaps a bit miffed at losing the previous deal with Void and Epsilon, Phi offers a new deal to Null. One that gives her more direct control over her antimagical aura. Rather than the magic feeding into her father, who is now dead, the absorbed energy goes to Phi, and this aura will still be inherited by her foals, but her spouse won't die. She also won't have visions of the future (The non-use of which is part of Void and Epsilon's bargaining) So her foal would have the same variable antimagical aura, but wouldn't be able to properly harness it without the aid of a specter like Nine. So unless they found another, or Null passed Nine on to her foal, her foal would suffer just like Null did. (Null could pass Nine down, but would lose control of the aura as a result.)

Extra bonus for Null keeping Nine instead of passing him down? The variable aura allows Nine to serve as Null's wings, giving her wings of shadow.

 

At the time, during the fight, I think this would be a deal she'd accept without hesitation, not having planned to have foals at that moment. She might regret it later, once she does have a foal, but I think she'd ultimately accept that it was a fair deal.

 

Thoughts on that? I think this is a super cool story arc here!

 

The Foal:

Hmm, I see I missed where you said where the foal came from. Maybe she made a different deal along the way, maybe it was an accident (She might have thought that due to her stunted growth she wasn't able to have foals and so wasn't as careful as she could have been?) I can imagine that Null's foal and Void's foal will have some parallels between them each resenting their mother for their respective family curse, depending on how we establish that.

(For Null, we could pull a Toph from Legend of Korra and say that Null does know about the father, but doesn't much care. Maybe it could even have been Arcade, who took to wandering the wastes after the rest of the clones didn't survive, so they met up for a short while before parting ways again. Up to you.)

 

Void's foal:

We'll have to play this one out to see. I like the idea that Void's partner was terminally ill, maybe even if their new deal with Phi doesn't include spousal death Void didn't want to risk it? And so wasn't surprised when he did finally die (No sooner than expected given the diagnosis).

As to magic, given Null could fly we'll say that the foal can cast internal spells (spells that change themselves inwardly, like disguises, self healing, etc.), feel the magic inside themselves, but won't be able to cast any magic outside themselves. This is especially frustrating since one of the first spells a normal unicorn learns is levitation, which she would be unable to do. She would be able to illuminate her horn though, to like light up a room if need be, but that might be part of her angst ("Oh wow, I'm as useful as a massive bucking candle!") Especially since the internal spells that she can cast are much harder to learn.

 

The Changelings:

I'd imagine that Bling wanting to be a beacon of hope early on is what got her targeted by the legion and eliminated as an example to the rest, driving the rest into hiding for the rest of the time until Discord was defeated. Maybe some aspects of the hive grow resentful of the legion during this period, and when they hear that Discord is dead want to rise up against the Legion?

We can even say that the Top Suits is controlled by the Legion, and the changelings liberate it from them, thus gaining ownership of it that way.

As to learning of the ritual, I think we can use our helpful misty changeling enthusiast there. After 25 years they'll have not only found a way to reverse the Thorax reformation, but also the hidden process to make Kings and new Queens. Offering this information to them in exchange for favor.

Edit:

We can even say that one of them has been made into a queen at this point, if you want.

 

This is all very exciting, I hope I haven't missed a part?

Edited October 24 by Illiad Easle

[Blitz Boom 4,612]

@Illiad Easle

Aight, let's see about climbing this wall of text, now that I'm finally home again proper.

On 2024-10-23 at 11:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Avarice:

Per the hive, I think I want to leave them alone for now, maybe we put Avarice somewhere she can affect some of them but not all of them? Without a queen it would be easy for them to split.

Let's go with option 2, but with a bit of a modification.

Let's say that Le Perinne has fled the continent, forced to leave much of her treasure and some of her followers behind. I like the idea that she's gone underwater (Sort of bioshock vibes) but she can return later in the story after news of Discord's defeat reaches her. We'll have time to build up Avarice before then, I'm imagining a showdown between the two of them, with Aurum caught somewhere between them.

Anyway, we'll have one or a few of her followers who were left behind put in charge of guarding one of her treasure holds. Discord cut off their communication after about a year, so they've been incommunicado for at least 20 years. More than enough time for their loyalty to have wavered a bit. (Or perhaps they've gathered some others loyal to them rather than to their master. There's options)

They find Avarice's statue and bring it to the treasure hold, one of them finds an amulet held in Avarice's talon. Whoever wears it can hear Avarice whispering in their ear, and gains some measure of power as they please Avarice by bringing her more treasure. Something like the alicorn amulet, but also like what they were promised by Le Perinne, only with more immediate results for their efforts (To further waver support. Maybe those gathered start to fight for control of the amulet once they see it grants power?)

Avarice is drained from her time in the void, and so needs a lot of power to free herself again, so her goal is to accumulate enough treasures to free herself, either by gathering enough minostralium or by attracting powerful unicorns to her cause.

 

If it doesn't make sense for them to bring the statue inside, it could also work that they find the statue in the forest, and are tempted to bring treasure to it where it stands instead, at least to start, so we have the conflict of some of the less loyal stealing from the hold to appease the statue in the forest.

Thoughts on that?

Yeah. Le Perinne offers the gift of ascension, to those who not only serve her, but proves worthy to become a dragon. It is a lofty goal, but considering it is maybe 10-40 years, for thousands upon thousands, it is like nothing.

And for the record, it is not an empty promise. It requires some sacrificial magic, her own blood, and one of her own eggs, but she can make a regular, higher sentience being, into a soon-to-hatch dragon. Though it is taxing on her strength, and marks the end of her faithful's time as her servants. So she can't, and won't, just do it constantly.

Enough time away, their faith would have started to waver. She's not there to judge them anymore, and deem them worthy, nor guide them. They have a singular task, and are just expected to hold to that. Some would do that, thinking this the last proof they need, to show they are worthy, soon as she returns. Others, between the time, and seeing their comrades and other creatures dying, in a world at war, would start to waver, and question, but not having any other options than continue right now. Even if some are beginning to firmly believe that their mistress, are as dead as most others. And with her, goes the key to their ascension.

They'd consider stuff found outside to be things to add to the treasure, so yes, they'd definitely take it in, and one of the doubters would rise above the rest, if they were made stronger. But if Avarice want to entice, she must remember what they have in common: They all want to be dragons. They don't just want immortality, or power. They want to ascend to what they believe is a higher life form than them.

Not all will be swayed, but if one is stronger, they can make the rest submit, and make them do their bidding. In time, when Le Perinne returns, the ones still faithful, will turn to her, whilst the heretics will turn on her. With some perhaps being swayed by seeing her alive, after all that time without a word.

I can imagine some minor degree of infighting. You've seen how they are. They're rather... Stubborn, to varying degrees, but they're also not stupid. Those who disagree, would rather bow the neck, and feint compliance, whilst waiting for their mistress to return, than to die pointlessly, trying to wrestle an amulet away from the strongest amongst them.

It makes more sense they bring it to the vault. Perinne trusts that they are loyal, and thus have let them know how to come in, so they can use it as a safe base too. And they're used to bringing in treasure. The chance for something new, that they can show their mistress, would be good to them. Long as it doesn't seem cursed, it's going in. Although after all this time, some likely have gotten sloppy with the safety precautions, and just starts getting it moved in, and puts the necklace on, to make sure it doesn't rustle off during transport.

On 2024-10-23 at 11:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Great! I have a character idea there, but I think I want them to show up in Deep Science before I use them here. I like to have my good reveals there. So we'll save that perspective for later, especially since it is so far away from anything else we've got planned.

Here's a hint though, her name is Llambda.

Looking forward to seeing, and getting a sense of, the Llama. So far, I barely have an idea what they are gonna be like, so it will be fun.

On 2024-10-23 at 11:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Dark, but understandable given how she was back then. 

Nine willing to reveal himself? Hmm... he has been driving a lot of Null's self destructive tendencies for a while in an effort to get herself killed, but I guess when he sees that the news of the world being truly against her has ended up galvanizing her resolve rather than breaking her, he changes her approach.

I'm thinking he uses the same visage as when he spoke to her inside the facility, when he was pretending to be Phi, commending her for her strength and offering her a way out, similar to how you described, where she ultimately decides to fake her death.

We can say that she volunteers to be part of the rear guard of the survivors as they leave Deltrot, or she volunteers to guard the wall before they leave while Void is busy helping serve food or tend wounded or something. In either case she takes advantage of some fighting to make her escape, thus exiting Void's story.

Guarding the wall would fit better, as it would play into how she still yearned for high places, and it would be easy to spin as keeping Void safe. A spot of chaotic fighting, and she could get her plan in motion, as encouraged by Nine. She had pretty much lost any hope of ever flying again, so it is possible to cinvince her, to cut off her last wing, and mutilate it on the ground. Combined with everything else, a mauled wing that is undeniably hers, should be enough, even in the absence of much else in the way of body parts. Say if there is debris, or sand the rest could go into. Or they'd be in a rush, and between this and the blood, there'd be only one possible answer to what had happened.

Null would patch herself up, and look back, before leaving for good, but if she is convinced this is the best way she can keep Void alive, she will stay the course.

On 2024-10-23 at 11:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Oooh, extra dark, but that gives me an idea for later.

I like the contrast. In the other post, she managed to get a wing back, and return to the air. In this, she sacrifices it, and accepts that she'd stuck to the ground.

On 2024-10-23 at 11:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

As to her going to New Pegas, we'll say that she doesn't know that Void is already there, but has heard rumors during her travels that many survivors ended up there and were allowed to go mostly undisturbed by Discord there under the Legion's rule. So she heads there after hearing that Discord was defeated, and that there are uprisings against the loyalists seated there, both out of a desire to help out, and the thought that maybe, someone there might know what happened to her sister.

It'd be best if she didn't know, yeah. If she were aware, she'd probably stay clear of the town. Since she's pretty much killing for a cause, and a veteran at that, hearing the rumors you say, would draw her towards the town, where she could likely kill dozens, for the benefit of far more. The thought that some might have heard of Void, would come to mind, but she wouldn't get her hopes up. Even if she would find her, what were she going to say? She left her little sister behind, and made her think that her only family left, were dead. Violently so, I might add.

She'd ask around, just to hear if she is there, and if so, how she is doing, but Null wouldn't go and make first contact intentionally.

On 2024-10-23 at 11:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

So, Void and Epsilon worked together to kill Grey Mane, and accept Nibiru's offer jointly. Rather than Epsilon becoming the Grey Mare, Epsilon and Void become the Black and White Mares respectively (In title, their colorations don't change) (Although, maybe they do? That would be an interesting twist where Null doesn't recognize Void because she's a different color now?)

Anyway, this alters the deal with Phi, Epsilon and Void working together to bring the God of foresight to the bargaining table to renegotiate the family curse. I'll wait for your input as to what exactly they want and what they'll agree to pay.

Simultaneously, Null could be fighting some powerful loyalists, her antimagic aura protecting her from their chaos magic, when she feels it flicker. Time pauses there as Phi enters her view.

(Why a random god when we can use my underused one here?) Perhaps a bit miffed at losing the previous deal with Void and Epsilon, Phi offers a new deal to Null. One that gives her more direct control over her antimagical aura. Rather than the magic feeding into her father, who is now dead, the absorbed energy goes to Phi, and this aura will still be inherited by her foals, but her spouse won't die. She also won't have visions of the future (The non-use of which is part of Void and Epsilon's bargaining) So her foal would have the same variable antimagical aura, but wouldn't be able to properly harness it without the aid of a specter like Nine. So unless they found another, or Null passed Nine on to her foal, her foal would suffer just like Null did. (Null could pass Nine down, but would lose control of the aura as a result.)

Extra bonus for Null keeping Nine instead of passing him down? The variable aura allows Nine to serve as Null's wings, giving her wings of shadow.

 

At the time, during the fight, I think this would be a deal she'd accept without hesitation, not having planned to have foals at that moment. She might regret it later, once she does have a foal, but I think she'd ultimately accept that it was a fair deal.

 

Thoughts on that? I think this is a super cool story arc here!

I like the idea of Void growing pale. It'd look funny, and make it even harder for Null to intentionally finding her. Rather, she'd likely hear that some outsider have been looking around for her, and want to know who is snooping around like that.

I dunno much about your god, and thus doesn't know what he might want for, but Void would at least want the parts of the curse, where they end up widows, and have to kill their own parent, to be removed. The curse is a heavy responsibility, but if she have the chance for an input, it would be that she would want them to not be punished, because of a fool in their past, and that it would be more sensible, if they instead had the responsibility of their legacy, as something they could uphold as tradition. Something they could actually teach and prepare for, so that their kids can be ready for the day they have to take on the mantle, and don't view it with resentment, but as an important duty.

I'd think that it's less of a waste of family members, if they don't have to die that often. Which considering how few is left now in the world, could be used as an argument. Loosen the leash, and ask for something else, or end up having to deal with the end of the bargain entirely, as the family line will end.

(I'm all for using Phi. Go for it)

I like your idea of how Phi would approach, and bargain with Null. She'd take the deal, seeing it as a small sacrifice, in exchange for more power to do what she must. It might trouble the foal, but she'd have the time to learn it how to accept life, tough as it might be, and speak of what benefits, being immune to magic actually have.

As for the magic going straight to Phi? Long as he's not an overtly evil god, wanting to destroy the world, she couldn't care less what feeding magic to him might do. He can have it, for all she cares.

And this being reliant on a specter, could add some layer on Null too, as well as Nine. Her branch of the family, could become connected to the specters, as (far as I understand it) they need hosts, whilst she and hers, needs them to be able to use their powers, best as possible. I can imagine there's some sort of symbiotic relationship, that can be made there, between Nine's kind, and her lineage. And incentive to go out and find more. Heck, I can't remember if you ever touched on how they reproduce, but perhaps that'll factor in somehow too. Like some generations down the line, it'll end up set up, that a new specter, gets assigned their very own Pointer, or vice versa. Though that's far down the line.

As for the foal, I dunno if she'll regret it. Technically there'd be nothing about her getting much in the way of a downside, from her perspective. And she'd assume she were never going to have kids anyway, so what's the issue with accepting, yeah? Besides, mid battle, it would be somewhat a forced choice. "Accept, or I leave a hole in your defense.". Though he probably don't have to go that far.

On 2024-10-23 at 11:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

Hmm, I see I missed where you said where the foal came from. Maybe she made a different deal along the way, maybe it was an accident (She might have thought that due to her stunted growth she wasn't able to have foals and so wasn't as careful as she could have been?) I can imagine that Null's foal and Void's foal will have some parallels between them each resenting their mother for their respective family curse, depending on how we establish that.

(For Null, we could pull a Toph from Legend of Korra and say that Null does know about the father, but doesn't much care. Maybe it could even have been Arcade, who took to wandering the wastes after the rest of the clones didn't survive, so they met up for a short while before parting ways again. Up to you.)

Going with your new angle, we could go with the father being unknown, and her not even knowing herself. She'd remember going to a secluded area, and passing through, but then months of her memory was just gone, and eventually she found that she were pregnant. Far away from any doctors, and not wanting to risk rupturing her own insides by trying to get rid of it, she'd take it to term, and now have a foal.

Could also be that as you say, she ran into Arcade, they had a brief thing, and she figured it out later, but have no idea how to get hold of him. Though if she ever does run into him, she would tell him. And she would assume she couldn't have foals. Between her stunted growth, mind on other things, and the pain she took on when she were around fighting, it's reasonable to think that she'd just assume her body weren't capable.

That said, I don't intend in either case, for the foal to be large enough to even know resentment. I were thinking that it would be fairly young. As such, could also be that she just assumed she were getting too old for it (she'd be around... 53 or so then, when she got pregnant?) Which is not normal, but it does happen.

I just googled, and it seems that the oldest known is 59, in fact. So... Yeah.

In either case, this would also be a reason to head towards Las Pegasus. She'd need some supplies to keep her foal alive. And having one, would likely be a factor in making her think more of her sister than normal, hence making her ask questions. It'd be hard to not think of family, when you had a little one, even if you didn't know how you felt about it currently.

On 2024-10-23 at 11:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

We'll have to play this one out to see. I like the idea that Void's partner was terminally ill, maybe even if their new deal with Phi doesn't include spousal death Void didn't want to risk it? And so wasn't surprised when he did finally die (No sooner than expected given the diagnosis).

As to magic, given Null could fly we'll say that the foal can cast internal spells (spells that change themselves inwardly, like disguises, self healing, etc.), feel the magic inside themselves, but won't be able to cast any magic outside themselves. This is especially frustrating since one of the first spells a normal unicorn learns is levitation, which she would be unable to do. She would be able to illuminate her horn though, to like light up a room if need be, but that might be part of her angst ("Oh wow, I'm as useful as a massive bucking candle!") Especially since the internal spells that she can cast are much harder to learn.

Hmm... Could be that she simply didn't know he was terminally ill at first, but when she did, already cared deeply for him, and one thing simply lead to another. Though he'd die before their foal could remember how he even looked like, so she'd have to go by photos and stories. Might be that the deal isn't there to cause spousal death, but a teenager is irrational (I were), and she is these days blaming Void for her not having a father, as well as saddling her with the curse that she has. Using phrases like it were better that she'd never been born, than having to live like this, etc.

Your idea of how her magic then works, is neat. So... Learns things such as empowering, so that even if she'd a unicorn, she can suddenly start doling out some heavy kicks, get faster, etc. Perhaps the changelings teaches her some tricks when it comes to disguises, so its more usable. A changeling would know that a disguise is more than just a face after all, it's how you make it convincing.

I like the sentence, about the candle. xD Let her have some of Null's cynical sarcasm for fun.

Her needing to know how to cast these spells being harder? Good sense too, so limited scope for now, and further angered by how something that would be trivial for normal unicorns, is either far harder for her, or flat out impossible.

On 2024-10-23 at 11:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

The Changelings:

I'd imagine that Bling wanting to be a beacon of hope early on is what got her targeted by the legion and eliminated as an example to the rest, driving the rest into hiding for the rest of the time until Discord was defeated. Maybe some aspects of the hive grow resentful of the legion during this period, and when they hear that Discord is dead want to rise up against the Legion?

We can even say that the Top Suits is controlled by the Legion, and the changelings liberate it from them, thus gaining ownership of it that way.

As to learning of the ritual, I think we can use our helpful misty changeling enthusiast there. After 25 years they'll have not only found a way to reverse the Thorax reformation, but also the hidden process to make Kings and new Queens. Offering this information to them in exchange for favor.

Edit:

We can even say that one of them has been made into a queen at this point, if you want.

 

This is all very exciting, I hope I haven't missed a part?

If hope is something they want to crush, then yes, Bling would die. Her hive is still the sort who cares for others though, so it would be another that would take over leadership, but do so underground, as you put it. Making them far more secretive and out there, as they have to, if they are to survive.

Scene Chewer... Not a good name for a possible queen. More fitting name for one who would do, would be one that were less on stage, but more handled their costumes, the scene changes, lighting- You know, the scene work where you don't see the one who controls that, but they do some important work, to keep things running. Let's say... Backdrop, though they'd change name after Bling died, to keep down even the notion that someone from Hive Cheshire were still alive and running things.

Perhaps... Preacher?

A faction of the hive being resentful of the legion seems fine, and seeing the logic in it, and needing to prepare, in case things got worse, they'd agree, and make sure they all started to get ready for a strike, when the time was right. Which would end in them liberating the casino, as the time finally came for them to stop out of the shadows, and reclaim a spot for themselves properly.

Scene Chewer wouldn't be happy about the change in hive philosophy, but Preacher would hold the majority support of the hive, and would argue that more than anything, their mother would have wanted them to survive. And that wouldn't be possible, whilst being a pacifist, in the world they suddenly found themselves in.

The old theater have likely been razed to the ground years ago in this setting, to not allow a symbol of any hope to shine.

Regarding the misty changeling enthusiasts, I think it better that they have the information, and seek to trade it for favors. Preacher would have a lot of emotional jelly stored up, because they had to work under the assumption that they might have to lay extra low at times, or even lose one of the storage locations, if they were found out, so they might be well on the way.

Them now going forward into the spotlight again, gives the enthusiasts someone to approach, and try to make bargains with, and they'd be all too happy for the information. Especially on how to make queens, as they need one of those, for the sake of having a future. Though Preacher would not hold much of an election over this. They've head the hive for years on end. They're queen in all but form at this stage.

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

 

Does this answer most thing? I hope so.

[Illiad Easle 3,123]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-10-28 at 7:23 PM, Blitz Boom said:

I dunno much about your god, and thus doesn't know what he might want for, but Void would at least want the parts of the curse, where they end up widows, and have to kill their own parent, to be removed. The curse is a heavy responsibility, but if she have the chance for an input, it would be that she would want them to not be punished, because of a fool in their past, and that it would be more sensible, if they instead had the responsibility of their legacy, as something they could uphold as tradition. Something they could actually teach and prepare for, so that their kids can be ready for the day they have to take on the mantle, and don't view it with resentment, but as an important duty.

I'd think that it's less of a waste of family members, if they don't have to die that often. Which considering how few is left now in the world, could be used as an argument. Loosen the leash, and ask for something else, or end up having to deal with the end of the bargain entirely, as the family line will end.

Alright, I can work with this.

The original price was so steep because Oracle Del Phi wanted to see things after her own death. But since neither Void nor Epsilon is interested in such things, and see utility in their curse, here's the new deal:

• With the help of a specter, they can scry the future no further than their death, and will be unable to foretell their own deaths.
• They will be forewarned of imminent danger, even without a specter
• Until they have foals, they will continue to consume magical energy in their proximity, as before.
• Once they have foals, the anti-magic curse will transfer to them, with the parent receiving the benefit of the consumed energy.
  • This will allow Void to use the spectral abilities even when not accompanied by Nibiru, once her daughter is born
  • This also means that, at the time of the story, Void can have the aura selectively

Phi is only interested in having those who appreciate and seek their foresight, and who recognize that such knowledge has a price and are willing to pay it. So I think this new deal is sufficient given it provides a new lineage of followers, and followers with less resentment.

 

I think that part is ready, then!

 

I did have a new idea about the clones. Since Void s traveling to Las Pegasus earlier than Null did, she would encounter the entrance to the Red Mesa facility sooner, and as such would not only save the foals there, but before Rare died. Void would not have as much direct interaction with them as she did in Deep Science, but they will be raised among the survivors inducted into the Grey, so she'd still be familiar with them and some of them would, once grown up, be willing to serve under her in the new Grey.

I'll workshop that before I spin them into the story, but I'm glad they get to survive in this story, and that some things are actually better in this timeline than in the Deep Science timeline.

 

On 2024-10-28 at 7:23 PM, Blitz Boom said:

Regarding the misty changeling enthusiasts, I think it better that they have the information, and seek to trade it for favors. Preacher would have a lot of emotional jelly stored up, because they had to work under the assumption that they might have to lay extra low at times, or even lose one of the storage locations, if they were found out, so they might be well on the way.

Them now going forward into the spotlight again, gives the enthusiasts someone to approach, and try to make bargains with, and they'd be all too happy for the information. Especially on how to make queens, as they need one of those, for the sake of having a future. Though Preacher would not hold much of an election over this. They've head the hive for years on end. They're queen in all but form at this stage.

By the misty changeling enthusiast, I was referring to The Mist, the owner of the Luxe-Æther. They were quite sad when Bling was killed, and have been working behind the scenes to help keep the remaining changelings going after her execution.

Anyway, I think your timeline makes sense. Preacher is the new queen of the local hive, with less united support than Bling would have had, so some of the changelings decide they'd rather leave town now that Discord is dead rather than stay under Preacher, which we can use to set up other stories later.

 

Great, I think that's everything decided then! I'll start spinning these scenes into rotation as we go, doing my best not to set up too many things at the same time so as to not overwhelm things. I know it gets intimidating to respond when it's three to five different threads wrapped together and you feel like you can't respond at all unless you have something to say in all of them.