open Rise of the Stars roleplay (1x1 with CatponeCerberus)

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"It sounds like all you need is to get her to see and feel that respect, again, words alone won't help, in fact, they may even do the opposite." "Your kind can feel empathy and compassion, use that, only way to find the right way to approach this is to find the source of the problem, she may never tell what happened, but you don't need to know that, you only need to know what it did to her." "She clearly trusts you, so don't make her feel any more betrayed than she already does." 

"The name of the species says nothing to me, but lesser lizards can be good company." 

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"Good luck with that, they aren't exactly hospitable, that being if you even manage to find them." Cinder pointed out "Though I'd say calling someone invading ants tells exactly what they want, but that's just me, I'm not big into politics, I just kill stuff." 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

"Lessee lizards are always fun."

"I know part of the problem but, I best not say, I don't know if she'd want others to know. She was wronged though, terribly. She wishes vengeance but, I don't believe in revenge."

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"Ants, that's what scares me. If we're ants, if they attack us, we're defenseless. I remember as a kid, me and the other orphans would grab a water hose and just drown the ants for fun. After all, they were only ants."

 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"Thirst for revenge is expected, if there's someone specific she blames for everything, it's only natural to want them to suffer." "I find it surprising she hasn't acted on it already, it implies she doesn't believe she can do it...." saying it out loud made the dragoness realize something "...ah, I see, that's why speak of mothers filled her with hatred, our mothers' teachings stick lot better than we'd like to admit, I can understand why she thinks she can't win that fight." "Revenge won't help though, even the toughest of creatures won't survive long enough to suffer enough...." similar hatred to what Ruby felt when talking about her past rose inside the dragoness, but it seemed to disappear as quickly as it came "...and their death don't bring satisfaction, only more anger." "Like I said before, she needs meaning to her life." 

 

Meanwhile Ruby and the young dragoness had been just looking at each other, Vix had been ready to act in case something happened the whole time, but weirdly enough, the other dragoness, the one who had been the first one to challenge Ruby face to face, was perfectly calm, she was still keeping an eye on Ruby, but she didn't seem to be bothered about the little staring competition going on, implying that there was some kind of communication going on that only the three could sense. Suddenly the young dragoness looked at her big sister who just nodded, after which the young carefully made her way towards Ruby, who surprisingly enough, lowered her head to meet the little one, though it was hard to tell what she was feeling.

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"Ah, the fragility of morality." "The good thing is, these ones aren't evil enough to do it for fun it sounds like, from what Cinder has explained, it all comes down to earth bothering them first." Cinder lifted her legs on the table she was sitting at "Important note is that they only mentioned Earth, Not for example Equestria that is closer, if it was for fun, why pick and choose, it's not like they give a damn about ponies either." 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

"Perhaps I could give her some power over our military. Not like a general, she claims to not have the morals she needs to keep soldiers alive. She could make rules and help handle wars."

"At one point she said she had no interest in ruling a country, perhaps she found that doing do would give her the purpose she seeks."

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"A lack of morals means to be evil. All have done wrong and all wrong is atrocity."

Arrow wondered something.

"What do you think those creatures in Ruby's land are?"

"Someone on our defense council suspected they were something in the end times but, that was shut down because there's nothing written about them."

"They're still a threat that could do some damage though."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"I don't know her personal principles but I believe her, as I said, we lack empathy and compassion, so there's no emotional reason for us to care for our potential subordinates' lives, so if she says her personal principles don't include caring for that, she is most likely telling the truth."  the dragoness stated "Most of us also tend to believe in win or die approach, so assuming she's not different in that, I agree she would make an awful general if you wish for your soldiers to survive." "It may be she found meaning in ruling, or she just realized the potential power in being a ruler, it's a fine line, but it's an important one." 

If nobody, mainly Strings, did anything drastic, the young dragoness made it slowly closer and closer to Ruby, slowing down closer she got, while Ruby just looked at her blankly and unmoving, until the hatchling was close enough to almost touch her, at which point Ruby made their kind's equivalent to the 'boo'-sound, which caused the small dragoness to jump and blow hot smoke on Ruby's face, which seemed to amuse Ruby.

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"Is it evil to kill a insect trying to fly into your eye?" Cinder challenged "Like you said, just ants." she wasn't one of those who didn't believe in morality, she didn't necessarily always follow it, but she acknowledged it, she just didn't like the double standards that tended to come with those preaching it. "Cinder, you said you met one of them, what exactly was it?" "That one looked like a dragon, but when I mentioned it, it said that what comes to our definition of a dragon, they are not dragons, though they do call themselves dragons." Ember was thoughtful "Arrow, didn't Ruby say something about failed civilization at some point, what if it never failed, what if they just went somewhere else?"

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

"Well, if she's looking for just power, this is the wrong place. Our system limits our power to a certain extent. We're not allowed to infringe on certain freedoms is basically it. The council of personal freedom prevents that."

"But that shouldn't be a problem for Ruby, the citizens respect her a lot and view her as this great hero of legend. Killing a draconquus is a legendary act. We also defeated a clone of a legendary evil named Darkstalker twice. Making us highly respected."

Strings looked at the little dragon.

"I think this one would make a great warrior destroying those that oppose on the battlefield."

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"I am unsure but I know that to kill one that is sapient our of cold blood is wrong. Doesn't matter how powerful you are, murder is murder."

"What makes them any better than genocidal maniacs of my world's past."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"I don't know a single individual from our kind who would want to take away freedoms, quite the opposite actually, there's a reason why we despise those trying to control us." "That is why we are unable to create a nation for ourselves, we cannot agree on the necessary limits, who would want to sacrifice their personal freedom for sake of others?" "Power isn't black and white, having someone submit to you out of their own free will is no less power than forcing them to do so." "I am simply speculating on the potential reasons for her choices, I was taught to consider everything, and that is what I do." "Only thing I can say for sure is that if you wish to have prosperous future with her, you need to get her out of the self-destructive path, she needs her pride back."

 

Ruby blew some air to dissipate the smoke "She needs bit more fire to her attacks if she wants to do damage." she then said in rather casual manner, before saying something to the young dragoness in their native language, something that surprised the other dragoness who was keeping an eye on them. She then slowly moved her foreleg towards the youngling, and after few glances between the three dragons, she carefully dragged her finger on the young dragon's scales, but when she touched the edge with the purple and green stuff, she pulled her leg away surprised "Dark magic." she then looked at the older sister "Did ponies do this to you?" the dragoness shrugged "We no know, we no sense them." 

 

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"I'm not defending them, just challenging your moral superiority." Cinder stated "To you ants are not sentient, but how sure can you be about it? If you asked someone like Fluttershy, I'm sure she would be livid that you dare to think them as 'just ants'." "I don't personally think killing ants is particularly evil, even if you enjoy it, it's questionable at worst, as it comes from indifference rather than evil intent." "But with that I also acknowledge that someone powerful enough to see me as an ant isn't necessarily evil if it kills me, if I don't care for ants, who am I to require someone to care for their ants?" she yawned "Not that it matters in the end, evil or not, can't do much about it if they destroy your world." Ember looked at Cinder "Are you really that indifferent about the fate of countless lives? I mean, I don't like them either, but I don't wish for their destruction." Cinder shrugged "I'm indifferent about things I can't do anything about." 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

"I'll do what I can. When she killed the leader of the Fironians, she intended to not make it alive. I hope I can help."

"Dark magic?"

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"If we took telescopes and watched from miles away, would they know? But then again, how effective is that? And how can we fight if it comes to that? If nukes won't work, is there some sort of Equestrian magic? What about Discord?"

"Well, what about animus magic from Quasi's world? It's pretty powerful and on par with draconequus magic. I don't wanna wipe out their kind, that makes us no different than them but, we do want to keep them at bay if things go wrong. First though, we need to take a peaceful approach."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"So it's even worse than I though...consider the invitation from earlier accepted, I want to have a talk with her somewhere she feels she's in control."

 

"Equestrian dark magic to be exact, thus my suspicion towards ponies." "I looked a bit into it when I was figuring out Equestria's capabilities to defend against me." she looked at her leg, nothing was visible, but it wasn't hard to tell she felt something on it "In short, it's a type of Equestrian magic that is fueled by hate, anger and other so called negative emotions, it also has tendency to corrupt its users." "But it hasn't corrupted them." Vix pointed out "Our kind is already hateful and violent, i'd say we are already corrupted, though it may also have something to do with how it has seemingly become a part of them, can't be sure, I'm not expert on Equestrian magic." 

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"With telescopes you would only see the mountains surrounding the place." Cinder pointed out "My advice would be to just leave them alone, there's absolutely nothing worth risking your whole world for." "The treasure has probably all been hoarded already, and the whole place is pretty much unlivable and partly even inaccessible if you aren't fireproof, big and agile." 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

Quasi nodded to the dragon.

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"Dasonia is limited in military power. We're only considered powerful to our surrounded lands. We don't even have guns, we have no plans to attack the evil things. We're concerned though. Not sure what we can do if they attack."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight

The dragoness started making her way back to the group.

Ruby spoke to the older sister again "And the wings?"  "I pull them off." this visibly surprised Ruby "You ripped off your own wings?" "Yes, they useless" Ruby looked like she was going through the possible reasons in her head before saying anything more.

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"So nobody cares about your input now that you're no longer in their military?" Ember asked "Typical." Cinder created a clear crystal like blade into her hand and started balancing it on her claw "You really think they have any say while in the army either?" Ember just glanced at Cinder "Seriously Sky, are you sure the great nation of whatever doesn't actually give any weight on your word? You did help them."

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

 

@Catpone Cerberus

"Useless? Could've just not used them. Strategically they're pretty helpful in combat."

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"Soldier, bounty hunter, doesn't matter. When you take that line of work in the U.S. government, you're just a number. Sure, the civilians tend to love people who serve the land, always thanking them for their service and giving them discounts and free food sometimes but, while on the field, you're a number. And while not on the field, you're a person, like everyone else. But of course, if I were say... doing recon as a bounty hunter and I gave my input on the situation, the pentagon may listen in such a case. But that's if it's part of my mission. Of course, you'd think as a leader of a nation, the U.S. would respect you but, Nomadikan nations are just seen as those tribes in the Amazon, out of sight out of mind."

"They think we're ants, the jackals thought too until they were driven out. Technology isn't everything, I thought it was but, it's not. And honestly, it's not all terrible. The principles and beliefs Nomadikan nations are founded on, remain. The few Nomadikans who know about the outside world don't care for the materialism and hate. They know not everyone is this way, but many are. The selfishness of the outside world is still very foreign to Myra."

"One reason we want to raise our baby in Dasonia, we want to ensure she has good morals and grows up to be strong. Physically strength matters little, I mean mental and moral strength."

The baby was still playing with the crow.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"Useless is useless, wrong shape." the dragoness asserted "I see, malformed." Ruby said nodding, at which point the oldest dragoness joined in, having gotten close enough to hear what was said "And used against her, they were used to chain her in place." this made Ruby feel...something, but it was hard to tell what, she looked at Quasi with a expression that was almost like her inviting him to read her mind, and if he did that, he would find he could get in, and the thought in Ruby's head was 'I need to talk with Equestria about this' until soon her mind was hidden again.

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"And creatures wonder why I hate militaries as organizations." Ember half said half muttered "You can say that again." Cinder joined in, now balancing two blades, each on different claw "You mentioned seeing what one of the dragons was capable of, what was it?" "Unnaturally strong thunderstorm, it was in middle of nowhere, but it was easily strong enough to wipe out a city."  "I think I understand what you meant by there not being a war." "Natural disasters, the end of the world." "Maybe whoever said it earlier was right, you should probably bring Ruby and Quasi into the conversation if you want a diplomatic way of dealing with it, if nothing else, Ruby could probably give insight on their way of thinking." 

The crow continued doing its thing with the baby, and Cinder's snake had moved lower on her body to watch the situation, but otherwise acted like a normal snake.  

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

Quasi nodded. He wondered if Equestria's government did this.

"We will investigate this, if Equestria's government is a fault, perhaps sanctions are in order. I have a contingency that will allow us to harness magic from Equus if one of us tries to cease trade."

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"Notifying them would help. Maybe they know something we don't."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"As much as I despise ponies, I don't think Celestia is behind it." Ruby stated, looking at the older dragoness "You said you were around my age when you were taken, and you're at least twice my age, so it happened at least two centuries ago, Celestia was ruling alone back then, she wouldn't have the time to do something like that, besides, if it was Equestria's government, you would think they would have been better prepared against me, having had two centuries time to look into it." she explained "But I'm not saying they wouldn't know about it to some extend, that magic is Equestrian in origin." "There was also some technology involved." Vix joined in "In the place they were kept in I mean, I have yet to see anything like that on the surface."

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"And even if they don't, considering these unknown ones seem to be from Ruby's home, if they are willing to talk with anyone, it would be Ruby." Ember said thoughtfully "Assuming this Ruby of yours is willing to help, didn't seem like the kind to really care about other creatures either." Cinder pointed out, Ember gave a small nod "She's not wrong unfortunately, it has to be seen how much Quasi can really affect her decisions." 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

"I assume whoever did this is gone, though if we're talking about an organization..."

"Why the cruelty though?"

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"Ruby seems to respect Quasi. I think they may also have a way to fight these creatures. Animus magic is like draconequus magic in many ways. But the question is this, would Ruby be willing to fight to defend the humans? And would this magic even work against such creatures?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"They were long dead when Vix found us, many of them died of old age during my time there, but the last ones were turned into mush by Charis's father." "The place itself we destroyed, there's nothing left of it." "And cruelty? We were mere test subjects, toys, when you see someone as nothing, you feel nothing when you harm them" "I can also see our appeal as test subjects, we were more durable than every other creature, both physically and mentally, so it is only the nature of curiosity to want to see what it takes to break us." while the dragoness obviously hated those behind all that had happened, she understood perfectly why they had done it.

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"Definitely no, what little I got to know of the real Ruby, I can say for certain you won't be able to pull her in yet another war, especially not to a fight with Earth against her own homelands." Ember stated "Honestly, I think it's more likely that she joins to fight against humans out of spite if you try to drag her in the fight." "Better just talk and not pull her too far in, don't want to repeat your mistakes do you?" Cinder threw the blades in air and caught them with her hand, making them disappear "You're really making me wanna meet this Ruby, she sounds like a great gal." 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

"And they say Earthlings are monsters."

"Many could argue that there are monsters. When I learned about the evil out there, I was angered. Crime, terrorism, oppression, corruption. All these make me angry. Their leaders are in it for themselves and not their people."

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"Should we be off then?"

"Are we bringing the weird genocide dragon too?"

Arrow pointed at Cinder!

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"While I don't believe in the flawed system you call morality, even by its logic, monster is no less monster regardless of how many worse monsters there are." The dragoness stated "Even if due to the believe's flaws, many believe there is such thing as lesser of two evils." "You believe in good and evil?" "Not quite, I acknowledge the concept and where it comes from, but due to its flaws I can't follow it, though some of my personal principles do align with it." 

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"Aw, thank you."  Cinder said, sounding almost genuinely flattered, before going back to her usual smug tone "You ain't getting rid of me quite yet though, I've been looking for my little sis for years, I'm not going to just leave her alone now." Ember looked at Cinder "And if I don't want to talk?" Cinder smirked "I'll just follow you around until you do, or try to kill me, fine by me either way."  

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

"So, like how are we gonna do the kiss the bride thing? Are you capable of that or do your scales prevent it?"

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Myra picked up the baby and put her in Sky's sling.

"I wonder if she'll get any confirmed kills."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
All dragons but the youngest one kinda just looked at Quasi "You can do that?" Ruby asked genuinely confused, as far as she knew, kissing was more a mammal thing, most non-mammals didn't really have movable lips like that, as far as she knew "I guess the answer to your question is no, our kind...." she cut her sentence short as she realized she didn't actually know what their kind's equivalent to it was, she didn't know how her kinds showed affection. The older dragoness joined in, noticing Ruby's dilemma, "Our kind, and kobolds as I have understood it from Vix, do something that could be considered a kiss..." she called the young dragon to her be simply saying 'Charis' and gesturing to her, she then lowered her head and the young dragoness touched her snout with her own, before leaning against her mother's leg and sitting down "....but it isn't seen as intimate as what you probably mean." "The other way one may show affection is by sitting or laying close to each other with heads on top of each other, many times on the shoulders." "Our kind isn't that sentimental as you may expect, so simple gestures of showing trust like the ones I mentioned are the best you get most of the time." 

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"It's a baby!" Both Ember and Cinder said in unison, which again lead to them glancing at each other, Cinder more pleased than Ember. Cinder got up and dropped the robe she was wearing, no need for that anymore, this revealed that she was wearing armor, seemingly made of the same material as Ember's armor, and it also allowed one to finally see her wings, which were feathered like pegasus's wings instead of dragon's wings, they bright orange with gray on top. It seemed like she was basically a pony that was shaped like a dragon, she had claws and her horn was more dragon like that unicorn like, but she was covered in fur instead of scales. It was really up to each individual to decide if they saw her as a weird dragon, or as a weird pony, though in latter case she would have been considered an alicorn since she had both wings and horn.

While Cinder did that, Ember continued from their comment "I get we are all killers here but isn't it bit too early for worrying about that?" 

 

 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

"Our kind is pretty sentimental. Any not sentiment is either just that person or a culture issue."

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"Not now! You think I'd let a baby go into battle? I mean when she's older. Gotta be 18 to go to war."

"You see, growing up to be a warrior is seen as an honorable path. Not that she has to be a warrior, Aurora can do whatever. Sky is very protective of Aurora, much of it has to do with the abuse he faced, they use to do things like burn him with cigarettes for fun and the use of sharp objects wasn't uncommon. He doesn't want her to be subjected to the cruelty of the world in that manner."

"It's why I respect authority like police and soldiers. Ace was a in the airforce at the time when he notified the police and the police raided the place."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight
"I noticed." the dragoness stated, "And it honestly only makes me more perplexed about how a black-horn ended up with you." "I don't think it's a case of having no other options like in my case, and black-horns are, or at least were back then known for being picky even by our standards, things of course can change, though I doubt I have been gone that long."

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Ember blinked, she was considering if she should point out that that wasn't what she meant or not, but luckily, or unluckily, depending on who you ask, she didn't need to make the decision, as Cinder yet again opened her mouth, she was leaning against a wall, this time bit closer to the door "Can relate, grew up with dragons, almost burned to death many times and got clawed so much it's a miracle I'm not covered in visible scars." the way she said it was oddly cheerful "Funny how my feelings on authority is the exact opposite though." 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

@Catpone Cerberus

"Perhaps it was her time in Equestria. The people you surround yourself with will effect your mind."

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"Authority is necessary, without it there is only anarchy, which is pretty bad despite what a few think."

"I hear Starlania is forming a devastating navy."

"They have to. The portal is in the ocean near their land. If an Earthling nation attacked, there would be trouble. Equestria made a bunch of ships to fit many dragons. They are scary really. They'll fire rockets and missiles and other projectile, but with the help of magic."

"And you just gave them weapons? A nation where Ruby is queen?"

"Ruby is deadly but, she's not fool. Most of their trade is with us. They attack us, they lose a trade partner."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Lucid_Nightlight

"Few years against over hundred doesn't do much." Ruby joined in, the older dragoness was going to say something but Ruby cut her short "And before you ask, I'm still figuring it out myself, not that it's any of your business." "Nor do I really care, I'm mainly curious due to how odd this is, since I can sense you haven't gone soft, which would usually be the reason." she looked at Quasi "What about you, how did someone like you even tolerate her violent nature long enough to fall for her." 

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"Not necessarily, I know few societies that work fine without any real authority, they don't even have gods." "In fact, in ways they're probably better than ones with government and such." Cinder stated, not caring if she was listened to or not.

"How did you spend so long with Ruby but missed so much?" Ember asked "She made it pretty clear she doesn't like weapons, if Ruby was to attack, she would most likely come alone and unarmed."