Thread 79: Stories 1-15

https://archive.moe/mlp/thread/23200765
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>42
"AJ"
~~~~~

"Hey, Forty Two? Gotta question."

>Yes, Applejack?

"..."

>...What?

"Oh, nevermind... just expected ya' ta' act weird fer some reason."

>Why would I act weird?

"...Ah'... don't... know..."

>...

"...Anyway, ya'll are in the military, right?"

>I'm in multiple military's.

"Right, gotcha. So, on that note, ya'll recognize military procedures, right?"

>I should certainly hope so.

"So, maybe ya'll can help me here. What's it mean when someone runs out screamin' and pointin', they all line up and go inside in single file, and then they start hittin' buttons?"

>....

"..."

>...

"..."

>...it... a-hem... it means we should uh... probably... probably get ready.

"Yeah, that's what Ah' figured."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Pommel
"Haymaker"
'Lucky'
-Steam Gauge-
=Quicksilver=

>Okay, guys, this is going to sound just a bit counter-intuitive...

Several sets of eyes fixed themselves on the captain.

>But uh...shoot to wound.

"'-=...=-'"

"Captain? Capitano? Capitan? Got a question here..."

>Yes?

"How are we supposed to do that-"

-WHEN I'M BEHIND THE BARREL OF A FIFTY CALIBER MACHINE GUN!?-

>...carefully?

-Dude, NOTHING is careful about this thing, it's a big gun loaded up with armor piercing rounds! I'm not a miracle worker here, whatever I shoot with this thing, it's gonna get deaded super hard!-

'Now don't sell yourself short, private, you handled yourself adequately during the Cake War, even if we did lose that engagement.'

>The cake what-?

-LT? I think there's a major difference between a paintball turret and a big ass machine gun.-

=Or a rocket launcher for that matter.=

>You're a last resort.

=YA THINK!?=

>Look, we have no idea what this monster is capable of, odds are we might not even look at it eye-to-eye.

'Eyes.'

>...eye-to-eyes. We're just here to hold it off should worst come to worst and we have to initiate plan B.

"What's plan B?"

>Oh it's a modified version of my plan for a Chitania going berserk scenario.

'Which is?'

>Get every powerful being we know, Shining Armor on up, line them up, and BLAST WITH EVERYTHING THEY HAVE.

'Do they have to shoot to wound too?'

>I'm not telling Chrysalis to shoot to wound.

"I'm not telling her anything."

-Bitch is scary.-

=No doubt...=

>"'-=...=-'"

"Nice ass though."

>Yeah, what the hell is that just a royal thing? You get a great ass?

"You're telling me, even Sparkle's got a pretty good rump."

'So it WASN'T just me who thought that.'

-Well I mean, come on, we're guarding them, kind of hard NOT to look.-

"Cadence could up her game though."

'Flatter than day old cider.'

=I don't know, it's nice, not too big.=

>...this conversation took a weird turn.

"We're here 'til Princess Sparkle comes back, Captain, we gotta talk about something other than impending doom."

'At least we didn't bring that guy who writes the fanfics down here with us.'

-Huh? Thought that guy was a changeling.-

"No, there's a changeling who does it but there's also a Day Guard, a Night Guard, and a Crystal Guard who write really offensive shit."

=Pff, fanfic, who the hell reads that?=

'Yeah, sounds dumb.'

>"'-=...=-'"

'I love Revolution of the Mind.'

=Oh my god it's the best, isn't it!? I wanna go to the Empire just to find out if he wrote a new chapter!=

-You guys are fucking loons.-

"I'm with Gauge here-"

-Everyone knows Knight of the Hive is the best.-

'I order you to get better taste, Private.'

-I think you're too crazy for command, sir!-

>Haymaker?

"Yeah?"

>Punch me.

"Why?"

>Because I really should have rethought who I brought down here with us.

-At least High Seas Romance quit updating!-

=I know, right? Blah blah blah, Gryphon Pirate, blah blah blah, Platinum City, just fuck the sexy lady already!=

'Amen.'

>...wait, fucking WHAT?!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC
>AJ
"2
~~

The mare sitting at her desk sighed, idly tapping a pen against the paper in front of her. It was mocking her with it's strange, papery ways.

Who knew trees could get their revenge after being cut so low...

"...What'cha doin?"

Would she have let out that telltale 'Gah!'? Any other one would, sure. But she had no more surprises in her for the changeling who was suddenly at her back. She had been gahed out. Totally bereft of 'gah'.

>Ah'm just workin'.

"Hey, Apple Prime? Yer' lookin' kinda down."

>...Well, sug' Ah' guess Ah' am. Feels like Ah' just keep messin' up and messin' up. Chrysalis, the Hive, this thing with Twelve... Ah' feel like Ah'm makin' things worse, and tryin' ta' make it better's puttin' me in a sour mood.

"Oh..."

Silence reigned.

But only for a moment.

"...Wanna put on clownshoes and chase Auntielestia?"

>Wha?

"Or maybe punch a boppy bopper until it falls down, but it just doesn't go! Or dance! Ya' wanan dance!? Let's dance!"

>Two, that ain't gonna make it better.

"Ah' know, but... it gets hard if ya' just run. If ya' take a breath after a bit, ya' can run a little farther, ya' know?"

>...did... did ya'll just quote me?

"Course Ah' did! Yer' Apple Prime! You're onna the smartest ponies ever! Why wouldn't I?"

The smile came. Slowly, but it came. Not all the way, but coming...

>Well, what'dya wanna do?

Thoughtfully, she scrunched her nose, and tapped her hoof to her chin.

"Marchmalley buildin' as big as the ceilin'! C'mon!"

But she did not.

>Two, it ain't gonna stack.

She deflated, just a bit.

But only until Applejack placed a hat on her head.

>So we best get us some applesauce fer cement.

"YAYYYYY! This is gonna be great!"

>Dunno how long it's gonna last with ya'll chewin' on it, and ya' know yer' gonna!

"Awww, s'okay! It ain't gotta last forever, or change nothin'. It's just gotta be there... for a bit, you know?"

>...Eeeyp. Ah' sure do.

The smile only grew.

>Let's make us a marchmalley buildin'.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>32
“??”
~~~

To say that the core of the Chrysalis Hive had reacted poorly to his appearance wouldn't really be that far off the mark. While not openly hostile, he could sense an air of resentment and trepidation from his brethren when they realized who he was. Whether out of fear of being caught in the blast of his supposedly explosive collar or pure loyalty to the queen, he couldn't tell. They would speak to him, but reservedly, likely aided by some choice words Chrysalis had with them as a whole.

On the other hoof, the encampment of the Hive was quite a sight to behold. Rows after rows of tents, sleeping bags and haphazardly strewn-about belongings with chitinous shapes moving back and forth going about their day. It felt like a small world on its own.

But there were hints of smiles all around. No fear, no dirt and grime. His brothers and sisters didn't look like caged animals, feral and ready to lash out at anyone that would dare enter or touch their belongings. It really was... a sort of home. And it made 32 feel warm inside knowing they had progressed this far already.

But whereas he was still welcomed in their midst, the Changeling he explicitly sought out seemed to be avoided by the others. In fact, she wasn't even to be found in the stadium the others resided in. He found her isolated within the castle itself, left to her own devices in a room padded like she was a mental patient in danger of hurting herself.

The sharp corners and edges of the crystals that made up the circular chamber's walls had been filed off, smoothed by tools then overlaid by bubble-wrap or cardboard. The furniture was sparse, the space small. Like they had cleared out a tiny storage room. There was a rug, no window.

And despite looking so incredibly cheap, the Changeling within said room looked blissfully unaware of her banishment from the rest of the family. A vacant smile was on her lips as she swayed from side to side to a tune she was humming.


The moment he stepped inside, she stopped humming and turned her upper body to face him.

“Thirty-Two?”

The way she so naturally identified him startled him a little.

>Hrm. Usually I have to give multiple assurances of my identity before being believed. How could you tell?

“I am just good with names. And faces. Memorizing.”

>That you are. Nay I enter?

“Oh, sorry! Yes, sure, go right ahead. This isn't really MY place. It's just a temporary.”

Slowly, he approached her, letting his gaze wander. He noticed a choice absence of sharp objects or corners to just about anything. If there were any, they had been sanded down.

>Really? How come?

“Oh, it's a bit embarrassing. I just kept tripping over the stuff of others, stumbled into others or fell from the spectator rows... So our Queen just got fed up from fixing the things I broke or my injuries. A day later, the princess and princess gave me this room to stay in until they figure out why I am such a klutz.”

While she has told her tale, he had sat down just a little to her right, gazing at the same spot on the wall she did.

>I see. How does that make you feel?

“Like I said, a bit embarrassed. It feels like they went through a lot of trouble just for me. The other guys even packed my stuff and helped me move. It's like they couldn't wait for me to get my own space.”

>Ah.

She turned er gaze to him again, looking quizzical.

“How's ambassadorial work going for you? I only heard the others whisper about it.”

>Aaaah, so-so. It could've gone better as of late. In fact, I rather hurriedly left my station in Canterlot after the latest incident. There was little to be gained from sitting around and questioning myself.

“...you mean the whole thing about Twelve, don't you?”

32 nodded gravely.

>'fraid so. It looked pretty bad from the perspective of the ponies.

The Changeling stopped swaying, the mirth fading from her face. Thirty-Two had some serious convincing to do.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Variolus
„Guards“
~~~

Half a dozen gazes and weapons simultaneously rose when the door to the room that contained the Crystal Empire-Canterlot Portal opened. The Day Guard had been specifically instructed by Pommel to control, record and if possible stop any traffic between the Crystal Empire and Canterlot for the time being.

The orders were specific in that even when Prince Shining Armor or Queen Chrysalis themselves were to march through, they would have to stop and ask them nicely to return.

The emphasis was on 'nicely'. Neither of these royals had any jurisdiction in Canterlot anymore, but if they pushed, the Guards were to relent. It was foolhardy to fight over something as simple as suspicion. Still, the four stallions and two mares were tense about their assignment.

>Hello!

When the smiling visage of Sunset Shimmer entered their field of view, they all lowered their weapons with a collective sigh of relief.

“Good day to you, Sunset Shimmer. We are sorry, but if you intend to travel to the Crystal Empire we must ask you to try at a later date. We have specific orders not to let anyone through until tomorrow.”

The mare fully entered the room, still smiling, and approached them.

>That's fine, actually. I was just wondering...

A sudden gust of air whipped across the room, and she was gone. An instant later, the sharp clang of metal being bent resonated within the chamber. The remaining five guards turned to see one of them being pressed up against a wall, the hoof of the mare who had struck him still within the concave indention she made in his armor.

>...how strong I have become. One.

While repeatedly having faced defeat against much greater, more powerful enemies, the Day Guard had endured fierce training and a new direction recently. As one, they moved in to attack. To them, it was clear that this was either a Changeling in disguise or similar magic by an enemy seekign to cause harm.

A blade held by muzzle sliced through the air, heading straight for Sunset's neck. In her current position, with the Guard's companion swinging his spear low to go for the legs, there shouldn't have been a feasible way for Sunset to evade both strikes at the same time.

But before the eyes of the five guards, the mare bent in half with a horrifying crack of her bones bending or breaking, her neck now laid out across her rear, maw open, fangs gleaming. The guard with the blade got a bite to his leg for his troubles.

“She bit me! She bi-bi...baaarh....”

He crumpled within three seconds, the venom within her fangs coursing through his body aided by Changeling magic. A set of green-glowing, malicious eyes settled on the remaining four ponies.

>Two.

An uneasy feeling of dread began to settle over the others as they realized they might be outmatched.

“Greencloak, quick, get the captain!”

The mare closest to the door didn't even nod. She just turned and ran as fast as she could. Even under pressure, they worked in synchronization long hours under Daws, Pommel's, Diamond Tiara's and Spike's tutelage had taught them.

What they didn't expect was for the impostor to suddenly teleport. Within the blink of an eye, she was in front of Greencloak, who tried to duck low and left to evade any strike. But it wasn't enough.

Sunset Shimmer once again twisted her body in anatomically impossible ways, her body elongating as if she had no spine or leg bones at all, a hoof as hard as steel hitting Greencloak square in the jaw and sending her flying. After slamming and rebounding of the wall, she fell down and stopped moving.

>Three.

Adrenaline pumped through the remaining two stallions and one mare. Only a quick glance and two nods were exchanged, then they moved in at the same time. Two with spears, the unicorn mare remaining in the back and preparing to counterspell.

They didn't question how this creature could do feats both of Changelings and ponies. They just knew they had to stop it.

The stallion on the left feinted to force Sunset to open her defense, allowing the other stallion to go in low and stab her chest. Just a moment before the tip of his spear reached her body, he swore he saw a rainbow colored, multi-faceted glow of light that looked like pure Chaos surrounding her.

He felt a dull impact, as his companion only saw a blinding flash of pure light right before him. The next, the latter was on the floor, screaming, while the former stared in disbelief at the tip of his spear. It had turned into a bouquet of flowers now ineffectively pressed against the mare's body.

The next thing he knew was a brief flash of pain, then nothing.

>Four.

Sunset dropped the stallion after slamming him into the wall, approaching the other one on the ground.

“MY EYES! AAAAH! I CAN'T... I CAN'T SEE! IT HURTS!”

Sunset stopped right before his trashing form, keeping just out of range of him lashing out blindly. A swift, merciless kick to the head was all she needed to silence him. The crack of her hoof against his helmet rang out throughout the room.

>Five.

Before she could move or say anything, her whole body jerked sideways and her eyes widened in shock when the tip of a spear exploded out of her side. Slowly, Sunset turned her head to the last remaining mare who glared her with fury in her eyes.

“Just die already!”

Rage and determination turned to fear and abject horror when the entire body of the mare reshaped itself as if it wasn't made of bone and sinew. Like an amorphous mass, her limbs traded places until she was facing the mare, still impaled upon the spear. And with agonizing slowness, she pulled herself towards the end she was holding, a menacing, manic smile on her face.

Fear paralyzed the Guardsmare when the face of Sunset Shimmer was just inches from hers, luminescent eyes boring into hers.

>You're cute.

Silver Lining's eyes shot wide open when the other mare pressed her soft lips to hers and kissed her, their horns crossing. She wanted to jerk away, to move away from this beast, but her legs refused. She didn't see Sunset's horn glow and some of her emerald magic crossing over to her, filling her head with less than subtle lewd images.

Basic nature went its course as the Changeling Queen manipulated the mare's mind to react positively to physical and mental stimulation. Endorphin became excitement, excitement weakness. Weakness became love. And Sunset sucked it right out of the guardsmare, weakening her until she dropped like a wet sack of potatoes on her feet.

>Six.

Licking her lips slowly to savor the taste of the others saliva, Sunset stepped forwards, brutally tearing the spear out of her body. She approach and passed through the portal, leaving behind a room full of unconscious ponies behind.

~~~~

The Crystal Guards jumped a little when the portal next to them flared to life with a sharp, keening sound. Out stepped an amber mare with a brilliant, red with blonde highlights mane. They collectively blinked, then the most outgoing of them stepped forwards.

“Welcome to the Crystal Empire! Is there a problem over in Canterlot?”

Sunset inhaled deeply through her nostrils, smelling the air. It was crisp, saturated with love. Even those guards before her were completely unlike the Canterlot Guard, emitting mild waves of kindness and friendliness. It made the Gem in her chest pulse eagerly.

A swift kick backwards destroyed an integral piece of the portal's mechanism, causing the magical, shimmering surface to collapse on itself.

>Not at all. But, say... you look kind of cute.

No one outside the room heard the sounds of a fight breaking out moments later.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>7
"SL"
'12'
~~~~~

>WHY!?

The first few had come had been easy, just a couple standard security grunts. Seven knew he could take them down in his sleep.

>WHY!?

The second one was a scanning robot. Harder, much harder, but lasers beat robot.

>WHYYYYY!?

The literal army he could sense narrowing in on his position would be a different story, he knew.

'No, really, why!?'

She smiled.

That wicked, maddened smile that unnerved them and made Seven wish he had the love to spare to beat it right out of her face.

"Because I could."

>SERIOUSLY!? IS THAT SERIOUSLY YOUR REASON!? YOU LITTLE FUCKING-

Forgoing that whole 'If he had the love' thing, he prepared to waste what precious charge he had making her very, very dead. He was normally one who was quite squeamish about making someone dead, even if he wouldn't admit it to any of it, but perhaps, just maybe, this could be the thing that pushed him to his limit.

He would never find out, because his fellow ling picked that moment to put himself between the rage-punching about to occur and his crazy-friend. Normally, this would just give a transient property of crazypunching that would transmit the expended energy into the new host of 'that new changeling', but some part of Seven that remembered that bringing the changeling back roughly in tact was fairly vital kept him from acting on his rage-needs.

No such need held back Twelve from spinning on the mare and throttling the hell out of her, though.

'WHATWEREYOUTHINKINGWEWEREGONNAGETOUTAREYOUFUCKINGMENTALPLEASEDON'TANSWERTHATWHYWHYWOULDYOUDOTHATWHYYYYYYY!?'

Despite the fact she was turning at least three shades of blue darker than her normal hue, she never stopped smiling.

"I said, I might not be ready to go yet."

'WHAT!? ARE YOU STUPID!? WE'RE GONNA DIE!'

"Oh, don't be silly... okay, he might, but they're not going to shoot us. We'll be fiiiiiiine."

He flappered and flapped his lips, akin to a beached whale who realized his time had come to a close.


'...Oh... oh shit, this is a 'break that guy's spine' thing isn't it?'

>Wait WHAT!?

She hummed thoughtfully, tapping her hoof to her chin.

"Hmmm... just think you see right through me, don't you?"

'This is... really? You really are gonna be like this?'

"Dunno what you mean, pervert."

'...You'll get another shot...'

Just for a second, just a blink and you miss it moment, the smile left her face.

"Doubt it, doubt I'll get another... ever. She'll be too smart after this, unless I stick around. If I've got the chance to leave but stay, why, she'll be so happy. She might even let me give her a hug."

'Screws, even if you go through with your plan... you won't make it out.'

"Like I said before, I just have to be quicker than the guards, boytoy."

'You won't be. One shot is all it takes.'

Her eyes flickered, but they did not stay.

"I only need one shot as well."

'And then? Is your revenge for... whatever worth that? The end? Is not getting out ever worth... this?'

"Maybe, maybe not."

He ignored her. Her coy voice, her sing songy breath, all of it.

'...Okay.'

He ignored it, shrugged, and pushed away from her, turning back to the infiltrator.

'I'm ready to go now.'

A curious, questioning eye trailed over his shoulder, to the dead-faced mare behind him.

>What about her?

It was plain to see for all the world that the shrug he gave tore him up inside.

'She... she wants to stay, I guess. Let's go home.'

At those three, deathly final words, that dead face came to life.

And not in a good way.

"...Tsk tsk, and here I thought you'd actually last more than a week."

'And I thought maybe you wanted to actually live outside of a padded wall... guess we were both wrong.'

With that, he moved forwards, towards the door. She waited for him to stop, to even so much as hesitate. He never did.

"....Just going to run away, little pervert? What, get bored of my sexy hooves? Find some other shiny hoof to chase like a puppy dog? Huh?"

He never stopped.

"Or maybe you just hate the fact I'm not a barking little mutt anymore! Is that what you want!? WOOF! WOOF! AROOOO! Feeling better now!? Is that what you wanted!? STOP!"

Seven remained the only one watching her spot on impression.

Without even looking back once, he opened the door.

'Come on, Seven... let's go.'

At last, her crazed eyes grew even more crazed than she had ever had before. Her face curled in a snarling rage the moment he stepped out the door, and she could hold it in no more.

"YOU PROMISED TINSEL YOU BASTARD! YOU PROMISED YOU'D STICK WITH ME! YOU FUCKING LIED! YOU FUCKING LIED LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!"

That, at last, made him stop. Made him look back over his shoulder to the huffing, angry mare. Finally let her see the sad look in his eyes.

'I did. I looked out for you when you went where my Hive couldn't find me. I looked out for you when you were surrounded on all sides by ponies who just wanted to use you. I stuck with you this whole trip even when I was mistreated, drugged and knocked out. I followed you to Tartarus itself, Screwloose, all the way down. But.. I did it so I could bring you back up, not so we could stay down here and you could turn into one of them. I don't want this life, as short as it is, so If you want to stay down here, in this place... I can't stay with you.'

Regretfully, he turned away, and went out the door.

'When you see Tinsel after you get your 'revenge', tell him... I'm sorry I couldn't follow you there too.'

And then he was gone.

With a scoff, Seven joined him, and she was all alone.

All alone with no one around her, all alone in a world of beeping machine and whirring noises. All alone.

"...He'll fucking come back. He has to."

But he didn't.

"He can't live without... without my..."

She turned those wild, crazed eyes down to her hooves, ones that even now felt very... sore.

"...he needs me..."

The clock ticked away.

She heard the hoovesteps approaching.

Nobody came back.

"...A-arf!"

She closed her hooves over her mouth, but it was too late. She felt it again, the clawing things at the corner of her mind. The need to get all all fours and chase her tail. It was coming back in the silence of the room. That need to be something else.

She tried to fight it, tried to turn back to her work. She tried to look to the vial again, but before she even realized it the vial was in her mouth, and she was playfully running around the floor.

"ARF ARF ARF!"

Her muffled barks rang out to nobody at all, none other in this wide, empty room.

The scalpel in her vision gleamed. It called to her. It would work now. Pennydrop would let her in close now. She wouldn't be worried now...

And then it would be over.

"...C-chum bahk.."

But he didn't.

And soon, the scalpel stopped singing to her as well.

"...C-CHOME BAHHK!"

And she ran. She ran with everything she had to that door, scrambling like a dog in mid sprint, head low and twisted.

And then she stopped.

Not of her own accord, but by the body that had been waiting on the other side of the door to catch her.

'...Knew you would come back.'

She spat the vial in his face, a vial easily caught by Seven before it could break.

"You forgot that, you idiot! Just like you not to think anything though. How are you supposed to prevent them from making more of this if you leave this in their grasp?"

He didn't answer, no banter, no nothing.

'So... you coming?'

"...Meh, like I said... I want to meet this Queen of yours."

That was plenty.

'...Let's get the hell out of here.'

>Uh... they might have a problem with that.

In fact, the twenty or so guards at the end of the hall DID have a problem with that. A problem they visualized

With the guns they pointed at the three.

>...Please don't let me get shot up again...

'Again!?'

>Long... long story.

Click.

>I'll tell you later.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Luna
"29"
~~~~~

"Surge... surge oh animas trans mitigas, exsurge, find novam domum habemus in-"

>STOP STOP STOP! We thought thou knew satin!?

"It's latin!"

>Whatever! We thought thou could speak it!

"I can!"

>Thou sounds like you are being translated poorly by a malfunctioning robot!

"Well, you do better!"

>We do not need to! Why art thou speaking Latin at all!?

"Thine words were of summoning, no?"

>What in the name of mine mother's stars above does latin have to do with that!?

"...Don't... doesn't one have to speak Latin when chanting?"

>NO! Speak normally! Why does thou think the magical boundaries of the universe are somehow beholden to a dead language!? Thou thinks that for some reason the souls themselves can speak with a multitude of languages and tongues, but oh no, not spells! Spells need thee to say it with this language, or the magic of someone's SOUL just grows so very confused! That makes no sense!

"..."

>...

"...It just sounds more refined."

>SPEAK NORMALLY!

"Fine! Fine..."

>...

"...can I slip a little-"

SMACK!

"OW!"

>NO!... Friggen wannabe summoners.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>7
"12"
'???'
~~~

On the positive side, none of the bullets had hit him yet.

>OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK!

"Tell me you know where we're going!"

>No, I knew where we were supposed to go two minutes ago!

"And!?"

>And it just so happens the path I carefully laid out to get us clear is now FULL OF THINGS WITH GUNS!

"...Well, that's an unfortunate coincidence."

>Yeah, you'd think the probability of literally every fucking soldier coming down the one out of FIVE possible paths they could have would be in our favor!

"So, what's plan B?"

>Wait for them to get in and wreck shit!

"How long will that take?"

~~~~

'Okay, so, bad news. He's clearly been discovered. Worse news, the main entrance is sealed off. Slightly better news, Twilight has found possible entry points. Terrible news, there's six of them, and we have no idea which one has 12 near it. So, with that said... uh... pick a door and start wrecking shit? I mean, we have to land somewhere near him, right?... I like our odds. MOVE OUT!'

~~~~~~

"..."

>...the worst part is knowing I did this to myself...

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>2
"AB"
'SB'
(SL)
~~~~~

"Doooo ittttt."

>Ah dunno...

(Do iiiiiiittttt.)

>It don't feel right.

'Please do it?'

>...well... ya' did say please...

FWOOSH

>HAH!

"..."
'...'
(...)

>...okay, so... This... This got real weird.

"Yeaaahhhhh..."

>...I'mma change back now.

(Please do. Looking at that is... unsettling.)

'I think its pretty cool.'

>We can never tell nobody about this.

"Agreed."

(Please change back.)

'I still think its-'

FWOOOSH

'Awww.'

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"Twilight"
~~~~~
>Welcome to Not Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content does matter, but it's a new thread and I want an appearance! Now for our main guest...TWILIGHT!!!

"Pinkie when are-"

>Want to check out my new instrument?

"No not really, Pinkie."

>It's a Vuvuzela!

"A what?"

>A Vuvuzela and I even gave it to my audience to play it with me!
Everyone readies their horn.

"But your audience is made of cardb-"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET0aEl0ZEAY [Embed]
Twi covers her ears.
"What is this!?!"

>The music of my people!

"What!?"

>I'm preparing you for the Pain!

"I can't hear you! I can't even hear myself think!"

>That's our show!
Twilight wakes up.

"...I can't stop hearing bees."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

~~~~

"Me and Shy here will cover the large air vent over here. We will drop right on top of them when they least expect it, after sneaking in like Daring Do in 'Scuffle with the Secret Service!"

A cyan hoof tapped the aforementioned entry point on the projected map with an air of decisiveness the others had problems arguing with.

"W-we will...?"

"Yep. Come on, Fluttershy, let's show 'em what Cloudesdale Pegasi are capable of!"

Fluttershy felt her frien's leg hook over her back, dragging her along with her butt sliding across the squeaky-clean floor of the Highwind.

"C-covering in fear of their guns while in the safety behind armored alloy... is that an option?"

There was a sudden, sharp sucking sound within the airship as Rainbow Dash carelessly opened the emergency exit. But it didn't completely cover her hearty laughter.

"Hahaha, ooooh, you crack me up. Don't be silly. We're going in directly!"

*SHOVE!*

"Wait! R-rainbow DAAAAaaaaaaaaaa...."

With a crisp salute, Rainbow Dash stood tall and proud, facing the room. Then she dropped over backwards into the empty air, catching herself in mid-drop with a backflip.

“Whoooooo, breaking and entering in STYLE!”

Well, and a highly terrorized butter-yellow mare who had locked up almost all the way to the ground.

Seconds later, the air vent highlighted on the map flew open and the two disappeared inside with a loud *FWHUMP!*, kicking up a small cloud of dust in their wake.

Twilight turned her head, as aghast as the others in the cockpit. Her nervous smile didn't assuage anyone's fears.

"Well, there goes the air support... Who's next!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC, OoCO
~~~

"Thanks for the new body Twilight. I thought I was going to die after Chitania ripped me apart for what Variolus did.

Twilight shook her head slowly.

"After all you went through, that's the least I could do, Sunset. I am sorry for... what happened before the Crystal Empire thing happened."

The Amber unicorn slid off the operating table, one of her prosthetic arms.

"It's fine. I brought it until myself."

"So... what happens now? Are you still determiend to find Flash and beat some sense back into him?"

Sunset clenched the mechanical hand that ow replaced her hoof.

"Yeah... he just needs a good *BUMP* on the head to straighten him out."

And then she left, Twilight watching her with something akin to pride.

"Hmm... I might have overdone it with the silicone on her rear end...... oh well, 56 will be pleased, at least."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Spike
"DT"
'77'
[42]
~~~

>You guys ready for this one?

The next entrance, a weakened section of stone just above the complex, remained tantalizingly down below them. It called to them as only a crumbly rock could.

"You know we are, why are you stalling?"

>Heh.. just thinking about it. OG gunclub, all together at last.

'It will be nice to finally see how you all have progressed.'

"Pfft, prepare to have your socks blown off, old man."

'I do not wear socks.'

"That's how bad it's going to be. It's going to be so strong it retroactively destroyed all socks you were going to wear."

'...You, poppet, are going to be a treat.'

[Alright, maggots! This is a grab and extraction, NO casualties! Diamond Tiara, keep a lid on the heavy munitions unless we really need it. Spike, no going for the head. Seventy Seven-]

'Sister? We know.'

[...Way to steal my thunder, jackass.]

'My apologies, would you like the honors so you may take it back?'

[...You know, I think I would.]

She dove first.

Everyone right behind her.

And soon where there had been rock was now nothing but air, and the sounds of destruction.

[A-TEAM, LIGHT THEM UP!]

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Twilight
"Pinkie"
~~~

>How'd you and me get paired up?

"Because Applejack and Rarity have better chemistry!"

>...Awww...

"Also, I want the super-pony on my side."

>...daww?

"And also also, you're normally the main character! So I'm bound to be on the forefront now!"

>But isn't this all Applejack's thing?

"...."

>...

"...COOKIEBITS IN THE TOILET!"

>I'm glad we're friends.

"SHUT UP AND SHOOT LASERS!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Applejack
"Rarity"
~~~~~~

>That just leaves ya'll and me, sugar cube. You up for this?

"Darling, we both know I can handle myself in a fight... unless there is some sort of slug monster, in which case you can handle that one."

>Gee, thanks.

"Wouldn't want to steal your thunder after all."

>Whatever. You ready?

"As the more adventurous of our group would say, yee haw!"

>Don't be stealin' mah' line!

With that, they both leapt from the airship, crashing in through a air outtake vent dead center in the complex.

They found they were not alone.

>Hm, looks like they noticed us comin'.

"Well, three other groups did jump out already. They probably figured out how to spot us. Isn't that right, gentlemen?"

Pointedly, no less than fifty security robots squared their guns at the pair.

"I thought so. So, you take the ones on the left, and I the right?"

>Sounds fair.

"Good, but before we do, I must ask. Where did you set the Highwind to hover? I want to know if we need to head to the front or not."

>...

"...you did set the thing into autopilot before we jumped, right?"

>... This might not be mah day.

"...Applejack no."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________