Thread 7: Stories 61-75

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"56"
'Luna'
~Celestia~
'"Sombra [written]"'

~No, maybe if I send some of the newly trained guard to the Empire? I mean, if Spike was a target because of his strength, then maybe Shining Armour will be a target considering his status among the troops?~

'"You are using your brain, it would seem, Princess. I see the logic you went with there, but no; Twilight is in the Empire right now, and she has deemed it a good idea to gift Shining Armour with a most valuable protection suit, he will be fine"'

~Then where?~

'"I would suggest simply assigning this extra guard around the more populated areas of Canterlot. Twilight has sent me a note on what has been stolen from her labs, and it would be wise to monitor what is leaving the city as well as entering. We do not need the Griffon Kingdom storming into Equestria with mass produced weaponry that can kill without so much as a twitch."'

~Then here, here, and he--~

'TIA~!'

~Oh, there goes my hearing for the next hour...~

'OUR FUN HATH BEEN TRIPLED!'

~That's nice, Luna. But I'm in the middle of actually doing some good, so if you wouldn't mind...~

'BUT LOOK, WE HATH MADE A FRIEND!'

~Please stop the Royal Canterlot voice...~

'Our apologies...'


'As We were saying; We hath made a new friend.'

~I'll humour you for 10 seconds, then please let me get back to work. I can't in good conscience let this happen again.~

'Ah... yes. We had heard of Spike and his ailment. We did send him a gift and wishes to be better soon. We have not found the time to visit him, however.'

~Gaming too much?~

'Helping Rarity with her charity work, actually, between gaming.'

~Right... so, this friend?~

'Ah, of course. Here; meet Quicksilver, our gaming friend!'

"Oh, hi."

~Hello. Guy or girl?~

"...Guy."

~Ha!~

'"You were silent until spoken to or announced. Have you been training under 77, guard?"'

"Um, yeah, you could say that."

~Well, I've seen your effeminate gaming buddy, so can I get back to work now?~

'Of course, Tia. We shall play a game of Maretroid, then we will come by? We could assist you in planning your business.'

~That would be appreciated.~

"Dibs on the silver controller."

'Oh Starswirl curse you... We have a rapid fire mod on that.'

~Right so, where were we... Oh right. So...~

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Chrysalis
"Twilight"
~~~

>KaaaaBLAMO!

"ACK! NO! You absolutely cannot just burst into my lab like that! SO many things could explode! Or contaminate the world! We almost ran out of flame throwers last time for stars sake!"

>Hey, why don't you go get me a cup, and I'll drink a nice tall glass of don't give a fuck.

"Please, not here. Not while I have all this science temptation around me I am just itching to use on a target."

>Can it egghead, I'm here for a reason. A reason you'll like.

"I doubt that."

>Oh, what if I said it involved... SCIENCE!

"I don't care how you wave your arms, I remain unconvinced you know anything of science."

>Durr, that's why I'm here. Need you to do some experimenting, just to see if it'll even work. I need you to clone me.

"...Whhhhyyyy?"

>Ugh, it's a whole thing. See, this whole Spike hullabaloo, and yes that's a word I double checked, has got me thinking to myself, I'm the only Queen left!

"And you're worried about your legacy being carried on?"

>Pfft, no! I'm worried that I'm the only target available at the moment! Fuck that! I need another Queen to take some heat.

"You don't want this, most of the clones went through an existential crisis and had urges to kill the originals."

>Figured, but I don't want multiple of ME running around.

"Then..."

>Okay, what you need to do is clone me, and then lobotomize it. Lobotomize is what you do when you mess up their brains, right? It's what everyone kept saying with Shiny back in the wedding days.

"...How will that-"

>Anyway, post brain fuckery, I need you to re-program them to love a Changeling.

"A particular Changeling?"

>Nah, just one of the girls in the ballroom. Pick one, it doesn't matter, it's just an experiment.

"Not following."

>Sorry, more specifically I need you to program in PARENTAL love. Like, make the clone love them like a child. Kay?

"...And then?"

>Plop 'em next to whoever you pick and let nature takes it's course. Do-do-dooooo! New Queen! Hopefully.

"That's how a Queen is made?"

>That's most of it.

"...If you don't mind me asking, why not do this with either 42 or 18? Is there a risk?"

>Yeah those stains are hard to get out.

"Wha-"

>Hah! Just kidding, wipes right off your Chitin, not a problem. Nah, problem is that when I ascended, my disguising was fucked up for a couple months, and 18 needs to keep being Cadence on occasion. Oh, and 42's my best soldier, can't trade her away for anything!

"This seems pretty simple."

>Yeah, it's not complicated-OH! Right! Super important!"

"What!?"

>Don't pick the little gimpy one with the cracked teeth.

"Will the process not work with her?"

>How's she supposed to break through the clones chest cavity without teeth? It's, like, really hard.

"...Beg pardon?"

>Yeah! Took me, I don't know, an hour to cut through my moms, and I sharpened them. I mean, I guess you could just make it so the clone has a little latch to their heart to cut down time, but that takes the real sense of accomplishment out of it, don't you agree?

"...Are... are you saying the Changeling as to eat the clone's HEART!?"

>Yeah. Why are we saying exposition here? This isn't one of my grand movies!

"You ate your moms heart."

>Pffft, doy! What, you think you ponies were special? Well, I guess YOU didn't, your mom's still alive and pretty cool, so I guess you ate someone elses. That aside, I don't know if it's easier or harder for you guys. One hoof, skins softer than Chitin, on the other, no fangs. The great debate.

"...I absolutely can't do this."

>Aww, why not? Science!

"No no, and believe me I want to investigate this pretty deeply, but ethically I can't justify cloning something, teaching it love, and then sending it off to get it's heart eaten."

>...Eh, point. Making somethin' love you is pretty hard. Aright, just wanted to check anyway. Guess I'll just go back to being the only big beauty. Later!

*She leaves a shaken Twilight behind*

"...W-what the fuck is wrong with her?"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Shiny's Mom
"Shiny's Dad"
[42]
~~~

>So...

"Yeah..."

[...]

>...How are you? You doing good?

[I am fine. Thank you.]

"Good... good. Anything new going on in the castle?"

[I have ensured that it is secure, and that no outside hostiles can threaten any within' it's walls. Your son, your daughter in law, and your grand child are safe.]

>Good.. thank you...

"...Alright, I'm just going to say it, why are you disguised as Cadence?"

[...Oh! Well, you see, when you insisted you be allowed to walk around the Empire, I worried. So, I went with the bright pink alicorn, ensuring that if we should come across any hostile aggression, it will be aimed at myself rather than you.]

>Oh... It's just making me think about the wedding, is all.

[...I'm sorry, but I need to keep you safe, and this is the most effective way to do it.]

"...You're not one of the ones that keeps trying to sleep with our son, right?"

[N-NO!]

"..."

[...Apologies. I uh, I meant no. No I am not. That mission is assigned to 18. I'm, well, I'm not very good at any seduction. I'm the one that hits things.]

>Oh?

[Yes. Hitting. It's my calling card, I guess you could say. Lot's of hitting. Mostly Shining Armor.]

"..."

[...I-In a good way! Lots of training! Keeps him in top shape. His wife REALLY appreciates it too, loves to feel his...]

>...

[...Probably don't want to know that. Soo... yep, no. Not one of the ones who tries to seduce him. Not that I would bother even if I did, because he's in love with his wife, and I would never... Wait, I mean I wouldn't bother BECAUSE he's in love with... I'm getting mixed up. Point is, it would be pointless... wait, that's stupid, if it was pointless how is that the point? Who came up with these idioms!?]

"..."

[...How's the weather? It looks nice.]

>...

[...I am bad at small talk.]

"...Are you okay?"

[...Look! Ducks! Let us observe them!]

Very awkwardly, she moves towards the lake.

>...Is it good or bad that I kind of like this one?

"Probably both."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Applejack
"AJ 29"
[Guard]
~~~~~~

[He's right over there, Ma'am.]

>Friggen really?

Angrily, she stomps up to the Changeling crying against the cafe's table.

>Oh, what now!? What could POSSIBLY be botherin' ya now!? Did ya' scratch a hoof? Spill a little ink on yer' precious little chitin? What's the problem now!?

"SHE GOT ME AGAIN!"

>....Wait, wha-

At that exact moment, Zecora walked by, gave Applejack a little wink, and skipped off happily.

>...Neighgerian princess thing?

He just buried his face in his hooves, and cried a little harder.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>"AppleJack"
[Celestia]
"Spike"
-Zecora-

[Tartarus, no!]

>"Ah heck, why not, Celly?"

"Yeah, she's a great friend of ours, and she's cunning like no one I've ever met."

>"Ah certainly get that. She's got charisma, looks, an' she's sharp as a razor."

[I said no! We don't need anymore ponies crowding up this castle!]

"Technically she's a Zebra."

~Spike winks at AJ~

"You're not saying you're singling out Zebra's are you, Celestia?"

[Oh no. Don't you dare! Don't you dare go there little dragon! I swear by Starswirl...]

>"Really, Tia? Ya gonna shun her cos' she's a Zebra. Ah didn' take ya fer a racist."

[Et tu, Brute?]

>"Really Cell... Ah'm mighty disappointed."

[OH COME ON! I-- Well... UGH, FINE.]

---

>"You're hired, sugar."

-Ah, this is nice we must admit, we were looking forward to this quite a bit.-

---

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>SA
"SA's mom"
'SA's dad'
~~~~~
"So Twilight really built this for you?"

>Yeah, it's pretty amazing, isn't it?

"Twilight never fails to amaze us all"

'What's the mileage on it?'

>I'll put it this way: I've covered three hundred miles on this thing and I'm not even down by a forth of a tank yet.

'Nice, nice. Is it insured?'

>Dad? Its an Imperial Juggernaut that was custom made by Twily and designed to shrug off fortress destroying explosions.

'Well it never hurts to have insurance, Shiny.'

"Not to mention I don't see any child's seat for 2. You do drive her around in this, don't you?"

>Yyyeeesss... But 2's not-

"Shiny, we're stopping at the next store and buying a child's seat. You know those saved your life when you were 2's age."

'Actually, do we know how old Two is?'

"It doesn't matter."

'...'

>Something on your mind, dad?

'It's been some time since I played Hyperspace Hyperwars, but shouldn't this be pink?'

>ARGH!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Applejack
“Celestia”
‘Luna’
-Twilight-
[Fluttershy]
{Shining}
~Chrysalis~
_________

>So. Ah think it’s pretty obvious why most of the princesses are gathered h-

~Does that mean Shiny’s become a pretty mare, then?~

{The prettiest. And maybe the most deadliest. He’s like a brother to me.}

>Easy there, tiger. Spike means a lot to all of us here. …‘specially me….

[*gasp* Did… did s-something happen to Spike…?

Grunting, Twilight picked up a wickedly sharp knife from the table betwixt them and set to polishing it with her hooves, that knife but one of the many varied weapons gathered.

-You want to know what happened? Well, let me tell you.-

“Here we go….”

-Somehow someone managed to break into my cache of experimental weapons and smuggled one out. That same someone then decided to shoot Spike. Tried to kill him really but thanks to Applejack, only his leg was shot. The damage they did… we almost lost him….-

After hearing that, Fluttershy wordlessly reached out for what looked like an AK47, looking it up and down before she began to mechanically search for an ammo cartridge.

[S-so in a nutshell, somepony h-has to pay for this.]

‘Tis assumed so, yes.’

[D-dead or alive?]

{A life for a life. Sounds fair, don’t it?}

~...But the little guy didn’t die, though.~

{Then I highly suggest one of you find the culprit before I do.}

>We got a pretty good estimate of which direction the bullet came from so we’ll send a small contingent that way while we spread out here. If whoever that was had the balls to dare fire on the castle, they must want to stay nearby and finish things….

{Right. On top of that, I’ll ask 18 to take over my paperwork for a short while, she’s so good at this point that I won’t have to worry. It’ll give me more time to solve this… and I’ll reclaim my old position as head of the Royal Guard. They’re going to need some proper leadership for this one.}

“Taking up the helm again? After such a long absence? Are you sure you’re up to the task?”

{With AJ42 as my assistant captain, we’ll make do. Luna, pass me that gun there.}

‘This one?’

{Yeah. Charity….}

‘...there rests a very dark glint in thine eyes, Shining.’

~Right? It’s giving me a case of the tingles!~

{A very near and dear friend of mine almost lost his life a couple days back. Honestly, I’m amazed I haven’t split a mountain yet. Anyway, I’m going to go get things ready on my end… and maybe share some marchmalley’s with Two to calm my nerves.}

And no one, not even Chrysalis, said anything when Shining levitated Charity into a holster on his side and left through the doors.

Applejack tenderly rubbed the band on her hoof, so lost in thought that she jumped when Fluttershy found the clip she was looking for and jammed it in.

[I’ll b-be taking this.]

-Feel free. That’s why I brought them.-

With a nod, Fluttershy left as well.

‘We must say… whoever did this, they’ve no idea the hell that awaits them.’

“I would guess they didn’t think Spike was so cared for and adored.”

>How… how can he not be? The lil’ guy does everythin’ we ask, even when he doesn’t want to. Favors, requests, the things we’re sometimes too lazy to do… he does it all, and then some. Ah just… h-he’s gonna be alright, right?

“Of course he is, Applejack.”

‘We agree. Dragons are known for their astounding resiliency. What does not kill them only makes them stronger.’

~...oh fine, fuck it.~

-Chrysalis, what’re you… why’re you taking that cup of coffee?-

~Because shit needs to get done. I’m the only one allowed to annoy Shiny, and seeing you all so dower puts me in a bad mood. I detest bad moods. I’m the Queen of all I see and I see that dragon from time to time so that makes him my servant. Nobody harms my servants. This’ll get handled one way or the other.~

And holding the mug of java in her magical grasp, Chrysalis sauntered out with a rarely seen flicker of conviction in her eyes.

“Puts a lot of previously obscure things in perspective, doesn’t it, Applejack?”

>…not now, Celly.

“No. Now. You don’t want to take another chance of this happening, do you?”

-It won’t happen again, Princess….-

“You can’t know the future, Twilight. And neither can Applejack. Things happen out of our control, much like right now. Do you really want to leave things in the air as they are? Be left with painful thoughts of what could have been?”

Applejack glanced down at her precious gift.

>...yer’ right. He… the lil’ fella means too much tuh me to jus’ sit here and cry about it. ...Ah’ll cry when he’s walkin’ again.

‘Then shall we?’

>Twi’, gimme that there sword, will ya? No, not the dagger- said sword didn’t Ah? The one with the leather sheath. Yeah, there we go….

Celestia and Luna each grabbed a weapon of their preference from the pile while Twilight merely clung to the combat knife she’d been so obsessively polishing.

‘A troubling question if we may? Should we as princesses really quest for such a thing? Revenge?’

Applejack paused, then swept her crown from atop her mane and set it down in her chair.

>Ain’t a princess anymore. Jus’ a mare lookin’ fer’ justice. An’ Ah’ll have it.

-Amen.-
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>Twilight
Sombra (*written* "spoken")
----------------

>Sombra! I've been looking for you!

*I would ask why, Princess Sparkle, but I find the expression on your face genuinely unnerving.*

>I want to help you.

*...at what cost?*

>No cost!

*...*

>Alright, small cost. Information.

*...*

>About that shadow magic stuff you do.

*I see. This could be arranged.*

>Your writing bothers me.

*...*

>It's exactly like that! The ellipsis doesn't carry the sufficient meaning when written as a live response to a conversation!
>So I did some research, and came up with a spell that will translate projected thoughts into an auditory output.

*You mean to say, you can give me back a voice?*

Yes, but since you don't really have a body, I can't cast it on you - so I need some sort of object that you keep in close proximity to you.

*Would my crown suffice?*

>Perfect! Hold still.

~ZAP~

"GRA-ah?"

"Oohhh~, that is so much better."

"As for our 'agreement', my schedule is relatively free. You know the basics of some of the techniques I used to hide things. A 'modified' vision spell should serve you well in the Crystal Library, or ask 29 - he knows the way."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Chrysalis
"Various Changelings"
~~~~~~~

>You're here, you're here, you're here, you're here, YOU'RE here, aaaand you're here. Great! I think we're all here.

"You skipped over at least half of us."

>Just making sure I counted all the trouble makers.

"But you skipped seventee-OW!'

"Hoof slipped."

>Look, just had to double check and make sure whoever made the bang-bang with the dragon didn't come from this neck of the woods, kay? They don't know we can magically replicate DNA, and it would probably be better if it stayed that way.

"...Wait, we can?"

"When the fuck could we do that!?"

"You're making that up!"

"MY HEADCANON HAS BEEN RUINED!"

>...Oh, shit, right. You guys don't know how to do that. That was Auntie Larvesta's colonies thing. Okay, it's a little... okay, REALLY complicated, but what you have to do is... wait, why the fuck would I tell you all that? Forget everything you just heard! I COMMAND IT!

"Wait, I missed it, what happened?"

"Something about her aunt."

"We're also supposed to forget something."

"Forget that all of my fanfiction is RUINED you mean!?"

"Yeah, that seems like something we should forget about."

"I already forgot about it."

"Yeah!? Well I forgot about it five minutes ago!"

"It didn't happen five minutes ago!"

"How would I know that? I forgot about it!"

"...DAMN YOU!"

>...Yeah, none of these idiots could pull off anything like that.

"I may not remember what just happened, but I remember that I can kick your ass!"

"But you were talking to him, not me."

"Then you may curse my memory in vain, AS I BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!"

As the changelings descended into another pointless and sadly fatality free fight, Chrysalis made her escape.

>Somebody should really do something about those guys, they have NO oversight whatsoever! For shame.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Chrysalis
"42"
~~~~~~~

>42! My girl! What did you need?

"We can replicate DNA!?"

>...Damn it. A part of me knew that just screaming for them to forget it in the middle of a crowded room would be ineffective, but the small, innocent part of me still yet believed.

"..."

>Who told you? The small, innocent part is not there to save them this time. That piece is dead.

"Applejack 49 wrote a very tear inducing letter in his latest fiction. It was quite moving, I think you've punished him enough."

>...His what?

"THEY'RE SURPRISINGLY ENGAGING SHUT UP!"

>No.

"Back on topic, us, DNA, the hell?"

>Well, not US. You can't do it unless you learn the very difficult and extensive magic needed. It took me months, and I was actually really adapt at it. Auntie Larvesta said it normally took at least a year for a Queen to pull it off. And it's gonna stay that way!

"How many other techniques do I not know about?"

>Which ones do you know?

"Changing into ponies, shooting lasers from my horn, basic magic and levitation and the ability to tap dance with our forelegs, but that one never comes up."

>...Wow, um, okay.

"Couple more?"

>A few. I didn't master most of them, though. Rival Queens didn't really share, so I had to just wing most of what I saw. I only know the basics.

"Like what?"

>Um... I can change my body into stuff, cut off that part and have it be permanently changed. Like, I could turn this arm into a sword, cut it off and BAM! Sword forever.

"..."

>Yeah, never did that one. Kind of self-defeating when you think about it. Oh! I can change colors. Just colors. I think it's for blending in with the trees?

"..."

>I can also breath fire... but it kills me. Fire coming out the throat, not a good idea in hindsight. Tempting, though. Really tempting. That's how they all died.

"..."

>...I can change pie flavoring. It's kind of neat. Think you're getting an apple pie, and then WHAM! Blueberry! Freaks ponies out.

"Did you learn anything useful?"

>...No. Even the DNA thing is totally useless when you think about it. Like, what the hell am I going to do with an arm filled with someone else's DNA? I can't change it ALL, obviously, or I wouldn't be able to go back.

"Well... damn. Hoping for, I don't know, the ability to grow multiple legs and turn into a Changeling Spider or something."

>Fraid not... I avoided Cousin Sciderella's colony like the plague. HAH! Plague! Cause that's how they died. That and the cannibalism.

"..."

>I don't need to look it up, I know that one.

"You ever consider writing this down? For future generations?"

>No, I think I'm happier with them only knowing the highlights.

"Well, if you think of anything useful, please tell me?"

>Of course! But only if you promise not to mention any of this to anyone. Any of it.

"As you wish, my Queen."

>Good... good. OH!

"What?"

>We can add another airhole to the back of our necks. Like a whale! Funny story, this one Changeling was going around strangling Queens-

"You know what? I'm good. Highlights only it is."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>SA
"Cadence"
'Chrysalis'
-18-
{42}
[AJ2]
~~~~~

>Alright, are we ready to try this table manners thing again?

{Yes!}

-...-

{I mean... uh... the process is good for sizing up foreign opponents?}

-Weak.-

{I will hit you.}

>Alright, this is... Chrysalis?

'Uh huh?'

>Do you feel like maybe saving the ice cream till later?

'Not particularly. I mean, I have my spoon, I have my rocky road, just gonna go with the flow here-'

"MY ROCKY ROAD!"

'Oh, so THAT'S why it said Cadence on it. I wondered when you got into the frozen dairy business.'

"YOU BI-"

>Language! Two is right there!

"FUCK YOU SHE ATE MY ICE CREAM! FUCK YOU CHRYSALIS!"

[Yeah, fuck Not-Mom!]

>...

-...Ooohhh boy.-

{... I don't think we're going to learn any more table manners today.}

'...I don't want to alarm anyone, but the table is floating. Just wanted to make that known.'

"...Dear? Why are you looking at me like that- HEY! NO! NO NO NO! GET THAT AWAY FROM ME! SHINY I'M SORR-UMF!"

{Why did you even have a bar of soap at the table?}

>Two, what did we learn?

[Ponies who say that word get their mouths washed out with soap, even Caddy?]

>That's right. You get a warning this time, but only one.

'HAH! Serves you right you little bi-UMF!'

[That word too?]

>That word too. Are you going to say those words?

[No, Shiny.]

>Good girl. Here's the rest of the ice cream, I don't think those two will be having any tonight.

"UMMMFMFMFMFM!"

'HMMFMFFMF!'

>They're saying sorry.

-...That's not what they're-

A hovering bar of soap shuts her up fairly quickly.

>So very, very sorry.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Mysterious Benefactor
"Flim"
'Flam'
~~~~~
In a secret facility HIGH ABOVE APPLOOSA, a massive airship serves as both a barracks and production facility for machines most foul!

>Gentlecolts, care to give me a status report on the construction and equipping of the robot and cybernetic army?

'Nicely, very nicely! We're actually ahead of schedule!'

"Except..."

>Except?

"Well, to keep within production time limits, as well as due to missing some key components, we cut back on the quality of the machines and parts slightly..."

'Very slightly! So slightly you won't notice a difference unless someone shoots them with a rocket!'

"Or an anti-material rifle!"

'Or hoses them with rapid, high-caliber bullet fire!'

"Or shoots them with a handful of small caliber bullets."

The brothers smile nervously

>... I can give you a one week extension. Can you triple the order size?

Another bag of bits drops on the table

'... For that much money we'll quadruple it!'

"Flam!"

>Done. Do it well and another bonus awaits you. But first, may I see some of the prototypes developed so far?

Flim and Flame nod once to eachother and present a line of various, higher quality machines.

'These 'Robot Masters' will be the officers of your army. Each is armed specially to combat in a unique way!'

>Excellent.

"If it's not too much to ask, just what do you plan to do with this army?"

The figure pulls back their hood revealing (to no one's surprise) the ex-prince Blueblood.

>Restore the status quo. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- Come, and laugh with me!

"..."

'...'

>I have a bonus for you two.

'In that case...'

>"'MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'"

Cue lightning!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Applejack
“Celestia”
‘Spitfire’
________
>Hey, Celly, Ah gotta ques…

‘Grrrglnghgngh….’

“Oh! Hello, Applejack, didn’t hear you come in there!”

>…

“Did you need something? Another torturous question? Some other disaster threatening to crush my little ponies?”

>Actually, yer’ doin’ a good job of that yerself, Celly. Why… Ah really don’t wanna know ‘cause the answer might scar me, but… why’re y’all chokin’ Spitfire like that?

“Choking? Me?”

>Yeah. You, Spitfire, hooves ‘round the neck, chokin’, her turnin’ blue. Why?

“Oh, Applejack, you silly princess. I’m merely giving dear Spitfire a neck massage!”

>…

‘Sheeeeeghs gaaaaagshgh….’

>Spitfire says yer’ chokin’ her.

“Neck massages, dear. Nothing more.”

>...okay, so why’re ya massagin’ her neck like that?

‘Psssssgh…’

“Oh, I think she deserved a little reward for being daft enough to deliver my specially ordered cake to Rainbow Dash. I’d been waiting for over a week while Pinkie Pie put the finishing touches on it.”

>Who the buck waits a week fer’ cake?

“Me, obviously.”

Applejack sighed.

>This neck massage, it won’t kill her, will it?

“I think not. It’ll be over in a few seconds, actually. I can always tell my massages are doing the trick when they start foaming like this.”

>This is all yer’ fault, y’know.

“Funny. Doesn’t feel like my fault on this one. Feels more like hers. Right, Spitfire?”

‘Brrrgluhg…’
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>AJ12
"77"

12 climbs the stone steps to one of the far towers of Canterlot Castle, he reaches the top to find a bare and out of use chamber where 77 looks out over the city.

"You found me."

>One of the guards said he saw you go in the tower, I looked through until I got up here.

"I see."

>Are you...okay?

"For a given value of ok, yes."

>You...you kind of freaked out last time I saw you. The...it's not a big deal that 88 was a female, the Queen doesn't care anymore.

"That doesn't matter. The Queen cared when the promise was made and I broke that promise. I betrayed the confidence of one of the few people I'd call a friend, a promise I gave her before she died."

77 sighs, eyes never leaving the horizon.

"I supposed it's time I finished my tale."

>You don't have to.

"No, I do, I've come so far, I'm not about to just stop."

>Fine, if it really helps.

"We had managed to escape the cavern, it wasn't long after that 32 and I began to detect a female scent in the air, I guess 88 had been dosing herself with male pheromones in secret, and she'd finally ran out. She confessed to us with little hesitation of her deception. She said she'd had to in order to avoid execution, that her loyalty meant nothing to the queen if she was on the wrong side of the gender line."

>Yeah, I remember the times before the decree, things got...nasty.

"We looked at how things were, 32 and I, we knew the Queen would call us traitors if we hid her. But...but we three were all we had left, we were almost certain we wouldn't make it out of that hell alive...we said yes, for as long as we lived we'd keep her secret and take it with us to our graves."

>You just expected to die?

"Seemed to be a running theme. It was some time later, during the few moments we allowed ourselves to sleep that...we lost 32."

>Lost him?

"When we fell asleep he was awake, when we woke up he was gone. It's funny, what's left of my imagination likes to think he's still alive down there, surviving, too clever for the Morlocks, the Spiders, the Lures, always a step ahead. But I know it's not true, no one can survive down there."

>You did.

"...you've got a twisted definition of survived. But it's all the same anyway, he-or his corpse-is down there somewhere, out of my reach. And then there were two, me and 88. We floated on and on, speaking to each other here and there but mostly just clinging to each other and waiting for...something...death, escape, another hazard? It didn't matter, just...an end, we begged for an end, happy or sad didn't matter."

>That's...

"Horrifying? Yeah, well, horror is the name of the game down there, and we weren't allowed to stop playing. Finally it became...too much for 88...it broke her and...she started apologizing, apologizing to everyone and everything she'd ever known for everything she'd ever done to deserve this...she just wanted it to end."

>...

"It went on for hours, finally it came down to us....all of us who'd died in the caves...she listed them off 45, 71, 93, 14, 21, 68, 50, 44, 32...and me. She looked at me, with tears in her eyes, and said she was sorry. Then she pressed her knife into my hooves then pushed away and disappeared under the water. Suicide by just...letting go."

>So the knife-

77 gives a rueful smile.

"I never used it before I slashed that guard in my escape...I think this is all a cruel joke sometimes. That I didn't make it out of those caves, that any moment I'm going to wake up into some fresh hell. The river somehow breaking into Canterlot's sewers? I've never been that lucky..."

77 looks down at his dagger...her dagger.

"...all my comrades...all my squad...all my friends...they're dead, and I'm alive..."

12 rests a forehoof on 77's side.

>You're alive for a reason, 77, this isn't some dream, and...seriously, come the fuck on, I'm your friend!

77 turns, looking 12 in the eyes with his one good eye, then he hugs him.

"Thank you."

77 pulls away, looking contemplative.

"I need...I need to do something, 12, and to do that I need to accomplish the task set before me by Princess Applejack. I really do thank you though, talking...helped."

>Do what you have to, buddy.

77 walks down the steps, determination in his eye.

----------

Spike sleeps in his hospital bed, unaware of chitinous hooves delivering a note in addition to the mountain of well wishes already sitting on his bedside table. 77 leaves and walks a good distance before barking orders to the guards around him.

Later when Spike woke, he would see the note's message:

"You know little of me, Dragon, but I am a Changeling who repays his debts. Princess Applejack showed mercy to my race when she allowed us to live, and now I take a small step in repaying her kindness. I will dedicate myself to hunting down the filth who injured you so and slaughtering him like the animal he is.

-Applejack 77

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>SA
"Chrysalis"
'Cadence'
-18-
[AJ 2]
{42}
~Guard 1~
"'Guard 2"'
~~~~~~

~...Have things around here been getting weirder to you?~

"'What do you mean?""

*WHHHR-THUM WHHHR-THUM*

>Break it up you two!

'She is kicking the back of my seat!'

"I am not! The booty, man, it cannot be controlled!"

'You use that excuse for everything!'

-Oh hey, I just noticed there's a little privacy window for the driver! Hey, Shiny, you know what road head is?-

{Is that when you stick your head out the window and something cuts it off?}

[GASP! THAT DOSSN HAPPEN!]

>No, Two, it's just a myth.

"So then what is it?"

'Yeah, I've never heard of this either.'

{...Why are you laughing so hard?}

~Can we stop and get some more Hyperspace Wars figures? I lost two of mine.~

>How?

~Chrysalis is a sore loser.~

"AM NOT!"

~Yes you are.~

"AM NOT!~

>I WILL TURN THIS TANK AROUND!

'How?'

>...I WILL TURN LEFT AT THE NEXT FOUR WAY INTERSECTION, TURN LEFT AGAIN, TURN IT AGAIN, AND THEN TURN RIGHT!

'...My eyes just crossed.'

[We're still gonna stop at Bubble-Burger, right? Pleeeease!]

>...Yes.

[YAY! Gonna get my tooooy! Gonna get my toooy!]

'I SAID STOP KICKING ME!'

"MAKE ME!"

As the mech continued on into the distance, the second guard could only shrug.

"'I don't see it."'

~...Yeah, probably just in my head.~
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________