Thread 77: Stories 31-45

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>18
"2"
~~~~~~

>....So, uhhh....

"..."

>...N-not mom is uh... she's probably... probably just... playing a game?

"..."

>...That scream is because she uh... just really, really wants to play.. with Applejack.

"..."

>...Uh...

"...She ain't gonna hurt 'er, right Eighteen?"

>...

"..."

>...Please stop wibbling.

"...'

>...No, she's not, Applejack is fiiiiiiiiine.

"..."

>...And I am not saying that to preserve your child like innocence.

"Oh! PHEW! Ah' was worried there!"

>R-right... totally honest...

"M'kay!... Rawr Rawr rawr!"

>Are you seriously going back to playing monster?

"Ya' think Ah' shouldn't? Why?"

>...because you just did that twice, so clearly it's shark time?

"OH! RIGHT!... Dun nun nun nuh."

>...The bites are so worth it.

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Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"RD"
~~~~~
>Welcome to Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content doesn't matter and we have the bestest times! Now for our main guest...RAINBOW DASH!!!

"'Sup Pinkie."

>Did you know that a cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime?

"...that's a lot of milk."

>They're milk producing machines! Thanks for joining in for a useless fact.

"...hey why do we even drink cow milk?"

>...would you drink my milk?
RD wakes up.

>...*cringes*

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>DT
"Daw"
'PJ'
-SS-

Over the snow swept slopes of Mount Canter they flew, with a singular purpose and a determined pace...a rather slow pace but a determined one nonetheless.

>Go faster, you dumb pirate!

"I would if certain big jagged hunka metal weren't on me back! What do you even need it for!?"

'Mmmrrrmph!'

-Well there WERE crazy cannibal mutants living under us up until recently.-

>So just imagine what is living up at the summit! I'm being cautious, besides he comes with a spotlight!

"FUCK! MY EYES!"

>Ohcrapokayturningitoff!

"Fuckin' hell!"

-Whoa, watch out, you're getting too close to me and PJ!-

'Mmmrph!'

"Okay! Okay! My vision is coming back, please tell me someone sees him!"

'Hrrrrmmmm...MRHRM!'

-We see him, down there!-

>Alright, you, get us down to where we can load him up on your back and back to Canterlot!

"Hold on tight!"

Together the pegasus and changeling landed on the drifts, the two fillies (and one large hunk of hardware) sliding off their backs to run towards the object of their search:

A pair of stubby scaly legs flailing in the air, the only identifiable marks of one Spike the Dragon.

>Alright, SS, pull!

With a yank between them, the two fillies managed to pull the shivering dragon out of the snow.

~G-g-g-guys? Is th-th-that you?~

>Pipe down, Spike, we're getting you back home. C'mon, up onto the pirate's you go-do NOT drop him!

"Do I look like an amateur? Hold on tight, boss, it's gonna be all-HRK!"

>Don't drop sexy either.

"For fuck's sake!"

>PROVE YOUR WORTH, NEWBIE!

"Nngh, gladly...ya little gobshite."

>Heard that!

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NC
AJ leads from the front
~~~

>AJ lights up her horn in a blaze of orange

>"Initiatin'... code Alpha."

>the other members of the A-team all feel the pull in their chest and begin to gather

>even DT shows up, confused as shit

>"Yeah, yer' comin', too. Ah' made ya mah responsibility when Ah' let ya join, Ah' see that now, but ya stay by mah side. Now tighten up, y'all, we got less than twenty-four hours for a snatch'n'grab."

>"...so why's did we feel that pull?"

"Implants in her heart Ah can detonate."

>"Wait what

"Roll out!"

~~~

"Yup, all legal an' bindin'. 'member that stack o' papers y'all signed before joinin' but didn't read? Yeah, them."

*42 raises her hoof*

>I actually did read that, you didn't say anything about an implant.

"Pfft, baloney ya' read all six hundred pages o' terms and conditions."

>I did.

"..."

>...

"...Fuck. Ah' knew OCD was gonna be mah' downfall..."

>...Since when did fucking doing your job right become OCD? Fucking kids today-

"I SAID ROLL OUT!"

~~~

'77'
~~~~

'Don't you be playing the age card, youngster.'

>We're the same age! EXACTLY THE SAME AGE! We came from the SAME FUCKING BROOD!

'...Well, I'm older.'

>Bullshit!

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>AJ
"Twilight"
'Rarity'
[Fluttershy]
{Dash}
(Pinkie)
~~~~~

It was never a good sign when they were all sitting in what was now dubbed 'the circle' and frowning.

Somehow, the fact they were all pointed at her made Applejack feel infinitely worse, and she didn't think that was possible.

"Okay, so, would you please, in detail, tell us what happened?"

'And would I like to remind everyone in the room that we need to hear ALL the details before we say anything?'

[Um... we know.]

{So, can I sick the Wonderbolts on Chrysalis yet?}

(Uh, Dashie? Dashie bo bashie? She just, like, chucked all the guards, that was not even a thing to her. I don't think they'd work.)

{Pfft... pegasi rock.}

[Aren't a lot of guard pegasi?]

{...Shut up.}

"Can we FOCUS! Applejack! Explanation!"

>...Well, it kinda went like this.

So, she detailed 12's beginnings, his infatuation with the psychotic Screwloose, his desire to continue working, her own hoof in ensuring he kept his job, and finally all the many, many... 'questionable' choices to have Screwloose brought up here in his custody to work for her.

And that she had lied when A, she failed to check up on him after the invasion, B, when he was kidnapped along with a psychotic, dangerous scientist, C, that she had no idea where he was, and D, that Screwloose was known for... 'biological experimentation.' And dissection.

>...Soooo-

WHUMP went the head against the desk, and Twilight stopped moving for a bit.

'...A-alright, I know this looks a liiiittle bad-'

{HOLY RAINBOOMS AJ! Wha- I mean-}

>Ah' didn't want him ta' get kidnapped!

{A doy! I'm just... WHAT!?}

[Applejack!]

The weird mixture of whisper and scream would always

[I understand bad things happening you can't control, but Chrysalis has a lot of very talented trackers who could have made this so much easier for you.]

>Ah' didn't want her ta' know about it! Ya'll saw how she reacted!

[Of course she reacted like that, she's probably scared out of her mind right now!]


{...Okay, I'm on the 'what that what Aj' side right now, but I have to call bull, she doesn't care about those guys. Preeeetty sure she's just mad AJ pulled one on her.}

Fluttershy did not frown. She did not get mad. She did not even look to her.

Nonetheless, the snake made out of a noisemaker that unraveled from her ear and slapped Dash on the back of the head spoke volumes.

None had the heart to ask if that was intentional.

'...Uh, Applejack, darling? Look, I'm... I'm not gonna say I'd be straightforward either if I were in your horeshoes, but-'

WHUMPWHUMPWHUMP

They waited.

And only when the noise stopped coming from Twilight's desk did she continue.

'...As I was saying, I doubt I'd be open to admitting my mistakes on this level either to Chrysalis unless I was behind no less than all five of you all together, but... well, alright, I agree that she likely could not give a single care about those minions of hers, but-'

WHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMPWHUMP

'...but perhaps, just this one time, we could accept she was over-reacting, but maybe not bring it up in polite conversation.'

{So, never when talking to her.}

'You said it, not me.'

(Sooooo, uh... what do we do now?)

>That ones the easy part.

She stood up on her desk, looking to each and every one of them in turn.

>This here's mah mess, and Ah'm gonna clean it up one way or the other. And if I dun messed up so bad nothin's gonna put it back together... Well, Ah'll deal with that too. Ah' just wanted ya'll ta' know so that iffin' worst comes ta' worst... stay outta the way, cause me and her are gonna settle it.

The room when silent, somber and sad.

...Then exploded into laughter.

'AHAHAH! Pfft, right, sure.'

{Totally going to do that.}

[Obviously.]

(HAH! Oh, AJ, you should do standup with me!)

>...Heh.

Alright, she admitted.

Little funny.

>...Let's fix this.

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~~~~~

Fire. Confused Canterlites hurling accusations based on the information gained from the bystanders. Appleclan ponies with a health dose of prejudice and false, drunken valor.

And so very much fear in the eyes of the ponies as they were left to draw their own conclusions. Of course they were the worst, colored by previous incidents.

32's plan to improve the public image of his Hive was crumbling to dust before his eyes, and it stung..

Chrysalis, his Queen, had assaulted Princess Applejack, leaving only fear and destruction in her wake. Not even the recent news that the other Queen, Chitania, had apparently built a bond of kinship with the princess could heal that. Joyous a occasion as it was, likely to instill more trust.

But just to the Titan. Not to the Changelings as a whole.

Well, it would explain why Chrysalis so readily struck out. There was no mystery about the animosity between Queens. Chrysalis had always believed herself the last, unique. And now someone appears who challenges this believe in his Queen's supremacy.

No, not 'his' queen. 'A' queen. A queen like any other. There was nothing special to her the moment you challenged her. She struck out, uncaring of the damage she did. Like the damage to his good intentions.

It was so grating. So incredibly frustrating and futile. It was like stemming onself against the course of nature.

He wasn't fully in the know, he didn't know WHY Chrysalis has resorted to open violence and screaming.. But it wasn't looking good. And it hurt so much that he had cut away a piece of his pride just to reconcile with the completely unrestrained Queen.

>Why...?


At that moment, when his will was at its lowest, and he saw all his trust, his faith and future erode and turn to dust... Variolus' mental command snapped into place.

At first, the Changeling stumbled, heaving as if struck, trying to keep himself upright in the empty lobby of his now abandoned embassy. Memories were flooding him, some were his own and had been sealed away. Others were foreign thoughts.

And lastly, the whispered words of his former Queen. His actual Queen and mother, a small, snide voice commented.

“Bring her to me.”, Variolus had said, with a clear image of whom she meant. And he knew whom she meant, and where this Changeling was. Who would he be not to know the faces of his brethren?

His mind raced, his heart beat up a thunderstorm, his eyes wild. He had to warn the Queen, the princesses, he had to.... had to...

>Oh.

His breathing gradually slowed, his thoughts calmed, and his former resolve returned.

No, the time for delegating to the higher-ups was over. He was slave to no royalty, no peasant. He would find this Changeling, as he had been commanded. But....

…he would leave the choice to her, to the Changeling herself..

That was his belief. That any Changeling had the right to chose for themselves. To pave the way to their future on their own. Determination shone in his eyes, and his stride spoke of it as he left his embassy behind, the banner announcing his debunking of false rumors fluttering the ground in the breeze.

He left Canterlot and the reparations to it behind via Portal within the same hour. His choice bore much weight, he knew. But it was the path he had chosen.

Changeling Queens be damned.

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>Chrysalis
"Celestia"
~~~~

She looked out over it.

All of it.

The damage she had done, the chaos she had wrought, all the inferno of horror she had left in her wake.

And strangely....

"Do you regret it?"

>...No.

She didn't feel bad for it at all.

Behind her, the white alicorn nodded, unhappy, but understanding.

>Is that bad? I've... actually come to feel bad for things like this, sometimes. I felt bad when I came down and realized I pushed Shiny, I felt bad about that, but I don't feel bad about... this.

"It is... unfortunate... but I understand."

>Oh?

"Chrysalis?"

She turned to face her at last, tearing her gaze from the smoke still rising from where the flames had scorched in her wake, turning around to look right into the soft, sparkling eyes waiting for her.

"...I understand. So does Shiny, so will Applejack, in time. She'll understand... what they mean, in time."

With a grunt, she turned away, again looking back to where even now, they struggled to undo her damage.

>...When he comes back alive, I think I need a vacation.

The ghosts of a smile tugged at the corners of Celestia's lips, just a bit, just barely there.

"I'll get Shiny and the ice rink ready."

>...I fucking hate ice skating.

"I know."

Slowly...

Chrysalis's cheek began to twitch as well.

"She'll fix this, just give her time... just give her time."

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Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"AJ"
~~~~~
>Welcome to Not Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content does matter, but I'm going to be unproductive! Now for our main guest...APPLEJACK!!!

"Howdy."

>How do you milk cows?

"...what?"

>The cows. I was wondering how you milked cows. Do you you use a machine, your hooves,...your mouth? Do they enjoy it?

"...are ya joking?"

>Apparently I used up all my questions, so that's our show!
AJ wakes up.

"...some of them do."

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>Citrine
"Changelings"
~~~

>...So, uh, you guys gonna put off asking her what you're going to do?

"SHHHH!"

"BITCH DON'T BLOW OUR COVER!"

>You do realize that you're all trying to hide behind the same potted plant, right?

"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUP!"

>...Gonna take it for later, then.

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NC
>7
"???"
~~~~

>...Well, this is... uh... this iiiisss... weird.

"Shut up."

>Do you... you okay?

"Don't you have an ass kicking to go attend to? It is that time of the week."

>Look, can we shelve the rival thing? I am legitimately worried you're seriously injured here.

"I am, as always, in the perfect shape."

>...

"..."

>...You're in a-

"I am well aware of my location, Seven."

>But you're just really deep in-

"I am also aware of the depth, thank you, you are not helping at all, and I would like you to leave now."

>...I'm going to pull you out.

"Don't you d-NNGGHHHHHH!"

>...Wow.

"I did not make a noise, you misheard."

>I didn't say you did-

"YOU MISHEARD!"

>...

"...I would like to test your abilities right now."

>Oh?

"Yes. Scale of one to ten, how bad does it look?"

>...Seven.

"..........Har, de har, HAR."

>That, uh, that wasn't a joke.

"..."

>...You need me to get you to a-

"NO!"

>...

"I do not NEED it, but if you do, I will consider going easy on you next time."

>...M'kay. Least Applejack will appreciate this.

"Unlike me. I do not care-HNNNG!"

>..

"...You heard nothing."

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>88
"77"
~~~~

"OOWWWWW!"

>...

"OOWWWWWWWW!"

>...

"....WHY DID SHE SCREAM LIKE THAT!?"

>I suppose she's angry?

"THAT HURTS SO MUCH!"

>...Really?

"YES!"

>Really.

"WHAT!?"

>Really.

"WHAT!?"

>You don't see the parallel.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

>...Nothing.

"Fuck, I need my ear plugs... now where did I put those?"

>Please no-

"EEKEKKEKEKEKEKEKEKEE"

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>Luna
"29"
'Mayor Mare'
[Zecora]
{Trixie}
~~~~~

They had been summoned to this place.

This dark, unsettling place just off the side of the town. The place so still... where few ever venture.

The Princess of the Night had summoned them, all four of them, to this place.

The Ponyville graveyard.

>Does thou feel it, in thine very bones? Can thee taste it in the air, the death all around?

"Princess? Uh... why are we here?"

She looked to them, all of the gravestones in turn, lingering on all of them for just a second.

>The remnants of the souls is heaviest in places where they died. Here, in this place, we are surrounded by it. Do you feel it, in thine very pores? To thou's beating heart? Does thou hear the cries of those that past, the lingering resentment of a life snuffed out? Does thou hear it?

'...Question!'

She looked so very earnest, so very peppy as she held her hoof in the air.

>...Yes, politician?

'You said the lingering stuff is heaviest where they DIED, right?'

>Yes, that is what we said, congratulations, thou can hear functionally. We are very proud.

'It's just... well, if that's the case, why are we in a graveyard?'

She looked at her.

Looked at her with the most incredulous, dumbstruck face any had ever seen. If she had said 'What does arsenic taste like?' the looks she gave would have been indistinguishable.

>...Why does thou think!?

[No wait, I too am slightly confused by our placement. Why would we be here if we search for a remnant?]

{Trixie thinks this place has amazing aesthetics, sure, but what are we looking for.}

>...We just... We.. GRAVEYARD! We are in a blasted GRAVEYARD! We are looking for dead ponies! HOW IS THIS ESCAPING YOU ALL!?

"Hold thine horse, are we looking ponies who are dead or where they died?"

>WHY DOES THAT MATTER!?

[It is vital, one would think. This distinction is like where you swim or sink.]

>WHAT!?

'Well, how many ponies died in a graveyard? You would think we would be, like... at the bottom of a dangerous cliff or something.'

{Or a badly regulated fireworks factory, not that Trixie would know of such a place.}

[Someplace where they DIED, not where their families came and cried.]

She held up her hoof and opened her mouth in preparation to let out one of the most insulting lessons she had ever given.

Then she froze.
Her eyes went wide and darted around.
She looked left.
Looked right.
Her eyes rolled upwards to the sky.
Rolled back down at a snails pace before stopping while staring straight ahead.
And sloooooooowwwwwwly, her hoof lowered to the ground, and her mouth gradually closed.

>...Class is dismissed for today.

"But we didn't-"

>WE SAID THOU ART DISMISSED!

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>42
"???"
'Changelings'
~~~~~~

She had found them quickly enough, assembled them quickly enough, and in no time at all they were gathered, and ready. Standing in a perfect line in the stadium, a premier force in efficiency and loyalty. They were charged, strong and willing, and she was going to make full use of this.

She barked her orders as she marched forth in front of them, her voice loud, crisp and professional. And with every step, they listened.

>Alright! I need at least ten soldiers, each one flight capable and preferably ones with stealth capabilities up to but not nessecarily including high Infiltrator class. On top of that, I will need three Infiltrators, minimum, each with no less than four confirmed successes in a high risk field. On top of that, two drones who are overcharged with love will be necessary, but if you are also near-solider class this is a benefit. We are going into a place we have no intel on excepting the information I gathered from the conductor. As a result, we have a very limited timeframe, but hopefully we will be able to use the distraction of the chaos her Majesty created for a cover long enough to get in, get him, and get out. Casualties are to be avoided... but acceptable. Now, do I have-

"What are you doing?"

As one, in perfect harmony, they all stopped, turned to her, and bowed.

>Majesty! I was just assembling our forces to go retrieve Twelve-

"No."

She froze, an wash of uneasiness coming over her at the dark, no-nonsense tone of her Highnesse's voice.

>...Majesty?

"I... said..."

She leaned in, nice and close, and whispered in her ear.

"No."

>...I don't understand, aren't we going to go get him? We cannot leave him as he is!

A murmur of agreements whispered through the crowd, but they all went silent the moment Chrysalis looked to them.

"...We are not mobilizing, not now. I have fears that this is... a trap."

>A... trap?

"Yes... it was quite a coincidence that he was taken to such a place, his location hidden from me, and now that we know of him it is only after days of time and... perpetration can be made."

>I... I detected no such plans in his mind, majesty.

She hummed to herself, looking thoughtful, pensive.

"No, you wouldn't... from him. But right now, it would be expected we would send others out to go retrieve him, wouldn't it? Our best and brightest, off away from the Empire we've moved to, just as soon as we show our power and instill fear at what we can do."

>Well, your power...

"It reeks of... intentional."

>Do you think his employer is behind this?

"...Yes."

>But Majesty, the only one who knew of this before today was Applejack.

"...Yes, only Applejack..."

Forty Two was not, even close, on the best of terms with the princess right now.

But even she felt quite chilled by those words. Something about them just plain felt off.

"...We are not mobilizing, not yet. None of them are to attempt a rescue."

>Yet?

"No, Applejack has declared she will have him within twenty three hours, four minutes and six seconds. So... not yet."

Again, the way she rolled off that 'yet' just felt... off.

>So, are we just to wait?

"No... we are to prepare. For his... 'arrival home'. We'll be sure to have a warm welcome ready."

She looked out over the crowd, culling them all with nothing but a look and making them cower in fear.

"Do be ready to... 'celebrate', my subjects. In Twenty Three hours, the fun is going to begin. After all, those ponies know how to plan a party... but none plan like a changeling."

With a dramatic flourish of her hair, she turned, and walked away. Leaving behind her stunned, shaken soldier.

>...Well, you heard her! Back to it!

In a frenzy, they ran, off to go fulfill her majesties wishes, and not a one of them actually knew what that was.

Alone shortly enough, Forty Two sat there, with nothing but her thoughts.

And her fears.


>...Well... She did say none of THEM are to go attempt a rescue...

She knew this was essentially going behind her Majesties back.

>...And she did say twenty Three hours until APPLEJACK delivers...

She looked around, spotted none, heard none, detected none.

Only when she was sure, did she call her ring of fire.

>...Surely, if she meant to, she would have clarified which one...

Just before it took her, she had time to say one last thing.

>And if I can't bring my army... I shall have to hire... outside help.

In the blink of an eye, nothing remained by a wisp of flame.

And she was gone.

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NC
>42
~~~~

>...I want a sammich

FWOOSH!

>Did I forget my drink?

FWOOSH

>Maybe some chips too.

FWOOSH

>...Forgot the dip

FWOOSH

>Oh, right, can't ignore the bowl.

FWOOSH

>...How did I survive without this!?

~~~

>..I wonder if I can just teleport my shit..

FWOOSH!

"OH DEAR GOD IT'S IN MY HAIR!"

>Guess that's a no.

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NC
[Editor's note: What-if of Applejack getting mortally wounded during her rescue of Applejack 12.]
~~~

>I'M NOT FALLING FOR THIS SHIT!

*PLOP!*

>..Okay, I admit, I admire your sticking to the bit hard enough that was a plop rather than a whump, but I'm not falling for it!

*zzzt*

>ACK! MY EYES! SHE SPRAYED POISON INTO MY EYES!

"Actually, pretty sure that was a blood vessel rupturing."

>THIS WAS ALL A PLAN TO POISON ME!

"... where does the giant spear in her back fall into that?"

>...DAMN! I can't figure it out! She's one step ahead of me! FUCK!

"I'm starting to think I was safer in the lab.."

~~~

On that day all of Canterlot, and much of Equestria, was silent

The funeral procession slowly made it's way, down from Canterlot, to a small town, to a small farm, to a small hill

Clad in black were the low and high of Equestrian society, those, tho, though they may not have known, were still touched by her efforts, her drive to see the job through to the end

What fateful pity it was a inglorious end

As family, for on this day they were all as family, they felt their call of the drums laying her to rest, like the solemn lifelong march of a ponies heart.

And in that hanging silence, voices,

What next?

What will we do without her?

Why did she have to be taken from us?

Was she happy? In the end?

And far off, in the forgotten distances of a suffocatingly confined cell, another voice cried out into the great unknown night

"I'M NOT FALLING FOR IT! SHE'S STUBBORN BUT SHE'S SMART! SHE DOES THIS! SHE PLOTS! THAT'S WHAT SHE'S ALWAYS DONE! IT'S ALL PART OF HER PLAN!"

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