[Nexus] HT's plots

[Chaotic Bob]

[Beachside]

"I bet if Twilight can accidentally magic us here, someone here could accidentally magic you there! It's the perfect plan! We could even throw you a Visiting From the Nexus party!"
Did anyone tell her where she is?

There's a peculiar little glint in the pink pony's eyes as Tina curbs her speech, but it seems to do absolutely nothing to diminish her grin, bounce, or apparently boundless enthusiasm.
"Now that can't be true! There has to be some sorta fun things to do there, or everyone would be dreepy weepy all the time!
Maybe you could throw a party in a place with a fair view?"

[UncleWolf]

Not The Dragon's Den

Vinny fires off a round at the cultist who casts the purple spell at Billie before leaping over the Bar for cover and rummages around, searching for something specific. His hands wander over bourbon, whiskey, and expensive fine wines before finding what he wants.

Everclear.

He uses his empty hand to grab a mason jar filled with the pure alcohol and he throws it at the largest group of cultists. With any luck, the jar will break and light them all on fire if the alcohol catches on fire from the magma that seems to be everywhere.

[Murkus]

[Beachside]

"I bet if Twilight can accidentally magic us here, someone here could accidentally magic you there! It's the perfect plan! We could even throw you a Visiting From the Nexus party!"
Did anyone tell her where she is?

There's a peculiar little glint in the pink pony's eyes as Tina curbs her speech, but it seems to do absolutely nothing to diminish her grin, bounce, or apparently boundless enthusiasm.
"Now that can't be true! There has to be some sorta fun things to do there, or everyone would be dreepy weepy all the time!
Maybe you could throw a party in a place with a fair view?"

Tina merely supposes the Pony was told about their Nexus at an earlier time. Still, strange...

"Oh, there's all kinds of fun things. Nice views, too," The platinum girl's a little busy ogling some other beachgoers while she talks. Oh! Crap! No innuendo around little ponies! Tina quickly returns her attention to Poofy.

"But, y'know... it's so dark and rainy all the time..." Tina shrugs her skinny shoulders. "Too many stupid people. Although you probably wouldn't know."

As for cotton candy stands, they should find one next post.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Beachside]

Next post?
Next post?!
Where?!

Oh, probably that thing over there.
"Poofy" is completely failing to notice it all!

She's been distracted by a crab, which she seems to be raining little bits of confetti on from one of her hooves.
Is she holding the confetti somehow, or spitting it out of her hoof?
For some reason, it seems utterly impossible to determine.

"Oh, I know plenty of not-smart ponies! Not everyone can be a smarty-smartpants like Twilight.
Those ponies that woke up the giant star bear so Trixie could show off weren't very smart. Or maybe they were reeeeally smart and were secretly trying to undermine Trixie's reputation, without anyone knowing!"
This thought seems to perplex her, as she proceeds to stop raining colored joy upon the little confused crustacean, instead tap-tapping away on the side of her head with a hoof.

"I dunno! But there's always fun you can make, no matter the place!"

[Murkus]

Beachside

Tina somehow doubts Ponyville has a strict adherence to the laws of physics. The platinum girl's generally come to accept that by now for the Nexus, but she hasn't seen anything quite so... cartoony yet.

"Are you, like, incapable of saying a bad thing about someone?" Tina asks, raising her brows. Disregarding that bit about fun, she asks, "And what the hell's a star bear?" Tina really must get in the habit of not swearing around kids.

Meanwhile, Tina points out a couple of very large cotton candy bundles. Enough for all. The man behind the counter hands them over, smiling, and Tina trades him a few gold pieces.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Beachside]

Physics is for squares.
Although Ponyville certainly bows to a certain degree of it.
But certain inhabitants most certainly do not.

In response to that first question, the pony just laughs and waves a somewhat amused dismissive hoof.
"Of course not! That'd just be silly."
If she is bothered by the subsequent vulgarity, "Poofy" completely fails to show it.
Instead, she has rears up on her hind legs, put on her best pretend-scary face, and arches her forelegs in front of her.
"Ursa minors are big huge scary monsters that will totally gobble you up and stomp on your favorite cakes! And houses.
GRRRR, ROOOOAR, SMASH SMASH PONY THINGS BECAUSE I NEED A NAP!"

Then she immediately falls back to all fours and giggles some more.
"Kinda cute though!"

At some point, some other strange form of goldish currency appears with Tina's payment, from a stealthy pony-hoof.
She's helping pay! Somehow.

[Murkus]

[Beachside]

Tina busts out laughing at the impression. Apparently, constellations walk around and smash things in Ponyville. Don't question, Tina, just move on. "Stop, you're scaring me!" Once she catches her breath a little, the shiny lady offers one of the bundles to Poofy. Even the man behind the counter is laughing. "Cute? Nooo. You're cute. Giant space bears aren't. C'mon, let's go back and bother our new buddy." With that, she'll lead Poofy back towards the Sandbar.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Beachside]

"Poofy" seems to be incredibly pleased at the laughter she's created, although not in an arrogant way.
Seems to simply be genuinely happy that Tina (and the cotton candy guy!) were happy.

And so she seems to be almost glowing as she proceeds to devour the cotton candy offered to her.
Mostly all at once.

Her version of accepting the treat from Tina was simply wrapping her mouth around the entirely of the not-handle part, then pulling it back out with a hoof, now bare of its sugary goodness.
"Mmmm, cotton candy! That stuff's almost as tasty as cupcakes."

Which interestingly, the pony seems to smell ever so faintly of.
Perhaps just a bakery in general.

And then a compliment!
"Awww, thanks! I didn't know I was cute, everyone mostly just says I'm weird or random. Dashie really likes to use 'random'."
A pleased-as-punch bounce pattern is resumed as Tina suggests returning to Dio, before she pauses again and turns back to the cotton candy guy.

"Oooh, I almost forgot! You're invited to our introduction party too! Right over there!"
A hoof is pointed for directions, and the bouncing resumes!

[Murkus]

Beachside

"I dunno about that," says Tina, in an unusually wholesome and rather happy mood. This pony and Dio have really turned an afternoon around.

Wait, was that the whole thing of cotton candy? Tina feels like she should buy more now. Oh well. "Well, you are kinda weird and random," Tina says, merely stating a fact with a little giggle.

Then more attention on the cotton candy guy! He looks like he sells all kinds of confections, but cotton candy seems to be the main export. He's a fishy-looking fellow, literally, with gills and fins and everything. "Um... I should really just run the stand..." He talks to her as he would talk to a small child, just as Tina's been doing.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Beachside]

As Tina confirms some facts regarding the pony's generally gleeful inconsistency in life, she receives a conspiratorial wink and an expression of one who is about to reveal a deep dark secret.
"...I know!"

Then with a sort of peculiar abandon, she's bounced all the way back over to the stand's edge and propped herself up on her hind legs to get a better view of the seller guy.
"Whaaaaaat if I bought everything so you didn't have to?"

[Murkus]

[Beachside]

As Tina confirms some facts regarding the pony's generally gleeful inconsistency in life, she receives a conspiratorial wink and an expression of one who is about to reveal a deep dark secret.
"...I know!"

Then with a sort of peculiar abandon, she's bounced all the way back over to the stand's edge and propped herself up on her hind legs to get a better view of the seller guy.
"Whaaaaaat if I bought everything so you didn't have to?"

Tina giggles at the 'startling revelation'. Before she can stop the pony, Poofy trots back to bother Candyman.

Candyman sorta purses his lips. He's not really sure. "You, uh, have enough money for that?" Tina has to wonder where Poofy's pulling this money from.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Beachside]

"Nope! Maybe enough for a third. Or a quarter. Maybe three.
Instead, I'll ask Mr. Party Man if we can have the introduction party over here!
Then you don't have to miss out and we can buy more cotton candy when we need it!"
"Poofy" seems to find this an absolutely perfect idea, beaming quite widely as she bounces in anticipation of the candy man's agreement.

[Murkus]

[Beachside]

"...Yeah? Sure?" Says Candyman, who is obviously a little shy. Tina gestures for the pony to run along. "Why don't you got Partyman, sweety? I'll set up some towels and stuff."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Beachside]

"Hooray! Be back in a jiffy!"
And then "Poofy" is gone!
Not quite like she just vanished, she just bounced away pretty quickly.

Off to go find that bartender party lord guy!

[Slii Arhem]

Sandbar

Party-Lord-Bartender-Guy is waiting over by his bar, a satyr polishing a glass idly beside him while he lifts up a tray of confectioneries, still steaming hot from when he stole them from his loyal servant's oven.

Somewhere in the distance, an alseid can be heard screaming in rage and frustration. Not the first time he'd pulled this trick. Of course, if more of his followers chose to learn some simple baking, he'd probably not be stealing from just the one all the time.

"So, where shall we hold his party then? Introductions are very important after all. Wouldn't want to mess them up." Aside from the tray of sweets, Dio also holds several glasses on a tray in his other hand, a large pitcher of fruit punch in the center.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Sandbar]

Confections?
Food! Yum!

For a couple seconds, as "Poofy" returns, it looks a bit like she's planning on just jumping at the tray of food and gobbling it up on the spot.
But for whatever reason, she restrains herself, and instead gleefully bounces around while pointing one hoof off towards the cotton candy stand.
"There's this poor guy who couldn't leave his stand to join the party, so I suggested we move it over there!"

Sure he understands bringing in more guests?

[Slii Arhem]

Sandbar

Of course he understands! More guests means more people to have fun with!

Sadly, the satyr he woke up will have to stay behind and man the bar in his absence. It's just as well, he's probably the biggest party pooper in Dio's followers. Even the god of booze has some hard workers in his flock.

"Let's go greet this man then, and then each other perhaps, and then one more person, and have fun doing it." I couldn't have said it better if I'd written it.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Sandbar -> Back to the Poor Candy Guy]

"Wee! This is going to be so much fun!"
Because there's absolutely nothing quite like a good party to get your day started off with a bang!

Speaking of which...
"Poofy" seems to have acquired a blue cannon with daisy wheels and is wheeling it around in front of her as she bounces. Not a particularly simple mix of motions, but she seems to be managed without a problem.

[Slii Arhem]

To the Poor Candy Guy

Dio's eyes glimmer with merriment as he follows the clearly insane pink horse and her cannon. This has been quite a fruitful day, and it was only getting moreso by the moment.

((Going to pause for Murkus now.))

[Murkus]

Candy Guy's Stall

Candy guy is chatting awkwardly with Tina when the two return. Mostly about how strange that pony is.

Then Tina notices the cannon. "Where does she get this stuff?" Tina asks Dio.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Candy Guy's Stall]

Hooray, she's back, new friends!

"Poofy" gives a merry little laugh in the face of Tina's question to Dio, electing to answer it rather simply herself.
"Duh! I never leave home without my party cannon!"
But she doesn't seem to be using it quite yet, instead reclining over the back of it a bit and aiming her glowing grin towards Candy Guy.

"You wanna set it off?"

[Slii Arhem]

Candy Guy's Stall

Dio simply laughs at Tina's question, and again at being preempted by the pony. He's doing a lot of laughing at the moment.

"Someone had better set it off, or I'm liable to do it myself, just to see what it does." The ingenuity of mortals would never cease to amaze him, and he's almost giddy to see just how this situation will proceed.

[Murkus]

Candy Guy's Stall

Candy Guy sorta just creeps down behind his stall, given that there's now a cannon pointed at him. He doesn't know what that thing's supposed to do! Party could mean lots of stuff!

"Not really," He says, peeking over the counter.

Tina, meanwhile, walks over very casually and whacks the cannon's button. Or whatever mechanism causes it to fire.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Candy Guy's Stall]

She seems a bit disappointed when Candy Guy declines, noted by a slight decline in her ears, but they jump back up as Tina moves in.
With a light nimbleness, the pony moves off of the cannon and nudges one of the wheels with the back of a hoof to subtly alter its direction as the button is pressed.

And then the world is color.


Despite its apparent design, the weapon fire three times, each time the recoil from the previous shot aiming the weapon higher up into the air.
With one shot, bright pink covers are splattered all over the stand and certain nearby portions of the beach, another a flurry of streamers, balloons, and what may very well be cupcake shaped Christmas lights.
Each of these fills the air with confetti and a noise not unlike a crowd of ponies gleefully cheering.

The final shot goes almost straight up in the air, what appears to be a canister if some sort that is entirely content to vanish into the cloud.
"One and two and tap tap tap!"
With each tap, "Poofy" taps her hoofs together and a different pile of party equipment falls out of the sky.
A radio there, cutlery and dishes there, games and kazoos over there.

There is also more confetti raining down upon them.
Somewhat literally.
One of the clouds seems to have been warped by whatever was in that canister to begin raining down confetti.

The pony wears a slightly dreamy look on her first as she watches her handiwork.
"I spent all night working on that one."

[Slii Arhem]

Candy Guy's Stall

Dio expertly swivels the tray of drinks around on his hand to that none of the confetti lands in the glasses, although plenty gets on the tray. And then he laughs uproariously at the sight of pink everything decorating the scene.

"It was, without a doubt, absolutely worth the effort." This pony was like a miniature horse-shaped vacation for him. All the effort he usually had to put into pleasing his followers, she was doing on her own here.

He also hands the likely distressed candy vendor a tall glass of alcoholic fruit punch, despite none of the glasses leaving the tray.

[Murkus]

Candy Guy's Stall

Tina outright cheers at the display, clearly impressed. She watches the confetti fall with her hands outstretched at her sides, a grin on her face. "Dang, Poofy, you cook up a mean party." She points at Poofy and Dio. "I think you two are gonna get along nicely."

Candy Guy stands, blinking, a little stunned. He's not too surprised - stuff like this is typical of the Nexus - but nothing's even come close yet. The tall fish-fellow takes the glass once it's offered, downing a quarter in his first drink. After a moment of respectful silence, he says something with real confidence for once: "I think we're gonna need more people."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Candy Guy's Stall]

"Aw, thanks guys! I'm so glad you like it!"
She speaks with utmost sincerity and glee, quite genuinely pleased by their enjoyment.
"I think we're all gonna get along totally great!"
They're already awesome friends, aren't they?

But then Candy Guy has to go and open his mouth, reminding "Poofy" of one of the reasons they came over here anyway.
"Oh! That's right!
I forgot my giant beach party sign!"
Which is presently being erected over there!

Two poles and a giant banner connecting them, the standard simple fair.
She may have taken it out from under the cannon, but that doesn't matter anymore! Now she's got the announcement for everyone nearby to come and paaaaaaartay!

[The Alexandrian]

Beachside - This is the part where they forgive and forget
Clarissa is, as always, successful in tackling Dave and straddling his chest. He actually looks happy to see her, and when she apologizes he gives a small frown. "Clarissa I...forgive you. But I want you to know something, everything I've done for you was because I loved you. I'm not going to leave you, nor am I going to annul the marriage. I married you because I want to spend my life with you, and that hasn't changed."
And then he smiles. "And yes, of course I trust you."

[Beachside - Oh, I Have A Hunch That Dave Won't Forget This Day Ever! ]

"Well, isn't that a most felicitous coincidence. Now that I'm validated in my faith that you won't leave me lovelorn, I have a secret to tell you, because I feel the same way about you."

Ah, the powers of requited love! Clarissa is ready to disclose a truth that shall forever leave its mark on her relationship with Dave. Forever and ever. Of course, admitting to this...brutal reality in particular challenges Clarissa's fondness and affections for Dave and strains her sense of self-confidence. She's vulnerable like this. Oh so weak. When she appears weak and pathetic people have always, historically, taken advantage of her. Or tried to, anyway. They had to perish for that. Every single time. She had to melt them down into a slurry of the most basic amino acids whenever they tried to exploit her. And still they never learned that Clarissa wasn't a force to be trifled with. But Dave... Dave was different. She could tell him anything and he'd still be there to protect her... He'd eternally stand by her side. Right?

An internal crisis ensues. Perhaps the collateral would be minimized with the proper word selection? Tone is such a crucial part of linguistics as well. The best Clarissa could hope to feel now is an impasse. Instead she just feels scared. Terrified. Petrified, even. Her. Clarissa the destroyer of worlds. Clarissa the timeless one. Clarissa. Chaos. Chaos reduced to this quivering, flimsy state.

'Twas bad enough to be bound in shackles to flesh and blood whenever she wished to interact with her creation. But this? This was humiliating. Deplorable. Humbling. But she could do it. She would do it...for him. Her emotions could detain her no longer.

"I... Uh... I'm... Did you..."

Clarissa isn't a taciturn goddess. Not in her day to day life and interactions with mortals and immortals alike. But today, at this moment, her puerile mannerisms are set aside for a time. She's confounded, foiled, struck unable to speak of the gift she's given Dave.

Oh most barbarous and serpentine language! How could it forsake her now! In her time of desperation! Argh!

But there is an alternative. A language more powerful than that which could ever be stirred up by the tongue.

Clarissa blushes. A rosy tint blesses her fair cheeks. She smiles radiantly, dripping with an aura of contentedness both thicker and sweeter than honey and as cool and refreshing as the morning dew streaming down lush vegetation after a light summer's storm signaling the rise of the spry sun. The dawn of a new day approaches. For her. For him. For them.

She's a nubile woman who has always led an existence profuse in adventure and ritzier than the majority of plebeians could realistically fathom. Could she actually go through with this?

Clarissa attempts to take Dave's left hand in her right, pressing her warm palm to the back of his hand. She's shaking now. She's sweating. Her heart is racing, pounding against her chest, "throwing" itself against her ribs in a spirited bid to emancipate itself from her vessel! But she cares not. She loves him and she's doing this. Period. There's no backing out of this. Not this time.

Her heart screams that this is meant to be. 'Tis a part of her omniscient design. Her spirit soars to heights she inferred were reserved for her ubiquitous creation and her ubiquitous creation alone.

Tears of angelic joy well up in her eyes. This is it. Do or die. The cheer pouring out of her is sassy, unstoppable, and overwhelming.

With those tender eyes sparkling like cerulean lakes untouched by civilized beings, rabid animals, or invasive plants, she takes a deep breath and attempts to press Dave's hand against her abdomen. There Dave might feel some...movement. Clarissa hasn't adsorbed or absorbed anything alive for hours now, so that means that she's...

"Congratulations, Mister Smith. You're going to be a father."

Cue germane music!

[Mindfreak]

Beachside
Dave wondered as his hand felt something move inside her...
And then he heard her speak his suspicions out loud.
His face first was blank.
But then...a smile begin to develop.
From there it became a grin, and tears began to form at the corners of his eyes.
He tried to sit up and slide her down onto his lap so he could hug her.
"Clarissa that's great news! My gosh...I cant believe it!"
He looked her in the eyes, arms hopefully around.
"I can't believe I'm going to be a dad!"
He lowered his head and smiled happily at Clarissa's abdomen.
"Clarissa...anything you need, I'll get for you while you're pregnant with this baby. I'll catch any animal, buy you anything your heart desires, and do whatever you need me too."
He tried to hug her again.
"Thank you Clarissa...I know what you-we'll have to go through while you're carrying our child...but really, anything you need me to do, even if it's to repel the forces of Heaven themselves, I'll do it, so long as you and the baby are safe."

Dave had been waiting for a child for so long. And now that he was having one with Clarissa...
He couldn't be happier. He even tries to rebuild the psychic connection between them to share his feeling of overwhelming love and happiness with her, to prove he'd be with her, every step of the way.

[Slii Arhem]

Beachside

"Oh I know we will. However, I think we have just the right number of guests for a private get together. Introduction parties can run very long if you have everyone and their mother showing up, and then you'll end up forgetting who each person you were introduced to is, and we'd have to do the whole thing over again before the first is even finished." Dio has the kind of look in his eyes that says "just trust me on this one, been there and done that a thousand times over."

"However, a big sign is a good idea, just in case people want to swing by and sample some food and drink." He approves of that, at least.

((We should probably move this to Random Plots if it's going to last much longer. It's not really much of a HT Plot without said joyous tortoise. If you're in favor, I guess you can just respond there instead of here.))