[FwM] As Equestria Turns:MLP Without the Kiddy Thread 9

[TheAmishPirate]

Rainbow

The sniper reestablishes her hug on Sandy. She could not lose the only pony that wanted her she thought.

For a second her hug grips tight. The thought of their first kiss flashed in her mind. It made her nose sniffle and eyes waters seeing Sandy like this. Gear and Sunny were invisible to her now. There is just her and Sandy. "Wake up. Wake up and tell me I'm pretty."

[Sandy - Dreamworld]

Spoiler

Show

Sandy started to lean back. Fighting was such hard work. And he worked hard all the time. Better to let Rainbow care for him. Just lie back, close his eyes, and forget...

"Wake up. Wake up and tell me I'm pretty."

He peeked through half-open eyelids, mere inches from the pillow. "Huh? What'd...what'd you say?"

"Nothing. Now lie back and let your fillyfriend take care of you." Rainbow smiled sweetly and put a little pressure on his arm, just enough to maybe lower him down.

"Wait." Sandy used her leg for leverage, and hoisted himself upright. "What'd you say?"

Her warm smile grew more insistent. "Nothing important, Sandy-wandy. Now you need your rest..."

This time, Sandy caught her hoof. He looked her dead in the eye, the fog starting to lift from his mind. "Rainbow, I heard that sniffle. If there's something botherin' you, I'm all ears."

"Nothing's bothering me, sweetie." Rainbow grabbed his hoof with both of hers, the warm smile becoming more and more maniacal. "Only that you just will. Not. Lie. DOWN."

She shoved down hard, nearly forcing Sandy to the bed. Sandy scrambled for purchase against the wall with his free hoof. The crazed mare laughed, a horrible, screeching laugh. He could see it echo off the walls, distorting and bending and twisting them into impossible shapes. "You...you're not Rainbow!" he shouted in a panic, but his own words were drowned out by the cacophony of laughter and screeching metal.

A jagged arc of magic leapt from Sandy's horn to the tip of the runes. It started slowly making its way around his horn, tracing a pattern over the mystical markings. As it did, they vanished into thin air. In seconds, they would be gone completely. But Rainbow, with her tight grip on the still-slumbering stallion, may not notice.

[MCerberus]

The griffons

Drillpeck points away from their location and the other two eagle-lions back off. This situation gets curiouser and curiouser by the moment."A harbringer? My my. We are allowing ponies access to harbringers now? Must be something to not be executed or jailed."

"YOU don't. Neither does your senator," the griffon replies temporarily forgetting his current place in the grand schemes of things.

"I'm not here in any capacity of the duchess' forces, and you can leave knowing there are no griffon laws being broken here."

[Mindfreak]

Brawny sniffed once. "I...don't know. Talk about made-up ponies in place of real ones seems, not right. I remember...there was a wife. But more than that gets hazy."

Blaze
Blaze pats his hoof again.
"We'll find your wife then. I swear, I will do whatever I can to do so."

[Orzel]

Raiinbow

Rainbow, stuck in her hug of Sandy, sees none of the magic sparks.

Grills

"A wild card, huh? I could use one of those. How are your commincation skills, ma'am?" asked the brown unicorn. He took his flask out of his jacket for a nip and to conceal his ogling.

Drillpeck

The dark feather griffon leader licked the last bit of the ink off his quill and tucked it and notepad his was rewriting on away. He glared at the exile for a moment. "I hope that is true, for your sake. You know griffons don't check twice. Show anything suspicious come this way, you ought to deal with it quickly or the claws return to erase the problem and all that have even a suspicion of being involved."

[Kelvin360]

Arvadraa

Grills

"A wild card, huh? I could use one of those. How are your commincation skills, ma'am?" asked the brown unicorn. He took his flask out of his jacket for a nip and to conceal his ogling.

"Well I can talk, but with ponies that's about it. With animals...a little better."

[Orzel]

Arvadraa

"Well I can talk, but with ponies that's about it. With animals...a little better."

Not promising but Grills was too lazy to interview another. "Hmm..." The fiery unicorn brushed back his lightly scented mane. Then he touched Arvadraa's shoulder. "How is your dexterity and organization skills?"

[Kelvin360]

Arvadraa

Not promising but Grills was too lazy to interview another. "Hmm..." The fiery unicorn brushed back his lightly scented mane. Then he touched Arvadraa's shoulder. "How is your dexterity and organization skills?"

"Well I suppose my dexterity is...fine? I-" A loud HOOT comes from a suddenly-indignant owl on her shoulder, and she winces. "Oh. Seeker says I'm 'selling myself short'. But really, aside from the mastery over the animal kingdom, almost-supernatural agility, teleportation, Eagle's eye, magical skin stronger than rock, and medical proficiency that's made Doctors cry, I'm really nothing special, sir." Despite the list, she genuinely seems to believe herself average at best, in a 'you mean not everyone can do that?' kind of way. The owl is quick to dopeslap the back of her head with one wing.
"Oh. And while I'm not great at organizing, Seeker is, and he's quiet, too. Most days." She explains, obviously not getting the actual reason behind the wing-smack.

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
Blaze pats his hoof again.
"We'll find your wife then. I swear, I will do whatever I can to do so."

"Thank you." Brawny seemed considerably calmer, though the thought of not remembering his own wife shook him deeply. "If this is not the dreaming, then perhaps the real eventually will remain. No more fake ponies. Only real ones."

Raiinbow

Rainbow, stuck in her hug of Sandy, sees none of the magic sparks.

[Sandy - Dreamworld]

(Warning: Minor nightmare fuel)

Spoiler

Show

The battle between pony and thought raged on. The feather bed beneath him was gone, replaced with a raging maw of darkness. Tendrils of magic snaked out, trying to grab at his limbs, to force him down. Somehow, he knew there would be no coming back if he fell. The...thing that called itself Rainbow all but jumped on him, stomping on his hooves and shoving him back. All the while laughing like a madpony. "CoMe onnnNnNNNnn, saNDy-wWanDY! TelL Us we're pREtTy! TEll us YoU'Ll NEvER leAvE US! GIve US EveRyTHinG!"

Sandy braced himself against anything that came to hoof. Rocks. Bits of wall. He chanced a glance behind him, to see how close the edge was, and that was all the opening it needed. With a gleeful cry, she kicked out the leg he was using to support himself, and shoved him straight over the edge.

Sandy scrambled, trying to catch onto that ledge, when suddenly, he felt a presence. Warm, loving, almost like...like somepony hugging him, holding him aloft. The abyss shrieked, and the magic clawed and scratched to reach him, but the spirit (for what else could he call it?) battered them back effortlessly. The specter of Rainbow stomped her hooves ill-temperdly, and picked up a rock to try and knock him down. The spirit held Sandy in place; there'd be no dodging this one.

But just as she found her aim, two powerful hind legs bucked her from behind, plunging her into the void with a final wailing cry. The engineer found himself surrounded by a familiar tingle of magic as he was carried aloft and placed back onto the cliff. He found himself staring at a short, but not overly short, unicorn stallion with a light blue coat, and a familiar sandy-brown mane. He wore the army green vest and badge of a Cirrus crewpony, and a row of tools lined his belt. Sandy could've been staring at his clone, save for one detail; this pony's eyes glowed a rich, piercing blue.

The clone snorted. "Figures I'd have t'save your flank again. Couldn't even get yourself rescued properly, I see."

Sandy cocked his head at...well, himself. "Hold up a spell; this is a dream, right? I mean, nightmare. Or somethin'?"

"Let's go with 'Or something', and leave it at that. And besides, it's high time you woke up. Just another thing I got to do around here..." Faster than the eye could follow, the clone leap-flipped into the air and delivered a punishing kick right onto the tip of Sandy's horn.

He crumpled to the ground, and all faded away...

The last of the runes vanished. Instead of a high-pitch tone, the ring began to spark with unstable magic. Rainbow would feel a strong tingling sensation jumping back and forth between herself and Sandy. A shock ran from Sandy's horn, to his hooves, to his tail, then back and forth and all in-between. Around Rainbow's hug, if she was still holding on, his legs and head gave a spasm as the unleashed magic coursed through them. After a few seconds of violence, he fell back against cot. His breath came fast and shallow, like a pony coming out of a nightmare. The now-useless ring slid off his horn and clattered to the ground. He was finally free.

[MCerberus]

Drillpeck

The dark feather griffon leader licked the last bit of the ink off his quill and tucked it and notepad his was rewriting on away. He glared at the exile for a moment. "I hope that is true, for your sake. You know griffons don't check twice. Show anything suspicious come this way, you ought to deal with it quickly or the claws return to erase the problem and all that have even a suspicion of being involved."

Thinly veiled threats behind sound suggestions, the use of listening to gain ammo in a discussion, and only passing nods at what is considered proper etiquette.

It's been a while since he had a good conversation. The general doesn't count as she was just assuming the griffon can be used like any tool and couldn't back up this assumption.

"In the future I'll continue doing things like making sure three griffons abusing the hospitality of an Equestrian general are investigated."

[Luka]

"Oh, we'll discuss the expenses when we know what they are. I'll let ya know how much metal 'n such I use in the makin', okay?"

"oh ok, but I wonder if this helps...."

He pulls the same ore he dropped before, and since he's standing it drops more loudly.

"Was told to grab some in case I needed to do fixes...Wasn't even told how to fix, it's the same the armor's made of"

It looks like iron ore, but it has a silvery glow, a trait of the mine it was taken from.

[PurityIcekiller]

"Well I suppose my dexterity is...fine? I-" A loud HOOT comes from a suddenly-indignant owl on her shoulder, and she winces. "Oh. Seeker says I'm 'selling myself short'. But really, aside from the mastery over the animal kingdom, almost-supernatural agility, teleportation, Eagle's eye, magical skin stronger than rock, and medical proficiency that's made Doctors cry, I'm really nothing special, sir." Despite the list, she genuinely seems to believe herself average at best, in a 'you mean not everyone can do that?' kind of way. The owl is quick to dopeslap the back of her head with one wing.

"Oh. And while I'm not great at organizing, Seeker is, and he's quiet, too. Most days." She explains, obviously not getting the actual reason behind the wing-smack.

Blades understood enough of sarcasm to mistake Arvadraa's list for it. "That's really some talent ya've got there! I'm surprised ya don't have a mark already from that! Now, compared to that, all I do is make exceptional weapons, armour, tools, tools that are also weapons, contraptions, 'n all that stuff, along with being able to kill lots of things in seconds. Anyway, ya'll probably do quite well."

"oh ok, but if this helps...."

He pulls the same ore he dropped before, and since he's standing it drops more loudly.

"Was told to grab some in case I needed to do fixes...Wasn't even told how to fix, it's the same the armor's made of"

It looks like iron ore, but it has a silvery glow, a trait of the mine it was taken from.

"Oh, thanks!" Blades sniffed at the metal. She suspected it might be magical, which wasn't really the kind of thing she was best with, but it was of good quality. "I'll get to workin' as soon as I can!"

[Orzel]

Lochbed- replying to something Orzel thought he responded to already

The kelpie pouts. She really wanted a new pond. ""Aaaww. Will ye ever buy me a pond? Your house needs a pond."

Grills- Getting his Ocean on

Grills' hoof snaked around the mare's should, possibly causing the owl to take to the air. He tugged on her slightly and whispered. "How would you like to join me, Blades and three other friends on a little casino robbery and demolition. Lots of bits to be made."

Drillpeck

"Sounds like someone is planning to do something they shouldn't. It is too bad you don't have access to the excellent griffon advisory system. An adviser would want you from this path."

Rainbow

Rainbow falls back when the magic touches her. It felt funny by her emotions were too high with the ring broken on the floor in plain view. "Sandy? You okay, soldier?"

[Luka]

"Oh, thanks!" Blades sniffed at the metal. She suspected it might be magical, which wasn't really the kind of thing she was best with, but it was of good quality. "I'll get to workin' as soon as I can!"

"Um...ok!"
Luka then unlocks the rest of his armor, puts it off and gives it to Blades, uncovering his shield mark, she's able to see the dim air ring around it if she looks specifically at it.

[Benson]

Lochbed- replying to something Orzel thought he responded to already

The kelpie pouts. She really wanted a new pond. ""Aaaww. Will ye ever buy me a pond? Your house needs a pond."

Le Nope

"Huh I uh..I don-" He began but found himself cut off.

"Perhaps, we can create a small pond to go with the garden," Aubade suggests, popping up into their conversation like a ninja.

[MCerberus]

Drillpeck

"Sounds like someone is planning to do something they shouldn't. It is too bad you don't have access to the excellent griffon advisory system. An adviser would want you from this path."

"I've had to deal with politics enough," the griffon replies. At least this whole event seems to be winding down. "Quite frankly, I'd rather try and take a roc solo."

[Mystic Muse]

"I dunno, what is the normal cuisine for ponies? I get the inkling its not pina coladas and cookies, though it should be," She said with a self assured nod.

Soft shrugs. "Sandwiches with flower petals are a pretty common food." she says.

[Benson]

Soft shrugs. "Sandwiches with flower petals are a pretty common food." she says.

"Hauh, so ponies eat of the earth, sounds, primitive compared to cookies," She thought about it and then shrugged. 'Very well, I shall try, these flower petal sandwiches." And unless stated otherwise, her voice usually sounds 'formal' and 'bored'.
----------

The Cirrus-Gearstride


Curiously, the xanadu mare picked up the ring and held it on top of the bottom of her forehoof. She eyed it a bit before focusing her attention on Sandy. A soft smile on her face as she watched him and Rainbow, it was admittedly daw'ful. She'd let them have their moment first and stayed in the background near Silverpine.

[Kelvin360]

Arvadraa

"See, that's why I'm never attacked when you're around, Blades. You scare off anything that's A hostile and B has a brain." She glances first to a rapidly-hooting Seeker as he takes flight and then to Grills. She narrows her eyes slightly. "Bits don't concern me. But if you're taking Blades, I owe it to her to be there if something goes wrong. Plus, somepony needs to be rescued, and I'd rather it a pony who's an expert on getting into trouble." She puts a hoof on her chest. "Somepony else might get the 'distress' thing wrong, and then where would you be?"

Then she catches a glimpse of the ore. Almost immediately she walks closer to it and stares at it, observing it from every direction. It's a thorough examination, but whether she finds anything unusual about it is up for debate until she's finished.

[Orzel]

Le Nope

"Huh I uh..I don-" He began but found himself cut off.

"Perhaps, we can create a small pond to go with the garden," Aubade suggests, popping up into their conversation like a ninja.

"Wo! Awbade! Ye are so smart and wise!" The fae pony thing hopped out her chair and tackle-glomped the servant. Next she gives her a smooch on the cheek. "Genius!"

"I've had to deal with politics enough," the griffon replies. At least this whole event seems to be winding down. "Quite frankly, I'd rather try and take a roc solo."

"When mistakes are made, a roc battle could be arranged." Drillpeck snapped his claw. "We go. Heed my warning redclaw." he said before the trio slowly soar out of town.

Arvadraa

"See, that's why I'm never attacked when you're around, Blades. You scare off anything that's A hostile and B has a brain." She glances first to a rapidly-hooting Seeker as he takes flight and then to Grills. She narrows her eyes slightly. "Bits don't concern me. But if you're taking Blades, I owe it to her to be there if something goes wrong. Plus, somepony needs to be rescued, and I'd rather it a pony who's an expert on getting into trouble." She puts a hoof on her chest. "Somepony else might get the 'distress' thing wrong, and then where would you be?"

Grills raised both hooves in happiness. "Perfect. I got my fifth. Time to celebrate." The flask of whiskey hits his lips again.

[Benson]

"Wo! Awbade! Ye are so smart and wise!" The fae pony thing hopped out her chair and tackle-glomped the servant. Next she gives her a smooch on the cheek. "Genius!"

The servant instinctively yelped as she was glomp tackled to the ground and unto her back. "Ow." She blushed a little from the cheek smooch as she tried to ignore the minor pain in her leg. "I uh, thank you Miss Lochbed."

[TheAmishPirate]

Rainbow

Rainbow falls back when the magic touches her. It felt funny by her emotions were too high with the ring broken on the floor in plain view. "Sandy? You okay, soldier?"

With a low moan, Sandy's eyes fluttered open and the world gradually came into focus. He squinted at the magenta blob that was his filly-friend. "Rai...Rainbow?" he breathed out between gulps of air.

[MCerberus]

"When mistakes are made, a roc battle could be arranged." Drillpeck snapped his claw. "We go. Heed my warning redclaw." he said before the trio slowly soar out of town.

The griffon merely shrugs, lowers his altitude, and starts heading back to the guardhouse. At least he didn't have much to worry about now, except for the fact that senators love causing problems for some insane reason where there was none. Oh, and the general is likely angry he kept rejecting all her offers to solve his problems for him.

[Orzel]

The servant instinctively yelped as she was glomp tackled to the ground and unto her back. "Ow." She blushed a little from the cheek smooch as she tried to ignore the minor pain in her leg. "I uh, thank you Miss Lochbed."

Lochbed hopped off the servant and pranced over go her colt. She strokes his mane. "We three need shovels then."

With a low moan, Sandy's eyes fluttered open and the world gradually came into focus. He squinted at the magenta blob that was his filly-friend. "Rai...Rainbow?" he breathed out between gulps of air.

"Yes. I am here, Sandy." Rainbow just smiles at him. It takes all her drummed in discipline to avoid a tackle glomp urge. Fortunately for her and the newly awakened Sandy, the sniper has oodles of restraint.

[TheAmishPirate]

"Yes. I am here, Sandy." Rainbow just smiles at him. It takes all her drummed in discipline to avoid a tackle glomp urge. Fortunately for her and the newly awakened Sandy, the sniper has oodles of restraint.

The engineer's eyes darted about the room. He was just here...no, that was a dream. This was the real infirmary; no soul-devouring beds here. "Wha...how did I...where did...what..." A strange pony wearing a Cirrus uniform, all the cots filled with injured ponies, no idea how he got here...his face fell. "Am I...still dreamin'?"

[Benson]

Lochbed hopped off the servant and pranced over go her colt. She strokes his mane. "We three need shovels then."

Ember put a leg around Lochbed, if because he felt it helped him deal with receiving affection if he was giving it out too. "Maybe there's some in the shed?"

"Yes, there are some gardening tools in the small tool shed out back," Aubade confirmed with a nod.

[HalfTangible]

Outskirts of town

A black pony with blood red eyes and a silver mane and tail slowly walked his way into view of Bridle Shores. He wore a tattered gray cloak that covered his entire body, and was dirty and matted. His eyes were unfocused, his head was bowed toward the ground, and he was slowly muttering something under his breath...

"Caught up in the touch/Slow and steady rush/baby isn't that the way that love's suppooooosed to be~/......../I can feel you breathe..."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Wrench was repairing an object that has no importance to the story and never will again as he looked up to see an ink-black pony stop before his house.

Can i... help you?

"Yeah. I need directions to the clinic."

Wrench blinked. ... Have we... met before?

"I hired you once. Which way's the clinic?"

Oh yeah, you're that stupid guy. With a death wish.

He stumbled in place. "Clinic! NOW!!"

Wrench pointed with a hoof and the ink black pony in a gray cloak trotted off.

...ass.

"F*** off Techpriest geek!"

[Mindfreak]

Blaze
Blaze continues patting Brawny's hoof.
"Okay!"
He then gets up out of the chair.
"I'm gonna go check out how they're doing with Sandy, okay?"

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
Blaze continues patting Brawny's hoof.
"Okay!"
He then gets up out of the chair.
"I'm gonna go check out how they're doing with Sandy, okay?"

Brawny simply nodded and went back to chewing on his carrots, reflecting on the dilemma of his unknown family. His rabbit companion gave a little wave to Blaze, then hopped down off the earth pony's side to stay close for pets and hugs.

[Kelvin360]

Arvadraa

"Um, okay." She seems more preoccupied with the ore than what Grills is saying. "This...wow. This is weird. It could be some sort of tungsten blend, but look at these pale strips...I think silver would be about that shade, but these chips are even lighter...there's something else inside, and the formation is /iron/-packed. Silver-iron is far heavier than this, though. Hmm..."

"Well it's not naturally occurring, so I can't tell you much besides it looks like iron, is colored like silver, and weighs like something half as heavy as either. I could probably tell you the properties it'd bestow on the armor, though. No idea how I can do that, like most things, but there it is."

[Orzel]

The engineer's eyes darted about the room. He was just here...no, that was a dream. This was the real infirmary; no soul-devouring beds here. "Wha...how did I...where did...what..." A strange pony wearing a Cirrus uniform, all the cots filled with injured ponies, no idea how he got here...his face fell. "Am I...still dreamin'?"

(where did my post go. blagh!)

Rainbow put her hoof under his chine. When it rose so did Sandy's face. The sniper's keen eyes zoomed into a lock with the engineer's. "No, this is real life. You are back on the Cirrus. We... we were so concered for your safety."

Ember put a leg around Lochbed, if because he felt it helped him deal with receiving affection if he was giving it out too. "Maybe there's some in the shed?"

"Yes, there are some gardening tools in the small tool shed out back," Aubade confirmed with a nod.

"Is there dirty cleaner in the shed? Ah don't want any dirty dirt in my pond." Lochbed's puckered lips displayed her seriousness. She didn't want any of the dirty dirt in her water. The fae preferred clean dirt.