[Nexus] Random Places and Plots 5

[The Bushranger]

[Pearhouse Manor]

"It's good to meet you, sir," Jamie says, curtseying properly with a smile.

...she's still convinced there's a hex on the dance floor, of course.

[Morty]

[Pearhouse Manor]

"It was really great of you to invite us, sir!" Brinika squeaks happily.

[Gullara]

[Pearhouse Manor]

"Nice to meet you!" Salix chimes in. She never knew Natalie talked about her. Or even that it was her dad that actually invited them. Shame she couldn't read that letter in full herself.

[Earl of Purple]

Pearhouse Manor

"Hopefully, this year you won't spend all your time watching the adults dance and show you photographs of various male relatives and actually have fun. That's the point of a birthday party, after all. As for you lot, please call me Phil. Or Professor, if you must; I am not nobly born, and 'sir' is technically reserved for people who are." Natalie's father smiles. The last two sentences are addressed to Natalie's friends.
"If you must call somebody sir, call me sir. My maternal grandmother is an earl, and Dad's been granted a knighthood making him a noble." Knighthoods are an honour, but having one given to your father is a greater honour as it retroactively makes you nobly born.

[Chaotic Bob]

Spoiler

Show

[It IS a Castle Place]

Spooky totally accepted that as a name. Given the gibberish she's taken as a name elsewhere is that really so hard to imagine? Any name will do so long as she's named all the same. That's all it takes...

"One of my children had been acting as a guide for your student shortly after her arrival in the Nexus. Given their common interest in the scholarly aspects of magic they were quick friends," Spooky begins. "After she was... taken... he has been working with her other friends to recover her. The friendships that he's forged with them already, in addition to his knowledge of magic, has lead him to suspect that he would be able to use the Element of Magic to save her."

A pause.

"However only a pony can wield the Elements. He sought out my help to resolve that issue and sacrificed both birthright and immortality to save his friend."

A small, sad smile tugs at the corner of Spooky's mouth. "He is no longer mine. And no longer under my protection. Please, treat him with the same compassion as you would any of those under your rule."

[Still a Castle Place]

This is a legitimately surprisingly request.
And completely out of left field for what Celestia had been (not really) expecting.

It actually leaves her silent for a moment, while she processes.
"Your child sounds very brave. It would, of course, be my honor to watch over him as any of my other little ponies."

He must have been the unknown individual with the group earlier, when they left. She makes a mental note to more personally greet him when she sees him next.

The Princess smiles now, slightly, an encouraging gesture. Perhaps it would help what seems to be a concerned mother feel more at ease?
"You had another request?"

[Rebonack]

[Yep, Still a Palace]

Spooky gives a nod. "Thank you. It may seem like a small kindness but it means a great deal to me."

Nice to have something like that they can connect on, right?

"And I do have another request, yes. Don't attempt to cut off the connection to the Nexus when this crisis has been resolved. In fact, I would encourage you to do what you can to strengthen it. For better or worse there are powers other than myself and my kin who have noticed your world now. And... I believe you have already spoken with one of their representatives."

He was very bloody and kind of rude.

"Worlds that are a part of the Nexus have a certain degree of protection from such forces that a world unto itself lacks. Being part of the Nexus has its own dangers... but I believe they aren't as dire as the alternative."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Probably Never Not A Castle]

A much less immediately-cheery request.

One the bumps the Princess towards a thoughtful look, and the faintest of frowns.
Yes, she remembers the...Bleeding One. He certainly doesn't help Spooky's case any.

"That is a somewhat complicated request, I'm afraid. It may no longer be possible to keep our realms entirely separate, but complete integration is dangerous."
The frown deepens slightly and she turns to look out her balcony once more.
"Twilight and her friends may adjust well enough to foreign influences, but many of my little ponies would not be so fluid. There are many darknesses outside our kingdom that they have never even dreamt of."

[Rebonack]

[Towers and Everything]

Spooky responds with a slow nod. "This is a beautiful world. One of the most beautiful and elegant that I've seen. The work you've done here is a glorious thing."

It would be a shame if something happened to it...

"Even a link would suffice. There's a forest not to far away from here. A forest wild and thick with magic. If I know the Nexus as well as I think I do it's likely that it would build a bridge between that forest and its own wilds. That would serve as a buffer well enough."

The Far Chimera couldn't help but notice that there aren't any ponies in the aforementioned forest. A bridge from its depths would keep all but the most adventurous and fool-hearty safely at home.

"The... alternative..." now it's Spooky's turn to look out the window.

"Oh. My. EVILNESS!" comes a second, far more obnoxious voice from nowhere. "You were RIGHT dear cousin! These are the most adorable things I've ever seen!"

Spooky's eyes narrow at nothing. "Be silent. This is no time for your nonsense."

"Oh pish-posh! It's always time for my nonsense," the sourceless voice counters. "Oh dear me! What's this? A bonified, certified god of chaos, discord, and disharmony sitting in the garden? Eeeee! I love this place already! Coyote is going to be so jealous. I'm going to go compare notes, ta!"

The Far Thing face-hoofs mightily.

"I... apologize for that..." Spooky sighs. "Don't name him. Without a name his ability to impact things here will be nearly non-existent."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Probably a Throne Somewhere]

Spooky supplies a good idea!
And sort of drops the ball on what happens with naming.

But it's all rather completely overshadowed by that other voice, its apparent demeanor, and the object of its interest.

Her nostrils flare, ever so slightly, as thoughts quickly whirl through her head.
"My deepest apologies, but I must check something."

Little influence without a name or not...someone certainly doesn't need any at all.

The Princess quickly moves out onto the balcony, spreads her wings, and makes off for the castle garden.


Spooky is welcome to follow, should she so desire.

[Said Garden]

There are many statues here.
The important one is that terrified looking one over there, with the dragon bits, pony bits, and lots-of-other-things bits.

That otherwise silly draconequus statue over there.

[Rebonack]

[The Totally Normal Garden]

The statue has, at some point, acquired a tall stovepipe hat and a beard.

"Hmm... now let me see... just a little chaos here! A dash of disorder there and-"

A shimmering barrier that appears to be a fractal rendition of Spooky's cutie mark briefly blazes into view around the statue and just as quickly fades. The Far Thing is now standing in the garden and looking none too pleased.

"Ooooh come on, dear cousin! Let me get to know some of the natives! We would have such a marvelous time! I just know it. Lift your warding, I'll crack the seal, and then we paint the sky plaid. It'll be pric-"

"SILENCE."

Celestia will arrive to find Spooky glaring daggers at something that isn't visible. She never actually left the throne room. She's just... here now. Instead.

"I came here to pluck this world from the maw of oblivion. Not to baby-sit you and make sure you don't kick over anyone's sand castle when my back is turned," Spooky says, her voice firm and more than faintly irritated. "I've been Named. You have not. I found the world and blazed the path. You did not. You're coming dangerously close to overstepping the bounds dear cousin. Look at this!"

She waves a wing at the statue.

"Meddling with things before the board has been set? Before the Rules of the Game have been written? Did you think that I wouldn't stop you?"

A pause as Spooky's breathing gradually slows, her eyes searching for her unseen adversary. And then there comes a laugh. A rather nasty laugh. "Nope! I didn't doubt you for a moment! Better watch that temper, though. I think I might hear the seal creaking."

Spooky's eyes briefly flick to the statue of Discord, then back to the patch of nothing.

"Good luck with those negotiations! I would just love to stay and chat, but I've got a musical number to run. Have FUN everyone! Or is it everypony? Do we say everypony here? Hehehehe HAHAHAHAHAAH!"

The eldritch pony-thing's eye twitches a bit. She just got played.

[The Bushranger]

[Pearhouse Manor]

"No, you'd be 'ma'am'," Jamie tells Natalie with a giggle, before turning serious. "Thanks, Professor. Natalie is a wonderful friend."

[Morty]

[Pearhouse Manor]

"Yeah, and we're really glad to be here!" Brinika adds with a vigorous nod.

[Chaotic Bob]

[The Less Than Normal Garden]

Hahahahahaha...

It seems Celestia is arriving precisely three moments too late.

She doesn't bother landing on the ground, pausing to a little hover a short way from the statue, nostrils flaring slightly as a hairline fracture lazily crawls along its tail.

"Move away from the statue Spooky, with haste please.
I need to quickly stabilize the magic." That you and your cousin just assaulted.

Her wings flare out, and all the brilliance of the sun itself pours through her horn.

Oh please, Celestia. If you're going to be dramatic every time we see each other, at least make it interesting. Hmmm, what do you think? A dash of green?

The Princess isn't even going to dignify this with a response.
Concentration has better uses than on the other nuisance voice.

[Rebonack]

[A Garden with a Dash of Chaos]

And Spooky does indeed back away!

The Warden's own sealing abilities might work great against her kin, but the thing stuffed away in that statue really doesn't fall under her jurisdiction. At all. And something tells her that trying to throw down with this 'Discord' fellow would be about as fruitless as having a tussle with any of her siblings.

Probably just make him stronger, given his nature.

At least she managed to disjoin her cousin's direct meddling before the seal on the statue broke. But that doesn't solve the issue at hand... Especially since the tools for sealing the statue again just... sort of... left.

Oh bugger.

You-know-who probably had this planned.

"It would be a wonderful blessing to, just once, find a world lacking in any form of obnoxious trickster god..." Spooky sighs, rubbing her temples with her wingtips.

[Gullara]

[Pearhouse Manor]

Noble born? Knight? Maternal? So many words whiz over Salix's head she's not sure what they're talking about. Oh well. She just nods and smiles witht he others.

[Earl of Purple]

Pearhouse Manor

"No. Sir is the correct title for somebody with no noble title but with noble blood, regardless of gender. It's also the title for a man with a hereditary knighthood, but a woman with a hereditary knighthood is a dame." Natalie knows how nobility works in her world, Jamie, and you don't. Sorry.
"I'm glad you're here too, Brinika. Normally my birthdays are similar in scent and flavour to what the gardeners spread onto the roses." Namely, manure. Natalie's choice of words gets his father chuckling, however.

[Shadowcaller]

[Outside the Rusty Dagger]

Going around the side of the building? Kinaesthetically speaking, the man was rather blatantly showcasing himself to the muse's eyes to be at least some kind of issue and to suddenly alter his course like that was.. Well, suspiciously serendipitous to say the least.

Snuffing out the lit end of the narcotic between her fingers, Ghoul stowed it in a pocket before pulling her helmet over her head. Sure, it would make her a sight if it were daylight but the dark colors of her armor might simply make her stand out less amid the urban colors. At the least, the small, slightly glowing red slits of the helmet that marked her eyes wouldn't make her any less intimidating but that wasn't her concern right now.

In any case, the man would potentially be in for a surprise when the well armored and, apparently similarly armed, figure called out to him. "Hey you! Got a moment?"

[Outside the Rusty Dagger]

This woman is amazingly dense, but Samona already knew that, didn't she. "Tell me about the fire vampire." She orders, throwing more compulsion into her words. This would be so much easier if the car was here, but it wasn't quite yet.

[Outside the Rusty Dagger]

"I-it's very powerful, unstoppable. They say it drains all heat around it." The woman tries to explain as a bright flash can be seen just around the corner of the building.

[Outside the Rusty Dagger - Ghoul]

The man stops dead in his walk as he sees Ghoul and opens his mouth to say something, lifting his hand to adress her "Lady, I'm in a hurry-" Then a beam of light erupts from his outstretched arm, aiming to hit ghoul straight in the chest.

[The Bushranger]

[Pearhouse Manor]

"Oh. Cool." Jamie grins, although clearly she's schemeing how to one-up Natalie later!

[Morty]

[Pearhouse Manor]

"Then let's go! You have to see your presents and you can show us your room and then we'll decide what to do!" Brinika says rapidly.

[Gullara]

[Outside the Rusty Dagger]

Samona looks toward the flash and curses under her breath. "Move." She shoves the woman down the alley, along the side of a building. She'll move to get around the next corner as quickly as possible.

[Pearhouse Manor]

Salix grins. "Yeah, presents. We should show you presents." Presumably someone explained the concept to her.

[Earl of Purple]

Pearhouse Manor

"Excellent! I'll open them in my bedroom. Dad, do you know where Peter is? Then I can open them with all the important people there." Meaning her immediate family and her friends.
"I think he's in library with some of his friends. I'll go find him, and meet you at your room. Then you can gossip about your male relatives without us present." Philip smiles, as Natalie nods and will turn towards her friends.
"My room is this way. Hang on, it's easier if we find the Long Short Corridor."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Garden of Less-Than-Statues]

It happens rather quickly.


A celestial glow overtakes the statue, embracing it as completely as any cocoon.
It sinks into the stone, bracing the rapidly decaying Harmonic Seal, a temporary defense at best, but better than nothing...



Discord is coiled around Celestia in the next moment, lazily picking the talons of one hand while he flops his head on top of hers.
"Always with the stone. I think I've decided on my New Year's Resolution early this year, Celestia."
"Wha-"

The Princess starts to balk, but the serpentine entity snakes a hand around and places a talon on her nose, which seems to get her to pause quickly enough.
"Hush now, you talk too much.
Now, I was thinking. Clearly there's something about this 'statue' thing that has to be pretty neat. I mean, you ponies have done it to me twice. Twice!"
For the briefest flicker of a moment, a deep rage passes over the draconequus' face. It fades just as swiftly.
Replaced with a rather decided smile.
"Now...oh wait, is the sun setting? No? Yes it is."

Was it afternoon a moment ago?
Seems to be night now.

"Anyway, as I was saying. I know I said last time that blah blahdon't turn ponies to stoneblah blah blah, but hey! Maybe it's more fun than I thought. So that's my resolution. Let's be more open to fun ideas! What do you think, Celestia? No comment? Oh well.
I'll just go find some fun elsewhere. Maybe your newest friend can find you a nice pedestal."

Discord laughs, releasing the wings-spread statue as he flies away.
It falls.



As the glow settles into the statue, it becomes a somber little gray, just as Celestia hovers down to the ground, frowning to herself.

Hahahahahahahaha.

A laugh travels through the air, night falls, and a rough sheen of stone crawls over the solar princess.

[Rebonack]

[Palace Garden]

Well.

That went positively awful.

'Spooky' gives a bit of a sigh. "The bridge was going to be made one way or another. We're not about to let this place fall to the Formless. But... I had hoped that I could have given you at least the illusion of not being helpless in the matter."

Huh?

What's she talking about?

"Psyrrak. It looks like your plan is going to work out after all," the eldritch pony speaks aloud, her voice reaching past the moon and far beyond into the inky darkness of space.

And something answers.

An eye. Wreathed in livid green solar plasma. But only for a moment. Because after that moment there stands before the statue of the solar princess her reflection. Just of flesh and bone rather than marble. A brief flicker of electric green passes through her billowing mane before fading.

"Such an interesting world, this is. And the stars. Mmm... so curious here," the false princess muses aloud. She reaches up with a wing to gently caress the stone alicorn's face. "Your star is lovely. I can feel it. Warm... soothing... I'll relish making it my own."

"Stop harassing her, Psyrrak," Spooky growls. "This whole fiasco has been traumatic enough already."

The false princess sticks her tongue out at her kin. "You care too much for the Flatlanders, 'Spooky'," she snorts before turning back toward the window Celestia had flown through. "I suppose I had best go comfort my new subjects then, yes? No doubt they're terrified about this dreadful business."

And with that she spreads her wings, takes to the air, and returns to the throne room. No doubt to a gaggle of panicking ponies.

A deep sigh from Spooky follows. And she regards the alicorn statue with a deep sadness. A tangle of roots grow from the earth below the statue, hoisting it into the air. A new, living pedestal for the most recent addition to the garden. "I'm so, so sorry. This isn't what I intended at all. But... I still have to make the best of it. I'll do what I can to protect your little ponies. And... hopefully we'll have you freed from your prison soon."

That said she begins to reach out with her senses, feeling for the ebb and flow of the world's life. Why? Because where that life is changing the swiftest there might be a being of chaos meddling with things.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Castle Garden]

Third time's the charm it seems, for trying to imprison Discord and having him get fed up with it.
His statue is still idly pulsing with that gray magic for the moment.


As far as chaos goes, for things for Spooky to notice...
Well, everything mostly seems samey. Equestria is still largely stable, Everfree is still mostly insane with willful life, the rest of the world seems largely variant...
There is a zone of Sameness though, situated rather firmly nearby. It'd already been noticed once before, when Sigil tried to open a portal into Ponyville.
A region where magic had been deadlocked and removed, neatly around the little town.

That region seems to have expanded, faintly tapping the border of the Everfree and eclipsing much of the surrounding areas.


Somewhere, a whistle blows and Discord is standing on top of his statue, dressed in a striped referee's outfit, and spinning an oversized whistle from his tail.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Whoa."
He taps the palm of one talon'd hand against the tips of the other, Time Out.

This seems to have the interesting effect of the surrounding region grinding to a crawl, time-wise. Except for the wind, which seems to continue blowing just fine.

"Now, I may have been locked in a statue for...awhile, but I wasn't 'Out of the Loop'. You two"
A claw is pointed at Spooky, and a Psyrrak that may find herself rather peculiarly not in the Throne Room.
"are definitely not players in my little game."

Psyrrak gets an especially displeased little look, should she actually be here.
"And I don't like imposter players. Especially not of my dear Celestia here. She's very special to me, you see. One of a kind."

After a little swim through the air, he settles himself onto the back of her statue, dangling the whistle over one of her ears.
"So I think, perhaps some introductions are in order.
Chop chop!"

[Rebonack]

[Statue Garden]

Hmm... Have to do something about that magical dead zone. As soon as all the technicalities are out of the way there's a strong possibility that The King in Yellow will do away with that. A place without magic in such a vibrant world? No doubt he would find it boring.

Aaaand then the draconequus decides to pop in! How kind of him. Spooky gives a little ear twitch before opening one of her eyes.

Psyrrak seems somewhat perturbed that flying through the window lead her to the inside of a nearby fountain. The false princess is now rather wet. But that's nothing a quick pulse of solar flame can't fix.

The others...

Are already beginning to poke and prod at the world. Looking for neat little places to slip in mostly unnoticed. Squirming into dreams. Whispering into deranged minds. Finding new names for a new reality. Most are quite covert with their actions.

Others?

Not quite so much.

"AH! I do so LOVE introduction games. You know the drill, everypony! State your name and tell the group a bit about yourself!"

Quite suddenly all present have been supplied with folding chairs and a healthy helping of mayonnaise. Even Celestia gets a chair!

"Now then, I'll go first!" cackles pale stallion with some sort of weird squiggly yellow sign for a cutie mark. His golden mane has been styled into an absurdly large and rather silly crown-shape. Or maybe a jester's hat. Maybe both? He hooks a leg around Spooky's neck and yanks her over to himself. "This is Momma Spooky. She's crazy and thinks story book characters are real."

Spooky scowls. "You're supposed to introduce yourself Mad Cap," she grumbles.

Which of course results in an absurd grin from the pallid pony. "Bah! Since when have the rules ever mattered? So much more fun just to make things up as you go," he then jerks a thumb at the false-princess. ...wait. When did he get thumbs? "My dear sister here hasn't gotten a name yet. Such a shame, don't you think? Makes introductions dreadfully difficult."

The weird 'pony's sister glowers at him.

Mad Cap gives a little gasp and snaps his thumb against his hoof. "I've got it! You should do that thing you do. The thing with all the fire and the screaming? I'll bet the ponies would come up with some wonderfully flattering names for you in no time!"

"As tempting as that sounds I'll have to decline, Mad Cap. My interest is in the Solar Princess' star. Taking her name would make that all the more simple. But unfortunately-" she casts a sidelong glance at Discord. "Someone doesn't seem to like my plan."

"Oh I know!" Mad Cap says, draping a hoof across his forehead as he speaks in an overly dramatic tone. There comes a loud *clunk* as a spotlight shines down on Discord and Celestia, drowning out all else in blackness. "Have you ever seen a more lovely kisemesis pair? Why! It makes me want to break out into a spontaneous musical number!"

And then he does.

"They are two of a kind
Violent, unsound of mind
She's the yin to his yang, can't you see?
And if he were to leave
She would grumble and grieve
Face it, 'Tia...
You'd be lost without him!
You'd be lost (You'd be lost)
You'd be lost (You'd be lost)
Face it, 'Tia...
You'd be lost without him!"

Spooky gives an exasperated sigh and face-hoofs. "We're a bunch of scary monsters from outside reality. Your world has begun bleeding over into the Nexus and so we're here to make sure a permanent link is created. This will offer a degree of protection from other things worse than us. We gain a new reality to pursue our own agendas in."

"Don't worry about that one bit! Aside from a disturbing jump in the number of ritual pony sacrifices you won't even notice we're here!" Mad Cap laughs, suddenly lounging in a hammock hung between a pair of statues and sipping some cider out of a coconut. "Well, you know. Most of the time, anyway. And you'll probably get the odd person trasping over from the Nexus looking for adventure in the land of magical talking horses. But it's all in good fun! This place has been waaaaay too dull for the last few millennia. It could really use some shaking up if you ask me."

[The Bushranger]

[Pearhouse Manor]

Jamie nods politely to Natalie's dad, before giggling at her friend.
"Long Short Corridor? Is it smaller on the inside?"

[Morty]

[Pearhouse Manor]

"This is a really big house," Brinika says. Weird too, but she's polite enough not to say it.

[Gullara]

[Pearhouse Manor]

"Long short corridor?" Salix furrows her brow. That doesn't make any sense to her at all!

[Earl of Purple]

Pearhouse Manor

"Don't be silly. If it was bigger on the outside than on the inside, the doorways wouldn't fit. It compresses the space inside so it seems smaller without actually displacing any of it. The house is part of my mother's hereditary estate." It's basically bigger outside than inside. When they reach the aforementioned corridor, both long walls are flanked by doorways with quite a gap between them. If anybody's actually paying attention, they aren't travelling through all the space they're seeing- they skip forward three steps every so often.

[Terumitsu]

[Outside the Rusty Dagger - Ghoul]

Caught by surprise, Ghoul took the shot square on. While normally her armor would have absorbed the bolt, given the strange workings of this particular attack resulted in it apparently bypassing her defenses, including those she had that were specifically geared towards defense against electrical discharge.

As such, the electromagnetic surge ran through her nervous system, causing her muscles to spasm. While Ghoul might normally find herself worried that she was suddenly not in control of her body, the fact that her mind rested in cybernetic media meant that the effects were more like a full blown seizure than just a large shock. As such, once the immediate effects of the bolt had passed, the muse would be laying on the ground and quite unconscious for the time being.