[FWM] Backstage: CUT!

[PurityIcekiller]

"Keep a light on, an' double-check it as I go. I'm liable t'lose a wire in this lot, an' I can't concentrate on a light spell while I'm tracin' th' wires out." He took a deep breath, staring at the unholy tangle of wires he was about to delve into. His confidence took a few steps back. "...an', uh, if y'got room for moral support in there somewhere, I suppose that couldn't hurt."

"Got it." Night Jewel put a hoof around Sandy. "You're a smart colt. You can do it. Here, I'll get that light."

Night Jewel concentrated for a bit. "Is that good enough? ...No, wait, I forgot to set it to visible." After a few moments, a nice glow started to emanate from her horn, making it easier to see. "There. Let's get this sorted out."

As Sandy worked, Night Jewel would keep an eye out for things he missed, along with providing verbal support and the occasional backrub when he seemed to be getting overwhelmed. This may or may not have been helpful.

[TheAmishPirate]

"Got it." Night Jewel put a hoof around Sandy. "You're a smart colt. You can do it. Here, I'll get that light."

Night Jewel concentrated for a bit. "Is that good enough? ...No, wait, I forgot to set it to visible." After a few moments, a nice glow started to emanate from her horn, making it easier to see. "There. Let's get this sorted out."

As Sandy worked, Night Jewel would keep an eye out for things he missed, along with providing verbal support and the occasional backrub when he seemed to be getting overwhelmed. This may or may not have been helpful.

Sandy's breath caught in his throat, his eyes darting between the mess of cables and the hoof currently draped across his shoulders. "Y-yeah. Just fine. That...shiny thing. Light. It's good. Good." He awkwardly cleared his throat and sat down on his haunches before the fusebox. "L-let's just start wi-with this one here..."

A ship like Cirrus demanded a high standard from its engineers. Untested tech and an appalling lack of safety features required the best and the brightest, or at least dumb luck. In his short tenure as engineer, Sandy had faced all manner of technical difficulties with a smile on his face and a wrench in his teeth, and come out on top. The results weren't always pretty, but he got the job done.

The chief difference between those jobs and this one, was that half his brain wasn't completely devoted to figuring out what the hay was this filly's deal.

After only a few wires, Night Jewel would catch his first mistake, which he promptly corrected with many a nervous, flustered apology. Any words of praise or affirmation only produced a light flush on his cheeks, an awkwardly mumbled word of thanks, and/or more mistakes. The nerves piled up, leading to more mistakes, which wound his nerves tighter, which led to ever more confusion, and so the vicious cycle went until poor Sandy could hardly trace a wire for more than an inch without getting hopelessly lost. By mere proximity, the Desert Fennec had stolen away Sandy's competence; an impressive heist by any measure.

Should Night Jewel opt for a backrub on the beleaguered stallion, she'd find it...in a bad shape. To call it a hopelessly tight jumble of tense knots would vastly overestimate the physical capabilities of knots. A closer estimate would put them somewhere around "black holes where loose muscles go to die." Any attempts to smooth out and relax the muscles was met with fierce opposition and little, hidden winces from Sandy. Her "help" couldn't possibly have caused all this; this back belonged to a pony who probably couldn't even spell "relax."

Clearly, this was a whole new level of dolt colt she was dealing with.

[Benson]

With Sandy and Night Jewel

Prompter looked at Sandy with concern, tilting her head. "Are you alright?...You're awfully nervous about something."

Silverpine's ears flattened a little at the mention that they were going to be only playing extras. He had expected some sort of speaking roles at least. But then again, they weren't called for any sort of practice, so it'd be odd to have lines.

He quickly smiled at the director. "Right. Make up and costume. We probably should go and do so before the show starts. Thanks, Miss Soliloquy." Silverpine then nudged Gearstride towards wherever the nearest costume area was.

Twas Gearstride's fault as she had made it seem grander when she had first approached him and Sandy. She noticed his flattening ears and gave him a quick peck and held his hoof.

"Sorry babe, if ain't what you were hopin for.....but hey, we get to sing in the end of the chorus, ya know, the Hearthswarming Eve carol we all know and love? Mmmm, yer gonna make the cutest earth pony peasant haha heh." She chuckled as they walked over to where they were to get into costume and make up, back stage.

Icy stopped in her tracks, and tilted her head at Fox. "Oh? Only the two of us? What might those plans be?"

He walked up to in order to whisper to her, he didn't feel like sharing any details with his father.

"Well I wanted to take you out n a romantic carriage ride....the rest a secret...well sans dinner.."

[Kelvin360]

[Clouds Above Bridle Shores]Prose flops backwards to hover upside down, forehooves folded behind his head in a comfortable position as he lazily floats on his back. "Eh, like I said," he shrugs, "Maybe I just put on an act? Or maybe I'm just enjoying my retirement after so many years of putting priority on precision and perfection," he aloofly alliterates.

"Mmmmno. That would be more convincing if you hadn't just disproved it, uh, twice. If it makes you feel any better, you're way better at bluffing than pulling out verbal back-steps." She grins again and nudges him. "You're super with what you do, Prose. Just you being where you are is good enough for me. Plus, now you're retired, you can start pulling out the 'they don't make 'em like they used to' and 'back in my day' anecdotes. They're exactly as fun to say as they sound."

"Well, if ya ever get tired of it, I can take over for ya for a bit! I haven't been gettin' enough action in myself lately."


Blades looked intrigued. "Huh! Ya actually did it? I remember when 'Vadraa 'n Stellar tried... Ya know, it's not often that ya get to kill a pony more than once, 'cept when necromancers are 'round. So what happened, anyway?"

"Well, erm, it was actually an accident. One of his backup plans failed catastrophically, and our stated goal wasn't to kill him then. Not to hear Taylor tell it, though.

There were multiple hints that it wouldn't go as planned, both from the environment and our relative ease in beginning the confrontation. I suppose you expected me to begin with 'it was a dark and stormy night'? Well, so did we. But it was warm, cloudless, and midafternoon. It was just Taylor and myself; Moonlight had been the target of an assassination attempt just a day prior, and Moonshine was in Canterlot seeing to his recuperation..."

"Start big and work smaller. I suppose I can manage that. Perhaps with the right sort of tools... Ah, but we'll get to that."

Flare concentrated for a bit, then caused the ground below to launch a huge amount of snow onto the existing pile. She then worked on shaping it into a neat sphere that was significantly larger than the average pony.

"Is this pile 'huge' enough?"

"I think so. Let's start on the middle - scooping out a lot of snow at once will be easier than the smaller bits later."

[Grif]

Twas Gearstride's fault as she had made it seem grander when she had first approached him and Sandy. She noticed his flattening ears and gave him a quick peck and held his hoof.

"Sorry babe, if ain't what you were hopin for.....but hey, we get to sing in the end of the chorus, ya know, the Hearthswarming Eve carol we all know and love? Mmmm, yer gonna make the cutest earth pony peasant haha heh." She chuckled as they walked over to where they were to get into costume and make up, back stage.

Silverpine just good-naturedly ribbed Gearstride back in the sides. "You always think of the darnest things, Captain," he replied with a smile. "Singing the chorus alone would be quite an honour for an outsider, I suppose."

He walked up to in order to whisper to her, he didn't feel like sharing any details with his father.

"Well I wanted to take you out n a romantic carriage ride....the rest a secret...well sans dinner.."

Icy just tilted her head further, at Fox, before glancing back at Balboa, who no doubt would be straining to hear just what the two were whispering. "Well, hm... that is awkward... was this your plan from the beginning?"

[HalfTangible]

[Wrench's home]

Lone Star and Esmeralda moved through the home of the Engineer pony, jumping a bit when turrets popped out and looked at them, but not actually encountering any resistance. They reached what appeared to be a garage with a small glass booth set in the center of it. Inside the glass booth was a large red button.

Here we go. This goes right to the giant robot. Lone Star entered the booth and smooshed himself against the wall. There'd be room for both of them, but just barely.

[Grif]

[Wrench's home]

Lone Star and Esmeralda moved through the home of the Engineer pony, jumping a bit when turrets popped out and looked at them, but not actually encountering any resistance. They reached what appeared to be a garage with a small glass booth set in the center of it. Inside the glass booth was a large red button.

Here we go. This goes right to the giant robot. Lone Star entered the booth and smooshed himself against the wall. There'd be room for both of them, but just barely.

Esmeralda certainly was observing their environment keenly, curious as to what wonders the small home holds. She guessed shrewdly that the engineer pony probably had more of these tech stashed away someplace. She paused a moment to look at Lone Star squeezing into the booth, before shrugging and squeezing in after him, probably taking the time to wiggle against him a little more than necessary.

"Now what?" she asked, once properly seated, barely managing to fit her tail inside.

[HalfTangible]

Esmeralda certainly was observing their environment keenly, curious as to what wonders the small home holds. She guessed shrewdly that the engineer pony probably had more of these tech stashed away someplace. She paused a moment to look at Lone Star squeezing into the booth, before shrugging and squeezing in after him, probably taking the time to wiggle against him a little more than necessary.

"Now what?" she asked, once properly seated, barely managing to fit her tail inside.

We make out. Yes, it is completely neccessary. No, I am not doing this just for fun, it is completely required that my tongue go halfway down your throat.

We hit the big red button. Lone Star said instead with a grin. He punched the button, and the glass case shot downward. With a resounding 'thump', it landed in a dark room from which many colored buttons blinked and flashed around them.

Lone Star kissed her horn. Welcome to the Trojan Mk8.

[Grif]

We make out. Yes, it is completely neccessary. No, I am not doing this just for fun, it is completely required that my tongue go halfway down your throat.

We hit the big red button. Lone Star said instead with a grin. He punched the button, and the glass case shot downward. With a resounding 'thump', it landed in a dark room from which many colored buttons blinked and flashed around them.

Lone Star kissed her horn. Welcome to the Trojan Mk8.

(Well, I'm assuming it opens up to a bigger room.)

Oho, that certainly jolted the normally placid (well, not really. Placid should refer to her twin.) mare into wide-eyed wonder. Not so ironically, Esmeralda was probably having the same thoughts as Lone Star.

Mmm, he looks so hot just squished there against the glass. Screw physics, we're going to have a makeout session here right after we're done with this.

Outwardly though, she just giggled, and kissed Lone Star back on the cheek. "Trojan eh? Such a lovely name." She wiggled out of the glass box, again taking her time to brush and wiggle against Lone Star playfully. Then she trotted towards the colourful light display that played out mesmerisingly in front of her, debating whether or not to just press all the buttons and see what would happen.

[Lycan 01]

[Up in the Clouds]

"Mr. Prose, I assure you they were quite wrong about your skill, and that I have no doubts about your capabilities. My only concern is that you do not acquire inaccurate impressions."

Blueshield went silent for a moment, then shook her head. "...I do suppose I misjudged your experiences. I have previously dealt with ponies who thought I would be something grander than I am, and I expected the opposite situation to be better, but an extreme in either direction is problematic. "

Prose chuckles loftily. "Who says I don't want inaccurate impressions?" he croons, idly cutting a flip as he lazily hovers in the air. "Let's say for a moment that I'm not actually a lazy bum, and that I really am a deadly, skilled Shadowbolt with close ties to the Equestrian authorities and the Princess herself. If ponies saw me that way, everypony would respect me, sure. But they would also fear me. I'd always get weird look, everypony would be nervous around me, and I'd probably have to deal with other problems. They'd all do their best not to make me suspect them of any wrongdoing, constantly on their best behavior, telling me what I want to hear. They'd be fake. But if everypony thinks I'm lazy, and got fired or something for sucking at my job? Then ponies may not respect me, but they'll at least at like normal ponies around me. Who knows, they might even be nice to me, since I'd be Purple Prose the batpony, instead of Wing Leader or Inquisitor Prose," he muses thoughtfully. "Savvy?"

He cuts another flip, before grinning crookedly. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Mmmmno. That would be more convincing if you hadn't just disproved it, uh, twice. If it makes you feel any better, you're way better at bluffing than pulling out verbal back-steps." She grins again and nudges him. "You're super with what you do, Prose. Just you being where you are is good enough for me. Plus, now you're retired, you can start pulling out the 'they don't make 'em like they used to' and 'back in my day' anecdotes. They're exactly as fun to say as they sound."

"Heeeeey," Prose frowns at her indignantly. "I'm not old! I mean, I ain't young, but I ain't old, either! I ought to report you for that, meanie!" he playfully teases with a lazy smirk.

[HalfTangible]

(Well, I'm assuming it opens up to a bigger room.)

Oho, that certainly jolted the normally placid (well, not really. Placid should refer to her twin.) mare into wide-eyed wonder. Not so ironically, Esmeralda was probably having the same thoughts as Lone Star.

Mmm, he looks so hot just squished there against the glass. Screw physics, we're going to have a makeout session here right after we're done with this.

Outwardly though, she just giggled, and kissed Lone Star back on the cheek. "Trojan eh? Such a lovely name." She wiggled out of the glass box, again taking her time to brush and wiggle against Lone Star playfully. Then she trotted towards the colourful light display that played out mesmerisingly in front of her, debating whether or not to just press all the buttons and see what would happen.

(Er, yes. it was supposed to be a cockpit with the lights off and no natural sunlight coming in through the front since it's underground. Think Enterprise, or maybe Megazord. Point is, it's bigger.)

Lone Star grinned as he eyed up his fillyfriend. I've got my eye on something lovelier~

Cheesy line done with, he walked forward and wrapped his wing around her, nuzzling her neck. Wanna launch it? I'm sure Wrench won't mind we took it for a spin if we never tell him.

[PurityIcekiller]

Prose chuckles loftily. "Who says I don't want inaccurate impressions?" he croons, idly cutting a flip as he lazily hovers in the air. "Let's say for a moment that I'm not actually a lazy bum, and that I really am a deadly, skilled Shadowbolt with close ties to the Equestrian authorities and the Princess herself. If ponies saw me that way, everypony would respect me, sure. But they would also fear me. I'd always get weird look, everypony would be nervous around me, and I'd probably have to deal with other problems. They'd all do their best not to make me suspect them of any wrongdoing, constantly on their best behavior, telling me what I want to hear. They'd be fake. But if everypony thinks I'm lazy, and got fired or something for sucking at my job? Then ponies may not respect me, but they'll at least at like normal ponies around me. Who knows, they might even be nice to me, since I'd be Purple Prose the batpony, instead of Wing Leader or Inquisitor Prose," he muses thoughtfully. "Savvy?"

He cuts another flip, before grinning crookedly. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

Blueshield put a hoof to her forehead. "Mr. Prose, I am less inclined to accept correction of my assumptions if you immediately contradict said correction. One moment, you find it insulting to be considered less capable than you truly are, but it is an advantage the next?"

"Mmmmno. That would be more convincing if you hadn't just disproved it, uh, twice. If it makes you feel any better, you're way better at bluffing than pulling out verbal back-steps." She grins again and nudges him. "You're super with what you do, Prose. Just you being where you are is good enough for me. Plus, now you're retired, you can start pulling out the 'they don't make 'em like they used to' and 'back in my day' anecdotes. They're exactly as fun to say as they sound."

"Heeeeey," Prose frowns at her indignantly. "I'm not old! I mean, I ain't young, but I ain't old, either! I ought to report you for that, meanie!" he playfully teases with a lazy smirk.

"You may think of it as having a superior demonstrated aptitude for prolonging the duration of your existence instead, if you prefer," Blueshield remarked.

"Well, erm, it was actually an accident. One of his backup plans failed catastrophically, and our stated goal wasn't to kill him then. Not to hear Taylor tell it, though.

There were multiple hints that it wouldn't go as planned, both from the environment and our relative ease in beginning the confrontation. I suppose you expected me to begin with 'it was a dark and stormy night'? Well, so did we. But it was warm, cloudless, and midafternoon. It was just Taylor and myself; Moonlight had been the target of an assassination attempt just a day prior, and Moonshine was in Canterlot seeing to his recuperation..."

"Right, right. So it was the two of ya. Go on."

"I think so. Let's start on the middle - scooping out a lot of snow at once will be easier than the smaller bits later."

"Scoop out the middle. Understood."

Flare concentrated again, drawing up a large rocky cylinder to punch a hole through the mound. Now it resembled an arch more.

[Lights, Camera, Action]

Night Jewel noticed the decline in repair quality pretty quickly. Whoops.

"...Sandy, you seem to be getting pretty stressed. Why don't you take a break and let me work on this for a while?"

[TheAmishPirate]

With Sandy and Night Jewel

Prompter looked at Sandy with concern, tilting her head. "Are you alright?...You're awfully nervous about something."

Sandy gulped down a hard lump in his throat. "I-I, uh, th-that is...y'see..."

[Lights, Camera, Action]

Night Jewel noticed the decline in repair quality pretty quickly. Whoops.

"...Sandy, you seem to be getting pretty stressed. Why don't you take a break and let me work on this for a while?"

"...s-sure." The little engineer sighed in defeat and glumly scooted himself over. His horn lit up the fusebox for Night Jewel, and she'd find his little notes easy enough to follow. Really, it was just a matter of concentrating, and not losing your place amid the tangle of wires. No wonder the dolt colt was having such a hard time.


Speaking of, Sandy would sit silently next to her, ears pinned back and cheeks burning in shame. Would y'look at that; th' clever, capable engineer of th' Cirrus, foiled by a filly an' a fuse box. Miss Prompter, Silverpine, the Cap'n, they'd all been counting on him, and he'd let his focus waver. Now a little filly had to do his job for him, and he'd been demoted to a station worthy of his usefulness; flashlight.


Stupid, stupid Sandy...

[Benson]

Silverpine just good-naturedly ribbed Gearstride back in the sides. "You always think of the darnest things, Captain," he replied with a smile. "Singing the chorus alone would be quite an honour for an outsider, I suppose."

"That's the spirit lieutenant, and I bet you have a lovely singing voice, the sort of make a young lass feel the vapahs," She grinned, nuzzling his cheek as they walked and talked.

Icy just tilted her head further, at Fox, before glancing back at Balboa, who no doubt would be straining to hear just what the two were whispering. "Well, hm... that is awkward... was this your plan from the beginning?"

Balboa sat like a perfect gentleman, drinking his cocoa, on the couch, though indeed he was trying to strain to hear their conversation.

"Yes...minus my father showing up of course, wanted to give the love of my life the best Hearthswarming I could give her," He said, whispering back.
===
===

Back to the Park

'Cheer up mister...don't feel down in the dumps, I prompt you not to be!" Prompter smiled, still confused a bit, but most definitely not confused when it came to a pony looking down i the dumps.

[Kelvin360]

[Up in the Clouds]

"Heeeeey," Prose frowns at her indignantly. "I'm not old! I mean, I ain't young, but I ain't old, either! I ought to report you for that, meanie!" he playfully teases with a lazy smirk.

"You may think of it as having a superior demonstrated aptitude for prolonging the duration of your existence instead, if you prefer," Blueshield remarked.

"I could put it in haiku if you want, but she pretty much said it for me."

"Right, right. So it was the two of ya. Go on."

Spoiler

Show

Killing him was never part of the plan. But then, none of our plans had worked that week. Or month. That entire year, even.

His outpost was in a hollowed-out section of a mountain; the same one Canterlot is attached to, but on the other side. There were no guards. I suppose he didn't want to risk killing us before he had the chance to meet Taylor face-to-face. No traps, either. Not at first. Just a long, dark tunnel, spiraling closer and closer to the core. The further in we went, the more the temperature increased. That mountain is dormant, but lava is dangerous no matter what the circumstances are. The walls were carved with what looked like a process that blended digging with polishing, and it was akin to the burrowing hole of a massive worm. I estimated that it alone must have set the Black Flag back months of work, and I was glad for that. More time for them meant more time for us.

At the end was a massive antechamber, almost entirely empty. A half-moon shaped stone platform overlooked the sea of lava below, but I could make out a small passage not unlike ours just off to the right, presumably an escape tunnel. At the time, I didn't know why it was so obvious. Surely he knew we would attempt to block his exit?

Zaros was in the middle of the stone platform. His sword was already drawn, the onyx blade idly cutting miniature trenches in the solid rock. He'd gone without his helmet, but the rest of his armor was in place. I grimaced. His old set was highly magic resistant, and I doubted I could do much to him. I liked my chances much more if I could get at his head, though.

We stopped perhaps five paces outside of the tunnel, putting us close enough such that I could make out the color of his eyes. Taylor and I had both seen those eyes before, though not on him. The reserved, sadistic smirk plastered on his face wasn't exactly from anypony I would refer to as a friend, either.

He tapped a hoof on the ground next to him. I assumed it was an intimidating gesture, but then I noticed the fault lines that trailed up to us and then behind where we stood. I turned, and beheld a massive pillar, with a hole the exact circumference of our tunnel through its bottommost section. Before we could so much as flinch, its structural integrity failed, and it collapsed on us, along with most of the ceiling.

I rolled to one side, narrowly avoiding the rest of the pillar, and began linking together every spell I could think of. Type didn't matter - I just needed the energy they produced. Three golden, opaque beams, connecting the ground to strategic fallout points, joined my efforts. When the dust clearer, it was just us, immobilized by the effort, keeping the sky from falling.

Zaros hadn't moved from his position, which was conspicuously far enough away to be safe from the debris if we had failed. "Now that we are on somewhat equal terms," he said, "Perhaps we can engage in more...civilized conversation."

"Pfft. No good lines on this guy? I mean, just off the top of my head, 'I have you now'. Not even some chuckling?"

"Scoop out the middle. Understood."

Flare concentrated again, drawing up a large rocky cylinder to punch a hole through the mound. Now it resembled an arch more.

"Um..." Arvadraa pokes her head through the hole, then back out. "That's fine. We need to carve out the limbs..." She moves forward, pushing the middle-bottom section of snow out, leaving an 'n' shape. "Let's...use our hooves, maybe? For finesse?"

[Grif]

(Apologies for the massive delay)

(Er, yes. it was supposed to be a cockpit with the lights off and no natural sunlight coming in through the front since it's underground. Think Enterprise, or maybe Megazord. Point is, it's bigger.)

Lone Star grinned as he eyed up his fillyfriend. I've got my eye on something lovelier~

Cheesy line done with, he walked forward and wrapped his wing around her, nuzzling her neck. Wanna launch it? I'm sure Wrench won't mind we took it for a spin if we never tell him.

Esmeralda just lifted a hoof to her mouth, giggling. "I like the way you think. Let's, as some like to say, rock this joint." If Lone Star would show her, then she'd proceed to start the machine up enthusiatically.

"That's the spirit lieutenant, and I bet you have a lovely singing voice, the sort of make a young lass feel the vapahs," She grinned, nuzzling his cheek as they walked and talked.

Silverpine laughed, stealing a kiss on her cheek. "Ha, I wish. The best I can do is to not accidentally break a window with my voice."

Balboa sat like a perfect gentleman, drinking his cocoa, on the couch, though indeed he was trying to strain to hear their conversation.

"Yes...minus my father showing up of course, wanted to give the love of my life the best Hearthswarming I could give her," He said, whispering back.

(I assume this is happening during mid-late afternoon, which should allow them a few hours as Icy had hoped for.)

Icy sighed. A prickly conundrum indeed. On one hoof, she didn't appear rude to their guest. On the other... well, Fox. Then again... no reason they couldn't do both...

She cleared her throat, then smiled earnestly at Balboa. "Ahem, Mr Balboa, would you mind giving the two of us a couple of hours to ourselves? I'm sure we can meet up later for a lovely dinner and spend the rest of the evening drinking the night away."

[HalfTangible]

Esmeralda just lifted a hoof to her mouth, giggling. "I like the way you think. Let's, as some like to say, rock this joint." If Lone Star would show her, then she'd proceed to start the machine up enthusiatically.

[The Trojan]

He grinned and patted her cutie mark. Let's.

As the two flipped various switches and pressed glowy buttons, the machine roared to life. Displays crackled to life, displaying the integrity of the robot's various parts and revealing it to be a giant unicorn... well, alicorn if the giant rockets attached to its sides counted as wings.

"Teleporter charging."

Oh, neat. I was wondering how this thing was gonna get out.

---

[Lake]

The robot teleported into the center of the lake, a hulking goliath of incredible power.

---

[Wrench]
Feel free to interact - I'm not sure where he is.

Alert. Trojan Launched. Trojan Launched.

Wrench choked on his beer as the alarm went off, then sighed deeply. Note to self: need better security. His southern accent was as gravelly as ever.

[Benson]

Silverpine laughed, stealing a kiss on her cheek. "Ha, I wish. The best I can do is to not accidentally break a window with my voice."

"Oooh, that would even more exciting hahah," She said nuzzling him in exchange. "Perhaps the both of us should join below average, only karaoke worthy voices together and crack some windows hahah."

Icy sighed. A prickly conundrum indeed. On one hoof, she didn't appear rude to their guest. On the other... well, Fox. Then again... no reason they couldn't do both...

She cleared her throat, then smiled earnestly at Balboa. "Ahem, Mr Balboa, would you mind giving the two of us a couple of hours to ourselves? I'm sure we can meet up later for a lovely dinner and spend the rest of the evening drinking the night away."

Balboa situated himself to feign he had not been trying to listen in on the two. "Of course my dear, it would be of no issue at all. Plus, Miss Astrid and I had some things to do around town, you know, visit the orphanage...there is an orphanage here in Bridle Shores right? I believe also something about volunteering as a shopping galleria Santa Hooves, if Miss Astrid's scheduling of activities is to be believed ho ho heh." Twas true, admittedly, Balboa's visit to Bridle Shores was to rake in some good PR among its middle class citizens. He could already imagine the newspaper taglines and reporter interviews. How often does a small town get to have a visit from Equestria's premiere philanthropist?

His visit with Fox, a bonus secondary, though still just as important.

[PurityIcekiller]

Spoiler

Show

Killing him was never part of the plan. But then, none of our plans had worked that week. Or month. That entire year, even.

His outpost was in a hollowed-out section of a mountain; the same one Canterlot is attached to, but on the other side. There were no guards. I suppose he didn't want to risk killing us before he had the chance to meet Taylor face-to-face. No traps, either. Not at first. Just a long, dark tunnel, spiraling closer and closer to the core. The further in we went, the more the temperature increased. That mountain is dormant, but lava is dangerous no matter what the circumstances are. The walls were carved with what looked like a process that blended digging with polishing, and it was akin to the burrowing hole of a massive worm. I estimated that it alone must have set the Black Flag back months of work, and I was glad for that. More time for them meant more time for us.

At the end was a massive antechamber, almost entirely empty. A half-moon shaped stone platform overlooked the sea of lava below, but I could make out a small passage not unlike ours just off to the right, presumably an escape tunnel. At the time, I didn't know why it was so obvious. Surely he knew we would attempt to block his exit?

Zaros was in the middle of the stone platform. His sword was already drawn, the onyx blade idly cutting miniature trenches in the solid rock. He'd gone without his helmet, but the rest of his armor was in place. I grimaced. His old set was highly magic resistant, and I doubted I could do much to him. I liked my chances much more if I could get at his head, though.

We stopped perhaps five paces outside of the tunnel, putting us close enough such that I could make out the color of his eyes. Taylor and I had both seen those eyes before, though not on him. The reserved, sadistic smirk plastered on his face wasn't exactly from anypony I would refer to as a friend, either.

He tapped a hoof on the ground next to him. I assumed it was an intimidating gesture, but then I noticed the fault lines that trailed up to us and then behind where we stood. I turned, and beheld a massive pillar, with a hole the exact circumference of our tunnel through its bottommost section. Before we could so much as flinch, its structural integrity failed, and it collapsed on us, along with most of the ceiling.

I rolled to one side, narrowly avoiding the rest of the pillar, and began linking together every spell I could think of. Type didn't matter - I just needed the energy they produced. Three golden, opaque beams, connecting the ground to strategic fallout points, joined my efforts. When the dust clearer, it was just us, immobilized by the effort, keeping the sky from falling.

Zaros hadn't moved from his position, which was conspicuously far enough away to be safe from the debris if we had failed. "Now that we are on somewhat equal terms," he said, "Perhaps we can engage in more...civilized conversation."

"Pfft. No good lines on this guy? I mean, just off the top of my head, 'I have you now'. Not even some chuckling?"

As soon as Starbeam mentioned the magma lake, Blades got a smirk. She had a feeling she knew where the story was going.

"Not a real creative type, was he." She gave a nod to Stellar. "Not easy to come up with a snappy comeback when he just gives ya that to work with. What did ya do next?"

"Um..." Arvadraa pokes her head through the hole, then back out. "That's fine. We need to carve out the limbs..." She moves forward, pushing the middle-bottom section of snow out, leaving an 'n' shape. "Let's...use our hooves, maybe? For finesse?"

"Finesse... I was not aware that it would be needed. It is not what I am best at. But I will try."

Flare began scooping out snow from the middle until the form had four crude legs. She nearly caused it to collapse by taking away too much snow, but stopped it with a hoof before it was too late.

[Re-Fusal]

Not having any other fillies to tease and distract her, Night Jewel didn't have much trouble. "Now, which parts had you finished again? Hmm... Oh, that's how this bit has to go! And these wires have to switch..."

She decided to leave comforting Sandy to Prompter, seeing what her previous attempts had managed.

[Grif]

[The Trojan]

He grinned and patted her cutie mark. Let's.

As the two flipped various switches and pressed glowy buttons, the machine roared to life. Displays crackled to life, displaying the integrity of the robot's various parts and revealing it to be a giant unicorn... well, alicorn if the giant rockets attached to its sides counted as wings.

"Teleporter charging."

Oh, neat. I was wondering how this thing was gonna get out.


[Lake]

The robot teleported into the center of the lake, a hulking goliath of incredible power.

"Um... how do we steer?" Esmeralda said, as she experimentally tried the joystick. Whatever she did, it was enough to send the robot unicorn diving into the lake with a massive splash.

"... ops."

[Wrench]
Feel free to interact - I'm not sure where he is.

Alert. Trojan Launched. Trojan Launched.

Wrench choked on his beer as the alarm went off, then sighed deeply. Note to self: need better security. His southern accent was as gravelly as ever.

[Shell Shock]

"Oy. I thought ya already scrapped that thing," Shell Shock remarked, as he himself took a swing off his bottle of whisky.

"Oooh, that would even more exciting hahah," She said nuzzling him in exchange. "Perhaps the both of us should join below average, only karaoke worthy voices together and crack some windows hahah."

"Ha, that'll be the day." When the pair reached the dressing room storage/closet or wherever they stored clothes, Silverpine would begin picking out their costume and appropriate accessories, and then change into them.

Soon enough, a proper earth pony peasant stood before the captain.

Balboa situated himself to feign he had not been trying to listen in on the two. "Of course my dear, it would be of no issue at all. Plus, Miss Astrid and I had some things to do around town, you know, visit the orphanage...there is an orphanage here in Bridle Shores right? I believe also something about volunteering as a shopping galleria Santa Hooves, if Miss Astrid's scheduling of activities is to be believed ho ho heh." Twas true, admittedly, Balboa's visit to Bridle Shores was to rake in some good PR among its middle class citizens. He could already imagine the newspaper taglines and reporter interviews. How often does a small town get to have a visit from Equestria's premiere philanthropist?

His visit with Fox, a bonus secondary, though still just as important.

Icy obviously wouldn't be privy to any of Balboa's schedule. So instead, she nodded happily, and went to lean against Fox. "My thanks, Mr Balboa. Shall we meet here at say... eight o'clock?"

[TheAmishPirate]

Back to the Park

'Cheer up mister...don't feel down in the dumps, I prompt you not to be!" Prompter smiled, still confused a bit, but most definitely not confused when it came to a pony looking down i the dumps.

Sandy put on a wan smile for the mare, but cheery words couldn't fix failures. "Th-thanks, ma'am." He turned his attention back to being a good little flashlight, while silently continuing his personal pity party.

[HalfTangible]

"Um... how do we steer?" Esmeralda said, as she experimentally tried the joystick. Whatever she did, it was enough to send the robot unicorn diving into the lake with a massive splash.

"... ops."

[The Robot]

I think it's this thing? Lone Star pushed a lever forward.

A giant laser shot out of the horn.

Lone Star quickly put the lever back down. Wrong lever. He pointed to the booth. Maybe it runs by thought, go stand in the booth, see if it responds to mental commands.

Spoiler: It can, but doesn't right now because it's on manual control.

[Shell Shock]

"Oy. I thought ya already scrapped that thing," Shell Shock remarked, as he himself took a swing off his bottle of whisky.

[Wrench and Shell Shock]

It's a 50 foot robot, ya cain't just 'scrap' somethin' that huge. 'sides, figured it'd be good fer the next time we get invaded. He pulled out a (recognizable) remote, put a coin in and began hitting various buttons on it. Jus' need to see who's- OH FOR THE LOVE OF CRAP, YOU?!

Oh! Uh... hi there, Wrench!

[The Robot. Again.]

Hope you don't mind, but we kinda borrowed your giant robot for Hearth's Warming. Lone Star called out, looking for the controls.

I c'n see that, ya thievin' varmint! Wrench's voice echoed in the cockpit, though there was no visual.

I prefer the term 'sexy beast' or 'Lil troublemaker' or 'stupid jackass'.

[Lycan 01]

[Up in the Clouds]

Blueshield put a hoof to her forehead. "Mr. Prose, I am less inclined to accept correction of my assumptions if you immediately contradict said correction. One moment, you find it insulting to be considered less capable than you truly are, but it is an advantage the next?"

"Ah, but there's a difference," Prose idly corrects Blueshield with an aloof shrug. "Perhaps it is not easy to explain, but the way I feel it, there's nothing wrong with ponies underestimating you, and simply thinking you not as competent as you truly are because of laziness on your part. But when ponies overtly accuse you of being weak or unskilled, or belittle the obvious efforts you have taken and sacrifices you have made-" he pauses to point at the Shadowbolt dogtag around his neck, and the eyepatch that covers the side of his face where an ocular organ should be, before smirking, "-I tend find that a wee bit on the annoying side."

"Better to be thought a fool than directly called a fool, I suppose you could say," he muses.

"You may think of it as having a superior demonstrated aptitude for prolonging the duration of your existence instead, if you prefer," Blueshield remarked.

"I could put it in haiku if you want, but she pretty much said it for me."

The batpony snickers, before cutting another lazy backflip.

"Long lived batpony,
Lazily aloft up high,
Does not care for death," he quips with a crooked smirk.

[Benson]

Sandy put on a wan smile for the mare, but cheery words couldn't fix failures. "Th-thanks, ma'am." He turned his attention back to being a good little flashlight, while silently continuing his personal pity party.

[Re-Fusal]

Not having any other fillies to tease and distract her, Night Jewel didn't have much trouble. "Now, which parts had you finished again? Hmm... Oh, that's how this bit has to go! And these wires have to switch..."

She decided to leave comforting Sandy to Prompter, seeing what her previous attempts had managed.

A minor zap here and there, nothing too bad, maybe Sandy just really was unlucky. A moment later Night Jewel would find herself with a nicely, properly organized light switch/box, wires where they needed to be, color coded, all that groovy jazz.
==============

"Ha, that'll be the day." When the pair reached the dressing room storage/closet or wherever they stored clothes, Silverpine would begin picking out their costume and appropriate accessories, and then change into them.

Soon enough, a proper earth pony peasant stood before the captain.

"Hoooo weeee...you is one handsome peasant hahah," She laughed and dug her hoof into the snowy ground until she hit dirt. She then took dirty hoof and smeared dirt over Silverpine's muzzle and cheek. "There you go, perfect!"

There were other ponies around, getting fitted for costumes, peasant clothing for earth ponies, Romane styled armor for pegasi, fine noble clothing for unicorns. Two pegasi were fake fighting with wooden swords, holding them in between their teeth. Four fitted earth ponies were chatting amongst themselves, holding mugs of cider in their hooves. Whilst a few unicorns levitated scripts in front of their faces and practiced what few lines they had with each other.

A moment later Silverpine and Gearstride would be approached by an average body typed earth pony stallion with a youthful face. He had a dark powder blue coat with dark blue freckles on his muzzle and a blue-green mane that curled up towards the bottom. On his head was a big ol pudding inspired hat. He was also dressed sporting a big frilly collar, a brown and creamy tan regalia, and a pink bowtie on his flank.

"Hiya! You two in the play? Haha what am I saying, of course you are, this is gonna be awesome! Hi!...Name is Idle Chat, pleasure ta meet and greet ya!" The stallion said with a big ol smile after taking a moment to breath. He proceeded to shake both Silverpine's and Gearstride's hoof, though not at the same time.
====

Icy obviously wouldn't be privy to any of Balboa's schedule. So instead, she nodded happily, and went to lean against Fox. "My thanks, Mr Balboa. Shall we meet here at say... eight o'clock?"

"Of course my dear, I shall be promptly here at eight, on the dot, that, I claim on my honor as a gentlecolt." Balboa said with a gentlecolt's bow as Fox rolled his eyes.

"Whelp, Miss Astrid, we ought to be on our way, let these two love birds have their...time alone." He winked as Astrid pocketed away her small violin as she herself gave a small bow as she then bowed out. Balboa would follow suit.

When Balboa was gone, Fox flopped to the ground and placed his fore hooves over his temples. "Ugh....I swear he....everything he does just gets on my nerves."

[Kelvin360]

Spoiler

Show

"It's not too late to surrender, Zaros." Taylor said. His words were strained, and not from concentration. Even I wasn't sure whether he still meant it. His eyes were constantly rolling between the emotions of desperation and hatred.

We exchanged a glance, an unspoken conversation, and I nodded, redoubling my efforts to hold up the ceiling. He released his constructs, and it quite literally felt like holding up the sky. If the pressure hadn't been entirely mental, I'm certain that my spine would have snapped immediately.

Taylor stepped forward, gathering his energy for the worst to come. "We-" He was cut off by a swift motion, executed with such alacrity that I almost didn't see it. Zaros broke several spikes off from his armor and threw them with the same smooth movement. Taylor summoned a glowing orb of protective energy, but it was unnecessary. The knives sunk into my chest, breaking my concentration.

I have an old amulet I was wearing at the time to thank for my continued existence. If it hadn't been under my robes, at least one of the spikes would have dug into my heart. As it was, I still had to operate with a punctured lung and an impaled trachea from that point forward. I acted quickly, reproducing my shield to its fullest extent, but the debris had come closer to the ground by almost a full meter. I began moving forward, slowly, so that I could dive forward and release the spell without being crushed, if that became necessary.

Taylor could only afford me a single glance of horror, but he knew that if he turned entirely, it could mean his death. "I really don't care for more of your misguided moralizing. It is neither truthful nor relevant, and I am on a schedule."

Taylor took another step forward. "Celestia's gaze, do you even know what you're doing? Who did Beacon tell you I was, exactly?"

"He told me that you would claim familial ties." Zaros said casually. "Which would be a lie, as you well know. Both of my parents are dead. Both by your hooves. What exactly do you have to complain about? That you have not caused me enough pain yet?"

I saw Taylor go slack, and then every muscle in his body tightened. "That's what he told you?!" He screamed. "He killed Silver because he wanted a twisted scion for his new world order! He murdered your mother when she wasn't a good little PAWN anymore! And he would have done the same to you if I hadn't-!"

I tried to shout a warning, but there was still a spike in my throat. My gurgling went unheard as Taylor's next hoofstep struck firmly on an arcane sigil. A jolt went up his body as it cracked and faded, but nothing appeared to have happened.

"Cute trap." He growled. "Bet you didn't expect a spell ward, though."

He paused, and I wasn't sure why. Then Zaros' smile widened. "That depends; did you have a backup plan in case I disabled your magical abilities?"

He stepped forward and hit Taylor with his sword so hard that he slammed into the wall next to me - almost twenty meters. At that moment, I began mentally preparing to die. I hadn't seen anypony do that in combat except Moonshine up to that point, and she's easily physically the strongest pony I've ever known. A massive gash had opened in Taylor's left side. Thanks to his shield, it wasn't immediately fatal, but he needed medical attention that I feared he was no longer in a position to provide himself. Something happened afterwards that I didn't expect. I realized that the part of me preparing for death was formulating backup plans essentially without my consent. I grabbed a hold of my psyche and told that section to focus on holding up the ceiling.

Being of two minds, literally, is...hard to describe. It's like multitasking, but your body is under the control of two independent entities. Both sides know what the other is doing, and neither operates unless in tandem, but it still feels as though you are performing one task and a stranger is taking hold of another, using parts of you. It is...exhilarating, but terrifying. I broke a section of my spell apart and put a shield in front of Taylor. It's a simple spell, and doesn't require much energy. It acts like my Spell Turning enchantment, but for material objects. It takes kinetic energy and turns it into negative inertia on impact. It doesn't negate the attack entirely and has no effect on large objects, but it was the best I could do. Sure enough, Zaros' next attack was more spikes. They left bruises, but largely bounced off of Taylor's hide. I realized that the villain wasn't willing to get closer to us, as he would run the risk of being crushed if I released control.

I feel obliged to point out that I was in shock and didn't have full control of my mental faculties. Namely because antimagic is proven to be impossible. It's not even a hard conclusion to reach - in order to generate an antimagic spell, you have to use some sort of magic, which would be disabled by the process. I suspected that he'd simply used some kind of suppressant, which meant that Taylor wasn't powerless, just weakened. I felt a jolt I'd only known once before, and knew that he had allowed me control of Aurora, his soulblade, since he couldn't summon it himself. I knew then that even if it meant our deaths, I wouldn't use it. The strain in his condition would kill him. Unless...

And I saw that behind the mask he was wearing, Taylor was smiling. I understood. Aurora is powered by deep recesses of magical energy, where core magic meets primal magic. Essentially, what we call the 'soul' and what we know as magic become one there. But if his magic was dampened, then the blade wouldn't be able to affect his health as adversely, if at all. But even with my two minds, I couldn't use the blade and hold up the ceiling at the same time. We needed to get out from under it. But I knew Taylor well enough to know that he was watching my hooves. The instant I was clear, he would make certain that he would be, as well.

Less than thirty seconds into the battle, and he was already at least two steps ahead of our opponent. That would be why he leads our team.

"I can quite literally do this all day." Zaros stated, bouncing another few spikes intermittently off of Taylor's skin and shield. "I have no shortage of ammunition."

"Really? I thought you were on a schedule." Taylor drew his mace and braced a hind leg against the wall, keeping it hidden behind his shield. "Or did you just mean that you needed to play for time so that Notation could divvy out the Soul Crystal?"

Zaros almost dropped his next barrage. "What..."

"It was actually really obvious." Taylor said. "Your stated goal is to kill Celestia and Luna, and that method has been tried five times. It got REALLY blinding when you targeted Rigs. You nabbed some of my blood a while ago, you just needed a little essence from a Moon Devotee to set all the ingredients in order."

"Thing is, there are a LOT of ponies who venerate Luna. Not to the same degree, but still more than a few. You just went after him to tick me off. That's a lot less mature than anything Beacon would have come up with, so I know it was on your initiative."

"Now that you are done stating the obvious..." His tone betrayed some of his annoyance.

"Wait! It gets...nnh...better. It's not going to work, and Notation doesn't know that. Neither do you."

"What?!"

"You seriously think you can just steal something like that from Canterlot? Both sisters had about a hundred wards up within seconds of it falling into your hooves. Now it's pretty, but that's about it."

Zaros looked ready to charge, but his willpower kept the reflex in check. Fortunately, his focus blinded him to my approach. "Then why are you even here? Surely you did not then an attempt to kill me-"

"I don't want to kill you."

All noise in the room ceased. Zaros blinked, not that the declaration, but the tone behind it. It was clear to all of us that any facade Taylor had maintained up to that point had ended, in favor of real pain. "Even if I believed you, surely you cannot think-"

"Your only crime is being raised and brainwashed by a madpony. And that's MY fault, not yours. Anything Beacon left behind is ashes, now. It's your show, and you don't have to worry about the pain of his disfavor anymore. I don't want to kill you." He choked. "I just want my son back."

I was at the edge by that point, just outside minimum safe distance. But I waited to see if diplomacy would prevail. Certainly something seemed to have taken hold. The warlord looked torn between...something. It was difficult to say what. He sighed, hanging his head. "It matters little what you believe, Morninglord. Your son is dead. You will be too, soon. I will not allow this setback to put an end to my goals. This goes beyond you. It is a matter of the world's sake."

That sold it. I saw him raise his blade and leaped forward, tapping into a vast reserve of power that wasn't mine. It required verbal confirmation, so I gave it. Blood poured out of my mouth, and I'm not entirely sure it was intelligible, but the message was still clear in its essence.

"Aurora Borealis, motherbucker."

"WOAH! You actually SAID that?! That is so cool! How much of his face did you take off?"

Starbeam appears caught between pride and discomfort. "Well, Aurora causes wounds that don't ever fully heal. He still has a scar across his right cheek. I, ah, think that's why he still wears the helmet whenever I'm around."

---

Arvadraa quietly shifts some of the snow, smoothing out the rough edges in an attempt to make the facsimile more structurally sound. "So, erm...do you think we're bonding? I mean, that's what this is for, supposedly."

---

"After such dangers
Does the hero fear the grave
Or merely the thought?" Snowstorm asks.

"Then again, something tells me all of us...Hold duties where we face death far too much." She furrows her brow. "Something also tells me swapping to Iambic Pentameter is a little too basic to fully impress you."

[Grif]

"Hoooo weeee...you is one handsome peasant hahah," She laughed and dug her hoof into the snowy ground until she hit dirt. She then took dirty hoof and smeared dirt over Silverpine's muzzle and cheek. "There you go, perfect!"

Silverpine tried his best not too flinch. Lieutenant didn't really like getting dirty very much. One learn to value hygiene after getting soaked one too many times in worm goo.

There were other ponies around, getting fitted for costumes, peasant clothing for earth ponies, Romane styled armor for pegasi, fine noble clothing for unicorns. Two pegasi were fake fighting with wooden swords, holding them in between their teeth. Four fitted earth ponies were chatting amongst themselves, holding mugs of cider in their hooves. Whilst a few unicorns levitated scripts in front of their faces and practiced what few lines they had with each other.

A moment later Silverpine and Gearstride would be approached by an average body typed earth pony stallion with a youthful face. He had a dark powder blue coat with dark blue freckles on his muzzle and a blue-green mane that curled up towards the bottom. On his head was a big ol pudding inspired hat. He was also dressed sporting a big frilly collar, a brown and creamy tan regalia, and a pink bowtie on his flank.

"Hiya! You two in the play? Haha what am I saying, of course you are, this is gonna be awesome! Hi!...Name is Idle Chat, pleasure ta meet and greet ya!" The stallion said with a big ol smile after taking a moment to breath. He proceeded to shake both Silverpine's and Gearstride's hoof, though not at the same time.

"Pleased to meet you. Name's Silverpine. This lovely lady here's Lady Adventura Gearstride. Or Captain, she likes to call herself," Silverpine said as they shook hooves. "I see you're our star of the show?"

"Of course my dear, I shall be promptly here at eight, on the dot, that, I claim on my honor as a gentlecolt." Balboa said with a gentlecolt's bow as Fox rolled his eyes.

"Whelp, Miss Astrid, we ought to be on our way, let these two love birds have their...time alone." He winked as Astrid pocketed away her small violin as she herself gave a small bow as she then bowed out. Balboa would follow suit.

When Balboa was gone, Fox flopped to the ground and placed his fore hooves over his temples. "Ugh....I swear he....everything he does just gets on my nerves."

Icy dropped to a sitting position by Fox's side and nuzzled him gently. "Fox... it's just one day..."

[The Robot]

I think it's this thing? Lone Star pushed a lever forward.

A giant laser shot out of the horn.

Lone Star quickly put the lever back down. Wrong lever. He pointed to the booth. Maybe it runs by thought, go stand in the booth, see if it responds to mental commands.

Spoiler: It can, but doesn't right now because it's on manual control.

Esmeralda winced as the laser set a tree by the lake on fire. Likely it was just a tree, but for all she knew it might someone's favourite apple tree or something. She really, really, didn't want to get sentenced back into Icy's head.

That said, she quickly made her way to the booth and thought really, really, hard. Frowning, she leaned against the glass and tried making grand, sweeping gestures. "Star. It's not working."

[Wrench and Shell Shock]

It's a 50 foot robot, ya cain't just 'scrap' somethin' that huge. 'sides, figured it'd be good fer the next time we get invaded. He pulled out a (recognizable) remote, put a coin in and began hitting various buttons on it. Jus' need to see who's- OH FOR THE LOVE OF CRAP, YOU?!

Oh! Uh... hi there, Wrench!

[The Robot. Again.]

Hope you don't mind, but we kinda borrowed your giant robot for Hearth's Warming. Lone Star called out, looking for the controls.

I c'n see that, ya thievin' varmint! Wrench's voice echoed in the cockpit, though there was no visual.

I prefer the term 'sexy beast' or 'Lil troublemaker' or 'stupid jackass'.

"We'll be sure to return it in one piece!" Esmeralda called out.


[Wrench & Shell Shock]
"Well, doncha have a thingamajig to shut it down?" the demopony idly commented, leaning forward with interest to listen closer to the voices coming out of the remote.

[HalfTangible]

Esmeralda winced as the laser set a tree by the lake on fire. Likely it was just a tree, but for all she knew it might someone's favourite apple tree or something. She really, really, didn't want to get sentenced back into Icy's head.

That said, she quickly made her way to the booth and thought really, really, hard. Frowning, she leaned against the glass and tried making grand, sweeping gestures. "Star. It's not working."

"We'll be sure to return it in one piece!" Esmeralda called out.

It's a gigant'c robot, a'course it'll be in one piece!!

Lone Star flipped a bunch of levers and pushed some buttons at random. Uh, let's see, which one of these pulls up the manual... ah, here we go!

The glass case Es was in suddenly turned opaque, and various manuals popped up on screen. Quick, gimme a button and lever!

[Wrench & Shell Shock]
"Well, doncha have a thingamajig to shut it down?" the demopony idly commented, leaning forward with interest to listen closer to the voices coming out of the remote.

Wrench muted the voice for the communicator so Star and Es couldn't hear. Well yeah, but then the communicator and tracking systems shut down too. Need to find where it is first. He showed Shell Shock a second remote that looked to be calculating the robot's position. Moment I do, gonna go tag 'em and bag 'em. Then he grinned. Wanna come along? It'll be jus' like ol' times. The mare's even blue.

[Benson]

Silverpine tried his best not too flinch. Lieutenant didn't really like getting dirty very much. One learn to value hygiene after getting soaked one too many times in worm goo.

"Pleased to meet you. Name's Silverpine. This lovely lady here's Lady Adventura Gearstride. Or Captain, she likes to call herself," Silverpine said as they shook hooves. "I see you're our star of the show?"

"Love your hat heheh," Gearstride said with a playful smirk.

"Hehe, it is groovy ain't it?....Kinda makin me hungry...." The stallion's thoughts wandered for a moment before snapping out of it. "Kinda....I mean...I share the spotlight with five others. I just hope I do well enough that others like it." He said with a warm if bashful smile. "My first time on a real stage....not some kiddy healthy foods pageant like when I was a foal and dressed up as a carrot." He chuckled in mirth.

Icy dropped to a sitting position by Fox's side and nuzzled him gently. "Fox... it's just one day..."

"Maybe....but who knows....he may end up thinking that he has his hoof in the door to start trying to get involved in my life..." He sighed. Oh how little you know Foxy.

[TheAmishPirate]

[/SIZE]


A minor zap here and there, nothing too bad, maybe Sandy just really was unlucky. A moment later Night Jewel would find herself with a nicely, properly organized light switch/box, wires where they needed to be, color coded, all that groovy jazz.

"That it?" Sandy asked, flicking off his horn-light. Even though the job was finished...failure still haunted his hooves. The little stallion hardly trusted himself to flip the switch and test out Night Jewel's handiwork.

[PurityIcekiller]

"WOAH! You actually SAID that?! That is so cool! How much of his face did you take off?"

Starbeam appears caught between pride and discomfort. "Well, Aurora causes wounds that don't ever fully heal. He still has a scar across his right cheek. I, ah, think that's why he still wears the helmet whenever I'm around."

Blades continued listening for a while, but rapidly lost interest once Starbeam started talking about magical workings and the second set of dialogue. Instead, she took out what appeared to be a knife with three blades and tossed it idly.

Fortunately, before she could murder either of her companions, something else caught her attention. "Huh! Ya need a spell to do that? I've seen ponies get lots of things that don't heal. Cut marks, burn marks, bent bones, decapitation, 'n things like that. 'N if ya lose the magic in a magic-less sword, it's still just as good, right? 'N come to think of it, those spikes don't really need magic either, 'n a nice chestplate could've helped a good deal there..."

Arvadraa quietly shifts some of the snow, smoothing out the rough edges in an attempt to make the facsimile more structurally sound. "So, erm...do you think we're bonding? I mean, that's what this is for, supposedly."

"I do not know. I appreciate your help and guidance, but I am unsure if that is how it's supposed to work."

Flare gathered up a fairly large snowball, then placed it on top of the front end. "I assume this can be the head?"

"Ah, but there's a difference," Prose idly corrects Blueshield with an aloof shrug. "Perhaps it is not easy to explain, but the way I feel it, there's nothing wrong with ponies underestimating you, and simply thinking you not as competent as you truly are because of laziness on your part. But when ponies overtly accuse you of being weak or unskilled, or belittle the obvious efforts you have taken and sacrifices you have made-" he pauses to point at the Shadowbolt dogtag around his neck, and the eyepatch that covers the side of his face where an ocular organ should be, before smirking, "-I tend find that a wee bit on the annoying side."

"Better to be thought a fool than directly called a fool, I suppose you could say," he muses.

"And since I so clearly and plainly stated that I thought you a goldbrick, a goof-off, no good, you felt insulted," Blueshield said in a heavily sarcastic tone. "I made no judgements of you as an individual and your capabilities. Rather, I..."

She hesitated a bit, not as sure of herself now. "...To be truthful, it was about me. I suspected my statement might come across as advocating negligence of one's obligations, and overcorrected. I had no intentions of creating a perception of me as unfaithful to my purpose. It was protecting my own reputation, not an accusation against you."

The batpony snickers, before cutting another lazy backflip.

"Long lived batpony,
Lazily aloft up high,
Does not care for death," he quips with a crooked smirk.

"After such dangers
Does the hero fear the grave
Or merely the thought?" Snowstorm asks.

"Then again, something tells me all of us...Hold duties where we face death far too much." She furrows her brow. "Something also tells me swapping to Iambic Pentameter is a little too basic to fully impress you."

Blueshield shook her head. "I was never a specialist with poetic composition myself. I shall refrain from contributing in that area."

A minor zap here and there, nothing too bad, maybe Sandy just really was unlucky. A moment later Night Jewel would find herself with a nicely, properly organized light switch/box, wires where they needed to be, color coded, all that groovy jazz.

"That it?" Sandy asked, flicking off his horn-light. Even though the job was finished...failure still haunted his hooves. The little stallion hardly trusted himself to flip the switch and test out Night Jewel's handiwork.

"Yes, all done. This should work splendidly."

Night Jewel stepped back from the box and smiled at the others. "That was fun. I've always loved tinkering with devices like this. So, is there anything else to be done here?"