Inside 60

[Rebonack]

[Midnight Park]

Sunder isn't aware of any of those other things! But you know what they say about butterflies and hurricanes.

Huh.

That was unexpected.

Sunder was just trying to put the fire out so her home wouldn't burn down. But slaying the cleric works too. She could devour her where she lays and creature a spawn from her, but that would result in an undead creature. And she has no intention of making any undead.

So instead?

She steps back and allows the shadows to do what they do best.

The darkness closes in on the still fresh body, cloying fingers reaching to steal away what little heat it has remaining and create from the corpse a new shadow. With death so recent, it's likely the soul may yet linger. But even if it doesn't? Even if it doesn't the imprint of memories left in the body should be sufficient for Sunder's purposes.

...there's also the chance that the soul might be dragged back to the body kicking and screaming as a result of being turned. That would probably be an unpleasant experience.

Regardless of specifics, Sunder's mane of liquid gloom will lash out to ensnare the new shadow as soon as it forms. The rest of the shades will scatter like startled birds at a feeder.

[Mee]

Iris leads the way into the averagely designed Generales Restaurant, which now has a name! The two are seiftly led by a waiter dressed in a black dress shirt and pants with a mullet to a table and given menus, then asks for drink orders.
A soda please
Miria requests politely.

[Restaurant]

"As much lasagna as is physically possible to fit on a plate.

Please." Catherine orders, smiling at the poor waiter.

[Arkhosia]

[Restaurant]

"As much lasagna as is physically possible to fit on a plate.

Please." Catherine orders, smiling at the poor waiter.

The poor, poor waiter eventually returns with a plate with lasagna stacked like a wedding cake and later some chicken and pasta for Miria. Her dragonfae-ness appears to have affected her appetite.
The food is almost impossibly good.
So, what exactly are you studying in college?
Miria inquires with the curiosity of a stereotypical feline that honestly is more concerned with slumber than exploration.

[Recaiden]

[Not Midnight Park]

"Ashna? There's a request for you to go back already. As an undead. Not one of ours. What did you get yourself into?"
"Debts to pay. Although at this point maybe you could have Maria ask the First to call it even?"
"If they don't kill each other before talking, sure. Forever is a little silly what with what you found, I'm sure she'll see reason."
"Yeah. Thanks Joan. Hopefully I won't be back any time soon. I'll go deal with this. Can't be that bad."

---

[Midnight Park]

The shade dutifully takes shape, after returning with minimal kicking and screaming, and is immediately ensnared by the nightmare. The hollows in the soul are filled in by the hungry darkness. But whatever, it's caught.

[Shadowcaller]

Temple Street

Arty looks up and smiles, closing his book.
"Hello, Libra. I've been meaning to thank you. Chadwick has been doing wonderfully since you helped his mind.
And no, I don't have a dress. Centaurs don't worry about clothes much, especially on things that go past the waist. I suppose you could cut out the back and it might fit over a build like ours? Either way, they're a feminine thing in most cultures, and I'm no mare. I can't even talk to one!" he says with a small laugh.

Temple Street

"Really?!" Libra smiles widely and claps her hands excitedly. "I've always wanted to be thanked! That's so nice of you Arty!" She grins and gives him a wink. "But you wanna find a mare huh? I could fix you up with one! Like kind of a wish thing! Expect not! It could be all feminine and stuff, whatever that means." She wiggles her wrist and looks Arty in the eyes as if daring him to take the initiative.

[Deathkeeper]

Temple Street

Arty sputters. Is Libra offering to fix him up on a date?
"I, well, uh, I don't know if you'd really know what kind of person I'd be looking for. And I don't think I'd be able to handle it. Like I said, I just never know what to say around mares. I'd flub any date you made for me, trust me. It sounds nice, but it'd never work out." he says, shaking his head.

[Rebonack]

[Midnight Park]

Having a nightmaære glaring at you as the first image upon regaining consciousness may or may not be somewhat terrifying. Though said nightmære apparently isn't shooting for that. "Be still. All will be well, soon," she says, her voice soothing.

Depending on how much Ashna can remember (what with most shadows being dumb as mud) she might not feel like everything is going to be well.

Especially when Sunder starts trying to drain all her wisdom away. Should the draining and eating go as planned, it won't be long before Sunder is vomiting up a new nightmære spawn. And should Ashna find herself transformed into such a creature...

By the kindness of her Mistress, she has been given another chance at life. A string of understanding washes through her mind. There is a single iron-clad rule that should never be broken. A rule that is burned into her mind.

Never make spawn of living beings.

Redeem the undead, for they are your fellow little ponies, even if they don't know it yet.

Be kind. Do better. Be faithful. Be loyal. Live with joy. Laugh and smile for the promise of new life. Act uprightly. Trot with integrity. Give of yourself with charity. Be gracious. Love without partiality. Be a friend to all. And most of all? Be the best you that you can be.

[Ionbound]

Spoiler

Show

Devil's charm's hospital

The two wander out of the room and Clara will be able to see that they are dragging a goblin after them at the end of the chain. The kroot points at the exit and the ogre starts walking towards it, being joined by three orcs who seem to now be standing guard at the door. The Kroot itself is then joined by another Kroot coming from inside the room and the two starts walking in Clara's direction.
She can sense that he's hungry and is disappointed by the lack of resistance it's facing. He won't even get to eat these prisoners as they're going to take them hostages, according to the plan. Now it's going to get more hostages before going back into the tunnels.

Clara's eyes widen as she realizes the plan, and tries to slip away unseen and find another exit.

[Lost_Deep]

Market Street

This time of day, market street isn't so busy. There's still people here, but it's not rush-hour busy.

Or maybe that's the phase of the moon or alignment of the stars. It's hard to guess patterns in inside.

Anyway, someone is hopping down the street, taking huge leaps, which isn't as eye-catching as you think it is because she's all of six inches tall. Sophie the Grig has some spending money, and is going to use it! As soon as she gets to the part of town for tiny people. Still, some of the stores in this area have some pretty nice stuff, so they're worth window shopping.

[Recaiden]

[Midnight Park]

Yeah, probably everything will not be well. But the new shadow is quite disoriented, and summarily devoured.

Some sort of creature takes shape.
It stands there entirely confused.

It is a black arionlike thing with a grey anvil mark.

[Ionbound]

Market Street

Tanya is wandering market street, looking for a sidearm, hoping to find something slightly nicer than her standard government-issue Glock .45 ACP handgun. She's not paying a whole lot of attention, so it's plausible she'll end up right under Sophie as the grig is leaping about.

[Lost_Deep]

Market Street

"Whoa!" Sophie shouts as she falls toward Tanya, likely landing on her arm. "Sorry, got careless."

Sophie is well-built, and actually a little over six inches tall. She has the build and musculature of an athlete or marital artist, and a head of thick brown hair with a strong wave that will never respect brushing. However, she is a grig, and therefore her lower body is that of a big, brown, hairy tarantula. She's waring a simple jacket over a tank top.

[Rebonack]

[Midnight Park]

Yeah.

Confusion is typically the first thing the new shadelings or nightmære spawn feel once they form. It's honestly understandable, what with all of the new thoughts that are generally jostling around inside their head.

Sunder leans down to gentle nuzzle the new creature.

"What is your name, my little pony?" she asks, her tone tender and motherly. Chances are the new unliving will feel a pretty deep sense of loyalty and duty to the nightmære. Strange as it sounds, Sunder really isn't aware of all the specifics of how her abilities work. Just that they seem to make undead a whole lot better off than they were before.

Because undeath is awful.

Sunder and all her spawn would tell you so!

And they totally aren't biased or anything.

Nightlight watches on from a comfortable distance, still laying next to the cooling corpse of Requiem. He's pretty sure whoever that pony used to be killed his friend, but... No matter how hard he tries, he can't bring himself to hate them. They must have not known any better. Some people are like that, all twisted up inside with bad thoughts and feelings. He's sure this new pony would be a new friend once he gets to know her.

[Recaiden]

[Midnight Park]

"My...my name? I'm Alizé."

She shuffles her hooves.
"Thank you for saving me."

[Rebonack]

[Midnight Park]

"You're quite welcome, my little pony," Sunder replies gently. "Do you remember why you came here to our home? What brought you here?"

She's trying to figure out why someone walked into her forest and killed one of her children.

She's pretty darn upset about that, but she isn't about to take it out on Alizé. It's hardly her fault what she did in a past life. And she can pay off her sin by serving as one of Sunder's little ponies. She killed one of her children and so she becomes one of her children to stand in the gap for the lost. That seems like justice as far as Sunder is concerned. Certainly better for everyone than simply killing the culprit.

[ThirdEmperor]

Park Park

Bella, in her costume, walks up to the maze. Aww, this one is shut down? She wanted to try it.

Bella looks to be in middle school, a teenager who will someday be a beautiful woman. Her costume is Egyptian-themed, with the stereotypical make-up and hair dyed black. She's wearing a red dress, and a little hair ornament on the top of her head that looks like a throne.

Bella looks around for someone who looks like they know what's going on. Maybe this will open back up later, there's still time in October.

Jack o' lanterns watch Bella as she wanders the edge of the park, the silhouettes in the gloomy distance turning to scarecrows as she gets close.

People wander along on the other side of the street, but park itself is deserted. For once, the various crazies wandering about haven't taken all the caution signs as a challenge. Things are as quiet as the grave here.

And then one of the gargoyles leans down from it's post, grotesque face twisting into something as close to a smile as it can. "Hmm? Looking to go inside, miss? We could use some from visitors."

[Lost_Deep]

Park Park

Bella looks up at him, not really surprised. "It looks closed, I was going to ask when it would be open. Is it open? If so, your decoration is very misleading, and that's likely why you don't have many customers. Also, this place smells strongly, which is likely driving people away."

[UncleWolf]

A Spooky House

Nothing happens. Nothing. Either they're not going to respond to that, or they can't, or no one's there.

...but she'll likely get an odd feeling that someone else is here. And inexplicable feeling she isn't alone.

The angel sighs and stands up from the piano bench, grabbing her baseball bat and giving it a one-handed twirl as she begins to walk upstairs. "I'm not here to hurt you, but I am more than willing to defend myself." She says loudly.

[ThirdEmperor]

[Park Park]

"It smells? I couldn't say." The gargoyle sticks a finger up his nose, and wiggles it right through the hollow socket of his eye. "Got a head as pretty an as useless as a flowerpot. But you can head right in if whatever smell doesn't bother you. It's only us gargoyles and we don't care much for business hours."

[Lost_Deep]

Park Park

"Allright. You might want to ask someone to help you set up next year? Maybe a living perspective could make it easier to get more business," Bella offers. For a middle schooler, she's pretty smart.

A Spooky House

No response. Whatever is in hear is either ignoring her or doesn't respond to spoken words. Of course, this isn't too surprising; people have squatted a day or two without noticing anything more than that the house is creepy.

[Recaiden]

[Midnight Park]

"I was curious about you; I'd heard a lot of silly bad things, but surely no one can be as bad as all that."
Alizé nods happily, that is what happened. And they aren't so bad at all.
"I talked to someone in a garden, and she seemed nice, but I found out she was a very bad pony. I tried to get her to stop, but she wouldn't, so I had to hurt her. It makes me so sad! Why are there people who know what they're doing is wrong, but do it anyway?"

[ThirdEmperor]

[Park Park]

"Oh, we did. But they always wander off to have fun. Nobody appreciates a sedentary lifestyle." And with that, the gargoyle freezes back up as still as stone plastic. His mouth barely moves as he mumbles, "Have fun now."

[Rebonack]

[Midnight Park]

Sunder frowns almost imperceptibly at that reply. She lays down next to her new little pony, putting herself at eye level with those standing around her.

Seriously.

She's huge compared to everyone else.

"I don't know, my little pony. Sometimes a person's heart is sick and they do terrible things," she replies. "Can you tell me what bad thing this little pony you met was doing? I should like to know."

Because that pony might have been doing something actually bad or maybe just something a person with a sick heart misunderstood as bad. The difference is pretty important.

[Mee]

The poor, poor waiter eventually returns with a plate with lasagna stacked like a wedding cake and later some chicken and pasta for Miria. Her dragonfae-ness appears to have affected her appetite.
The food is almost impossibly good.
So, what exactly are you studying in college?
Miria inquires with the curiosity of a stereotypical feline that honestly is more concerned with slumber than exploration.

[Restaurant Stuffs]

"Careful. It's probably poisoned. It's too good for this establishment. Or this is the front for the Mafia.

Uhhh." Though here Catherine has to think for a moment. She passes the time by eating some more. "Programming. With some extra stuff tacked on. But primarily the programming."

Nom nom nom. She seems much more focused on the food at the moment.

[Arkhosia]

[Restaurant Stuffs]

"Careful. It's probably poisoned. It's too good for this establishment. Or this is the front for the Mafia.

Uhhh." Though here Catherine has to think for a moment. She passes the time by eating some more. "Programming. With some extra stuff tacked on. But primarily the programming."

Nom nom nom. She seems much more focused on the food at the moment.

or maybe they have a Mage in the kitchen. That'd be brilliant actually...
Anyways! What's programming exactly?
Miria isn't tech savvy. Just magic savvy. Not magitech ( or mango tech, autocorrect) savvy either.

[Mee]

or maybe they have a Mage in the kitchen. That'd be brilliant actually...
Anyways! What's programming exactly?
Miria isn't tech savvy. Just magic savvy. Not magitech ( or mango tech, autocorrect) savvy either.

Restaurant

"It's," Catherine pauses. "um." Pause. How the heck do you describe this to someone?
"Another type of magic."

CLOSE 'NUFF. Just ask anyone that does it!

[Lost_Deep]

[Park Park]

"Oh, we did. But they always wander off to have fun. Nobody appreciates a sedentary lifestyle." And with that, the gargoyle freezes back up as still as stone plastic. His mouth barely moves as he mumbles, "Have fun now."

Bella heads in, and likely gets lost fast enough. That's the fun of this ind of maze! That and the harmless scares.

Bella doesn't follow the news.

[Arkhosia]

Restaurant

"It's," Catherine pauses. "um." Pause. How the heck do you describe this to someone?
"Another type of magic."

CLOSE 'NUFF. Just ask anyone that does it!

You'll have to teach me sometime, then!
Miria replies with a smile as she finishes her food and may or may not have stolen a small piece of lasagna.
I'm not sure.
The coin I flipped got run over by a bus before I could see the result.
So, um, any questions about me?

[Mee]

You'll have to teach me sometime, then!
Miria replies with a smile as she finishes her food and may or may not have stolen a small piece of lasagna.
I'm not sure.
The coin I flipped got run over by a bus before I could see the result.
So, um, any questions about me?

Restaurant

She definitely didn't steal any lasagna. She would have gotten a fork in the hand for her troubles. Catherine is not one to share.
". . . maybe. Maybe at some point." Then she thinks again, downing more lasagna. "Are you rich? I guess? And how are you coping with the . . ." she waves at Miria's changes.

[Arkhosia]

Restaurant

She definitely didn't steal any lasagna. She would have gotten a fork in the hand for her troubles. Catherine is not one to share.
". . . maybe. Maybe at some point." Then she thinks again, downing more lasagna. "Are you rich? I guess? And how are you coping with the . . ." she waves at Miria's changes.

NOT THE FORK!!!!!
Well, thanks to an inheritance that has been passed down through the Armstrong family for generations, I did start off here with a semi-large sum of money, but despite my somewhat careful spending I'm quite far from rich. The whole changes are a bit interesting to cope with, but I can definitely live with them and I honestly am kinda happy this way. I mean, yeah, the wings are kinda annoying sometimes, but hey.
The forktunately unimpaled (and contractually obligated to quote her relative on matters of inheriting) Armstrong replies with a smile.