[MLP:Fim] Bridle Shores Bar/Downtown thread 2

[TheAmishPirate]

"Yes, there is a mare in charge, in charge of the Mass Evacuation Emergency Protocols. MEEP for short. You can find her at town hall," He pointed out distractedly as he was still trying to do his job here.

Sandy nodded and started to take off. "Thanks. Sorry for the trouble." Good idea not to pester the worker anymore; poor stallion had enough on his plate as it was. As he flapped off towards the town hall, he thought about something the worker had said; Mare in charge, it wouldn't be that military...nah, it couldn't be, I bet she was just passin' through. Plenty of other folks it could be in this town. Soon he was at the Town Hall, searching for this pony in charge of the MEEP.

[Benson]

And Smoothie walked into the backroom right at that moment.

"Gwyn? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be evacuating? Have you found something out we can use to keep Simmer where he is?" Smoothie asks.

Gwynfillion momentarily stopped unstrapping the saddle bag and stepped backward walking into Simmer's glass encasement. Simmer seemed to resonate for a second.

"I uh..c-came to...something.." She lamely answered and uncharacteristically, at least from Smoothie's POV, pawed at the ground.

Sandy nodded and started to take off. "Thanks. Sorry for the trouble." Good idea not to pester the worker anymore; poor stallion had enough on his plate as it was. As he flapped off towards the town hall, he thought about something the worker had said; Mare in charge, it wouldn't be that military...nah, it couldn't be, I bet she was just passin' through. Plenty of other folks it could be in this town. Soon he was at the Town Hall, searching for this pony in charge of the MEEP.

There in the lobby of town hall was a minor hustle and bustle of ponies looking like they were doing something to the situation at hoof. Err. There, among them stood a red maned, light yellow furred pegasi mare in front of a mounted map of Bridle Shores with a few red circled marks and Xs, like in TV, haha..err. Uhm. She was currently answering a few questions from a random pony.

[Mystic Muse]

Gwynfillion momentarily stopped unstrapping the saddle bag and stepped backward walking into Simmer's glass encasement. Simmer seemed to resonate for a second.

"I uh..c-came to...something.." She lamely answered and uncharacteristically, at least from Smoothie's POV, pawed at the ground.

"....What are you doing here Gwyn?" Smoothie asks more firmly.

[sildra45]

That presence found her mind once again.

Now...just hold the gem, and place a hoof on the prison. That will release me. It will feel VERY cold when you hold it. It will not harm you, though you might feel weakened, and it will not freeze you, even if it feels that way.

The prison was almost crystal clear now, and it was extremely obvious that the armor was empty of anything to hold it up.

[Benson]

"I'm going to make a bad decision to undue a wrong.... She said solemnly as Simmer's voice resonated in her head. She turned away this way and that as she undid the strap and levitated the gem to the prison, keeping it in her magical hold.

[TheAmishPirate]

There in the lobby of town hall was a minor hustle and bustle of ponies looking like they were doing something to the situation at hoof. Err. There, among them stood a red maned, light yellow furred pegasi mare in front of a mounted map of Bridle Shores with a few red circled marks and Xs, like in TV, haha..err. Uhm. She was currently answering a few questions from a random pony.

While he waited, Sandy scanned the map; any imminent disaster area was likely to be at the center of all the marks. He just prayed it wasn't anywhere close to the bar. Once she was done, he would step forward and get her attention. "Excuse me? Ma'am? Are you the one runnin' this show?"


(Deadtiming until tomorrow, most likely. I'm sorry, but please try to not advance the Simmer plot too much farther beyond "Simmer breaks out and oh crap.")

[Mystic Muse]

"I'm going to make a bad decision to undue a wrong.... She said solemnly as Simmer's voice resonated in her head. She turned away this way and that as she undid the strap and levitated the gem to the prison, keeping it in her magical hold.

Smoothie just looks horrified. "What on Equestria could you have done that releasing Simmer will solve?! Gwyn, I beg, you don't!"

Smoothie yells, now extremely clear on what Gwyn intended to do.

[Benson]

Smoothie just looks horrified. "What on Equestria could you have done that releasing Simmer will solve?! Gwyn, I beg, you don't!"

Smoothie yells, now extremely clear on what Gwyn intended to do.

"I'm sorry..." She whispered with a cracked smile as she places her hind hoof on the glass encasement.
=================================================


@Mistah Sandy Shores

The light yellow mare glanced at him briefly before dismissing the pony who was talking to her. She then looked at Sandy. "I suppose you could say that," She answered with a clear and strong voice. "What can I do for you?"

[sildra45]

As soon as her hoof touched the glass, it shattered in a near explosion, though the 'blast' went straight up as every fragment seemed to evaporate as it hit the roof. She also felt the gem tugged out of her magical grip, as Simmer had taken that moment to snatch it out of the air in his maw. Looking down, he placed the gem in his chest piece, then looked back up at both Smoothie and Gwyn.

"Ah, thank you for putting it in easy reach, dear darkling. I would have had to have gone through such lengths to get you to hand it over willingly. Now...as for your reward, I actually will follow through on giving you eternity, as that is what you will need to ever have a chance against the Dark Powers. Unfortunately for you, you'll be spending that eternity alone watching the rest of Equestria slave away under those very Dark Powers. Did you really think I could fight them? I'm one of their creations, you foal!"

As he spoke, the gem's darkness seemed to flow around and inside of the armor, encasing him in its hideous 'glow'.

"Now...as for your eternity, I'll get to that once I've enslaved all of Equestria, and created eternal armor monsters to control them. You, my dear darkling, on the other hoof, will become one of those monsters yourself. You'll have your eternity then!"

[Benson]

It wasn't even a shocker, not really. But the plum one was unfortunately fated to play the idiot card in the end. She glowered at the 'camera' and rolled her eyes before returning to the melodramatic scene before her.

"...Can't even.... fight the Dark Forces?...What good are you, you rusting hunk of cheap metal?!.....I mean...." She closed her eyes for a moment and looked back at Simmer and cleared her throat.

"You liar, oh how you fooled me," She intoned until she got a mental kick in the head from the powers that be. "Ahem, let me try that again."


"You...you....Such a fool...I was...I can't believe I went through with it knowing the slim chance I held....This is my fault...such..such an idiot," She closed her eyes falling to the ground feeling an emotional pain apparently.

[TheAmishPirate]

@Mistah Sandy Shores

The light yellow mare glanced at him briefly before dismissing the pony who was talking to her. She then looked at Sandy. "I suppose you could say that," She answered with a clear and strong voice. "What can I do for you?"

(One post in before D&D, then deadtime)

Competent, non-shouting at him authority; Sandy owed the princesses one. "Ma'am, I'd like to ask why everypony's being evacuated. I know it's against policy to tell civilians, keeping panic under control and all that, but I've got a suspicion I already know what the trouble is, and..." He sighed, as if a good part of him really didn't want to say what he was about to say. "...and if I'm right, then I can help ya'll end this before anypony gets hurt bad. Even if I'm wrong, I can still help with the evacuation. Either way, you get an extra pair of hooves. I promise not to panic or tell anypony I'm not supposed to, but I really need to know what's goin' on."

[Benson]

"Then tell me son, what do you think the trouble is," The pony cocked her head and leaned slightly forward.

[Mystic Muse]

Smoothie glares at Benson.

No, not Gwyn, she glares at Benson.

Okay, so she's glaring at Gwyn too, but she's largely glaring at Benson.

"Everypony in this town is nuts." Smoothie says internally.

"Gwyn, Get the heck away from him!" she warns her, well not friend. Friendly-ish acquaintance I guess. She attempts to push Simmer backwards with magic, but it's not a particularly strong spell.

[sildra45]

"Are you being serious?"

He was looking at Smoothie, though his question seemd to be for them both, not budging an inch from her spell.

"You obviously have more power than that. Go ahead, give me your best shot. Garion's armor was made to withstand even the strongest blade and the most destructive spells, and I AM his armor now! Muahahaaaa!!"

[Benson]

"I'm as serious as a honey badger," Gwynfillion randomly answered with an answer that made no sense.

Anyhoof.

"Ponyfeathers, now we gotta deal with a ham. Ahem, I mean..." Gwynfillion looked at Smoothie in a pitiful way, and with a spark of her horn...used her own magical energy to power Smoothie's magic. It was like a small subtle gesture acknowledging Smoothie's raw talent that she was envious of.

[Mystic Muse]

"Are you being serious?"

He was looking at Smoothie, though his question seemd to be for them both, not budging an inch from her spell.

"You obviously have more power than that. Go ahead, give me your best shot. Garion's armor was made to withstand even the strongest blade and the most destructive spells, and I AM his armor now! Muahahaaaa!!"

Smoothie facehoofed internally. Either one of two things were going to happen. Either she'd use her most powerful attack which would do nothing at the moment, but she'd show him later as he made a boast again, or she'd blast him, and he'd be delirious and calling out for his mommy.

The odds of this working in her favor were higher if she used a cheesy movie line, but she refused to sink that low. For now. Besides, she wasn't willing to use a gender bending spell right now just to set it up.

"Fine." Is all Smoothie says before she hits Simmer with a gigantic lightning bolt.

[sildra45]

His next words could only be described as gibberish, as his body played around like a puppet on strings being played with by someone being electrocuted.

When he finally stopped being all jumbled, he picked himself up, a light smoldering smoke rising out of his maw.

"Well...lucky you...you found the one element I can't block. Won't kill me though. Nothing you can throw at me will kill me."

His gem began to glow...he was preparing something!

[Mystic Muse]

His next words could only be described as gibberish, as his body played around like a puppet on strings being played with by someone being electrocuted.

When he finally stopped being all jumbled, he picked himself up, a light smoldering smoke rising out of his maw.

"Well...lucky you...you found the one element I can't block. Won't kill me though. Nothing you can throw at me will kill me."

His gem began to glow...he was preparing something!

"Gwyn, leave Now." Smoothie says in the most urgent voice she can manage as she throws another lightning bolt at him, though less intense this time since she's not quite as focused, and Gwyn probably isn't still providing a magic boost.

[Benson]

Gwynfillion-The Backroom in the Soda Bar-Shenanigans


Gwynfillion was a little tired after putting much of her magical energy into strengthening Smoothie's attack and wobbled a little.

"Question..cough...oi..." The plum one raised her hoof. "When you say enslavement, for what purpose? Are the mass of Equestria going to be forced into hard labor and all those other cliches? Just so you know, I don't do yardwork."

[sildra45]

"I plan to place them into special...chambers, if you will, so that their magic will be enslaved to the Dark Powers. And since it'll be my doing, I'll be the overseer of all Equestria, while they get to play with all that magic power! And MY reward? I get to be in the tallest tower, with Celestia, who will be bound and forced to watch all her subjects used as nothing more than batteries. Luna, on the other hoof...I do believe she's to be placed in...confinement...at least until she is no longer Luna."

And on the last word, his gem 'fired' a beam of darkness right at Gwyn...

[Mystic Muse]

"I plan to place them into special...chambers, if you will, so that their magic will be enslaved to the Dark Powers. And since it'll be my doing, I'll be the overseer of all Equestria, while they get to play with all that magic power! And MY reward? I get to be in the tallest tower, with Celestia, who will be bound and forced to watch all her subjects used as nothing more than batteries. Luna, on the other hoof...I do believe she's to be placed in...confinement...at least until she is no longer Luna."

And on the last word, his gem 'fired' a beam of darkness right at Gwyn...

Smoothie, being the silly pony that she is and thinking the pony that's getting them into this mess is worth saving, attempts to jump in front of the beam to be hit instead. Key word there being "Attempts" as she failed miserably.

She'd have just teleported in front of it, but the Grand High Arbiters of what should happen next decided that she couldn't teleport this time.

Those silly arbiters, what will they do next? Decide to have Soft and Gwyn get mind-swapped?

[Benson]

"I plan to place them into special...chambers, if you will, so that their magic will be enslaved to the Dark Powers. And since it'll be my doing, I'll be the overseer of all Equestria, while they get to play with all that magic power! And MY reward? I get to be in the tallest tower, with Celestia, who will be bound and forced to watch all her subjects used as nothing more than batteries. Luna, on the other hoof...I do believe she's to be placed in...confinement...at least until she is no longer Luna."

And on the last word, his gem 'fired' a beam of darkness right at Gwyn...

That wasn't how the Dark Forces worked or got their power from but hey, what 'da ya expect from a baddie who kept getting their name wrong.

Surprisingly his beam of darkness did not fully have the intended effect Simmer was expecting. The amulet necklace that Grills gave her, brought up a magical energy shield and protected her from the full brunt. It forced her back knocking her down to the ground, but still minor physical damage from the fall. It still felt like the wind was knocked out at her. But it totally beat whatever that darkness beam wanted to do.

[Mystic Muse]

That wasn't how the Dark Forces worked or got their power from but hey, what 'da ya expect from a baddie who kept getting their name wrong.

Surprisingly his beam of darkness did not fully have the intended effect Simmer was expecting. The amulet necklace that Grills gave her, brought up a magical energy shield and protected her from the full brunt. It forced her back knocking her down to the ground, but still minor physical damage from the fall. It still felt like the wind was knocked out at her. But it totally beat whatever that darkness beam wanted to do.

*passes post baton to Soft Serve*

Smoothie recovers from her leap, and lands in front of Gwyn. It's almost like you couldn't notice at all that she just tried to save Gwyn.

Smoothie positions herself in front of Gwyn, and says with all the force she can muster, "Leave my friend alone!" with each word being emphasized. The force unintentionally manifests into something resembling Fus-Do-Rah from Skyrim. Though, this is much weaker, so I guess it's just the royal Canterlot voice.

[TheAmishPirate]

"Then tell me son, what do you think the trouble is," The pony cocked her head and leaned slightly forward.

"Well, I'm really hopin' I'm wrong, but..." He didn't want to up and say "You think Simmer will wake up soon", seeing how everypony here might not be in on it. He lowered his voice accordingly, and continued, "...I think you expect something really nasty to wake up real soon. Something that's currently takin' a long nap at Soft's place."

[Benson]

Smoothie recovers from her leap, and lands in front of Gwyn. It's almost like you couldn't notice at all that she just tried to save Gwyn.

Smoothie positions herself in front of Gwyn, and says with all the force she can muster, "Leave my friend alone!" with each word being emphasized. The force unintentionally manifests into something resembling Fus-Do-Rah from Skyrim. Though, this is much weaker, so I guess it's just the royal Canterlot voice.

Gwynfillion looked up from the ground she had fallen to and lifted up her head. Her ears were lowered and for "once" she was sporting a different expression other than a scowl around Smoothie. It was a look of regret and shame. Here she had a tweenagey foal who she abhorred and put her through certain nonsense, calling her a friend. All could do at the moment was weakly utter Smoothie's name.

"Well, I'm really hopin' I'm wrong, but..." He didn't want to up and say "You think Simmer will wake up soon", seeing how everypony here might not be in on it. He lowered his voice accordingly, and continued, "...I think you expect something really nasty to wake up real soon. Something that's currently takin' a long nap at Soft's place."

The mare lowered her head as if to speak in a hushed tone and sighed shaking her head. "Unfortunately, you're a bit there right on the dime," She said with an expression that barely makes any sense. "But yes. Earlier we got informed by the young miss Smoothie. Frankly I didn't believe it at first until I heard the full story." She stretched the back of her neck looking tired of all this. "But you can see why we wouldn't tell anypony about this. Either some will panic or dismiss it as us being paranoid and...both types would have made it difficult to get everypony to safety."

[TheAmishPirate]

The mare lowered her head as if to speak in a hushed tone and sighed shaking her head. "Unfortunately, you're a bit there right on the dime," She said with an expression that barely makes any sense. "But yes. Earlier we got informed by the young miss Smoothie. Frankly I didn't believe it at first until I heard the full story." She stretched the back of her neck looking tired of all this. "But you can see why we wouldn't tell anypony about this. Either some will panic or dismiss it as us being paranoid and...both types would have made it difficult to get everypony to safety."

As soon as she confirmed his story, a subtle change came over the pegasus. He didn't carry his head quite as high, and his ears weren't as perky as they were before. While still alert, there was a deliberate slowness to his actions. All told, Sandy seemed just as tired as the weary coordinator. "I don't blame you for that, I would've done the same thing." he said distractedly. "Now, as far as you know, is it still sleepin'?"

[Benson]

As soon as she confirmed his story, a subtle change came over the pegasus. He didn't carry his head quite as high, and his ears weren't as perky as they were before. While still alert, there was a deliberate slowness to his actions. All told, Sandy seemed just as tired as the weary coordinator. "I don't blame you for that, I would've done the same thing." he said distractedly. "Now, as far as you know, is it still sleepin'?"

"I have not been updated on that as of now. Though...I'd rather it stayed sleeping. I'd rather have angry annoyed ponies rather than the alternative," She sighed glancing off to the side at nothing in particular.

[TheAmishPirate]

"I have not been updated on that as of now. Though...I'd rather it stayed sleeping. I'd rather have angry annoyed ponies rather than the alternative," She sighed glancing off to the side at nothing in particular.

Sandy looked again at the map, noting the spot where the Clunker was usually parked, and the new library where Cypress and Smoothie worked, and the school he and Silverpine had worked so hard to fix. "You and me both, ma'am." he said with a sigh.

But he couldn't let himself despair yet; Bridle Shores was still standing, and as long as Sandy Shores was still standing, he'd try to keep it that way. Stand up straight, stay focused, get the job done. "In that case, I'm going to head down to the bar. I'd appreciate it if you could tell your ponies to let me through. Keep up the evacuation, and be ready to get everypony out quick, MEEP ponies included. It's important to keep anypony else from gettin' close to...it when the time comes. I'll have my hooves full as it is without tryin' to get ponies out of trouble."

[sildra45]

As Gwyn looked up and at Smoothie, she would notice that the dark 'beam' still seemed to have some residual energy, and had 'bounced' off of her shield and, just now, hit Smoothie right in the back.

For Smoothie...it was cold...so cold. It seeped into her very bones, her mind, and even her magic felt frozen for a moment...and then it was all gone.

"Ah. Well, not exactly what I was going for, but I'll take it."

The gem was 'glowing' once again, only this time, the darkness was flowing away from it slowly and forming a blob next to Simmer. As they watched, is became the shape of another pony...another suit of armor, only this one looked just like Smoothie would if she wore such a thing.

"Say hello to your armor twin. She has all your powers, all your spells, and most deliciously, none or your physical weaknesses. Now...clone, do my bidding! Use your most...demeaning spell, and show me your power!"

The armor clone, now fully formed, armor horn included, did just that...and with a flash of a spell...nothing happened to Smoothie or Gwyn. Simmer, on the other hand, looked slimmer and quite feminine.

"Well? What are you waitin.....what the...what have you done!?!"

Simmer's voice had gotten much higher, and lost much of it's metallic ring. He'd been hit with Smoothie's infamous Gender Bender spell!

[Benson]

Gwynfillion

She was prepared for whatever this weird armored Smoothie clone was about to unleash. But....she wasn't prepared for that. Her mouth hung opened as Simmer became Simmerette.

"I...uh....I have no words here,...I...." She instead fell into a laughter at this surreal moment. The weight and seriousness of this whole...encounter seemed to just momentarily disappear.
-----------------

Sandy looked again at the map, noting the spot where the Clunker was usually parked, and the new library where Cypress and Smoothie worked, and the school he and Silverpine had worked so hard to fix. "You and me both, ma'am." he said with a sigh.

But he couldn't let himself despair yet; Bridle Shores was still standing, and as long as Sandy Shores was still standing, he'd try to keep it that way. Stand up straight, stay focused, get the job done. "In that case, I'm going to head down to the bar. I'd appreciate it if you could tell your ponies to let me through. Keep up the evacuation, and be ready to get everypony out quick, MEEP ponies included. It's important to keep anypony else from gettin' close to...it when the time comes. I'll have my hooves full as it is without tryin' to get ponies out of trouble."

She took a deep breath and heavily sigh. "I'd rather you did endanger yourself by going down to the Bar, but I get the feeling you're not the sort who's going to listen to my warning..." She wanly smiled and shook her head. "Very well."