In Changelingia (West Equestria), Brie gains the support of a Changeling queen for his endeavors. Spark is doing his best to help an ill Wolf spiritual leader.
In Free Equestria (East Equestria), Iron is trying to intimidate a group of criminal griffin interlopers. Fantasy Play is helping to shut down an Anarchist press. Silver is helping his new household. Amber Sunset is walking through the city, and Dark Star has just finished helping the orphans.
2265 replies and 44 files omitted.
>>133503>>133502 →Dark star heads over to the black hooves hq
>>133505*gasps*
>>133506This is simple enough. He finds Fellipe at the door, who waves at him and lets him in
>>133509He nods
"I'm getting paid to be in airconditioned building, and that's good enough for me right now"
>>133510Dark star smiles as he walks into the building.
>>133512Now Dark Star is inside, with the same grey-white receptionist they hired a few days ago at the front desk. Who does he wish to see?
>>133514He says to the receptionist.
"Hows are you today? Have ypu seen Blue Skies?"
>>133515"Is she..." she looks up to him, then down
"I think she's out on duty. Sea Breeze should know."
>>133516"Thank you. Where are they at?"
>>133517"Over in his office" She answers
>>133518He walks over to the office.
>>133519Entering into the office, Dark Star sees Sea Breeze behind his table, doing paperwork
>>133521He turns his head up to Dark Star
"Good Afternoon. Checking in after whatever in the hell went down on the shoreline last night?"
>>133523"Well... I've heard... Mostly that mission is an R&M detail. But I think it's given you enough of a view into Griffonian culture to understand why it's best we let Griffonian culture stay in Griffonia, and why the Equestrian Project must be preserved."
>>133524"Yes sir. The griffions i saw last night were savages. The dont belong here."
>>133525"No. I'm sure the ones they captured will not have a pleasant time on their return to Griffienheim. I just wish we could have captured more of those involved in the process."
>>133526"Thats the thing about crimainals,sir. They always commit more crime. We'll bust em next time."
>>133527"Well, that we shall. It's unfortunate that there must be a next time. But really, all of that is more of a problem for Customs. I think you see why we keep them around, even if half of them really ought to be mobilized in the Army."
>>133528"I dont thonk i had the pleasure of meeting anypony from cistoms yet."
>>133529"Didn't you meet Parade Pass, or some other officer, when they came to the scene?"
>>133530"If i did it has slipped my mind,sir."
>>133531"Well, you should pay them a visit some time. They are an essential part of the organization of the Pony State here in Baltimare, even if they aren't as well organized as we here in the SSA."
>>133532"I will sometimes,sir. I was actually wondering if you know where miss skies is?"
>>133535>>133533He moves back in his seat
"Dark Star" he takes in a breath and sighs
"Before we move on from the aftermath of Hoebuck, there is one crucial part of that operation that
does concern this agency. One that I'm afraid you and Skies overlooked. Slipped right under your snouts."
>>133537"Tell me Dark Star. Have you ever heard of Special Monster Interdiction and Law Enforcement?"
>>133538His expression chamges to puzzlement
"I cant say that i have"
>>133539"Well..." He turns his head to look over down and to the right, his line of sight ending at the wall.
"Every nation has matters that threaten its stability, and the safety of its people. Matters that must be handled with discretion... In Equestria, long ago, the role of handling these dangers was taken by the Inquisition, as it still is in Griffienheim, albeit under more State control. In many more modern countries, like ours, there is a special police force responsible for the security and stability of the nation and its ruling party. But Equestria... it seemed to be lacking any such special police force, didn't it? Once the Inquisition withered away..."
He looks back up directly at Dark Star
"Now, you know, going into Hoebuck, we sort of just assumed that what went on in Hoebuck, the true nature of that operation, was unknown to the Equestrian government. Customs went and searched the files and could only find a little. But then they asked us. And after the mess of last night, we decided to check the archives in Canterlot. And you'd be amazed at what records we found sealed away in the mines under Canterlot."
>>133540Dark star cocks an eyebrow.
"What was found,sir?"
>>133541"Well, what we found is that the Equestrians knew significantly more than they ever let anyone know. The first time they entered that building, they discovered evidence of cult activity. Just like you. They arrested who they could, and tried to shut it down. They may have gotten further, but the leaders of the cult and smuggling operation got away. Must have had a heads up warning. Most of those arrested were either released without charge, or deported without notifying the Griffienheim government of the cult activity. They made their way back... But the Equestrians did raid the church. They did capture more than a few of the senior priests. And they did set the cultists back several years. They kept what they found a secret from the general public and from the Baltimare Police, even." He shakes his head.
"They must have not wanted to turn local opinion against Griffonian Immigrants. Must have thought it would be bad for integration, or something. They also didn't want to shut down smugglers generally, or deport immigrants who were caught. Now of course we know that if you don't deport immigrants who hire smugglers, they just assume that any money spent on smugglers will result in them getting here whether they get caught or not, but that was their 'soft' approach. Anyways... This gets us back to the Equestrian Special Police, the Special Monster Interdiction and Law Enforcement. You see, Equestria
did have their own secret police to hunt down Changeling Infiltrators, to spy, and to hunt bugbears. And they tried to track down the smugglers involved in Hoebuck."
>>133542Dark star looks intruiged at the idea that there are secret police that kill monsters
"This is very interesting,sir. Did they succseed in hunting them down?"
>>133543"No. No they didn't. But you see, it's not because they didn't try. The primary agent assigned to the Baltimare smuggling operation died in the line of duty. They say that as she was riding a ferry in the harbor, she fell into the water and drowned, pulled down by the undertoe and her body dragged out to sea, or more likely caught underneath a pier somewhere. But this agent was a hippogriff. And whoever heard of a hippogriff who drowned? Even the Equestrians didn't believe it, as they tried to investigate, and I am sure they would have launched a more thorough homicide investigation if they didn't need to divert resources into tracking down Changeling infiltrators.
But you see, I have a theory. Well, not really my theory, I got it from an analyst who went through all of this information, But I have a theory, and that theory is that the agent in question was never found because she never died. I believe she was taken captive, found by you, and then pretended to be an indentured servant alien so as to slip by you. How does that sound to you?"
>>133544Dark star blinks rapidly mouth agape
"I uh...what? Why?"
>>133545"Why? It's rather simple. The secret police apparatus doesn't belong to the nation, so much as to the particular state and its controlling ideology. S.M.I.L.E. was Equestria's primary intelligence agency. They very nearly discovered our planned landings, and the only reason they didn't is because of a favor of the Changeling Infiltration branch, and even they only barely outsmarted S.M.I.L.E. She is a special agent of Princess Twilight. Not the last soldier fighting her cause to be sure, but surely alone in the moment. And so she pretended to be an innocent alien, and slipped by. I have to wonder just how many dangerous cultists, smugglers, and criminals, slipped by the Equestrians by pretending to be innocent aliens. It seems she learned something in her time on the case."
>>133546Dark star sighs
"I feel like i've failed our ponies by not detaining her."
>>133547He gives a curt nod, and pulls up a hoof
"That's alright. I can understand the desire to be compassionate. Kindness is, after all, a cherished pony value. But in this case, we have an intelligence operative who could meet up with resistance groups, or even worse, with the government of her birth country where she has dual citizenship."
>>133548"I understand,sir. Do we have any more intel on her? Maybe we can find her before she flees."
>>133549"A few addresses. Where she used to live, where creatures she knew used to live, and the old headquarters in Baltimare. Maybe she will check there. But otherwise, who knows."
>>133550"Hmmm has anypony checked them out?"
>>133552He shakes his head
"To try to intercept her? No. We
could send an agent or two to look for her."
>>133553"That could be a good idea"
Sorry i gotta sleep now fren.
>>133554Goodnight. I hope you play again soon
Tell me when anypony is available
>>133561>>133487 →"Okay," Fantasy says and nods. "I would take some if you have any to spare that is."
>>133562"Oh, yes. There's a few. It explains all of this stuff a lot better than I could, really."
>>133563"Are you sure? You explain it well to me, While it was a bit complicated at times, you seemed to really know what you were talking about?"
>>133564"Well, these things help you to organize your thoughts, you know?. They help to put what you already know and have seen into words more clearly. I've been here and I've seen a lot of it since the uprising back in '90. Well, I have a couple pamphlets about that. About the centralization of power and whatnot. And a few more about the Resistance. But if you don't already know all of this stuff, well, there's a lot of good stuff in there. And you won't hear in on the radio or read it in the newspaper."
>>133565Fantasy nods. Then she hangs her head forward with a glum look on her face.
"Part of me doesn't really wanna see them, you know?"
>>133566She blinks, but cuts the next part of her hair
“Why is that?”
>>133567Fantasy looks down into her lap.
"Becuase if you're right then my Dad might loose his shop in the future. If the goverment is run by ponies who doesn't care about their citizens then I cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. But don't like conflicts..."
>>133569"But you seem like a nice pony so I don't think you're a liar."
>>133561If Amber's next stage is ready, I can play, otherwise I don't mind watching on the sidelines.
>>133569She takes a step back, frees her right hoof, and pats the back of Fantasy’s head.
“There there, little pony. I can understand the worry. You should be worried. But I can also understand the desire to avoid conflict. Remember most of all that it isn’t supposed to be your fight alone. This is a struggle that concerns all of the masses of the creatures, and it’s in our numbers that we show we will not be put down. But you don’t really have to do anything. I just think you should know. Become ‘class conscious.’ When that happens... you’ll know what to do.”
>>133570“Well, either way, you don’t have to take my word for it. We have a little novella. There’s this pony I know who used to be in the unions who drops them off for me, since he knows I see a lot of creatures. You can take a couple.”
>>133571Um... do you know what you want Amber to do?
>>133572Yes, Amber will trot to the west, deeper inland, eager to put that stallion's lurid stories out of her mind.
>>133572Fantasy nods.
"I think I will take some," she says and sends a smile via the mirror toward the mare behind her. "Thank you."
>>133573Amber goes further inland to find, first of all, that the grid pattern gives blocks that are longer north to south and thus there are fewer streets crossing East to West. Going further, she finds that many of these buildings are run down or crowded together. At one point she finds a street with a make shift barricade at the front of it, although it seems to be pushed open at the moment to allow for thru traffic
>>133574Another snip
“But be careful with them. The fascists will be suspicious of you if they know you have them.”
>>133575Without really thinking of
why there would be a barricade on a busy street in a bustling city, the mare passes through it to whatever neighborhood lies beyond.
>>133577“I think one is, and the other two aren’t.”
>>133578"Okay." Fantasy takes a deep breat and clenches her teeth for a moment. "I'll take them but I'll keep the illegal one at home. You would think that no information would be illegal to obtain."
>>133579“I know, right? But those in power are afraid of the truth, and want to keep it from us.”
>>133581And now, she completes the humane styling, fluffing up Fantasy’s hair so that the forward facing layers are more apparent.
“Well, that’s still five bits” she says
>>133582Fantasy looks in the mirror while she turns and tilts her head in it to inspect her new mane.
"Woah, only five bits for this? That's cheap," Fantasy says.
>>133583She smiles back
“A discount for a fellow. So you can look like you want, but not be so drained financially. I can tell you’re new here, and you probably need it.”
The mane flops a bit, but seems kind of precarious, otherwise the layers may come undone.
>>133584"My economy is quite stable at the moment. I don't mind paying full prize," Fantasy brings out her pouch with her magic out of her bag.
>>133585“All the same” she says.
“But” she looks down. There’s something for you in the back...”
>>133586"Heh," Fantasy chuckles. "Well, if you insist." Out of her pouch five bits fly out and form a tower on the counter.
"O-okay," Fantasy stammers and swallows. She looks over her shoulder towards the windows.
>>133587She goes to the back and opens a door and carefully moves something just out of Fantasy's view on what seems to be a wooden shelf to the left. She thinks she sees a small steel box move and open, but she pulls out three printed papers, one blue, and two red
"Uh" She looks down, clearly nervous herself. She looks at the papers, and then tenders them towards Fantasy, as if she doesn't know what to do with them
"Here."
Blue Skies keeps her eyes on Mint, while nopony passes outside in the moment
Fantasy quickly pull them into her magic aura, the flap to her bag lifts aside, and then the papers fly into her saddlebag. Fantasy then takes a deep breath and then looks over at Skies .
"There was nopony ouside, right Cloudy?"
>>133589"Hmmm? Oh. No." She answers, looking back
Mint breathes, and smiles awkwardly, seeming nigh exhilarated from the illicit act.
>>133590Fantasy releases a breath.
"Well, now I kinda wanna get home and put these-" Fantasy taps the bag with her hoof. "-bad boys under lock and key. Not just stand around with them in public."
"T-thanks again for the cut. Its actually wonderful. I love it." Fantasy beams as she peers up at the fringe of her mane.
>>133591"Well, they are meant to be read. But fortunately your mane won't need to be kept hidden." She returns to her warmer smile.
The bangs are definitely cut above the eye line, which means that the forward most layer doesn't look
that much like Songbird Serenade's mane, although the layers above do
>>133592"Hehe. No it doens't. If that ever gets illegal, then I expect every mare in baltimare[?] will riot." Fantasy smiled.
Fantasy seems a bit nervous.
>>133593She chuckles
"I bet they would. Don't ever let anycreature take what makes you, you."
>>133594Mint seems to be a little as well, although less so now that the papers are transferred
>>133595"Agreed." Fantasy nods.
"Well, I'll think I take my leave and as I said take these home." Fantasy starts to turn. "This was great. I may come back here if I decide to style my tail and if you do style tails that is. I haven't decided yet. I always wear this cloak so I never bohrter wth it." Fantasy lifts up a patch of fabric of her cloak.
>>133596"Take care, and come back any time" She says
Blue Skies stands up, not saying a word
>>133597Fantasy smiles back.
"Yeah, you too. Thanks again for, you know, everything."
Then Fantasy lets Mr. Snuggles crawl back on her back and walks out of the shop.
>>133598Mr. Snuggle jumps on Fantasy, and crawls up on her
Fantasy and Blue Skies walk out of the shop, onto the street
Fantasy walks back the way they came in a controlled pace, not too fast and not to slow.
A glum expression startsto appear on her features as further away they get. Shetiltes her head forward so the hair falls over her eyes.
>>133600Blue Skies looks around, and then speaks to Fantasy
"Ugh! Why do they all sound like that? It's like they are made in a factory. I wish they were as well educated about virtue and science as they were about 'class consciousness.' It's hard to suffer through them talking about 'nations dividing the creatures' and 'equality.'"
>>133601Unfortunately, her new haircut makes this impossible
>>133602>Unfortunately, her new haircut makes this impossibleYou are right. I thought that but yeah I thought wrong. That makes more sense.
>>133602There's a hitch up in Fantasy's throat.
"Hee... Heee... Haaa-haa-ha," exits her mouth.
Her eyes go wide for a second and then she shuts them and tear streams runs down her cheeks.
>>133604She stops walking and hangs her head while she sobs.
>>133604>>133605Blue Skies pats her
"I'm sorry Fantasy. Many otherwise normal ponies have been claimed by this ideology. That's why we must stop its spread. It's like a virus, forever trying to spread itself as it slowly destroys its hosts."
>>133606"I feel so dirty..."
What does Mr. Snuggles do when his owner is in distress?
>>133607Call up on the seaponies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iakTl9SZTTYBlue Skies:
"I don't think it's wrong to pay for a manecut from an Anarchist. You did get a lower price, after all."
It's not clear whether he's responding to Fantasy's emotional state, but he
is snuggling up around the base of her mane, and partly underneath it around her shoulders
>>133608Fantasy for a moment cracks a smile but then she frowns.
"Hilarious *sob*," Fantasy says and wipes away the snot from her nose with the side of her hoof. "Did we really do the right thing?"
>>133609"Well..." She looks down and away. "You got what we assume are some copies of the pamphlets. But you didn't find out where she got them from, although she sort of hinted at it. On the bright side, it looks like she took a liking to you, and will trust you in the future. So can probably get more information out of her."
>>133610Fantasy is silent for a moment.
"She seemed like a nice pony, minus the Anarcho-syndicalism."
"I don't wanna do that again."
>>133611"Minus the Anarcho-Syndicalism? It is the Anarcho-Syndicalism that's caused Baltimare to revolt twice before in the past, to vandalize and burn houses of worship and destroy business, to murder police officers, politicians, and generally disrupt the social harmony. It's containing Anarcho-Syndicalism that we're here for."
>>133612"Why not? You did a pretty good job at it. She seemed to trust and like you and you could certainly go back to her again. And you could probably do this with more mares. I myself often have difficulty with females, but you didn't have any problems."
>>133614>I myself often have difficulty with femalesOkay, that's a funny line.
>>133614She says this but what is the tone of her voice?
>>133616First line with regards to anarchism: urging, slightly indignant
Second line, with regards to Fantasy not liking the work: consoling but supportive.
>>133614Fantasy still looks a bit sad when she lifts up her head to meet Blue Skies' gaze. She wipes away her tears with her hoof.
"I'll need some time... to... mull this over. Do we go back and leave these pamphlets at headquarters?" Fantasy taps her saddlebag. "Or can we visit a dairy bar before that I could go for an ice-cream."
>>133618"We can leave the pamphlets back at headquarters, sure. I'm not sure how much information about their origins we can gleam from that. What we really need is for Mint to give up the name of the pony who is providing her these pamphlets, as that pony - hopefully - knows the actual source. It would make sense to wait a while before coming back to her though, so it seems like you've had time to read them and consider what she said." She blinks. "There's enough time for ice-cream."
>>133619Fantasy seems to be half-listening at first but thwn she nods.
"Then let's leave for that dairy bar. I need something to cool my head. It is burning up like furance."
She starts to walk over but thens stops and turns around.
"Well, heh. I guess you should lead the way."
>She starts to walk over but thens stops and turns around.
>"Well, heh. I guess you should lead the way."
And the prize of the most jarring tone-shift goes to...
>>133620"I don't... really know many dairy bars... uh..."
She turns around to Fantasy and looks at her skeptically
"It's winter, and you have less hair now to keep your head warm."
[1d20 = 6] "Tell that to my head," Fantasy rubs her forehead with her hoof. "But fine, let's just go back to HQ and I will slump down in a couch there or something while drowning myself in cold tap water."
>>133623"No... We can, uh, find an ice cream place. Somewhere."
Blue Skies looks around
"If you had asked for a bar I would have a dozen local recommendations. Let me see, where have I seen an ice cream parlor..."
>>133624Fantasy remembers the map she bought at the train station and holds it out between them in her magic.
"I wonder if this has dairy bars amrked on it."
>>133624>>133623After a few blocks, and looking down to each side, Blue Skies says "There we go" and trots over to the left, to a corner shop in a building with a white coloration and a set of colored circles over the top that look like icecream in a bowl. Going inside, there is a tan stallion at the counter, and of course many flavors of icecream on display
>>133626Fantasy orders a bowl with three balls of ice-cream if they exist. She orders blueberry, chocklate, and strawberry flavours. On that she pours caramell sauce and a slice of banana. Is this possible?
>>133627Strawberry, Chocolate, caramel sauce and banana slices are all available. But Blueberry ice-cream, unfortunately, is not available
That's fine, she then takes something random for that ball of ice-cream and pays the stallion. She then moves towards a desolate table where the two can speak in private.
What does Skies order? Does she order anything?
>>133630There' s a mint flavor. Just saying....
The ice cream costs seven bits
Blue Skies: "More expensive than a mane cut"
Skies does not order anything
There is a table past the door in the corner of the parlor, where the two may sit
>>133631Fantasy sits down there.
She sneaks a spoon of ice-cream over to her cat and holds a hoof below it to catch any spill.
>>133632Mr. Snuggles moves his head back at the spoon shoved in his face.... At first. But after a moment, he licks the ice cream
>>133633After he is done, Fantasy takes a spoon for herself. Her spoon cuts a banana slice into a smaller piece, dips it in caramell suace, and then scoop up some chocklad ice-cream on the spoon.
"Mmm..." she mumbles with plasure on her features after she had consumed the spoon's contents.
She then sighs a calming sigh.
She meets the gaze of Skies.
"You didn't buy anything," she says.
>>133634"Well, no... I have to keep my figure after all."
She has a sort of half-smile
I'll stop here for today. This was a great session.
>>133636>>133637Huzzah! Goodnigth, and I'll see you again
>>133613Ah, in distress. Call up on... Okay, I got it.
>>133635Fantasy's eyebrows heighten.
"Well, good thing I don't."
>>133645She gives a kind of confused smile, and then shrugs
“Well... carry on eating then.”
>>133646Fantasy eats a bit more in silence. After some time has passed, Fantasy make eye-contact with Skies again. Her face still carries the glum exprsssion from before but perhaps a bit less strained.
"So, you said I did good for my first time?" she says.
>>133648Blue Skies seems to stare at her the whole time while Fantasy eats her ice cream.
“I mean you bonded with her fairly well. Made her think you were real, that you were interested in what she was trying to sell. But you didn’t get the name of her friend.” She tilts her head and looks off to the side. “Not that she would have given that to a filly she just met anyways.”
>>133649Fantasy nods.
"Though, I wonder a bit, now in hindsight, mmmm.... Why you gave me this mission. I said that my specialities *lips smack* were sneaking and illusions and you gave me a social infiltration mission," Fantasy says while taking spoons of ice-cream. "But I'm glad I did well, though." Fantasy adds.
>>133650“Well... The Blackhooves don’t exactly get to chose what tasks they have to do. Preventing the spread of propaganda that may incite rebellion is just part of the job description.”
Then she looks at Fantasy, and smiles wickedly
“Besides. Who says you
won’t get to sneak and use illusions? We’ve only just begun.”
>>133651Fantasy still looking a bit guilty cracks a small smile.
"I'm glad that it can still happen," she says. "Does this mean I'm hired?"
>>133652“Well” she looks up and off to the side. Then back to Fantasy with a more norma smile. “On a mission-by-mission basis. We use quite a few local informants, after all.”
>>133653Fantasy nods.
"That's fine. While I do this for the cause, I cannot live on that alone and I have a feeling I will try to take on as many missions as possible. I want to at least a get a small salary per mission.
>>133654“Don’t worry about that. They pay by the mission, by the bounty, and for information. For as long as the sparks of rebellion threaten to become fires, there will be missions.”
>>133655Fantasy scrapes up the last part of the now melted ice-cream from the bowl.
"Okay," Fantasy says and nods. "Then I say I like to return and cash in these pamphlets." Fantasy tries to wink at Skies but since she still feels bad it comes off as forced and pats her bag. "It would also be intresting to read what they say. Maybe we can find some clues on the whereabouts of the printers on them."
>>133656Um... let me see if I can think of anything>>133657“You can try...” she says
“But I’m not sure it will be so simple.”
>>133658"Yeah, probably," Fantasy says.
Fantasy stands up and walks over to the tan stallion.
"The ice-cream was tasteful. I may return."
She then leaves teh establisment with Mr. Snuggles on her back. I assume that Skies follow after.
"There were two times which I had to stop myself from speaking up before." Fantasy looks into the ground. "When she talked about equality and hierachies and the idea that the fascists were trying to divide creatures through nationality.
"First, I don't believe that, even if we wanted to, a world could exist without hierarchies. It's just the nature of nature.
Fantasy starts to stare up into the sky above.
"Second, I find it sad and hilarious taht she thinks that the divide between creatures is artifical but the one between classes isn't."
>>133660She nods
“I know the feel. I’ve had to learn to hold my tongue as well. There is a hierarchy of creatures in nature, and for the same reasons, a hierarchy in everything nature produces. Ponies who follow these ideologies tend to hate hierarchy because they often find themselves on the bottom. They don’t understand how to run a society or an economy. You couldn’t run a daycare without a clear understanding who who does what and who has final say in what is done, let alone a country. As for this ‘unity across nations... they don’t understand that ponies are like ands and bees. They live in hives by nature. Destroying the hive does little good.”
She sighs
“But ideologues similar to these, if not the same, hold sway in many parts of Equestria and parts of the world. It will take a long time to rehabilitate this area. Everypony has their place. Everypony has their role. Fighting that leads to unhappiness. But making ponies see that... is more challenging than I’d wish.”
>>133662Fantasy mostly nods throghout Skies' dialogue.
"Mmm... Yes. Though I would say that mare knew her craft well. I assume that she thinks stuff like this because she pities the creature and ponies below her. She might not fully understand that money cannot be given to everypony that has it rough.
"Although, from where I'm form this did not matter because ponies help each other for free. The idea that social benefits from the tgoverment were to solve everything never even entered our minds."
>>133663She shrugs
“She’s an Earth Pony. They always find themselves on the bottom of society, and they always want to get out of it. Government is a tool of it sometimes. Sometimes it’s unions. But always, it’s the same peasant revolt.”
>>133664"I suppose that's fair. I wouldn't trust some higher standing ponies to always be on the lookout for my best intrests. To seek power isn't wrong but the methods can be.
"Though I would say that I never seen any branch of socialism as peasenats revolting, its kmore like they are used by someone powerful to their purposes rather than for a cause." <- Would have liked to add this buI'm not sure if this is something she would say. "Anyway, let's get back to HQ."
>>133665“Seeking power is wrong when the ponies seeking it can’t use it well” she says.
But the two ponies walk back to HQ, arriving back at the offices
>>133666I guess we'll stop here until Dark Star returns.
Anyway, this a was fun and a fine session. .
Once it gets closer to dinner, Silver gets up and goes to the kitchen to prepare their food.
>>133668This is pretty straightforward, with the kitchen having all the necessary equipment, and mod ingredients
>>133669Then Silver gets to work preparing the stroganoff. He also tries pan frying some of the crocogator meat they got for Mala.
>>133670Hopefully Silver knows how to prepare both. The electric stove isn’t quite as powerful as the gas or even wood stoves Silver is familiar with, but he makes so
>>133672Silver is able to complete both: stroganoff, and fried alligator
>>133675Silver sets the table, and calls out to the household.
"Dinner!"
>>133673I'll probably leave the station soon if Darkstar doesn't show. Then I'll just check on the pamhplets and then leave. Our characters can bump into each other on the streets.
I will give Darkstar sometime thought but otherwise it make sesne that my charcter would take the rest of the day off and not meet Darkstar (if he doesn't appear) since he is in a meeting with Seabreeeze.
>>133676Khoi and Jubilosa enter the room together, while Mala, last to enter, is the first to the table. Jubilosa looks with intrigue at the new food while Khoi examines it with caution. Mala sniffs both the struganoff and the fried alligator with enthusiasm
>>133677Hopefully he'll be around tomorrow...
>>133678Silver serves up portions of the stroganoff onto everyone's plates, and serves up a portion of fried gator to Mala. He looks over to the other carnivore in the room.
"Want some crocogator, Jubilosa?"
>>133710Each of the creatures looks at the strogranoff as it is placed. Mala bends over to sniff the stroganoff, and then the fried alligator. Jubilosa looks down at the stroganoff with curiousity, and then picks up a fork to move it. Khoi is rather skeptical of the stroganoff, unsure about it.
Jubilosa:
"Crocogator? What's a crocogator?"
But when she looks over to Mala's plate, she says,
"Oh. Sure. I'll try it, I guess."
I'll wait a bit more. No stress.
>>133712Hopefully Dark Star will return soon. Hopefully...
>>133711The stroganoff moves, well, like a cassarole. Noodles provide the base of the dish, covered in a simple sauce of cream of mushroom soup and sour cream, with extra mushrooms to add more substance to the meal.
He looks over to Khoi, and smiles.
"Go ahead, try it. It is quite good!"
He sevres some meat to Jubilosa and then sits down in front of his own plate. He licks his lips before digging into the satisfying meal.
We need to send a radio signal to see if Dark Star and Iron are okay
>>133721Khoi seems rather hesitant looking at it. She looks over to Mala and Jubilosa.
Jubilosa, however, uses a fork to try to pick up some of the aligator meet, moving it up in her beak in exactly the manner you’d expect a bird to eat. Mala basically just puts his muzzle directly in the Stroganoff.
[1d2 = 1] >>133724>>133721Khoi picks up a fork, and starts nibbling on the Stroganov, with an expression of discomfort and uncertainty
If Dark Star and/or Fantasy shows up I can squeeze in a session, otherwise I won't be here
>>133733Would like to play but has some stuff on my mind. I think another day. I just can't hack it today.
However, I think my character will seek out yours next time I play. >>133735Um, okay. Hope you can play tomorrow
>>133725Silver at least looks like he's enjoying the meal.
>>133739Jubilosa eats a piece of alligator, and then another and another. She's eaten a significant portion of it before she tries the Stroganoff. She takes a small sample with her fork, tastes it, and looks off to the side to contemplate it, before using her fork to eat it in earnest.
Mala sticks his muzzle into the stroganov and eats a portion of it, before pulling his muzzle out and licking his nose and lips - covered in cream - for many seconds, before placing his muzzle into the plate of fried aligator. Mala eats all of the fried alligator quickly, always directly with his mouth, simply biting off pieces where the meat is too large to swallow. When this is done, Mala goes back to the stroganov, especially liking to lick up the cream.
Khoi is the slowest to eat, trying but struggling to use a fork, before using her magic directly to pick up noodles. She chews the noodles extensively, unlike Jubilosa and Mala, who don't or very possibly can't chew. She often looks over to Mala and Jubilosa with concern o judgement, and while Mala does not notice, her glance seems to provoke Jubilosa to switch from the alligator meat to the stroganov. Khoi avoids the cream where she can, and eats mostly just the noodles.
Nova Griffonia is a much better country to play for a new player than Equestria is. You won't get dec'd on by anyone else and there are hardly any unexpected surprises. There are several very fun paths to go down, and the research bonuses you get from national focuses are useful for keeping up in different areas.
I picked Goldfeather for the ancap memes and it's actually a fun and very different way to play the game. You can actually get civilian factories in return for volunteers which is a great help for such a small country, and it lets you play the game and get experience without risk of getting invaded. I've found that special ops units (mountaineers and knights in particular) are the best option, at least because my main army templates are still substandard. You can basically ignore navy and air force as you can't use those as mercenaries, though I'm playing catch-up with those since I'm boosting fascism across the northern hemisphere and maybe making a faction.
Also it was disappointing to see how the Equestria AI trounced the Karthianian Empire. Then again, it clearly had naval superiority whereas my navy was bugged in the other game. Interestingly that bug hasn't surfaced in this game. Also the Griffonian Republic's faction declared war on the Empire which never happened in my last game.
>>133741Silver looks up from his food and over to Khoi. His raises his eyebrow and tilts his head slightly to the left.
"Why do you not use fork?"
>>133742I remember playing Goldfeather... It's been over a year and a half, but I do remember it. Nova Griffonia can be fun. Navies haven't really entirely worked right since Man the Guns.>>133743She looks back to him, with wide eyes.
"Uh...."
This is getting pretty far off-topic, but has anyone else played Darkest Hour? I wanted to get some vanilla HOI in but for some strange reason the vanilla game crashes after loading though EaW works fine. The next best thing was to try Darkest Hour, a "Hearts of Iron game" that is a standalone built by the modding community. It's based on HOI2 which I've heard is the best HOI game. It certainly is a very different sort of game and has a vast amount of depth.
The amount of depth in the game is astounding. For one, the time-frame extends from WW1 all the way to 1970. The densely-packed research system works off a research team system--rather than have a flat bonus based on government ministers (though you can get that too), you hire teams according to their expertise and skill level. I think the political system is far superior since rather than four ideologies, you get ten Kaiserreich-style depending on the axes of democratic/authoritarian and left/right. Diplomacy and intelligence are both self-managing for the most part. Although there are decisions, there are no focus trees, and outside of special events you can change the path of your country's politics only very gradually. Being an older game it isn't heavy on the visuals (and I still don't know if there are any hotkeys), but it makes up for it with the sheer amount of flavor text in the game (every historical government minister of every country is present!)
Part of me wishes that EaW was made in this game because of how well-grounded everything is. HOI4 is definitely a much more arcadey and "dumbed-down" game in comparison, but that probably works better for a cartoony setting. Still, if you like the history aspect of Hearts of Iron then check out DH.
>>133749Huzzah! I got one good line of dialogue
>>133752That does sound pretty neat. It reminds me of the "Realism Invictus" mod for Civilization 4, which has something like three times the detail of the base game
>>133744Silver smiles at her.
"It is okay, I am just curious. I have not seen unicorn - or kirin, in this case - eat like that."
>>133754She is silent for a moment, looks down, then back up to Silver, and blinks
"What is this?"
>>133755"What is what? Fork? Stroganoff? I am afraid you will have to be more specific."
>>133757He looks at the cream, and gives an amused smile.
"Cream of mushroom soup and sour cream. It is very good!"
He demonstrates by using his fork to impale some noodles and a large piece of mushroom from his plate, scooping up some of the cream sauce, and eating the savoury bite with a look of definite enjoyment.
>>133758She watches with something between fascination and horror
>>133759Silver swallows the bite, and smiles at Khoi.
"You do not have to eat it, and you especially are not obligated to like it, but it would be nice to see you try it before you give final judgement."
>>133764Now Silver looks confused.
"Cream of mushroom soup and sour cream...? I am afraid I do not understand."
>>133766“Yes. This uh... this ‘sour cream’ she says.”
>>133767"Oh, that! Sour cream is made from cow's milk."
>>133769She narrows her eyes and slowly nods her head
“I see...”
>>133770Silver now looks even more confused.
"What is wrong, Khoi?"
>>133771“Is using animal for food.” She says
>>133772"...uh...well, yes, I suppose technically. It does not hurt cow to make, though."
>>133774Pretty much, yes.>>133777She looks up at him, silently for a moment, and then over to the other two
“Very well...”
She picks up more noodles with her magic, and tries to eat them
>>133779Silver shrugs to her use of magic instead of her fork, and resumes eating the last of the stroganoff on his plate. He leans back in his seat once he's finished, giving his stomach a satisfied pat.
"Ahhhhh, that hit spot..."