/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>145000
"Heheh, that is rather cute reaction. Maybe sometime soon we will go into town and see if we can not find one for you to work for. I saw protests just some short few days ago outside city hall, if we get lucky and there is another protest maybe we will be able to ask one of protesters about subject."

>>145001 →
"Sounds like you can tackle just about any crime!" An idea suddenly pops into her mind. "You know, I've only just arrived but Baltimare's streets have an unsafe reputation and I've seen ponies act ugly.... You say Red Scabbard has a talent for confrontation. Could he give me some lessons in defending myself?"

>>145003
"Oh, I don't know if he's available right now for that. I think he's... not on the chief's good side and is working extra hours? We don't actually get overtime, which is not something to recommend this job over patrol duty. Anyways, I don't know where he's out to."

>>145002
"Oh. That's a good idea. I would say check with the unions, since they usually know but... they don't have those here anymore, do they?"

>>145004
"I would not know, I have not been part of union. It might still be possible some workers would know, if they would have been part of union."

>>145004
"Oh, he sounds like a really busy stallion. Even compared to the others." She smiles.
She thinks, Yes, I'm finally on the right track! And even if he's not here it won't be my fault for messing it up, though I still wouldn't get paid.

>>145005
"Hmmm... that's another idea. Ask workers directly, yes."

>>145006
"Well, we are all pretty busy. He's probably somewhere in the back. Anyways, that gun should be put up, and you should write a sworn affidavit about where and how you found it."

>>145007
A chill goes down Amber's spine. "A...sworn affidavit?
What's that?"

>>145008
"Oh, it's a paper where you make a statement sworn under penalty of perjury about what happened. It's intended to be used in the criminal prosecution."

>>145007
"What else were you thinking of doing?"

>>145010
"Well, i don't really know yet. Relax, and get acquainted with the city I guess."

"Oh, I see."
To herself: Oh no. Maybe sneaking in would have been better after all. Quick, keep talking!
Amber continues, "You said Red Scabbard doesn't have a good relationship with the chief? How come, was he lazy or somethin'?"

>>145011
The unicorn smiles warmly.

"That sounds like good plan. Need somepony to be your wingpony?"

>>144957 →
"Still worried?"

>>144746 →
See >>144900 →

>>145021
"Yes..." She confesses

>>145013
"Uh..." He taps his forehooves together

"Like, at a bar?"

>>145012
"I've said more than I should already. Just understand that he is here for a purpose. At least i think he's here. i haven't seen him in an hour..."

>>145022
She adopts a worried expression. "Oh, I do hope he's here--I mean, that he's okay. It's not good to be up so late, even for a detective. It sounds like a hard job."

>>145022
"Heh, well sort of. I was thinking in more general idea, like friend to go places with."

>>145022
"I wish I could help, but there isn't too much more I think I can provide."

>>145023
"That it can be. It definitely can be. Anyways, let's go put this away."

[1d20 = 3]

>>145024
"Oh. yeah. Sure." He places his hooves down next to himself (the glass long having been placed on the bedstand)

>>145025
"Oh, you've done plenty. I wish I could do more..."

>>145022
"That is what I am worried about," Iron agreed with a nod. "Even if they do focus solely on them, there is no guarantee they will not come for the other concrete jungle tribes."
The stallion soon turned pensive, wondering what other avenues he had to choose instead.

>>145026
Sensing he's a bit disappointed, Silver gives him a small squeeze around the shoulders, being careful for his injuries.

"But I can be your wingpony in bar too, if you want."

>>145026
Do her pupils narrow? Perhaps but in the dim lighting of the hallway it may be hard to see. "Oh, of course, of course." She will follow him.

>>145027
"Maybe... uh... Maybe try that 'friendship' thing? I've never cared for it but I've herd it's effective. Not as effective as Family, obviously, but they have that and you need something to counter it."

>>145028
"Heh, that's alright. What places are there to go around here, anyways?"

>>145029
"Alright, let me just take this."

He takes the gun

"And be on our way."

He starts to go to the right.

>>145030
Iron couldn't help but blink as he refocused on Sands' statement, looking rather unsure about that suggestion. "How would I go about doing that?" he questioned. "I do not have such things that I know of."

>>145031
"Uh... I don't really know, to be honest. I'm saying that when facing them it's best not done alone. It's better like back at that Prison, where you have other people to help fight them."

>>145030
Is it possible to turn left? If so she'll try to make her way down that way without him noticing.

>>145032
Iron scratched his head in a bout of hopeless thought. "So I should ask for fighting ponies in the street through this 'friendship' avenue?" he tentatively asked.

>>145033
He's not looking back, so yes, it is. Note that he physically possesses the gun.

Also, roll die

>>145034
"I... don't... really... know. Where did you find those ponies and that griffin the last time? And have you thought of hiding? Perhaps they won't be able to track you if you change your name.... well, I don't know if that would work, but... hiding is good."

>>145030
"I have not been to many places in city, but I have been to couple of bars and couple of nice restaurants."

>>145036
"Well, that's nice. Uh... Hey. Is the Occupational Government... well, we're not exactly entirely out of Blackhooves territory. Are they going to be able to find me here?"

>>145037
Silver shakes his head no.

"They will not. Even then, they have their hooves full trying to keep everything here from falling apart, so I do not think they will spend resources looking for runaway buggerer."

>>145035
Screw the gun, it's a liability if Amber held onto it anyway. [1d20 = 1]

>>145035
"If I hide," Iron prefaced, expression soon oozing determination "it is to heal my wounds and go back to my mission of putting the fear in the enemy's hearts like I was supposed to."
It soon dissipated when considering Sands' other, slightly
more appealing suggestion. "I... sometimes stumble into them," he admitted "mainly because of those Black Hooves folk. I have no idea where they are."

>>145025
"Well... I don't know if I could really replace him." She says, with a tinge of fear

>>145038
"They will absolutely send whole groups of armed police to your house back home if you don't show up to a recruiting office, or if the recruiting office rejects your request for deferment. Here, I suppose, the population won't just go along with it, and they know it. I think it will be better here. Better here, frankly, than probably any other ponish speaking area."

>>145039
Amber takes off down the hallway.

Then a wooden door opens right in front of Amber. It's one that opensthe other way causing Amber to hit the foreleg of whoever opened it, ruin into the narrow piece of wood, and force it open.

Roll two separate d20 dies

>>145040
"I'm just saying they are kind of scary themselves. Hiding is a viable option... I hope. Wait what? You found them through the blackhooves?"

>>145041
"The two times I met with them," Iron tried to recall "they were for work that organization couldn't officially do... or something."
He opted to shrug instead. "All I know is that it was quite profitable to loot the spots they have sent me to so far," he added.

>>145042
"Couldn't officially do? They're a terrorist organization. The only thing that separates them from those communist wackos who blow up subway trains is that they have more money. Wait. loot?"

>>145043
Amber hits the door with force. There is nothing broken... probably, but damn, she hit it squarely with her muzzle. Better feel to make sure there is no busted lip or chipped tooth. Amber is knocked back, though probably not off of her feet, and momentarily stunned.

>>145041
"You shouldn't focus on that aspect. What really matters is that you be there for him, even if that means filling a position. I think he will need some rest even after recovery. You might need to take the initiative and be in his spot for him."

>>145044
Iron blinked even further with a hint of disbelief at the unicorn. "You... do not remember how we took off with all the stuff from the place you were imprisoned?" he presented, slightly puzzled by her answer and considering how she actively helped transporting the stuff. "Granted, I doubt they would have simply let me take it without some negotiations, but I do not care for their political nonsense."

>>145041
"I know, that is why you are safe here. They are already having to deal with Celestialist loyalists in Stableside and Communists and other related groups here, if they tried to institute draft they would be dealing with mass revolution. Best they can do is to try to get ponies to willingly join up in army, or to colonize griffon lands they have taken over."

>>145044
Amber falls back on her haunches and hold a fetlock up to her muzzle. She shuts her eyes and whines softly.

>>145045
"That's true." She says calmly.

"Still, I... i don't know how well I can fill that spot."

>>145046
"I mean you could do it again if only they could be beaten. What can we take from this group of griffins?"

>>145047
"Yeah, that's right. I almost wish they would try. Then again, that last Princess tried it here and they went along with it."

>>145048
"Are you alright miss?" Amber hears a voice that is at once deep in origin, but nasally and raised higher than it ought to be. She feels a hoof... or something softer than a hoof(?) placed on her.

>>145049
"Maybe one of those magical friendships some ponies like to ramble about with Germane," Iron offered with a shrug. "I did sign up for this to secure Cauldron's business' supplies, after all."
The stallion soon smiled with a hint of mischievousness. "I do have to admit that not having to search for the targets makes things a lot easier," he confidently asserted. "All I need is a spot to lure the would-be assassins in, a place to restore my health and a way to travel from one spot to the other without much risk."

>>145049
"That was different. That was our own Princess reluctantly calling upon her ponies in defense of our nation against invader, one who would have truly enslaved us to far greater degree than any Black Hoof or Il Duce or other fascist regime. Black Hooves are from foreign nation fighting foreign wars, and they are reason why Equestria is split in half and why Chrysalis still holds power. The owe nopony any loyalty here in Equestria, save for those few who were maligned by both Harmony and Communism, like Dark Star."

>>145049
"It might take some time, but you wouldn't be in the position to take that spot if you weren't supposed to."

>>145050
"No. It doesn't make it easier at all. You do not want them to find you. They won't give you heads up, and they won't give you a chance to fight back. They will stop an automobile outside your apartment and start shooting. Or follow you home, and as you are opening the door, start shooting. Or wait until you are eating dinner at a restaurant with your zebra friend, and shoot you from behind. Or wait until you are on the subway... and stab you. And then they'll run away. It could happen any time."

>>145051
"Defense of the Nation? Heh. That's what makes it alright? Do you think the Princess is the only one proclaiming 'defense of the Nation'? You should have seen the articles they made us run in Freeside. When Sicameon landed troops on the mainland, in the Colony, there was absolute hysteria and outrage that we were being invaded! Every indiscretion by the invading soldiers, every single tipped over rock, or whatever. It was all published. Then they'd call to expand the age range for the draft. It was the patriotic duty to defend the homeland against griffin invaders. It got so much worse when Aquellia invaded New Freeside. The island, they didn't come near my town, not that I would have opposed them. But I think it genuinely scared them. That was when they eliminated all deferments for the draft, eliminated all limits on terms of service, and loosed the medical requirements. They made a big deal about how Equestria supported the Aquellians. They called it a 'betrayal of Ponykind'. They must have realized that a third of their army is griffins, because the next day they sent a request to have any future publication change those words to 'a betrayal of Faustian Civilization', the same thing in different words. Then when Equestria declared war - and I assure you they denying publishing of any paper that suggested New Mareland declared war by sending its forces into Lushi - they called it a 'war of independence' against the colonial something or other. And of course even before the war started the made a big deal about the war against the Marehobdhi, or about the wars Aquellia and Wingbardy waged against their neighbors. They said New Mareland needed to expand to secure its supply lines and export markets, like it were a matter of national survival.

I have not the slightest bit of doubt that over somewhere in the Changeling Lands, those poor fools are absolutely convinced that the war against Equestria was necessary for national survival. Any war can be twisted in such a way. And I don't doubt either that these wars really are necessary for the survival of the ruling classes, who can forestall revolution at home by stealing from those abroad. But the ponies, griffins, and drones who fight them? Well, they don't always survive."

He is silent now

>>145052
"How would I know when I'm ready?" She asks

>>145053
"I get that," Iron prefaced with a nod "but considering I can most likely survive the initial attack and fight back if they are forced to rely on less powerful weapons and out in the open. This is why I need to have a place to restore my health in a different, secret location at hooves' reach so I can recover from that and repeat the process. With enough tries and after beating the best teams they can muster, they will most likely relent out of shame and fear."

>>145053
Silver is silent and a little stunned during the outburst. His response is considerably shorter in comparison.

"...it was actually defensive war. And, unless you are saying it would have been better to surrender and submit to atrocities that are going on in Western Equestria now, we really had no choice in matter. I know what kind of propaganda Black Hooves might have pumped out, but it truly was war of survival for us."

>>145054
"No. If they fail to beat you, they'll probably just run away. If you want to scare them, attack them. Let them feel unsafe anywhere near this town."

>>145055
"I have friends - had friends - who told me the same thing, and joined the Army. Communist Party members who opposed the Blackhooves takeover and supported the Aquellian Revolution. They say things like 'we have to stop Beakolini,' or 'Aquellia betrayed the Revolution' - they did, in fairness - and 'have became Imperialistic', or 'Chrysalis would have won anyways, we are saving half' and other such rationalizations of someone who has made a very bad choice and knows it. We should have waged war against the Blackhooves, against the Princesses... The drones would have joined in doing the same, if only we provided the example."

The way he says the last sentence is peculiar, like he's run out of energy. He says it as if with little faith in his own words - or at least, that his words will be believed. They are thrown out, almost in afterthought.