This is an interesting change, and some nice worldbuilding....
Seeing as it is a bit of shame not to use this new capability to corrupt regions... I would recommend spending-
1 CP on manehattan- bringing it to corruption level of 4,
2 CP on Vanhoover- bringing it to corruption level of 2
This should if I am reading it right, provide us with 2 CP every intermission... which will pave the way for future corruptions of these areas. (spending 3 now for 2 every time pays off in just two intermissions after all.)
While I really want to corrupt cloudsdale (can you imagine alchemically tainted rainclouds spreading lust everywhere?) that's probably going to have to wait quite some time before we can manage to earn enough to do so.
I do have a question if it is possible to increase the corruption in those areas directly however... say if we corrupted mayor mare in ponyville... would that cause the background corruption to go up slightly as more favorable laws are passed... or gaining control of some of the very influential factors in the community... such as Some of the singers in manehattan... or corrupting the wonderbolts or other celebritys helping to raise the overall corruption level? While we are not at the point to do so yet... it is always good to have some long term sexy goals to plan for.

As for personal direction.... with 3 points left to spend, there is only so much we can do.
Since we are setting applejack as our primary target. (with help)
I only see a couple options, increasing Strong for 2 points could be very useful both long term and for the farm work... the only other real option I see is increasing our Charisma for 2 points instead to help make ourselves better at all around dealing with ponies,

While I somewhat want to pick strong, especially in case of later fights, I am going to vote for picking up
2-Charisma, because being able to convince ponies about what is wrong and right is Very important right now, esp with twilight and other situations that might come up.
with only 1 point left, we could pick dexterous... or invest it in canterlot or manehattan... But honestly I really want to save this point, because I think there are so many more things we need but can't afford yet that we should save up for. (dominant, intelligent, addictive cum, increased affinity for alchemy(with access to zecoras notes and twilights library, think what fun toys we could come up with!)

So that's my vote, to recap-
1 point manehattan
2 point vanhoover
2 point charisma
Save the last point (or if possible, borrow a point from the next interlude and get intelligent(or addictive) .....)

Up corruption in Manehatten and Vanhoover by 1 and upgrade charisma for 2 CP. Save the last point.
Edit: On second thought, I agree with what 8674680 said.

Also, since we are currently actively working in Ponyville, will doing certain events automatically up corruption in region? For example, if we manage to corrupt Mayor Mare or entire Mane 6, will that add corruption to the region?

Okay, time to vote.
First off, let's not spend anything on regions right now, tempting though it is. As Nohen explains, we can spend points on regions outside of Interlude chapters, so we'll have a chance at that later. Right now, we need to focus on upgrades that can specifically help with Zexis' current situation.

My vote is for Intelligent (2CP), Charismatic (2CP), and Dominant (2CP).

Zexis has only two days to come up with a plan to present to Spoiled Rich, and if his plan isn't good enough or well sold to Spoiled Rich, she will reject it and Zexis is going to be in serious trouble. So he needs some immediate power ups that can increase his chances of success, instead of upgrades that require time to develop. So anything that requires training won't help much, and the region corruption thing will only be effective on the weak-willed, so that won't help much against the strong personalities of Spoiled Rich or Applejack.

My upgrade selections will be useful for dealing with multiple ponies in the Rich/Apple situation.

More intelligence will allow Zexis to develop a plan that has greater chance of success. Greater intelligence will add in the mental combat with Spoiled Rich, best not to underestimate her mind in this game of chess. In an earlier chapter, we saw that Zexis was able to start corrupting Applejack by using a mental strategy instead of physical. The key to bring down Applejack is brain instead of brawn. Wear her mind down with mind strategies to where she doesn't even notice her corruption, and thus will not be able to fight back. Lastly, more CP generated which we could use on regions or upgrades later.

More charisma will allow Zexis a better chance of successfully selling whatever plan he comes up with to Spoiled Rich. Zexis is going to need to convince Spoiled Rich to accept his plan, regardless of what it is. He needs his sales pitch to succeed, and what better helps a salesman than his charismatic attitude? Better charisma can also help to work around Applejack's hardheadedness, as well as Spoiled Rich's nasty attitude.

More dominance will aid Zexis in dealing with Spoiled Rich's strong-willed attitude. Not only is this a battle of wits, but also wills. Spoiled Rich is a mare with much experience in dealing with others, and knows how to stand up against her opposition. Zexis will need to be able to with stand her without getting bent to her will, if he wants her to be one to submit to him. Speaking of strong-willed ponies, Big Mac is proving to be quite the dominant individual now that he is corrupted. His loyalty is temporary right now, and Zexis is lucky that he was able to keep Big Mac in check so far. Eventually, Big Mac's new nature is going to start pushing back on Zexis if he doesn't do something to get a better reign on Big Mac. A greater dominance is a good starting point to get Big Mac more under Zexis' will, as well as dealing with Applejack's stubborn nature. More dominance will help when dealing with weak-willed individuals in town.

a lot of chocolate (not good for my digestion, but oh so sweet...)

Story of my life...

I would suggest Adding Corruption to Manehatten, as it is already the current highest level and will give us more points early, or Cloudsdale, as the city is isolated and will mean extra protection from being detected by Celestia

8674680
I fully agree with this as well...

8674710
Think you might change your vote? ;)
But seriously, I understand if you want to stick with what you originally chose.
Just glad to see some support in my reasoning.

Where once there was a technomagic gate full of power and a ruined city there is nothing but rubble and ash. The sky is filled with the soot of failure. Finally some rubble shifts and a hand pokes free before the human burst free.

"Well, that was one hell of a failure." he sighed. "Looks like I caused another Ice Age to boot as well. Oh, well. I'll head to the mountains and break out the skies at least." He checked his computer.

"Ooh, another update! Lets see here; corrupting dragons, new people, yadda yadda yadda, damn he didn't answer any of my questions. Well, time to vote anyways.

Charismatic
Addictive Cum
Intelligence

Charismatic because brute force and drugs can only go so far. And ends with some hero or another blasting us into next week. Our best bet of actually winning this thing is to get ponies to actually see things our way, and to challenge Celestia's Purity Laws peacefully, openly, and most importantly, legally. But for that to happen we need to be the sort of leader others would die to follow. So Charisma.

Intelligence helps with the above, but will also hopefully help Zexis keep his focus. We're only in this whole Spoiled Rich situation because Zexis was an idiot. Also it might help us keep up with Twilight, as well as helping to invent new recipes and potions our own self.

Addictive Cum because if we're planning on dealing with Twilight through seduction, then we need something extra to push her along. This will be a nice subtle way to ensure that she's actually corrupted by seducing her, rather then her redeeming Zexis. Plus it's pretty much undetectable. No slipping drugs, hiding charms, or unknown incense. Just a normal relationship with an active sex life. Eventually we'll hopefully be able to upgrade it to the point where we can corrupt nearly anypony with one epic fuck. And again, we really should move away from depending so heavily on potions and drugs. It's not foolproof, there may be cures, and worst of all, it can be spotted by a suspicious pony investigating us. Like say, Starlight Glimmer."

8674723
I can't help but say yeah, I will.

Your vision slowly becomes clearer and the being comes into view once more.

“To start with I would like to say that Eleanor is the nickname you should use every time you refer too Eros from now on. If you get Eros to change his name I can assure you that you will get a very useful gift from lord Tzeentch. It will be something sexual probably or wings or just a whole slew of mutations that grant you magical powers.”

After some snickering he starts staring straight at you after which he continues

“Okay now on to the task at hand, we are in a bit of an annoying situation but not one we won’t be able to deal with… probably. As for what to do, I would like to start with summarizing everything miss Spoiled Rich and some others have said and some characteristics Mrs. Rich she seems to have.”

The being summons a piece of paper out of thin air and begins to read out load.

Some of Mrs. Rich’s possible character traits:

-Underestimates Males

-Seems to care little about her marriage

-Thinks high of herself

-Is certain of her own position of power

The Details of the objective she gave us:

1 "I want you to deal with that pesky Applejack! Make her agree to sell her apples to a better price to my husband and stop being such a nuisance."

2 "You know what? I’m gonna double down. I want you to break her! Fuck her, for all I care. That mare has been a thorn in my hoof long enough now, not to mention that her sister corrupted my Diamond. So, take care of her, or I will take care of you!"

3 "I will give you two days to come up with a plan. After that you have a month to fulfill this task. Fail and you will suffer the consequences."

another things she said or has been said about her:

1 "Oh, and something else.”, she added. “You will leave my daughter alone. None of these supplementary lessons and the like."

Big Mac took another sip. "Rich. At least in the past. But now he doesn´t. Wants a new deal. Get his hands on the Cider." (from the guys night chapter)

2 "Sounds like Spoiled Rich, to me.", said Spike, a rare look of disgust on his face. "She is exactly the kind of pony who would take advantage of that."(from the guys night chapter)

And something big mac said that helps here too:

1 Big Mac blushed even deeper. Then he took another deep sip from his cider. He swallowed. A minute passed. Then a dark glimmer came in his, before grinning lecherously. "It´s...It´s my sister. I wanna fuck Applejack.", he confessed. (from the ‘guys night’ chapter)

2 The red stallion cleared his throat, before laying down the documents. "Finances. Still going red.", he said, "Trying to find out why."

Applejack frowned, before blinking. "Trying to find out? You mean, you don´t know why we´re making losses?" (from the ‘escelation’ chapter)

3 Big Mac stroked his chin. "Eyup. Should be making profits. But something keeps pulling us under.", he explained, "Haven´t found anything in our files, however. Will keep searching..." (from the ‘escelation’ chapter)

Things Applejack said in a conversation with Zexis that might help here:

1 The mare however shook her head, almost violently. "No! Can´t ask them for something like this. They all got their hands full, what with Twilight being a Princess and the others havin’ their own jobs an´ all. I won´t bother them, just because I got a few chores piled up. We got through worse. Just a bit more work an´ then we´ll see the sun on the horizon."

2 "No...Big Mac can´t do it...", mumbled Applejack. Her eyes were unfocused, but aside from seeming a little out of it, she looked fine.

Zexis groaned in frustration. He was standing here for over ten minutes already and he wasn´t even past the first suggestion. This mare was frustratingly stubborn. "Big Mac is strong and dependable, yes?", he asked.

"Of course..."

"Then surely it makes sense to listen to him more. He knows what he is doing. He could handle the farm...."
Applejack frowned and blinked her eyes focusing a bit. "He can´t. Ah promised Granny Ah would take care of Sweet Apple Acres. Ah swore it on her grave. Ah´m not gonna break that. Ah can do it, Zexis!"

3 "AH GET IT, OKAY!", yelled the farm-mare. "Ah know we’re deep in the red! Ah know we didn´t sell enough apples last season or the season before that! And Ah know that Ah could do better! There, you happy now!?" She looked at Zexis, with fury in her eyes. Fury and shame.

4 "It´s mah fault. Everything is mah fault. Mah responsibility. If we fail, I fail."

"That’s right. Now, repeat it. And tell me how you feel about it.", said Zexis, as he dragged the cart down the hill towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"It´s mah fault. Everything is mah fault. Mah responsibility. If we fail, I fail.", repeated Applejack obediently, emptying the water bottle. "Ah carry the whole farm on mah shoulders. It´s success or failure depends completely on me. Ah....Ah cannot afford to fail...Ah wouldn´t know what to do then..." At the last bit, her voice broke down a bit and she stared at the barn, with a tear in her eye. "We don´t make enough money. Ah try and try and it doesn´t work. The prices drop… Filthy....Ah mean, Rich doesn´t extend his loans anymore and..." (from the ‘bits and pieces’ chapter)

After finishing the being magically sets the piece of paper alight with fire and then continues

“The reason I read this to you is to show that some of the things that were said that might help us. To start I will go over what Mrs. Rich said and didn’t say and how that gives us both some room to maneuver and further our own goals. For one she never at any point even mentions Big Mac the only one who even brings it up was Zexis when he said he couldn’t betray a friend like that. Though it was a bit annoying that Zexis also said that he was Big Mac’s friend but Mrs. Rich’s reaction seams to show that she completely dismisses him which makes it only a minor problem. Furthermore she doesn’t mention that we need to corrupt him or deal with him in any way shape or form, she just wants us to deal with Applejack. This means that we can both put the farm into the hands of Big Mac and fulfil miss Rich’s request. We only need Big Mac to play along in the short term and have him supply Mr. and Mrs. Rich with cheaper apples, though that might need some convincing. This last part is specifically to give Mrs.Rich the illusion of control over the farm which might aid us later. Beyond that we also might be able to do something with Mr. Rich though we would need to speak to him, if possible in private, to find out if we can do something with him.”

He returns to seemingly staring straight at you and continues

“I have gathered all the information we have been given and made some goals for us that might allow us to corrupt the farm and finish that project of:

1 We need to get support from Big Mac to truly corrupt and break Applejack within the given time.

After everything we have already done and with what we can give him this should be the easiest part. We just have to offer him the two things he wants, the opportunity to save his family farm and both his sisters. I am not sure if it would be a good idea to tell him about our personal problems at this moment though. Beyond that we may also be able to offer him a better deal for his sales in the long run if we can get something out of Mr. Rich but we can’t be sure about that.

2 We need to convince Applejack to except that she isn’t suited to run the farm.

Probably the trickiest part as a result of her determination, stubbornnessand pride as a result of both the fact that it is her farm and the promise she made on her grandmothers grave. We already have made a dent in het defenses last time Zexis spoke to her. But I am unsure how much more we can do, though maybe Big Mac can help with that or an upgrade to some of our traits. On the other hand we have an entire month to convince her and she is already desperate we just need to push her over the edge.

3.1 We need to get Applejack into a position where we convince to take a drug that will help her save the farm.

This is one of the options if she does what I expect and doesn’t immediately give up the farm to her brother. We can tell her that we can make drugs and convince her that we have one that might help her save the farm. It isn’t even a lie at least not as far as Zexis is concerned. Applejack can’t save the farm and thus if we give her a drug that lets us alter her mind which will allow us to put someone more capable in control, Zexis won’t be lying it would be the truth. Though that causes us to run into the problem that she might start asking questions where the truth won’t be beneficial to us. This means that this is only an option if we can get Applejack desperate enough. Big Mac can help with this by telling her that if she takes it and saves the farm as a result it doesn’t matter what it does. As long as we can push her to the point where she would willingly take the drugs this will succeed.

3.2 We need to get her into a position where we can force her into taking our drugs.

If 3.1 isn’t an option or fails we can always use Big Mac to force Applejack into taking the drugs. Big Mac is stronger than Applejack so that should be possible.

4 We need to make it seem as if Applejack is still in control of the farm after we are done.

This is not necessary but might still help us against Mrs. Rich. If we can keep Big Mac’s involvement a secret from her she would see greater value in us and that would ensure that we can at least continue with our plans for the near future.”

The being sighs again before continuing

“Now on a more positive note, Mrs. Rich has in no way limited our movements in other field besides forcing us to focus on the farm and removing Daimond Tiara from the extra classes. This means that if possible we can continue with our other plans if time allows. This is good as we will need to continue with our classes anyway, now we started stopping isn’t really an option, we still need to ask Starlight what she wanted to talk to us about before we found Zecora and we will need to continue dating Twilight, now we have begun with that we can’t just stop because of the possibility of some friendship aura that is probablyjust Zexis falling for the hot intelligent Princess, he is an actual character not a mindless emotionless automaton that only does things because we tell him to. Besides that we also have no easy way to get to Twilight besides having her fall for Zexis. His guilt conscience might become annoying in the short term but after Twilight is corrupted that should not be a problem anymore. Beyond what I just said there are also two more reasons ones more people may agree with. The first being, randomly breaking up with someone out of nowhere is a bit odd and the second, we have bigger problems to deal with right now and possibly creating more problems isn’t really a good idea right now. Also hurting a being as powerful as Twilight doesn’t strike me as a good idea.”

Suddenly another piece of paper materializes out of thin air

“Now onto the traits. The traits I want to pick are upgrades to intelligence, charisma and dominance. Here is why:

Intelligence (2cp)

As also stated in the discussion after the last update we got we need intelligence. Zexis needs it to assist him with deciphering magic (something that has become a lot more useful ever since we can make arcane tattoos) and will grant a small boost to pretty much everything for which he needs to think.

Charisma (2cp)

We seem to use speech to achieve pretty much every goal we have or at the very least talk others into a situation where we could drug them to achieve wat we wanted to achieve and we will need it now to convince Mrs. Spoiled of how good our plan is and we will need it to convince Big Mac to help us.

Dominant (2cp)

Also a trait we could use to convince others to help us through speech and something we will need now to again convince Mrs. Spoiled of how good our plan is and we will need it to convince Big Mac to help. Though this trait might not be necessary and can be replaced if another trait seams more useful.

Addictive cum (2cp)
Is my secondary third choice. This might be useful is we need to resort to option 3.2. This isn't one of my main choices because we probably will only use it now and not again for at least some time. Dominant might have little effect on Applejack but be useful more often, at this moment in time at least.

Instead of dominant or another trait we can also invest one or two points in either Manehatten or Vanhoover respectively. These are the only cities that will give us income over time at this moment. Since Manehatten only takes one point I vote to invest in that city if dominant is deemed unnecessary. This will give us one extra cp next interlude and will thus also have us nearly instantly break even. Though as far as I am concerned we should not invest in any other cities yet we need to improve our traits first.

To further explain my reasoning behind this:

Manehattan

Corruption: 3/10 (1 CP for one level)
CP: 1 at 4 Corruption; 2 at 7 Corruption, 3 at 10 Corruption

I understand this as follows:

-The current corruption is 3/10 and will cost 1 cp to raise to 4/10

-We will get 1 cp every interlude if the corruption is raised to 4/10 2cp if corruption is 7/10 and 3cp if corruption is at 10/10

This means that we will need to focus on the ones we can get an immediate return on.

“Good luck Zexis, you’ll need it”

Your vision fades to black

Nohen
“Does the cp investment work like the traits in the way that we can only invest one time per city every interlude or can we invest as much as we want into a single city?.”

Also weather I vote for a third trait or for investing in Manehatten is still up for debate I first would like to hear the opinions of others.

8674750

As much as you want to. There is no cap here.

8674640

8674678

No. The corruption is mostly about all the people Zexis doesn´t meet or influences directly. The common folk, so to speak. Or characters, he will probably not meet personally in the story proper.

This is about rewarding you, the readers, specifically. And it may...but just maybe... be making things easier or more interesting later on.

My vote is for addictive cum (2 CP), Its time to get this show on the road! *HOWLS!!!* And it's tasty, like frosting! *Licks lips and drools*

https://youtu.be/Ip0n8SbL_Fg?t=5s

8674767
I find it a bit odd that corrupting a major public official or an influential celebrity doesn't somehow add corruption (or at least make it cheaper to add) since that person will start doing their own thing and influence others. But if it's what you insist, very well.

1 -> Manehatten
2 -> Vanhoover
Least points for most income
2 -> Intelligence
I believe the avatar will have to think our way out from under spoiled.
1 -> Dexterity
Only thing that could buy for one but may be useful in future slight of hoof.

A massive pillar of bone rises from a raging sea. A young woman with fins, scales, and gills rides the pillar until it meets the corruptor. She is familiar with the device as it was present during her turning. " ahem" she clears her voice a soft sound for her fishy nature. "My master is currently away. Having learned there is a leviathan in your world as well he wishes to reseaech the compettition and see how he stacks up. Though given what he has seen of your world he believes he will outshine this imposter. He is the first leviathan after all. The true being of destruction and diasaster." She straightens her dress after her small rant. "But alas he has told me what he wishes of this avatar. He belives any increase to intelligance is a must and a point should be spent on manehatten as it will give a point back and spread corruption. He aslo belives that addictive cum could be a very good idea as it isnt entirly. Obvious yet could be used creativly for lacing foods and drinks with. Other than that my master will leave the rest to our comrades." She powers off the device before leaping back into the see to join her master. The pillar cracks then crumbles back into the ocean.

Honestly thinking about things... I am almost certain we should focus more on Spoiled then Applejack. We perhaps can use this opportunity to spend more time on the farm softening her up while pretending to work for spoiled.... But honestly as long as we plan on dealing with spoiled within the month we can basically ignore her threat. More importantly, she is FAR more vunerable.

Her husband is weak willed, and easily influenced... or tricked, her lackey Tin is all she truly has to go on, and if we could find a way to deal with or convert him she would basically be weak, and helpless, and honestly a GREAT target for Breaking, She has no real friends or contacts, and could just stay in the mansion as a fucktoy for mr rich and/or Tin. More importantly when he hears what Ms rich wants, we almost certainly will have Big Macs help in fooling or tricking her. Honestly with her high willpower I really think she is a better canidate for Breaking instead of corrupting, especially if there is any lapse during the corruption process she just has to send a message for us to get in MAJOR trouble. So corrupt those around her, Take her, Break her quickly or in just a day or two of sessions. I bet big mac would LOVE to help breaking someone who wants to 'take over' the farm... and hey it could be GREAT ammunition to use for the eventual corruption of applejack, having his own 'in' with the Rich distribution system once Mr Rich is seeing things... properly. and all she has to do is keep him, and a few other men happy...... Ahem. That however may be down the line.

As it is I think focusing the plan on actually dealing with Miss Spoiled is FAR easier then focusing on a hasty and poorly thought out plan against an Element bearer. Especially since she is almost universally disliked as far as we can tell anyways, so no one would question seeing less of her.... and might even be thankful. Almost as importantly though, with a corrupt MR rich, our access to ponyville's markets would be an amazing boon for setting up lust charms and other methods to make ponyville 'better'. (I wonder if actually directly setting up major points of corruption in the area would help reduce costs for buying overall corruption.... even if it doesn't it could be fun.)

it’s time for a short game plan, whatever Spoiled has in mind it only benifits her, and she’ll turn on Zexis the moment she can.
we need something to hold over her, something that will weaken her resolve, something that will force her to bow to Zexis and beg to be his.
The sow seems to enjoy her tea, and while pills and powder help i think a few loads of addictive cum added in secret in the guise of cream will provide just the effect we’re looking for.
As for the cities, it seems Manehattan has alredy been corrupted quite a bit. but i think we shall place a few points, 4, into Las Pegasus. if this has the desired effect, it will draw Celestia’s attention away from Ponyville and will leave her unable to assist Twilight in any problems she believes the princess may be able to fix, and from discovering us.

Looking down at his mirror once more, he smiles at this news. “So, talking about the cities and such.. hmm.. and Lilith, such a delectable little morsel she seems. Hmm.. you know, if your plan succeeds, maybe I can help in making the Crystal Empire a kingdom dedicated to the umbran again.. Lord Sombra was a great worker of the shadows, and it would be wonderful to see it fall to the shadows once more.” The beast leans back as his servent goes about cleaning his scales, letting out a grunt when one would occasionally be snagged on. “ As for what we should add to the little project of yours, I say we give some addictive cum, some more intelligence, and of course, charisma. After all, if you are going to be a great manipulator, you must be smart, wise, and charismatic. I believe there is a music producer who could also potentially help, don’t know if he is still alive or not, but I believe his name was Zeb?? Either way, our dear Zexis is in dire need of some more charisma to help charm his way past these ponies defenses of mind, and who knows, it may even help with that Rich chick. Though honestly I would just feed her to a hydra, less hassle that way, but corrupting her to your cause would be so much better for your goals. So, until next time, may the shadows of the mountains forever be cast upon this world and the lords of shadow forever reign.”

BZZZZZZT.........Click!

Well this is a nice surprise, we can now start spreading our corruption though out Equestria. I will have to sit down and crunch some number to find the most efficient path to maximise our gains from this new system but at a glance a believe our best region to put or corruption points to initial will be Manehatten, Vanhoover and Canterlot. The reasoning for this is both Manehatten and Vanhoovercan start generating CP after one purchase and Canterlot because it has the highest corruption growth for the least cost although if the CP cost to increase the corruption also increases as we place more points into each region that may change. Also it would be negligent for me to not mention the potential risk of increasing the corruption level for a region as I assume that if the rapid increase of "unsavoury behaviour" is notice by the authorities that we my draw the attention of the power that be (E.g Celestia).

However I do not think we we should use our current 6CP on this new feature just yet, we can increase them as our avatar gain more corruption until the next interlude. Right now Zexis needs to increase his current abilities and I agree with 8674680 . We should increase our Intelligence, Charisma and Dominance trait as these will be our keys abilities in dealing with both Applejack and Spoiled Rich.

Now for what we should have Zexis do. I believe we need to first gather more information on Tin Solider, Spoiled Rich and Filthy Rich to do this We need Bird Hoof to uses his contacts to find out what he can about them as well as find out any establishments that they visit in order for us to set up way for us to deliver our drugs to them without them noticing. It would also be a good idea to check with Redheat and see if any of them have any schedule appointment in the future or if they have any prescription that they might need to be refilled so that Zexis can use these situations to try and drug them further. Also it might not be a bad idea to try and organise a private meeting with Flithy Rich maybe using Big Mac to call Mr Rich out in order to discuss a deal about Sweet Apple Acers and there current business problems. Something else Zexis could do is either gather or create a substances that can cause a rash and deliver it to one of our target so that they have to go to the hospital for treatment. Just a thought any way that it for now I be back after I crunch some numbers.

Your Sincerely

From the Archives of Enlightenment, Forbidden Division

BZZZZZZT.........Click!

8675037
I don’t think it will be as easy as you think. We have neither talked with Mr. Rich one on one nor talked with Tin soldier one on one. I would agree that there is a possibility that we can deal with Mrs. Rich before the end of the month but there is no guarantee as we lack the necessary information and even if we wanted to do it like you desire we still need to pitch a plan to her that is to her satisfaction or she will just through Zexis to the wolves. Also I already have a basic plan for dealing with Applejack. A plan that has a high chance of success and is most certainly well fought out. It is a four step plan and... I'll just put a copy of it it from my comment here:

1 We need to get support from Big Mac to truly corrupt and break Applejack within the given time.

After everything we have already done and with what we can give him this should be the easiest part. We just have to offer him the two things he wants, the opportunity to save his family farm and both his sisters. I am not sure if it would be a good idea to tell him about our personal problems at this moment though. Beyond that we may also be able to offer him a better deal for his sales in the long run if we can get something out of Mr. Rich but we can’t be sure about that.

2 We need to convince Applejack to except that she isn’t suited to run the farm.

Probably the trickiest part as a result of her determination, stubbornness and pride as a result of both the fact that it is her farm and the promise she made on her grandmothers grave. We already have made a dent in her defences last time Zexis spoke to her. But I am unsure how much more we can do, though maybe Big Mac can help with that or an upgrade to some of our traits. On the other hand we have an entire month to convince her and she is already desperate we just need to push her over the edge.

3.1 We need to get Applejack into a position where we convince to take a drug that will help her save the farm.

This is one of the options if she does what I expect and doesn’t immediately give up the farm to her brother. We can tell her that we can make drugs and convince her that we have one that might help her save the farm. It isn’t even a lie at least not as far as Zexis is concerned. Applejack can’t save the farm and thus if we give her a drug that lets us alter her mind which will allow us to put someone more capable in control, Zexis won’t be lying it would be the truth. Though that causes us to run into the problem that she might start asking questions where the truth won’t be beneficial to us. This means that this is only an option if we can get Applejack desperate enough. Big Mac can help with this by telling her that if she takes it and saves the farm as a result it doesn’t matter what it does. As long as we can push her to the point where she would willingly take the drugs this will succeed.

3.2 We need to get her into a position where we can force her into taking our drugs.

If 3.1 isn’t an option or fails we can always use Big Mac to force Applejack into taking the drugs. Big Mac is stronger than Applejack so that should be possible.

4 We need to make it seem as if Applejack is still in control of the farm after we are done.

This is not necessary but might still help us against Mrs. Rich. If we can keep Big Mac’s involvement a secret from her she would see greater value in us and that would ensure that we can at least continue with our plans for the near future.”

(I’ll put the link to the comment itself below)

8674750

8675255

Perhaps it won't be as easy as it seems at the beginning, and I freely admit we need to gather more information on the Rich family- especially on the physically dangerous one of the group Tin Soldier, however I still think it is more important to focus on Spoiled as well as Applejack.

This does not mean we shouldn't come up with a plan for Applejack as you have described and work on it at the same time, I am however very much worried about moving too quickly against one of the bearers. So while softening Applejack up I definitely think we need to start plotting against Spoiled Rich with as much effort as possible. If our plan to corrupt applejack is successful, then that's great, but I am definitely worried about rushing things, and it would only take one adventure or friendship emergency at the wrong time to expose some flaws or delay our plans, and if we can find a weakness or plan to take out Spoiled first, that would definitely be preferable to me. Who knows, if everything goes well they both might be properly corrupted.

However even IF we succeed in dealing with Applejack, given the character Spoiled has shown so far, there is no garuntee that she would actually uphold her end of the bargain... after all we just became an unnecessary liability that knows of her involvement in matters.... given half a chance I expect she would be looking for either some OTHER ultimatum or task for us, or figuring out how to sell information on our activities for the biggest profit. This is why I consider her the bigger danger and priority over Applejack, and while we may have to play along with her for a little bit, I feel we need to focus on working out a way to turn the tables on her as soon as possible. Also it might be good to figure out just how much if any stir it would cause if she just.... went on a prolonged business trip or something (to Big mac's shed, or some other location set up for a properly broken mare......

As for the outlined plan-
Step one, seems the easiest step, enlisting his help to shift more of the responsibility and control of the farm to him? Why that's just friends helping friends. I still think at some point letting him know that the Rich's are targeting the farm, even if we don't bring our personal issues into it as much, could also be helpful here.

Step Two- convincing applejack she isn't suited to running the farm- difficulty is probably moderate to hard, the best approach to this is the fact that she has so many OTHER responsibilities or things to deal with, isn't she leaving big mac to basically run the farm most of the time anyways now? Playing up this aspect and maybe trying to point out she should relax and let her brother (or some other males) do the thinking for her when she isn't needed to save the world might help this approach succeed. Other approaches would be causing problems on the farm to the point she can't handle them, and having us step in as 'rescuers'

Step three- drugging or convincing her to take drugs- Difficulty is pretty dangerous- Especially considering we are pretty sure she is near impossible to lie to. Perhaps enlisting big mac to dose her with something to help her relax before bed at night or some other manner on a regular basis might work, actually might be the best approach to it so she doesn't realize she is being drugged. A real danger of such things is if she is called out on a friendship or monster emergency, or one of her friends comes over while she is under the influence. MOREOVER- being an Element bearer and an exceptionaly strong and fit earth pony, I expect her resistance to drugs to be some of the highest we will encounter from a non alicorn. And if she goes to some of her friends and the drugging is discovered (Twilight) we are in big trouble. It's not a bad plan, but we need to be very careful on this step, perhaps even waiting till our alchemy level has increased some more.

Step 4 of your plan- working out a way to keep presenting her in charge.... Honestly It might just be easier to make Big mac step up so his sister can have more 'freedom'.... especially with all the adventures she has to go on. Especially if we can find some farm helpers to help out (and also corrupt) Actually how much CP would it take to get us a puppet or Minion created, that could be a good idea for now or later as well, even if all it can do is help tame mares and do menial labor... If we do have to leave her in charge in appearance, after reducing her willpower, it could make problems for the farm, but with enough support from her brother and if we play up the 'shameful' part of her incestuous needs (that we plan on giving her) we might be able to get her to conceal matters. However remember- Applejack can't lie worth beans... and I doubt we will be able to change that easily (nor without attracting attention from whatever element link remains)

8675352
It was a basic plan and you make some good points where to change it. Part 4 was as I stated in the original comment optional and it was mostly to hide that big mac is in control of the farm. It was mainly something added in the case we wouldn’t be able to deal with spoiled, if we simply caused the farm to have a different pony from the apple family polling the rains she would not be pleased in the slightest. If we can deal with Spoiled Rich there is indeed no reason to do anything like what was stated in part 4.

As for dealing with spoiled, I never stated we shouldn’t do anything. The main reason for making this basic plan was to ensure we had something to present to Mrs. Rich so she would give us our month. Then we have the time to get the information we need to deal with her. If we still can’t get anything on her we can just play along for now and if we do find a way to deal with her well… let’s say we won’t need to hurry anymore.

Also regarding the lies. It is all a matter of perspective and word choice. Saying things such as: this is for the best and this will save your farm won’t necessarily mean you are lying. If Zexis believes what he tells Applejack to be true she won’t perceive it as a lie. Unless she only notices a lie if it is a lie from her perspective. The chances of this are quite low though as that would mean that every time something was said that she didn’t agree with and could be a lie from her perspective. The other wouldn’t be lying but she would still see it as a lie. So in short if Zexis believes what he will do will save the farm she probably won’t see it as a lie and as long as she is desperate enough she will try it. The main problem will be getting her to become desperate enough within the time limit.

There is also something ells I am wondering about. How closely will she follow Zexis’s movements? If she finds out that we are trying to remove her as a threat we will be in quite the heap of trouble. We again lack the information to properly retaliate against her. I’m just assuming the worst possible situation we could be put in, well maybe not truly the worst but you get what I mean. Until we can prove that we can deal with Spoiled we need to assume the worst and thus go along with her plans for now. At least that is what seems the most logical course of action at this moment.

8674740
O.o
Okay, thank you.
Wasn't...really...expecting that.
So...Hooray for persuasive reasoning!
Just don't forget to post your new vote. FYI, You could've just edited your original.

8674669
8675184
8674750
Glad to see more folks backing the charismatic, dominant & intelligent selection. It's going to need as much support it can get. Fortunately, charisma seems to be a popular choice so far. Let's hope enough folks agree with this line up.

8675583
"Everybody likes a winning smile and good looks....though it usually needs a big cock, if you ask me. Bigger cock. Bigger cock!"

"What? Oh shut up, Erri....ouch, not my butt!"

8674989

"I´ve no clue, how big your Leviathan is, but I can tell you ours is....like really, really big! Like so big, that she once caused huuuuuge waves to sink Ker Ys. Thats an island, you know. Or, at least used to be. "

"She is also pretty nasty! No ships can go over the ocean, she just destroys them, stupid snake! Thats why airships are so important, otherwise there is no way you can go to the Old World and back. And she still breaks those occasionally, too. There exist only a few safe routes across the ocean, most of them going over the kelpie-kingdom."

The mist rolls back to reveal a blue muscular dragon rubbing his head in frustration. Across from Fimbulwinter is a red and gold teenage dragon, looking over an old crystal slab, trying to read it.

]‘He doesn’t even know what trade agreements the Northern and Southern Kingdom have! Lord Ember, what is wrong with you?! This guy is an idiot! And now, I have to bring this dragon into Eros’s hoard as well? Eros, I trust you but still!!!!’

“Hey, Bluey!” Eye twitching Fimulwinter looks back at Garble. “What is this Moss Emerald, I’ve never had even heard of this.”

“It is a very rare emerald, under the same category of Fire Ruby and Snow Sapphire. It is very delicious and can only be made after a long and careful process.” Replies, trying to keep his composure, as this teenage dragon's stupidity gets highlighted with every question he asks.

“Why we need these from your Kingdom, I’ll never know. We can drop that.”

‘That idiot! Is he trying to undo all the trade agreements, that he doesn’t understand. What’s next the Thunder Topazes?’

'Okay, on to business, before Garble turns his attention onto me. Zelix, you have 4 projects now that need attention.'

'The first and foremost is the dual project of Spoiled and the Apple family. You need to work and corrupt Applejack. You were able to get her to admit it was all her fault. You need to make her feel that way again, via hormone pill, and try to make her trust her brother, depend on her brother. You have a silver tongue. Put it to good use, and I’m not talking about just eating pussy. Also, I think it is time for you to ask about what Mac’s plans about the farm is. We need to make sure it is in agreement with Spoiled. So, we can have Mac make the deal with her.'

'Now the trick is, I think Spoiled could fall as easy as Cheerlie, but on that note, we have to deal with Tin there. You need to try and find out a bit about him. Maybe birdhoof can help with that. If we find a chink, we can find an angle to work on corrupting that heavy tough character.'

'The third project is the hospital. It’s going well. Just check up on it. It would be good with we can turn the hospital into a corruption factory. Heck we can even slip hormone pills into the town and make everyone horny.'

'Fourth project. Continue with the school. Diamond, can leave early. Say it was under her mom’s order, until things can be worked out. Then continue to make the little studs into fuck machines. Also give them trinkets. Let’s start influencing there sleep as well. Maybe there parents as well.'

'On a final note, its time to kill your crush on Twilight. The best way to do that is to see if she is already in a relationship with a stallion or mare. The best one for that is Spike. Spike knows Twilight better than anyone. So talk to him. Maybe we can see if Twilight has a crush on someone or if somepony, and I’m betting Starlight, has a crush on Twilight. If we can see Twilight in a relationship, it may kill this attraction you have on Twilight.'

'Now on to the suggestions. We have 6 CP. So we get the most corruption for as little effort as possible. We need to spend 1 CP on Manehatten, and 2 CP on Vanhoover. With this we can get 2 CP from them for the next interlude.'

'ON that note, I vote a NOon Appleloose, Cloudsdale, and Las Pegasus.'

'This gives us 3 CP to spend now on Zelix. I say we spend 2 CP on intelligence. And if we have 2 CP left over due to some dispute about what areas to corrupt. Spend 2 CP on Strength.'

'Intelligence is the key. If we play it smart, we are less likely to fail, and can work around our current issues.'

“Hey Bluey!” Eye twitching once again the northern dragon lord focuses on the fire dragon infront of him.

“Stop spacing out! I’m important here. Anyway, these treaties are useless. I say we get rid of it all.” The red dragon says.

“I assure you Garble, your Lord, Ember would be very disappointed about a total stop of trading between our lands.”

Grimacing, Garble looks away. “I guess you’re right. Stupid bitch Ember.”

With a small finger symbol, Fimbulwinter channels his energy into the gems on a nearby plate, the gems next to Garble start to glow a soft orange.

Smiling the Northern Dragon lord speaks, “It must be so tough for you. Having a dragoness look down on you, when you prefer for her to be under you.”

A small lustful grim appear on Garbles face as he looks at the big titted dragonesses in the throne room. Unbeknownst to Garble, his own cock started to grow as his gaze turns even more hungry at the dragonesses.

“You’re right there. Ember may be a bitch, but she is a babe. She has big titts, a big ass.” The red dragon speaks.

“And I bet a wet pussy.” The blue dragon jokes.

"Nope. I'm guessing ever since that pony dragon Spike, got to her, her pussie has dried up worse than a desert." Garble laughs

“I must have been a while since you have been able to get off, due to her punishing you.”

“You have no idea! I haven’t had a good fuck in months. She has been working he hard, with no relief. She is a the worst tease. She is hot, she is sexy, but she beats up anyone who makes any moves on her. And to make matter worse, bitch would be out for my blood, if she heard I got my rocks off. I'm so backed up here, that even your dragonesses look good”. Garble’s head absently starts to move towards his cock.

"What would I give to bring that blue bitch to her knees." Garble looses all composure as he hand starts to stroke himself. To take her pussie and wreck it like never before. She would then crave for my cock and become my own personal slut. Then I would be dragon lord. ME!" Garble rants.

“Please, I bet you couldn’t satisfy a dragoness, let alone the dragon lord ember.” Fimbulwinter quips. Channeling his energy again into the gems by Gable the glow changes from orange to green.

“I can satisfy dragonesses, better that you, old man." Garble starts, his eyes starting to fill with pride, but still holding on to his lust. "With that floppy cock of yours, there is no way you can beat my dick. Just look at it." Garble crudely grabs his crotch and thrusts it towards the dragon lord.

“I’ll make you a bet.” The Blue dragon smirks as Garble's hand leaves his cock. "Ask Obsidian to escort you tonight to the large room on the left. With an ornate design on it. I will have dragonesses ready for both of us. We will then fuck them into next century. If you get more dragonesses to cum, than me before the night is over, you can change, or dissolve the trade agreement. If I win, we keep the trade agreement with some changes I like.”

Smirking the dragon extends his claw towards the Northern dragon lord. The mist folds in as Garble’s voice is heard. “You’re on old man!”

Uh, Ponyville isn't an old city. Canterlot is, but Ponyville was founded by Granny Smith's family. So, what was explained about it makes no sense at all. Though, I will admit, that's an interesting backstory you came up with there. It just doesn't fit Ponyville. At all. Ponyville only became big and popular after Twilight became a famous princess. Before that, it was super small for a town. And there's still plenty of hints towards its small town origins to this day.

If what was described went to another town, like Canterlot, then that's another matter and makes decent sense, since it's on a mountain and Earth ponies would certainly do better at sculpting out land from there to use.

8675583
As much as I wanted to keep with the upgraded Herbalism (much kinder name for it, no?) and gamble with that, yours is more in tune with what I originally desired, just my inner gambler wanted to see what we could pull out of dear avatar's hat. That and we seem like of mind in what needs to be done, why fight when we can out fox everyone, we can make due with what we have thus far, and reinforce our mind. Besides we need Dominance if we are to over come love, or abuse it at least.

Traits: 2 to Charisma to help talk his way out of issues, which will be needed against Spoiled. 1 for Dextrous should things prove problematic physically, and can be used in conjunction of his items to be particularly skillful, especially if when combined with charisma. Charisma could be used for distracting while his dexterity works out of sight.

Remaining 3 points... to Apploosa, since it's a big time food export town, and thus could indirectly influence many places quickly.

Hey! I'm no Yokai for your information! Creepy little buggers...

Ahem. Anyways, I suggest Zexis makes addictive substances and sells them (including his cumm) so he can get some ponies so addicted that they will be his loyal slaves. It also would be interesting to see someone so addicted that they go right for the source...

Heh.

8675255

"Both Spoiled Rich and Applejack are targets, pretty much no matter what. However, I would say that Spoiled Rich is the priority. Your plan is a good one to present to Spoiled Rich, but I would only do steps 1 and 2. But Spoiled Rich must be broken. We can whittle away at Applejack over time, as she's only a threat if she discovers us, and there is no rush. Spoiled Rich on the other hand is an active threat who is more then willing to betray us, and is clearly too ambitious for our own good.

Also as a reminder to those wanting to spend points on corrupting other places right now, we can only upgrade traits in an interlude, but apparently we can spread corruption whenever. So it's better to upgrade traits now, and then spend points on corruption before the next interlude."

I want to cast my vote for the following:

1. Addictive cum (Cost: 2CP)
2. Affinity to magic (Astral) (Cost: 2CP)
------------
Total Cost: 4CP

Because those are cool things to have.

Vote for charisma/intelligence if you want to be boring

8675597
The fish woman rises above the waves with her serpentine master. He lifts his enormus head and reveiw the information on the corruptor. " sank an island you say? Impressive, tis not everyday one meets another who can claim such destructive feats. Perhaps i can make your life in your world easier by inviting her to my domain. Surely she would enjoy the realm of devastation and destruction more then your own." He gazes at the young servant, the newest member of his cult like ranks. "Having the ability to destroy all things with no consequence is always a pleasure. I look forward to meeting this beast. But for now let us focus on the task at hand. I belive we can work of spoiled far more slowly than others may think. She has her plans and all but I dont believe her to be a threat. At least not a major one. We should focus on corrupting the apple family. Not only will this help get spoiled off of our back but we can also add a heroine to our roster. Though it must be handled very carefully. Work on her siblings then set to work on the element of honesty." The leviathan retreats back into the water, his servant takes one lastlook at the corrupter. She leaves a short message attached for lillith. "You are a welcome addition In my opinion. While my master may prefer working erros i have always found the 'femine touch' more apeapling. Maybe if master takes your levithan he will let me explore your world."

addictive cum (2 CP)
Affinity for Martial Arts (2 CP)
Manehattan

Corruption: 3/10 (1 CP for one level)
CP: 1 at 4 Corruption; 2 at 7 Corruption, 3 at 10 Corruption
2 points

Hrrrm. Lilith, Lilith, Lilith... little hellspawn Lilith. Why don't you just admit you want to be tied tight, hung by your nipples, with your sawed-off horn shoved up your backside while your wings twitch uselessly from the masochistic pleasure and the heavy rings perforating them, keeping you from flying..?

Really. I should introduce you to Injustice. She would love to have you. And have you. And have you again.

8674680
Good points. Dominance will also help turn Spoiled Rich's own servants against her. Tin Soldier's loyalty seems to be wavering, at the very least he appears uncaring to a degree that's unusual for a bodyguard/manservant. Like he would switch if he found someone more deserving. Zexis can be that.

Similar goes for Filthy Rich, who has been cowed by his harridan of a wife. Zexis needs a mix of sympathy for the stallion and obvious strength of will, and he's sure to be on the road to becoming his future partner, perhaps even friend.

8674750

“Now I have put forward what we can do to maintain control after we have dealt with Applejack we need to discuss how to deal with Applejack. Honestly I am at a loss. All we have is an ally in Big Mac and the knowledge that Applejack doesn’t want to lose her farm. We don’t really have many weaknesses to exploit and the time limit doesn’t make things easier. Zexis might be able to get something out of Big Mac that might help but… we are in need for more information regarding this problem.”

Well, that's not quite true. We do have one weakness we can exploit. With Granny Smith gone, Applejack and Big MacIntosh lack emotional support. Applejack less so than Mac, but if she's kept away from her friends (such as by working very hard to keep the farm afloat) and the only other person she can confide in outside of her brother happens to be Zexis, that gives us an inroad with her. Applejack needs someone to talk to. Someone that isn't her brother, who Zexis has his hooks in, or her little sister, who is Zexis' mind slave now. Just by being around her, Applejack will learn to trust Zexis more and more, and be it from sheer desperation.

About Diamond Tiara... We're assuming she won't take part in Zexis' remedial lessons anymore. But what if she is? Diamond is a wilful girl. Though she's not dominant anymore, she still resents her mother a great deal. It's entirely possible she'll go to her father to ask for permission to go again, if just to be with Silver Spoon, after her mother forbade her to. We should at least consider the possibility.

Hmm. We should also carefully watch what happens with Silver Spoon. Is Spoiled Rich heartless enough to let her daughter's best friend be brainwashed? Or is she going to tell the Silvers to pull their daughter too?

Also, I am not sold on Addictive Cum. Zexis barely has enough stamina to provide his harem with regular fucks as it is. Creating demand without supply is unwise, as Injustice would tell you. We should consider increasing his libido first.

8674989
/Blinks

Adagio? Is that you?

...No. You are not her. The search continues...

8675037
Interesting. Spoiled Rich might make a good bargaining chip to ensure Big Mac's loyalty indeed. We should look into what her husband wants as well, and her valet. Has their old butler, Randolph, died? He was as old as Granny Smith...

8675836
How delightfully devious.

Have some understanding for the drake, though. He's no more stupid than the rest of his fire kind. They're brash and direct and hate having to talk about anything. They respect strength and hardiness. And Garble is hardy, especially for his age. A fine warrior, if not an effective diplomat or soldier.

But then, what does it say about Fire Dragon Lord Ember if this is the one she sent to negotiate with you..?

All in all, I find myself most in tune with you, 8674680. My vote goes to Intelligent (2CP), Charismatic (2CP), and Dominant (2CP). If we ever go for Addictive Cum, we should increase Zexis' libido first so he can exploit it.

8675905
Thats would be the canon of the show. The wonderful thing about fanfiction is, that you can change things.
In this universe Ponyville was founded way earlier. After Celestia won over Eros and outlawed Slavery and removed Eros´s supporters, the town lost on importance and deteriorated to the small village that we see in the show.

And why would Canterlot make more sense? Surely a city on the side of a mountain on a cliff is a nightmare to construct, never mind the practicality. Makes sense for unicorns with their magic and desire for prestigious displays of power, but for down-to-earth, no pun intended, earth-ponies? A town below the mountain in a flat plain, with a forest beside it, and plenty of farmland to go around is much more sensible.

Thats happening here and it stays that way. And since Granny Smith had died of old age in this fic, her tale about founding Ponyville is also no longer applicable.

8676716
Well, guess it would semi-explain why the Apples are in the red in this timeline. Still feels off though.

8676741
It's entirely possible ponies had settled in the zone before and the area was abandoned later on, much like the Castle of the Two Sisters.

8676188
I was just making a plan with the assumption that we would not be able to deal with Spoiled Rich. We don’t have the information to deal with her now so playing along seamed the best course of action.
8676674
I made that comment ahead of time and that part had been written before I had thought of a plan… I cinda forgot to remove it… it is gone now.

As for Diamond Tiara still showing up in class… until I see her show up I will assume she won’t. As I have said before I like to plan around problems even if they aren’t actually there. Better to be prepared for the worst then prepared for the best.

also at low levels addictive cum isn't quite as addictive as one might think:

addictive cum - Semen produced from ones body has an addictive quality. At low levels it awakens a liking to the taste, but at higher levels can lead to an addiction akin to a strong drug.

Maybe I am remembering this wrong but I also remember asking Nohen if the addiction is specificity to Zexis's sperm or if it was just male semen in general. If I remember correctly the answer was that it was just sperm in general and until we get higher levels of addictive cum we won't be creating cum junkies.

Also after seeing all opinions on the matter my last vote for cp spending is now intelligence, charisma and dominance as those seem to be the traits most people agree that these will help us at this moment

8676838
Now, THAT makes much more sense.^^

Heck, maybe that could be why Celestia gave it to the Apples. In the nostalgic hope to renew the location she once knew.

8676882
That's indeed something I should look further into. I had operated under the assumption it would only be Zexis' own seed.

8677228
Pretty much what I thought too. And in the context of Mundus, perhaps to thumb her nose at Eros by paving his old stomping ground over with a peaceful, quaint little pony town. Occasional monster attacks notwithstanding.

By the by, what is it about Manehattan that leads to such a high level of corruption compared to other options? I'm awfully curious what elements are at work there, seeing at how it is a particular type of corruption, not simply criminal activity or being mean to strangers. 8675597 Lilith, do you have access to said information? A general sense of what's going on in that town that is so different from Equestria as a whole?

The offer still stands, too. My darling sister has been shipping for rings ever since she heard of you.

The mist rolls back to reveal a grumbling dragon lord as he hears a purple dragon rant.

"I told you not to bring sex into this. You did well the first day, but the second day, you did that." Zircon rants. "And don't think I didn't see those gems glow. You did something."

"It was only minor influence. He was already pent up and prideful. I didn't even give him a strong nudge." Fimbulwinter retorts

"And then you brought the trade agreement into this."

I can't handle his ranting. Sure, I know where he stands, but still! He will calm down in a hour. In the mean time.

8674640, I'm glad you see how we can get the most about of corruption points for as little spent. We spend 3 for a permanent 2 each time.
8675967, the plan to Appleossa while it is entertaining. And I chuckle at the idea of ponies eating food that is contaminated. It would cost 4 cp for a return of 1 cp. The option that I and 8674640, suggested has a better yield. So sorry, but numbers don't lie. (Also if it was you who down liked my comment, I would have preferred to have a discussion, than just trying to figure out why I was down voted. If it wasn't you I apologize.)

Also, 8676674 and 8676882, I will concede that we do need to increase those three traits. Not just intelligence. You need that to avoid trouble. You need charisma to get people to follow you. Finally, what is a little take over without dominance. But unfortunately it is going to be a bit slower to increase these traits, now with the CP also being funneling into corrupting territories. It's not a bad thing. It's just now we have to decided where to power up our avatar now, or get strong flow of CP in before we power him up. Each has it's problems.

If we make a strong flow of CP now, we run the risks of not being strong enough for the challenges we face now. And if we chose to power up now, we may loose out on the opportunity to have more CP overall, meaning we would be at a disadvantage at the final boss. Decisions decisions.

Also,
8676674, I think Ember was more of thinking punishing Garble than upsetting me. She is her father's daughter afterall. I believe that is Garble really tried to get rid of the trading agreement, she would have stopped it, but if he could act as an idiot and get things better still, with this bullying then she would be happy for the better trade agreement. Lucky for me, Garble's already gong to blow. He will probably end up being a one pump chump, if he is as backed up as he claims he is.

"Stop talking to Eros, and listen to my MY LORD! Honestly, I don't know why I even try to tell you why you shouldn't rely on your crystals." The purple gold dragon crosses his arms.

"Oh relax, ZiZI." A green dragoness speaks as she enters. Besides. It isn't just Eros, he is talking to.

Hey Lilth (8675597). Great to hear you finally got into Eros's room. If you get out of Tarturus, we should spend some time together. I know the most fun set of twins for us to share. Big cocks, and strong bods. I bet." The green dragoness speaks in a lustful tone.

"ENOUGH, ENOUGH!" Fimbulwinter shouts. "Lilth is welcomed here as well, Flourspar, but I shudder of the fate of any drake that gets in the same room as you too."

The mist rolls in as the blue dragon gets off of his throne and gets ready for a long night of sex.

8678324
I said Apploosa, not Manehatten. Because Apploosa has proven to be in many episodes a center for various foods. And as a food distribution city, it has high interactions with countless other cities through their business of high quality food. Thus, they'd have an impact with all cities they do business with. Which is apparently enough for Svengallop, Rara's ex manager, to buy for the highest grade supplies, so that's a clear point towards its quality and renown.

8678382
Manehattan, I just mentioned because of the higher corruption level. It wasn't tied to anything prior. As it stands, Manehattan has a level of three, thrice as much as any other town with any corruption at all and more than all other towns added together. Curious, no?

8678367
Indeed. What could be dropped in favour of corrupting a region? All three traits are useful to Zexis' prefered strategy. His resistance to Dark Magic seems wasted in comparison, especially for such a high cost. It may come in handy yet, or it might not. We can not drop dominant, or I fear Zexis will fall under Princess Twilight's sway more and more. Intelligence is useful, if Zexis remembers to use it. Perhaps Charisma is the one we could leave out without endangering our current plants... Brainwashing the students and patients at the hospital is done regardless of how charismatic Zexis is, methinks.

But ah, Frost Dragon Lord, Ember sending Garble to you reveals several things, none of them making her look good.

At best, she thought Garble's bullying would net her better results. That only works if she thinks you weak.
If she thought Garble would be a good negotiator, despite how vocal he is about his feelings for both his task and his leader, she's foolish.
If she just took it as a way to punish Garble, she turns serious talks into a mockery for petty, personal reasons, insulting all of you in the process.

None of which is even going into how she'd lose face if she had to clean up after the drake she sent to talk in her stead... Unless she was certain she could pin all the blame on him and him alone.

What would he say to that, I wonder...

The mist rolls back to reveal a blue anthro dragon in the middle of a bath of steaming water.

"8678426, I don't know why Ember sent Garble to be honest. I was expecting a different ambassador. But it was changed, and all I have to go on here is Garble's word, and Zircon's expereince with politics.

As for the three traits we talked about. I rate them as the following.
1. Intellegence
2. Dominaing
3. Charisma

I would love if we could corrupt a region, and upgrade at the same time, but we just don't have the power to do so. To be honest I'm jealous of Zelix. At least he has Eros' s help in this corruption of regions. I would love for a similar gift for bringing my kingdom into Eros's hoard, but I haven't gotten that gift. So I say, Zelix should use it to the best he can. I hoenstly think it would be great to have some garuntee of CP each interlude. Also the effects would be fun to see.

I'm betting either drug or prostitution goes up in Mainhatten, and in trottingham, we may have some more fun stories of drunks.

What i want to read though is that if Cloudsdale gets fully corrupted that it makes cum clouds for Equestria. That would be funny.

What do you think should happen to a region if it gets fully corrupted?"

The mist rolls back in as the dragon lord scrubs a spot close to the base of his wings.

8678461

What do you think should happen to a region if it gets fully corrupted?"

Good question. I could be off, but... I would imagine a fully corrupted region begins actively exporting said corruption. Everyone there is now convinced debauchery and perversion are the best things ever, so why not share it with the rest of the world? Drugs are fed into foodstuff and drinks and sent to other places, for example. Though that would interfere with the corruption mechanic of Eros' link with Zexis.

Or it is "merely" the state of complete approbation. Society is now fully inured. Everyone is in agreement. Ponies used to be afraid of some criminal abducting them for nefarious purposes, for example, but now, you have a whole generation of young mares giddy at the idea of being pulled into a back alley and turned into a sex slave. Parents dress their daughters in skimpy outfits so she'll get picked up faster. And yet, it's kept semi-secret to protect it all from regions not yet ready to "see the light".

8678461
There are two reasons I believe investing is not a good option at this moment.

1 We have a short term problem that needs to be solved immediately.

If we don’t solve the Spoiled Rich problem now we simply won’t have a long term that can be invested in.

2 I’ll simply ask a question one always needs to ask when investing:

How long will it take before a profit is made on the investment or until we at least break even?

The answer for when we break even being cost-predicted income*amount of interludes=0

And the answer for when we make a profit being the just calculated amount of interludes+1

In the case for manehatten it would be a cost of 1 and a predicted income of 1 and thus will take one interlude for us to break even. This means that it will take two interludes before we have made a profit.

Because it will take two interludes before we even make a profit and we have an immediate threat that we need to deal with as fast as possible. Investing right now is not a good idea. Unless something strange happens we should not have any real threats next interlude though. Thus we can invest then.

Also I will not put the return on investment results of every city below (for the first stage only thus may not apply for later investments)

Ponyville: cost 3cp*corruption, income 1cp, amount of interludes 12, corruption needed 4

Las Pegasus: cost 2cp*corruption, income 1cp, amount of interludes 8, corruption needed 4

Cloudsdale: cost 3cp*corruption, income 2cp, amount of interludes 3, corruption needed 2

Vanhoover: cost 2cp*corruption, income 1cp, amount of interludes 2, corruption needed 1

Appleloosa: cost 2cp*corruption, income 1cp, amount of interludes 4, corruption needed 2

Canterlot: cost 1cp*corruption, income 1cp, amount of interludes 2, corruption needed 2

Cities that don’t gave the same additional cp per level of corruption: Las Pegasus, Vanhoover, Canterlot

8678625
About the question of what happens when a city is fully corrupted. My guess is that the city will draw unwanted attention in the form of Celestia.

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Hmmmyes, the numbers appear to play out. Attention from Celestia... well, that depends on how flagrant any displays are.

As it is, it seems the best approach is to strengthen Zexis now, and with his increased strength look for a good opportunity to increase his corruption pool—these points, we can then invest into corrupting a region, as we can spend into that at any moment we please.

About that. We have all our current projects, the hospital, the school, Sweet Apple Acres... and, not to forget, Spoiled Rich breathing down Zexis' neck. Still, there might be additional opportunities. Dinky and her family, for example.

Dinky used to live with Birdhoof before she was adopted, so there is already a connection. Zexis is also her teacher. And we know, if nothing else, Dinky's family is poor. Wouldn't it make sense for such a nice, generous fellow as Zexis to visit them? Perhaps to offer their daughter some tutoring? If they are poor enough for it to be worth a trait, they can ill afford to decline. Once Zexis has his hoof in the door, he can start messing with Dinky's family on top of the girl herself.

There's another mare worth consideration: Maud Pie. Definitely for her connection to Starlight Glimmer. Maud could be an excellent way to gain some insight into Starlight. She's open, frank, and Zexis may even learn a thing or two about magic rocks and gems from her. She's also very remote from the rest of the town down there in her caverns. The only ponies she has much interaction with are Starlight herself and Pinkie Pie. Which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The only ponies who would even notice something changing about her would be Starlight Glimmer and, well, Pinkie Pie.

Any thoughts on this, my friends?