Well, we kicked flank and took many a name.
Without want of fortune, flair, or fame
Save for the bars we could carry on our back
Gaining only what the bad guys lack
And that is how the desperadoes roll
Yes, that's how the desperadoes roll
Bard finished strumming quietly on his guitar. He lifted a wing, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then, glancing across the corridor where he and the other three sat, he smirked. “Whaddya think? It's a work in progress.”
“Mmmm...” Theanim briefly glanced up from arranging the many-many frames of photographic evidence. “It certainly is... musical.”
Wildcard held his metal thumb sideways.
“It sucks donkey balls,” Echo grumbled from under his makeshift blanket.
“Awwwwwwww...” Bard pouted, leaning back lazily and plucking away at some more strings. “Now why do ya gotta be like that, bat-boy?”
“It's not 'bat-boy,' it's Echo!” An angry flash of fangs and slitted eyes from underneath the cloak. “You would do well to remember it!”
“Yeesh. Alright. Whew!” Bard smiled over at Wildcard. “Who stuck a crescent moon up in his craw?”
“You don't get to insult the lunar beacon like that!” Echo hissed.
“Why, old chap, I'm surprised,” Theanim remarked. “You hardly ever preach the sentiments of midnighter folklore.”
“Well I'm sorry if I'm a little bit backwards all of the sudden!” Echo grumbled under the hum of the throttling watercraft. “Lest you forget, I was once a nocturnal creature, but because of all this asenine ass-over-elbowing over the past thirty-six hours, I've got my brain noodle all out of whack!”
“I could have sworn all the coral huffing did away with that.”
“And being forced to go cold turkey certainly isn't helping, Theams!” Echo snarled, flinging the cloak over his figure as he huddled up. “Grrrrrr... once this is all over, I swear, I'm locking myself up in the deepest cave and kissing all daylight goodbye for good.”
“Hrmmmf..” Theanim Mane frowned. “Not this time, old chap. You're not leaving my sight until you're clean of all habits, I swear.”
“Mfffffhhghhh... what do I have to do to be rid of you crudtastical jackasses...?”
“Eat up!” Rainbow chirped, suddenly there. She dropped bowls full of fruit and bread onto the floor before the four. “It's complimentary to everypony with a ticket!”
Wildcard leaned forward, craning his feathery neck with interest.
“Well, I'll be dog-gone!” Bard immediately slid his guitar back into its case and rubbed his hooves together in anticipation. “Now that's what I call a real treat!” He scooped up an apple and immediately took a large, juicy bite. “Mmmm-mmmm!”
“Good choice,” Rainbow said with a wink.
“Mmmrmmmfff...” Bard took another bite and sighed dreamily. “Imported straight from the southern Rohbredden groves. I can tell.” He hoisted another apple from the bowl and tossed it at the griffon seated across from him. “How 'bout you, Dubya-Cee?”
Wildcard caught the apple, turned it around, examined it up close through his goggles... then liberally stabbed the fruit with his beak.
Rainbow winced from where she hovered.
Wildcard chiseled and hammered away at the apple until he yanked the core out. With a sickening crunch, the griffon snapped the hard matter to bits, his feather crests relaxing in delight. He then tossed the pulpy meat of the fruit back into the bowl as if it were scraps.
“Closest thang to a crunchy rodent this side of Rust,” Bard explained with a wink.
Wildcard gave a metallic thumb's up.
“That's... uh... that's good to know,” Rainbow muttered.
“Boy, I tell ya what...” Bard grabbed a banana and leaned back with a lazy grin. “Pay or no pay, this here's about the most luxurious Dubya-Cee and I have had it in months. I reckon a 'thank you' is in order.”
“You're welcome,” Echo stirred under his cloak/blanket. “Now go hunt down a wyvern and toss him around. See if you get just as frickin' lucky... mrmmmfff.”
“If you ask me, things could stand to be a bit more luxurious,” Theanim remarked. He frowned briefly, looking up from the photographs. “The sale of the Midnight Dreary couldn't quite afford us cabins, unfortunately.”
“Hey...” Rainbow shrugged, landing on the floor and coiling her wings. “I can dig it. Then again, there was a time when I just slept in any tree that I could find.”
“Heh...” Bard gulped and smiled, halfway through his banana. “Imagine that.”
“When, pray tell, did the deep adoration for hammocks blossom?” Theanim raised an eyebrow. “Hmmm?”
Rainbow sighed, her ears folding back in a melancholic malaise. “Please... we don't talk about the hammocks.”
“Heheheh...”
“Grffff...” Echo moaned again. “...are you asshats quite done?”
“Eat up, old chap,” Theanim remarked. “You could stand to have some meat on your bones.”
“Yeah, buddy!” Bard smiled, rolling a peach towards him. “Eat them vittles! Does a body gooder!”
“Meh...” A sarosian fetlock slithered out and batted the fruit back. “Says the ignoramus who—only a day or two ago—wanted to peddle me to murderers and thieves.”
“Awwwwwwww...” Bard pouted. “Y'all still sore about that nonsense?”
“I'm sore about a lot of things,” Echo grumbled. “I just can't afford a toilet confessional to dunk my head in at the moment.”
“Well, how about the next best thing, ya melon fudge?” Rainbow remarked, shoving another bowl towards him.
“Please,” Echo grumbled, shifting under the blanket. “Unless it's a smoking hot curvaceous coral golem come to rescue me, I want no part of it.”
“Not even the crunchy, meaty, pulpy parts of it?”
“... ... ...” With a fuzzy sniffle, Echo poked his squinting face out from underneath.
A bowl full of shrimp and crayfish stood before him. Rainbow Dash smiled meaningfully from a few feet away.
“Look... I-I don't care for munchable stuff that was once... living stuff. Ahem. But I know a thing or two about sarosians. Back home, they were all about catching insects and moths and dragonflies n'stuff. I happened to have met a few ponies both young and old who were into the same thing to. And... like... I know that these underwater creepy-crawlies aren't exactly the same, but... y'know... they're still meat, so maybe there's a part of you that'll like—”
“Just shut up already,” Echo grumbled. He flung the blanket over his leafy eared head. Then, a few surly seconds later, he reached a hoof out and dragged the bowl of red shelled things in with him. A disgustingly loud crunching sound emanated, followed by another.
Rainbow tried not to wince. She failed.
After a liberal smacking of lips—and no small amount of fang-scraping—there was a silent pause, then a weak and feeble: “Thanks. Mrmmfff... for what it's worth.”
Theanim blinked.
“You're welcome,” Rainbow said, plopping down beside the scientist. She smiled in the blanket-lumps direction as the crunches resumed. “For what it's worth.” She looked aside at Theanim. “So, Doc...” She reached into the fruit bowl and tossed a treat into his grasp. “...is that a kumquat in your hooves or are you just happy to see me?”
“Is this your attempt at humor?”
“No, but an incredible simulation!” Rainbow grinned wide.
Theanim sighed, peeling the fruit's skin off with a thin gaze. “This is going to be a long trip...”
Well folks, I do believe we may have just found out which of the remaining points that Applejack's gonna be at.
what?
6249443 Sealed in the largest apple there no doubt.
---------------------------------------------
Seafood is nice.. I haven't had any for a month and the last batch was just calimari.No splatoon jokes, they're getting old.
Now I want some prawns, thanks Dash.
-Memories given light, ease a lonely flight. Ynanhluutr.
Didn't figure a batpony would go for mudbugs. Headcanon accepted.
Triple chapters! Wheee.
...If chicken strips, steak, and bacon didn't taste so damn good, I'd be a vegetarian.
At this point I think IC could make anything heart-meltingly cute.
Filler chapter done right. Sometimes, it's good to not have anything major happening and just let the chemistry between the characters take place.
Its nice to see Rainbow just relax and screw around with a bunch of ponies. I liked this chapter quite a bit.
If Dash winces at the Apple Rat, how much will Applejack wince at Apple Rats?
Echo truly is the worst Shadowrunner ever. Think about it.
Heh. He batted. Get it? Get it?
Aww, the mention of hammocks just made me miss her old friends.
Not her old old friends, but her old new friends. Rip.
Daww such a cutie pouty fuzzball bat.
Well. I didn't think you could grotesquely murder an apple, but WC hast proven me wrong again.
Also, in regards to Echo, how can a sniffle be fuzzy?
Griffons evolved side by side with ponies, sharing natural resources without competing. The ponies would eat the pulp of the apple, and the griffons the core. Griffons would later cough the seeds with their pellets, thus spreading them long distances.
For all the ass-kicking and interspecies kiss of life-ing earlier, and say the last pair of chapters have been the most satisfying to read since I caught up. A little reminiscing and mulling over new-found knowledge, more glorious Robhredden engineering, ghost power envy and the Element of
LoyaltyComedy pretty much prepping the gang for pink party pone. But most importantly...May the calm seas last (for all but 3 more chapters).
Rule one about Austraeoh, do not talk about hammocks
Rule two about Austraeoh, DO NOT TALK about hammocks
...hopefully.
Finally! Good to be back after falling way behind and a very nice filler chapter to end on for the moment.
6250707 .....And thats how Pinkie Pie got her Cutie Mark. Maybe one day she can tell you the story of how Equestria was made!
6250789
6245009 A week, including a weekend where I had no access to electronics. Remove that, and you get 5 days.
Savor the calm while its lasts Theanim. These nice, peaceful moments are worth more than all the platinum bars in the Syndicate vaults combined.
6248071
Or maybe this.
6249590
Prawns? I want crab!
And besides, she won't be in an apple. She'll be in the largest tree there, which will probably be the size of a mountain.
6252305 lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BmcmLrQjEHw/VbaOG3XWf0I/AAAAAAACNU4/GjEWYROAaSA/s650/InsidetheapplebyThe1Xeno1547890801.png
6250077
I want fan-art.
What? Is this ship too posh for grilled cheese?
Gotta say, I'm not seeing how people are finding Echo cute. He's kind of a dick.
I really like these more relaxed chapters. Nothing is waiting just on the horizon, everyone has a chance to unwind. Now all we're missing is a beach episode!
Hm. Apples being involved without Rainbow Dash grimacing. Improvement.
On a completely unrelated side note, it has now been exactly one year since my character's debut. Time flies.
6253282
Good point. I wonder where the Shard of Verlaxion would be?
I suppose it was about time for a bit of a relaxing point in the story... God dammit Echo, can you stop being a grumpy butt for just a second?
Hammock talk is between Roarke and her legs.
I forgot why we don't talk about the hammocks.
-Spirit (Yeast and Treacle)
That was painful.
The rest of the chapter was enjoyable and amusing, but that part was like a punch straight to the gut.
Maybe Echo will hug stop being a grump after some lightening up. Soon, he'll be hugging everyone!
. . . Yeah, probably not.
6268941 I assume its because she misses the Jury and Roarke
6249590 Are you a squid or a kid?
We don't talk about the hammocks.
6295835 light has adverse effects on batponies.
Apples have been found on every continent thus far. I feel like this detail must be relevant in some way.
Ya
[talking to a singular person rather than plural.]
________________
I'm sad that this AU's Equestrian ponies aren't as awesome as cannons when it comes to meat. At least seafood. They're missing out on some good stuff.
6869961 same thing with bits. Np matter the culture, no matter the location, they aaallll use bits.....what gives?
Kera is part bat pony. It is canon.
Ok Dash.
U don't peel a kumquat
Man...I've never seen a scene so visceral concerning fruits.
Now i know how one goes about murdering and apple...
what sorcery is this!?
A bat that doesn't like fruit! Let alone peaches!?
Preposterous!!!
Hammocks are sacred, good sir!