//------------------------------// // AMA Special: You Have Mail // Story: Misty Morals // by Dragonfire2lm //------------------------------// Mist found herself in the airship's archive room, seated at one of the tables alongside Reginald and the Right Hand Man... and a member of the clan she didn't recognize. This fourth Toppat was a young woman in a black T-shirt, gray plaid shorts, and her long orange hair tied back. Her hat was a simple black top hat decorated with blue flowers that resembled lillies. "Hi, I'm the god of this world, call me Demi," the woman shrugged and with a wave of her hand, a small pile of letters appeared. "You guys have a wonderful handful of people that are invested in your adventures, and I thought it'd be fun to allow them to ask you stuff, within reason of course." "That was scheduled for today?" Reginald asked. "I thought you were putting that on hold?" Demi looked unconcerned. "I managed to get enough people interested to move it forward, not like I have anything else to do." Right glanced over at his boss. "You know her?" "Hm? Oh, yes. Demi here is an unofficial member of sorts, just showed up with the paperwork one day, said she was a fan of mine and promised to drop in with requests of some kind." "An' you agreed." Right said, mildly unimpressed. "I didn't see the harm in it, she even filled out the forms correctly." Reginald replied. "So, we're in a unspecified point in time, and we'll be returned to where we were last after we answer questions?" Mist asked, for clarification. Demi nodded. "Yup. Any personal information shared will be retained as your memories will just be altered to remove anything about me or being here to answer questions," she pointed at the letters and they rearranged themselves into neat piles in front of each of them. "Shall we get started? Camera's rolling." Reginald nodded and opened his first letter. "To Reggie-" Mist and Right shared a smirk at the nickname. Reginald rolled his eyes and continued reading. "-Who is the Toppat Clan's Milliner? The Airship Division relies on Slice to make and repair our hats, he enjoys the work." "Every division has a milliner, keeps things organized," Right added. "We sometimes order hats in bulk if we get an influx of new recruits, an' have the milliners modify 'em." "Well, it's just the airship division now, I believe Slice was working on Dave's hat last I checked..." Reginald mused. Demi read the next question. "This is for all three of you, Any regrets from the past?" Right pulled his hat down to hide his face, quiet. It was Reginald who spoke for him. "My Right Hand Man and I only have one regret, that it took us as long as it did to seize control of the clan from the previous leader," a shadow passed over him. "We lost far too many good people before Terrence was overthrown." The group was silent for several minutes. It was Mist who broke that silence. "... I'm not sure if this counts but, I wish I hadn't let my family walk all over me and treat me the way they did, I wish I was strong enough to leave them earlier in life instead of waiting until I was of age. Anyway, who's next?" Right picked up a letter. "Looks this one's for both of us Reg, wantin' to know how we stole the ruby, an' whether we 'ad plans to steal the Tunisian Diamond an' Norwegian Emerald." "The Ruby? Well, the Romanian Ruby is a trophy from the very first heist I spearheaded after becoming the leader of the clan several years ago!" Reginald proudly explained. "We had no casualties and the various other museum pieces we stole that night got us enough money to get the clan where we are today! I did make plans for one our members to steal the diamond, but someone else beat us to it!" "We were still tracking down the emerald's location before we got sent 'ere." Right added. "That's where the ruby came from? That's impressive," Mist commented as she opened a letter from her pile. As she read it, her face fell. "What." "Read it out please." Demi instructed. Mist sighed as the other two Toppat's looked over at her quizzically. "Would you ever consider dating Reginald or Right Hand Man?" Reginald spluttered, embarrassed. "That is highly inappropriate!" Right just remained as calm as ever. Mist was conflicted. "How do I word this... Okay, okay. The norm is you find someone attractive right? So, you date to get to know them and test compatibility. I don't work like that, the mere thought dating them just because is so unappealing and unfathomable to me I'd rather avoid that topic entirely," she ranted calmly. "I don't know either of them well enough to be comfortable with the idea of pursuing a romantic relationship. And besides, I'm demisexual, I doubt what I want out of a relationship matches up with modern Equestrian dating practices anyway, let alone human ones." "Would you though, if you got to know one of us?" Right asked. Reginald was too embarrassed to intervene, blushing as Mist actually appeared to be thinking it over. "I mean, I literally do not feel sexual attraction, but I can appreciate aesthetics and I find you two objectively handsome," Mist replied. "Honestly? If you or Reginald were interested in me after getting to know me, and we sat down and talked things out like adults... I wouldn't be opposed to the idea... As long as our friendship and stuff comes first, you know?" Right nodded in understanding. "Fair 'nough." "Moving on, another one for Right and Reginald," Demi said as Right leaned over to pat Reginald on the shoulder to calm him down. "What are your thoughts on how Mist dealt with Sunset Shimmer? Do you think she should have cut off her horn and be done with her?" "Would've shot her myself if I 'ad the chance," Right stated gruffly, arms crossed. "Wasn' my call though, it was Mist's." Reginald cleared his throat. "Y-yes, Mist performed admirably in my opinion. I wouldn't have been as merciful were I in Mist's position at the time." Right glanced down at two letters, chuckling. "Reg, got a couple 'ere askin' when you made the Toppat Clan." Reginald chuckled good-naturedly. "I didn't make or even found the clan. I was born into it. My parents were Toppats, as were my grandparents. The Toppat Clan has been around for centuries, it may have had it's ups and downs but it has been in operation well before my time." Right hummed in agreement as checked one of the letters. "...Blimey 'ow old do some of these people think the clan is?" he shook his head. "Look, I joined the clan when Reg's folks scouted me when I was sixteen, got caught hunting rabbits on their property, a vacation home in Queensland. Saw I was good with a gun an' offered me a job." "You hunt?" Mist asked. Right nodded. "For food mostly, do a bit of fishing too." "Neat," Mist commented and opened a letter. "Mist, what exactly can you do with pegasus magic? I presume they mean sky casting? I can control wind currents, air temperature, air moisture, cloud formation and with enough magic create and control weather phenomena. I can also change how my body interacts with light to reflect, refract, and solidify magic present in sunlight. Oh, and I can make rainbows." Mist sighed, resigned. "The physical limitations from my wheat intolerance means I can only use the less strenuous techniques, like bending light or controlling wind currents. Anything larger or more complex is no longer feasible." "Watching you turn invisible for the first time was quite a surprise," Reginald said as he opened a letter. "Do you have people do research? If so, on what?" the Toppat Chief looked troubled. "We used to, unfortunately our Research and Development Division were one of the branches of clan we left behind when the airship crashed. The Airship Division is the clan's assualt force, the one's out performing heists and general missions in the field." Reginald composed himself. "Apologies, next is What is the Toppat Moral Code?" Right smirked as Reginald practically beamed after reading the question. The Chief sat up a little straighter in his seat. "The Toppat Clan does not harm innocents, endanger the lives of themselves or their fellow clanmates. Never steals from the less fortunate, from religious sites, indigenous populations, other Toppats, or children. We as an organisation pilfer from government institutions, private collections, and public spaces." Reginald paused as he saw Right smirking at him. "Yes well, that's just a rough overview of what the clan stands for...The letter also asked if humans are in danger? I'm not sure what they mean, but, medically speaking no. Thomas has certification as a general practioner, studying medicine is one of his hobbies and what he can't fix, The Witch usually can with her skills in herbalism." Reginald looked over at Mist. "Did you translate that Equestrian Herbology encyclopedia yet?" "Almost done, it's a pretty big book." Mist replied. The letter she opened was thicker than the others, containing several pieces of paper. "Wow that's a lot of questions...Hey Demi, What's the Henry Stickmin Collection and why do we have to play it?" "A video game," Demi replied as a laptop materialized into existence on the table. "Why don't we get that out of the way first? I'll only include the highlights in the final edit." "This is really fun," Mist said as the credits for the Intruder on a Scooter ending played on screen. "That's Stealing the Diamond complete, I wonder what-" Mist's voice died in her throat as she selected the next game in the series and was greeted with the sight of the Toppat airship. "What? Nooooo..." she said. "Seriously?" "Hey it's you guys!" Mist said as Reginald and Right appeared on screen. Said Toppat's watched the gameplay as Mist progressed. "Welp, R.I.P Right, you got shredded by a chainsaw," Mist commented, her snout wrinkling in disgust moments later. "Eugh that'd be horrible." "That is so cool!" Mist said excitedly. "Game Right is a cyborg! That. Is. Awesome!" Reginald and Right were passing the time with a card game, the novelty of the video game having worn off some time ago. The two of them were smiling at Mist's enthusiasm though. "That music is pretty," Mist stated. "I mean the ending is sad with Henry dead and all, but it's interesting." "What-no, no. Charles, what are you doing? No, no-" Mist stared in quiet disbelief at the screen. Right glanced over at her. "You alright?" "That's not fair." she replied. "So, you have no trouble seeing us die..." Reginald pointed out dryly. "You're both here and perfectly fine," Mist countered. "Charles was my third favorite character." "Who's your favorite?" Right asked. "You," Mist answered easily. "Reginald is second." Reginald smirked. "Well I'll graciously accept second best when compared to my Right Hand Man." "Shut it, Reg." Right grumbled. With the game finished, Demi removed the laptop, and grabbed the questions from earlier. "To save some time, I'll paraphrase. Mist, if your life functioned like the choices in the Henry Stickmin Collection, what would you do?" "Whatever the rut I did to get here," Mist said honestly. "Joining the clan was the best thing to happen to me since Gabriel took me in." "Dunno what else I was expecting but, To Right Hand Man and Reginald: What is your opinion of the fact that by definition, Mist's special talent is illegal?" "Why is it illegal?" Reginald asked Mist curiously. "Because laws surrounding weather management are built around modern teachings and associated talents. Sky Casters are like pegasi mages, but the practice was... forgotten, newer methods became popular once Equestria was founded, and as society progressed it faded from memory and was deemed unnatural and therefore, forbidden magic. Since it's forbidden magic, I don't have the legal right to use it." Mist explained. Reginald looked confused. "But... You're living proof it isn't unnatural!" Mist scoffed. "Officially, my special talent is light manipulation, but that's just what was put on paper when I first got my cutie mark because I made a rainbow out of a patch of sunlight and a water sprinkler as a kid. I figured out more as I got older." "Your talent bein' illegal is a load of bullshit." Right said. "I agree, utterly barbaric." Reginald added. Mist shrugged. "That's Equestria for you, conform or be ignored by society." "Oh, a question for me," Demi said. "Does the EQG mirror portal exist in this world?, I don't know, haven't decided yet to be honest-" Demi grinned. "Mist as an EQG human eh? Hey Mist, wanna be a human for a bit?" "Uh, sure?" the mare replied. With a snap of her fingers, Demi had turned Mist Veil into a human woman whose skin colour matched her fur and retained the mare's mane, eyes and of course, het Bluebird outfit and top hat. The now human Mist flexed a gloved hand and adjusted her glasses. "...This is fascinating, neat," she looked over at the god. "You'll turn me back to normal soon, yeah?" "At the end of our little Q&A," Demi replied."Now, another one for me, Why are guns ineffective against ponies? Non enchanted weaponry must get through a pony's innate magical field, which is what protects them and allows for cartoon logic levels of slapstick comedy and injury. Of course even without magic the logic still applies to a degree, you won't see any blood or gore in this world, but magical beings can only be harmed by magical weapons. This puts non magical races at a disadvantage in a straight fight, but to counter this, non magical races are resistant to magic, even kinds dangerous to ponies." "That was quite interesting," Reginald said as he opened a letter. "Where did you get the Biggol Sword? Oh, that old thing? It was a commissioned piece by a world renowned blacksmith. Used to be Slice's go-to weapon before he quit fieldwork and took a desk job." There was only one letter left, Right read it out. "For all of us, Why would you shoot a man before throwin' him out of the airship? So he'll be dead either way, won't he?" "Absolutely, you can't be too careful with that." Reginald agreed. "I wouldn't even throw anyone off, or shoot them." Mist added. Demi stretched "Well, that's it," with a wave of her hand, the letters were gone, and Mist was a pony once more. "Might do this again in the future, depends if people liked it. Got any closing remarks before I send you back?" Right shrugged. "Stay in school, don' do drugs." Reginald chuckled at Right's antics. "I'd like to say that as strange as this was, I sincerely hope that you all liked our responses," his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "If we do this again, can you all please stick to more appropriate lines of questions?" "Sir, if anything, I should be the one embarrassed about that," Mist spoke up, looking nervous. "...Demisexuality and dating aren't things I've been able to talk about openly before..." "Regardless, that line of questioning is unprofessional," Reginald replied and sighed. "However, I suppose I can allow similar questions in the future as long as they remain civil and tame." "I do read these beforehand you know," Demi stated casually. "Mist, any final words?" "... I had fun, and I'm honestly surprised people are interested in us, I'm just a rundown doormat of a mare just trying to keep going despite everything thrown at me. So, thank you to everyone that sent us questions." Mist said. With a lazy flick of her wrist, Demi returned The Toppat Trio to the proper point in the story. The deity smiled, looking beyond the room towards somewhere else. "That was great, I'm glad I got this to work. If you all like it I'll do another one of these ask style chapters in the future."