1758168

((This requires your attention at your next earliest convenience, Sir.))

1765119>>1761275>>1758168

Driz's ear pricked. "That sounded like...like that seapony Terra we met earlier." Slowly her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh Celestia...she was with Ginger!" Convinced that her nightmare vision was about to become reality, the mare swam-ran forward, legs and wings working together as a now fluent team to go to the source of the screams.

Not sure if the seaponies were still behind her or not, Driz bit her lip and entered the hall...

...to see absolute chaos.

There was Terra, causing massive rocks to spurt out of the ground and causing the floor to tremble, while Torch anxiously tried to get away from his sister's wrath. A few other elders stood against the wall, Pearl among them. Driz grit her teeth, trying to hold back her rage at the smug Shifter...

...until she noticed Ginger collapsed on the ground, not moving. Was he sleeping, or was he d-dead? She couldn't even tell from here.

There was one pony, however, who she did wish to talk to. To find out about everything.

To find out if he was dead, so that she wouldn't have to face it herself.

Eyes filled with rage, Driz turned and stormed towards Pearl Shores, the angry expression on her face giving her whole purpose for speaking to her away. "You," she snapped, violet eyes narrowing. "What happened here? I want answers. NOW."

1765153>>1758168>>1765119

"AFTER I GO THROUGH THE TROUBLE OF SAVING YOUR ASS EARLIER!! I FIND OUT YOU BEEN DOING THAT BEHIND MY BACK!!"

"Please Terra! I don't know what you are talking about!" Terra obviously wasn't listening as she continued to bombard him.

By the jar, Pearl dropped her disguise as she prepared to take the prize out from under all their noses.

Oh if I only knew, I could be like Daring Doo.
Yeah, we all like to play pretend when we are trying to snag some magic pickle jar. But now is really not the time for it.

"You," They heard from nearby. They turned their head to see Driz approaching. "What happened here? I want answers. NOW."

Bucking Damn it! Why is she here?!
Maybe she found your corpse on the ground, then the siblings clashing brought her around.
Well Buck! Here, give me control for a moment.

Without waiting for Pearls consent, Theo immediately took over. He brought a hoof quickly up to Driz's forehead, causing her to freeze on contact. He didn't invade her mind. Even if he wanted to, he didn't know how.

He quietly spoke through his teeth. "Driz! Get out of here now! It's not safe!"

Unfortunately, his charade seemed a tad odd to Miss Song, who was now approaching the two.

Oh great! Now we are dead. You are suppose to roll your eyes to the back of your head!

1767096>>1765153>>1758168

"You," The mare began, looking from Driz to Theo/Pearl and back again, "You're not Pearl, are you? Y'know what? Don't answer that." Before either of the mares can react she separates the two, moving the halfling away from the pegasus and holding her by the shoulders. "I'll find out for myself," She then shifts her attention fully to Driz. "Drizzle Quill, is it? Brave of you to come back here with Terra on the rampage. Unfortunatley I'm going to have to ask for you to leave, important things are going on here and your presence may endager our progress. Not to mention your life."

She then glances over to where Sea Bound, Spiral Shell, and Razor all stand, beside the exit. "Take your friends and leave. I will not ask again."

Without waiting for a reply, she hoists Pearl/Theo off the floor and slams her into a nearby statue. "As for you, whoever you are, you're going to tell me everything. Without even opening your mouth." To accentuate the point she presses one of her hooves to their forehead and dives in, sending a stab of pain through both of their minds.

Well now, this is interesting.

1768181>>1765153>>1758168

You were right to show caution elder dear. For there is another mind occupying here.
But where does her mind end and mine begin? Will you find the answer looking within?
You did always have trouble reading my mind.
And now you deal with two different kinds.
The crazy Pearl.
The destructive Theo.
Separate we are weak.
Together we grow.
You know elder, we had a deal. You stay out of my head, and I would kneel.
But it seems the rules have changed, since our minds got rearranged.
Since we spoke all that needed to be said. Get!
The Buck!

OUT OF OUR HEAD!!
OUT OF OUR HEAD!!

The elder felt an electric shock pass though her body and fell to the ground.

Sorry about that. I had to use part of your nervous system in order to deliver that shock.
Don't worry, it's all okay. I hated that bitch anyways. We better get out of here now, before she gets up and has a cow.
Not without this.

They grab the jar and then proceed to rush towards Ginger. Theo gave Pearl full mobility again in the process.

1769110>>1768181

Driz had opened her mouth, about to say no, she would not leave until she got answers, when sudden the elder seapony collapsed to the ground. Had she simply fainted? Was she...dead? The mare contemplated checking, but decided against it as she noticed Pearl grabbing a stray pickle jar on the ground and rushing towards Ginger's body...

Celestia, no.

What would that bitch do to the currently unmoving Theo? Something was different about her, Driz could tell by the way she had used her nickname and had seemed to want her to get away from the place. But there was no time to figure out what had happened; if Pearl was just bipolar, Driz was fine with that explanation.

Spreading her light blue wings, she took off at top speed once again. Celestia knows how she hadn't tuckered out by then, with all this underwater sprinting she had been doing, but she seemed to be powered on by an invisible boost of stamina.

"HEY!" she screeched in Pearl/Theo's direction, right before the Shifter was about to lean down next to Ginger. "STOP IT RIGHT THERE!"

As Pearl looked up, startled, Driz pulled up in front of her, violet eyes like twin balls of fire.

"Get the hell away from him, you little -"

She cut off when she saw that Ginger was still breathing, let out a cry of relief, and then turned back to the mare, teeth bared and wings flared at her side. "Alright. Where was I?"

1769824>>1769110

"You were just telling them off, if I remember right."

Tempest was floating a fair distance over their heads, looking at Pearl with intrigue in her green eyes. "Though I don't really know why, they happen to be on your side. At least, that's what it seems to me."

The seapony swims a little closer, narrowing her eyes.

"Meaning you're a traitor now, Pearl. I don't know what that Theo character did to you, or how he wound up in your head, but that doesn't matter right now. We need the filly for the Father's return, and you're attempting to steal her. For your crimes against Him, you shall be disposed of." She glances over at Driz, eyes starting to glow ominously "You'd best move away from her, pegasus, least I destroy you as well."

1771526>>1769824

Driz backed away towards the doorway as she was told and the elder approached, her eyes glowing. Pearl closed her eyes and bowed her head towards her superior. She slowly held a hoof up to the elder.

"Please, before you do the deed, I have something to say." Miss Song momentarily stopped her approach so that she may hear the morphers final words. Pearl responded by quickly lifting her head and applying her trademark mischievous grin. "Keep Away!"

She tossed the jar towards the unsuspecting Driz, the elder's head and eyes followed it along it's course towards the pegasi. With her gaze momentarily away from Pearl, the mare took the opportunity to strike. Quickly, she turned around and added gratuitous amounts of mass to the muscles in her hind legs. With one swift kick to the jaw, she sent the elder flying into the opposite wall.

This seemed to grab the attention of every other pony in the room, save Terra who was still seeing red.

Wow, nice buck.
And how. We should probably leave now.
Why is that? You took care of her pretty easily.
You don't seem to realize this. Everypony else is probably pissed.

"Pearl is a traitor!" An elder shouted.

"As much as I'd like to stay here and dish, I have to go." She hoisted Ginger on her back and started running to the doorway Driz was occupying. "Also, elder Sands cheats at Go Fish!" She shouted back at them.

"I KNEW IT!!"

1772640>>1771526

That wasn't Pearl.

Whatever pony that was that had just tossed her the pickle jar and was now running towards her with an unconscious Ginger laid across her back, that wasn't the rude, selfish, practically evil seapony mare that had read her mind earlier. And now she had the feeling that she was holding something very, very important.

"I KNEW IT!" yelled one of the elder seaponies in the room, after Pearl had shouted something incoherent to Driz at him. Quickly she securely fastened the pickle jar under her wing and began to swim/sprint as quick as she could manage...

...which wasn't very fast at all.

Considering she had just sprinted/swam at top speeds all over the now-demolished Elder's Hall, the long boost of stamina Driz had been moving off of was finally gone. Her movements were slow and jerky, not quick and sleek like she wanted. And she needed to get away fast.

Pearl wouldn't be able to carry the jar with Ginger on her back. Zeke and Screwball...where were they anyways? It didn't matter. Now the elders were heading towards her, eyes on the pickle jar, and she couldn't use the speed she needed to get away.

The speed.

"Razor!" she screeched, whipping around and removing the jar from under her wing. With a wild toss, she chucked the pickle jar at the unsuspecting seapony watching the whole thing. "Take it and go!"

1774168>>1772640

Razor caught the jar and looked down at it, then back to Driz. "Why? It's just a-"

He was cut off as Spiral knocked him upside the head, "Who cares why, whatever it is, it's important! Don't let the Elders get it!"

"Keep it from the E-"

This time Bound hit him, "Yes, keep it from them! Whatever's going on is bigger than us, Razor! History in the making!"

That seemed to get a positive response from him, "Well alright then!" He'd always wanted to go down in history somehow, might as well be for doing something he was good at. The halfling snapped a salute at Driz, "Meet me on the island, then!"

WHOOSH!

And then he was gone, having taken off at speeds Rainbow Dash herself would've been impressed of.

Meanwhile, Tempest Song was just now picking herself up off the floor, looking livid. "When I get my hooves on them... Oh-hoho..... They're going to-" She was interrupted as Slip nudged her shoulder. "WHAT?!"

The halfing, unphased by her anger, points to the runic spell seal on the floor, which was glowing brightly. How the other elders had not noticed this... Probably had something to do with them chasing after Psudo-Pearl and her group. Unfortunate they weren't able to make much progress as Torch had decided to try and follow the fugitives to get away from the still raging Terra.

1774376>>1774168>>1758168

The group ran/swam down the hallway towards the main chamber. Pearl/Theo was at the back of the pack.

Hey Pearl. Can you still morph while I'm in control?
I think I can. Do you have a plan?
Oh yeah, and I'm gonna need a lot of upper body strength to do it.

Pearl smiled wider at this.

Oh, this should be fun. How far do you want me to run?"
Just get me to my hammer.

Pearl did as she was told and swam ahead towards Theo's hammer. Theo immediately took over and grabbed the weapon. He tossed Ginger's body to Bound and Spiral and called out to them. "Get out of here now!" Without waiting for their response, he brought the hammer above his head.

Alright Pearl! Give it everything you've got!
I'll give it a shot!

Pearl's entire upper body changed to resemble something resembling the pony Snowflake.

Care to do the honors Pearl?
I think I can give it a whirl.

Their pursuers stopped at the entrance to see her standing there with the hammer. Several panicked and turned around to see the still rampaging Terra behind them.

"This is what you get for pursuing!" She called out to them. "MAY THE MIGHT OF THOR BE YOUR UNDOING!!" She then smashed the hammer to the ground with enough force to create a crater, without any electricity being emitted. The resulting blast ruined what little structural support the building had, causing it to start collapsing. Bits of building fell in front of the hallway.

Pearls body reverted back to normal and Theo retook control. He tossed his horribly bent and mangled hammer to the side grabbed his corpse. He then started making his way out of the collapsing building.

I would love to see the face of Miss Song. Also did you have to bring that along.
I think I deserve a proper burial.

1774967>>1774168>>1758168

Miss Song's face, however, wasn't the furious one that Pearl had been imagining. She didn't even look upset. No, she was grinning ear to ear, on the verge of laughing manically and finding a cat to stroke as she did so. Without a second thought to what the other elders were doing she summoned them back to her side with a flick of her hoof. Said elders were startled by the change in their location, but were soon relieved to find that this room was in no danger of collapsing: Too far underground, and too infused with energy.

"It is time," The mare cackled, gesturing down at the spell seal on the floor, "After waiting so long, the moment is finally at hoof..." She looks up from the glowing runes, turning to the remaining two elites and the Elders of the seaponies and taking command, "Finish the preparations! Before night falls, our Father lives once more!"

(SFX: DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUUN!!)

***

Though it took quite a while, but the motley crew of ponies from various walks of life eventually pulled themselves ashore. It had been a hard trip, having to push through the crowd that had assembled outside of the Elder's hall and then subsequently loose said crowd after the building began to visibly collapse from the outside, then having to swim back to the cove that Pearl had found Slip and Blink in earlier (because it was safer there than in the city, of course) but they made it nonetheless.

Razor was waiting for them there, this cove having been a favorite hiding spot for his entire school whenever they wanted to be somewhere dry-ish and alone, and had taken the liberty of heading into town and gathering some things to make their stay a little more enjoyable: namely food, fresh water (for the surface dwellers) and blankets to sleep on/under. Seems he had a feeling that things weren't going to be all sunshine and rainbows after everything had been said and done.

Ginger, for his part, was still passed out. When the group had tried to pull him out of the water he had begun coughing and sputtering profusely, almost as if water was air and air was water to him, but refused to wake up in spite of this. As nopony knew just what Tempest had done to him, the general consensus was to simply leave him submerged nearby.

Meanwhile, the jar containing Screwball and Zeke had gone unopened. Not that nopony had tried to do so, its just that the damn thing's wouldn't seem to budge no matter how hard anypony tried... Maybe Tempest did something to prevent its opening?

Inside the jar, Screwy wasn't doing too well. At some point during the journey gravity had decided it was going to be bucked up and throw them around every which way, and the filly had hit her head in the confusion. Currently, she was unconscious and not responding to Zeke's attempts to wake her, but her heart-rate and breathing were still normal, so there was a silver lining to the cloud.

1775617>>1774967

Driz panted a little bit, shaking out her wings and wringing out her feathers as to cleanse them of the water. "So," she gasped, chest heaving in and out as she looked at Pearl/Theo and narrowing her eyes. "What in Celestia's name is going on with...pant pant...you? Are you like, bipolar or something? And why did you have to bring Theo's body along? And what's wrong with Ginger? And what's so important about that pickle jar? And -"

She cut off when she saw the others, minus Bound, glaring at her. Driz sighed and hung her head. They didn't understand that when you were a natural writer, you had to know every answer to every possible question.

"I guess what I mean to say is What in Celestia's name just happened?"

1775658>>1775617>>1758168

Do you think telling her will drive her insane?
Not as much as a spider in her mane.
Ooh. Here's a stretch. Let's go kill every vile wretch.
Oh, try this on for size. Let's kill the wretches in a spider disguise. Then she will be scared and... Wait! What am I saying?! I don't want to scare Driz!

Theo took control and tried to shake the idea out of his head. He then gave Driz his full attention.

"Okay, questions answered in order. I'm not bipolar, I am Theo. I got stuck in her body when I tried to repel her out of my mind. We are both currently sharing the same brain."

He's taking my body for a whirl.

"Shut up Pearl. Anyways, continuing. I brought my body back because I think it should at least be buried somewhere. I don't know what's wrong with Ginger. And finally, Screwball is trapped in that jar there."

1775840>>1775617

Driz's eyes went wide. "You're...you're..." she sputtered, like a broken record player. Looking back and forth from the body to the Shifter she simply stared, slack-jawed. What the hell? They're sharing the same brain? This is crazy! This is surreal! This is...

...GENIUS!

"How did it happen?" she asked right away, tone of voice suddenly light and cheery; she zipped up to Theo/Pearl, barely a foot away, with eyes flashing with excitement. "What's it like, sharing brains? How do you control her body, and will you ever be able to get yours back?"

The endless ramble of the writer's questions go on and on and on...the joys of having an enthusiastic writer in the group. What a joy for the momentarily stunned Theo. It seemed that in her confusion she hadn't heard the final part, about Screwball being stuck in the jar.

1775884>>1775617

Theo frowned a bit. "I can't help but notice that you never gave me this much attention when I was in my old body. So I have to ask; What the hay?!"

Don't feel bad Theo. Maybe she's gay. Now you're a mare that's beautiful and tall.

"Pearl, I don't think that's it at all." Theo sighed. "Alright, pause the questioning for a moment, and I'll answer them. First, I got stuck in here because she tried to invade my mind the same way she did yours. Using the power of the storm, I used the electricity from my own brain and nervous system to kick her out. Unfortunately, my mind got taken along for the ride." He took a moment to take a breath. "Sharing brains isn't too bad. Most of that escape plan we had was Pearl's idea, so I'm actually pretty thankful she was here."

It helps when you don't act like a puppeteer. I saved all your flanks Theo.

"Yes Pearl I know." He focused on Driz again. "Sorry about that. This crazy mare is very talkative. Anyways, I control her body by controlling the electrical impulses going from her brain to her body. Although I do let her take control at times. Finally, I don't know if I can get back in my old body. It's kinda dead and has been sitting underwater."

1778612>>1775617

Driz recoiled, blushing a little and backing up. "Sorry...I just assumed...oh, never mind. It's a writer thing," she explained, wings ruffling a little bit at her sides. "I just thought that the idea of two ponies, working together in the same mind, moving the same body and sharing the same thoughts..." One could practically see the sparkles in her violet eyes. "What a thrilling topic for writers, you know?" She nodded at Bound before continuing.

"Anyways, so she was inside your mind, when you used your nervous system and the storm to force her out of your body and accidentally into hers, which is really pretty cool because otherwise, you would have died..."

The realization hit Driz like a lightning bolt.

He wasn't dead.

Those tears she had spent by his body had been for nothing. Honestly, she should probably be really, really pissed at him, for making her think that she had lost him. But instead, Driz took a deep breath, and turned back, a now completely unrealistic smile on her face.

"...that's pretty amazing," she finished up, teeth grit in anger.

1779611>>1775617

Driz's reaction didn't go unnoticed by the stormer.

Geez, what's her deal? Maybe I should read her mind to see how she feels.
Now's not the time for that Theo.
Yeah, I suppose you are... Wait a minute! Did you just not rhyme?!
You're right, that is odd behavior for me. Does it have to do with our living arrangements maybe? You've been rhyming more often as well. Could you not tell?

Theo started to inwardly panic. This was all obviously not a good sign for either him or his brain buddy.

"We gotta get that jar open!" He shouted as he yanked the artifact out of Razor's hooves. He tried his best to muscle it open to no avail. "Pearl! Can I get some muscle here?!" The morpher complied and added to their build. Although this seemed to have no more effect than before. "Damn it! What's keeping this thing on?!"

1779611>>1780893

Razor merely shrugged, "I spent a good half-hour trying to open it before you guys showed up. What's in there, anyway?"

Bound eyed the jar uncertainly, "The elders were saying something about a filly before..."

Spiral looked up from where she was poking Ginger absently, "Filly...? Driz," She looked over at her pegasus crush, "Do...... Do you know where Screwball went?"

1781146>>1780893

"Where Screwball went?" Driz repeated blankly, eyes going wide as she looked at the pickle jar. All of a sudden it seemed familiar: that was when it hit her. The museum.

"Pe - Theo?" she asked cautiously, catching her mistake at the last second and slowly advancing towards the jar. "Please don't tell me that what I think happened happened..."

1789353>>1781146

While still wrestling with the lid, Theo responded. "Ginger said earlier that he had his suspicions about the jar and Screwball." He finally gave up and dropped the jar in the sand. "Damn it! This isn't working at all! The glass doesn't even want to break." He turned to look at the still unconscious pegasus. "Ginger, are you awake?!" Ginger's lack of response answered his question. Theo brought Pearl's hooves to his temples. "All of this is giving me head pain. Pearl, can you please explain."

Theo let Pearl take over her body again. "Basically to make a long story short, the elders wish to revive the All Father in hopes that he will once again lead us to prosperity like he did in the days of old. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is to take the power from the god of Chaos's spawn. Which I'm guessing is the brat in the jar. Personally, I like my carefree lifestyle and would rather not see it ruined when he returns. Also, I don't care much for Miss Song."

1790267>>1789353

(Sorry for the week of inactivity on here guys, I was attempting to give my brain a little recharge time in regards to this, as well as poke around a few more story ideas and stuff. The time for rest has passed however, now is when the RP thrives once more! <insert evil laughter here>)

"Wait," Razor raised his hoof, eyes closed as he tried to peice together what Pearl just told them, "You mean to tell us that the All Father was an acual pony, and that the elders are trying to bring him back from the dead?!" He shook his head, "Nope, nu-uh, not happening! That sound like the plot to a bad movie!"

Spiral looked to her brother, looking mildly annoyed, "And? Are you forgetting that with the right spells and enough power just about anything is possible?"

"Well, yeah, but reviving somepony? Really?"
"Stranger things have happened, Curt."
"Don't call me that! It's Razor!"

While the two continued to go back and forth, showing just how normal (and loud) Spiral could be when around somepony she was completely comfortable with, Bound approached Pearl, looking at the mare with a form of awe on her face.

"Y-you knew about this, Pearl? That the elders had something this big planned..?" She cocks her head to the side, "A-and you didn't tell me?" Her eye twitches, "I-I've been looking for something to write for years now, and y-you...." She snorts and turns away starting to talk to herself, "No, Sea, you're not going there, not now. You just need to cool off, let them figure out how to fix this." She takes a deep breath and starts to walk towards the water, intending to swim for a while, "Writing can wait."

1830131>>1789353

So... What's the story between you two? Why doesn't she fear you like others do?
Oh we go along way back. But that's a story for another time. By the way, you are rhyming again.
Bucking damn it! Sigh. Maybe Ginger has some answers to help us. You said earlier that Song or whatever her name was had trouble reading your mind. Does that mean she is less proficient with it than you?
I guess so. She usually uses me for interrogation purposes.
Then maybe Ginger got some information from her while he was being read. If only he would wake up.

Theo pondered his problem for a moment before thinking again.

Perhaps if we tap into his mind, we can either wake him up or at least see what he knows.
Hmm, sounds good to me. I want to know everything he sees.

The two got up and started to approach the unconscious body lying under the surface.

You know, I never noticed before how nice his mane looked.
Oh I know right. It's just as nice as Sea Gem's gorgeous mane.
Hmm. Now I can't decide who's is better. His or... Wait. I thought you hated Gem.
I-Uh-Wait-What? Why the hell am I thinking this?

She reached down and touched Ginger's forehead.

Hey buddy. How are you feeling? Sleeping well? That's good, that's good. But uh, if you could do me a quick favor. Could you please WAKE THE BUCK UP!! Seriously, we have a serious problem here of world shattering proportions! Zeke is missing, Screwball's trapped, Sombra is gonna be reborn, and I am currently having an out of body experience! So you wake the buck up right now or I swear to Celestia, I will pump your body with enough electricity to light up a small apartment complex! You will wish I killed on that beach back then! Now wake the buck up!

1832190>>1789353

Unfortunately for Theo, it sees that Ginger's a little preoccupied at the moment. On the outside, it seems he's sleeping peacefully. Based on the carnage in his mindscape, however, it's a wonder he hasn't awoken from fright.

Fight back all you want, little one, you can't win.

The ground was littered with rubble and debris... And bodies. The gruesome husks of what once were ponies where lying everywhere.... Torn, bloodied and broken... Smashed against the stone of a Manehatten road... Burnt, charred and buried under collapsed buildings... Impaled on freak crystalline spikes... The sheer carnage that was their surroundings was enough to make even the Night-Guard flinch.

And at the center of it all, stood King Sombra, a look of malicious pride on his face as he taunted the ruins nearest to him.

GRAAAAA!

Out of which a gray blur shot out, heading straight for the specter of the resurrected king, whom merely grinned at the oncoming missile. One sudden POP and flash of light later, the blur rebounded abruptly and crashed into a crystal that sprung up in its path for the sole purpose of catching it.

Smirking, Sombra lowered his foreleg and flashed in front of his victim, a completely grayscale version of Gingersnap. The pegasus was bleeding from several giant gashes that probably would have already killed him were this not a dream, covered in grime and sweat, and breathing as if he had flown from Canterlot to the Crystal Empire and back, twice, within the span of an hour.

Cute. The dark stallion childed his broken challenger, Even after all hope is lost, after your friends have fallen and the elements slain, you still fight. He uses his dark magic to lift Ginger from where he's slumped on the ground and force him to look at the convenient collection of bodies nearby, where the remains of those the pegasus care about lie.

Zeke still clutching Screwball, the two of then forever silenced by the crystal rammed through the zebra's back.

Theo half-crushed under stone, hammer still in one hoof and Driz's in the other, the mare sporting a half-removed wing and a broken neck.

A pair of unnamed pegasi burnt beyond recognition lying beside what could barely be identified as what was left of Terra.

And those were just the ones at the forefront.

How does it feel to know you could have saved them, child? To know that their deaths are on your hooves? The dark king chuckles cruelly, You should see the look on your face, the hopelessness in your eyes shining behind that defiant mask. Makes me almost want to keep you alive to see it more.

Behind the Ginger, another formation breaks of the crystal, creating a spike aimed at the base of his skull.

Almost.

1833351>>1789353

This appeared to be the end of our hero. Until a sudden familiar hammer came smashing into the dark lord's side, sending him flying into a nearby building. At the other end of the hammer, was our favorite stormer was standing with an annoyed frown. Next to him was Pearl.

You have some pretty vivid dreams. You know that? He turned his attention to Pearl. Take care of Sombra would you, while I try to snap Ginger out of this.

Without saying a word, the mare smiled and started to rush the slightly dazed unicorn. This left the two pegasi alone to talk. Ginger, we don't have much time to waste. So wake up! He then gave Ginger a slap on the side of the head.

1834660>>1789353

Th-theo? Ginger rubbed a hoof against the side of his head, eyes full of awe, But he- you- you're dead! He points a hoof over to the imagined corpse of the blue pegasus. A corpse that was evaporating before thier verry eyes.

What?

Meanwhile, the false Sombra was just getting to his hooves as Pearl drew nearer, eyes wide shock. What sorcery is this? You were among the first to fall!

1835550>>1789353

Oh please, do you know who you are talking to? She vanished before his eyes and reappeared to give him a swift buck to the face, sending him back into the building again. You think I can die to the likes of you? She said with a giant grin.

Really Ginger? You had me die by being crushed to death? Couldn't you have done something better? Like an explosion, or perhaps getting imprisoned in another dimension, or something. Theo sighed. This isn't important right now. What is important though is getting you to wake up. You are in a dream. Just like I was not to long ago. You broke me free from my fantasy. Now it is my turn to break you free of this nightmare.

Suddenly, Pearl was sent flying by them and landed nearby. She raised herself from the ground. I'm sure you two are having a lovely chat. But could you hurry this up. I'm still dealing with that. She pointed a hoof at the very angry looking unicorn marching towards them.

1835766>>1789353

Dream? Nightmare..? Ginger blinks a few times, the sounds giant gears grinding together filling the area for a brief period before abruptly stopping. That... That explains a lot, actually. Around the group the various bodies began to rapidly evaporate, followed by the ruined terrain itself. This left the three of them standing in on a vast white plane, the false Sombra having been terminated with the rest of the dream.

Huh... Well this is new. The yellow pegasus stands up to take a look around, his color having been fully restored and his wounds healed, One would think that they'd wake when they realize it's all a sham. Maybe I'm in a state of suspended reality or something? Oh! Or I could still be dreaming! He tilts his head to the side, I've never had a lucid dream before. Is that what this is? If so, I'm dissapointed in myself. Figured I'd have a little more vision given the ability to do whatever whenever. He opens his mouth to continue rambling, only to remember that he had visitors.

Oh, uh, whoops? Sorry, got a little side-tracked there... You needed me for something? I'd assume so, given the fact you've invaded my dreamscape, dull though it may be.

1835872>>1789353

Dull is right. But I suppose it beats a fight. Anyways, seeing that we are having trouble waking you, getting info this way will have to do. Theo was about to continue before he remembered something. Wait. Pearl, why do we have to take this course? Can't you get the information by force?

Normally yes. But I'm guessing Miss Song did something to prevent me from doing so. She apparently did a poor job considering we can still talk to him like this. But I guess she didn't think we would snap him out of his vision so easily. So talking with him is our only course of action.

Right. So Ginger, did you see anything from Miss Song? Any thing that seemed really wron- Not right. He caught himself rhyming again. He really wished he would stop doing that.

1836055>>1789353

Unfortunately, Ginger shuddered at the memories she'd rubbed off on him, Mind was buckin' abrasive, too. Nothing like Screwball's... Sorta... He shakes his head before continuing, Firstly... She's an S-class, Theo. Doesn't have the raw power Screwy's got, but a ton more finesse... In most areas, anyway...

An miniature likeness of the Elder manifests in the air before him, rotating slowly.

She's not without weakness, though. Mental probing is difficult for her, as is directly controlling energy or manipulating memories. She'd probably be at a disadvantage if you managed to fight her on land, where you've got the storm on your side. She's also incredibly vain, somepony complimenting her during a lull in battle might by you some time to regroup and plan and shite. She's strictly into other mares, though, so keep that in mind.

Two indistinct mares come into being beside the mini-Tempest Song and begin flirting with her, though nopony can hear what they say. This is soon interrupted by a mini-Theo falling from the sky with his hammer charged past normal capacity, smashing the Elder as she's distracted. Then they all vanish in a puff of smoke.

Next... The ritual...... There's... There's nothing we can do to stop it if they've still got Screwball. Essentially they plan to do what she did before and make a new body, then use some other spells to draw the Father's essence, mind, soul, whatever you wanna call it, into the new shell... The whole process is supposed to take only twelve or so hours, based on what she knows, then it'll take a while before He is up to a fraction of his potential power. They intend to... Ginger swallows before continuing, R-ritual sacrifices to make that go by faster... Then, well...... War. Conquer the surface like they did the sea. F-Father may have other plans though.

1836170>>1789353

Theo raised an eyebrow at the mare comment. Did you know about that? He questioned Pearl.

I knew she hated Elder Sand's advances, but never connected the dots on that one. Never pegged her to be into that.

The two waited quietly for Ginger to finish. Theo was the first to speak up. So we have to deal with another S-class being then. By protocol, I would need to call in a purge strike of the area. That would essentially solve all of our problems. But there are a few issues to address with that. One is that I never obtained a clear lock of her chaotic signature, so the satellite would have to be aimed manually. Next is the fact that the island is still nearby filled with a lot of pedestrians. That is far to many casualties than I would like on my conscience. Third, it would be impossible for me to call in the strike to begin with. Since I'm currently in Pearl's body- Oh by the way, I'm stuck in Pearl's body. I'm now technically dead. Since I'm stuck in her body, the organization would not recognize me as a member, even if I were to disguise myself. They would recognize the difference in our voices. So really, the aspects of calling in the strike is based solely on you. If you were to wake up that is. It looked like Theo was done talking when he recalled something important. Oh, what did you mean by, "Father may have other plans?"

1836332>>1789353

Ginger inhales deeply before continuing (though it's not necessary given their current location) Think about it: Father's already tried a direct assault on the surface. Sure, He had the Crystal Empire under His hoof for a while, but then the Princesses threw Him out and kinda obliterated His mortal coil. Twice. Do you think He'd be stupid enough to try that a third time, even with an army to back Him up?

As he gathers his thoughts on the matter, the scenery changes, slowly fading into a warped version of Cloudsale. Either he's thinking of home, or the seal Tempest placed on his mind is weakening, allowing for open exploration.

No, if I had to guess He'd take what the seaponies have already established to the next level. Try and root them into Equestrian culture after a while, work from the shadows to further His goals. Maybe coordinate with the Changelings or Griffins or somepony else we've got strained relations with. It'd be slower, but if He plays his cards right, forges the necessary alliances and positions assets correctly... I'd wager He'd be able to neutralize all three of the major threats to h\His rule at once: Princesses, Elements and Heart...

A brown pegasus materialists a short distance off, grinning at Ginger proudly, Thata boy.

This causes the three to look up at the newcomer, various degrees of confusion plastered on their faces, Uh... What? Dad? How'd you get in here?

I didn't, just you reassuring yourself, son. The stallion explains cheerily before abruptly turning into a rock and floating up out of sight.

Ginger blinked a few times. Well... That happened. He shakes his head and gets back on track, Anyway... You're dead? Like, your conscious was transferred in Pearl and left your body inanimate? What's it like to be a ma- No, better yet: How did that even happen? And how long ago?

1836450>>1789353

Basically, after I got done wiping the floor with everypony in that room, I fell unconscious. Pearl here seemed to escape death's grip and decided on some payback. And what better way to get payback than to enter my mind and see what haunts me the most.

He has many secrets he would not share. They had to be prided out by this little mare. But apparently, he would have none of that and used his power to kick me out of his head.

But my mind got dragged along for the ride, and my body left for dead. As to the question you were about to ask, it's not so bad being a mare. Have yet the need to use the bathroom, so can't say much on that front.

But I have noticed that he is rhyming more often, and I less.

Yeah, and I don't like it one bit. I'm trying to prevent myself from doing i- that.

1836757>>1789353

Ginger's expression becomes oddly sympathetic at this, Ah... That. Again taking in a deep breath, he makes to explain, Based on personal experience, the longer two minds are in contact the more perminate information and personality quirks are transferred. Not to mention memories. The kicker is, it's not just the type of contact, but how the contact is made.

Screwball literally forced all that she was firmly into my skull to cheat death, resulting in a vastly different sort of assimilation of identity than you're currently facing. I didn't retain any of her personal quirks, but essentially copies all her memories, at least the important ones. Add in the fact she didn't have the time to really restructure my brain before she evacuated and left a link between us (for whatever reason), and I was breaking myself trying to keep myself... Well, myself, really.

You've got a different situation, though: Theo's got control over electrical energy, right? Odds are he used the last bit that had his mind attached to it to throw you out, meaning you're not quite... Eh, constrained to her brain, per-se? Basically, your mind isn't as close to hers, meaning the changes and memory transpher will happen at a drastically slower rate compared to what happened with me and Screwy...... Also, couldn't you just use the current that stores Theo along with some external power to jumpstart his body again? Unicorns sometimes do similar to save heart-attack victims. Might work on him too.

1836866>>1836757

Ginger twitched his hooves, and Driz's eyes lit up.

"Did you see that?" she whispered to Bound, Spiral, and Razor, staring with absolute awe. "Are Theo and Pearl going into his mind? Because he's moving! He's actually moving!" Her wings unfurled and furled back and forth at her side in pure excitement; she even fluttered a few feet off of the ground in her joy. Maybe Theo was stuck in the body of a dirty, mind-reading mare, but right now, that was the best position for him to be in in the world. Driz awaited the moment they would both snap out of it with breath held and violet eyes alit.

1837193>>1836757

"Heh, excited much?" Razor quipped, only to have a still annoyed Spiral bop him upside the head. "Hey, what was that one for?!"

"Being stuipid again: of course she's excited! The guy's been out for at least an hour or two now! She's probably just relieved, is all."

"Looks like a little more than relief to me," Razor retorted, gesturing up at the way the mare was practically hovering over a simple twitch. This led to the two engaging in yet another verbal argument, this one more heated than the last. Bound chose to tune them out and ask a question.

"So, Driz?" Bound moved closer to the pegasus, "Uh, what did Pearl do to you, by the way, Driz?"

1837335>>1836757

"What did she do to me?" Driz sighed and her bouncing suddenly stopped; it was unexpected and quite quickly, to be honest. She sighed, wings furling against her side, and eyes suddenly diverting to the ground. That was clearly a sore subject. "Well, it was...I..."

She looked up, directly into Bound's concerned eyes. "She read my mind. I don't know if she's faking it - she said she forgot it all. But she knows - or did know - everything about me. My hopes, my dreams, my fears."

Forget about it...forget about it. Just talk. She's not trying to hurt you, Drizzle.

"She knows that right now, these ponies, Ginger and Zeke and Screwball and Theo, mean the world to me. Maybe a month after this adventure they won't, but they're going to have a lasting impact on me for a long time." If this adventure ever ends. "We've been through so much...facing death, visions, explosions, hotel rooms, islands blowing up, bodies being possessed, fillies clinging to another's life force and then coming back alive..."

The mare exhaled and then looked up, violet eyes sincere. "They're my friends. Nothing more, nothing less. And after all we've been through, I sure as hell don't want to lose any of them." Driz made a nod in Ginger's direction.

She knew that wasn't what she had been intending to say earlier, but it felt so good to get it all out that Driz actually felt emotionally satisfied, as well as mentally. It was so nice to let another hear her words (or in this case, three others)...

1838470>>1837335

Well son of a- Why didn't I think of that?!
Cause you're an idiot.
Pearl, you were being so nice up till now. Why say that all of a sudden?
Eh, payback for calling me stupid earlier. Well now we know exactly what they plan to do and the best course of action to stop them. But the question is, how do we get them to bring the fight to us?
Well like I said earlier, the purge strike is still an option. Not one I'm willing to use, but if it comes down to it, I will call it in. If we have roughly twelve hours to stop this, then we really don't have anytime to lose. But first order of business, we got wake you up. Do you two have any thoughts?

1838470>>1839381

Unfortunately, I've got no idea. Ginger admitted, looking at the clouds surrounding them, Hate to admit it, but until this whole mess I didn't even know what the inside of my mind looks like, let alone how to get into it. Funny how that works.

***

Make that one, it seems that Razor and Spiral have taken to wrestling about on the sand to try and settle their dispute. Bound, on the other hoof, lays a forleg on Driz's shoulder and a sympathetic gaze on her face.

"I... I think I get it, Driz."

1841534>>1839381

"I'm glad you do," Driz replied, flashing a weary smile in Bound's direction before turning to watch Ginger and Pearl/Theo again, waiting for another sign that he wasn't dead, that he wasn't gone forever.

1841603>>1841534

Oh, I got an idea. I saw this in a movie once. With these words, Theo and Pearl vanished from Ginger's mind.

The two were now back inside Pearl's head and standing next to Ginger. She turned to look at Razor. "Hey Razor!" She called out to get his attention. "Go to the hotel and grab a bar stool. preferably a tall one."

Theo wasn't exactly sure where she was going with this but didn't question it. He did momentarily take over her body though. "While you are at it, grab my hammer for me. The one Screwball made should still be sitting on the beach where I left it."

What's the stool for anyways?
It's to get him to wake up.
Can't we just like, slap him awake or something? It seems he is in control of his mind again.
Your welcome to try, but I doubt it would work.

Theo the proceeded to give Ginger a swift hit in the side of the head. This seemed to fail to awaken the sleeping stallion.

Told you.
Okay. But how is a bar stool gonna help? Are you going to drop it on him or something?
You will see.

1841603>>1842708

"Bar stool? W- Nevermind, I'll see soon enough." And of the stallion rushed, evidently swift on his hooves as well as swift in the water. This left Spiral without a brother to argue with, so she became understandibly silent, especially considering Pearl was awake again.

"So, uh, what's the news, Pearl?" Sea Bound ventured to ask, taking a step to place herself closer to the sea-mare than her pegasus friend.

***

Back in Ginger's brain, he looked around before sitting down and sighing, Coulda at least said goodbye...

1842966>>1841603

"Oh he was just having a bad dream. We cleared it up for him though. Now we just need to wake him up. Oh also, Ginger came up with an idea to get Stormhammer back in his body. Which is why we need his hammer." She went silent for a moment as she tried to remember what to say next. "Oh, I almost forgot. The All Father will be resurrected within twelve hours, and Theo will have the whole island obliterated if we don't stop it."

WHY?!! WHY TELL THEM THAT?!!
Hey, if there's a chance that you're going to blow up our home, then I feel that they have a right to know.
NO!! The point is for them not to know, so it doesn't cause panic!
I think that it is pretty clear that panic is the least of our concerns right now.

1841603>>1844198

The collective jaws of the assembled seaponies drop at that last bit.

"H-he's going to what?!" Sea Bound shouted after a few seconds of silent disbelief, now glaring at Theo's unmoving body. "Why would he do that?!"

Spiral, on the other hoof, had yet to fully comprehend the bombshell that Pearl had dropped.

1870163>>1841603

That's it, you lost talking privileges again.

Theo immediately retook control of Pearl's body as he tried to do damage control. "Now now. Why would I do something like that? Do you think I'm just some homicidal stallion that kills others without a second thought? Besides, who are you gonna believe? Me, or that crazy mare Pearl?"

You are a complete idiot, you know that? You do realize that not only they are my own kind, but also that I'm good friends with Sea Bound.

Theo was silent for a moment before he responded.

...Buck.

1874265>>1841603

The sea-mares mearely stare at Theo for a few seconds before Bound works up the gall to slap him across the face, "Pearl might be a little off, but she knows where the line is, Theo. Granted she enjoys hopping over it every now and then, but even then she wouldn't joke about blowing up the island. She likes it up here... As for the other bit..." She thinks a moment before continuing, her glare hardening "Why would she lie about the Father's return directly before telling the truth about your disregard for life, hm?"

((still alive, Driz?))

1885930>>1874265

Driz, in the meantime, was trying to process all that had just happened. Something about blowing up the island, Ginger being alright, King Sombra? None of this seemed to make any sense whatsoever; her head spun. In truth, she had only been half listening due to the fact that the pickle jar had just caught her attention. If Pearl/Theo was right and Screwball was really trapped in here, along with Zeke...

...maybe there was a way she could convey a message to get them out.

Flapping her wings and moving about five feet away from the others, who were still arguing and didn't notice her vanishing, the mare tilted the pickle jar so that it was upright and whispered, "Screwball? If you can hear me, can you give me some sort of sign?"

((Not dead, just trying to figure out where to jump in. Then I realized nobody was watching the jar. ))

1886524

((Ah, lol. Unfortunately only Zeke's awake in there, Screwball got her head hit on the way over due to getting tossed around and stuff)

1886680

((Well, then, there's no sign? I'll link this post to Illusive so he can see, if he's around...maybe he can have Zeke do something?

Hey, 1734171! You still around? Kinda need you right now...))

1886812 ((bweeegh...))