Once Burned, Twice Props
“This was not caused by regular manafire,” Roarke droned as a beam of red emanated from her helmet, scanning a chunk of local debris. “Most of the structural pieces are frayed at the top, suggesting a force collapse.” She turned and looked to the side. “Breeder?”
Pilate ignored the address and continued scanning a fallen pylon with his manasphere. He pivoted about from the fringes of the collapsed building. “There’s a thick layer of sediment over the other, older stains. It’s obvious that this place has seen its fair share of exhaust and smoke, but something cataclysmic happened here to level the entire place to the ground.”
“Yeah… uh…” Rainbow Dash flew circles around the ruined site. “You think like a friggin’ explosion?!” She frowned. “It’s nice of you guys to be studying this junk so closely, but how is this getting us anywhere?”
Bellesmith and Eagle Eye trotted up from within a hollow part of the warehouse that was still standing. “We just got done scouring the interior,” Belle said.
Eagle gulped and added, “There’s no sign of any bodies. Actually, the place is kind of ransacked. I mean, we know it’s a blown up building and all…”
“But there’s no sign of any possessions,” Belle remarked, shrugging in the sunlight wafting down through that remote section of the Bronze District. “No bed. No desk. No office work.”
“And certainly none of the large metal stuff that you’d find inside a shop for working on engine parts,” Eagle Eye said. “I really doubt all of that stuff would have been incinerated in one single swoop.”
“Looters,” Roarke grunted. Everypony looked at her as she muttered through her helmet, “The ponies of this place would easily leap into a burning building to grab something they could resell on the black market. Half of the junk that was in here when the missile hit is likely lining the shelves of some illicit shop in the Rust District.”
“Now, wait!” Belle frowned. “We have no way of knowing that a Spark-forsaken missile hit this place!”
“Don’t we?” Roarke gestured towards the mess. “There are plenty of incendiary burns.”
“And yet no metal fragments suggestive of a foreign projectile,” Pilate added. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“What if it was arson?” Rainbow Dash asked from above. “Like… maybe somepony burned this place on purpose?”
“Or maybe it was all just a horrible accident?” Eagle Eye asked. “All it takes is a single engine core going bad or… y’know… a stove…”
“I don’t think there’s any way of telling for sure,” Roarke said.
“Indeed.” Pilate nodded. “Whatever happened here, it was an incredibly long time ago.”
Rainbow Dash rubbed her head and asked, “Like, what? Days? Weeks?”
“Months, most likely.”
Belle bit her lip. She looked at the others, then at a blonde figure standing, drooped before the mess.
Rainbow Dash let out a breath. She hovered down to the pony’s side and approached her gently. “Hey. Props. Look… this is pretty horrible and all, but there’s still so much we’ve yet to figure out. So, uhm, chin up and all, okay?” Rainbow Dash smiled nervously. “Like Belle and EE said, they didn’t find any… I mean… they didn’t see… uh…”
“Uncle Prowse loved this shop almost as much as he loved me,” Props’ voice said from behind her goggles. Nopony could see her long face from where she was quietly perched. “It was his life… his livelihood…” A single sniffle lit the air. “How could he possibly let this happen?”
Belle leaned in and whispered into Pilate’s ear. “Beloved, what if the Ledomaritans--right after kidnapping Props, that is--”
He nodded and patted her shoulder back. “The thought did occur to me. Shhh. Let’s not be so swift to jump to conclusions.”
“Sounds pretty conclusive to me,” Roarke droned.
Belle hissed at her to be quiet.
Rainbow Dash gulped. “Props. Come on, girl. Look at us. We’re in this together. Where else could your Uncle be if not here, huh?”
“He…” Props’ body shuddered. “H-he…”
At that precise moment, Ebon Mane trotted out with something. “Uhm…” He bit his lip. “Propsy? I found an object inside. And… uhm… well…”
“What is it, Ebony?”
“I… I don’t know how to break this to ya…”
“Just show us, Ebon,” Rainbow Dash said.
The stallion sighed. Fidgeting, he revealed a metal forelimb in his grasp. The hinges were snapped clean at where the brace would have attached to a grown pony’s shoulder.
Props held the thing gently in her hooves. She gazed at it intently, her shoulders starting to buckle. “This… this is…”
“Oh, Props…” Belle, misty-eyed, trotted closer. “I’m so… so very sorry. Is there anything we can do?”
“This is… is…” Props spun about with a bright grin. “So super fantastic!”
Belle blinked. “Buh?”
“Woohoo!” Props hopped and bounced in circles. “I knew the old stallion wasn’t no idiot! Heehee! Oh, Uncle Prowse! You are a genius! A super awesome crafty cleverific genius!”
“I… uh…” Eagle Eye scratched his head with the edge of his shield. “I don’t get it.” He turned aside to the others. “Did she get her wires crossed?”
“Nope, and neither did my Uncle Prowse!” Props stood tall and proudly waved the metal forelimb about, pointing at the shoulder joint. “See the fasteners?! These go to the prosthetic attachment plugs attached to his body frame! They’ve all been unscrewed neatly! This wasn’t blown off or pulled off or even yanked off!”
“She has a point,” Roarke said. She slid her helmet open and pistoned her lenses out to get a better look. “I’ve seen Imre work on similar things for young Searonese in training. This is the work of somepony masterfully detaching this from a body. I doubt any explosive or fire would have detached these pieces so cleanly.”
“So… it was removed on purpose?” Pilate remarked.
“Abso-tap-dancing-lutely!” Props squeaked. “Uncle Prowse was always talking about making a new forelimb someday! I’d tell him, ‘Why, Uncle! Why not make it sooner? You’re growing older and your beard is like a rose bush by now!’ And he’d be all, ‘Nope! Nosiree, Propsette! Not until I’m ready to go on an expedition, wee lass!’ And you know what this means?!” She grinned a crescent moon. “He’s finally decided to make the trip that he always wanted! He’s probably halfway to the storm reaches in the north by now! Or the southern seas! Or… anywhere! Woohoo! You go, Uncle!”
“I… uhm…” Rainbow Dash gulped. “I’m not sure this could mean that--”
“I gotta go see if he left any other stuff lying around here!” Props galloped around the wrecked building. “Maybe in the back!”
Roarke groaned and clopped after her. “Better make sure she doesn’t trip and fall on something that’ll skewer that smile of hers.”
“I’m just freaked out by the fact that she’s still smiling,” Rainbow Dash said.
Ebon Mane shrugged. “That’s Propsy for you.”
“Is there any truth to it, though?” Belle asked with a concerned expression. “Could her uncle have gone off somewhere, Mr. Mane?”
“I don’t know,” Ebon said.
“And just why would he have burned this place after he left?” Eagle asked.
“I don’t know!” Ebon growled. “Perhaps other ponies did it, for all we know! I wouldn’t put it past half the Sooters who live in this place!”
“Perhaps some of the local ponies might know something about it,” Pilate remarked.
“I agree,” Belle said with a nod. “We should ask around. Try to see if there’s a friendly soul hereabouts who knows what went down here.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Rainbow Dash said, following Pilate and Belle as they trotted off. “Let’s split up.” She did a double-take and glared back at the others. “But not for long! Okay?! Let’s meet right back here and tell Props what we find!”
“Sure, okay,” Eagle Eye said with a nervous nod. “I’ll… uh… hold the fort here.”
Rainbow and her two closest friends exited the dead end.
Eagle Eye shifted his weight from one side to the next. After a pause, he turned and looked into the burnt, collapsed building.
Ebon Mane was trotting lonesomely, quietly inside, resuming his search. His body became a depressed shadow amidst the dimness of the shattered domain.
Eagle Eye bit his lip. He turned and gave one last glance towards where Rainbow Dash has flown. Then, with a deep breath, he trotted in after Ebon.
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Okay, no mangled corpses. Always a good sign.
Twenty-five wide-arm push-ups for the ninja update, ):(. Knock 'em out!
Well at least the mood turned around pretty quick again.
Morning update? IC you crazy.
So, Prowse left a sign for Props and headed Spark-knows-where. That's convenient.
~bass
It feels soooo good to be up to date! Lovely chapter. But what's up with Ebon...
myconfinedspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/why-for-the-glory-of-satan-of-course.jpg
...I'm sorry.
Seriously though, why would he? Then again, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for anyone to kidnap the old guy and burn down his shop, but make sure that he left his prosthesis behind neatly and nicely. As of now, there is also no reason to believe that Ebon Mane could have had anything to do with it.
Therefore, in conclusion: I blame Ebon Mane.
We didn't start the fire.
Ebon did, that asshole.
Nice try, Rainbow, but you've already ensured that somepony will get kidnapped or something.
Or...Prowse burned it down for the insurance money! You need money to go on an epic quest (unless you're Rainbow Dash, who has backing from the bank of Awesome) and its not like he'd need his shop if he was jumping ship.
Or maybe its something wholly more sinister, but still. Ebon or the mysterious cloaked rave-bracelet ponies seem too obvious at this point, and neither group really has a motive, especially if it happened months ago.
Well, thanks for the sneaky update! Blargh, now back to my essay...
Until tomorrow!
Now, without jumping to any grim conclusions, we can say that Uncle Prowse left on a Journey sometime after Props was *cough* enrolled in Nightshade Industries and left his store behind, probably leaving it in charge of some friends or colleagues and kept his previous prostethic in there, probably for Props to have, or who knows.
Then, due insurance fraud, as some have pointed out, or maybe neighboring business who decided to get rid of the competition now that Prowse was gone, the store was burnt down and ransacked, but the prostethic limb remained hidden, and thus we arrive to this point
Huh.., I'm making a lot of assumptions for someone who didn't want to.
Hm... You know, Ebon Mane sure had an easy time finding that prosthetic. I mean, it's just a little strange that both Belle and Eagle Eye missed it, don't you think?
Maybe, maybe not, but either way... I've got my eye on Ebon.
3237143 By now I suspect that Ebon's secret will be something entirely harmless and trivial - the only reason it's being foreshadowed like this is to drive us all mad with crazy conspiracy theories.
3237298 Maybe IC himself doesn't know, and is counting on us to come up with something?
Ebon knows something. Fishy fishy.
3237298 Absolutely. He's done it multiple times in the past. It is much more fun this way, though.
C'mon, EE. Ask Ebon what's up.
Roarke is now Samus. I don't know why the similarity never occurred to me before.
Prowse burned it down so there would be no place to give up.
pureanimegallery.com/d/5875-1/ed-and-al-burn-their-house.jpg
Last time, Kera was our mystery character. Is Uncle Prowse the new one? Let's find out.
Investigation time!
3237441
In that case, let's suggest some utterly silly things!
- The fire was indeed caused by Ebby! His new chili recipe went wrong.
- Prowse was kidnapped by the Xonan Chaos cult in the new mountainside temple. They needed someone to repair the toaster.
- It was TWIST!
If Prowse simply trekked off somewhere, I smell a story-arch. And speaking of odors, I'm catching a whiff of Ebon in the air around this fire. Don't know what the connection might be, though. It occurred to me recently - others have probably thought of this, but oh well - how odd it was that Nightshade kept Ebon around with Props and Clark when he wasn't exactly part of the think tank. It was played off that he was just working as a cook, but I can't imagine Nightshade Industries didn't have a full kitchen staff. Could he have been a mole all along? To what end?
Either way: one upside to all this is that if Prowse is gone and his shop is history, there is, theoretically, nothing keeping Props from continuing her voyage on the Noble Jury. That group needs some comic relief that doesn't involve spit, belches, or EE's effeminacy.
So far this story is playing out like some kind of elaborate D&D campaign
Or a Wheel of Time novel. Same thing, I suppose
I just don't trust Ebon. And, I Kinda suspect that the Rave bracelet cultists may be benevolent
This is Australia...
3238573
- The fire that burned down Prowse's place was Nightshade's flame from the machine on its way to Blue Nova
- Prowse invoked the wrath of one of the ancient dragons, and his place was burned by dragonfire.
- Nyx, after being thrown out by Twilight, decides to wander the world, eventually stumbling upon Prowse and accidentally burning down his place. Prowse decides to follow her around until she can pay him back.
- Prowse has been sent to the human world as a small colt, and the Jury has to follow him and take him from the human that brought him up and bring him back.
- Prowse's number came up. He is now a delectable treat.
- Prowse was taken to the Soot Factory. As fuel.
3240163 Rainbow Al'Dash, the Austraeoh Reborn.
whelp....I think I can safely say props is the new element of laughter...even if it was pretty obvi
3236774>>3239925
Guahhh, thanks guys.
Now, with all the people saying Ebon has something to do with the fire, I think that he is connected to the strange pones in the cloaks, and when he saw the fire, he knew they did it and as such felt guilty. GO EE! Interrogate him to the death.
3236774
Ooh, can I have some? I recently caught up with this story too, ya know.
And I want to become fat again, that Jake the Army Guy exercise sthik is actually /getting me in shape/. *shudders*
3240187
- The ancient pegasi showed up on his doorstep. Prowse is the only descendant of their last king, and is the last hope for restoring the Ring. Dash is a distraction. Also, Propsy is adopted.
- Meteors, just after the limb was unscrewed for bed/
- Discord does time travel
3240163 Not nearly enough derisive sniffing or braid pulling for this to be the case.
3240209 groups.ultimate-guitar.com/profile_mojo_data/1/2/1/0/1210998/pics/_c978301_image_0.jpg
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
The more Props talks about Uncle Prowse, the more I can't wait to meet him. Also, we still don't know what Ebon Mane is hiding from us - if he is hiding anything at all. I can't imagine he's in league with those suspicious cloaked ponies, and he's been pretty likable so far. It must be something that's out of his control...I don't know what, though. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Well, there went my theory that Uncle Prowse was not an actual living pony. I was wavering between an imaginary friend, a stuffed relative, or a parrot or something.
3236730 thanks for making me laugh.
So Prowse is real.
Now, what could be wrong with Ebon?
-Spirit
Props . . . I don't know what to say.
She's pretty much Pinkie Pie, so yes.
Mysterious.
Maybe Props' crazy uncle burned down shop in order to throw Ledomartian douchecanoes off his trail
considering they scooped up his niece
Pinkie Pie, why didn't you ever tell anyone about your long lost sister?
No bodies, no nothing... except a prosthetic. Curious.
5261311 Brilliant analysis! Where would we be without your marvelous insights!?
6185390
Well you see. When the elder one from beyond the stars took pony form. It broke into fragments of it's infinitesimal chaotic glee. One of those fragments was Pinkie Pie, the other was Props. There are probably a few other fragments looming around out there.
Or it could be that just like Eagle Eye is Twilight 2.0, or Crimson is Super Bigmac; Ledomare-Xenoan space is the land of off centered doppelgangers? It's just like normal dopplegangers, but with slight difference. Like Crimson actually talks, and is a soldier. Or Twilight 2.0 is a guy, and not a student of a pretty pony princess. And Propsy is Pinkie Pie, but as a Gadget [Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers] Ponified Pinkie Pie, that's also a Unicorn.
6185390
A blonde mare who looks and acts like Pinkie Pie?
Hmmmm. http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Surprise
8073928
Wrong color scheme, Props has a peach coat and Flutter-Blue eyes.
Okay, I have a theory. Uncle Prowse burned his own place down and took everything with him. Says as much that he left on a trip, but normally there would be no reason to burn one's own place... maybe something forced him to take a trip. Maybe someone wants him dead? But why?
Yes