72. Setting Up Camp
The five unicorns stood around the hole in the forest floor, their faces tense with exertion. Their horns sparked intensely with white light, forming a budding magical field between them as a combination of their efforts.
Flash Forward was one of them, and it was he whose horn was shining the brightest. His eyes snapped open. “Concentrate, everypony! Blend your energies together! There is no room for error!” Flash commanded, urging his fellow scientists to produce even brighter lights.
The scientists grunted with exertion, and then a stream of light arced between each of their horns, forming a glowing circle of magical power. Flash let out a loud grunt and slams his two front hooves into the ground, a shockwave emanating from the point of impact. Thus released, the circle of power spread outwards with a sound like thunder, surging through the clearing and passing through everything in its path.
I have to cover my eyes as the arc approaches Rainbow and I. It passes through me and causes my body to tingle. To my surprise, it also disrupts my own magical aura that I've yet to put down. My aura sputters and disappears, the flow of magic through my body stilling momentarily before returning to normal.
“Waah!” Rainbow yelps as she crashed to the ground, the magic causing her body to become lighter dissipating and forcing her to obey the laws of physics for once. “What the...couldn't they have warned me about this?”
“They did, you idiot. They said it would disrupt any and all magical enchantments in the immediate area. That includes you,” I retort, chuckling a bit at how she's sprawled in the dirt like that. Rainbow doesn't answer, instead grumbling and muttering under her breath as she rises to her hooves, brushing the dirt from her coat.
The circle of light travels for a little longer, coursing through trees and causing any latent magical enchantments that they may have held to briefly dissipate. The circle then peters out, such that the light level returns to normal.
According to the way Flash explained it, the spell they're using affects different types of magic in different ways. It cannot negate magic at all; instead, it just suppresses it for a short time. Upon hearing that, I remember asking Flash why that wasn't used during the battle of Canterlot.
He responded that the spell was indiscriminate, and would have affected all magic, and required time to set up, which made it useless in combat. The second reason, and the most damning, was that it can't suppress biological magic, otherwise known as the magic present in our bodies. It temporarily disrupts it, which is why Rainbow fell from the sky and my aura disappeared, but it only lasts for a second.
In other words, the purpose of the spell is to counteract enchantments for a short time without disturbing them. As Flash said, some trees are capable of defending themselves, so this was the only way to take an axe to them without getting fucked up.
“That's it! You only have thirty minutes until the forest reasserts itself!” Flash announces, addressing the multitudes of ponies surrounding the trees that were just disrupted. Maybe it's just me, but the trees...they seem like they're a lot...stiffer. “This takes a lot of magic, so get as much done as you can before we have to cast it again!
“You heard the pony! Bring those trees down!” Steel Rivet demands. He's standing next to one of the trees himself, with an axe embedded in the ground next to him. He clamps down on the handle with his teeth, pulls the axe out of the ground, and then swings it powerfully into the tree. The force of his swing is enough to cut deeply into the bark.
As if on cue, the area is filled with the sound of chopping and grunts of exertion as all of the lumberjack ponies start hacking at the trees surrounding the hole into my college.
By the edge of the area, Commander Iron is standing there, directing his guards. The guards have formed a perimeter around us, just outside the range of the anti-magic spell. So far they've already discouraged or dispatched several of the forest's wildlife. Even now, I can see a timberwolf emerging from the brush along with several others. Iron and the guards nearest to him easily take them out with quick thrusts of spears and tridents. Suffice to say, as long as they're there, nothing is getting in to hurt the civilians.
“Hey.” I'm interrupted from my observations by Rough Hammer. That's unexpected. This guy hasn't really talked to me since the first time we met. Once he sees that he has my attention, Rough Hammer beckons towards the airships floating just above the canopy of the forest with his head. “You're good with magic, aren't you? We could use your help getting the supplies down here.”
“Can't you just use the gangplanks and get your guys to unload for you?” I ask curiously. I was allowed to sit out before, so why am I needed now?
“And just where are we supposed to find enough room to do that?” Rough Hammer criticizes me with a frown. I look at the clearing that still in the process of being widened and realize that he's right. Rough Hammer flexes his muscles and grins. “No, we've got to do this the old fashioned way: with magic, pulleys, and lots of rope.”
“All right, count me in, I guess,” I agree reluctantly. It's not like I'll be much helping standing around while the others get the camp set up. I look back at Rainbow, who is the only pony that's been hanging with me as of right now. Vinyl is with her mother, Twilight was one of the four unicorns with Flash Forward, and Pinkie...is being Pinkie. “You coming?”
“Nah, that seems like too much work. I think I'll grab a cloud and take a little nap until it's time to go in the ruins,” Rainbow remarks with a devious grin. I groan and turn away, knowing that there's no reasoning with Rainbow when she gets lazy.
“I don't think so. You've got some nerve being lazy when you're nothing but a freeloader,” Rough Hammer growls, stomping over to her. Rainbow's ears perks up and she turns around, transfixing the miner pony with a glare.
“What the hay did you just call me?” Rainbow demands, shoving a hoof in Rough Hammer's face. The miner's grin returns. “Spit it out, buster!”
“You heard me. You're a freeloader, here on the good graces of our project advisor. Must be nice, getting to relax while the rest of us work our flanks off,” Rough Hammer challenges her.
A vein twitches in Rainbow's forehead...and then another. “You listen here, and you listen good. I'm no freeloader. I'm going to show you just how lucky you are that you brought me, Rainbow Dash, along! Now where're these supplies!?” Rainbow takes to the air, zooming past me and heading straight for the cargo airship.
Rough Hammer follows her with his gaze, his grin widening. I watch Rainbow go as well for a bit, before turning to look at Rough Hammer in shock. “Did you just...!?” I exclaim. Rainbow's lazy streak is almost impossible to deal with when it shows up. “Damn, I've got to remember that one. How did you know to do that?”
“All in a day's work. Now let's get started, Seth,” Rough Hammer remarks, and then he trots past me and heads for the ladder that connects the airship to the ground.
“Smug bastard,” I mutter, following him.
The set up on the airship is much like I expected. Gilded Skies, along with a few others, set up a complicated pulley system that could transport cargo from the deck down to the forest floor.
How it works is that either Rough Hammer or other strong ponies lift the heaviest cargo, from boxes to massive supplies of lumber, and fit it into a harness. This harness is connected to the pulley system, so the next step was to lever the cargo over the edge and lower it to the forest floor.
That's where Rainbow and I come in. The two of us are to partially carry the cargo as it's lowered so that its weight won't adversely affect the ship. Some of what gets sent down is heavy as fuck, so I can understand that. It would suck having to explain a capsized airship to Celestia.
Sometimes the cargo that's getting sent down is light enough so that Rainbow and I aren't needed, but it's too heavy to be carried. In that case, Rough Hammer and Gilded Skies handle that on their own, while Rainbow and I carry the lightest cargo down from the deck to the forest floor ourselves.
While all of this is going on, trees are falling in the Everfree. Each time a tree falls, it is carried over to where the guards are, and it is then stripped of bark and its branches sharpened. Finally, it is added to the other fallen trees that have already been set up, forming the makings of a defensive wall for the camp and giving the guards less ground to watch.
The stumps of the fallen trees are removed through the help of the science department, who use magic along with some strange chemical to soften the wood and loosen the roots. That way, they can be dug out with ease. Of course, that requires the construction ponies to level the area afterward.
I'm probably making it sound like a simple process. Oh no, everything I'm describing takes place over the course of several days. There's a lot of cargo to take down, and even then bits of it are being constantly rearranged or relocated, so Rainbow and I are kept busy.
For sleeping arrangements, most of us make do with what accommodations are present in the two airships. There's rather a lot of us, so it got pretty crammed, where four or five ponies ended up in the same room. So, as you can imagine, I end up with Rainbow, Vinyl, Pinkie, and Twilight. Which also gets me to realize that I have no stallions that I come into contact with on a daily basis. Sometimes I wonder how I haven't grown a vagina yet, so to speak. I guess it helps that Rainbow and Vinyl act mostly like stallions. Anyway, moving on from that of thought.
Over time, the clearing starts to widen. The trees are moved and the stumps are relocated, leaving an empty dirt field. Even that has to be worked, the construction ponies repeatedly leveling the area to make the land flat enough to set up camp on.
I set down the box beneath the cargo tent, panting heavily. Thanks to the heavy rain that came out of nowhere, we had to move the most delicate cargo beneath a hastily erected tent. The scientists were insistent that their equipment doesn't get wet.
“Again with the rain! I keep being told rain is scheduled, so why the hell does it have to be whenever we're doing something important?” I complain, rivulets of rainwater trailing down my face. Twilight is the only one with me at the moment, because Rainbow and Vinyl are working in another area , and Pinkie is making dinner for everyone.
“Unfortunately, this is the Everfree Forest. Because of all the latent magic in the air, it's difficult to control any weather in this area,” Twilight explains, handing me a towel with her magic. I accept it gratefully, using it to dry off my face and neck. “In fact, it's so hazardous, the board actually forbade any interaction with the weather above the forest.”
“So...basically it acts like the weather did in my time,” I state with a deadpan expression. Wow, the irony is so thick here. In the place where magic is the craziest, the weather is the most normal. Somebody tell me how the fuck that makes any sense. “Whatever. At least I don't have any more boxes to carry for now.”
“Me neither. I'm staying under here, where it's dry,” Twilight decides, gazing wryly out into the pouring rain. She then looks at me curiously. “Though I'd much rather be working with Dr. Forward. What about you? Where's Rainbow?”
“She went to go help move the lumber out of the rain. It shouldn't be long before she gets here,” I explain. After all, Rainbow's been with me for most of this expedition so far. Twilight nods, and then the two of us fall silent, having nothing really to do except gaze out into the rain.
My eyes gaze across the now muddy clearing with a grimace. Working in this area is really going to be a pain in the ass now, especially because we don't get much sunlight down here. That mud is going to take forever to dry.
The hole in the ground that leads to my school catches my eye. It's surrounded by a small barricade to prevent ponies from falling into it, but it does nothing to prevent the rain from falling through. That reminds me...my stuff is still in there. Because I have nothing to do anyway, I think I'll go and get it, despite the fact that I'll get soaked in the process. It'll be better than just sitting here, anyway.
Just as that thought enters my head, Twilight points a hoof towards the curtain of rain cascading over the edge of the tent. “Look, you were right! Here she comes now!” she exclaims. Sure enough, I can see a flash of rainbow as the mare in question zooms through the air on a beeline for our location.
Rainbow bursts out of the rain and into the tent area, landing haphazardly and skidding across the dirt. She looks pretty soaked through, her mane clinging to her sodden coat. “Whew! It's a proper rainstorm out there,” she remarked, peering through her mane at Twilight and I. She hunches down and tenses up her body...causing dread to sink through me as I realize what she's going to do.
“Rainbow, I swear to god, don't you...” I start to say, but then Rainbow proceeds to shake herself vigorously like a dog, spraying everything around her with a shower of droplets. “Oh you little...!”
“Rainbow! Can't you see there's some delicate equipment under here?” Twilight scolds the now somewhat drier Rainbow. I look back at the equipment, and I can already tell that everything is fine. It's all in boxes, so a little sprinkling won't hurt anything. “What if you'd ruined something?”
“Chill, Twilight. They're all in boxes anyway,” Rainbow states, looking bored. Hah, she basically said the same thing I was just thinking. Ignoring Twilight, she looks around until she spots me...or more specifically, the towel on my shoulder. “Hey, Seth, I'mma borrow this.”
“Wait, what are you...?” I begin, but I fall silent as Rainbow rears up on her hind legs and presses her two front hooves on my chest just long enough to grip the towel in her mouth and drag it off of me. “You know, I was using that!”
“Not anymore you aren't. The Dash has claimed your towel...unless you want to share, that is,” Rainbow jokes, lifting up one end of the towel that's now draped over her shoulders.
“I'm not sharing a fucking towel with you,” I state flatly, getting Rainbow to laugh uproariously. Next to me, Twilight is looking between the two of us, looking as if she's trying to suppress laughter. “And come on, you got my shirt all muddy! Blasted pegasus.”
“You know you love me,” Rainbow teases, snickering into her hoof. She then pulls at my shirt, which drips with water because of how soaked it is. “Besides, your shirt is as wet as a sponge right now anyway.”
“Yeah, thanks to that rain out there,” I remark, pushing her hoof away from my shirt. Now, it's just the three of us beneath this tent, watching the rain fall.
“What are the others doing, Rainbow?” Twilight asks curiously, moving to stand between Rainbow and I. “Is there other work we can do despite the rain?”
“Not really. Everypony is doing what we are: waiting for the rain to let up so we can get back to work,” Rainbow answers with a shrug. She looks down at the ground with a distasteful expression. “I would lay down, but the ground is much less comfortable than a cloud.”
As Twilight replies to that, I sigh and stretch a bit. Now that I've greeted Rainbow, I'm going to go and get my bag from the ruins. My laptop is dead, but everything else I'd rather have back.
“Where are you going?” Rainbow asks as I move to leave the tent, interrupting Twilight in the process.
“Out. There's something I need to fetch real quick,” I say ambiguously. I feel like if I mentioned that I was going to the ruins, Twilight would insist on coming too. Then I'd be stuck there for a while as she tried to study the place. No, I just want to go in and out. The real digging comes once we finish setting up camp.
Rainbow throws the towel over her shoulder, right onto Twilight's face, and then she trots up to my side with a stubborn expression on her face. “I'm coming too. You don't mind, right?” she declares in such a way that suggests that she's not really asking.
Twilight grumbles and lifts the towel off of her face. She folds it neatly with her magic and drapes it over her back. “You two! You just dried off, and now you're going back out there? You're going to catch a cold!” Twilight fusses.
“Oh, quit being such a fussbudget,” Rainbow chides her friend before I can tell Twilight to fuck off. “Life's no fun if you don't do something stupid for the sake of it one in a while. Shall we go, Seth?”
“I can agree with that. Let's leave little miss fussbudget behind,” I concur, repeating Rainbow's lame but still funny insult to Twilight. Together, the two of us step out into the rain, leaving behind a flustered Twilight.
“Hey! I am not a...a fussbudget! I'm just...” she tries to complain, but the sound of the rain soon drowns her out until it's just Rainbow and I again.
“So where are we going, anyway?” Rainbow asks curiously as we plod through the mud. I splutter lightly as the rain pelts me relentlessly and streams down my face. I don't answer her, instead letting our path speak for me. Sure enough, Rainbow soon figures it out when she sees that I'm heading straight for the hole in the ground. “We're going to your school?”
“Yeah. Careful, it's a bit of a drop,” I warn her just as I'm hopping over the barricade. I lower myself into the hole and climb down the ladder...or at least I try to. The moment I put my foot on the first rung, it snaps, and I hurtle down to the floor and land right on my ass before I can compose myself enough to fly. “Ow! Fucking piece of shit ladder!”
“Why didn't you just fly down?” Rainbow calls down after me smugly. A few seconds later, I see her soaring down the hole and landing on the floor next to me. Without waiting for an answer, she immediately starts craning her head around, looking at the old ruined hallway. “Whoa...it's like I'm in another world.”
I get to my feet and look around as well. The last time I was here, I had been devoid of all happiness and hope, as I'd just learned that my entire race was dead and I'd just finished killing my niece. The niece I didn't even know I had until just then. Which reminds me.
As Rainbow is roaming around the area with fascination, I step out of the stairwell and peer into the hallway towards where the security room was. I don't know why I looked. I knew she was going to be there. It takes me all I have not to lose my composure.
Maka, or what's left of her, is lying on the far end the hallway right where I left her, though her corpse has decomposed considerably since then. If it wasn't raining, I would take her back up to the surface and give her the closest thing to a service as I can get. I know I said I'd bury her...but what she's become is an abomination. If anything, I think she needs to be cremated. Yeah, it would make me feel much better if she were burned, rather than just thrown in the ground.
Just as Rainbow is starting to head towards the hallway herself, I turn the other direction and walk past her. “Are you coming? It's a bit deeper in the structure than this,” I tell her impatiently, thankfully blocking her path to the hallway. I'm not sure I'm ready for her to see that. I don't think even Rainbow is ready to see that. It is a gruesome sight after all.
“Yeah, I'm right behind you,” Rainbow assures me, following me to the stairs. “Wow, I can't believe I'm standing in a human building. What's with the pipes everywhere? And why is the floor red?”
“Why are you asking me? I didn't design the place. Maybe they liked red. I don't fucking know,” I retort. Just as I'm about to reach the first step, I suddenly remember the first time I tried using the stairs in this place. “Uh, you might want to hover for this. I'm not sure how stable these stairs are.”
“I think the floors should have been blue, like me. That would have made this place so much cooler,” Rainbow remarks, though she does do what I suggest and hover just above the stairs. I shake my head and start walking down the stairs, each one creaking beneath my weight.
We reach the floor beneath this one without mishap, but as I'm stepping on the stairs that leads to the very spot I woke up at several months ago, one of the steps gives away beneath my weight, having rusted through. I recoil, but I don't fall because I had been prepared for something like this to happen. That doesn't make it any less annoying.
“Shitty architects. The damn Romans made better stairs than you, and this was supposed to be modern architecture,” I curse, watching the shards of rusted metal plummet down to the set of stairs below. “And that's why I had to fly, Rainbow.”
“I'd have flown anyway. I hate stairs,” Rainbow says with a nonchalant shrug. “But this might be bad for the ponies that aren't pegasi.”
“Yeah. I'm thinking they'll have to build a scaffolding in the elevator shaft in order to get from floor to floor,” I reason.
“A what in the what now?” Rainbow asks, naturally having no idea what an elevator shaft is. I ignore her, however, because we've finally reached the foyer where my stuff is. Sure enough, my bag is still lying there along with my headphones, right where I'd left them several months ago.
“Please tell me...” I mutter to myself, rushing to my bag and leaning down. Rainbow watches me in confusion as I grab my headphones and plug them into my phone. A few simple taps on the screen later, and a song starts to play faintly over the headphones. “Yes! They still work! My life is complete.”
“Huh? What are those? Headphones?” Rainbow asks curiously, examining the unique headphones in my hands. These babies are Japanese imported and cost nearly a hundred dollars. I'm so glad that I can have them back and that they still work. “They don't look like any headphones I've ever seen.”
“That's because they're human. Look at them though,” I reply, showing them to her. “This shit was expensive. Most headphones that humans use are either those ear buds that are excruciating to wear or huge cans that make you look ridiculous.”
“These don't look like anything that you just described,” Rainbow observes, causing me to nod.
“That's right. I had these imported from anther country because they have good sound and they look good,” I explain. “They're the only headphones I know that are easy to store and wear, and yet still manage to look stylish.”
“Stylish? Careful, Seth, you're starting to sound a little like Rarity,” Rainbow comments, nudging me with a grin. I scoff and shove her right back.
“Oh, fuck you. I'm allowed to care a little about my appearance. That doesn't make me Rarity,” I mutter, rolling up the cords to the headphones and placing them in my bag's front pocket. If I'm carrying this thing out of the ruins, it's going to get wet. My bag is waterproof, but my headphones aren't. “Anyway, I'm ready to get out of here for now. This is all I came for.”
“What's in the bag?” Rainbow inquires, poking her head into one of the pockets. Part of me wants to zip up the pocket and see her squirm, but this place isn't safe enough to mess around in. So instead, I poke at her neck until she withdraws her head and glares at me. “Stop that!”
“Stop sticking your nose in places that don't belong to you,” I return with a smirk. “To answer your question, nothing too important or useful. Just things that are mine that I wanted back.”
“Oh. Okay. So we're going back to the surface?” Rainbow asks, disappointed. “I wanted to explore some more. This place looks really cool on the inside. I feel like I'm Daring Do, delving into a dangerous ruin in search of valuable artifacts!”
“Okay, Daring Do. What should we do next, O great and clever adventurer?” I reply sarcastically, halfway imitating that one support character in the second Indiana Jones movie. “Shall we go search for the sacred eyes of the statue or what the fuck ever?”
“Yes! Together you and I will uncover the rarest of treasures! Come, my assistant. We have much ground to cover!” Rainbow hilariously falls into the role of Daring Do, saluting me officially. I snort with laughter, finding her imitation about as ridiculous as mine.
“Okay, but if I have to defend you from snakes, I'm drawing the line,” I joke, remembering the scene in the first book where Daring had been beset by said reptiles. “No, seriously, though, let's get back to the surface.”
“Do we have to? It's raining like crazy out there, and it's warm and dry down here,” Rainbow complains. “If we went outside, the only place dry would either be under a tent or in the airship.”
“Yes, we have to. I'm not staying in here any longer than I have to. I'm certainly not spending the night down here. I'm telling you, this place is a death trap. To sleep in a place like this is suicide,” I tell her firmly. There's no certainty that Maka was the only Oppressed down here.
Without even waiting for Rainbow's response, I gently power up my magic, so as not to damage the area around me. Then, I fly up and out of the hole, into the rain. Rainbow is quick to follow me, though she looks annoyed. “Ugh, at least wait for me!” Rainbow complains. She splutters slightly and glares up at the sky. “Sheesh, you think the rain would have let up by now.”
Now that I have my bag back, Rainbow and I return to the tent where Twilight is taking refuge as well. She greets the two of us with a flat browed expression, still annoyed that we completely went out into the rain and ignored her.
“Ugh, you two,” Twilight groans, noting how soaked we both are from the rain. Next to me, Rainbow hunches down once more, and I brace myself. Sure enough, the pegasus starts to shake the water off of herself, sending water droplets everywhere...or she would have, if Twilight hadn't hastily erected a magical shield in front of Rainbow to catch all of the water before it could hit anything important. “No. Bad Rainbow.”
Twilight hands us both towels after that. I take mine and wrap it closely around myself, because that rain is cold. It's still winter, so I'm surprised it isn't sleet. Though I guess it's not cold enough for any freezing to happen.
After we get settled there, the three of us plop down together, having literally nothing else to do. Rainbow promptly throws herself over one of the boxes and goes right to sleep, leaving Twilight and I. I don't feel like talking to Twilight though, so I unsnap the clasps on my bag and peer inside. I don't remember exactly what is in here other than my laptop.
“Did Rarity make that for you?” Twilight asks curiously, looking at the bag. It suddenly strikes me that the bag is made out of leather. Right...I'll just keep that fact to myself so I don't get lynched or something.
“No, it's mine,” I tell her simply, sifting through the bag. Sure enough, I feel my hands brush across the smooth white plating of my laptop. There's no way the thing still works, but it's nice to have it back. Maybe one day I'll pay to have an adapter made for it. At the very least, I'll have access to all the files on my computer. Come to think of it, I think I have Soul Eater on my hard drive.
There's also other assorted papers inside. Heh, there's the study guide for my math class that I'd thought was really important at the time, but now it's just a bunch of useless formulas that won't do anyone any good anymore. Oh, here's the notebook where I did my note-taking assignments for my world history class.
“Is...is that English?” Twilight exclaims, getting my attention. I notice that she's staring at the cover of the notebook that I'm holding in one hand, and I swear I can actually see her eyes sparkling with excitement. Oh god, what have I done? “Wow! Did you get that from the ruins? I can't believe it's in such good condition!”
In her excitement, Twilight snatches the notebook from me with her magic, opening it up and flipping through it. “This is amazing! There's so much English I don't recognize in here, I think we could add to the official lexicon!”
I stare at her, my hand still in the position it was when it was holding the notebook. She just...took that from me without asking and is now rifling through my shit, squealing like a fangirl.
“Give me that back,” I snap, snatching the notebook right out of her telekinetic hold. “Sheesh, you're like a filly in a candy store. Yes, I got this out of the ruins. No, you can't use it.”
“What? But why not? It's in perfect condition! This is a major find!” Twilight protests, looking confused and disappointed.
“Because it's not just some relic I found in the ruins. It's mine. I never handed in my phone for study, and I'm not about to give away my own possessions that I just retrieved,” I explain irritably, replacing the notebook back in the bag where Twilight can't get to it. “You'll just have to study what you find in the ruins. Anything in this bag is off limits.”
“Ugh, you can be so stubborn at times,” Twilight huffs. She releases a sigh, giving the bag one last longing look. “Okay, I'll respect that. Can I ask you a quick question, though?”
“What?”
“Is it in good condition because it traveled with you, when Sombra transported you to our time?” Twilight asks hesitantly. I pause a moment, but then I remember she was there when all of that was explained.
“Yeah, but I left it in the ruins at the time because I was busy wondering why the fuck the building around me aged three thousand years and I didn't,” I reply bitterly. Twilight winces, but then she nods. I think she knew she was stepping into dangerous territory when she asked that question.
“Oh. Well, I'm glad you have your things back, at least,” Twilight replies softly. I grunt in response, and then a silence falls over the two of us.
I'm not mad at her. She's just being Twilight after all. No, instead I'm just looking through my old school things. They're all useless to me now, but I can't help but get nostalgic regardless. See this study guide? I remember when filling that out was the most pressing thing on my mind. I also remember the times when a test that was coming up next week would monopolize all my time.
We sit like this for a long time, until the rain starts to let up. I look up from my bag when the sound of the falling rain starts to fade away. Oh, I guess it's finally stopping. Now it's just sprinkling, and ponies are starting to poke their heads out of tents and other forms of shelter.
“Looks like it's time to get to work again,” Twilight observes, getting back on her hooves. “I need to help the scientists get their tent pitched so we can be ready to examine any artifacts the archaeology team turns up.”
I nod, and then I wordlessly turn to Rainbow, who is lying on her back on a box and snoring softly. Without any warning, I gather up some of the rainwater falling from the top of the tent and splash it onto Rainbow's face. “Wake the fuck up, you technicolor freak,” I tell her.
Rainbow splutters and coughs, falling off of the box and landing on the ground.. Her eyes open...and then she immediately glares at me. At this point, she doesn't even need to ask to know that it was me that woke her up. “Really? What the hay was that for?” Rainbow demands, wiping water out of her mane with her hoof. “I was having a good nap there.”
“The rain is letting up. It's time to get back to work. See?” I inform her, indicating the clearing outside the tent. The sound of overlapping voices can be heard now that the area is filling with ponies again.
“Aww, okay. I guess we should head back to Steel and see what else we can do,” Rainbow says in a resigned manner. The three of us, including Twilight, walk out from under the tent and join the throng of ponies. However, I soon split off from the two of them, having something else in mind. “Hey, where are you going?”
“I need to speak to Iron real quick,” I answer her. Rainbow moves to join me, but I wave her off. “No, don't come with me. I need to speak with him alone.”
“What? Why?” Rainbow insists, looking both confused and worried at the same time.
“I'll tell you later. Just go on ahead of me for now. I'll join you in a bit,” I tell her firmly. Twilight seems to understand, because she's resting a hoof on Rainbow's side, giving her a telling look. Rainbow huffs, but she does as I say, following Twilight back towards where the project leads are working.
This idea popped into my head not long after seeing Maka's corpse again. I want to get her out of that hole so I can burn her body, but I'd have to carry her, and that's certainly not something I want to do on my own. So I need a unicorn to help me get her out of there.
I thought about asking Twilight for help of course, but she's not hardened, so I doubt she could handle seeing something as twisted as Maka right now. No, for something like this, Iron's the only one I think I can ask. He's a battle hardened soldier, so this shouldn't be an issue for him. Plus, I know him a lot better than some random unicorn guard.
In the end, all I know is that one way or another, I'm sending Maka off properly.
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MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
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Iron is a good choice when it comes to letting a body rest.
Ah, Dragon Age.
May I inquire which one you are playing?
I have played Dragon Age Origins and it was awesome. I never liked Dragon Age 2, in my opinion it is really sucky and it is the worst Dragon Age. Dragon Age: Inqusition on the other hand I better than the first one in my eyes. Though I have to say when I was romancing Cassandra I was not expecting the tits that showed up in the final scene of the romance, I consider myself lucky that my dad had just went to sleep because I can hear the words he would say if he seen that. "What the fuck kind of game are you playing!?"
Which Dragon Age is it that your friend introduced you to? Also what kind of character did you make?
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He basically handed me a disc with with Dragon Age: Origins and all of the dlc on it. For my first playthrough, I started as an Archer on hard mode, and went Ranger/Bard because the critical hits are ridiculous. This is honestly one of the greatest games I've ever played. I dunno about the sequels yet, though I'm definitely going to play them. They can't be as disappointing as the force unleashed 2 XD
5344431 I don't know about that. A guy on YouTube that was famous for playing Dragon Age Origins, played Dragon Age 2 and he said it severely disappointing in it. But don't let my and other people's opinions decided for you, see for yourself if you like the game. Though, definitely pick up Dragon Age: Inqusition. It starts off slow at first but it gets a lot better. It is easily rising to be my favorite RPG ever.
OI! don't blame me you enjoyed the distraction!
still, this was a good chapter, but i have a bad feeling in my feels for the next chapter.
swear to good if you make me cry again
either road can't wait.
Then maka was resurrected in the pit of Fire And began to yowl viciously.
THE END
Goddammit WHY can't you like each chapter respectively?????? WHY? ?????
I am there for you pinkie, I saw it too. *looks off into distance teary-eyed* *whispers* I saw it too.
I CAUGHT UP!!!
I FREAKING CAUGHT UP! HIP HIP HOORAY! Okay now I just..have...to...wait...for...moar....now I am sad....
Well I'm off to watch more soul eater. Goodbye, till tomorrow! Farewell. Bon voyage! Hasta la vista, baby! Au revoir!
~~The ScapeGoat~~
Wow, sorry it took so long to catch up. Anyhow, here's my comment
Starting we have the unicorns of the group getting started on clearing the trees. Interesting to see them nullify the chaotic magic that hangs around them. I wonder if this technique will show up again, because despite its drawbacks, it certainly has potential if used correctly. Following this we have Rough Hammer trick Rainbow into actually helping. Admittedly despite her laziness, she probably would have helped after she had her nap and somepony was willing to indulge her ego enough to convince her to help, but this way certainly got her moving. Seth should be careful about using the technique though, after all, it's one thing for some random you've never met to goad you a bit, but for a close friend, it could be a little hurtful. Seth's not stupid, but he can push his insults a little passed friendly bickering when he gets a little annoyed (also because ponies don't have as thick skin as a human about insults, and his vulgar language already usually has them concerned).
After this we have a brief montage of them getting supplies down from the airship and helping set the camp. Doesn't really explain much about what Vinyl's doing, though I'm assuming she's probably with her mother for the majority of the work stuff (probably to her chagrin). It seems that Celestia for the most part was correct about Twilight behaving herself and acting professionally (though they've yet to mount any significant expeditions into the ruins yet so that may change). When Rainbow shows up and shakes herself off like a dog, I can't help but chuckle. Not sure if she was doing it to be annoying or whether it was just easier then fully drying off with Seth's towel (which also got me to chuckle. These little character interactions always give me good reactions). Deciding to do a check into the ruins to get his stuff back, the two ditch Twilight and go exploring. It's interesting about Maka the Oppressed. He mentioned a creature in the ruins, but he has yet to tell anypony, not even Celestia that Sombra turned some humans into them rather then just kill them. I wonder what the reactions will be when this finally comes to light. Likely a bit of annoyance he kept it secret and several tones of horror. He's right to be cautious though. He may have magic now, but it took a full rifle clip and him aggressively beating the hell out of her for him to beat maka, and Rainbow is unarmed (though her speed and strength leaves her far from helpless).
Cool to see him get his head phones back. I wonder if he has one of those ear bud pairs spare so Rainbow can use them, since his custom headphones likely wouldn't fit her head properly. Shame about his laptop though. He only has a phone charger which has different ports then a laptop. Perhaps he can find one of those usb to phone charger cables somewhere in the ruins and use the magic charger on it, or put some of his bits to work paying for a converter. Be cool if he could show Rainbow his anime collection, she'd certainly love it). twilight ends up having a little nerdgasm once she learns he got his stuff back, but Seth certainly isn't going to hand over his own stuff. If she gets him in a good mood, he might let her see some of his notebooks since he doesn't care all that much about the contents, just wanting his things back, but if she gets pushy he'll likely shun her for a while. Twilight is going to have a tough time trying to clamp down on her enthusiasm and not annoy Seth much.
Interesting to see him go to speak with Iron. Being under Shining, he'll know about the monster, but no details, so I wonder how Seth is going to spin this to give Maka a proper burial without spilling who she is. Or maybe he will spill, it's hard to tell with him sometimes. Either way, next chapter sounds really interesting. I can't wait to see Twilight and Opal geek out over the ruins and Seth show Vinyl and Rainbow around the place, maybe even his old room
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I have the thought that he will tell him that she was what would equal a soldier or a national guard. iron being a commander would probably know the best way to lay a soldier to rest so that may be a side reason of why Seth wanted him over the rest to help.