Tanks for the Pranks!
A day. A normal day. Which for Ponyville could mean anything from a tiny problem to a major disaster.
Or it could actually be a typical day enjoyed by anyone else.
However....
Add into the mix my sister and an easily bored cyan Pegasus, you have a recipe for trouble in the making. Imagine my surprise in finding out the entire story of that particular day.
Maintenance runs had been due on the Dragons. We must keep them in proper form and do tests monthly. Though usually out in the forest or the grassy hills to the north, I was unable to direct as during that one day I had been down for maintenance myself.
Shutting down to Standby is proper procedure in depot, sweeping cores for problems as well as the million tiny things tech-spiders must do, it is easier to abide the time by retreating to our Survival Center and waiting it out there. Though doing so would leave a Bolo incommunicado for quite a few hours, it was a normal thing for us.
As if this world was anywhere near normal.
-----
“Whatcha up to Athena?” Rainbow had spotted the other Pegasus sitting on a bench, looking out over the river towards the forest. She settled down with a heavy flap of wings beside her friend. It was a quiet morning, the sun just peeking over the horizon.
The pretty sable face smiled, “Nothing really. Have to do test runs on the Dragons to make sure they’re operating well. Crusader’s gone silent for maintenance, so it’s just me. You doing anything?”
“Nah.” Magenta eyes looked into the sky, “No clouds today, no weather scheduled. Nothing at all going on. It’s boring.” She sighed unhappily and leaned on the metal side rest of the bench, “I mean it’s really boring.” A hoof waved absently, “Even Pinkie’s bored, there’s no birthdays today or anything!”
Athena nodded soberly. That was a lot for the pink mare to be bored. It was also telling her that today was going to be a long one. Of all the days in all the months, why...wait a second...
Her lavender eyes slid sideways to the other Pegasus, a smile starting to break once more on her face, “Wanna go for a ride?”
-----
“This is SO cool!” Rainbow was looking through the reflective visor resting on her muzzle. The lightweight plastic was an even better fit than anything else had been in the past, specifically made for ponies now. “How’d you get this to fit so nice?”
Athena grinned, “Crusader does it. He makes things all the time, I just find them and use them.”
Magenta eyes looked over at her, “He doesn’t know?”
“He designs things and stores them. What good are they if you can’t use them?” She tapped the helmet on her head, making the visor slap down in front of her eyes. She didn’t need it, but it did look pretty cool with a thin layer of reflective gold sandwiched between two layers of armor-plastic.
Rainbow laughed, “You mean play with them.”
“Well, that too!” Another lopsided grin as she activated the internal comm set, “Ready?”
Rainbow waved a hoof, “Ready!”
The Dragon Assault Tank took off like a bat out of Tartarus, making Rainbow lean back and grab onto the hatch rim with a squeal of delight. Athena was leaning forward in the opposite hatch, her face into the wind as the big slab of metal tore up the countryside.
The town had been slow and lazy all morning, one of the rare warmer days planned, Athena made sure there was plenty of air cover and surveillance and had her route planned to the meter.
They tore over the bridge and the river, a few ponies seeing them and stepped out of the way as they went by, Athena and Rainbow yelling happily as they waved.
Stopping in front of Sugar Cube Corner, they saw Pinkie sweeping up inside. Both of them yelled to get her attention, motioning her out of the building. There weren’t any customers, so a few minutes wasn’t going to matter. After yelling towards the back room, she came bouncing out and ensconced herself in the commander’s cupola, another helmet waiting for her on the seat.
Popping back up she pointed a pink hoof, “Onward to adventure!”
The next stop was a little tougher.
Rarity had to be hauled out by all three laughing mares while she protested loudly that she had just had her mane done. Passerby smiled as the delicate mare was set in the turret beside Pinkie. The complaints came back about how unfashionable the helmet and visor set was. Rolled eyes made their appearance as the big vehicle took off one more time, Athena making sure a few hard turns were included for fun.
Pinkie was having the time of her life, waving at everypony as they rumbled down the road to Sweet Apple Acres. The tank was quite nimble under Athena’s control, zig-zagging among the orchard rows and turning the soil over with the wide treads.
It’s hard for a heavy vehicle such as the Dragon to stop on a bit, but Athena was prepared as they locked to a halt in front of the farmhouse, seeing Applejack relaxing on the porch with a cold drink.
“C’mon AJ! Let’s go!” Rainbow was waving a hoof at the surprised mare.
Setting her cold juice down she eyed the waving Pegasus with a raised brow, “Now why would I give up settin’ and enjoying a nice day to go running around with y’all?”
Pinkie leapt onto the gun barrel, waving a package, “ ‘Cause we got snacks too!”
Rainbow huffed, clambering out and grabbing AJ by the hoof, dragging her off the porch, “Quit being a pain in the tail and get in!” She shoved Applejack into the hatch, reaching down and plopping a helmet on her head and squeezing into the same opening. “Let’s go!”
Rainbow had slapped the helmet on crooked, so a yelp was heard as they took their places once more, Applejack trying to get the safety gear turned around on her head, “Rainbow Dash!”
The Pegasus was laughing loudly as they were about to take off, stopped by a tiny filly standing in their way.
“Hey, don’t I get ta go on a ride too?” Apple Bloom had a very eager look about her.
Athena leaped down, grabbing the little Earth Pony and tossing her up to Applejack who slammed the helmet on her head while getting her set between her and Dash. Cowboy hat right back in place, she waved a hoof, “Let’s do it!”
With a happily laughing Apple Bloom waving her hooves they took off once more.
-----
Fluttershy was making a new pot of tea when a rumbling sound made her look around in surprise, seeing a huge cloud of dust appear outside her windows.
“Oh my.” She walked over to the door, wondering what could be going on when it slammed open. A crowd of happy ponies burst in and picked her up, carrying the surprised Pegasus off to the big metal vehicle and planting her in a hatch with a helmet on her head before she could say anything in her defense.
Everyone scooted back in place, with a roar of the huge engine they turned and sped down the road.
“Oh my!”
-----
Everypony knew where the last stop would be, coming almost to a screeching halt in front of Twilight’s Castle, Athena waved them all to silence.
Tapping into the tank’s communications system, the loudspeakers came on with a hiss of static. She could have just spoke directly into it through the data lines, but thought it would be more fun as she raised the microphone to her muzzle, using both hooves to hold it and depress the switch.
“Twilight Sparkle!” Everypony within a clear kilometer heard that voice, “We’ve got you surrounded! Come out with your hooves up!”
Rainbow and Applejack slapped hooves on the turret and bust out laughing with the rest as nothing moved inside the castle for long moments.
Still nothing after the echoes died away, Athena tried one more time.
“Twilight Sparkle! Come out now or we’ll huff and we’ll puff and we’ll blow your castle down!”
Pinkie immediately started puffing her cheeks out and blowing as hard as she could. Fluttershy was hiding inside as the loudspeaker caught her off guard.
The large wooden door was surrounded by a well-known magical aura and whipped open, an angry voice was yelling, “What in Celestia’s name is going on.... out....here..?” That last came out as a squeak as the end of the twenty-centimeter Hellbore was zeroed in on the front door from a very close distance. The violet eyes were wide and pinpointed as she stuttered for a moment.
Rainbow pointed a hoof, “Come along quietly or it’s BOOM!”
Shaking her head she glared at the pointing Pegasus, “Rainbow Dash!” Then her eyes took in the helmeted ponies and little Apple Bloom waving happily at her.
“What’s going on? What are you doing?”
Apple Bloom was bouncing in her seat, “Come on Twilight, we’re going for a ride!”
An exasperated huff came from the glaring Princess, “I can’t do that! I’ve got things to do! Princess stuff!”
Applejack leaned forward on the hull of the tank, eyeing Twilight with a grin, “What Princess stuff?”
Twilight glanced around, avoiding all the stares, “Well, you know. Like..like..Princess things.”
“You ain’t doing a thing are ya?” Applejack was grinning at the nervous Alicorn.
“That’s not true! I..I..was really busy!”
“Oh no she wasn’t!” A scaly face peeked out around the door, “She was stomping around the place wondering what to do next cause she’d done everything on the list!”
Twilight was making throat cutting motions with a hoof, “Spike!”
The little Dragon waved at everypony as Rarity popped up out of her hatch, “Get her!” Pointing a gleaming hoof at the Princess and grinning fiercely, “If I have to suffer this dusty trip so does she!” She gave Spike a smile as he ducked back inside, probably to take the day off.
That did it. Everypony boiled out of the tank and grabbed Twilight who started yelling immediately about ponynappers.
Two passing Town Guards looked over, seeing the group of mares lifting Twilight up and dumping her in a forward hatch, still yelling at the top of her lungs.
“Stop them! They’re ponynapping a Princess!”
Pinkie bounced over to the two who were looking more interested by the moment.
“Don’t worry, she’s just excited to go for a ride!” She gave them the brightest smile ever and flounced right off leaving them shrugging and walking away with knowing grins.
“You’re fired!” Twilight was pointing at the chuckling guards, “You are SO fired!”
Athena got her into the seat, plopping the last helmet on her head as she was still pointing at the guards “Do you hear me? I’m telling Bars!” She couldn’t even see as the visor had slipped upwards letting the opaque plastic cover her eyes. Applejack and Rainbow were laughing out loud as everypony got back in.
A lavender leg waved in the air as she was trying to get the helmet right on her head, the horn preventing it from sitting quite right, “Princess Celestia will hear about this!” The hole in the helmet refused to line up correctly, “Stupid hat!”
Athena got in beside her, holding her steady and rearranging the helmet so it fit correctly, dropping the visor down over her eyes, “Calm down.”
Violet eyes met lavender ones as Athena grinned, “And hang on!”
The tank tore out backwards from the castle, doing a neutral steer and taking off into the outskirts with a group of happily yelling ponies on board.
For the next hour they dusted the roads around and in town, slowly weaving in between walking ponies at a creep just so they could wave or talk to somepony they knew. Everyone in town knew what it was so there were no problems, although by the time of their third pass, they were picking up hitchhikers and dropping them off along the way.
Once Twilight stopped yelling about repercussions she started trying to make Athena take a better route through town to help other ponies. She was shouted down immediately, although they still stopped and helped others from time to time.
After two hours, a herd of very dusty and smiling ponies hit the spa. Aloe and Lotus were overjoyed for the business. They all enjoyed a good soaking and cleaning before stepping out into town once more. The tank was returning to Crusader’s hull as she prepared a few more for test runs.
Rarity primped her mane and giggled along with Apple Bloom as she bounced alongside of the larger mare. The bunch of them leaving the confines of the spa and walking along the streets.
“Wish we could do that more often!” The little filly was eyeing Athena.
The Pegasus smiled, “Maybe next month, we’re just making sure everything is running okay.”
“Awww..” A small hoof scuffed the road.
Athena chuckled, “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find plenty to do in the meanwhile.”
A cultured voice caught their attention, “Oh, I say! Such a suburban town! What was that huge monstrosity exiting by the road you think?”
Everyone turned to see a large group of mixed ponies walking their way through the cozy houses. The fancy dress and posh accents gave them away as visitors from Canterlot. Often they came to see the small town that sat under the shadow of Mount Canter, reveling in the ‘rusticness’ of it.
Ponyville residents pretty much ignored them.
A gentle accented voice came from beside them, “Ugh, tourists. Can’t they visit Manehatten?” Everyone turned to see Octavia and Vinyl standing in the doorway of Sugar Cube Corner.
“Aren’t you from Canterlot?” Athena didn’t know.
“Heavens no!” She pressed a hoof against her chest, “I may sound like it, going to school there, but my heart is here in Ponyville.”
Vinyl nodded, “Yeah we’ve both lived here for years. But tourists, I mean why here?”
Octavia nudged her friend, “Perhaps the high society are just jealous of our quiet little town?”
Vinyl brayed a laugh, “You mean the snobs?”
“Vinyl!”
“It’s true!”
Octavia shook her head, “Try to teach a few manners to someone...” The smile belied her aggrieved tone as Vinyl chuckled.
“Excuse me.” A pony with his nose firmly in the air was stepping close, “Would you happen to know what that..that thing was that was rambling down the road earlier?”
Rainbow immediately nudged Athena as she was about to speak, “What thing?” The cyan Pegasus was looking as innocent as could be as she replied for Athena.
The monocled Unicorn was looking put out, “That..that huge thing that just left.”
Athena got it immediately, “I’m sure it was just a cart or something.” She gave the pony a smile.
“Well, I’m sure you need your eyes checked.” A nasally voice came from a mare with a high styled mane, “It was quite large. Perhaps you need glasses?”
“Oh no! She can spot things a mile away!” Pinkie was bouncing a bit, “But big things on the road?” She tapped a hoof on an out-thrust bottom lip, “Maybe a really big cart?”
“It was quite large and seemed to be moving by itself young mare.” A third tourist had joined the group. The rest were listening to the conversation as Vinyl and Octavia were trying not to snicker. Bon Bon and Lyra had come out of Sugar Cube Corner and caught on immediately, giving each other a nudge.
“Moving by itself?” The mint Unicorn was looking at them like they were delusional, “Sure you haven’t been out in the heat too long? Is kinda warm today.”
Bon Bon nodded, “Seeing things moving by themselves. Maybe you need a cold drink or something?”
“I assure you we are not in need of a drink or anything.” The first pony was stamping a hoof lightly in the dusty road.
Athena kept smiling, whispering out the side of her mouth to Rainbow, “Watch this.”
A rumbling sound presaged the appearance of another tank, called out from its bay by Athena, it flashed past on the outskirt road in full view, raising a cloud of dust as it whipped on by.
“There it goes now!” A hooficured hoof pointed, but was too late as the tank was doing a good clip, all the ponies turned to look at the dust raised by its passage, Vinyl remarking.
“Huh, bit of a breeze, kicking up some dust.” The electric maned mare leaned forward, “You guys sure you’re okay?”
“We assure you young mare, we are fine.” The elaborately mane-styled pony was saying.
Rainbow was moving behind Athena so she could let out a snicker that wasn’t heard. Athena shushed her with a motion as once again the tank flashed on by on another side, making the group of tourists turn and exclaim.
“There it is! Now don’t tell me you didn’t see that!”
“See what?” Eyes turned at the voice, seeing Twilight, who had heretofore remained silent, speak up, “I'm sure our little town doesn’t have things running around by themselves. That would be worrisome.”
A fourth visitor piped up, “Worrisome? Why?” His eyes glanced to the side as the tank rumbled on past again, this time on the road just behind Sugar Cube Corner.
Pinkie inhaled in a long winded gasp, “You haven’t heard?”
This got their attention, all of the tourist group looked at the poofy-maned mare, “Heard what?”
She stepped over close to the group, her blue eyes darting back and forth as if it were something not ever said, “When Nightmare Moon was defeated, she may have put a curse on the town!”
“A curse?” This from an older Unicorn, “Why, that’s utter nonsense! Surely Princess Celestia or Luna could take care of something like that!” His eyes glanced toward Twilight, “No offense Your Highness.”
She waved a hoof, looking non-plussed, “None taken, they have much more experience.” She paused dramatically, “Though there have been times when unknown things crop up. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”
By this time a few more ponies had gathered for the discussion, or just to listen. Apple Blooms’ compatriots in the Crusaders had joined her, Dinky was giving Spring a nudge and both were snickering quietly behind hooves.
“Ah dunno, been some weird things lately,” The little olive filly piped up, her friends nodding, “Ah mean all them ponies saying they heard some rumblin’ sound and then dis..” Her muzzle was covered by a pink hoof, a loud dramatic shushing noise from the same mare telling her she shouldn’t say anything more. A broad wink was given aside. Apple Bloom tried not to giggle behind the covering hoof.
“What was that?” A younger pony of the group had caught the exchange, though not the wink.
“Nothing. Nothing.” Twilight was waving a hoof absently, “Nothing ever happens in our little ‘rustic’ town. The last said with air-hoof ‘quotes’.
“You there!” A hoof was pointed at Octavia, “You seem a little better informed than these locals, what is all this about curses?”
Putting on her poshest accent, Octavia took on a look of pure disinterest, her nose raising just that slight bit, “I’m sure it’s nothing. You know how locals spread rumors sometimes.” She gave that slight roll of her eyes while motioning towards the rest of the group.
Vinyl about lost it, knowing Octavia truly disliked the Canterlot attitude and seeing her put it on like a second skin. She was about to laugh when Octavia’s back hoof kicked her, letting her know not to spoil the fun.
“Quite, quite.” The older of the group nodded, “But what are those things running around?”
Two Guards had stopped on their patrol, listening to the conversation and seeing the nudges and winks that the group from the Royal City was absolutely missing in their attempt to seem so much more sophisticated than the ‘rural’ ponies.
A hoof pointed at them, “You, Guards! What are those things?”
Stone Shape looked at Granite, the latter guard giving him a slight smile and nod, knowing he understood perfectly about Ponyville’s little ‘secret’.
Stone put on the perfect Guard face, “What things?”
“Those... those things running around the town!” Now the whole visiting group was listening, delaying their exploration of the town for this conversation.
Granite was a credit to his name, his face was like stone, “We haven’t seen anything.” Just as he said that, one of the Dragon’s zoomed past behind him and Stone Shape.
“Do you not see that!” A mare wearing a fancy dress pointed behind them, making Stone and Granite turn slowly. Of course the tank was long gone.
“See what?”
Well, this was too much for the older stallion. He waved over a passing messenger which just happened to be Derpy, “You there! Courier!”
The gray mare landed gracefully as she could, wearing her delivery outfit, “Yes?”
“Take this message to Princess Celestia immediately!” The Unicorn floated a piece of paper in front of him, writing on it quickly and rolling it up. Derpy grabbed it out of the air and nodded, flashing off before anyone could let her in on the joke.
This was soon forgotten as Pinkie was spinning a tale as unbelievable as it was silly. It was hard for everypony standing around to keep a straight face as the party pony made up the most outrageous story imaginable.
Of course every single one of the Crusader’s was nodding right along, adding their own spin on the story. It was turning into quite the outlandish tale.
Athena, meanwhile, had called upon four more tanks, arranging the dance that was driving the ponies to distraction. Keeping them off-balance as a single tank flashed by, then immediately followed by another one on the opposite side. She was keeping it in such a way that it appeared one tank was making multiple appearances. To enhance things, the engines were equipped with mufflers, turning them up all the way helped keep the rumbling sounds down to where it was just the slight slapping of the treads running down the road.
This made it seem spookier at the same time she was confusing the poor group of ponies.
Applejack hadn’t said a word, her proclivity for honesty was warring with her desire to see a really good prank get pulled off. She couldn’t help but smile to herself as the big tanks kept rolling by, making the visitors point and exclaim to ponies that were just denying everything.
“Ah’ll..uh..go get some drinks. It’s kinda warm today and maybe we all need somethin’.” She grabbed Rainbow who was still standing behind Athena with a grin, dragging her inside the Corner and slamming the door shut. She made sure they were far enough inside they couldn’t be heard.
“Applejack! It was just getting go...od..” She was eyeing the farm pony and seeing a grin break out on her face, then she started sniggering, breaking into a full blown laugh that made Rainbow join in.
“Oh mah gosh, oh Rainbow Dash, this is gonna be the best prank ever!” She lifted a hoof, getting it smacked by the laughing Pegasus.
Rainbow was looking at her for a moment, “You got out of there because if they asked you’d tell the truth wouldn’t you?”
Wiping an eye, Applejack nodded, “Yeah, ah’m sorry.”
“Don’t sweat it!” She turned, slapping bits on the counter, “Mrs. Cake, could I get cold drinks for the ponies outside? It’s kinda a big crowd.”
The happy baker nodded, “Why of course! Quite the large gathering out there. What’s going on?”
Rainbow leaned on the counter with a wide grin, “One of the best pranks...ever.”
“Oh my! Well, I’ll certainly keep quiet. Tell us all about it later?”
“You got it Mrs. Cake!” She slapped a few extra bits on the counter and waved as she went outside again, not wanting to miss one more second of this.
-----
Derpy was humming happily to herself as she swept through the skies. She rarely got a letter for anypony so important, so she was going to make sure that it was delivered right to her personally!
-----
“...and then Nightmare Moon cursed Ponyville! That ponies would remember her name when they disappeared forever!” Pinkie raised her hooves, making a spooky face, “For...EV....er!”
The Crusader’s were so caught up in Pinkie’s storytelling, they jumped about a meter in the air when she raised her hooves, all of them squeaking in fright.
Dinky recovered first, remembering the whole prank going on, “Didn’t they like..hear something weird before they just disappeared?”
Spring Flower was nodding enthusiastically, “Yeah! Poof! They were gone!” She threw her tiny hooves outward and fell over backward onto the ground.
The older Canterlot Unicorn was scoffing out loud at every sentence, “Preposterous! I’m sure the Princesses would have let us know if something that awful was going on.”
“PEO.”
Everyone turned to look at Twilight, “Pardon?”
“Princess Eyes Only. Some things are kept from the public for safety reasons or because of privacy.” She leaned forward with a slight smile and one raised brow, “Like somepony’s business taxes which are in arrears.”
“Hmph! Well, yes, quite. I’m sure that will all be cleared up soon.”
Twilight nodded, “Of course.”
Pinkie popped up again behind the tourists, “For..EV...er!” Making them all jump.
A younger couple spoke from the back of the group, “But what are those things roaming around? They..they look dangerous.”
Athena timed it just right, another one swooped past with almost no sound at all except treads slapping against the hard packed dirt street.
“What things?”
-----
Derpy waited nervously outside the throne room. She’d rarely been in places like this except for the Gala or a really special occasion. The guards had told her Princess Celestia and Luna were having a meeting and it should only be a few minutes. They were a lot nicer than they looked, always so stern and stuff.
She was led into the throne room, looking around and truly seeing it for how big it was. All the pretty furnishings and statues and things made it really neat.
Derpy found herself in front of the dais in no time, seeing both Princesses smiling down at her with a start.
“Uhm...” She fumbled with the latch on her mailbag, trying to be professional and everything but was not doing a very good job of it. “I..uh..oh goodness..” She just couldn’t get that latch to pop open!
A gentle chuckle came from the throne, making her look up nervously and seeing the taller regent smiling warmly at her.
“Can I help, Derpy?”
Her bright eyes grew wide, “You..you know my name?”
“Of course my little pony. “ Celestia did know her, the bright-eyed mare that was always so cheerful. Many times had she seen her while walking Ponyville, always with a kind word to anypony.
Derpy blushed, still trying to get the latch open when a golden aura enveloped it, popping the catch.
“Thank you!” She reached in got the rolled up missive, politely handing it to Princess Celestia and stepping back but was stopped by a dark hoof.
“Uhm..” The little gray mare was not sure what to say.
Luna smiled, “Don’t be nervous, would you like a drink?” A chilled glass of juice floated over from a tray while Celestia read the note, “I’m sure flying all that way made you quite thirsty.”
“Oh yes, thank you!” The juice, a mix of apple and grapes, was very cold and went down smooth. She had been a bit thirsty and this juice was absolutely wonderful!
Luna smiled, “It looks as if you enjoy it?”
Derpy blinked, seeing the empty glass in her hooves and nodding, “May I have some more?”
“Of course!” A large silvered pitcher enveloped in an aura poured another full glass. “Enjoy.”
“Thank you!” Derpy took her time, enjoying every sip as Celestia chuckled, making them both look.
“It appears something is wrong in Ponyville once more.” She held the note in her magics’ grip.
Luna perked up, “Oh?”
“It seems an esteemed member of the College is there on a tour and something was mentioned about a Curse of Nightmare Moon. There are very large strange things running around the town.”
“Curse of Nightmare Moon?” Luna was looking puzzled, “I don’t remember anything about a curse.” She tapped a hoof on the dais surface for a moment, “And large things running around town? The Elements would handle any problems I’m sure, with Crusader and Athena there to help.”
“Oh, they’re just playing a prank on the tourists.”
Both Princesses turned to look at the quiet mare enjoying her drink.
“Pardon?”
Derpy smiled, “I was hanging around and listened to them talking. Ponies forget I can hear really, really good.” She laughed, “They’ve got..uh..those.. metal carts? Running around and telling them a great story of the Curse of Nightmare Moon. Sure got ‘em fooled.”
A silver-clad hoof rested on her shoulder, “Well done. Ponies should not underestimate you.”
Celestia thought for a moment, metal carts...the tanks? Running around? She smiled at her sister, “Perhaps we should go make sure this Curse of Nightmare Moon doesn’t spread?”
Princess Luna caught it immediately, seeing the twinkle in her sisters’ eye, “Of course! We must make sure our ponies are not suffering under this Curse.” She stood up, looking towards the silent Pegasus, “Care to come along, or would you rather enjoy something to eat first?”
“Oh..uhm.. I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Nonsense!” Luna stamped a shod hoof, summoning servants, “Please attend our messenger here. She is to have whatever she desires. We shall return anon!” The Princesses left Derpy sitting there holding a glass of juice, staring at the veritable army of servants.
“Um...hi?”
-----
By the time two Princesses quietly ensconced themselves on a random cloud floating above the town, quietly, unseen and covered with a bit of misdirection magic; quite a few ponies had joined the large crowd listening to Pinkie and the others add on to the longish tale of The Curse of Nightmare Moon.
Meanwhile, the tanks, at Athena’s command, were zipping back and forth in an ever more complicated dance that was still making it appear as if it were only one of them, in opposite directions seconds after being seen in another.
Celestia laughed low, “Oh my goodness.”
Luna joined her, “Quite a good story, no?”
“Pinkie has quite the imagination.” They were both watching the named mare telling the story once more.
They both leaned a cheek on one hoof as they watched the proceedings.
“...and then she said, “I curse you Ponyville and the Elements of Harmony for foiling my plan!”
Rainbow leaned in with a grin, “That’s when we let her have a little Harmony right in the nose!”
Twilight looked aghast, “Rainbow!”
“It’s true!”
“You don’t have to put it that way!”
The Pegasus laughed, “How else can you say it? Smacked with the rainbow? Harmonized?”
Pinkie bounced, “Ooo! Ooo! I got one! Harmony Tune-Up!”
Twilight shook her head, “You both are awful.”
Surrounding ponies laughed as Pinkie ended the story once more, “..and that’s what happened! So these things...if they exist, run around and snatch ponies right out of the town! To never be seen again!” She looked aorund dramatically, “Ponies say all they see is glowing eyes and then...GONE!”
“But then it’s all just an old mare’s tale, you know how those things are darlings.” Rarity was blithely ignoring the tank behind her, creeping past a house like it was trying to sneak around the town. They all sat around a table now, brought out by Mr. and Mrs. Cake to let ponies relax. They were all being treated by Rarity to a nice lunch while the stories got told, “On no darlings, don’t worry at all. Nopony has disappeared in simply days!” She said it so straight faced even Sweetie Belle had to look twice.
Athena was trying very hard not to laugh out loud. Ponies in the town had this instinctive ability to pick up on what was going on sometimes, especially with pranks like this. Anything else, pretty much hit or miss, usually ended in a panic.
Whenever a tank was spotted and pointed out, ponies turned slow enough that it was long gone and they could honestly say they didn’t see a thing. Even Captain Bars had passed by, seeing what was going on and kept his ‘official’ look going until he was well past the group, snickering to himself all the way to the office.
“That is pure balderdash!” The well-dressed Unicorn was saying, “Such nonsense. The sky darkening, things from out of another dimension stalking the town.” He adjusted the monocle in front of one eye, “I’m not quite sure what those things are, but a curse? Nonsense!”
Princess Luna snickered quietly, nudging her sister and raising one brow to make sure Celestia understood.
The shining mare nodded with a grin.
Luna concentrated, bringing forth powerful magic from deep within her.
-----
“You know, ponies that see those..those..’things’ just kinda end up missing an’ all.” Sweetie Bell’s voice was clearly heard, though one of the mares in the sightseeing group was admiring her curly mane.
“What an adorable little filly!”
Sweetie’s face went flat, “You’re not listening.”
Scootaloo was nudging her friend, “That’s cause you’re so adorable!”
“Oh shush!”
Twilight was keeping a straight face as best she could, “Well, I don’t think they’ll be anymore problems.” She gave a glance to Athena who nodded, preparing the tanks to be sent back.
“I mean, not like today is going to suddenly get....worse?” She was looking up, seeing a huge shape move in front of the sun, blocking the light.
A face appeared in the darkened sky, a fanged mouth, slit-pupiled eyes and an oh so familiar laugh!
“Oh ho! So my curse isn’t real? I’ll show you all that Nightmare Moon is for-EVER!”
Athena almost panicked, thinking something was definitely wrong. She accessed all recon feeds from local drones....there!
Oh, this was going to be fun. She could see the two Princesses huddling on a cloud together, looking like they were laughing it up. Pranks within pranks. This was getting better and better. By the ranging cameras, she could see that the darkness covered only Ponyville and enough of the surrounding area to make it look like it was over all of Equestria.
Niiiiiiiice.
Twilight was looking nervous, glancing at Athena and seeing her wink. Her face changing to a puzzled look as the Pegasus smiled back, giving her another long slow blink of her eye and rolling them both upwards to motion to the single cloud scudding across the open skies..
A light went off in her eyes as she grinned back, hiding her reaction and nudging Rainbow and the others on the sly.
“Oh no! The Curse of Nightmare Moon!” Twilight was pointing into the sky, her voice almost stilted.
Athena could have face hooved. She really needed to give her acting lessons.
Fluttershy was really good at hiding quickly, Athena had to admit. Pinkie was waving to her as she peeked out the window from Sugar Cube Corner. Applejack was right beside her peering out into the now total darkness, eyes wide as she looked into the sky.
Rarity saw them both and gave them a sly look, along with a slight smile before turning around to the others, “Oh my stars! We’re all doomed!” She threw a fore leg over her brow, contriving to swoon into one of the tourists, a quite good looking and obviously well-to-do stallion.
Rainbow Dash came forward, “I am sure there will be somepony to help us!”
Athena did facehoof this time. Acting lessons, check.
Everypony was in pure shock, looking into the sky and wondering what was really going on. Some ponies did scamper off to their homes to hide, not expecting anything like this.
Pinkie was the one that was actually going to win the award for best acting, “We can do this, we’re the Elements of Harmony!” She was snorting and pawing at the air as she reared up, joined by the others. Fluttershy and Applejack stampeding out of the shop to look curiously upwards after noticing the look Twilight gave them.
Applejack was pushed by a hoof, seeing Rainbow give her a wink and finally understanding what was going on, though she wasn’t quite convinced yet. If it was part of the prank, it was a darn good one!
“All right everypony! Stand back!” Twilight was hoping Athena knew what she was doing.
She did.
The shape covering the sun was definitely a shock, but the darkness that fell was complete and deep. No light remained except for hastily lit lanterns that appeared in houses and windows. The standing group of ponies involved in the prank were getting nervous as well until gently touched or whispered to that it would be okay.
Athena had taken the opportunity that it had given her, sneaking in the muffled tanks to sit quietly while everyone else was looking up. As the laughter got louder she broke the cover of the night by switching on the headlights and searchlights on the tank hulls.
Ponies about jumped out of their skins, seeing what looking liked large glowing eyes appear out of nowhere, a searchlight on each hull sweeping back and forth like a beacon attempting to find new victims as the broad beams swept across the crowds.
She had reached out in the confusion, whispering quickly to a wondering Twilight and making sure each of her friends knew this would be okay. She gave them all a smile that convinced them it would be fine.
Now it was Celestia’s turn. Her magic drew from around her and poured out and into the six mares standing below. She knew the Harmony Magic would not react because there was no real threat, but that did not mean she couldn’t fake it well enough.
A glamour surrounded the six mares, brightening quickly, then fading as it revealed them in Harmony form, tails and manes done up exquisitely, cutie marks glowing and stamped around their hooves and fetlocks, showing the assembled ponies what it would look like had the Harmony Magic truly responded.
Now Twilight was truly puzzled, she didn’t feel the magic like she had in the past, yet, here it was! Her eyes took in the others, seeing them lit up and then glowing softly with what appeared to be the Harmony Magic returning for a fight to protect Equestria.
But she felt something familiar, very familiar. The warmth of the magic had a flavor she had felt before, many many times.
Celestia!
Her violet eyes wandered for a moment, looking around as in all the confusion she had forgotten what Athena had hinted at.
A hoof tapping hers made her see Athena looking at her, the lavender eyes slowly rolling upwards to the sky, giving her a clue again. She almost laughed out loud, now realizing what was really going on.
“Come on everypony! We need to stop the Curse of Nightmare Moon!”
The other five Elements lined up alongside her, staring at the laughing face in the sky, “Let’s do this!” She made sure to say it loud enough that wherever the Princess was she’d hear her.
A sparkling magic field appeared above and around them, lifting the six into the air as a rainbow of power shot from their collective bodies, hitting the face that mocked them in the sky.
It laughed even harder, “Your magic won’t stop me!”
The six mares looked at each for a moment, wondering what to do next as they landed softly back on their hooves.
This was immediately answered from above.
“Fear not my ponies, for we have come to help!”
Every eye looked upward to see the glimmering forms of Celestia and Luna flying through the air to land beside Twilight and her friends. Their coats shimmered in the darkness, eyes glowing with power as the regents of Equestria stood proudly beside the Elements.
The searchlights on the tanks made for an eerie scene, sweeping over the assembled ponies and lighting up the night through tunnels of actinic white.
The two Princesses stood poised, bodies gleaming when the beams touched them before moving on, waves of magic wafting off them like a fine perfume. Light bounced off the polished metal of golden and silver cladding, only adding to the dramatic entry and the pose they both assumed, standing with heads high, wings flared outward.
Ponies cheered, seeing their Princess arrive in the nick of time.
Athena was shaking her head, not believing anyone had tumbled to the awful theater.
Luna stepped forward, hoof upraised, “Together, we shall stop this Curse!” The Mare of Dreams was having a hard time keeping a straight face with all the bad acting going on. She tipped a reassuring wink to a worried-looking Fluttershy, who perked back up.
With their new, deeper reserves of magic the two regents horns lit up with a powerful glow, the Elements lighting up right beside them as they all lifted, suddenly punching blasts of light at the glowing eyes in the darkness. Multi-colored beams shot from the Elements while the Princesses fired lines of laser like intensity at the targets. It was wonderful light show, lighting up the creeping dark, showing everypony the power of their leaders.
Athena saw the impacts, even felt them through sensors slightly but there was no damage, not even a scratch. She pondered for a second before she stopped herself being mesmerized by the ‘fight’. Looking upward, she caught a slight nod from Celestia and as the magic hit each tank in turn, the lights went out. She pulled them back and sent them silently scurrying towards the safety of Crusader’s hull, covered by the sounds of ‘explosions’ when the spells hit the metal sides.
It would appear the good guys would win this one. She was good with that!
One by one the ‘creatures of the night’ went away, leaving the area lit up by lanterns.
This was only the prelude as once again they all raised into the air, Celestia and Luna adding their ‘magic’ to the ‘Harmony’ that flowed outward, hitting the evil face that covered the sun this day. A grand explosion of light and muffled sound was the result.
A yell of disgust came from the face in the sky before it too faded away, being ‘defeated’ by the power of Equestrian magic and Harmony.
As the group landed, ponies raised a hearty cheer. Most of them knew the deal, but they did it anyways as the spectacle was definitely worth seeing, prank or no.
The darkness left like a fog in early morning sun, bringing to light the town and ponies standing around blinking at the brightness revealed.
Once again a rousing yell went up from the assembled townsponies, the Element ‘magic’ fading away to leave the six mares as they always were, the Princesses tamping down their own power as they stood there calmly.
Ponies did so love a good show.
“Yes. Seems our Princesses have taken care of this quite well!” The monocled Unicorn was saying as he and his group trotted off like this was to be expected. Athena couldn’t believe the attitude, as if they’d only been inconvenienced. Amazing.
Celestia shook her head sightly, some things never changed.
The Ponyville ponies, however, loved everything about it. Cheering the Princesses and the Elements once more with rousing sounds and hooves stamping on the ground. A wonderful display of the affection felt by all of them towards their leaders and friends.
“I think we’ve done our part for the day.” Celestia was smiling warmly at everypony, “Shall we... Luna? Luna?” Rolled eyes and a sigh came from the tall mare as she watched her sister gleefully signing autographs and giving hoofprints on photos that somehow had made an appearance.
Her amusement was interrupted when she spotted a group of tiny ponies waiting nervously in front of her, “Yes?” She gave them a warm smile as always, “What can I do for you?”
“Would...would you sign our photographs Princess?” Tiny hooves held out a shiny glossy print of her in the air, magic gathered around her from just a few minutes ago. Photo Finish did her work very well and very quick. Her eyes spotted the photographer selling copies for a single bit to waiting ponies. Usually her portraits sold for much, much more.
She looked around for a ..of course. Twilight stood there grinning with a quill and ink pot held up for her use.
“Thank you Twilight.” Enveloping the quill in her own magic, she sat down to sign photos of herself for happy foals. A crowd surrounded both of them as the friends watched, enjoying the smiles and joyful sounds.
Applejack chuckled, “Sure is different seeing them like that.”
Twilight nodded, “It’s nice.”
They sat and watched until Athena noticed something, tapping Twilight and Applejack on the shoulder and pointing to a waiting group of ponies holding out photos of them.
Rainbow was already gleefully hoofprinting photos along with Fluttershy and Rarity. Pinkie was...being Pinkie.. Too busy to sign but a few she was hoofing over cupcakes and sweets to anypony she could reach.
Mr. and Mrs. Cake were now catering to the swelling crowd of ponies that were already gathered in front of the shop. Business was booming, if only for a while.
Athena watched it all with merry eyes, seeing the interactions and smiles, the laughter and all else that always went with a gathering like this. Thinking back to her time in service, it was so very different after a battle.
She preferred this.
Luna grinned at a happy filly that trotted away holding a signed photo in her grasp. Leaning over to Celestia, she murmured, “I have a feeling we’ve forgotten something sister.”
Celestia nodded, “I’m sure whatever it is will be fine.” She turned back and smiled at a waiting colt.
-----
“Exquisite, simply exquisite! How do you do this?” The Pastry Chef was marveling over the taste and simple cast of flavors that rolled over his tongue as he took another bite. His whole crew was watching him gush over the item with wide eyes. He never did that.
A crowd was stuffed into the kitchen, ingredients were flying as more batter was poured into molds and shoved into waiting ovens for ponies that were outside, lining up to try this simple treat.
The older stallion was tasting another one, “But honestly, tell me your secret! Ponies everywhere will enjoy this!” He looked warmly upon the pony he was exclaiming too.
Bright eyes and a gentle smile met him in return, “I just like muffins.”
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7966530 I do know an artist did a wonderful rendition of Athena as a Pegasus. http://www.deviantart.com/art/Commission-Athena-600992411.
I know it's been months, but trying to slip into the arc has been a bit rough, please bear with me :)
I dunno if the story rates anyone doing fan art of the New Princesses, though it would be cool to see :)
good lord you write comedy as well as you do combat, and even combined them in the ponyville pie war. Your only getting better.
Wait.
In all these chapters, no one has thought of a full on wacky racing thing with the crew and all the dragons?
I know there was that thing awhile back with 2 of the dragons and the Running of the Leaves.
But I mean full on racing with 6+ racers.
Okay, that chapter was hilarious
Finally caught up with this semiyears offerings. From the blackest depths to amazing heights, so much life and story in such a relatively short time.
At least if the Dragons can get round, Im pretty sure I can manouver The Shed for deliveries, given its roughly th size of one of the smaller houses in town, and tracked.
Something I realised though when talking about moving Bolos rapidly.
You said before that when Crusader was towing Athena, that he turned his AGrav up so he could float, or at least minimum damage the railway tracks.
If a Bolo can Grav float, that means a Bolo can go Supersonic.
Deadalus Drive.
Now, what would be the effect of dropping a Bolo at Escape Velocity onto a target, when in its Stasis Field?
I was just going back to re-read some Bolo books. This was well timed. :)
I like the take on "Why Crusader hasn't advanced", though the 24's being the first Fully sentient Bolo's might be something that Nike might have disputed, being the missing link Mark 23x that she was. :P
Depending on which books you're using anyways, you may very well view Weber's addition as non-canon for all I know. I cannot recall if you mentioned Nike in a earlier chapter... checking. Yes, you did, nevermind. Good Ol' Benjy...
My earlier fears that Crusader was being replaced by Athena in the story were ill founded, and I much enjoyed these updates, it's surprising how much Crusader still sounds like a Bolo, despite never using Bolo vocabulary anymore.
Are you going to end each mass dump with a "Fun" chapter regaling a story mentioned in one of the new chapters? Much like you did with the Hounds story? It's only been twice
7967481
In one book I read, a bolo found itself stuck in space, and used it's weapons to construct a crude Orion drive, blast an enemy battleship as it passed by (Bolo driveby! XD "You came to the wrong Galactic arm motherbucker!") and then, finding itself unable to slow down (Too damaged), it then proceeded to go ahead and de-orbit itself the way nature intended, and take out a large chunk of the enemy's armed forces on the planet as well.
Not bad for a fresh from the factory Bolo that never managed to actually report to it's first assignment.
Actually, Dragon 12 kinda reminded me quite a bit of it, in terms of "Voice".
Additionally, the later model Bolo's were fully capable of using the Grav drives to fly about, but doing so deactivated their Screens in the process (Bad when being shot at, good for mobility though), and yes, supersonic flights were possible, I believe. Can't fully recall.
7967636
Oron is pulse tactical nuclear warheads, what everyone thinks of.
Deadalus is British Astronomical Societies Thermonuclear drive.
A Bolo doesnt have to build on, its Hellbores are Deadalus drives, but as EE Doc Smith stated, the more effiicnt the drive, the more effiicnt the weapon. All the Bolo has to do it not cancel, block, or divert the recoil.
In fact, given kiloton yield TACs are used for a 10 kiloton mass Orion, and Bolos weight under 40 kton mass to 10 Megaton yield Hellbore, they should be able to accelerate up to a thousand g. Or escape velocity in the first couple seconds.
The stasis field object at high speed impacting a planet was used in Larry Nivens Ringworld series, at one point, as an actual landing method on the Ringworld.
Noone ever does Pinkie truely unleashed, because simply put, it means the story would be rewritten as you are reading it. Discord is absolutely terrified of Pinkie. He might 4th wall, but she Uses it like he uses his reality. Imagine if Pinkie decided to use mix and match flip book slide transitions on loccations and enemies. At least Discord can get back due to dimentional tears. How many enemies can get back from say The Moon if she scene transitioned them there? Or anywhere else in the Multiverse?
7966605 Just glad you get a laugh or two :) Thanks for the kind compliment :)
7966640 No, never thought of that. Odd..I guess I must be single minded on things. let me give that some thought! Thanks!:)
7967481 In some of the canon books, Bolos have been able to basically fly with A-Grav. Myself, thinking of a thing the size of the Battleship New Jersey flying, well..kinda strains things. But as an assist, it would ramp speed up no problem :) As for dropping a Bolo in stasis from orbit and attaining velocity, probably a very large hole :)
7967502 Only option huh? Niiice, I see what ya did there :)
7967598 Amending Fences was glossed over in a recent chapter if you've noticed, so am going straight to Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep. Only..with definitely more of an AU twist to it. I do enjoy rewriting episodes, it gives the readers a link, plus they act to give me ways to wander off into unknown territory:)
7967636 For Bolo vocabulary, most Bolos talked like normal people, only with a quirk here and there. If you've noticed, he's stopped using contractions a while ago, more stilted and formal. He's very precise in what he says most times, unless a bit of dry humor slips out. This is due to his being a Mark 24, and constant use of the Sap program.
A 'fun' chapter is not a bad idea. It was a very special side story with the Hounds because of the mythology that grew around them from a simple little tale told by Athena to appease the schoolponies. But yes, I can certainly try to do that! Let me see what I can do! :)
Never change, Derpy...
. Never change. 
Will there be any more BOLOS that may arrive?
It could be interesting if a small group of BOLOs arrived and one or two becomes the antagonists
I always imagine the Dragon Units to be very similar to the Mako from Mass Effect
theoryflaw.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/memako01.jpg
Although that might just be me not being familiar with the Bolo universe.
i.imgur.com/OnLLvVa.gif
The Goomba Stomp reminded me of Unit 12.
7967804 Tac nukes? In an Orion setup? Only if you were MacGyver-ing it... The real design would have used nuclear shaped charges. Teeny tiny ones. Yes, those are a thing that we can do. 85% of the energy of each charge would be confined in a cone and thusly go to pushing the craft, as opposed to the ~10% a basic nuke would provide, on account of its not directing the energy at all. See here for lots more details. (I suspect you might already know some or all of that, but I feel it's worth mentioning anyway)
7968013 Nice catch there! Didn't know if anyone would see that :) Movie night, definitely gotta have a short chapter about movie night!
7968097 Definitely something I've thought of :)
7968135 Not a bad likeness, though with treads. I've always thought of them as superheavy M1's but with more room, weapons and such. But the Mako, neat stuff! Gives me an idea.... That Goomba Stomp, yeah that was it!:)
7968251
I about spit my soda on that one..dangit, now I can't unsee it!
I think it was just him trying to do the right thing, but watching the world burn as he was doing so. :)
7968466 Oh good grief..now I'm seeing it too!
And this just keeps getting better and better.
7968944
It would definitely help push the story along while keeping things interesting that's for sure.
I've got plenty of ideas for other BOLOS if you want any
7967804
This Bolo was specifically not using the recoil, and instead using detonations, hence the Orion drive reference. It was primitive enough it almost destroyed the Bolo in the process. Presumably it could have made a Daedalus drive instead, but it did not have the resources to do so (Or for some other reason, choose not to), it DID however have a giant cannon made to destroy star-ships.
I was not so much remarking on your idea, as I was relaying to you the only instance I was aware of where a Bolo 1) Was in space, 2) Turned itself into a spaceship (The Bolo even commented on that, he was hilarious) using some form of propulsion, and 3) Impacted a planetary mass using it's chassis as a weapon.
I should note, that it was not using normal Bolo armaments (Hellbores), but instead the "Hellbore rail cannon" or whatever it was called that some authors used in later marks during Final War. For when you absolutely have to deny all planetary space to all enemies, and you only want to use Bolo's, accept no substitutes.
Found it, Hellrail, First generation was the Mark 34. I believe none were deployed against the Melconian's, it was instead used exclusively in a side war by another race that invaded while Humanity was just a tad bit busy.
Actually commenting on your idea, that likely would have worked quite well, and I do not recall if the Bolo had reasoned through that, perhaps there was an issue. I do recall there were time constraints, heavy ones.
Though, I'm not sure that a Hellbore in space would have been capable of providing propulsion normally. Hellbores were used by all (Or almost all) Concordiate Warships, if they provided that degree of propulsion just from firing, I'm pretty sure it would have been mentioned at least once as an issue to be overcome.
7967865
In this case, I meant more of what Bolo's usually refer to constantly. How long a process took them (Measured to the thousandth of a second usually), mentioning of various systems that enable various tasks (Which Crusader does, but not in the same way). That sort of thing.
He doesn't do that, not since chapter 1, but he still sounds like a Bolo despite that.
It's very well done.
7969066 Definitely not. Plus an entire Regiment of them? Bad news all the way around.
7969264 Oh! My apologies then, you're absolutely right! Thank you :)
7969496 Definitely a truism :)
7969812 You're right, and I will correct that, thanks!
7970037 It's a matter of checks and balances. Bolo AI's must, and need a chain of command or something resembling it. In case of damage, bad programming, infiltration, they MUST have something or someone to help them make decisions. This was actually canon in the books, it's why there were human commanders along for the ride, except for one story I recall. Humans never fully trusted Bolos, so there were stopgaps in place, always. Sad but true.
7970059 Now that, was funny :)
I had this thought the other day about Sunset stumbling across Hera, but with Hera in some sort of Hard Drive because "portal."
...Now I kinda want to write a fanficion of this fanfiction. I'm sad because I know I'd do it injustice due to not being familiar with the Boloverse at all.
7970559 It does make you wonder how the Portal would translate them.. Toasters? :)
7970590 Never turn your back, especially around Pinkie
7970589 As amusing as that would be, I think an RC car would be more entertaining.
I can see it now: Hera wakes up as a remote control car (that can't talk...Maybe can connect to WiFi) without a remote and starts to follow Sunset Shimmer (post-Fall Formal, pre-Rainbow Rocks) nearly everywhere. Sunset's trying to prove to everyone that she's changed while trying to get away from an annoying RC car that won't leave her alone...and she's constantly getting emails from someone named "Hera" who is calling her "commander" for some reason.
I'm already imagining Sunset mocking Hera for not being able to follow her up the stairs to CHS, only to groan when Hera takes a ramp meant for kids in wheelchairs.
I have a very big grin on my face right now.
7970687 THAT, is a crack fic waiting to happen :) Yes I am laughing
7970729 I never even thought of that..though I get the feeling if I had done that the readers would have lynched me
Great thought though!
7970766 Glad you enjoyed it
7970890 I've never tried writing horror before..well, a full story at least. Definitely something to try :)
soooooooooo,
we ever gonna get a marriage chapter of crusader x applejack?
Best, simply the best, dont stay away to long would like a nice battle related set of chapters, maybe one where instead of finding another bolo they find an actual space ship (PONIES IN SPACE)
7971769 Agreed
Awesome work on the new crop of chapters
7971272 Maaaybe I oughta just write a nice, horror side story then. I didn't realize folks would get chills from a snippet :)
7971391 Not sure what the conversion to Concordiat Credits would be though..
7971410 Somewhere in the timeline..maybe..could be..yeah, we'll go with that :) If it does happen, I'm gonna make sure it is the poniest, Pinkiest, craziest special chapter ever. With all they've been through, having something normal like that, naahhhhh
(BTW That Avatar pic rocks, love GiTS )
7971765 I swear to you, by all that's pony, I figured ten chapters, maybe! And well...
7971769 Good point! The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, but possibly stranger than we CAN imagine. I find true horror is with the unknown, the something you know is there but can't quite quantify (To use a big word) What was it/them/they? We may never know, and I think that's what makes it truly terrifying.
As for the Changelings, they've been planned for. Of course if Meep is lurking, and I suspect they are, how I handle the Changelings will be scrutinized minutely :)
7970559
I do wonder how the portal would translate them myself...
images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ4MDM0NDUzNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDMzNDA4MTE@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,669,1000_AL_.jpg
Derpy must of just asked to bake muffins.
add this bolo https://oldroadapples.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/855_max1.jpg
7971898 That definitely is funny to think about in the right situation
7971851 I am working on two new right now, will post as they are finished. :)
7971986 She did, and her skill at it made the chefs day. Kinda a nice touch I thought :)
7972108 I am glad you enjoyed the chapter, though chilling. I'll definitely have to make another more involved story.
7972312 The ablative armor on it (Those big boxes hanging on the sides) Makes me wonder what exactly is going to fire at something that big? You know? Great picture!
wait just realized the boxes are missile pods.
7972702 My mistake, they certainly looked like ablative armor :)
7971980 As interactive as that would allow them to be, I'm still preferring my idea of the Bolos being translated as RV cars with WiFi capabilities.
Granted, that is because I'm really enjoying the idea of Hera trolling Sunset while she's trying to prove she's changed from EqG 1.
7973193
Hmm, battle capable RV...
Ooooooh...!
pbs.twimg.com/media/ByUYkbNCcAAIy5O.jpg:large
7973215 Pffffff! Ok, I mean to say "RC" cars instead of "RV", but that is an amusing thought too.
7971769
Or busy digging up some sort of extremely large metal thing they found buried out in the badlands?
Hmm, now I'm wondering how that TSDS-related neural interface stuff would interact with a hive mind...?
7974535
''Hello everybody, my name is Markitank, and today we will be blowing up clackers!''
add this to https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/25/d4/87/25d487b8da748bf85af32d5eba26b51a.jpg
7975361 She would have to, to stop him from doing harm. Although anything that got in their way... Yeah...
7975445 THAT, is pretty slick looking!
7975571 The Galaxy is a big place, even the Concordiat and the Melconian Empire didn't know it all..and that's a little scary.
(The only thing lacking in The Great Ponyville Tank Hoax was not having Trixie show up.>
7970703 i want to see RC car Bolos now!!!
great chap dump bro. 10 outta 10. I'd like to see how you'd do the bolos in the EG world. The rc car idea is fucking hilarious.
i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah156/stormlion1/BoloTyr_zpsse9aqtim.jpg
Bolo Tyr approves all these new chapters!
Another excellent update from NFire. Loved the junk food and Prank chapters, they were really funny yet still served to enhance and expand this wonderful universe.
PLEASE, Keep up this amazing work of literature.
7977166 Oh PITS! I totally forgot about her. Dangit, now I'm gonna have to make another special chapter... :P
7977477 Very true, weighted with memories we can only imagine.
7977913 I'm..uhm...sorry? But glad you enjoyed the date! :)
7978954 Everytime I see those mentioned now I start snickering, darn you:) Thank you, glad you enjoyed them :)
7979139 Wow, that's neat! Glad Tyr approves :)
7979624 I'm very glad you enjoyed them! I will keep writing as long as I have material, and it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon! Plus more funny stuff, gotta have those laughs :)
yay!