Episode 25: It's All About Location, Location, Location!
Resadur164's Comment
While Lyra is cross referencing both maps, you send a subtle glare over to Tina for her lack of direction when it comes to her old home. While you doubt anything would have come from visiting the old shrine, at least in terms of figuring out just what the hell Megan or whoever made the moral was doing, you still would have liked to have gotten Lyra's kinda-professional opinion on it.
A opinion you can't get at the moment because the only pony who knows where the Diamond Dogs caves are is off dealing with a dragon and won't be back until at least the end of the day.
Dang it Beastwoman! Why must you infect me with your lack of direction and awareness of your surroundings?!
You pointedly decide to ignore the massive feeling of irony after thinking that as Lyra lets out a squee of excitement before she looks over to you and says,
"Oh Skeletor this is amazing! I've only marked half of the locations on the map, and there's still so many! In fact, some of these seem to be outside the very borders of Equestria itself! I'll need another map just to mark those, in fact..."
Lyra trails off as she looks over to Bon Bon, who for some reason starts to sweat nervously at the other mare’s gaze. Before you can question this, or trail off into thoughts of shipping, Lyra asks the nervous earth pony,
BrownDog77's Comment
“Hey Bonnie, can I get those maps of the world that you have for some reason?”
“N-NO! I’ll get them!” she says as she rushes off to her room.
Lyra looks at you and shrugs.
“She’s like that with her stuff sometimes. I found an awesome grappling hook once and she nearly bit my head off.”
Note to self, don’t touch secret agent’s toys.
When Bon Bon gets back with said maps, you see other landmasses besides Equestria, and though they’re labeled in that chicken scratch writing that’s hard to get a grasp on, there are pictures. There’s a picture of a griffon in what you assume is Griffonstone, Dragons for the Dragon Lands, and even Zebras, but there are some that make you raise a brow.
Is that a cat on that other continent? Are there a race of talking cats? Because honestly that’d be adorable. Though since Ponies are the size of dogs, that means they’d all be the size of guinea pigs or something. EEE, Kitty-Pigs!
There are other pictures of creatures that you can’t quite identify, like one that looks like a gremlin or something, and some gorilla looking thing far to the south.
Hmm, must be Tirek styled centaurs, he was very ape like, you reason as Lyra starts cross referencing.
As you stare at the map of the world and of Equestria side by side over Lyra's shoulder, you can start to feel a headache coming from the sight.
ponyheart07's Comment
MagicLover2128's Comment
The strangeness of the nations/geography of the two maps causes you to scratch your head in confusion as you let out a befuddled
“Nyeh?” Bon-Bon notices your confusion, while Lyra seems to be too into her own world cross referencing the maps to notice.
"What's wrong Skeletor?"
You look over to the earth pony before pointing at the two maps, shrugging your shoulders, and showing off your question mark page in your notebook.
She looks back and forth at the two maps and you as she raises a brow.
“Are you…confused by the other nations?” she guesses. You make a maybe gesture before you point at Equestria as a whole before pointing to the other landmasses around it separated by a few seas.
These landmasses and continents look like they’re straight out of Middle Earth or even maybe a bit of Westeros from Game of Thrones. How close are they? Is the rest of the world unknown or just water?
Noticing your hand motions miming out measurements she takes another shot at charades.
“Are…are you asking why the continents are so close together?”
“Nyeh!” you point at her and nod.
“Why wouldn’t they be? I mean yeah, a long time ago all the lands used to be one massive land before they seperated, or so archaeologists say, but yeah, dirt doesn’t travel that fast.”
Yeah, no crap, but how new is this planet if your version of Pangea has only broken up a little?
“Okay, I think I’ve got it!” Lyra says aloud interrupting your converstation as she lays out a new map with the x’s over it. “It may not be the most accurate map out there since I’m missing exact longitudes and latitudes, but if one were to go to these locations and explore, I’m sure they’d be able to locate something.”
You nod at this as you look at all the areas within Equestria that are marked, quite a few it turns out, and they are all over in countless cities that you can’t read. Looking over at the world map you see that Lyra also jolted down the Equestria ones on it as well along with the X's on other continents/nations, but of course they’re not as specific due to the scale change.
Judging from the world map, there are at least a total of thirty locations all across Equestria and the world, with a good chunk of them being in Equestria. Though there are 4 question marks.
“Nyeh?” you ask pointing to one.
“Good question,” Lyra nods as she circles the question marks. “These are the only different markers on the map. One near Neighagra Falls, one in the Smokey Mountains, One near a settlement of rock farms, and the last one near the southern deserts.
“Nyeh?” you ask shrugging at their purpose.
“You’ve got me,” she shrugs. “Since we have no reference for what is at these X’s, those locations are just as mysterious. Perhaps not even my Grandpa knew what was there…or something,” she guesses.
“Well surely they’re significant if your Grandpa marked them,” Bon Bon says.
“All of this is significant, and yet he never said a word about it. Not even in this crypto-zoology book,” Lyra explains, seeming completely baffled.
Hmm, that is pretty suspicious, you agree. I mean, why would you dedicate your life to looking for something and then keep it quiet?
The mysterious nature of this though takes a backseat as you see that an X is located where the griffon picture was, and that could only mean one thing...
Jaro45's Comment
Allsmiles's Comment
“Nyeh!” you exclaim giddily which causes the ponies to jolt.
YES! I HAVE AN EXCUSE TO VISIT CATBIRD EARLY!
“What? What is it?” asks Lyra and you excitedly point at the picture of the Griffon.
"Ugh, the Griffon Kingdom,” Bonb Bon scoffs and looks annoyed.
Whoa, okay...wasn't expecting that reaction.
Noticing your confused expression Bon Bon offers a strained smile as she says,
"Oh don't mind me Skeletor, I just haven't had the most...pleasant of experiences there. It’s no big deal, really."
To this Lyra huffs and rolls her eyes before she snippily says,
"No big deal she says,” Lyra huffs with a roll of her eyes. “Ha, if that were only the case!”
“LYRA! He doesn’t need to hear about-“
“Her jerk of an ex-coltfriend brought her there for their three year anniversary and dumped her two weeks in. Bonnie came back home crying and wouldn't leave her room for a month."
“…Oh right!” Bon Bon says sounding surprised and confused momentarily. “Yeah, he didn’t need to hear about that," she says switching over to a hurt tone, to which Lyra winces at before she quickly hugs her friend in sympathy.
"Sorry Bons, you just know I get worked up whenever you mention that jerk."
As the two ponies have their moment, Tina and your two guards just stand off to the side awkwardly, while you just stare in suspicion.
Okay, definitely something fishy there. I’ve pranked my sister’s exes enough times to know Bon Bon’s hiding something. What really happened in the Griffon Kingdom to make you all weepy Ms. Secret Agent?
"Uh Master...should Tina do something?" your grunt asks as she’s taken in by the scene, but you shake your head.
Nah, it’s clearly something above our clearance level. Lyra clearly buys the story, and so do you guys, but I’m sure I’ll figure out the truth eventually.
Lyra looks at you from over Bon Bon’s shoulder and asks,
“So, yeah…why were you so excited Skeletor?”
“Nyeh,” you answer as you hold up a picture of Gilda.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash’s Griffon friend. I’d heard she went home awhile ago,” she nods.
“That’s correct ma’am. The creature is a bit unhealthily attached to her as he is with Ms. Pie,” Foxtrot speaks up and you shoot her a stink eye.
Unhealthily attached my ass! You growl and she actually smirks and chuckles at your look. Oh…oh now she’s actively messing with me? That’s…different, you shrug before looking back to the map. Well mood swings from her aside, I’m guessing the only one here that would know much about Griffon land is the secret agent putting on a fake pity party, so I doubt I’m getting anymore today. I do know more than the average pony, though it’d be good to have some more details if I’ve gotta do more psychic episodes.
“So, if you’re actually good friends with a griffon, then that could actually be an advantage if we were to ever go into that land. A guide would be nice,” Lyra says as she pats Bon Bon on the head.
Exactly! Plus I could recruit her and Gabby into my aerial unit for my evil army! Air support is a must! Although Gabby would probably be a part of my death squad of adorable evilness that just give enemies heart attacks. But that comes later!
“And there’s that scheming face again,” Foxtrot mutters and O’Carrol chuckles.
Dang it! That’s why I need a skull mask already so no one can read me! You berate yourself. But yeah, before I even get an army, I need bases, forts, and settlements that can easily be defended. That gorge in Griffonstone probably has way more treasures in it besides the Idol, so I could get my funding from there, and maybe even make a safe house there completely protected from aerial invasion… You then mentally slap yourself as your daydreaming has once again taken you off topic.
Ugh! What am I thinking? That’s all way too grand, You think rationally. Before I even think about safe houses and forts, I need my own castle first!
Sunbro4life's Comment
Resadur164's Comment
I need my own Snake Mountain fortress so that my minions will want to serve me. Somewhere cool and metal looking. Your eyes widen suddenly. Or better yet, I’ll just call it Castle Greyskull! It was always mine for the taking, and what better insult to fabulously dressed Eternians than calling it that?!
“Um, Skeletor? Are you alright?” Lyra asks as you have a thousand yard stare.
“He’s fine ma’am, don’t you worry,” O’Carrol reassures.
“He does this often?” Bon Bon asks, as she comes out of her “emotional moment.”
“Oh yeah,” Foxtrot nods and your eye twitches.
Obviously I'll need to wait till I don't have Foxtrot and O'Carrol following me around before I can actually move into my lair. Well, that is if I can't convince them to ditch the princess and join me.
You do a quick glance over to the two guard ponies.
“What? You kind of do,” O’Carrol says thinking you’re still looking at them for the insult.
They may be a pain sometimes, but they’ve certainly got talent. Besides, without someone to doubt my phony predictions, I wouldn’t be able to rub it in anyone’s face when I turn out correct. Whatever, I'll add 'Convert Foxtrot and O'Carrol to Skeletor's Side' to the side quest list.
NEW SIDE QUEST CREATED:
Convince Royal Guards Foxtrot and O'Carrol to Leave the Guards and Join You
You momentarily pause as a strange feeling washes over you, as if some new mechanic in a video game was just added out of the blue when it should have been there in the beginning. You shrug off the weird feeling as you go back to the map and think,
Once I do that, I'll need to get the funds to actually afford to relocate and get supplies in order to get more minions, but those don’t need to be added to the list since that goes hand in hand with the others. Besides, I’ve already got Skryim levels of unfinished sidequests, so I don’t want to add more text, I wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of strain.
“Well, if you’re still thinking of the possibilities of, er, the place where Griffons live,” Lyra says hesitantly giving a side glance at Bon Bon. “You don’t have to rush anything since that’s out of the country and it would be awhile before we’d even go there.”
“Nyeh,” you nod in understanding as you look at the X near Griffonstone.
Still, It’s in my future at some point. Plus I could explore some areas around it not shown in the show. Like…whoa, wherever this place is, you think in awe as you finger slides over an awesome looking doodle of a one eyed skull with sharp teeth that seems to be made into a mountain side near Griffonstone.
“Oh that’s Arimaspi Territory,” Lyra says reading the text below it. “I’ve heard tales about those, and thank Celestia there’s no X’s there.”
“Yeah,” Both Bon Bon and Foxtrot shudder at the same time.
There may not be X’s there, but that doesn’t mean it’s not amazing! If there’s literally a premade layer with a skull entrance, that’s my Castle Greyskull! And it’s on my own personal Snake mountain too! The best of both worlds! You think with hope at all the endless possibilities. My only other option would be the Castle of the Two Sisters…but aside from being in an evil forest that would just as likely eat me as intruders, it’s also got the freaking Tree of Harmony under it, and I don’t think it would take kindly to my army of darkness.
Noticing your smile, Lyra looks worried.
“Please don’t tell me you actually want to visit there?”
"NYEHEHEHEHEHEHE!" you laugh in response which chills everyone to the bone.
“I think he does,” Tina interprets sounding nonplussed.
“Let’s uh…let’s put that on the maybe list shall we?” Lyra says before coughing into her hoof. “I mean, there’s so many other interesting locations that have an X. Like here!” she says pointing to an X in a sea of doodle trees. “The forest city of Thicket! I've always wanted to visit since the Deer there made contact with Equestria, but I've never found a real reason to go till now!"
Wait, isn't that the city from those IDW comics? Oh crap, are those canon here too!?
Before you can delve too deep into the panic of having to keep in mind a whole other canon, Lyra speaks up again,
BrownDog77's Comment
“Though considering where the city is located it'll be awhile before we could actually visit, especially considering how dangerous the Everfree is. But, if we’re going off of Tina’s den as a reference, then the next closest X would actually be in Canterlot. Which would arguably be the safer option between the two.” Lyra says pointing to the map.
“Nyeh?” you ask surprised.
“I know, right?”
Your two guards and Bon-Bon look perplexed by this.
“But Lyra, if there was some sort of evidence of this Rainbow Walker in Canterlot, wouldn’t we have already known about it?” Bon-Bon asks.
“Well, I say Canterlot, but look, the X isn’t over the city, but rather on the mountain. If the first one Skeletor found was underground, then perhaps it’s even beneath Canterlot.”
Beneath? You think as your eyes widen. Like in those crystal caves where Cadence is going to be imprisoned?
“What is it Skeletor? Did something come to you?” Lyra asks seeing your expression.
You frown since you don’t want to bring up that far into the future so you make a maybe gesture.
All I have to do is get to Canterlot, then start drawing a crystal cave and boom, someone ought to be able to lead us there. There were mine carts and rails during This Day Aria so surely someone knows an entrance. Though going there before the wedding might cause some problems, who knows how long Cadence was in there anyway...
Putting off the thoughts of running into a captured Cadence early you tune back to Lyra, who seemed oblivious to your moment of tuning her out.
“Well Okay then, but still this is so exciting!”
You nod and smile as well as you look over your possible destinations.
“Many of these other X’s don’t appear to be that far from settlements that are near Rail Roads, so that’s helpful,” Bon Bon says as she studies the map.
“Well thank goodness for that. I can already tell some of these will be a paint to hike to,” Lyra says as she points at one X that appears to be in a jungle, one that’s in a mountain range, and one that as far as you can tell is either near the ocean or in it.
Oh please let it be on land. Earth Oceans are scary enough already, I don’t want to even imagine what hell-spawns lurk in fantasy world seas, you shudder imagining Megalodons, Plesiosaurs, and other horrors.
“The cost in travel alone would be great from some of these out of country places. I mean, there’s one in Somnambula,” Bon-Bon says.
“Bless you,” Tina says.
“No, I mean here,” Bon-Bon rolls her eyes as she points at a sandy area that has a drawing of pyramids next to it.
Ooh, Pony Egypt. I fought a skeleton, does that mean I get to fight a mummy now? You think excitedly.
“Well at least I’ve heard of Somnambula, I didn’t even know about this Abyssinia place before,” Lyra says pointing at the picture of the cat which also has an X.
Yay, magical kitties! You think in both excitement and curiosity. But really? Abyssinia? Why no cat pun?
“It’s a foreign power from what I remember. They deal in magical devices and such,” Foxtrot speaks up as you see both her and O’Carrol looking at the map in intrigue as well.
So much for just Security Detail, you smirk as they get invested.
Jaro45's Comment
After that thought one of the X's catches your attention, and not because you recognize it. In fact, this X isn't even remotely familiar to you, as its all the way to the East, right on the border of Equestria on some mountain range that has a feline like slit eye on it.
Huh, I've never even seen that before in the show. Maybe it showed up in the comics or a later season?
“Nyeh?” you ask, getting Lyra’s attention as you point to the map.
"Oh, those are where the Thestral Eyries are located! I'm actually kinda surprised one of the X's ended up over there considering the terrain."
You cup your chin in thought as the location sounds vaguely familiar to you.
Thestral...Thestral...where have I heard that name before? Oh right, Harry Potter! Those creepy horses that got introduced when Luna Lovegood showed up. Speaking of Luna and creepy horses…
Your eyes widen in recognition as you quickly take out your notepad and do a quick sketch of a Batpony from the Nightmare Night episode before showing it to Lyra.
"Yep, that's a Thestral alright,” she nods with a smile. “They usually live in the high in the mountains in the east, tucked away in sheltered, dark valleys. They aren't the most sociable of ponies from what I heard, and there are rumors that they're actually nocturnal like real bats."
Considering they’re Night Guards with Luna, I'm inclined to believe that.
"Oh come on Lyra, you know that's just a silly rumor ponies made up,” Bon Bon rolls her eyes. “Besides, there's a whole settlement of them out in Hollow Shades and they’re not all Nocturnal.”
“Really?” Lyra asks curiously and looks at the map. “Where’s that?”
“A little west of Manehattan,” she explains and points to a forested area near the railroad tracks.
“Huh, interesting,” Lyra says with a nod. “I guess you’ve been there before?”
“Yup,” Bon Bon nods and says no more, which you would find suspicious, if you weren’t already scheming again.
Hmmmm...I wonder how many bat ponies I can get to swear their loyalty to me? The badassness of mighty Skeletor's army being lead into battle with a legion of vampire horses cannot be overstated. None SHALL ESCAPE THE MIGHTY BAT FLEET! NYEHEHEHEHEHE!
As your usual totally-not-crazy smile begins to form, you are snapped out of your thoughts when Foxtrot suddenly says,
"Huh...that's weird."
You and the others give her confused looks, before she points at the world map and says,
"It's these six X's, check it out when I do this."
Foxtrot then proceeds to take the pencil that Lyra was using to mark the map early and begins to connect the six mentioned Xs together. When she finishes you see...
Solidcrazyy's Comment
That the connected Xs form a star like shape, and at the center of it appears to be a small island. You, being the nerd you are, immediately recognize this kind of symbol and the implications behind it.
Whelp, happy go-lucky Equestria now has a pentagram symbol in it, greeeeaaaaatttt. Is it bad I'm hoping this is just another transmutation circle from Fullmetal? Otherwise here’s hoping the ponified Winchester brothers exist.
Ignorant to your thoughts Lyra's eyes widen at the island.
"Oh my Celestia! It seems these six specific marks seem to correlate with Pinpoint Island! The implications behind this are outstanding! Could it be some source of the Rainbow Walker? Or maybe it’s some sort of gate to the Rainbow Walkers realm if all six X's are activated!"
You subtly wince at the green unicorns wording as you think,
Oh if its real it’s a gateway to somewhere all right, and Doom Guy I am not.
"Lyra calm down, I'm sure it’s just a coincidence,” Bon Bon exposits. “That place is a tourist trap with all those fancy lakes with islands of their own on it. It’s more Feng Shuei than a portal.”
While Lyra gives Bon Bon one of those 'stop crushing my dreams' looks you usually gave your sister when she shot down one of your ideas, you can't help but feel like there might be more to this island then meets the eye. Before you can read too much into it O'Carrol, who was strangely silent during the whole exchange, suddenly points at one of the X's on the Equestria map and says,
BrownDog77's Comment
“He-hey, isn’t this in the Badlands?”
That seems to get everyone's attention as they all focus on the X, which appears to be in a desert, not too far from one of the question marks.
“It looks like it,” Bon Bon nods and both guards look at each other in worry.
“What? What is it?” asks Lyra.
“The Badlands are, well, bad ma’am,” says O’Carrol.
Well gee O'Carrol, I could never have figured that out. I mean it’s not like it’s called the Badlands or anything...oh wait. Your sarcastic thought is ignored by all (obviously), despite the fact that you put enough sarcasm into it that it should have broken the speech barrier and reached them.
“How bad we talking?” she asks, mirroring your own curiosity.
“There are all kinds of monstrous, giant creatures out there that…” Foxtrot starts before she starts shaking and gains a thousand yard stare.
Whoa, wait a second, is that where her phobia comes from? You think as her partner coughs and continues.
“Yes, plenty of pony eaters, but there are also sentient threats out there as well. Deceitful and cunning enemies of Equestria that can take on any appearance.”
Ah hell, the Changelings are out there? You think bitterly as you stare at that particular X and question mark. Crap! I’m definitely going to need some better offensive capabilities if I’m walking into Bug Horse Territory.
“Well, then I suppose that if we put an expedition together, we’ll have to hire protection and the like,” Lyra suggests as she looks over the map again. “Obviously the out of country ones will be the hardest, but I’m sure the ones within our kingdom will be a bit simpler.”
“Unless these other treasures have Guardian like mine did,” Tina says aloud, causing all to look at her.
“What do you mean?” asks Lyra.
Tina then goes on to explain the Skeledog and how you saved her. Lyra and Bon Bon look on in both horror and amazement at that tale.
“Necromantic magic?” Lyra gasps. “…Okay, yeah, definitely going to need protective details.”
“Lyra, if it’s that dangerous then,” Bon Bon starts but is cut off.
“It’s my Grandfather’s Work! I don’t know why he never brought this forth in the past when he was ridiculed, but darn it, I’m gonna find out!”
Bon Bon sees the determination in her eyes and relents.
“So what I’m gonna need is my friends from Canterlot, some bodyguards, Skeletor, and a whole lot of money. Maybe I can get a research grant from the Princess?” she ponders.
Bon Bon stares at the muttering for a bit before giving a sigh and saying,
"Well, if you’re that determined maybe you could ask Twilight Sparkle and her friends to help? I mean she is Celestia's personal student, maybe she could pull some strings?"
Lyra seems to brighten up at that, while you do the opposite at the thought of the girls being away from town when they’re not supposed to and missing out on valuable canon friendship lessons.
"You’re right Bonnie! I could just ask Twilight to help, I mean we are friends...I think. I'm sure she'd love to help a fellow researcher in her search for answers. Plus she's always had this need to learn stuff, so I'm su-"
"NYEH!" You yell, interrupting Lyra, as you cross your arms together in an x form.
The others look at you in confusion while Lyra asks,
"Why can't I ask Twilight and the others to help Skeletor? Even you gotta admit that they'd be a major boon to this."
Yeah sure, they'd be helping me out while canon and their lives go down the drain. No thanks, but since I can't exactly say that...
With that thought you do what you do best, wing it like no one’s winged before.
You quickly sketch up two images of the town, one in fire and in ruins with the Mane Six's cutiemarks a good distance away leaving, while the other image has the town being nice and cheerful with the gangs cutiemarks above the town.
Thankfully, while Lyra and Bon Bon just seem creeped out at the pictures, O'Carrol once again proves to be a surprisingly good interpreter for your pictures as he says,
"I think he's trying to say how if the Elements are out with you looking for these locations, there would be no one protecting the town if something goes wrong."
You smile and nod your head at O'Carrol's interpretation of your picture as you give him a quick fist bump.
"Oh please,” Lyra says in disbelief. “I think the town can go a month or two without them. I mean it...did...before..."
Lyra slowly trails as everyone, literally everyone, in the room gives Lyra looks of deadpanned disbelief. Eventually the looks get to be too much for her as she sighs in defeat.
"Okay okay fine, we won't ask the princess’s personal student to help investigate. That means no asking Princess Celestia right off the bat for money too…"
Feeling bad for the green unicorn, and just genuinely not wanting her to keep the sad frown she is now sporting, you quickly draw a picture of her, you, Tina, and her friends from Canterlot looking at a treasure chest in awe and high-fiving together over its discovery (with your logo not-so subtly spread across some of their saddlebags). You tried to convey that she has more than enough.
"You’re right Skeletor,” she says with a grateful smile and leg hug. “With you and my pals from Canterlot we've got things handled! Now..." She turns back towards the map releasing your leg. "I doubt the Ministry of Ancient History Research and Discovery will give us a grant just for my Grandfathers notes and this map. We'll need to have some evidence to back it all up.
Resadur164's Comment
She then looks to Oak and Foxy and asks,
“Do you think it’s too much to ask the Princesses to send Guard Scouts to some of these locations without definitive proof?”
Your two guards look at one another and frown guiltily at that.
“Yeah, I don’t think that work too well ma’am,” O’Carrol admits and Lyra’s ears wilt.
“I thought as much.”
“Troop movements into unknown locations takes time and resources,” Foxtrot explains. “Unless there’s definitive proof, it wouldn’t likely be greenlit. And even if there was, the threat would have to be great enough to warrant that much money being spent.”
Heh, typical bureaucracy. When Skeletor rules over all, there shall be no paperwork because only my word is law! And what, living skeletons aren’t in the budget? What if we come across one of these sites and we release the T-Virus, or make Bloodborne happen or something?
“You would have to have some clout first before even demanding such a thing Lyra,” Bon Bon agrees.
“Yeah alright, it was just an idea,” she sighs.
And it was a good idea…though maybe lessening the amount of ponies trampling over everything is a better idea. The last thing we need is Daring Do finding out, since apparently she’s real, and getting torn to shreds by some Lovecraftian monstrosity. Though I’m sure she’d be able to kick some monster ass if that were the case.
“Well even if we found Tina’s old place again, that’s only one site, we need more for a healthy case,” Lyra says in determination before looking to you for guidance. “The question is, which one?"
Greatness942's Comment
You look over Lyra's shoulders at the Equestria map, looking at the closer X's in confusion as you scratch your head.
We’ve got Canterlot, but then Celestia will get Twilight involved, there’s the ones in the Everfree…but I kind of don’t want to die yet. Ugh! I hate this stupid chicken scratch language! Screw it! You use the tried and true method that has worked on many vacations: you close your eyes and randomly point to a spot on the map, landing on-
"Manehatten?" Foxtrot responds, staring at you incredulously. "No, nope, by Tartarus' ninth Hell No! We are not letting you anywhere near a major metropolitan area like that until we know we can guarantee the safety of the public." You turn to her with a glare, raising an eyebrow. Lyra however just looks excited at a decision being made, but your attention is on your two guards so you don't notice.
"...Nyeh."
“Oh don’t give me that,” she scolds. “You’ve only just pulled yourself out of the social pariah hole yesterday.”
“Nyeh Nyeh Nyeh!” you stamp your foot.
“Manehattan is over five times the size of Ponyville, do you honestly want to risk a skittish population that big?” she barks.
“Nyyyyyyeeeeehhhhh,” you whine, crossing your arms and turning away from her.
“Oh now you’re just acting like a foal! This is as much for your protection as it is for the public,” she says in her mom voice.
“Plus, um, we’re not exactly sanctioned to leave with you anywhere outside of Ponyville,” O’Carrol speaks up.
“Yes, there’s that too,” Foxtrot adds as an afterthought.
You give a saddened look to Lyra and Bon Bon who rub the backs of their necks.
“I mean, we’d be with him, surely he could have more leeway?” Lyra tries to reconcile.
“Ma’am, that’s a no can do. We have our orders,” Foxtrot says politely.
Dang it Foxy! Quit ruining all my hard earned progress!
“Oh…well, maybe we could wait till your positive Skeletor won’t be in danger or the cause of the danger,” she says looking down sadly.
“Nyeh!” you grunt and kick the floor.
“Yes! Totally not fair!” Tina growls and mimics your actions.
“I’m sorry Skeletor, but we’ve gotta do what we’ve gotta do,” Lyra says apologetically.
“…Nyeh,” you sigh dejectedly.
“But don’t worry, this isn’t the end. Give me a hug big guy, we’ll be able to get to this in no time.”
You sigh again and lean down to hug her, and as you do, she whispers in your ear.
“No time at all actually.”
“Nyeh?”
“When you get back to Pinkie’s, make sure those two aren’t in the room,” she whispers before pulling back from the hug like nothing happened.
You raise a brow at her and she gives you a wink.
What are you planning missy?
“Anyway, I’ve got a lot to look over as it is, I’ll see you later Skeletor, be sure to drop by anytime.”
“Nyeh,” you nod, deciding to go along with it as you exit the door, with Tina and your guards following behind.
As you walk down the road, curious about Lyra’s message, you still give your guards the cold shoulder for raining on your parade in the first place.
“…Come on Foxy,” you hear O’Carrol whisper followed by Foxtrot sighing.
“Fine. Skeletor,” she says trying to sound sympathetic. “I know you’re upset about-“
denneylaw's Comment
A loud roar echoes across the town from the mountain where all the smoke’s coming from, interrupting Foxtrot.
“EEEEKK!” she cries out in a shrill voice. Looking behind you, you see her crouching low to the ground, holding onto one of O’Carrol’s legs.
Yeesh, what did you go through? You wonder looking at the shaking mare. Her partner doesn’t seem all that steady either as he looks at the mountain in worry and other ponies on the streets run around like headless chickens.
“It’s alright Foxy, it’s nowhere near here,” he comforts her and she shakily gets back up. “But still, it seems like it’s taken action…”
You can tell he’s worried about the Mane 6, but you decide to reassure him.
“Nyeh,” you say in a calm manner since you know that by now Fluttershy is using her infamous Stare and everything is alright with the world.
One 'psychic' vision of the girls sending the dragon home later and everyone is back to their usual routines as if nothing happened in the first place. You will never understand how bi-polar these ponies can be sometimes.
After that, you arrive at Sugarcube Corner and immediately go to Pinkie’s room with Tina, and your guards have the courtesy to give you privacy. That and Foxtrot still seemed anxious about the dragon and wouldn’t let go of O’Carrol’s side, so he decided to take her back to their lodgings.
“So if we can’t go hunting for X’s, what we do now master?” Tina asks and you hold up a finger.
“Nyeh,” you say, hoping she gets the cue to just wait it out.
She shrugs and lies down on Pinkie’s bed like an actual dog, and you sit patiently for whatever it is Lyra’s gonna do. Well, as patiently as you can, your mind is always racing.
If I can’t go globetrotting soon, I’m sure that Dragon Cave will be a good hideout. Fluttershy scared the crap out of him, so he’s never coming back. Also, I don’t remember him taking his treasure when he fled, so maybe I can pull off a heist and get Lyra some cash to jumpstart her little escapade. Hell, there’s enough in there to probably be set for life what with all the gold, silver, crystals, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, pearls, platinum and other Pokémon title currency. Maybe even a shield and sword for when I hunt down my Trap Jaw minion.
Of course all these thoughts come to a screeching halt when you remember the lasttime anyone tried to take from a dragons hoard.
…Yeah, maybe I’ll play it safe instead of not at all.
And just as you think that, there is suddenly a bright flash right in front of you.
“NYEH!” you cry out and fall backwards over your futon.
"What happened Master!?” Tina says suddenly alert with her fists up.
“Oh ow, that really does a number on ya,” Lyra’s voice says, causing you to perk up from behind the couch. Sure enough, she is standing right there in the middle of the room.
“…Is this pony magics at work?” asks Tina.
“Uh-huh,” Lyra says and winces rubbing her forehead. “Though I was never as good at it as Twilight and Moondancer.
Geeze who knew teleporting could take so much out of a pony?
“That’s an understatement,” Bon Bon says as she comes in through Pinkie’s balcony door. “You could have just used the pegasus entrance.”
“Oh like I was gonna climb some rope,” Lyra says with a huff before smiling at you. “But anyway, we’re here.”
“Nyeh,” you nod and smile.
“Yes, why you here?” asks Tina.
“Because now we can plan while the guards are out of earshot.”
“Which I still say is a bad idea Lyra,” Bon Bon warns. “You heard what they said, you can’t just take him with you and-“
"No Bonnie! Skeletor obviously has a reason for choosing Manehattan first, so that has to be where we go to get evidence to get some funding! Besides it wouldn't feel right to do this without him "
I appreciate the concern and all Lyra, but I literally picked one at random. There's no big decision behind it or anything... you think nervously as sweat drops form on your brow.
“But Lyra, you could get us all in trouble if you-“
"Look Bon Bon, I know this seems like a bad idea, but this is my Grandfather’s work we're talking about! You know how much I care about it, and how much it means to me to prove that he wasn't just some crazy old fart. This is my one chance to prove to all those jerks that my Grandfather was right once and for all! That, and..."
Lyra glances over to you with a soft look as she continues her speech,
"I feel like Skeletor needs to find these locations just as much as I do. He's the one who rekindled my hope for proving my Grandfather right, and he's just as much invested in this as I am. I don't know why but something," Lyra touches a hoof to her chest as she says in a softer tone, "something in my heart is telling me he needs this just as much as I do. And I can't just leave a friend hanging."
Lyra...
"So!" Her determined glare returns as she thrust her hoof out, "I've got a good plan to get those funds, and it all depends on getting Skeletor here to Manehatten! And I've got an even better plan to do that, so...are you in?"
A few moments of silence go by before you lay your hand on top of Lyra's, giving your own determined nod to her grateful smile.
I'm with ya Lyra, and not just because I need to find these locations either!
Soon after you Tina places her paw atop yours as she says,
"Tina not sure what's going on, but Tina knows she follows Master wherever he goes. So if Master wants to follow mint pony, then so will Tina!"
After that declaration you and Lyra both look over to a conflicted looking Bon Bon. Your stares seem to add onto her confliction, but after a few moments she sighs and says,
"I know this is crazy, stupid, and that we're all probably going to end up in some jail by the end of it. But..." Bon-Bon places her hoof in the center as she finishes with a smug look, "I can't just leave my best friend to it alone. So yeah, I'm in! Let's go find some ancient shrine thing!"
"Alright then,” Lyra says excitedly. “Here's the plan guys..."
And with that, the mint unicorn began to lay out her scheme…
ONE WEEK LATER
You sit at the train station with Tina, completely unsupervised, waiting for your cohorts.
“You sure this train thing not scary master?” asks your Beastwoman and you just wave her off.
It’ll be fine you fool, now stop interrupting my studies.
Allsmiles's Comment
You look over your notes for the upcoming journey. After working out your escape plan with Lyra, she gave you the name of every location with an X, and since you still can’t read, you jotted them down in good ol English which is gibberish to them.
Always good to have a backup, just in case we lose our countless backup maps Lyra made…Well, at least it’s basically in cipher.
Eventually, you hear the train coming round the bend, and you excitedly stand up, and just as it pulls into the station, Lyra and Bon Bon arrive, just as planned.
“Hi Skeletor, Hi Tina,” Lyra waves.
“Hi Mint and Cream Pony,” Tina answers.
“Wow, loving the new outfits,” Bon Bon says looking you two over.
“Nyeh,” you say proudly as you give a pose. You and Tina are now wearing your Skeletor and Beastman clothes, courtesy of Rarity. It’s been a long time coming, but you finally look the part, aside from not being blue and having no skull face.
“Tina still think hers a bit heavy,” she says as she nibbles at her coat frills.
“Nyeh!” you chide and bop her on the head with a magazine, causing her to bark and stop.
“Alright, keep it down,” Lyra cautions. “Let’s get on the train before anypony sees us.”
You agree and you board the train, and while it does have enough head room, you take up two seats to yourself.
Once you’re all settled, Lyra beams with joy and clops her hooves.
“Oh, I can’t believe it worked out so well, just as you predicted.”
“Nyeh,” you say, pretending that it was nothing.
“I mean, it’s one thing keeping Twilight and her friends busy, but to get rid of the guards, how’d you do it?”
You gesture for your Beastwoman to answer.
“Master convinced whiny pony to make clothes for spear stealing ponies, and she wouldn’t let them go,” Tina says sounding happy holding up her weapon. “Now Tina has her spear back.”
Bon Bon looks at you incredulously.
“You sicced Rarity on them? Oh boy, they’re not going to be happy with you after they find out.”
Yeah, I know, you nod feeling a bit guilty, but it had to be done.
A week ago, Lyra told you that her plan was to contact the Unicorn Science Pack and have them meet you in Manehattan when the time was right. She said that all they had to do was wait for an opportune time to sneak away from both the guards and the Mane 6 to do this. The plan, to find proof of more Megan stuff, and do such a great job that when you return, Celestia and the others will see the results and allow you to continue.
With that in mind, you waited for an opportunity, and boy did one happen when one day you went to Rarity’s and saw her making the Gala dresses. Your eyes beamed with joy since you knew they would drive her nuts and provide the perfect distraction. Of course, before you told Lyra the good news via psychic drawing, you hugged Rarity for all she was worth because she had finally finished your clothes.
You still kind of feel guilty for leaving her to her fate, but it’s a Friendship Lesson they must learn. After donning your purple Skeletor outfit, you informed Lyra, who informed the Canterlot crew. While Rarity stressed out for Hoity Toity, you added onto the chaos by roping Foxtrot and O’Carrol into it while Lyra and Bon Bon did a special mission for you.
“We’ll meet Minuette and the others at the Radhayson around dinner time to plan even further. By then everypony should have gotten our apology notes,” Lyra states and you nod.
In order to not cause as much of a panic, you had Lyra draft up letters for Twilight, the guards, and Pinkie Pie explaining the situation. Though you made sure the one to Pinkie Pie was the most apologetic and reassuring of the three. She is the one you’re closest too.
As the train pulls out of the station, and continues onward to adventure, you spy your two guards searching up and down the streets, wearing some very rudimentary fancy clothing. You never thought you’d see Foxtrot in a frilly dress.
“Heh heh, how did you get Rarity to make them clothes anyway?” asks Lyra as she sees your confused guards.
“Master say those two secret mates and need to go to Gala thing together and Whiny Pony got all sparkly eyed,” Tina explains. The two mares look at you incredulously and you shrug.
What? She clearly bought it. Those two are pretty close so who knows? But anyway, back to business…
“Nyeh?” you ask opening and closing your hand in front of Lyra and she looks left and right.
“Yeah I got it alright, but be careful with it Okay?” she warns as from her Saddlebag she pulls out your Havoc Staff.
“Nyeh!” you cry out happily, and thankfully you’re in a private booth, otherwise some tourist ponies might have fainted.
“I hope the Princess’s student doesn’t press charges for theft,” Bon Bon says as you take the staff and hold it close.
“Technically, it doesn’t belong to her either,” Lyra smirks as she also levitates a familiar glove out.
My fighting gauntlet! Lyra you are too much! You think happily as you pet her like a dog.
“Oh, it was nothing,” she says dopily as you give her ear scratches.
Nothing my butt! This is the best day ever! I’ve got my toys back, I’m dressed appropriately, and I’m on a quest! I’ve finally got a clear goal! Nothing can ruin this for me!
TWO HOURS LATER
Me and my big mou-er...thoughts?
We now find you and your gang on the side of the tracks, with your respective luggage strewn about all over the place, after being kicked off the train.
“Why?! Why would you think it was a good time to experiment with that stupid thing while on a train?!” Bon Bon growls angrily at you, causing you to wilt and hold our Havoc Staff closer to you.
Because I was bored and wanted to see what else I could do with this thing! I’m sorry!
“Come on Bonnie, don’t be so harsh on h-“
“He launched a snack trolley through the roof!” Bon Bon interrupts Lyra and you wilt further.
“Nyeh,” you say apologetically.
“Tina never got her packet of peanuts,” your diamond dog says sadly.
“That’s the least of our problems!” Bon Bon huffs and looks at Lyra. “We’re in the middle of nowhere halfway between Canterlot and Manehattan! We’re never going to make it to meet your friends on time!”
“Alright, alright, calm down. All we have to do is get to the nearest town and I’ll just send a message to them,” Lyra says playing peacemaker. “Look, it’s within site even.”
She points down the tracks and about two miles away you see some buildings near a large cropping of trees.
“Why couldn’t train ponies just drop us off there? Seems like much bigger effort to stop, throw us off, and stop again at that town,” Tina points out.
Yeah…jerks, you agree.
“Well whatever the case, we’ll figure everything out,” Lyra says optimistically as she levitates her bags and starts trotting along. Shrugging, you follow along since you’ve got nothing better to do.
After awhile of walking, and the train being a speck on the horizon, you come to the outskirts of this town.
“Nyeh?” you point at the sign you can’t read.
“Oh, right, it says “Welcome to Hollow Shades,”" Lyra translates and your eyes widen.
Hollow Shades? Thestrals? Bat Ponies? Bat Airforce?!
“NYYYEEEEHHH!!!” you cry out in happiness, and in the distance you hear high pitched, bat like screeches of surprise at your declaration, which causes Bon Bon to facehoof.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
Stats
Page generated in 0.094 seconds
Total duration
1,018 users online
2,008,082 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Good job getting Featured! :D
Most interesting for me is probably Bat Ponies if we have to go Equinoid, and if we don't? I can't decide.
Will comment with my action soon-ish.
Ya know, Lyra's a unicorn, and she's been hopping around getting all chummy with Skeletor. I'm not sure if this has been commented yet, but maybe she could make a decent Evil-Lyn replacement?
As you see the thestrals swarm you, you feel that this would play out like when Bruce first found the Bat cave.. Of course, they are nothing like wild bats at all, so instead they just surround you with spears raised, ready to strike while Bon-Bon STILL gives you the stink eye, like it's your fault. Well, maybe it kinda is, but still.
"And just who, or what are you?" one of them asks.
"Who wants to know?" Tina asked back, just as threateningly.
"Stupid dog, you're making me look bad again. And I already looked bad enough without your help!" you think.
well, I for one would prefer a Skeletor Dio cause hey that time stop is dope a.f
second, you must steel yourself and calm down cause if your gonna act all fanboy for your evil army they are gonna be intimidated and not wanna join you
Also, I think hippogriffs seem most interesting to me.
(Oh wow! Honestly, I didn't actually expect to go off on this grand adventure, not yet! Well this should be interesting, time to see just what the future holds for our dear Skeletor! And of course, all his wonderful friends! Also, glad he's finally got his outfit! Now, he gets to feel more like Skeletor! Also love how many more references come up... I especially liked bringing up Bloodborne. I never got to play that one, but I've seen playthroughs, and I DIG that horrifying universe's dark aesthetics... Ah, enough rambling, on to advice!
Oh wait! I'm not as well versed in the races, they actually don't interest me that much, but I'd pick Earth Ponies, because while the Unicorns and Pegasi have obvious cool powers, Earth Ponies keep on turning out to be unexpectedly powerful.)
Alright, I am not the most... 'apt' when it comes to social situations, so recruiting new Thestral minions as the very first step in your dark army of evil-evilness that mysteriously only does good things? Not where I'm going to give my best advice. However, here's some good advice for the general situation, that I hope our dear Skeletor can take to heart.
1: LEARN HOW TO CONTROL YOUR STAFF!!! I mean, sure, performance failure happens to every guy sooner or later, however it's obviously disappointed and caused problems for both ladies here, and they won't be looking forward to future interactions with you and your staff. Obviously, you need to get it under control, and learn how NOT to blow up at the slightest touch. Control, is every bit as important as vigor, even more so. So, again, learn how to control it, we don't want to disappoint your lady friends again now do we?
2: Lyra has been nothing but an awesome aid to you. She has put her reputation, legal status, and well-being, all at risk for the sake of the project that YOU brought to her attention. And likewise, she did not need to conspire with you and get your things so you could be part of this endeavor, she chose to. Likewise, while Bon Bon wasn't as enthusiastic about it, she chose to help Lyra, and put her own legal status and well-being at risk, and go along with helping you. And at this point, you've repaid them for that kindness... by making it much harder for them to do the thing you're all setting out to do in the first place. Now it was an accident, but you are NOT cleared from responsibility for the repercussions of your accident. So, while you're in Thestral town, aside from Minion shopping, look for ways to apologize, and/or make it up to Lyra and Bon Bon. It would not do to repay their kindness with trouble, and not show proper contrition AND do what you can to fix things.
Rising up from the town like a stormcloud, a swarm of thestrals descends upon your group. As they close the distance a few drop to the ground, trotting up to you. "We have heard your call O Great One. What is your command?"
After a moment of goggle-eyed staring from your party, you ask an inquisitive "Nyeh? Nyeeeh?"
The leader responds "Of course we can understand you Great One! How could we not comprehend the voice of our true leader?"
A mad gleam fills your eyes as you roar your joy to the heavens. "Nyeeeheheheheheeeehhh!"
{end scene} (if this gets used, thank you! if not, just enjoy it for what it is.)
Allow Lyra to explain that your group is looking for old ruins with strange designs on the walls. Places deep in the caves, maybe guarded by necromantic minions. Gesture that you'll need to remove any threat these minions generate. Basically, you're gonna make their caves safer.
After that, search, find. Set Tina to sniffing for necromantic magics. Have Lyra feel out the magic hidden in the cave. Yourself, Bonbon and Thestral Minion 1 keep a watch for anything unpleasant. Be ready to fight. (and pray to Faust there's not a dracolich there.)
Later, when you meet up with the Canterlot Science Pack, be sure to hug Moondancer as often as possible. She might just need an emotional support animal, monkey boy. Seriously, try to fix some of the damage Twilight left behind her.
Maybe she can teach you a way to read! Or find a way to magic the knowledge into your brain.
I think I find the Kirin the most interesting to be honest; I just love their looks.
“You whoop and cheer with a gleeful feeling much like Charlie Bucket getting his Golden Ticket and celebrating with his Grandfather at this amazing opportunity that you yourself have stumbled upon with your group; the chance to recruit and meet Threstrals/BatPony’s.”
When the sheriff Bat Pony comes forth, you still try to look commanding in the face of authority.
"Now, what do we have...?" he trails off and you see him noticing Bon Bon. There is a subtle shift in her eyes making her seem more commanding and the sheriff becomes more submissive.
"Oh, uh, sorry about all this," he says to you. "Stand down everypony, it's just visitors from Canterlot...and I'm guessing everything's under control?"
Confusedly, the bat cops lower their weapons.
"Nyeh," you nod with a victorious smile.
"Oh wow, how did he know we were from Canterlot?" Lyra asks obliviously.
"Just, uh, just no more screaming please?" he asks.
"Nyeh, nyeh," you nod in understanding.
"Well, uh...what brings you to our town?"
"Ponies throw us off train because they jerks," Tina admits and you smack her with your magazine. "Urf! What? It's true!"
"Yeah...uh, do you have an express mail service?" Lyra cuts in. "I really need to get a message to Manehattan."
T pose for dominance and give a loud nyeh show those bats who’s the new boss round here. And if that didn’t work break it down and use the hidden dance technique passed down from the ages long ago of course while beatboxing.
If one JoJo's artifact has shown up, who's to say there can't be more? You decide to briefly search for a Stone Mask. After all, the thestrals had to have become vampiric for a reason, right? You also decide to try practicing Hamon on your own, in case you actually do find something.
(Favorite race has gotta be the Kirin. Their fluff is adorable, and it's always nice to see some representation of Japanese mythology.)
You all eventually find yourself in a coffee shop as Lyra writes a letter to be given to a Thestral courier, and even after the rough introductions, you’re still plenty curious to the batwinged ponies, especially the children.
“So, is it like a furless Diamond Dog?” asks one of the children to Bon Bon.
“Nyeh!” you scold and he shrinks down as the others laugh.
“No he’s not a Diamond Dog, we actually have no idea what he is,” Bon Bon explains.
“Maybe he’s a shaved gorilla? I a filly suggests.
“No way, he’s obviously a mutated minotaur,” says another colt.
“Master not any of those things,” Tina defends and the children snap to attention at her bark. “Master is just Skeletor, no more no less.”
“Nyeh,” you praise as you pat Tina on the head which she wags her tail at.
Well said Beastwoman, someone’s getting an extra cookie tonight.
“But what is a Skeletor?” asks another filly.
“Yeah, and how come he can’t talk?” asks a colt.
“Don’t know,” Tina shrugs. “Master say he used to be able to talk, but can’t anymore.”
“Then how did he tell you that?” asks another child.
“Nyeh,” you interrupt as you quickly turn your notepad around and show the children your sketch of all of them.
“Ooooohhhh,” they say with sparkly eyes at your artistry.
“Yeah, like that,” Tina nods. “And Skeletor is Skeletor, don’t know much else, but that’s enough.”
The kids don’t seem to accept that explanation though, and with a scheming glint in your eye, you flip to some blank pages.
The best way to get a following is to indoctrinate the youth. Just like all cartoons!
And with that you begin drawing battle scenes of Skeletor’s forces fighting the cowardly He-Man and his scummy Eternian allies.
“Oh wow…” the kids eat up your drawings as you draw Castle Greyskull, Snake Mountain, and other fantastical landscapes. Even Bon Bon is drawn in by your art.
“You looked so much cooler before!” one of the colts says.
“Yeah, how come you’re not blue anymore?” a filly inquires.
“And why is your face less awesome?” asks another and your eye twitches.
I’m working on it, I’m working on it…
“Also, your Diamond Dog got way less ugly,” a colt says pointing to your picture of Beastman.
“Tina Never Ugly!” she barks defensively before looking at the portrait. “But those are my clothes. Why master draw me like that? And who these others?”
Your future cohorts Beastwoman, once I fill the roles that is.
It’s then that Lyra comes back in.
“OK, I got the letter sent. We’ve got awhile before the next train comes along, but at least the girls know we’ll be late. I just hope they don’t try to investigate themselves. The Neighagra Falls question mark site and the X North of it will require all of us.”
Well, it’s not like we’re on a time crunch anyway, you reckon. I mean, we didn’t tell Twilight or the others WHERE we were going, so it’s not like we have to hurry along.
“Come on! Come on! Show us more!” the children beg.
"Yeah, show us more of you beating up that stupid gorilla thing with the blonde mane."
“Nyeheheheheheh!" you laugh happily at their mockery of He-Man.
Ask and you shall receive.
And as you wow the children with your amazing drawings, you decide to get some brand recognition going, so you start creating posters with your logo on it for them to take home.
Hopefully these little tykes will be spray painting this on buildings, carving it into trees, and stitching it into their clothes as they spread my glory!
9609156
DIO had both The World and a Hermit Purple type Stand. Who's to say Skeletor can't be both? :D
At some point in your trek through the Thestral village, you decide to practice some of the old tricks that got you so far. Beatboxing, running for your life Joseph-style, whistling, whatever you need to do to pass the time, essentially. Youtry to practice with the Havoc Staff, but every time you even raise it so much as an inch up, you can physically feel Bon-Bon glare at you.
Yeesh, does spy training involve literal looks that kill, or...?
At some point, you've felt that you've "leveled up." Not literally, you see no numbers over your head, but more like a sense of pride and accomplishment. Why does that phrase make me feel angry? you ask yourself, as you look over the fact that you can run faster and beatbox harder beats to box, ya beat?
...I'm just going to take the improvement and NYEH-ing run with it! Literally!
While here, you decide to do some Bad Guy Window Shopping. After all, full of Thestrals, full of fun. Might be nice to place, if not your base of operations, than at least some kind of garrison, here.
And I'll put the barracks there, quartermaster there, a bed for Beastwoman in that alley, and a gift shop just up north, you think to yourself as you point around the place. Of course, to everyone else, it just seems like you are really into the village architecture.
9609790
(Branching off of this)
While searching for the Stone Mask, you stumble across a vulture on top of a building with a note in it's mouth. When you look at it for a second, it drops the note on the ground and flies away. Bloodstained parchment, with Equestrian lettering. You can tell from intuition that it must be related to your quest somehow, so you pocket it for somepony to read later on.
9616562
due to fantasizing about a lair befitting of skeletor he realizes that he needs capital and decides to make a comic franchise of skeletor where he wins due to the affection from the kids loving his art
It could be older than our planet. It could be the 3rd time in billions of years that the landmasses have collided and separated. You don't know! Stop judging the planet, it's self-concious about its landmasses!