MA1-C8: Processing
Cremator
There was a bit of a walk when the fighting was done. Well, walking for others. I, of course, had the luxury of flying. Not that I paid much attention to those around me. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy that my friends were safe. I kept my gaze on the sky as I lazily flapped alongside Comet Streak and Shield Breaker, the former who remained grounded while the latter was so bouncy with excitement I was sure he could join me in the air, even without wings.
But, like I was saying, my attention was firmly focused on the sky above. In particular, on the dragons who had taken control of it. They were all shapes and sizes, but not like the massive beasts from movies and legends. Or the scarred yellow one I glimpsed in flashes of my memory.
I quickly shook the thought aside, preferring to gaze at the other dragons and smile. These were all bipedal, like myself. And they all looked so free as they coasted easily in the sky.
I noticed Boo shoot a glare in my direction so I drifted back into the group in time to hear John wince from her injuries. Okay, that hit me like a sucker punch as we entered the grounds of the pony encampment. Thankfully, there were many distractions to keep my mind off certain recent events. Some of which came from our group itself.
Shield Breaker gasped loudly and poked Jackie repeatedly with an elbow saying, “Look! Look! Look! Look! Look!”
I swear I saw the new yak’s eyes widen behind the stringy curtain of his fringe. “P-Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?!”
I cringed a little. That had definitely not been the voice of a male yak, Jackie had just emitted. Clearly she was still her excitable teenage girl self somewhere in there.
My only guess was she meant the elegant pink pony with a crystal blue heart emblazoned on her butt standing a few paces inside the camp entrance. Her mane and tail were long, a little poofy and a pastel tricolour. I arched an eyebrow. She also had large feathery wings and a long spiral horn.
“This really is Equestria!” Shield Breaker all but squeed. “Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, together like in the show!”
I snorted to myself. I’m guessing he was talking about the white unicorn stallion, with the blue on blue mane and tail, dressed in armour much like the other members of the guard.
I would have paid them more attention but, the dragons had started to land. A particularly slender blue one swooped in away from the others before flapping her wings a moment to land in front of Cadance and Shining Armor. I overheard some greeting between them but my attention was still on the many dragons as they landed nearby.
One in particular caught my eye. I have no idea how old he was, but, to me, he looked like a teenage male dragon with a tall, lanky frame. His scales were cinder-block grey, he was taller than me and when he rose from his landing, the ridge on his head, which was incredibly long and the deepest of black, flopped in front of his eyes. With a flick of his head, the ridge flopped to one side like an actual hairstyle, hiding one of his rather short horns and giving him a dangerous and mysterious look.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I had been holding in an odd squeak as I floated closer to get a better look. He turned his attention toward me and… Oh, by the shiniest of scales. Were there actual sparkles around his head? I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.
He said nothing so I did my best to be suave, give a disarming smile and open my mouth to speak the most perfect of introductions. What came out, I do not doubt, was the most perfect of speeches I had given in my life. “Hey.”
Others with me, however, would greatly refute the calibre of my approach. Particularly my pitch and understandability. Comet Streak would forever be adamant that what I said didn’t translate in any of the languages he knew. John took whatever I had uttered to smugly hold it over me as ammunition for future discussions. And much, much later, Boo would admit that it was the sweetest encounter she had ever experienced with a young dragoness in her life. Though I doubt she had encountered many dragons. She didn’t seem very old, though her job did take her to dangerous places…
I’m sure so much more passed between me and the dragon of oh so perfect scaly perfection before a large horn slipped around my middle and scooped me onto some hairy cushion. I could feel the rumble of someone speaking beneath me. The words didn’t exactly reach my ears, but their meaning reverberated throughout my very being as I was turned away from the target of my draconic interest.
When I finally snapped out of it, I found myself perched on Jackie’s back from where I noticed Boo sitting nearby with a very satisfied, almost dreamy looking smile on her face. What it was about, I wasn’t sure because I caught the tail end of something said by Jackie. At least I think it was Jackie. It sounded very much like his strong, new yak voice. And it sounded rather threatening.
“You hurt her, yak find you, yak smash you.”
It was only then I realised we were still near the objects of Jackie and Shield Breaker’s earlier excitement as I heard Cadance try to stammer out a question. “Did…Did that yak just threaten a dragon?”
The blue dragon standing next to her snorted. “If Basalt falls prey to a yak, he proves he isn’t much of a dragon.”
“Right,” Cadance murmured. She quickly brushed the incident aside to address the blue dragon directly. “We may need your help if we discover more humans transformed into dragons.”
The blue dragon snorted and folded her arms across her chest. “Not part of our current deal.”
“I agree,” said Cadance. “However, they may need some guidance in how to be dragons. If they want it of course.”
The blue dragon’s eyes widened then narrowed with thought. “You don’t need training in how to be a dragon. Dragons just are.”
“For those hatched, yes,” Cadance nodded and I noticed her attention turn to me. “Those turned into them… well, they may need a little help.”
The blue dragon appeared to be watching me as well. She didn’t look anywhere near as interested. She let out a grumbling sigh and said, “It will be considered. However, there are our actions here that need accounting for.”
Cadance’s attention snapped back to the blue dragon. Her tone never lost its calm, soothing nature even as she drew herself up as if to deliver a speech.
“We thank you, Lordsdaughter,” Cadance stated regally. “The aid your fellow dragons have given to us in our time of great need has been invaluable.”
The blue dragon paid the princess no attention. Her focus seemed to be on the other dragons who had started up an impromptu wrestling match. “You know the deal. Dragon help isn’t free.”
Cadance’s eyes widened and her head darted back in surprise. She quickly caught herself and returned to her elegant disposition. “Of course. The remainder will be awaiting you at the pre-arranged point north of the Badlands.”
The blue dragon nodded sharply then spread her wings. She let out a sharp, single-tone whistle, a sound which immediately got the attention of the other dragons she travelled with. “You want your share, get your tails in the air!”
Not even waiting to see if the rest of the dragons would follow, the blue dragon launched herself into the sky. The others soon followed, many of them grumbling about having to do so.
“Not a very cohesive group,” Shining Armor observed, watching the dragons leave. “A good shock force though.”
Cadance and Shining Armor greeted us as we passed by, even welcoming us as they directed us toward a long queue of many creatures. They called it registration for all former humans. Made sense. Not like we were from here. And I swear Cadance gave me in particular a very knowing, content smile. One which left me rather confused.
It was only as we left their presence that I noticed Boo slinking along beside us. She looked like she was doing her best to keep Jackie’s huge form between her and the royal couple. She even stayed with us as we made our way as directed. I remained perched on Jackie’s back, initially taking the chance to watch the dragons disappear in the distant sky before flopping onto my stomach to smile a little dreamily to myself.
As we passed the head of the queue, I watched and listened to the first in line being addressed by a white unicorn mare. A unicorn who, at the sight of her, Shield Breaker gasped and excitedly whispered, “That’s Raven Inkwell!”
By the shudder I felt coming from my ride, I don’t doubt Jackie was almost as excited as her friend to spot another pony they recognised. Raven was seated at a hastily set up desk with thick ledgers and books laid out in front of her as well as an array of different stamps and ink pads. Next to her stood another of those guards. I frowned looking at him. He looked just like the rest. Did this place use magical cloning to make its armies?
“Name?” Raven asked.
“Oh, uh, which one?” the unicorn mare with sapphire blue coat stammered. She shifted awkwardly, as if unused to her body, which was more than likely true. Her long raspberry mane with aquamarine highlights flopped in front of her left eye. She scrunched up her nose and blew at her mane to get it to move. All it did was flop back into place.
“Human,” Raven replied.
“Uh, Edward.” The unicorn’s last name became lost to a grumble in her constant struggle with her mane.
“Name from Sombra.”
The unicorn cringed and grit her teeth, letting her voice out in a reluctant whisper. Something I would later learn I could only hear thanks to my draconic senses. “Oh, um, Sapphire Moonlight?”
Raven nodded and said, “A respectable name.”
“I didn’t know Sombra had such good taste,” the guard next to Raven muttered.
The unicorn stared at Raven for several seconds as she mulled over the compliment before letting out a surprised breath. “Huh.”
“Which would you prefer to be known by?”
The unicorn shook her thoughts aside, her mane doing its best to get in the way again. She cocked her head slightly to the side and said, “Depends. Is there a way I can become human again and return home?”
Raven gave a non-committal blink. “That is something being looked into as we speak but may take some time.”
Looking to her ledger and other records, she repeated the question. “Again, name preference?”
“Sapphire Moonlight, I guess,” the unicorn responded, rubbing a hoof against her foreleg.
With a few quick slaps of a stamp held in her magic, Raven looked to the unicorn and said, “Welcome to Equestria, Miss Moonlight.”
“Next!” the guard standing beside Raven declared, causing her to shudder at his unnecessarily loud voice.
I watched as the former human, now unicorn, wandered away from the counter looking somewhat bewildered by what had taken place.
As Sapphire Moonlight moved on at the direction of another guard, and the next in line approached the table, we pushed on further up the queue. There were so many different creatures; bat ponies, pegasi, hippogriffs, just to name a few. A lot of them looked very confused and uncomfortable, while a handful appeared very relaxed and were rather boisterously announcing to all who would listen about their joy.
One of these was a griffon who was so excited, she appeared to be metaphorically chewing the ears off a rather subdued looking brown bat pony with a flat purple mane and tail.
“Are you kidding? I don’t have any problem with this,” the griffon declared. She held up a talon and flexed it. “I have talons so I can still hold things just like before. I’m pretty sure I can still eat meat.”
She leaned her head to the side while her beak fell open and eyes glazed in joy. “Oh, bacon. You can still be mine.”
She shook her head quickly, accidentally puffing out her feathers in the process, and focused on the bat pony again.
“Not to mention, I have wings. Wings!” Her smile was enormous as she spread the two objects of her absolute joy. “Don’t you see? I won’t have to plod along on the ground unless I want to anymore. I’m free to go anywhere I want!”
The bat pony let out a heavy sigh even as the griffon leaned in close while beaming with joy at her. The tired looking bat pony cleared her throat and said, “They’re asking for identification mainly, like what name did Sombra give you? What was your name before? What would you like to be known as now?”
“Oh?” The griffon blinked and tapped at the tip of her beak with a talon while she mused aloud. “Well, as a human I was Drake Tarragon, and Sombra called me Shadow Talon, but I’m not sure if that suits me. Might just stick with Drake for now. I mean, who knows, we could be turned back and sent home in a day or two.”
The bat pony shrugged. “At least you’re optimistic about all this. I’m not set on anything yet, but maybe I’ll go by something like Tael. I don’t really know. Going home would make it easier though.”
“Oh, but not before I get a chance to really try out these wings first!” Drake said, slipping back into her rambling about how wonderful it will be to fly everywhere. Tael simply shook her head and gave a faint smile.
Behind these two I spied a pinto pegasus with cerulean coat and darker blue mane. His coat even had white splotches on his stockings and muzzle. The deep crimson bandana tied around his neck actually looked quite fetching in contrast.
“Gah!” I sat up and tried force out the thoughts by vigorously rubbing my head. Why was it suddenly doing this colour theory stuff to me? I was never an artist!
Jackie made a small protest at my movements so I settled down and watched the pegasus I had spotted moments before. He appeared distracted, his attention more on the clouds above than the world immediately around him. “Just one more happy little cloud? No, too Bob Ross. Maybe swirling from the right…”
I squinted at him warily then jumped a little when he suddenly exclaimed, “Ah! Colour!”
His voice quickly returned to a murmur as he continued to think aloud. “Only question is, how to do it?”
He stroked at his chin with a wing while still deep in thought, once again noting the pegasi pushing the deep grey clouds from above the distant former battlefield. “Hmm, perhaps they would have a few ideas…”
His voice trailed off as we moved on.
As we approached the rear of the queue, we encountered a couple of medical ponies. Mainly unicorns, they were busy checking over the other former humans, ensuring any injuries they had sustained during their liberation were quickly treated.
When one of them spotted us, they moved to greet us. A word never left their mouth when they saw the state of John’s back. I cringed and shrank a little into Jackie’s back. Knowing that I had carelessly caused the burns left an aching rock in my stomach.
One good thing about waiting in the line was it gave ample time for John’s injuries to be seen to and treated. It also gave me the chance to wallow a little further in the result of my hasty actions against the bat ponies. Knowing that one of them was Comet Streak made me feel even lower.
I wallowed in self-blame while the line moved forward. It wasn’t until I heard Jackie and Shield Breaker whispering to each other that I started to pay attention to things around me again; mostly because whenever Jackie would talk, she would jostle me. Gentle or not, it was an attention grabber.
The reason for their whispers was incredibly noticeable. Another regal looking pony had come to oversee things. Unlike Cadance, this one was much taller than everyone else. Her coat was alabaster while her mane and tail had a faded tricolour, both waved and undulated on a continuous breeze. Something I found very strange as I could barely feel any wind.
Casting my gaze over others in the line, their manes, tails and feathers barely moved. By comparison, this pony looked like she was standing in front of an invisible industrial fan.
Another thing I noticed was that Jackie and Shield Breaker weren’t the only ones whispering about the new arrival. Others had clearly noticed her and her accompanying guards and were murmuring amongst themselves. The title of Princess and the name Celestia wafted amongst those still in line as this winged unicorn slowly moved past. I frowned to myself. How did so many know her name?
Leaning a little closer, I tried to focus my hearing and I managed to catch some of what she was saying to the guards with her. Though, she might have just been talking to herself.
“Everything appears to be well in hoof,” Celestia observed. She shook her head. “So many new faces. So many far from their homes. We will do all we can to welcome them and give them help as they need it. This is not their fault.”
She suddenly giggled to herself. “I know of a certain exclusive club which could be seeing a large increase in patrons thanks to this. I hope Spencer is ready for more screenings at the door.”
The look of serenity on Celestia’s face only diminished a fraction when she heard grumblings from the current front of the line. She simply strode forward and calmly interjected in hope of diffusing the situation. “Raven, what could possibly be the matter?”
“Apologies, your Highness,” Raven replied, clearly flustered from her interviews and paperwork. “Not all of those needing to be processed are as cooperative as we expected.”
She adjusted her glasses with her magic and nodded to the pegasus standing at the opposite side of the table to her. I squinted at the sight of the cerulean pinto pegasus from earlier.
“Interesting,” Celestia said, taking a small step forward to catch the distracted pegasus’ attention. “Good afternoon and may I welcome you to our world as well as the country of Equestria. Is there any help you need with the information process?”
“My life back as a human…” The pegasus grimaced then shook his head. “I’d rather shed it and start new.”
“You would rather remain here than return home?” Celestia looked a little stunned.
The pegasus spread his wings, adding, “This all seems like the best opportunity I’ve got, you know.”
Celestia nodded knowingly then turned her gaze to Raven again.
“The problem lies with security, your Highness,” the guard with Raven stated. “We must have accurate records and some, such as this former human, refuse to give us the simplest detail. Specifically, his human name.”
Celestia nodded again. When she turned to the pegasus again, she found him gazing longingly off to the clouds where the pegasi team was finishing their work of clearing the skies.
“We cannot overlook the possibility of some new arrivals having uncomfortable pasts and, as with this pegasus here, they may genuinely see it as a chance to begin again,” Celestia said. “It is something to encourage, not force them to bury so soon after discovering their present circumstance. So long as they have a name and description they can move to the next stage.”
The guard’s face turned ashen. “But, your Highness. Some may have criminal backgrounds…”
Celestia nodded again. “And that is for the interview process to determine, not registration.”
She spread one of her large wings, gracefully gesturing with it to the pegasus in question. She smiled at him and said, “Until then, this pegasus.”
She paused and blinked in thought then faced the pegasus again. “My apologies, what would you like to be called?”
The pegasus pulled his head back and blinked in surprise. “Oh, uh Mix-up, your uh… your Highness?”
Celestia’s smile extended beyond her cheeks as she gave a soft chuckle and her eyes glinted. “You are welcome, Mix-up.”
She turned to Raven and the guard. “Mix-up, as with all other former humans in Equestria, deserves our help without fear of reprisal.”
“Yes, your Highness,” the guard said stiffening his stance.
“Of course, your Highness,” said Raven. Her ears and body sagged with exhaustion. “We have logged many and there are still so many more to go.”
“I understand,” Celestia smiled, her face brightening the hearts of all who watched her. “Despite the difficulties and lack of resources, you are doing well. As are you, Raven. Be proud of your efforts. Both of you.”
Raven nodded, bowing slightly in her seat. “Of course. Thank you, your Highness.”
Celestia let out a light giggle and turned her attention to the guard at her side. “I would like to speak with those mentioned in the early reports. The ones who brought all of this to our attention. I believe one is a fresh Lieutenant, by the name of Spears.”
“Of course, your Highness,” the guard bowed. He nodded to another guard who left to fulfil Celestia’s request. While she waited, I watched more of the transformed humans pass through the processing of Raven Inkwell ahead of us.
Next to approach was a female bat pony. Her coat was a brilliant Prussian blue while her mane and tail were rose pink, or maybe fuchsia. I shook my head violently. Okay, seriously. Why do I know this greater range of colours now? It should be pink. Pink!
“Name?”
“Ha, as if you haven’t heard,” the bat pony declared. She pressed a hoof to her chest and stated, “But, for those not yet acquainted with my works, I am Tori Evelyn.”
“Name from Sombra?”
The bat pony turned her head to the side and pretended to wretch at even having to utter such a thing. “Bleh. Midnight Gloom.”
“Preferred name?”
The bat pony struck a dramatic pose, even going so far as to drape one of her wings in front of her mouth and nose. “I personally think Evening Moon suits me so much better. Don’t you agree?”
Raven and the guard next to her just stared flatly at the bat pony in front of them.
“Adds just the perfect touch of mystery to one such as myself.” She dropped her wing, leaned a little closer to the table and asked in a hushed, conspiratorial voice that was still very audible to those in the queue, “I hear bat ponies are supposed to eat bugs. We don’t really have to do that, do we?”
Raven let out a heavy sigh then set her stamp to dancing across the records in front of her. “That is a question for orientation, but One does not have to eat bugs if One does not wish to. Welcome to Equestria, Miss Moon.”
While Evening Moon moved to follow in the hoofsteps of previously cleared former humans, Raven Inkwell hung her head and idly shook it. “That’s the eighth bat pony to ask that question. What is going on in this line?”
I didn’t hear any answer as my attention shifted to that of Celestia again. She was continuing to observe the line of former humans, smiling to herself when I noticed two guards approach her. One of which was a rather familiar looking unicorn.
Spears bowed low as he stood before the Princess, giving his humblest gratitude of being in her presence. A gratitude Celestia waved aside as she invited him to stand before her.
“Relax, Lieutenant Spears,” Celestia smiled. “You have performed well for your first posting in very trying times. There will be a few things which will need further discussion, but I understand you have acted in good faith.”
Spears nodded, his voice was almost breathless as he spoke. “Of course, your Highness.”
“The ones mentioned in your communications,” Celestia continued while Spears appeared to visibly sweat. “Would you be so kind as to fetch them for me?”
Spears repeated his previous actions and words as if he were a toy. He then turned and quickly scanned the line. When he spotted me still perched on Jackie’s back, he steadied himself and rushed towards us. Of course, being the only dragon here, I kind of stand out.
When he reached us, Spears took a moment to steady himself before addressing me and John. “Her Highness, Princess Celestia, has requested your presence. If you would follow me…”
“Does that include our friends?” John asked rather pointedly. “You know, the ones we had to help while on probation?”
Clearly John hadn’t forgotten about the whole her and me being arrested part of the last few days. The shameful look on Spears’ face said he definitely hadn’t either.
Giving the poor guy an out, I grabbed onto one of Jackie’s horns for balance, leaned down and waved a hand in front of the big yak’s face while saying, “You heard the unicorn, let’s go.”
John glared up at me. “Must you ride on my sister’s back?”
“Better than have her fly off chasing some dragon boys,” Comet Streak grinned slyly up at me. Jackie and Shield Breaker both laughed, the former did so deeply enough that he managed to jostle me in my seat.
I opened my mouth to shoot something back, but the thought of what had happened earlier suddenly played through my mind. With the context they gave it, my face grew warmer than the heat in my blood. I snapped my mouth shut and slid down to the ground before glaring at the others over my shoulder and wing. I snorted a puff of smoke at them before stomping off in the direction of Celestia and her guards. My so-called friends laughed behind me the whole way.
Even when we were introduced to the princess, I paid little attention. I was too busy mulling over my earlier actions. Staring at my scaly, clawed hands, I tried to comprehend why I would have acted in such a way. It simply didn’t make sense.
Celestia reeled off her gratitude, something which both Jackie and Shield Breaker giddily ate up. Even Boo, who looked a little hesitant to be so close to Celestia, took the praise gracefully.
Shrugging off Celestia’s thanks, I turned my attention to the desk nearby and the latest interview with Raven Inkwell. The last of the former humans I witnessed being interviewed was a griffon who had an ordinary tan satchel slung around her neck and over a shoulder. She exuded confidence and appeared to be studying the guard next to Raven.
“Rather old armour you have there,” she observed. “What kind of weapons you face round these parts?”
When the guard remained silent, she said, “Must largely be ceremonial then.”
“Let us begin,” said Raven. “Human name?”
“Ekks,” the griffon replied, puffing out her chest. “Special Operations.”
The guard raised an eyebrow.
“For hire if you need me,” the griffon continued, shooting the guard a sly grin.
“Name from Sombra?”
“Yeah, we can skip all that, the name is Ekks and that’s it.”
“Very well,” Raven said before repeatedly stamping her ledger.
The guard, who appeared to be eyeing Ekks just as much as she was of him, raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s with the satchel?”
Ekks chuckled and gave the guard a wink. “Trade secrets.”
Okay, that is a griffon I’d like to know more about. A sudden tap at my shoulder snapped my attention back to the others, or rather, Boo as my friends had all started to move away in the wake of Princess Celestia.
“You okay?” Boo asked. “Others are leaving.”
I shook my head and stepped past her. “Don’t worry about it.”
To her credit, Boo quietly fell into step beside me as we followed after the others before being ushered into a tent. Inside, we were met by more guards, a couple of unicorns in medical attire and Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. The last two were in discussion with each other before we arrived.
“Welcome to the next level of screening,” Shining Armor announced as he stepped away from his wife’s side. “All former humans must take part in a quick scan to proceed through to the full interview stage. We have more enemies than just Sombra’s to be cautious of.”
Something about that clicked with Shield Breaker who let out a long ‘oh’ in realisation. “That makes a lot of sense.”
He looked to Jackie and said, “End of two, start of three.”
Whatever that meant had Jackie nodding in agreement. The rest of us looked either confused or unsure of what to make of it all.
“It’s only a precaution,” stated Shining Armor. “If you have nothing to hide, then you will be free to pass.”
“Of course,” John said, taking the lead. We watched as the unicorn’s magic passed over John’s body as if scanning her.
I stood back with Boo, watching as the others went through the process. Whatever they were looking for, clearly none of my friends were it as they all moved on without any change to their appearances.
“Tickles,” Jackie chuckled as the last of the magic slipped from his still very yak body.
Boo was still in front of me so I clapped my hands onto her pony rump and pushed her forward. With how hard it was to push her, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had dug in her hooves to try and stay put. “Come on, we all have to do it.”
I stopped pushing when we were in front of the unicorn. His horn was already glowing leaving no chance for Boo to back out now.
As the magic of the unicorn passed over her body, Boo’s pegasus façade was stripped away. The only part of the creature still in my claws to resemble Boo in any way was the blue of her now translucent mane and tail. None of her original brown colouring remained, even her wings vanished.
What I held was deep black and chitinous. Like the shell of an insect but this insect was as big as many of the ponies I had encountered here. It was such a strange thing to hold and behold, I was wary of accidentally scraping it with my claws.
The looks of shock and horror on the faces of the surrounding guards and Celestia herself said it all. They were definitely not expecting this, whatever it was. Not from Boo of all ponies.
With little chance to do anything, the insectoid pony trembled in my claws and, probably out of nervousness, tried to make a joke out of it. In a hissing voice which didn’t resemble Boo’s at all, she cringed and said, “Uh, omelette du fromage?”
Now, I know I kid around a lot, especially to try and break the tension of a situation. But, if I hadn’t been holding onto her at the time, even I would have slapped myself in the face at that one.
Very special chapter gets a very special surprise at the bottom of this note!
So, hoo boy! That happened! Been waiting a while to show that moment off!
Now, this here chapter is a very special chapter as it is a thank you to all of you who have read and supported Spot of Tea, Change for Me! and A Deer Named John. I truly cannot thank any of you enough for giving these two stories the chance they have had so far. Again, thank you!
That being said, as part of the thank you, I gave four readers and one special other person the offer for them to have a character in the story as a former human in the processing queue. Now, I did have to limit this to only five people otherwise the little scenes would have felt far too similar the more and more I did them. That and we had to get to Boo's reveal at some point.
Now, the choices the characters have made about themselves in their new situation were for the characters themselves to make. They were also part of the offer guidelines I set. Do not attack any of those who so generously allowed me to borrow their characters for the choices the characters made.
I truly hope I have done the guest characters justice.
Now, the guests. Below is a list of the guest characters and who generously provided them. Thank you for lending them to me, they were a lot of fun to write. I return them now, unharmed and ready for you to use again:
Sapphire Moonlight - MosAnted
Drake - ThatOneGriffin
Mix-up - Mix-up
Evening Moon - Ninjadeadbeard
Ekks - Bronyxy
Tael was only inserted last minute when I needed someone on the fly to have Drake blurt their excitement and joy at. And for those who don't know, Tael is mine.
For those who don't know what sparked the Teapot Tales, it was actually a little scene from Ninjadeadbeard's story The Return of Sunset. In it, there is a scene with setting up a small tea party. When the teapot, cups and options for teas arrived, I thought, "Why can't the teapot just make the flavour itself?" Then it stewed and twisted in my head to become the teapot we now know. If you haven't go take a read.
Celestia mentioning the club and Spencer is a reference to Snakeskin Ducttape's story An Establishment Of Exclusivity.
Now for something very, very special. Something that was being done on the side while I was sick and working on this chapter. Mix-up took a commission from me. Now, I know it is a work in progress, I can only afford so much, but I have been simply blown away by this:
When I first saw it, I was speechless. Because wow, Mix-up, you captured her perfectly! If you need a cover art or just want a commissioned piece of something else, definitely send a PM Mix-up's way. It will be well worth your time.
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Whew! This chapter was a Doozy!
Heh, seems John is not the only one getting mixed signals.
EEEEEEEEEEE!
Getting your priorities right
Heh, wonder who that is...
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/903/458/f7b.gif
Poor guy. Both parts I think have a point, particularly if this was Spear's first posting. Still I hope this hasn't soured his and John's further interactions.
Ah, here we go, hard confirmation on when this takes place.
Well, I had felt something was off with Boo, but I certainly wasn't expecting this. My money was on her being a former human as well who had been hiding it...
...Unless she is, if you're making the reference I think you're making
Well, it took a while, but this chapter was certainly worth the wait. Thanks so much for the offer and I'm looking forward to where you take this story
9961917
Yeah, it was a doozy to get right. Making it William/Cremator's perspective was the most difficult part because she does tend to gloss things over with humour.
The first bit actually written and tested was the formal talk between Cadance and Ember. It worried me a lot trying to make it work from Cremator/William's view.
Been planning that bit with Basalt since the introduction of Spears.
Including Tael was never in the plan. I only used her last minute to solve an issue with Drake's moment which was making it a bit samey with the other moments. Needed someone who could just be talked at and everyone else mostly had their moments complete at that point. The only other option was Ekks, but I liked her little interaction with the guard too much to change it. I wouldn't be surprised if we never see Tael again. I don't really like using my own self inserts, after all, I don't need to. All the OCs I made have a tiny piece of me already.
The next chapter will be the last for arc 1 (so long as it doesn't grow so big I need to split it!) and will mostly be focused on Boo. You will get some answers then.
There is actually a reference back in Spot of Tea, Change for Me! that I don't think anyone has pointed out yet. Even if they do, I will be making it very clear what that reference was in one of the shorts. People will groan and probably curse me when they get it.
I wonder what will happen to Boo the changeling?
9962062
You'll see. And now you know why I was a little cagey about your questions the other day.
Very nice chapter, the presentation of the different Oc was interesting along with their differing reactions. I did like how you presented my Oc as a bit absent and unfocused for those around them, I wonder if we will hear from him again in the future?
Well, I wonder what this sudden interesting in color coordination, is it something that is added when you arrive to Equestria or is it something from the transformation that is actually affecting their minds even more without even realizing it? I can wait to see how John is going to deal with going out with that unicorn later on. I will be looking forward to see how the rest of the gang is coping with their situation.
9962108
I really want to get to the shorts so we get a bit more slice of life stuff. I particularly want to delve into the characters themselves more. A number of the shorts only have a couple of the main characters running around so it can be focused more, though there will be a couple with everyone.
The colour thing is mostly messing with Cremator/William more than anyone else. The reason will come out... eventually.
I am considering having a few of the OC guest characters return in the future, maybe add some others. Not exactly sure yet. For one short very much in particular I will more than likely be doing so. There is some more I want to do with some of them which simply couldn't be part of them in the processing line. Just need to make some plausible scenarios for them first, Ekks I'm looking at you!
I will still ask when I would like to borrow them again.
Glad you enjoyed it and thank you again for both the commission and accepting the offer.
9962099
Yeah, I notice that.
9961941
In all the excitement I just realized we forgot about someone...
...what happened to Iron Lock?
Edit: Also, I went back and gave Spot of Tea another read, but couldn't spot the reference, guess I'll have to wait until you point it out.
9962204
Trust me, that reference will make people groan.
Yeah, Iron Lock was supposed to be covered in this chapter but has been pushed to the next one. Just didn't suit that flow with William/Cremator's point of view.
What a interesting thing meeting all the new characters... nice.
Also oh no Boo is a changeling how is this shocking turn of events gonna play out!
9963025
And some, like yours, didn't get to show off everything yet. Already thinking of other appearances for them and maybe ask others for cameo thank yous. Struggling with how I want to set out the short stories but I'll solve it, eventually.
So this is basically sharing a universe with Snakeskin's story? Or is it just that the club from that story exists in this story? Either way is pretty neat.
What I don't get is why none of the others are being enslaved/imprisoned. It doesn't add up, there were enslaved by Sombra as well, so why arbitrarily pick out people to punish? And why punish someone who is fighting against/escaping Sombra? Because if you follow the logic to its endpoint then everyone in the Crystal Empire is an evil criminal who deserves to be thrown in prison, just because Sombra abused them. It just doesn't seem like they're being consistent here and its confusing.
The cameos don't really bother me, but MORE of the main cast accepting Sombra's Slave Names is just... its too dark. It takes the thing that made the first story dark, and doubles down on it until its depressing. If it was new names they made themselves it would avert that entirely, but as is it feels like part of the cast's existence in the story is pointless and that they should probably never have been put in as humans in the first place. This is because the names they are taking are created and forced onto them by a malevolent being that wished to destroy their identities and steal their free will, and by accepting those names it says they're willing accepting death and discarding everything that came before being enslaved, basically commiting suicide. I get they want to take new names because they want to move on from their past or because they think they are neat, but taking those particular ones Sombra gave them takes it from entertaining to depressing.
9964755
Boo is explained next chapter.
William is explained in two of the shorts.
John never got one.
Jackie hates hers as well as what she is. She has a story arc over a number of the shorts.
Jacob has a story arc for his. He has some growing up to do.
Schmidt has reasons and they will play out much later.
That is all I will give away on them. I want to show them playing out not dump it all at once (although, one short will unintentionally feel that way).
You have to look at this as like an opening act of the story. Accidentally didn't attach them properly and by the time I figured stuff out, it was too late to attach A Deer Named John to Spot of Tea, Change for Me! I am currently trying to get around the mess that is Boo's backstory in a digestible way for the readers while also figuring out how to present the shorts, whether each on their own or as batch of stories grouped together.
I would attach them to A Deer Named John, except that they don't all involve John or she barely even appears so it doesn't make sense to do so. Most of them are also self contained stories with characters of the story having growth. The characters ALL need a bit of growing before arc 2. We will be learning about their pasts as well in the shorts.
As for the arresting part, by all technicalities, all of the former humans freed here are undergoing extensive screenings. The part shown in this chapter is only the registration part. They are in the middle of a temporary military encampment and people with far better experience and expertise than Spears have now arrived (and I don't just mean the two Princesses involved) to handle things. Is why I showed Raven Inkwell in particular as she was the perfect choice for the processing line to gather the early information so they can at least place a name to a new face.
There are other steps alluded to but not shown.
Spears, at the time, explained why he did what he did. He also told his superiors what he did as evidenced by what Celestia said here. He is still facing the full repercussions for his actions. It is simply Celestia's nature to gently teach those still learning their roles, which Spears still is.
*edit*
I gained permission to reference the club from Snakeskin in the very early days of expanding the story from the short into the Teapot Tales. Loved that story and hope to see more from it soon.
In discussions, it was determined that the stories sort of brush up against each other but are not hard-tied to each other. So, yeah, it exists here but the two universes are separate. A bit of a messy way to explain it, I know. This story gives a little credence as to how some of the many former humans can have arrived in Equestria, transformed into many things, and visit the club. But, it is not the be all and end all of how they all get there. That is Snakeskins story to tell.
Truth is, I don't exactly know when in the show canon timeline Snakeskin's club opened, but I was given permission to play a little fast and loose with that fact. Whereas, this chapter does make it hard and fast when in the canon timeline this is occurring. Just to be clear, it would have come out in Arc 2 if I hadn't stated it here.
9964983
So it does get dealt with in some way? Good. It may seem strange to get hung up on the names, but it just bothered me. Hopefully they decide to go with something (anything, really) different.
With Boo added, that makes them a nice 6. Is that intentional? I wonder if you have particular EoH to ascribe to each of them. Or will their group just remain the Misfit 5? Also, just how much of the show have they watched, or would that be spoilers?
So, does this share a world with Snakeskin, or is it just a cameo for him, or what?
9965098
It is sort of a cameo for Snakeskin. I have given permission for my characters to be used in the club if needed. The open call they did is actually where Boo was first mentioned and I'm just glad no one really paid too much attention to her being in the list I gave.
Yes, referring to them as the misfit 5 has been a tiny white lie. They are the misfit 6, just at least wanted to get to Boo's initial big reveal before saying anything. So, yes, for those wondering, Boo is a main character and an official member of the group. In some ways she is an outsider looking in. More on her is coming to light in the final Arc 1 chapter as well as some of the shorts.
Without having a hard setting on it, Jackie and Jacob would have knowledge up until at least the young six are an established thing. Though they have not seen to the very end. Other former humans have varying degrees of knowledge of the show depending on how long ago they crossed between the worlds. An example of that is coming. Them acting on it is doubtful as they could be considered crazy by the locals. It is really just something characters in the know will keep to themselves to not trying and alter the canon too much, events of Arc 2 not withstanding. But that is yet to play out, though fully planned.
Special Ops griffon with a satchel - thanks for putting her in!
Got quite a few things to say about this chapter. The first time Raven said, "Name from Sombra," I paused reading the story because I was so shocked by the audacity of the question. It seemed a bit insensitive to ask that after that these "humans" went through. A reminder of their ordeal was shocking. That said, Sombra did have a flair for names. "Sapphire Moonlight" really is a beautiful name. I got to give him credit.
The appearance of Cadence and Shining Armor was my first true clue of what time period this story is taking place in because the invasion from Sombra could have been a thousand years ago. Until now, aside from Sombra, there were no show canon characters in the story that I was aware of. Also, this scene reminded me that some members of this party watch MLP. Even though I just read the first chapter, I already forgot about that.
The moment I saw one of the ponies named "Mix-Up", I immediately realized what was going on here because I noticed that name in the comment section of this story. These are all OC . . . creatures (for I can't entirely say ponies) that was donated for the story. I quickly recovered from that surprise.
The reveal of Boo being a changeling was actually predictable to me, but I don't remember which chapter that thought occurred to me. It was either the first one she appeared in or a few chapters later. It wasn't the appearance of the pony that was my clue, it was the fact that the "pony" was considered very good at stealth. i know one race that actually specializes in infiltration. The only part that surprised me about the reveal is the surprise of those who discovered it. I thought leaders like Celestia was fully aware of a changing in their employ, and thus she was valued for her role as spy. After all, she was originally presented as an agent of the military and they were fully aware of her as an asset, which also means she is very unlikely to have a human background if the armies of Equestria have a history with her. But in that case, they would not have bothered with the reveal in public. That would compromise a royal agent. The silence of the character was another clue. i thought maybe this might have been written before Thorax spoke. Back then, a lot of fans thought that maybe all changelings couldn't talk beside Chrysalis. That theory was blown before the reveal because Boo spoke before then, but my theory that she was a changeling remained. I just had a strong feeling about it.