GREEN
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1278 7.42 KB 132
1278 7.42 KB 132
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Transferred from https://pastebin.com/xzSE0zEN
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Originally published APR 15TH, 2016
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******
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****** Bon's version of the events (wip? probably not)
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>You are lying awake at night, in your bed, in your lover's room.
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>Fillydelphian hotel, second floor, farthest door from the staircase. Large window to the left of the princess-sized bed.
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>...
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>No, your mare doesn't actually live in a hotel.
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>Her private home, a modest but cozy two-story thing, is nothing like a hotel.
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>But at night, when it was too dark to discern the embroidered throw pillows, you felt yourself in a different place.
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>That Fillydelphian hotel.
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>You were travelling there for business. A professional conference of sorts.
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>Staying the night in a room just like this one. It was most probably a herds' suite,
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>And on the second night, you awoke to something rather unsettling...
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------
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>...a bang, a flash, and shredded meat - right outside your window.
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>Now, that wasn't really surprising.
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>In fact, if you stretched the facts just a little, you could say that you hoped to see exactly that.
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>See, that happened at the very beginning of your current career.
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>You were sent to a military and security exhibition, to tail certain persons of interest, make some contacts, plant some scrying devices...
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>Routine stuff.
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>Nopony knew you yet, and you decided to cash in on it, booking the slightly swankier, indefensible suite to pass as a business representative for a silver mining company.
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>And to enjoy the comforts too, of course.
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>The plan was almost flawless. You were so conspicuous that nobody suspected anything from you.
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>In fact, you flagged some of your fellow Griffonian professionals while they were none the wiser!
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>But trying too hard to appear as someone you are not, you forgot the part where you also don't want to attract too much attention.
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>When the Zebrican competitors of your cover ID's employer decided to send a message, they chose to send it through you.
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>And Zebrican military gals are not known for subtlety
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>So, on the second night, you got late guests.
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>They weren't trying to be subtle. They were going for a smash-and-grab with living goods, and they charged in right through the glass.
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------
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>Now.
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>Most ponies know from popular novels how thunder crystals work. Even Daring Do used them to daze her dastardly opponents!
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>Thunder crystals are commonly made from degraded mana stores, by binding to them a shattering spell targeted inwards.
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>On impact, all the energy stored is released in an explosion.
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>Any enchanter will also know that the spell doesn't have to be targeted inwards.
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>When bound to the crystal's surface, it will detonate not only the mana store, but also any other magically potent crystal on contact.
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>This usually happens by mistake, and may cost the careless enchanter her life.
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>Something they don't teach in school is that a spellsmith skilled enough to mix elemental magic can make these detonators work on magically inert glass.
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>You just need a better power store.
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>Luckily, you were friends with a certain Moondancer that made you these without asking too much questions.
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>Her design was pretty ingenious.
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>To arm it, you would need an evershine crystal from any common light source.
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>You then place both the detonator and the evershine snug against the glass.
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>Throw on a scarf on top, and the ensemble looks like something that came out of Rarity's store. It doesn't look dangerous.
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>That is why the two pegasi crashing through you window got a load of high-velocity glass shards.
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>As they cracked the glass, the spell was released, launching the pieces back towards the force of the blow.
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>When an evershine gets drained, glows. Drained instantly, it exploded with a flash..
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>That is how the bloody image of the last living moments of two rent-a-thugs got burned into your mind.
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*...clang... *
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>Someone lurking outside?
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>...
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>Nah.
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>Sounds like somepony picked a fight with a trash container.
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>Out of habit, you test the local emotion auras.
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>Changelings can use it to pinpoint targets behind stone walls.
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>It's extremely hard to learn for anyone but changelings though.
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>After years of practice, the best you can get are vague scents.
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>Like the strong, satisfied calm to your right. That's your lover...
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>...and at the edge of feeling, hints of distant malice.
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>And fear.
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>Before you know it, you are already wearing your sapping shoes.
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>Good thing you weren't going to sleep anyway.
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>As you are running to the stairs, you hear somepony run up to your front door.
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>You can _hear_ them lean on the wall. Heavy breathing.
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>Letting your unwanted guest make the first move, you hide behind a wall corner.
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>This wasn't the first time you ambushed someone in your own home.
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>"Lyra! Bon! Help me!"
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>With a thud, your unlikely guest stumbles inside, closes the door and sits heavily on the floor.
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>He is winded. His heart is pumping so loud you can hear it upstairs.
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>You quickly discard your weapons and hurry to his side
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"Anonymous? Is this you?"
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>"Bon, I was going home, and there were these three mares, they"
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>Breathing heavy, but free and unobstructed. Slight scent of blood, inconsistent with serious bleeding.
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"You're limping. Did they hit you?"
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>You link to the earth beneath. His footprints on dirt are still burning with mana flows, the sign of a magic void that just passed through.
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>The prints are far apart and come from the same direction as the metallic clang you heard earlier.
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>He was running fast. Assuming no fractures then. No grievous injuries.
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>He is obviously shaken though. A calming touch should handle that.
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>You place your hooves on his shoulders and start channeling.
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>"--they attacked me, so I hit back, and then I just--"
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>Huh. Magic void.
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>What should feel like a gentle breath of calmness leaving your body feels like lifting a slippery boulder from a swamp.
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>You don't show it though.
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"You did everything right. It's ok, you're safe now. We'll handle things from here."
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>"Bonnie? What's the commotion? Oh, hello Anon!"
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>Look who woke up!
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>You always joked that Lyra is in fact not a unicorn, but a sleep pony.
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"Good morning sleepyhead. Anon got jumped, and ran to us for safety."
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>Perhaps she won't get what you just said and will go back to bed?
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>"Where did it happen? Anon, do you know who it was?"
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>Oh no. You just got the colt to calm down and here your sweetheart is wasting all this effort!
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>You didn't just waste so much mana for nothing!
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>"Calm d--"
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"You will have to forgive Lyra and her guard training, Anon. You know what they say about guards. Give them a fulcrum and they fall asleep! Sleep through anything, too! I'm surprised she even got up!"
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>Yes. Let her be annoyed at you.
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>"Bon-Bon, stop it! We've got to go and handle this!"
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"No we don't. There is nopony there to handle. They probably fled as soon as Anon got here."
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>You close your eyes and test the auras just in case.
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>Lyra's righteous anger. Anon's void. And somewhere from afar, looming fear and sorrow.
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>As you move your head and try to pinpoint where this sorrow is coming from, the scent of blood becomes stronger.
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>It's on his boots.
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>Just how hard did you hit them back, sweetie?
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>...this could explain the sorrow.
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>The night is going to be a long one.
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>"By the way, thanks to Anon, identifying them won't be that hard... but we should move out and look at the place, just in case. Anon, will you show us where it happened?"
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>What the tartarus did you get yourself into, monkey-boy
by hotkinkajou
by hotkinkajou
by hotkinkajou
by hotkinkajou
by hotkinkajou