#but kd does make an appearance and that made me so happy | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ask-de-writer · 5 years

Text

HICCUPS! : MLP Fan Fiction : A Work In Progress

As usual for works in progress, new parts and changes to older ones are done in Boldface type.

HICCUPS!

A Grumpy Goat <tail>

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

10601 words so far, this is a WORK IN PROGRESS

Writing begun 11/30/18

//////////////

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

Characters:

Grumpy Goat and usual cast

Thomas/and/or/Dashie Writer – remote controlled T82

Wind, the Mama Cat

Victor Mordenheim - Mad Doctor

Krystal Dragoness “KD” Wingless dragon - artist

Fume Hood Unicorn, a bit small-Forensic Chemist

Jinni and Sassy vampire and succubus

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

It was being a quiet day out on the ledge in front of my cave. We were sitting on a bench, out in the sun, rereading Daring Do and the Secret of the Appleoosa Cave. The stout iron sheeting that blocked the entrance to my cave was warm behind us.

The lovely Coalsmoke, a pony of perfect glossy black except for her cutie mark, was leaning over where my shoulder would be, if I still had a body, or for that matter was even technically alive. She was admiring one of the illustrations in the book.

“I especially like these illustrations signed KD, Grumpy. They capture the mood and action really well.”

Sitting on my other side was the finely polished skeleton of an alicorn. He was the Litch King, Lord of the Dead, the being responsible for my present condition and now one of my few true friends.

He agreed, “Look at how well the artist has made the cave entrance look menacing. Whoever did this is very good.”

We were distracted from our pleasant reading by a flare of flame down on the trail leading up to my cave. Looking down the way, I was more or less expecting it to be the torches of another anti goat mob or, more specifically anti Grumpy Goat mob.

This time, it was not a mob. There was a wingless blue dragon toiling up the stony path to my cave. The next time that she flared, we could hear it. It sounded like she was suffering from a case of hiccups! Possibly not the best ailment for a dragon to have, since she was burping a smallish fire blast with each hiccup!

When she gained the ledge, she considerately turned her head out away from us. Good thing, too! She had two hiccups in quick succession!

She offered, “My name is Krystal Dragoness, KD for short. I've come to you about these hiccups. They are like to ruin me. I am at my wit's end. See, I am an artist. I draw and paint. I get going on a piece and these hiccups start up! One of them is sure to hit my work, and, well, paper, paints, canvas and frames are all pretty flammable! I've even burned up brushes!

“Can you help me to end these hiccups?”

I nodded, making my skull, apparently floating on nothing, with its everburning candle between the horns, glowing snake like eyes and fangs bob. “I could do that, yes. It would not cure the basic problem, though. Hiccups usually have a natural cause from tummy and lungs not coordinating right. If I fix this case, it could easily happen again.

“Let's dig into how this started and whether there is some underlaying cause that we can fix.”

Somewhat disappointed, Krystal nodded. “That makes sense. My first case of the hiccups like this happened at my one dragon show in the Sunrise Gallery in Manehatten. You know how those things are, lots of nobs that you need to chat with and lots of small snacks and drinks. The show itself was a pretty important one.

“I landed a contract to illustrate the next Daring Do book. There was some serious competition for that contract, let me tell you. It nearly went to Drawin Pitcher. She wasn't too happy about me getting to do the art for another Daring Do book. This one will be my fourth.

“I had only just signed the contract when the hiccups started. The first one nearly incinerated my new contract! I was able to get out of the gallery safely when they began. I was lucky that I didn't hurt anypony or any of my art.”

She absently pulled a sparkly topped muffin out of a bag and began munching it. Looking up, a bit embarrassed, she pointed out, “I really can't share dragon muffins with you. They are topped with crushed gems and have gold or silver dust in the muffin part. I'm afraid that they are pretty toxic to non dragons.”

Coalsmoke asked curiously, “Where did you get them? No place in Ponyville makes them at all. Sometimes the kitchen in Princess Twilight's castle makes up some for Spike but they never sell them.”

Krystal knit her brows in puzzlement. “I get them out of this bag. I always like have them when I am a little tense, like when I am concentrating on my art. Nibbling helps me to focus.”

Just then, she let out another small belch of fire.

Whistling softly, I thought carefully about what I had heard. “Tell me, Krystal, at the art show, did you have muffins like these?”

“Well, yes. Any well equipped bakery can make them. They just have to clean up carefully afterwards. They always serve them if I am going to be showing any of my works.”

I nodded and looked over at the lovely Coalsmoke, who is always a treat for the ol' eyeballs and asked, “And where have you bought them since that art show in Manehatten?”

She paused, thinking. “I haven't had to. This bag always has some in it.”

The eyes that I don't really have widened just a bit. “It always has some of those muffins in it for you? When did you get that bag?”

She scratched behind the spines along the back of her jaw as she sorted it out. “I first noticed it just after I left the gallery at the show where I got those first hiccups. It's always there when I am tense.”

I glamored my invisible spirit body to look like the handsome tan, black and brown goat that I was before the tiny mistake that killed me and destroyed my original body. Holding out a hoof, I said, “Just give me the bag, please. I am going to try something simple with it.”

Nodding affably, Krystal handed me the bag. I took it inside my cave and shut the iron door. That door and my cave front were designed by a good firm of military engineers to withstand an Equestrian standard military battering ram.

It only takes one anti-goat mob burning your house, your library, years of study, hopes for a degree and dreams of well paying work to make one take a few simple precautions. Add the mob trying to stone your burned and battered body to death to drive home the lesson in how how to hate most ponies. That trivial incident also motivated my simple and sensible precautions against a repeat of the problem. Like living in a cave. With a military fortress grade steel and iron entrance.

I turned about from sealing the door and asked Krystal if she was still feeling tense. Digging into the bag for a muffin, she replied, “Yes, a little. Why?”

The Litch King pointed with a foreleg of bone. “That is why. He just shut that bag inside his cave and it looks like you have it back.”

He turned his skeletal head to me and stated, “Grumpy, if you can, we NEED to help KD. Her illustrations really make a Daring Do book! Plus, we know now that a new one is in the works! We can't let anything interfere with THAT!”

I shrugged and opened the door. I was not even surprised that the bag was not there inside my cave any longer. Krystal munched her muffin and shortly hiccuped another tongue of flame.

I pointed out, “That bag was behind six centimeters of forged iron. In spite of that, it homed in on you without seeming effort. Moments after you nibbled that muffin, you hiccuped another flame. I suspect that there is a direct connection. To be sure, we need to go back down into Ponyville. I know someone in the forensic chemistry lab at the police department. In the meantime, try not to nibble another muffin and let us see if that helps to control or stop the problem.”

On the trail back down to Ponyville, Coalsmoke and I tried to simply hold the bag instead of letting Krystal carry it. This wise measure proved impossible. The bag kept sneakily returning to her claws. After what happened up on the ledge in front of my cave, that was pretty much what was expected.

I have to admit that I was pleased by the simple fact that Krystal did keep her claws out of the bag. We got down the trail and into Ponyville without incident as a result.

Instead of my usual turning towards the town hall and the Hall of Records, to record a new contract, I trotted right on, with a right turn, headed towards the Ponyville Waste Treatment Plant and Falmire Marsh, which is fenced and actually the final stage of the waste water treatment, before it goes into the river.

Coalsmoke was most interested in why we were going where we were going. Soon enough, we came to a modest stone building close by to the treatment plant. The sign said,

Ponyville Police Department

Forensics Laboratory

Chemistry, Physical Evidence Analysis,

Forensic Autopsy

As I pushed open the front door, I explained, “I know most of the staff here. Sometimes they will consult with me, when a case is being a pain.”

Coalsmoke chuckled, “How often is one of their nasty cases the result of one of your contracts, Grumpy?”

A smallish unicorn looked up from where he was working at a desk, apparently compiling a report. “Not really all that often, Miss Coalsmoke. Even when it is, there is no actual evidence that can link the contract to the results. Grumpy is often a big help in sorting out how something that we are investigating happened. We pay him a proper consultation fee, of course.”

I introduced, “Coalsmoke, KD, I would like you to meet Fume Hood, one of the best forensic chemists in the whole kingdom. We are lucky to have him here in Ponyville.”

KD offered, “You have some unusual friends, Grumpy.”

I chortled, “If they aren't unusual in some way, the aren't worth having as friends.”

Turning my attention to Fume Hood, I explained what our situation was in a few words and ended with, “Think that you could do us a rough analysis of one of KD's dragon muffins?”

He thought for a moment, tapping quietly on his desk top before nodding, “You say that the flame is mostly pale blue? Nearly transparent but pretty hot?”

KD shook her head in agreement. “Right. That is, unless I eat something with salt in it. Then the flame is yellow. Is that significant?”

Fume Hood said, “It MAY be. I would like to see both your normal flame and one from your hiccups. Please step over there. Dragon flame can be pretty handy for some chemistry tests, so we have a small indoor flame range.”

KD stepped over to the flame range's head rest. Fume Hood lowered the room lights and suggested, “Whenever you are ready, Miss KD. Just give us a small shot of your regular flame.”

KD's fire blast was impressively different from a hiccup flame. It was a bright yellow with some red to the center and flame tips that went to a bluish hue.

Fume Hood almost danced pleasure at seeing it! Perfect! Normal dragon fire. Now, let's see what we get with one of those muffins. Go ahead and take one from the bag and eat it.”

He was watching the bag very closely as KD extracted the muffin. “Fascinating. There is only one muffin in the bag until you take it out. Then a new muffin forms almost immediately afterwards.”

KD contentedly munched her muffin. Within moments, she stuck her head into the flame range headrest and belched a nearly pure, pale blue flame.

Fume Hood smiled in chemistly joy. “Timing and color nail it! You were right, Grumpy. There is a direct connection between the muffins and KD's hiccups of flame. The only reason that she flames at all with them is that, being a dragon, she has a natural ignition spark every time she exhales or belches. Whatever this vapor she is belching is, it is highly flammable.”

KD's shoulders slumped. “Does that mean that I can't have Dragon Muffins anymore?”

Fume Hood chuckled as he replied, “I suspect that you can have all that you want. Just not these, from this bag.”

He went to pull one out. Looking perplexed, he tried again. “Humm . . . I can't seem get that muffin out of the bag. KD, will you get it please? I need to analyze it.”

Without any problem, KD extracted the muffin. Fume Hood took it and sliced it in half. One half he put into a beaker with a lye solution. It began to dissolve at once. Soon there was only some slightly coarse granules mixed with loose sparkly fragments of gemstones in the bottom of the beaker.

Fume Hood filtered out the solid residue and rinsed it with water. Stirring it with a glass rod, he explained, “The lye took away everything but the gems in the topping and the metal dusts in the body of the muffin. Now, lets see what happens next . . .”

He dripped some acid onto the residue. “Gems, gold, and silver won't dissolve in this mild acid.”

In spite of that, something was happening! It bubbled and fumed something fierce! Happily touching it off with a sparking wand used to light his lab burners, Fume Hood pointed dramatically!

“There! You see? Pale blue flame! See the white residue? Zinc oxide. Your muffins are adulterated with zinc! It reacts with your stomach acids to make hydrogen and that is what, along with a bit of moisture and such that it picks up as you burp is what makes your so called hiccups! Just don't eat any muffins from that bag and you should be fine.”

He turned to me and snickered, “OK, Grumpy. We are even now.”

I turned to the perplexed KD and Coalsmoke. “They needed an autopsy done last year. The cadaver was over a week old, in August. I glamored up a form with no sense of smell and did it for them. Death was from blunt force trauma to the back of the skull. Clubbed, to be crude about it.”

KD brightened up and commented, “If they get that sort of thing to deal with, it is no wonder that this place is beside the waste treatment plant!”

I agreed, “Right! Now all that we need to do is sort out how you got a bag that can do what this one does.”

KD put a finger to her cheek as she thought. “I do know where I got it. It was at that Manehatten art show that I told you about. The Dragon Treats that they serve at those things are always kept separate from the pony treats by putting them in bags. Somepony gave me this bag with a muffin in it, just before I signed that Daring Do contract.”

Fume Hood tapped me on my nonexistent shoulder and pointed to the bottom of the bag. There was a small trade mark in the form of a silhouette. There was a small bit of advertising too.

KD read, “Redline Party Supplies – For a party to remember for the rest of your life – If you survive!” She also pointed out, “That silhouette looks like a laughing wolf's head.”

Fume Hood agreed, “It does look like that, doesn't it? I know of someone who uses a silhouette like that on their business cards. Here.” He hoofed over a card.

The card read:

Doctor Mordenheim,

General Surgery and Prosthesis.

Everfree Edge Clinic

Practice inspected and approved by Princess Luna

I was delighted! “I know where that is! It was a small old castle that was supposedly built by a -” I made my voice low and shivery while making Hoof Quotes, “- 'Mad Doctor' long before Ponyville was established. It was in ruins when the Apples came and founded the town.”

Coalsmoke smiled and said, “Right, Grumpy. I know where it is too. I send my workers there for general health workups and surgery when it is needed. Doctor Mordenheim really is very good. It is not far from here, either. Let's go see if he can shed any light on this business.”

We left, taking the Falmire Causeway that crossed the marsh, going out towards the southeast side of the Everfree forest. We paused by a street vendor's cart to watch the antics of her trained alligator.

Have to admit that Pinkie has done a great job of training Gummy! I mean, he is two and a half meters of fun! Rumor has it that she has broken him to saddle, but she was not offering rides today.

“Gator Chow, gator chow! / The gators below are hungry now! / Feed the gators down below / It is really quite a show!”

A chuckling Coalsmoke hoofed over coins and got a big bag filled with large chunks. It said “Certified Gator Chow” on the label. She shared the chunks around and we spent a few happy minutes tossing them to the many alligators gathered hopefully under the bridge.

There were splashes and chomping a-plenty as the gators lunged about for each new chunk of the chow. We heard a munching from behind us.

KD, swallowing, asked Pinkie, “Where can I get some more of this stuff? It is pretty good!”

At our stares, she retorted, “What? Dragon here, remember? I don't eat grass!”

We left Pinkie to her vending and went on across. It was not long before we saw the sign pointing to the forest beyond. It said, Everfree Edge Clinic, General Medicine and Prosthetics.

Only a little way up the designated path of yellow cobbles, we came to a small but well restored castle. I had to give this Doctor Mordenheim credit for showmanship. This was one classy clinic. The sign over an open door read Welcome to Everfree Edge Clinic.

Coalsmoke rang a bell labeled Ring for Service that sat on a beautiful mahogany desk in the lobby/waiting room.

We did not even get to try out the assorted seating and laying cushions. A large, near horse sized zebra with an eye patch came out of the back. His professional smile turned to a genuine one as he laid eye on Coalsmoke.

“My dear Coalsmoke! What may I do for you, or is it for one of your friends?”

Suddenly stopping like he'd hit one of his stone castle walls, he gave me a careful and most knowing look. “I do fear that the goat is beyond any help of mine.”

Coalsmoke smirked just a little as she replied, “You are correct. This is Grumpy Goat, my long standing friend, of whom I am sure that you have heard. We are not here for him.

“This is Krystal Dragoness. She prefers to be called KD. Our problem is sort of related to her, but it is not medical.”

Resting his chin on one forehoof, as he sat behind the desk, Doctor Mordenheim inquired, “If the problem is not medical, then what is it?”

I held out a hoof, “KD, may I have the bag please?”

I showed him the bottom. “Somepony named Redline is using your cutie mark on his things. It has some interesting properties.”

Mordenheim put his face in his hooves. “I know. I see that KD has it. She can't lose it either. Whatever is in it, seems like an endless supply. I made it, years ago. How it got here to this world, I have no idea.”

He was sort of surprised when we all simply found seating and Coalsmoke asked casually, “So, how did you get here? More to the point, when you arrived, did you meet an elderly blue unicorn with a white mane, tail, and beard?”

Mordenheim looked blank. “What? No, I never met anypony like that.”

He got a seriously uncomfortable expression as he elaborated, “I would really prefer not to go into why I wound up here. Princess Luna knows in detail. Suffice it to say that the events led me to wandering in the Everfree Forest. I have no idea at all how it happened, since the Everfree is not all that big, but I was in there for over a week. Perhaps more, I am not at all sure. What I am sure of is that the path that I was on did not seem to double back on itself or any thing like that. Between sun breaks in the forest canopy and the scenery, I am sure that I was not going in circles.

“I happened on the ruin of this old castle. I might have simply passed it by but it had a small cobbled road leading to it from outside of the forest. I followed that road and it led me to Ponyville.” He shook his head in wonder, “It was a very different Ponyville than the one that I left. By good fortune, I met Caramel Treat, Fangrin and Reverend Smallflower. The rest all came from meeting them.”

I pointed out, “Fascinating as that is, it completely dodges the question of that bag and its neverending supply of adulterated Dragon Muffins.”

One of Doctor Mordenheim's ears cocked up in fascination. “Adulterated? How?”

Coalsmoke filled in, “With lots of zinc metal dust, that's how.”

Doctor Mordenheim winced, “Ouch! That would make mountains of hydrogen gas! That could cause a serious problem for a dragon!”

KD confirmed, “It sure does! The hiccups that it causes have been near the ruin of my art.”

Suddenly you could see things clicking together in Doctor Mordenheim's mind! “KD? Art? Did you do the covers and illustrations for Daring Do and the Secret of the Apploosa Cave? The Adventure of the Singing Sands? The Nippony Diamond?”

KD nodded, clearly pleased. “All three! Why?”

Acting like a foal as he was going to his book shelf, Mordenheim snagged all three books and returned to his desk. “I love your art, KD, would you please autograph these for me?”

With an impishly evil grin, displaying her big dragon chompers, KD replied, “Sure!” She was reaching into the bag. “Just as soon as I snack on this muffin! Or, you make this bag harmless!”

Grinning right back, and revealing a set of fangs that would not have been out of place in a tiger shark, Mordenheim replied, hoof over heart, “You wound me! I was going to do that anyway. You did not need blackmail me. It did make it more fun, though!”

KD chuckled as she said, “I would not really have done it, Doc. It was just too much fun to pass up the chance. So, tell us, why did you make a bag like this?”

Reassured that we did not hold his apparent past against him, he sat back comfortably and half smiled at the memory. “Revenge. Count Sourbottom was being a problem, objecting to some of my experi . . . projects. He had a whole herd of foals of all ages. One of the youngsters had a birthday party coming up. I set up one of these for each of them! Loaded them with the finest, sweetest candies that I could locate. It was a near perfect revenge.”

Always interested in more ways to get back at ponykind for their mistreatment of me in the past, I asked, “How was giving his foals candy any sort of revenge?”

Suddenly, Coalsmoke put a hoof to her lips to suppress giggles. “Don't you see it, Grumpy? He couldn't take them away for discipline because the bags will go right back to the foals. Worse, the endless supply of sweets could cause all sorts of health and mouth problems that the Count would have to pay for!”

Mordenheim nodded happy agreement. “Last that I heard, Count Sourbottom was headed for bankruptcy on dental bills alone!”

Going more serious, he offered, “KD, we may be able to save the gem topping of your muffins if we are lucky. Would you like that?”

KD replied seriously, “That would be great, if we can do it. I really like their flavor, especially the crushed rubies. How can we do it?”

Doctor Mordenheim picked up the bag and headed for the outside door. Over his shoulder, he invited, “Come outside for a simple little experiment. We can save the gems themselves for sure. Question is whether we can save the topping that they are in or not.”

He pointed down the yellow cobble road leading to his door. “Now, my dear, take a muffin out of the bag but don't eat it.”

Mystified, she hoofed over the muffin. “I understand why I have to get it out, but why not eat it? What are we going to do with it?”

With total assurance, Doctor Mordenheim replied, “You are going to eat it but in parts. Here, let me scrape off the topping.” Carefully he removed the topping, taking none of the muffin itself. “Just eat the topping. I will hold the muffin for now.”

With obvious relish, KD did. Licking it off her claws, she asked, “What now? I like this test!”

“We wait a bit to see if you get gas. If you don't, the zinc is only in the muffin part.”

KD cocked her head, brow wrinkled in concentration. “I don't feel any gas coming on. That usually happens pretty quick when it does.”

“I see. To finish the test, eat the rest of the muffin now.”

She did. And was soon hiccuping blasts of flame.

Nodding in confirmation, he said, “Just in the muffin then. We can definitely save the topping for you. Would you like just this topping or would you prefer it on something?”

“As it happens, I do have something that it might go good on.”

Back inside, she produced a bag. We all saw Mordenheim's nose dilate as he caught the scent. His ears shot forward in interest. Drool leaked out of the corner of his mouth!

“What is that lovely smelling stuff, KD?”

“Gator Chow. I got it from Pinkie Pie over on the bridge. She told me that it is made from smoked and flaked meat pressed into bite sized chunks.”

Both Coalsmoke and I were rolling on the floor, laughing! Getting myself somewhat under control, I commented, “Those teeth of yours are real, aren't they, Doc?”

“Yes, they are. Is it a problem?”

Coalsmoke, composing herself comfortably on a large cushion, replied, “Not for us. It was just unexpected. Looks like Pinkie is going to have to stock in more Gator Chow, is all.

“This explains why Caramel has mentioned you eating there a lot but I haven't seen you, and I eat there too. You eat in the back, in her carnivore plaza.”

“Right. Now, KD, those Gator Chow chunks are just about muffin sized. That is about as big as the bag can handle. It is time to disarm the bag from those bad muffins.”

He got a large, heavy book from the shelf. Instead of consulting it, he held it at the ready.

“Now, KD, take the muffin out and move your paws away from the bag swiftly.”

As she did, he slammed the book down on top of the bag! He held it down for around a whole minute. Relaxing, he pronounced, the spell is reset. It can now be reloaded and set to anyone. Just a sec.”

He went into the back and returned with salad tongs and a spreading knife. Selecting one of KD's chow chunks, he carefully and neatly spread the gem topping onto it. Taking the tongs, he used them to insert the topped chow chunk into the bag.

“Now, KD, just reach into the bag and take out the snack. That will reset the bag to you with a safe treat. You also now know how to change treats any time that you want.”

Saying, “Thanks, Doc!” KD fished out the treat and nibbled it down with gusto!

I was watching the whole thing with narrowed eyes that I don't really have. Thinking it over, I pointed out, “KD, whoever set you up was at the show in Manehatten. The way it works, that spell didn't lock onto you until you took out that first muffin.

“It may be time for a contract or a bit of detective work in Manehatten. Perhaps both.”

Thoughtfully she suggested, “There is another big art show in Manehatten in a few days. I do have a studio there with some finished pieces that I could enter if I could get there in time. That would give us the cover that we need for detective work if we can arrive in time.”

I suggested, “If time is a problem, I could try setting up a portal between here and the Manehatten fairgrounds. It has been a while since I studied that but it is really pretty simple magic.”

We all trooped outside and I began the really pretty basic preparations for opening a portal spell. I did add a whole lot of “stage dressing” rituals, circles and other misdirection. I always do. Better showmanship and it hides what makes it work from prying eyes, even if they are watching.

A glowing circle appeared in the air, just in front of us and barely touching the ground. Suddenly it began to grow, becoming a huge oval. Something enormous, making a steady pulsing roar and clanking like metal was coming toward us!

First, pretty high up, came a sort of short crossways tube with a hole in it on the side facing us. The thing continued to advance. That funny bit was attached to a long metal tube! Down lower, some big metal plates appeared and then between them an enormous bridge of metal. Huge wheels of steel supported endless linked plates of more steel!

As the contraption came on out, it was revealed to be a gigantic machine of some sort! It had sloped sides up to a heavy device on top that the long tube came out of. That had sloped sides too, as if this thing were made to bounce catapult shots off of it! There were some serious dents and obvious repairs that made it seem that those slopes were strictly functional!

Sticking her head up out of a hatch in the top was a pony who looked for all the world like Rainbow Dash! Reinforcing that idea was a brown pegasus with a black mane and tail clinging to the rear of the machine and calling out loudly enough to be heard over the machine's roar!

“Dashie! Stop! You going to smash through garden wall again! You crush Jade's herb garden again! You so grounded!”

Dashie retorted, “I not hit wall, dad! Big blue hole show up. I drive through that! Besides, last time I drive through Jade's herb garden, I fix it better than before. She ask me to squash it again!”

“And one more thing! Dashie, you make me good hot tea or you so grounded you need dig up for thousand year to see daylight!”

Innocently she shot back, “If I that grounded, I make you nice tea that De Writer send for me to get you! It his idea to get it with remote control T82 Main Battle Tank! If I NOT grounded, I MIGHT be able to find you nice green tea that he never touch!”

The brown pegasus sat hard. “De Writer ask you to use Remote Control T82 IN CANTERLOT for that tea? You not so grounded as I thought.”

The one identified as Dashie noticed us from her vantage point, high up in the top part of the T82. She picked up a small boxy thing with buttons and levers and pushed one of the buttons. The T82's loud grumbling fell quiet.

“Um, Dad, we come through portal, I think. You not teach me that magic yet. There ponies here and a dragon. Come around T82 and you see. There small castle here too.”

The brown pegasus stepped around the metal monster and courteously introduced, “I Thomas the Writer. Miscreant who drive T82 through your portal my daughter Dashie Writer. T82 is educational toy give her by De Writer.”

Mordenheim looked up at the behemoth of steel and remarked, “Where you are from has different ideas about educational toys than any place I have ever been.”

Dashie replied, “It crazy where we from too, but what you expect from powerful wizard like De Writer? Something safe? He good to have on your side when trouble come, though.”

She turned about and exclaimed, “The portal gone!”

It was true. Standing where it had been was a familiar cat otter hybrid with red hair. She was wearing a well worn cloak of dark green and light seeming chain mail. Mithril by the look of it. Her left arm was a prosthesis, a mechanical arm of metal that moved in an utterly natural way. Under the cloak was the scabbard of a large sword. In her mechanical hand was a parchment that looked like a map of some sort.

She tucked away the map in a pouch at her waist and looked about, her gaze missing nothing. Smiling, she waived! “Hi, Grumpy! It's me, Wind! We met at Ponyville Fair, remember? I am part of Marchhare's band of Rom. I was going to meet them at Haymarket fair, up north, but this out of control portal got in the way. I took the liberty of closing it.”

Thomas gave Wind a strangely puzzled look. “This world with Marchhare in it?”

She shrugged, “I wouldn't be going to meet him and his band if it wasn't! Why?”

Speaking to Dashie, Thomas said, “This important lesson, Dashie. How many worlds in multiverse?”

She replied, “Infinite. Everyone and thing have infinite copies, each a little different.” Raising her eyebrows in thought, she added, “This a trick question, isn't it, Dad?”

“Sort of. You very quick. Every rule have exception, right?”

Putting hoof to chin, she thought and then went wide eyed with realization! “Every rule have exception, even that rule!”

Thomas lifted his wings in pleasure. “Right! This ONLY world in whole multiverse that have Marchhare! That is secret to navigation when go between worlds.”

Dashie blinked. “What happen when he dies?”

“Nothing, Dashie. Marchhare already dead. Not die twice.”

We were all listening in amazement. It was newcomer Wind who said, “That is sort of a relief. That there is only one of my foster dad, I mean. I have met some of myself and it was not the best of experiences!”

She put her jaw in her metal hand and examined the whole situation carefully. Turning to me she asked, “Did you cast the portal, Grumpy?”

Scraping the grass where I was standing with one nonexistent forehoof and looking down, I muttered, “Afraid so. Portals are not really my specialty. I guess that I really messed this one up.”

Wind stepped over and lifted my glamor's head to look me in the eye. “I am an expert with portals. That one was really well done. It would have worked perfectly if you had not cast it here. The Everfree's Hidden Ways are what messed you up.

“Now, where were you trying to go?”

KD interjected, “We were aiming for the fairgrounds at Manehatten by the Sea.”

Wind nodded in a very take charge sort of way. “I see. That is about 6 or 7 hundred kilometers from here.”

Leaning casually up against the iron monster called T82, Wind asked, “Does this thing have personnel and cargo railings and how fast is it, uh, Dashie?”

Dashie brightened up as she replied, “It sure does have safety railings! I use them when I give Mia and Becky rides. It can go as far as you want. Out in the open, it can hit 100 kilometers an hour! How did you know about that?”

Wind gave a delicate shudder, “I have adventured on a few worlds where similar machines were used. I saw the passenger railings on some of them.”

Wind smiled ingratiatingly at Thomas. “Would you be willing to let Dashie take us all on an Adventure to Manehatten by the Sea? It will get these nice beings where they need to go and be fun for us all. From there, I can easily send you both back home.”

Dashie had hopped out of the top of the T82 and began releasing catches and lifting up metal railings. They clicked as they locked into place. When she was done, she lowered a set of steep metal stairs to climb up onto the back of her “educational toy.”

Thomas watched with a skeptical lift to his right eyebrow. “I not say we go, Dashie.”

She looked him straight back in the eye as she retorted, in front of us all, “Right. All that you have to do is tell our hosts that you won't do something simple and fun to help them.”

“That blackmail, Dashie!”

“Right. Between you and our De Writer, I learn from the best!”

He chuckled, “OK. We do it.”

Wind swung easily up the boarding stair and called, “All aboard for the Manehatten Express!”

KD swarmed up, found the engine vents, and curled up with a “Dibs on the warm spot!”

Coalsmoke gently pushed me toward the enormous device with, “I would love to go too, Grumpy, but I have serious business to talk over with Victor. The Princesses want to set up a program for helping wounded veterans of their armies.”

Dashie started the T82 and made a big turn. Wind guiding her, we set out for Adventure! And Manehatten.

Technically, we took Doctor Mordenheim's path down to the Falmire cutoff and turned south towards the junction with Royal Road 315. For some reason, the busy traffic of Ponyville's industrial district gave way before us, even when it had the right of way! Couldn't imagine why! Surely it had nothing to do with fifty or more tonnes of steel monstrosity charging along at a “mere” twenty kilometers per hour.

We reached the Royal Road toll booth without incident. Almost had an incident there. The poor booth keepers were going nuts trying to sort out the proper toll.

Pages were fluttering back and forth in their toll manuals, “It ain't a cart or wagon from any section! Darn thing is made out of iron like a fool locomotive on the railroad!”

“I know, Jeb! Can't even classify it by team size or set up! It runs itself!”

Wind was sitting on the edge of the turret, which Dashie had taught us was the name for that upper part with the long pipe sticking out of it, and giggling at the small uproar.

“When Marchhare hears about this, he will split his harness, he will laugh so hard!”

One of the toll collectors looked up at her and got a beatific smile. “You are Wind, from Marchhare's band of Rom, right? I saw you at our fair a couple of times.”

She nodded acknowledgment, “Yes, Sir. I am.”

He turned to his buddy and pushed the manuals shut. “Just write Rom from Marchhare's band, toll free by Crowns Law.”

Jeb did write, though he was still trying to protest. His superior shut him down with, “Jeb, like enough you are right. Still, it solves OUR problem.” He tripped the gate mechanism and the flimsy red and white painted wooden bar lifted up out of our way.

We pulled onto the Royal Road. Besides less traffic, it was wider and better maintained than the Ponyville road we had come from. Dashie began to open up the speed once we had clear road ahead of us. I must say, I was impressed. Dashie was not kidding about hitting a hundred kilometers an hour!

The T82 was fast and high enough that we had to duck shade tree branches! A delighted KD had her sketchbook out and was rapidly drawing things from her high perspective!

Chortling, she explained, “Even as roughs, some of these will adapt to pictures for my book contract! This is great!”

Wind steered us into one of the many waysides, making Dashie slow down and drive gently as we parked for the evening. With assurance, she showed us where the free water and firewood were.

With a fond smile, Wind recalled, “I have camped here before, while traveling with Dad's band. There is a small stream over in the bushes that we can get fresh fish and crawdads out of for a nice dinner.”

KD had out an easel and was busily drawing with colors. She was doing the T82 framed by a sunset of riotous clouds and glowing light.

She asked politely, “Wind, would you be so good as to pose there, just below the turret? I want your metal arm just casually holding something and your sword out in your right hand, ready but not on a guard.”

Wind did pose. It really did not take KD long at all to capture the feeling of the scene. The way that Wind was posing, it looked for all the world like she OWNED the metal monster behind her!

Done posing, Wind stretched and began doing limbering up exercises. With an expression of delight, and without even thinking about it, Wind began to dance and sing in a language strange to all of us. I did recognize it from my times at the Ponyville fair, serving mainly as security for Caramel Treat's excellent food booth. The language was Gyptian, the sort of private and held secret, nearly melodious tongue of the Rom. I did recognize the dance.

She was treating us to the Shehan Ja Rom, their story of how the Rom came to be. I gather that it is the oldest dance and song of the Rom. As her dance and song finished, I remembered that the Rom did not clap for applause. I leaned my head back and gave the loud trill that the Rom use.

Wind looked sort of startled as the others followed suit. Embarrassed, she mumbled, “Sorry. It was just the joy of being on the road again.”

It was KD who said it, “Don't be sorry. It was lovely. Is there an Equestrian translation?”

I put in, “I know that there is. That was the famous Shehan Ja Rom. The Rom traditionally dance and sing it in an Equestrian version to open fairs. What I am curious about is how Wind, who is nothing like any horse or pony, came to be a Rom and of Marchhare's band at that.”

Wind sat near the fire and absently began to assemble vegetable skewers for Dashie, Thomas and I. “I made a little mistake while adventuring. I survived it, obviously. Mama Dragon fixed me up and sent me here, to this Equestria to finish healing and recuperate. De Writer met me and steered me to Marchhare's band.

“Good thing, too. One of my wounds developed a small inflammation that could have killed me. Black Lotus, Marchhare and Hoof Dancer, his wife at the time, healed me. Mama Dragon was wise in sending me to them for a month. I had more than physical wounds to heal. I joined them and learned to read, write and speak Gyptian. Having a real caring and extended family provided the rest of the healing that I needed. Now, I have my Freedom and I can come and go as I wish, but my Rom family is always there for me.”

I could tell that there was a lot left out but Wind cut her tale off without harming her tail by asking, “Grumpy, will you tend these skewers for me while I go catch some fish, crawdads and a bunny or two for dinner to share with KD?”

I realized at once that besides being an adventurer, Wind was quite diplomatic. She had just reminded the lot of us that KD had not eaten all day, except for snacks, and that both she and Wind were carnivores. Possibly hungry carnivores.

Dashie took off too, calling, “Wind! Wait up! I want see how you hunt and fish without fancy gear.”

Wind looked back, nodded and then beckoned with a finger curl. As soon as Dashie was up to her, Wind slid into the brush without a sound. Dashie, trying to follow was pretty quiet.

Coming to the creek bank, Wind laid flat and wriggled forward on her stomach. Carefully parting the small thin wands of the bank willows, she slid her right arm into the water, reaching back, under the cut bank. Her face screwed up with concentration, she eased her hand up, feeling for a fish. Smiling, she slid her hand further up and grabbed!

Rolling back and lifting, Wind flipped the good sized trout out onto the bank! She caught the flopping creature and bent its head back to break its neck. She snipped off a thin bank willow strand with her knife and laced it through the fish's gills and out the mouth. Loosely knotting the ends, she hung the fish up and repeated the trick three more times!

Dashie was watching with awe. “I never even hear of fishing that way! How you do it?”

Wind picked up her willow loop with fish and replied, “It takes practice to tickle trout but it is not really hard. You need to be careful and gentle. When you feel the fish with your fingers, you need to work your way up until you feel the pectoral fins, those just behind the gills. Snap your fingers into the gills and lift it out quickly.

“Now for a nice brace of bunnies and dinner will ready to cook.”

Dashie, keeping her voice down, asked, “I see warren right over there. How you catch them? Some kind of trap?”

Wind, following Dashie's pointing hoof, shook her head. “I could, and if we were going to be here longer, I would set some snares. Since it is only dinner and breakfast, I will just pounce them. It is easier and quicker.”

Dashie watched Wind ghost her way through the brush toward the warren. Choosing her place, she waited, a bunched spring of living huntress. Nothing moved except for the tip of her tail twitching slightly. It was only a few minutes before a bunny hopped lazily toward one of the main holes of the warren. Wind's pounce included a fast chop with her metal hand! The bunny only twitched once before going still.

Wind quietly picked a different spot and soon had a second bunny!

Bearing her prey, Wind and Dashie returned to camp. On their way, Wind asked, “Why did you want to see how I got fish and bunnies? Most ponies really don't want to see that.”

Face flaming a little with embarrassment, Dashie replied, “I am sort of, like half dragon. I turn into one if I need to or want to. Thing is, I not very good at getting meat to eat! I have to turn back to a pony and graze up dinner! There are times that really inconvenient!”

Wind chuckled. “I can see that! We have one more stop before Manehatten by the Sea. I will take you out hunting there too, OK?”

Back at camp, Wind considerately went to the other side of the T82 to clean and prepare her catch. A lightly drooling KD went to help! They both returned to the camp, licking their lips and smiling. They were finishing up with some of KD's endless supply of Gator Chow. Wind had carefully cleaned off the gem topping from hers and used it to enhance KD's snack.

As we were settling about the fire, Dashie asked, “Um, Wind, did Rom hold you prisoner some way? You say you have your freedom.”

Wind chuckled at the misunderstanding. “No, Dashie. The Rom Freedom is a thing that they wear. Here, I have mine in my bag.”

She reached into her bag at her waist and her arm seemed to go in further than was possible. She saw us staring and snorted her amusement. “It is called a bag of holding. It is sort of like Marchhare's caravan. It is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Here it it is!”

Stopping her rummaging, she pulled out a sort of headstall thing of richly tooled and dyed leather with rings and buckles that looked to be gold. She strapped it on.

“This is a Freedom of the Rom. They grant them only to beings that they have fully accepted as one of their own.”

“Why is call a Freedom?” Dashie wondered.

Wind lifted her chin with pride. “The original cast off slaves that were the first Rom wore a headstall with a bit and lead ring. They had them all their lives and were not comfortable without something on their heads. They re made them into the Freedom by taking away anything by which they could be made to serve another. No bit or lead ring has ruled any Rom from that day to this.” Very carefully, Wind removed her Freedom and put it away.

KD had curled into an amazingly hard to see coil of dragon to sleep until dawn. The rest of us were spreading blankets to sleep under the stars.

A wagon full of road repair tools and an accompanying work gang of ponies pulled into the rest area. A couple of them strode arrogantly to our camp and demanded, “We are hungry! What ever food you got, hoof it over now! You don't, we gonna take sledgehammers to that there tin thingy!”

I gently prodded the almost sleeping dragon in our midst. KD had been paying attention! Her head rose up, eyes alight. A curl of flame showing at each nostril and outlining her barely opened jaws completed the picture!

She serenely asked, “What? More dinner? I'm not sure that I could hold another whole pony. Mind if we just sort of pack along the leftovers for lunch?”

Dashie had lifted a fully draconic head. In the late evening's light we could not make out her color but we could easily make out the totally paling ponies!

“What! They got TWO DRAGONS!”

Dashie corrected, “No. Two HUNGRY dragons!”

Dashie was giggling at the frantic retreat of the two jerks! Got to admit to some chuckles of my own. KD's sides were heaving as she re coiled herself.

Dashie got up onto all fours. In the dying firelight, she could be seen to be a light blue color. She flexed her wings a couple of times and strolled over to where the road crew ponies were carelessly re packing to leave. In terror but not so terrified that they were willing to have to pay for abandoned gear!

One thoughtlessly yelled, “Road camp privacy! Stay away, that is kingdom law!”

Wind, who was almost unnoticed at Dashie's right front leg, calmly pointed out, “You have just admitted that you knew that you were breaking kingdom law when you tried to hijack our dinner. In your haste to correct your error, you dropped your sledgehammers. Here!”

Wind revealed a hidden strength by casually giving the heavy hammers an underhand toss. Both hammers overshot the wagon and hit the turf on the other side of it.

That got the attention of the road crew ponies! One noticed, “How come you only got one arm?”

Smiling angelically, which showed off her fangs nicely, Wind reached up with her metal left arm and scritched at the base of Dashie's left dragon horn as she replied, “What, this?” Campfire light glinting from her metal arm, she said casually, “Kitten here, and I got to roughhousing last week! She was a little too enthusiastic, that's all.”

Dashie, catching on to the game, bent her head around and gave Wind a lick at the shoulder and said contritely, “I said that I was sorry! We just need to find a Phoenix potion so that you can regrow it. Again.”

They strolled back to our camp, Wind taking the time to re hang her cloak to sort of hide her metal arm. Thomas, Dashie, now turned back to a pegasus, and I nibbled up Wind's excellent fruit and vegetable skewers.

Wind toasted the last of the bunnies and trout over KD's flame and shared that extra bit dinner with her. Dashie “sneaked” over and turned back to a dragon to beg a few bites. Grinning, they let her have some.

Sleeping out in the open, I did not have my usual nightmares of a Celestian Church mob burning my home, studies, and, failing to trap me in the house, attempting to stone me to death. Perhaps my feelings of safety came of sleeping beside a big blue dragon? One that liked me? Very likely.

It could not last. For one thing, dawn comes far too soon for a cave dwelling goat like me. The other was a light blue bundle of enthusiasm with rainbow mane and tail! Dashie was bounding into camp! She was waiving a forked stick with three big fat trout on it! It was laced through their gills and out their mouths, with the forked branch acting as a stop to keep them from sliding off.

“I did it, Wind! I tickle trout just like you show me how!”

Wind looked up from laying the morning cook fire. Her grin showed her usually hidden fangs as she replied, “Just like I showed you? Not sure how to point this out diplomatically but you don't have any fingers to do it with.”

Totally disingenuous, Dashie replied, “I just use my magic like you show with hand. It not hard. Real trick was find where fish hide. You show me that. They too quick to catch if just grab. Gentle tickle is trick.”

Both KD and I were listening with rapt attention. It was clear that Thomas and Dashie's Equestria was very different from this one. As they talked, that became more and more apparent.

“Does your magic come from being a weredragon?”

“Only a little. Most I learn from Dad. He one of two most powerful beings in our Equestria. Be honest, I think De Writer worst. Super strong magic and wicked sense of humor. And bored. He three thousand years old. Raise Princesses.”

“I see. Do other pegassi use magic where you come from?”

“Not really. Dad figure out that there more magic in world than Earth, Pegassi, and Unicorn. It come from his mom, Aurora, the Demon Queen.”

We all looked askance at the innocent appearing brown pegasus. This was getting more and more interesting all the time.

Wind just nodded, took the fish and efficiently set about preparing them. She also pulled some fresh looking apples and peaches out of the bag at her waist. She expertly split them into proper chunks and dropped them into a pot. She added a little fresh water and, reaching into her bag of holding, pulled out a box with many drawers and bottles, a jar with a sealed top and a small flour bag.

I was sort of amazed, watching the sheer skill with which Wind organized breakfast. She even had water on heating in a biggish pot. She added some from the sealed bottle. The camp filled with the heavenly aroma of Rom black tea!

Satisfied with the progress of the fruits in the pot, she added sugar, cinnamon from one of the drawers of the box and stirred in the flour to thicken it.

It smelled heavenly, not like regular flour at all. Wind closed the bag and returned box, bag and jar to her bag of holding. She saw my calculating look as I watched it all happening.

Wrinkling her nose in amusement, she explained, “Ka'chek flour. A Rom without it? Unheard of!”

Breakfast lived up to the lovely scents, and then some.

Wind, KD and Dashie went to the other side of the T82 to fix and eat the trout. Coming back, Dashie and KD were finishing up gem topped Gator Chows and Wind was nibbling at one with the topping removed.

While they were eating, the rest of us cleaned up all the cookware and put out the fire. We especially cleaned out the fruit stew pot! Nearly came to blows over who got to lick it out! Good sense prevailed and we took turns licking parts of it. Then, we washed it. We did have one thing unwashed.

We saved Wind the last mug of Rom black tea. Smiling at our courtesy, Wind drained it and saw to proper washing of the mug. She then caused us all a small croggle of the mind by causally putting all of the clean cookware and dishes into her bag of holding!

We all piled onto the remote controlled T82 and Dashie got us on the road again!

I noticed that Wind was wearing her Freedom and had put on a harness. It was as richly tooled and dyed as her freedom. They were clearly a matched set.

While KD was busy with her art, making fast sketches of the lands that we were passing through, I made bold to ask, “Why the Rom outfit? This is not exactly a caravan.”

Wind giggled at some joke that I did not understand as she replied, “Actually, it is. You just have to understand what caravan means. It is a loan word from the desert Kingdoms that was already in use by the time that the first Rom came here. In their language of Gyptian, it means something slightly different from how it is used in Equestrian.

“It is just that there is a road section toll gate coming up in a little. Me being dressed this way should get us through the gate for free.”

Nodding acceptance for her reason, I turned my attention to Thomas, who was trying hard to act like an adult pegasus, rather than a colt having the time of his life.

I guessed, “You have not ridden on Dashie's T82 before, have you Thomas?”

With a twinkle in his eye, he admitted, “Never before this. I think that she get to play with it more but need daddy supervision!”

I was chuckling at that when we all felt the iron monster slowing down. Wind, pointing ahead, made clear exactly why. There was the toll booth with its light weight red and white bar across the road. There was a substantial cabin in back of it for use of the toll collectors when off duty and out here, kilometers from any town. A sign said, WELCOME TO THE MANEHATTEN ROYAL ROAD SECTION.

Wind hopped off the top of the huge left tread guard of the T82 and greeted the toll takers, “Hi! What do you think of my new act? Just doing a shake down run to IRON out any problems! We are promised entertainment for the big art show.”

The utterly bemused light yellow toll collector turned to his lavender buddy and shook his head. Pushing the toll manual shut he said, “Rom. No accounting for 'em. Just write Rom, toll free by Crowns Law.”

He tripped the mechanism and the toll gate rose up out of our way.

As the mechanical behemoth passed through the gate, Wind trotted after and swung up the steel boarding stair and resumed her place on top of the turret, next to Dashie.

We had passed two of the Waysides when Wind guided Dashie into one that seemed empty. It was nowhere near noon, yet.

“Thanks, Dashie! There is a friend here that I want to talk to. It would have been rude to just go by and not say Hi.”

With that, she bounced off the turret, grabbed what we had learned was called the Main Gun, and swung, letting go and landing lightly. She sprinted over to the edge of the woods.

Sitting suddenly, she quietly reached out and laid a sparkling pebble among many others in that spot. She said, “Hannara Na Kili.” We could not make out the rest. It was all in Gyptian. It contained pauses as if she was listening to what another was saying. The conversation was soon over.

Wind got up, smiling serenely, and returned to us. Dashie had turned to a dragon so that she and KD could share a couple of KD's gator chows.

Wind suggested, “We could get going, now. The Loved Dead are always with us. Hannara and I had a nice chat.”

It was slowly percolating through the brain that I don't really have, just how different Rom are. And I have known them, shared food with them and talked with them for years. They have even been guests in my cave. I have heard that expression, the Loved Dead are always with us hundreds of times. I have heard about Laying the Stones goodness only knows how many times. This was the first time that I had seen it.

Seeing how Wind treated it, both casually and with absolute assurance, as if the horse in that grave that the Rom call a Gateway to the Lake of Paradise, or Lake for short, was really there, made it hit me like a gut punch.

I knew, like everybeing in Equestria that the ONE THING THAT YOU DO NOT DO is desecrate any Wayside burial. Ponies who die more than two days travel from their homes are entitled to a Wayside burial. It is a Royal Benefice. The graves are marked and tended as part of Wayside maintenance.

All Rom get a Wayside burial, that they call a Lake or going to the Lake. They lay small, inexpensive, but pretty pebbles on them to mark them.

Desecration of a Rom Lake will bring the Princesses in person to investigate. The criminals WILL get caught. Penalties are HARSH. They range from twenty years at hard labor on the Royal Roads up to life. The worst offenders, who have actually exhumed Rom remains get a punishment worse than simple death.

They get life in the Twins Mine, digging mercury ore. The fumes destroy the mind and wrack the body. After the first few such grave robberies, centuries ago, no pony in their right mind will risk that.

Wind looked so quietly happy that I had to wonder whether there was any truth to the Rom belief in the Lake of Paradise.

Dashie finished her snack and changed back to a pegasus. We all piled back onto the T82 educational toy and hit the road again. It was not long before we came to a bridge across a stream.

It was a nice, well built and solid bridge. It was clear that it was not made to take the sheer mass of the T82.

#HICCUPS!#MLP Fan Fiction #The annals of Grumpy Goat #Written by De Writer #Work In Progress #Will not be posted to Index until finished.

10 notes · View notes

jaehd · 7 years

Text

08. dearly departed | kds

warnings: angst (happy ending), drinking, drunk thoughts, internalized homophobia, homophobia in general, specifically lesbophobia :(

word count: 1051

a/n: 100% based on my late night thoughts last night !!1 if i have any lgbt+ followers (i kno i do) and u ever need to talk about nything pls talk to me im literally always on this blog even tho i never post. internalized homophobia is so hard to get over/unlearn, let’s get through it together pals!!

Vodka has always been a least favorite of yours. When it wasn’t mixed with anything it was toxic and usually couldn’t get past the taste buds on the tip of your tongue, however, today had been an interesting day, and the strong taste of hard liquor was more than welcomed.

“I don’t like you drinking this stuff, I read somewhere that it can erode your enamel if you drink too much of it.” the woman of the night, Dasom, said sitting down beside you on your couch. She acted as if nothing was happening, and if someone were to compare your appearances, someone would think you were a little off.

You were a mess. You looked like a mess, you felt like a mess, you were the definition of a mess. You were wearing the same clothes you slept in last night, not bothering to change for anyone. There were dried tear streaks on your cheeks, your eyes puffy and your voice clogged and sounding muffled by the ever present lump in your throat. Dasom, however, looked just as beautiful as she always did. Everything she did seemed effortless. She looked at you with pain and pity.

“How did they find out? We were so careful...” You said, your voice trailing off into nothingness as your words went from a public question to a private thought.

“I don’t know but it’s okay, everything will blow over soon.” She said with a smile so sure that you could have believed her. The tears forming in the corners of her eyes gave away her true feelings.

“How can you say that? They’re tearing you apart and I feel like that's affecting me more than it is you.” You replied, your voice getting louder by the end of your sentence.

“I can’t just be sad all the time,” she said with a clenched jaw, “This is hard for me but it would make the rumors seem true if I was crying about it all ―”

“They aren’t rumors! You’re dating a girl. I’m your girlfriend, Dasom, you’re really going to call this a ‘rumor’?” She looked up at you with apologetic eyes, trying to excuse herself for her word choice. “Did you forget about me or something?”

“Of course I didn’t forget. It came out wrong, I’m sorry.” She said, her eyes cast downwards to look at her feet on the floor. It became quiet, uncomfortably so. There was so much to say and yet no one made a move to say anything. She reached her hand over, her palm grasping the neck of the vodka bottle and bringing it to her lips to take a long swig. Your eyes never left her, too entranced by her simple movements to think of anything other than her.

“I love you. So much. But does it ever bother you that you’ll never be attracted to a man? That you’re somehow inconveniencing people by not being attracted to men?” You asked, she finally turned to look at you. Her eyes said a million words. Heartbreak just one of them.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘bother’, but I do sometimes think about it. Why?”

“It’s weird, right? It’s like this thing that I was conditioned to have but it just never developed. Everyone else has it, and it makes me feel so fucked up like something is wrong with me because it’s just not there.”

“Baby, no, nothing is wrong with you or me. We’re simple. I love you and you love me, what’s fucked up about that? It’s going to be hard ―”

“It’s always been hard. I’m tired of it being hard. What did we ever do to make people hate us so much?” Your voice broke at the end of your sentence and that was it for Dasom.

“Please don’t cry, I have no idea what to do or say to make you feel better.” She pleaded, rubbing your arms gently. Suddenly getting an idea, she stopped her movements on your arms and began laying back on the couch, pulling you down with her. One arm was thrown around you, lightly scratching your back and the other moved up to play with your hair. “This is nice, right? Are you comfortable?” Your nod was small but it was present.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make you worry.”

“I just didn’t want to see you cry.” She says dismissively. Her fingernails gently scraping over your clothed back were lulling you into tranquility.

One part of your mind was still trying to convince you that you that what you were doing was wrong and disgusting. Another part of your mind told you that you were wrong for thinking those original thoughts. The two parts fought and fought inside your head, weighing pros and cons, supporting and opposing, and never reaching a conclusion.

“There’s nothing wrong with this, right?” you asked her, trying to distract yourself from the war you were waging on yourself.

“Not one single thing. There’s nothing about this that is anyone else’s business but ours either,” she said, “People will always look down on something as long as one other person says it’s okay. I think you’re pretty amazing, personally, so if you’re willing to listen to other people’s generalized opinions about you, please listen to mine as well.”

“What is your opinion about me?”

“I think you have too much empathy, I mean look how upset you got at comments that were about me! You also overthink things a lot, but that’s okay because I like to hear your tangents and rants, even if they make me sad sometimes. You have a really nice voice so I don’t mind what you're saying as long as you don’t start crying.” She rambled, smiling fondly while looking up at the ceiling.

“I think you have a weird way of comforting people. You’re kind of bad at it but you get the hang of it quickly. From ‘you think too much’ to ‘it’s okay as long as you vocalize these thoughts’.”

“My comforting techniques are my main charm.” She said trying to lighten the mood. It worked, as both of you cracked a small smile. “You should get some sleep, baby you’ll probably have a hangover tomorrow. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

#sistar scenarios #dasom scenarios #kpop scenarios #girl group scenarios

25 notes · View notes

seotipsandtricks-me · 5 years

Photo

Found is made up of a wide and diverse variety of industry leading talent, all of whom are dedicated and passionate about delivering outstanding digital marketing services. In this interview, I caught up with our brilliant Influencer Account Manager, Leona Mc Caul. We discussed her journey so far, who’s catching her eye at the moment and also what the future has in store for influencer marketing… What was your first Job? I started out as a PR executive in a communications agency in Dublin. PR was definitely a great stepping stone into influencer marketing. You develop a thick skin, communication skills and learn how to build all important relationships. Why did you get into marketing? Believe it or not, I was watching a YouTube video in 2011 and the YouTuber in question had a career in PR. I did some research as I had no idea what the job entailed and the more I read, the more I thought it would suit me. I always knew that if I was going to work a 9-5 job, it would have to involve an element of creativity and being able to converse with interesting people. It was thanks to that very YouTube video that I went on to study a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and luckily, I enjoyed it just as much as I thought I would which resulted in me bagging a first class honours degree as well the President’s Prize for Academic Excellence. Looking back, I was actually influenced into my career! A vlogger on YouTube inspired and influenced Leona to pursue a career in influencer marketing, talk about cyclical. Photo Credit: Christian Wiediger. When did influencer marketing first enter your radar? The communications agency I worked for sent press kits and press releases to journalists however, almost overnight, there began to be a shift. Blogging was on the rise and brands and PR agencies realised bloggers were worth including on press lists thanks to the weighty content they provided. Those blogs were viewed as the modern day magazine thanks to their use of imagery and strong writing skills, not to mention their ability to link back to the client and increase SEO – it was a win-win really. Randomly enough, I actually had a blog back in 2010 which I ran for over 4 years. I worked with some pretty great brands on both a paid and gifted basis – little did I know just how much this industry would sky rocket and just how valuable those initial relationships could have been – needless to say, I could be in a very different position had I stuck at it. Who was the first influencer you worked with? I believe it was Irish fashion and lifestyle influencer Louise Cooney. I was lucky enough to represent a host of great Irish content creators in an influencer agency for over 2 years before moving to London. I definitely believe this was a key learning point in my career. It has allowed me to understand influencer marketing from both sides which is a benefit when liaising with brands and influencer agents and definitely provides a competitive edge. If you could meet any person in the industry at the moment, who would it be and why? I think Gary Vaynerchuk is amazing, purely down to his straight talking, factual nature. His trend forecasting is also incredibly on the mark. From an influencer point of view, Nikkie Tutorials would definitely be up there. She has the power to make or break any product in the beauty community because she has earned such respect from her audience. When someone has the power to encourage the females of this world to use Nivea Men’s post shaving balm as a makeup primer, she’s someone who has earned the title of influencer! Gary Vaynerchuk is top of Leona’s wish-list for industry individuals she’d love to meet. Credit: @garyvee What is the most interesting thing about your job? To say no two days are the same would be an understatement! One minute you have your legal hat on reviewing contracts, negotiating deals, next you’re in a brainstorming session concocting creative concepts, after that you could be in a new business pitch followed by a meeting with an influencer/agent – it’s non stop and never mundane. Which brands have got your attention at the moment? Beauty brands have always been on my radar. I think they utilise influencers really well. The beauty industry have almost eradicated the need for traditional advertising as influencer marketing is so lucrative for them. They’re clever in how they build their relationships. They treat influencers like PR agencies treat journalists – inviting them on press trips, ensuring they have the latest news and products and ultimately, building long term strategic partnerships. Benefit and Nars stand out for me. Na-kd fashion is another brand who do influencer marketing really well. They won’t just fork out for ‘any fashion influencer’ to do a partnership with them, instead they hand pick a group of relevant influencers in multiple territories and gift them their favourite items from the site in exchange for social posts. It’s not a concept that works for all brands as, let’s face it, influencers make their income from brand partnership fees and will often push back and request a fee when working with brands. Having said that, Na-kd have positioned themselves as an exclusive offering and so when they select an influencer to gift, the creator then feels like they’re part of an exclusive group and therefore are more likely to post in exchange for product. It’s extremely powerful. For Leona, Na-kd Fashion are leading the way in terms of Influencer Marketing done right.Credit: @nakdfashion If you could change one thing about influencer marketing – what would it be? In a dream world there would be a set rate card for influencers! Unfortunately, this industry is not like advertising where you can budget to pay £X for a certain ad space, instead we receive rates from influencers and agents with very little consistency. This is where I feel my background as an agent is hugely beneficial, I understand what fees should be based on and I very often take the form of a car sales person until I get the right deal for my client! 2018 was a big and somewhat contentious year for influencer marketing – what does 2019 have in store? I think 2019 is the year of rebuilding trust. In light of the CMA guidelines, consumers and influencers’ audiences are on their way to understanding the multiple relationships an influencer can have with a brand – paid work, being gifted, etc. I also believe we will see more long term relationships between brands and influencers which will obviously be mutually beneficial and something we’ve been preaching for years! Ultimately, in 2019 I believe influencers will be more cautious about disclosing brand deals and also who they work with. I believe their audience and potential consumers are only going to benefit from this. Social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook will also play an important role in the growth of influencer marketing which I believe will take shape in 2019 – watch this space! If you could give one piece of advice to brands that are considering influencer marketing – what would it be? Instil trust in influencers – they deserve it. 70% of content creators revealed that brands not trusting them with creative onus in campaigns is one of their biggest pain points. Brands and agencies need to realise that this is their 9-5, they know their audience better than anyone and brands need to respect this. By all means, briefing and signing off on content is encouraged but brands should not force an influencer to take a certain shot, say a phrase that’s not in their tone of voice and ultimately, create content that they wouldn’t organically create. Thankfully, at Found, we’re happy to be the understanding middleman! The post 10 Questions With Leona Mc Caul appeared first on FOUND.

0 notes

random-rescuer · 7 years

Text

Five

“Venus? Why would they have a base on Venus? There are so many… things on Venus.” I shuddered despite the sun on my skin and moved towards my apartment, hoping to forget about my time in the snow. Henry floated next to me and kept up with my brisk pace, all the while rattling off reasons why Venus was great. “It has the Vex- remember when we first saw them? And the Fallen, and the rain,- and we like the acid rain- oh! Remember when we got lost near Maat Mons? And you saw the sunset?” I nodded along with him and made my way into the building, narrowly avoiding a Ghost flying past. I tipped my head to the secretaries on my way to the elevators and looked around, trying to look bored. The word Venus echoed in my head and I walked into the elevator, pressing the button to go to the third floor. My mind flashed back to the day I talked to Sam in the tavern.

If he had a hideout on Venus, then why does he have an apartment here? Just in case something happens? Because it’s good to be close to other Guardians? My head spun with questions as I made my way to my apartment, quickly unlocking the door. I rushed in and inhaled the dusty air. I never stayed in my apartment long enough for there to be a smell. Most of the surfaces in here were covered in a thin layer of dust, and those that weren’t were things I took with me on my expeditions from time to time. I quickly unpacked my things and picked up a Vault tablet, moving things over and taking others out. I needed new armor, I remembered. Or a new set like this one. New chestplate, arms, and a new helmet. No, my helmet was fine, just dirty. I’ll stop by the Vanguard and get the stuff that Cayde was selling, then. I needed to give him the cloak from the Captain, too. “Henry, is the Vanguard in a meeting?” I asked, grabbing my backpack making my way into my room. I had to weave though all sorts of things dotting my apartment, including tons of weapons and various cloaks strewn across different surfaces. I stuffed a couple things into my backpack and grabbed two handfuls of Legendary Marks. “No, they’re not. I send a message to Cayde; told him you were going to stop by.” I grabbed a couple Exotic Shards and stuffed them into my backpack alongside materials. I fished the note out of my pocket and held it in my hand as I left my apartment. I made sure I had the cloak I was going to give Cayde and left Felwinter’s, heading towards the City. The Tower was beautiful, I’d have to admit. Everyone working and moving in unison eased my nerves. “Henry, take a look at the coordinates and the code on this. I want to know exactly where we’re going.” I opened my palm and the note went into Transmat, most likely being studied by Henry.

I strode through the Tower and made my way into the Hall of Guardians, nodding and saying hello to the familiar faces that had so much influence on my younger self. The doors to the hall were open, and I took in the familiarity of the scene. Ikora reading, as always, Zavala studying old battle tapes, and Cayde, looking at the same map he’s stared at since I first saw him. None of them seemed to notice me walk in so I strode around, running a hand along the various books dotting the bookshelves. I’m sure Ikora read them six times over. I stopped near the head of the table and pulled the hood of my cloak down, letting my features smile. “Long time no see.” I commented. Their heads snapped up and I noticed Zavala and Ikora smiled widely. “Yeah, it’s been a while. How’s my favorite Hunter?” Cayde asked, sauntering over to me. His Ghost trailed behind him, always relaxed. He held out his hand for a high five and I gladly returned it. “Well,” I started, taking a seat on the glass table. “I took care of your Captain problem.” I pulled the cloak out of my backpack and put it onto the table next to him, watching as he let out a laugh. He lightly pushed the cloak back to me and I took it, holding it in my arms. “Keep it.” He said. “It’s your spoil of war. Your Ghost told me you’re looking for new armor?” Cayde snapped his fingers and sets of armor feel out of Transmat and onto the table next to me in a loud clatter, making everyone in the room stop and look. “Cayde, watch it.” Ikora warned, her eyes flicking up from her book to give him a warning glance. Cayde merely shrugged and went back to sorting through the armor.

“So, what do you need? I got a new set, fresh from my other Hunters. I call it the KD Bogatyr 2.0. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” I nodded along with him and pointed to the arms and the chestplate. “I love the name. How much for both?” I asked, taking them from him. “No cost. Take what you need.” I stared at Cayde. Armor is never free. “You don’t want anything? No Marks, no Shards, nothing?” I was surprised. Cayde shook his head. “Nothing. You deserve it. Where are you heading?” I quickly replaced the armor and the note fell out of Transmat and floated in the air, rotating so Cayde could see it. He scanned the paper quickly and lightly waved it back to me with his hand. I stuffed it in my back pocket and sat back on the table, leaning to look at the titles on the books stacked on Ikora’s side of the table. “Venus, House Winter’s Lair. Well, used-to-be lair, anyways. Before you… k’now.” Cayde ran his finger across his neck and I laughed along with him. “It’s around that area, and the jumble of letters and numbers looks to be…” “A radio frequency.” Henry finished, appearing next to me.

“You know,” Ikora started. “I know of a certain fireteam that’s located around there. That frequency? Changes every few days, and rumor has it they know more of Venus than anyone else there. Their base is a trek, so pack accordingly. Who gave it to you?” She asked. “Sam.” I murmured. Why would he have a base all the way out there? It’s bad enough it was on Venus, but all they way out there? I noticed Ikora smiled once again and dog-eared the page in her book. She walked over to me and patted my back while Cayde and Zavala started to chuckle. “Why did you even ‘assign’ him to me, anyways? I can take care of myself.” The laughter died down and Ikora’s hand stilled on my shoulder.

“Crystal. We understand your reason for… staying away for a few months at a time and exploring the Dead Zones, but you activating beacons is the only way for us to know if you’re still alive. It makes us worry sometimes. We had no other choice but to ask Sam to keep an eye on you.” Ikora’s silky voice carried throughout the room and eased my nerves. I couldn’t decide if she were using magic on me or not. “Okay, if you say so. I just… I wish you told me. I didn’t even know him, either! I don’t know, it just freaks me out having someone watch my every move, especially when it’s someone I don’t know.” I crossed my arms and looked down, feeling like a child who was about to get a light scolding.

“We understand, but it was for your own good.” Zavala told me, looking up from his tablets. “Believe it or not, we do care about you; all of us do. We want to keep an eye on you, is all. We couldn’t have our favorite disappearing on us, now could we?” His voice held so much hope and happiness that it almost made me grimace. If only they knew… if only they understood. “Okay, I believe you. I should get going before they change their frequency.” My mood went into a downhill spiral and I let it, content with the fact that I’ll be out and on my own for a while. Zavala, Cayde, and Ikora gave me a hug and sent me on my way, wishing me well. Maybe I’ll see them soon. My mind flashed back to broken memories and I couldn’t help but to let out a small curse. I numbly made my way through the tower and dropped the cloak in my Vault before heading out, instructing Henry to drop us as close as he can possibly get us.

“You haven’t scouted Venus in years. It’s the only place you don’t have many maps of. We should do that sometime, you know? Maybe break into one of the Clovis Bray labs and find something new.” Henry suggested. The ship tilted a small bit as it adjusted course and Venus zoomed into view not too long after. My ship slowed from travel and I leaned forward a small bit from the sudden slowdown. A small headache made its presence known and I rubbed my temples to get it away. “Maybe. I just don’t like… I don’t like the Vex. I can deal with everything else but them.” Even from this far away, I could spot various Vex structures reaching their way into space. Chills ran down my spine and I closed my eyes, willing the nightmarish thoughts of what lurked underneath the planet’s surface away. I couldn’t be afraid, not now. Now when I was trying to find this group.

“Can you try and look for their frequency from here? Lock it down so we know what direction we’re going in, at least?” I asked Henry, hoping to hear some sort of response. Instead, the ship tilted towards the planet and began its slow descent, almost like it were mocking me. My breath quickened and suddenly the ship felt too small for me. “Stop, stop, stop, stop,” I whispered to myself. I couldn’t freak out. I couldn’t. My hands raked and pulled at my hair and I briefly wondered if I was even strong enough to pull it out. I forced my hands out of my hair and held them in front of me, watching them shake. Where was Henry when I needed him?

“Henry,” I whispered. “Henry, get me out of this ship. Get me out of here!” My breath was even shorter now and I watched as my ship tipped forward and went straight down to the planet, just barely staying under warp speed. We entered the atmosphere and then neared the ground and I could hear the acid rain hitting the ship hard. A storm raging outside to match the one in my head and in my heart. It leveled out and the landscape whipped across, never slowing down. The rain still hammered my ship and I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the perfect storm. I couldn’t even breathe I was so frenzied. The ship slowed down and never fully stopped before Transmatting me out and onto the ground below. I hit the ground hard and fell onto my knees, immediately pressing the release on my helmet. I pulled it off as quickly as I could and gagged on the smell of the air. The rain burned my face but I paid it no attention as I let out a scream that voiced everything I was feeling. I was sure I alerted someone but I couldn’t find the strength to care, instead screaming for all it was worth before calming down some. I used my gloved hand to wipe the burning rain away and pulled my helmet back onto my head. The clean, filtered air hit my face and I breathed it in, washing the stinging air out of my lungs. It didn’t burn as much as Ether did, but it was close.

“We’re as close as we could get.” Henry told me. “I was looking for somewhere to land.” My anger flared up at the small amount of Light that made my companion. “Thanks for telling me that sooner.” Sarcasm laced my voice and I started to follow the marker on my radar, quickly talking in my surroundings. The rain hammered onto my armor and I could just barely smell the sulfur that permeated the atmosphere. My nose wrinkled instinctively and I clipped my gun onto my back, letting my arms be free.

“I can only do so much. I’m scanning for the frequency as you move, but it’s going to be a while before I pin it down to one location. Just keep moving.” Henry replied, his slightly- robotic voice echoing through my head. He didn’t even seem mad, it felt like. I knew he understood me more than I probably understood myself, but sometimes I couldn’t help but get annoyed or angry at him. My thoughts flicked back to how close Julian and his Ghost, Screw, were. They were completely synced with each other. Everything they did was… perfect. I ducked under a tree and kept moving forward, determined to find Sam.

“Why do you even want to find these guys, anyways? I thought you decided to be a lone wolf since Valkyrie disbanded.” Henry asked, changing the marker a little. I adjusted my course and continued on, suppressing any memories that came up. “No, not a- not that. I just… I needed to be alone. I still need to. Or maybe I don’t, I don’t know.” His question did spike my interest, though. I didn’t even know why I wanted to find this team, or why I was so intrigued with Sam. I just felt the sudden urge to meet back with him. To meet… other Guardians who didn’t know about my past. “I just feel like I needed to.” I answered, my voice final. Henry got the message and started to play music, mixing in some of the newer tunes we found on Earth. I hummed the foreign lyrics and soldiered on, letting my mind flow with the music as I lost track of time and purpose. All I was doing is following a marker and the music in my heart.

“I found the signal. It’s in a clearing just ahead, past the Vex structure. I can’t detect any enemies, but keep your guard up anyways. I’m going to try and tap into the frequency; see if I get find someone on the comms. Traveler, maybe I’ll even be able to find Sam’s comm. Give me a few minutes. Just wait here and stay on guard. I’m leaving our comm signal open.” I let out a sigh of relief and practically ran to the clearing. I stood on the outskirts and the back of my neck prickled. I did as Henry said and kept my guard up and observed the clearing. There was a large circle of dirt that looked scorched, almost, and the Venus grass surrounded it. The trees around me looked a bit scorched as well, and I wondered if it was like that because of many battles here or because of the work of a Sunsinger. I walked to the middle of the dirt circle and sat down, making sure to look at ease and relaxed for whatever might be watching me.

“This is Eagle to Diamond, I have eyes on target. I repeat, I have eyes on target. Standing by.” A voice crackled through my helmet and then strengthened as the voice spoke. A female named… Eagle? “Diamond to Eagle, message received. Patch her into the- never mind, she’s in already. Smart Ghost. Wander, rendezvous with Eagle. I’ll meet with the target.” Sam’s voice came through and I jumped up, trying to look around to spot this Eagle person.

“I’m patched in their comms, obviously. Their positions are still classified as of- hold that thought, I just got access to Sam’s. He’s on your map now, heading towards you.” Henry informed me, appearing in front of me. I watched the blue dot grow nearer and saw Sam come out from behind a tree, in his full gear. He gave me a wave and he met me just outside of the dirt circle. He extended a hand towards me and I shook it, watching my reflection on his helmet. It was so shiny.

“I take it you’re interested in joining us?” Sam asked. I nodded a small bit but still kept myself on guard. “Who is ‘us’?” I questioned, slightly looking behind him. I could no longer feel the prickling on the back of my neck but I still couldn’t relax. Sam turned around and made a ‘come here’ motion with his hand, back where he came from. Six other Guardians stepped out from where Sam came from with a Hunter at the lead. “This is ‘us.’ There’s me, James, Zachary, and Mark, who’re Warlocks, Anna and Ryan, who’re Titans, and Emily is our Hunter. Hopefully she won’t be our only one after today, if you catch my drift.” Each Guardian, excluding Sam, gave me a nod or a wave as their name was said and I did the same back, feeling my shoulders relax. One of them was watching me not too long ago. That’s better than the Vex or Fallen watching me.

“I didn’t come all this way for small talk.” I felt myself smile and Sam laughed, as well as a few of the others. “Follow us, then. Jackal and Blueberry, take point and I’ll stay in the back. Everyone else, you know what to do.” The group started to move and I was in between the Hunter, Emily, and one of the Warlocks. “What’s with the callsigns? This isn’t dangerous.” I commented, watching as we moved ahead with speed. Four Guardians branched off and made their way into the tree line, while two of the others, the ones Sam called Jackal and Blueberry, ran ahead to join them, leaving just me and Sam. I could hear them talking over the comms and wondered if any of them got headaches from hearing so many voices talking at once.

“It’s something most Guardians do when they’re in huge fireteams. It’s easier to remember them than names in the field. Do you have one? If not, we can always give you one.” Sam’s question threw me off-guard. I slowed down and his side bumped mine a little too hard and almost knocked me off my feet. I reached out to try and grab something to keep me from falling and my hand caught Sam’s elbow, who steadied me immediately. He put his two hands on my shoulders and squeezed them lightly, making sure I didn’t fall or wobble. My head swirled with missions and patrols with my old fireteam, and I couldn’t figure out how I was supposed to tell Sam that I did indeed have a callsign, given to me by my former teammates. “Woah, there. You steady?” He asked. He pushed my shoulder lightly and got me walking again, himself not too far behind.

“Queen,” I murmured. “It’s Queen.” I pushed forward and did my best to lock all rouge thoughts away and instead focused on the muted sound of the rain hitting my helmet and the ground. We were deep in the forest now, and I could barely see the others amongst the green and blue of Venus. Now I understood why most of their armor was shaded in greens and blues; they wanted to blend in and not be seen. It was smart. “Henry, do I still have my Sunglow shader? Or my Ointment shader? If so, can you paint my armor in that?” A second passed before my armor flashed and the familiar blues and whites of Sunglow coated my armor instead of Sunsetting. “Nice,” Sam commented, matching my pace. “you’re going to fit right in.”

We walked for a few miles and the trees gave way to a huge abandoned-looking fallen base, with vines and tree roots growing on and around it. It was unclear on why we’re here, but my coordinates told me that this is where Ikora said she had a fireteam located. The team, save for me and Sam, were already gathered in front of the base. They stood in a half-circle and kicked at the grass aimlessly. “You guys don’t have to wait for me, go and head inside. You too, Queen. I’ll be inside in a bit.” Everyone nodded and the Hunter, Emily, I think her name was, waved me over to them. I followed silently and took note of everything, down to where they entered the Fallen base.

“We use this base to blend in with the environment,” One of the Titans explained. “when we were mapping the area a real long time ago we came across this, already abandoned by the Fallen. Since we were going to map more around here, we set it up as a temporary base, but it became permanent after we were assigned here by Ikora.” I nodded along and watched as Emily pulled back a couple of vines to reveal a rusted door. A red keypad glowed next to it and she typed in a code, too quick for me to get all the numbers. The pad glowed green and she pulled the door open, making sure everyone was inside before pulling it shut. I caught her quick look back and moved on, taking in the huge space. It looked like all but a couple walls were cleared out, and all the technology was, too. Drapes and curtains hung from everywhere, and seemed to section off every space. Couches, chairs, and tables littered the space. What was sectioned off had signs over it, one of them reading ‘Bedrooms’ and another saying ‘Armory.’ Everyone moved around the base with speed, going to different places and then rotating around. It seemed like a perfect harmony, and I suddenly felt awkward. I couldn’t help but think I was messing up their routines.

“Jump right in when you feel comfortable,” One of the Titans told me. Anna, I think her name was. “usually we just start somewhere and then rotate around, and when we’re done we hang around or go back out to patrol solo or in groups. Sam’s our leader, so if he tells us we need to do something, then we get our normal stuff done then do what he asks. All he really told us was to make sure you get settled and set up a room. Emily and I will help you with that; the boys volunteered not to do it. I’ll send your Ghost the specifics, like a map of the base and surrounding area, codes to get into hideouts, and a few other things. I’ll take you to your room. Bear in mind, it’s a bit… bland, but the essentials are in there. All you have to do is make it your own. Best thing is placing items into Transmat and then dropping them here, so you don’t have to carry things in your backpack. We have a lot of Vault systems here and a bounty system, from every person that gives ‘em. They’re updated every day so there’s always something new to do. When people like the Vanguard or the Reef want to get into touch, the big board will display comm codes and who they’re designated for. One rule about those, though: Don’t go into anyone else’s messages or codes. Some of it is really personal, and out here, we’d all like parts of our lives to ourselves. And here we are, your room. Did I mention you can live anywhere? This base doesn’t have to be a permanent home. Sam and Ryan live in Felwinter’s together as roommates and a few of the others have places elsewhere, too. I think James has family back at the City, but I can’t say for certain. Oh! Here’s the door to your bathroom, and this is the door to an extra room. You can use it for whatever you want, really. I know a few of the boys keep extra armor in there and Emily uses it as an extra room, in case she wants to sleep in there, instead. I use mine as a workshop of sorts, so I can clean and modify my weapons. There’s a Vault pad in here somewhere… here! The walls are magnetic so you can put a bunch of stuff on there. I’ll stick the pad to it, so it doesn’t get lost. I’ll give you some time to get settled in, so just let me know if you need anything!” Anna left the room quickly and I was finally left alone, in my new… room. She’s nice, but damn, does she like to talk. I could get used to it, but right now it was really intimidating, especially because I’m not too good at conversation.

My eyes flicked over to the extra room and I wondered what Sam used his for. My thoughts drifted towards a library, or even just a storage closet. “You could use it for drawing,” Henry suggested, noticing my staring. I didn’t even notice him appear. “it looks like there’s a window in there; a pretty big one. I think it opens…” He floated into the room and his voice echoed some. “Is it… is it a big room?” I asked, walking over to the door. I peeked in and I could see the room was huge, almost as big as my apartment. I could see why Anna uses hers as a workshop; it was big enough to fit everything she needed.

“I could fit our apartment in here twice over.” I mumbled. My mind raced as ideas came into my head about what I could put in here. I didn’t walk past the doorframe out of nervousness and let my eyes pass over the room. I leaned on the doorframe and crossed my arms over my chest, tucking my one foot behind the other. I stared into the room for a long while and just daydreamed, letting my mind wander. I leaned my head on the doorframe and shut my eyes, taking a minute to relax.

“That doesn’t look comfortable.” I jumped at the voice and instinctively reached for my knife strapped to my back. I pulled it out in a blink and held it out in front of me. “You scared the shit out of me! I was about to kill you!” I yelled to Sam, who held his hands up in mock-surrender. “Sorry. You were leaning there for a while; thought you were asleep or something.” I sheathed my knife and tried to pull myself together. I leaned my hip against the doorframe and acted as naturally as I could, hoping he didn’t notice my shaky hands. “It’s alright. I guess I did fall asleep, though. Feels like I was standing here for hours. What time is it?” I busied my hands and massaged a knot in my neck with the heel of my hand, watching as Sam called for his Ghost. “Looks like it’s... five in the evening.” “Shit! It’s already five?” I preformed a small pat-down on myself to make sure I had everything I needed and started making my way out of the base, racking my brain for anything I might need for my trip.

“You have a date or something?” Sam called behind me, jogging a small bit to keep up with my brisk pace. “Something like that.” I replied distractedly, adjusting the hood of my cloak. I pulled off a rouge thread and kept moving forward, stopping at the door that led outside. I pulled my helmet on and decided to keep the hood down until I got outside. “We’ll see you tomorrow?” Sam asked, opening the door for me. I stepped outside and pulled my hood over my helmet, clipping it into place. “Yeah, maybe. I don’t know what’s on my schedule tomorrow.” “Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Queen.” I caught the hint of a smile on Sam’s face before he shut the door, leaving me on my own. I whispered an all-too-late goodbye to the door and moved forward, disappearing into the jungles of Venus.

#destiny #destiny hunter #destiny fanfiction #destiny the game #destiny warlock #hunter #destiny titan #titan #warlock

1 note · View note

1taiwan-blog · 7 years

Text

why Messiah was used? only brains can move is he was a pop star and rich followed him as Jesus his ex dead daddy and younger brother or family pets HE types! be Catholics to worship! Messiah was followed and appeared in Buddhism meaning Buddhism was after Messiah. generally, it's called Herstory per religion claims to find Messiah! so messed, Buddhism says they have messiah the GOD and the Buddha but why did they kill Christians?? no one found Messiah and Messiah ignored dame Christians got Buddhists killed them 這世代！過去含未來。無人敢稱彌賽亞為義！沒有了彌賽亞教會或現彌賽亞教徒。猶太人永遠不相謀，耶穌是基督。耶穌教徒基督教徒彌賽亞教徒神說，耶和華們創世。但是耶和華們皆非真神。是外星人！ GOD and BIBLE say, Jehovahss they created for the one real true and truth GOD! Jehovahss are or were ET ETS Aliens. None of them is or was GOD my invocation is who no one says they're not fake Christians but the Messianic MESSIAHISTS?? 假基督教徒與真彌賽亞教徒！！天主教會崇拜耶和華家人，卻以教皇為謊！！基督的弟弟的子嗣在哪？？基督木匠兄妹父親的遺族在哪？神隨隨便便撿破爛拾起一條狗狗嗎？鄰居怒了！7萬箱「蝦味先」棄空地　日曬雨淋飄惡臭 | 三立無奈？？對岸判唯一死刑！賭贏40萬美金回台　入境沒收38萬 my Benediction is ETS are your Gods, Buddhas but no one is the real God my Benediction is ETS are your Gods or Buddhas but no one! None of them is the real God. this explains why he didn't go to Taichung miss mission and whoever came here to take photo of me and the neighbor Mission Office for Allah and he did make TPE Temple this trash shows you the Mormonism whispering is as fake as Chian in meditation Buddhism both buy HE types! the ET ETS Aliens garbage. see me is enough 【佛說：愛了，是續寫前世故事。恨了，是了卻前塵仇怨】 Thus, both Buddhism and BIBLE force people to hate 紅塵中，一個捨不得，耽誤了多少人；佛法中，一句無所得，難倒了多少人。 they knew they were grass bums and they can do is to memorize TV to hand scripts for them to act on talking shows to live it's only because all 4 of them wanna be nuns mayor to sacrifice under KMTers my invocation is you must know it's awesome to experience been or be proposed 曾被譽「怪物右腕」…少年投手患性早熟　走過創傷更愛棒球 | 三立新聞網 | of course they had tried CN medicine but they needed the real not fake one and NHK is non profit to be very evil to service fake governments and when you still watch pokemon through digital and many different local Japanese channels offer quiet vary local TV commercials not as Taiwan's kids programs have non kids targeting advertisement for giant markets the Lunar's going to be JU Jun 6-26 6-27 6-28 6-29. then back to twin 6-01. 6-02 not only for funeral the traditional wedding has to be like Taiwan Nation had their wedding last Sunday as all black sedens and Twitter blue wedding dress 【18禁】4男女在沙灘上活春宮　眾人興奮圍觀 | 即時新聞 | 20170708 | 蘋果日報 True! USA My BENEDICTION is hello! welcome to GHOSTS worldwide who does not know? she speaks as Sam as Saudi Saffiyah when she isn't often to see GODS inside Temples this idol gets my face after Lin died Lotus had no ghosts business although you suspected to assume her disciple Lin who stopped tankers construction but the temple never ask her to restart Lin generations old business besides my disciple who goes to the root temple once per year and she was asked to be in charge of as the President if the owning couple will be gone and the business card is their wardrobe which Allah wears again today and she was so so so happy that I'd prepared my wardrobe like we all did twin weeks ago she's yellow and we met last year's before pink face king GOD of foxconn theirs she started to dream of me ten day before Red Sea Foxconn birthday and the banquet is always seven days and three more days at advance to come the first day she had seen Foxconn to come with bunch of GODS at her first time inside the temple. she was born by the second house next to the temple and she had never seen and Foxconn GOD and other GODS all told her those three days during daytime their GOD is coming to the city's she was my disciple and she worked with Lin thousand generations over ten years ago that Lin her eyes looked differently at old when her face is round and be no more scary 銀行員太正網友狂開戶　洋男友氣炸報警 Foreigner boyfriend is brain damaged 探訪樂視總部：門口躺滿討債人旗艦店大門緊閉 Allah likes new iPhone and one finger or twin are not very proud that new of my oppo runs slower than mi but Mi is very bad to type as LG. Samsung Galaxy and all Samsung's no any damage but battery must die and who would spend for expensive batteries ? Maybe Allah will HTC died the worst design power control and fix for NTD 1k to above [新聞] NBA》搭上奪冠列車！林書豪前隊友加盟勇 but Nick Young has signed days early 5千年前就有巨人！　山東出土發現「高人族」 so sad， Bible Giants were so so so short (short) [新聞] 法國宣布在2040年取締汽油車和柴油車 I'm proposed and I said no too thick and Allah's still smart which we go to EU and French to buy twin cars before 2040 for made in 1996 then wait for brend bread new vehicles be swapping Trump must pass the Sam LAW and Allah will buy 20 x 1996. I'm showing you be kidding USA Founder always get many free why hate GOD? Allah I bless Japan and why hate GOD? my Benediction is JU Jun 6th was proposed and today's 7th has invocation at Love U! 最新》蔡英文到寺廟贈匾反年改群眾抗議駕駛擋路：or any colo has ghosts stars 超強生化武器　這種昆蟲每小時殺85人 here our products are we re do youth line Colo and Taylor's Swift's black ghosts stars and for comin next week's Closed God's is me birthday had pink face the pink Colo till ten days later with no more 7 mother GODS but 15 100 year old mother GODS Like the new oppo phone but it's under above twin new phones my brother's back has wings not fake Mormonism can you all possibly to wear her black ghosts stars shining Colo? I like my new purchased house and will move soon plus Allah got my family's new iPhone and new Mi and Allah doesn't like complicated MacBook laptops but Microsoft is dangerous for wanna cry and I use Apple tv for YouTube and Apple books for FacePhone UFOLine accounts. LINE beats Facebook is you don't need who are weirdly and Facebook users are peeking and tracking others and Twitter can have private line messages 2, never to disturb any use as LINE 3, long posts as LINE then Twitter by keywords are not trash as Facebook moon at cancer is bad for dark to enjoy very short minutes of selfishness. Sagittarius is better than Leo and Sagittarius is priority then Scorpio and Libra. my ascended is cancer, too. so I'M more is a cancer than a Libra. Venus is Virgo isn't bad but has to be a very hungry Virgo. forgot where's my mars but now Allah fights to win and build kingdoms totally Virgo is very very bad with Scorpio Allah hates Virgo the most! my moon is cancer (cancer) 96. Taiwanese be a HTC phone to beat all single EYETH cameras to win French international photo gallery and a KMTer to be a Mi its 4G or 3G 64 are much cheaper than OPPO but OPPO selfie to help to reality sells and he's an Asus when ghost used him to show YouTube closed caption is 18 better to believe than 17 evilness she complained wall street journal TV WSJ to drop Peter Jennings to live and arranged bold and ugly white meaning she's something doesn't PARTAKE humanitarian to advertise themselves again by cheating fans will stupid good bless? bless you to be fools to all sit morons to punish you and say you're sinners but DON'T pay GODS pay black ghosts fake pastors! last year the train station temple did send 7 gifts with orchestra to deer haven to plan and they had refused to take the saint medical word paper and when North Haven temple and New Haven temple to be around that they do refuse be joining!! they say their wood idol is the oldest in Formosa but the Tainun city's has been the official as national temple before Japanese LIN is called Tsunami Tsunamlin Da Hi is his Nick name by aboriginal word my Benediction is you can use my creation to image that we're only happy together about the university male student to dream a ten years old who was killed over ten years ago that the death she had been over few years to cross many spaces not for her to suffer to lose her memories by long DPP forces wash first eggs if you looked at me then simultaneously Allah looked back when you use eyes to call my or our food are ready then you got mute to try to ask why the supernatural power by Samsung's copy Samsung's and you must bow and offer free dish to Allah! or you saw we sat far then you walked out then the first isle you could see U.S. and Allah looked promptly you must no stop your heart minds brains to stop you to say marvelously and be directed to ask are you Allah?? the convenient store manager must ask how they were thrown or gave who or did food still be inside when no pay for pigs owner not till weeks later to check surveillance and they didn't ask them not to after the first scene which the store is guilty 7 is very weird because they don't want this happens which the most 7s refuse to offer and sell to pig owners to pay for pigs our okay USA had asked Allah was it o.k. to give to a mother but the problem was we could sell much much cheaper for still earing not to give by one was that mom would be only waited to get plus after midnight we must not give about one of possible nights it could be she got sick or she sued U.S.. even late night shift had to sign if they ate to get sick that we could be no guilty!! we did allow late night shift to share with their classmates but not for a regular mom or who didn't sign as you and strong.. the neighbor Hi life couple owed lots money and they never offered 60 percent off for the Sam day food although sometimes we did at early 4 P.M. or that day's morning to try to get rid of stuff and that couple just brought everything home!! even gym counter sometimes happened cash was short but how about they both moved hospital funds to their personal packets!!! 1, Buddhism isn't religion 2, when you are not 100 percent vegetarian you can force your dog's be 110 percent vegetarian. at noon there's a vegetarian dog who grows old and it still love US U.S. 3, KD is Klay Thompson's USD 2,500

0 notes

ask-de-writer · 5 years

Text

HICCUPS! : MLP Fan Fiction : A Work In Progress

As usual for Works In Progress all new work and changes to older parts are done in BOLDFACE type.

HICCUPS!

A Grumpy Goat <tail>

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

13391 words so far, this is a WORK IN PROGRESS

Writing begun 11/30/18

//////////////

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

Characters:

Grumpy Goat and usual cast

Thomas/and/or/Dashie Writer – remote controlled T82

Wind, the Mama Cat

Victor Mordenheim - Mad Doctor

Krystal Dragoness “KD” Wingless dragon - artist

Fume Hood Unicorn, a bit small-Forensic Chemist

Jinni and Sassy vampire and succubus

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

“I especially like these illustrations signed KD, Grumpy. They capture the mood and action really well.”

Sitting on my other side was the finely polished skeleton of an alicorn. He was the Litch King, Lord of the Dead, the being responsible for my present condition and now one of my few true friends.

He agreed, “Look at how well the artist has made the cave entrance look menacing. Whoever did this is very good.”

Due to my business, I am less than popular with some ponies. I have a thriving practice in Non Equine Magic. Mostly, it does not appear to do anything. Somehow, the desired, contracted for and paid in advance results just seem to happen by perfectly natural, if often bizarre means. Most of the time, those results are the advantage over, injury, death or ruin of some pony, paid for as mentioned, IN ADVANCE, by some other pony.