> Springtime Of Youth
>  by Fireflower
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Water
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness, in and of itself, was the only way in which how the small world works, let alone the real world so to speak; after all, it was the only equation thereof that was relatable, both transitively and reminiscently. The jet–black void was all that could be seen but not heard, felt, tasted, or smelt; with that said, it was also sensed the very same, devoid of even a modicum of light bearing any hue whatsoever to permeate through its entirety. For a moment, it’d seemed that all was completely lost, no semblance of direction or purpose to be made as far as fate was concerned; perhaps, one could say that it was sealed and set in stone before the beginning already.

Suddenly without warning, yet as if on cue, a small gust of air blew out from parts unknown: it was brief and wide, filled with life and liberty altogether. As the echo’s reverb quickly departed from the blackened ocean, so, too, did the uncertainty of nothingness alone; sure enough, some light had appeared. Constraints were made apparent as the flat acreage had been colored predominantly in dark green with a singular white letter squared in the middle instantly. Henceforth the illumination transitioned back into that of the void, only for an insignia to appear: a sword and spear intertwined with an arrow over shield. In a matter of seconds, the fractal tube underneath had been filled up, consumed by the darkness along with the weapons overhead so to speak of no less. Kilowatts were in use, despite the intermittent darkness since the respiration alone, especially more so when the screen was bathed in a baby blue hue. Only then a small white rectangle appeared underneath an icon of a small turtle within a rounded square, lively yet static from what could be seen as of yet.

Speaking of which, a bright face was found to be staring directly at it, haggard yet fresh with the youth living in the present already: the spikey hair was matching its wearer’s emerald orbs as they were splashed with the shimmer and shine struggling about overall; from what could be said about it, a straight visage had been plastered all over it, despite showing underlined curvatures.

Following the chime, a couple of jet–black dots appeared in a single file, filling up the constricted space instantaneously; afterwards, they’d subsided into the basic background as a swirling circle took center stage alongside a triangular polygon too: of the two objects onscreen, the latter was more than free to move around while the former was consumed by the very void. At long last, the lone observer was free to see another background appear from the darkness in its place, this time more elaborately: it was the scenery of a beachfront, a clash between sea and sky due to their moody blues with the white–hot sands as the mediator; additionally, an abundance of shells and starfish littered them both as off in the distance was a spiral lighthouse upon the cliffs. Nevertheless, clusters of smaller icons were littering the screen before its viewer, each of which varying in name and notion alone: the only commonality that had been shown in every single one was the small size due to the very organization immediately present; as with everything else, nothing else more could be said or done about their collective placement currently so to speak of.

It was at this passing moment in time in which the white pointer was trailing towards one of the objects within the tiny trajectory: at first glance, it’d looked awfully a lot like a sheet of blank paper as white as the wool of a sheep trained to make false teeth; of course, the small obsidian triangle on the upper right corner had served as a contrast to the overwhelming majority thereof.

In any case, as soon as the small polygon made its way over the icon in question, a soft click was heard, highlighting it all in blue; in a matter of seconds, the very same picture appeared onscreen, this time more large compared to what had been done recently: additionally, a big but brief line of text appear nearby it as at least half of it was colored in the same shade as its observer’s face. Overall, both eyes were treated to the sights of some similar icons here within the newfound interface presented so instantly: each of them were filled with a series of texts not too similar to the ones written down in the fleeting moments from the past; of course, they weren’t of much interest compared to what had been laying on the left side of things within eyesight nevertheless. Thereupon underneath were a small series of some similar sheets compared to what had been interacted with seconds earlier: the first was blue with a picture; the next was green with a grid; the third was orange with pointed lines; the antepenultimate was yellow with three shapes; the penultimate was monochromatic with an equation; the final was magenta with two cylinders. After the white pointer made its way over to the first option therein, a rectangular prism of broken lines appeared around it; soon enough, a primarily snow–white void popped into existence for its viewer to see clear as daybreak’s bell ringing runabout: from what could be seen, the grayish fractions held steady against the void, much of which filled with smaller icons.

“Hah, okay… okay… okay, what the joke am I doing… what the joke am I doing; why do I do this… oh, Celestia… focus Guido…” a soft voice escapes into the predominantly still darkened area, slow and steady like a turtle yet far from stoic as both eyes fluttered about for a short while no less.

It didn’t even take long for the lone speaker to find some words building up within the naked space upon screen, more corporeal by comparison:



Today’s the seventh Summer Sun Celebration since the return of Princess Luna, the sister of Princess Celestia banished to the moon for one whole millennium by the latter following the former’s transformation into Nightmare Moon. The timing in and of itself couldn’t have come in any other way whatsoever; ever since the day of her defeat at the hands of the element bearers in Equestria, our homeland had gone through many perils: infestations, pollution, and chaos paled in comparison to war. Though unheard of, it was the first time since this country had gone into fighting since its establishment: no longer for the peace and prosperity alone but for the safety of its subjects, even the other natives whom were here prior to the settlers’ arrival from the old world. These tribes, unlike the subjects of both Crown and Country, varied in demographics and environments: stampeders in Appleloosa, foresters of Thicket, and even climbers from Losadey; in spite of their differences, coexistence was certain. Tragically, it’d have seem as if we were proven wrong, not because of what they’ve done to us alone but what was done to them: rape, pillaging, and arson were the common fates shared between us and them, especially during the war itself. There, irregardless of our social alignment, many suffered either in silence or cacophony: male, female, young, old, lucid, insane, rich, poor, sick, well, native, foreign, traditional, modernist; it didn’t matter at the end of the day so to speak of. The most damning was the fact this generation of bearers had the worst of it: Rainbow raped, Pinkie pillaged, Rarity razed, Applejack assaulted, Fluttershy framed, and Twilight traumatized; the pain they’d suffered through placed all of us at risk of at least either one or more fates alone. Times ago, the idea in which something would be done to them should’ve been ineffable on their own; now it seems that even their earned status wasn’t enough to protect them from the corruptions occurring within and beyond our once happy homeland. To think we’ve been able to win this war despite the damage inflicted upon us was a blessing in and of itself; with that said, I mourn the fact such peace we’ve struggled to seize back came with a greater cost: solitude and serenity alone.



“오빠, 방에 계세요; 샌드바, 제발 나와줄래요?” another voice entered the writer’s ears, similar in which to the primordial from before; however, it was youthful and maidenly by mere comparison alone, “엄마가 만든 저녁⋯”

“Coral…?” a rapid retort railed on out of here.

It didn’t take long for the secondary speaker to talk to the titular tenant, “오후 6시, 우리는 부엌에서 당신을 기다리고 있습니다⋯ 샌드바⋯ 괜찮으세요⋯?”

“죄송합니다, 고랄, 내가 당신과 함께 할거야⋯” the primary speaker intoned at once as the bright light had shrank in so little time with but a faint thud in tow no less, “잠시만 기다려 주십시오.”

It wasn’t even long until a singular flick of a switch was heard following some small footsteps, bathing the naked space in light, instantly chasing away the darkness as it’d became identified. The ceiling alone served as the foundation of such an illumination: a spinning fan with a coiled lightbulb shined about from its glass dome mere yards away from the cluttered flooring beneath. Four partitions currently holding up the general composition were already dabbed in a salubrious coating of turquoise wallpapering studded with oceanic sapphires shimmering about so to speak. Despite the scant amounts of trash, all the planks of woods were seen to be lain out rather neatly throughout the finite dimension in spite of lacking inasmuch a coherent pattern or functionality. A pair of emerald splashed curtains was found to be covering up a lonely windowsill and the gateway to the outside world beyond the time and space, stagnantly unmoving as they’d hung on. Here remained a bed that was resting nearby its frame, all donned with a white comforter with jet–black sheets and pillowcase already slightly out of place yet otherwise so orderly either way. By their sides were a pair of tall dressers standing close by, sharing a matching taupe schematic: the one on the left had a slender lamp and clock; the opposite was bare, save for a picture frame. Standing tall and proud were two white doors firmly planted in the same direction, possessing only gilded knobs with all the snowy lacquer and textures therein from what could be see clearly.

At long last, the corporeal tenant being so peachy bleachy had both feet firmly planted onto the solid ground like all the trees deep in the forestry. The spiky hair found on their owner’s scalp had barely reached the nape as there were plenty of strands way out of place as far as anyone can see. Considering the lids were now becoming narrowed, the tenant’s pupils were dulled and listless despite being full of life and leisure so to speak. Hereon out, a face was well rounded like high decimals, finite like the curvatures beneath the small folds of skin in a darker shading near both eyes. Onto the faintly fruity integuments, a blue and white flannel shirt was buttoned down to a taupe belt holding a pair of khakis around the waistline.

Standing up straightaway, the tall tenant walked towards the nearest closed door, opening it to find Coral in the former’s pathway almost immediately. Likewise, the secondary speaker had possessed such colorful yet bright skin as well as emerald splashed eyes, two commonalities shared between them. Yet, there were so many significant differences when it’d came to Coral: halfway with her hair so peachy and attire an amethyst ensemble straight down.

“와, 오빠, 학원이 당신의 방 청소를 방해했습니까?” the shorter visitor chirped after taking a first glance at the room abaft of its tenant no less.

Looking back, the primary occupant had wasted no time replying instantaneously, “걱정 마세요, 여동생⋯ 점심 시간과 낮잠 시간이 몇 시간 전에 끝난 이후로 어쨌든 긴 오후가되었습니다. 그건 그렇고, 에미 애비는 어때내가 잠든 사이에 무슨 일이라도 있었나?”

“당신이 집에 돌아온 이후로 아닙니다, 샌드바⋯ 그들은 당신을 걱정했습니다⋯” Coral said to her lanky counterpart as the latter started to exit the room, walking past the former carefully, “학교에서 집에 돌아온 이후로 당신은 거의 한 마디도하지 않았습니다⋯ 당신을 괴롭히는 것이 있습니까⋯?”

"심각한 건 아니에요, 고랄⋯ 다음 주에 마감되는 중간고사를 위해 에세이를 작성해야 하고, 무엇에 대해 쓸지 겨우 알아내기 시작했습니다⋯" the tall tenant tensely talked as hallway grew smaller and wider with every step of the way being made with the shorter correspondent following after seconds later as the lights and sounds had grown closer gradually.

It wasn't even long until both emerald splashed orbs were facing leftward, guided by an aromatic mixture of sugar and spice emanating about. The tall tenant could see a stovetop oven resting in between a steely appliance and a ligneous countertop with cabinets adjacently beneath. Opposite of where both feet were standing was a washbasin filled with all sorts of tableware in any variation thereof saturated with bubbles. Hobbling about, both eyes also took note of the several cabinets above the ground, equal in both storage capacities and placements altogether.

All of these details still served as the background compared to the likes of whom was standing afore the tall tenant: another lanky individual with green eyes feminine as Coral but much older. Like themselves, the elder had colorful integuments except they were more reminiscent of an apple without its peel yet fresh with fluidity and texture given the brightness within her pores. Tresses of peach and raspberry made their way past the woman's neckline, rough around the edges but still luscious enough to be filled with life and liberty from what could be seen already. Over the elder's willowy body were a snow–white blouse with long sleeves dyed a deep blue and a long cerise skirt with jet–black accents at the hemming, both giving off more by comparison.

Now, it was time for the woman alone to speak to the most tallest of the twosome almost instantaneously, “샌드바, 당신이 여기 있어서 정말 기쁩니다 집에 돌아온 이후로 몹시 외로웠을 것입니다⋯"

"안녕, 엄마, 어쨌든 더 일찍 일어난 일에 대해 유감스럽게 생각합니다; 나는 그들이 최근에 우리에게 가르친 것에 정말 지쳤을 것입니다⋯" the emerald splashed tenant sighed before hugging her immediately, a simple gesture repaid in kind without any hesitation whatsoever so to speak of, “생각해봐, 우리 저녁 뭐 먹을까⋯?”

“아욱토장국, 물냉면, 와송이볶음⋯ 우리 아이들이 크고 강해지기 위한 모든 것.” the elder laughed as her body became free again like before.

It didn’t take much for the tall youth to cerebrate about, “noodles, I don’t even know what to make of it: I haven’t been able to eat as much as I did back when I was younger, let alone in Equestria; even now, I’ve been cramming down bottles of tea and cocoa when they haven’t been looking…”

“In other news, law enforcement has confirmed the existence of a drug lab found in a farm on the outskirts of Rosemound itself…” another voice made its way throughout their ears, belonging to none of the individuals present and accounted for all the same, “this comes after an explosion that took place in the late hours before morning; thankfully, no one was hurt in any way at all…”

“고랄, 여보, 라디오 좀 꺼주시겠어요⋯?” the woman asked the aforementioned girl almost immediately so to speak of.

It didn’t take much for the pint–sized youngling to follow the source of the voice in question as it was muffed but coherent so to speak of as far as anyone else was concerned.

Either way, the emerald splashed tenant found both feet walking back out of the room they were still in, facing the very same hallway from before. Of course, rather than returning straight to the bedroom in question that was still alight, both eyes were still seeing darkness all throughout no less. Soon enough, it was clear in the tall tenant’s mind that a new path had to be taken up instead, a midpoint going in between the two rooms thereof.

Despite the jet–black void clear in view, there were no signs of perturbation whatsoever as it’d lost its territory to the same properties of light as observed in one room and the other altogether. To contrast against the cold color schemes from before, the four walls around its new observer were adorned with a red hot chili pepper, spicy to look at but otherwise harmless nevertheless. Looking aside, its accommodations thereof were already firmly gathered within line of eyesight: a toilet, sink, mirror, cabinet, hamper, and bathtub shown nothing but utter relief instantaneously.

Realizing that solitude and loneliness were at opposite ends of each other, a sigh of relief was well within departure so to speak, even with the knowledge of facing the others again imminent.

It didn’t take much for the emerald splashed tenant to rest a hand onto one of the knobs within the sink; within seconds, a stream of water whistled its way down into the drain in so little time. Almost immediately, both of them found their way underneath the running faucet, catching what little of the compound into their owner’s grasp as a small yet shrinking puddle was being formed. Not a second to spare, the emerald splashed tenant’s face became moistened with the achromatic liquid in question, no doubt the work of the very same hands alone since they were still attached.

At long last, the open grasp served as a cup for both lips to edge forward and take in the contents of the sink itself, slurping up the water instantaneously. Despite the lack of a stable foundation sealing all ten fingers, the tenant was still at ease thanks to the cooler temperatures within the compound alone. As far as anyone was concerned, both eyes were shut since their owner felt no need whatsoever in looking at what was being done already so to speak.

Nonetheless, the little fluids which had replenished the emerald splashed tenant were far too much to take in as well as too little to satiate the dinner table waiting in the other room they were in earlier. Needless to say, it was time to turn off the faucet and leave while time was of the essence: no use in keeping the others waiting for the likes of one consumer so such petty thirst were be quenched presently. Now, it’d seem that the emerald splashed tenant was ready to face both Coral and their mother in the very same area from not long ago; after all, the scent that was picked up served as proof of it all like so.

As soon as both eyes were facing the doorway from before, it was now the consumer’s turn to take in a breath of fresh air instantaneously, “okay, Sandbar, just have some dinner at the table with the family: you’d done this routine so many times, you already know what’s going to be done; besides, that drug lab at Rosemound was nothing new or special to worry about…”

Thankfully, no one else was here within range of the eponymous speaker to pick up on that yet the straightlaced face alone betrayed such notions all the very same; with that said, the light abaft was then overwhelmed by darkness again, leaving its visitor behind as footsteps were now making their way back to whence they’d came.
> Air
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Light in and of itself was capable of traveling to and from anywhere throughout the whole wide world rather almost instantaneously; in addition, it also was accompanied by the warmth as well since it was the only way of how it’d worked out for all the aspects making up the very reality interchangeably. At the very least, its absolute presence alone had served to provide a sense of identity for all the corporeal dimensions; after all, the fact it can be seen by all of its lifeforms in general was good enough to serve as a provider for every single environment hither and yonder the entire realm so to be speaking of. Now, it’d seemed just about anything and everything could be discovered almost immediately, irregardless of whatever importance and/or lack thereof, all thanks to a wholesome slew of colors painting them all in many different hues and shades crying out with life in every single emotion known of so far. Given the very situation at hand, it was best to assume, for the most part, today had already just begun for many of them up and running about on all parts within the sphere of influence alone, already rotating upon its own axis at one set speed whilst revolving around another distant star at a different other.

In any case therein, it was about time to set the stage in essence, especially considering how much of the work was already getting done by virtue of sheer commonality, relatable to a fault. The upper atmosphere had been colored in the brightest shades of the starriest sapphires, shining about thanks to the golden sun completely illuminating it all with just powerful rays of photons. Traveling across the log horizon with these crashing skies were gentle breezes already carrying on various debris and scents composed of both light and heavy materials, known and unknown. A series of chatters filled the oxygenated air, lacking in harmony but otherwise harmless since they’d unaffected the sound barriers for those ready, willing, and/or able to pick up on them now. There were multitudes of sand strewn throughout the way, lying between the vast concrete jungles on one side and the singular fluid ocean on the other, all of which were devoid of flora. To say that crowds were currently filling the finite yet far from final space simply served as an understatement; after all, they were the predominant source of noise compared to the stray bird.

Out of the many people traversing about the uniformed plane of existence, one singular man was found to be lost in the crowd: eyes, hair, and board shorts were all colored in shamrock, despite the variation of shades between themselves for others to see; his lightweight body was tinted in a peachy bleachy scheme, heated by the sun but nevertheless unharmed as of this moment in time.

“It’s a beautiful day outside: birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and Celestia’s sun is shining; I wish we’d seen more times like this…” he’d exhaled whilst quickly taking in all the sights and sounds of the sizeable scenery he was already apart of with a small smile plastered upon the visage.

The jaded man wasn’t even alone in his choice of attire, presented with innumerable yet finite amounts of peers in the area: each of them had possessed their own similarities and differences alike as shown from the hot and heavy atmosphere therein; as far as he could see right now, a vast majority of them were liberal to a fault but nonetheless modest in terms of clothing overall. As he’d walked amongst the grainy terrain, there was nothing but calmness both inside and out, something many can relate to; after all, his summary was the general consensus of many found out and about alongside him due to the environment altogether: happiness wasn’t even restricted to the likes of a warm blanket but the textures alone were soft and subtle all the same either way. Needless to say, the jaded man was more than ready to seize the day as far as everyone else was concerned about it all no less: all in which he had to do was look for someplace within the sands with both eyes balanced right in between wide and narrow; afterwards, it was up to him to do whatever he’d felt like was fitting for the occasion, especially since that’s what others are doing.

Sure enough, he could hear one voice in particular making its way through the solid sea of people, “샌드바아⋯ 저곳⋯!”

“어⋯ 얘들아, 너 어디 있어 사실, 우리는 어디에 있습니까?” was all that the jaded man had said as he’d started looking around through his peers for the source thereof, “나는 이 해변을 가로질러 겨우 길을 찾을 수 없다⋯”

“우리는 근처에 있습니다, 형님⋯” the same distant voice spoke to him again, this time more louder than before so he can hear it clearly.

It didn't take much for the jaded man to follow it all the same, already blending in with the crowd due to his minimalistic yet modest attire heretofore. Of course, the nominal yet strange journey he'd begun to take wasn't as easy as he'd initially thought, given the population density all throughout. To simply believe otherwise was disingenuous since the sun, surf, and sand happened to be the key components for beachgoers like the jaded man. Anyways, he had to try all the same; after all, no man is an island unto themselves and he was no different: the same can be said for the females too. Still, the jaded man was confronted by the abundance of other individuals like him, despite the utter lack of conflict and contempt alone altogether.

His passive resistance was needed in order to find the source and everyone else was too busy to oppose him directly overall; nevertheless, the time and effort he'd spent soon paid off as both ears were treated to the rather particular noise amongst all: besides, he was already on the verge of collapse while cerebrating, "almost there, now where exactly are they at…?"

“보세요, 엄마 아빠, 오빠이 바로 우리 앞에 있습니다⋯” were all that had just echoed in the very distance were the jaded man was walking, helping the lone listener along the way, “샌드바아⋯ 저곳⋯”

Almost immediately, he’d turned his attention towards at least three people in particular occupying a large blue cloth plastered across its grains of the burning sand beneath themselves. They were all residing onto the fabric within clear view as far as the jaded man could see at once, taking shelter from the sunlight with an enormous red umbrella angled to provide them all shade. Each of them had been dressed in similar clothing like everyone else in attendance, colorful to a fault yet snug enough to protect each and any part of their wearers from the elements at large.

Of course, the very commonalities between the trio had come to an end; any and all significant differences they’d personally happened to share amongst each other were on display. In any case, another male lain across the textile: like the bystander, his skin was peachy yet the thick hair and worn eyes were cold; however, the former wore matching blue shorts. Nearby the lounger was a shapely lemony woman with warmer hair flowing freely clad in a thick matching bikini combo: a raspberry top and a peachy bottom, all with white outlines. Kneeling past the corner onto the sand was a young peachy girl already donned in a frilly shamrock studded maillot matching her eyes and half the tresses from the same head.

It wasn’t even long when the jaded man had finally met up with the three beachgoers in particular, walking over to the older thirds immediately as they met each other at even eye level.

“안녕, 모두들, 여기무슨일이야⋯이곳이 정확히 무엇이며 우리는 어디에 있는가?” the standing observer asked quickly with both eyes shifting about in a fraction of the same speed thereof.

Smiling warmly, the elder female answered the jaded man at once, “저런, 솔직히 기억나지 않아, 아들⋯? 우리는 휴가에 피리델피아에 있어요. 당신의 아버지는 이번 주말에 우리 모두를 해변에 데려가고 싶어했고 날씨는 맑았어야 했습니다. 그는 당신이 방 안에서 모든 시간을 보내는 데 너무 익숙해지고 있다고 말했다. 고랄도 가고 싶어했기 때문에 우리 모두는 이것이 옛날을 위해 집에서 나갈 수있는 좋은 기회라고 생각했습니다.”

“여기가 피리델피아입니까⋯더 일찍 잠들었나봐기억이 흐릿할 텐데: 생각해 보니, 엄마, 우리가 여기 온지 얼마나 됐어요?” the young observer stuttered about, earning a nod from the lemony woman as far the others were concerned, “이 해변은물론이고 이 도시에있는 해변을 기억조차하지 못합니다.”

“샌드바, 우리는오늘 아침 일찍출발했기 때문에 오전 9시부터여기에 있었습니다⋯ 이것은전쟁이 끝난 후몇 년 전에열린 새로운 해변중 하나입니다.” the elder female said, leaving the jaded man’s eyes widened with shock.

A full beat of silence escapes the young listener as he’d started surveying the area from left to right, uncertain to a fault with ruminations, “this can’t be right: the only beaches that exist in Fillydelphia are nearby lakes and rivers, but not the Celestial Sea itself; as a matter of fact, their rivers have to go either to Horseshoe or Delmarva first before making their way out to sea. Even if it were a new beach, I highly doubt everyone would be in such a mood to celebrate after what had happened years ago: the war alone had been more than enough to keep us all on edge, especially considering what had happened in Canterlot no less; after all, to think they’d be spies among us here en masse was a nightmare on its own, not to mention the preceding bombing run. Now, it seems that people are so quick to forget what had been done to them, much less act like that the war was just a memory: I’ve heard accounts from survivors about the series of unfortunate events that had taken place over those years here and there; I’ve been even writing reports about it for years and how it parallels to other wars out of Equestria up to the present…”

“Heads up…!” cried another distant voice, albeit more masculine compared to the first that took refuge in the jaded man’s ear; at that moment, a stray plastic sphere ended up landing onto his older counterpart’s lap for the rest to see as plain as this day: though predominantly white, there were regions of red, blue, and yellow slathered about, “sorry about that…!”

“It’s alright, no harm, no foul: I know you want this volleyball back as much as the next guy; after all, they don't call me Beachcomber for nothing, you know…” the aforementioned lounger said warmly as he'd retrieved the item in question now firmly within possession looking for its true owner almost immediately so to speak.

As far as they were all concerned, presentation was inevitable the second someone spoke up to the whole family in advance mere minutes ago. The approaching speaker was revealed to be another jaded man with bright skin; unlike them, his paler face was filled with freckles on his cheeks. One additional deviation from themselves was the unrelated bystander's hair being slightly puffed up at the side and bottom yet net anyway. Madder shorts were the only thing that struck out between them, reaching down towards their owner's kneecaps and riding up past the waist.

Almost instantaneously, the man in red was more than ready to speak to them already, "thanks for not holding a grudge about the whole thing: this is honestly the first time my family and I have went to the beach on vacation; in fact, it's my first time playing volleyball with the others. By the way, my name's Pistachio Cornetto and we're farmers from the heartland of Equestria itself: we have an acorn farm called Sweet Acorn Orchards; my parents are on a honeymoon and since I'm an only child that meant having all the free time in exploring the beach. Now, I can also see that you're new as well despite being vacationers: it seems that the new beach that opened up in Fillydelphia has been fated to get such a turnout over the years; after all, summers are extremely great when it comes to sunny skies and warm water."

"Are you kidding me; am I the only one out there who sees what's wrong with the whole ordeal: as a matter of fact, why the happiness?!" screamed the man in green lost in space filled with his own thoughts despite being found having done so in regards to his own family, "I just remembered Equestria going to war seven years ago and the atrocities committed against us! People should be up in arms about what happened that time, not just to us commoners alone that's for sure; I know that the Element Bearers also got a raw deal for the services they'd provided ever since they'd stopped Nightmare Moon: to think the women would be treated like this has been enough to make our skin crawl to this day, especially regarding that other farmer! Not only that, even the royal family was attacked as well: we lost Cadance in what should have been her most happiest day of her life before our very eyes, especially those who knew her best; Princess Celestia had to watch her own niece burn to death and the whole place ended up getting swarmed with a new kind of enemy hiding among us. We'd have lost the war if it weren't for her allies stepping in to save the day and even they had their own problems; if anything, we were one loss away from becoming slaves in our homeland to whatever enemy that would've conquered us: anything which had happened to the girls would be so much worse for the rest of us!"

"Pardon me, sir, but can we please have our volleyball back…?" yet another voice made its way into the bystander's ears, this time a balance between the young girl and their mother; speaking of which, the listener was finally found to be of the same class as the likes of both him and his compeer.

At first glance, it'd seem that another bright skinned person would be enough to raise questions about their collective similarities; on the other hand, the sheer identity was more in tune with both the youngest and oldest of the women in their group was enough: her long solid hair made it to the waistline and a face full of freckles were something her brown eyes could see very clearly. In addition, her attire was a lot like the mother's bikini in terms of functionality so to speak of, despite their differences thereof; in the younger counterpart's case, it was more uniform and much colder in shading, but the stripes alone were simplistic as is: either way, it's wearer's own curvaceous body was on display for the family amongst other beachgoers like the one in red too.

Needless to say, the jaded young woman happened to be the only individual so far to snap her primordial correspondent back to reality almost instantaneously, switching out his inner voice with an external tongue like before, “of course, you can have it back; come to think of it, you must one of his cousins or something: it’s almost rather strange that we meet in a place like it. I’m Sandbar by the way and this is my sister Coral and our parents; it seems to me you must be on vacation to this new beach, although I highly doubt you’re alone: where are your folks anyways…?”

“You mean my parents…?” the middlemost maiden had mildly muttered miserably in merely a minute before her small audience, “they’re not here anymore: I’ve been living alone ever since the Canterlot Tragedy; I’d recalled escaping to the gardens the day the wedding was stormed by invading interlopers and imposters alike so to speak.”

“Oh my, that’s awful...  we’re honestly sorry to hear that from you: we haven’t been anywhere even near the capital when it’d all when down but we did read about it in the newspapers since the war had ended; I’m High Tide anyway and you must be…?” the lemony listener lamented lightly at what her jaded younger counterpart had said before the former’s introduction no less.

Despite all this, the middlemost maiden found the strength to answer the eponymous matriarch, “Wallflower Blush, but everyone calls me Wallflower if anyone can bother to remember: I’ve been living alone as the founding gardener for the Academy’s club before the event; despite my talents, even my job as an assistant groundskeeper is barely enough to keep me afloat yearlong.”

“Speaking of jobs, our Sandbar hasn’t been able to find a job because of his schoolwork lately even since he’d started recently…” the lemony lounger responded to the titular traveler almost immediately, prompting her son’s eyes to bulge a bit before contorting, “he’s always been burying himself in all the assignments he’d been bringing home ever since that day no less. Initially, we didn’t pay it any mind since we’d always expected what’s best for and from him at such a young age so to speak; soon, it ended up reaching a point where he'd stay inside his room all day and night after as well as before school respectively: one time, he'd locked himself up in his own room when everyone else was enjoying a snow day before the semester had ended.”

“Look, mommy, there’s an airplane in the sky…” the little girl said, pointing towards a small fleet of machines flying about from across the ocean from where the others can see alongside her at once.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the pedestrians to stop whatever it was they were doing just now and partake in bearing witness to what Coral said recently, no matter how far away they were. Uniformity was their game as their formation was devoid of variation in terms of sight, sound, and speed alike, darkened like the night and devoid of the moon and stars within the sky therein. The collective whirring was growing more loudly every passing second these identified flying objects had still approached the large crowd staring adjacently from the shoreside Sandbar stood. As if their presence alone wasn’t enough, a series of dark clouds loomed from abaft, filled with the smog and cinders from them as they’d all threatened to encroach the otherwise big blue sky.

As far as the jaded young man could see, a wave of unease enveloped him as well as everyone else when the waters underneath the airplanes had become stilled and lifeless whilst saying, “where did they all come from all of the sudden…?”

Soon enough, many other beachgoers were asking similar questions, great and small, when the rise of the machines had grown closer towards themselves without any obstruction whatsoever; eventually, it’d all come to pass as the golden sun high above within the heavens became hidden away by the dark clouds for all of the witnesses to see clearly as the day still present in spite of it. Despite this, it’d seemed that everything else would resume as is, especially since the identified flying objects had flown away; however, all was still not well as far as the environment was concerned, along with the fact some new sounds were being heard: what had started as a distant cough became an enormous percussion of dissonant acapella devoid of harmony gold overall.

“Ack…!” hacked Beachcomber as he’d struggled to breathe, smelling the achromatic vapors invasion, “someone…”

“Guys…!” his son choked out, watching helplessly as the whole family’s eyes became reddened by the acrid aroma, heavy water leaking from their corners while the lids narrowed about afore.

This was the same sentiment shared by everyone else, not just the middlemost maiden and her masculine correspondent, many of whom were struggling to flee the scene but to no avail at all; eventually, there was nothing more but silence from the flora and fauna therein, freezing in place after movement began to delay, regardless of the positions they were once in ever since the start.

Despite the growing silence, a raspy hiss made its way throughout all, “bittersweet but fitting…”
> Daybreak
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there was one thing that proved to be noticeable for many of its inhabitants already though, then it’d be that many of them were now on the lighter side as of this particular moment in time. Daylight was burning bright as a fluorescent lightbulb as the scenery below it was being bathed in its glow, providing only warmth and guidance in their entirety from high above into the sky. Within a large dream drop distance was but a mere civilization already defined in such various materials whatsoever, most of them being the ones surpassing the likes of even three little pigs. The calm gentle breeze was found to be surfing across the grassy knolls, the brilliant green surrounding it all on a solid lower plane of existence even with concrete roads laid side–by–side. In the background, there had rested a valley and ridge of mountains, raging with growth and erosion in the process of their trying times as the sun had hovered over them at the event horizon. The location bustled with utter abundance of people from various demographics: age, gender, finances, and social standing being nothing short from the standardized metallurgy of life itself.

Out of many buildings in this rather quiet, there was one that had stood out amongst others: a large one in the very outskirts of the town remained in the very distance from the remainders. It’d stood up as high as about three stories tall, complete with a clock tower stretching upward wearing a straight face and a long red flag waving about from the tip of the lanky pole upon top. Its predominately ligneous roofing had possessed the style of a tent save for the middle where a glass dome served as the skylight to provide illumination to the people below inside the building. Out from the very entrance was a marble statue of an equine being already standing about atop a pedestal on its hind legs with a free spirit and perhaps, a sense of direction that signals departure. Surrounding it already were thin blades of grass with the occasional stone pavement carved into themselves, a large piece of nature becoming intertwined with the likes of something so artificial. All that remained out there was a pair of horseshoes out in front of them, a smaller one resting upon its side inside another as they became integral to the theme which they were all setting for.

If one were to be given a tour on what the edifice had looked like on the inside, then the first stop would be one of the rooms sharing a typical atmosphere in the making thanks to choice decorum: chalkboards, chairs, counters, cubbies, cabinets, communiqués, charts, and clocks; the only integral parts which would keep things in order would be a score of people taking up such space. Of course, there were limits in regards to where the occupants would stay and go as far as the finite dimensions were concerned; after all, whilst the atmosphere itself was still fresh with the airs of life, stagnation was the norm for the sake of such singular goals: the only saving grace was that much of the background was dyed in the wool a deep blue sea despite lacking in liquids. There were more than enough of plentiful photons to illuminate the dense area, seeing that the floor was cloaked in darkness; thankfully, the flat side within was solid like an old snake in a continuously changing ecosystem, whether at peace or in turmoil: in the room’s case, it was both and neither at the same time, so representative of the felines in otherwise cardboard derivatives. At the very least, almost every single individual found within there was dressed to the height of cosmetic uniformity altogether: thickened yellowy cotton helmets, a cyan jacket and skirt combo, thin pink ribbons, snow–white blouses and socks, and brown boots; despite this, it was rather acceptable that each and every wearer were going to be different from one another so to speak of.

As a matter of fact, one of the occupants in particular was found to be sitting by the windowsill in the middle rows by the right: a gangly brunette with skin lighter than the long hair already braided into curls and adorned with some little peachy bows too; staring off into the outside world were emerald splashed orbs dull and listless yet mobile as far as anyone was concerned.

“Miss Yona, since you’re so interested into outside world, kindly read what’s written on the wipeboard…!” a harsh coloratura escaped into the eponymous target’s ears, hereby silencing the notions of ownership instantaneously.

The speaker on the other hand was the only anomaly in a room full of individuals such as the gangly brunette herself no less: for starters, the former was stout and bald yet still matronly as the integuments were brighter as the sun, albeit without any heat; additionally, a white longcoat draped over its wearer’s body, accented by a long red skirt matching the eyes overlaid by glasses.

This was more than enough for Yona to turn towards the elder almost immediately, shaken yet stable as the former stood up and squinted at the text found upon the flat space before stuttering, “the… orange… cut… welks… into… the… bathroom… end… funds… two… people… standing… there… oll… alone…”

“Five spelling errors but nonetheless admirable…” the speaker loosened up yet remained firm as all eyes alongside the gangly brunette rested upon the former already, “remember, girls, the Ponish midterm is in a fortnight from now so it’s imperative that you take this matter seriously and study. It’s obviously clear that despite my best efforts we still have a long way to go, especially considering how many in class: make no mistake, the Equestrian tongue has been very hard to learn, even for those that had practiced it on paper and without; nevertheless, the whole purpose of PAL is to help you all succeed in building bridges with people in and out of the Polysphere. Conversely, the idea of speaking other languages would’ve been seen as unthinkable, let alone difficult the first time around; of course, this is nothing new as far as we can see with the other classes offered by this school amongst all others like it too: Castro, Prançaise, Iorian, Marisol, Germar, Hanson, and Neighponnaise – these foreign tongues served as a reminder of its inception. Here we have become firmly attached to their history with Equestria thanks to settlers traveling from across the very seas alone; even now, more individuals have come to this land in search of better opportunity, something many have related to ever since: the war that took place years ago has yet to break our collective spirits or traditions as far as the rest of the entire world’s aware of. At the very least, even more obscure languages are entering here by virtue of immigrants and explorers alike providing them: even our alliance with Yakyakistan has given us an opportunity to learn from, despite our differences between all of us; still, no one else, besides the Princesses alone, have been able to summon the courage in visiting its very populace but it can’t be helped. Recently, it’s still apparent the invasion by the Changeling forces and terrorism from dissenting factions has disrupted society; with that said, it’s nevertheless a completely separate issue for the reality remains is that many of you’d performed poorly so far: even though a few of you have bothered to take your responsibilities as students serious, even that alone is not enough as it is. Despite the results I’ve been presiding over, about one in five students who’ve attended Ponish, Additional Language passed: this hasn’t boded well in the slightest in every half a decade, even though we’d resumed operation two years after the war; still, I take my job seriously to ensure that everyone under my wing will be able to pass this class before the school year ends. Still, whether or not any of you succeed will be up to you and you alone, much like every choice presented up to this present day: even now, your presence in Equestria is evidence that you all share one commonality and with it, an opportunity to blend in more; in any case, I bid every single one of you all farewell and hope for the best, so with that in mind, class is now dismissed.”

“Bye, Miss Coldstream…!” the lone elder’s students said in unison, everyone setting off with a shared goal in mind overall.

Of course, Yona found herself being singled out within the aforementioned teacher’s sight as the latter spoke to the former with a violet knapsack before getting the chance, “miss Yona, do you have the time for a chat…?”

“I’m sorry but is there something wrong, Miss Coldstream: is this about last week’s spelling test…?” the gangly brunette replied to the lonely elder almost instantaneously, slightly standoffish yet so stable, “I just hope it won’t take too long considering I have someplace else to be…”

“Not at all, it’s just that I’ve been noticing how much progress you’ve made since your enrollment a few years ago; it must have been pretty tough when you’d first arrived in Equestria, alone and scared in a place far from home no less…” the titular teacher talked tenderly as Yona slowly trotted forward to the former all the same.

The gangly brunette wasted no time retorting anyway, “who said I was alone…? I have so many friends here, including ones from Yakyakistan like Hak and Yoon for example: before, I could never imagine others like me being interested into places like Equestria, let alone learning from what it has to offer here than there; now, what reason would I have to leave this place, if at all…? I may not have any connection as strong as theirs when it comes to them overall but their presence here alone has been enough to give me a reason as is to stay in Equestria all the same; besides, as far as I see it, they’re the only thing closest to a family that I have already and even then, I’m just a stranger to the rest of our people as I am to all of the Equestrian themselves.”

“Which is precisely why I’m suggesting that you should go with them both this weekend for a rather needful break, Yona…” the bald woman said to her student immediately even as the latter looked on with little care for the former whatsoever no less, “I understand your affinity with our homeland for the past couple of years and whatnot; are you sure that I can’t change your mind?”

“I’m sorry, Miss Coldstream, but rules are rules for a reason: if I’m gonna stay here, then I have to raise my grades and vacationing over to Yakyakistan would chew too much into my study time; after all, you’d just said that I’d made five mistakes reading that sentence earlier ago…” the eponymous occupant droned on reflexively altogether.

It didn’t take much for the hairless elder to speak to the gangly brunette in turn, “I can see that but this should be enough to help broaden your horizons and get you in touch with your roots; Hak and Yoon have been able to maintain their memory of said culture thanks to our alliance: they were able to write an essay of Yakyakistan’s history and how they came to be long ago…”

“That’s nice and all but I need to leave now; I have a test to study for that will take place after lunch and I intend to pass it…” the burgeoning student coughed out before leaving Miss Coldstream behind in the dust, leaving the latter truly and utterly alone, “I’m sorry but I have other things to look forward to; goodbye and good luck…”

“Yona, wait–––” the aforementioned listener’s teacher cried out briefly but to no avail, if at all; now, it was just her in an otherwise empty room.

The gangly brunette found herself in a hallway filled to the brim with other individuals, like and unlike her, walking throughout the very area with their own sense of directions unknown overall. At the very least, her emerald splashed orbs could see that the environment she was in was just as sterile as the room her elder and compeers alike were in much earlier, not that she even cares. Under no circumstance was Yona herself in any mood to comment on the variations, much less be captivated by them altogether as far as anyone was concerned about it overall so to speak of.

Gripping both straps of the violet backpack tightly, its owner, the gangly brunette, had looked around and cerebrated, “okay, you have about two hours until the big history test: all you got to do is find a few of your friends to help you study while eating lunch; besides, our fifth period teacher’s going to be showing us a movie but I won’t take interest in it…”

“Hey, Yona… over here…!” a masculine voice spoke out almost instantaneously, catching her undivided attention after both legs traveled further away from the classroom she was in earlier, “come sit with us; we’d saved you a seat…”

“Yoon…?” the titular traveler talked tersely.

Within seconds, the gangly brunette turned to find two people sitting at the table waving at her freely after making eye contact: the only commonalities between themselves was the dark skin tones shared with her and their goldenrod irises around pupils; of course, they, like many of them, had their very own differences, especially as far as the twosome were currently concerned. As much, one of the duo had silvery tresses, all dressed from head to toe in jet–black fabrics with some white accents sitting up straightaway with an otherwise blank stare upon the visage overall; the other, although possessing brown hair like her, had a much lighter shade, wearing a snow–white ensemble of a jacket and pants with a red ribbon alongside black shoes and a warm smile.

Already Yona was in a rush to join them both almost immediately as the lounger in black spoke to her, “hey, how did your PAL class go lately: did everything go fine and dandy…?”

“It’s so–so, Hak: I still have problems reading cursive lately, despite being so much closer; I don’t understand it sometimes…” the gangly brunette said to one of the eponymous males as she’d begun to take her seat nearby them both rather instantaneously, “what’s the point of using it if nobody else is going to write it, much less read it right…?”

“Preservation and personality: even though that everyone and anyone can write print, there are times where we need to understand the mindset of past writers, distant and otherwise; besides, computers crash, memory may be wiped, and writing is important, even in this day and age…” the male in black answered her, bereft of emotion.

Yona sighed tiresomely as Yoon slid her a red tray of food adjacently across the wooden table: although predominately leafy, she could see some steamed yams and a few muffins on there too; the scents alone were enough to keep both eyes widen as the former said to the latter at once, “how can a computer get into a traffic accident; they can’t be driven, right guys…?”

“Hak’s not referring to that kind of a crash; besides, I’m pretty sure you need some glasses if reading is too much for you…” the male in white replied cautiously as the gangly brunette slowly started picking up a plastic spoon from the same tray earlier, “we know some letters may look different to anyone who’s not in the know yet, but it’s not like they’re capable of changing.”

“But I’d look silly in them; it’s bad enough that I’d gone through my school years alone and awkward but this would be more ammunition for them to ruin my social life as is…” she’d snapped slightly before digging into the orange foodstuff gently, scooping it up into her mouth almost immediately.

Yoon wasted no time speaking to Yona instantaneously as she’d began to eat, “Yona, we’re all from Yakyakistan; failing that, we’re all good friends here: picking a fight with a native thereof is tantamount to suicide, with and without us. Besides, Equestria has sheltered us from the horrible aftereffects of war thanks to our alliance between the two countries therein: Yakyakistan’s raw strength has been more than enough of a deterrent in regards to directly attacking them outright so to speak; in your case, your inner strength alone would still be able to prevail, despite your anomalous deviations thereof no less.”

“That’s just it: I’m not that strong; no matter how much I try to diet and exercise, I can’t seem to catch up with either of you…” the gangly brunette retorted while the yams shrunk in both size and quantity, looking around at the steely environment briefly, “gym class was the netherworld years ago: sweated more than bulked up; I'm glad that I'd made it through after all this time…”

"You should consider yourself lucky that you're not in the Cadets like I am: all these exercises make gym feel like a cakewalk, especially considering a few teachers here and there; besides, my father wanted me to get stronger and Equestria needs strong soldiers too after what happened…" Hak laughed with their brighter counterpart joining in as well.

This had brought a smile to her face as she'd chuckled about, "I'm sure he would: what's a nation or family or even friends without strong people…? If anything, you would've been able to make the book of world records with all these muscles you've been bulking up; it would still explain how both Yakyakistan and Equestria look up to you after all these years: even I look up to you and I'm supposed to be the strongest."

"Don't count yourself out, Yona: it takes more than just muscles to make a great soldier in any army, much less by themselves…” Yoon said as the foodstuff in particular the aforementioned consumer was devouring was being reduced to mere morsels at once, “there’s perception, endurance, charisma, intelligence, agility, and luck; they’re what makes the people special…”

“Sounds like my classmates aren’t the only ones who play Badlands…” the male in black had purred about, earning a bemused look from the gangly brunette whom had stopped herself from continuing onward.

It didn’t take long for her to ask them both, “what’s Badlands…?”

“It’s an old game from a few decades ago, a postwar game to be accurate: I won’t spare you the details since it’s too distracting…” Hak answered Yona almost instantaneously, also taking a similar red tray of food from his brighter correspondent for himself, “besides, the real wars won’t even get into the books; people would simply either miss the point or start bigger wars in place.”

“I agree, it’s scary as it is that we’re living in this world; even in Equestria, it’s still not enough for others to go after them: too much ambition these days…” Yoon chimed back with restraint as it was finally his turn to eat as well, leaving no one else to start off alongside all three of them no less.

The gangly brunette stuttered, “Equestria…”

“Is there something troubling you now, Yona…?” the male in black asked her again, this time taking note of the plastic spoon dropping back into the surface area of the tray with little warning, “you were just having no problems eating those steamed yams that Yoon had cooked for us today…”

“It’s not the yams, it’s just me: I still have this headache going on and these pills haven’t done a thing for me since I’d taken them this morning; I’d thought they would be gone by lunchtime but it seems that I was wrong…” the titular talker told the two of them already, clutching her forehead briefly as her fingertips smoothed its ridges out at once.

Hak had his left hand gently hovering over the gangly brunette’s visage and commented on their collective observations at once, “you obviously don’t feel sick, much less warm; how long have you been taking these pills anyway…?”

“Since last weekend, I’ve been taking them at least once a day like they’d said on the box…” she’d answered the male in black, struggling to pick up the utensil with her left hand once again, “to be honest, I’ve been skipping some of those days because I can’t seem to read small text that well; as a matter of fact, I’m more or less afraid of taking more even if I’d wanted it to go away.”

“I see, well, in that case, I should take a look at your box of medicines afterschool: something tells me you’re going at this the wrong way for one reason or another…” the male in white sighed with concerned, earning himself a slight grimace from Yona alone in mere seconds alone so to speak of.

During this staredown, the gangly brunette spat out, “first I talk about my time in PAL class and now you’re implying I’m bad at counting too…?”

“Not at all, most medicines used allow you to take up to several per day, usually in four to six hour periods so to speak no less…” Yoon had replied, unperturbed by her otherwise mild frown as he’d remained bravely default in his own assessment all the while, “although unheard of, there have been cases of accidental overdoses especially before the war, even by mathematicians…”

“All the more reason not to treat them like candy; besides, I’d accepted the fact that I’m the slow one but even I’m not that stupid enough to try…” Yona said flatly, dropping her gaze away from either male as she’d returned her attention to the remaining food from before as far as they were all concerned nevertheless.

Needless to say, neither consumer whatsoever had dared to continue on as they’d all started to eat more quietly than ever before, unmoved by the ringing bell and their chattering peers in the background as their attention wasn’t directed at each other.
> Dimmity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A bright and starry night befell over the world, its inhabitants graced with the sights of much distant plasmas and a lone proximate crescent sharing the violet firmament. The only things which had dared to reach them but to no avail were tall skyscrapers drenched in even colder colors, made with industrial materials and orthogonal shapings. As a result of their beings’ fiber, an exertion of influence could be felt within every aspect of the environment and its denizens alike, irregardless of their own types thereof. Even amongst the concrete jungle, patches of lush vegetation were all found within themselves, each bearing both flora and fauna so hospitable to the likes of its observers. The areas between them were sequestered into predominately gridded streets where all sorts of metal contraptions ran rampant about while denizens got literally sidelined. The only checkpoints beyond the premises were bridges to the adjacent mainland; everything surrounding itself happened to be water reflecting the lights above and near. Between the landmasses and the fluid separating them at a vast distance, there were many ships of all shapes and sizes skittering about freely around themselves to and fro. Hovering on and about were various aircraft ranging from the smallest of gliders to the biggest airships; with that said, their collective freedom had their own limitations.

Out of all the structures found within the premises, one building in particular had stood out and about: a snow–white loft stuck in the midst of others. Like many which were sharing the same street, it was a pink flat top, evenly to a fault for many of its potential observers from any point within time. At least three rows of glass were found plastered upon the loft, many of which were the clearly crisp windowpanes of a much quadrangular scheme. Yet its simplicity alone did itself no favors, even as a rarity; after all, the glitz and glamour of its surroundings was a gritty reminder of the anomalies. Seeing the pictures and words amalgamated from the pastel colors upon the cardboard were more than enough to state its purpose therein suffice to say.

In any case, the only source of light within one of the rooms came from the moon and stars, faintly and at an angle in which was so bright it’d barely reached across straightaway. Though the ceiling, alongside the rest of the background, was dark, the lack of blackness therein was serving as proof in which color theory had been put into private practice already. A few drawers stood out within the confined space: one was opposite of a bed, its comforter clad in brighter shades befitting of the morning; the other near carried one emaciated lamp. A singular door discovered directly across from the windowsill had acted as both an ingress and egress alike at the same time, despite being obscured by the otherwise jet–black void.

“Hah, what a day: algebra’s hard enough as it is; the text alone was too small for me to read, even with a magnifying glass…” a heavy soubrette escaped into the fold, preceding the rattling of metal against wood as a click was heard before the barrier was opened almost immediately no less.

Soon enough, another sound followed after the soft yet heavy footsteps entering the finite area: it was even quicker and quieter compared to them and the words spoken not too long ago alone; nevertheless, they’d served as a signal as to what would be revealed in an instant all the same. The second the photons appeared, the darkness itself had become restricted to the outside world; as a result, the room became lighter and brighter than it even was before, if not even more so: it was all thanks to a series of bulbs hanging from a spinning fan as there were some moody blues. In spite of the heat and light bathed the otherwise naked space, the drawers themselves were the solid black objects standing out and about already: each of them had some trays slid out to be filled with various clothes in so many sorts of variations possible for its owners to take note of. Muddled about were planks of wood amalgamated together to hold the floor in, each space free of imperfections yet devoid of uniformities all the same; while they had potential to make a picture, their lack of coherence alone made them into a collective nonissue since their inception.

These details were miniscule compared to the identity of its entrant, a gangly brunette bearing brighter skin already braided into curls adorned with peachy bows already walking inside now. Her eyes radiated with the shine spark of an emerald splash but lacking in toxicity and corrosion; in fact, they were like the green grass of home from a distant time, bound to the earth by gravity. Even now, the gangly brunette was wearing a set of clothes over her body: a yellow helmet, a cyan jacket and skirt combo, a pink ribbon, a snow–white blouse and socks, and brown boots.

She’d found herself carrying a violet knapsack in tow after closing the door abaft, tossing it over to the bed before rejoining too; afterwards, her feet became freed from the heavy objects after a brief clash between them, revealing the white fabric also.

The gangly brunette wasted no time turning her attention towards a set of electronics resting underneath the unlit spotlight: one of them was a black telephone with a rotary dial and it was hooked up with a flat white device with two digits flashing; it didn’t take much for her to press a button and hear it beep, followed by an inorganic statement, “you have four new messages…”

“Hey, Yona… it’s me, Yoon…” a faint masculine voice garbled about from the machine, greeting her almost instantaneously no less, “I know you’re hesitant about the trip to Yakyakistan but I think you’re gonna be able to change your mind somehow: Hak and I have been able to come up with ways to help you immerse yourself into their culture once again. Even if this doesn’t work out, we still want you to do your best and still be friends with us all the same…”

“Why bother…?” the titular tenant talked tensely.

Another beep sounded its way into the gangly brunette’s ears as his familiar presence made its way after, “yeah, it’s me again… uh, listen, the plan we were coming up yesterday, I was hoping with Hak’s parents they’d be able to help you around the place like chaperones; I can get the map and a bed to help you spend the night if you choose to accept the offer. I got enough money for all three of us to travel to and from Yakyakistan but it hasn’t been easy securing it ever since the incident last month; just please give us a call back as soon as possible in case anything changes between the lot of us before then.”

“What’s your plan, Yoon…?” she groaned pedantically, rolling over on her side away from the contraptions with a frown onto her own face, “I’d thought your parents had an extra bed to share like you’d always offered…”

“Well, I’m sorry, Yona, I really am: mom and dad were really supportive but the roof over us had fallen in with little warning; he’s gone and broken his arm trying to clear the wreckage so I have to go early and check up on him so he can get better…!” the eponymous speaker had blurted out slightly, his voice barely remaining stable compared to last time no less.

This was enough for the aforementioned listener to soften up her gaze as she struggled to turn around and reply, “Yoon…?”

“Anyways, I’m a little worried about what’s going to happen to us all ever since the avalanche took place recently, Yona…” he’d exhaled laboriously, struggling to regain control over himself despite panting about throughout the airwaves, “this is actually the first time we all had to sleep outside in the cold together, let alone with the injury he’d sustained trying to fix it back up again. I can barely stay warm out here even with them by my side, especially with how things have been lately thanks to the damage: I had to spend the money to help him get better and fix the house back up so I had to put the plan on the backburner for now here; he was most likely disappointed to hear about it but what was I supposed to do, let him get sick and die overall?! Despite this, I’m going to go and make some money just in time for the big trip so we can help you remember your heritage; I don’t know how exactly I can do this altogether, especially at such a short notice with all things considered recently thereon: all the ingredients that I have right now aren’t enough to even make a single batch of cake, much less a slice whatsoever. Either way, I gotta make a plan to get anything and everything I need by Friday afternoon if I’m to make any bits before the trip; of course, this is only because the bazaar is only open on the weekends and it’s the only upcoming one remaining herein: besides, it’s not like I’m going to be stuck in Equestria all by myself while Hak has to explain away the dwindling band of students. Nevertheless, I gotta go anyway since I’ve been calling from a payphone and there’s this line readily developing so to speak of: I still can’t believe they have them all over in the big city but it’s like what they’d all said before – if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it; anyways, please call me back as soon as possible whether or not you want to go because I might as well need your help.”

“Mailbox is full: to hear all old messages again, press rewind; to delete all old messages, press x…” the autonomous drone regain control over the atmosphere, prompting the gangly brunette to face the source and interact with it soon enough.

It didn’t take much for her to listen to the long whine instantaneously before subsiding into the void, leaving her to sigh softly, “I might as well take a hot bath before I go to bed; besides, I need to get out of this uniform anyway…”

Yona couldn’t do much more other than rise from her bed, already feeling the weight of her body pulling her down to earth as is: for what it was worth, hearing Yoon’s voice over the speakerphone had left her lost in a deep sea of thoughts from start to finish; that being said, it wasn’t enough to keep her down and out whatsoever, especially considering what’s going on.

Either way, no time was wasted at all in casting aside the yellow helmet, setting it on top of the drawer next to the electronics in question; afterwards, heavy boots took their owner away from the furniture as the gangly brunette was directed to another egress already found within the room. As soon as she’d slipped out of them, the slow yet steady change in temperature was suddenly felt by both feet; even with the socks still on, the differences in textures alone were enough to reinforce the sensation beneath: the past lukewarm carpentry and arctic tiles now were compared. Instead of a bland color shade from before, its walls were adorned with a color from Yona’s eyes, radiating about with its earthly essence from nature itself, despite the inorganic orientation, all of which was illuminated by a similar lightbulb high above her bared head of luscious hair. Such accommodations thereof were all firmly gathered deeply within the gangly brunette’s line of eyesight: a toilet, sink, mirror, cabinet, hamper, closet, and bathtub with carnation curtains became the very things providing such relief within those eyes of her, albeit slightly so to speak.

She’d soon taken her precious time studying what had been directly hidden behind the curtains upfront: a nozzle already guided straight overhead hung in from the walls with the mixer tap and its three handles resting underneath. Calmly, Yona had started to place her hand onto the handle at the leftmost before arranging the other opposite of the middle; before long, a heightened pitch whine was followed by a deluge of water now splashing onto the area. Plain scents emanated from the compound in question, its vapors wafting up into the gangly brunette’s nostrils as her cheekbones had soon burned brightly enough to be seen upon the visage like the longest cleared daytime sky. All that was needed was for the compound to brim with life as far as she could see it all right now here and there: walking over to the sink nearby, she’d gathered a slender bottle of lavender from there and returned to the area.

Before Yona could even open the item up, there was a ringing outside of the bathroom piercing through the stream lapping about; this was enough for her to leave and investigate, bringing her back to the phone from earlier as it was now shaking to and fro here: the repetitive noise was more than clear as she’d summoned the strength to pick it up from the hook almost immediately.

“Dammit, I’m running out of ideas for making her miserable…” the gangly brunette heard from the speaker going into her left ear instantaneously, shrill and stern no less, “huh, she really wears those things…?”

“Mm–hmm…” another voice replied, sharing a lot in common with the former since they were just like her; however, the timidness gave it away.

The first of the talkers gasped with ecstasy, much to Yona’s bewilderment no less, “wow, who knew she was such a hooch…? Perfect, I’ll hang these up in the main hallway; that’ll humiliate her for sure: she’s gonna die…”

“That’ll teach that dumb, ugly, slutty cow…” the respondent chimed with growing confidence, causing the gangly brunette to recoil about, slightly blue with shock, “we’ll show the whole world…”

“Yeah, good idea…” the speaker laughed on.

It was at this point Yona was shaking about as some oinking was being made on that same end, her hand tightening onto the hard plastic; at the same time, her teeth chattered and grind against themselves as she’d coughed about, “how disgusting…!”

“But not as disgusting as the fun and games you had in the mud puddle like a dirty little whore, eh, little miss Yakyakistan…?” the primordial voice jeered, catching the gangly brunette off–guard immediately as she was seeing red within her gaze, “it’s unbelievable that such a giantess would’ve so much of the good times with boars and sows before going back to civilization…!”

“Excuse me…?” Yona growled indignantly.

It wasn’t long until some laughter came the gangly brunette’s way, exacerbating the whole experience overall, “sooey, sooey… come here, piggy: get some of that hot barnyard style action with this gigantic anorexic Yakunt, she’ll make it worth your while; after all, that’s what’s she’ll ever be good for…!”

“SHUT UP…!” screamed Yona as she’d ripped the electronic off of the drawer, lifting it in the air before sending it down into the ground with rapid force; as a result, the only thing that had remained intact was the phone itself and even then, it, too, ended up being smashed alongside it, “LEAVE… ME… ALONE… I… DON’T… LIKE… YOU… TWO… MEANIES…!”

“HEY, PIPE DOWN, GODDAMMIT: SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP NOW…!” a much harsher masculine voice bellowed from underneath the gangly brunette’s feet as they were accompanied by some hardened tapping about.

Yona paid no mind to him or the shards of pieces scattered across the flooring as she was breathing about more than ever: heavy and husky as it was, her respiration had soon become stabilized much like before no less, synchronized with the heartbeat; soon, water sprinkled from her eyes as she’d wept faintly, “I’m not a dirty whore; I’m just a schoolgirl needing to study…”

The gangly brunette was facing the wreckage of what had used to be the device from before, her left hand stained with some red: it didn’t take long for her to realized that when they’d joined the tears soon enough, snapping their owner back to reality itself; afterwards, some composure started to return to her as she’d gotten right back up and began facing the bathroom soon enough.

When she’d returned to the bathroom, her eyes and nostrils were treated to the sights and smells of fog and water now within the very area at once. Of course, Yona wasted no time locking the door abaft like she’d done not too long ago, paying no attention whatsoever to the mess she’d made up. Walking over to the bathtub, the gangly brunette wasted no time using the bottle from earlier, opening it up to pour a small fraction into the fluid. At long last, the otherwise clear bathwater became filled up with froth as clusters of bubbles had emerged from the singular concentrated downpour.

With time of the essence, there wasn’t much she could do but cast aside the rest of her clothes from where her feet were still standing about. The first to go were Yona’s cyan jacket and matching skirt: of them, the former being more time consuming to open in comparison to the latter. Fabrics reduced to a thin layer of whiteness, the gangly brunette undid the buttons of her blouse and bared both bosoms to the inner universe. Ultimately, all that remained left were her panties and stockings, something she’d wasted no time casting aside as they’d joined the rest of them.

Yona stepped inside rather slowly and carefully at once, quickly taking the time to close up the very curtains along as well so as to shut out what little cold air had remained before it’d even got the slightest chance of following after her. It wasn’t long until the gangly brunette discovered the heated compound now instantaneously embracing her dry integuments immediately as the frigid air thereof had been transmutated by the conflicting liquid temperature already. Although she was becoming at ease by the water clothing her body, the fact it’d still fallen out of the faucet threatened to reach its limits; thankfully, she’d moved on forward to return the knobs right back to where they’d been not long ago.

If the reality of Yona’s loneliness didn’t put her at rest, then the current location thereof cemented it instantaneously: although the compound itself was lacking in variation, the heat and volume alone were more than enough for herself; after all, she was sighing at the reality of having the whole place to herself, free from the outside world as she knew. As far as the gangly brunette could tell right now, she was more than relieved irregardless since the wounds on her hand became cleaned with the soapy water immediately; at the very least, they’d been nothing more than just a burning memory, left in the past like the yesteryears of youth and yearning she and her compeers would’ve experienced. Nevertheless, she had nothing more than the frothy fluids themselves to keep herself happy and healthy, especially since her face was above the surface area altogether; the simplistic qualities in of themselves were more welcoming than the solid debris and airy voices alone, including the fog thereof still taking formation due to their prior differences.

“Having fun yet, sweetie…?” a matronly sound escaped into the naked space, catching Yona by surprise after several minutes have passed, “you should be since you’d been so overindulgent these past years, am I right…? After all, you wouldn’t know true bliss if it’d shot you in the back of yourself because most people don’t take drugs…”

“What’s that: who’s there; where are you?!” the gangly brunette sputtered as she’d pulled the curtain away again, only to find nothing of substance whatsoever besides her own articles of clothing.

More time passed as she’d surveilled her surroundings but to no avail at all so to speak of; that being said, her peace of mind had been robbed once again, much like before if at all: in this case, she was more alone than ever since there was nothing else of similar building.

Of course, Yona’s solitude was soon compromised more than ever when her eyes were treated to a much ghastly sight standing up: it was a little giant looking down at the former with so many similarities between themselves, the commonalities were breathtaking; however, the differences regarding the latter were simple and plain since they’d have been otherwise hard to tell already. Unlike the gangly brunette whom was sitting down, her counterpart was reeking with noxious scents and texture from top down: patches of various substances were clothing the latter, thinner than the textiles the former had cast aside much earlier ago no less; despite the abundance of soap and water around themselves, none of the material upon the skin showed signs of departure. Red eyes were what gave it away from what Yona could see clearly, staring outwardly from the darkness within both the sclera: their owner was filled to the brim with nothing resembling of any emotion that the sedentary eyewitness could’ve made out; in addition, there were lines of liquid escaping from the corner, reminiscent of wounds the former had sustained not so long ago. Scars of many lengths and widths also adorned the little giant’s large body, each of them telling a multitude of tales of interest; of course, the gangly brunette wasn’t in the mood to hear of it considering how many were found upon the former’s skin as is: after all, even a lone clandestine observer from the wayward pines of gravity falls rushed to a common conclusion for every one.

Of the two staring at each other, Yona’s burgeoning correspondent had wasted no time whatsoever speaking out to her; unlike the former, the latter was more broken and wheezy, no doubt a clue as to what was expected in the sudden discovery: “sain uu, Yona… udaan khugatsaa öngörsön baina, tiim biz dee…?”

“Who are you and what are you doing here: do you need any help whatsoever; why aren’t you even at the hospital right now?” the gangly bather sputtered about after hearing the little giantess out and about, way too afraid to even move if at all so to speak, “better yet, what kind of language was it that you’d spoken just now and how do you know my name; what are you…?”

“Teneg Yona, ta öv soyoloo ali khediin martchikhsan baikh yostoi; magadgüi bi chinii tölöö öör yuu ch khiij chadakhgüi baikh…” Yona’s bulky counterpart had snickered before sinking into the red, white, and blue afore herself, betraying all poise and rationality.

As soon as the little giantess was at eye level with her original observer, she, too, found herself joining in as both bodies were currently being pulled into the dirtied bathwater without warning: out of the twosome in question, the latter had struggled about to escape the otherwise tight grip latching upon the moist integuments but to no avail whatsoever as far as both jaded eyes can see. Any and all effort Yona was making were being instantaneously undermined as she’d looked around for something and/or someone to rescue her from the sudden predicament all the same; nevertheless, the memories from before did more than enough to remind them of how alone they were in the whole wide world, both outside and inside, especially since the door was locked shut.

Needless to say, the gangly brunette was able to outstretch her right hand overhead as the moistening face became directly above the water while she‘d gurgled about in defiance of such futile resistance to the force therein underwater, “help me…”

Eventually, all that remained of Yona herself inside there were the clothes and droplets of lifeblood from before but not their owner.
> Pounds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A sky full of silver linings were soon etched about, swirling over the earth in its broken patterns as patches of some blue were breaking dawn without a care. A flock of birds in various sizes and shades soon soared so serenely, not even gravity dared to pull any of them down towards the solid plane of existence. A small civilization was beginning to carry on with its own lives and times, living and breathing around their happy little abodes topped off with so much hay. All the pedestrians were being greeted with an abundance of some calm gentle breezes currently surfing across from the grassy knolls and to parts unknown. Aside from the town itself were a nearby forestry with a road as its guide and smoky mountains raging with growth and erosion from the trying times therein. As far as any lifeform was concerned, the smells of moistures were more than enough to provide a sigh of relief and reprieve, courtesy of the brilliant green.

Speaking of which, there were at least a trio of thin females, all currently taking residence at an otherwise enormous lake whom happened to be alike in fair dignity at a passerby’s initial glance. All of the bystanders had their very commonalities pronounced by their bright integuments and many curvatures up on display as their eyes shimmered and shined thanks to the sunlight above. Currently, it’d have been more than enough to safely say their presence alone would clearly raise no eyebrows whatsoever, especially since they were all by themselves across the viridian space.

In any case, there were some significant differences between the threesome some casual observer would’ve taken note of, separating them all from each other. For starters, one of them was mostly tanned with clear skin whilst the other two were brighter by comparison; additionally, the remainders were dotted along. Secondment, all of the females had flowing hair in two different shades: the tanned lounger had cornflowers; the brighter one, violet; the brightest, a redhead. Third of all, their eyes were also different from each other: the darker one possessed amethysts; the middlemost one had chocolates; the lighter one, magenta. Fourthly were the troika’s attire: the tanned lounger, white dress with pink accents; the freckled intermediate, a red ensemble; the bright redhead, gray frock. Last, but not least, bags were found nearby: the dark female had a yellow purse; the middlemost lounger, a silver satchel; the light one, an opalescent kit bag.

They’d all made up minds about what to do with the daylight above themselves, an upward clash betwixt the silver and sapphire; after all, the picaresque placement made sure a scenario for all to enjoy the passing seconds as they were since their very dawn: the only thing that was shared amongst each other were a basket in the midst of a large checkered mat made with blue and jade. As far as the trio were concerned, there was nobody and nothing else that could move them all away from their collective area; besides, the scant amounts of debris and crumbs were proof of the time well spent as plates and napkins had also joined up here: their past performance was as plain as the present moment alone, serving as prelude to the rather uncertain futures near and far. Needless to say, all the females were the shiny happy people as of yet, common as the air being inhaled and exhaled altogether; the water nearby themselves tried its hardest to replicate that mobile scene, in spite of the fluid angling and finite space therein: the solid earth had served to overwhelm the compound at once but failed to impede their respirations above all the very same.

“So Silverstream, how was the food: pleased to find it was to your liking…?” one of the trio asked, a pleasant coloratura escaping from the bright redhead.

The titular target, none other than the tanned lounger herself, had replied ever so freely in the opposite octaves of giddiness, “sweet but not as sweet as you, Velvet…”

“It’s amazing that there exist such fruits and the plentiful way to make them into other kinds of food after all these years, gals…” their middlemost peer told them both, a balance of power and speed between themselves while biting into one of the cupcakes, “the only thing that was difficult to obtain were the apples themselves; ironically, Appleloosa’s batch is more costly…”

“They’d said it was because their family had fallen on hard times since the war; even Barnyard Bargains has been struggling to find a supplier after the end of it all: they’d even been selling their assets over the years to stay afloat, including the ones at Peachtree as far as I remember…” Velvet said somberly as she’d stared at the couple of remainders.

Their collective friend took a deep breath and let out a deep sigh in turn before reaching for one, “I like the ones with the apples on top out of others: it makes all the difference in the world of cooking, especially as far as desserts are considered; the clash of textures between them bring out the same sweet flavor.”

“Don’t get too attached to the apples, Streamy; I’d heard since Sweet Apple Acres had changed, prices had gone up slightly…” the freckled intermediate had said to Silverstream after watching the latter sink some teeth into the cupcake slowly but surely already, “they’d turned it into a resting place for the people whom were taken by the war, especially for much of their family.”

“I’m sorry to hear that… I didn’t consider that connection so to speak of; it’s been a long time since we’d all left Seaquestria and it’s hard to stay up to date here and there…” the tanned lounger gasped, hesitating to finish the foodstuff off despite being ever so close to absolute oblivion.

It didn't take much at all for Velvet to intercede on their shared friend's behalf so to speak of, "well don’t get too attached to it: Equestria gets really cold during the winter and we haven’t been much used to the weather at large; even now, it hasn’t been a few months since Hearts and Hooves Day yet it’s still getting slightly cold at nighttime."

“The locals say it’s because of the windigos, spirits feeding off of the hatred and evil of others, or so we’d been told not long ago…” their middlemost peer replied as the clouds grew more numerous and darker above themselves, catching the listeners off–guard, “they were the reason Equestria became the land it is today and even then, they still have their troubles here and there.”

Soon enough, a soft plop had soon bounced up against the blades of grass making up the brilliant green underneath the threesome already, subsiding all throughout the otherwise solid earth before being absorbed into the folds without any sort of opposition whatsoever so to speak of. It didn’t even take long for more drops of the same texture to find their own way upon the surface area and the females within it as reinforcements, supersaturating them all instantaneously as the terrain became drenched in the process alongside the fabric and the refuse worn and used.

Nothing stopped any of them from scurrying to their bare feet as they’d all taken a stand, one of whom bothered to pull out a similar and more translucent bag from her silver satchel before going to gather up the otherwise clean trash around themselves with but lightning speed no less.

As the threesome all scurried away from the once dry field with the cloth and bags in tow, it was now time for them to seek shelter onward to the next destination just as the skies became darker. All winds around the females gained enough force to sway all the foliage around in spite of the silent voices they’d made as all of them were pushed and steered further from their past location. At that same passing moment in time overall, the birds and bees which had synchronized with one another also fled to safety from the gathering storm currently taking place above and around. After a few minutes had passed, kiloliters of water had increased in density as they’d fallen from the monochromatic heavens and onto the colored earth alongside its inhabitants, them included. Airstreams once fresh with both levity and crispiness were now lacerated by the heavy downpour already drenching everything and everyone caught in their collective path even without wounds.

Out of the three runners still soaking about, the bright redhead exclaimed, “Ocean Breeze, how much further are we to Ponyville…?”

“Not too far: we just need to be traveling further south from Saddle Lake, at least that's what the map had said anyway, Velvet…” their eponymous friend answered, gripping both bags tightly even as the wind had picked up some speed soon enough no less, “any other day and we would have been able to enjoy the rain all the same, with or without all of these clothes on our back.”

“Too bad we're all far away from a nude beach anyway, let alone a hot spring: most of Western Equestria has plenty more of them than the beaches themselves compared to the Eastern side; even Losadey has a few and it’s nearby Luna Bay of all places…” Silverstream had simply sighed softly as their skin and the fabrics protecting them became rather heavy with moisture.

Despite their running start, the weight of the world they were in had increased all due to their collective supersaturation no less. Nevertheless, the middlemost pedestrian held firm and maintained her lead right over the rest of her own few friends in attendance. As far as they were concerned, it was only a matter of time until some new sounds were to enter their ears swiftly as well as deeply.

The pitter–patter of precipitation had currently became more intense even as they’d all picked up the pace in turn so to speak of: Velvet was most persistent, not only due to her attempts to catch up with Ocean Breeze, but also due to keep themselves mobile; in the meantime, the former of the trio had asked the latter, “do you suppose that he wouldn’t mind that we all returned early?”

“Why wouldn’t he…?” the middlemost pedestrian answered whilst still in the lead, too focused to turn her gaze upon either friend abaft, “anyone else caught in the rain wouldn’t mind taking shelter at home no matter the intensity; after all, they’re nothing like our kind back at home: we don’t just live off the sea but also under it too…”

“I miss home, not just Seaquestria alone but also our real home too; I’d wanted to have some adventures beyond it: travel the world and the seven seas…” the tanned traveler talked tersely as the moist sky fell above herself and the other two compeers, now showing signs of slowing down despite running around.

The bright redhead stopped in place to face Silverstream and reply, “it’s not like you’re the only one; besides, your cousin’s friends were also commenting on it too: Haven Bay and Salina Blue wanted to see the surface world as well as the next individual, let alone from Seaquestria like all of us especially. As far as the grownups were concerned, Princess Luna wanted to make an effort in reaching out to your folks on her sister's behalf: they'd agreed to letting a few of their subjects take refuge in Equestria and help them rebuild some of their homes in exchange; I'd believed it was the same deal they'd offered to their other allies ever since the war had ended years ago. Nevertheless, your parents were reluctant in letting you go there since you, your brother, Terramar, and so many of your cousins including Skystar herself are royalty: some of them are even younger than him and he’s already going to be getting his secondary education soon enough as far as his tutors are concerned.”

“Only because my aunty’s hedging her bets: it’s clear she’s not even the only one talking about renewing ties with the Princesses…” the tanned traveler told Velvet as the heavy deluge above themselves had still raged onward rather tranquilly in the meantime, "she's been having some conversation with another royal figure: according to Princess Celestia, he's from some forest. At the very least, their king has been reluctant having others trying to expand into their home in the Everfree Forest lately no less: the only thing I'd recalled them saying was that compared to White Tail Woods, their home had taken up less time to regrow then; apparently, one of the kids in the forest was rumored to have been also in the woods the following several days afterwards. King Aspen still is holding a grudge about the events that had unfolded prior as far as I’d recalled my cousin writing back: his son Bramble had been having nightmares as to what he’d seen ever since that fateful day and frankly, it’d have been no better; come to think of it, what if he’d encountered that boy before the whole thing and he’s now walking among us just like me? Likewise, what if it’d happened to us instead, dare I even say it, someone comes by and attacks us in this manner for no reason: I remember when my parents had avoided talking about the details around me and my brother so they wouldn’t have us worrying; still, would it be any different, especially considering this was the reason why I’d came to Equestria of all places? Even the thought of it was more than enough to leave my skin crawling, all the more reason not to even think about it so to speak; besides, it’s all in the past and I didn’t see either of it happening anyway, but I’m not going to go ahead and forget about them both: if anything, I’m just glad it’s over as is along with the war too, scary enough as is with all the nastiness entailed. You two are the closest to me in our circle of friends a princess could’ve ever wanted and nothing could ever change it: even in this world gone mad, I can’t fathom living without either of you of all gals to distract me from the fact I’m her cousin; none of you had an idea what it was like to be related to a ruler by blood alone before that day, something my cousin can relate to.”

“You don’t need to remind us of that, Silverstream: you’re just scared like us and that’s okay to feel this way; let’s just find us all some shelter from the rainstorm already…” the bright redhead intoned while wiping away the water gathering around the aforementioned compeer’s face gently before turning back around to face the town like so.

It didn’t take much for the tanned traveler to go back ahead and move in the same direction as both Velvet and Ocean Breeze were walking in while saying softly, “yeah, great idea: to be honest, I’ve not been this scared of the rain since my first spring in Equestria long ago; at this rate, we don’t want to keep our friends waiting…”

“You’re not the only one who has friends waiting for us: a bunch of boys are going to be here as well looking forward to us here…” the middlemost leader interceded while still in the forefront, low and husky yet still affable as Silverstream’s giggle from prior, “besides, the sun will be going down soon enough and then the party will begin; this picnic was a time waster to distract us all.”

“Indeed…” the tanned traveler tersely thrummed.

The sauntering movement the trio of females had engaged in not long ago now paid off as their eyes found shared viewpoints entering a neighborhood. They’d seen a number of people currently decreasing in density while walking upon the dirt road between themselves as their feet became caked about. Though there were more eyes belonging to scant passersby here and there, none of them were interested in the particular threesome entering the area. To put it simply, the only commonality shared amongst both the locals and visitors alike is the need for shelter from the elements delivered by storm.

It wasn’t long until a spiral building had entered their lines of eyesight, stuck in the middle of it all with the land and water adjacent to them as its sweet blue flag fluttered against the wind above the brown tile. To say another had resembled a certain food from the not too distant past was an understatement: its frosted chocolate roofing topped off with its towering cupola had bore the familiar shape which reminded them. Unlike the cupcakes the trio of females had been eating, the residential purpose alone was at the forefront directly; as a matter of fact, two objects stood onto the rooftop’s ends: a purple chimney and a straw nest too. Some sturdy walls where its windows had remained adorned had been all clothed in a uniform species of star platinum accented by the wood and glass plastered in many different shades of pink imaginably wet. Holding things together were two stripey pillars colored in a pattern of pink and white as they were standing nearby a purple egress with a small stairwell sharing the very same color with a garden and mailbox.

As appealing it was to its observers, the past consumers already turned their orbs onto another building on the very opposite side: it was much smaller in size with roofing composed of hard tiles of silver chariot as all the walls were matching due to the concrete; though different to a fault, the one indicator as to how apart it was happened to be a wooden sign hung over the door.

Standing underneath was a tall, brighter man with a high yellow umbrella in his grip, already out into the spacious atmosphere the three females were still in. Like them, his hair was long but it was kept in a magician’s red bind, brown as Ocean Breeze’s eyes; in addition, he’d possessed a tiny yet trimmed goatee. Another commonality, this time regarding only the middlemost pedestrian’s friends, shared was the man’s eyes, balanced by cerulean but otherwise friendly. In regards to his attire, he was more elaborate: a monochromatic jacket, belt, and sneaker combo, white shirt with mismatched technicolor letters, and blue jeans.

As soon as the trio were all within range, the brighter man had made eye contact with themselves instantaneously, brimming with confidence as he’d started off with a greeting, “‘ello gals, lovely weather we’d been ‘aving lately: shame ‘bout the rain that ‘appened not long ago; anyways, ‘ow was the picnic y’all were ‘aving…?”

“Hi, Rory…!” Silverstream spoke soundfully as she’d soon sauntered over to his side in so little time for the rest of her compeers to see, “you’re off from work already: I’d thought that the arcade was going to be up and running for at least until sundown as far as I’d remembered earlier ago; what happened…?”

“It’s still running; I’m just taking some time off early right now so we can catch up with the party tonight: all of our friends are going to be there…” articulated the titular attendant while starting to hold his objective frame over the tanned traveler immediately, the latter stealing away a kiss and glance from the former immediately.

The brighter man wasted no time returning the favor as Silverstream snickered, “I know, right…? A whole bunch of people are gonna be showing up from here and not just my friends and I: there’s going to be lots of invitees from Griffonstone of all places; I wonder if any of them have gone and visited Ponyville before in their lives…”

“I’m pretty sure they ‘ave; I know for a fact they’re looking to see us there too: Smudge Proof and Silver Wing did invite them…” he’d answered instantaneously while walking the tanned traveler back over to her friends still out in the collective pathway of the rain, “tonight’s party is going to be more than a great piece of crumpet if I do say so myself; wouldn’t you agree…?”

“Who wouldn’t…?” Silverstream chirped as Rory had joined her small company of friends in a matter of seconds so to speak of.

It didn’t take much for the quartet to be completely shielded from the rain as the brighter man asked the females present and accounted for, “so, you wanna wait for the rain to stop at the Sugarcube Corner? That can ‘elp us pass the time until the party starts; after all, we got plenty of it to think over what to do until the evening begins: besides, those two will have it ready by then.”

“Only if they can handle us bringing in the cupcakes we’d bought earlier ago; I still have some more left over if you want any…” the bright redhead had interceded steadily as they’d all taken aim at the colorful structure abaft themselves from not too long ago, “we haven’t been able to finish since the rainstorm had begun…”

“Of course he’s gonna want some: the Sugarcube Corner makes great cupcakes; there’s even going to be more of them at the party anyway, all for anyone who’s going to show up tonight…!” the tanned traveler tweeted while walking towards the doorway soon enough, further away from the other building he’d recently exited at once.

Irregardless of whatever was to be said about the whole thing, not even the pouring rain and driving winds could deter either Silverstream, Velvet, Ocean Breeze, or Rory as far as they were all concerned, thanks to keeping each other company just as soon as they were brought altogether so to speak of in the now.
> Pennies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lone sterile environment was found to be massive: all clean and pristine to a fault, despite its overall purpose already being utilized currently. The flooring alone was made up of wildly multicolored tiles on the ground, each of which were all bearing the schematics of a reading rainbow. The four walls were all painted in a hierarchy of metallurgy: platinum, gold, silver, and copper; the main commonality they had was cleanliness. The crystal skylight above was riddled with sheer darkness, save for some brilliant diamonds and shining pearls clustered about all so faraway out. Any accommodations found in this area were found in a long line of stalls, many of which had contained a toilet and bidet all facing some sinks. In addition, there were also some showers nearby that had been mostly active, contributing to the heat and moisture that grew right on the mirrors.

A tanned female was discovered to be standing away from all of its fixtures, currently facing the concentrated condensation with a neutral gaze. Sets of cornflower tresses were found to have made their way throughout her back, their dualistic contrasting shades spoken loudly and proudly. Around the tanned female’s luxurious pupils, circles of amethyst were already narrowed with her straight face as they’d gathered some moisture. Regarding her own attire, all that was worn around her neck was a red collar with an orchid gem shard hanging downwardly from the very midst. Inasmuch as the tanned female was concerned, the colorless liquids clothing her alone were more than enough reminders she’s in the altogether.

Despite and/or because of the mist afore herself, she’d ended up pacing herself right into it all, finding nothing more than three shadows within, alongside with some running waters in an arc. At first glance, the tanned female was smiling at the fact she wasn’t even alone in the slightly; still, she’d remained silent and stood underneath a downward cascade in a matter of seconds. Needless to say, her skin had been reddened more so by the heat and moisture now than ever, welcoming the watering more than ever whilst suppressing a sigh from her hot and heavy lips.

At this moment in time, the tanned female found a small white bar in an embedded dish within an adjacent crevice within her line of eyesight. Within mere seconds alone, she’d started lathering her body from top to bottom with the item in question, taking careful aim at the face already. Now, the tanned female wiped away the stains from those yesterdays before bristling around her neckline, still mindful of its collar’s occupancy. It didn’t take long for the foam to start laying claim onto her integuments, spreading downwardly throughout as the smile upon the visage grew. Nowhere throughout the tanned female’s body was even given a second’s reprieve from the soapy onslaught since they’d also slid abaft her. Generally speaking, all the suds and bubbles were found to be quickly slathered about around her bountiful bosoms and ample abdomen at once. Soon, the tanned female bent over and began washing her shins from the kneecaps to forefeet before standing up to rinse it all off instantly.

Anyways, her cornflower hair was being directly supersaturated gently by the same water from before, soaking it all completely. Nearby the showerhead above the tanned female was a small sepia bottle resting in between it and the narrow space from afore. No time was wasted in its contents being used onto her locks as the bronze compound alone was now etched into a fraction therein. Almost instantly, the tanned female’s tresses changed into a different color before being cleansed away, making time for another. Before long, repetition had followed as she’d spouted out some more, lathering her hair with increased fruition then cleansing. Eventually, the tanned female switched out one bottle with another, this time more colorful in both contents and concentration. Likewise, she squirted some onto her locks as before: this time, there were more colors changing them; nevertheless, they’d left.

“That’s a pretty scent on you, isn’t it: Cornucopia Cascade; did you know about its popularity?” a light contralto escaped into the tanned female’s ears instantaneously, startling the latter already.

It didn’t take much for her to sputter in kind in a higher octave, “who is it; who’s there: who are you?!”

“Calm down, sweetie: we’re all friends here; besides, us gals were invited to the party as well…” the first speaker mewed playfully as the tanned female regained some composure immediately, “I’m Plumeria Blossom and I can tell from what others are saying you must be Silverstream…”

“That’s right, it’s me; you sound like one of my friends: are you from Seaquestria like us…?” asked the aforementioned occupant as one of the shadows moved closer to her slowly but surely enough no less.

Sure enough, the titular talker’s identity was revealed to be much too similar to the likes of the tanned compeer herself: another female possessing darker integuments than the latter, long multicolored tresses, and eyes matching the gem shard; the only differences between them were the former’s concentrated shading, jaded schematics, and lighter hues respectively. Another commonality shared between Silverstream and Plumeria Blossom themselves was the fact they were hot, wet, youthful, and only wearing a similar red collar; still, the latter was more well endowed compared to the likes of the former, not only due to body mass but also by virtue of being more older by comparison as far as they were both concerned nevertheless.

At long last did the darker female answer her younger counterpart almost instantaneously soon, “more or less: it seems to me we’re the only girls in the party from there; to be fair, I was kind of expecting an increased attendance tonight…”

“Yeah, it’s been a long time since us Seaquestrians had touched dry land, much less left our own homeland so to speak of here…” chuckled Silverstream gently as she’d slowly looked away from Plumeria Blossom, the former becoming rather nervous already, “has this been your first time coming to Equestria or were there others; what was it like to you: did it feel pleasant at all…?”

“Actually, I’ve been up to the surface plenty of times and felt free as a bird; met some great people along the way, even from other lands: I’d once lived with a roommate from Griffonstone years ago and he’s met someone from a village in the place called the Peaks of Peril itself…” said the darker female as she’d stood underneath another nearby showerhead that was inactive.

It didn’t take much for the lightly tanned occupant to then ask another question immediately, “who is he: what was his name; how did you two first meet…?”

“I guess you could say it was a long time ago, at least from what I could tell with how young you and your friends look no less…” Plumeria Blossom spoke freely as she’d kept her own eyes far away from meeting Silverstream’s wayward gaze in the meantime, “anyways, his name was Dillinger and he’s a construction worker whom happened to live in the same apartment as I did. As far as I’d remembered, he happened to have a work permit since Equestria had better job opportunities compared to his homeland: apparently, he wasn’t the only one of his kind who could build stuff with his own two hands but that’s besides the point; in any case, since the two countries were allies, he was amongst a select few apart of a foreign exchange program prior. Nevertheless, I was one of the Seaquestrians whom had left for dry land just like you, albeit before the war had broken out: even though the Equestrians were much friendly, I had to keep my heritage a secret out of fear of being exposed by our enemies; of course, you and/or your friends would’ve already known that by now since it was a long time until you came here too.”

“Enemies… what kind of enemies: who would want to expose us and why; how would they even do it, much less gain anything from such plans if at all…?” the tanned tenant had inquired her darker correspondent almost instantaneously with both of the former’s eyes already being widened with bewilderment.

All that Silverstream had gotten in return from Plumeria Blossom was the latter walking off into the clear space the former had entered from while saying softly, “it’s probably nothing to worry about anyway: the war’s over as is so let’s go out there and have some fun together for once; after all, that’s what you and your friends wanted to do tonight…”

“You’re right, it’s supposed to be a fun party tonight: Smudge Proof promised us that in the invites about a month ago here…” the tanned tenant talked timidly as her darker counterpart had faded out into the cold distance of the past location in question therein, "come to think of it, what about Rory himself: does he worry about people coming after him or is it the other way around?"

Either way, Silverstream became lost within cerebrations as running water kept occupying both ears.

"Silverstream…?" a stray coloratura made its way to the tanned listener, snapping her directly off the train of thought she’d been on soon enough.

In due time, the eponymous female was quickly reminded of the reality in which she still wasn’t alone as two similar individuals had appeared from the fog: both of them bearing brighter skin compared to either of the speakers from before as well as red collars with a jewel shard around their own necklines. Of course, the tanned eyewitness could immediately see so many significant differences between themselves, especially considering her recent encounter with Plumeria Blossom alone: the lighter occupant had many freckles, violet hair, and brown eyes; the brightest peer, red–hot with a nevus under one magenta.

Silverstream had only wasted no time whatsoever speaking to them at once, “Ocean Breeze, Velvet Skies… are you two done already…?”

“Of course we are; we were actually waiting for you to join us in the showers already but it seems you’d started earlier…” the freckly female fluted freely while resting her own right hand over the clearer counterpart’s rightmost half of the bustline, “come to think of it, you’d sounded troubled earlier: is everything okay, Silverstream; any second thoughts…?”

“Sorry, it’s just that I wasn’t expecting someone to bring up the war into the conversation; anyways, let’s go and join the others: I’m pretty sure that Rory is waiting for me already…” the tanned tenant told them both before walking out.

Slowly but surely, Silverstream, Ocean Breeze, and Velvet Skies were all out of the moistening environment, already feeling the dry weight of the world underneath their bare feet in an instant. Now that the trio had escaped the rain and mists, they were all greeted with multiple aromas of a strong concentration entering their very nostrils while moving further away from the very area. Almost immediately, the clear moisture clinging to their integuments were now being pulled down by gravity as each and every droplet upon themselves slid downwardly from top to bottom. In the threesome’s collective viewpoints, the new backgrounds were already adorned with decor constructed in the textures of many tranquil strokes made by paintbrushes, picaresque to a fault. Lurking throughout the well–lit walls of the hallway they were in, sounds of conversations and melodies emanated into many of their ears, more diverse compared to the flowing fluids earlier.

It didn’t take long for either of the females to find a gateway to the outside world, bearing the nocturnal colors as they’d all exited the foyer at once. The jet–black firmament above was instantaneously offset by a lone silvery moon carved out into a sea full of innumerable stars twinkling about already. Embracing the liberal atmosphere, they could see civilization in the form of material structures great and small, none of them within either their reach. Underneath their wet feet were many blades of grass remaining still compared to the broad skies high above themselves, more uniform and numerous. Aside from the lighthearted howling of the very airstreams all throughout, a current of hooting and hollering were also bleeding in the females’ ears.

From where the trio were all standing currently, they were all out into a much more open world compared to the one where cascades created fog. Aside from the stellar objects in orbit and at a distance, there were spheres tethered to the ground giving off more light bright enough to shine on. Sequestering them from the rest of their surroundings were an amalgamation of steely fencings and leafy hedges all standing at around halfway. The threesome could smell the warm crisp air wafting around their nostrils as they were at ease with the near lack of condensation from before. Etched into their shared line of sight was a long slender pool filled to the brim with the coolest clearwater reflective of the otherwise dark sky. Remaining nearby on the same solid state society were a small collection of long loungers found on both sides next to the enormous liquid therein. Some compositions of strings and brass mixed in together were being calmly sounded off by a nigh phonograph, filling the atmosphere overall.

There were at least a few dozen occupants in the opened confines already embracing the cold and compact environment with various states of care thereof. A vast majority overall were more–or–less the same as them, all thanks to their own red collars; of course, there were plenty of exceptions here and there. Much of what can be said about them in general was the abundance of variations shared between all of the individuals in regards to hair, eyes, and skin. Even more obvious to the particular trio was the fact many present and accounted for were also in the altogether, save for a select few in the very least. Resonating within the whole moment in due time were the various imaginable poses in which the other active individuals were currently engaged at once. Such mewling, groaning, and squeaking about were especially prominent as they’d been already embedded into the present music alongside light winds.

Out of the many within the observers’ shared gaze, one brighter man was standing tall in betwixt them and other attendees already looking back. A set of long luscious leonine locks were already bound by a deep crimson band; additionally, a goatee was also found, albeit trimmed and tiny. Since the brighter man was completely lacking in textiles as the many, his limber yet muscular frame and unwavering prepuce were on display.

It didn’t even take much for him at all to speak up into their direction almost instantaneously, “oh, ‘ey Silverstream, you finished already…?”

“Why wouldn’t I be: it’s not everyday we all get invited to such a party only to shower off beforehand, are we right, guys?” the aforementioned onlooker had giggled at the brighter man diffidently before moving right over to grasp him immediately, “anyways, I can see that you were dying to see me in the buff already; I’m just glad to be out of the shower already, Rory…”

“Me too, Silverstream: I couldn’t stop thinking about all the soap and water you’d putting on your body before then; you Seaquestrians are so fascinated by water, whether at sea or ‘ome…” he’d replied while returning the favor, wrapping his arms around the tanned female’s briskly bare back as both palms had felt the dwindling moisture still lingering onto her very skin all the same.

Now that they were both face–to–face, it’d be right to assume the inevitable considering their blushing about so to speak of; after all, it was the titular tenant speeding things along whispering, “well, great minds think alike, Rory, and everyone else happens to be thinking the same thing; after all, that’s why we’re here anyway: question is are you thinking what I’m thinking now…?”

Despite breaking away from the hug, the tanned female was brave enough to maintain proximity towards the eponymous bystander, stroking her dainty fingers across his faintly toned abdomen. Since they were still standing straight up anyways, both sets of hands were now joined together as their owners became quickly acquainted by their very own differences almost instantaneously. It didn’t even take much for either handholding individual to embrace their eagerness in due time, their hot and heavy mouths opening up to each other as their tongues swelled with ecstasy. Xenharmonic music had currently synced up to their imminent exploration as they’d soon surrendered one another to their generally shared concupiscence without hesitation whatsoever. Lapping at the inner universe made from the contents of their subsistence, both Silverstream and the brighter man were getting lost in the throes of passion like the majority nearby themselves. This was a clear display of their lively liberties lightheartedly levied about as he’d gently led the tanned female away from her two compeers despite being in their line of eyesight nevertheless. Even now, the oxygenated air around them became saccharine and spicy as the four of them practically smelled it all, thanks to the others whom were already going through the motions.

In any case, the bright redhead and their freckled friend were all by themselves as the remaining attendees still moaned about, especially considering the fact both Rory and Silverstream kissed happily; of the shrunken duo, the latter stammered, “you know, despite everything that happened recently, I’m feeling very conflicted about how I’m supposed to feel watching this already…”

“Then don’t just watch: after all, Silverstream has the right mindset and she’s already with Rory; likewise, I have Messier and you…” Velvet Skies cooed, catching Ocean Breeze off–guard by pulling her aside far off in the opposite direction from their tanned friend, “come here and let’s have some fun with ourselves like the others are now; besides, this is Smudge Proof’s party…”

“Ooh…!” the bright redhead heard her freckled friend squeal, following the former quickly smacking a grab onto the latter’s breech at once.

With little warning whatsoever, Velvet Skies osculated Ocean Breeze; their eyes currently also accented by blushing since they, too, had surrendered themselves to their lusts as well. Even though the freckled female was trembling about, such apprehension had been affected by their shared embrace, both became ecstatic by cleavages brushed up against each other. It didn’t take much at all for either of the two to lose their standing as they’d both collapsed onto the brilliant green in an instant, nevertheless still unharmed by both inertia and gravity. Remembering their wet and wild state, the shared salivation wasn’t the only thing that had grown from within the females as they were rolling around in the same range for dominance. Despite their shared concupiscence, the bright redhead found herself underneath Ocean Breeze as the latter rested both hands onto the former’s equally bountiful bosoms for support. Of course, Velvet Skies was still moaning freely, all wet and messy due to the fact their struggles soon allowed their very own flowerbeds of flesh to flow formlessly from within them. Still, they were at it with one another as their sweating bodies had exacerbated the water on their back and mixed into a still achromatic solution no different from their own reactants.

On the opposite side of the two passionate females, Silverstream was now sitting in a reclining deckchair and sharing it with the brighter man; although she’d completely occupied it altogether, he was resting atop her, his back and legs against the armrests as they’d created an intersection.

Out of the two occupants using the very same furniture together, the tanned lounger was the first to break the silence in between themselves by asking him, “isn’t the moon wonderful tonight, Rory…?”

“Not as beautiful as you, my lovely…” the eponymous male had answered back at Silverstream almost immediately, aligning his head towards her bustline slowly, “your eyes are like a clear and crystalline nighttime sky, radiant and refined; even the color alone shimmers like the stars above us…”

“Oh, you’re so flattering, Rory; I bet you say that to all the other girls with eyes like mine…!” the tanned lounger merrily sniggered as the brighter man snuggled up to face her directly no less.

Stealing a kiss from Silverstream with little warning, he’d snorted, “yes, but how many of them are like you, tall, dark, and beautiful with a particular palette of eyes alongside hair making you stand out; better yet, how many of them happen to have such qualities overall in this day and age, especially with your eyes alone…?”

“As many as there are those sharing my name from Equestria as well; I think my friend Velvet Skies happens to be the only one…” the tanned lounger had spoken back as Rory began to latch directly onto one of the nubbins from her curvaceous cleavage slowly, “ooh, already fixated on some foreplay, you eager beaver; wow, I guess this should be my time to start with you too…”

“Mmm…” the brighter man moaned as his tongue had started lapping at one of Silverstream’s bosoms in a matter of seconds, using the few wayward fingers of his own left hand to also examine the other’s opposite and outwardly ord on endwise.

As he was beginning to tug on both of the endings belonging to the tanned lounger’s bustline through separate but equally distinct means, she’d soon taken aim at his shaft rising up for grabs in her concupiscent gaze, despite being firmly attached to his body as is so to speak. It didn’t even take much for Rory to apply some pressure onto Silverstream’s cleavage anyway considering how lost he was into the moment; at the same time, she’d started resting the palm of her own left hand onto his yard and began gripping it tightly in hungry anticipation. Likewise, the brighter man had soon increased his very speed of the circumnavigation in regards to the tanned lounger’s bountiful bosoms already, no doubt the work of her own decision–making alone as she was currently jostling his firmed prepuce slowly but surely by and large. Even though Silverstream was becoming enamored by him sapping at her figure while leaving behind ribbons of salivation onto her bustline, she was still undeterred from the rather otherwise perpendicular motions made with his rigid shaft thanks to her own left hand no less. Either way, their luxuries were being met as a result of their due diligence regarding their nearly synchronized movements overall: Rory switching over to the tanned lounger’s nubbins over time and her increasing speed and dexterity around his burgeoning yard in the very least. Notwithstanding the growing disparity between the collective actions of both Silverstream and the brighter man in the grand scheme of things, neither of them had begun to slack from their receptive acts altogether, especially since the melodies in the background changed.

Eventually, they’d both encountered an opaque discharge from each other’s bodies, all thanks to their own efforts: the tanned lounger’s cleavage leaked about freely with a solution of their own making whilst her hand was stained; upon release, she’d cooed about after getting a taste of what had been unleashed, licking his very contents away, “mmm, all this from one handjob alone…? Honestly, I was expecting better from you already: is this really the best you can do from one shot alone, Rory; what about all the other times you were able to please all the others in the past…?”

“Relax, love: it was just only the beginning anyway, nothing more; besides, we got plenty of things to ‘elp us out with it…” Rory said to Silverstream recently before their eyes were treated to the sight of a shooting star soaring about within seconds, “look, ‘ere’s one right now: let’s make a wish together, Silverstream; I’m sure you’d be able to ‘ave yours come true already…!”

“Okay…” the tanned lounger sighed before she and the brighter man atop her closed their eyes at the same time; however, as soon as they’d done so, the darkness within their line of shuttered vision had become so brightened: the intensity alone was so immense, they were compelled to reopen them faster than they’d even closed them.

The light source thereof was off in the distance as a great white flash overwhelmed the entire area where he and Silverstream were now watching amongst others. Thissolid earth underneath themselves had only shook about to and fro as an enormous sphere of brightnessappeared directly in midair, reminiscent of a glisten sun. Though the proximity between the light and its viewers was scarce to a fault, it didn’t stop them at all from trembling about due to the sight and sensitivity thereof. That alone was enough for the starry sky to be burning bright enough to rival a clear day, despite of the very moon still further away from its eyewitnesses altogether. Then the crisp air all throughout themselves had become more hot and heavy for their skin and fabrics to even tolerate, not that it’d mattered in the slightest alone.

As the surface area increased, almost all of the individuals in attendance were forced onto the ground by the high winds, feeling the cold inertia striking against their warm bodies instantly. Out of the many pained masses subjected to the sudden contact in just so little time overall, Rory ended up being sent flying off of the tanned lounger’s body with her following after him at once. In spite of the lacking cuts and bruises from their skins, Silverstream was now looking up to see that same sphere expanding about in a matter of seconds, surely closing in on the other people.

“Silverstream…!” the brighter man’s voice called out to the tanned target at the boundaries were moving off into their direction.

In only a matter of seconds, escape was impossible as everything and everyone in its path were caught in the expansive radius: people, places, products, pets, and projects alike were absorbed inside of the rounded folds with no hope or possibility of return; any and all debris had been disintegrated every step of the way as many objects in every shape and size joined them at once. As soon as it’d made its way onto Silverstream’s range, plants and people alike were consumed by the white void immediately: she could see her friends in particular becoming a part of it as they were caught in its amorphous grip without any sort of warning; now, it was her turn and perhaps next would be his since they were still down on the ground thanks to the initial impact. Needless to say, any trace of existence, known and otherwise, was reduced to clean nothingness almost instantaneously right now; although neatly and pristine, an immense crater where the party originated was left behind with opened spaces undone so loosely: in the tanned lounger’s case, she was no more, something that many, like and unlike her, can relate to all the very same.
> Cockfighting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was sheer nothingness all throughout, bearing a simplistic form within its own world; as a matter of fact, it’d already demonstrated its capabilities by harboring the very element of surprise through the mere means of uncertainty therein. That being said, the cubic centimeters of this very transient ocean did little, if anything, to hide away the objects which would’ve been found even with the naked yet trained sort of eye bearing such abilities in such so little time whatsoever. The mere idea in where something and/or someone dwelling deep within the jet–black void alone for any number of reasons, known and otherwise, was but time immemorial thereof; in this rather particular case alone, not even that could last.

Suddenly without warning, yet as if on cue, the erratic ringing of metal rapidly clanged against another resounded throughout the very darkness itself. As the echoes’ reverb quickly departed from the blackened ocean, so too did the uncertainty of nothingness alone; light filling the entire area instantly. Concrete made up the entire space, uniformed in structure and stricture hand–in–hand as they’d threatened to home in onto their own collective target. Here the source of illumination hung in the balance, inching away from the ceiling as electricity had unleashed its collection of photons all throughout. In the confines of the stony lonesomeness were some bedding, a desk, and seating as well as an amalgamation of a toilet and sink made with cold steel. Kneaded deep in the wall was a windowsill showing the outside world, already adorned by bars of tubular metal in a thick pattern simplistic to a fault. Opposite to the narrow prism were a much bigger set of steel with but one anomaly being a small open rectangle larger than the rest of the open spaces.

Lain across the divan was a mass of flesh and fabric in the form of a person cloaked from top to bottom in orange latched onto the body. So far, the lone individual’s hair was a cascading cerulean all throughout the scalp matching both orbs, except for spiky gilded highlights. The occupant’s skin was lighter than the slabs of concrete by virtue of bearing more color, bright as amber yet slightly frostbitten no less. Compensating for the rail–thin body was a thick shell in the form of an emerald splashed blanket which was opened at the sides already.

“Gallus, wake up…!” a strong masculine voice had been heard, yet it didn’t even belong to the aforementioned listener within the very room.

Nevertheless, the occupant in orange had arisen to the call with but a tired huff escaping already, “morning, sir…”

“Let’s get a move on, already: you have a hearing in a few minutes; there’s a few people who want to talk about your future…” the distant observer had shot back with restraint as Gallus started to rise from his station in life and face the doorway immediately, “you know the usual drill: face the wall, hands behind your back…”

“Whatever…” the occupant in orange said quietly.

Though an opening was made clear thanks to a hard click, Gallus couldn’t see it at all due to such a command as it were; the least he could do was wait until he’d heard and felt some thin hard metal circling around his wrists while the outsider barked, “step away… crack eight–alpha…! Back up… close eight–alpha…!”

It didn’t take long for the occupant in orange to turn back around and watch the door becoming more open than ever, facing the observer at once. Gallus was able to make a discovery that he and the observer in question shared but only one commonality: being the very same gender therein. Nevertheless, the very twosome already present and accounted for possessed many considerable differences separating each other almost instantly.

The figure alone whom had just arrived to witness the occupant in orange still standing about at a much taller height range, but with more density in the former. Unlike Gallus’ hair which was still clean and thin, the onlooker happened to possess thick tresses of red crawling about with darker textures and whited strands. Eyes belonging to the bulkier counterpart just so happened to be a hierophant green focusing into the occupant in orange with but a mixture of pity and disgust. Simply put, the observant overseer had donned a darker complexion, one which was reminiscent of some fresh topsoil capable of providing life to all the forms. Dressed from head–to–toe were but a jet–black ensemble consisting of a headgear, jacket, pants, and shoes covering up the heavier man already up on display. Additional objects were found to be adorning their owner’s clothing as well; out of the many in question was a luminous badge upon much of the very chest. Yawed into the man in black’s left hand was a single key held in place by an enormous ring of similar objects carefully etching on towards Gallus’ direction.

“And thus the wheel of fortune spins and spins all before our session of jeopardy begins…” the occupant in orange had darkly chuckled as he was being led outside of his domain, looking around to see the identities and lack thereof in a mere matter of seconds all the same no less, “speaking of which, how was last night’s game show: must have been real interesting, right, sir?”

“Don’t toy with me, kid; you may have fooled the others but I’m onto your schtick as everyone else is: don’t forget there’s so many years one can stay in juvie before going directly to jail…” the observant overseer snapped as he’d started pulling Gallus out of the room gently and into the much opened yet still confined space thereof.

Even though the occupant in orange was now in the lead, his movement was restricted by the close proximity of his darker correspondent alone yet he couldn’t even resist a reply either way, “be as it may, sir, but it’s not like that I have anywhere else to be or to go in the outside world; then again, you probably wouldn’t have cared anyway…”

Both males in different uniforms became quiet as they’d traversed the static architecture at once, an amalgamation of concrete and steel composing the rear entirety of their shared environment: the former setting up the solidified walls and the foundation on finite multidimensional planes whilst the latter had served as walkways above ground and barriers to keep all tenants in and out. Although generally quiet to a fault, Gallus could hear waves of static mesh entering his ears, faint and nondescript voices as far as his overseeing observer was concerned about so to speak: out of the many, the former could plainly see that the source alone was a singular electronic resting at a corner atop a wooden bench with many pixels on their shared liquid crystal display. Nearby it were others like the observer in orange whom were sitting in their chairs, whether watching the screen and/or those like them at a table; the only thing that mattered were the clothes they were wearing were more or less the same, a few of which wearing colder shades than the former himself whether in part or in full, many whom were too busy to be seeing them. Even with the lights on display, be if from the outside world or of the ones embedded within the domain, darkness prevailed as a result of the choices made and unmade by its inhabitants, not that anyone and everyone were willing to take note of given what had been already shown so far, something Gallus and his bulky escort could relate to in spite of their irreconcilable differences.

Nevertheless, they’d both walked onto the flooring away from the confines where that particular observer in orange had resided in all the same. The sights and sounds of footfalls from themselves created a pattern in which would be easily observed, only to be broken out at a few times. Gallus stared at the snow–white shoes on both his of feet where they’d rested upon the concrete underneath as they both traveled on throughout. The man in black had still kept his orange counterpart in close range despite showing no emotion whatsoever, focusing in onto the task at hand.

“Two departing: one officer and one inmate; open up…!” barked the bulky pedestrian as a loud noise had buzzed into their ears briefly, both standing at a clear door on the opposite corner opening up, “close door…!”

Almost immediately, the males had now found themselves walking underneath a series of similar lights directly, past some locked boxes. Compared to their past surroundings, they were narrow and more devoid of life altogether; still, the atmosphere was fresh with oxygen. Even though they were both calm on the outside looking in and vice versa, the sheer uncertainty of the environment made itself known.

Within only mere minutes, the otherwise strenuous pattern met its bitter end, already overtaken by a vastly new area they themselves had just walked into. Although the background in here was more colorful, it was subdued by the faintest of its tones, embracing the minimalistic theme without any bias or fear. Series of windows were found right up in front of the two, bearing the scenery of cloudy skies with a blue streak bleeding out into the viewpoint already. Here, Gallus bore witness to some furniture in the midst of the new room: a wooden desk and a metal chair were out there on display in this finite spacing. Yonder overhead was some more light in a series of coils burning brightly at once, providing the area they were in some extra guidance and warmth as well.

Sitting pretty prim and proper were a trio of people within the chestnut desk, dressed in the more picturesque of attire compared to the two males. The first of these was a bright skinned man with blonde hair donning a crimson camouflage; his elbows were planted onto the ligneous surface. Next to the man, a dark skinned woman with locks of silver concealed beneath her green scarf pulled out some eyeglasses from her blue blouse. At the far end was another with her complexion, this time a brunet wearing yellow goggles and dressed up in a crystalline armor plate drinking.

“Have a seat, mister Gallus; we’ve been expecting you: as you may already know, your birthday is about less than a few seasons away and you’ve spent at least several behind bars in total…” the woman in the middle stated real plainly as the observer in orange had heeded her command almost instantaneously.

It didn’t take much for the titular tenant to talk to them tersely, “four and half, to be honest: the streets of Manehattan get real lonely during Hearthswarming; of course, you wouldn’t know anything about it, do you, ma’am…?”

“Let’s get back to the present as is, Gallus; such sentimental stories can only go so far in this day and age, even in yours alone…” the blond in red announced, grabbing some papers passed onto his side before looking over them in a matter of seconds altogether, “anyways, during your recent stay at this juvenile facility, you’ve barely gotten into trouble with the others altogether. Ever since your arrival years ago, you’d had accumulated a lot of altercations with both inmates and staff members alike overall: you’ve written profane messages, thrown small objects at others, slandered people and their names, even blinded one male; to be honest, it’s safe to assume part of the reason for your troubled past had something involving events before the war.”

“And what do you care about it: there’s plenty of poor boys in and out juvie with so many problems but does anyone care about them; better yet, what of those girls I’ve been hearing about…?” the observer in orange scoffed about disdainfully with a smirk on his face, raising some eyebrows from the three almost instantaneously.

The dark brunet coughed about before sipping another glass of an achromatic fluid from the pitcher, “can we please stay focused on you…? As far as we see it, your recent reentry was due to a vandalism charge some time in the past: apparently, you took a cricket bat to a motorcar and bashed in every single window before surrendering to authorities; care to explain that…?”

“What is there to explain: as far as I see it, there was no need; if anything, then how else was I supposed to get back inside…?” a mirthless laugh escaped from Gallus, serving as an answer for the group of three to hear loudly and clearly immediately no less, “besides, it was an old jalopy already due for the scrapheap: there were barely any tires at all, much less a coat of paint either.”

“Do you think of your incarceration as a joke; may we need to remind you that your about to become of legal age in a matter of months from now, much less how long you can spend there?!” the armored man interjected loudly, catching the observer in orange off–guard with little warning whatsoever.

Despite this, Gallus regained his composure and spoke back in return, albeit gently for the others to hear hither and yon no less, “with respect, dear sir, who said I was even joking…? Most people who can tell a joke want to make others laugh as hard as they can: excuse my language since it’d offend your delicate sensibilities, but I think even Pinkie Pie would have a better time making jokes about her twat and what it can do besides peeing down and lubing up…”

“HOW DARE YOU?!” the lone woman squawked in an instant, surprising everyone except for the observer in orange, “even I find your choice of words to be rather disconcerting: comedians relying on bodily functions and bedroom follies may be the kind of fun for some people but it’s not for everyone, not even me; including her, of all people, into all this makes it even worse…!”

“And why is that: because she’s just a woman like you or a Bearer, unlike all of us here; forgive me for saying it altogether but what makes you think you get to decide what is and isn’t funny?” Gallus retorted, his smirk warped into a restrained frown as with the rest of his observers so to speak of the very same no less.

It was now time for the blond in red to speak softly again, “like sir Dennis said, this hearing is about you and your future in particular; as far as we see it, your record as shown here today has described such insight to be rather troubling in its own right: spraypainting graffiti hither and yon, crank calls of a rather lurid nature, stealing food and beverages, not to mention jaywalking. These boyish pranks have been causing nothing but problems for others outside the facility even before your initial arrest no less; even in this day and age of postwar peace and prosperity, youngbloods such as yourself have done nothing to stop yourselves: if you have no respect for your horrible self, then at least have some for the Princesses whom pitied your lot in life at large. Out of everyone whom had ended up in here as young as seven, there have been a small fraction of those that have gone off to jail: even those whom had been released from there represent a big black mark for everyone we can’t reclaim, just like the dead ones; all in all, this fraction alone serves as a confession of failure for people such as yourself who end up here and places like it. ‘What gets into you all?’ the people have been saying; it’s basically the same question that both Celestia and Luna have been asking ever since the reunion: failing that, it’s obvious the former alone would be more than quick to find answers to the very same problem all the same. Speaking of which, people like ourselves have been studying it for darn well near a century, yes, but not any further even today; your case alone speaks a lot about your crimes and misdemeanors, if not your temperament and tactics out of plenty of others: you have no home or any parents yet you compensate for them with your intellect and agility, both of which wasted. Why do you insist on spending your time and energy getting in and out of these facilities; you’re making trouble up and down the city just so you can locked in a cell with other delinquents such as yourself and for what: because the orphanages were lacking here just as much as the ones in your homeland? At this rate, you’ll be nothing more than a useless bum with nothing but the clothes on your back by the time you get out and that’s only if you don’t decide to end up in a stony lonesome again; all that will remain are people whom will outlive and outlast every breath you take in and out of here like it’s nothing to you but a burning memory for some caretaker to record premortem. You can’t allow yourself to keep living like this for the rest of your life, Gallus, whether here in of Equestria or Griffonstone: nobody in or out of any institution needs this, not even a lowly vagrant no matter how old or young, going in and out here; there’s far too much to life to be throwing your freedom away before it begins, even at your age alone with such talents as yours. There’s obvious something that can motivate you to not only get out of this place but also stay out of it altogether for your sake: as much as there are people in these institutions whom would rather value solitude in there, they all yearn for liberty all the same; what have you yearned for before your arrest, what do you yearn for now, and what will you yearn for in the future…?”

“Safety, I yearn for safety; isn’t that what you Equestrians value as well: after all, Princess Celestia gave it to you right…?” the observer in orange peeped, quiet as a dormouse yet sound enough to be heard by his listeners upfront of and around himself, “even before the war, I couldn’t stand myself to be in Griffonstone any much longer; then again, who would even dare? If it makes you feel any better, then I like to return to my cell soon enough please: it’s obviously clear you decent folk in your pretty clothes and whatnot have places to be and more people to see; I, on the other hand, have a lot to think about with all the time that’s there for me as it is here. Thank you and be blessed…”

“Very well…” Dennis sighed before watching Gallus stand up and be escorted right out of the same door from before, this time with two uniformed individuals trailing after the latter already; afterwards, it was the former and his remaining peers currently left alone in the small world they’d become privy to.
> Henpecking
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All throughout the way, there was an abysmal unknown of complete blackness where only such factors of sight, substance, and scent lay buried in those obscurities best referred to as a void. The exceptions that had given clues to the very location’s identity were surface, sensitivity, and sound: such were the gentle breezes being close to comfort anyone that would crossed their path. Most importantly, the current occupancy was above from simple desolate, let alone abandoned; after all, there were a few colors in many caliginous shades and hues giving off their silent cries.

Then, without any kind of warning whatsoever, some buzzing birthed the baseless boundaries, resonating about amongst the atmosphere before subsiding almost instantaneously. As if on cue, a trail of lights started to appear from nowhere, each with their own colors starting to illuminate the background they’d now been suspended upon all the live long day. Everywhere they’d went, the most predominate color found were but fifty shades of gray resting about with their own jagged edges and the like, stalactites and stalagmites no less. Whilst there were plenty of rocks to and fro, an abundance of crystals were also discovered so to speak of, each with their variances in shapes, sizes, and shades as they’d all shined.

Stuck in the middle of it all was a lonely male lying onto the ground amongst the illuminated caverns seemingly to no end in sight whatsoever overall. He’d possessed some skin shining about like amber, frostbitten and riddled with a few cuts and bruises having already made their way throughout and in. The lonely male’s deep blue hair presently standing on endwise was highlighted in gold, yet it all was tarnished with the dirt and grime latching on firmly. Adorning him were large strips of dirty paper covering up most of his abdomen and some tattered jet–black pants with holes riddled about the legs.

“Uh, that bottle of claret was too strong for me; what the fuck’s all this: where in the blue hell am I…?” the lonely male had sputtered about at once, his eyelids slowly opening to unleash a static electricity of blue within as he’d begun to survey the well grounded terrain around himself immediately.

As alone in the world he was while starting to take a stand upon the otherwise uniformed earth, the sounds of silence ruling its bejeweled elegance came to an end when another voice spoke out, “welcome…”

Standing further away from the male occupant was but another individual: lighter, brighter, and transparent to a fault compared to himself. Unlike him, so much more was said about his observer: dark integuments clothed by a rose red dress with hot pink accents matched shoes. Nothing else was said, aside from the elongated tricolor hair of sapphire, plum, and rose: of them, one was matching both eyes as well.

“Who are you; where am I: did I die or something…?” the male eyewitness asked as he’d struggled to stay still and squinted at the shining figure in red whom was smiling about, “what exactly is this place and where do you come from; is this your living space or something like that: better yet, are you living alone…?”

“Where you need to be…” the other person said.

This had earned a blank look from him as he’d still attempted to maintain his composure and reply, “I’m sorry but what are you talking about; all I’m just asking is where am I exactly: am I still in Equestria or Griffonstone…?”

“It is as I feared: you are not one…” the figure in red had only spoken, more stilted than the words from before since inception no less, “what has happened?”

“That’s what I’d been asking you all of the sudden, ma’am: as far as I’d seen it, I was hoping you’d have the answers to the questions I’ve been asking just now but I guess I was wrong…” the singular male hissed with exasperation, unamused whatsoever by either his observer’s neutral demeanor or the responses given out to him at all.

A gust of wind flown right past him, currently swirling around the figure in red whom bellowed at once, “you do not believe friendship is in your nature? That is not acceptable…!”

“I never said anything about friendship before; come to think of it, I don’t think I have any friends or family for that matter!” the lonely male exclaimed indignantly, unfazed by the eerie afterglow emanating from the other person afore himself all the same, “don’t go testing my patience like it’s nothing: I once saw a guy who smashed a man’s face into a clock back then…!”

“A test, yes: by sunrise this door will be closed – finish the test before then and you may go; fail the test and here you will stay…” the figure in red said simply before becoming bright like a shooting star as high beams of lights sprouted about instantaneously; meanwhile, he’d found himself enveloped by the light and disappeared first without a trace with the latter following suit.

Needless to say, the singular male reappeared, still alone and inside the unfamiliar environment: the only difference was that he’d see many lights, blue and plum, peering throughout the way; still standing freely, a deep exhale was made as both eyes were now focused in on a nearby trail, “dammit all: I’d just wanted to know where I am, not take some test in a godforsaken cave…!”

In any case, he had no other choice but to follow the path made by these sources of illumination; even though the other occupant gave him no clues whatsoever, he didn’t want to stay here either. Taking a first trot forward, the singular male felt the photons radiation from their territory now bathing his body while pointing out the damage sustained to his composure overall so to speak. Either way, he could feel comforted by the fact the trail in question was devoid of any dangers; nevertheless, his icy blue eyes darted to and from as far as he’d remained concerned altogether.

It wasn’t long until the lights behind became a distant memory; in the singular man’s frontal point of view were at least five different colors than before: green, chocolate, magenta, orange, and cyan. These had happened to serve as the divergent paths promptly provided for him presently, each just as ambiguous like the figure in red but more colorful as far as he can see them straightaway instantly. Of course, the several choices alone were far too arbitrary for the likes of the singular man to take lightly: after all, brief memories of the other occupant’s encounter were enough to keep him on all toes.

“People’s voices fill the night, Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again…!” a firm lyrical tenor escaped into his ears at once, coming from the far left pathway as its green lights synchronized with the tones, “happy hearts so full and bright, Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again; oh, what a sight: look at the light, all for tonight, Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again…!”

“Whose voice is that…?” the corporeal male asked.

As he was edging towards the trail, more singing came about in the process, this time with more voices joining the fray bearing the octaves of the figure in red:


Clouds arranged ‘til they’re just so 
Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again! 
Gonna make some awesome snow
Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again! 
The chill wind blows
making a show
snowflakes aglow
Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again!


“Hearth’s Warming…?” the corporeal listener cerebrated about in confusion as he’d kept moving forward onto the source, “what are they all talking about…?”


A day that’s filled with songs to sing
Ding–dong, ding–dong–ding!
Cakes and pastries we shall bring,
Ding–dong, ding–dong–ding! 
We’re so busy making merry
Windigos should all be wary
As our mighty voices carry!


Many sang even though their origins had remained unknown to him alone so to speak of no less.

“Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again…!” a union of various octaves from all throughout the spectrum had joined in.

In any case, the corporeal listener could see the path ahead of himself almost at an end as he’d heard a lone maidenly voice lilted:


Decorations we shall make
Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again!
Perfection you just cannot fake
Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once again!
Not one mistake
Don’t let that break
Oh, goodness’ sake!


“Hearth’s Warming Eve is here once a–––” the same choir from not too long ago had regrouped in full force, stopping themselves to gather up some more strength in numbers and synchronicity compared to the likes of himself at large so to speak of overall, “happy, happy Hearth’s Warming Eve… happy, happy Hearth’s Warming Eve… Hearth Warming Eve is here once again…!”

Just as the ballad concluded, the corporeal listener had now came across three more pathways: although there was some green, they were in two different shades from each other as they were from the one he’d just been on recently; in addition, there was some lemon added to the mix on the far right of where his eyes were seeing clear as daytime itself already.

“Alright, Gallus, it seems you’d gotten it right the first time around; it’ll be just like one of these find–it pictures from the diner…” he’d heaved as his heartbeat had started to stabilize soon enough, catching his own breath whilst briefly studying them altogether, “just find the one that isn’t like the others and you’ll be able to make your way out soon enough like she’d said…”

“아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요⋯ 아리랑 고개로 넘어간다⋯” another aria began to sing, this time coming from the lemony lights between the metallic trails for the titular traveler to hear loud and clear.

Needless to say, the corporeal male felt his ears flop about quickly as he’d struggled to speak softly, “huh, what kind of language is it…?”

“나를 버리고 가시는 님은⋯ 십리도 못가서 발병난다⋯” the new matronly voice lilted as he’d begun to move towards it straightaway, albeit reluctantly than ever before overall, “청천하늘엔 잔별도 많고, 우리네 가슴엔 희망도 많다.”

“That’s weird: it’s not from around here or Equestria; what kind of song is this…?” Gallus had whispered softly as the lights alternated between dimming and brightening about slowly around himself.

It wasn’t long until the ethereal singer sighed about, “저기 저 산이 흰털산이라지, 동지 섣달에도 꽃만 핀다⋯”

“Come to think of it, that voice, it sounds familiar but I don’t know where or when it’d been sung if at all, much less who…” the corporeal listener had ruminated about as the lukewarm photons up above cloaked his body despite lacking solidarity therein, “what is its name and/or it’s about: if I haven’t heard before then it’s new to me; the real question is who sung it first…?”

“안⋯ 녕⋯ 하⋯ 십⋯ 니⋯ 까⋯?” a stilted gasp hissed into his ears as he was now presented with a rather ghastly sight up ahead of himself.

A lanky woman was found to be sitting up in front of Gallus with her back against the rocky wall; unlike the primordial visitor from before, she was much older compared to the likes of him. Like the singular male, the lonely elder had some colorful integuments, except they were more reminiscent of a peeled apple with all the bruises and cuts wearing her own pores down and out. Tresses of peach and raspberry made their way past their owner’s neckline, all rough right round the edges due to the irregular cuts already made upon the matted and adhesive surface area alone. Over her own willowy body were a snow–white blouse with long sleeves dyed a deep blue and a long cerise skirt with jet–black accents at its hemming, all torn asunder as she was still exposed. Such eyes of emerald splash were nevertheless undermined and underlined by the deep heavy bags of black and red with textures of such a watery translucency imprinted about without a care.

Despite blushing about, he’d struggled to speak to the woman already, “hello…?”

“어, 샌드바⋯ 내 아들이야?” the disheveled elder had coughed out in confusion, spitting out some pinkish compound in the leftmost direction away from themselves, “이 상태에서 나를 만나러야 만하는 유감입니다⋯”

“Actually, I don’t know what you’re talking about, ma’am; no offense, to be honest, but you look like you’ve been through hell already yourself: are you okay…?” Gallus gagged greatly whilst slowly walking up to her at once, the former taking note of a deep purple collar wrapped around the latter’s neckline presently.

Panting and wheezing about, the woman answered the singular male laboriously as she attempted to cover herself, “I’m sorry, I thought you were my son, Sandbar; come to think of it, you almost look like him already so to speak: they did say that the curtains basically match the windows or was it the carpet matches the drapes…?”

“Sandbar, your son; how could I be anything like him…?” he’d whimpered, still unnerved by the disheveled elder struggling to look at him reluctantly approaching her, “I’m sorry, I don’t even know what he looks like; to be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I was the only one in this place: come to think of it, do you have any idea where we are…?”

“I wish I did… if anything, I wish I can see my family again: my husband Beachcomber and I were just off in Canterlot for our son’s spring break; now that I think about, I can’t even find our daughter Coral either…” she’d tensely answered while her legs became straighten up compared to Gallus’ tepid perambulation so to speak of.

Now standing at mere feet away from the woman, the singular male asked her almost immediately, “do you suppose we’d might team up and find some help together: I can help you with getting back on both feet and perhaps covering yourself; do you trust me on this one, ma’am…?”

“Uh… umm…” the disheveled elder trembled about as her heart skipped a beat at what had appeared from abaft himself: a musclebound trio came into the line of sight with, all covered in darkness save for some bright blue eyes and white–hot fangs, “OH, NO, THEY’RE BACK; LOOK OUT…!”

“Huh…?” Gallus peeped prior to being shoved over nearby her body on the right side, his lips becoming red with blood due to the cuts taking formation upon the surface area; soon, he was groaning in pain as he’d felt his face having abruptly making contact with the shambolic partition thanks to them.

It didn’t long for the bleeding male to look upon the newfound entrants with indignation, currently scowling about as their numbers slowly grew along with their diversity of physiques: out of the many, one stood out to speak to him directly with a regal yet unfriendly tone no less, “pardon me but we weren’t expecting intruders in our very hideout, let alone one so scrawny…”

“Who the fuck are all you bastards?!” Gallus exclaimed angrily, reaching into his left pocket to dig out a sharp yet rusted knife and point it into their collective direction firmly, “don’t come any closer, fuckers; I don’t know who or what you are but you might as well be up to no good all the same; after all, I wasn’t expecting to find someone else there other than that lady in red if at all!”

“Perhaps we’re on two different wavelengths you and I; after all, even I can tell you’re not from round here either: this homely housewife happened to have spoken a much different language…” the same voice escaped into both onlookers’ here, its identity soon become uncovering from the slowly growing sea of similar individuals alone.

The newfound speaker was another being cloaked in blackness, albeit more reminiscent of the lanky woman in terms of physique so to speak. Unlike the disheveled elder’s hair, a darkly translucent teal was dyeing all the diaphanous strands cleanly enough to be freeform within every step. Even though the distinct bystander was just as dark as the entrants on the opposite side as their gilded witnesses, there was glycosaminoglycan. Some emeralds were also found to be matching their owner’s intestinal accents, already bereft of the fear in the lanky counterpart’s opposing gaze. Distinguished features separating themselves from each other were the lack of textiles discovered upon the newfound speaker’s curvaceous figure. All that could be seen glowing too were a set of aquamarines found upon the distinct bystander’s crown resting about onto the elongated tresses. Yet with all the lack of modesty emanating from the newfound speaker, neither Gallus nor the disheveled elder nearby were happy to see them.

In any case, the youthful onlooker wasted no time hissing at the crowned bystander instantly, “who the fuck are you?!”

“Oh, again with the swearing already; didn’t your parents teach you it’s not polite to swear in front of royalty, if at all no less?” the curvaceous speaker groaned as Gallus still glared onward without a care in the whole wide world whatsoever so to speak of, “in any case, let me introduce myself: name’s Chrysalis and what you and your girlfriend are seeing are my Changelings…”

“Changelings… I haven’t heard of you or your kind at all in my entire life whatsoever; not even that boy knows of them either…!” the lanky onlooker exclaimed tensely as her weary eyes had looked upon the hungry yet obscure faces of the eponymous beings, “what is it that you or any of these beings what with us if at all; what did we ever do to you to deserve any of this treatment?!”

“How about the fact one of your own had sat me ablaze on my special day of all days no less; of course, what would you all know about what it was like to have so many flames on your flesh?!” the black queen had answered harshly, catching their listeners upfront off–guard as they’d all felt themselves forced further back despite remaining in place as they both were not too long ago.

Out of the two, the bleeding male spat out at Chrysalis already, “so what, we’re all supposed to feel bad for you because you literally got burned; if that were actually case, then why the hell are you targeting us of all people: can you give us at least a reason as to how this should relate to us?!”

“You poor deprived fool, you really are out of the loop as that little whore is right beside you, much less anywhere from here…” the black queen had sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation before finding the patience to continue on and face Gallus now, “I was but a simple girl whom had a dream, seizing the day that would accomplish what others couldn’t: revenge…! Long before any of you were ever conceived, I, along with much of my brood, had all emerged from one rotten and barren tree: it was in the middle of a pond that was filled with the magic of both death and decay, all thanks to them bones and flies feeding; even before that crack in time, I could feel myself and my kind being nourished by the dead and its scavengers over time no less. Even before our encounter together, I could actually see how different we are from the rest of the world at large, especially them: hairless, sharp–toothed, bereft of pupils, darkest than nighttime itself, even gestation alone was progressive, not that it mattered; the only way we were able to blend in was to transform ourselves as something more colorful and lively by sheer comparison. Despite our advancing numbers, we wouldn’t be able to take things seriously until right after we had become a full–fledged force; our first foray into militarism had began when we’d taken aim at a city high above all of us and that of Equestria a millenia ago: its name was Timbucktu, thriving with its riches as a center of trade between its native and travelers far from the ground. The city was ruled by a king known as Orion, beloved by his subjects and visitors alike so much they couldn’t see us all coming: it was the first time we’d managed to make use of our abilities, hiding amongst their soldiers long enough to drain them all; stripped of both love and his crown, this was the last time anyone from their saw their precious ruler, let alone remember him fondly. Speaking of which, my first conquest had lead me to another one of their city’s so–called head of state, a meathead of an emperor: his name was Incitatus, a narcissist who somehow managed to figure out the differences between me and his precious fiance at all; even without their advanced tactics or prior forewarning, I could still never get over how insufferable he was before then. Nevertheless, I was this close to taking over his pathetic Trot of a city until a certain bitch of a princess came blazing on by; I could never get over the fact that she’d handled me a crippling defeat more devastating than my limbs could even try to handle: not only that, she and her troops would’ve been better off turning us all to stone or having us sent to the moon but it was worse. Tartarus would’ve been a more merciful preference compared to what they’d done with us ever since she’d crushed our invasion: even with our bodies acclimated to both hot and cold alike, the abundance of magma alone left us all sweating bullets constantly; if anything, we would’ve preferred being eaten alive raw rather than becoming steamed hams soon enough so to speak of. Of course, in this world of eat or become eaten, we’d rather prefer the former than to be the latter, especially by the others: a certain Sergio learnt that lesson the hard way and was burning away in the same volcano prison we were in thanks to that bitch; of course, he was nothing like us or the foes we’d faced before he came along looking for a place to rest right where we were.”

“So you’re mad because some princess from Equestria took you out and imprisoned you overall; in all fairness, that doesn’t even sound like a good reason at all, especially after what you all did: if anything, you should’ve been dead for all your crimes against these innocent people already!” Gallus bitterly chuckled, shaking his own head at what had been told to him recently at large.

Chrysalis paid the bleeding male no mind as she’d edged forward rather slightly, while cooing, “someone whose princess would store the likes of us in a volcano has no right to talk to us about innocence or guilt; but, enough talk for ‘tis time for torture and you are already in our way as is but don’t fret about, little boy: I have someone whom would be better interested in your body…”

“Body, what body…?” Gallus growled before finding himself becoming singled out by the changelings almost immediately, “stay back, I have a knife and I’m not afraid to use it; come any closer and you’re dead, YOU’RE ALL DEAD…!”

“That’s just it, we’re already dead but you and that whore, High Tide, are filled with life and love, well she is; either way, it wouldn’t matter how many cuts you make into our body, we’re still going to see to it you’ll be useful: at this rate, you won’t die but you’ll wish you would…” the black queen said before snapping her fingers.

Then, as if on point, the bleeding male was besieged by multitudes of Chrysalis’ subjects overall: even with his weapon firmly in hand, not one drop of blood was found onto the steely surface; next, he was disarmed, now at the mercy of these entrants whom taken their time stripping him.

Gallus was now in the altogether, forced facedown in front of his viewers, even the disheveled woman whom couldn’t bear to watch this sight at large, not that it’d mattered as her eyelids were stretched further apart as she’d screamed, “NO, DON’T!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” cried the youthful victim as he’d felt his haunches being lodged within by a thick, unyielding appendage, sliding in and out as it was bereft of any rhythm or emotion whatsoever from tension, “STOP IT; FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S SACRED, STOP THIS ALREADY, PLEASE!”

“Like I said, honey, you won’t die but you’ll wish you had…” the black queen said salaciously before disappearing into the crowd.

The bared male began to shed tears as the changelings cheered and jeered at the sight of it all; meanwhile, he’d felt more fluids all coating his bruised body in a matter of seconds altogether: saliva shot from the mouth, urine trickling onward, and some white painting his hair as well. Despite closing both eyes, Gallus was devoid of any autonomy already, convulsing to and fro as his invader was taking the time to enjoy him at his expense, laughing and growling while causing him pain and sorrow, something High Tide became exposed to directly as well thanks to them. Likewise, the lanky woman was being besieged by the same crowd of changelings from not too long ago, her supersaturated legs being spread further apart than she'd attempted to keep together prior to her would–be rescuer's arrival as she’d felt her lips being contacted by a stray prepuce. Regardless of their past and present differences, one thing was certain for both of them overall: their crowd of invaders would be finished with their bodies and there was nothing they could even do whatsoever to escape their predicament, whether by themselves or as a team so to speak.

Out of the two firmly within the changelings’ tightening grip, Gallus was alone in rumination, “so this is how it’s going to be for me: used up, washed up, bricked up, descended in maelstrom, bedlam, and redrum?! It would’ve been better to bet the devil my head with how I’d been misled into bloodshed and my heart underneath the floorboard beating for somebody named Lenore nevermore. To hell with all this and them too: these changeling bastards can eat shit and die for all I care, especially that fucking cunt Chrysalis most of all; she calls her a queen but she’s nothing but a tyrant and a twat. If it were up to me, then I’d like to see the darkest pit of whatever hell that exists to swallow them all whole and take them away from all that is good and innocent, like High Tide. Please, for the love of all that is sacred and holy… just… just…”

“Oh, hold on, I’m gonna cum as well…!” one of the attackers nearby the youthful victim chirped, giving him indication as to what was now happening, “UURGH–––”

“AHN~!” High Tide moaned, getting a face full of white fluid as her loins overflowed with the same similar compound from before.

Gallus also felt the weight of world lessen greatly as he was freed from his suffering yet bound by the solutions experienced and endured; the onlookers laughed at how he’d squirmed and spasmed about, “you make an exquisite fuck doll: it’s a shame that you have to die; now, time to end this…”

“Huh…?” the bleeding male groaned about as his eyes were treated to the sight of the lanky woman hoisted above ground by her handlers; almost immediately, a burst of energy had returned to his moistened body as he’d shrieked, “PLEASE, NO–––”

High Tide was decapitated before Gallus’ eyes, her head slumped next to him as a puddle of blood formed around it nearby both the perpetrators’ fluids and that of his own making too; before long, they’d disappeared in a puff of teal wispy sparks, leaving him alone with her remaining body and compounds too.

“수시로⋯ 섭리님⋯ 부모와⋯ 애완⋯ 동물을⋯ 데려가는데⋯ 이유가⋯ 있고⋯ 수시로⋯ 수시로⋯ 우리도⋯ 그렇게⋯ 합니다⋯” the disrobed elder’s head coughed out, catching the lonely male off–guard as he’d watched the life fade out from her eyes in a matter of seconds afterwards.

Gallus could do nothing at all whatsoever except hold back some tears, wheezing about as he’d cradled High Tide’s head hesitantly; all the strength within him was spent closing her lids and lips as he’d felt more drops falling onto his torso before a loud scream escaped him with his hair turning white as snow, “GOD, HELP US ALL, PLEASE…!”
> Volcanic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another similar nocturne fell right all over half the world; unlike many of the other environments so lush and lively, the landscape beneath it all was rather almost barren to a fault. The only things which had dared to reach them but to no avail at all were mountainous megaliths open with heat and light more stagnant and fluid than thunderbolts and lightning. As a result of their beings’ fiber, an exertion of influence could be easily felt inside every aspect of the environment and its very denizens alike, only fit for just one particular type. Even though there were patches of such lush vegetation discovered within the landscape, almost every single one of them presently dried out burned husks of their former selves. The rocky areas alone were etched between themselves by deep crevasses and ravines filled with only both hot and cold minerals currently coexisting in a stagnant metamorphosis. Compared to the water reflecting the lights above and nearby as they’d surrounded the landmass, molten extrusions flowed from the bases with their darkly vermilion glows here. Although that aircraft and watercraft were discovered to be traveling near and far, they were few and proud like the marines brave and bold to conduct such malleable trafficking. Out of the many things lingering on within the atmosphere, ash and sparks were dancing lightly inside the winds as they were carrying noisome aromas all throughout the areas.

Strutting about upon the sands of time and space limited by rocks and water, a tanned traveler taken in the sights of the star–spangled banner above. Both eyes were like the raging oceans yet they were calm and steady, focusing in on what was up ahead: trees standing rightly and fairly against them. Tresses of orchid were split into two sides of the same scalp: the right being elongated to reach the nape of its owner’s neckline; the left, shorn down. In any case, there were a small set of golden jewelry piercing the tanned traveler’s ears, shining brightly underneath the moonlit sky with so little care. Firmly donned upon the curvaceous yet muscular body were a blood red ensemble of a pelted tanktop and waistcloth combination with gray accent.

“Hah… what a day; I’m glad it’s over: any longer and I would’ve cracked under pressure at this rate…” a snort had escaped the lips, a rough and raspy soprano cutting into the nocturnal landscape already.

As far as the tanned traveler was concerned right now, a long trail of footprints had all been left abandoned in the silky roadway underneath. Such was the case anyway as a wicker handbasket filled to the brim with nothing but fish was found to be strapped abaft its owner already. Here in one of the tanned traveler’s hands was a small spear, sharpened to the hilt with a metallic tip as it was held skyward as a slender sword. Even though that there was nobody else within range, both eyes were shifting to and fro slightly in anticipation of the oncoming near future. Reasonable amounts of mist entered the lonely observer’s nostrils, no doubt the work of closely crashing tides all being pushed and pulled.

Soon, the tanned traveler’s feet were being turnt towards the greenery on the right, the narrowed visage being treated to the bewildering camouflage. For every piece of vegetation dwelling within had usually contained plants capable of providing either nourishment or mortality to any living being. Wafting around the herbage were dense dewdrops already formed upon the surface area of many green grasses housing the rather multicolored flora.

Despite the obscurity, the lonely dweller was nevertheless unperturbed by the abundance of trees afore them and began to walk inside the woods at once. Given how exposed the tanned traveler’s body had been, it was no surprise any leaves would’ve ended up touching anywhere on the skin by any means. Sand had become soil as the trail stopped cold as bare feet escaped the silky surface, feeling both solid density and staying power in their place no less. Eventually, the smell of flowers had started gaining concentration yet the lonely observer wasn’t even remotely interested in all its variations whatsoever.

The tanned traveler’s efforts weren’t in vain as another body of water was found within line of sight: it was much smaller and had a cascade too. Although there were more sandbanks, its texture was more rough and its quantities were much miniaturized compared to the outer layers before. Watching over the stationary front at once was a small yet rock solid gray cave where darkness loomed in and about without a care in the world.

Standing betwixt both the entryway and waterway, a small bundle of logs formed in the shape of a mountain surrounded by rocks; soon enough, the lonely observer walked more closely towards the very assortment almost rather instantaneously and calmly sigh: such respiration became hot and heavy as smoke wafted from the nostrils, shades of red, orange, and yellow concentrated out. It wasn’t long until the fire had began to devour the ligneous surface area almost immediately, starting out small and subdued: as this was going on, a faint smile escaped from the tanned traveler as the spear had been planted further away from the kindling; needless to say, the very container abaft managed to hit the ground as their owner began to take a seat near them at once.

Reaching into the handbasket, the first fish had ended up in the lonely occupant’s grip as the rest were separated from its handler, the latter grabbing the same spear and using it to pierce on thru. Although some blood had escaped from both ends of the incision in question, the tanned tenant’s visage remained unfazed as a few of it’d tickled down to the hand before more had followed suit.   Yawning had ended up making its way out as the lonely occupant soon hoisted up the speared organisms over the flames, both eyelids blinking briefly before becoming opened up once again. Soon, the tanned tenant had lowered themselves all directly right into the heart of the inferno gently, each of the fish now slowly turning darker in color due to the sudden rise of temperature.

A few minutes had passed before the solitary cook pulled them out, smoke emanating from the charred scales as their blood coagulated into a thick layer. The tanned traveler had taken in a small whiff of them and began to edge the tip directly towards the slowly gaping maw, aware of its fumid aroma hereof. Only then did a full set of heated teeth touched the coarse surface area, soon already imprinting themselves onto it as the food had lost its shape and form. Lingering scales and bones were found within the solitary consumer’s dentition as a few fingers found their ways upon themselves to be plucked outright. Likewise, some minimal residue had been spat out from the tanned tenant’s lips, a splotch of blood and saliva with traces of foodstuff against the sands. Since there was nothing else stopping the consumption altogether, it wasn’t long until the fish impaled were no more, traces of their existence reduced.

Sure enough, the same task was to be repeated instantly as far as the solitary consumer had been concerned but only after discarding its remains. More fish went from container to the hot wet spear, each varying in size and shape but otherwise the very same inside the tanned tenant’s visage. All that was to be said about it happened to be how easy the whole entire ordeal looked and felt partaking in these very things alone so to speak. Regardless of how little was now remaining in the handbasket, the solitary observer had showed absolutely no signs of stopping nor caring here. To the tanned tenant, the taste and texture of fish was too tempting to be eaten raw, despite the smoke and ashes lingering about along bones. Such flavors alone were all too indescribable to be put in words, either by the solitary consumer or potential viewers corporeal and/or otherwise.

At long last did a loud burp escape from the tanned tenant’s mouth, another breath of fire now emanating upwardly from the burning logs at a diagonal angle. As soon as it, too, had also subsided, the solitary consumer started standing back up and turned to find only a couple more fish laying lifelessly inside of there. All that could be said about it was that the container had to be moved away and not just from the open flames near still burning brightly in the dead of the night. Anyways, the handbasket was lifted off the ground as it’d been before, this time carried faraway by its owner’s hands as the leftovers alone had remained at all. Arching fires were still going strongly on its very own but it was nevertheless still sequestered faraway from both the brilliant green and clear blue altogether. Aware of the very lonesome cave within the line of eyesight, it was no secret whatsoever that the tanned tenant was moving forward to its entrance immediately. Acting accordingly to plan, if at all, the solitary pedestrian approached onward until both feet had felt solid bedrock underneath, a contrast to grass and sand. Accepting the outlook as it were, both eyes had turned back to face the scenery their very owner become apart of by reason in which was only claimed territory. After surveilling all that remains on the bigger picture, there was nothing else to do but to go on inside the cave anyway, especially since night was intensifying.

It only took a shot in dark for the tanned tenant to blow a stray flame nearby the ingress, one in which had illuminated the confines almost instantaneously no less. Considering the target was revealed to be a metal sconce hanging against a barren partition, the new light was rather enough to give its passive progenitor visions. Here nearby the tanned tenant was a stony slab flat as a pancake yet devoid of flavor or aroma with some curvatures up and down the smaller area in and of itself. In addition, there were also some precious metals and jewels filling up another corner of the very cavern with their shimmer and shine being highlighted by the fire. Resting adjacently from the bedding were but a set of similar fabrics, each of them sharing all too familiar variances to plants their owner contacted not long ago. Only the presences of similar tools of a different composition nearby their owner’s bare feet had served as reminders of what had been done recently and where too.

Sitting the container down, the solitary dweller had turned around to face the bigger flame and run up to it, kicking away large portions of sand in its vicinity until it’d died down eventually; afterwards, these same feet soon discovered themselves back through the entryway almost immediately, now resting both haunches on the surface area to take a deep breath and hard look.

Nothing much else could be said or done except directing both eyes to the torchlight created by the tanned tenant’s mouth earlier: if anything, then it didn’t even take much at all for the same source of illumination to be snuffed out, this time consumed by teeth; now, all that remained was the moon and stars outside, not that it’d mattered as both eyes shut themselves away eventually.
> Arctic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All throughout the way, there was an abysmal unknown of complete blackness where only such factors of sight, substance, and scent lay buried inside those obscurities best referred to as a void. The exceptions that had given clues to the very location’s identity were surface, sensitivity, and sound: such were the gentle breezes being close to comfort anyone that would cross their paths. Most importantly, the current occupancy was above from simply desolate, let alone abandoned; after all, there were a few colors in many caliginous shades and hues giving off their silent cries.

Then, without any kind of warning whatsoever, a stray hissing had given birth to new light, giving off a solid vermilion glow in the process. In its range was a stony lonesome corridor where the source of illumination resided, already a part of a small trail etching deep inside them all. On the opposite side were a set of steel bars serving as a gateway to small worlds, each divided into three regions and containing but a keyhole. Nestled inside them were a whole lot of nothingness, signified by the metamorphic rock walls all throughout as uniform to a fault so to speak of.

One exception was a tanned tenant sitting against one of the walls as the torchlight from across the hallway illuminated the face through shadows. A platinum crown with a raspberry heart occupied the disunited tresses of orchids matted about from the scalp, matching both the cheeks and lips. Speaking of which, arctic blue eyeshadow was slathered about, held in place by thick jet–black eyeliner as it had shared the tanned tenant’s dress. In addition, a pair of piercings were also discovered over their owner’s ears, brimming with the winds of change brought about by gold experience. Snugly worn around the tanned tenant’s neckline was but a red collar with a little ring of silver chariot hanging from down the middle altogether.

“Huh… where exactly am I: what is this strange place; why am I even here all of the sudden…?” a snort had escaped from the painted lips, a rough and raspy soprano cutting into the stony lonesome already as the lids flew open; inside them, a similar color had emerged from them as they’d started shifting to and fro almost instantaneously.

It didn’t take much for both eyes to be focused in on the metal bars from the right, rolling both of them as their owner started to take a stand keenly.

Before long, a loud shriek was heard before being suppressed all of the sudden, “KYAAAAAA!”

“Oh, I see you’re standing up already…” a deep voice cut closer to home, macho and confident as it had originated from a man approaching from the left side, “let’s go: our boss wants to see you…”

“Boss…?” the tanned tenant talked tersely as some metals clicked and creaked before both orbs as the door was opened.

As far as the lone eyewitness was concerned, he was joined by two of his compeers, each with their own similarities and differences for the former to see. On the one hand, they were all brightly skinned, somewhat muscular, dark haired, and grinning menacingly; additionally, they wore more clothing already. In any case, the tanned tenant was too busy being overwhelmed with cautious apprehension to even care about differentiating between the trio altogether.

Nevertheless, the men in question were in dire need of introduction so to speak, something which had been done for the lonely occupant from the very beginning no less. The first of these had dark orange hair, wearing a green vest, black jeans, and gray shoes; despite this, his chest was open enough to display many muscles up and down. After him, his second compeer was only a brunet with his squared off stubble, currently wearing a jet–black ensemble of a jacket, undershirt, pants, and boots all and all. Lastly, but not least, a dirty blond with a mustache and beard combo alongside the thickest pair of eyebrows donned a midnight tanktop, gray pants, and green sandals.

All that the darker ginger could say to the tanned tenant was to the point, “yeah, you heard us; we ain’t going to repeat ourselves: get out…”

“Who are you people; where exactly am I: what is this place…?” the lonely occupant summoned the strength to reply, brimming with resolve compared to initially, “I don’t even remember coming here by myself, let alone all dressed up from top to bottom like some Equestrian girl no less…!”

“These questions do not matter to us at all, egglayer; what matters is our plan: all of Equestria belongs to us now anyway…” the brunet had laughed repressively as his compeer on the left walked in and dragged away the tanned tenant out by the wrist.

It didn’t take long for the lonely occupant to not only realize the rather stark differences in height regarding the men in question, the former was quick to grimace and opened wide in response; however, all that had came out was some unscented dioxide, prompted some jeering as some words came out after a few more brief tries, “what’s going on: why can’t I breath any fire…?”

“Princesses don’t breath fire really; see, you’re an adorable little princess: a tiara on your head, a frilly dress, and you can sashay…” the tall ginger upfront of the tanned tenant answered immediately, placing his thumb directly upon the latter’s lower lip slowly, “even before laying eyes on you, we had a simple plan in mind for those whom would wield fire against us innately.”

“What the fuck is this: what did you all do to me, you sons of bitches; what’s going on?!” growled the painted occupant, throwing a punch at the captor’s face only to hear something snap.

In a matter of seconds, the tanned tenant felt that hand burn up as the tall ginger was unfazed; nevertheless, he’d spoken softly, “consider yourself thankful we’re all patient entrepreneurs: there are plenty of people out there in the world willing to pay us all…”

“Pay you… what are you talking about…?”  the painted occupant sputtered about as both eyelids contracted about almost instantaneously so to speak of, “I don’t understand all this: you say that you’re entrepreneurs yet you’re no better than a bunch of pests trying to taking our treasure like those Equestrians mother spoke of…!”

“Ah, yes, the Dragon Lady, lovely wife of the respectable and respective Dragon Lord Maximus: we’d bet you were already wondering what became of them since you’d last seen either of them; after all, it’s only natural for islanders such as yourselves to branch out far from home here…” said the bearded onlooker as his more open compeer pulled the tanned tenant out of the confines.

In an instant, both eyes had widened further since the awakening, their owner spitting out freely almost immediately altogether, “no… you’re lying…”

“Your father’s name was Maximus, right…?” the tall ginger had whispered into the tanned tenant’s ears softly, “and your mother Caldera…”

“What have you done to them…?” the painted pedestrian had shaked briefly despite standing in place.

A wide grin escaped the tanned tenant’s captor as he’d replied softly, “she sure had a mole in a unique place, you know it kind turn me on…”

“No, you didn’t…” the painted pedestrian struggled to speak before grimacing about eventually so to speak of no less, “you bastards…!”

“Maximus, he’s such a tight–lip: he didn’t even try to speak for his kind; what was he teaching you brats…?” the tall ginger snickered about.

The tanned tenant smashed the stonewall with a loud yet subdued groan, “FUCK…!”

“Do you feel the hate swelling, that hate that comes from your grudge…?” the painted pedestrian’s captor had hissed into the listener’s ear again, “it’s merely a reflection of you; ask yourself, Smolder: how many people have you harmed…?”

“Gar–Gar…?” the eponymous listener gasped.

Out of the three men laughing softly, the tall ginger had said, “you mean your big brother, Garble…?”

“Garble…” the tanned tenant talked, “where is he…?”

“He’s alive if that’s what you’re implying: who would ever guess such a fearsome creature having a heart for his own sister; it’d be a shame if anything else ever happens to him if at all on account of him being too resistant to boss’ wishes, wouldn’t you agree, little miss hot ass…?” Smolder’s handler answered without need.

Though the tanned tenant attempted to stay resolute, both eyes were betraying the facade slowly as a squeak escaped orchid lips, “whatever it is, I need to know: what do you plan on doing to Garble; are you going to–––”

“Kill him, is that what you were going to say, my little princess…?” the tall ginger interjected, catching Smolder off–guard as the latter was too unnerved to face either him or his compeers, “you know, for the spawn of the Dragon Lord, you’re pretty bad at staying strong; nevertheless, we ain’t going to kill him at all: your father and brother are far too useful for us all to be dead…”

“What do you intend to do with us if you’re not going to kill any of us: what about the others like us; what will become of them…?” the tanned tenant tepidly told the tough triumvirate as a tiny teardrop tersely tore throughout the tactically titanium tactile template.

It didn’t take much for Smolder’s handler to respond simply, “you’ll find out soon enough: after all, it’s better to show, not tell; besides, we haven’t got all day for needless exposition here and there…”

“I see then…” the tanned tenant timidly thrummed as both feet underneath the dress began to move forward, this time leading the way altogether, “what in acids is going on here: first I’m sleeping in an island cave faraway from home only to wake up here in some frou–frou glittery lacy outfit like some prissy princess bride; how did I end up in all this? Not only that, I couldn’t even make an attack on any of these guys whatsoever: my firebreathing usually gets the job done in and out of battle, something many of my kind would understand, like my family; none of them would ever even dare to let themselves lose to such flameless worms like these so–called treasure hunters or their boss. Failing that, my punch should’ve been enough to put a dent in that bastard’s face, let alone my nails: at least with all that force, he would’ve been gasping for air, with or without all that blood to cough up first; instead, my fist feels like I’ve touched the surface of the sun of all things from the inside out when it’d happened and he didn’t even react whatsoever. Could it be the same for all of his buddies, much less their boss of all beings; no, that couldn’t be right at all: how the fuck would they be able to march into our homes and take us down without even slaying any of us, much less use us for our labor like common serfs and the like?! It would’ve made more sense if that’s how they were able to takeover all of Equestria as their friend had it said before if at all: to be honest, I never knew much about Equestria, save for some of our kind living up in one of their cities nearby the coastline; come to think of it, my brother and mother would’ve thought of them as weak for not taking charge like us islanders would do. These Equestrians know nothing about us, other than as mere stereotypes bent on kidnapping princesses or controlling climate: all we do is hoard gems and terrorize villagers but most of the time we stay faraway from anyone and/or anything wanting us gone; I thought tatzlwurms, hydras, and rocs alone were bad enough when it’d came to the molt but this alone is ridiculous! Better yet, how the fuck could they even takeover our home altogether if Equestria wasn’t enough for them so to speak of: even before my father became the Dragon Lord, there were plenty of others who would do whatever it’d took to protect us; irregardless, how could they even reach us, let alone set foot on there, with all the deterrents if many Equestrians wont try? As far as I’d remembered, we didn’t always stay here nor was it our original homeland altogether where we’d lived far from here: our ancestors and predecessors were nomads searching for a place where no one would even dare to exploit and/or eliminate us; even now, the only allies we have were the ones favoring the cold more than we’d embraced the hot by contrast nevertheless. Now that I think about it, does Yakyakistan know anything regarding either of these lands becoming besieged before us all: I’d never been able to see any of their people in person, if all, but if they were anything like in the past, they won’t even submit; they, the Yaks themselves, are proud and strong, just like us – they can endure anything, as long as they have hope kept alive.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN~!” a loud guttural moan escaped in Smolder’s ears, messing with the corporeal composure at once.

It’d not been edifying for the tanned tenant to be in this unknown location for a while not, being moved and shaken by two feet and meeting leering gazes and pants ready to boil all over at once. As far as Smolder had seen and/or heard ever since, there were sets of steel bars already locked: most of them were empty from top to bottom; others had tenants whom were too indescribable. Nevertheless, the tanned tenant couldn’t bother to notice the variations in any of the inhabitants: out of many of them both eyes had been laid on, only a few were currently in the altogether as is.

There was nothing else that Smolder could even do at this moment, despite leading the way for the three men abaft their guide: the least that could be done was to make it to the end of the corridor the same way they’d pulled the former out of the cell prior; even so, their eyes were enough to create a condensation of concern, amongst other attributes they’d possessed currently.

Even worse, another man had appeared at the end of it all, standing by on the right from the corner of the tanned tenant’s eye: there were so many similarities between the trio and the loner, their captive couldn’t even be bothered to care in the very least; having said it, the bystander was carrying a slender sugarplum scepter with a large sanguine gem held within its clawsome grip.

Smolder felt the cyan orbs widened about as the equipped onlooker joined his peers in boxing their captive from all four corners, leaving the former alone in a sea of cerebrations so to speak, “the Bloodstone Scepter, how the fuck did these pests get ahold of it: last time I’d checked, my dad ended up becoming Dragon Lord years ago after Torch stepped down; where’s he at now?!”

Compared to the cells the tanned tenant had been staying in, their collective surroundings were the most spacious in terms of air: the open space betwixt predominately equilangular ceilings and amorphous tiled flooring were held into place by smooth pillars; still, its stony lonesomeness was as oppressive as it’d been prior to their arrival, especially to the former’s ears altogether no less. The walls were in a much darker color compared to the ones Smolder’s cyan eyes were treated to seeing from across the steel bars: the only commonality between the observer’s domain and current location were the abundance of lit torches between the pillars; nevertheless, the shadowy atmosphere still prevailed as is, keeping things dank and dire even for both the flesh and fabrics.

It didn’t take much for the tanned tenant to become white like cold dry ice when out of the many individuals here, one stood out: a tall woman with a brighter tan stuck in the middle of a broken circle already filled to the brim with but muscular lupine bipeds; the lack of textiles on her body to make the former stop cold at once, especially considering the abundance of pasty white fluids. Unlike Smolder’s cyan eyes, there were blood–red orbs emanating from the centerpiece’s narrow eyelids at this moment in time: they were wet with achromatic compounds, already mixing in with the opaque solution emptying out into her general direction; despite some unmixed drops falling upon the surface area, she was too drained to even react to what was going on, if at all. The tall woman’s shorter sapphire tresses were already matted with many of the same liquids from much earlier so to speak of: in her darker counterpart’s eyes, there were a lot of strands out of place, acute signs of rough treatment both past and present; this alone was enough to for the latter to notice the differences of integuments between the former and the spectators roundabout. Like Smolder, she, too, wore piercings upon her earlobes, except they were like the star platinum the world has yet to be aware of; however, due to the state of their wearer, its glitz and glamour were sullied by the stubborn stains made by all interactive explorers: considering what had been done to her, this was all that the former could even take regarding the latter’s plight altogether.

In any case, the tall woman had fell out of place onto a large thin puddle of their own making as her lupine explorers broke away; afterwards, she’d slowly crawled further away from her darker correspondent with but a goofy gaze as the former gurgled about, “Scoss… my master… can I get my own reward…?”

“Scoss, master… is this who these men are talking about earlier…?” Smolder had ruminated as both eyes pointed away from her soiled body, already staring down at two additional men atop a small stairwell, “come to think of it, who was that woman anyway: I know for a fact she was from around here somewhere; was she one of past Dragon Lords’ daughters or something…?”

“Didn’t you hear what my aide said?” one of the voices boomed in front of the tanned tenant, belonging to the speaker sitting: his short hair was black as his shirt, eyes red as his cape, skin much brighter, lightly scarred, and rather brawny compared to them; additionally, he’d worn a pair of taupe pants alongside an iron ensemble of a pauldron, gauntlet, and some greaves already.

Standing right next to him, a slimmer and brighter counterpart bearing longer brown hair stopped at the neck wearing eyeglasses: the more colorful attire under the blue cloak consisted of a green shirt matching orbs, some jet–black pants, and tall beige boots; it was at this moment the latter had said plainly with a smile on the visage, “we have brought her to be raped as you requested.”

“No, I want more…” the taller woman moaned as she was being dragged away by the arms thanks to the same beings right past Smolder with a trail of white being made, “I want more cum…”

“It seems I am no longer welcome elsewhere; there’s something I’ve been dying to know: I wonder if an oviparous lifeform can get pregnant from a mammal…” the muscular man said with a smirk after standing up to face the tanned tenant, much to the cheers and jeers of his peers up in front of him.

At that moment, Smolder was becoming surrounded by many other lupine bipeds, no different from the ones roundabout her; unlike the latter, the former suppressed a laugh while declaring, “I would never submit to a rotten bunch of stupid worms like you; I will be taking this back on behalf of my family…”

It didn’t take much time whatsoever for the tanned tenant to reach deep inside the chest area and pull out a white–hot chili pepper: as far as the onlookers could see, it’d had ended up becoming consumed by its user, swallowing it whole in one gulp without fear; afterwards, nostrils soon flared up with smoke before some hot flames instantaneously emerged from it’d whence came. Smolder guided the concentrated flurry of heat, oxygen, and fuel at the standing targets without any form of hesitation already: the drooling snarls from before had now metamorphosed into bloodcurdling shrieks and howls as the others faraway watched on; the blaze had spread itself out upon them from head to toe as the closing circle became open again, this time by the former. Although many of the men had kept a safe distance by comparison, they were all firmly intense in regards to the tanned tenant: the fact they’d been staring at the ongoing attack was enough to keep them on edge, especially considering the victims rising; nevertheless, the hot fires within the source began to subside, leaving their deliverer down on both knees around the burnt bodies.

“Now then, that was a huge failure, wasn’t it, princess?” the booming man laughed as he’d walked past the charred corpses to face the coughing and panting Smolder, “I see it must be a last minute resort…”

“This was one of the hottest spices grown on the outskirts in all the Lands; I won’t let you do as you please…!” the tanned tenant growled whilst glaring fiercely at the tallest onlooker, the former struggling to regain control over respiration.

The booming man wasted no time sneering at Smolder as he’d declared, “very well, I will have fun breaking you down; get it on, boys: the princess we captured is hot as fuck and a tomboy! Get the Dragon Lord’s daughter!”

A thunderous roar emanated from his compeers as the tanned tenant had no time at all to react, caught in their collective grip: after being forced down onto the ground, the latter was lifted back up, this time a few feet off the flooring underneath by them; now, all four limbs were restrained completely, much to the delight of the former as a pair of crystal shoes were also discovered too.

“Dammit all, I figure with what had been found at my home, the least I could do was fight my way out of this fuckhole at once!” Smolder thought internally, refusing to look into the smirking faces of any of the men currently restricting any movement at all, “I haven’t been good at thinking on my feet lately; now, I’m awake and time had stopped cold, along with my escape. Either way, there’s far too many of them for me to burn or beat down all alone, with or without that spice on me so to speak of; I guess it’d worked the same for me as it’d done for them, Equestrian or Dragon as far as what these bastards of his had told me: I just wish I’d knew that part earlier if at all, let alone care about one in where how they were able to get ahold of either.”

“Nice dressup: you might be a princess, but this gets them excited nicely; …” their leader had laughed as the tanned tenant watched the hems of the fabric being lifted up, showing off a snow–white ensemble of panties, stockings, and garter belt.

Out of the sea of men holding Smolder in place, one of them had asked the rest at once, “is she trembling?”

“I thought the Dragon Lord’s daughter was a slut…” the other indistinct peer answered as the tanned tenant was shaking about in place, “what with that grand display earlier, do you think she really is…?”

“Then we just have to try and find out… now then…!” yet another man snickered as a wayward hand had grabbed onto the edge of the undergarment and tore it away from Smolder, baring the fluid flowerbed of fresh flesh underneath for all to see as their owner felt airy in a matter of seconds.

Considering the reality regarding how similar the tanned tenant was to the taller correspondent, it was all the proof they needed: the former was at their mercy, or, in the women’s case, lack thereof since the panties were long gone altogether as of currently; one man in particular had commented on her dishabille instantaneously, “I want to start sucking on it so nice it smells…!”

“Captain…!” barked one of the observant men as Smolder’s resolve wavered before the crowd slowly but surely, “please check out if she’s still a virgin…!”

“Let’s see…” their tallest leader said as he’d knelt down at eye level to see the tanned tenant’s velvet underground up close and personally before stretching it folds apart, much to her dismay as she blushed about and began to shut away both eyes while struggling to hold firm all the same.

All this discomfort Smolder felt thanks to them had overwhelmed her recent memory of burning her brighter counterpart’s lupine assailants alive as she was stuck cerebrating about nevertheless, “they can’t see it, none of them should ever see it; my power is waning: at this rate…”

“She looks like a perfect virgin down here; this makes me laugh…” the muscular captain had commented after taking a peek and whiff from the tanned tenant’s whispering eye, standing back up to face her as he’d unraveled a slender appendage, “let’s get going then; prepare yourself, princess…”

“Don’t be ridiculous…!” Smolder had spat out.

A few seconds of silence were all washed upon the whole area of influence, catching the tanned tenant off–guard when it ended: in its place was a loud scream emanating from her as she’d felt her fleshy flowerbed becoming obstructed yet still overflowing; the cause was the men’s leader lodging himself directly into it as blood poured out from whence it’d came from before them all.

Nevertheless, the muscular captain wasted no time going in and out of Smolder’s vulnerable flesh of her velvet underground: as a result, she was gasping for oxygen in between intervals, despite having her collared neckline still free from all external forces; still, the burning sensation from before shifted downward as he’d laughed at her pain instantly, “I’m up in your womb…”

“No matter how my body is defiled, as long as I have my last resort, your sperm will not reach my uterus…” the tanned tenant ruminated, glaring at her sole invader whom had now held her in place with his right hand over her bare breech, “we’re too strong to suffer such an indignity, unlike that whelp of a whore: I won’t fall victim to what they’d made her do with these wolves!”

“Captain, can we do her too; can we suck her tits…?” asked one of his underlings watching him enter Smolder’s whispering eye: this was more than enough to leave her in some more pain than whatever their tallest leader was still doing already so to speak of; not only that, this question alone had started to expand her outlook much faster than what was being done beyond the mind.

Even worse, the tanned tenant’s invader answered almost immediately long before she was even subject to furthermore indignity: her immodesty had grown against her will and wishes alike when one of his peers soon ripped open her arctic blue dress already; with a pair of ripe bosoms all for the taking, a pair of lips latched onto one of their nubbins, “whatever floats your boat…!”

“Do it…!” grunted another man as Smolder felt some teeth imprinting themselves upon the ord of her bust only instantaneously: as a result, she’d struggled to stay quiet even with all the intrusions being made by two men, her own dentition now being present; still, she’d wasn’t prepared for yet another stealing a kiss from her lips, “this is boring; I want more: look here…!”

“Don’t… that thing is dirty: you’re making a whore out of me; I won’t let you do this… I won’t…!” the tanned tenant spat; this was right after she’d broken away from the third invader and even then, it wasn’t even enough for her at all whatsoever: the first two had wasted no time in continuing where they were with her body altogether, much to the former’s dismay, if at all.

Not only that, Smolder felt her purple locks being grabbed on by the third male all the same, putting more stress onto herself: this alone had added more to the shame and humiliation she was still feeling, breaking her total concentration breathing at once; a commentator nearby her had snickered, a fourth so to speak of whom was up, close, and personal all the same, “what’s that?”

“Calm down, lady…” said the previous peer as the second explorer also broke away from the tanned tenant, albeit on his term; still, their tallest leader was still going in and out of her fleshy flowerbed, uncaring of the blood being mixed with the other fluid: the only comfort afforded to her was her wet cleavage became free to move up and down, “you don’t look like you hate it…”

“Don’t the women all like to be violated…?”the fourth male asked his previous purveyor as the rest of them started to strip down: Smolder couldn’t even help herself at all whatsoever to realize what was going to go happen next with all things being considered; after all, their captain was still exploring every inch of her velvet underground no matter how much she’d suffered about.

Soon, the tallest leader finally exited out of the tanned tenant, a delight to her mind and body already; however, it was short–lived as he’d barked happily to almost all of his underlings nearby themselves, many whom were completely in the altogether as far as she could currently see, “put some more effort into this, guys: don’t just tease her, do some real shit; grab her brown skin! You guys too, don’t hold back; do whatever you want…!”

Although free from the captain’s influence, Smolder found herself in the same position as her taller correspondent from earlier: out of the many men surrounding her as soon as he’d left, two had still restrained her body all the same with but a different entrant; the rest were now standing with prepuces aimed directly at her body, just like the other explorers she’d burned not long ago.

“This is beyond humiliating: it’s even worse than losing a competition to some cunt; then again, it’s a damn, good understatement!” the tanned tenant thought to herself tenaciously, staring down an unyielding shaft as she was bounced back and forth already, “if mom and dad ever saw me like this, then the least they’d do was turn these assholes all to chum for the sharks undersea…!”

“The princess’ pussy is so great…!” the ginger captor abaft panted, still wearing his green vest as he’d held Smolder’s left leg up: the fact he was already taking his leader’s place was doing her no favors whatsoever, especially considering his tightened grip; at the very least, her whispering eye had stopped bleeding anyway but was still leaking an achromatic compound nevertheless.

On the other end, his peer had grabbed onto the tanned tenant’s purple tresses as she’d struggled to avoid his own tumescent yard: her hot lips had made no contact with them in any shape or form all the same and even that wasn’t enough for her either way; even worse, one of the others nearby themselves had squealed while attending to his own in the meantime no less, “hurry up!”

“Don’t rush me…!” snarled the ginger captor still deep inside of Smolder’s fleshy flowerbed, pushing themselves forwardly; as a result, the other man afore her became exuberant when she’d gotten a taste of his unyielding prepuce almost instantaneously: the second it’d happened, her arctic blue eyes widened to see what was now being done in the process, “wait for your turn…!”

“She’s sucking good…!” the front man had grunted as the tanned tenant was becoming a piston, moving forwardly and back: not only was she stuck in between him and his compeer from abaft, she couldn’t even break away at all this time around; her breathing, though stabilized, was now restricted through both nostrils as the rest of the face blushed about with such strongest emotions.

Even worse, Smolder could sense their shafts were swelling about inside of her body from both of her ends almost immediately: given what had happened as soon as she’d been enveloped around the other man, it was nothing short of a foregone conclusion; suddenly without warning she’d felt a familiar tongue lapping at her other bosom after hearing, “now, don’t get greedy…”

“All right, my turn…!” one of the bystanders exclaimed as the tanned tenant tasted the front man’s opaque liquids already: this was no different than what she’d felt as her ginger explorer empty himself onto her sweating integuments and clothing too; of course, this was just only the beginning as the men begun to trade places around her body instantaneously, “make way…!”

“No rush, she’s not going to vanish…!” their leader announced, sitting down upon the small stairway he walked from before: now watching Smolder surrounded by nothing more than his men’s yards, it was far much than her own body’s limited capacity; since there were already additional onlookers as is, her hands were used to polish two more almost immediately no less.

Each interval, no matter how varied, was far more worse than what the tanned tenant had witnessed ever since her arrival; as a matter of fact, it didn’t even matter how many men were having their turn with her body, especially since she became nude: all that she could do was let them unload their contents at once, whether upon the integuments or inside her all the very same.

Smolder cerebrated about as a roulette’s worth of rounds were being unleashed by the men at arms in a perigon so to speak of; after all, her mouth had been already obstructed with one of their prepuces, much like the first front man, “how long will this continue: how long will they keep up this cruel game…?”

“You seem to have liked it in the end, princess…” the captain said after taking a stand once again, this time feet away no less; from what he could make out from the tanned tenant’s body, she was already covered with their uniform solution, courtesy of them: at the very least, she was allowed some breathing room once more since they were panting about, “now then, my turn…”

“No matter how often you do this to me, I will be proud…” Smolder gasped for her life as she’d watched their leader knelt down nearby, unsheathing his shaft once again to align himself with her velvet underground like before.

This was more than enough for the tanned tenant to cry out in pain after their tall captain had reentered her opened body almost immediately, “I wonder how much longer you’ll say that; that’s the princess for you: although she just had her hymen broken, she’s welcoming my cock already…”

“Stop joking…” Smolder hoarsely wheezed as her body twitched about from her primordial explorer’s yard still in, “I’d never be like that…”

“That’s the last of your confidence; the preparations are complete: now then, let’s shoot for real…!” the tall captain laughed, catching the tanned tenant off–guard as she’d soon found one of the brighter bystanders from before still in place.

Afterwards, a book was found in possession, bearing a scarlet hexagram within a circle composed of indescribable text: it was then being read aloud in a rather similar yet unfamiliar language as far as Smolder was even concerned so to speak of; soon, it’d given off a true blue hue, causing her body to emanate a similar glow for her to watch closely almost immediately.

Soon, the tanned tenant begged fruitlessly, “don’t, don’t come inside: my womb should never receive the seed of tainted beings like you!”

“Well, that’s a shame: I will put all I can into such a splendid womb…!” the leading man commented already, rubbing Smolder’s stomach rather briefly after the glow had subsided at once, “you are worthless…!”

“I can’t endure this; you better appreciate this!” the tanned tenant hacked indignantly as she’d watched every ounce of strength return to her intruders sure enough, struggling to hold firm despite the not too distant past and future alone.

Seeing them all on a lower level ready to seize Smolder again was more than it were to leave her anxious on the inside yet their captain’s proclamation shattered her facade outright altogether no less, “I will make sure you get every last drop with both your holes!”

“Why am I being violated here?” was all that the tanned tenant could ruminate as everyone whom had themselves about her went about their business again, this time with their leader joining in, “they’re still going at it: I can feel them jacking off to me as is and not just inside the same area as these bastards; someone must have been watching us, besides the spellcaster alone. I thought this place was safe enough as is: it’s the Dragon Lands, not Treasure Lands; they probably think the treasure we had wasn’t good enough to keep to themselves or they just hate us that much. They really are worse than these fucking rocs, at least they can eat us in one gulp and it’ll all be over soon; I bet they’re wondering what they ever saw in us: they got us all as they’d said so why aren’t they slaying us en masse? We’re not going anywhere because they don’t care; Scoss doesn’t care about the gold or silver, let alone the gems we snack on as food: he just wants to see how much his cock will withstand our twats, especially mine. I should know, I should know… I just hope I’ll get to see you folks again wherever you are: even if I end up fathering bastard spawns of a thousand maniacs like him, I just want to hear any of your voices again, especially you, Gar–Gar; FATHER, DON’T LEAVE ME HERE; FATHER, FATHER… HELP US…! How could they do this to our own homeland?! I hate them, I always hate the thieves, I’m going to kill them and I’m going to make it hurt; oh, how I pity the days I’d ended up crying whenever I’d gotten hurt, it’s going to get so much worse: I’m going to get out and going to end you, give you all a real reason to cry instead. I thought they could just go without us and leave us in a room for who knows how long; I can’t tell how long they’ve being doing this because I’ve lost track of time and I can’t nor don’t know how: damn them, damn them all to a thousand acids…! I’ll get out… I’ll get out… I’ll get out… I don’t know where I’ll go but it’ll be somewhere new, so much more room to breathe, so many things in there I remember every single one of them; they’ll have your hoard, Gar–Gar, I’ll envy it so much it’ll make me feel alive; come on, guys, join me, I’ll know I don’t have to make you, but I’ll give you the warmest welcome…”

“I’m coming, I’m coming: take my seed; come, you guys…!” the captain declared effortlessly, much to the spectators’ delight as their cheering was enough to break Smolder out of her longstanding train of thoughts and back into the real world in which he and his underlings used her body to their advantage, directly and otherwise.

“Stop, stop…!” the tanned tenant cerebrated, despite being too disorientated to even convince them all due to their preoccupation; sure enough, her mouth and whispering eye overflowed with the very same fluids from not too long ago so to speak of, “they’re coming: he’s filling my womb with his dirty seed…”

“I think I came ten times alone!” one of the men laughed after emptying himself into Smolder’s mouth again, a shared sentiment; speaking of which, the moment he and their leader exited her, more took their place and their turns depositing inside right away: each time this had happened, she’d convulsed from the sudden and unwarranted expulsions being made by the collective men.

At long last, the tanned tenant was freed but not before she’d discharged their compounds onto the flooring underneath them: describing the excess to that of milk would’ve been an insulting understatement, especially as far as she was concerned no less; in all fairness, she’d just wanted to cry, which she did, but it was quiet to the point she may as well lost her own voice, if at all. Now, Smolder was truly alone in this cold cruel world she was in, more alone than she’d even felt in her state of being no less; it wasn’t even enough for them to reduce her from the dress and undergarments which had protected her from a sheer cold: the only things remaining were the jewelry, the red collar, and a pair of shoes and even then, they were all dirtied, no thanks to them.
> Façade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For what it was worth, the environment was hot and heavy: countless mists and moisture were so overwhelming, they were bound to a single area where escape was nevertheless certain to a fault. The flooring within was firmly solidified since it was merely a clustering creamy set of ceramic tiles on the ground, a monochromatic arrangement of purity which had been adorned underneath. Every wall had been painted in a delicately light coat of such deep crème, already contrasted by the heavy beige ceiling right about the heated atmosphere, all retaining their forms and colors. Aside from a single circular window peering towards the sunny skies, a mirror was also found, bearing a rectangular shape being shared by the sliding doors standing directly across the former. An enormous body of water dominated much of the ground, being the source of all sweltering air as some bubbles and froth were sliding upon its surface area with the random ripples to and fro. Its details were all made possible by the bright lights held up by the pillars and railings hanging above, bearing a plasma white scheme as they illuminated the watery place and its surroundings.

Eight people were present and accounted for, all of whom were sweating about from their brows and with collars tightly worn around their necks. The first was resting both forearms at the edge, already bearing a bright amber complexion, long cerulean tresses in a ponytail, and a black collar. The second had massaged directly abaft: though possessing the same hair color, it was solid and matching eyeshadow; also, the collar was scarlet. Two more clad in towels rested their feet in water: one was bright skinned with opal hair and red orbs, the other, a dark ginger of blue; both in red. A lightweight lavender locked loner on the quartet’s opposite side: tan integuments rough around edges, both bosoms bared, and a black collar too. Another pair was high and dry with towels: one, dark with pink hair, blue eyes, and a red collar; other, bright, indigo, opal, and black respectively. Last, but not least, was yet another bright skinned lounger with a red collar: lanky, lemony, and freckled, turquoise locks also matched both orbs.

“You’re such a lifesaver, Aloe: it’s a miracle that you’ve found your talents needed far beyond the spa with your sister, Lotus Blossom; the question is how exactly are you two not together as is…?” the primordial lounger sighed with relief, a rough contralto escaping into the wet mists they were all in currently so to speak of.

The aforementioned compeer had answered instantaneously with a lighter octave, “the Ponyville spa hasn’t had good business with the locals ever since the war: people have been moving out of here and the ones whom had stayed aren’t better off; we’d both missed Rarity the most since her patronage brought in so much revenue prior, yet now she’s in the hospital with Applejack…”

“Since we’re on the subject, I don’t mean to make things dark but I too miss Applejack as well; believe or not, we were friends…” the highlighted bystander had interceded, catching the rest off–guard with but a melancholic coloratura almost immediately, “we’d first met up in camp before I’d became a singer; I still can’t stand what happened outright: she’s so sickly right now!”

“Speaking of sick, it still hasn’t been the same since Fluttershy’s house been burnt to the ground; I couldn’t believe the Tartarus she’d gone through even before the whole thing went out too hot: she was accused of having sex with the animals of all things, including her pet bunny Angel…!” the primordial lounger groaned as both eyelids were revealed, brown as earth but far from sweet.

It didn’t take much for the darkly ginger to chime in with some green around the gills as far as the small crowd was concerned, “that’s disgusting, it’s more like something stripped straight out of some cave paintings from across the pond faraway; not only that, wouldn’t it be more in place south of the mainland, even further than Hippogriffia…?”

“I’m afraid not, Madame Frazzle: apparently, it’s not unheard of for people to make artwork out of this particular form of abuse…” the amber skinned lounger replied, turning to face the titular target as the brighter counterpart backed away just in time no less, “matter of fact, I’d heard this story on the news about one of the youths from Yakyakistan having intercourse with some pigs. Younglings and pets should never mix for good reason, especially as far as media is concerned no less in this day and age like so: it’s a good way to ruin so many lives and people’s safety, not to mention their well–being and innocence overall so to speak of; in the distant past, anybody caught in the act would be slain alongside with the creatures in question to prevent corruption.”

“And yet, there are other forms of corruption surviving in the modern world: perversion, hoarding, embezzlement, abuse, misbelief, violence, deception, and treachery; it perpetuated themselves long before we were born and still so to this day, perhaps even in Equestria itself…” the opalescent listener said sadly as well no less.

Aloe wasted no time climbing out of the water as is, a white towel wrapped firmly around most of her body for it was wet saying, “agreed and it seems that even its aftereffects have dug themselves deep into the soil; most of which was the changelings doing but the rest belonged to the locals and foreigners alike: the exceptions were our neighbors and even they had problems. I heard that many of the people from Griffonstone had been experiencing a population crash since work has been drying up: some of them have also been turning to prostitution even before the war broke out, especially given their birth rates no less; in fact, I heard some rumors of an orphaned teenager from here trading sex in exchange for food and shelter inside New Ponyland.”

“Poor thing, no one this young should have to put themselves through such torment for table scraps and a cardboard box too…” the pink haired individual gasped as the indigo correspondent looked away at the soapy surface area the rest were still inside of, “I heard of stories involving homeless youths even before the war; I never imagine the idea of them becoming prostitutes…!”

“Well, Applejack told me she’d last found her sister being turned into a maidservant at Plato’s Cavern, a nasty little place no less; to think that they were going to sell the poor girl into slavery, it makes me sick to my stomach, especially after what had been done…!” growled the highlighted inhabitant turning to face the door.

It was finally time for the hardened listener to intercede no less, making a splash in the process as she’d stood up to exclaim, “nobody owns us, especially my hot ass: our home and kind have been free from the chains of tyranny for almost a millennium; all these slavers are cowards as far as Fume and I are concerned…!

“That’s the name of your boyfriend…?” the dark ginger asked as she’d dried her red eyeglasses after getting lightly splashed on not too long ago, “I never imagined you and him being an item, much less from the Dragon Lands as far as anyone was concerned; last time I heard, there were many like them living in some district up in Fillydelphia no less…”

Sure enough, it wasn’t long until the doors were opened, prompting the octet to turn their eyes towards the entrants making their way inside at once. Outside in the cold distance, a wildcat did growl; two more women were approaching and the wind began to howl from where they had just entered. Both of them had possessed such commonalities: some sharp teeth, red collars around their necklines, and pale integuments between themselves. It was safe to say that whatever was on their very minds, the road they were both traveling on was already at an end, unclothed and dry so to speak.

Speaking of the two though, whilst their collective lack of textiles made them one of the same as half of the other women whom were already in attendance, they, too, possessed differences many could identify at once almost instantly. For starters, one of the twosome had pink hair and red eyes whereas the other was raven haired with amber eyes; of them, the latter was more colorful to the point of being somewhat frostbitten but otherwise warm and healthy as is. While both of the entrants were friendly so to speak, the pale locked woman instantaneously took aim at the lanky lounger without bias or fear, something in which the other was unaware of as far as the rest were currently concerned.

At the very least, the freckles upon the bright skin burned with heat as she’d heard one of them speak, “Ocellus, we were all looking for you: Alexander and Solar were both wondering what was taking you all so long; is everything alright…?”

“Yeah, it is; I’d just happened to have made a mess at the pool earlier: wasn’t expecting to pee so much after all that backdoor action…” the eponymous female said to her sharper counterpart almost immediately so to speak of, swimming up to the latter speedily, “I still haven’t been able to make heads or tails about the whole shindig our hosts have been throwing us today no less. To be honest, I don’t really know how much more my body could take as it were; this may have not been my first time taking it from behind but I still get anxious about enduring the ordeal, if at all: Seraph wasn’t even the first person I’d done it with and I still get rashes here and there either way…”

“Ocellus, sweetie, anal sex is most uncomfortable for people the first time around so to speak of; even with proper protection and hygiene, size makes a difference compared to traditional coitus: as far as my sister and I can recall, a man’s genitals can determine the outcome of the ordeal…” the brighter masseuse chirped blithely already.

The lanky lounger was about to exit the water when her lavender correspondent arose with a blue towel around the waistline saying, “oh please, it’s not like you two are the only ones who know how to keep it clean when it comes to ass play; besides, it’s not just for straight couples because gays do it too, not just with dicks: I’d ended up fisting and fingering my friend Ballista before…”

“Alright, I better go on ahead and take it easy with myself: come on, Binkie, let’s go; all this dirty talk’s a bit too much for me…” Ocellus had wheezed sheepishly after jumping out of the water, more exposed to the elements compared to either of her peers, “I’m just glad that this party’s clothing optional, especially since the water park was rented out for the entire day…”

“Relax, Ocellus, Smudge Proof’s party happens to be one of the ways I can unwind from all the performances I’ve been making; failing that, these contraceptives I’d been taking will ensure I won’t end up like my friend Applejack, especially after what they’d all done to her no less…” the indigo inhabitant said to her lanky counterpart.

The aforementioned bystander turned around and said to the highlighted correspondent instantly, “thanks, Coloratura; I’ll keep that in mind…”

“Call me, Rara; Applejack did when she was young: I just wish I hadn’t discovered what became of her since our past childhood…” the titular tenant twittered tepidly about, taking the time to wave at her lanky counterpart all the same whom joined the duo now, “I just hope that my boss Svengallop doesn’t know about it altogether; the invites were random after all so to speak of…”

“You don’t need to remind us of that; even as a delegate, I still worry about my job being on the line, especially in this day and age alone: all the others have been put on notice ever since Prime Minister Agar began to take Gelatin’s place after the war ended…” Frazzle chuckled nervously, sweating profusely as she’d tugged onto the ring hanging from her collar gently so to speak of.

Either way, it didn’t take much for Ocellus to find herself walking out of the supersaturating area, already experiencing the dry weight of the world underneath both feet altogether no less. Considering that two other women from not long ago were also side–by–side the lanky median, the latter had found herself more unnerved by the uneven dentition upon their smiling visages. Ocellus could smell some chemicals emanating about from the other side of the pathway accompanied by some faint aromas, something that they can relate to since this was their walk. Latched froth began to fall from the lanky pedestrian’s body as they were affected by gravity, making her more clear to them and the other potential observers, known and unknown, already. Even the backgrounds had changed for they were where furniture rested against the flat textures, grandiose to a fault but otherwise restrained by the simplicity due to the pastel outlet altogether.

In any case, some splashing was heard here and there as the threesome, Ocellus included, found themselves in a more larger space than the hall. The lanky pedestrian could see more of the true blue skies than what she and her seven compeer had been presented along with the golden sun. The freer atmosphere was still restrained by an abundance of solid achromatic frames, keeping inhabitants such as Ocellus sheltered instantly. A harder surface had greeted them, bearing rough textures were found on the lanky pedestrian’s lavender correspondent but more solid thereof. Ocellus could smell the mists more than ever and compared them both at once: concentrations, densities, and composition; to each of their own.

Speaking of which, the walking threesome had found themselves out into a much clearer scenery than the one they were all inside of together. Though there were plenty of clouds high up flying in the sky, there was plenty of clear blue to go around, something also found inside liquids. Aside from the powerful rays of sunshine beaming all throughout, there were colorful skylights hanging from the ceiling several meters up. Nothing could stop them from smell the cool crisp oxygen from carrying the moisture and scents into their noses as the perspiration ceased. Laying at the trio’s feet were an abundance of pools, slides, and the like, each of them filled the same fluid the lanky pedestrian swam in of. Etching nearby away from the wet edges were a bunch of couches, chairs, and tables resting upon solid ground, few of which were used. Yielding their ears were a melody of winds and wires with the occasionally striking keys being played acutely from the speakers no less.

A few scores of people were already basking in the paradoxical atmosphere with various states of care thereof, hot and heavy yet cold and light. A vast majority overall were more–or–less unlike them so to speak; of course, the many whom were wearing collars had been much like Ocellus. All that can be gathered up with their own eyes were the similarities and differences between the very others regarding their hair, eyes, and skin. Another obvious observation for the lanky tenant was the lack of any additional clothing upon their bodies, save for a select few within the least. As far as they were concerned, the various imaginable poses they were engaged in at once made Ocellus vibrate about before the remaining two. Among the mewling, groaning, and squeaking about embedded in the present music along winds, the lanky pedestrian could hear some talking too.

Of the duo whom had walked side–by–side of Ocellus, the pink haired one on the latter’s left asked at once, “hey, Ocellus, do you wanna get something to eat before we have a go at it together…?”

“Yeah, sure Binkie… why not…?” the lanky listener lilted liberally, easing herself away from the eponymous compeer as they’d broken away from the solid tressed counterpart at once, “it must have been a long time since I’d eaten: sometimes, I couldn’t help myself but to forget now and then; it’s been a while since my family moved in years ago and I still haven’t got used to it.”

“It’s okay, Ocellus: at least nobody thinks you’re a monster here; we’re all safe here at the indoor park…” the pink haired pedestrian had said to the aforementioned listener almost immediately as they’d scurried off together in an instant, leaving the odd woman out in the process so to speak of.
> Exposé
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Fifteen minutes, that’s fifteen minutes, people…!” a stray voice had emerged from the dark backward which was deemed to be nothingness itself, a void soon dissipating within moments at an end when some more colors came into the picture.

Most of them were dark and steely, possessing the appearance of an industry complex booming alike in the flowing hustle and bustle of a big stinking city where a pink courageous dog could walk about in the company of its owners, a far cry from its lonely and trouble past of its infancy.

By comparison, even the brightest of which had now already started to stand out in the open as it were, loudly and proudly as they were being a bit more up, close, and personal than it had been previously perceived so earlier ago, especially since another sentence had escaped into the folds, “get some more acetylene ready…!”

“They’d almost ruined everything; how did something like this happen…?” yet one more voice had intonated, this time being far from indistinct compared to the first two no less, “wake up… wake the fuck up, you little bitch: who do you work for, some other trash king? Answer me, dammit…!”

This was due to the fact its source came from a particular palette of colors already in the visage: it had painted out a lone individual in the flesh. Though predominately dressed in green, there were some other shades and hues from the fabrics which had failed to match their wearer’s irises. Tresses of blackness were spiked up in all directions, despite being kept short; it was all shiny enough to match both two belts and undershirt. To keep with the theme, an ensemble of brown gloves and tassets were also found upon the speaker, pelted much like the pants and mantle. There was also some metal slathered about its wearer: a breastplate, several chains all throughout the limbs, toecaps of leather boots, and a shield. To say there was just anger in there was but only an understatement: etched within the speaker’s bright face was a horrendous scowl most of all.

“I… don’t work for anybody…” a weak murmur had escaped into the fold, belonging to the listener upfront of the lone eyewitness whose anger grew.

A far too different person was discovered on the opposite end: a lanky female restrained by a big wooden board and shackles attached to both feet. Unlike the bright skin, the prisoner had skin so much darker than her viewer’s hair, so much so there were many photons illuminating it outright. The female’s hair was small and transparent, bearing only faint amaranths as they were already narrowed down into a centralized strip at the end. More importantly, her neckline had possessed a solid red collar, an accessory to the fact it’d been standing out against the quiet hues over her body. Considering the low density build the lanky female possessed, the only things of color worn were a set of dirtied brown rags stopping at kneecaps. Her eyes of cyan were becoming open and clear, staring at her observer’s grimace as the latter was already at close range as it was going to be.

It didn’t even take much for the eyewitness in green to reply instantaneously to the lanky female, “oh, sure I believe that: you'd just tried to ruin Equestria for your amusement, just like before, haven’t you?!”

“What exactly are you talking about: I haven’t done anything; better yet, who exactly are you…?” she’d said frantically, looking around at the dark scenery around her observer for something else overall, “where am I and why am I in all this; none of this makes any sense to me at all: what is going on here?!”

“All will be revealed soon enough, not that it matters since you know what you and your kind did; besides, this is all too familiar for the likes of me to bore you with the details so I’ll sum it up as it is: 'seeing is believing' is what one says and this place has seen far too much of you and your deeds…” the eyewitness in green sighed about before turning away so to speak of no less.

The lanky female struggled to move as the metal around her heels clinked and slinked before she spoke to her listener at once, “none of this is helping at all whatsoever: what do you mean by ‘all will be revealed soon enough’ and does it have to do with me; why go to the trouble of restraining me anyway…?”

“Okay, you know what, since we still have plenty of time to ourselves, how about I let you in on a little secret, an open one at that?” the eyewitness in green exclaimed, turning back around to face her once more, this time with a softer yet still strong visage as is, “you’re a Changeling, a threat to their whole homeland and their princesses as far as they’d all remembered right now. Even before my arrival, a lot of people have lost their lives, business, families, and hope because of monsters like you, Ocellus: apparently, it seems that it wasn’t enough for you to go kill their precious princess bride in the invasion plan your queen made; you just had to lay waste to the capital too, looting and plundering to your hearts’ content like they were all playthings no less! Sure, some of you have managed to blend in with the crowd before hearing the news of the onslaught being thwarted here; still, you’ve been a thorn in their side ever since that day, especially as far as the princesses Celestia and Luna were aware: always causing trouble with and without your shapeshifting powers for them and their dear subjects no less, but never more! This is ends tonight for you and your kind, something which we’d grown accustomed to preparing the second we saw you; unlike you, I’m not even from around here and even I’ve grown disgusted with your sordid past, with and without your dear Queen: bone–grinding, bloodcurdling, sweat–inducing terrors unfit for a Saturday morning cartoon anywhere at all. Recently, I’d been summoned to anew world that had hated me for the weapon which had chosen me, despite being alive and well: a shield on my right hand that only I can wield, at least until a worthless wannabe found a way to take it from me like he did afore; nevertheless, I’d been able to have it returned to me with the help of people whom had lent me aid as I had to them since. Under normal circumstances, I’d be nauseous at the mere idea of a public exhibition, especially in my old homeworld no less: after all, the modern age was more peaceful, despite all of the wars, terrorists, and rebels making far too much noise in the news; however, from what I can see, this is not that and your kind are almost no different so to speak of, especially with your deeds. Seeing that your species had played a role in killing their princesses’ adopted niece, it’s rather fitting that this Queen had to go; of course, even her death couldn’t satisfy or pacify any of the Equestrians you’d all terrorized individually and collectively: your atrocities alone were so heinous, many of your victims had suffered in silence as well as howls under your heels no less! Even as civilians, you Changeling scum are getting what you deserve for following the whims and wishes of your Queen alone: had your invasion gone off without a hitch, this nation wouldn’t have existed as it were now and who knows how many have died; now, you’re just a prisoner of a war she’d started and lost, waiting for your sentence to be carried out on behalf of the Crown. Such is the life of a soldier and spy from an enemy nation falling to that of tinkers and tailors in this world and perhaps others: for many of you, the darkest pit of hell will arrive to swallow you all whole so don’t keep the devil or your Queen waiting; though for your kind’s hybrid offspring, if any, I believe that there should be peace and perhaps more now and in the hereafter instead.”

“What about my family: my mother, father, sister, and brother; what will become of them…?” the lanky female moaned raspy at what he’d said.

The eyewitness in green stared blankly and replied, “perhaps you haven’t heard me clear enough, despite being close range as it: tonight, you, your parents, your siblings, and every single one of your peers will be executed for your collective and individual crimes against the crown and country of Equestria itself; if it’s any consolation, you’ll get to see them all again one last time.”

“But, why all this: my family hasn’t done anything to you or the people of Equestria personally; how can they even justify this?!” she’d wailed, catching him off–guard, despite his attempt to hold firm initially as he’d done ever since the very beginning no less, “I’d made friends, started a brood of my own, even found an identity for myself rather than a wayward drone; is this right?!”

“Who said a silly thing about ‘right’; haven’t you Changelings done enough wrong to them for one lifetime…?” the eyewitness in green had shot back in an instant, his frown returning in full force altogether so to speak of.

The lanky female struggled to continue onward, “but I’m not like the Queen; I’m just a young at heart mother like I’d said before: what will become of my children?! They’re just kids: they don’t deserve to have their mother taken from them because of something like this; they have a right to live and let live, just like everyone else…!”

“I’m sure that they’ll find a foster family that will love them as much as any other pureblooded Equestrian would in this age…” he’d said to her without a care in the world, the vitriol in his voice still kept at an all time low more than ever before overall, “as far as I’d be concerned, it’s irrelevant to discuss it with the likes of you; anyways, it’s almost time for me to leave now…”

“Wait…!” the lanky mother had exclaimed to the eyewitness in green, quickly earning a deep scorn in the process.

With harlequins rolling around, he’d scoffed about, “if this is going to be you begging for your family’s lives, then you can forget it; your parents have committed their fair share of crimes against Princess Celestia long before Nightmare Moon returned home to Equestria no less, you dirty little–––”

“No, it’s not that…!” she’d interjected, currently subverting such expectations no less almost immediately, “I just want to know: who are you and why do you care about what happens to Equestria if you’re not from around here as you’d said before…?”

“Well, let’s just say this: my name is Naofumi Iwatani and I’m a hero; it’s clear to me that Equestria’s champions aren’t like me or others like myself but I’d grown disgusted at what had been done to them, even before your Queen’s arrival…” the eyewitness in green had finally introduced himself to the lanky mother nearby himself no less nonchalantly.

She’d struggled to break free but to no avail as she’d groaned towards him altogether, “you mean the Bearers of Harmony…?”

“Of course; after all, they were all chosen to be the best: Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy…” Naofumi had replied before turning away once again, leaving the lanky mother alone within the relative darkness no less, “as far as I see it, I’d dread to see what happened to them befall my friends and family, be if by foreigners or neighbors; bye Ocellus…”

“Mom… dad… brother… sister… I’m sorry… I wish I’d… been able to… protect you all… I knew for a fact… Equestria… was going to be… a challenge… since our Queen fell… thanks to a… regicide… still, I’d never… wanted you all… to die en masse… with or without me…” the titular prisoner slowly wept, stuck in the void yet freed from the eyewitness in green’s presence.

Taking one last look at the interiors, the lanky mother remembered how stripped down to the bare minimum and blackened it was, much like her body. Her eyelids had struggled to stay opened as a small singular tear seeped out from underneath them before being followed by a few more in the process. In a matter of seconds, Ocellus began to cry softly already, barely comprehending the future he’d spoken of not too long ago and the events prior to it all. Even as the lanky mother stood tall against the board, her own legs bound by restrictive chains had reminded her of the location she’d been introduced to. Verity was harsh as far as she was concerned, even more so compared to what Naofumi had spoken to her, especially with his grim intonation no less. Effortlessly struggling against the darkness, Ocellus made one more attempt to escape from her confines but ended up wasting more energy in the attempt. Such was enough for the lanky mother to subside and wait for the seconds to count down into nothingness, a fate she’d been told of not like the present.





Time had passed on through space alongside with the inhabitants whom were drifting aimlessly as the stars amongst the never–ending blackness floated on, each of them to prompt any wayward traveler to harken back to the memories of life when the richest beverage kept their spirits up until their next destination and from the mouth of madness. Of course, time itself was the only thing that remained constant in the ever changing plane of existence where many variables had come in all shapes and size, coexisting alongside either in unions or divisions thereof as they transcended boundaries without incident to say the least; then again, almost all of them succumbed to the folding sooner or later. This interval however would prove to be a special case since that there were those who have found themselves still standing rather than stumbling and falling to the depths of their failure nonetheless; however, not all of them were doing so as the whole wide world turned on its own axis: out of many of those in question, there was indeed a few no less.

At ease, the atmosphere had already applied some pressure upon the large surface area with nothing short of coldness and calculation. The spacious skies above were darker than the shadows she was cloaked in, bearing a few stars and a crescent more redder than her hair. While the air was crisp and cool enough to commute many different aromas from all walks of life, it was musky enough to be reeking. A few flowers had sprouted from the brilliant green to witness the rushing waters roar from the cataracts overflowing nearby themselves. Wild assortments of cries were also heard off in the distance, possessing many emotions befitting a sentient species, known and unknown. Other than that, there was but an uneasy peace and appreciated quiet in the good night it was, something in which many could relate to.

Nevertheless, Ocellus wasn’t granted any as she was now found sitting in a wooden chair above a platform of the same material: her arms and legs were now bounded together by more steely chains as they were already abaft her gagged face so to speak of; thankfully, she was still clothed in these rags but they’d still provided little comfort for her altogether as far as both eyes see it all. Underneath was a glassy container holding up the ligneous frames together where the lanky mother had now resided upon: unbeknownst to her, an enormous amount achromatic liquid was halfway full, stagnant and clear like water or so it had seemed; adjacent to it all, were a crowd of people jeering and booing together, assaulting her ears as the screams and cries were nearby her.

Out of them, a boy in an orange jacket with a similar green ensemble of a hat, pants, and mittens alongside black shoes stood up: like the others around him, his face was fierce with a murderous grin but he had a white sphere firmly in his right hand no less; with a stoic gaze, he’d said simply, “well, this is it: so long, Ocellus, you dumb bitch…!”

Afterwards, the jaded youth had thrown the small object right into the direction of a tricolor bullseye in a matter of seconds; in doing so, she’d descended into the liquid with little warning whatsoever but was unprepared for what had come next instantly: her flesh and fabric were being devoured as bubbles formed around it all, undisturbed by the sudden arrival of their delivery. Ocellus began to scream like she’d never done before but was too busy being overwhelmed by the compound eating up already; however, no octaves came out and even if they did, the hissing about was enough to cover up the very struggle inside the tight area: this was nothing short of pleasurable to the boy and the rest whom were watching as the liquid changed from clear to red. It wasn’t long until the lanky mother was no more, being reduced to muscles and bone before being devoured by the compound; at long last, her additional eyewitnesses were sure to have been given an up, close, personal yet safe confirmation of it all no less: needless to say, there entertainment, though brief, was utterly fulfilling to their eyes and ears nevertheless so to speak.
> Mobile
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was another lone city currently bathed in an elegant afterglow thanks to the eternal golden sun taking residence above them in the heavens with the cottony clouds traveling about in its wake. In them, the big bright blue skies had contained a variety of lifeforms flying across the way over the rhythm emotion of the surface’s hustle and bustle flowing about without even so much as a care. There were towering behemoths ruling and governing their very own landscape for although that they were divided, these constructs nevertheless shared the same power wielded over this very place. Aside from a variety of wagons running about the asphalt with sights and sounds contributing to its atmosphere, there were also some ships of some various sizes surfing across the dyed deep blue. What had made it stand out the most were the massive flocks of ibises and seagulls that could run so far to and fro but couldn’t get away with even the largest of wingspans as they’d cawed about. On the other side of the vast and magnificent waters where the many ships had sailed in and out of there were an abundance of sand and fog sprawled about throughout the massively beautiful earth. Most importantly, the very denizens themselves were abundantly commonplace, all coming and going inside the city by any and all means necessary as they pleased in sheer density whatsoever as is.

The woodwind sounds of whistling had cut on through the briskly scarce air whilst currently followed by the constant percussion of steel parts in rapid succession. Within the cold distance, an enharmonic orchestra had came in the form of a slender and shiny locomotive presently undergoing the tender processes of deceleration. Slowly and steadily, the synchronicity of music came to a gentle end when the grinding of metal was followed by the whooshing of smoke clouds nearby the platform. Instantaneously, the doors slid open to unleash many passengers now taking their own spot onto the same surface, wasting no time whatsoever to exit the contraption.

“Attention all passengers, we’ll be departing to Manehattan in the next half–hour: if this happens to be your destination, then we ask you to check your belongings and hope you have a nice day; either way, thank you for choosing Friendship Express, Equestria’s finest in rail transit…” a voice announced itself from the machine in question, lacking a corporeal form of its own no less.

Out of many exiting the locomotive at this moment in time, a pale lanky woman stepped out from the contraption without any hesitation. Her cyan tresses fluttered about in the wind as they’d ran down past her waistline, matching the eyeshadow overlaying about the open lids. Geodes of amethyst were found to be hidden underneath the pale woman’s sunglasses, surveying the area she found herself in almost instantly. In any case, her attire presently consisted of a scarlet blouse, jet–black pants, and brown boots; in addition, a transparent skirt was also found. Slung abaft the pale woman’s body was a medium gray backpack: despite bulging about, no signs of struggle were found upon its owner.

It didn’t take much for her to look around and make note of the people, speaking quietly so as to avoid standing out altogether, “it’s amazing that’s after all these years, Equestria’s still going on strong, if not more so than ever: I’d thought all this fighting in and out of the country would tear it apart as is, but it seems we were all wrong; still, it seems as if nothing else has changed at all.”

“Look, mummy…” a youthful voice escaped into the pale woman’s ears almost instantaneously, more open by comparison, “there’s an airplane in the sky…”

“And so there is: I don’t think I’d ever seen these in my life, outside of my big sister’s report no less; father seems to hate them more than the Equestrians themselves, not a big surprise to me…” she said just as quietly as she’d done before, turning her purple eyes upward in a diagonal path to discover the titular machine a secondary observer had noticed immediately.

It didn’t take long for the pale woman to find herself within range of some new sounds a minute after she’d began to walk away: a series of strings being plucked in a stable pattern as they were from both guitars, followed by an occasional drumbeat no less; they’d originated from a quartet of men standing upon a nearby corner, more rough around the edge compared to the likes of her. As far as she could see them currently, every single one of the members had possessed their very commonalities pronounced as is: bright integuments, brown hair with matching eyes, and round faces were all up on display thanks to the sunlight high above; in her mind, their uniformity was enough to make assumptions regarding their relationship to each other in some form or fashion. Nevertheless, this was enough for the pale woman to stop at that, especially considering there were others with similar color combinations regarding skin, tresses, and eyes alone so to speak; after all, no one paid any mind to her own place in the world or her presence as is since everyone else was far too busy with their lives to care in the slightest, something in which put her at ease.

Either way, there were some significant differences between the four in particular, all of which people like her took note of, which had already separated themselves from each other instantly. For starters, one of them was hirsute, all dressed in black from head to toe with but a similar yet larger pair of sunglasses as some strands of silver were found at the sides of his beard no less. Standing by his sides were a pair of guitarists: one was shorter but had longer tresses and a blue jacket over the black ensemble; the other was most tall, wearing a soft cap and a longest braid. Far left was a drummer with less locks and silver within them sitting in a chair; like one of the other musicians, his attire had more color too: a long pair of pants in a camouflage assortment.

The shortest guitarist strummed about and vocalized freely as his reclining counterpart tapped onto the flat surface, “oooooooooooooooh, Acoustic Hearthswarming… oooooooooooooh, with electric guitars…” 

“Fixtures on the side, are they real?” the man in black asked, finally joining into the conversation as it’d caught the pale woman off–guard immediately no less, “let me go talk to one…” 

“Nothing is real here except you…” the blue jacketed peer said absentmindedly so to speak of, apathetic to the stares of their passing audience.

In any case, the man in black had taken a deep breath and soothed about either way nevertheless, “it’s a real treat guys, it’s a real treat… goodbye, blue sky… goodbye, blue sky, goodbye blue sky, goodbye… unless the environment changes, unless we’re able to assist the rejuvenation of mother nature, as its guardians in the next couple years, I guarantee you, your children will not see the day, of your white hairs. Goodbye, blue sky… goodbye, blue sky… goodbye…”

“Ooh–ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh…” the rest of his peers had cooed liked birds, vocalizing alongside the tunes they were all playing freely no less,


Did–did–did–did you see the frightened ones?
Did–did–did–did you hear the falling bombs?
Did–did–did–did you ever wonder why we had to run 
for shelter when the promise of a brave new world 
unfurled beneath the clear blue sky?


“This must be one of the songs played by some band from the old world, or so it seems; it’s nothing like the songs I was sung or taught back at my homeland no less: no way my father would dare to let me speak of it lately, even on Equestrian soil so to speak of…” she’d cerebrated about no less, enthralled by their melody eventually thanks to the men in question.

More had surrounded the pale woman but remained focus on the musicians anyway as their leader in black spoken up freely, “ten millennia ago in lands between rivers, a new type of thinking was developed, one that involved totalitarian agriculture and now…”

“Goodbye, blue sky…!” the blue jacketed guitarist crooned alone, focus his fingers upon the steely strings nonetheless, “goodbye, blue sky… goodbye…”

“We fall into sleep as people, as livestock on this planet, we are here to nurture our planet: we are here to help guarding this fucking place, not destroy it for heaven’s sake; I am sick and tired of unequal globalism, I am sick and tired of fascism, I am sick and tired of this type of people…!” the frontman shouted almost uncontrollably, yet staying firmly in place all the same.

Thankfully, their audience remained firm, even her, as they’d crooned about without fear no less:


Did–did–did–did you see the frightened ones?
Did–did–did–did you hear the falling bombs?
The flames are all long gone but the pain lingers on…


“Goodbye, blue sky, unless you open your eyes…” the leader in black had sang before breaking away freely from the very structure to speak to the growing crowd calmly no less, “unless you open your eyes to what in the world is happening; the third world is waiting for you to wake up…”

“Goodbye, blue sky… goodbye, blue sky… goodbye… goodbye!” a small fraction of the rather intrepid audience had currently joined into the fray, some of whom were tossing coins at their feet gently.

Just as the pale woman started to reach into her backpack, one of the other guitarist began to howl playfully, “pull the tapeworm out of your breech… pull the tapeworm out of your breech…!”

“Ngh…!” she’d grunted, storming off in an instant as both feet had prompted her to flee the scene with little warning; however, the trail had stopped cold as another individual was in the way, sending the former onto haunches after landing upon the hard surface, “I’m sorry but you need to watch where you’re going; what are you doing standing here alone, besides all of this?!”

“Having a nice walk, just like you…” another feminine voice escaped into the pale observer’s ears, deeper in tone but still light as a feather.

Based on what was seen, one could’ve mistaken them as sisters by virtue of their eyes and skin; however, the differences between them both were far too great to entertain that possibility as is. For starters, the other pedestrian had possessed some predominately purple hair with aquamarine highlights, much of which matched the wearer’s eyes as far as the primordial was concerned. Secondment, although the latter’s integuments were also bright, they were tickled pink already, bearing a healthy shading more fitting of freshly bloomed carnations on a warm spring morning. The highlighted pedestrian wore a more uniform attire compared to the first as far as the latter could see: a fuchsia blouse, a turquoise undershirt, an orchid skirt, and a pair of jet–black shoes.

Also, the rosy woman happened to have a bag in her possession, except it was lighter and more colorful with the starry sapphires befitting of another dimension where worldly rubies coexist.

It didn’t take much for the pale correspondent to speak out to the uniformly individual at once, “are you one of the locals by the way, ma’am…?”

“Not at all: to be honest, this isn’t my own hometown either; even I myself can tell you’re not from Fillydelphia either no less…” the highlighted pedestrian answered instantly, struggling to stand back up on both feet as far as her pale observer was concerned, “the name’s Starlight Glimmer by the way; who are you…?”

“I’m Swift Foot and you’re right, I was just traveling along too; I actually come from Filika…” the primordial eyewitness introduced herself.

As the pale woman help her rosy counterpart along, the latter spoken up at once, “Filika, I haven’t heard of that name at all so to speak of: where is it at, somewhere in the Old World perhaps…?”

“Not quite, I believe: although it takes a lot of influence from there, it’s actually nearby Equestria up in the northeastern seaboard…” Swift Foot had replied as Starlight was currently upright again, both noticing the differences height between themselves at once, “it’s actually like a throwback from the old millennium societies of yore for the lack of a better term so to speak of.”

“Interesting, so what brings you here of all places; this city can get really cold at times, especially around the holidays: any relatives perhaps living nearby…?” the highlighted traveler had asked her paler correspondent almost rather immediately so to speak of as they’d began to walk together.

Sure enough, Swift Foot had answered Starlight all the same no less, “not quite, I’ve been traveling alone on vacation; to be honest, I’d taken residence in Ponyville a few years ago but I’ve been rethinking my options as to how I can still afford to have a roof over my head and save some bits: apparently, it seems the prices for apartments have been going down recently…”

“I wouldn’t put my money on them anyway: even before the war, I’ve been noticing some problems anyway with residency…” the highlighted pedestrian said to her paler counterpart while they were walking away from the others, hearing a wheeze of steam, “thankfully, it’s not as bad as the others but cost–effectiveness isn’t the only factor I tend to worry about here…”

“Really, what do you mean by that…?” Swift Foot asked softly as the locomotive had begun to run off.

Starlight wasted no time in giving out an answer, “history to be honest: apparently, according to some old rumors, this used to be one of the ancient cities dating back to Equestria’s founding; as a matter of fact, they’d said it was the site of some otherworldly phenomenon from a millennium ago but it’s not what I’d been interested in. I’ve been noticing a lot of disparities between two kinds of people: the natives whose histories have been dated back to its city’s inception and people cordoned off in the Dragon Town district; apparently, even in modern times, there’s still some animosity between them but do I blame them? Of course not, if I happened to be nearby someone or something capable of turning something to ash with my breath, then I’d be planning on finding a way to defend myself from these kinds of individuals altogether; still, seeing them living in such conditions is kind of sad, especially since they’re not like the rest of the whole city, much less the country, you know. In any case, just be aware they do tend be keeping to themselves anyway, especially in regards to some cases of any kinds of fire related incidents here and there; of course, that’s not to say the natives are capable of causing them for one reason or another, even before the war to be honest. Now that I think about, I know a place where we can get some fine dining around here: I’ve been getting some exercise by myself but bumping into you has reminded me of my neighbors back in the village so I figure the least I can do is treat you to some food; how’s cheesesteak and apple pie sound to you…?”

“Cheesesteak… I don’t know; I’ve been having a hard time keeping up with my regiment lately so I don’t feel right cheating…” the pale traveler responded as she’d looked away from her highlighted correspondent briefly, looking around for a brief while, “will they have any vegetable substitutes in lieu of meat or fish if it’s possible, forgive me for saying…?”

“Of course: the only ones I’m aware who eat any meat and/or fish around these parts, besides from Dragon Town, are probably from Griffonstone; failing that, the grapefruit smoothies are a lifesaver when it comes to apple pies…” Starlight had beamed about, spreading the joy onto Swift Foot with mild success no less in any case.

It didn’t take much for the pale woman to sigh, “why not…? It’s been a long week anyway: nothing’s been happening so I needed an adventure here; not like I have anything to lose no less…”

Needless to say, the particular pedestrian pair were still free to roam around the big city, like everybody else here and there.
> Statuesque
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there was one thing that had proved to be noticeable, then it would be the sheer cold already beginning to envelope anything and anyone around itself; as such, there was basically nothing at all whatsoever to keep things warm and toasty. For starters, the sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel with its jet–black background lacking in any input altogether, out amongst a never stagnant void where nothingness had prevailed all throughout as is. While it was far from quiet, the monotone howls were devoid of melody and patterns alike, beating against the barren confines without rest or reprieve as they’d found themselves in an attack order due to their innumerable strength. Because of the very darkness in itself, there had been absolutely no signs of any other color out and about capable of standing up to the ongoing void, at least not without being overwhelmed completely by unbridled mischief and mayhem. Although shapeless to a fault, it wasn’t fair or right at all whatsoever to even suggest no structure therein had never been present here or there so to speak of; after all, there were some clues to suggest something took up residency already. To say the loneliness was currently filling the deadening atmosphere had just simply served as an understatement, even if a singular grain of truth had taken root previously ever since their very conception prior, not that it’d matter anyways.

“Pluto…!” a shiver had echoed, quickly scaring away the gilded silence which had once resided within the very colorless confines.

It did little, if any at all, to override any of the rather repetitious howls moving castle doctrines roundabout, past and present alike so to speak of. Before long, the softest shuffling about hadst came through in a slightly reckless abandon, lower and quieter than a careless whisper all the while. Although the very sounds continued onward, the noise pollution as of this moment in time failed to garner a stronger reaction, organic or otherwise. Still, the soft scuffling of surface areas between two flat materials now betrayed what little hadst remained of the serenity in this cold cruel world. At the very least, complete silence was already returning to the real world, despite being lacking in dominion as far as the drones were concerned.

Nevertheless, a low and husky sigh broke on through the sidelines after many minutes passed, followed by some quick and quiet footfalls against the flat textures as a singular flick was made, bathing the naked space in heat and photons as it’d became instantly identified in all due time. The ceiling above had served as the direct source of illumination, a lonely lightbulb shielded by a dome in the midst of a rotating quartet no less: since it’d been already a few yards away from what had lain underneath at the very furthest, safety was but a guarantee all the very worthwhile. With four partitions currently holding up the general composition, they were already dabbed in a salubrious coating of plain goldenrod wallpapering studded without any treasures inside of them; nevertheless, they’d stood the tests of time and space, especially considering how cold it all was. Railing down one of the walls were a set of azure curtains were discovered to be covering up a windowsill and the gateway to the outside world beyond what had used to be the jet–black void, stagnantly unmoving much like the majority of the small confines alone as they were still high. Keenly adjacent by a short distance was an enormous bed resting against its frame on hardwood, all donned by a thick celadon comforter with violet sheets and pillowcase already out of place as is yet otherwise so neatly in formation, a clear sign pointing to the source of its unfolded events. No matter what, a tall dresser had stood closer by a short nightstand, both of which were already sharing a matching beige scheme, the latter having possessed a slender lamp and clock standing atop it all; unlike the ceiling fan, they weren’t in the proper use, despite sharing a stable outlet. Standing adjacently from the very bedside were a pair of doors with its share of wooden knobs with all of the peach lacquer and textures therein; they were nothing like the other left slightly ajar on the opposing end, tall and wide like them yet solid enough as ice and cream put together.

Finally, there was the corporeal tenant: a pale lanky woman standing against the cold air bereft of fear and hatred found in the respective moons orbiting around a planet nearby an asteroid belt. She’d possessed a full head of cyan tresses already reaching past her waistline abaft with one too many strands out of place, especially considering how vulnerable they were to the frigid oxygen. Considering the lanky woman’s eyelids were now becoming wide open, the weary pupils were surrounded by fused amethysts while the brows far above there remained upon a slanted incline. Her face was round, brimming with life and youth despite the wrinkles and pockets of ice now developing upon its surface area due to the lowly pressurized atmosphere she’d resided inside of.  Draped upon the stagnant muscles of the generally lanky woman’s body was a silken stola of snow white with solid gold adornments: one upon the right shoulder; the other around the waist.

Since she was standing up straightaway on bare feet, she’d walked towards the dresser in mere seconds, opening the tray to pull out a few articles of clothing: a white shirt and matching socks with silvery panties were now resting underneath her underarm before venturing off outside without any kind of complaint whatsoever.

With one door shut abaft the lanky woman completely, another was open on the left side, leaving herself no time to be wasted in any shape or form altogether since the hallway separating betwixt the two of them weren’t much of a concern for walking distance, though small in geometry as is. The slow yet stagnating change in temperature was already being suddenly felt by her bare feet, currently showing off only instantaneously its very flooring was composed completely of merely ceramic tiles in a volcanic arrangement, reminiscent of its surface world’s fiery terrains no less. Instead of a plain color scheme from before, its walls were adorned with a tropical teal thematic, leaning into the go–between of land and sea but otherwise solid; however, the silvery ceiling was colored with cloud strife and squall leonharts shining about due to a similar lightbulb being on. Its accommodations thereof were all firmly gathered within the lanky woman’s line of eyesight: a toilet, sink, mirror, cabinet, hamper, closet, and bathtub with curtains became the very things providing such relief within those eyes; after all, the fact she was up and running proved enough.

At this moment alone, she now made it possibly sure enough to prevent any unwanted intrusions by locking the door right away already no less. Walking over to a similar closet door, the lanky woman pulled out an orange towel and grayscale washcloth from there before turning to the tub. Already made aware of the current attire onto her body, it became a complete castaway aside at once, leaving its owner’s skin absolutely bare. In the grand scheme of things, the small set of fabrics picked out were left aside upon the top of the green hamper’s flattop surface all the while.

The lanky woman had soon stepped inside rather slowly and carefully at once, quickly closing up the very sandy curtains alongside as well so as to shut out the cold air before it’d even gotten the slightest chance of following after her already. She’d soon taken her precious time studying what was currently directed right upfront instantly: the gilded nozzle guided straight overhead had been hung in from the walls with the mixer tap and its three handles had rested underneath all.

Calmly, the lanky woman had started to place her hand onto one handle in the middle just before arranging the others nearby them; however, nothing came out, much to her dismay so to speak. Although she’d became patient, a few minutes in the dry brisk zeitgeist making up the confines was more than enough for her to give up on the notions of any progress, rapid and otherwise. Now it was time to exit the bathtub, zeroing in on the sink from before and turning its handles; likewise, not much changed at all between the two fixtures, something the lanky woman loathed. This startling development was more than enough to send her storming off stark raving mad with frustration, her rage keeping her mistempered flesh warm against the arctic atmosphere already. Only after the lanky woman reopened the door from afore was she free from the disappointment, retreading old ground made with same bare feet as the undergarments ended up in their origins. Stardust memories of her awakening etched firmly into the brainwaves, both overwhelmed and undermined by the recent events based on the observations made in regards to the very pipework.

It wasn’t long until the lanky woman had returned to whence she’d came, comforted by the lack of changes present, if at all, but nevertheless brimming with anger at the grand scheme of things: the least that she could do for now was to cover herself and the few textiles in her possession already served as an impetus, especially considering the cold air from the very beginning no less. At the very least, she’d begun to put the silvery panties over her legs and then the white shirt all in due time, sitting down to wear the socks picked out not too long ago so as to avoid the chill; afterwards, her body became accustomed to the newfound warmth provided around them all, sheer protection as pressure points concentrated themselves into reinforcing structure upwardly. Now, the lanky woman headed towards the double doors nearby and opened them to find an elongated array of combinations: out of them, a scarlet sweater with long sleeves and jet–black pants were discovered upon a thin steel hanger inside her very grasp; as a result, it didn’t take much for her to wear them over most of her underclothing almost instantaneously so to speak of.

Soon, she’d started to return her attention to the bed, rearranging its linen and bedspread together before sitting back down at once; still weary from the lack of a response from what should’ve been the waterworks, she’d looked directly at the jet–black timepiece: before long, her fingertips pressed a button, listening, “this is the nationwide weather service. The following message has been transmitted by the Ministry of International Trade; this is not a test: tonight at 3:34 AM Eastern Time, a state of emergency was declared by the King of Equestria – an unknown hostile force was declared present at Peachtree Acres and several other locations in the surrounding areas of Rosewater Beach, New Ponyland. As of 5:00 AM Eastern Time, the King has issued prerogative orders to withdraw all ground forces and begin immediate airstrikes over Peachtree Acres and surrounding areas beginning no later than 6:00 AM this morning. For your own safety, an immediate evacuation order has been issued to the entire province of New Ponyland: to all subjects of New Ponyland and surrounding areas, leave all your personal belongings, take a battery–powered radio, and only essential supplies with you. Do not remain in your homes, seek shelter at your nearest military zone outside the province of New Ponyland and await further instructions: if you cannot find your nearest evacuation route, seek assistance from local authorities immediately; if you have military, gunpowder, and/or similar weapons training, contact your nearest military officer immediately. Meanwhile, please stay tuned to frequency 740 AM for further information including updates on this emergency and remain calm; remember, there’s nothing to be gained by trying to stay inside instead of evacuating as soon as possible from storm reach as is: in doing so, you could be exposing yourself to greater dangers – starvation, dehydration, privation, and hypothermia. The ice and snow are far more dangerous if you’re directly exposed to them without proper clothes, heavy insulation preferred; make sure gas and other fuel supplies are turned off and all fires are extinguished. If mains water is available, the faucets must be opened slightly for dripping to prevent the pipes from freezing up in the process: use this time to fill any and all of your largest carryall containers for consumption because it may not be available for much longer; also, water must not be used for whatever scale of flushing lavatories until you’re told that they may be used again properly. In the meantime, use your water only for essential drinking and cooking purposes for it means life so don’t waste it; also, to make your food stocks last, ration your supply because it may have to last for a fortnight or more: if you have fresh food in the house, then use this first to avoid wasting it but food in tins will keep.”

“Now, they fucking tell me: as far as I’d remembered, I’m nowhere nearby Peachtree Acres, let alone Rosewater for that matter!” the lanky woman exclaimed as she’d shot back up again, her pale face now burning red with color as the tiny electronic droned, “come to think of it, I’m not anywhere near New Ponyland; why did the pipes freeze if I’m not even in the province at all?!”

“Don’t, in any circumstance, stay inside the house – freezing temperatures can kill: if you can see and/or feel it, then it’s there; if you stay inside, the danger will come to you and/or your family and you may die…” the mechanical voice warned as she’d reached underneath her bed to pull out an elongated baggage from there almost immediately.

After throwing it onto the surface area of the comforter, the lanky woman headed back to the closet and sorted thru the textiles once more, this time picking out heavier material in thought, “how is this even possible: as far as I’d recalled, Hearthswarming isn’t due for another several months or so it seems; could this even be the work of windigos?! No, father had told me they’d have never traveled all the way over from the Old World, much less Thrace or even Equestria; they’d already destroyed our ancestral homeland, what more could they ever want from us Thracians: our bodies, blood?! It’s been over a millennium since Platom was buried in ice and snow and we Thracians have still been sore about being left out: our founder hadn’t forgiven the other tribes forging their own path to the New World, even when they’d settled together already; to him, friendship is nothing but a lie they’d built by throwing us under the bus while they’d shared the spoils of their settlement! Either way, we subjects were all trained to be the very best so in which our King’s dream would be fulfilled to the utmost details; it was one in which this war and other domestic problems before, during, and after could not, despite and cause of their efforts: the Fall of Equestria and its people’s way of life as they themselves know it all too well ever since their ancestors’ inception. Generally speaking, with a small network of spies reminiscent of us blending in, that ancient dream could come true as it were: no more lousy royals dictating from their homes, no more Wonderbolts raining on anyone’s parade, no more talentless failures; at the very least, King Thrace and his kind whom bore our collective grievances will be avenged once and for all. Still, even my father, Diomedes, is far too smart to ever let such a catastrophe like this happen to us, not even me or my sisters; I’d seen him conduct himself in and out of all the political affairs for a long time ever since I was just a baby, but not my mother: whatever plan he had, he’d make sure that it’d be beneficial for the survival of our people first – everyone else, our own servants.”

“Sounds like to me thou art another faraway visitor, perhaps some old face we haven’t been made aware of in a long time…” another feminine voice escaped into the listener’s ear, this one matronly and enhanced by age as far as the latter was concerned, “thou must be one of the newest discovered in a sea of individuals far from the ones unbeknownst to the likes of me…”

“Who are you; how did you get in here?!” the lanky tenant snarled as she’d found herself turning around to face the organic source instantaneously.

It wasn’t even long until another feminine figure had soon entered the viewer’s line of eyesight immediately: unlike the latter, the former had possessed a complexion much darker and full of saturation by comparison. Though both eyes were cold, they were warm, fluid, and active: a pair of cyan irises glowing about alongside with the rest of its owner’s eyes, quickly capturing the lanky tenant at attention straightaway so to speak. Commonalities also shared between themselves were their coldly elongated tresses all flowing to and fro; however, the corporeal visitor only shined about with a harmony twixt lighter and darker hues of the moody blues. Here, the glowing woman wore a small obsidian tiara matching a widely white crescent necklace as well as a long shimmering dress colored in hot pink and a pair of some achromatic slippers as they’d touched the floor.

In turn, the lanky tenant was met with an answer almost instantly, “perhaps that’s a question I feel tempted to ask of thee; after all, this phantasmagoria happens to be not without reason so I’ll tell thee: mine name is Luna, a visitor, just likest thee, but so much more, as thou seems to be…”

“What do you mean by that: as far as I’d remembered, I’d locked the door last night; did someone happened to pick a lock?!” the solid eyewitness exclaimed as the aforementioned bystander had remained firm upon the surface area all the same no less, “better yet, how come you’re not cold like me: I’m already dressed up warmly; shouldn’t you be freezing as well?!”

“Thy home is held under lock and key as it should be normally; if anything, then the surface world thou art living amongst is not in any danger as thou mayest believe: cold as the nighttime should yet bereft of the traits of tundras thou hast laconically described by thine words alone…” the regal figure replied roughly so to speak of.

In any case, the lanky tenant asked Luna calmly yet calcified no less, “if that’s the case, why did I get a message saying something has happened up in Peachtree Acres of all places despite not being anywhere near, Luna…?”

“’Tis simple, dear child: ‘tis thine nightmare, a product of thine subconsciousness; on occasions, the mind plays back events…” the regal figure had only responded almost instantaneously, unaffected by the brisk atmosphere all the same for what it’s worth, “most of the time, ‘tis jumbled up like only a hodgepodge of various miscellany, both real and otherwise so to speak of. In thine case, it seems to me that thou art awarest of Equestria’s humble origins like everyone else is, given how cold the air is: long ago, our ancestors witnessed as their collective homelands across the sea become overrun with the windigos left and right; our only hope to escape their icy fate was to set sail for the New World in search for a better life, or so it’d seemed on the surface. Up until that moment, there were three tribes whom had fought among each other as much as they did with the wildlife at large; each of them had their own differences and attributes but were otherwise mutually antagonistic towards one another all the while: Ponyland the regalistic, Trowa the militaristic, and Germarial the commonplace – almost all were from Platom itself. Although many ships found themselves heading out westward, there were others lost along the way, as the fate for some of them; no matter what, most of the results were nonetheless the same, especially in regards as to what thou see as Equestria today no less: the New Ponyland thou hadst heard earlier was more than one of many provinces, but rather the primordial colony altogether. Matter of fact, thou happen to have learnt that its own capital happens to be named Dominion, a community with its own history: it was the site in which all the tribes hadst agreed to put aside their differences and celebrate the occasion where they’d all lived; because of their collective Fire of Friendship being stoked, it’d led to the inception of a holiday called Hearthswarming. Every December since that fateful day, all of Equestria had hoped in which these bonds between themselves would last forever; however, it’d seem that these deep relations have been contested even more so, all thanks to the recent war, despite everything: atrocity and terror have been the centerpiece of the ordeal, all dating back to seven years ago when new Bearers had been chosen. What thou art and wert experiencing isn’t just a mere past recollection shared by many of us but also a shadow of what could be; the ice and snow enveloping thine mind’s recreation of thine bedchamber’s a significant part of not only a nightmare but more: dear child, thou art standing in the crossroads of destiny Equestria’s currently heading towards, nothing more and nothing less. Cold air which hadst once overwhelmed the ancestral homeland is now threatening this continent and its people as we speak today; not only that, mine sister and I art worried that our friends here and abroad are being affected by the incoming ramifications as is: while I won’t go into details, I’ll say that our champions are starting to lose hope alongside the rest of the country as it wert. Additionally, there’s enough reason to believe whichever entity responsible for firing the first shot is still actively watching us; even worse, there seem to be more interlopers lurking among Equestrians, any and all waiting for their opportunity for vengeance: apparently, it seems thou art not one of them so to speak of and even then, this is perhaps our very first encounter alone as is.”

“I don’t understand any of this: if this is true, then why me of all people; why couldn’t have been anyone else for that matter…?” the solid eyewitness shivered about as she’d looked away from Luna briefly, a breath of fresh air escaping into the void already.

In any case, the regal figure edged forward and said, “perhaps it’s because of thine conflict but this is far as I can go so far; considering the circumstances alone, I have a feeling we may as well meet again: ‘til next time, please don’t be a stranger, dear child…”

“What do you mean by all that; this house was meant to safe from mind readers: how did you manage to find me anyway…?” the lanky tenant exclaimed as Luna had started to dissipate before the former’s amethyst eyes almost slowly all throughout, “are you one of them perhaps…?”

“Not quite, I’m so much more; of course, that’s all that I’ll tell thee: goodnight, dear child…” the regal visitor had said before leaving the solid eyewitness alone in the cold almost immediately so to speak of, catching the latter off–guard as the former was no more and so was the cold all the very same.