Welcome back to BoatQuest! Last time, you were on the hunt for some scam artists and thieves who may or may not be working together. Catch up here: https://www.anonpone.com/boat
A double check of the ship confirms that you and Rivet are the only ones on board. Knowing Sextant as well as you do (after all, how could you NOT understand one of your crew members perfectly after three days?) you figure she’ll be out there at least until night falls. You did tell her to make a map and all.
This gives you a bit of extra time to think over your plans. You relax, concentrate and focus. You can feel yourself aligning with the chi of your world. Your third eye opens…
You find yourself in a school. It seems really interesting. Unfortunately, you can’t seem to do anything, and you get bored. Huh. That vision was doomed to failure. Shaking yourself out of it, you make your way up and out of the boat, heading out onto the southern docks.
“Come on, Rivet,” you say. “Lock up the boat and let’s go see if we can find anything by talking to the locals. On such a capitalistic island, who’s not going to rat on our most unfortunate quarry!”
“Right, uh,” she said. “Yeah, give me a second.” She makes her way over and grabs a wrench. “This seems like it could get dicey. And you can always use a wrench when things get dicey.”
The two of you make your way up and out onto the port. The post-dinner rush is slowly ebbing away, leaving it the perfect time to go have a chat with some of the shopkeepers. You see an earth pony selling jewelry, a griffon who has some sort of stew, and two pegasus who have two stands both dedicated to selling mechanical parts. Both of them are across from each other and are glaring at each other intently.
That’s just nearby, of course. If you want to talk to someone else you could always advance in another direction.
>>27438222
>Both of them are across from each other and are glaring at each other intently.
They are clearly trying to have a Mexican standoff! Join in with the staring, you need at least three people for that!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFtmdorQG-U
You approach the two of them and then you… stare. Eyes shifting back and forth from one pony to the next, you take a moment to let the dust settle and glance back and forth. Slowly, one of them glances over to notice you, and glares at you. The other, noticing this change in demeanor, looks over and starts to glare. You maintain your stoic, resolved facade and slide back and forth, looking at the two of them. One of them has an orange mane and blue coat. The other has a blue coat and an orange mane. One has a screwdriver as a cutie mark, the other has a hammer. These two seem to be destined to fight. And you threw yourself into the middle of it. A match made in destiny.
You continue to stare for a moment, and the three of you continue this intense, twisted staring contest for several minutes. Eventually Rivet walks up beside you. “What’re we doing, boss?” She asked. “I think I saw that guy blink.” She points as the orange maned, blue coated and screw driver cutie marked pony.
He balks. “What? No! He did first!” He points at his counter point.
“Oh typical Driven Screw,” the second one says aggressively. “No, I’m not worse, Punched Nail is the one who’s worse!”
“Yeah? You’re one to talk, bub!”
“Come over here and say that to my face!”
“Not without a gas mask!”
>>27438472
We're kinda on a diplomatic mission, so this totally involves us. Talk to them, what's the problem? Maybe we can help them sort it out and maybe then they can help us figuring out where we can find the wretched heart of scum and villany that is the swindlerous group of deceivers that tricked us.
“Ladies!” You say, stepping forward.
“Gentlestallions,” Rivet supplies.
“That too,” you say, looking at both of them. “I, Golden Arrow, am a master diplomat and genius when it comes to conflict resolution. Why don’t we talk all this out before you abandon your petty dispute and resolve to assist me instead.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Punched Nail insists, turning his back and crossing his wings conceitedly. “That rat-bastard, and I apologize to any rats who that offends, is a Centrist scum and I will not have him so much as look at me with Centrist measuring eyes.”
“And that traditionalist ass is still stuck on the Monarchic system,” Driven Screw shouts and spits, waving a hoof over at him. “Ignoring the elegance and genius of Centrism in order to cling to a relic of days gone past.”
“Oh, and now the princesses are a RELIC? Wow, I’m so glad to hear your faith in our monarchs!” Punch says, rejoining with a cry of indignance.
“OUR monarchs? Portunio is an independent state!”
“Independent? We are a protectorate under the Accords of-”
“You can take those accords and shove them up your-”
You may be in a little bit deeper than you anticipated.
>>27438756
So wait, what exactly are you two arguing about? Your beliefs in governing bodies? Don't you have bigger fish to fry or something?
“Wait wait wait wait,” you say. “Cease the pointless gibbering. Explain to me what you two are stupidly arguing about. So that I may explain to you where you are wrong.”
Driven Screw sighs and looks over at you. “You’re from the mainland, aren’t you.”
“Good ma- sir!” I insist to you that I am nothing but a proud citizen of the Crystal Empi-”
“Right, Crystal Empire, Equestria, same difference.” You resist the urge to lecture to him the important point of the Crystal Empire’s independence but huff on the inside at his ignorance. “Point being that on the mainland they all use the Monarchic system, which is horribly outdated. How is a griffon supposed to know the length of Celestia’s hoof? Or the weight of her crown? You can’t use hooves and crowns for length and weight. You need to modernize!”
“You should do no such thing!” Punched Nail said, starting to hover as his upset wing flapping intensified. “The Monarchic system is the OFFICIAL system of Equestria and Portunio is an Equestrian protectorate! And while we have the capability to choose our own system-”
“Hah!” Driven Screw said. “You just admitted it! It’s not our official system-”
“The accords claim that we default to-”
“The accords were never fully ratified!”
“They are the basis for our-”
Hm. It seems that any seemingly normal argument is bound to spiral out of control here.
>>27438934
Ah great, a metric vs standard fight theres no winners in this war.
>>27438934
I honestly can't think of a reason to even bother talking to them anymore, let's go somewhere else. This seems like a stalemate anyways.
You look at the two of them with some consternation and just turn around and walk away. “Right,” you say. “Have fun with that.” The two of them don’t seem to notice, continuing to fight on and on. You think they’ve escalated to throwing things by the end of it, but that’s largely not important. Rivet snerks as she looks back, and catches up with you.
There’s still that earth pony selling jewelry or the griffon who’s got the soup. Are you going to talk to one of them, or are you looking for someone else?
>>27439029
Let's talk to the griffon with the soup. He seems like he'd be street smart-ish. Ask him about seeing any suspicious activity lately.I'm very pressed for questions to even ask, i'm sorry.
>>27438222
Is this a /k/ tier cyoa?
>>27439029
talk to the griffon. Ask how's the soup.
You decide to make your way up to the griffon. He seems streetsmart enough. His make is more cat than bird, contrary to most griffons that you’ve seen. He has a lion-ish mane around his neck and head, but lacks any wings that you can see. He’s bigger than you, but not strikingly massive like Gorgon. His coloration appears to be pretty standard for griffons, excepting his exceptional clear, green eyes.
He grins as he sees you approaching. “Ponies with an adventurous palate!” He says in a liquidy, warm voice. “Too many of you kind forsake meat without so much as giving it a fair shake. Two bowls for you? Four bits for a first timer!”
“Actually, I was here to ask you a quick question,” you see. “I have deduced with my keen instincts that you are a griffon about town and-”
“Sure, sure,” the griffon says. “I see all sorts of things around here. But first, you really should try this soup! It’s delicious, nutritious. Meat is the secret source of the griffon’s power, you know. It will make you far stronger than you ever thought possible!”
>>27439190
Once we get over the digestive problems it gives us, possibly. We're gonna cut to the chase here and ask if you've seen anything out of the ordinary lately. We're looking for a thief.
“I don’t doubt it,” you say. “But the digestive problems would be less admirable and I cannot have issues that might interfere with the luminescence of my coat! Nevertheless, we push forward! Sir! Do you know anything about a thief in this area?”
The griffon considers for a moment, looking longingly at his half-full pot of soup and then sighs, deflating visibly. “Yes…” He said. “I know about a thief. Dammit. I can never sell this thing full.”
He looked back over at you. “The group of thieves is mostly targeting single creatures as they walk along the middle or lower levels,” he said, sitting back and pouting as he crosses his forelegs. It’s a rather impressive pout, considering he has a beak and all. “But I don’t know much else other than that. Most of the people who get hit by them don’t talk about it at all.”
“So they’ve never hit you?” Rivet asked. “I mean how do you know any of this shit if they haven’t stolen anything from you?”
He grins at the soup. “The stew tells all.” He says. “Listen to it’s whispers. There is great knowledge in it.”
>>27439372
Buy some stew from the goofball, maybe one of the crew members will want it,(assuming we have a way of storing it). We won't eat it ourselves, for obvious reasons. Or if it comes down to it we can just toss it, but that'd be wasteful. And that's not good.
And then insist on the fact that anymore knowledge he has pertaining to it would be most helpful.
>>27439419
And by "to it" I mean any thieves and their activities.
You roll your eyes. “Do you have a travelling container?” You ask. “I have very important work and cannot be hampered by carrying a bowl of soup.
He grins and pops up, grabbing what appears to be a disposal bowl with a lid and sloshing some soup into it. “Certainly!” He said. “Two bits. And listen! It will speak to you.” He adopts a very solemn tone as he mentions this last part.
You take this grim artifact with care and nod. “Did the soup… whisper anything else? About the thieves.”
He shrugs. “Dunno. Something about them having cookies. Mostly seemed like nonsense to me.”
Anything else to ask the bird? If not, what else are you going to do?
>>27439513
No I can't really think of anything else, thank him for his time and part ways. It doesn't sound like we're gonna get much more info out of him.
Let's ask Rivet if there is anywhere she wants to go, i'm absolutely pressed for ideas right now.I wish there was more people in here to bounce ideas off of.
>>27439552
We could go back to the capital building and ask them if "cookies" is slang for anything on this island or not. If it turns out the answer is no, then we could ask if they have a bakery anywhere on the island.
>spoiler
Sorry, just got here. I was working.
You thank the bird for his time and opt to take your leave, brain considering all that you’ve heard. As you step away, you look over at Rivet. “What if we were to check the bakeries!” You trumpet. “If they have cookies, they need to have a supplier, and if we can find that supplier…”
“Didn’t you start calling the one mare cookie?” Rivet asked. “I mean, call me crazy but I’d guess she’s the one who the, uh, soup was talking about. Then again, I’m crazy. What do I know?”
“Right…” You say. “If not that, did you have any ideas for how we catch them?”
She ponders the question. “Bait?” She says. “We know their modus operanthingie, so if we make a sort of reverse trap thingie, we can totally get them to fall for it. And they don’t harm the pony in question apparently, so we aren’t gonna get in trouble or anything.”
>>27439594
See, that's what i'm talking about.
Now that you mention it, in the real world they would call black people "cookies" when they were slaves that made them their dinner. I'm wondering if it's supposed to be an insult like that?
Though we could always save that question for after we get done poking around first. Unless you feel that it's important we ask now.
>>27439656
I actually didn't know that. Good to know, will incorporate into suggestion.
>>27439649
That's a great plan B, Rivet, but we should find out what cookies are first. An insult? A drug? Or just the damn desert? We must ask around. Go back to the two mechanic salesponies and ask them to spill about cookies. Imply to each that the other guy already told us some great info.
>>27439649
Er, hmm, so who would make the best trap then? We can always go back to the crew and see who would be best suited for the trap.
>>27439704
This too, might as well try and figure out what the hell he's even talking about when he says "cookies". I double checked the cookie thing and yeah, it was a racial slur for black people. It said cooking was one of the few jobs they were allowed to do.
But that might be overthinking it in this case cause it might be a bit of a stretch to say that it's supposed to be a racial slur in this case. Hard to say.
Pausing for now. Sorry for the shortish session time wise (word count was off the chart). I'll be running again tomorrow 11 to 2 (Pacific time).
>>27439786
Aww, ok seeya later familia.
>>27439786
Well, I know what I'm doing with my prep period and lunch break tomorrow.
you get one bump
Damn, I missed some boatquest. Tomorrow we ride!
BoatBump
“Well…” You say. “Yes, that is an admirable plan. If we do take that one, we should retire to the ship with all haste and decide amongst ourselves who is best suited to playing the roll of bait. But first, due diligence dictates we try to figure out what cookie means.”
Rivet shrugs. “Sure. I mean, I could be wrong. I think there’s a bakery over there.” And indeed, the smell of baked goods wafts freely from the direction that she points her hoof, and the two of you carefully make your way in that direction, avoiding the myriad of people rushing through.”
She lets out a low whistle as she looks up at the overhanging layers of the city. “This is kinda like Canterlot,” she said. “The streets there get really tight and winding. But at least we have the space not to have to make the sort of weird canopy thing they’ve got going on. Kinda cool, though.”
Any conversation?
>>27444027
If things are this different here, I must wonder what new and amazing things we'll find even further out
"And this is only three days out from Equestria," you say cheerily. "Things are already different, unique, interesting. Just imagine when we're a week out, a month out, a year out!" You fill your voice with confidence, glassy-eyed staring into the horizon with hope. And nearly run into the something, barely avoiding that with SUPERIOR skill.
"Right..." Rivet says, considering the option. Her ears flick a couple of time as she thinks about it. "Huh. I'm, uh, suddenly kind of homesick. Don't think I've ever been out of Canterlot for more than month. Hell, even the academy was only on the outskirts. Dunno how I'm gonna feel after being gone from home for a year."
>>27444027
It is quite something.
Remind me of Kowloon city.
>>27444137
C'mon, think of all we'll be known for by the time we return! We're going to go down in history books as the greatest exploration team of our time!
"But just imagine!" You posite. "The fame! The fortune! The adoration of hundreds, no, thousands! We will be the greatest explorers of our time, and we will be remember for hundreds upon thousands of years!"
Rivet shrugged. "I guess. That kinda stuff isn't exactly important to me. I'm more just about seeing what's all around, maybe doing something important with it."
The bakery is pretty obvious once you're in range to see it, a pony standing on their hind legs holding a cake aloft with a winning grin. It's late in the evening when you arrive, so as you take a look around, you see a chubby, light tan earth mare packing up some of the unwanted bread.
She glances over at you and her expression is hard to make out at first, but she relaxes pretty quickly and smiles as she makes her way over to you. "Welcome to the Melt in Your Mouth Bakery," she said. "I'm Gooey Crumble. We're just about to close up but I can help you find anything that you're looking for."
>>27444192
I think we were looking for cookies or something? I dunno, I'm not one of the "let's go full crazy" players.
"Yes!" You say. "Cookies! I need some!"
"Well, we have an excellent supply of cookies," the mare says, poking around her stock. "Gingersnap, snickerdoodle, coconut crunches...?" She looks back at youl
You shake your head. "The local thieves have been obtainin cookies. ILLEGALLY."
"Cap I don't think-"
"And illegally obtained cookies are clearly coming from somewhere. I need your help to find where!"
Suddenly the mare looks incredibly nervous. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about," she says. "I mean, I don't think they've been getting cookies from anywhere. How do you know that? This makes no sense!"
>>27444344
She's nervous! Ask the same questions again louder!
"WHERE ARE THEY GETTING THE COOKIES?" You bellow, glaring and stepping up. She's nervous! She's knows something! "You're the biggest bakery around-"
"But there's one-" She starts to say, but you cut off her filthy lies.
"THE BIGGEST BAKERY AROUND! You're supplying them, aren't you? Why do you hate capitalism? Why do you hate Portunio?'
She looks downright scared at this point, and one hoof grabs for a rolling pin nearby. She grabs it and swings to try and smack you as hard as she can.
>>27444531
What the hell? This mare is giving no indication of being part of a criminal conspiracy. Why would soup lie to us?
Inform her that we believe her. And tell her that she passed our surprise loyalty test, then go back to the griffon and demand to know his soup's credentials, because it is giving us bad information.
>>27444531
Squeak like Flanders and dodge.
You let out a squeak and jump over to the side. "Clearly I was wrong!" You shout out quickly. "Nevermind! Ignore me! I was clearly wrong! I need to go talk to my informant."
The mare still looks at you suspiciously, but as you start to back away, she starts to calm down. You exit the store post-haste, and the door slams, then locks behind you.
You grin uneasily over at Rivet. "Perhaps not my finest moment," you suggest, coat colors fading just a little.
She shrugs. "Hey, who hasn't terrified a bakery worker with demands for information every now and then?" She asks. "Right now, let's just try and get back to the ship."
"No!" You say. "That soup vendor LIED! He needs to answer to me."
You're interrupted by a batty figure dropping out of the sky and landing in front of you, smiling like mad and clutching a piece of paper. "Captain!" Sextant says. "it's beautiful! Look!" She immediately shoves her makeshift map into your face.
>>27444695
Sextant, I cannot read as fast as you, let me read the map at my own speed!
>>27444695
What did you find out Sliver?
"Silver," you say. "I can't read as fast as you. Please allow me to read the map at my own pace."
"Oh..." She said, pulling the map back, clearly a little bit embarrassed "Right."
You take a more slow look at the map, not that it actually helps much. It's actually three seperate maps, one of which is mostly circles and splotches, the other is composed of a lot of lines and squares, the final is more like the second but less squares, more lines, and the occasional circle at all of the lines.
"The paths are so complex but I managed to get a good sketch at a LOT of them. I'm probably missing some, and I noticed that they set up new paths ALL the time. So by next week, this map might be completely outdated." She seems very happy about this. "The bottom floor is almost entirely alleys, and I would bet that they've got a good enough feel for them to use them to get in, get the money, and get out, lickety split."
Any questions for her?
>>27444879
How did she find this?
>>27444879
Good work! Now we go find the criminals!
>>27444879
Good job Silver! Which does could we best use to ambush one of them using you for bait? We're gonna capture one!
"Great!" You said. "Now help me make you into bait!"
"What." She says, all of the excitement sliding out of her face.
"Naturally," you say. "Your extreme bat senses make you the optimal decision, so we will use you in order to bait our trap and make sure that they cannot catch us when we are catching them! It's FOOLPROOF!"
"I mean, I guess..." She says. "I-I'll try." She looks over the map. "Okay... So this one is a four way intersection. That means that there's going to be a lot of ways for them to escape, so they might be hanging around there. This place right here is an alleyway where there are lots of cracks, but its kind of hard to get in and out. And this one is a Y fork, but its near the major marketplace. Those are the three major places I'd say you're likely to find them."
Any one of the three that you'd like to try first?
Pausing.
>>27445132
Compliment her confidence and bravery in so readily accepting the role as bait!
I think the alley is good, but I can see the y-intersection too. The alley we could trap them and then make them lead us to their hideout, but the y-intersection means a fun chase!
>>27445132
The alleyway would be the most optimal for catching them. The only way they could escape is if they were a pegasus.
Voting for alleyway as well.
>>27445132
Ignoring that for a moment, what do we do once we find the theives? We're just three ponies, how can we stop them escaping?
>>27446573
We need to get at least one, get him or her to talk (one way or the other) and then see what we'll do next. We're awesome, no need to think ahead that far. We'll absolutely be able to handle whatever situation arises.
bumpa
Lets get a song going!
Who lives in a submarine under the sea?
>>27450379
Miserable, cold and smells of diesel does he?Sorry i immediately though of das boot.
>>27450379
Paul, Ringo, John and George?
boop
bumpy
>>27450379
Are ya ready, boys?
>aye aye qm!
Please don't luuu-urk!
>AYE AYE QM!
OOOOOOOOHHHH
Who lives in a submarine under the sea?
>Gold-EN AR-row!
With a confident swagger and smile is he!
>Gold-EN AR-row!
A friend who endures his nonsense there be!
>Sil-VER SEX-tant!
And a marvel mechanic on board makes three!
>Riv-ET BUH-rst
Ready?!
>Time for BoatQuest!
>Time for BoatQuest!
TIIIIME FOOOOOR! BOOOATQUUUEST
>>27453464
yar har har
>flute melody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkGA0AyqZWs
You consider the various options available and eventually point at the alleyway. "There," you say. "That way, your maneuverability will be vastly superior do to your excellent wings."
She blushes slightly, wings flicking a couple of times. "Well... alright. But there could be quite a few of them and I don't think we should try and start with a big war."
"Of course not!" You say. "Instead, we will select a single one of the perpetrators and pull them along with us to grill them for information."
"That... isn't a bad idea," she says, murring the idea over. "Okay, I think we could do that. But I need some way to beat the pony in question, and I'm not really good in combat. Do you have any way to help me grab a pony when they don't want me to?"
Do you want her to just figure it out? Do you have a plan yourself?
>>27455993
We have stun guns! Me and Rivet burst will spray them with blasts to incapacitate them. I am 80 to 90 percent sure that there is less than a 10 percent chance of you accidentally getting stunned, and if that happens I promise you get to stun me at a future date to be determined in the interest of fairness.
>>27455993
Well, this might come off as a crude suggestion, but maybe you can use your womanly charms to lure em away?
I guess a stranglehold would work.
You tap on your chin. "I dunno... I guess I could just grab my stun gun, and Rivet has her wrench. Or I could give you a quick lesson on how to do a stranglehold..."
"Nah!" Rivet says. "No way. You just gotta use your marely charms. That'll get one of them to go along with you."
"Marely charms?" Sextant says, cocking her head to one side. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"Oh, y'know," Rivet says, and shrugs. She stands up and walks along your side and there's a flick of her tail. You feel a silky smooth sliding sensation roll across your flank you and up your side, Rivet taking a few steps forward so that you can see her wide hips rolling back and forth. She looks back and flashes a pair of bedroom eyes, fluttering them a couple of times. "Hey captain," she says in a husky tone. "Can you help me in the engineering bay?"
>>27456221
Let's go to the engineering bay! I mean, exactly like this. We've got a bit of time, time to practice. Sextant should plot the butt, I mean, practice to charm marrily marely.
>>27456221
Jeez Rivet, uh thanks for that great lesson in what she should do. Though it might not work as well for her cause her butt is kinda tiny. Probably wouldn't have as much of effect for her.
"Let's go to the engineering room right away..." You start, but catch yourself before you let that line of thought too quickly. "I mean, uh, thank you for that very hooves on demonstration," you say, shifting from one hoof to another. Rivet snicker and you continue. "But, Rivet's hind quarters are much larger to yours, and your small tush may not-"
You stop as you can't help but notice that Sextant suddenly looks very, very sad. "M-my plot isn't very good? "She says, trying to look back at it. "I mean, I knew there was a reason that a lot of stallions aren't into me... But I didn't think it was because I wasn't good looking..."
>>27456667
There's a lot more to a mare than a nice plot. She just needs to use a different tactic.
>>27456716
Exactly.
>>27456667
Besides, some still like more modestly sized behinds such as yours.
>>27456667
I say huge plots are overrated anyway!
long slender legs are just as good.
>>27456822
Literally me here.
>>27456796
>I say huge plots are overrated anyway!
Let's not lie to her anymore than we have.
"Now, now," you say, giving her a quick pat on the rump. "There's more to a mare than their plot. Some even prefer more moderately sized behinds."
She sniffles and looks back at you, breaking into a smile. "R-really?" She says.
"Of course!" You say with a smile, casting your foreleg forward. Long, slender legs are just as good, and you definitely fit that bill. I say huge plots are overrated anyway!" Maybe overselling the point, but you are determined to fill her with CONFIDENCE.
"Hey!" Rivet says, but you decide its probably best to push through this and continue on with the mission.
"Aaaaanyway," you say, doing your utmost to ignore the angered engineer for now. "I think that for now, we should probably focus on a different tactic."
"Yeah..." Sextant says. "I don't think that the whole seducing thing is for me... Right now, anyway, I could give it another shot if I have some practice. Would it be alright if we just stunned them and ran?"
One idea: If Rivet and us capture one of them, Silver should stay out of sight the whole time. Once/if we decide to let the one go after interrogating him or her, she could use her stealthiness and her wings and her senses to follow the former captive who will probably lead her right to the hideout. To improve the chances of success, we should let them go at night, where Silver can use her full potential.
>>27456870All butts are bootyful, just some more than others, but that doesn't make the others any less special~
>>27456930
One good and well thought out idea. Certainly more than I had.
"Well..." You say. "What if we were to send out either me or Rivet, and then we capture them. Then, we release them and you use your super bat prowess in order to stealthily track them afterwards! it's FULLPROOF!"
"I'm not sure that I have."
"Super. Bat. Prowess."
"I'll... try and make it work," Sextant says. "So... I'll just head back to the ship." She takes and starts back towards the submarine, leaving you and Rivet there, alone.
"Awright," she says. "How're we gonna do this? One of us alone? We gonna pose as a lovestruck couple, too distracted by our rapture to care that we're being mugged? I've got my wrench."
Pretend to be a couple that has recently made a fortune. As soon as we're sure to have the attention of one of the criminals, let them come to us. They will probably try to trick us into giving them a portion of that money under what pretense ever, and then we agree and say that we have our money back at the dock and that we can do any necessary paperwork there etc.
They will hopefully follow us to the dock where we can overwhem and bring him/her to the boat without struggling to get him half way across the town in a strangehold or dragging his/her unconscious body.
So in short: Don't seek them out directly, let them come to us,
Let them in the belief they're tricking us
>>27457093Aw poor Sextant, I hope we didn't hurt her feelings too much. She's still pretty even if we made her feel otherwise.
I like your pep. Even if you hardly make sense sometimes. I like posing as the lovestruck couple. That way we are both there from the get go.
>>27457199
And yes, that idea is totally inspired by Better Call Saul.
>>27457199
Huh, well we can try that certainly, but then we'll do the original plan as a "plan b" option.
>>27457334
It was just an idea, a lot of things would have to go just right for it to work in the first place.
>>27457351
We could still try it of course, but to be honest most people would just be like, fuck that just give us some damn money already! We aren't following you somewhere just to formally mug you. But it would be pretty funny if he managed to get them to go along with it cause he plays so dumb that they just listen to him so he will let them rob him already.
"I like your pep!" You say. "Let's pose as the lovestruck couple. But we should simply make our way around as though we are struck by our vast stores of money and allow them to find us!"
Rivet snorts. "Sure, and the vast quantity of time that we spend all cuddled up together isn't part of it as well. Alright, Loverboy, let's head out." She slips right up next to you and the two of you start down the path near by the alleyway.
Any conversation? What would you like to do?
>>27457379
>but to be honest most people would just be like, fuck that just give us some damn money already!
The way Cookie tricked us in the first way might be just "her thing", yes, but so far we don't really know anything about the group.
>>27457388
Let's go somewhere where rich tourists would go.
We need new names while we're undercover.
We will be Stunning Smile and Rivet will be... what about "Sunny Funtime"?
>>27457388My Rivet sure is flirty isn't she?
Ask her if girls like having big butts or not. Or if most of them are indifferent to it. Now i'm curious.
>>27457396
True, we'll have to see what they are like before we even try that.
>>27457443
>what about "Sunny Funtime"?
Perfect.
>>27457469
Adding onto that, ask her if a big butt on a stallion is a good thing.Don't want to look fat now
"We'll need new names," you posit. "So that we can remain clandestine."
"I don't think anyone knows who we are alr-"
"We need NEW names," you insist. "I can be Stunning Smile, for obvious reason."
"Obviously," Rivet says with a touch of goodnatured snarked.
"And you can be Sunny Funtime!" You say. "Because you are obviously cheery and enjoyable!"
"Yeesh, you could buy a mare a drink first," Rivet says. "I guess your comment about big plots wasn't entirely true, hm?"
"Well, I, uh... What's it like, having a big plot?" You ask. "Do you like having one? Does it get annoying?"
"Sometimes," she says with a shrug. "Makes it easy as all hell to be comfortable no matter where I sit down. No squirming, just nice, thick padding."
"Right..." You say, thinking about her plot for purely scientific reasons. "Anyway, we should go somewhere that rich tourists would. To better hold up the illusion."
"Hm..." Rivet says. "I'm gonna say either a nightclub, a fancy ass restaurant, or some kind of local landmark where we just complain very loudly the entire time. Actually, we'd better just complain loudly the entire time no matter what."
>>27457818
Depends on the stallion don't you think? Like one that looks a bit girly, a bigger ish but would probably look good on em,(unf).
Pausing for now.
>>27457821
Let's go with a landmark, then we can look like tourists and catch their attention even more.Try not to think about all her thick padding.
>>27458306Try not to think what it would be like to have all her thick padding
>>27458317Do you mean like being her or somethign? Or do you mean the captain with thick padding? Cause one would be awesome, and the other would be funny. In that order.
>>27458329How about both? Impersonate Rivet for something and that would include gaining some thick padding
>>27458365
That's just crazy enough to be fun. Not sure how it'd work exactly, but hey, fun is fun.
I didn't know that Rivet was so amazing. She might be better than Goldy!
>>27458306
Landmark sounds good, yes. Plus we don't have to spend a lot of money on expensive food or admission and we have a good chance of being heard.
I want to bully Silver Sextant. I want to make fun of her small butt, call her ugly, and tell her how no stallion would ever been attracted to her.
>>27460777
Silver Sextant has such a stupid face.
>>27461500
I beg to differ.
>>27460777
>>27461500
I want the ebin /cyoa/ memes to go back to their respective quests.
>>27461737But they're dead...
>>27461807exactly
boop
B O A T
U
M
P
Alright, I'm really sorry to do this because I like to be more consistent with my sessions, but I'm going to have to not run tomorrow as well. In order to make up for this I'll run a six hour on Friday from 3 PM to 9 PM PST, as long as I keep getting responses.
I'm really sorry about this.
>>27467967
Do what you gotta do familia, I look forward to seeing you on friday.
>>27467967
QM, any BoatQuest at all is like a gift that you're giving us horse fuckers. Don't feel bad for not being able to give more, feel good for being able to give any.N-no homo
>>27468304
This.
>>27462664
>>27463302
>>27463953
>>27464688
>>27465457
>>27465470
>>27465489
>>27466347
>>27466938
>>27467539
>>27469694
Fuck this lame Boat Bump.
Boat Bump: Question Edition! What species and civilization type are you guys most looking forward to finding? I want ELEPHANT DEMOCRACY
>>27470287
One word: Alpacas.
>>27470287
I want to meet the Changelings. Our technology is emotions and their food is emotions, so it would be interesting to see how we would view each other. Imagine how odd it would be to meet a race of people who ate electricity, or who had sandwich based technology.
>>27470394
>sandwich based technology
I could dig it.
>>27470287
If we are talking about a species that hasn't be introduced in the show,(as far as i'm aware of) gazelles could be neat.
>>27470507
Have there ever been gazelles on the show?
>>27470587
I don't think so, but i will admit I haven't watched all the episodes since the 3rd season.
>>27470287
Any very predatory species.
>>27470686
>>27470394
Narcissist Changelings will be our superweapon. Just need a mirror
>>27472205
We definitely need a changeling on this crew. Also the griffon with magic soup.
Eh, I'm not set on a specific race for future crew members, as long as they're valuable additions.
>>27473215
Ne neither, but I can dream, can't I?
>>27473314
>You can't have a nightmare
>If you never dream
>>27473327
I'm willing to take that risk.
Roll them dice.
>>27473797
[1d20]
>>27473868
>2
Ow.
New Question: What upgrades do you want to add to The Best Ship?
If we slowly replace each and every part until she grows into a dozen crew dreadnought, is she still The Best Ship?
>>27475291
I want a dedicated map room for our wonderful map bat. I wonder what she would do with it.
Also yes. When a new thing gets added, that new thing becomes part of The Best Ship, so even when everything has been replaced, all of the things were part of The Best Ship while original components existed.
>>27476827
That's this humble rock anon's opinion, at least
>>27475291
Yes, because the Best thing about the Best ship - which makes it the Best of the Best - is the crew.
>>27476831
Thanks Maud.
"I would suggest that we go to the landmark," you say. "After all, it would be the most clearly visible and I also have an enjoyment of seeing whatever strange landmark is around."
"Right," Rivet says. "It's a date. Let's just..." She stepped away and flagged down a native for a minute, talking to them for a second and then returning to you, waving them off.
"Apparently up on the third floor there's a really kickass view of the stars known as the astral peak. It's a low light location with an observatory, so we can stare at the stars from a ledge or check out the telescope. Sound about what we're looking for?"
>>27480301
Sounds like an excellent and not romantic at all place to me!
>>27480301
okay
"That sounds like an excellent place for two great friends such as us to go!" You say.
Rivet snorts and shakes her head. "Yeah, lets head over there. "You big romantic sop."
You don't quite get what she means, but the two of you make your way in that general direction. The paths are a bit easy to navigate, but finding a local here and there isn't too difficult and with the occasional stop to ask a native where the hell you're going, you manage to find your way there.
It appears to be a big, metal platform raised up to the third level, with pretty much nothing underneath it. The stars are in fact pretty well visible up above. A couple of ponies mill about the fair sized area, and a more scholarly pony glances through the telescope every now and then, nodding before he scratches down something and then repeats the whole cycle. He's an orange unicorn with a white mustache and a white, sparse mane.
Rivet is a little bit transfixed by stars... no wait, she's clearly looking over at the telescope, making a slow circle as she tries to get a feel for the massive device.
What do you do?
>>27480301
Sounds good. Just so you know, I might have to grab your butt a bit for realism's sake. With your permission of course.
>>27480599
This still works for >>27480594. Tap her on the shoulder and inform her.
>>27480594
Ask the orange unicorn if he has found anything cool lately. Some pulsars or globular clusters or a place where they serve breakfast until 2 p.m.
You walk up to Rivet and poke her a couple of times until you're sure she's paying attention to you and not the big rigid tube behind you. "Rivet," you say. "In order to make this authentic, I may have to grab your ass ready. Be prepared for that eventually."
She chuckles. "Alright, cap," she says. "Whatever you say is the reason, we can pretend that's why."
You give her a puzzled look and make your way over to the astronomer. "Hello, fine stallion!" You say. "Have you found anything interesting? Pulsars? Globular clusters? A restaurant that serves breakfast until 2 PM?"
He looks over at you. "I'm not sure what those first two are... as for the third one, there's a diner nearby that' always serves breakfast. It's open 24/7."
>>27480829
Hug him and thank him for this valuable information. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after all. Plus, it was what made Twilight into an alicorn iirc.
>>27480860
It's a shame Sextant isn't here to remind us of the dangers of Sudden Alicorn Shock Syndrome so we don't choke to death on pancakes.
>>27480890
>not wanting to shove an entire token's worth of pancakes down our throat at once
It's like you don't want Golden Arrow to be an alicorn, anon.
>>27480890
Like we'd let her stop us again.
I think we should check out that diner right now. The criminals aren't going anywhere. We need to have pancakes right now.
>>27480993
I like the way you think, anon! Inform Rivet and bring her along to carefully monitor our breakfast intake. For science!
>>27481030
For science! And for great justice!
"Excellent!" You say. "Come along sunny, we need to go find that diner!" Breakfast is no laughing matter, and you definitely want some breakfast.
Rivet grabs you and pulls you back. "Nuh-uh," she says. "We have a plan. Stars are pretty. Grab my ass." She seems vaguely distracted. "Don't we want to uh..." She shakes her head and looks back at you. "Don't we need to make sure we actually do the plan with the gang thingie? We're kind of running low on tokens after everything that's happened."
>>27481086
Fine... But pancakes will be the first thing we'll do after this whole thing is done.
Be so disappointed about the lack of pancakes in your near future that you just unenthusiastically touch her flank and then be gloomy for ten seconds. Afterwards, return to being your usual splendid self.
>>27481086
>We're kind of running low on tokens after everything that's happened.
Spending tokens on pancakes got us into financial troubles, so it's only logical that spending tokens on pancakes can fix it.
...fine. We'll be RESPONSIBLE. Do what >>27481140 said.
"But... pancakes are a cure for all economic ills!" You protest. You sigh. "Fine. We can keep doing the plan, but after that, pancakes are happening. Okay?"
Rivet nods, still looking at the telescope. "Yeah," she says. "Sure. Pancakes after we get the embassy and all that. Sounds fair. Right now... we need to do couply things. Or... And just hear me out here. I can start to stroke the telescope..."
Yearningly, slowly, she approaches the telescope, eyes flickering all over the mechanical device with an apparent hunger to her expression.
>>27481488
Woah there Rivet, I know it is big and majestic, but it is a device that still requires tact when handling. Despite it's big sturdy looks, it can be quite fragile if nod handled apropriately.
>>27481488
Just make sure you wpie it clean before you use it.
>>27481488
Go for it. I'll just be standing here not being sure how I feel about this.
Make sure to use your tail.
Something has come up. I am such shit. Let the thread die. Sorry guys.[/spoiler[
>>27481836
When do you plan on being back? If you don't mind me asking.
>>27482238
I owe Night Delivery another thread first. After that. Which depends on how I'm feeling in the days to come.
>>27482296
Well I don't mean to complain, but this thread didn't really get to live to it's bump limit. Which is why I think you should start up BQ again when you get the chance, but do what you feel like doing fampai. I play ND too so i'm stoked about either being up,(though iv'e played ND for longer at the moment).
>>27481086
Yes ma'am! And the grab her ass a little bit
We should say to the unicorn, "Sir, MY MAREFRIEND here is interested in your telescope. Can you tell MY MAREFRIEND more about it? I LOVE HER SO MUCH AS SHE IS MY MAREFRIEND, SO PLEASE DO THAT FOR MY MAREFRIEND"
>>27481836
This is fine, I was pleasantly surprised to see any BoatQuest today so this was great.
>>27483439
Wouldn't it be better if we pretended she was our wife?
>>27481556
Yeah. And telescopes probably have crystal lenses, right?
Who else better to handle crystal than a crystal pony?
Show her how to REALLY stroke a telescope.
>>27485288
Would also work
>>27489346
dumb ass.
