>Ugh, your head... what's going on...
>"Grape!"
"Waaah!" With a hefty scream, resembling that of a majestic horse, you jump out of the bed, wings unfolded. Your head spins, your hooves hurt, you just want to be home.
>Except you ARE home. A quick moment of calm reminds you that you're in your room, and you just fell out of bed. On the other side, your best friend Sweet Seed is calmly leaving a tray with breakfast on the sheet: fruits, bread, water and juice.
>"I hope you're feeling alright after last night" Sweet comments. "I don't know how late you stayed up partying, but that's no healthy habit for a snuggly wuggly pony."
"You don't say..." you get up clumsily. "P-Please, Sweet, don't speak too loud..."
>"Mhm, I know" the colt replies, helping you on your hooves. "I knew you'd get up like this. You always go deep on the wine" he adds, with a scolding tone.
"B-But my wine is so delicious...!" You yell, and without realizing cause your head to ache harder. "Ouch!"
>"Just remember we need to sell that to live" Sweet giggles. "I'm sorry, we don't have painkillers, if you want some, you'll have to go out and get them."
"W-What about yourself?" You ask, enlarging your already watering eyes.
>"Sheesh!" Sweet replies, grinning and obviously playing with you. "I don't know, Grape, you might need a lesson or two on how to not waste the stock..."
>You frown and grump at your friend, snorting audibly. Regardless, there's breakfast on the bed, your head hurts like Tartarus opened, and you'll have to use your sweet tongue to convince Sweet if you want him to do anything else for you. U-Use it to talk, talk!

Welcome back! As usual, votes are open now.

>>25457971
Sweet Seed... my dear friend. Can't you find it in your heart to try to ease your old friend and business associate's suffering? What do you want? Just name it!

>>25457971
To hell with dignity, let's eat what's left on the bed!

>>25458245
>>25458252
"Oh, Sweet..." you try a different approach and scoot along the ground until you get a hold of his front leg. "You wouldn't do this to me, would you? What about leaving your best friend and business partner here, laying adrift in the shadows...!?" You take a hoof to the forehead. "Lo, whatever it is you need, just tell me! Tell me, Sweet, tell meee!"
>"Alright, fine, geez!" The colt tries to get his legs out of your hold, laughing all the way. "I'll see what I can do... but you better clean after you eat" He points at the bed, where a couple of pieces of fruit and toast have fallen over from your display.
"Oops... got it! Ouch..." you reply, too energetically, and immediately let go while nursing your forehead. Without wasting a second, you climb up and clean a bit of the mess, while eating absolutely everything. The cool water and fresh grape juice soothe your pain, and after a while, you feel in better condition, except your head still pounds away in the background.
>You tidy up and bring the tray downstairs. Sweet has already left, no doubt to go buy some painkillers. That colt is too lovely, the best friend you'll ever have. Now you have time to calm down and relax...
>Until the door sounds like it's about to fall off. Someone is pounding like mad and it doesn't sound like good news. Carefully, you approach from the side and take a look from the window. Sure as sunrise, there's your friend Lorie, who doesn't really understand how to carry out these situations.
>"Helloo!? Somepony in there!? Grape, I need to talk to you!" The unicorn keeps talking, very loudly, making your head spin so much you actually need to take a few back steps before falling backwards. Celestia knows how embarrassing it is for a pony to do that. You don't really want to send your friend away, specially since you're both doing important work to rid Trottingham of meanies, but your head is going to kill you... maybe you can pretend not to be here and visit her later?

>>25458355
She'll just keep knocking and being loud if we wait. It would be better to answer the door immediately and beg her to be quiet.

>>25458355
Run down to her. Cover her mouth with your hoof. Tell her to not speak so loudly.

>>25458383
>>25458405
>"Grape!? GRAAAPE! Grape Grape Grape Gra~pe Grape...!!"
>No way. There's no way you'll be able to deal with that annoying, high pitched voice for a second longer. Springing out of the floor, you run up to the door, open it fast like the wind and bring the mare inside.
>"There you are! I was just thinking what the odds are that mmmfphfphfph...!!" The unicorn's cries are drowned out by your hoof.
"Shut up. Please, Lorie, I'm begging you, don't talk" you blow air on her shoulder while holding her. This is all a bit too violent, but your head is going to burst. Eventually, your friend calms down and you're able to let go, breathing a sigh of relief.
>"That was very much unlike you" she says, this time in a normal voice. "Like, I had the models and everything, look..." she starts pulling out a sheet from her shirt pocket.
"Do your models cover for hangover after a night where I drink bottle and a half of wine?" You bare your teeth. "Because, I remind you, you were there, and that's what happened."
>"Wine...?" Suddenly, her eyes lit up, as if the secrets of the universe unfolded before her. "Of course! And here I was thinking you were displaying symptoms of high alcohol consumption, silly me...!"
"Lorie..."

(1/2)

>>25458634
>"Oh yes, yes! I'm sorry, I just wanted to tell you that..." Lorie starts looking at you, but her eyes slowly trail off by your side. "Excuse me..." she suddenly walks past you and gets up on the couch, reaching for one of the framed paintings on the wall, of a lovely prairie.
"What. Are. You. Doing."
>"Hmm?" She talks idly, waggling her tail while adjusting the frame's inclination. "Your picture was bent by about zero point five degrees. It really distracts me, I'm fixing that."
"W-Wh-I didn't even ask...! Ouch..."
>"It's okay, we're friends" she hums along while touching the frame extremely carefully. "Do you want to know how I knew? According to the dimensions of your house, the shadow of the frame on the couch should have..."
"I don't want to know! Ugh" you drop your head, just in time for the unicorn to finish and turn around.
>"Sorry. I was..." Lorie's eyes start trailing off again, this time with a blush "trying to start a conversation."
"Look, it's alright, I don't hate your or anything, just tell me what you want, please. My head is killing me."
>"Oh" she meekly looks back at you. "Well, I told you I wanted to investigate around for places where Tess could be hiding. I-I don't think we established a proper relay method, so I just came to ask... a-are you willing to help one of these days? For science, I mean" she ends, dragging her hoof on the ground, almost looking sad to ask.

>>25458641
Alright, just not when we feel like our head's about to explode.

>>25458641
How can you say no to such moe? Help her. For SCIENCE!

>>25458670
This.

>>25458670
>>25458680
>>25458687
"C-Can we do it when my head doesn't hurt so much...?"
>"Uh, yes, why, yes of course! I wasn't asking about right now..." Lorie fumbles her words and you smile at her.
"Then you can count on me. For science" you reply, patting her horn softly. The unicorn gives you an increasing grin and almost a hug. "Oi, oi, careful!"
>"Oh, yes, the potential liver rupture..." Lorie nods seriously and pulls something else from her shirt pocket: a small hoof gadget. "Here. This is the improved Construct Tracker. Now it can track any number of constructs, big and small" she shows you the screen. Where there was only one bar, now there are two, one of them at 5% and another at 25%. "As you can see, Tess is not losing time" she then smiles briefly. "I'll be at home, planning for eventualities. Come find me whenever you want to start looking for! B-But don't take too long!"
>[OBJECTIVE ADDED: Investigate Tess' whereabouts with Lorie]

[You may choose to do objectives whenever you see fit, however taking too long will result in severe cases of very sad ponies. Oh, and possibly failing the quest.]

(1/2)

>>25458818
>With that, the unicorn leaves, right as Sweet enters. Both of them exchange a brief greeting, and then the colt tosses you a package of horse grade aspirin.
>"What did she want? She's becoming quite the regular..." your brown coated friend asks while you get yourself another glass of water and chug down on the sweet drugs to kill the pain.
"Fuaah..." you snort after downing the tablet. "She wants me to help her find out where her arch enemy is, and all that" you explain while going back to the couch.
>"Oh..." Sweet looks at the ground.
"You can come if you want to" you poke him on the cheek, causing him to smile wide.
>"What are you going to do, then?" Sweet asks, looking at the new and shiny tracker. "It doesn't seem like Trottingham is in imminent danger... again."
"Is there any work to do?"
>"None! I took today's deliveries" the colt puffs his fluffless chest. "I'll get you back on that when I need a favor, by the way."
"Neigh..."
>"So, are you going to nurse that headache or see what the town is up to today? I heard they're going to start pulling clockwork out of the sea immediately."

>>25458828
No sense in wasting time being lazy. Why don't we go for a stroll? Maybe check out what they're doing with the clockwork cleanup?

>>25458828
Take a few minutes for the painkillers to kick in. Show him the tracker. Seems like it's no more heavy drinking for us until Tess is not longer making giant rampaging monsters made out of junk.

>>25458961
>>25458981
>Laying on the couch beside Sweet, letting his small but efficient body warm you up, you both inspect the new tracker, exactly the same on the outside but fancier onscreen.
"Seems like I don't get to drink more wine at parties until all these bars disappear..."
>"Kind of makes me wish they wouldn't stop..." Sweet reels back when you glare at him. "Kidding. Kidding."
>You let time pass while the aspirin takes effect on your body. During that time, the lowest of the two red bars goes up to 6%. After that, you're feeling itchy and willing to take a walk, so you tell Sweet that you'll see what's around town and promptly leave home.
>It's a glorious day out in Trottingham, slightly cold winds rushing through every fiber of your coat, really kicking the painkillers in. The lack of a strong sun on part of the respective princess is a nice touch, too, and the streets feel calm. Almost as it was before that Nightmare Night. Almost.
>Here and there and over yonder, neighbors and clerks, ponies and griffons help clean the streets of tiny little pieces of clock machinery, spread all over the streets. Trottingham isn't a large town, and the number you pulled on that one construct left a mess in town. Regardless, you get heated cheers and greetings from your townsponies and townsgriffons, everyone already aware of your efforts to keep town safe. A couple of the weather crew pegasi fly low and give you a high five with the tips of their wings while barrel rolling.

(1/2)

>>25459206
>Finally, you get to the western coastline, the high elevation cliff which oversees the beach on the lower edge. Many ponies and others walk around and prepare machines and crates, ready for a long session of sea cleaning. The mountain of cogs sticking out of the shallow water seems smaller than yesterday.
>You then hear a flash right beside you. Turning around, you meet face to chest fluff with Garrett Silverwing, the friendly neighborhood journalist.
"Ruh, roh, h-hey" you say, almost burying your muzzle by accident on that colossal feathery bush.
>"Good morning Grape! Wow, I saw you partying like a stable animal yesternight, I really didn't think you'd make it to this hour!" The griffon replies, camera in claw. "Come here to help with the effort?"
"We'll see. I'm still sort of dealing with the aftermath of last night."
>"Figures" your new friend turns to the sea and takes another picture, also scribbling down something in a small notepad around his neck. "Isn't it odd, though?"
"What is it?"
>"The gears" he points his free claw at the mountain of metal. "You and me were there, and I swear there were many more that time, when the thing fell..."
"Well yeah, they probably started picking them up already..."
>"No" Garrett replies, dead staring the horizon. "I've been here all morning. These ponies haven't picked a single gear."

Just as Grape's headache clears, the one I've been carrying all weekend becomes stronger. I'm afraid I have to go sooner, since Tuesdays I get up earlier. I'll be back tomorrow, thanks for participating!

>>25459220
Til next time then.
Hmm. What could this mean? Is Tess going for round two with the clockwork constructs? Or is there another way to explain this, like maybe the ocean currents are carrying them away or there's some sort of trench they're sinking into.

>>25459220
goodnight

>>25459220
That is strange. Maybe since Tess was close by she made more constructs out of the ruin.

>>25460854

bemp

>>25464115

>>25460854

>>25464714

I'm sorry guys, I got a cold today and I won't be able to run even for a little bit. I'll be back tomorrow.

>>25466485
Is it me or are you the sickest QM I know?

>>25467100
Possible. Random days, I get cold while coming back from class, and I have to spend a whole day under the weather. This comes from the fact that I was born with roots in my nose cavities, so I got laser surgey when I was a wee lad. That left my nose a disaster, I basically live with a permanent cold. Right now it's the headache that's fucking me right up.

>>25467109
Geez man, hope you get better soon.

>>25467133
Thanks! Tomorrow I'll have a whole day in class, but I despise missing two days in a row, so I'll run this CYOA even if it kills me. These day long things go away after sleep.
On that note, I had the update ready and everything. If you and/or any other anons would like me to post it before I go, to have something to vote on and discuss, I will oblige.

>>25467152
Eh, one post is better than nothing so... why not?

>>25467294
k

>>25459323
>>25462837
>Hmm, this is strange... it could spell bad things for you, at any rate. Leaving Garrett to his sightseeing, you descend the cliff by the convenient pathway and reach the beach, where many ponies are organizing the cleaning labor. You approach the one that seems in charge, an orange earth pony mare.
"Excuse me, can I ask you a few questions?"
>"Well if it isn't the savior of Trottingham!" The mare turns around with a wide smile. "Go ahead!"
"Alright..." you blush a bit. "I wanted to know if anypony has already started collecting gears from the sea."
>"Nope! The mayor sent some of us to guard the pile, and today we're just about to start cleaning" the mare replies without laying off the smile.
"I see..." you turn to look at the pile of cogs. It definitely seems smaller. "Is there any chance part of the pile sunk in the ocean?"
>"I think it reaches all the way into the underground tunnel" the mare contemplates.
"And have you noticed if there are currents washing them away?"
>"The pile looks pretty solid... I think nopony noticed anything like that."
"Ah, I see. Thanks" you nod at the mare and turn around. This all seems too suspicious. Perhaps Tess didn't give up on the idea of using clockwork. There's just so much, after all. In any case, you'll have to keep an eye around for any clues.
>[OBJECTIVE ADDED: Find anything related to the missing clockwork]
>"Umm..." you hear behind your back.
"Yes?" Your turn once again and find the orange pony looking at you from very. Damn. Close.
>"I was just wondering, how do you manage to be so freaking awesome?" She suddenly crawls up to you, fluttering her eyelashes.
"I, uh..."

I'm sorry it's just one update, but hopefully you'll have a bit to talk about. I'll be back tomorrow!

>>25467314
It uh, just kinda happens...? What might your name be miss?

So Tess might still be using clockwork. What I don't understand is how she would be able to fish it out of the sea. We should go see Lorie, she might have an idea about it.

>>25467314
We ate all our veggies, went to bed early and exercised regularly.

night bump.

morning bump

>>25472725

>>25473441

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>>25467485
>>25468242
"Just, you know, the usual?" You reply, rubbing your neck. "I eat my veggies, go to sleep early, exercise... and then, uh, I guess it just happens..." it's hard to maintain eye contact with the eager mare, who hangs on your every word. "And, uh, you are...?"
>"I'm Angler Seas! But you can call me Angie" The orange pony taps her chest proudly and shows you her flank, with a cutie mark of two intertwined fish. "I work at the fishing port on the other side of town. When I heard about what happened, I just knew I had to do something to help!"
"Yes, yes!" You nod fervently. "That's the spirit. We all have to do our part until the criminal has been caught!"
>"Eee, so cool!" Angie says, running up to you and nuzzling you without reserve. "If you ever need anything from me, feel free to ask!"
"I will, heh..." you finally pry the mare off and walk away. There must be something to do about this, those gears might very well be part of Tess' next scheme. Without anything better to think of, you turn south once you reach the top of the cliff and go to Lorie's cabin.

(1/2)

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>>25475215
>The unicorn seems to be overjoyed as well that you're visiting her. Heh, today everyone is happy to see you, it seems. You tell her about the gears, and ask her for input.
>"Hm..." Lorie rushes to check the device in your left hoof. "Well, no new constructs have appeared since I built the latest version of the tracker, so if Tess is planning to reutilize those gears, the townsponies will probably beat her to it."
"You know that doesn't mean anything" you reply, sipping on a glass of water. "Tess might sneak in whenever they store those gears and steal them."
>"More the reason to increase security! What is the royal guard doing, for ponysakes?" Lorie goes on a verbal rampage, trotting around her living room and scattering papers everywhere. Perhaps you should go tell the guards, although the day seems calm enough that you might do that any other time. "Oh, since you're here," Lorie suddenly turns towards you. "Would you like to help me test something? I can promise a sixty one percent chance of nothing horribly crippling happening to your wings!" she says with sparkling eyes, her smile and optimism everything but gone.

>>25475225
61%? I like those odds. Just promise to take care of you for the rest of your life and you're good to go.

>>25475225
Now that's a happy pone.

"Sure. For science, right?"

>>25475225
61%?
Is that both wings or per wing?

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>>25475256
>>25475293
>>25475299
"Sixty one, huh? Is that for one or both wings?"
>Lorie's smile drops immediately, replaced suddenly with a very calm, yet terrifying face.
>"Oh my gosh... I hadn't applied t-that factor... my models, they..."
"Relax, Lorie, I was just being witty" you put a hoof in your partner's shoulder. "Just tell me what it is. For science, right?"
>"Oh yes, there will be lots of science" she turns back to her previous, cheery attitude. "Follow me!"
>You descend into the large basement with Lorie, the huge machine from days ago now vanished. In its place, there's a small section walled with small wooden planks, a field of pony high barricades inside, sort of a small training zone.
"What the heck is all this for?"
>"I've been testing other possible methods to disarm the power cores without needing unicorn magic or even having to destroy them" the unicorn starts talking faster, retrieving something small from a workbench. "I'd like you, with your natural agility, to test it against some dummies."
>She puts something in your right hoof, opposite of the Construct Tracker. It's a small tube, looking like a pen, connected to a small rubber ball by a cable.
>"The ball goes in your mouth, and this little thing shoots blasts of magically charged compressed air" Lorie explains with pride. "It took a lot of me, and I had to smash a lot of equipment to build it, but I think it's all worth it."
"If you say so..." you reply, with an eyebrow up. "Are you sure this is strong enough to destroy a power core?" You ask, looking at the incredibly small object.
>"That's what I aim to try!" The unicorn reappears from between the piles of scrap, newspapers and other trash with a sort of remote controller. "And these will be our dummies."

(1/2)

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>>25475524
>She starts pulling switches and buttons, and a small vehicle appears from between some of the rubble. A toy tank, less than a pony in size, commanded by a pony plush, an off white pegasus with a yellow mane.
"Wow. Cute."
>"No, not cute" Lorie's smile becomes a malevolent grin. "She is for bully" she moves a few levers, and two more identical copies, both tank and plushie, appear behind the first one.
"Where did you get these?"
>"An old acquaintance of mine, engineer, gifted me a couple of these. He calls the pony 'Threads'. Get it?"
"I do..." you frown.
>"Hi!" A pre recorded voice sounds from inside the first tank. "Wanna play with me?"
"Lovely. So should I get in that warzone over there?"
>"Yes! There will be three tanks. Try your best to disable them before they disable you."
"Wait, what."
>"They shoot low pressure air blasts, so at most, you'll just fly a little in the air. It shouldn't be life threatening... well, unless you crash with my piles of stuff."
>Bordering the line between confidence and cowardice, you enter the walled off area, while the three copies of the model tank enter by a small door. Lorie shifts them to automatic, and the little gizmos start roaming the enclosure, looking for you. There are plenty of covers in between you and them on the ground, but nothing whatsoever in the air. They'll find you in a matter of seconds if you stay where you are.

>>25475535
Channel your inner Solid Snake, stick low to the ground and try to work your way behind one of the tanks.

>>25475535
>white
It's CREAM

REEEEEEEEE

Anyway, bully the pegadoll

>>25475740
Cream, white, it's all the same:^)

>>25475535
Well yanks can only point so high, so if we have the room we can drop on them from high above without a hitch, roght?

If we don't have the room, find some cover along the route of one of the tanks. We need to focus on one at a time and make sure we don't get blindsided.

>>25475699
>>25475740
>>25475757
>Right. If you stick to the ground, you'll have plenty of cover. In the air you're an easy target. You start sneaking around, trying to match the motions of the little squad as they comb the circular enclosure. Little pre recorded yells of 'standing by!' and 'roger roger!' can be heard in the cavernous basement. Too cute.
>Eventually, you manage to lap around the entire area, and now the tanks are where you were earlier. You can see them turn around and ask each other, their primitive, artificial intelligences trying to understand the problem at hoof. The little plushes on top of each tank rock forward and back with the motions, but you can see their little golden manes from a distance.
>"Don't be scared, they don't hurt! I should know..." Lorie mulls about while giving you advice. You wonder just how many games of bully she might have played on her own, without friends. Girl, that's sad, you need to get her a real tank. Or real friends. In any case, you need to speed up, so the moment you see one of the toys being singled out, you scoot along and find its blind spot.

(1/2)

>>25475835
"Here we go, Lorie!" You yell, and jumping on top of one of the wooden barricades for just a second, you grab the rubber detonator with your mouth and point the hoof gun at the tank. What follows can only be described as 'awesome', as the toy is blown away to the other side of the room by a high pitched, near invisible blast of magenta magic. "Wow! I totally didn't see that coming!"
>"Success! That should be more than enough strength. Try getting the other tanks!" Lorie screams back from behind the walls.
"Okay!" You can feel yourself getting fired up. Having a sick magic gun wasn't in your plans when you got up this morning, but dammit, you're not going to complain! "Three, two, one..." making sure no tanks are nearby, you get ready to make a dash for the next cover.
>However, in that moment the wooden plank falls over you, and next, you can feel the weight of two toy tanks literally climbing over you, the wooden barricade in between you and their caterpillar tracks. This is not a trifling matter: both tanks on top of you, plus the flat board of cheap wood, are putting a weight and pressure that's slowly leaving you without air.
>"Enemy spotted" says one of the tanks, resting on top of your flattened body.
"You ch-cheeky bugger..."

>>25475849
Try to hook your gun hoof out from under the board. They're close enough that you might be able to hit one of them point blank.

>>25475849
Are we able to roll the plank to one side or the other? If we can tilt it perpendicular to the track treads, they might slide off

>>25475535
>Threads

Fins you glorious bastard.

>>25475893
>>25475915
>This is starting to get worrying, but at least your hooves are free. Grabbing the plank's sides with all four legs, you start rolling to the sides, trying to tilt the tanks so they fall off. However, it doesn't work as you hoped, since the buggers move forwards and backwards to remain on top of you.
>"Unstable ground!" Their mechanic voices yell. You're starting to get fed up, and Lorie doesn't seem to be doing anything to help.
>"Is everything alright there?" You finally hear the unicorn approaching and climbing her own ridiculous wall. "Oh my gosh!"
"Damn things...!" The rubber ball falls on your mouth, and that gives you an idea. Moving your right hoof as much as you can, so that it reaches for the tanks, you pull the trigger, magic blasts sending both tanks away and freeing you. "Finally! I almost lost my wings there!" You stretch your sore appendages.
>"W-Well, I did say sixty one percent..." the unicorn grabs her remote and assumes control of the tanks, moving them out of the training area. "Anyway, I think that was pretty satisfactory!"

(1/2)

>>25476131
"I'll say..." you start unstrapping the gun, but Lorie puts a hoof in yours before you finish. "Huh?"
>"Keep it. If I need to modify it I'll just ask" she tells you with a serious face. "In case there's any surprise. One must account for every possible variable, as of the modelling techniques of..."
"I get it, I get it" you flash boop your friend, leaving her crosseyed for a second. "Are you going to investigate the sea cogs, then?"
>"Might as well. I could use a challenge" the mathematician smiles. "I'll get back to you if I find something."
"Great! And I... I..." you stop right before reaching the top of the stairs leading back to the cabin. What should you do now? Theoretically, there's no imminent danger, so you either go talk with the guard about reinforcing security, go check on your friends, or keep spending the day walking around. Actually, you could go for a grape smoothie right now...
>"Oi. If you don't move, I'll poke your flank" Lorie's voice sounds rather close, prompting you to exit the mare's home. It seems like it's almost lunch time, too.

>>25476143
Let's grab a smoothie and go talk to the guard. It'd be nice to know exactly what they're up to. If they give us trouble we can give the "We're an officially official pony. Officially." The mayor never technically revoked out investigator title since Nightmare Night, right?

>>25476143
Don't forget to ask how many shots we have.

>>25476231
>>25476301
>You decide to make the walk downtown, and grab a smoothie on the way. The day is not particularly cold, so it's your chance to get yourself one.
"Oh, right!" You turn around right before Lorie leaves. "How many shots do I have in this thing?" You ask her, waving the gizmo in your right hoof.
>"Hmm? It can hold five shots, and any unicorn can recharge it" she explains while the two of you walk along in the direction of town. "Also, I have tested it for overheating, but I found out it jams if you abuse the trigger, so please use it responsibly. Abominations and threats to Equestria only."
"I wouldn't joke about using something like this for fun" you frown, looking at the apparently harmless weapon. This could blow a pony away, for the love of Celestia!
>Eventually, you and Lorie split ways, the unicorn heading for the western coast, while you go straight into town. Unfortunately, there's no grape smoothie yet, something you'll have to scold Sweet for, but you get an apple one. Soon enough, you reach the humble headquarters of the royal guard, right behind town hall.
>Inside, as usual, there's barely any activity, the ten or so total appointed guards going on with their days in the usual manner: playing cards, taking naps and little less. Only a couple of them seem to be working on maps of the town, apparently to set patrols and actually do work for once.

(1/2)

>>25476474
"Hoo..." you mutter to yourself, right before seeing someone you know running across the hallway: Mercury Helm, the rookie who's ironically more attentive and diligent than all of these buff stallions together. "Merc? Hey, Merc!"
>"Huh? Grape, hi!" The young one greets you, his eyes shifting every way. "I'm sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry right now."
"Is there any problem? Anything I should know?" You ask, now in a serious pose, opening your wings.
>"Oh no no, it's nothing related to the constructs! We just received a shipment of new, state of the art weapons" the colt explains while you both trot down into the lower levels of the building. "Apparently, Corporal Rainbow Way got a hold of them."
"What do you mean?"
>"Well, since he and Corporal Gusty Shores are the highest ranking officers, they have the first check on stock..." Merc frowns. "I just hope the Corporal did the right thing, and not..."
>You finally arrive to what seems to be the building's storage cellar, a dimly lit room, dark concrete walls full of stacked boxes and drawers, and in the center...
>"...a box fort. My goodness, Corporal" Mercury slaps his face pretty hard with a hoof, and to be honest, you'd slap him too. In the center of the room, where most of the lights are, a lot of carboard boxes and filing cabinets have been stacked to form a fortress, a grotesque plaything from whose insides appears a grey head.
>"Halt! State your business, foreigners" Rainbow Way huffs and puffs while barely reaching the hole in the high center of the fortress. He seems mighty proud of his work.

>>25476488
Honestly, it's not that unexpected compared to what they normally do, right? Just play along and maybe you can get a peek at those new weapons Merc mentioned.

>>25476488
I really really want to tell these guys off but trying to spy the new weapons sound great.

>>25476576
>>25476621
>You really feel like this isn't the right time to play around, what not with the potentially awesome weapons laying around. But, for that same reason, you're going to have to play along. So that you can see the totally awesome weapons.
"Alright, alright" you raise a wing. "We were just wondering what was going on with the new shipment. Nothing wrong with the fort, in fact it's very pretty."
>"G-Grape...!?" Mercury turns his head towards you, absolutely disgusted.
>"Hah! Thanks, I knew my designs were flawless" Rainbow speaks, his voice muffled now that he's inside the fort. "As for the new weapons, here I got them..." he reappears on the upper window, carrying some sort of gun, of a pale blue hue. "Fear me!"
>"Corporal, I really do not think this is the time to be doing this..." Mercury tries desperately to reason with him, but sadly, you're rooting for the other side this time."
"Oh, yeah? What sort of defensive benefits do those weapons entail?" You take a step forward. "If somepony were to, I'd say, enact a frontal charge..."
>"W-What!? No!" Rainbow almost falls off whatever he's using as a support, his head disappearing from the window for a second. "I'll have no other option than using these weapons against you!"

(1/2)

>>25476488
I'm here to tell you to buff up your security. Your ACTUAL security. Start taking apart box fort with merc.

>>25476795
"Wow, okay..." perhaps this isn't the most appropriate way of doing this. "So, how about a test? I'll throw a dummy at you, see if you can shoot it down!"
>"No need for that!" Rainbow replies, lifting the safety off the weapon. "There are two perfectly valid targets right here!!" Suddenly, he shoots at Mercury, a clear stream hitting the unicorn at massive speed.
>"Guuuh!!" He falls on his back, and you almost lose your butt retreating, but once the initial shock is over, you take a look again, dumbfounded. Mercury seems to be suffering in a small pool of...
"Water? That's what it is?" You look back at the fort. "Water guns, for crying out loud!?"
>"Hey, these are the best water guns in the entire continent!" Rainbow replies. "Have you ever got shot by a stream of military grade cold water?"
>You're about to reply, but looking back at Mercury, perhaps there's a point in it. The unicorn flails on his back, throws his hooves around, snorts and whinnies, naa's and makes a wide assortment of sounds. Truly, he looks like a war victim, a horse shaped bundle of despair.
>"Now it's your turn!" Before you can react, the pegasus shoots you, and the moment that cold water soaks your fur, you enter a world of pain, immediately losing sight of right and wrong as you submerge in the horror of being soaked with extremely cold water. You had greatly underestimated this weapon, this truly incapacitates any living thing.
>You flail and horse around for a while, until finally Mercury helps you on your hooves. He's completely soaked, like you. Rainbow Way laughs and gets back inside his fort, while Mercury gives you a look of never before seen malice.

That's it for tonight, I'll be back tomorrow.

>>25476797
I'm sorry anon, you got me in a bit of a pinch.

>>25476830
it's fine. this way we can start taking the top of it off. then with a big enough opening we go in and invade.

>>25476830
Let's apologize to Merc. Then let's make it up to him by taking our sweet revenge on Rainbow. You want a Super soaker fight? You're gonna get one!

>>25476869
>>25477558
We were just playing along to see the weapons. Now we shame them.

>>25476830
Dispite all we've done, we are still a pone. Hug Helm for warmth and comfort. Then we adress the grown foals. A box fort!? You're in the basement of the guard station building a box fort and playing with (admittedly quite potent) waterguns!? Have you already forgotten what happened just yesterday? A giant construct was THIS close to demolishing Trottingham! And it was mostly the citizens to congratulate for it! You should be setting patrols and looking for the mare who is still at large and has nothing but ill will to the city YOU are supposed to protect! So maybe you can stop playing soldier for two minutes AND ACTUALLY DO YOUR JOBS!!!

gn'oop

>>25476830
It's time to destroy this fort. Use anything around as a shield to protect yourself from the cold water. Our flight abilities are weakened.

Up we go.

>>25482403

>>25483221
bump

>>25476869
>>25477558
>>25477936
>>25481967
"I-I'm sorry... I just wanted to see the weapons..."
>"You could have just asked..." Mercury gives up and shakes his head, returning to his usual, gentle demeanor. "In any case, I cannot abide by this."
"Me neither. Hey, Rainbow!" You try to fly up to where the window is, but your wings are soaked and cold, and you need to rest in between the piled boxes. "Did you really have to shoot us with that!?"
>"Oh, come on, I set it to 'riot'!" The pegasus replies from inside.
"And what about this? Is this the only thing the royal guard has in mind? Building a fort and playing pretend with expensive equipment!? May I remind you we've been under attack, and the culprit is still at large!! Seriously, what are you even doing down here!!?"
>"...Civilians shouldn't be allowed in here" is the muffled response you get from inside the titanic structure.
"Dammit! I'm an official investigator, the mayor gave me the rights!" Or at least, you think that's still up. You never really talked back with Scotch about the issue, so might as well. "I demand you take down this fort and make proper use of the supplies you've been given!"
>"...Can I eat lunch first?"
"NO! Come on, Mercury!" You glide down, wings heavy, and slide to face the fort right beside the unicorn. "Help me take down this thing."
>"Gladly" the rookie smiles, probably relieved of not having to face his superior directly. While he starts carefully removing boxes and filing cabinets with his magic, you go all the way to the top and do the same, your wings finally getting rid of the moisture.
>"W-What are you doing out there?" You hear the Corporal whimper, and pinpointing his position, you manage to remove a box which reveals him, cuddled up in a corner with a small crate full of water guns. "Aah!!"

(1/2)

>>25484570
"I swear to the moon I'll go to Canterlot" you press your muzzle against his, but not in the snuggly way, but in the meanie way. "I'll go and I'll talk to the princesses so hard, they'll demote you to janitor!"
>"N-No, not the janitor! They have to do unpaid work!" The pegasus snorts and tries to get away from you, but in that moment, Mercury takes down an important piece of the structure, and the whole corner falls over, sending the pegasus tumbling. "Neigh!"
>Once you and Merc secure the crates with weapons and ammunition, you both carry Rainbow Way out of the basement and give him a stern talk. You also make a point to tell them about the need for more security, to which Mercury replies positively.
"And don't let me catch any of you playing around with military equipment!" You finish your heated conversation.
>"Y-Yes miss..." Rainbow sulks, his eyes now deep embedded with your image, a fear that will last through the ages.
>"We have contacted Canterlot, asking for reinforcements" Mercury explains while you both leave the building. "We tried not to be too specific, so hopefully they'll send some more ponies our way."
"We can only hope" you take a deep breath. "What are you doing next?"
>"Oh! I've... I've got matters to attend to" the colt coughs and covers his mouth with a hoof. "If you need anything else, I'll be back later today!" He suddenly breaks on a brisk trot, almost as if trying to get away from you as quick as possible. That leaves you with nothing in particular to do, although you can visit any of your friends or simply take a walk around town, see if any new problems arise.

>>25484575
We should walk around town and try to find out if anything has gone missing lately or maybe there are strange goings on.

>>25484575
Lets head to the spa.

>>25484672
Let's see if we can get a discount from Sunny.

>>25484575
I wonder why he was so quick to leave.

>>25484652
>>25484672
>>25484771
>>25484903
"Huh. He sure left in a rush..." you ponder. Well, he didn't say anything specific, so maybe it was personal. He doesn't have to be about the guard all the time, right? He's got to have a life. Maybe if you keep being in good terms with him, he will tell you.
>Since you're taking the day slow, and the tracker in your left hoof marks 7% and 30%, you decide to continue this way and make some small rounds. Last time, the monster struck west, and so far, the east-north district and the downtown haven't been targeted, so you visit home and the surrounding area, asking for anything strange, disappearances, oddities...
>Other than Sweet giving you a grape paste filled bun, you don't get anything out of the visit. The area of town where you live seems as peaceful and happy as in the days prior to the incidents. Turning south, you end up passing near the spa, where Sunny Care works, and you decide to come in. Maybe you can get a discount, hehe...
>The mares at reception inform you that, in fact, Sunny is working at the moment, and when you tell them she's a friend of yours, they both nod at each other and one of them scurries out of the back door, to call someone. You're asked to wait, and so you spend a few minutes in the luxurious waiting room, plush chairs and walls of sky blue and white greeting you, clean but not clinic, that sort of pleasant ambient where you feel at ease.

(1/2)

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>>25484983
>"Good eve~ning" a chirpy voice lifts you out of your heavenly stupor. In front of you is a gorgeous blue and teal mare, her fur and mane so exquisitly clean, she almost looks like a crystal pony. Her mane bounces on top of her like made of soap foam, and her tail is so ridiculously long, it follows her like a wedding dress. "Welcome to the Trottingham spa, dear! I'm Bubble Stream, the owner of this establishment, but you can call me Bubbles!" She takes a couple of sultry steps towards you. "In all honesty, I'm thrilled to have the town's mare of the month in our humble business!"
"I-Is that so?" You reply, your cheeks starting to burn for some reason. "I was just passing by, and..."
>"And you decided to visit your friend Sunny? She's sure told me about you" the mare keeps taking her time in each step, almost making a flirty show just for you. "At the moment, I'm afraid she's in the middle of work, but if you would like to wait, there are many services we can offer" w-wait, when did she get so close? Her muzzle is now reaching for your ear. "We might work a little discount out, after all, for such a pretty mare..." You can feel her snout nuzzling your ear, and a pleasant chill goes up your spine, causing you to sigh against your own will.

>>25485008
Ask what kind of services.

>>25485008
A massage sounds nice. It HAS been pretty stressful the last few days.

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>>25485025
>>25485181
"W-Well..." you speak, entranced. "W-What kind of services do you offer...?"
>"Why, a bit of everything!" Bubbles suddenly perks up, throwing you off balance. "You can request single services, like a massage, or a special bath. We also offer a wide range of tours and packages" Her massively long tail extends and grabs a pamphlet from the nearby table, giving it to you. While you put your eye on it, the soft tail starts coiling around your neck and chest. "Of course, there are more... private services as well..."
>You can't help but looking all the way down the sheet, to the last, most expensive treatment: the 'Bubble Stream's Special High Impact Horse Cuddle Violence'. It costs a lot, it would even take a chunk out of that nice sum you got from Garrett, for the interview. However, the blue mare is not done with you. As her tail traps you effortlessly, her eyes lock with yours again.
>"Of course, as I was saying... we might be able to work something out..." you can almost feel her breath brushing your nuzzle, her hypnotic eyes, soft fur and nice aroma bringing you into a most esoteric climax. Your lips purse on their own, and you start leaning forward. "Oh dear, are you alright?" You suddenly wake up, and find yourself about to hit the ground, lips first. Hurrying back on the seat, you observe as Bubbles throws a light chuckle at you from a couple of steps away.
"Y-You... I..."
>"Hmm, I tell you what. I'll have Sunny give you a massage for free, and that way you can catch up on your things, and also be eternally grateful to me! Eee, I'm so smart~!" Bubbles suddenly leaves, without giving you time to react. What did just happen? You don't know, but you really want that massage, or something else. Anything else. Neigh.

(1/2)

>>25485383
>After a short while waiting, you're prompted into one of the rooms, where you meet your friend Sunny.
>"Grape! You came to visit, finally!" She brings you in without hesitation. "Come on, lay down here, and let me work my magic!" She snorts. "Heh, magic. Unicorns..."
>You let the earth pony give you quite the massage, while she tells you about her work, and you inform her of the latest things you've been picking up. She seems interested in helping you with the constructs, after all, so you can always ask her whenever you need help.
>"What do you have scheduled after the massage?" She asks during the last steps.
"Hnnng... nothing else..." you have trouble to talk, feeling extremely at ease. Your entire body feels floaty, even more than usual, being a pegasus, and you could swear your wings didn't have this much turning in them before. "Your boss let me have this for free..."
>"Ooh, I did talk with Bubbles about it" she comments casually. "I thought she would do something like this."
"What for?"
>"Well..." Sunny looks away. "Thing is, something strange is happening in the spa. Considering you're, well, the heroine of Trottingham and all that, I kind of slipped... B-But if you don't want to be involved, it's alright! It probably is a terrifying mystery, full of excitement and bloodlust, I wouldn't want you to force yourself to help or anything!" She taps her forehead dramatically.

>>25485391
That bath sounds nice.

What is it?

>>25485391
Sunny, I'm your friend. What I can do for you, I will do for you.

We need to keep our wits about us around Bubbles. I got bad vibes about her.

>>25485419
>>25485538
"Sunny, you know you can count on me for anything that might trouble you" you speak slowly, still getting used to the feel of having your body refreshed. "Maybe we can figure something out where you pay me with that high impact horse thing whatever..." you just blurt the words while remembering Bubbles' soft touch and scent.
>"That's the thing, though" Sunny replies with a much more serious face. "Right now, we can barely use the baths, we're making use of the emergency reserves, and we can't do any of the fancier ones."
"What?" You turn around, your hopes shot.
>"Thing is, a couple of days ago something broke in the small water station that we use to pump water from the underground caves and filter it" the earth pony explains as you both walk out of the room and across the clean halls of the spa. "We had somepony fix it, and it broke again. We just don't know what's causing it, but the repair pony said" she stops in place, frowning and staring deep into your eyes "that it was no fluke. Something caused the pump to break."
"Huh..." you reflect on these words. With all that's happening lately, you can't just put it past of it being the act of a construct or some other creature. "That sounds worrying enough. We'll have to investigate!" You pull your friend into a confident hug.
>[OBJECTIVE ADDED: investigate the attacks on the spa's water station]

(1/2)

>>25485750
>Once you reach the main hall of the spa, you meet once again with Bubbles, and assure her that you'll have an eye on the spa incidents, to visit and help as soon as possible.
>"Why, that is just fantastic!" The lascive mare replies, bouncing with grace. "I'll make sure to take the best care of you for a long time if you can help us~" she brushes her tail against your side and flank for just a moment, but that alone makes your legs wobble. "Oh, by the way, Sunny" she turns to your friend. "We still need to clean the sauna. I'll be waiting for you later, so we can give it a good scrub. Just you and me, two young, sweaty ponies..." Sunny almost falls on the floor when the tip of the long tail caresses her chin, then Bubbles leaves.
"I-Is she always like this?"
>"Yeah..." Sunny lets out a relaxed snort, her eyelids dropping. "Well, I think I have to go work... I'll see you later..." with a completely zombified voice, your friend walks back into the halls, leaving you on your own again.
>By the time you leave, the sun is starting to set in Trottingham. Guess you spent a lot of time walking and getting pampered. You have time to do something else, perhaps go talk with Lorie, or just spend some time with Sweet. You've been neglecting him in favor of keeping the town safe, but from now on, you might want to start recruiting your friends if you're set to tackle on one of your missions. Or at least ask them, the thought counts.

>>25485760
Let's go to poor neglected sweet and give him a hug. There's that mention of underwater tunnels again. It's perhaps time we visit them!

>>25485760
Let's go spend some quality time with Sweet. Ask him if he's up for an underground investigation first thing tomorrow.

>>25485789
>>25485823
>There's no point in doing any more walking around, after the load of investigating you've done today, so you decide to pick up a pizza downtown and go straight back home. Sweet was about to cook dinner, and finds quite happily that you'll be relieving him of that duty tonight. You give him a good rundown of all the things you've found out today, and express your interest in checking the cavern system under the spa tomorrow morning.
"Seems like there's something down there actively trying to hurt the spa..." you comment, looking at the Construct Tracker now resting on the table. "There doesn't seem to be any fully formed constructs, though..."
>"Maybe it's an incomplete one, trying to get materials..." Sweet's eyes widen, a thin thread of cheese hanging from his mouth. "W-What if the monster is made of bath water!?"
"Well, if there's a bath water monster, I guess somepony will have to become the bath water hero" you joke around. "In any case, I want to help Sunny and her lewd boss. Hey, maybe we'll get ourselves a free day or two of spa!"
>"Or a year..." Sweet mutters. You end up joking and cuddling for the rest of the night, having a nice time and going to bed relatively late. Sweet will complain tomorrow morning, but you're sure he enjoys it in the end. You know you do.

[PAUSE]

That's it for tonight, I'm using the PAUSE tag to indicate there's no need to vote on anything. There's a slight chance that tomorrow I might not run, but I'll sure try, so I'll see you then!

>>25485943
Wake up from a cool dream where you could shoot magic beams out of your hooves.

>>25486643
the coolest dream

>>25485943
Find sweet. Tap his shoulder and then have your hoof near his face so when he turns around you poke him in the cheek.

Morning bump.

>>25491487

>>25492461

>>25493392
Bumpity

>>25486643
>>25487681
>>25489670
>Standing in the middle of a deep red wasteland, the sun and the sky blocked by infinite grey clouds, you and your friends stare up. Far in the distance, atop the sharpest cliff, stands Tess with her army of super robot constructs.
>"Ah hahahaha!" She laughs. "This will be the end of you!"
>"It's too late" Lorie drops to the floor, repenting. "We will be destroyed."
"Not if I can help it!" you stomp the ground. "I will stop you, Tess! And I will do it with this!" You raise your legs up, glowing with mysterious pink energy. "MY FREAKIN' LASER HOOVES!"
>The monsters charge, titans of over a million miles in size, but you fly faster than light, and shooting freakin' lasers out of your hooves, you start decimating Tess' armies by the second.
"Pew pew, pfrrrrrt baahbahbahbah!" You channel your inner superhero while your magical hooves do the rest. Suddenly, the earth trembles, and a hundred feet tall Sweet enters the scene.
"GRAPE..."
>"Grape, wake up! Geez!" Your eyes open to the clarity of day, and turning around, your cheek finds Sweet Seed's hoof, poking you from beyond the bed. "About time! It's well over ten!"
"Wha..." you frown and get up slowly, looking at the brown colt.
>"Didn't you say you wanted to investigate the spa caves first thing in the morning?" Sweet puffs his cheeks. "Well, it's morning, so get up."
>A few seconds pass in which you and your friend stare at each other, then you simply raise a hoof and boop his muzzle, causing him to fall on his butt. With a smug smile, you stretch and get off the bed, but something soft hits you, the surprise making you fall on your chest. Sweet is now on the bed, holding a few pillows with an even more smug grin, and you can tell you won't be able to leave this room without a rain of pillows tormenting your sides.

Apologies in advance if there's less updates today.

>>25494122
Cease fire! Sorry Sweet, but like you said, work before play. We need to get investigating. Wanna come with?

>>25494122
Try to close the distance and tickle him into submission!

>>25494160
>>25494183
>Dammit, he's got the pillows! Now you're at a tactical disadvantage, you need to think this through carefully...
"W-W-Wait, Sweet! Please, cease fire, I'm sorry!" You raise your hooves and wings, exposing yourself to the impact, and close your eyes. "P-Please..." Eventually, you open one eye and find that Sweet has left the bed without touching the pillows.
>"Alright then, Grape, you still owe me a boop" your friend says, parading in front of you as if he already won. Little does he know the war is over when the feathers touch the ground!
"Naïve..."
>"Huh?"
"Oooora!" With a quick jump, you position yourself right on top of your friend, and plucking a purple and teal feather off your right wing, you start tickling his neck and chest with it.
>"G-Grape, Grape no, whatahahaha, dammit Grape...!" The colt struggles and laughs, tries to free himself, but it's too late, it was always too late. You tickle him for a solid five minutes, until he's too exhausted to move from the floor, point at which you simply get off him. "Haa, haa... I just wanted to explore with you..."

(1/2)

>>25494473
"What was that, you want to explore me? How naughty..."
>"S-Stop joking!" The little horse flails around, his cheeks now red for some reason. You didn't tickle him too much, did you? Nah.
"I'll be waiting for you downstairs" you proclaim, brushing his muzzle one last time with the tip of your tail, then you walk down and eat breakfast.
>It takes a while for Sweet to recover, but once he does, he shows you the saddlebags he's prepared for you and him. They have lanterns and matches, some energetic bars for emergency food, and first aid kits. His even have ropes, the crazy horse.
"Do you really think we'll have to go spelunking?" You remind him of your wings by flapping them from across the table.
>"Not everyone is a pegasus" Sweet shows you his tongue briefly. That's a nice, rosey tongue. "Besides, will Sunny and Lorie be coming with us?"
"Thinking about it, Sunny will probably be willing to help, but I have no idea of what Lorie is up to today."
>"Should we go ask her? Or, if there's anypony else you might have in mind..."

>>25494482
Asking the repair pony for directions and details about the problem might be a good idea.

>>25494482
Why not ask Merc to come along? Maybe we can weedle out what was bugging him yesterday. If nothing else at least there'll be a unicorn on hand.

>>25494539
Investigating the bathwater problem probably doesn't warrant a guard.

>>25494482
Lorie's place is a bit out of the way, let's not bother her. Oh yeah, show Sweet the magic shooter.

>>25494516
>>25494539
>>25494680
>All of your possible options are a ways away from the spa, but you figure it can't hurt asking Mercury for some help. After all, he's a pretty dependable stallion. And handsome, too.
>"You just said that out loud..."
"Ha? S-Sorry!" You pick up your trot across the streets of Trottingham, another cold day being taken care of by the weather crew. At least the cold won't settle in until Cloudsdale passes by, with these guys here. "Hey, did I show you how this thing works, Sweet?" You call for your friend and raise your right hoof, where your new weapon is.
>"Do I want to know?" The colt takes a tentative step backwards.
"Just watch" you point it at the sky, making sure no pegasi or griffons are flying by, and pulling the mouth trigger, you shoot a barrage of magic air towards the clouds, opening a hole in the sky, the ray of light falling over you dramatically.
>"Wow... you just wanted to look cool, didn't you?" Sweet catches you. With a grave sounding 'yep', you continue walking all the way towards the royal guard building, where you find Mercury Helm hard at work.
>"An underground investigation, you say?" Merc seems interested in your proposal. "Is this by any chance related to the constructs?"
"That's what we're going to find out. At worst, it's still a vandalism problem, don't you think?"
>"That is true, aah, I actually would love to help you" the unicorn starts bobbing his head in disgust, almost poking your eyes out with that thing "but we're about to finally start deploying the town patrols. A glorious schedule has been prepared, and after pushing for it so hard, I wouldn't want to be the one who doesn't meet his own expectations!" He makes a rather sad face at you and Sweet. "Surely you understand."

(1/2)

>>25494865
"Aw, I guess I also have a part in that" you nod. Finally, after only two giant monster attacks you've got the lazy guards in this town to start doing their jobs.
>In the end, it's just you and Sweet that go into the spa, but at least you got Mercury to recharge your weapon with his magicky horn. Sunny greets you at the waiting lobby by the entrance.
>"I hope you don't mind if Bubbles doesn't join us" she explains while leading you towards the basement floor. "She's still the owner of the spa, and a pretty busy pony."
"I bet she is..." you shudder. Trying not to think of that mare's luscious lips, scented mane and hypnotic hips, you finally arrive at the basement, sorted like an office floor with many rooms and halls. "Here we have the security room, janitor's closets, building leftovers and other stuff. There, on the corner, is the water filter room."
>When you enter the room, you're assaulted by a cloud of warm water vapor, sticking to your fur and nostrils. You can see there's not much in the room, other than a couple of empty shelves and brooms, and a machine on the opposite end. You and Sweet snort and sneeze for a while, and it's only when the mist clears up that Sunny joins you inside.
>"Sorry, I should have warned you..." the mare scraches her head. "Anyway, this is what I wanted you to look at" she points at the machine, a very large white barrel with gauges, buttons and pipes everywhere. "Look, some of the pipes are damaged" she points at the structure surrounding the water machine, and in fact, you can see there are bent pipes everywhere along the ground level, as well as a few bumps in the machine.
>"What a waste..." Sweet trots up to the pipes and examines them without touching. "What should we do first, Grape?"

>>25494883
Let's search the room, thoroughly. Are there any marks or scratches on the ground? What about possible openings or fissures? It also wouldn't hurt to inspect the machine, see if there's anything missing from it.

>>25494959
>Taking your time, you examine the room and the machine for any obvious things that might look odd or out of place, other than the bent pipes. Since there's nothing of the sort, you then go for smaller details, instructing Sunny and Sweet to look closely for anything that doesn't belong.
"Here it is!" Finally, you find something near the back of the machine. Next to the wall, it seems like there are scratches on the floor and the machine's surface. "Weird, it's like an animal clawed it here..."
>"Let me look" Sunny takes a step forward. "Wow, it really looks like something a timberwolf would do... timberwolf!" She suddenly jumps back, forcing you to catch her.
>"I seriously doubt there are timberwolves in the caverns" Sweet neighs. "It might be some other clawed animal, though."
"How about a griffon?"
>"If it's a griffon then we're worse off. At least a monster we can catch with basic traps..."
>Examining the marks more carefully, you discover they're also on the other side. Its like the entire back wall has the marks all over it.
"Wait a minute... that's strange, it would be hard to scratch the back wall from here" you think out loud. "Then..."
>"Then maybe there's a hole on the other side?" Sweet finishes your thought. "The machine is big enough to cover for it, but still... it's gotta be a big monster to move something like this."

(1/2)

>>25495153
>"Big, and with claws..." Sunny is now visibly shaking. "M-Maybe I should go find the guard..."
"Of all the days the guard picked to start being diligent, it had to be today" you reply. "Don't worry Sunny, we'll take care of this. First, we need to move the machine..."
>It takes the effort of you three, but thanks to the two earth ponies and their freaky earth magics, eventually the machine gives, and you're able to take a peek behind it. A light breeze comes from it, confirming the existence of a hole. After a good amount of work pushing the machine, you finally stare at the hidden entrance in the back of the room, leading into...
>"A very dark, very deep cavern" Sunny grabs both you and Grape, speaking with a very strange voice, both confident and scared. "L-Let's go!"
"Sunny, do you even want to come?"
>"Noyes! Shuddup, don't y'all tell me what ta do!" Sunny forgets her manners and starts pushing you and Sweet inside. The colt reminds you that you have lanters, and with their help you manage to make the descent all across the long tunnel, freshly carved in the earth, until you reach a bigger cavern, and what seems to be a lake. "There are many underground pockets of water under this part of town..."
>"Do we keep going? We don't even have a means to cross this lake..." Sweet points out. "There seems to be a way to go around it, but that might take a while."

I'm afraid I have to stop here for the night. This is one of the very few things that make me wish I lived in the americas, so I could run without being so tired after class and sleepy. I'll be back tomorrow.

>>25495165
See ya! By the way, in the next update could you just give a little refresher on what objectives are still active or if any of them have been fulfilled?
Well... this is a difficult choice. It might not be the best idea to leave, but as the saying goes victory lies in preparation. Let's go back to town and follow some other leads, we can come back once we have something to cross the lake.

>>25495165
Don't worry Fins, it's like your running schedule was tailor made for my schedule.

>>25495165
Can we see any scratch marks?

Waters going on?

>>25495243
What leads? This is the best we have so far.

>>25495165
Go around and scan for any clues.

>>25495165
investigations!

>>25495243
Thanks for reminding me. I was going to do that with the first update yesterday, the idea was to do it with each new day/mission. I'll do that tonight.

A mighty bump!

bunp

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Managed to finish this just in time to bump with content.

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>>25505206

>>25495243
>>25495744
>>25496980
>>25498534
====================
Current objectives:
-Investigate Tess' whereabouts with Lorie.
-Find anything related to the missing clockwork.
-Investigate the attacks on the spa's water station.

Tracked constructs: 10%, 35%
Character sheet updated
====================
>Things don't look too bright, in fact, the only lights come from the lanterns you and Sweet carry. You think about stopping and trying something else, but this is the only lead you have in this particular case, and it would suck coming all the way here just to stop and turn around.
"Let's try to find any way to cross the lake" you tell Sweet and Sunny. "Pay attention to the ground, try to find more scratch marks, anything."
>While your friends scramble along the shore of the underwater lake, you flap your wings and fly all over it, your lantern vaguely defining the shape of the calm waters below. Initially, it seems there's no place to go across, but after a few laps around the perimeter, you spot something.
"Hey, the water is shallow in this part!" You relay, your voice echoing across the cave. You fly down and meet with Sweet and Sunny, then inspect the beginning of the elevated ground, a narrow walk just next to the wall.

(1/2)

>>25506449
>"Hey, look!" Sweet points at something. The ground near the beginning of the walkway, before the water starts hiding the presence of high ground, seems removed, a wide track left as if something swept over it. "Maybe whoever was here covered their tracks?"
>"O-Or maybe..." Sunny speaks, shivering again. "Maybe it was so big, its huge tail dragged on the ground! Eee!" She suddenly jumps all over you.
"Dammit! We haven't even seen this monster yet!" You pry the earth pony off yourself. She seems to be having a load of fun, even with the constant scares. "Besides, we fought a pretty big one back in Nightmare Night, remember?"
>"Oh yeaaah!" Sunny smacks her head.
>While your friends inspect just how safe walking along the wall of the cave is, you take a closer look at the lake and the surrounding dome. The walk ends up turning inside, into another tunnel. However, while you can just fly, to get there Sweet and Sunny have to walk, and it seems like the only way is pretty muddy, and it might get risky.

>>25506459
That's what the rope is for right? Just tie it somewhere and then we can start walking.

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>>25506605
"Oh, that's right!" You suddenly realize. "You still got the rope, right Sweet?"
>"Why yes, I did? I..." your friend stops mid sentence, dropping the lantern for a moment to reward you with a smug grin.
"What?"
>"Does this mean what I think it means?"
"I don't know, what is it?"
>"Earlier, you said I was overpreparing. Turns out, we're going to use the rope" Sweet rolls his eyes dramatically. "That means..."
"I... ugh, fine. You were right, Sweet" you frown, although inside you can't help but laugh and feel glad Sweet prepares for eventualities better than you. "Let's find some place to tie the rope to."
>You manage to tie the rope to a stalagmite of sorts, and making sure it's strong enough not to break, Sunny and Sweet tie themselves to it, one after the other. They start treading the uneasy ground, their hooves splashing water, while you follow from above.
>Lucky you had that rope, because your friends end up falling quite a few times in the freezing cold water. You manage to save them a couple of times, but the mud is treacherous, and by the end of the walk, all three of you are soaking wet.

(1/2)

>>25506829
"Brrr... adventures... they oughta make me princess..."
>"Alright, alright" Sunny suddenly pulls a small gizmo from her mane. Turns out to be a battery powered hair dryer, which she uses to make your fur and manes warm and poofy again. "A good beautician always has tools for dire situations."
>"We packed ropes and food, and you got us this" Sweet frowns, then shrugs. "I guess we're all doing our part."
"No boasting allowed" you flick Sweet's muzzle up with your tail. "Come on guys, we're on to something here. Look" you point at the ground, where the wide tracks, made by some sort of sweeping tool, continue deep into the tunnel.
>You start walking down, keeping some of the rope and sticking together, but eventually, you run into a fork of three possible paths. A quick look into the possible choices reveals they also split, mix and match, forming quite the maze of tunnels and caverns.
>"This can't be good" Sunny huddles close. "Maybe we're just playing straight into the monster's cold, slimy tentacles..."
>"S-Stop saying those things, please!" Sweet replies, his lantern shaking. "How is your maze solving, Grape? Because I have no idea."

>>25506839
We should have brought more rope so we wouldn't get lost down here. Anyway let's go left. This is a guess.

>>25506839
Are there any tracks we can follow? Do we have anything to mark the tunnels with?

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>>25506875
>>25507224
"Sweet, how are you on the old rope?"
>"We don't have a whole lot after crossing the lake" your friend informs you. "I'd like to save what's left for anything important."
"I'll agree with that. If we're going to make a decision, we need something to mark the walls, the ground, anything... This!" Grabbing a small rock with a hoof, you scratch on the rock of the walls until you manage to scribble a big X on it.
>"Clever!" Sunny perks up. "Wait, does that mean we're going into the maze?" Her ears drop immediately.
"Yep! This way!" You point at the left tunnel at random, and following on your temerary words, start treading inside. You can't help but notice that there are two ponies walking extremely close to your sides, so you spread your wings and tuck them under.
>"Hmm... soft fluffy wings..." Sweet mutters while you descend the cavernous abyss.
>Making sure to mark every crossroads with an X, you three cover a lot of ground, crossing tunnels and rooms, passing by another underground pocket of water, and walking in circles a few times. It seems like you're not getting anywhere at this rate. You look for more of the sweeping tracks, but to your dismay, they're everywhere, sometimes going back on themselves, leading you into further confusion.
>"Graaaape, I'm tired, my pretty hoofsies weren't made for thiiis...!" Sunny moans, right in your ear.
>"Graaape, are you sure you know where you're going?" Boom, there's Sweet on the other ear, bloody Tartarus.
"Shut up, will you!? At least we're covering ground."
>In that moment, a sound echoes across the series of tunnels you've been walking for the last few minutes: it sounds like the anguished cries of a young filly, her tears and hiccups slowly tearing away at your innocence. Immediately, you're squished by the heads of your friends, their bodies using your wings as blankets.
>"G-G-Graaaape...!"
>"Grape, please...!"
"Sigh..."

>>25507244
Tell your friends to shush. Try to find the sound with that amazing hearing. Go forward.

>>25507244
Be quiet and find the source of the noise. Be sure to mark the path.

>>25507270
>>25507296
>With a couple of well placed bonks, you shush both of your friends.
>"It hurts..." Sweet complains.
"Then don't start again. Just try to follow the source of the noise."
>Three pairs of ears perk up, and you start listening the echo of the cries, somewhere distant. Being huddled up together has its perks, and that is not freezing over while the three of you try to locate the signal. Eventually, you notice it's coming stronger from a particular tunnel.
"I got something. Let's go, team!" You start trotting off, confident, and while Sweet and Sunny choose to stay by your sides, they don't rush to the warmth of your glorious wings like before. You make sure to advance slowly, picking up the echoes, shifting tunnels whenever you see fit.
>The sounds intensify, and you finally arrive at a sort of chamber, with mud slopes, puddles of water and several levels of cliffs. There's no echo this time, somewhere in the darkness there's a pony crying. Or something else.
>"Okay, we got to the source, like you wanted" Sunny whispers in your ear. "Now what."
"Hold the lantern up, Sweet" you instruct your friend. "Now, if something attacks, run like Tartarus opened and take cover."

(1/2)

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>>25507696
>The darkness of the room, the sounds of water dripping from the ceiling onto the puddles, and the increasing vibrations of the cries, all helps setting the spookiest mood while the three of you walk forward, step by step, ready to intercept any incoming attacks. Nothing happens after crossing half the room, or at least you believe it to be half of it.
>Then, as you approach the opposite end, something smacks the air nearby. You spot deep crimson under the lanterns, and then it vanishes, leaving only one heck of a scare in all three of you. Sunny drops a high pitched yelp and scurries back, while Sweet drops the lantern altogether and you fall on your plot.
"Dammit! Get back, back!" You hurry and pick yourself up, the muddy floor not helping you run away. Once you're all a few steps away, you shine the lantern in the direction of the attack again. "Yep, something is moving there."
>"It looks like..." Sunny peers into the darkness, and her jaw drops. "No way... scales?"
>"D-D-Dragon?" Sweet replies. You think you can see it in the darkness too, the vague shape of a lizard tail, the size of a pony in itself. Something that you can't see in the darkness is swinging it, although it's not advancing, merely hiding itself behind its massive tail and crying.

>>25507708
Hey tail, why you crying? Let's fly above it and get a better look at them.

>>25507708
Call out to it.

>>25507763
>>25507786
>Tentatively taking a step forward, you try to test the tail's limits. Once again, when you get too close it swings at you from the darkness, but knowing that it's there helps a lot.
>"That's a weird dragon, I tell you what" Sweet points out, scratching his chin. "Shouldn't we go back, get reinforcements, this time for real...?"
"Hmm, you go do that if you want" you reply, absentmindedly. Honestly, it puzzles you, if there's such a thing down here, why is it not attacking you. "Oi! Oi? You there, with the tail! Can you hear me?"
>"G-G-Grape, what are you doing now!?" Sunny tries to grab you, but you counter hug her and pet her head with confidence.
"Look, if it doesn't come for us that means it's just defending itself. So maybe we just started off the wrong hoof" you smile, then leave your friend be and take flight. With your lantern, you can scout the whole area of the room. "Hey, tail! Is there something wrong, why are you crying? We don't want to hurt you, do you want to tell us what's wrong?"
>You try to engage in conversation with the creature, while flying above and trying to get a better view. However, it knows, and the tail immediately coils around whatever the body is. It can't be too big, since it's completely hidden; you'd say the tail is bigger than the rest.

(1/2)

>>25508051
>"Grape, it doesn't seem to be working!" Sweet yells at you.
"Shuddup, I'm doing perfects!" You reply, blushing. "Hey, hey! Don't be afraid, we're your friends! We have yummies and our fur is soft! See?" You rub your chest in the air with a hoof to demonstrate your words.
>"F... Friends?" Suddenly, the crying stops and a voice comes from under the large pile of flesh and scales. It sounds female, young and fragile. "You... won't hurt me?"
>"No!" Sunny trots all the way to where the coiled tail is, and in that moment, you hear a yelp, and the large appendage shrinks, tightening itself further.
"You're making things worse!" You fly down and face Sunny, pushing her away. The mare snorts and looks the other way. "Don't be offended, on top of it! We need to talk her out of the tail."
>"If it's of any help" Sweet intervenes "we have food, and Sunny has... whatever she's brought with her. Maybe we can establish some sort of..."
>"P-Please..." the tiny voice comes back, muffled by the tons of scales blocking the body. "Leave me... the pain... it hurts..." the crying resumes and the tail hugs itself a little further.

>>25508064
What hurts? We have first aid kits (sweet's on top of shit again) so we might be able to help if you let us. Will you please let me look?

>>25508064
That's right, we don't wanna hurt you. We can even help if you tell us what's wrong.

>>25508051
>"That's a weird dragon, I tell you what"

Even when speaking properly her southern pokes out.

>>25508064
Let me help you if you're hurt. I promise I'll be gentle.

>>25508116
>>25508182
>>25508272
>Now you're fearful of doing anything, in case you lose your grasp on the conversation, but on the other hoof, that... thing, whatever it is, said she's hurting. That puts you on the rethorical pickle of having to choose between not endangering your friends or making new friends by virtue of helping.
>Looking at Sunny and Sweet, they both are eyeing the crimson tail from a distance, like you, but they don't seem as frightened as before. The situation has taken a turn for the bizarre, you were supposed to be capturing whoever attacked the water machine!
"Alright, alright..." you take a deep breath and thing. "We have first aid kits. Did you hear that?" You direct your voice towards the end of the cave. "We can help you, if it hurts!"
>After a few moments of crying, you hear a sniffle, and the well dries.
>"Help?" The voice comes back. "You can't... it only helps when I bathe in the water... the warm water..."
>"Did she just say...?" Sunny raises a hoof in sync with her desdending brow.
"Yes she did. Calm down for a minute, Sunny" you raise your own leg to bar her way, in case she just decides to run for it. "What's that about the water?" You ask the creature.
>"It... makes me feel better. For a while" the huge tail seems to shiver in the darkness. "Then the pain comes back... I have to bathe again."
>"Well, look at it this way, now we know why you were getting the machine smashed" Sweet points out. "This dragon, er, thing, seems to enjoy your spa."
>"For free, that's fer damn sure" Sunny slips for a second, immediately clearing her throat. "Now, dear, I promise we'll try to help you. Why don't you get out of your tail and let us look at you...?"

(1/2)

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>>25508482
>It takes a while of tense wait, but finally, the red tail uncoils, and you're allowed to approach, lanterns high. They almost fall off your mouths when you behold...
"G-Guys, what is that."
>"A... pony? I think?"
>"No way, it's a voodoo doll."
>Certainly, she seems to be a bit of everything. A young filly, however made of what you could only describe as patches, pieces of different colors sewn together by some artifice, making her look like a living ragdoll. To top it off, the massive, crimson tail, bigger than the rest of her body and limbs combined, slams on the ground behind her as if completely natural. Its sharp scales scratch and sweep the ground as it waggles.
>"O-Okay... everypony calm down..." Sweet says, dropping his saddlebag and getting some things out of them. "Here Grape, you do it" he gives you food and a first aid kit.
"Why me!?" You blurt out. The little filly snorts, and her massive tail slams the ground, raising a cloud of dust and some mud. "No no no, wait, I wasn't angry o-or anything...! Just let me help, okay?" You raise your hooves and show her the little medpack. "This will help you feel better, trust me."
>"R-Really?" Her eyes, lacking any sort of sparkle or life, dart from you to Sunny to Sweet and back. "Okay..." her body seems to relax, but the moment you take a step forward, she tenses up again and her tail starts waggling, scales hard enough to pierce stone trembling dangerously close. If you or your friends make a slip now, you might end up in the hospital for a while, or the cemetary for a much longer time.

I'll be back tomorrow, probably. If I can't run, I'll make sure to forewarn

>>25508494
Ask for her name.

just gotta take it slow.

saturday nights are always so fast.

>>25508494
Ask if she could please calm her tail. Also ask where she came from aswell as her name.

bump from 10

>>25508494
Start humming something to calm her down.

>>25514270

>>25514802

>>25515515

I won't run tonight after all, sorry for the inconvenience. I leave it up to you anons to decide whether or not to bump this thread, it would be great if it could stay up, but if not then I'll make it up to you with a new OP.

pet the filly bump.

what is franken-filly that's rudeeven doing down here anyway?

>>25519113
That really is the question. What if she's somehow a part of Tess' construct experiments?

sleep tight bump.

>>25517217
it's fine

We wait.

Thanks for keeping it up guys, I'll post a single update later so there's something to read and discuss, and then we'll run normally during the night.

>>25508709
>>25509149
>>25510077
>>25513658
"W-Wow there" you raise a hoof and stay far from the dangerous limb. "Be careful sweetheart, could you please not move your tail so much?"
>The filly first retracts a bit, but then she seems to understand, and the massive crimson tail turns to the other side, exposing her body. You start walking towards her with slow steps, carrying the small case of the first aid kit tucked under your wing. As you go forward, you have an idea.
"Hey, do you like songs?" You start humming the tune of an old nursery rhyme your mom used to sing to you in the nights. Your head bobs and tilts to the sides, your eyes not breaking contact with her, trying to look as harmless as possible. The little abomination seems to enjoy it, her head unconsciously moving with the rhythm.
>Finally, you arrive at where she is, drop the case and caress her cheek lightly. She seems to enjoy it, as she nuzzles your hoof for a while, and you let her approach, her tail now calm and dragging across the floor.
"That's it, see? We're going to help you, uh... What is your name, by the way? I'm Grape Vine, call me Grape."
>"Grape..." the filly looks up, her eyes glinting in the darkness. Sweet and Sunny bring the lanterns nearby, staying a couple steps away. "I... I don't have a name."

(1/2)

>>25525845
>"Well, where are you from?" Sweet asks instead. "I think we would know if you had been around longer."
>"I... don't remember well" the pony contemplates, her tail swaying lightly, but even that is enough to smash a few small rocks on its path. "I remember a house... everything was cold, in the forest... then I started walking, and crossed the sea."
"North of here, I suppose" you reply, opening the case. A small assortment of pills and objects greets you. "How did you survive down here? What did you eat?"
>"Oh, I... I don't eat anything."
>"This doesn't make any sense. What even are you? Do you have a mom and dad?" Sunny asks, now walking closer.
"We'll get to the rest later" you stop her, then turn to the filly. "Tell me where it hurts, I'm going to try and see if I can help."
>"It's here, in the back..." she points at the back of her head, and you move around to look, trying not to get too close to the tail. Sunny and Sweet bring their lanters, and you see a spark in between her black locks.
>"What is it?" Sunny asks, but you can barely move your mouth, once your hooves pry the filly's mane apart and you have a look at what you can only describe as her brain. "Oh... Oh, my."
>"Is it bad?" The young one asks, while you swallow hard and tap the surface of the orb, surrounded with hair and skin, with extreme care. There's no mistaking it, the thing giving life to this pony is a construct's power core.

I'll be back in some 6 hours to continue.

>>25525859
Tell her that it's not something you'll be able to fix since you don't have the proper tools but you know a pony that might have them. Can they come with you?

We can at least try bandaging it up. That could make her feel some what better.

>>25525859
We have another friend that specializes in this.

>>25526037
I like this one. Stay calm so she doesn't think anything is wrong. She's just a hurt ane scared filly so we have to treat her like one.

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>>25526037
>>25526356
>>25527453
"I... don't think I can help you with this, sweetie" you immediately walk to face her directly.
>"W-What?" Her eyes widen. "D-Does that mean it's bad?"
>"Shh, no no, it's okay, we can still help somehow!" Sunny pushes you with her rump and nuzzles the filly.
"We can take you with somepony who knows about your... eh, 'hurt'" you propose.
>"You mean Lorie? I guess she's the best available pony" Sweet mulls. "Still, Lorie and foals..."
"I don't know what this is all about" you lift the filly's chin with a hoof, "but I'll make sure that you don't suffer. That's what friends do."
>"F-F-F..." she reacts as if the word was cursed, her tail suddenly swinging. "Friends!? Really!? I... I've never had any friends!" She starts waggling her massive tail, crushing rocks and slamming the ground, creating a cacophony across the cavern.
"Whoa whoa! Calm the tail, mate! I mean..." you cough. "Of course, we can be friends! Would you like that?" The filly nods enthusiastically, a newfound spark in her eyes. "Great! Then come with us!"
>You start making the way back, the filly now following. The crosses you marked the way with help a good deal, and in a shorter time than it took you to arrive, you're back in the room with the water machine.
>"Uh, Grape..." Sunny calls for you. Turning around, you see that the filly is not coming out of the crack in the rocks.
"What is it?" You trot up to her. She's cowering at the entrance. "Are you afraid of something?"
>"The ponies... they don't like me very much" she nods. "They chased me out of their towns with p-p-pitchforks."
"Don't worry, the ponies here in Trottingham are much more jaded. If you're kind to them, they'll be kind to you" you reassure her.
>"Oh..." the filly then blushes. "Then... I can't get my tail out of here" she nods at the crack. Her huge tail is now scratching concrete and having a harder time to fit.

>>25527809
Let's get some help.

>>25527809
Maybe we have to bring lorie here? Can our friends stay with her while we go get them? We can also explain things to lorie and ask her how she is with fillies. And to be nice to her.

>>25527809
Let's bring Lorie here then. Let's ask Lorie that hypothetically anything can be used to make a construct and, also hypothetically, what if used fleshy bits were used to make a construct?

>>25527857
>>25527873
>>25527948
>Nodding, you bring your friends away from her, after asking the filly to be patient, and telling her you will find help.
"I'm going to find Lorie, so that we can choose what to do. Keep her company and try to find any tools to make the hole bigger, alright?"
>Your friends accept your request, and in a flash, you glide out of the spa and fly at full speed across the skies of Trottingham, soon reaching Lorie's cabin. The mathematician is inside, playing with a remote control tank.
>"I-It's not what it looks like!" She screams and covers her cutie mark with her tail for some reason.
"Yeah yeah. Hey Lorie, can I ask you something about constructs?"
>"Of course! I predicted an eighty seven percent chance of you asking me about them next time we met, and thus I expanded on my research" the unicorn puffs her chest.
"Do you... do you think constructs could be made with organic materials?"
>"Of course! Any sort of matter with similar properties works."
"Even... flesh bits? You know... from ponies?"
>"I don't see why not."

(1/2)

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>>25528057
"Come" without saying anything else, you bring the unicorn back to the spa, running along. "By the way, how are you with foals?"
>"I've never had anypony complain, strictly speaking" she replies with a grimace. Well, this is going to be just dandy. After a heated run, you both reach the water filter chamber, to find out that the filly is already out of the hole.
>"She ended up scratching until she fit through" Sweet explains, sighing and shrugging. Sunny is talking with her, explaining things about mane care.
>"Who... is this?" Lorie asks, afraid of taking another step.
"She's been living under the spa for a while" you trot back to the filly. "Hey, I brought our friend, she knows exactly what hurts you, and she's going to help, alright?"
>"Yay!" The filly, without destroying everything with her tail, yips happily. Lorie walks upon your command and checks the back of her head.
>"This... I... it wasn't meant to..." the unicorn starts reeling back, her glasses shaking so much they almost fall.
"I understand, but is there any way to make her pain go away?"
>"Go away!?" Lorie jumps and frowns at you. "Grape, for goodness' sake! She's a monster, a completely unnatural abortion! She shouldn't even be alive, the best thing we can do is smash the core and set fire to the remains!!" In the middle of her rank, her eyes glaze and she stops when your collective gazes of anger dawn upon her. "Oh, wait..."
>It doesn't take a math genius to know what's going to happen: the filly, who's heard it all, starts moaning, then crying, then kicking up a fuss, her tail suddenly lashing against everything, destroying the shelves, moving the incredibly heavy water machine around effortlessly, bending pipes and pushing all of you against the other wall, terrified.

>>25528073
Give her a hug.

>>25528073
>We can also explain things to lorie
We really should've warned her.

>>25528073
Lorie you better apologize.

I should have typed "warn lorie about what the filly is."

little filly we do not need mean old lorie. I will try to solve this myself. Let's add hot water to it since she said that helped.

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>>25528116
>>25528125
>>25528144
>Your cheeks puff until they eat away at infinity, your eyes shooting cannonballs at Lorie. The unicorn is covering her whole body, resembling more a fur ball.
"I knew I should have said something!" You bonk your head. The filly just won't stop crying and smashing things. "Okay, here it goes..."
>"W-What are you gonna do?" Sweet asks, his eyes widening at your stance.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to give her a hug. My hugs will one day win me a grand prize" you stick your tongue out and lick your muzzle, before focusing on the tail's motions. Good, it seems she's not coiling it around herself this time. "Hah!"
>With a daring, straight forward flight, you streatch your hooves until you manage to grasp the filly's sewn body, envolving it in a deluxe hug.
"Shh, shh, it's alright... I'm sorry, old Lorie was a meanie, wasn't she?"
>"Old!? I'm only...!"
>"Shut up you old horse!" You can hear the sound of Sunny bonking the unicorn's horn, that funny twang they make sometimes. Meanwhile, you carry on with the hug, until the well of tears dries and the tail calms down. How does she even produce tears?
"Lorie, come here" you order the magenta horse. With slow steps, she approaches. "Bow down right now, and ask your new mistress for forgiveness" you turn to the filly and wink, with which she gives you a sly smile.

(1/2)

>>25528374
>"I... ugh, fine" Lorie caves down, and she completely bows down her head. "I'm sorry."
"Moah energy!"
>"This worthless equine worm begs your forgiveness, my princess!!" Lorie screams, terrified. "Seriously, can I go now?"
>"Not until you help us get this cutie out of here" Sunny replies, sure of herself.
"And I just got an idea. Until we can find out more about her, let's give her some more of that bath water that soothes her."
>The filly gives an even more delighted yelp as you turn around and walk towards a nearby pipe. Putting your ear against it, you can hear the hum of water, and the pipe itself is rather warm.
"Sunny, Sweet? You're the earth ponies, so..."
>"Of course, only worth for hoof labor" your friends approach with smug smiles, Sweet giving you a flick of his curly tail. "I love me some old fashioned prejudice."
"It's the truth, though..."
>The two ponies kick the pipe together, and a stream of warm water floods the filly's world, her moans of pleasure surrounding you all as the stream of warm water hits directly against the feeble skin keeping her power core inside.
>"Okay, that should give her a few more days of respite" Sweet nods. "Now what? How do we get her out? Should we call in anypony else?"
>"Bubbles will need an explanation, after all" Sunny starts tapping the floor. "Hnng! I'm not good with puzzles..."

>>25528382
We could go back in the caves and look for a way out. We can also just use her tail to go out into the street but we should clear it of ponies first.
Would bubbles be sympathetic to the fillies plight? Maybe she can just live down here and get her precious warm water without breaking things.

>>25528382
How did she get into the cave in the first place?

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>>25528457
>>25528503
"Hmm... getting her out of here by the front door just won't be that easy" you think, sitting on the floor surrounded by your friends. "Maybe if we clear the streets... I'm still an official investigator."
>"There are too many factors to account for in this model" Lorie talks to herself. "The biggest one being the tail... perhaps a sheet over it?"
>"Guys... do you think we should tell Bubbles?" Sunny raises a hoof. "Well, as far as I know, she's a very kind pony. Maybe if we tell her what's going on, she'll accept to let her have baths every now and then..."
>The filly's eyes sparkle, but you're not still convinced. You all decide to send Sunny so that she can tell Bubbles the situation, without being too direct about the perpetrator's identity.
"So, how did you end in these caves?" You ask the filly.
>"Oh... I walked from my home to the coast, and then swam..." she explains. "I found a hole in the rocks and started walking..."
>"Swimming? All the way here from the north!?" Sweet looks at her with huge eyes. "That would have taken days! Didn't you get tired? Or fall asleep?"
>"I don't get tired or sleep" the filly replies, puffing her cheeks a bit.
"Sleep is overrated" you lie. "Anyway, maybe we can get you out from that hole..."
>"It was... not funny" the filly replies. "Full of rocks... I almost tear myself..."
"Ouch."
>In that moment, the door opens and slams shut, and there's Sunny, holding it with her body. Someone starts pounding from the other side.
>"Let me in! I want a word or two with whoever smashed my equipment!" Bubbles' usually sensual voice now sounds like she's pretty mad. You all look at Sunny.
>"I... I honestly didn't expect this..." she laughs. "Still, I didn't tell her everything... maybe she'll calm down, she's a reasonable mare... I think."

I have to leave, Tuesdays having earlier class and all. I'll be back tomorrow.

>>25528649
Did you tell her the things that might convince her to forgive the filly? We gotta think of a name for her.

>>25528649
Explain to her that it's not the filly's fault, she can't help her body being what it is or that stealing water was the only way to get rid of the hurt. She's just a small, scared child who's in pain and probably been alone for a very long time.

>>25528713
Anyone wanna pool suggestions? I got a few admittedly they're probably shit, but whatever .

Patchwork, Franky, Sally/Sally Stitches, Himeria.

>>25529198
Hodgepodge? Mishmash?

I kinda like Mishmash. Mishy.

>>25531085

>>25535070

>>25528649
Let's wait for her to stop yelling and then talk to her.

>>25535751

>>25528713
>>25529061
>>25536487
"What did you exactly tell her?" You raise a hoof, hoping not to have to smack yourself with it again.
>"Just that she's basically a filly, and a bit peculiar..." Sunny replies, the door budging over her. "Oh, and that she's just misunderstood!"
"That's a good start. Let me have a go..." you approach the door and then knock back.
>"Who's there? Sunny? Sunny, open up!" Bubbles' voice doesn't sound mad, but at least rather strict.
"Bubbles, it's me, Grape. We found who the culprit was, but trust me, she's just a little filly, she's suffering from pains and..."
>"I heard she's a little one, all I'm asking you is to let me have an honest conversation with her" Bubbles replies, her voice still stern, somewhat motherly. Next, her hoof knocks so hard, it bumps the door and scares you, making you fall on your butt. "Come on!"
"Alright... but I'm warning you, if you do anything excessive to this filly we'll have to stop you!" You reply, slowly opening the lock.
>"We? She's my boss!" Sunny replies, covering her muzzle with her hooves. The door opens, and Bubbles comes in with a rather serious face, looking everywhere until she finds the little filly, covering and about to coil her tail around herself.

(1/2)

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>>25537635
>A very tense minute passes as the blue mare stops in front of the filly, frowning, and looks directly into her large eyes. She can't do a thing in reply while Bubbles peers into her soul, too afraid to even move her tail in self defense, until finally...
>"EEEEEE!! She's so CUTE!!" Faster than lightning, Bubbles grabs the filly in a lethal hug, smothering her while the massive tail starts flailing and making the whole room tremble again. "Oh my gosh, what's a little cutie like you doing down here~!?"
>"I... ugh..." the filly can barely reply, inmersed in the plentiful mane and fur of the beautician.
>"Hush hush now, you need to apologize! Don't you know breaking other ponies' things is a bad thing to do? You'll have to pay now!"
>"I'm sorry! I... the pain, it made me do things..." she looks down once Bubbles lets go of her, just barely. "I don't have any money..."
>"No no, that's not how you'll pay me" Bubbles replies, her long tail suddenly getting a hold of the filly's leg. "As a punishment, you'll have to give me lots of hugs and come with me to eat ice cream!"
>"R-Really!?" The filly is taken aback.
"Goodness sake, Bubbles! What's wrong with you, I thought you were going to smack her."
>"Oh I'm sorry love, but I had to see if it was some lousy punk or just a real pony in need" the mare turns to you, while grabbing the filly again and smothering in her perfumed chest. Damn, you're kinda jealous now. "Look at her, she's such a poor thing! Can I keep it, can I, can I!?" She starts asking all the present ponies, while the filly gives you a hard to decipher look from beyond the chest tuft.

Welcome back. You can keep suggesting and voting on names for the filly if you'd like.

>>25537645
Maybe? You do have a large amount of hot water. I also can't think of anywhere else to put her.

>>25537645
She's in constant pain and it seems that only a hot bath can help. There's possibly a dangerous pony looking for her. Her tail can possibly do a lot of damage.

>>25537645
ypu can keep it if you do some lewd with me ;3
So we made that quest. I think we should investigate that clockwork thing.
Yay, my first post to this thread. I should sleep less and lurk more.

>>25537645
Well, if she stays with Bubbles she'll always have access to the water. Or, she might feel more comfortable around us. Ultimately it's her choice, why don't we just ask the filly?

I was one of the anons who suggested names already.I'm gonna wait and see if anyone else has some before voting on one.

>>25537689
>>25537698
>>25537708
>>25537733
>At first, you can't even reply. You can't even, leave it at that. Eventually, the blood in your vessels reaches your brain.
"I... I don't know, really. Can you take care of her?"
>"Sweetie, I have bits out of my ears" Bubbles smiles with confidence. "Besides, I can't think of a better partner than this cutie" she smothers her cheeks against the filly's, causing her to yelp in delight, then asphyxiate a little bit.
"Are you okay with that?" You ask the little reject. "We didn't have time to ask you what you were doing here. Did Tess bring you?"
>"No, not bring me..." she replies from within Bubble's grasp. "I came here to find her, my... mother. Creator, she says. She told me she was coming here, and I... escaped home."
>"Escaped? Were you locked in, or something like that?" Sweet asks, and the little one nods. "That's terrible..."
>"Tess..." you hear Lorie mutter. "H-Hey, listen, I'm sorry about earlier, if you want, we can work together, and I'll help you with that pain" the unicorn offers. "It's the least I can do..."
>"Then it's settled!" Bubbles exclaims. "Do you want to live with me? At least for a while, and then you'll realize how wonderful living with me can be~" you notice Sunny shuddering with the last words. Heck, your own fur went up a little.

(1/2)

>>25537957
"You'll have to be careful and treat her well" you insist. "She has a dangerous tail, and needs constant baths with your spa's water to soothe the pain. Other than that..."
>"Yes yes, I picked that all up" Bubbles replies. "I will treat her as if she were my daughter, neigh, even better! What do you say?" She asks the filly, expectant.
>"I... well, if you would like..." the little pony taps her hoof on the ground, the massive scaly tail shuddering dangerously. Bubbles picks her up, and the waggles cause another few pipes to break down. "No! Oh no, I'm sorry, p-please don't leave me, please...!"
>"Pssht, that's just a bunch of pipes, we can fix that any time" Bubbles waves a hoof melodramatically. "What we need to fix is your fur. My goodness, it's so raspy, almost as if you were dead or something."
>"Bubbles... not cool" Sunny mutters. The mare and the little abomination make way through the spa's hallways, the scaly tail sometimes scraping tiles, concrete and carpet. "This is going to cost a fortune to repair..."
"Well, at least the filly has a place to live for the time being" you turn towards Lorie. "Please, try to find something for her" she nods at you with a serious face, and you watch as the spa clients look in mild disgust at the patched up pony and her new hostess.
>[OBJECTIVE COMPLETE: Investigate the attacks on the spa's water station]
>You, Sweet Seed, Sunny Care and Lorie stand by the spa door.
"So... now what" that was quite the way to start the day.
>"...Pizza? It's lunch time anyway" Sweet shrugs.

>>25537972
>[ADDENDUM: Construct Tracker percentages: 13%, 40%]

>>25537972
I flipping love pizza. Let's get it gang!

>>25537972
Pizza it is. There's still plenty of daylight left, once we're done let's ask Lorie if she still wants help looking for Tess. After what she did go that filly we have even more reason to capture her.

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>>25538020
>>25538066
"Sweet!" You plant your hooves in front of him.
>"Eep!" The colt jumps back, but it's too late, and you grab him in a killer hug.
"You friggin' genius! I love pizza, let's go!" Your everlasting hooves encompass Sunny and Lorie as well. "We're all going pizza!"
>" "Yay!" " There are two shouts, followed by Lorie's meek 'yay'. You all get walking, and soon reach the town's pizza restaurant in town, always crowded as a testimony of it's quality.
"Oh boy, I'm going to get so much pineapple in mine..." you start rambling once the familiar scent of baked bread and ingredients gets your nostrils. "Looks like everypony decided to go out to eat today!" You comment, noticing the large crowd in the restaurant.
>"I hope they can spare a table for us" Sweet frowns and looks around. "Look, even Tess is having pizza today."
"Oh yeah, can't blame her, this place is great" you and your friends keep walking up to the counter and start checking the selection while waiting for somepony to find you a table. Eventually, a cute mare finds you seats for four, and you start checking the menu.
>"Oh wow, the selection in this is so highly improbable..." Lorie brings out her notepad and starts scribbling while going up and down the menu with her eyes. "So many ingredients..."
"Not everything can be calculated, Lorie, just let your intuition and the promise of holy flavors guide you" you refute her from behind your own menu.
>"Jokes on you, I'm already computing the best choice according to the Ruthercolt-Pinkie formula" you can almost feel the unicorn's smug grin. "Actually, there are several funny stories I could tell you about that. One day..."
>A silence suddenly washes over the table. Four pairs of front hooves slam on it, four menus fall to the floor, and your four heads turn towards a certain point of the restaurant.
" " " "TESS!!?" " " "
>"Haa?" The unicorn, seeminly in a certain stupor, gets out of it as your voices yell across the room.

>>25538400
Ask her how often she eats here and what pizza she recommends if it's a lot. also tell her to stop trying to destroy the city.

Let's also ask how she's even alive.

>>25538400
Fins, you can't keep breaking my sides like this. I can't afford to keep replacing them.

Also tell her about her filly construct we found.


I again motion for the name "Mishmash."

>>25538455
>>25538498
>>25538524
"S-S-S-Since when do you eat in Trottingham!?" You run all the way until your muzzle and wide eyes are almost breathing on her. "Since when do you eat at all!? Are you even alive!?"
>"Rude" she simply replies with a bored face. "A pony's gotta eat, too. The furnace inside of me that burns my undying desire to kill Lorie takes a lot to power up" she brings up a slice of extra onion pizza and munches on it.
>"T-Tess!!" Lorie comes all the way second, Sunny and Sweet following close, but keeping the distance. Between the four of you, you got her surrounded now. "Can't we talk things out? Y-You don't have to do any of this!"
>The green unicorn gives Lorie a sick look. Even sicker than her own appearance.
>"I'm afraid not. To be perfectly honest" she suddenly jumps out of the chair and puts her horn against Lorie's, the size difference causing the magenta unicorn to blush and look away "I don't think I could stop even if I wa~anted to..."
>"We... we found the filly" Lorie mutters. "What... just what were you doing?"
>"Huuuh!?" Tess replies, opening her mouth stupidly wide. "Ooh, that! Dammit, I knew I should have put the thick shackles on..."

(1/2)

>>25538748
"Tess, you're just testing my patience now..." you stomp on the floor. The green unicorn yawns.
>"I was just testing how effective constructs made out of ponies could be" she shrugs, walking towards the table where a family are eating, and taking a slice of pizza off the filly's plate, making her cry. "And I tell you what, the results were disappointing."
>"Enough! Tess, you're going to jail" Lorie's horn starts to glow. "Even if I have to use force. I'll talk things out with you later."
>However, before Lorie can even do anything, a green flash happens and Tess reappears right next to her.
>"Oh, yeah? And who's gonna catch me?" She flashes again, reappearing by your side. "I guess I'll see you ponies around. Nice town, by the way, enjoy it before one of my constructs makes a boo boo" with another flash, the unicorn is now by the door. "Remember this! Next time, I will taste the most delicious pizza, soaked in your tears and topped with vengeance! AH hahahahahah...!!" With one last bang, Tess disappears. Lorie's horn lights off, and her legs faulter, throwing her head on the floor, bonking softly, almost comically. There's a certain charm in a broken, crying friend.

I'm afraid I have to go. I dislike having to cut sessions so short, that's why I'm going to rearrange my schedule to have more running hours. As a result, I'll be back on Friday, so if you guys don't want to keep the thread up for two days, just let it go. Thank you very much for participating, I hope you had fun!
On another note, regarding future CYOAs: I'll be gone ten days in Christmas, so my plan is to start a new CYOA in January, and alternate between the two every week or two. It would be a Nine Lands quest, but as I said, it's not necessary to read the first one to play the second.

We should have booped her when we had the chance. At least we know what kind of pizza she likes. That'll be important information later.

we should get another slice for that filly.

>>25538784
Go see if Lorie is ok.

>>25539031
We'll always need to boop

>>25539937
>>25541807
These

bump up

up

I wonder if tomorrow will be a fast or slow day.

time for a bump.

Page 10.

>>25546552
Probably fast?

bum

>>25548798

up from 10

Bump before sleeping

>>25552959

Seriously guys, we need to name the filly before Fins does it himself or something.

>>25556079
That is an actual possibility. Come on guys, you can keep the thread alive while choosing a definitive name.

I wanna name her Sprinkles. Because she's made of little pieces of ponies.

>>25556138
So we have Stitches, Mishmash, and Sprinkles.

>>25556201
You know another thing that would be funny? Naming her all three as another testament to her being made of put together pieces. Even her name is odd!

>>25556402
Sounds like a mouthful. I say we narrow it down by voting on two.

I'm the Mishash guy so naturally I'll vote Mishmash and I give a vote to Stitches.

You guys did a great job, if you're able to keep the thread until tomorrow, then we'll have a nice long session. Also good luck voting on the names, I'll take all comments into consideration.

Here.

http://strawpoll.me/6110553

up up

Page 10

Feeling it

>>25562347
You feel it too, don't you? THE EXCITEMENT OF AN ALL NEW TROTTINGHAM SESSION THIS FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY!!!

Moving faster then usual today.

>>25561836

>>25538784
Does this count as the "track down Tess" objective?

Still, the filly mentioned being off island so apparently she had a base... somewhere. I don't know where exactly Trottingham is in relation to Equestria or elsewhere.

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>>25564862
It does not count, the objective is still up.
I'm using the Equestria map from that one artbook, Trottingham is on the right side, and the place where the filly comes from is north from that.

>>25564892
I was joking about the objective part but cool. A map.

>>25539031
>>25539937
>>25540759
>>25541807
>>25542992
>The pizza parlor falls silent, the ponies at the tables staring at your little group, while your own heartbeat returns to normal and you take a mental step back to rethink about just where you are and what did just happen.
"Lorie. Hey, Lorie" you approach your friend first. The unicorn looks broken inside, trembling a bit and clenching her horsey jaw. "Are you alright? Do you need a huggie wuggie?"
>"I... yes, please" the magenta pony turns to look at you, and while facing the ground, she walks closer, until you're able to encompass her with your hooves, your wings and your everything. Always pour all of your heart in a hug, mama Grape said. Those times she used to give you a massive cookie afterwards, but this time Lorie will have to make do with a pizza.
>Sunny and Sweet approach and give her a couple of nuzzles as well. Meanwhile, the ponies at the table start clapping and tippity-clopping as a sign of understanding, and the workers of the place offer you a seat and finally take your order.
>"Girl, I thought I wouldn't feel like eating anything after all that" Sunny comments after the orders arrive. "But I was so wrong! Eee!" She yelps, stuffing her muzzle with noms.

(1/2)

>>25565299
>"I didn't even have time to try and explain" Lorie sighs. "We need to make sure to grab her if another chance presents itself. There are ways to get around her spells."
"You'll tell me."
>"They involve toy tanks though."
"Oh..."
>"Hey, I just got an idea!" Sweet comments while watching the cheese of a slice slowly slide off the crust. "Why don't we take some slices for Bubbles and the filly? She said she didn't have to eat, but she might enjoy food after all."
>"First we'd have to check if she has an anus."
>"Lorie, we're eating, please!" Sunny shouts. The mathematician whinnies loudly and goes back to her slice. Regardless, you think it's a good idea, so after finishing your own lunch, you buy some slices and head out. However, the moment you step out of the door, your face almost collides with the huge barrel of the cannon gun used to destroy the clockwork construct.
>"Oh, Grape Vine, dear, it's you" the voice of mayor Scotch Case sounds over the inmense gun. "We heard there was a conmotion in this place, may we be of assistance?"
>"Requesting permission to run this place into the ground, mayor" the voice of Hollis Milford, the minotaur archivist, sounds afterwards.

Welcome back! Sorry for the lcak of art, I'll get to that later on.

>>25565316
She's already gone mayor.

>>25565316
We just ran into the mare who was behind all of this having some lunch, but she got away.

>>25565382
>>25565523
"Whoa, whoa!" You start climbing the huge gun, flapping your wings desperately. "There's nothing to shoot, she's gone already, dammit! Tess was eating lunch, but she got away!"
>"Oh!" You finally see the mayor's face, in the central seat of the contraption. "Well that's a shame. We're moving on with our walk, Miss Milford."
>"I hate pizzas, though..." you can hear the minotaur mull. What did she just say!?
>"Whatever do you mean by walk, mayor?" Sunny finally arrives, followed by Sweet, who's carrying the slices you bought for the filly.
>"Well, the vibrations of this thing do a jolly good number on my back" the old unicorn wriggles in his seat. "We're simply taking a walk on the streets, enjoying the weather.
"The weather is awful, mayor" you frown. "Please don't wreck anything, it's already hard enough with the constructs out there."
>"Understood" Scotch salutes, then the massive gun starts reversing, with a distinctive beep, and then runs down the street, ponies dodging the massive vehicle as it thunders about.
"I just can't keep watch on all these ponies..." you sigh. "Let's go meet the filly."
>Sunny leads you to Bubbles' house, a nice estate very close to her own. It seems like the filly and her are doing some bonding, getting to know each other and helping the little one get rid of her fear over being at an unknown place.
>"I've been thinking on a name for her" Bubbles explains while giving her a good few huggles. "I think I'm gonna call her Miss Mash, or Mishmash if you're in a hurry."
>"I like it" the filly nods, softly sinking in the massive chest tuft. "Miss Bubbles is nice."
>"Daaw" you all pout. Sunny turns around and whispers in your ear. "Do you think we should ask the filly what she knows about Tess?"
>"Clever idea" Sweet mutters. "But we don't know what she wants of her. Maybe bloody vengeance, so be careful" he says, eyeing the massive tail which now rests inert on the floor.

>>25565744
hey mash, did you ever see anypony else where you were kept? What were they like?

>>25565744
Our tracker is detecting 2 signals, we should ask Lorie which one is Mishmash,

>>25565783
>>25565796
>Looking at Mishmash, you find it pretty clear that the filly won't suddenly burst into a fit of rage with Bubbles around. That mare knows how to ensnare ponies, either by the lewd method or the motherly one.
"Hey, Mash. Can I call you Mash, by the way?" You approach the filly, who nods happily. "Could you tell me what did you exactly come here from your house?"
>"Oh, I..." Mash looks at Bubbles, then back at you. "I was looking for my mother..."
>"Your mother!?" Bubbles suddenly looks startled. "A-And who could that be?"
>"N-No, she's not my real mom! I mean..." Mash crosses her front legs and starts thinking with her eyes closed. "She's the only pony I knew. She... created me, I think. But I just wanted to find her, to have somepony close."
>"It tears my little pony heart to hear that" Sunny frowns, tears welling in her eyes. "I somehow don't think Tess will want to spend time with you, or anypony else. She's pretty ill herself."
>Mash lowers her head, the massive scaly tail shaking a bit. Just then, Bubbles grabs her and pulls her close.
>"There there, we can figure something out. Just think of all the friends you have now!" The blue mare points at you all. Lorie snorts under her breath.

(1/2)

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>>25566027
"That's right! All the more reason to find Tess, maybe she will change her mind... somehow" your thoughts are stopped by a new line. "Hey Lorie, the tracker was showing two numbers, how complete as a construct do you think Mishmash is?"
>"I think she's been complete for a long time now" the unicorn replies, without taking her eyes off the filly. "She has a hard core around the regular power core, making it extremely hard to break. That only happens when it gets to the full percent."
"Well, that's just dandy, meaning there are two more constructs out there..." you look at your Construct Tracker, to find a surprise: next to the usual two bars, now on 14% and 44%, a new bar has appeared, on 10%. "And now there's a third one. Fantastic."
>"Wait, really?" Sweet trots by your side. "Eleven percent? When did this come out?"
"Eleven?" You look down again. True that, the percent bar has gone up. And again, 12%. You and Sweet watch for a few seconds, in which the percent keeps increasing. "L-Lorie, there's a new construct going up preeetty fast..."
>"What's that?" She turns around and checks on your tracker, 14%. "Oh my... I suppose the only kind of construct who would do that is one made of something semi solid, since it's easier to meld" she meets your eyes with a sever frown. "This is bad, we only have a few minutes to find it. She must have dropped a power core somewhere in town very recently today."

>>25566037
Well crap... We need to get back to the pizza shop! See if anyone saw her enter, which road or path she came down, etc. It's probably near there, right?

>>25566063
This seems like a good idea. Let's be quick about it and let the Mayor know if we happen to spot him.

>>25566037
I guess we should look at the pizza shop even though she can teleport. Or maybe those guards have seen her?

>>25566037
Have everyone investigate the pizza shop while we go let the guard know something is about to happen.

You know what we need? flare guns. That way someone finds a construct and then every pony will know where to go.

>>25566063
>>25566083
>>25566089
>>25566114
>>25566144
"Dammit! That Tess!" You snort and readjust the gizmos in your hooves. "Sorry, Bubbles and Mash, we gotta run!"
>"W-Wait, what do you mean by 'we'?" Lorie arches back. "M-My research..."
>"Can wait until Trottingham is safe!" Surprisingly enough, it's Sunny who grabs the unicorn and mounts her on her back. "What should we do, Grape?"
"I have a mind of checking that pizza restaurant again, it can't be a coincidence!" You reply, while all four of you run out of Bubbles' house.
>"Then we'll do that! You go alert the guard, flying and all that!" Sweet winks at you, and the earth ponies pick up impressive speed across the streets of the southern quarter while you take to the skies. Even under pressure, Sweet has a nice analytical mind.
>The progress bar on the new construct just won't stop going up. By the time you find the first patrol, it's at 27%, going up even faster. You manage to get a total of six guards, in three patrols, to run back to the pizza parlor before you give up and decide to go yourself. You try desperately to find the mayor as well, but right when you need his awesome cannon, it vanishes from the face of Equestria. Classic Scotch.
"Any chance we can get flare guns, or something?" You tell the guards while running towards the parlor. "It's going to be annoying if more emergencies break and none of us have a means to call for help.

(1/2)

>>25566363
>"We'll get right on that, miss" one of the guards, a sturdy looking white unicorn, replies. Despite his appearance, the bags in his eyes show that he would rather be taking an extended nap than this, but tough luck. Trottingham is as close a warzone as he's ever gonna get.
>When you arrive at the pizza parlor, you meet the few ponies wanting to eat, forced outside, while your friends are inside with the owners.
"Status report, gang!" You slide into the place, taking advantage of the polished floor to dynamic your way in with your hooves.
>"Nice slide" Sweet points out with a smug smile. "We seem to have struck dead center. The owners have lost all of their cheese."
"Cheese...?"
>"Specially prepared molten cheese" Sunny licks her muzzle with a somber expression on her face. "They use this huge cauldron to melt it by hoof..."
"Why does everypony in this town have to do things at such a massive scale!?" You moan, slap your face and look at the tracker in your left hoof. Almost fifty percent. "So what, did you find it?"
>"Not yet, but it must be nearby..." Lorie nods. "The kitchens are clean, there's only their little storage room to check. It's... slightly cramped, so to speak, and the monster could corner anypony who goes in, so we were quickly deciding how to approach it. The moment the monster is forced to move its body, its growth percent will stop and we'll have better chances of destroying it without the hard core..."
"Alrig-"
>"...as of the model I drew for my numerical thesis on the effects of hard magic currents..."
"I heard you the first time, Lorie."

>>25566374
Let's use our gun that we promised not to use unless it was an emergency!