(CYOA) Trottingham #4.1

"I'm always interested" you reach for a boop on the rookie, but he evades your hoof with trained dexterity. "I'll be here later today, then."
>"About mid evening, if you must know. I guess a bit later wouldn't hurt, but please try to be punctual" the colt salutes. "I'll be looking forward to work with you again."
>[OBJECTIVE ADDED: investigate the medical center with the royal guards][LIMIT: sunfall]
>Chuckling, you leave the medical center with your friends and explain them the situation. Sunny and Sweet don't exactly feel thrilled about a late investigation on a creepy hospital, the evening lights softly printing a grim orange on the walls and curtains.
"Seems to me you've both read way too many horror novels" you point out.
>"Says the mare who's read the same mystery novel so many times, the pages are actually decaying" Sweet hisses, causing Sunny to take a hoof to her mouth to cover her smug grin. "Let's be real, Grape. The constructs we've fought so far were nothing short of monsters."
>"Even little Mishmash is kind of an abomination... an adorable one, at that" Sunny reflects. "I don't want funny businesses in that clinic."
"Fiiine" you reply, caressing your hoof gun. Sunny and Sweet turn separate ways from you, and you alone head for the western coast, to investigate the missing clockwork.

(1/2)

>>25613435
>At least, the beaches and the sea are completely clean, the effort in moving all the little metal and wooden pieces out an apparent success. It looks like nothing has changed, except the last few wagons full of scrap, being moved out. As you glide down from the cliffs into the low beach, a high pitched squeal throws you off balance.
>"Eeee! There she is!!" You turn around to find Angler Seas, the mare who you talked to during your last visit, however wearing some strange apparel: a white shirt with a crude drawn face, resembling your own, and a black cap with the words 'Top Vine' sewn in white.
"Oh, uh... hey, Angie" you greet her.
>"She remembers my name, oh my gosh!" The orange pony suddenly runs you to you with untold speed. "W-What can I do for you?" She asks, completely bursting your personal bubble and nuzzling you all of the sudden.

==========
Objectives:
-Investigate Tess' whereabouts with Lorie.
-Find anything related to the missing clockwork.
-Investigate the medical center with the royal guards.

Current constructs: 22%, 58%
=========

Welcome back! The drawing that was supposed to come with this will arrive in a bit.

>>25613456
Pet her head. Ask her if she's noticed anything on the beach lately. Ask how the clean up is.

>>25613456
There's always time for nuzzles, but we should impress on her the importance of what we're doing. We really need her to focus and tell us if anything strange has happened during the cleanup. For example, has any more clockwork gone missing?

>>25613456
Has all of the clockwork been collected? Where was it taken?

>>25613512
>>25613537
>>25613659
"Where did you get all that?" You ask, raising an eyebrow and petting her cap.
>"I made it! Look!" She takes something from under the cap and shows it to you: a little plastic card with the words 'ANGIE - Member #00001 of the Grape Vine Fan Club' and your face drawn on it, again with questionable artistic skill.
"Adorable..." you smile and shake your head. "I'm here to check on the clockwork situation. How is that going?"
>"Well we just finished a while ago!" Angie replies, storing the card in her mane again. "We're now moving all the pieces to different storage units, and we'll keep turns guarding them!"
"That's good, I have the suspicion that a second gear construct might appear soon."
>"Is that so?" Another voice surprises you from the back. It's none other than Gearwork, the supposed owner of the clockwork by inheritance. "Good morning, dear, I was just helping all these ponies with their logistics."
"How is it going, Gearwork? Any idea of what to do with all this clockwork?"
>"Ah, we're already arranging to take it somewhere else" the stallion replies. "We'll just sell it in bulk all across Equestria, and the profits will go to any sort of repairs needed due to the attack of those terrible wretches."

(1/2)

>>25613795
"Wow, that's very considerate of you."
>"It's the least I could do. I'll just keep a small part of the supply to replace what I lost. My grandfather might not have approved of this, but now his collection is gone, and I have different views regarding the needs of our town."
"Much obliged. Well, if everything is alright, then I guess I'll pick up my investigation somewhere else..."
>"Wait, there's something I forgot to tell you!" Angie suddenly springs. "Although... it might not be important, you see? While we were fishing all the gears out of the water, some ponies noticed the waters got... turbulent."
"Turbulent?"
>"Unusually, I mean" the mare explains herself. "Like, the sea was calm right until ponies got near the stack, and then waves started causing them to lose control of their ships. Luckily nopony got hurt, but some say that it wasn't a natural occurrence" she points towards the sea, vaguely in the direction in which the pile of gears used to be. The partially smashed diving boulder lays nearby.

>>25613811
we need to get a boat, some fishing gear, and bait!

>>25613851
While they're setting that stuff up maybe we should fly over and examine those boulders or see if we can spot anything near the surface. Another thing we could do is explore deeper into the cave the clocks were originally stored in.

>>25613851
>>25613949
Angie, how would you like to help my investigation?

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>>25613851
>>25613949
>>25614072
>Now that sounds more like it! Your wings unfold on their own and you get ready for a flight, but right before take off, you stop yourself and turn towards the two ponies looking at you.
"Um, if it's not much trouble, do any of you know where I can get a boat? I'm going to investigate from the sky first, but that might not be enough."
>"I have a boat!" Angie suddenly gasps.
"In that case, how would you like to help with my investigation?" You give her a confident, almost too cool for you smile. The mare almost faints and runs to get it, Gearwork shrugging and following her along the beach. Meanwhile, you fly up high and head for the diving boulder.
>The entrance to the secret chambers where the massive collection of clocks was remains there, but other parts of the rock were smashed by the clockwork construct, which is a shame. First, you head down the spiraling staircase, until you find out that the tunnel and the chamber have completely drowned. Not a sign of a clear entrance, so you head back up.
>You stop on the edge of the boulder and walk looking down into the sea. The waters are calm, but with the faint rays of the autumn sun, you spot a darker area next to the rock. You can see glints of different tones reflecting sunlight, and the general shape doesn't seem like a fish or anything else you know. It might be that the team working on this shore missed some clockwork, or something more worrying than that.
>Once you get back to the coast for a second pass, you find Angie bringing her piece along with Gearwork, a little rowing boat with capacity for no more than four ponies.
>"Sorry, it's the closest thing I have, all the other boats are on the other side of the island..." Angie scratches her neck. "I-I can row for you, if you want. Unless you want to do it yourself..."
>"And if you don't mind, I'll step out. Never been a big fan of nautical activities. Good day!" Gearwork says, turning around and preparing to leave.

>>25614217
Maybe we need a harpoon and rope too.
Do you get sea sick easily gear work or maybe it's that you can't swim? We will help with rowing.

>>25614310
Gearworks leaving... or trying to anyway.

>>25614217
Goodbye Gearwork. Let's head onwards!

>>25614310
>>25614509
"Do you get seasick easily, Gearwork?" You ask the leaving stallion.
>"Oh, very much so" he nods and turns around briefly. "Understand that my family has lived in this town since a long time ago. I'm just not an adventurous pony, that is" finally, he turns once again and walks out of your reach.
>You inspect the boat and its contents. Angie brought some fishing nets, rods and bait. There's also a small, empty speargun.
"Don't you have any harpoons? Just want to cover our backs" you ask the mare, who shakes her head, embarrassed.
>"I didn't plan that far ahead... I just use the boat to help load gears."
"That's fine! I still have this baby with me" you reply, kissing your hoof gun and immediately spitting. It tastes like metal, you silly, silly pony.
>"Oooh!" Angie rushes to examine your hoof. "What is it?"
"If we're unlucky, you'll see" you nudge her. "Come on, do you want to help me row?"
>"Yay!" Angie and you get on the boat, and in opposite directions, you start rowing towards the general area of the diving boulder, Angie instructing you on how to properly move the row and helping you get a feel of it.

(1/2)

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>>25614726
>Once you arrive near the darkened area, you stop and start looking, going as far as to sink your head underwater. However, what you thought was at close distance from the surface, seems to actually be deeper down: some dark sort of stone which... which just moved.
"Alright!" You get your head out of the water. "Let's get away from here, we're too close!"
>"Close?" Angie asks, but in that moment, a severe turbulence starts jostling your boat around most rudely, and then you feel a push and a splash, that of something huge getting out of the water. Turning around, you have your answer immediately.
"I just knew something was up..." you mutter, looking at the tentacle made out of clockwork, a sort of multi piece arm fused together by blocks of solid metal. In total, it looks big, but you know it's just a fraction of what you had to deal with the other day. As you look up, you hear a musically broken laugh come from way above in the sky.
>"Ah hahaha! I knew waiting here twenty hours a day would pay off! I totally baited you now, Lorie~!" Tess looks down on you, squinting her eyes, then she frowns. "Wait a minute! You're not Lorie!"

>>25614751
Lorie couldn't come because she's resting!

>>25614751
Lorie is currently recovering from a certain cheese incident you might know about! We should try to aim for one of the points on the tentacle between the solid plates.

>>25614751
Where is she? Is she using a cloud walking spell? Let's try to keep her talking, see if we can flush her out. Oh, and try not to get nabbed by those naughty tentacles!

"Very observant Tess! We're not Lorie. Also, twenty hours a day? That doesn't sound very productive. Don't you have other evil plans you could be spending your time on? Care to share em' with us?"

>>25614808
>>25614884
>>25614909
>You hear her voice somewhere up, but only after the initial shock you manage to spot her: she's right on top of the tentacle, in the curve it forms before bending its tip towards the boat. The green unicorn paces all over it while talking to you.
"Wow, very observant, Tess" you chuckle back. "Lorie is resting right now, you know? From the attack of a hot cheese construct, you probably heard about this."
>"Uh hoh!" The unicorn replies, gliding down with her magic. "So I did leave a core in the pizza place after all! I just keep forgetting where I drop them..." she smiles as if in a daze.
"You don't say. Twenty hours? That sounds unhealthy."
>"And boring" Angie points out, too afraid to look up, clutching her row.
>"I just thought it would be fun, a bait here, a ruse there..." Tess comments while getting dangerously close to her. You try to punch her, but she gets away, floating magically. "Should I keep them prisoners or let them go, hmm..." she starts talking to herself.
"Say, don't you have anything better to do than this?" You yell up. "Like any other evil schemes, or anything. I'd be glad to help, if you tell me what those are!"

(1/2)

>>25615111
>"W-What are you saying, Grape, she...!" Angie starts talking you off, then realizes just how silly a pony she is. "Oooh..."
>"Uh, what!? Who's there?" Tess suddenly turns around. "Oh, it's you... nevermind, no witnesses" she claps her hooves and the tentacle starts closing in on you.
>Without thinking it twice, you position yourself right before Angie and shoot your hoof gun, right on the weak link of the creature, the clockwork shape being held by solid metal. A big chunk of the tentacle falls in the water, rocking the boat and almost making you fall. However, this time Angler Seas gets your back.
>"Hey, don't go living just yet!" You hear Tess' melodramatic voice hovering above you, and line up a second shot. However, This time the remaining pieces of the tentacle are closing in too fast, and your wings get you out of the wing out of pure reflex, leaving Angie alone. The orange pony is caught by the tentacle, who brings her up, awkwardly trapped in the clockwork and rising up to Tess' altitude. "Huh... I guess a hostage is fine too."

I'll be back tomorrow.

>>25615127
Good night, Fins. Btw, should we bother bumping or leave it to die and have you start a new one tomorrow?

"Argh, Celestia dammit Tess, let her go! Can't you see you're taking things too far!? Angler is an innocent pony! She's never even met you! What do you gain by taking her hostage and threatening her?"

Tess will always be a jerk. Let's try to think of insults to call her. Like dumb face!

>>25615476
That's right, she does have a dumb face! A dumb, horsey face. Like a horse!

>>25615476
Let's also make rude horse noises at her!

Boop.

We should have brought a unicorn with us to refill the shots.

have a good night.

>>25617903
Hindsight and all

>>25620364
We've still got 4 shots left, right? Or is it 3? Either way we'll have to make them count.

>>25615245
There will be a session tonight, of course. I even have more time than usual, so I'll do my best to give you more hours. Thanks for keeping the thread up.

>>25622201
You have 4 shots, you were fully recharged, which I forgot to mention.

Should we shoot the tentacle that's holding her and then catch her in mid air like a bad ass?

>>25624442

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>>25615245
>>25615476
>>25615551
>>25615771
"Okay, that sinks it!" With the fury of a storm, you fly up and face Tess straight on. "What in Celestia's name are you doing!? Isn't it bad enough that you're rampaging thru our island, that you also have to hurt innocent ponies!? Angie didn't even know you, she's just happy to be here! What did Lorie do that got you so mad!?"
>"She left me! I think..." Tess scrunches. "Well, no, I left her. She ruined my life!"
"You ruined your own life, you dumb horse!" You fly head on and meet your muzzle against her, both scrunching in a fiery battle of wits.
>"Who're you calling dumb horse! Featherbrain!"
"Skeleton!"
>"Flying rat!"
"NEIGH!"
>"SNORT."
"Dumbface! That's right, your face is dumb and it looks like a horse's" you cross your front legs, sure of your win.
>"You said dumb twice, you dumbnut!" Suddenly, you feel an uncanny flow, and next you know Tess has pushed you away from her with a magic shockwave. "Haha, I win."
"N-No!?" Now it's your time to scrunch. "Best out of three? Oh, forget it!" Taking a dive and subsequently rising to get some distance, you assess the situation. Angie is moaning and struggling, trying to get free from the pile of gears holding her. "Hold on, Angie!"

>>25617903
>>25620364
>>25622201
>>25623389
>You start a series of tricks and dives, avoiding the now far less reach of the tentacle, whose tip still carries the orange mare. The poor thing must be getting sick, so you start blasting at the corners of the gear piece. Three blasts left, two blasts... damn, you should have brought yourself a battery. And by battery, you mean unicorn.
>Finally, with your second to last shot, the end of the tentacle shatters in a thousand cogs, and Angie falls, screaming and flailing her legs. With pinpoint accuracy, you take a risky dive and save her from one heck of a cold.
>"M-Muhgrape! Y-You saved me!" The pony cries, holding on to your neck. You descend and leave her in the rowing boat.
"Get out of here, fast!" You neigh, and the mare doesn't have to hear it twice. Next, you turn to the remaining pieces of the tentacle. "Alright Tess, let's settle this down... huh?"
>You notice something weird in the way Tess is looking at you. It almost seems like there's a sparkle in her eye, as if she were somewhat alive again. Her little, malnourished legs tremble, and the force field around her vanishes. She starts looking around with a confused face.
>"What... am I doing here?"

>>25625524
THIS IS THE CHANCE I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR. Boop her nose. Bad tess. You were being bad. That is what you're doing here.

>>25625524
I'm not totally sure how to engage.

>>25625585
So this seems good I guess.

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>>25625585
>>25625720
>This is your chance! Somehow, Tess is dazed!
"Come here, you...!!" You fly upwards like never before, aiming directly for Tess' loud muzzle with the last of your strength, and just when you're about to collide, you stop with all your wingpower and give her a soft boop. This simple act resonates across universes, where some might tread but never come back. Fateful seconds pass as the green unicorn slowly becomes walleyed and your body suffers a wave of pleasure overcoming you over a job well done.
"Yes. That's it, Tess. Bad pony. You've been a bad pony, do you know what it means?"
>"I, uh..." the pony starts coming back from her haze, and to your surprise, she starts trembling and sobbing, and then crying. "W-What's happening, why does my body hurt so m-much...?" She tries to take a look at herself, but confused as she is, all she can do is run after her own tail.
"Uh... Tess? You're legit scaring me now."
>"Huh..." she suddenly looks at you, her eyes now flat glazed. Suddenly, her magic aura envelops her body again, and the mare starts drifting in a completely random direction. "HAA!?" She yells all of the sudden while you try to follow her, and with a green flash, she disappears, almost causing you to fall again.
>Right after the flash happens, the leftovers of the clockwork tentacle start shaking, and then the little pieces fall off on their own, same with the metallic chunks, everything hitting the water with a loud splash. A quick look at your Construct Tracker shows that, indeed, the highest bar has disappeared, leaving only the other one, at 24%. Among the falling pieces, you spot the glowing power core, still intact and slowly sinking towards the bottom. You look back to the coast, and spot Angie halfway through, rowing like possessed mare.

>>25625937
Yell at angie to come back. Dive towards that core, lorie can use it to make another one of her machine+ upgrades.

>>25625937
Enter a high speed dive and brace yourself to dive and reach the core.

>>25625937
Get that damned core!

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>>25625959
>>25626160
>>25626165
"Wait! Angie, wait!!" You fly towards your friend and stop her, but your wings are starting to give up after a while of sustained flight at full speed. Right, you won't have another chance like this, so...
>After giving your friend a sign to come back and hope she caught it, you turn back and enact the fastest dive in recent memory. Sure, you're not a regular Wonderbolt, but that double digit wingpower is gotta give. Flying, eating sweets and flying some more to burn them are your top hobbies along with mystery novels and wine, a simple life for a simple, chubby horse.
>You hit the water with a dangerous splash, and without closing your eyes, you spot the slowly sinking core. You get your glutes to work, screaming 'HIP DRIVE!' mentally but seriously straining to lift the blue ball, the size of your own head. It must have some weird effect on water, because it takes you a solid minute to bring it up.
>"Grape! Oh my gosh, get up!" A couple of strong hooves find you, and you hold on to the core while Angie gets you in the boat and starts rowing back ashore. "Oh my goodness, you're all shaking! Why did you do that?"
"Heh... this will be important" you tap the blue ball, careful not to break it. It's true, however, that you're cold as a pile of hay in the middle of winter, and it's not getting any better. There are no towels or covers in this boat, so in the short space that takes Angie to carry you both back to the beach, you should decide what to do, in which order.

>>25626308
Warn Angie. Shake off any excess water you have on yourself. Let's go to the gearshop. They might have some blankets to get you warm and completely dry. Then we can go to the hospital and see lorie. After that we can take the thing to her house so that it's waiting for her when she get's back home.

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>>25626308
>'HIP DRIVE!'

When we get to shore try not to be whiny. Fail because must be one cold soggy pone.

>>25626308
Get dry.

>>25626387
I accept this course of action.

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>>25626387
>>25626570
>>25626589
>>25626753
>The moment your hooves touch the beach sand, you snort like never before, the weight and cold of your soggy fur making you live a nightmare.
>"Come on, let's hang you somewhere up to dry!" Angie suggests, and you accept, dragging your hoofsies across the sand with the power core on your back. The walk is painful and uphill, without being able to use your wings, which are in full emergency cooldown mode. Eventually, you reach the higher ground.
"Let's go to... Gearwork's" you tell the orange pony, who supports your sluggishly moving frame. "I hope he won't mind."
>"Oh, why dear, I wouldn't mind for anything in the world!" The pegasus replies once you finally arrive. "Come, I have blankets so soft and warm, it will feel like a thousand tiny Bubble Streams caress your innermost regions, I dare say!"
"Ugh..." Feeling hot and cold at the same time, you accept the offer and enter the back area of the clock shop. Apparently, Gearwork has towels, beats you why, but they're dry and fluffy. You leave your gear and the power core aside and let Angie and the pegasus help you.
>However, your friends make a basic mistake: both trying their hardest to dry you, their hooves rubbing against your coat with such intensity, such perfect synchronicity, you start feeling as every thread of velvet in your skin starts poofing up, generating vast amounts of ponyvolts.
"Wait, wait, waiwaitwait...!!" You try to stop them, but you're too late, and the dreaded effect happens: your entire body puffs up, making you look quite like...
>"Pffft..." Angie starts snickering already. "Grape, you look like a, like a..."
"Like a sheep, yes" you frown.
>"AH HAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAHA, OH MY GOSH WHY, PFFHAHAHANEIGH I'M SO SORRY AAA...!!"
>Now you're dealing with a completely hysterical horse rolling on the floor, Gearwork trying to stop her with no avail, and your own dire situation. Things are getting out of hoof, Grape, think fast!

>>25626918
Focus Angie! We're still on a mission.

>>25626918
This is srs buisns. We need to get this core to Lorie.

>>25627060
>>25627264
>While you try to put up with your friend's antics, you simply cannot take it. This was supposed to be a secret!
"Dammit Angie, snap out of it!" You finally bark, your fur retreating back into normal a little. "We still have important things to do."
>"Eep!" The orange pony stops rolling immediately. "I-I'm sorry Grape, I don't know what came over me..."
>"I do" you hear a new voice coming from the door joining the front and the back of the shop, and next the sound of a camera snapping a picture. Garrett's face shows up, holding the gizmo in his claws. "Pfft, nice scoop."
"Garrett, I swear on me mum I'll rub your tummy until it's sore."
>"Young lad, this is a private area" Gearwork walks up to the griffon and immediately pushes him away. "I'm afraid I'll have to give you a stern lecture in the values of... and..." the voices fade and you're left in the room with Angie, who helps get your fur back on track.

(1/2)

>>25627298
>Finally, after being freed from the cold and the soggy hooves, you and the orange pony part ways, Angie insisting on having to work. She apologizes again for her outburst and promises she'll do her best to get more members in your fan club. Better than nothing, you could say. While your wings are still sore, you walk back to the hospital and share a clinical lunch with Lorie, while going over the events that just transpired at the coast.
>"Wow, that's..." the unicorn mulls, while rolling the blue ball on her bed. Already most of the special blue vandages on her are gone, clean fresh magenta fur showing instead. "Tess... she's quite literally going insane. Suffering of schizophrenic bouts, or..." she looks at you. "Well, I'm not a doctor of medicine, but she's definitely not healthy."
"Definitely not, but maybe we can find a chance to finally capture her when she has a moment of weakness" you pump a hoof in the air while chewing on your pasty hospital lunch. "Anyway, do you think you'll be able to upgrade the tracker again?" You show her your piece, that you didn't even bother putting back on. Luckily, both gadgets still work, even after being underwater.
>"I most definitely will" Lorie replies with a proud smile. "My next idea was to make it so that it would point out more accurately the areas where power cores are being formed, but if you have any other ideas, I'll listen. Maybe help detect them even earlier in their creation, being able to tell something about the materials used in them, a single use ponytron blast...?"
"Lorie!!"
>"It is a possibility."

>>25627318
I like more accuracy. Also could you refill it since it's nearly empty?

>>25627318
Ponytron? We need to get better at finding them before anything else. Also can she think of a way to upgrade our gun so we can destroy the constructs without damaging the cores?

>>25627318
Knowing where exactly to look would be nice.

Also check what time it is. I'm thinking of going to check in on Bubbles and Mishmash to see if she's demolished anything.

>>25627346
>>25627420
>>25627443
"What you wanted to do sounds good enough..." you lower your ears and put your face close to Lorie's. "But just to be informed, just what is a ponytron blast?"
>"Oh, it's a dangerous containment weapon" the unicorn explains with a rather concerned face. "Said to be developed by the slave scientists of King Sombra in an alternate timeline, it covers a certain area in particles that incite ponies to be tame, snuggle up together and request constant pettings. Once you enter the blast radius, you're basically brainlocked for hours."
"How cruel..." you gasp. "Can you seriously do something like that?"
>"For you" she boops you. She booped you! Lorie, of all ponies! "But I'll get to work on the accuracy update first. Just lend me your tracker, please."
"Sure! The most advanced construct went down, so I guess I won't need it for a while..."
>[OBJECTIVE CLEARED: Find anything related to the missing clockwork]
>"Huh, don't claim victory just yet" Lorie raises a hoof, then shows you the tracker screen. Next to the progress bar you're familiar with, at 25%, there's a completely new one, at 10%.
"Oh that's just bloody cake, isn't it!?" You straight smash your food tray against the floor, prompting at least seven different nurses to come out of the doors, the windows and the ceiling tiles to shush you. "S-Sorry... On that note" you whisper again in Lorie's face. "Do you think you could improve the gun so it doesn't break power cores?"
>"I can give it a try" the unicorn nods.
"Okay, but it's better than I hold on to it. I'm doing a raid on this very hospital later today. For the matter, could you refill me?"

(1/2)

>>25627761
>Your friend spends a while filling your weapon with her magic, and once all is said and done, you leave the power core and the tracker with Lorie, who should get out by the time you start investigating with the royal guard. Having some time to fill, you decide to go back and check how Bubbles and Mishmash are doing.
>"This is terrible, simply atrocious!" The blue mare yells, the sight of her precious, expensive ancient vase shattered to pieces on the hallway floor.
>"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Miss Bubbles, please...!" Mash cries on the floor, her massive tail now still, after the deed is done. "I just wanted to love...!"
>"Uuu! I couldn't get angry with a little love snack like you even if I tried!" Bubbles suddenly grabs the filly in a hug strong enough to crush a whale. You can just feel it. "So, what did you want, dear?" The mare turns around and asks you.
"Just checking you're alright, that little Mash didn't make too big a mess, that Tess didn't barge in demanding her alipony..."
>"Oh no no, it's all great! These things just make the bonds stronger, right?" Bubbles asks Mash with a smile, and the filly nods and buries her face in the plentiful chest tuft again.
>That checked, you leave the mares to their thing and start walking back to the hospital. However, you see something on the corner of your eye. In a small alley between two houses, covered by the shadows, is Scarlet Glaze, the donut pony, calling you with hoof signals. He has a serious look on, and you know that stallion doesn't play games. Well, he played tag once, and won every single time, but he doesn't play that many games lately.

That's it for tonight. Next session will be on thursday, so it's up to you guys to keep the thread up or let it die.
On another subject, I noticed streams are getting popular with QM's, and I've thought about it a couple of times, so if you wanted, I could set one up some days, even sometimes when I'm technically here but can't run, I could stream requests or whatever instead to make it up. If you think you'd like it or not, please let us know. Thanks, I'll see you soon!

>>25627814
Love snack? Am I the only one starting to suspect the she might actually be a changeling? We should see what Scarlet wants.

>>25627837
Steaming request sometimes sounds cool.

>>25627837
My interest is piqued. Go for it Fins

>>25627814
Let's here him out, but make sure he knows we can't stick around too long.

Bumping.
g'night Anons

>>25630619
night

>>25634362

>>25635034

>>25636261

>>25627814
Let's go find out what he wants.

>>25637024

>>25638087

>>25639560

>>25640238

I've tried bumping like 5 times and shit's not working, what gives 4chan.

>>25641798

>>25644706

>>25644706

>>25644706

Session in a few hours.

Let's ask him why he doesn't play tag more often. Is it because he wins too much? How about just making the game harder with every pony against him trying to catch him or him trying to catch every pony.

>>25644706

>>25645384

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>>25627989
>>25629281
>>25637506
"Scarlet? What are you doing out here?" You ask, sniggering a bit. It's certainly odd to see the huge stallion skulking around in the vague shadows of the little alleyways.
>"Sorry to bother you, Grape" he replies once you're close enough. "I just didn't know who I could ask about this..."
"Well, you know I'm always at your disposal, but please make it quick. I have to meet with the royal guard quickly."
>"Sure" the red pony nods. "Thing is, I've seen you talk with that guard fellow, Mercury Helm I think it was?"
"Merc? Sure, he's a good friend of mine."
>"Thing is, lately he's been... around the neighborhood. Seems to have taken a liking to my sister, Scarlet Summer."
"Ooh... you have a sister?"
>"She's the mare who helps me round up deliveries, you know her" Scarlet bonks your head gently, a small hint of a grin coming up in his muzzle.
"Aah, her!" You remember. "So where is this all going?" You ask next. In truth, there's something cute and interesting about Merc meeting with a young, nubile mare behind his patrols.
>"I..." the red pony gets even redder. "I don't know the lad that well, and I'm not good at talking openly... I was wondering if you could, ah..."
"Find out what's he doing?" You raise an eyebrow and give Scarlet Glaze a cheeky smile.
>"Exactly. Would you like to help me with that, please?"

Welcome back. I know I skipped a couple of votes, that will come up as well.

>>25647538
Yeah sure.

Where do they usually meet? We can sneak and fly around merc and then try and listen in on their conversation. We need a hat and sunglasses as a disguise.

>>25647587
Oh my gosh! We can go full private detective, just like in our books!

>>25646024
>>25647587
>>25647647
"Oh. My gosh" your eyes become huge, you can feel your pupils straining over how huge and adorable and sparkly they are. "Of course I will help you!" You hug the stallion's neck with all your might, barely putting a dent in his muscled fluffiness.
>"T-That's a relief, thank you..." Scarlet takes his time to reciprocate the hug. "Why did you enjoy the idea so much?"
"What do you mean? Did you think I would miss the chance to be a private investigator!?" You smile and cover your muzzle with your hoofsies, trying not to squeal too hard. "Eee! It will be just like in 'Cake Theft Under the Roses', or 'The Manehattan Mare Investigates'. No, even better! 'The Case of the Secret Bat Lover'!"
>"Uh huh..."
"Don't worry, Scarlet. Merc is busy today doing a certain job with me, but I'll try to follow him in the next days, and figure out just what his intentions are. I could even try to get some information out of him today! Where do they usually meet?"
>"In the back of our home's garden, I've seen her peek over the hedges."
>[OBJECTIVE ADDED: investigate Mercury Helm's and Scarlet Summer's relationship]
"Alright!" you pump a hoof in the air. "Thanks for the info, I'll get right to it" you turn around to leave, but a thought comes into your head, and forces you to pivot around once more. "Uh, can I ask you something?"
>"Of course."
"Why did you stop playing tag? I remember you were incredible at it. And you made so many friends!"
>"T-Tag?" The stallions eyes become glazed for a second, then he shakes his head slightly and looks at you. "It's quite a long story... let's just say I'm not comfortable playing anymore. Good luck, Grape, and thanks for helping."
>Scarlet Glaze leaves, and you go straight to the hospital, giggling at yourself the whole time. Finally, a chance to demonstrate that fiction is, in fact, equal to reality and viceversa. You want to investigate so many more things...!

(1/2)

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>>25647982
>>25627989
>While your thoughts stray in all directions, you get caught up with something. The way Bubble Stream has been so welcoming of little Mishmash, and how she gives her so much love... you understand she likes the old cuddling routine, but you cannot help but wonder... is there anything else behind her lewd appearance?
>Of course! What if she is a changeling? It is the only thing that makes sense, with her constant seeking of love and close contact, her willingness to take on a helpless filly... You know the servants of Queen Chrysalis tried to take over Canterlot about... some time now. Maybe they scattered across Equestria, trying to live undercover and feed on the emotions of ponies! You'll have to give this more thought.
>[OBJECTIVE ADDED: is Bubble Stream a changeling?]
>Finally, you arrive at the hospital, and just in time to see Lorie get out of the main door, talking with Mercury Helm and Rainbow Way, your guardsponies for the evening.
>"Oh, there you are" the unicorn smiles at you, then reaches for an awkward hug. "I'm alright now, so I'm leaving to work on the next Construct Tracker upgrade" she shows you the last power core you retrieved and your own gizmo, packed in a small bag. No new constructs have appeared since the last one, the same two bars you remember flashing on the device's screen.
>"You arrived at the best time, Grape" Mercury greets you, water gun swinging on his side. "I asked the corporal and he's alright with the idea, so before we get inside, is there anypony you think you'd like to have with us today? Somepony we could rely on to investigate, like yourself."

>>25647991
Can't think of anyone really.

>>25647991
Sweet Seed is reliable, even if he doesn't have the sheer experience we do. And by "experience" I mean mystery books read.

>>25648039
>>25648070
>You give it a thought for a moment, going through all your friends and your recent adventures in your head. While there's a few that you'd always love to have by your side, this is going to be a bit more official, so if you have to suggest anyone, it's gotta be...
"I think Sweet Seed would help us a great deal. He's strong and reliable, he's fought constructs with me, so I should know. Other than that, I don't want to risk it."
>"What do you think, sir?" Mercury asks Rainbow Way, who's locked on a permafrown.
>"Sure, if you think he can handle it" the pegasus tells you, then mutters, partially to himself. "I just want to get this done with..."
"I'll be right back!" With a confident take off, you give Lorie a goodbye and rush back home. Your brown friend is relaxing by the vineyard, contemplating the empty fields. "Sweeeeet! Wanna go on an adventure, mate?"
>"What... Oh! Hey Grape" The colt greets you once you hit the ground. "What was that again?"
"Me and a couple of guards are going to investigate possible enemies at the medical center" you explain, adrenaline pumping through your veins, while making cool fighting poses and smacking Sweet's shoulder lightly. "I know you can pack a good kick, so I'm only asking this to you."
>"R-Really?" The colt smiles brightly. "I mean... if you really want it..."

(1/2)

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>>25648363
"Come on, get up!" You turn around and show him your back, wings fully unfolded. "Will be faster this way."
>"U-Uuuuh..." the colt looks around, trying to meet your eyes. "Are you completely sure?"
"Sweet, please, I promise I won't drop you or anything!" you pout.
>"I... okay, Grape. For you" the earth pony sighs, and immediately, he climbs your back and you take off, making the route back to the hospital in no time. After introducing each other, Mercury asks his superior to explain the situation.
>"Yes, yes, I'm on it..." Rainbow Way lazily opens a roll of paper with a wing and a hoof. "Ahem... For the past few days, the workers and residents of this medical center have experienced odd sounds, mostly during the nights. Around the same time, staff has reported the loss of many pieces of apparel, such as syringes, bandages, first aid kits, and other small paraphernalia" Rainbow stops, and looks at you and Sweet. "We're going to investigate the source of said noise and disappearance, and see if it's related to the actions of the terrorist nicknamed Tess."
>"Alright, thank you sir" Mercury salutes, his chest puffed in pride. He looks kinda cute with his armor on. "So, this is the disposition of the floors. There are two buildings, the secondary one being comprised only of consultation rooms, while the main building houses the rest. Me and the corporal wanted to start from the top floor, do a complete sweep and end on the basement. Would you like to come with us, or change the plan a bit?"
>"Please don't change the plan..." Rainbow Way mutters again, looking the other way and sighing.

>>25648373
Me and Sweet could check the secondary building then meet up with you guys. That sound ok?

>>25648373
Covering more ground sounds good.

>>25648373
As one of the greatest detectives in history was fond of saying: "Let's split up gang!"

>>25648471
>>25648502
>>25648620
"Naah, that's alright" you snort and raise a hoof. "How about this? You do the main building, Sweet and I do the other one. We meet at the entrance, do the basement together."
>"Sounds alright to me" Rainbow nods. "If you need some extra waterpower, don't doubt it and run back to us, heheh..."
"We'll see who needs help after all, corporal" you show him your fully charged hoof gun. "As one of the detectives from the diamong dog party used to say: let's split up, gang!" Merc and Rainbow leave for the main building, while you and Sweet turn the other way.
>The small building has three floors, and by the time you arrive at the service stairs past the main lobby, the sun has fallen and Luna's moon rises on the horizon. You're forced to ask for a couple of lanterns at the lobby, the nurses providing along with a key to the main doors.
>With a certain degree of cold in your bones, you start going up the service stairs, investigating the mysterious shaft and making sure there's nothing out of the norm. In the end, you arrive at the top floor just fine, and start investigating the rooms in there.
>"Wow... nice timing, princess Luna, holy smokes" Sweet shakes by your side, holding his lantern and looking at the desolate, clinical, eerie rooms, white against oil flame permeating your souls with the cold embrace of death.
>You find nothing on the top floor, but right after descending to the middle one by the regular stairs, you hear a noise in one of the distant rooms. You both look at each other, and then start trotting up to the consultation room. The door is closed, but you can hear the sound of bottles and metallic apparel falling from high places.
>"Okay... now what?" Sweet asks, reaching for the door with a hoof but stopping at the last second to look at you.

>>25648764
Let's try to slowly open the door while sweet holds the gun. Then we get ready to shoot if we have to.

>>25648764
It's possible this thing is holed up in the walls or ceiling, so keep that in mind when you enter.

>>25648809
I'd rather we hold the gun while Sweet opens.

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>>25648809
>>25648858
>>25648987
"Okay, we're going in" you say, grabbing your own lantern with the tip of a wing. "Hold my weapon, Sweet, I'll open the door for you."
>"W-Wait right there" Sweet starts whispering very quickly. "W-Why don't -you- hold the gun!?"
"Oh... I guess that makes more sense. Heh..." you scratch your neck with the other wing. "Alright, you open the door, slowly, while I peek inside. Remember to be quick, there might be holes in the walls or ceiling, the bugger might escape us."
>"Right-o" Sweet frowns and nods, and then he leans on the wall by the side of the door. Opening it slowly, he pushes it from the hinge side, giving you plenty of room to peer inside with your lantern above your head.
>The room seems to be quiet, but then something moves by the end corner, and you hear an extremely jarring scratching noise, causing you to retreat a step.
"I'm going in!" Without thinking it twice, you jump on the room and focus your lantern towards the end of the room. "W-What!?"
>The thing moving in the shadows near the corner is... nothing short of odd, even compared to the things you've seen before. A little sort of arthropod with six legs, except made of coiled bandages and ended in syringes, their tips scratching the ground in a very rude manner and leaking droplets of green liquid. The body of the creature is a laboratory flask, the legs taped together with bandages in a crude fashion. There's also a bandage holding the creature from somewhere in the ceiling. As soon as the light of your lantern focuses on it, the monster jumps at you, flailing its limbs in the air silently.

>>25649252
Jump back and try to shoot it at the same time! Don't take your eyes off it.

>>25649252
Dodge it. The main body is probably on the ceiling.

>>25649252
Ugh, gross, it's a spider! Aim for the tape on the ceiling, that should delay its escape. Also keep your distance from it, with our luck those syringes could probably poison us.

>>25649286
>>25649436
>>25649442
>Your honed reflexes get you out of the way, but as you try to shoot the tiny creature, your blast goes wide and punches a hole in the wall to the next room.
"Oops..." you then realize the door is opening, Sweet peeking from the other side. "No, Sweet, don't enter, spiders!"
>"Waaawawa!" The colt slams the door shut just in time before the quick artificial spider jumps on it, embedding its syringe tips on the wooden door. The creature gets stuck, giving you a clear shot this time.
>However, you notice something else: the loose bandage coming from the top of the flask, it actually runs all the way to the air duct on the ceiling. So that's where it must come from! There's no power core, so this monster must be controlled by an actual construct somewhere else. With your second shot you aim for the air duct, making a damn hole and cutting the bandage thread, then with your hoof, you smash the spider's flask body, allowing a very scared Sweet a peek through the door.
>"Is it over?"
"Not really. That little spider was somehow part of a main construct, like a puppet. We're not close to it yet" you explain, pointing at the remains of the now inert monster.

(1/2)

>>25649633
>"Damn, tiny spiders with syringes for legs" the colt grimaces. "This town keeps getting better every day."
"Quit yer moaning, I trust you well enough to be able to help."
>"I hate spiders" puffing his cheeks and subsequently snorting, Sweet gets inside and examines the room with you. Other than a couple of broken flasks and papers thrown on the floor, there doesn't seem to be anything else of interest. Just then... "Grape... c-can you hear that?"
"Hear what?" You stop crunching glass with your hard hooves and focus your sensitive ears, and the sound that comes through forces you to fold them back. The horrible skittering of metallic syringe tips, amplified a hundred times, surrounding you from all sides, from above and from below. Tac tac tac, a million times over.
>"W-What's happening now?"
"That wasn't the only spider. They're coming now."

That's all for tonight. More tomorrow at the same hour, and will try to stay longer.
I had a friend who hated spiders. I think they enhance any media you put them in. Glory to the spiders.

>>25649643
Perhaps now would be a very good time to run since we can't face all of them.

>>25649643
Time to get the guards.

Page 10 bump

>>25651812
page 9 bump

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>>25649643
>Glory to the spiders

board is going really fast right now.

>>25652996
Eh? What for?

>>25653039
shit posting? I dunno.

and bumping again.

>>25653251

>>25655376
Bump

bumping from 10.

Bumping at 8

>>25649643
Is this where the scooby-doo running from the monster montage comes in?

>>25654990

>>25649643
I have to say, I love your drawings. Are you going to make more music?

We should get the hell out of there before shit hit's the fan and try to find the construct.
maybe some little awkward little drunk lewd with Sweet sometime?

>>25657841
Thanks anon, I try. There will be more music in future CYOAs, not so sure about this one, due to time constraints.
I'm not completely against lewd, I just find it very hard to gain traction and desire to do it, so we'll see what happens.

Session in hour and a half approx.

>>25657856
Really? You seems to put in plenty of lewd implications, TNL escpecially. Just seems odd that actually writing it is too much.

>>25658165
Yes, I love lewd humor, playing around and double entendres, I just love them. But the actual jump to smut? Hard time. That's just how I work.

>>25650259
>>25650422
>>25656915
>>25657841
>The skittering, the horrible scratching of the walls and floor, keeps coming closer, and your options diminish. In this small room, despite the big holes you punched in the walls with your gun, there's nowhere to go, really.
"Alright Sweet" you frown and start looking out of the door. "Maybe now is the time to plan a tactical retreat..."
>"Do we even have time to plan?" The colt starts pushing your slightly plump rear with his head. "Let's get out of here!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" You get out of the room and head for the main stairs, but a hundred shadows start clogging your view, the horrible sounds practically scratching at your ears. "Oops!"
>You and Sweet turn around and start looking for the service stairs, but the shadows start eating away at your space. Soon, the many little spiders, quirky puppets made with ordinary medical equipment taped together with bandages, start running down the hallways, their syringe and scissor legs moving on their own with dreadful precision.
"Run, for the love of Celestia, run!" You start pushing your friend to go faster, and have to turn into a different corridor right before you reach the service access. "Dammit! Now more than ever, I hate enclosures!"

(1/2)

>>25658395
>"That's it!" Sweet suddenly yells. "We can get out by the window!" He points at the small opening at the end of the corridor. The hundred fake spiders keep flooding the view behind you, all of them held by bandages, as marionettes.
"Are you sure about that? I wouldn't have expected this from you..." you say while your best friend in the whole world opens the window.
>"Grape" Sweet replies with a furious face. "If I have to choose between flying and spiders, you know what I'm going to do."
"Aww..." you give him a smile, and after a quick look backwards to confirm that yes, you will be eaten alive if you stay here, you get out of there with the earth pony hanging from your neck. The glide down is awkward, but you manage to land without breaking any bones. "Ouch! W-We did it!"
>"Neigh..." Sweet lays on his back. "I-I'm still glad we did that..."
>"Grape, Sweet!" Without catching a breath, you get up and meet with Merc and Rainbow, who're coming full speed from the main building.
"Spiders?"
>"Spiders! What do we do now? I mean, we should call r-reinforcements, right?" Rainbow Way exclaims, holding his hooves together.
>"We wanted to check that you were safe, and also tell you that there are ponies in that building!" Merc explains. "We'll try to protect them, but you need to help us first. Will you stay here and look for the source, or help bring reinforcements in?"

Apologies in advance if there's a lack of drawing, got another of my day long colds, but we're running this anyway.

>>25658403
Do you know how many or what rooms?

>>25658403
This would be a perfect time to use a flare and hope somepony can show up.

I think we should look for the source in the basement since that's where the vents all lead to. That or the roof.

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>>25658446
>>25658447
"Argh!" You throw your hooves over your head. "I really want to look for that construct! Then again... how many ponies are up there?"
>"At least a dozen patients in regular rooms, and two in intensive care" Rainbow speaks fast, trotting in place. "T-Those we definitely can't move."
"Alright, I'm sorry lads, I think it's quicker that Sweet and I help you protect those ponies and take down that monster..."
>"Isn't there any way to send signals to the headquarters?" Sweet says, looking behind his back nervously.
>"We could try something with these guns..." Mercury takes out his shiny rifle, examining the different commands and triggers. "It has a flashlight in it, maybe if we can combine that with the pressurized water somehow..."
"You two work on it, I'm going back in there" you reply, immediately turning back. However, you soon remember you forgot something important, and so you grab Sweet by the scruff of the neck. "And you're coming with me."
>The small horse whinnies loudly and tries to escape your fierce grasp. Once you're apart from the others, you speak with him in whispers.
"Listen, go to the basement and find where all the air ducts meet. The construct might be in there. If you find it, run like never before and find us."
>"Are you crazy!? That place is crawling with spiders!" The colt points at the two buildings.
"No it's not! I'm sure most of them are still on the upper floors!" You give the colt a push in the direction of the main building, and while the guardsponies wrestle with a way of making signals, you fly up high and examine the rooftops of the hospital building. Quickly, you spot something.
"Gotcha" on the roof of the main building, you observe a formless shape, many individual threads running from it and into the windows and doors of both buildings, the lack of illumination not making it easy to recognize the size or whether there's a power core in there, despite the usual good range in your vision.

>>25658709
Land on top of the roof.

Water gun that sucker.

>>25658709
Are the bandages paper or cloth? Head down to the roof and shoot across the biggest bundle of bandages to sever as many spiders as possible.

>>25658735
Do we have one? If not, we still have 3 shots I think.

>>25658735
>>25658779
>>25658780
>There's the damn thing controlling the little spiders! And you get in range of your blaster soon enough. However, the creature is difficult to actually look at, as if it wasn't exactly solid. You aim, and you shoot, the beautiful purple beam scattering bandages of cloth all over the side of the building. However, the creature doesn't stop pulling the remaining threads.
"Tough crowd, huh?" You arch an eyebrow, and immediately dive back towards where the guards are. It seems like Mercury is fashioning some sort of flashy signal using water and light. "Hey corporal, can I borrow your weapon just for a second?"
>"W-What!? No!?" Rainbow suddenly hugs his precious gun, but he doesn't even have the reflexes to stop you from grabbing it. "Hey!"
"It's important, you dunce" you shut down the pegasus with your own birdhorse glare, then walk towards Mercury. "Hey Merc, care to recharge my shots? Just point your horn here, okay thanks..."
>Once you have both weapons ready, you lift the heavy rifle all the way into the rooftop again. It seems like this thing is trying to rejoin the severed threads, but that's about as far as you're going to let it. Girl, actually, having this rifle on you makes you feel pretty badass. You just went from private investigator to full on supercop!

(1/2)

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>>25659009
"Alright smart guy, I'm coming for you!" With a careful dive, you near land on the roof, but keep your body and gun up and take a good look at the monster. It seems to be a huge mound of bandages. Just where are all those coming from!? "I know I can't see your power core, but dammit if I won't get it right on the bits with this!" Aiming the gun, you press the hoof sized trigger and brace yourself.
>It takes your whole wingpower to keep yourself stable, the powerful water blast immediately dispelling the cloud of bandages, making a mess of the clinic cloth and spreading them all over the roof. However, despite feeling very good once you're done, you notice that there's no power core, neither cracked nor whole.
"Gee, what gives?" In that moment, you realize that the bandages are starting to retreat, disappearing beyond the edges of the roof. "Oi! Don't run!" You aim your gun at the loose threads, but they're too fast and thing to pick them up when they're all scurrying away in singletons, each bandage like a small snake slithering away. "That wasn't even the full construct!? Really!?" You're very tempted to throw the gun on the floor, but that would probably piss off a few ponies.

>>25659026
I thought for sure that was it.

Maybe the core is in the walls? Or in the basement with Sweet.

>>25659026
Return to guards.

>>25659026
>as you're going to let it
It's main body must be inside, lets head to the basement.

>>25659089
>>25659190
>>25659288
>Despite all the rage and impotence of just not knowing what the heck is going on, you need to calm down, to think of a plan. That's what they always do in your mystery novels when they run out of options, start again and not miss a single detail. This construct must be one heck of a puppeteer if it's making you all dance like this...
"Oh dammit!" You smack yourself lightly with the water gun. "Sweet, I almost forgot!" You run to the edge of the rooftop, to fly over the fence, and just then, a wonderful spectacle explodes in front of you: a rainbow framented in a million droplets, almost like a firework of the most wonderful nature. "Wow..." You stop for a second as the incredible show of lights and colors remains in the air and then vanishes, then take flight and go back with the guards.
>"Yep, that was me" Merc explains, shutting down his water gun. "They told me this gun had a white light flashlight for a reason, but I knew there was some more use to it than doing cool demonstrations to foals" he talks while caressing his gun tenderly, while Rainbow looks completely perplexed. He probably was thinking only of the funny effects for the foals, the big dummy.
"In any case" you give the pegasus his weapon back "the thing on the roof was a dud. The construct is leaving some sort of nodes, but actually is like a very clever puppet master."

(1/2)

>>25659409
>"So everything we've seen so far wasn't near the core?" Merc asks and you shake your head. "Damn... we better go back to the patients, sir. A patrol or two are bound to have seen our signal."
>"We will do that" Rainbow nods, shaking a bit. "O-Oh, by the way!" He speaks to you. "We found out what the syringes have in them. The construct took several bottles of sedatives, so don't get caugh, or you'll be out until tomorrow. Now that I'm going to get caught or anything..." he mutters with a sly smile.
"Just bloody do your work" you smack the pegasus, then start running inside with them. While the guards go upstairs, you turn down into the basement, where you find another scene: Sweet Seed, fighting his way towards the center of a similar amalgamation of living bandages, ripping them apart and trying not to get caught. "Sweet?"
>"G-Grape!" The colt calls out to you. "I think I bit off more than I can chew, heh..." he speaks casually, yet the many threads of bandage are starting to cover him. Dammit, why did you exactly give Rainbow his weapon back!?

>>25659424
Let's shoot at the node with our other gun.

>>25659424
Try to fly in and pull him out. Get them to shoot it as you're clear enough.

>>25659460
>>25659603
"Sweeet! Geez!" You can't help but smile and be worried in equal parts, and rushing next to the mass of bandages, you grab your friend's hoof and start pulling.
>It takes a while, but the bandages aren't strong enough to pull against the two of you, and eventually, the colt falls on the floor next to you, and you aim for the center of the mass with your hoof gun.
"Hasta la vista" you drop in a low voice, and then blow the fake constructs away in all directions, illuminating the vast basement briefly with pink magic. The individual threads, once again, start retreating between cracks on the walls and through the very same stairs you used to arrive. "Eee! Did you catch that, Sweet? I was so cool and all...!"
>However, it looks like your friend wasn't paying attention at all. In fact, he looks like he's not getting up. You rush Sweet and find, to your dismay, a little needle embedded in his flank, bright green fluid going all the way in. Then, Sweet snores.
"Oh, for the love of...! Sweet, Sweeet!" You shake and try to wake the colt, but it's no use, this pony is going to sleep the night away. You put him on your back and carry him out of the basement, right on time to find a couple of royal guards arriving.
>"Miss, is there an emergency going on?" One of them asks.
"You well damn know there's an emergency in here!" You yell back, startling both stallions. "There's an unidentified bandage monster terrorizing the patients, and two of your partners are trying to defend them up there. Scram!"
>"B-But what about your..."
"He's fine, just asleep! Come on, go, go!" You start pushing them around, and once the guards are gone, you find a small patch of decorative grass in front of the hospital entrance and leave Sweet in there, laying on it yourself. Your head is pounding, but the job is not done, the construct has eluded you so far, and the pride of Celestia's corps are rushing to the rooms to protect ill ponies. What to do, what to do...

I can't go on, I just can't. I can't formulate a sentence in less than three minutes, I'm dropping snot all over my tablet, I'm so fucking sick of this shit, fuck, double fuck. I'm back tomorrow and I'll run even if I have a hard fever, fuck I'm so mad right now, I'm so sorry.

Oh boy, this is difficult.

>>25659790
The only place it made a significant attack was in that first building, everywhere else was a trap.

>>25659790
We know he's alright but hug him and apologize for sending him in by himself. After taking a moment to collect ourselves move.

much needed bump

page 9

Time to sleep bump.

good night and good luck keeping the thread up.

>>25663173

Sweet will get so many cuddles when he wakes up.

>>25666400

>>25659790
You should rest for a moment. At least let the pounding calm down. Kiss sweets forehead. Try to find a unicorn to refill your shots.

>>25667228

>>25657856
I meant that kind of lewd that they will regret with hangover. Something like soft porn

>>25669734
That could even work well in the story. You and other players could suggest it in prompts, so be attentive and find an opportunity.

>>25660418
>>25661097
>>25665557
>>25668428
>Thank the princesses and your weather crew for such a lovely night. The breeze coming from the sea cools you down, after running, flying and screaming all over the perimeter of this medical center. Sweet sleeps in the small circle of grass while you check he's alright and lay down. Wew! Your wings, legs and heart are aching. Night sport is not your forte.
>Meanwhile, you give another thought to what's happened. This is one weird construct, which instead of showing up directly is sending little puppets after you, and aims to hide and put ponies to sleep. To top it off, you don't even know where the power core is. Hopefully the guards won't have a bad time up there...
"Dammit" you get up with the thought of Celestia's loyal subjects. "I don't really want to leave them alone..." stretching your legs and letting the wind clear your head, you look at the dark hospital building. "I better go up there" turning around , you walk up to Sweet and give him a light peck in his forehead. "Sorry for putting you in these situations" you whisper, caressing his cheeck before putting him on your back,hugging him tightly with wings upward. "Let's get you somewhere else, little guy."
>In the hospital's lobby, a single nightshift nurse helps you place Sweet in an spacious couch, the sort they have for emergencies, and then tells you that a few bumps came from the first floor, where the intensive care units are. You run upstairs and find another startled nurse in front of a door.
>"T-Two gentlecolts went in, a-and then there was some noise..." she explains. "I haven't heard anything in a while now..."

(1/2)

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>>25670331
"Stay back" you push the mare away gently, and then open the door very slowly. The room seems to be calm, quiet and dark, but as soon as you enter, you hear a voice calling you.
>"Grape..." you walk in, to find several bodies scattered around the floor. After a second of decreasing heartbeat, you notice soft snores coming from all of them. In the middle, standing still, is another figure. "Thank goodness you arrived."
"M-Merc?"
>"I'm sorry, we protected these ponies, but..." he takes a single step forward and shows you his body: three a broken syringe stick out of his fur at different places, all of them empty.
"Oh my gosh! How long have you been awake!?" You rush to help him not fall as his body sways.
>"Just... a while..." the colt's voice starts becoming weaker. "Goodnight Grape... we should... be safe tonight..." last you hear from him are the glorious Z's, carrying him across a golden road to the pantheon of badass royal guards.
"Dammit... hold in there" you lift the rookie's body with a wing, and slowly deposit him on the floor. There seems to be a single pony in the row of beds, sleeping peacefully, and the four guards, all of them laying on the floor. Your own body feels heavy, and you're pretty sure that you didn't get injected with anything; it's just the weight of being up so late at night that's consuming you.
>"I-Is it safe?" Out of the now partially open door, the pale yellow nurse mare peeks inside with a fearful face.

>>25670345
For now it's only quiet. Whatever is causing this is still out there.

>>25670345
Still standing after 3? What will!

>>25670345
How much of that damned sedative did it steal? We should remove whatever's left so it can't refill.

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>>25670376
>>25670500
>>25670533
"It is, for now" you whisper at the mare, who enters and walks up to where the guards are. "These four got sedated, so please take care of them. That one in particular" you point at Merc's calm body. "He took three doses."
>"T-Three doses?" The nurse walks up to Merc. "Alright... instead of risking it, could you help me move them to these free beds?"
>You do as the mare tells you, and help move the four heavy guards into individual beds, taking off their helmets but not their armors. Your body strains to move by the end, and once you're done, you examine the room, confirming there are no enemies, and leave along with the nurse. You can't help but taking one last look at Merc. Damn, what a guy, he took three rounds of sedatives and stood still
"Hey" you ask the nurse on the way. "The monster stealing things took a few bottles of sedatives, and that's a chore. Is there any way you can keep the remaining stock in view?"
>"We... we actually don't have a lot more" the pale mare replies. "But we'll move them to the best guarded storage."
>Back in the main lobby, you rejoin Sweet in the couch he's sleeping in, and lay down for another round of thinking. Your eyelids can barely keep open as you go mentally over everything once again, the locations, the fights... the monster appearances... the freaking... hoof lasers...
>"Grape? She's opening her eyes" a faint voice grabs you from the bottom of the well your consciousness was swimming just minutes ago, and a cheery face comes into your view. After brushing your eyesies with your hoofsies, you finally recognize Sweet's face and voice. "Good morning! I, er, will give you some time to get up."

>>25670694
Hug sweet and nuzzle your cheek against his.

We need to eat breakfast! After that check on merc. Then go to lorie and see if she completed that accuracy thing for power cores because we REALLY need it to find this tricky thing.

>>25670731
This desu senpai.

I'm feeling bold. Add a kiss.

>>25670731
>>25670832
>>25670844
>You're not usually quick on the draw in the mornings, but as soon as Sweet's face leaves your field of vision you reach with your mighty front legs and pull the colt into the softest, plushiest hug. You can feel your own fur melting with his brown coat, both of you warm and slightly flustered.
"Uuu, Sweet! I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time! Are you okay?"
>"Uh, y-y-yes..." Sweet struggles to speak. "I just slept a lot, heh. And so did you, it's late morning."
"Aw, damn!" You look around, your surroundings finally coming in. It seems like you fell asleep in the same broad couch you left Sweet on. The next thing that pops in your field of vision is a very colorful shirt covering magenta fur. "Huh?"
>"Hi" Lorie waves a hoof at you, bringing a bag on her back. "I brought the new Tracker back"
"Ever heard of 'good morning'?" You ask while she gives you the round gizmo, her face puffing up, and you adjust it slightly on your left hoof.
>"You can now see the general area where the power cores are, in all three dimensions, if you click on the progress bars."
>Just as your nerdy partner said, once you tap on the screen with your hoof in the larger progress bar of the two, at 30%, it shows you a cute little map of Trottingham, with an area circled in red and a weird set of numbers. Huh, this area is...
>"It seems like last night's attacker is still around this area" Lorie confirms, pointing at the circled area in the map: the medical center and surrounding neighborhood. "And the height is... Ground height here at Trottingham."
"Is there any way to zoom in, make the area smaller?"
>"Uuh, not right now" Lorie scratches the back of her neck. "I might be able to make it better with another power core, but I think this is a highly acceptable ratio, for such a low energy concentration as the power core holds before a threshold of..."

(1/2)

>>25671133
>The mare's speech gets lost while you fiddle around with the other bar. This time, you get a big red interrogation instead of the map.
"What's this?"
>"Oh! That means the construct is too far away to determine. Again, I might be able to fix that with another core."
"It's fantastic either way. Thanks a lot, Lorie!" You get up and give the mare a hug, then turn around to look at Sweet. "And thanks for staying around. Did you have breakfast?"
>"Not really, no" the colt replies. "Let's go grab some, even if it's here in the hospital."
"Alright! Oh, one more thing" you walk up to Sweet's side and without warning, you grab him and plant a lot of kisses in his cheek. "That's my apology for letting you down yesterday."
>"Uh, fuh wah brrrt..." your friend starts making a series of not exactly horse like noises, and you both walk into the hospital's cafeteria for a morning snack.
>After you've satiated your horse hunger, you visit Merc and the other guards. The unicorn is deeply embarrassed about falling for the enemy's tricks, but you and the nurses from the night shift reassure him that there was nothing else to be done, and all the patients in the center are still safe thanks to everyone's combined effort.
>"Right, so there's still a construct at large, dangerously close" Merc and the other three guards attend your lecture on basic Construct Tracker readings. "I suggest we keep around sir, and send a report to HQ."
>"Ugh... agreed" Rainbow Way clears his eyes with fresh water. "What about you lot? Are you going to stay around today as well?" He asks the rest of you.

>>25671144
The more ponies looking for this the better. It's so close!
I'm kind of starting to think it's hiding in the vents.

>>25671184
"Of course! The more ponies to help, the quicker we can catch this bugger!" You reply, rustling your wings, then turn to Lorie and Sweet. "What about you guys?"
>"I'll stay, you know I have nothing better to do" Sweet replies immediately, with a confident face and oddly red cheeks still. "Besides, I kind of owe the guy one..."
>"I could get to work on some statistical models, based on what you've done so far" Lorie thinks with her eyes glued to the ceiling. "I'll get started right now" she looks at you for a brief second, then turns around and leaves.
>"Is that mare alright? She seemed a bit... off" one of the other guards that came to help last night points out.
"She'll be fine. So, any ideas? We took a good look at both buildings yesterday and found nothing."
>"I'm starting to think, since the monster was controlling puppets, that it might be somewhere far away from here" Mercury points a hoof at your Construct Tracker, the area of town where the power core is supposed to be still highlighted in the map.
"Either that, or he's being even more sneaky inside this building" you look everything in the room, the floor, the ceiling... "That's it! The spiders were using the air ducts, so what if the real monster is in one of them?"
>"The air ducts? Oh boy..." Rainbow frowns and pouts. "That will take a while to check..."

(1/2)

>>25671490
"Then let's get to it! Huh?" You turn around as you notice a hoof poking your back. Yep, that's Lorie alright.
>"Sorry, I forgot to ask what did you exactly do yesterday."
"Dammit Lorie!"
>Once you all get to work, you and Sweet go back to the consults, a couple of them on hold while the repairs to those mysterious holes that nobody knows how appeared last night are made. You start politely interrupting the medical service to check on every single air duct, but at the end of a long morning session, you find nothing. Same with the four guards over at the main building, uh...
"Wait a minute. Where's Rainbow" you ask in a completely flat tone, frowning so hard you can feel the weight of your own eyebrows.
>"I think the corporal left us three checking while he asked the ponynnel more concise questions about recent events" Mercury explains.
"Oh, good! So he's doing his job for once" you say, while walking across the main lobby with the guards and Sweet alongside. "Or... he's not" over by a secluded corner of the lobby, hidden by curtains and tables stacked with chairs, there's Rainbow alright, having a coffee and talking with a cute, petite mare.
>"So yeah, I went up to this horrible bandage monster and told him 'hasta la vista'... you really should have seen it" he tells the mare, who's giggling and fanning her flustered face. Not as flustered as the sheer amount of hot sauce replacing your blood and running all across your face.

>>25671506
That mother fuc-
Also I thought for sure it was something small making big things as distractions.
Tell Rainbow that this job isn't done yet!

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>>25671572
>"G-Grape?" You hear Sweet's voice faintly calling you from another world. "A-Are you alright...?"
>Without saying anything, you walk straight up behind Rainbow's back, each hoofstep a thunderous clap in the ears of all profane gods. Even the little mare knows to run away, and by the time the pegasus guard turns around, it's too late.
"Listen here, you piece of horse dung!" You grab Rainbow by the neck of the armor. "If I catch you ever again doing anything like this, I'll personally apply for the guard and rise up to general so that I can whip your flank until it's sore!"
>A series of ridiculous noises come out of the grown up pegasus' mouth, then you drop him and go back with your friends, fuming.
>"There there, it's alright..." Sweet rubs your side, and he knows that calms you down a lot. Eventually, the burning sensation in your eyeballs passes and you all tell the corporal your findings. Meanwhile, Lorie comes back and explains the results of her research.
>"So, the most shocking thing you might learn is that the construct is not likely to be here, in this center..."
"No! Really?" You take your hooves to your chins with dramatic flair. "Please, Lorie, we just combed the entire air ventilation system. Please tell us there's more."
>"Well... yeah" the mare replies, looking somewhat terrified of you. "There are several interesting areas around the construct might be hiding in..."
"Oh, thank goodness" you can finally relax a bit and give Lorie a less poisonous smile. "What do you have?"
>"According to the map of this area, there's a couple of warehouses not in use this time of the year" the mare explains. "Some large estates of the southern quarter fall into the area as well, aaand..."
" "Aaand...?" " All of you lean in, suspense hanging over your heads.
>"The kindergarten school."
"Oh, bloody please..."

>[OBJECTIVE UPDATED: find and neutralize the construct terrorizing the hospital area]

I'm going to stop here for the night, but there will be more tomorrow, perhaps starting a bit later, but running for the same amount of time or hopefully more.

>>25671918
It's at the school isn't it.

Oh boy. Back to school we go.

>>25671918
Off to the kindergarten, then? Perhaps along the way we can try and make smalltalk with Merc. We can plumb him for information on what Glaze asked us.

>>25674064

>>25678100

>>25679121

>>25679739

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>>25672065
>>25673104
>>25675010
"Oh, my goodness, Tess..." you wipe the cold sweat off your forehead. "It's gonna be the school, isn't it?"
>"It certainly poses the biggest threat" Merc nods furiously. "We all should get on the move right now. Sir?" He asks Rainbow Way.
>"S-Sure... no, wait! Somepony needs to get r-reinforcements!" He leans on Merc's ear. "Is that it, did I do it right?" The unicorn nods proudly, and Rainbow breathes a sigh of relief.
"Alright, you decide who gets reinforcements, Sweet and I are getting out of here" you turn around. "Lorie, you coming with us?"
>"Ugh... do I have to interact with the foals?"
"There's a twenty four percent chance."
>"You're pulling that out of your flank" the unicorn points with her hoof, almost as if she wanted to boop you, but stopping awkwardly in the middle. "B-But I like your enthusiasm. Do you want to learn some more about statistic models?"
>You 'enjoy' Lorie's yappering about numbers and formulas all the way across downtown, unable to even talk with Merc along the way. You were hoping to get some information out of him today, but thanks to your overexcited friend, that's been put on hold.
>Soon you reach the kindergarten, a nice looking building with lots of windows, colors splattered across and an avant-garde sort of looking rainbow. Right outside the doors, you spot somepony you know. Sunny Care, the friendly spa mare, is talking with a blue greyish colt. You walk up to her with your wing up.
"Hey, Sunny!"
>"Psst, kid" you hear the mare tell the colt. "Wanna go behind the school? I got the goods for you."
"S-Sunny...?"

==========
-Investigate Tess' whereabouts with Lorie.
-Find and neutralize the construct terrorizing the hospital area.
-Investigate Mercury Helm's and Scarlet Summer's relationship.
-Is Bubble Stream a changeling?

Current Constructs: 30%, 14%
==========

>>25681475
Watch what she's doing.

>>25681475
Go up to her stealthily and if we don't hear more surprise her by asking what the goods are.

>>25681728
>>25681787
>You start slowing down and tucking your wing back, carefully listening in to the conversation between the grown up mare and the young foal.
>"...like, seriously, it's super important that you keep a good mane hygiene! Take this sample of shampoo and tell your mom and dad to come to the Trottingham spa" you watch as Sunny gives the colt a little package with a floral design.
>"My dad isn't home a lot, but there's a stallion that comes sometimes and spends a lot of time with my mom in the bedroom. Thanks, miss!" The young pony grabs the envelope with his mouth and runs back inside. You breathe a sigh of relief and walk up to your friend.
"Hey Sunny" you surprise her from the back. "What are you doing here giving away samples? Isn't it a bit off target?"
>"Huh? Oh hi Grape! Hi Sweet, Lorie, Merc!" Sunny turns around and waves you all except Rainbow, who pouts immediately. "I know it seems crazy, but we're testing different advertising techniques. Bubbles seems to be a lot into this kind of stuff since living with the filly."
"Ooh... have you been around for a while? We're looking for a construct that might or might not be near this school."
>"What? That's dreadful!" Sunny's eyes fill with terror. "Surely not even Tess would harm little fillies and colts!"
>"That's what we're here to find out" Merc asks. "We'll have to comb this whole place and..."
>"Actually, the foals are about to come out. Their parents should be arriving soon to pick them up" Sunny replies, idly playing with the samples of shampoo still not given away. "I don't know if you should be interrupting them right now..."
"Sunny! This is an emergency!"
>"Wait, Grape!" Sweet stops you from taking another step. "Think about it. If we wait until the foals are gone, we can explore the entire place without interruption, and ask the caretakers."
>"Yes, but what if the construct is already acting?" Rainbow points out, earning a look from all of you. "S-Sorry!"

>>25681940
We could go speak with the staff and check the unused areas while we wait for the foals to leave.

>>25681940
We can wait.

>>25682055
>>25682059
"Okay, okay, how about this" you raise your hooves and ask for calm. "We talk to whoever is at the lobby, the janitor or whatever, and make time until the foals are out checking the places without them inside. Got it?"
>Your friends agree that it's an acceptable plan, Sunny decides to join for a while, and soon you're talking with everyone you find at reception, at the courtyard, in the janitor's station, and checking those places. You don't find anything out of the ordinary, but by the time you're done, the foals are leaving.
>Next, you inquire the teachers and examine the classrooms, the bathrooms, checking every single corner, any loose tile, air duct, absolutely everything. It becomes very tiring, and even after all that, you haven't found a single thing.
"How can this be? Did we choose poorly?" You mull on the outside of the kindergarten, while the rest of your friends catch a breath. Your stomach suddenly starts grumbling. "Aaw, geez. I totally forgot lunch."
>"How can you be forgetting something like that?" Merc raises his head, then his stomach grumbles. "P-Point taken."
>"I guess you guys have been on edge for a long time" Sunny looks concerned. "Stay here, I'll bring us some cheese frittatas from the food cart."
"Ugh, you're a Celestia-send" you mutter before literally rolling on the floor, exhausted. "This has got to stop. I just can't be chasing constructs every single day."
>"I'll remind you" Lorie comments, panting on the floor laying on her back "that I invited you to search for her whereabouts, so maybe we should increase the priority" she takes a couple of very deep breaths and then rises up. "So, what next? I mean, after the frittatas" the unicorn licks her muzzle, starving. "Hmm... I love cheese."

>>25682380
Call it a day and go home. Then we can check the warehouses tomorrow. we're too beat to do it now.

>>25682380
How would the construct reach from another building to the hospital? If it's made completely out of medical supplies how would there be enough in another place to even reach the hospital?

>>25682439
>>25682443
>Sunny eventually returns with gloriously warm food, and you all dig in like animals, neighing and snorting and eating on the floor, it's a mess, an absolute mess. Just how you like it in Nightmare Night, someone will come and clean tomorrow.
>"So what should we do now?" Sweet asks once you're all finally resting your food. "There's so many places the construct could be hiding in..."
"I mean, how did it even do it?" You start putting pieces together, while looking at the now empty street envelopes of food. "The construct must have started in the hospital, how would it get the things it needed?"
>"The first thing that started disappearing were the bandages" Mercury replies.
>"Then perhaps the construct moved when it had a support. It takes a while, but they can do it in an 'emergency mode' of sorts, without stopping the power core charge" Lorie explains systematically. "Just for a short space."
"Well, that means nothing, it could still be anywhere..."
>"Actually... we haven't looked where it's closest" Out of nowhere, Rainbow comes up with a suggestion. "What's the most likely place for it to be that's actually right beside the hospital?"
>"There are warehouses, neighbor houses and a couple of stores" Lorie points out, grabbing your left hoof and checking the Construct Tracker. At this point, you're too full of cheese to care.

(1/2)

>>25682809
>"That still leaves a lot to imagination..." Sweet mutters with his eyes closed.
>"Guys, I think we've been doing an incredible effort" Mercury gets up, lazily stretching his limbs and grabbing his royal guard helmet. "I think it's time we brought up all of our effectives to this place, sir. We should go full alert, and you along with corporal Gusty Shores are the only ponies able to issue the order."
>"That would mean more ponies nearby and less work for each pony..." Rainbow meditates, nodding with a hoof under his chin. "Very well! We shall issue the order!" He points at the sky with a hoof melodramatically.
>"You all take a rest. If there's an emergency we'll let you know as fast as we can" Mercury salutes and leaves, followed by Rainbow's clumsy salute.
"Wow" you giggle. "Amazing how a rookie can change things up so much."
>"Then, should we go home and rest?" Sweet asks, looking at you, then at Sunny and Lorie. "Want to do something in particular? We could play Mysteries and Hoofclues, it's Grape's favorite tabletop game" he says, and you're forced to clap your hooves in delight. Besides from that, there are many options to spend the evening.

I'm afraid I'm going to stop for the night, I'm just not feeling it at all. However, I'm working on something related to the quest, and I'll bring it to you guys in a couple hours or so, hopefully. By something, I mean something lewd. The stars have aligned.

Sounds like it will be fun fins. Let's hope it's... SWEET

>>25683703
I'm sorry to say it's not the case, but considering what I'm doing here, something I didn't think I'd ever feel like doing, the chances of something Sweet and explicit are rising.

>>25683858
That's fine. I just really wanted to make that joke.

Alright, here it is, a little non-canon that I just felt like doing I don't even know what am I doing with my life.

http://pastebin.com/yEs4eKkr
http://imgur.com/POdiNCs

I'll be back tomorrow to continue running.

>>25684569
>"I won't do lewd"
>Does lewd

I honestly want to say something but I understand only being able to do something when the inspiration is there.

>>25684707
It's more like 'I rarely do lewd, only when inspiration comes'.

bump from 10

>>25682824
I'm interested in what this mysteries and hoof clues game is.

Tell your friends how much fun it is and that they should give it a try! You don't often get the chance to play with more ponies then just sweet.

>>25685644

>>25685644

>>25682824
Despite how great a game Mysteries and Hoofclues is, I bet Grape would love to sit back and enjoy some fine wine.

>>25690155

>>25682824
Does Grape have a special hat and stove pipe she wears every time she plays?

>>25691098

>>25682824
Let's play and discuss about whereabouts.

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>>25687095
>>25690430
>>25691259
>>25692460
>Sunny and Lorie accept your invitation, and you all happily tread back to your and Sweet's house, to enjoy some fine tabletop games.
"Oh girl, I'm not even that pumped up after all..." you comment once you finally rest in your comfy couch. "Eh, I can at least play a game or two. Sweet only gets to play with me all the time."
>"That's the spirit, you also have to help me teaching these two here" Sweet replies, pointing at the two mares. "Are you getting the gear?"
"You know it!" You immediately dart into your room, and grab your mandatory equipment when it comes to playing Mysteries and Hoofclues: an oversized investigator's hat, with a funny gizmo that lowers a magnifying glass on your eye, and a smoke pipe which actually works with fruit juice. You complement it all with a single set of suspenders you use to make dramatic poses.
>"What. Is. That?" Sunny restrains herself from falling off the couch while Lorie simply tilts her head quizzicaly.
"This is the mark of a winner, Sunny" you reply, making your signature face and posing with the suspenders on your hooves. "I'll have you know that I'm undefeated at this game in this household."
>"Not for a lack of trying. This time you're going down!" Sweet replies with fervor, setting up the game table. Meanwhile, you grab yourself a few fresh grapes and toss the juice in your pipe, making a lot of bubbles and letting that delicious nectar fall inside your mouth. This is truly the moment where you shine.
>After explaining the rules and picking your pieces, the first round starts with a side serving of nachos, courtesy of Sweet. As usual, you make a daring first move, having been secretly chosen as the culprit in this game, you need to hide the evidence and throw false accusations like a pro. However, Lorie takes an absurd time on her turn, filling sheets of her notebook with a scramble of numbers.

(1/2)

>>25693700
"Lorie, come on, you can't just rely on math for everything" you nag the unicorn to continue, and she returns a smug grin.
>"I'm pretty sure math can solve everything in this world, Miss Vine. Or should I say... THE CULPRIT!?" She accuses you with a hoof, and all your cards fall of yours. Next, the unicorn takes your secret card and shows it to everyone else, confirming her victory. Sweet and you stay frozen in place, your jaws completely against the floor.
>"That's amazing... one turn kill!" Sunny claps her hooves together. "Maybe we should give Lorie the hat and pipe..."
"Lorie..."
>"Yes?"
"No math allowed."
>"Why? It's a perfectly valid reasoning based on..."
"B-Buh!" You snort in her face, and the unicorn seems to relax. "I'll just... skip a game or two. I need to think..." in that moment, something starts dangling in front of your face: a bottle of your own wine. "Neigh!" You grab it and start unscrewing the cork with passion.
>"That will keep her happy for a few hours" Sweet winks at the others and you show him your tongue.
>After all, you play more than you thought you would, the wine bottle decreasing by your side. Later, you all have dinner and discuss what to do about the hospital construct. Your tracker still shows the same information in the map, the progress bar hasn't gone up, which means it's not working on stealing resources from the medical center anymore.
>"Hopefully you won't get a night time alarm, Grape" Sunny comments once the dinner is over. "Those guards rely a lot of you, I hope you'll take a day of rest."
"I can hardly do that, Sunny. The sooner we find Tess, the safer the town will be."
>"Are you two going?" Sweet asks, bringing another bottle of wine from the cellar. "I was hoping to open one and have a nice night together, but I guess it's up to you and Grape..." He says, looking at you.

>>25693723
Yeah we've been doing this nonstop for awhile and could use a break. If anything happens then it won't be anything they can't handle. That and they know where we live. So let's drink and have some fun.

>>25693788
"Aww, don't leave so soon, we can still have some more fun!" You insist. "You know, if this is going to be my night off, I'd like to spend it with my friends more than anything! There's nothing to worry about that the guards can handle, now that they're starting to wake up."
>Lorie and Sunny look at each other for a while, and finally, they look back with smiles on their faces.
>"Alright, I get it, I'll stay" the unicorn replies, pushing her glasses up. "But don't expect me to drink any of that, I hate alcohol."
"That's what I'm talking about!" You grab the bottle from Sweet's hooves, unscrew it and push it down Lorie's muzzlehole in record time. "You too, Sunny!"
>"O-Okay, but I want a glass..." She comments, watching the contents of the bottle quickly run down the magenta pony's throat.
>For the rest of the day, while the moon rises, you all drink and chat about nice little things, how your lives are going, what would you like to do once the whole mess is over...

(1/2)

>>25694096
"You know, ever since this started, I totally forgot what it was to live in this town before" you ponder. "So damn boring, it's been years since the last bugbear attack..."
>"I'd rather like it boring" Sweet mulls over his glass of wine. "It was fun, just taking care of the vineyard, going from party to party..."
>"I think I'd like to leave this town and visit some other places" Lorie comments. "Hopefully do something with Tess..."
>By the end of the night, you've annihilated a couple bottles of wine together. Lorie didn't really drink at all after your initial push, yet she seems considerably flustered. Weakling.
>"Don't worry guys! *hic*" Sunny says, walking slightly funny but with her eyes focused. "I'll get this mare to sleep with me tonight. I don't want no funny businesses around the forest. Let's go love..." helping each other, the two mares start walking out into the street.
>"You know, I'm starting to like all these visits" Sweet says, eyeing the empty bottom of a bottle. "I guess... I, I'll head to bed" he starts walking with uneven steps. You notice your own perception has shifted a little. Guess you did have an extra bottle after all.

>>25694102
We need to get more later. Let's go to bed ourselves. With sweet.

>>25694188
>Damn, your wine is just awesome. You'll have to grab some for breakfast, but now, it's just about a perfect time to go to bed. You start trotting along behind Sweet, and without realizing, end up following him all the way to his room.
"Huh..." you notice something's up when you see the bed and the decoration. "Oh well..." you shrug and get on the bed with no repairs, immediately clinging to your partner real tight.
>"G-Grape, again!?" He whispers with certain urgency. "Do you really need cuddling so bad?"
"Don't be a dick, you drunk horse" you lay it on him. "What's so bad in cuddling with me?"
>"N-Nothing, it's just... oh boy" Sweet squirms in your grasp. "I'm too d-drunk for this..."
>The next minutes happen without none of you moving, but then Sweet starts rotating so that his back is against your tummy, and your hooves encircle his.
"There we go" you whisper in his ear. "It isn't that bad, is it?"
>"Mhm..." Sweet mutters in a daze. "Is nice..."
>When you're about to lay your head, you notice something poking your hoof from below. Something meaty. You move your hoves a bit, causing Sweet to squirm even harder, trying to lower himself, but you keep him tightly close, rub your hoof down and...
"Oh. Oh gosh" you can feel your own cheeks catching fire. Looks like Sweet got a bit romantic tonight. A lot romantic, judging by the amount of flesh you can touch with your hoof.
>"Yeah..." you hear him mutter and squirm again, trying to free himself from your grasp. Ouch, poor thing, how he must be feeling now...

>>25694458
Tell sweet you wanna know something.
Then our hooves have to go lower to know exactly what he feels like. Our inquisitive mind must know.

>>25694541
This is alright.

I'm guessing we're gonna ask if he likes us.

>>25694458
Is it really fair to do this to him while he's drunk?

>>25694748
Well... we're both drunk right?

>>25694541
>>25694712
>>25694748
>>25694783
>Yet, you can't stop rubbing your hoof veery slowly, very tenderly, causing your friend to squirm and contain moans of excitement. Damn, now you're the one getting turned on! Silly, silly horny pony.
"Hey, Sweet..." you bring your muzzle right up to his ear and whisper, blowing air directly inside. The colt perks up and stops moving. "I need to know something..."
>"Hu- Y-Yes?" Sweet replies, almost panting. You start stroking his length and girth again. "Ugh... G-Grape..."
"Hush hush. Now..." you start putting some effort in it. "I want to know exactly how you feel, right now."
>"I... I feel... hot" Sweet can barely speak as you stroke him. "Hot, and, and..."
"Yes? Keep going" you start increasing speed, giving him a good rub. Damn, this thing is huge, how is he even alive?
>"I... I like it a lot... P-Please don't stop, Grape I..." Sweet keeps talking, but your hoof got the best of him, and he starts panting and moaning wordlessly as you pick up the pace, his back legs starting to coil, his head going back and into your chest.
"Just a little bit more, come on..." you keep whispering on his ear, going so far as to give it a little nibble. Sweet then whinnies softly, and you feel all the heat and tension come out, staining the other side of the bed. "Wow" you can feel each load come out, your own body with an extremely elevated temperature. Too bad you're starting to lose focus due to the wine. "Damn... not now."

(1/2)

>>25694809
>"Haa, haa..." Sweet finally relaxes his body, cuddling against your fur like never before. His warm body feels heavenly next to you, his massive organ now slowly retreating. "I... love you, Grape."
"Love you too, buddy" you say in a completely friendly manner before the wine takes the best of you. "You... clean... tomorrow..."
>"N-No, Grape, please, not like that, I..." you can hear Sweet talk, but your consciousness gives up. Damn, that wine was good...
>However, it all pays off wonderfully the next morning, as you wake up with a splitting headache and about to puke. Again, you just can't control yourself, moaning and kicking, you don't even know where you are or what you did last night after Lorie and Sunny left. You squirm in bed and try to straighten yourself, but it's all futile. You're going to need some strategy here if you want to get out of this bed and start the day.

>>25694820
Try to find the edge of the bed and then try to touch the floor

>>25694820
Ah, that's just cruel. Totally friendzoned after getting him all excited like that.

>>25694917
Nigga has to man up and say it when we're sober.

>>25694886
This. Epic journey to the edge of the bad.

File: trot59.png (29KB, 400x400px) Image search: [Google]

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>>25694886
>>25695150
"Okay... okay, Grape. Don't puke. Do. Not. Puke" you start talking to yourself to keep your head on your shoulders. "I'm going to, to... I'm going to roll veeery slowly..."
>You start rolling over the sheet to the closer side of the bed and then tapping on the side to see exactly where it is. Oh goodness gracious, it's about to come out, you need to hurry up. You start a frantic race tapping the bedside until you reach the floor, and as soon as your four hooves touch the ground, you slowly walk outside of the room. It all breaks loose, you running for the bathroom with last night's nachos welling up in your mouth, disgusting.
>It confuses you a bit, because it's on the opposite side to the usual, but finally, you manage to puke on the toilet, let it all out, and then rest on the floor, soon to clean yourself and take a shower. Your head spins a bit, and the bright bathroom lights don't help, so you just soak in the darkness and dry carefully, to avoid becoming your sheep self.
>Why were you on the other side, though? Oooh, that's right, Sweet's room. Guess in your drunken stupor you went for some much needed cuddles. You go downstairs, probably to find a flustered, funny speaking Sweet preparing breakfast, and as usual, there's your brown coated friend.
"Good morning Sweet!"
>"Good morning" the colt simply replies, turning off the kitchen utensils and leaving a plate of eggs and roasted oats on the table. "There's your breakfast" he then says, walking past you.
"Sweet...?" You try to stop him, but he just keeps walking and leaves home, without giving so much as a look. Weird, what happened last night? Nachos and a bottle of wine are not a good combination, that much you know. You sit at the table and eat while trying to remember, but after you saw Lorie and Sunny off, it's all a blur. Well, the good news is, no royal guard has knocked on your door yet, so maybe today's going to be a less hectic day.

>>25695196
We should try to find merc and then follow him around to see if we can find anything out about his relationship with that mare.
We need a hat and glasses!

>>25695196
We should go check on Sweet, we know he gets all quiet when something's wrong. But if he's already gone into town I guess we should go with >>25695229

>>25695196
We've put Lorie off for a while, isn't it time we helped her with what she asked?

>>25695354
Change my vote to this
>>25695450

>>25695229
>>25695354
>>25695450
>Once you're done with your breakfast, you leave home and go into the back, to the vineyard. Sweet is not there, and neither is the cart. Huh, guess he's gone to do some early shopping. Just how early is it, anyway? The sun is high enough, so that should satiate your thirst for the sleepies.
"Alright, time to get fired up!" You exclaim, and grabbing your gizmos, the Construct Tracker and the magic gun, you set out to your day. Neither of the two progress bars have moved an inch, and their maps remain similar, so that's a great relief for you. Finally, you can cast aside these horrible constructs and do some investigation work.
>Before leaving, you also pick your Mysteries and Hoofclues set. Well, you only picked the hat with magnifying glass incorporated, but that's good enough. Today you're going to follow Merc and see what he does regarding Scarlet Glaze's sister. Oh girl, you can't believe it, your own investigation!
>Although, you also put off Lorie's request for a long time. Maybe you should leave some time today to work with her and investigate where Tess might be hiding all this time. You first fly up high and land on the southern quarter. If you recall correctly, one of the last things you heard before your memory went out was that Sunny would take care of her.
>"Ergh..." the unicorn greets you, as a guest in the beautician's home, her glasses totally out of place, her shirt a puke filled mess. "W-What's the matter, integrals, what...?"
"Uh... is it a bad time?" You ask, trying not to laugh. Lorie IS a weakling with alcohol, she barely had a quarter of a bottle. "I wanted to know if you want to search for Tess with me today."

(1/2)

>>25695638
>"Ugh..." the unicorn coughs and whinnies. "I guess... my body functions are still finding their t-threshold, and I guess yours too so..." Lorie scratches her belly in a very unladylike manner. "How about later today?"
"I'll come pick you up! SUNNY!!" You yell all the way inside the nice house. "TAKE CARE OF LORIE!"
>"Y'ALL DON'T HAVE TO BE SHOUTIN', GOSH DANGIT!" You hear back, and now being satisfied, you reach for your next objective.
>Luckily, before you reach the hospital you meet the unicorn rookie, who's alone but armored. You make sure to hide the cap, wouldn't want him to be believing you're carrying out some sort of... investigation. Eeee!
>"Why yes, we've kept vigil all night, and the construct hasn't attacked!" Merc explains. "We're keeping four guards near the hospital at all times, and the neighbors all have warnings issued. A decent job, if I say so myself..." he polishes his armor chest. Guess you've gotta be thankful to him. "Oh! We also received a bit of good news! Some more guards and a couple of higher ranking officials will arrive soon, to replace corporal Gusty Shores and take control of the guard."
"Finally!" You throw your hooves in the air. "I hope those have the same profile you do, Merc."
>"I'm sure we'll see results, Grape. Now if you'll excuse me, I have duties pending. See you later!" The unicorn starts trotting, and oddly enough, he looks to his sides quite a few times, his pace increasing the farther away he gets from you. Time to start your own mission. What's the best way of tackling this, from the air, from the ground, directly waiting at Scarlet's house...?

That's it for the night, thanks for playing. If I run tomorrow, it might be for a short time. I have to wake up rather early this Wednesday, but nevetherless, I'll try my best to be here for a few updates at least.

>>25695653
Nobody ever looks up, just be careful where your shadow falls.

>>25695653
If he's going to a place with a lot of buildings then the air is the way to go. You can hide on the roof. Though if there are no tall buildings then the ground is the best way to follow him.

I bet we won't even find anything interesting.

>>25695653
Follow him on hoof until he gets to wherever he's heading, then we can hide on any nearby roofs.

>>25613430

night bump

>>25696384
now wouldn't that be interesting

>>25697702

>>25701652

I'm afraid I won't be able to run tonight, but I will drop a single update so there's something to comment and vote on until tomorrow, when I will definitely, 100% minus QM fiat guaranteed run a nice session.

>>25703497
Does Sweet have any guy friends we know of?

>>25704279
He's in good spirits with a lot of people, business owners that they serve, but none close enough to visit frequently and have parties and huggles with.

>>25702376

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50KB, 400x400px

>>25695724
>>25695738
>>25696384
>>25697242
>>25700319
>You decide to take an strategic approach to your task, using the tall buildings to fly over and hide in the clouds and behind the tall rooftops. Your magnifying glass actually works pretty well, and you follow Merc across the streets, the unicorn seemingly taking a random path with a lot of turns.
>At some point, he reaches the southern end of downtown, connecting with the southern quarter. The houses in this section are lower, so you glide down with your huge hat and start walking behind, taking to the skies ever so often. Damn, Merc looks behind his back a lot, almost as if he expected to be followed. Suspicious...
>Mercury decides to enter a store, and you stay behind and observe through the large expositor glass. It actually is a bagel shop, a croissanterie. It certainly is a good point in the morning for a snack, but you notice Merc picks up not one, but two breakfasts, and he doesn't eat any of them immediately, rather carrying them with his magic. The unicorn turns towards the lovely houses of the southern area, and you follow him from a distance.
>"Miss! Miss!" Suddenly, a noise breaks on your back, and you turn around to find Mishmash, the little filly construct, running towards you with her monstruous tail raising some looks around her. On her front legs rest s a crude wooden sign with even more inept letters written on it: 'FREE HUGZ'.
"O-Oh? Me?"
>"Yes, miss! Free hugs, free!!" The filly throws the sign away and extends her forelegs. Looking behind you, you can see almost in slow motion as Merc has caught wind of the noise and is turning around. He will see you in a matter of seconds if you stand there, but on the other hoof, if you don't hug the filly, she might get sad. And you know what happens when a pony with a massive dragon tail gets sad.

As I said, I'll be back tomorrow for a full session, have this as a small compensation.

>>25705999
Sick Mishmash on Merc and hide behind her.

>>25706226
That's right, tell her that Merc is in desperate need of hugglez and it would be wrong of you to keep her from him!

Oh, and tell her not to mention us to him because it could hurt his pride as a stallion for not being able to get hugglez on his own.

>>25706706
But d owe have time to pull that off? Maybe if we quickly fly behind her tail first.

>>25705999
One: Omigoshthat'ssopreciousIcan'teven-hngggggg!?

Two: Why?

>>25705999
Try to hug her and hide behind her dragon tail.

who would pay for hugs

>>25708412

>>25711999

>>25712572

>>25713411

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64KB, 400x400px

>>25706226
>>25706706
>>25707427
>>25707988
>>25709273
>>25710975
>Free hugs? Who would even pay for hugs? Although, you read that one magazine about special cuddle services in the slums of Las Pegasus... Nevermind, you have an emergency to take care of!
"Ayayayayay, come here!!" You grab Mash and, with a swift motion, turn around her so that her massive tail gets in the way between you and Merc. "Alright, I'll hug you, but just a quick one, okay? I'm pretty busy!"
>"That's fine too, it's free!" The filly repeats, lunging for your chest with dedication, giving you a soft, fluffy filly hug that last just a few seconds. This still leaves you with a problem to solve, what with Merc looking your way and all. Wait, that's it!
"You know what? You should turn around and ask Mercury for a hug. He's the royal guard behind you" you whisper in the filly's ear, and before she turns, you get a hold of her shoulders gendly. "Wait! But don't tell him I said anything! His proudy pride as a stallion wouldn't be able to take it!" You end with a shushing motion and a wink, hoof in mouth, causing the filly to giggle and nod.
>Mash turns around and starts running straight for Merc, and your plan works as intended. Since there's a straight line between both of you, being covered by the little pony's monstruous tail, Merc's field of vision doesn't register anything behind that tail. Your shaky cover works like a charm, and Mash doesn't even ask before giving Merc one heck of a hug, that the colt reciprocates sweetly. You take to the clouds and wait inside a fluffy one while Merc parts ways.

(1/2)

>>25715150
"You just got played like a bongo, heh heh..." you rub your hooves together, scooting with your wings while your body stays inside the cloud. Now it would be the time to sip on your pipe, but you left that home. "Dammit... oh!" You grab a tiny piece of cloud and, with your pega magics, shape it into the form of a pipe. "This will do... mmm, mint flavored cloud!"
>Not wanting to risk your position by flying among such low buildings, you keep following on the ground. However, as soon as you enter the south quarter, a very high pitched, very ecstatic voice starts waking everything in a fifty mile radius up.
>"EEEEEE! There she is, there she is!" It's none other than your number one fan, Angler Seas, still wearing homemade merchandise, and to make it even better, two other mares with similar paraphernalia are following her, running full speed towards you. "It's Gra...!" Oh shite.

>>25715162
Where are they in relation to us and Merc and what are the surroundings like?

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44KB, 400x400px

>>25715261

>>25715339
Tackle her so we land behind the house and she's unable to finish that sentence.

>>25715162
How? Where did they come from? How do they even recognize us? Our disguise is perfect!

We should get behind that building and try to get rid of them quickly. Say we're really busy right now and can't talk. We'll see them later.

>>25715162
Go give them autographs or something.

>>25715376
>>25715384
>>25715559
>"...p..."
>You don't let her finish. Your body flies across the street with a single, powerful leap, and your hoof lands right in Angie's muzzle, covering her and also causing you both to roll past the street and into the adjacent corner, away from Merc's sight.
"Shhh! Not now, Angie!" You land atop the mare and keep your hoof in her muzzle. "How did you even find me!? My disguise was perfect!"
>"Really?" Another mare, a pink one, replies. "Angie just said you had a bubble butt, so we were guiding ourselves on that."
"D-Do not!"
>"I didn't say that!" Angie suddenly pulls your hoof off her mouth, red as a tomato. "...Not exactly."
"Angie!"
>"I'm sorry!"
>"Grape, Grape!" The two mares walk up to you and show you their member club cards. "We're part of your fan club now too! Will you be able to tell us your adventures one day?"
"What? S-Sure!" You reply, taking a quick peek around the corner. Merc seems to be walking away. Lucky blunder he's too caught up not to investigate the jarring noise. "But that will have to be another day, girls. I'll give you some autographs if you want, but let me be on my way, I'm in the middle of something important."
>" "What is it!?" " All three mares ask at the same time, with incredible voices.
"Something sneaky!" You hiss heavily and give the three your signature stare of 'you dun done goofed now, girl'. Another quick peek confirms you're about to lose Merc in the distance.
>"Oooh, sneeeaky" the third mare, a green unicorn with peach mane, rolls her eyes. "Then, can we book you for a meeting? We and the other members would be incredibly happy to have you in our first meeting ever!" The unicorn replies, bringing forth a notebook with her magic and giving you such cute pony eyes and smiles, just like Angie and the other mare.
"T-The other...?"

>>25715339
Angie, want to be the Trottson to our Hooves?

>>25715581
Sure thing, we'd love to come!

>>25715581
Sure, let's have a meeting tomorrow, we shouldn't be doing anything tomorrow.

>>25715581
Well then be sure to gather as many ponies you can tomorrow.

>>25715583
>>25715613
>>25715621
>>25715706
>You think about your current plans. You have today full, but tomorrow... there shouldn't be any problem with spending some time with admirers tomorrow!
"Alright, do you have a date for the meeting? Because tomorrow I'm free to go. Gather everypony you can."
>"Tomorrow? Hmm..." the unicorn puts the pen in her muzzle. "We were going to do it the day after... but tomorrow's fine, too!" She looks at the others, and they nod back. "Alright, tomorrow at lunch! We'll invite you to eat and have some fun!" The pony claps her dainty little hoofsies together with finesse.
>[OBJECTIVE ADDED: meet your fanclub][LIMIT: tomorrow at lunchtime]
"Alright, so..." you look back into the main street. Merc has disappeared from your sights. "Dammit! I lost him" you look down and notice you're still standing on Angie, who doesn't seem to complain. "Angie! I need you to help."
>"M-Me!?" The orange pony fluffles her cheeks.

(1/2)

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>>25715769
"Yeah! Run down main street and catch up with a unicorn royal guard carrying two bags of food. Stop him, stall him a bit, but don't you ever, EVER, mention me, okay?" You tell the mare all this while placing your hooves in her shoulders and looking at her with that look, that one special look that you know wins everyone over, the mares and the stallions. "You'll be the Trottson to my Sherclop, so to speak."
>"I, oh, er..." Angie blushes, looks at her friends, who're encouraging her no less, and then back at you. "Okay! I'll do my best for you, Grape!" Without hesitation, Angie breaks on a run towards Merc while the other ponies say their goodbyes and leave the way they came.
>Angie's distraction works, actually, and with some risky high flying you reach Merc, giving the orange mare a signal from where only she can see it. Next, you go back on the ground and turn the corner...
>...to find yourself in the middle of a massive mob, a towering gun shining toppled in the horizon.
>"Oh dear, oh dear!" Mayor Scotch Case yells from atop the large cannon, clinging to the front chair. "I'm sorry, Miss Milford, are you sure you can deal with this on your own?"
>"Of all the...!" You hear the agitated voice of the minotaur archivist, trying to lift the entire cannon herself "...damn times to... break a wheel... *huff*!" The crowd is massive, including pegasi and griffons flying around, unsure of what to do. You've already lost Merc once, and you can barely see him on the other side. Risk taking a detour around this pony cloud or try to cross somehow?

Well, downtime happened. I'm sorry everyone, you were fantastic for that short time playing. I'll be back tomorrow.

maybe the pegasus here should fly up and grab the rim of the cannon and try to pull it while the earth and unicorn ponies help the archivist. NOW let's go after merc!

>>25716849
Yeah, this sounds like good course of action.

>>25715792
I bet Grape is just about getting sick of this. Finally get's the chance to be all sneaky-detective like and it's one thing after another.

Page 10 bump.

Have a good night.

>>25720937

>>25721770

>>25722308

>>25723057

>>25716849
>>25717025
>>25717839
>Seriously!? The one time you can finally let your detective abilities shine, and you just keep getting slapped, one after the other. You try to find a sneaky way through, but at this rate, it's going to take you longer than doing a lap around the entire town.
"Uh, shouldn't you, like... help, and stuff?" You ask some of the ponies in the crowd, who watch as the minotaur struggles on her own.
>"We were going to help!" A stallion points out. "But Hollis started taking it personally, and you know how she gets about it!"
"Oh for the love of grape juice..." you manage to walk up to the front with confidence. "Hey, Hollis! Stop being ridiculous, will you? Just ask for help!"
>Your yelling seems to encourage a couple other ponies to reply with cheers. The minotaur puffs her cheeks and tries to say something, but the massive weight of the cannon starts taking a toll, so she simply gives you a flustered look and turns back to her mission.
"That's it. I'm done" with a flat face, you start bossing ponies around, asking anyone capable to help Mollis. Earth ponies and unicorns push on the ground, while pegasi pull the edges of the cannon to the side just long enough to put it on a support. "Now I just hope you have a replacement wheel."
>"Oh, don't worry my dear, there are a few at..." you don't even wait for the mayor's thanks, his words ringing faintly in the distance as you fly like never before, until you finally catch sight of Merc. He's at the back of someone's house, talking with another pony peeking atop the hedges. Her colors and mane suggest she's Scarlet Glaze's sister, Summer.
>Merc enters the house, and both ponies reappear on the back garden, while you stare at them from the roof of a nearby home. They sit in the grass, equal distance from all sides of the hedge and looking in the direction of the house. You can't hear what they're saying, so you might want to get closer to listen, or discard it since it might be a dangerous idea.

>>25724666
Get closer, if they're in the backyard we can hide in the shrubs.

>>25724700
This or hide atop the roof.

Based purely on what we know of Merc I think he's courting her very gentlemanly like. I hope so anyway, I'd hate for the report back to be "He's banging your sister."

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>>25724700
>>25724825
>This is going to get risky, but you really can't hear unless you're close enough. In the Scarlets' garden, you can see a few nice pieces of shrubbery and other greens. Now, if you can only get there without being heard or seen...
>Flapping your wings slowly, trying to not generate a lot of air, you approach the vicinity of the hedges. The only options are the shrubs or the house's rooftop, but the ponies are looking straight in that direction, so that only leaves you the greenery. With careful flight, as much as your skills allow, you descend in the middle of a few bushes, camouflaging yourself nicely. From here, you can listen to the conversation the youngsters are having.
>"Thanks for visiting so often, Mercury" the mare speaks with a dainty voice. She looks lean and elegant, and you sort of feel that you want to protect her smile. "This cold got the best of me."
>"Not a problem, Summer" Merc simply replies. Even though you're watching from their backs, you can clearly see him look the other way, his armor now laying by his side.
>"I, er..." The mare starts again, but loses her temper at the last second. "N-Nice day, right?"
>"Yeah, heh..." Merc starts slowly swaying to his sides, and this absolutely idle, absolutely cutest back and forth continues under your vigilant eye.
"Seriously... this is it?" After a few minutes of idle tiny horse frolicking, you're starting to get a bit pissed. Or not, because Merc is your friend, and you enjoy him having fun in these ways, but it's also rather frustrating. Before you realize, the excitement gets the best of you and you rustle your wings, causing the entire bush to shake.
>"Halt! Who goes there!?" With the speed of lightning, neigh, even more, Merc dons his armor in ways you wouldn't believe possible, and lights up his horn's tip with magic, looking around in the direction of the bushes, searching for you. Oh ponysakes, you're just not that good a detective it seems.

>>25725015
How visible are we?

>>25725015
Mistakes were made. Don't say anything and maybe they'll think that it was the wind.
If he DOESN'T think it's the wind yell out in a husky voice "put your hoof around her you chump!"

>>25725062
>You would have by now been called out if Merc or Summer would knew exactly where you were, but fortunately, your body is in the middle of a few patches of dense bushes, and the ponies don't know your exact position, only that something made a rustling noise in the garden.

>>25725063
I'd rather we stay quiet.

>>25725207
That's why I said "don't say anything" as the first plan anon.

>>25725063
>>25725207
>>25725237
>Damn, this is going to get out of hoof the second you reveal yourself. Your body stands perfectly still and no other sound is made while Merc scans the horizon without retreating from Summer's vicinity. A few moments pass and...
>"Huh... I guess it was the wind" the unicorn comments in a very stereotypical fashion, before taking his armor off again. Oh, royal guards, all of you have some glaring faults that just come with the training. "Sorry for scaring you, Summer, I thought..."
>"Oh no no, that's fine!" The mare replies as Merc takes his armor off and sits again. "I think you were very ready for that, it was impressive!"
>"O-Oh! Thank you!" The colt laughs awkwardly. Summer laughs awkwardly, you're about to laugh awkwardly. This is embarrassing, it's so totally clear she wants him, if you had a friend that liked you in a romantic way you'd notice in the spot.
>Time flies as the ponies eat and talk about their jobs, with a passing mention to your mission in the hospital area. Seems like nothing new has come off that, but the construct is still there, dammit. At some point, Summer starts leaning on Merc's shoulder, making sure to nuzzle his neck for a fraction of a second before settling, causing the colt to stand completely straight and not move a muscle, except his wildly waggling tail. Adorable.
>Eventually, Merc decides to leave with hurried excuses about duty and honor, as if he were really thinking about that. Summer walks him off and you finally get out of the bushes. Well, that was... interesting, for the lack of a better word. You respect Mercury and all, but that was a bit painful to watch.
>Now, you should inform Scarlet Glaze of your findings as soon as possible. He's probably working at the donut shop at this hour, although you can also postpone it for later, or try to find more information, although without proper tact that would mean you'd reveal your mission.

>>25725287
It can wait for later. We were supposed to help Lorie with something. So let's go to Lories and see what that silly pony is up to.

>>25725287
Let's get on to the donut shop. Been a while since we've had a good donut... let's get a dozen to bring back home.

>>25725327
Want to give Lorie a bit longer to recover?

>>25725529
sure

>>25725327
>>25725329
>>25725529
>>25725541
"Guess there's no need to rush now" you talk to yourself while idly flying around the streets of southern Trottingham, your oversized hat still stop your head. You suddenly remember you had an appointment with Lorie, and knowing that Sunny's house is close, you decide to pay a visit.
>Luckily, the magenta unicorn hasn't left the beautician's home, both ponies now endearingly sitting around a white table, papers and pens scattered all over. Both the mare's faces look seriously concentrated, but Sunny breaks it immediately once you gracefully land in her lawn.
>"Grape? Dear me..." she eyes you with a strange face. "D-Do you know you still have your game hat on...? I mean, I understand one might forget some things after waking up with a hangover, but..."
"Huh? Oh, this!" You quickly grab the hat with your wing. "Don't worry, it was part of something else. How are you holding up, Lorie?"
>"My bodily functions have mostly returned to normal" the mare takes her glasses off, rubs her eyes and puts them back on to look at you. "But it is about thirty percent early, isn't it? Eager to go?"
>"Wait, what?" Sunny suddenly jumps in place. "Don't go just yet! We're not done!"

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>>25725611
"Done with what?"
>"Lorie is...!" Sunny starts yelling, then calms down and blushes. "She's helping me with math."
>You peer at the sheets and notice there's quite a few formulas and basic exercises.
>"I..." Sunny covers her eyes and waggles around. "I never passed math in school! I simply left when I got my cutie mark!"
"Ooh... Early talent?" You ask, and your friend nods.
>"I'm sorry to be a bother after asking you so many times, but could we wait until this afternoon? Exactly at..."
"No need for that, Lorie, if that's important to Sunny then I'll wait, that's what we agreed" you raise a hoof and nod, putting your hat back on. "I'll be back later, good luck with those numbers!"
>Since you're given a few more hours until your mission with Lorie starts, you decide to head to the donut shop, grab a dozen and tell Scarlet what you've found. Two questions are important here: what kind of donuts do you want, and how are you going to word your findings?

>>25725618
Buy some chocolate and glazed donuts. Those are good. Ask if you can talk to him in an office or behind some kind of closed door. Then begin your tale of how you followed merc around and what he and his sister talked about.

>>25725618
They're just having little awkward dates. Nothing too serious. He seems alright.

>>25725659
>>25725911
>You finally arrive at the donut shop, with all your glorious hat glory still on, and without a hint of shame you walk up to Scarlet Glaze and get a box of donuts, chocolate and glazed. You can have these with Sweet or Lorie later.
"If it's not asking too much" you whisper in the stallion's ear next. "I'd like to talk with you. In private."
>Scarlet nods, knowingly, and seeing as you're the last customer, closes the shop for a while, allowing you to enter his kitchen, where all the ingredients to prepare fabulous donuts are ready.
>You take your time telling the stallion everything you found out about Merc and his sister, also making sure to tell him what you think it's going on, and how so far nothing has happened, other than friends being silly and in love. At the end of your monologue, the red pony sits on the floor and contemplates the ceiling with a lot of interest.
>"I see..." he finally mutters. "So it's my sister's thing as much as the lad's."
"Yes. Look, Scarlet" you take a step forward. "I know you don't talk with other ponies too much, but I truly believe there's nothing wrong with those two getting to know each other. I think you should maybe talk with Merc, know him better, and you'll see what a nice colt he is."

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>>25725932
>"Hmm... I might have to. Thank you, Grape" Scarlet gets up, and starts looking for something in his pockets while you congratulate yourself mentally. Another case closed for the greatest detective in Trottingham.
>[OBJECTIVE CLEARED: investigate Mercury Helm's and Scarlet Summer's relationship]
>Once you're done clearing the objective off your mental list, you look back and notice Scarlet is holding something in front of you. A nice card with his face engraved and the letters '1 FAVOR' in it.
>"This is something I made a while ago. I owe you one for this, Grape, so please call me whenever you need something important" the stallion gets extremely close to you, giving you a dead cold stare. "Literally anything."
"O-Okay... I don't think you need a card just for that."
>"I know, I'm trying to spend them" Scarlet lowers his head in shame.
>Now that you've completed your morning task, what should you do? You're carrying a large hat, a box of donuts and the little card with you, and it's just about lunch time.

>>25725950
Go back to Sweet and Lorie to share the donuts.

>>25725950
Eat a donut or two so that empty belly has something to keep it going. Let's go to the spa and ask bubbles why mish mash is walking around the city giving free hugs to everyone. was that her idea or what?

>>25725950
Is it about time to head back to Sunny's place?

>>25725974
How about we go back to Sunny's and start prodding a little about Bubbles? Like How long she's worked for her, and stuff like that. Also ask if she's really that lewd or is it mostly just act?

>>25726012
alright. but I really wanted to know why mish mash was walking around everywhere.

>>25726047
Perhaps she's collecting love and bringing it back to Bubbles somehow? We'll be sure to swing by there eventually.

>>25725973
>>25725974
>>25726001
>>25726012
>First, you decide to eat a couple of donuts, to replenish your strength and adorableness. Then you take to the skies and go home to drop everything and eat with Sweet. You find the colt in the kitchen, preparing his own lunch, and offer him the donuts instead.
>"Aw, you just came in a bit too late" he replies, looking a bit more like his usual self. At least he's smiling and looking into your eyes, but... yeah, the spark is not there. "But I'll take a couple, if you don't mind."
"Of course not, silly!" You leave the box and help your friend make your lunch, then eat with him and ask about his day. Seems like he bought quite a few groceries, and spent some time with some friends of his. More like ponies he know, than actual friends. "Listen, Sweet... I kind of have to be out this evening, but I'll get home tonight, okay?"
>Your friend understands, and once you're done eating you grab what's left and head back to Sunny's house. However, crossing the spa's doors shows you a brief image of Mishmash and Bubbles talking at the door, and you feel compelled to stop. There's something you want to find out.
"Bubbles, hey, Bubbles!" You trot up to the mare, who waves her hoof lazily. "Hi Mash, is the round of hugs over?"
>"Yep, but I can give you another one if you need it!" The filly extends her front legs for you again, and you wouldn't like to say no to a thing this cute. At least without the worry of an important task around it.
>"She's really improved over the past couple of days" Bubbles comments, watching you both hug each other. "I told her to do this so that she would gather up some courage."

(1/2)

>>25726284
"So the free hugs thing was your idea? What about the soap samples and all that?"
>"Oh, just, you know, getting in touch with my inner foal, and all that, hahahaha...!" Sunny starts rubbing her neck furiously, then turns around and gets inside at unseen speed. "Sorry, I'm busy now!" Mishmash follows her after saying her goodbye, and you head for Sunny's home.
>You have another nice chat while finishing the donuts over coffee, listening how Sunny struggles with numbers and math, and then you change the subject to her boss:
"So how long have you known Bubbles for? Do you really enjoy working for her?"
>"Of course I do, don't be ridiculous!" The mare snorts and sips on her coffee. "I came to Trottingham about three years ago, and she gave me a job immediately. She's a really sweet, caring pony... when she controls herself."
"Yeah, about that... is she actually, you know" you look at the sides, trying to find something polite to say, but nothing really comes up, "that much of a temptress? Or is it just an act?"
>"T-That's certainly her personality, I can assure you t-that" Sunny replies, and you notice she jitters a bit, her cheeks take on a healthy red and the cup in her hooves shakes slightly.
>"Grape, if you're ready to go, I'll be happy to be on our way as well" Lorie suddenly interrupts, her eyes locked to the bottom of her cup. She doesn't even seem to be paying attention to your conversation with Sunny. "I have a certain plan of action, so before we start, is there anything or anypony you'd like to have by your side?"

That will be all for tonight, I'll be back tomorrow at the same hour!

>>25726298
The only ponies that come to mind is Sweet and Merc, or Sunny if she feels like it.

bumpo

>>25726298
Sunny? Would you like to come with us?

>>25730318

>>25731164

>>25732012

>>25727272
>>25729323
"Well, my ovbious picks would be Sweet or Merc..." you state out loud. "But I think they're both quite busy in their own ways" you conclude. Merc is still on the trail of that hospital based construct, and Sweet didn't seem in the mood to go out adventuring. Still... "How about you, Sunny? Would you like to help us look for Tess?"
>"Me? Of course, I'll be happy to help!" the earth pony fluffs her chest accordingly. "What's the plan?"
>"Let's see" Lorie brings out a piece of paper and starts scribbling down on it with her magic. "There are several choices of where Tess might be hiding. The first one, and by far the least likely, would be a hotel in town."
"Pffft! Hah!" You neigh at the open skies. "Like she would do that."
>"But she's been in town before, Grape" Sunny points out. "She even eats at the pizza parlor."
>"Exactly, so while improbable, it's a choice. Tess is suffering from brain and emotional problems, and on top of that, she might be using a spell to disguise herself" Lorie asserts with a smile. "How do you like them unicorns?"
"Honestly, it just makes it more complicated" you rub your hooves across your face. "I haven't seen Tess ever trying to disguise herself, I think she's too far gone for that."

(1/2)

>>25733747
>"In that case, my second option, the most likely" the unicorn turns her neck down sharply and starts writing again. "Remember the cave where the first construct was?"
>"The candy monster...?" Sunny starts shivering. "I sure do."
"You think she might be hiding there?" You recline in your chair. "That sounds more like it, actually."
>"Yes, the mining systems are complicated and extend all over the island" Lorie bobs her head. "I also hope it doesn't have to come to the third option..."
"Which is...?"
>The unicorn puffs her cheeks and looks at you with a concerned face.
>"We'd have to get deep into the forest."
>Now both you and Sunny shake in your seats. The deep end of the Trottingham Forest, abandoned by all weather crews, never growing but never entirely safe. Legends tell of ancient ruins, timberwolves and never before seen monsters. That's the worst news you've heard in a while.
>"So..." Lorie finally picks up the conversation after a minute of silence. "Where should we head to?"

>>25733751
We could tell the guards about the hotel possibility since they would be able to search multiple locations more effectively and we can head to the mine.

>>25733751
Maybe we should check the forest when we have a bit more horsepower, know what I mean?

>>25733798
>>25733896
>You give each option a second round of thought, deliberating with your friends. There's only one hotel in Trottingham, and it's close enough to the main areas being patrolled by the royal guard that you feel you could leave the task up to them. Any pony that might look shady or crafty around those parts should be profiled.
>"Honestly, I just don't feel right going into the deep end of the forest, us three..." Sunny says next.
"Me neither" you look up to Lorie. "We should leave that for when there's less commotion in town and more reinforcements" you're reminded that Mercury said something about more royal guards arriving soon, so hopefully you can count on that.
>"Alright, that leaves us with the option of the mines" the unicorn points out. "I feel like it's the right one to check as well, but before that, should we inform the guards about the hotel?"
"I'll do that, you prepare some provisions before we get this trip underway!" Your wings aching to get into the action, you take flight and reach the vicinity of the medical center, where you find corporal Rainbow Way, not very intelligently trying to drink from his water gun.
>"The hotel? It really isn't that far away from here..." the pony scratches the little tuft on his chin and avoids your stern eyes. "I-I'll get somepony on that, I hope..."

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>>25734194
"Please do. Heck, you could ask Merc and he would do it all himself!" You brush the stallion's muzzle with your wing, causing him to go crosseyed for a moment. "Good job so far, don't let us all down!" With a reassuring smile, you make the trip back to Sunny's home.
>"I packed some yummies, band-aids and other medical stuff, and water" the mare explains as she shows you a rather loaded pair of saddlebags. "I didn't have rope, but Lorie tells me she's got at her cabin, so..."
>With everything set, your tracker and hoof gun properly adjusted and a lot of daytime to burn, you all trot up to Lorie's cabin, at the edge of the forest, and the unicorn grabs some rope, lanterns and her trusty notepad. You all start walking down the same path from that fateful Nightmare Night, where it all began.
>"This sure brings me memories..." Sunny idly comments while you reach the steep hill atop which the entrance to the mines is. Having more time than before, and knowing the route, you explore around and find a different entrance on the ground in the middle of the nearby trees, covered with rocks.
"Huh, weird, why is this entrance covered?" You try to peek at the narrow tunnel, but the rocks are covering it all. "What do you think, girls?"
>"The fact that this entrance is closer to the ground might take us to a different route" Lorie pushes her glasses up. "Honestly, I don't know what the rocks are for, but we know the entrance atop the hill leads to a maze of mine shafts."
>"I think, if we push a bit, we can clear this here entrance" Sunny adds. "We can take it safe, explore the other mines, or try to enter this one, isn't it exciting?"

>>25734205
Check the tracker to see if it's found the location of the second construct.

>>25734205
Might as well enter enter this one. Who knows what interesting things we might find.

>>25734205
If these rocks were placed deliberately that means whoever placed them either wanted to keep other ponies out or keep something else in. That means that whatever's down there is worth investigating.

>>25734241
>>25734243
>>25734260
"It sure is..." you tap your chin and look back and forth between the not so distant peak of the hill, where the entrance you know is, and this newly discovered hole in the middle of nowhere. Checking your Construct Tracker, you notice only the lower bar has gone up by just a tiny little bit, and both maps give an interrogation sign now. "Huh."
>"I'm afraid the range on the tracker isn't what I'd like" Lorie comments. "At least we know there are no constructs nearby."
"That could be a bad thing, could mean Tess is nowhere near..." you examine the rocks anew. From the distant bottom of the shaft you believe hearing something with your rather sensitive ears. "Alright, we're going in."
>"Alright!" Sunny, oddly enough, is pumped up so she begins to move rocks apart with care.
>"Grape, are you sure?" Lorie taps your shoulder from the back. "If this entrance was caved in on purpose, you know what that could mean?"
"That either they didn't want anypony to enter... or nothing else to come out" you meet the unicorn's gaze. "I think I heard something down there, Lorie, and I'm not scared to check it out."
>You three set to move rocks for a while, but once you realize it's going to be night before you're done, a simple blast of your hoof gun does the rest, Lorie refilling you immediately afterwards. Using the rope intelligently, you descend the incline, not too steep but definitely going down at a nice pace.
>You arrive at a wide tunnel, oddly carved, with many marks and chunks missing here and there. Your lanterns allow you to see one of the ends is caved in, so you take the other one, which opens into a larger cavern, still horribly shaped.
"What kind of mining technique is this?" You ask.
>"None that I know of. There must have been plenty of jewels down here, maybe" Lorie shrugs. In that moment, you all hear a small, crunchy sound coming from the opposite end of the room, too far away from you to line it up on the lanterns. "What was that?"

>>25734501
How high is the ceiling?

>>25734501
Does the crunching sound a bit like chewing?
If it doesn't then let's go get closer and try to figure out what it is.

>>25734574
>>25734583
>You take a look up, and cannot ascertain just how high the ceiling is, your keen eyes unable to penetrate the dark. With the lantern on your mouth, you fly slowly up, your friends eyeing you without moving, and notice it's at least ten pony heights, a rather impressing dome.
>"What are you doing, you crazy mare?" Sunny whispers once you come down.
"I want to see what size could fit for something that crushes rock and lurks in the distance" you reply, flat voiced, giving the earth pony goosebumps.
>"Let's move carefully" Lorie suggests, and you all find a wall and start moving along.
>"What does it sound to you, girls?" Sunny asks after a while. The perimeter of the vast cavern doesn't seem to end, and the solitary crunch keeps grinding on all of your ears. It almost sounds like...
"Chewing" you, at the front of the column, suddenly stop. "Girls, what if..."
>"D-D-Dragon?" Sunny's lantern starts shaking wildly on her mouth, and Lorie peeks from behind.
>"Perhaps we shouldn't take such a carefree approach" the unicorn replies, her glasses giving an evil glint in the darkness. "But I don't see another exit either... practically speaking, this sort of construction is too improbable for a pony or griffon mine. It almost looks more like..."
"Like a lair, yes" you wipe the cold sweat off your forehead. You just fell right into it, didn't you? The odd cut on the walls, the exaggerated dimensions of the cave... There's just one thing that doesn't seem right to you, and that's the crunching sound. It doesn't sound like it's coming from something big. You don't hear anything else, or feel a huge presence in this cave. This is really odd.