NiktoBarada

"Do any of those creatures have their own significant language as well? I never really thought about that, or are they all just dialects of Ponish? I wouldn't entirely be comfortable with calling it Ponish in that case." Loose Cannon asked. "I've traveled quite a bit, doing field research." T Twister replied, "Ponies have no trouble understanding griffins, dragons, diamond dogs, and hippogrifs. The languages they speak are essentially ours. Possibly a side effect of us having an immortal ruler. The only ones that sound different are the yaks, but they use the same words with a different grammar. Probably because they were isolated for so long. Ponish from a thousand years ago seems to been the same as now - the ponies of the Crystal Empire sound no different than anyone else. Creatures from more isolated realms - like the Zebras, and the isles of Neighpon and the Fillypines - still have their own. It's like my instructors said : 'if there are many different languages, they will all eventually become one. If there is one language, it will eventually split into many.'" She noted what Ice Storm said. "So you learned what your special talent was the hard way ? That - could be rough. Your special talent could've been fire control, and having to find out by being caught in a forest fire or something."

"Everypony has to start somewhere." T Twister replied with a shrug, "One of the things you need to be a teacher is to know the subject better than your students. But I do believe the title 'Sensei' takes a few decades to earn." "Ah. CYR - 'Cover Your Rump.' A very common - and rather annoying - practice." T Twister mused to herself, "You might be able to do a job very well, but if hiring you means spending a few extra bits, they won't !" "Yes. I'm a linguist." T Twister replied, "I work with artifacts because they're the steadiest source of novel languages to study - just about every creature in modern Equestria speaks Ponish, or a variant of it. I've been dealing with artifacts most of my life - dad sometimes imports a few trinkets with 'peculiar' traits. And considering how dangerous some artifacts can be, keeping them out of circulation seems a very good idea !" About then Commander Ice Storm came in. T Twister gave her a quick wing salute. "Ah yeah. Those sandstorms ! Been caught in them a few times too many." T Twister stated, as she recalled a few excursions she and her cousins faced when they were foals.

It was only a few minutes before another pony came in. She was an Earthpony mare, with an orange coat, red mane and tail, a Cutie mark of a horseshoe on fire, and milky white eyes. "Yo, um hey you're here too, Tongue Twister right?" Loose walked in introducing herself. "Seems pretty cool here to me. I was expecting maybe, dark colours, maybe... well, I'm still expecting it because, I can't see colour to satisfy that expectation right?" "Yes. I'm Tongue Twister. And you're Loose Cannon, if I recall. I remember you from the meeting." she replied, "You said something like 'no one is meaningless', and 'we need to fight so those that can't won't have to'. Very civic minded. Probably why you received one of those enchanted recruitment letters like I did. The deserts around Las Pegasus can get surprisingly cool at night. They painted this place in neutral grays, for easy maintenance I'd suppose."

Ice Storm's Casino, the bar : "Don't see you out this way too often cuz !" Icepick (a sand colored pegasus stallion) said to Tongue Twister, "What brought you out ? Checking up on one of your dad's money-making ventures again ?" "No. Not this time." she replied, "They're considering downsizing back at the Manehattan museum. So I got in on the ground floor of something out here before things went pear shaped back home." "Bogus ! The MMNH not need translators of ancient artifacts anymore ?" "They do. It's just that they can get three translator interns from the college for what they pay me." "Ah." "So, this is the newest casino. Kind of ice themed." "Yeah ! Great place ! Overcast got her first real job as a dealer at the poker tables last week !" "Sweet !" "So, how things at your new job ?" "Reminds me of a joke." Tongue Twister replied, "An ice goddess, an invincible warrior, a Shadow Lord and a mortal walk into a bar. The staff set up a table for three." Tongue Twister leaves the table and starts walking away. "Wait, what ?" Icepick replies, "Was that a joke ? Where's the punchline ?" "I said it reminded me of a joke." she replied, "I never claimed it was a good one." Icepick watched her leave, greatly confused. "TT always was a little off." he thought to himself as he finished the drink she left behind, "Shady Dealer should have never married a unicorn !" TT entered the base, deep in thought. -- -- Having devised something that vaguely resembled a plan, T Twister went to the base's locker room to stow her bags. She'd recently received a care package from her parents in Canterlot - homemade snacks, and a magazine from her father. Tales Of The Almost Unbelievable, Issue # 472. With stories with titles like 'The Human That Fell Into The Sky', 'Hayburger Zombies', 'How a Street Thug Beat A God', and 'Orange Frogs and Poodle Teacups' "I don't know where dad finds these things, but they're always a hoot !" she chuckled to herself as she put it in her bag. "Okay you two - no funny business until I get back !" she stated to Ace and Deuces. Ace gave her a salute, while Deuces sort of half saluted, yawned, then went back to sleep. T Twister went to the gym for yet more training (alongside the rest of the 'fodder'), and waited for someone to show up.

Tongue Twister was lounging in a cafe in Las Pegasus, having returned from an unexpectedly successful trip. She managed to acquire a matched pair of memory pearls, and her dad and his associates were crafting the Memory Vault for her. She had also picked up some Hearths Warming gifts - a small cask of beer from Hoofenheim for mom (she used to work in the casinos, and they always had The Good Stuff), and some Polka albums for dad (she loves the big goof dearly, but his tastes in music were, well .... ) She looked around and the busy opulence around her. "Hard to believe mom grew up here." "Long time no see, cousin !" a pegasus stallion stated. "Looking good Crowbar !" TT replied, "How's Uncle Legbreaker doing ?". "Same as always." he replied, "So, what brings you to town ? Las Pegasus has never been your style." "Business. Been trying to expand my vocational abilities." Crowbar looked around furtively. "Now may not be a good time for you to be here." "Oh ? What's going on ?" "Some new casino moved in. We may have to have a talk with them, to make sure they're not going to muscle in on our territory." TT held her breath to not snort her iced tea out her nose - Crowbar was talking about Ice Storm's place ! "The folks there have no intention of muscling in on anybody." TT replied quietly, looking about sneakily. "Really ? How would you know that ?" "I have my sources." she replied, "Trust me - it's just some rich stallion trying to get richer without anyone noticing." Crowbar suspected his cousin was shading the truth a bit, but knew not to press. "You're sure we won't need to have a meeting with them ?" he asked. "Probably." TT replied with a dismissive wave, "But I'm just spinning the breeze here. Give my regards to Uncle Legbreaker for me." "Sure. See you later." Crowbar replied as he walked away, figuring that TT had passed on a warning for him about pursuing the matter further. TT heaved a sigh of relief. "Hopefully, STAR will have one less mundane threat to deal with. And mom's old friends would've been wiped out if they tried to 'deal with' them ! It's funny - if I do things right, nopony should know if I've done anything at all."

Tongue Twister looked over the paperwork her mother had given her - various documents of transit, passports, import/export licenses, and directions. "Great Celestia does Mom give wonderful directions !" TT said to herself in her room in Manehattan, "This has got to be the most efficient route possible. Except near the end here - if I stop at this station, I'll have to fly for three and a half days to the east, slightly curving to the north north east along a river's course. Or, I can just go to the end of the line. Then it's just two days straight flying." She noted that on her map, her mother had drawn a rough cartoon of an elderly stallion, with the words 'Ticket Taker of DooOOOOM !!' written under it. TT looked at it closely, squinted at it, then wondered why her mom had written it like that. "Short, straight and direct is always best for long trips." she noted to herself as she headed for the train station. ----- "Well, THAT was ... cringeworthy !" she noted to herself as she took to the skies, heading twelve degrees, 25 minutes, 15 seconds north of east. It was times like this, high in the air among the clouds that she REALLY loved being a pegasus ! Ace and Deuces had a rather different opinion of things; being ground creatures, they hunkered down in her saddlebag and didn't move much. TT figured three stops of half an hour each for meals and such should be fine. She'd end up on the eastern shore of Equestria, to catch a boat to Neighpon (she can't fly the great distance with no rest stops !) From there it was a short flight to Long Guo. Then to the Outer Ward of Heighjing to track down the Longma dad sold that bottlecap collection to.

Tongue Twister laid on her bed back in her apartment in Manehattan. She had the shades drawn, and was wearing a sleep mask and earmuffs - for the deep rummaging through the mindscape she was going to attempt, there could be no external distractions. She imagined being on a cloud, floating through the sky on a moonless night. Off in the distance in every direction she chose to look, were dark clouds with Mind Palaces upon them. Each one representing a language and the cultures they were from. She knew A LOT of languages, and so needed truly advanced memory techniques to keep them all straight. But what she wanted was in a secure Vault on the ground - so she tucked her wings in and spiraled downward through mindspace. There she found the entrances to her memories - two doors set into a mountain. One was a thick steel door with sigils on it; the other looked like it was stolen from an outhouse, barely hanging on the hinges. She went through THAT door, since the other led to endless circling in a labyrinth with no exit. In the unmarked hallways, she came to an intersection. She waited for a moment, listening for something. From one corridor extended two long spider legs, then two more. Then the creature itself - a dark grey pony spider with pairs of thin, twenty foot long legs were each of a pony's legs would be, and three pairs of yellow eyes. It was also wearing a tool belt and a hard hat. "So, what sort of damage was done this time Dream Weaver ?" Tongue Twister asked the arachno-pony (the Aspect of Creation in her mind). "Not all that much actually." it replied with TT's voice, "Since the memories were shuffled instead of being crushed, burned, shredded or ripped from your skull, there was almost no damage at all !" "Hmph ! Thank Celestia for unintended favors !" TT replied, "I guess Whisp is having a conniption fit though." "To say the least." Dream Weaver replied, "Every time she gets close to getting those recent memories organized, that spell shuffles them ! So, you're going to do the Multi-Mind technique again ?" "It worked the last time. I just need to find at least two more Aspects to help." Black oil started dripping from the ceiling, gathering together into a puddle. Which began extending upward like a tethered bubble. An eye appeared on it, which split into two eyes, which slowly migrated to where they should be on a pony. Ears and limbs formed, and XynE (Zany - the Aspect of Flexibility) was in da house ! Who smiled and 'squeeeee'd in greeting. "So, you got victimized by yet ANOTHER self-important twit ?" a harsh voice sneered from down the left corridor - from Zagzig, The Horror Within. Aspect of Wrath. Which looked like a more buff version of Tongue Twister. "Why else would I be here ?" Tongue Twister asked her darkside, "Maybe we'll find out who did it this time, and we'll know who to beat up !" "Promises promises !" Zagzig groused as he followed Tongue Twister, XynE and Dream Weaver down a corridor to meet up with Whisp (Aspect of Organization). Who looked like a dark storm cloud in the shape of a pegasus, and even had the white socks that Tongue Twister has. And the same glasses - the only solid part of Whisp's configuration. "It is right over here." Whisp announced as she pointed the way. They were in a library, with endless shelves up to ceiling - which could not be seen due to sheer height. There, one of the books seemed to glow. "Ok. Everybody - GRAB IT NOW !" TT stated as she tried to grab the memory represented as a book - it immediately tried to swap places with a nearby book, but the other four Aspects grabbed the books before the swap could be made. The Reflection Deflection spell was only intended to work on one pony's mind, and had no defense against being pulled in five different directions, and so collapsed with an implosion of light and concussive force. TT was upside down against a wall. "Everyone else alive ?" she asked. There was a gigantic black stain on one wall. If flowed back together to form XynE. "Ow." she stated. The smoke coalesced back into Whisp. "I seem to be as intact as a vaporous idea can be." From behind a shield make of silk, Dream Weaver replied "Aye." There was a string of curses and swear words (in many different languages) from further down the aisle. "Zagzig is fine." XynE stated as she peered at the hulking shape in the distance, "I'd be worried when she didn't swear and curse !" Whisp did a double take. "I - keep forgetting that you can speak !" "Of course I can speak !" XynE replied (with her mouth on the front of her barrel), "It's just that I only speak when I have something relevant to say !" "CAN WE PLEASE JUST SEE WHAT SOME PONY DECIDED WE WERE NOT WORTHY TO REMEMBER !?" Zagzig bellowed, "EVEN *I* AM BEGINNING TO FEEL THE ENCROACHING HEADACHE !" Tongue Twister opened the book, which became a floating screen displaying the memory it represented. It showed TT talking with Double Dealer. Getting the Shining Star artifact from her. Then turning for home. Some blurry figure thanked her for solving the problem - before blasting her with the Reflection Deflection spell. "BOHHHHHHHHHHHHGUS !" whined XynE, "We don't know who zapped us, do we ?", earning a growl from Zagzig. "Why don't you render your mind impervious to such attacks ?" Zagzig asked her lightside, "You know of such mental conditioning tricks !" "Those tricks take decades to learn. I doubt I have the time or dedication to do them properly." TT replied, "And if they knew we were immune, they'd just hit us harder. With different spells. That AREN'T as gentle as the RefDef spell." "So that's why you're trying to make a Memory Vault !" Whisp stated enthusiastically, "You'll still be affected by the spells. It's just that you can reclaim what was lost later." "Correct !" Tongue Twister answered as the surroundings began to fade, "Well, it looks like were done here. I have a bottle of aspirin with my name on it waiting for me back in the real world. So just go back to what you were doing to keep our mind functioning ! TTFN !" Tongue Twister awoke on her bed a few hours later, every limb with the 'pins and needles' sensation, and feeling like some pony was hammering her skull with a sledgehammer - from the inside. "Hopefully this will be the last time I have to do THAT !" she groused to herself as she limped to the sink to get a glass of water, and downed a few aspirin ...

Scene : Small outdoor diner in Canterlot. Tongue Twister is having some tea with her parents Caveat Emptor and Shady Dealer. "So nice to have you in town, even for just a little while honey !" Shady stated to her daughter, "I hope you didn't have to take off too much time at the museum to find that darn book !" "Nah. Not too many 'brave adventurers' bringing in artifacts lately." TT replied dismissively. "Oh, speaking of artifacts - how did you manage to calm Double Dealer down ? She came by the shop earlier to apologize." Caveat asked. "What are you talking about dad ?" "After you visited me at the shop, you went to the Canterlot Museum to borrow one very ugly pendant !" Shady stated, a bit weirded out, "Said you needed it to protect yourself from undue influences." Tongue Twister thought for a moment. "Hmm - I visited you at the shop. I borrowed a 'cursed' item from the museum. I went to find Double Dealer to see what was up with her, and lights in Polohama are magitech items. Wait - what ? Just before I came here, I returned the amulet to the museum. They were NOT happy to have it back. Before that, I was in the shopping district. Before that, the main exports of ancient Tenochtitlan were chili peppers and cocoa." TT dropped her head on the table, then bumped her forehead a few times. "GAhhhh !! NOT AGAIN !" Shady comforted her daughter with a hug. "Looks like another Reflection Deflection spell. Darn those lazy bullies at SMILE ! Think they're too good to use lies, bribes and threats like everyone else !" She then gave her unicorn husband the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster. "Can you do something to help ?" "Messing with any creature's memory is a line won't cross ! For any price !" he replied, "I don't know enough about those kinds of spells to risk helping her. Besides, she's managed to break those kinds of spells on her own before." "I'll be fine mom !" TT stated, "I - just need to buy some supplies to hole up for a few days. And some aspirin. A LOT of aspirin." And so, a few hours later, TT visited her father's shop. "So, dad, you think you could make this enchanted item for me ?" she asked, unrolling a scroll on the benchtop. He looked it over. "A memory vault ?! Why would you need something like that ?" "Do you know how many times my memories have been tweaked ?" "No." "NEITHER DO I !" TT replied loudly, "And it is getting VERY annoying ! I may have done something useful or important - and some OTHER pony decided that I am not worthy to have my own memories ! That crap ends NOW !" she finished with a growl. Caveat inched away from his obviously irate daughter. "Okay ! I get the point honey ! A memory vault is a tricky spell, but I can probably do it. And if I can't, I know a few ponies that can. Most of the components are inexpensive, but you'll need a matched pair of memory pearls. Those are not easy to come by. I know someone in Huangjing that might have some. You won't mind making a delivery for me, would you ?" "What do you need delivered ?" TT asked warily. "Bottlecaps." Caveat replied. TT looked at him for a few seconds. "Bottlecaps ? That isn't code for something is it ?" "Not this time." he replied, "Collectors of odd things are everywhere. And Equestrian bottlecaps are extremely rare in Long Guo. A Longma I met a few months ago was trying to complete a set. He'll pay top bits for them, but I only managed to get all the ones he wanted a week ago." TT thought for a bit. "Well, if that's all you need, I'll do it !" she stated happily, "I'm pretty sure you have one of the other parts - a figurine. Do you have something extraordinarily tacky and cheap ?" Caveat raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty much all I sell here dear. May I ask why you want something like that ? The figurine holding one of the pearls can be anything, so WHY specifically cheap and tacky ?" "To hide it in plain sight of course !" she replied, "A little glow in the dark paint on the memory pearl, and it will look fake ! Anypony that sees it will not realize how valuable it truly is !" "You're as sneaky and underhooved as your mother !" Caveat stated with a chuckle, but thought 'that is a good thing AND a bad thing at the same time.' And so as one part of Tongue Twister's adventures ends, another might begin. Or not.

"Dang ! This amulet is ugly !" Tongue Twister thought to herself as she examined the small squat stone carving she wore on a woven thread necklace. She'd borrowed it from an acquaintance at the Canterlot Museum. Most other researchers 'knew' it was cursed, and were glad to be rid of it. But she knew what it was - it was a depiction on a forgotten ancient god of games and death. Although those two duties seemed disparate, they had one very important thing in common : fair play ! Anypony wearing this amulet cannot be influenced by spells for good or ill. No spell can make them run faster, or make them lame. Or alter their mind. Unfortunately, the ponies that carved the grotesque thing were Earth ponies; so to them, having wings and using magic were cheating. Thus, Tongue Twister was resistant to spells, but could not fly while she was wearing it. She managed to track down Double Dealer, and asked her 'WHAT THE HAY IS WRONG WITH YOU ?!" Turns out she recently acquired a 'Favor of Celestia' - a brooch with a minor enchantment to help one think clearly. It is made of gold, and (of course) resembles Celestia's cutie mark. A disc, then a ring with eight wavy rays emanating from it. TT noticed that Double Dealer's brooch only had SEVEN rays. It wasn't a Favor of Celestia, but another very annoying artifact : The Shining Star of the Dashing Demogogue. It 'cleared' your thinking by generating mania, shoving aside all other ideas except one. And the more fixated one became, the more charming and convincing they became. If left alone long enough, one could have a fanatic army, ready to march forth and eliminate the color green ! Or exterminate rutabagas in our lifetime. Or something even far sillier. Double Dealer didn't want to part with willingly, but Ace and Deuces managed to steal it from her (TT's pet rats will do just about anything for some fresh peas !) Fortunately, Double Dealer wasn't too far along, and went home to figure out how to best undo what little evil she'd done. Unfortunately, on her way back to her parent's home, some pony in an alley zapped TT with a Reflection Deflection spell. As always, some other pony had decided that TT wasn't IMPORTANT ENOUGH to remember her own actions !

"What to do about this situation with Double Dealer ?" Tongue Twister mused TO HERSELF as she headed across the street, "I have two choices. One : deal with it myself, and nip the problem in the bud. Two : ignore it until it becomes a major crisis. Then continue to do nothing so More Important Ponies can heroically step in to save all Equestria at the last possible moment. Buck that ! I'll deal with it myself ! Some help would be nice, but its not like I'll ever get any. Can't wait for something that will probably never come ...." She entered "Shady's Shipping Shop" and looked around for her mother. The place looked like it always did - maps of every railroad and mail route in Equestria (along with their schedules and rates), boxes of pre-folded boxes of every useful size, scales and labels stacked up to the ceiling of one wall, far too high to reach without a stepladder. But since her mother Shady Dealer is a pegasus, she never got around to buying one. "You in here mom ?" she called out, figuring she's in here SOMEWHERE. "Tongue Twister ? What are you doing here honey ?" a stern-looking dark gray pegasus mare with a straight black mane and tail, wearing a red vest and skirt inquired as she came from a storeroom in back, "Something going on ?" "Yeah. Found a copy of that book daddy was looking for. Gave it to him just now. Did you know he got a vampire rose ?" "Ah. That explains all these invoices of dubious provenance." Shady replied, "You actually found a copy of that book ?" "Yeah. A bookseller in Ponyville had four copies, and was willing to part with one."

"Well, when business calls, you have to answer." she replied to Naj as she left, "It has been nice meeting you. Later, perhaps." "Hey dad ! Did you really mean to order this rose bush ?" she yelled towards the backroom. "Oh, it arrived ? Great !" he replied as he returned, then used his magic to open the crate. Inside was a tall bell jar, and within that was a small, very sad-looking rose bush. With a single pale bloom. And some of the narrowest, sharpest thorns imaginable. "I don't think you should be getting too close to that thing." Tongue Twister warned. "I'll be fine !" he replied, bringing his muzzle closer to the plant. "Hmmm ... Looks like it could use a bit of water ..." The Rosacea hemovoracium - 'blood eating rose' - sensed the warmth and carbon dioxide of his breath. And lashed out, Tongue Twister managed to bite the rose near its roots, and carefully pulled it off. The plant now looked MUCH healthier, and the bloom was now the palest pink. "WHY DID YOU BUY THAT THING ?!" she asked her dad, gesturing towards the rose. From several steps away. "Been getting some rats and mice in the shop." Caveat Emptor replied, "And I know how you feel about cats." He carefully lifted the rose with his magic and took it into the backroom. "Feisty little thing, aren't you ?" she stated to the plant as he rubbed his muzzle, "I can respect that !" Tongue Twister looked to Coltson, slightly embarrassed, "That's my dad. Mom's office is across the street."

"Wow - seeing so many 'wonderful bargains' in one place has rendered them speechless !" Tongue Twister noted SILENTLY TO HERSELF, WITHOUT MUMBLING HER EVERY THOUGHT (as if she had EVER DONE THAT A SINGLE TIME IN HER LIFE !), "Either that, or there's some residue from that Lorelei charm that idiot tried to pawn off to dad last week ! But the answer is like my thoughts, feelings, and existence - meaningless and irrelevant." She continued checking the manifest, noting that some of the titles to those comics were euphemisms for some rather crude acts ... And there was a Rosacea hemovoracium in the tallest box. OOC : thank you EVER so much for giving MY character a mental defect to suit YOUR purposes y'all ! It's not like I have any right to play my character my way or anything, right ? Or that you can't alter someone else's character or dictate their actions or behavior or qualities without their creator's CONSENT, right ? Nevertheless, I shall endeavor to return the 'favor' at a more opportune time !

"Yeah, Double Dealer does seem to be slowly slipping off the rails lately." T-Twister replied to Coltson, "It's rather unfortunate too - she's a very decent pony otherwise. Getting to my parents when she's not around shouldn't be that hard; she's usually rather busy." Twister perked up the moment Naj mentioned 'artifact recovery'. "I work with artifacts for the museum. Translations Dept. Those 'brave explorers' send all the stuff they find to the Manehattan museum, and a few of those things did NOT like being removed ! Good thing we have some anti-curse specialists on staff. I think a few might work with the REA too." Tongue Twister looked around as she stretched her legs and wings. "Dad's shop is a few blocks from here." she stated as she started out, "He and mom moved here from Manehatten quite a few years ago. Richer customers." A few minutes of walking led them to Caveat Emptor's Discount Emporium - a two story building with a freshly painted sign. The inside was packed with cheap items from all over Equestria, stuffed on shelves in no conceivable order : comic books from Neighpon, 'fine' china from Long Guo, Vonderbolt merchandise, Mogwai repellent, Celestia commemorative plates, and so on. Most of the ceiling had been removed to expose the upper floor where the more (actually) valuable goods were stored - and make the place more pegasus friendly. Tongue Twister flew up to look around. "Daddy ? You in here ?" "In the back, dear." a voice called out. A few crates in the back were surrounded by a gold glow and moved away from a door, allowing a rather well-fed unicorn stallion to come out. He was pale cream, with tan mane and tail, with a silver Penrose circle cutie mark. Tongue Twister dropped back down and gave him a big hug. "Always good to see you dear !" he stated, before looking at Naj and Coltson. "Those two aren't cops, are they ?" he quietly asked her. Tongue Twister sighed. "No, dad. They're not cops ! Coltson's a bookseller ! He sold me that book you were looking for !" she continued, pulling out the first edition she'd purchased from Coltson earlier in the day. "He had one ?!" "He had four !" "Truly ?" he replied (clearly impressed) as he examined the book. "Superb condition. This should get that harpy off my flank ! Hmm - I just remembered that I never discussed the price with Double Dealer ! How much did it cost you dear ?" "Total of the book, all train tickets and aggravation ? About ninety bits." T Twister replied, "You're going to charge her about one hundred fifty or so bits, right ?" Caveat smiled broadly, before pulling Tongue Twister into hug and a wet kiss on her forehead, "That's my girl ! I'm going to put this in the vault. And could you look over the latest invoices ? My Manechurian isn't very good, so I have no idea of what's really in some of these crates." "No problem dad !" she replied cheerily as she checked the manifests. OOC : Entertaining Interlude via yudhaikeladai : My Little Pony in The Sims - Episode 3 - Lyra and Bon Bon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ium4BrJ0Emc

"Well, I sort of have an idea of what it could be ..." she silently mused to herself, "But I can't say : 'It sounds like a Trouble Maker type artifact, Corrupter class, about rank C ! They'd probably think I'm crazy ! Well, they MIGHT think that already; these two are tricky to read. Probably has to be a rank C or so item - the effects of an Alicorn Amulet, Soul of the Endless Night or a Shining Star of the Dashing Demagogue would have manifested by now. So many potential sources ! The Abyssinian, Tenochtitlan and Pharoah's Vale cultures could craft some tricky artifacts. And those are just the better known cultures."

"Ah. You're an outlier." Tongue Twister replied, "No matter how similar a group, there are always a few that are different. You decided to be friendlier before most of the other changelings. Good to know. Say, did you manage to speak with Coltson ? I had the feeling you needed to speak with him about something, and that I was in the way. That's why I left ..." "GREAT ! DID I MESS UP AGAIN ?" she fretted to herself, "Well, at least Ace and Deuces had fun, so it hasn't been a total waste of time ! I just hope this doesn't turn out like that Hearth's Warming Eve party at the palace !" She sat on one the seats, looked out the window for a bit, before retrieving the book she'd bought from Coltson for her father. "I hope this will finally get Double Dealer off dad's case !" she stated to both, "She'd been getting pettier every week, and I left to search for this three weeks ago. I honestly don't know what's gotten into her." Musical Interlude : "I'm the Bad Guy", via Keroko : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq8qmPZlbsM

Tongue Twister was chillin' out in the luggage car, not sure how long those two would be talking, and not feeling like being a fifth wheel. Ponies, being herd creatures, don't like being alone. But she wasn't alone ... "Ace ! Deuces ! Front and center !" she stated, stamping twice in the floor. They piled out of her saddlebag to look at her. "Seems like I have some time to kill, so let's play a game - HIDE AND SEEK !" she stated to them, eliciting squeaks of delight (hide and seek is one of their favorite games. And to play in a new location, with all sorts of stuff to investigate was even better !) "The field - anywhere in just this car. Now, no digging into anything. No eating anything, or soiling anything. You have fifty seconds." She closed her eyes, then covered them with her wings. "Forty nine. Forty eight. Forty seven ..." They scampered off to hide. When she got to zero, she began her search, singing a song she'd heard at one of her dad's conventions : "The Little Rare Book Room" : 'Come, they called me; (The special book room) The rarest books to see, (Librarian's tomb) Kept under lock and key (In terrible gloom) To save our sanity. (It's pointless, we're doomed, thoroughly doomed, utterly doomed!) Necronomicon, (The first I exhumed) From the book room. Book of Eibon, (So frightfully old) Vermis Mysteriis, (A sight to behold) The Monsters and Their Kynde, (With edges of gold) Could make me lose my mind. (All covered with mold, fungus and mold, poisonous mold!) Kitab Al Azif, (Its horrors untold) Still I am bold. King in Yellow, (Left me feeling glum) The Ponape Scriptures, (I'd stay away from) And then The Golden Bough, (My brain had gone numb) I read them all out loud. (Well that was quite dumb, terribly dumb, fatally dumb!) Freed the Great Old Ones. (Our kind will succumb) What have I done? (What have you done?)' (ooc : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G_iL6TRphg ) She managed to find her pets after a few moments, and headed back to Coltson and Naj.

Sensing that she isn't important enough to be in the same room as Naj and Coltson, Tongue Twister makes her exit. "I see you two have a lot of private things to discuss, so I'm just going to go elsewhere ... Like the luggage hold, with the rest of the irrelevant, forgotten baggage .... "

"Glad to meet you Naj." Twister replied while shaking her hoof rather vigorously, "I'm Tongue Twister. Twister for short. If I'm not mistaken, you're a non-hostile changeling, but you don't look like most of the others. You not with Thorax's hive ?" She thought the question might seem odd, but spending a few months of the year in the Tenochtitlan Basin doing field research means that she misses quite a bit of news now and again.

Tongue Twister merely nodded to Coltson's reply, figuring he's just as avid about collecting books and antiques as she is about studying languages. His conversation with the changeling pretty much confirmed that guess. But this changeling mare was interesting - she looks like the ones that invaded Canterlot awhile back, but she's not hostile at all ! But the non-hostile changelings supposedly look different now, if what she's heard about them was correct. Might be an outlier - there can be quite a wide range of variation for any trait in a population. Since some pegasi are nicer than others, and some are nastier than others, why wouldn't the same apply to changelings ? Does seem to be getting along very well with Coltson though ...

"I do hope you're right about my problem being easy to solve ..." Twister replied, "The last thing anyone needs is pointless aggravation." She also wondered just what sort of wares her dad got hold of THIS time - being in the 'import/export' business meant he occasionally acquired some rather 'interesting' items. She'd hardly call any of those misadventures 'epic', so she wondered why Coltson hoped this one would be. She suspected there was something going on that she didn't know about, but figured it would be best to play along and let the situation resolve itself in its own time.

"Not really. She's always had a bit of a grudge against my parents." Twister replied, "She feels that anypony from Las Pegasus is either a criminal, a 'loud, obnoxious affront to all peace-loving ponies everywhere', or both. Mom used to be a card dealer in Las Pegasus before she married dad and moved to Manehattan. But Double Deal has never pulled anything like this before, and she's known my family for years. And Dad gets new stuff fairly often. I don't know what put a tick in her ear about him this time." She heard a mare's voice ask for Coltson's attention, but this was no ordinary mare. "Is she one of those changelings I've heard of ?" she thought to herself, blinking in surprise a few times.

Twister just figures he's as intense about antiques and schedules as she is about languages - that WOULD explain the apparent rush. After boarding the train and sitting down, she takes out the book she purchased from Coltson and looks at it. "You know, you might be able to get this book back really cheap." she stated to him, "I think the only reason Double Deal asked for it was because she thought it was impossible to find. Pretty good trick - ask dad for something impossible, and when he fails to find it, take legal action ! A called bluff is of no further use, so she might be willing to sell it for a few bits."

Tongue Twister watched Coltson jog out of his store. She didn't know what was going on, but he almost seemed more determined to get to Manehattan than she was. She made sure the door was closed and locked before heading out to the station. "You know Coltson, I wasn't all that worried about my dad before." she stated as she caught up to him, "But you're acting like there is something major going - OW !" There was a brown and mostly white rat on her head, yanking at her mane ! "Ace ! PLEASE stop that !" she growled at the critter, "I know you're upset that we didn't go to the park, but I might need to get back home ASAP ! The park there is better anyway - all the cats know to stay away from us ! So please - get back in the pack with Deuces. I'll make it up to both of you later." Her pet rodent looked at her for a few moments, before returning to the depths of her saddlebag. "Pets are such a joy. Usually." he stated to Coltson with a sheepish grin as they approached the train station.

"Well, I'm trying to figure out which dialects are most closely related - how the original language split." she replied, "I have plenty of data about how they sound now; in order to resolve which dialect split off first, I need information about how they sounded decades or centuries ago. The older texts are closer to the event. So, yes." "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhkay ...." she replied, not quite sure what to make of this turn of events, but if he wants to help, she wasn't going to turn the offer down ! As they'd say in ancient Equinitic : "narghDI' 'eb Dun net reH tlhap" - 'always take a wonderful opportunity when it appears !'. She didn't know what the second or third thing Coltson planned on getting done could be, but she figured she'd find out in time. "Well, the earliest train back to Manehattan should be leaving Ponyville in about fifteen minutes." she stated, "Caveat Emptor's Discount Emporium is just a short walk from the train station."

"I'm a linguist." Tongue Twister replied, "I study languages. How they are related to each other. How they change over time. How one language splits into many. How two languages can fuse into a new one. I'm currently studying the Qetzalcoatlan languages. There are at least six major dialects in use in the Tenochtitlan Basin. The nomadic tribes are small and isolated, which tends to allow languages to diverge. But they move around and encounter each other quite often, which tends to allow different languages to fuse into a new one. So I'm trying to piece together what the original language was, before it gets too mixed. There is a saying amongst linguists : 'when a language dies, a world ends. When a language is deciphered, a new world opens up.' Look at how much more we learned about the ancient cultures of Pharaoh's Veil once Champonyon deciphered their hieroglyphics ! As for the Prench travel guide, I need it to get my dad out of a tight spot. He's kind of what you'd call a curio merchant. 'Strange and unusual things from strange and unusual places - for reasonable prices !'" she stated with a melodramatic florish, "In one of his ads, he said 'he had (or could get) anything you could ever want.' Most ponies would realize that was just marketing hype, and not take it seriously; unfortunately, a litigious busybody decided to sue him for false advertising ! She wants to take his shop unless dad can get her a first edition 'Hitchhiker's Guide to Equestria' written in Prench ! She says it her original culture, but she's about as Prench as Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan !" She paused for a bit to catch her breath, before realizing something. "Oh, sorry sir ! I've been prattling on, and we don't even know each other's names ! I'm Tongue Twister. I work for the Manehatten Museum of Natural History, mostly."