Jump to content

Aisede

RP Certified
  • Posts

    571
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    28

Everything posted by Aisede

  1. So, for awhile now I've been developing a world of mine I'm calling Eusimare. The entire concept started with my Desert, and then expanded into a trio of kingdoms elsewhere. I've put a lot of time and effort into developing this world as a whole, and I'd like to hear your opinions. Suggestions for additions to the world are also encouraged. Really, I just want some feedback.
  2. Rose got the distinct impression that Hou was not quite comprehending the severity of Twilight's accusations, or the implications that she could- and possibly would- take action against her. Rose had intended this meeting to be someplace they could all become friends and get to know one another. She supposed she succeeded by some degree- Hou was actively engaging her sworn nemesis in what amounted to polite conversation for her, and was even making jokes! Er... Or she hoped that was a joke, surely she's not serious about- "I beg your pardon?" Did You just drag her into her convoluted scheme to produce a musical number out of the three of them? The best Rose could even recall were some sea shanties and lullabies that would make Equestrian foals squeal in terror. "I regret to inform you that my singing experience is rather limited. And on the note of magic, you're not the only 'sorceress' present." Sidling up next to Twilight, she threw a protective hoof over her shoulder, glaring down Hou. Somewhat dramatically. Better yet, let's just hug the princess to her! And become a giant crab while she's at it! Haha, yes! Incase you forgot, she also happens to be an avatar of magic itself in this world.
  3. Rose had to agree with Twilight. She wasn't influenced by her predecessor, at least not in the ways Hou was describing. She shuddered to imagine what would happen if she reached out to any of her alternate selves. How many of them fell as her original did? How many are out there, raving mad, grasping for something eternally out of reach? How many are violating the laws of the universe in a crude display of infantile rage? She shook herself out of her musings, returning to the discussion at hoof. She was only dimly aware of the topic of... Some book colt. Back to her famous book, eh? On friendship. Like the School of Friendship. Hmm... She should connect with the Mayor again sometime. All of this talking has got her thinking. ... And speaking of thinking, it seems Hou was doing that for both of them now. Rose would point out that this 'young' mare possessed the ability to perceive things beyond either of their understanding, and has helped her quite a bit. Clearly age was not equivalent to experience. "You know," she said at last, when Hou finally stopped talking, "I am the lead researcher and developer of life elongating remedies. If you find me a Flower of Forever, I can easily brew you up a potion that will let you live forever- as well as enhance your physical, mental, and magical abilities." She cocked a brow. "... You did think about me, right? My speciality? In immortality?" She rolled her eyes with a huff. "As for your 'insurance', if you ever need vessels to contain these souls of yours, I also specialize in fabricating those. Specifically meant to house souls, in fact." She wasn't even going to acknowledge the sing off thing. Well... Other than an utterly baffled look. Who was this mare and what has she done with Hou Shuren?
  4. Rose huffed at Twilight's explanation, readjusting the hat as it was placed on her head. It wasn't half bad, even if it looked like a stage prop. It was good to know that Equestrians differentiated buccaneers from pirates, even if the difference still seemed pretty superficial to her. "I don't know who Swift Squall is," she remarked, frowning and crossing her forelegs. Rose, dramatic? As if. It certainly surprised her to hear that Twilight... Could. The purple mare never struck Rose as the violent type, not unless provoked. And even then... Well, stealing souls is probably worse. Or being mutated. Should Rose feel bad for the leap frogs she experimented on? Rose chuckled as Twilight called her out, lifting her cup: six, six, four, five, and two. There really was no winning this round. "That would be... A tie, correct?" On a sheer whim, she cast a come-to-life spell on the dice. They started rolling around, their intentions enigmatic. The fours and fives sought each other out, while the twos seemed to gang up on the lone one. How odd.
  5. Rose listened to what Twilight had to say, and to be honest, it wasn't all that difficult to follow. Rose herself wasn't a multiversal being, and she didn't intend to become one either. She already knew her original had done enough to spread herself across time and space, so she may as well be one by default. "I can see the practical applications of such an ability, but will what happened in other instances affect this one?" She quirked a brow, then turned her attention back to the conversation at hand. Hou sure did love talking. It made her wonder, idly, what would happen if she just lost her mouth somehow. She'd probably made a potion that does something similar, or a potion of silence. The kirins had some interesting lore up in their mountains. An interesting river, too. Smirking to herself, she projected a mental image to Twilight of Hou getting dunked in the Stream of Silence, then getting angry because she couldn't monologue. You can't say it wouldn't be at least a little humorous ~ "I see... Well, I shall keep that in mind. Although I find it doubtful that many creatures not worth meeting 'in pony' will be able to perceive my simulacrums as a fabrication."
  6. "Got it. At least a sperm whale, perhaps a kraken." She giggled into a hoof, getting back to the game. "You realize that 'buccaneer' is just an Andalusian pirate, right?" Rose quirked a brow, frowning. "Four threes. I realize that popular media portrays pirates as these jolly shanty-singing sailors swashbuckling and treasure-seeking. The reality is much more grim. You think you would have done well?" She asked, and focused on the unicorn. She projected images towards her mind, in classic Rose style. Images of sinking ships, their magazines having blown the ship in half. Ponies drowning, others still and lifeless. "Think you could kill a pony? Think you could keep a clear conscience when you need to remind the enemy and your crew just what a pirate is with a classic execution? Do you think you could go day in and day out, unable to land in any proper port, and be forced into hitting trade ships and galleons just to get the resources neccesary to stay alive?" Leaning back, her frown deepened. "My crew got off lucky. I was able to layer Luna's Rose in illusions, and disguise my crew so that we could land in a common port without the Royal Navy getting on our asses a heartbeat later. But being a pirate is not fun and games. And it's not something you should aspire to be, imitation or not."
  7. Rose could invest as much as needed in Aloe, and their children. She started when the scene shifted, observing what must be an important place to Hou before it disappeared. So it worked both ways... Hmm... "My magic? What-" She wasn't prepared to be tackled. Thankfully, she'd long since learned to temper her potentially deadly reflexes, and weathered the fall. What she saw was... Unsettling, to a degree. She'd have expected a perpetual cloudy cover for her darker side. Perhaps rolling mist. If she squinted, there in the distance, sne could spot the broken hulls of ships. Tombstones. "What do you mean my magic hid here?" She asked, quirking a brow. "Magic is not sentient, Hou."
  8. Rose was tempted to peer into Hou's mind to get a read on just what she was up to. The sorceress probably forgot what Rose was, but the queen certainly didn't miss just how puzzled the mare was... or how smug. The emotion made Rose a little anxious. Was this a mistake, bringing the two together? Could they ever cooperate? Or just get along? "Thank you!" She said, beaming at Twilight and her compliment, although some of that good humor evaporated when Hou spoke up. She waved a hoof dismissively, then promptly duplicated herself on the spot. "Nonsense," she said, hoofbumping her double. "I use the optimal number of simulacrums I can sustain efficiently, and like all muscles, the more I use my magic, the stronger I get." Her double giggled into a hoof, then sauntered over to Hou. She gave her a quizzical look. "Now, what do you mean-" "-Which you?" The real Rose finished, sidling up next to Twilight.
  9. Maybe Rose was slow to catch up, but it only then occured to her that Hou may have something of an ego. A very large ego at that. She stared as the sorceress explained... What? That she's responsible for where Twilight is? What Is this, a game of cat and mouse? Hou has been holding her tail the entire time and was just toying with her? She just shook her head... Then piped up at that comment there at the end. "A minus? I killed that thing using the terrain." Chuckling, she turned back to Twilight. "I had a simulacrum out here, hunting down ingredients for my regeneration potion. I managed to lure it into a geyser- and UP it went! Then it fell into a broken tree stump, impaling itself." She shook her head, tisking. "Dead on impact. Hou showed up to collect not soon after, and we had a posturing contest. First thing she tried to do was depower me. Who would have thought we'd go from excessive threats to helping me in some of the most intimate ways possible... " Looking between the two, she not-so-subtly nudged them just a smidge closer with her magic.
  10. Rose graciously accepted the hug, then stepped in between the two ponies. She looked... Uncertain. Perhaps even a bit nervous. But she swallowed it down. "I see you're both already aquatinted," she said in an even tone. "Good! Good. Er..." Friendship. Friendship. That's what this needs right now, but how the hell does that even work under these circumstances? "I know there's some... Bad blood in the water here, but we can all be cordial here, right? Why don't we start with shaking hooves?" Perking up, she smiled, focusing on Hou this time. "Yeah! Let's shake hooves. No need to stand so far away, right? She's not going to hurt you, and you're not going to hurt her." With a flourish, she gestured towards Twilight.
  11. Well... That was as good as she was going to get, she supposed. Nodding, slowly, she called her in, sitting down to wait. And to watch.
  12. "It is... Not for others to see, per se," she said slowly, eyeing up the slab of stone. "Perhaps my children will see it, or we will return to this place at some point in the future, reminiscing. For now, it is simply a work of mine- one of many. One with purpose." Almost as an afterthought, the changeling queen enchanted the stone. She could still work it as any other stone, but now it would be resistant to both time and decay- suspended in this moment, immune to entropy. Nice costume change, she thought as Hou changed her appearance. Green was a fitting color, a distinctly mystical one. Rose most certainly approved. "I brought you here not to ask of you something material, but closer to your heart," she said, opting not to take her hoof. Distantly, she checked on her simulacrum, although she didn't really need too. She can perceive all of them simultaneously. The mind of a queen. "I must ask for your trust, friend Hou. There is a friend of mine I would dearly like for you to meet and converse with, and who, after some negotiation, has agreed to meet with you under cordial terms." "She does not understand you, I fear. But I also feel as though your mistrust is misplaced. For this meeting, I will be an Intermediary. Trust in me, Hou."
  13. Water pressure! Now why didn't Rose think of that? "Glad you could make it," She nods with a smile, noting her getup. " I like your mane, and general aesthetic. I wish I could get over how reminescent it is of Queen Storge's aesthetic." She frowns there at the end, then tosses her chisel aside with stark indifference. A moment later, her form blazes into the body of a long purple & orange serpent, with a nozzle-like face. A jet of water shoots from said nozzle, striking against the stone with a grinding sound. In no time at all, a... Decent scale is carved from the stone, but it's obvious that this just isn't her art. She groans as she returns to her original shape, contemplating the stone slab with palpable frustration. "Not a club. I just wanted to make a tribute, a monument to our meeting and subsequent friendship." A squirter just didn't cut it, and neither a chisel. Should she commission some tool?
  14. Rose growls, narrowing her eyes on the object before her. Using some manuals she'd filched from libraries across the world, and a couple interviews with particular ponies, she'd decided to undertake sculpting. With her vast powers and intellect, it should have been a sinch, but- grr- these scales! *Scratch!* How do they do it!? Levitating in the air was a small artists chisel, whittling away at a slab of stone still belonging more to Chaos than Harmony. Maybe Rose just didn't have an affinity for skultping, but by the sea she was going to make this thing a masterpiece if it took her a hundred years! As she passed the time, she kept a watch for Hou. She'd invited her to this place- in particular- for vague reasons at best. After speaking with Twilight just a week or so before, she decided now was as good a time as any to introduce the two in a calm, controlled setting, with herself as an Intermediary. There was some miscommunication here- there had to be- and she would see that whatever misperceptions the two had of each other were dispelled on this day. Of course, she'd call Twilight in whenever the time was right. She had a simulacrum with her, idly chatting, playing blackjack.
  15. Rose wasn't so sure that she wasn't superior in some ways. She certainly doesn't expect Spoiled to achieve her level of power or intellect, not unless she's turned into a sphinx. Even Aloe, more than likely, will remain an earth pony. But... Maybe that's what she means. Power isn't everything, even if it is a strong determining factor in influencing the world. Rose peek's out of one of the windows, already knowing full well what time it is. "Perhaps one more game, then we shall return so that I can turn into a lazy animal and lay on you the rest of the day." She smirked, then rattled her cup around, slamming it onto the tabletop. "By the way, I do appreciate your aesthetic. The costume looks good on you, even if you'd probably never last a day in the horseshoes of a real pirate."
  16. "I hate this memory for plenty of reasons. Primarily, however, it was that she had the audacity to attack me and my crew." Rose grumbled, then listened to what else Hou had to offer by way of 'advice.' "... You are right, of course," she said quietly, looking off into the uncrowded streets of Malaga. "I do have a new home now. A new start." She closed her eyes, and the scene transitioned one last time. Into a picture of Ponyville. She stood within Aloe's spa, the smells of lotion and plants as fresh as memory. "And this can be Albedo's home, too. As well as the rest of my children." She smiled, feeling a rush. It felt like an awakening, almost. "Is this it? How I connect to this world? Or help Albedo do it. Just... Accept it?"
  17. This time, no new scene materialized. Instead, they just appeared in some non-descript plaza, still in the same town. Ponies went about their day as a young Rose perched herself upon the lip of a stone fountain, reading from some book she only vaguely remembers contained scientific knowledge "Hou, I was not even an adolescent at the time," the real Rose said, turning to face her with a small frown. The hustle and bustle of a port town was muted to near nothing. "I was raised in a wealthy manor, by a mentally ill father figure, and two bossy maids twice my size that constantly radiated hatred and disgust. Adopting Rose Compass's form came via intuition, but at the time, I had absolutely no grasp on the scope of my power. It wasn't until instincts kicked in that I even knew I was a queen. Hou, I never met another of my kind until decades later, when I encountered a rival changeling brood in Port Cadiz." Rose scrunched her snout, feeling distinctly irate. Suddenly, their perspective jerked to a spacious room filled with the vapors of incense. Candles burned at the base of a large seat, upon which a portly pink changeling queen rested, smoking from a long pipe. Her iris and pupils we're distinct, shades of violet and pink. Her mane draped over her shoulders, and pooled along the floor alongside her tail, also pink but streaked with white. The creature had a distinctly motherly air about her as she looked down her nose at their visitor: an older Rose. She had a determined look in her eyes, tempered by decades of experience. But there was something else there, too- something cold and indifferent. Something dangerous. Around them, smaller broodlings surrounded their queen, their distinctly piscine fins pink, alongside their elytra. Just like their bright pink eyes, regarding the pirate Rose with veiled hostility. Hou would probably feel at home in this setting, with its oriental tapestry and steam baths. The real Rose glanced over at them, glaring at the seated queen, frozen in time. "Queen Storge," her dopplehanger said before the real Rose got to get out a word. Storge nodded, flicking an ear ringed with golden loops. "Captain Scylla. I hear you're looking to strike a deal with me." "A simple exchange of information," Rose corrected. Storge sniffed, then chuckled. "Very well. What is it you wish to know?" "I require information on a particular sample of flora: the Flower of Forever." Storge snorts at this, bellowing laughter. "A mere myth!" "Is it now? I suppose-" The memory freezes, and they suddenly return to where they were just prior. "I really hate that memory," Rose said, rubbing her temples. "She and her entire brood attempted to kill me and my crew the moment we stepped hoof in her bordello. I ended up having to kill her in the end. Classic betrayal- on my part, however. I couldn't risk another queen knowing about my plans."
  18. "You forget who you are speaking to, Twilight," Rose said with an air of aloofness to her as she grumbled internally. How in the world did she get four 5's? "I once had- and still do- possess the ability to heal the sick and cure the blind, but yet until only recently, I used my gifts to terrorize my home and subjugate my crew. It's not a matter of what she is doing in the present, Twilight, but what she intends to do. For an immortal, time is largely meaningless. Wounds will heal, and memory will fade. In the end, what we achieve is worth it..." She paused, looking down at her cup with a small frown. "... Or that's what we tell ourselves," she murmured, ears flicking back. "That all of the pain and suffering we inflict is merely a means to an end. Even mistakes like me are but a minor setback.a setback to be banished to another world entirely, for the simple crime of existing." She chuckled, shaking her head. Then she met Twilight's eyes. Suddenly, Rose looked very tired. "I still don't know where I went wrong, Twilight. I wanted to heal the world, and ended up destroying it to save a single pony. And even then..." She blinked, shaking her head again. "I'll try and figure something out."
  19. Rose was silent for several seconds, closing her eyes. She looked... Older. Worn. As if simply replaying these memories added the sum total of their weight in time on her being. Then she shook her head. "I'm sure there was more, at some point in time. But..." She'd love to see her mother. To know where she came from. But... But why was she sent adrift? What happened to her? After all the pain and suffering of loss she has endured, she couldn't stomach anything having happened to her own mother, even now. "Mister Chronicle." Snapping her eyes open, a new scene played out. A slightly older Rose, a teenager at best, rested her forelegs against the edge of the bed. A wispy, frail thing lay nestled under the blankets, unmoving. It was as if he had turned to dust, leaving the suggestion of a pony in its place. Rose hadn't understood at the time. How could she? He provided her with everything. Food, education, a roof above her head. "... Mister Chronicle?" Tentatively, she reached out a hoof to nudge him. Lye and Rush watch silently from the back of the room. There's no response. Hou could feel the coldness as if she'd touched him with her own hoof. Feel the confusion, the sinking horror of realization. Rose tried to keep the shakyness out of her voice. "C-chronicle... Wake up." Another nudge. "Wake up, please!" Another... Tears glitter at the edges of her eyes. "Miss Rose," Lye voices from across the room, cool and polite. Rose looks back, blinking teary eyes. "... Master Chronicle has passed, unfortunately." "..." "... I also regret to inform you that his nephew, Anecdote, will be inheriting this estate soon. He is as-yet unaware of his... Niece's continued existence. It may be best that you leave the premises before he arrives." "B-but-" She freezes, pinned under the icy glare of the maid. Her ears flick back, and she spares one more glance at the inert Chronicle. "... Yes ma'am," she says quietly. --- With just a couple books she'd managed to filch from the study, and a couple neccesities tucked away in some saddlebags, a tiny Rose shuffled away from the manor, colder and emptier than it had ever been before.
  20. "Liar." Rose grinned. There's no way she could raise to six fives, and she seriously doubted Twilight had enough fives of her own to cover her declaration. "And I would appreciate that, really. Although on the topic of Albedo..." She trailed off, slowly lifting her own up to reveal a 4, 4, 5, 1, and 3. "There is a pony who has taken a special interest in me and my young, and I in her. I fear her paranoia may be misplaced, but she is quite wary of you and, indeed, all of the authorities of the land. Despite her... Niche interests in particular realms of magic, I feel a kinship with her. Her goals are just, even if her methods are not. I was hoping... Perhaps... That I could introduce you to one another? Dispel this mistrust." Looking up, she met the mare's eyes. "Do you, perhaps, know of whom I speak?"
  21. Rose stared at her for several seconds, frowning. She hadn't even considered the lives of pitates- of criminals. She's worked with ever breed of underworld thieves and backstabbers, and just learned to play their own game better. They would use each other as pawns- and they would try to use her as a pawn- so why not crown herself queen of the board? She looked out at the denizens. Living, breathing, dynamic creatures. Had any of them had as rough an upbringing as her? Perhaps. Perhaps they have been betrayed, hunted, and subjected to discrimination of all kinds. Maybe they just didn't have room to change. Or the opportunity. Idly, she slammed her cup down onto the table, dispelling her hex as she peeked under the lid. "... Hehe." She cracks a grin, closing her eyes with a shake of her head. "How do you do it, Twilight?" Clearing her mind, she tried to return to the present. "four fours. And I was thinking of something simple, actually. A nice day off. Fun in the bed, obviously, but maybe I'll treat her to one of the massages she gives out? The whole suite. Something tells me that she doesn't get those often, if at all..." She paused, bringing a hoof up to her chin. "Actually, I don't think she's ever received a massage in the time I've known her. Maybe some of the things we do could count, but..." She shook her head with a sour look. "As for Albedo, I think she'll finally be growing her hind legs within the month. There's something I'd like your opinion on, though. Something that's been bothering me." She looked Twilight in the eyes, fidgeting with her hooves. "I don't know if it's my own tampering, but she just... Stares a lot. I don't think I've ever seen her cry, or raise a fuss. She'll pout if she doesn't get her way, but most of the time she's just staring at ponies and things. Like she can peer into their soul."
  22. What Twilight just described was a tyrant. A total, complete monster who held dominion over a vast territory. Rose couldn't say she'd ever heard of such a thing occuring in her time, or before it. But... Was that really all so different from her older self's schemes? She aimed to rule the seven seas- and beyond. With her love, of course. She couldn't say she had been a tactical genius, however. And slavery... She could still remember it. Her very first memory, locked behind bars. There would be no slavery in her world. "I still say I could give it a shot," Rose said with a cocky smirk. "Bet you fifty bits I could hold this place under my thrall for at least one week. If not, I'll admit that some things really are beyond the control of some creatures." Raising her brows, her smile broadened. "How's about that for a deal?" Of course, she wasn't going to ignore everything Twilight said. Despite her apparent age, she was a sage and learned creature. Another Rose would have perceived her as a threat and attempted to be rid of her, but not the Rose she is today. Twi was special... Rose still had a bit of an ego, however. No force in creation had managed to kill her yet. This 'Black Ice' guy simply lacked... Permenancy.
  23. Rose arched a brow, sweeping her dice up in a turquoise aura and tossing them back into her cup like cubes of ice. "Not at all, although I have to wonder if there's an analog to him in my own world. He sounds like an important historical figure." If Twilight is bringing him up, he can't be a nopony
  24. The memory froze, and Rose trotted around and gaze over the shoulder of her younger self. There was obvious solemnity in that gaze, and she sighed, looking across the table at Master Crhonicle. "Not a mentor..." She said, tiredly. "And... He came to me. He bought me." Suddenly, they were someplace else. The docks of a maritime town. Ponies shuffled about on the docks, carting off their most recent haul of fish to he hawked in the plaza, alongside venders selling exotic, imported fruits and veggies. And then there was the stage. A crowd had gathered around, attracted by the animated stallion standing atop it. And behind him, huddled in a cage just barely large enough to contain her, was a tiny, shivering changeling. "Behold, the Blackwater Beast!" The stallion shouted, gesturing towards the changeling with exaggerated motions. "Gaze upon its misshapen form! A parody of ponykind!" The crowd murmured, fear dominating the crowd, with a faint mix of curiosity. The tiny creature shivered under their gaze, trying to look smaller. "Look upon her fangs! Those are not for fishing, let me tell you. What, then, do you think they prey on!?" The crowd erupted, anger mixing in with the fear. "Such an unnatural creature could only be the spawn of Neighvy Jones! But worry not. As you can see, it is safely contained. And for a small fee..." The stallion's lips curled, and Rose shivered from the memory alone. The excitement he felt... "You could add this strange creature to your own collection of cryptic creatures. Perhaps you will tame it?" He looked back at her, but she couldn't possibly make herself any smaller, so she stared back with frightened, turquoise eyes. "... I wonder what you could make of its chitin? An exotic material to be sure." He chuckled, and the bidding began. Even Hou would be unlikely to recognize the currency, but it wouldn't be hard to guess that they were offering some pretty high prices. A stallion moved between the throng of ponies like a wraith, the ponies be passed shivering in his wake and quieting down. Then he reached the front, and he raised a hoof with a pouch of coins. His voice was solid and firm. At once, the entire plaza went quiet. Every eye was turned on the greying stallion. And his eyes... Were on the changeling in the cage. "D-do we have a higher bidder!?" The stage stallion shouted. Nopony so much as coughed. "Going once... Sold, to the old codger up front!" ... "This was my first memory..."
  25. Her origins? She pictured herself in a rich manor- rich with culture... And with time. No amount of refurbishing could banish the air of solemn age that clung to every painting and fixture. Not the walls, which appeared faded. Tired. Much like the stallion sitting across from her. He was old and worn, much like the house itself. His joints ached like senile wood. His name was bleached with age. And his eyes... Rose sometimes wondered if he even saw her. He spoke, and ge gestured, but were the words ever aimed towards her? Or... The filly she took the place of. When he touched her, she could swear he was ice cold. Although objectively, she knew now that was just one many conditions he had accrued with time. She was a filly again. Young, naïve. Lye and Rush attended them, nodding respectfully to the Master of the house while tossing discreet glowers her way when the Master wasn't watching. They never liked her much. They despised her, probably. Who was she to take advantage of their Master's ailing mind by taking on the form of his departed duaghter? Well, it was hardly a choice. And he was the one who had presented it. She had to live, and so that is what she chose. "Rose..." Master Chronicle spoke, and she could imagine his words curled as smoke in the air. She could choke on them, if not for her excellent acting. "You haven't eaten." Rose looked down at her plate. Fresh-caught flounder on rye, with garland and lemon. It would taste delicious, as all food provided in the house did. "I'm..." Not hungry. Master Chronicle's brows furrowed. That was a bad sign. She forced herself to eat, and he appeared placated. For now.
×
×
  • Create New...