The Outsiders (Open)

[FermataTheBasse]

Resplendent harmony, from sea to shining sea, dawn to Twilight, Equestria was the crown jewel of a land gone perfectly right, where all faults were not with society but personal, and it was assumed that ponies were capable of fixing their own personal mistakes and possibly writing a letter describing the process to their local friendly Princess. Viewed from the great space that surrounded it Equestria was an unassuming land. There were a few centers of urban sprawl that could be viewed as great clusters of lights during the nights. There were mountains, valleys, pastures, forests. With magical sense, one could see the great power present in Equestria, it's natural magic that virtually choked the land with it's presence.

The sun and moon even were the providence of harmony, controlled by the aforementioned local friendly Princesses- two, to be precise. Their flights over the land were as carefully coordinated as a dancer in mid pirouette, legs carefully positioned so as to land just correctly upon the floor with maximum grace and style. Right now, the sun was rising, it's pinkish dawn light breaking through the perfectly manicured morning light of Ponyville. Time progressed, it was now afternoon in the blink of an eye. A certain rainbow maned mare was barking instructions at a timid little pink maned mare.

[colour=#00ffff]"LOUDER!!!!"[/colour]

[colour=#000000]A deep breath... [/colour][colour=#ffff00]_"Yay."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]-----[/colour]

[colour=#ff33ff]Meta-World[/colour]

[colour=#ff33ff]"Skipping that, skipping that..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Equestria and a myriad of scenes, the above scene among them, appeared in the surfaces of little bubbles hovering just above the hand of a certain Witch. Her other hand was holding a lollipop loosely in her mouth, her licking idle as she was more interested in the scenes in her hand. A purple mare with stars on her flank going crazy for some inane reason, a different pink maned mare going crazy for no less inane a reason... [/colour]

[colour=#000000]Lambdadelta realized, with a super fast cross-section of Equestrian society playing in her hands, that they as ponies had ninety-nine problems, but not one of them was actually even remotely serious... Okay, exceptions aside. One of her bubbles flashed the scene of a crazed pony-like creature with jet-black carapace and highly impractical holes in it's legs laughing as it's evil plans came to fruition. She froze that scene, expanded it for the gathered group to look at. [/colour]

[colour=#000000]They were in a neatly built marble atrium, windows on all sides allowing in brilliant light from a non existent source. For everyone gathered there was a throne, a simple affair of stone with velvet cushioning in case comfort was an issue. A table was between the thrones, and it was here that a chess board or some other symbolic piece might have been displayed. For now however, the table was host to the image Lambdadelta was projecting of Equestria, the midst of a wedding gone horribly wrong.[/colour]

[colour=#ff33ff]"Now I know that we all could make our influence known far before this point. We could become parasites, infuse ourselves into the guts of Equestria, warp it into something far worse than what it is now..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta spit out her lollipop, crushed it underneath her heel. [/colour][colour=#ff33ff]"But that would be boring. Hence, we won't make our influence known until this point, following this travesty of a wedding. Ladies and gentlemen, you know the rest." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta waved her hand, banished the images, and reclined in her seat. She had already sent her move into her piece's subconscious. Nothing too complex for now.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]-----[/colour]

[colour=#ffff00]Fluttershy's POV[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Fluttershy still occasionally had nightmares about the disaster of the Royal Wedding. The strangest part was that they were highly abstract nightmares, which didn't make much sense considering she had actually been at the event and thus could have very vivid nightmares with concrete relations to the debacle. Perhaps she should have been thankful for that. In theory, yes, in actuality, her abstract nightmares were no worse. Ponies laughed manically and screamed in terror, mutated into evil shapes in the corners of her vision, candy was offered to her only to turn into blood when it touched her hooves...[/colour]

[colour=#ffff00]"Ooooh... Princess Luna?" [/colour][colour=#000000]Fluttershy sent a prayer out to the Princess of dreams, as she often did during night terrors.[/colour]

[Blueblood]

"The essence of a game is that the Rules be the same for all players." -Hoyle's Law

---[colour=#daa520]Skeeve[/colour]---

You would think, wouldn't you, that I had seen enough not to be surprised at anything. Between Don Bruce the Fairy Godfather, Necropolis, vampires terrified of humans, and pretty much everything at the Bazaar of Deva, you would probably say that I couldn't have found anything weirder in all the dimensions.

Well, you'd be wrong. Things can always get weirder, things can always get worse, and with me, they generally do. I really should have known better; the Smuggler's Guild hadn't talked much about the difficulties they'd had getting through to this new dimension, just that they wanted us to get rid of them. I was all for caution, but from what everyone else had said, the possibility of a new inter-dimensional trade route was literally once-in-a-lifetime, and the chance to control it was pretty much once in forever.

So, the ink was dry on the contract before we had a grasp of the complications. First off, the closest anyone could get to this place was here, wherever here was; second, only one of us could get here at a time (and as MYTH Inc's top field agent, guess who got the job); third, apparently we had competition.

Or not; the creepy-looking sugar freak who introduced herself as Lambdadelta didn't seem to be here on business. She looked like she might have come from my home dimension of Klah, but apparently the "human" look was fairly common.

Speaking of dimensions...

I leaned forward to peer at the image of the one I'd been hired to scout. Equestria, it was called, and I could see why; it's main inhabitants seemed to be all multicolored ponies. That wasn't what caught my eye, though; the place was absolutely soaked in magic. I was used to power being along ground or sky lines, criss-crossing over a dimension, carrying power ready for a magician to tap. Small wars had been fought over control of where two or more of these lines intersected, but this... all the power one wanted, available anytime, anywhere. No wonder the natives had sealed it off; a dimensional traveler might go power-mad here.

Apparently, Lambdadelta had come to the same conclusion, hence the indirect way in. I could see the advantage of this approach; by getting local help, one could bypass the blockade, and perhaps open negotiations, or at least a door. I looked up again at the others around the table. They made things a little trickier, but maybe we could cut a deal.

"[colour=#daa520]I certainly wouldn't want to hurt anyone." [/colour]I assented, looking back at my chosen local assistant,[colour=#daa520] "There's no real need for it." [/colour]I waited for their reactions as I sent my first move. It was true, really. I'd managed to build MYTH Inc. on inspired win-win solutions-

I then remembered what had happened after those "win-win solutions." For the tenth time, I really, really wished I could have gotten a few of my friends to back me up.

---[colour=#008080]The Great and Powerful Trixie![/colour]---

"[colour=#008080]Why, why does the world hate Trixie?[/colour]"

"[colour=#006400]Ribbit.[/colour]"

Slumped on the ground, a pale blue unicorn mare stared at the frog in the middle of the magic circle. Three nights, three nights without sleep, studying these impossible grimoires, carefully inscribing magic runes, pouring every bit of magical energy she had into it, was this all Trixie had to show for it.

Trixie groaned. It just wasn't fair! The book had assured her that the spell would summon a powerful creature, one she could tame and use to gain power, and all she got was a frog. And not a magic frog, just an ordinary green frog.

"[colour=#006400]Ribbit[/colour]."

After that second croak, the creature hopped out of the magic circle and onto Trixie's cape. She didn't care. It was made out of ordinary purple cloth now, just like her hat. She hadn't been able to afford decorations, and anyway those could always be magically enhanced before a show. And all of this was because of that little show-off back at Ponyville!

*[colour=#006400]Trixie, you mean? That really wasn't anyone else's fault. You were pretty much on your own, there.[/colour]*

Trixie was not sure where the thought came from, but she couldn't deny that none of this would have happened if she'd been a better magician. So, she'd been spending all the time she could spare from her shows getting better, or trying, anyway.

"[colour=#008080]Oh Luna, what does Trixie have to do!?[/colour]" She practically howled the sentence at the moon.

[TotalEcplise]

[colour=#0000ff]Jace Beleren[/colour] (Last name pronounced Bah-lair-rin)

Jace had heard through the grape vine that a wonderful world flowing with mana existed, but it was only those who could walk among the stars could reach it. He already had the planeswalking thing down all that was left for the blue mage was to find the place. After about of month of diving through the Consortium's archives he had found solid information on the plane, Equestria it was called. Not much was else was known about the world, other than the fact that it was unreachable through the blind eternities. Ever thirsty for knowledge Jace didn't accept that though. Once he felt he had a grasp on the plane's location he 'walked' away from Ravnica. The Aether around Equestria was a maelstrom of all five colors, just waiting to tear apart any foolish enough to try and enter the land. He tried to find a way through the roil, but instead he found himself drawn into a strange in between realm.

A strange woman was already there, Jace met a lot of those in his line of work and quite frankly he didn't want to add another to the mix, so he ignored her as best as he could. He Set up a mental link with what he assumed was a scholarly local and created a viewing pool so that he could watch her actions. The woman in the realm with him started talking about skipping this and skipping that, and about warping the land. Jace just wanted to learn about it the place, and maybe collect a few rarities to take back to the Consortium vaults.

[colour=#0000ff]"How could you skip anything? the entirety of this world is fascinating!"[/colour] Jace was knelt over a large pool of water, his face hidden within the darkness of his hood. Mana burned at his fingertips as he manipulated the images that played out before him. The shifting surface displayed the interior of a library built directly into a tree and a purple unicorn mare.

A newcomer appeared he didn't seem dangerous so Jace ignored him.

[colour=#0000ff]"I'd rather just observe them, knowledge is a skeleton key after all."[/colour] He said to Lambdadelta. Jace barely had to interfere with his research partner's mind. She did what he wanted her to do with or without his intervention.

-------------------------------

[colour=#800080]Twilight Sparkle[/colour]

Another sleepless night, another after hour study session. [colour=#800080]"Hmm, what should I read now? I already finished The Magical Leylines of Equestria, and Pre-Principality History."[/colour] Lately Twilight's hunger for knowledge had grown exponentially, she had no idea where this sudden urge to know more about everything had come from. Well actually she always felt like that, but now it was different as if a small push in the back of her mind compelled her to devour knowledge. The strangest thing about it though was that whenever the strange urge to read came over her she would feel the familiar pinch of outside magic.

She levitated several books over her head and read the titles as the past in front of her face [colour=#800080]"Nope, nope, nope...URGH!" [/colour]She grunted. The mare tossed and turned in her bed as he daftly replaced all of the tomes. She buried her face into her pillow and tried to get some sleep, Celestia knew she'd look rough in the morning if she didn't get to sleep soon.

[Valencetiger]

Gallerian Marlon

Yes...almost there. He almost had everything he needed to make his dreams a reality...all but one final piece remained. His hands tightened around themselves as he watched the scenes of events on the screen-like bubbles, his dark blue eyes intent on the actions portrayed by the...ponies...that lived in this world of Equestria. A little while back, Gallerian had heard mention of this world and its magical riches...and from what he could gather, he wasn't disappointed. A greedy smile appeared on his face at the thought of all the power and wealth he could accumulate here...it made his heart flutter with suspense. He had listened to Lambdadelta's plan for the mysterious world, and while he particularly disliked it...he could see the sense behind it. If they were to inactively influence Equestria, then he might as well build up his strength through it. During the slideshow of scenes, his eyes widened upon first seeing the 'Princess Luna'. Her story was...intriguing...and exactly what he needed! Where else was better to get that final fragment of Pride...but the very Princess who tried to take over Equestria before? This was perfect! Already, he began to make the mental connection with the alicorn mare...which proved surprisingly more difficult than he would have assumed. Once the connection was established, he leaned back in his throne with a satisfied smirk, waiting as the show ended and Lambdadelta explained.

"...I agree with you entirely, dear Lamb. As for myself, I have already laid my claim on that precious Luna...quite the specimen, she is." Gallerian's grin widened at the thought of his quest finally coming to its close. Soon, my dear...soon my darling 'daughter' will come to life. Just wait a while longer...

(OOC: I'll make the Luna post in a bit.)

[Drowzy]

Penoa Von Russo

Standing silently Penoa held onto his metal suitcase as his annoyed eyes observed his suppose to be companions. Looking [colour=#000000]at Lambdadelta the Seeker rolled his eyes knowing that she must have missed something. "of course just glance through everything not like someone will have to do the actually obligation of our tasks" he muttered with sarcasm dripping from his tone. Even though his jealously was growing inside a young filly he still could get annoyed at times. Taking a few moments to shut his eyes Penoa concentrated on his essence inside the individual. Nothing seemed tampered with which meant as soon that object was found his soul would have a new lifestyle to explore. [/colour]A wide smile formed on his face as he opened his eyes as his fingers tapped on the metal suitcase he held so dear. Taking a few steps forward he would slightly crane his neck over win-win princess to gain a peak of what she was actually looking at. His eyes briefly looked at the organisms trying to decide what life to try out first. Although realizing how many ends had to be figured out a annoyed little sigh escaped his lips already knowing that everyone would relax instead of working.

"Luna this and Luna that have you got tired of saying that name" he mentioned to Gallerian as he sat down opening up the metal suitcase. The Seeker grabbed a neat looking folder before opening it. Inside there was papers in a journal format about someone's life. "i don't need a goddess to meet my interest" Penoa said as he began to read the papers that seemed to write their own story. "looks like little Diamond is stuck in school ignorant as ever i see excellent" he silently muttered as his eyes reading the details.

Diamond Tierra

Diamond lazily looked at the board as Ms.Cheerilee written down a equation for a math problem. She knew who owned the classroom which was her. Although no matter how proud she felt she still felt empty like she needed something. Looking at the cutie mark crusaders her teeth slightly grinned against each other seeing that they was happy instead of worshiping her social status. Sadly Silver Spoon was sick today which left her all alone but she still had enough remarks to tear down anyponies confidence. "hey blaaank flank" she snickered as she thought up different ways to say that. Soon would be time for recess which was the highlight of her day.

[Valencetiger]

Princess Luna

The dark alicorn drifted across the dark sky, looking upon the quiet landscape of Equestria down below. Every night, she rode on her chariot across the starry sky to ease her mind and to enjoy herself, loving her beautiful night. While there were many ponies asleep, there were a few that stayed up late into the night, those who she often visited and spent time with. Luna didn't really mind the solitude the night brought...after all, she lived alone on the Moon for a thousand years! Pushing that fact aside, she kept to her flight.

As she flew past Canterlot and onward toward the Equestrian Heartland, she felt a slight pull on her consciousness. Frowning, she tried to figure out what it was, but it soon vanished. Shaking her head of the odd sensation, she ignored it. Tonight, she was on patrol for any Changeling aggressors that were still left nearby ever since the Royal Wedding. A few had been found...but not that many, compared to the number they could have found. Everything seemed quiet tonight...except for a few prayers she overheard from a couple ponies down below. One of them she recognized as Fluttershy, and the other that odd unicorn, Trixie. Smiling slightly, she created two magical copies of herself, and sent them to the two mare's destinations. Maybe her sister Celestia couldn't answer every prayer sent to her...but Luna might as well try.

One of the apparitions glided gently down from the sky toward the small town of Ponyville, her mane a glittering mass of starlight and dark wings blue against the sky. It wasn't long before Luna's Clone settled down outside of Fluttershy's window, sticking her head in and looking inside. "Hello? Miss Fluttershy? You called...and so I came. Is something the matter here?"

The other apparition also took very little time to reach Trixie, settling down and leaning on a tree. (Assuming that Trixie is outside). Smiling down at the distraught magician, she laughed a bit. "What must you do...? Why, that is a rather simple question, young Miss Trixie. Sure, your debacle in Ponyville soiled your reputation a bit...but I bet that can be fixed with an actual heroic deed. If you were to, say...save a local town from disaster, I am sure that would give you the good publicity needed to solve your problems."

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#ffff00]Fluttershy[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Fluttershy had been hiding under her covers, desperately assuring herself that it had just been a dream and that she would be fine, from the amount of quivering she was doing it was pretty clear she hadn't managed to calm herself down in any capacity. So she squealed when Luna spoke, jumped a good few feet into the air and crash landed hard on the ground beside her bed. [/colour][colour=#ffff00]"Ooooh... Princess Luna?" [/colour][colour=#000000]Fluttershy looked up over her bed tentatively, and sure enough the Princess of the Night was looking in at her through her window. Fluttershy had sent out prayers to Luna before when she was suffering from night terrors... but she had never really expected them to be answered. Fluttershy bit her lip, honestly not sure if she was any happier now that Luna was here. In retrospect, her last experience with the Princess hadn't been exactly fun. Her ears still occasionally rung from the yelling she'd been given, even though she didn't blame the Princess... She was just naturally scared.[/colour]

[colour=#ffff00]"U-uh... I just had a nightmare, Princess. Sorry for bothering you..."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]-----[/colour]

[colour=#ff33ff]Lambdadelta[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Lambdadelta summoned a new set of bubbles, which floated into the center of the room for all to behold. She was curious, she wanted to see the pieces the others had chosen and their current status... Okay, her chosen piece was already proving incredibly pathetic. But Lambdadelta found that cute, endearing. Great things could come from those overlooked for being too cute to be suspected of wrongdoing. Marlon had already admitted he had taken the Princess. Already on a stronger level than the rest of them, by fact of his piece's superiority to the pieces they all possessed. His body language, his countenance. He'd be interesting, if probably incredibly obvious in his moves for most of the game.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Trixie had been caught in a position of trying to gain power... ambition would be a great trait in a piece, and with the proper moves Skeeve would have a powerful instrument of change in his hands. He seemed to have a less dominant, more subservient personality. Lambdadelta knew that players of that nature were powerful in their own right, for their ability to form strong alliances and play kingmaker. [/colour][colour=#ff33ff]"I doubt there will be a need to hurt anybody..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta said reassuringly. Then her disposition very quickly reversed itself. [/colour][colour=#ff33ff]"There being no need will not exclude a want, however..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta smirked, a sadistic little smirk. She left him to chew on that as she continued her appraisal of their circle.[/colour]

[colour=#ff33ff]"To be honest, I didn't need to skip anything. I am now fluent in Equestrian history. If you need a lesson..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta snorted, amused by her own obvious sarcasm, stuck out her tongue at Jace. But he had clearly picked a piece in line with his own goals. It was at once predictable, a good move, and a bad move. Didn't this 'researcher' know that the best way to learn about an environment was to introduce an agent of catalyst? Was it the most benign way to learn? Perhaps not, but Lambdadelta had never been one for passive observation and research. She preferred a more visceral approach. Vivisection was always an option, after all. [/colour][colour=#ff33ff]"Knowledge is a skeleton key my ass." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta suddenly popped into and out of existence, now upside down on her own throne, her legs hooked around the back of her throne and her hair hanging. She thus observed the last player with a different angle, as in a literally different angle.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Peona was being the most antagonist towards her. Lambdadelta took him as the sort who was no-nonsense and all business, which irritated her to no end. Aside from being no fun, this type was actually the sort who naturally had a leg up over her, since her powers dictated that she had to favour them. Of course, she was sure most of the players present were hard workers- ninety percent of power was hard work, after all- but Peona might be especially troublesome. But he had already made an interesting deviation, one Lambdadelta wasted no time in pouncing on. She summoned an image of the pieces walking alongside one another, inverted so that it was facing the correct way for her. For all the others, little upside-down ponies were floating through the air, caricatures of their chosen harbingers or whatever. [/colour]

[colour=#ff33ff]"Occam's Razor states that the simplest solution is generally the correct one to a given problem. Everyone agree? Now, simplicity is removed, complexity added in many ways. One of those ways is to..." [/colour][colour=#000000]The candied Witch summoned a simple knife, with a handle and a sharpened blade. [/colour][colour=#ff33ff]"... Introduce additional viewpoints to the story. Additional variables not easily accounted for to the equation. In short, extra fluff. Like..." [/colour][colour=#000000]One holographic pony began to separate from the pack, a certain filly with a diamond tiara. Lambdadelta slashed at it, it fell down for her, up for the rest, until it dissipated against the ceiling. [/colour][colour=#ff33ff]"I am interested in your choice of start, Peona. You add extra complexity to this scenario, and in doing so, seem to give us more chances to exclude, isolate, destroy you. Am I right, guys? I think I'm right." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta dispelled the hologram of ponies and righted herself in her throne, her expression mockingly inquisitive.[/colour]

[Valencetiger]

Gallerian Marlon

He chuckled at Lamb's criticism of Peona's choice, his smile wide as he leered at the businessman-like Outsider. "...I have to agree with Miss Lamb, Mr. Peona. A child is a bit...too unreasonable, regardless of her status. What power does a child even have in their society? If it is reasonable...then...Diamond Tiara, was it...? If their society was reasonable, she would hold no influence or power for many years. As I can see...you are not the patient type." His keen blue eyes peered at Peona, curious as to how he would react.

"...yes, my own choice may be ambitious or obvious, but there is a good reason behind it. With power comes admiration...and with admiration comes pride. By the time I am done..." Marlon's smile disappeared, replaced with a mysterious gleam in his eyes. "...this Equestria will be completely different." Clearing his throat, he smoothed out his blackish coat and pulled out a small golden watch from his pocket, glancing at it before placing it back. "...if I may ask though, Mr. Jace...it seems to me that you chose a piece that mimicked your personality. Is that because it would be easier to bend them to your will...? Or is it a comfort for you...?" His last sentence had a warped meaning to it, hidden underneath his amused expression.

Princess Luna

Her apparition with Fluttershy showed a gentle smile to the cowering filly, nodding in understanding. "...I know that we haven't had the...best...encounters in the past. However, as you can notice, I have gotten better with my voice. It has been awhile though, has it not? In either case..." The dark alicorn got comfortable, leaning against the window sill. "...tell me what dreams ail you. Maybe I can help with them? I am told that it is easier to get over nightmares once they have been explained."

[Blueblood]

"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of Bafflement." -M. Vorkosigan

---[colour=#daa520]Skeeve[/colour]---

As I watched the others around the table, I couldn't help but wonder if any of the other 'Outsiders' were Dragon Poker players. I don't play much these days; when I did I had to rely on luck and being able to read people.

I think it was Lambdadelta that reminded me of those games; she seemed to take the attitude of the table dealer. She wasn't playing for the stakes, she was just interested in the game itself, drawing the players in, making it interesting... It wouldn't be until later, when we were all deep into it, that she'd play for the house, as it were. Already, she'd brought in the most powerful piece into interaction with her own.

Of course, she was also a little crazy. All this summoning of viewbubbles made it harder to keep track of one's own piece... but easier to keep track of other's. Perhaps poker wasn't quite the right parallel

Certainly, there wouldn't be much display of the fine are of bluffing, if the blue-haired guy in the dark cape was any indication. Obvious moves, both in Equestria, and in dealing with his fellow players. He didn't seem to be paying me much attention, perhaps it was because I hadn't given so much away.

Still, he had a good hand for playing the political game, but I wasn't sure about his grasp of the rules. I'd served in a Royal Court before, and in my experience, what Power go you was attention, which could take many forms, from admirers to assassins. The only thing worse was notoriety, which gave you attention without the means of dealing with it.

That, however, wasn't my problem now. I couldn't help but smile. It was kind of refreshing, not being thought worth noticing. There was no need to bring my observations to his attention, in any case.

The blue mage also didn't quite fit the poker metaphor. It was like he wasn't even interested in the game, but in the artwork on the cards. Even if he lost his bets, he still got what he came for. Left on his own, I suspected he wouldn't bother with much interaction, until he exhausted the solo researches of his piece.

Another thing to file away for later.

And then there was Peona. He reminded me a little of Grimble, the chancellor back at the court I was a magician for. Business-like, and fairly irritable. Still, that sort can be dealt with, if you grease them with compliments. "[colour=#daa520]If a man picks a piece of cheese for his weapon in a duel, you may count on the fact that he has thought of an innovative and surprisingly effective way of using it." [/colour]I spoke from experience here.[colour=#daa520] "You look to me like the intelligent sort. Smart enough to play a subtle game, anyway."[/colour]

I was rather interested in what he was planning. I'd learned the hard way what damage a child (or apparent child) could do if ignored or underestimated.

---[colour=#008080]Trixie[/colour]---

The sudden and unexpected arrival of the Princess of the night (or, at least, a projection of her), startled Trixie. She bounded to her hooves, immediately dipping back down again in a bow. Amazingly, the frog still managed to keep it's footing on her cape, and acknowledged the proceedings with only a perfunctory "[colour=#006400]Ribbit.[/colour]"

"[colour=#008080]Your Majesty! Trixie was not expecting... you.[/colour]" That sort of understated the case, but she couldn't find the appropriate words on short notice. But when Luna actually answered her question, that was when her statement was really inadequate to the situation. This was something on the level of a miracle.

It is regretful, therefore, that Trixie did not feel that appropriate mixture of awe and gratification one gives to divine interventions in mortal affairs. Her eye twitched a bit, and then she started wailing. "[colour=#008080]Trixie caaan't![/colour]" There was another collapse, with further reply choking out through sobs. "[colour=#008080]That's the problem... Ponyville did face disaster... Trixie tried to stop it... Trixie wasn't powerful enough... if Trixie tried that again now... Trixie would only be humiliated again... Trixie needs to be more powerful before she can be great... Trixie has been trying to teach herself-[/colour]"

"[colour=#006400]Ribbit.[/colour]"

She spun her head around, glaring at the amphibian. "[colour=#008080]And you were no help![/colour]"

*[colour=#006400]Perhaps, if Trixie was taught by someone better than Trixie...[/colour]*

Another thought Trixie couldn't quite place. In a less vulnerable moment, she might have been suspicious of it. Right now, it did seem to make sense.

"[colour=#008080]Would you...[/colour]" No, some things you couldn't just ask of a Princess. "[colour=#008080]Do you know... anyone who might be of help to Trixie?[/colour]"

[Drowzy]

Lamb began the meeting by showing everyone their choices. Gray blue eyes glanced at his own Penoa seeing the advantage unlike everyone else. "a child she may but her parent's resources is what im after and i know she does not like to be left out of things" Penoa silently said to himself a subtle smile forming upon his lips. It was a simple plan he grew up seeing the advantages the rich held above the peasants. Allowing himself to be a concious for the filly he was able to catch many amounts of information about the locations she was granted to visit. Also when he finnaly got his new body he could make any individual see his way of things.Looking at some papers of her story so far seemed vague for his desired artifact to be located more time had to be invested. Pondering about how the information sounded he gently tapped his fingers on the table his mind dissecting the details. Even though his choice may have seemed the weakest his was the easiest to manipulate as well and a way to store his jealousy somewhere.

Then the Princess put the Seeker onto the questioning chair her mocking expression slightly annoying him. Silently he looked at her his expression showing no emotions as he got his papers into a neat stack. "curiousity is our purpose of being here and a way to inject ourselves into this world correct" Penoa began with his oppening statement. "a child is a beginning last time i recall and why should we inject ourselves into a society without knowng the basic details through experiance instead of only knowledge" he said his voice staying calm and collected. "she may not have as much power by herself but her jealousy is min to manipulate and her money provides many resources that she can easily take advantage of with some of my modivation of course" the Seeker explained to the group with the same calm and collected tone. "if something seems profitable with less risks i attend to be patient for it to blosssom" When that was said he glanced at Gallerian.

Skeeve mentioned something interesting that made the Seeker worry slightly. "i see someone sees a deeper advantage to my choice but how far can he presume" Penoa silently pondered. He remained silent his mind already sending some motivation to his investment. Although the buisiness outsider remained curious of Skeeve trying to figure out a way to get the person to tell more than he knew.

~Diamond~

The school bell finnaly rung her detention was finally over. She stayed in her carriage her saddle bag next to her side. She put her hoof on her head trying to ease up the burning rage that was enveloping her mind and heart. Strangely this sensation wanted her to find something ancient. Diamond knew her father had many books on ancient artifacts which Filthy Rich gained through auctions. She loved her father yet at the same time she wanted everything he owned the power and the resources. "miss are you okay" the driver pony said noticing the filly twitch with anger and confussion. "of course im alright just watch were your going before i like tell daddy" she acidly said to her driver. Not able to ignore the feeling and whipsers in her head she took out a book from her saddle bag. Dust gently brushed off of its cover before she began to read it. "read and posses" she silently muttered repeating the whispers that echoed in her ears while the stars above twinkled.

[FermataTheBasse]

Lambdadelta

[colour=#daa520]"[/colour][colour=#DAA520]If a man picks a piece of cheese for his weapon in a duel, you may count on the fact that he has thought of an innovative and surprisingly effective way of using it."[/colour]

[colour=#ff33ff]"I should know as much, I do love throwing candy at people." [/colour][colour=#000000]Oh, those times had been good memories. For her, not so much for anyone else involved in her games. Lambdadelta was reminded by that, it had been some time since she'd had something to eat. She felt like she were watching a movie, what with all the images of other people's lives she had floating around herself. She thus summoned popcorn, to go along with the mood, complete with the cliche red striped bag to hold it in. She popped a few kernels into her mouth, ate them, then smiled at her counterparts. They had all missed her point, which she didn't blame them for. It took a Witches mind to properly consider some of the more abstract parameters a game of this nature imposed upon it's players. To be fair to Skeeve and Peona, they both had a point. But...[/colour]

[colour=#ff33ff]"I did not mean anything against the piece herself. She's surely a stronger choice than my own, to be perfectly honest." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta considered Diamond Tiara for a moment. She was reading ancient lore, which was of course always an ominous thing in events of this nature. It seemed that history had a knack for being evil when outside interference was run. [/colour][colour=#ff33ff]"I recommend you look at where your character is in relation to the rest of ours, however. Little Miss Tiara is nowhere near the events the rest of our characters are participating in. Now, consider this. Say I gather the other players into an alliance, of convenience or otherwise? We agree to ensure that our characters never interact with yours. Now, Diamond Tiara can perhaps achieve much on her own. But let us consider anthropic principle. Observation, conscious observation is power, it is what creates, it is what defines. Our characters will grow together, whether as allies or enemies or lovers." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta snickered at the thought of that, popped a few more kernels into her mouth, then continued on with her speech:[/colour]

[colour=#ff33ff]"Little Miss Tiara is excluded. Her achievements become weak, meaningless, without consideration from other pieces. You have effectively been sealed off from the game, your character omitted, irrelevant. All because you did not force her into the beginning scenario in some way. That is the move of yours I critique. I've seen it happen many times before, seen it lose games many times before. Of course, that would be an incredibly droll manner of defeating you. So I assure you I will not be using such a method." [/colour][colour=#000000]Lambdadelta was done with that thread, moved on to watching Marlon out of the corner of her eye while eating more of her snack. He was still being obviously ominous, but she knew he would most likely have the most direct impact on this board, very soon.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]-----[/colour]

Fluttershy

[colour=#ffff33]"W-well..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Fluttershy had to admit, the Princess didn't seem as bad suddenly. Her casual demeanor was calming Fluttershy down significantly. [/colour][colour=#ffff00]"I... I'm sorry I let my fear get the better of me last time, Princess." [/colour][colour=#000000]She balanced on her forehooves, gave the Princess a little bow. She stayed behind her bed though, only her upper body visible. [/colour][colour=#ffff00]"I've been having nightmares about the Royal Wedding. There are all kinds of evil, scary things... and people give me candy and it turns to blood..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Fluttershy shut her eyes tightly, suddenly trembling at the mere image she had managed to evoke once more. A smiling witch, handing her tainted sweets...[/colour]

[TotalEcplise]

[colour=#0000ff]Jace[/colour]

[colour=#FF33FF]"Knowledge is a skeleton key my ass."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Jace frowned slightly at Lambda's comment.[/colour][colour=#0000ff] "One would be surprised, by what they could find through silent observation. Understanding before action, a keen eye and an open mind has lead me to success countless times."[/colour][colour=#000000] He said feigning interest in the what the witch was doing. Apparently Peona's choice of a piece greatly interested Lambda. Indeed the had made an interesting choice in selecting the filly as his piece. Jace silently questioned his motivations for choosing a child. Peona must have a some sort of stock invested in the little pony. Jace was no new comer to the idea's of long winded plans. He listened to Lambda's assessment of Peona's piece. His response a polite, though he didn't look up at her. [/colour][colour=#0000ff]"The wise turtle knows that it is safe inside of its shell."[/colour][colour=#000000] Acting with some sort of buffer between one's self and suspecion was always an excellent strategy.[/colour][colour=#0000ff] "A child is perhaps the most dangerous tool of anarchy imaginable. Were he to influence his piece to do something malicious could any of our pieces intervene, would they even be taken seriously if we were to have them express their concerns?[/colour][colour=#000000] He didn't even care if they answered or if they were even listening.[/colour]

[colour=#0000ff]"Please, just Jace and yes, that was the basic Idea. My experience as a mind mage has taught me that the best trickery is seeped in reality, the smaller the disconnect the less chance of complications. Her motivation is my purpose for choosing her, we are both knowledge seekers, I barely have to push her to accomplish any goals I may have." [/colour][colour=#000000]Jace had not just looked at the lavender mare as the only factor, her resources and place in the grand scheme mattered greatly to the mind mage. His piece was exactly what he wanted, a knowldege seeker who's life was dynamic, someone who saw every experience as a chance to learn. But most importantly, someone who wouldn't let a mystery go unsolved. [/colour]

[colour=#0000ff]"I like this little game we're playing, critiquing each others choices; it reminds me of someone. A dragon to be precise. You speak of her exclusion as a weakness, but I'm sure that i'm not the only one who's seen what the shadows hide."[/colour][colour=#000000] Jace turned back to his pool of magical water, it mostly pitch black, signifying that the mare had just fallen asleep. Now was his chance, his eyes started to burn with mana and right hand glowed an icy blue. [/colour][colour=#0000ff]"A drop of water ripples across the entire pond."[/colour][colour=#000000] He said as he dipped a finger in the pool.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]-----------------------------------[/colour]

[colour=#800080]Twilight (Library)[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Twilight's dream was pretty normal, a day in the largest library in Equestria, reading stack after stack of tomes on all subjects. As she fliiped through the books, she began to notice something off, every so often she would see a glowing blue symbol. Perhaps it was some sort of rune, she paid it no mind though. leaving the library she hailed a carriage, the door swung open and pony controlling the vehicles hat bore the same symbol as the one she saw in the library. The rune felt familiar, but no matter how hard she thought she couldn't remember where she knew it from or what it meant.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Twilight awoke with a start in the dead of night. Her head felt a little funny from sitting up too fast, but other than that she was fine. Even after arriving in the world of the waking, that strange symbol still plagued her mind. The unicorn called over a piece of paper and a quill and drew the image that she saw in her mind. [/colour][colour=#800080]"*YAWN* I'll figure it out in the morning."[/colour][colour=#000000] She said as her head fell back onto her pillows. [/colour]

[Drowzy]

Penoa mentally cursed at the princess of the outsider group presumed that she thought she was higher than everyone. He grew up doing finances for their kind always sorting through the trouble they cause themselves. Although for now the Seeker had to please her which was not much of a issue though. As she continued her explanation he remained silent politely listening to her. "i know the concepts of interacting Lambdadelta" he calmly and smoothly replied to her. "i have studied her natural day to day procedures making sure not to alarm anyone that can be influenced later on" he began his explanation just to satisfy her concept of teamwork. "since i want to stick to this schedule with some edits to my satisfaction i organized a time to meet with all of your pieces however its proper to meet one of her companions soon" the seeker continued his eyes shifting over to Jace. "as you can see she is reading a book which needs more resources to fully understand" Penoa calmly informed Lamb leading to his next part of his explanation hoping his words convinced her. He did plan to interact with the others but he felt timing meant everything which if one person suspected something their whole plan would be ruined. Seeing that she was getting impatient the business outsider considered it would be best sooner than later even though his mind told him otherwise. A idea suddenly occurred in his mind which his eyes lead to his bubble of diamond reading a book on ancient lore. One of his companion's pieces owned a library there had to be more details on ancient artifacts and it could open up a new chapter to explore for the filly's life.

"im sure this land's best student teacher would not mind being a tutor to a innocent little filly because after all she will one day own a wealthy empire so to influence the land you need to know the history of it" Penoa politly suggested to the blue mage. "her father's empire is not as strong as Celestia's but the money hold many resources to invest in and the one day shall be soon if my plan goes accordingly" he thought as he patiently waited for the cloaked figure to respond. To help this get set up a small glint of violate glimmered briefly in his right eye as he started to connect with Diamond's eyes. She was about to find out of a homework assignment she suddenly forgotten about a very important test about artifacts. Of course this test was not real but to her eyes her notebook would clearly state Penoa's suggestion. All that had to be done now was for Jace to influence his own piece to make the mentoring official.

~Diamond~

The crickets chirped as the carriage smoothly rolled onward. Diamond eyes scanned the text her mind getting ready for whatever task the voice in her head suggested. She did not remember her teacher assigning such a test but whatever notes she had always suggested what the voice mentioned. The jealousy that slithered into her heart only made her want to find this thing so she can own it to make everyone worship her. Sighing the filly looked outside noticing the stars glimmer as the night air brushed against her muzzle. Slowly her light blue eyes began to turn a different shade as a violate shade began to glimmer in her optics. She looked at her saddlebag noticing a note. It said what the mid-term contained that was suppose to be weeks instead it showed that the test was in fact at the end of the week. She blinked a few times before opening the bag for her notebook. Looking at it the notebook said the exact same thing as the note she wanted to be the head of her family so failing was not a option. "driver get hold of daddy i need to go to the library tell him ill be staying the night" she instructed the driver.

Diamond knew her father would not care he never did only when she did something bad. She still felt he needed to know and plus it was school related he would not think anything of it anyways. "i must find it" she silently said as she squinted her eyes as her head was filled with whispers once again. They promised they would vanish as soon she found that certain item. Eyes still gleaming with a violate tone in her light blue optics she looked up at the moon wondering if Luna could see her suffering. For now she had to get to the library to reluctantly do what the note and the voices instructed. When she arrived she slowly walked up to the tall tree knowing that it was late but she just had to study the voices continually urged her to do so. Diamond glanced at the carriage the driver showing her a pocket watch to show the time on this silent saturday night. "its like near 11 but im sure she will understand she is a egghead after all" the little filly said to herself before she knocked on the door hoping that the librarian would answer the door.

[TotalEcplise]

[colour=#0000ff]Jace[/colour]

[colour=#0000ff]"Do as you wish, that mare is willing to spread knowledge of her own accord."[/colour] Jace looked up at Penoa, then back down to his viewing pool. Truly there was nothing for him to do other than wake his piece from her slumber. He thought back on all the late nights of study with his old master and brutal magical training sessions with Tezzert. Jace knew how draining, both physically and mentally the quest to better oneself was and he knew how important rest was to the equation, but what Penoa's suggest hurt no one and would even allow you a more dynamic method of information gathering. He pulled an invisible magical string to send a mental signal to make his piece, making her hyper aware of her surroundings.

_____________________________________

[colour=#800080]Twilight [/colour][colour=#000000](Library)[/colour]

The mare tossed and turned in her bed, every single thing seemed determined to keep her from a full nights sleep. the rustling of her homes branches, the crickets in the grass and even the wind blowing against bedroom curtains hindered her attempts at sleep. Her mind was on fire, she was curious about everything. Information that she knew she wanted to reevaluate and gain a better understanding and if it was unknown she wanted to know it. A knock at the downstairs door broke her from her musings. Twilight, mess of a mane and all pulled herself out of bed. she was annoyed, but not by the disturbance though, she was bothered by how little sleeping she had accomplished. She yawned quietly as she descended the stairs from the upper levels of the tree. She made sure her hoof steps are as soft as possible as to not wake her sleeping assistant.

She rubbed her eyes and opened the front door to the library, not fully, but just enough to see anypony that was on ther other side.[colour=#800080] "H-how, can I HHHHeeelp you?"[/colour] she yawned out. [colour=#800080]"Excuse me."[/colour] she as her face took on a slightly red tint.

[Drowzy]

~Penoa~

A soft smile appeared upon Penoa's lips as their aggrement occured. He knew this would please the princess of the group something that had to be done. The Seeker wanted that artifact so much but he guessed it would come in due time. Although the buisiness outsider desired for the girl to become jealous of so much so his influence will always be there. "let our deal commence" he softly and calmly said as he observed the stack of papers waiting for the details to appear upon the pages.

~Diamond~

Patiently Diamond waited for the door to open the voices in her head not letting her forget the task. She desired to find this artifact jus to make the voices halt also discovery the power the mysterious item possesed. The filly was deciptivley smart but with that kind of power she could do anything she wanted. All of those jeolous feeling would disappear instead everyone else would bow to her greatness and wish to be her. Thinking about this light blue eyes sparkled as a smug smirk appeared upon her muzzle. When the filly heard hoofsteps she menally prepaired her act to influence the egghead that was coming forth. "hello Twillight im sorry about buggng you" she spoke in a depressed tone as her eyes looked up at her begging. "my daddy wants me to know more about equastria and it will help me with class but.." she continued in the tone before she gave a soft sigh.

"i dont understand this book i was hoping Ponyville's smartest mare would tutor me" Diamond said as she pulled out the book with her mouth. She softly grasped it with her forlegs before holding it against her chest. "i just want to make daddy proud of me" Diamond said putitng all of her effort into it. Her light blue eyes sparkled as her lip slightly moved. "come on fall for it egghead" she acidly thought as she waited for the mare's response to her act.

[Blueblood]

(I kind of think this thread is dead, both Fermata and Valence have bowed out, and I've kind of lost interest myself.)