The City That Lives (IC, Steampunk/Pony/Anthro/Human)

[Pinki3 Pon-3]

Mac
Mac smiled and slid out of bed before tiredly drying himself off and washing his mane and face to make himself look presentable. He sighed heavily and kissed Concerto as he trotted past to grab his jacket. "True, we can. . . But after that, I'm gonna be sore fer a while . . . I'm technically still supposed ta be asleep in bed from me kidnappin' remember?" He asked with a chuckle and entwined his one forehoof with Concerto's. "Now, let's go ta yer sister's house seein' as I'm sated." He said cheerfully. "Lead on my love." He said with a smile.

Angel
Angel listened to his explanation and raised and eyebrow, "You know a lot for an amnesiac." She muttered in order to discredit his realistically perfect explanation of her behaviour, for herself at least. She giggled and shook her head, "I don't 'board' with professors. I live alone, I work with professors. You see, I lecture at the upper class universities. Hence, life gets very stressful and irritating." She said and sighed. "Of course you can't remember your occupation can you?" She asked curiously.

Sunbreaker/Clock
Sunbreaker looked at Jorgen incredulously. "She? Well I guess it does have a feminine appearance." She said and turned to Clock. "Did you accept that title?" One tap. "Okay, she it is then. Nice to see she learned that tap thing well enough." Sunbreaker said. She listened as Jorgen spoke and sighed, "Bruiser Vocabulary Crystal, and that wouldn't work because the bruisers don't have her voice box, that's a crystal for communicating via their network." She said with a sigh. Clock walked up behind Jorgen and placed a hoof on his back, "It fine, I learning lots. Talk teach me." Clock said in its machine language.

Snow
Snow nodded and smiled, "Exactly, life growing from death, the continuation of the cycle." She said with a hint of sadness as they bounded out into the air. Snow ran to a nearby stream which ran through the city and picked an Acorn from an oak tree before turning to Aurora, "Take me to him please?" She asked with a smile.

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Mac
Mac smiled and slid out of bed before tiredly drying himself off and washing his mane and face to make himself look presentable. He sighed heavily and kissed Concerto as he trotted past to grab his jacket. "True, we can. . . But after that, I'm gonna be sore fer a while . . . I'm technically still supposed ta be asleep in bed from me kidnappin' remember?" He asked with a chuckle and entwined his one forehoof with Concerto's. "Now, let's go ta yer sister's house seein' as I'm sated." He said cheerfully. "Lead on my love." He said with a smile.

Concerto

Concerto giggled a little and trotted out of the hotel at a leisurely pace, holding hooves with Mac, signing out on the way. After a fifteen minute walk, they arrived at their destination. "Well, we're here! I have a good feeling that you two are going to like each other!" Concerto said, excitedly, pointing to the large mansion that his sister lived in, even more luxurious than Concerto's old house. The biggest difference, though, was that Shining's house didn't have a gate around it, seeing as it was in a much better part of town that didn't have much crime. Practically dragging Mac with him, Concerto trotted up to the door and gave a few knocks. "Shining! It's Concerto!" He said in a voice just loud enough to be considered a shout. After a few brief moments of waiting, the mare opened the door, smiling down at her younger brother; the resemblance between the two was clear, both of them having light gray coats and black manes. "Concerto! It's so nice to see you again!" Shining Diamond said, enthusiastically, embracing her brother in a deep hug. "I see you brought a friend. My name's Shining Diamond, whom might you be?" She asked Mac in a friendly tone of voice.

[Crumlark]

Angel
Angel listened to his explanation and raised and eyebrow, "You know a lot for an amnesiac." She muttered in order to discredit his realistically perfect explanation of her behaviour, for herself at least. She giggled and shook her head, "I don't 'board' with professors. I live alone, I work with professors. You see, I lecture at the upper class universities. Hence, life gets very stressful and irritating." She said and sighed. "Of course you can't remember your occupation can you?" She asked curiously.

"I know a lot for being a mortal at all." Atha cheekily replied. "Oh, so you do live alone? What a disappointment, I was looking forward to being greeted at the door by a dead-faced historian, or sharing breakfast with a milky-eyed mathematician." He looked around, bored by the silence and stunned by the City. "It is all so much to take in-" He began, before being cut off by her question. For some reason this probe into his forgotten past had struck somewhere sensitive. After a moment of thought, he was able to come up with details that he knew simply because of his body. "... I was someone fast. I talked to people a lot." He looked at her faint smile, and rolled his eyes. "That doesn't narrow it down much, now does it? Those two things popped into my head with the doctor, so I answered as honestly as I was able... after all, aren't couriers fast and talk to people?" By no coincidence, he neglected to bring up the second title he claimed to have to the receptionist.

[The Flutterlands]

Rouge
Rouge smiled and kissed Pitch again. "That sounds good, but if we can, I want to be the mother . . . Its . . . Its more special then." She said and let her soft paw rest on his cheek. "A bit of me and a bit of you, the most special fox or pony around." She said with a giggle and rested her head on his chest. She wrapped a paw around one of his hooves, "From what one of the others at the Cabaret told me, it's painful . . . So long as I have you by my side I can go through any pain." She said softly and pulled the blankets up around them as she closed her eyes again.

Pitch smiled warmly. "Or perhaps a mixture of both." he added, "Imagine, a fox that looks like a pony, or the other way around." Pitch nuzzled Roo's neck. "Besides, after all these nights with you, I might be surprised if I haven't gotten you pregnant, already." After a moment, hpwever, Pitch made a grin, as he got a sudden idea. "I think I'll have a bit more fun with you, before we go to sleep." Pitch, then crept underneath the blankets, towards Roo's lower body.
*Timeskip*
Pitch was laying ontop of Roo again, with a funny taste in his mouth. "That was interesting." he said, blushing, "A sort of new experience, for me, really... Sorry, if I did that rather suddenly, Roo. I just... sort of wanted to know what it was like."

[Das Metro]

Rouge turned to Pitch and smiled lovingly, "For somepony who apparently had less emotion than a rock, you're pretty emotional." She said and kissed his forehead. "I'll be fine Pitch, I ran the same risk of you finding out earlier. I can do this." She said with a sigh and stroked his mane. Mac chuckled and shrugged at Concerto's observations about himself, "On the contrary Concerto, common thugs have the most empathy for criminals of anyone. I just have a few more opportunities to practice mercy than most. Ye should see how some of the street gangs work, their systems are better than quite a few political systems." He said and nodded to Shade's statement, "Yes, where should we bury him though?" He asked everyone. Shimmer however was more concerned with Oddity's eye, "What did you do to yourself Oddsy? Come on, let's go get something for that." She said and teleported him to the operating room of the asylum which was surprisingly clean. "Just sit there I'll . . . I'll try figure something out." She said and gestured to the operating table as she frantically searched for a solution.

Oddity was utterly bewildered, being teleported like that. The sensation was horrifyingly alien to him, and appearing in that operating room gave him a feeling of nausea. He tottered about on the table for a moment and blinked several times as he acquainted himself with his environment. It was definitely a startling change of scenery. The pain in his eye continued to throb, and Oddity began to put two and two together. Before he blacked out like that from what he could only assume to be blood loss, he heard gunshots, alot of them. "Shimmer, b-be careful, 'k-kay?" he said fearfully.

[Sungai Pusat]

Blink
Blink looked up at the mare in confusion and then to Grace. She couldn't quite understand what was happening but she would answer the mare's question. "I'm not a bruiser, bruisers killed my daddy, I'm not a bruiser. I'm not!" She repeated and looked at the bowl of ice cream and then to Grace. The operation had definitely changed her madness drastically. She looked at Grace sadly, "Gracey? What's wrong? Why are you crying? Did he make you cry?" She asked and looked around for a reason. "I made you cry . . . I'm . . . mean . . . Gracey I'm sorry." She said and got up before trotting out of the shop. (When Grace eventually rejoins her there will be a cut along her cheek and her one eye will be blackened.)

(Then Grace will NOT let that happen.)

Grace's mouth gaped wide open at Blink's suggestion. She cried even more as she raised her hoof. "No, Blinkey!" She stood right up and galloped through the door just as Blink left, all four hooves crashing to the pavement to surround Blink. Hastily, she nuzzled Blink's cheek before wrapping her hooves tightly around her neck, the waterworks bursting all over again. "Y-you're not mean, Blinkey..." She cooed into her ear as she gently brought her hoof up her neck to stroke her back mane, her eyes shut close as she held her tightly. "That c-colt was..." She sniffled. "W-what he did made me cry... H-he made me cry for you..." She began to lightly pat her on the back of her head as her tears slowly dried up, the salty feeling in her mouth slowly fading away as the tears did likewise.

[Pinki3 Pon-3]

(Sorry I took so long, RL delays *rolls eyes*)
Mac
Mac smiled to Diamond and bowed a little, "Mac, just Mac." He said with a chuckle. Of course he had a longer name that Mac was short for but he really didn't like it much. "Its a pleasure ta meet ye miss Diamond. I'm . . . Well, I'm Concerto's coltfriend." He said with a hint of pride. He looked down at the ground embarrassedly as he continued, "And . . . Erm . . . Well, our homes were destroyed by bruisers . . . And well, we were hopin' we could stay with ye fer a while." He said and smiled sheepishly.

Angel
Angel smiled a little and shook her head, "I would probably lose my mind if I had to share a home with a mathematician. All their subjective analysis and boring numbers. As for historians, not all are as boring as you might imagine . . . " She said and paused as she thought about what he said. "Well at least you have somewhere to begin searching. Pity you can't remember where you came from. That would certainly narrow things down a lot." She said as the walked. Her elegant gait paused in front of a building as she held her book to her chest. "Good, we have arrived." She said and walked up to the large, ornate building done in classic victorian style. She unlocked the door and opened it revealing an equally grand interior. "Welcome to your lodgings until further notice." She said with a flourish and a sigh.

Rouge
Rouge moaned softly and slowly shook her head as she lazily kissed Pitch. "Don't be sorry, been a while since anyone treated my so lovingly." She said softly and limply wrapped her hooves around him. She opened her eyes again and smiled broadly to him. "I might be pregnant, might not. Guess we'll never know until a few months from now." She said softly and caressed his mane. She released a long blissful sigh as she snuggled close to him. "We'll need to think of names. . . What about Rose if it's a girl?" She asked him softly, almost dreamily as she slowly caressed his neck and chest.

Shimmer
Shimmer looked at Oddity in fear wondering how on earth she would fix his eye. Fortunately he was unconscious so she wouldn't have to use too much anesthetic. Immediately she calmed herself and thought about what her mother had taught her about the vitreous humour.
*timeskip*
She looked at her hoofiwork worriedly, admittedly it wasn't as good as her mothers but it was still better than a lot of doctors. Oddities beautiful orange eye was still scored with the angry gash but it would heal mostly. She had carefully dissected a stored eye and removed the segment of that eye which collated with the gash on Oddity's. The "transplant" had gone well as far as things went. Oddity's eye was definitely going to scar and the portion of deep red iris would probably stay forever, leaving a slice of his iris red and the rest brilliant orange. Shimmer gently shook him. "Oddsy, a-are you awake?" She asked hopefully with a mirror in hoof's reach.

Blink
Blink sniffled a little and shook her head as she let Grace hug her. "N-no Gracey, I hurt him. I hurt lots of ponies. . . Even before I got these." She said softly finally understanding what she had done in her past insanity. "I-I . . . I made Shimmer live in a house full of dead people . . . Sh-she never . . . Sh-she tried to tell me but I . . . " Blink sniffled and hung her head. "I'm a mean filly. Why are you so nice to me Gracey? Why are you nice to a mean filly?" She asked softly and buried her face in Grace's mane.

[Sungai Pusat]

(Sorry I took so long, RL delays *rolls eyes*)
Blink
Blink sniffled a little and shook her head as she let Grace hug her. "N-no Gracey, I hurt him. I hurt lots of ponies. . . Even before I got these." She said softly finally understanding what she had done in her past insanity. "I-I . . . I made Shimmer live in a house full of dead people . . . Sh-she never . . . Sh-she tried to tell me but I . . . " Blink sniffled and hung her head. "I'm a mean filly. Why are you so nice to me Gracey? Why are you nice to a mean filly?" She asked softly and buried her face in Grace's mane.

(It's okay)

Grace shook her head sadly and held tightly onto the hug, allowing her to do whatever as she listened patiently and quietly. "B-b-because you're a sweet pony, Blinkey..." She sniffled. "Y-you're fun... bubbly and energetic. I-I treat you like a sister because of that... a-and... because I've never had one myself..." She felt Blink's muzzle in her mane and she sighed shakily, stroking the back of Blink's head. "I-I think that Shimmer sees you in the same light..." She whispered into her ear, shivering a little as she did that. "T-that's why she doesn't mind..."

The mare trotted out as she noticed this and teared up a little, wiping her tears briefly as she hummed to herself. Slowly, she raised her head to see a pony trotting down the pavement and did her best to smile, directing the pony into the store before trotting in it herself.

[Pinki3 Pon-3]

(It's okay)

Grace shook her head sadly and held tightly onto the hug, allowing her to do whatever as she listened patiently and quietly. "B-b-because you're a sweet pony, Blinkey..." She sniffled. "Y-you're fun... bubbly and energetic. I-I treat you like a sister because of that... a-and... because I've never had one myself..." She felt Blink's muzzle in her mane and she sighed shakily, stroking the back of Blink's head. "I-I think that Shimmer sees you in the same light..." She whispered into her ear, shivering a little as she did that. "T-that's why she doesn't mind..."

The mare trotted out as she noticed this and teared up a little, wiping her tears briefly as she hummed to herself. Slowly, she raised her head to see a pony trotting down the pavement and did her best to smile, directing the pony into the store before trotting in it herself.

Blink sniffled a little more and buried her muzzle deeper in Grace's mane. She picked Grace up in a massive tight hug and sat down on her rump as she hugged her tight. "I love you big sis." She said softly as she hugged Grace tightly. "W-when I-I s-see Shimmer again I-I'm going to t-tell her w-we can clean th-the house up . . . And maybe move to some of the lower rooms." She said softly and sobbed into Grace's mane. "Y-You c-can come s-stay with us i-if you want. There's l-lots of room a-and y-you w-won't h-have to w-worry about b-bruisers b-breaking your mama and papa's house." She said softly and sniffled a little more.

[Sungai Pusat]

Blink sniffled a little more and buried her muzzle deeper in Grace's mane. She picked Grace up in a massive tight hug and sat down on her rump as she hugged her tight. "I love you big sis." She said softly as she hugged Grace tightly. "W-when I-I s-see Shimmer again I-I'm going to t-tell her w-we can clean th-the house up . . . And maybe move to some of the lower rooms." She said softly and sobbed into Grace's mane. "Y-You c-can come s-stay with us i-if you want. There's l-lots of room a-and y-you w-won't h-have to w-worry about b-bruisers b-breaking your mama and papa's house." She said softly and sniffled a little more.

Grace's eyes widened with the mention of her own parents and she gasped, her mind racing with the image of her parents coming back to find a literally broken house. Her entire face became drenched with sweat, her eye twitching slightly as her ears perked up. As her head tilted down, the heart palpitations faded away as she gazed at Blink's quiet sniffles and voice. She sighed softly and ruffled her mane up slightly. "T-that sounds like a great idea..." She whispered. "A-and if I need to, I could just skate to my parents' house when I need to..." She chuckled and rolled her eyes a little, faking a grin on her face as she thought of some of her own reasons she could imagine it being better to move in with Shimmer and Blink. All those reasons melted away as she smiled more genuinely at Blink, pulling her into a tight embrace. "And I love you too, little sis..."

Slowly and steadily, she pulled away from the embrace and gently lifted Blink's body onto her back, now much more comfortably able to carry Blink's weight. She nuzzled Blink's cheek gently and smiled. "We should go back and check on the others. They're probably worried about us now..." She jumped a little and got into the skates she placed neatly outside the establishment's door, her face now bearing a look of sorrow. "That..." She let out a weak sigh. "...and I need to apologise to somepony." Rearing her hooves upwards, she pushed herself forward and skated in a flash towards the old headquarters of the group.

[Morlodania]

Sunbreaker/Clock
Sunbreaker looked at Jorgen incredulously. "She? Well I guess it does have a feminine appearance." She said and turned to Clock. "Did you accept that title?" One tap. "Okay, she it is then. Nice to see she learned that tap thing well enough." Sunbreaker said. She listened as Jorgen spoke and sighed, "Bruiser Vocabulary Crystal, and that wouldn't work because the bruisers don't have her voice box, that's a crystal for communicating via their network." She said with a sigh. Clock walked up behind Jorgen and placed a hoof on his back, "It fine, I learning lots. Talk teach me." Clock said in its machine language.

"Aww, damn. Ah, well, it was worth the thought..." Jorgen closed the drawers he had opened, turning around as he did so. He smiled to Clock warmly. "I know, you beautiful machine. I just figured I could speed up the process." He patted Clock's head lightly, and saw Trit and Pell from the corner of his eye, but ignored them for now.
Trit and Pell came up behind Sunbreaker, and Pell spoke to her softly. "I'm... Sorry about earlier..." He looked at her with a mix of shyness and regret, trying to apologize for the fact that he had been unable to speak earlier.
"I fixed the problem, I think... He's just a goof ball is all." Trit smiled a little bit, watching both Sunbreaker and Pell as she did.

[Fascist Russian Empire]

(Sorry I took so long, RL delays *rolls eyes*)
Mac
Mac smiled to Diamond and bowed a little, "Mac, just Mac." He said with a chuckle. Of course he had a longer name that Mac was short for but he really didn't like it much. "Its a pleasure ta meet ye miss Diamond. I'm . . . Well, I'm Concerto's coltfriend." He said with a hint of pride. He looked down at the ground embarrassedly as he continued, "And . . . Erm . . . Well, our homes were destroyed by bruisers . . . And well, we were hopin' we could stay with ye fer a while." He said and smiled sheepishly.

Concerto/Shining Diamond

Shining's Armor temporarily faded into a look of surprise when Mac said that he was Concerto's coltfriend. Shining had known for years that Concerto was a coltcuddler, but this was the first time that he'd actually managed to get himself a coltfriend, and Concerto blushed slightly at Shining's surprised look. Her face again changed for a brief moment into one of depression when he said that their homes had got destroyed by bruisers, but she quickly threw herself back together and gave a warm smile. "Of course you can stay with me! Concerto, you, my beloved little brother, are always welcome in my home. Mac, if Concerto likes you, then so do I; consider yourself an honorary part of our little family." Shining Diamond said, care and compassion in her voice, before motioning for the two to come inside. "Thank you, Shining; we really appreciate the hospitality." Concerto said, still blushing a little, following after his sister. "Oh, don't be silly! I'm always here for you, Concerto!" Shining said with a dismissing wave of her hoof. "Now, Concerto, Mac, you two can come on inside and I'll fix some coffee." She said, enthusiastically, walking inside.

[The Flutterlands]

Rouge
Rouge moaned softly and slowly shook her head as she lazily kissed Pitch. "Don't be sorry, been a while since anyone treated my so lovingly." She said softly and limply wrapped her hooves around him. She opened her eyes again and smiled broadly to him. "I might be pregnant, might not. Guess we'll never know until a few months from now." She said softly and caressed his mane. She released a long blissful sigh as she snuggled close to him. "We'll need to think of names. . . What about Rose if it's a girl?" She asked him softly, almost dreamily as she slowly caressed his neck and chest.

Pitch giggled. "Rose, is a wonderful name for a girl, Roo." he said, "And what if it's a boy? What are going to name him, then?" Then, something else came to Pitch's mind, and he considered Rouge's career. "Roo, if the child isn't mine. I'll still help you, raise it, ether way." he said, "I just thought of that, considering your... Well, your career."

[Das Metro]

Shimmer
Shimmer looked at Oddity in fear wondering how on earth she would fix his eye. Fortunately he was unconscious so she wouldn't have to use too much anesthetic. Immediately she calmed herself and thought about what her mother had taught her about the vitreous humour.
*timeskip*
She looked at her hoofiwork worriedly, admittedly it wasn't as good as her mothers but it was still better than a lot of doctors. Oddities beautiful orange eye was still scored with the angry gash but it would heal mostly. She had carefully dissected a stored eye and removed the segment of that eye which collated with the gash on Oddity's. The "transplant" had gone well as far as things went. Oddity's eye was definitely going to scar and the portion of deep red iris would probably stay forever, leaving a slice of his iris red and the rest brilliant orange. Shimmer gently shook him. "Oddsy, a-are you awake?" She asked hopefully with a mirror in hoof's reach.

Oddity woke in a haze. Everything felt alien to him, movement didn't quite seem right. He knew he was in control of his body, but if felt like he was only a passenger, a spectator. Something else was off about his sight, though he couldn't quite put his hoof on it. Everything was there of course, he could see, but everything seemed two dimensional... It was definitely odd. "I'm awake," he mumbled, though didn't quite sit up. He'd been in a hospital enough to know that sitting up so soon after having a part of your body cut into wasn't really a good idea.

[Pinki3 Pon-3]

Blink
Blink giggled and waved her hooves in the air as the sped along, still enjoying the roller skate rides. "WHEEEEEEE! Who do you need to sa sorry to? Is it Mac? Why do you need to say sorry to somepony? What happened Gracey? Did you do something silly?" She asked and wrapped her hooves gently around Grace's neck. "Silly things are okay." She said with a small smile.

As they arrived at the building she saw the wreckage and tears welled up in her eyes, "Gracey . . . Is Mac okay?" She asked softly and fearfully.

Sunbreaker
Sunbreaker smiled warmly to Pell and patted his shoulder, "That's okay, I did randomly hug you. That might not have helped as much as I thought." She said and chuckled as Trit explained. She smiled to Trit and giggled a little, "Well, sometimes having two mares harassing you when you're trying to think can turn anypony into a goofball." She said cheerfully.

Clock
Clock whirred a little at the compliment, merely an expression which didn't translate into anything. It turned from Jorgen and looked at Sunbreaker, Pell and Trit. Clock placed a hoof on Jorgen's flesh chest and pointed to them. "They same like you." It said and turned back to Jorgen. "Have hands and hooves." Clock said in an obervatory manner. Then it made a sound of realization, "I are Clock, you are?" It asked curiously.

Mac
Mac smiled broadly. "Thank ye soo much miss Diamond. I promise we won't bother ye at all. Coffee sounds wonderful eh Concerto? We can have a chat ta catch up or in my case get ta know ye." He said cheerfully and turned to Concerto with a smile before they entered. "Yer family is almost as amazin' as ye." He said and tenderly kissed Concerto before following Shining inside.

Rouge
Rouge blushed a bit but it couldn't be seen on her russet red fur. She pulled Pitch close and kissed his neck before smiling to herself. "Oddity made us take pills before those clients came. Last thing he needed was a girl being on leave for 5 months after they found out. Don't worry Pitch, the child will be ours." She said and kissed his shoulder while caressing his flanks. "I was thinking you could choose the name for the boy." She said softly and nuzzled Pitch's muzzle.

Shimmer
Shimmer looked at Oddity nervously but put a smile on, "Oddsy, I don't know if you can see out of it but I fixed your eye as best as I could." She said softly and stroked his mane as she lifted up the mirror, placing it down on the bed next to him. "Please don't be mad Oddsy, I tried as much as I could." She said softly and held up the mirror to show him his eye which seemed to have fused with the new membrane well, leaving only a faint jagged line where the fuse was. The inside was a milky white and the iris of the transplanted flesh was reddish. "Th-the white will fade. . . I-I c-can replace th-the whole thing if you want." She said softly knowing it would be harder but she wasn't going to let her Oddsy suffer when she could fix it.

[Sungai Pusat]

Blink
Blink giggled and waved her hooves in the air as the sped along, still enjoying the roller skate rides. "WHEEEEEEE! Who do you need to sa sorry to? Is it Mac? Why do you need to say sorry to somepony? What happened Gracey? Did you do something silly?" She asked and wrapped her hooves gently around Grace's neck. "Silly things are okay." She said with a small smile.

As they arrived at the building she saw the wreckage and tears welled up in her eyes, "Gracey . . . Is Mac okay?" She asked softly and fearfully.

"Silly is okay..." She whispered back and nodded, smiling back to her as the zipped in to the wreckage. She heard Blink's fearful tone and she nuzzled her cheek gently. "N-nothing will become of Mac..." She whispered reassuringly. "H-he's probably enjoying some time together... with Uncle Concerto..." She sighed, a hint of sorrow creeping into her voice over how she felt about the arrangement she was given to think on. Gently, she gripped Blink on the sides with her hooves and smiled again, pulling her off Grace's back and onto the ground. "For now, we'll see who else is around, okay Blinkey?" She giggled softly as she gazed into her eyes, waiting for an answer.

[New Babylonia]

Snow
Snow nodded and smiled, "Exactly, life growing from death, the continuation of the cycle." She said with a hint of sadness as they bounded out into the air. Snow ran to a nearby stream which ran through the city and picked an Acorn from an oak tree before turning to Aurora, "Take me to him please?" She asked with a smile.

Aurora nodded, and her horn glowed brightly as she teleported them to Silver. She then glanced over at Snow, and then to Silver's body with a look of neutral sadness.

[Morlodania]

Sunbreaker
Sunbreaker smiled warmly to Pell and patted his shoulder, "That's okay, I did randomly hug you. That might not have helped as much as I thought." She said and chuckled as Trit explained. She smiled to Trit and giggled a little, "Well, sometimes having two mares harassing you when you're trying to think can turn anypony into a goofball." She said cheerfully.

Clock
Clock whirred a little at the compliment, merely an expression which didn't translate into anything. It turned from Jorgen and looked at Sunbreaker, Pell and Trit. Clock placed a hoof on Jorgen's flesh chest and pointed to them. "They same like you." It said and turned back to Jorgen. "Have hands and hooves." Clock said in an observatory manner. Then it made a sound of realization, "I are Clock, you are?" It asked curiously.

"Yeah... Still, I'm sorry, just confused, that's all." He smiles weakly as Trit keeps her eyes on him.
"Indeed it could, especially for you, you shy goof." She smiled to him warmly.

Jorgen smiled. "Those are my children. They're made of flesh, like me, yes. You, too, are my child, in a sense. You were created by me. You're my machine half's child, as they are my living half's children." He chuckled a little at Clock's question. "I am Jorgen. The woman over there is Trit, the man is Pell, and the pony is Sunbreaker." He petted Clock slowly and lightly. "Any more questions you have?"

[Das Metro]

Shimmer
Shimmer looked at Oddity nervously but put a smile on, "Oddsy, I don't know if you can see out of it but I fixed your eye as best as I could." She said softly and stroked his mane as she lifted up the mirror, placing it down on the bed next to him. "Please don't be mad Oddsy, I tried as much as I could." She said softly and held up the mirror to show him his eye which seemed to have fused with the new membrane well, leaving only a faint jagged line where the fuse was. The inside was a milky white and the iris of the transplanted flesh was reddish. "Th-the white will fade. . . I-I c-can replace th-the whole thing if you want." She said softly knowing it would be harder but she wasn't going to let her Oddsy suffer when she could fix it.

That was it. His depth perception was off. Oddity took the mirror from her hooves and brought it close to his face, as if changing the angle would make the eye look different. His ears drooped and he blinked several times. A feeling of horror hit him and his breathing picked up in pace. "Shimmer, I wanna... I wanna eye patch, I don't wanna see it Shimmer!" Oddity in a panicked voice and pushed the mirror away, "W-Where are my sunglasses?"

[Hentaline]

I told Wilson to go back home and that I would go back to mine, taking the bruiser with me, I then went home when he left, back to my wrecked rich home, I seriously needed sleep…

Timeskip, approximately an hour of sleep.

I opened my eyes with the bruiser still standing there, I just needed a quick nap, that was all I needed, I opened the door to check my mail, I only found one contract, a sniper contract, that was also what I needed: target practice.
I looked at the rest of the contract, a John Doe, lives in the High Society, perfect.

Later… on a tall building near the contract.

I set my rifle to Bolt-Action mode and added an 8x magnification scope along with a silencer.
The contract said I had to wait until he is in a more private but visible area.
Where are you? I wondered.
Looking around with the scope I managed to see him, standing with the rest of his rich buddies.
Take the shot. Red Death said.
Not yet. I waited, he then set his bottle of alcohol down and headed straight for a small garden-like place surrounded by bruisers.
Now I'll take the shot, the bruisers'll have no idea, I squeezed the trigger, I heard a quick *pew*, the bullet whizzed and hit a bruiser in it's mechanical face.
You missed dammit! Red Death was practically screaming.
But I never miss! I protested.
It means your getting old.
Suddenly the man went running and began telling his friends about the assassination attempt, they went into the house and began taking things like Tommy guns and other things. wait… the Italian Mafia followed me, but I didn't owe them an- oh shit, I forgot, when I was in America trying to carry out an assassination contract, I killed one of the members, they did seem pissed when I left them there, but how did they follow me? I always made sure I would never leave a trace of my existence in my killings, I decided not to think about it, right now I'm not taking down one man, I'm taking down any trace of any Mafia in any place.
My scope's glass shattered, they found me, I picked up my rifle, removed the scope and hid it away so they don't know I was there, I was firing without sights now.
When I reached the ground floor, I hid behind cover so they wouldn't see me, I peeked over the cover, I was safe. I had to enter the place and eliminate them myself, but first, their guards and bruisers. I had a backup plan incase the bruisers saw me, so I hid Inferno somewhere, but how do I get to him.
"активизировать!" I yelled in Russian, thankfully they didn't respond to my voice, but Inferno left his hiding place and repeated the two words that I put in his system for this mission.
"Resume patrol." Inferno said.
The Bruisers then began following Inferno.
Fuck Yeah! I thought.
Now the Malone Family is with me. I then grumbled in disappointment.
I aimed toward the first guard, waiting for the right time, I had to aim through my iron sights, there lots of things in a city of steam that could make loud noises, a backfiring engine for example, but I had to wait.
Sooner or later I heard a crash of glass breaking, most likely a window, I took the opportunity to make a shot, I fired before the noise receded, the bullet zoomed off and hit a Mafia guard between the eyes, the body crumpled and fell over behind a a bush, unseen by the other four guards.
Why can't you go inside the place in disguise?
I don't speak Italian, even if I disguised myself as one of them, my darker skin tone will set something off, I have to play it safe.
Aiming over the rifle, I had to wait for another opportunity, even if I have a silencer, they can still hear the sound of something slightly suppressed, I shifted over to one of the garden fountains and shot out one of the fountain fish statues.
Apparently one of the guards was stupid enough to go check it out, the noisy sound of water lapping across an artificial waterfall will have to do, the guard was closer than the other, so I had a clearer shot, I fired, the bullet hit the man on the side of the head, he tumbled over into the water, painting it red with his blood, thankfully no one heard it, I vaulted over cover and ran a little closer to the large house, some of the guards were a little far away from the entrance, so I waited until the guard turned his head, I then silently crouched and snuck past the guard that was only a few feet away from me, I was very close to the entrance until one of the guards was about to face me, I then dove behind one of the bushes, he spotted me, but he was cautiously walking towards me, I waited until I saw one of his legs, I then reached up and put my arm around him and began trying to subdue him, I then slammed his head into the ground, knocking him out. I then walked into the building, it was pretty empty, I had to rely on the rest of my five senses, I saw the empty rooms, but I heard voices, I climbed up the stairs and went over the door most closest to the voices, I slightly opened it so they wouldn't see me.
I decided not to pay attention to the conversation and decided to eliminate them all, it would only take a matter of seconds, but I had to risk wither my life or my lighter, I slammed open the door and grabbed one of the men, everyone faced me and began pointing their weapons at me.
"I swear I will kill this man if you don't back off!" I yelled at them, I took my pistol and shot at one of the gas pipes, the pipe broke and began silently seeping out.
"Who are you?" One of them asked.
"My name is Nathan Harrison." I said, the man's eyes widened.
"We found him boys, you killed one of our own, so we'll have to return the favor." He said, pointing a trench gun at me.
None of them smelled the gas in the room.
"I guess the tables have turned, Malone Family." I said, I then pushed the man forward as a distraction, I closed the door, took out my lighter, lit it, slid it under the door, ad ran as fast as I could, the gas lit up and burned everyone in the room, some of the gas burned my suit, but it can be fixed, the police will have to blame spontaneous combustion on these people, oh wait, there are no police here.
"Contract completed." I whispered.
Bullshit, you didn't even see the man inside the room, I did, I helped you.
Fine.

(After that he goes home and goes of to sleep because he was tired, this part of the story is just an in-look of what he does for a living.)

[Crumlark]

Angel
Angel smiled a little and shook her head, "I would probably lose my mind if I had to share a home with a mathematician. All their subjective analysis and boring numbers. As for historians, not all are as boring as you might imagine . . . " She said and paused as she thought about what he said. "Well at least you have somewhere to begin searching. Pity you can't remember where you came from. That would certainly narrow things down a lot." She said as the walked. Her elegant gait paused in front of a building as she held her book to her chest. "Good, we have arrived." She said and walked up to the large, ornate building done in classic victorian style. She unlocked the door and opened it revealing an equally grand interior. "Welcome to your lodgings until further notice." She said with a flourish and a sigh.

"What teacher warrants this standard of living!" Atha exclaimed involuntarily, taking no delay in pouring over the decadent house. "Looks more like the lodgings of a Governor than someone of your position." He ventured a few steps inward, the awe slowly dissipating and numbing over him. "You mentioned something about the place of my origin? How would that help me knowing WHO I was there? Just like there are the well off and the impoverished here, surely it is equally unequal where I came from. Such is the way of man, to either accept someone above them, or to become him."

[Pinki3 Pon-3]

Blink
Blink looked at Grace uncertainly and nodded slowly. "O-okay Gracey. I-I believe you." She said softly and smiled a little. Seeing the wrecked home didn't do much for her hopes that Mac was alive. She looked around and pointed to Aurora who appeared with Snow, "OH, who's that pony?!" She asked Grace curiously, feeling utterly bewildered by the new arrivals.

Snow
Snow looked at Silver's body with a tinge of sadness in her entire frame. She knelt down beside him and held up the acorn she had picked from a tree near the secret exit. "I remembered what you wanted brother." She said softly as tears streamed down her cheeks. She sobbed a little and placed the acorn in his limp hands before turning to Aurora, "W-where are we burying him?" She asked sadly.

Sunbreaker(She's an anthro)
Sunbreaker chuckled and smiled to Pell. "Well, seeing as we're done being all secretive and such, you wanna cut the awkwardness please? You're starting to make me feel awkward." She said and giggled. She turned to Trit and pointed to Pell, "He doesn't randomly become awkward with you does he?" She asked curiously.

Clock
Clock watched the group with its odd eyes, completely unlike a bruiser's. It had an aperture and a lens which adjusted to the light meaning it couldn't see 360 like a bruiser but it could see colours, a design the machine was still unable to adapt for bruisers due to its complexity. It spoke in its machine language to Jorgen, "Flesh live, machine not live. Clock not live . . . Jorgen is father? Then Trit sister?" It asked curiously unsure of the relationship.

Shimmer
Shimmer pulled Oddity into a hug to calm him and restrain him. "Oddsy! Oddsy! Calm down, I've got them right here." She said sadly as she levitated the sunglasses from a nearby tray to his face. She looked up at him for a moment and then hung her head. "Oddsy, I'm so sorry. I messed it up didn't I? I'm sorry." She said softly and rested her head on her hooves. "A-are you angry with me? I understand if you're mad at me." She said with a sigh.

Meanwhile(for Opium)
A bruiser approached Opium and wrapped its massive hands around his waist, hoisting him off the ground and carrying him under its arm, leaving bruises where its massive hands had touched him. He was carried far and into the Core before being deposited in front of Spectre. She smiled to him and nodded, "You will do nicely, if you follow my orders without betrayal." She said to him with a conspiratorial grin.

Angel
Angel rolled her eyes and chuckled icily, "Of course, of course, all teachers work in primary schools teaching abc's and spelling." She said sarcastically. "My father was a mechanic, that's how I got stuck with this place. I work as a university lecturer and literary researcher. Hence how I afford to keep this place." She said and put her book down on an entry table. She gestured for him to follow as she hung her coat on a coat rack. "And no, I don't have servants, the very idea appalls me. You'll be doing your own laundry and other things. I might cook for both of us at supper but probably not." She said and began leading him through the house. "If we knew where you were from we could find out who you were from the people who knew you." She said and led him into a massive room that seemed to span both floors of the house with bookshelves cladding every side. Some books seemed old and some new but all had creased spines from excessive reading. "The library, feel free to brush up on your literature any time, I don't mind dog-eared pages, coffee stains or minor tears, books are supposed to be read, not idolised." She said and smiled. "Yes it's big, I do a lot of reading mkay?" She said and continued walking.

[Morlodania]

Sunbreaker(She's an anthro)
Sunbreaker chuckled and smiled to Pell. "Well, seeing as we're done being all secretive and such, you wanna cut the awkwardness please? You're starting to make me feel awkward." She said and giggled. She turned to Trit and pointed to Pell, "He doesn't randomly become awkward with you does he?" She asked curiously.

Clock
Clock watched the group with its odd eyes, completely unlike a bruiser's. It had an aperture and a lens which adjusted to the light meaning it couldn't see 360 like a bruiser but it could see colours, a design the machine was still unable to adapt for bruisers due to its complexity. It spoke in its machine language to Jorgen, "Flesh live, machine not live. Clock not live . . . Jorgen is father? Then Trit sister?" It asked curiously unsure of the relationship.

(I could have sworn she was a pony... D:)
"Oh, he does... Quite often. He's overly shy about just about everything. Part of being him, I suppose." Trit was still smiling a little as she said this.
Pell shrugged. "Could we just drop it and move on?" He smiled weakly again. "I don't really want to talk about it..."

"You live in a way. You think, you see, you learn. You change, you are conscious. You think. You live in the purest sense." Jorgen patted Clocks head lightly, smiling to the automaton. "And yes, I think of you as a daughter. You are my child, created by my efforts, with a little help from your sister." He gestured to Trit at this. "You're a beautiful machine, that I am happy to call my own, if you'll let me."

[Das Metro]

Shimmer
Shimmer pulled Oddity into a hug to calm him and restrain him. "Oddsy! Oddsy! Calm down, I've got them right here." She said sadly as she levitated the sunglasses from a nearby tray to his face. She looked up at him for a moment and then hung her head. "Oddsy, I'm so sorry. I messed it up didn't I? I'm sorry." She said softly and rested her head on her hooves. "A-are you angry with me? I understand if you're mad at me." She said with a sigh.

Oddity calmed down slightly, and jammed the sunglasses onto his face. It felt so weird, seeing a darkened filter of the world through only one eye. Somehow it seemed darker. He shook his head, and shakily put a hoof under Shimmer's chin and gently raised her head. "N-No, I'm not mad at you... I'm mad at all Shimmer," he said weakly, "It was just so... ugly..." Oddity was still nauseous, seeing the eyeball puckered and reddened like that. It made his already monstrous looking eyes look worse. "Please don't be sad Shimmer," he added almost pleadingly, "If it makes you feel any better, I won't wear the shades... I won't hide it."

Meanwhile(for Opium)
A bruiser approached Opium and wrapped its massive hands around his waist, hoisting him off the ground and carrying him under its arm, leaving bruises where its massive hands had touched him. He was carried far and into the Core before being deposited in front of Spectre. She smiled to him and nodded, "You will do nicely, if you follow my orders without betrayal." She said to him with a conspiratorial grin.

Opium struggled all the way to the core, and he stood up fuming when the bruiser finally tossed him in front of the mysterious mare. He looked her closely and took a step back. "You have some fucking nerve lady! You don't got jack shit on me! That mare probably shot her own daughter, I mean, she was a bum! Probably a psychopath too..." he added defensively, "What do you mean 'do nicely', are you the leader of one of those fucktard cults? You're not gonna sacrifice me are you..? Do you even know who I am?" Opium demanded, not quite knowing who this mare was either.

[Crumlark]

Angel
Angel rolled her eyes and chuckled icily, "Of course, of course, all teachers work in primary schools teaching abc's and spelling." She said sarcastically. "My father was a mechanic, that's how I got stuck with this place. I work as a university lecturer and literary researcher. Hence how I afford to keep this place." She said and put her book down on an entry table. She gestured for him to follow as she hung her coat on a coat rack. "And no, I don't have servants, the very idea appalls me. You'll be doing your own laundry and other things. I might cook for both of us at supper but probably not." She said and began leading him through the house. "If we knew where you were from we could find out who you were from the people who knew you." She said and led him into a massive room that seemed to span both floors of the house with bookshelves cladding every side. Some books seemed old and some new but all had creased spines from excessive reading. "The library, feel free to brush up on your literature any time, I don't mind dog-eared pages, coffee stains or minor tears, books are supposed to be read, not idolised." She said and smiled. "Yes it's big, I do a lot of reading mkay?" She said and continued walking.

He looked around, and tried to follow her lead by hanging up his coat, but the dried mud stuck it to his robes fastly, and it would need a decent wash before coming off. "You must know by now, Ms. Angel, I intend to fill that position. There are too many youth on the street for jobs to be in abundance... and taking employment where I can is not below me, especially with such an agreeable employer. I can cook, sing songs, and make a fine... courier, all of which I presume you are loathsomely deprived of, with your doubt on who is to cook our meal, and the empty halls echoing nothing but our footsteps."
When he entered the library, he realized a disturbing thought. There was something about this place that went deeper than marble. Atha felt like he was trespassing into someone's mind, with it's vulnerabilities and secrets lying askew and unhidden like it feared no wondering eyes. 'How long has she been living in solitude?' He asked aloud without a thought on whether or not she heard.