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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Sungate (part 33)
11th September 2012
20:42 GMT


My right gauntlet covers the grip of Athyns' sword just before he can grab it.

"When you say 'dead'..?"

The Primus spots that, and makes a point of staring into Athyns' eyes. "Slain. They are no more. Their perfidious reign is at an end and their stolen magic in the rightful hands of the Ascendants."

"And my diplomatic party?"

"I don't know." The Primus moves his gaze from Athyns to me. "If they fought, they're probably dead as well. If not… We weren't here for them."

Athyns moves his hand away from his sword, so I return the favour.

"Could you get in contact with someone higher up the chain of command and get us an audience? If the gods are dead, that leaves Athyns as the highest ranking officer. He can order a ceasefire."

"And what of you?"

"If the people who asked me here are dead, then I'll probably take my party and leave. Unless Sparta invites me to stay, in which case I imagine that I'll be doing the same thing that I was before."

The Primus regards us both for a moment, then steps back.

"Guard them while I consult the Ascendant."

Four of the invaders' soldiers gather a little closer with their guns at the ready, though not actually pointed at us. The Primus checks their position and then turns and walks away, moving out of our line of sight a moment later.

Internal only.

Compliance.

"Illustres to Construct Lanterns. Prioritise locating Melinoë, Aporia and Gaudia. Make no effort to avoid detection."

"Yes dominus."

Athyns leans a little closer, and I reactivate external speakers.

"If this is no trick, I do not know that I can command the garrison to stand down. We are faithful to the gods, Rhea's anointed. Simply telling them-"

"You could still give the order, couldn't you?"

"I don't know. To know that a monster… Held the seeds bestowed upon-."

"You could give the order?"

He hesitates.

"You merely want an audience. Sparta the Mad, along with as many other demigods as possible when you reveal her deceit."

"And don't overlook the value of a long term strategy. Convince them that you're converted, then stab them in the back once you have their confidence. At this point I don't think that further direct overt resistance is likely to do anything but get the rest of your soldiers killed."

He bows his head slightly, his eyes narrowing.

"I will bite my tongue."

"I appreciate that." I step away from him, moving towards one of our escorts. "So what's the endgame here? You capture New Cronus, kill the gods and take their seeds, and… Profit?"

"Then Sparta enacts Rhea's design for our world using the power the parasites stole."

"'Our world' being Karrakan?"

"Of course. It will become a paradise, unified under the Ascendant."

"So you don't have any particular designs for this world?"

There's a slight pause as he considers me.

"No? Why would we?"

Hm. Would that work? I want to say 'no'. I don't see how partial repositories of the titans' power would do more than the personal presence of a titan. Not on a world with a weak thaumosphere. Okay, but how could it-? Could they use Essence of Titan to bring the Dream… Closer? To invigorate the thaumosphere? Sure, giving people power doesn't fix problems and I'm sure that if Rhea knew how to do that then she would have done it herself-. If she wanted to.

So… Her demigod children and grandchildren run rampant over however many years, and she… Gives up on the idea?

No. No one has said anything about the demigods helping her get the seeds. She had the seeds all that time. And it doesn't sound as if she were focused on something, otherwise the fighting wouldn't have happened. As.. suming that it did happen. Need to check that.

"How long have the Ascendant been unified for?"

"Since Sparta unified them over the wreck of our world."

"And the world was wrecked by..?"

"Why are you asking?"

"I'm trying to understand what led us to this position. Surely such a well-established matter of historical fact is not a secret? It's… Simply that as an alien I'm ignorant of it. I'm sure that a brief lesson in the dogma of your faith will make my eventual discussion with Sparta go much easier."

And the more claims to historical fact I can check, the better.

"Karrakan was ravaged as a result of the false gods stealing Rhea's power. Without her direction there was nothing unifying the Ascendants, no great plan to guide them. The proximate cause of the destruction was their attempts to realise her goal without her wisdom, but the ultimate cause was the parasites' murder of Rhea. The destructive chaos continued until Sparta established her rule, in Rhea's name."

"So the Ascendant aren't without faults?"

"No being is. But they are closer to Rhea's divinity. Their divine power allows them to discern her aims better than we mortals."

"Her aim being?"

"To make Karrakan a paradise in the material universe, ordered by the Ascendants, under her governance."

"Did she say this herself?"

"It's self-evident."

Something else Sparta made up, then. But okay, I've got some idea of what their ideology is. Given the impression that I've got of the state of Karrakan, it shouldn't be too difficult for Sparta to show some improvement with the added power of the seeds. And that should keep the faithful happy for a while. Let a generation of faithful Ascendants grow up being conditioned to be properly goodthinkful, set them to work…

That could work. But it requires her to actually be able to do something with the seeds.

"And now that Rhea is-."

The Primus walks back into sight.

"Ambassador. 'Commander'. Sparta has agreed to meet with you. To the throne room, now."
 
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"And my diplomatic party?"

"I don't know." The Primus moves his gaze from Athyns to me. "If they fought, they're probably dead as well. If not… We weren't here for them

Even if they didn't fight they may have still been killed.

They probably feel like the Titans, what with being Old Gods and having the power of Erebus flowing through them.

So what's the endgame here? You capture New Cronus, kill the gods and take their seeds, and… Profit?"

"Then Sparta enacts Rhea's design for our world using the power the parasites stole."

"'Our world' being Karrakan?"

"Of course. It will become a paradise, unified under the Ascendant."

I think she may also want to turn the planet the Titans were planning on ruling into a New Karrakan, which the natives may not like.

There's a slight pause as he considers me.

"No? Why would we?"

So he's either trying to lie or he doesn't know about the New Karrakan plan.

"Karrakan was ravaged as a result of the false gods stealing Rhea's power. Without her direction there was nothing unifying the Ascendants, no great plan to guide them. The proximate cause of the destruction was their attempts to realise her goal without her wisdom, but the ultimate cause was the parasite's murder of Rhea. The destructive chaos continued until Sparta established her rule, in Rhea's name."

"So the Ascendant aren't without faults?"

"No being is. But they are closer to Rhea's divinity. Their divine power allows them to discern her aims better than we mortals."

"Her aim being?"

"To make Karrakan a paradise in the material universe, ordered by the Ascendants, under her governance."

"Did she say this herself?"

"It's self-evident

We knew they were probably religious zealots, but this just confirms it.

Something else Sparta made up, then.

Or she herself may believe it.

She's probably a bit crazy and she may also not have too much information on what happened so formed her story of the Titans destroying the planet yo explain what happened, both forvherself and her followers.

Something else Sparta made up, then. But okay, I've got some idea of what their ideology is. Given the impression that I've got of the state of Karrakan, it shouldn't be too difficult for Sparta to show some improvement with the added power of the seeds. And that should keep the faithful happy for a while. Let a generation of faithful Ascendants grow up being conditioned to be properly goodthinkful, set them to work…

That could work. But it requires her to actually be able to do something with the seeds.

It also requires her to be me mentally stable to do it, which may not be the case.

If she isn't then you're just giving godlike power to a maniac.
 
Did Paragon just forget that they are God's so would be included in the previously given "God's were killed" reference?

What's you're point?

It's pretty clear that OL has a less than stellar evaluation of these people's capabilities, knowledge, or general competence. Why wouldn't he double check?
 
Did Paragon just forget that they are God's so would be included in the previously given "God's were killed" reference?
What's you're point?

It's pretty clear that OL has a less than stellar evaluation of these people's capabilities, knowledge, or general competence. Why wouldn't he double check?
Also, OL was probably paying attention during this bit
"And my diplomatic party?"

"I don't know." The Primus moves his gaze from Athyns to me. "If they fought, they're probably dead as well. If not… We weren't here for them."
And thus knows that they weren't explicitly included.
 
11th September 2012
20:42 GMT


My right gauntlet covers the grip of Athyns' sword just before he can grab it.

"When you say 'dead'..?"
Let's hope Athyns can control himself. This whole 'make it up as we go' plan of OL's hinges on Athyns being able to negotiate with these invaders. If he's as loyal to the Titans as he seems, I don't see him taking confirmation of their true deaths well...

The Primus spots that, and makes a point of staring into Athyns' eyes. "Slain. The are no more. Their perfidious reign is at an end and their stolen magic in the rightful hands of the Ascendants."

"And my diplomatic party?"
Okay, Primus. That was a bit of an asshole move. Do you want Athyns to break the truce or something?

"I don't know." The Primus moves his gaze from Athyns to me. "If they fought, they're probably dead as well. If not… We weren't here for them."

Athyns moves his hand away from his sword, so I return the favour.
I get the feeling he's doubting what the Primus says. If he's as closely tied to the Titans as the Ascendants' troops are to them, he can probably feel the faint tickle of their continuing existence in the back of his soul...

"Could you get in contact with someone higher up the chain of command and get us an audience? If the gods are dead, that leaves Athyns as the highest ranking officer. He can order a ceasefire."

"And what of you?"
Oh, OL? Why, he's an unconcerned third party. He only shot at you guys because you shot at him, after all. Of course he'll cease hostilities if you do... ;)

"If the people who asked me here are dead, then I'll probably take my party and leave. Unless Sparta invites me to stay, in which case I imagine that I'll be doing the same thing that I was before."

The Primus regards us both for a moment, then steps back.
'Eh, sounds like grox-dung, but I'll let the Ascendant decide.'

"Guard them while I consult the Ascendant."

Four of the invaders' soldiers gather a little closer with their guns at the ready, though not actually pointed at us. The Primus checks their position and then turns and walks away, moving out of our line of sight a moment later.
Chance for a nice, private chat, then...

Internal only.

Compliance.

"Illustres to Construct Lanterns. Prioritise locating Melinoë, Aporia and Gaudia. Make no effort to avoid detection."
Yeah, I don't see the lesser Ladies trying to fight, especially with how drunk Aporia was. Melinoë would probably just have nightmared any threatening sorts into submission...

"Yes dominus."

Athyns leans a little closer, and I reactivate external speakers.

"If this is no trick, I do not know that I can command the garrison to stand down. We are faithful to the gods, Rhea's anointed. Simply telling them-"
In other words, even if he does give the order, he might not be obeyed. I suppose his honour would be clean, even if his conscience wouldn't be...

"You could still give the order, couldn't you?"

"I don't know. To know that a monster… Held the seeds bestowed upon-."
Especially a monster he's related to, however distantly...

"You could give the order?"

He hesitates.
Ah, I think he's seeing the shape of OL's real meaning...

"You merely want an audience. Sparta the Mad, along with as many other demigods as possible when you reveal her deceit."

"And don't overlook the value of a long term strategy. Convince them that you're converted, then stab them in the back once you have their confidence. At this point I don't think that further direct overt resistance is likely to do anything but get the rest of your soldiers killed."
A good point. Though I suspect many of them are so loyal that they would happily go to their deaths trying to avenge the Titans.

He bows his head slightly, his eyes narrowing.

"I will bite my tongue."
Oh, he's probably looking forwards to a chance to slide his new sword between Sparta's ribs, isn't he? Might need to hold him back if he tries...

"I appreciate that." I step away from him, moving towards one of our escorts. "So what's the endgame here? You capture New Cronus, kill the gods and take their seeds, and… Profit?"

"Then Sparta enacts Rhea's design for our world using the power the parasites stole."
Riiiight. And which world would that be? Your birth world, or the place the Titans moved to? Which would technically be spoils of war...

"'Our world' being Karrakan?"

"Of course. It will become a paradise, unified under the Ascendant."
Doubt. So much Doubt... Man, Sparta must have really spiked the Flavour-Ade for them to be this convinced...

"So you don't have any particular designs for this world?"

There's a slight pause as he considers me.

"No? Why would we?"
...Don't mention the Sun-Eaters... Don't mention the Sun-Eaters...

Hm. Would that work? I want to say 'no'. I don't see how partial repositories of the titans' power would do more than the personal presence of a titan. Not on a world with a weak thaumosphere. Okay, but how could it-? Could they use Essence of Titan to bring the Dream… Closer? To invigorate the thaumosphere? Sure, giving people power doesn't fix problems and I'm sure that if Rhea knew how to do that then she would have done it herself-. If she wanted to.
To be fair, I'm not sure how rational any part of her plan was. Sure, recreating her siblings sounds good... But they simply would not be the same beings, with the same memories...

So… Her demigod children and grandchildren run rampant over however many years, and she… Gives up on the idea?

No. No one has said anything about the demigods helping her get the seeds. She had the seeds all that time. And it doesn't sound as if she were focused on something, otherwise the fighting wouldn't have happened. As.. suming that it did happen. Need to check that.
Yeah, there's simply not enough data to make full sense of the situation yet.

"How long have the Ascendant been unified for?"

"Since Sparta unified them over the wreck of our world."
...Care to pin down a date? Five years? Ten? We can guess it hasn't been longer than that given Thiva's age, but...

"And the world was wrecked by..?"

"Why are you asking?"
...Let's go with curiosity.

"I'm trying to understand what led us to this position. Surely such a well-established matter of historical fact is not a secret? It's… Simply that as an alien I'm ignorant of it. I'm sure that a brief lesson in the dogma of your faith will make my eventual discussion with Sparta go much easier."

And the more claims to historical fact I can check, the better.
The problem is knowing who to ask, or how to double-check. There wasn't that much intel in the ship's computers, was there?

"Karrakan was ravaged as a result of the false gods stealing Rhea's power. Without her direction there was nothing unifying the Ascendants, no great plan to guide them. The proximate cause of the destruction was their attempts to realise her goal without her wisdom, but the ultimate cause was the parasite's murder of Rhea. The destructive chaos continued until Sparta established her rule, in Rhea's name."

"So the Ascendant aren't without faults?"
...So either the Titans did kill Rhea and steal the Seeds and the Karrakanians are in the right, but going about it rather poorly... Or Rhea died empowering them with the Seeds, and the Karrakanians grabbed the wrong end of the stick so damn hard they crushed it into pulp.

"No being is. But they are closer to Rhea's divinity. Their divine power allows them to discern her aims better than we mortals."

"Her aim being?"
Please, do say 'galactic conquest'. Though I doubt anyone but Sparta has any inkling of that possibility...

"To make Karrakan a paradise in the material universe, ordered by the Ascendants, under her governance."

"Did she say this herself?"

"It's self-evident."
o_O ...Riiiiiight.

Something else Sparta made up, then. But okay, I've got some idea of what their ideology is. Given the impression that I've got of the state of Karrakan, it shouldn't be too difficult for Sparta to show some improvement with the added power of the seeds. And that should keep the faithful happy for a while. Let a generation of faithful Ascendants grow up being conditioned to be properly goodthinkful, set them to work…

That could work. But it requires her to actually be able to do something with the seeds.
And in a couple of centuries, she'll have a whole army of religiously loyal followers, ready and willing to die in her name... That sort of thing needs nipping in the bud, methinks...

"And now that Rhea is-."

The Primus walks back into sight.

"Ambassador. 'Commander'. Sparta has agreed to meet with you. To the throne room, now."
Welp, time to meet the lady in question face-to-face...

So, we see the general shape of Sparta's likely plan for things. And it's quite the petty little thing. I get the feeling she will not be as reasonable as OL is hoping for. So it'll come down to making her say something foolish in front of those who believe the sun shines out of her backside... Although, if she's snagged Hyperion's Seed, that may well be true now... :p
 

He's a religious zealot.

Of course logic isn't going to be his thing.

So, we see the general shape of Sparta's likely plan for things. And it's quite the petty little thing

She is related to the Greek gods, so pettiness runs in the family.

So it'll come down to making her say something foolish in front of those who believe the sun shines out of her backside... Although, if she's snagged Hyperion's Seed, that may well be true now... :p

Now I'm getting images of the Johnny Test cartoon where he's given superpowers and one of them is farting fire.
 
Did Paragon just forget that they are God's so would be included in the previously given "God's were killed" reference?
"When you say 'dead'..?"

The Primus spots that, and makes a point of staring into Athyns' eyes. "Slain. The are no more. Their perfidious reign is at an end and their stolen magic in the rightful hands of the Ascendants."

"And my diplomatic party?"

"I don't know." The Primus moves his gaze from Athyns to me. "If they fought, they're probably dead as well. If not… We weren't here for them."
Seems pretty ambiguous to me.
 
Their Seeds being taken doesn't "kill" kill them, right? It's more like taking out the batteries.
Possibly. My own bet is that at least a few of the 'dead' gods have actually made emergency attempts to go full ascension/immaterial like Paul had discussed with Coeus, and are currently trying to figure out "Just what can I do now?" since they either can't quite work up creating conventional avatars and there isn't an effective priesthood to speak through, or that said avatars would just get blasted by the invaders if they were formed.
 
It also requires her to be me mentally stable to do it, which may not be the case.

If she isn't then you're just giving godlike power to a maniac.
Uhh, I think "goodthinkful" means OL was thinking in terms of Sparta trying to set up a 1984 despotic propaganda state. Probably one that would be turned over to Darkseid.
 
It sort of seemed like Boss Smiley is actually an impressive master planner from that whole confrontation, aside from being able to hijack a bunch of saints' energy in the first place, the important thing is how he went about that whole confrontation, with a series of goals of increasing difficulty and decreasing likeliness of success, starting with a possible goal of ill-disposing the religious community towards OL, then the deaths of those associates driving the technological revolution(later reversed by resurrection) then the destruction of the Sword of the Fallen(apparently successful, but probably reversible by a method I've just come up with, but also removing one of the only things we're sure could kill Smiley), then putting OL in a disadvantageous position to try to offer a series of deals.

So basically I've been assuming that the destruction of the sword was planned, and have been wondering why Grayven hasn't been seeing more pushback.

But also I've been thinking that Smiley is probably why every parallel version of Sivana except for the theoretical physicist ended up a supervillain. Because only the one that didn't produce practical applications wasn't a threat to the balance of power, and it wouldn't be that difficult to convince people to not invest in his tech, and to convince Sivana himself to take revenge and become a supervillain.

Anyway, getting to how time travel is related to Smiley, I suspect that there will be a future anti-smiley alliance, and Sivana will be critical, because he could use a time machine to go back and pick up the Sword of the Fallen from before the Angels would have destroyed it. I know that the whole 'perception of a series of events in time leading to the present to avoid paradox' thing is unnecessary since OL changed how time works, but by the same token it probably wouldn't be that hard to fake the sword to a casual analysis followed by destruction, just in case for some reason they want to avoid creating a noticeably distinct hypertime branch.
im sorry but when was this? was this when the angels apparently killed paul?
 
im sorry but when was this? was this when the angels apparently killed paul?

If you're talking about the destruction of the Sword, then yeah.

After Karrien killed Paul he took the Sword with him.

He later on tried to kill one of the Kings of Heaven with it, who sensed its demonic nature and managed to destroy it before he could be cut with it.
 
If you're talking about the destruction of the Sword, then yeah.

After Karrien killed Paul he took the Sword with him.

He later on tried to kill one of the Kings of Heaven with it, who sensed its demonic nature and managed to destroy it before he could be cut with it.
what arc was this?
 
Sungate (supplementary, Renegade Option)
11th September 2012
20:43 GMT


"Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everything is oh it's you."

Rarity regards me for a moment as I stand just inside the door of her establishment.

"Good morning."

"I'm not certain that I would go that.. far."

She takes a slow breath in through her mouth, then snorts it out through her nostrils.

"Mister Grayven. Are you interested in a dress?"

"I don't think you've got anything in my size. Look-."

"Then do you have some reason for being here? Satisfying as putting you in that ridiculous costume was, I do not want to give you the impression that I enjoy your presence."

"Don't blame me for the fact that you can't make bad clothes even when you're trying to. And don't expect me to apologise for informing the authorities of the crimes you committed against Equestria's laws. This is about normalising relations between us."

"Hm." She trots out fully from her kitchen onto the shop floor. "How did your meeting go? Did your brother at least comment on your apparel?"

"Sorry, no. I think he's got even less taste than I do."

"So? Do you have some other meeting you wish for me to try and fail to mis-dress you?"

I bend my legs, laying down on my chest so that my head is closer to her eye-level.

"I heard about Canterlot."

Her head tilts slightly to the right.

"I'm not sure how my Canterlot boutique is of any interest to you."

"Luna's been helping me with this whole 'Making Peace With The Bearerherd' thing. Which means that if someone were to write a letter about learning a friendship lesson, it might find its way into my hooves." I frown. "Not that I've gotten the hang of holding things with my hooves, or… Any other part of my body. But… I understood that you had a personnel problem, and I though-."

"If you read the letter then you know perfectly well that it was resolved."

"Right, and you learned a lesson about politely asserting yourself or whatever. But I'm not sure that you considered the underlying reasons why it happened. Now, my special talent is conquest; the creation, domination and administration of a realm. And because I've been advising Luna, I'm starting to get an itch on the haunches when-"

Rarity moues in distaste at my crassness.

"-something's not right in Equestria. You don't have to accept my help, or listen to me, but I thought that I'd offer."

"Might that assistance explain why Applejack hired extra farmhooves during this year's cider season?"

"Eh, that was half me, half her having the wisdom to overcome her own stubbornness."

"And you feel that you have something to offer moi on the subject of staffing?"

"No, it's…" I widen my eyes slightly, looking directly at her. "So you want to hear this?"

"I am planning on expanding my franchise across Equestria." She rubs her chin with her right frog. "I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to listen to you."

"Right. See, I don't think you've really thought this whole thing through. Why do you even want these shops?"

She gives me a mild frown. "Bou-tiques."

"I'll compromise at 'fancy shops'."

Her head tilts slightly to the right. "Is this something to do with your unfortunate mispronunciation of the word 'ennui' during your conversation with Rainbow Dash during the party after Sunset Shimmer's ascension?"

She heard about that.

"… No."

"It's very simple." She leans forwards. "Boo-teek."

"We can go with 'drapers' if you prefer?"

"I suppose I'll live with it. And I want them because I want to spread fabulosity-"

"That's not a word."

"-across Equestria and yes it is."

"Alright, let me be blunt. Your special talent is discovering hidden beauty, and you bring it out using bespoke dresses. Yes?"

"That's… Essentially correct. But not all the dresses I make are bespoke." She looks around at the wards on display. "Many are just… Waiting for the right subject."

"Right, see, that was my first thought when I heard about the whole 'Princess Dress' debacle. Are you really making all of the dresses for both shops?"

"But of course. As you pointed out, that is what I do."

"And when one dress got ludicrously popular, and Sassy Saddles did her job as shop manager and tried to maximise profits by getting more and selling them, and you were her one source of the dress…"

"I stopped making it, because on a lot of those ponies it looked-." Another moue. "Not… Hideous, but it wasn't their colour or style."

"And you were overworked. Rarity, expanding will make even greater demands on your time, making dresses for remote stores to be worn by ponies you will never meet. And as long as you're the sole source… There's no other way to do it. There are only so many dresses a single pony can make. Did you like that sort of crunch?"

"No! I-. Suppose… Not?"

"So the whole plan of 'a Rarity fancy shop in every city' isn't at all viable. You would work yourself to death and the shelves would still be empty."

"That's… A concern." She sits on her haunches, looking slightly uncertain. "What do you suggest?"

"Depends what you want to do with your life. Because this whole thing is about building the mechanism to make you happy. You can have a fancy shop in every city, but you'll have to do what I persuaded Applejack to do and get other ponies to pitch in with making the product. You do the original dress and work out a pattern, and ponies with special talents relating to manufacturing do the actual stitching. That way you can scale up production to meet demand while keeping your own focus on the creative side where you excel."

"But I wouldn't meet the ponies who would wear my creations."

"Are you meeting the Canterlot ponies now?"

"But… Fittings."

"Fittings can be performed by technically skilled but inspiration poor seamstresses who aren't you. That's not a creative exercise. But if that doesn't appeal, there's the opposite option."

"Ug-h-. Which is?"

"Focus on a smaller number of clients. Keep the shop-."

"Bouti-."

"Fancy shop in Canterlot as advertising, only now the general issue dresses are a lure for your customers rather than the primary product. What you're selling is your expertise; persuade individual ponies to come in for a wardrobe consultation and provide them with a whole range of clothes which suit them perfectly."

"That's… A little more my style, but… Just Canterlot?"

"No, of course not. There aren't that many ponies who could afford such a service. You could keep your Ponyville fancy shop going as you do now, and just change the way you handled the… Next level of things. If successful, your name will be famous through the high society of Equestria… And virtually unknown outside of it."

"I… Don't suppose there's a half way option. Is there?"

I scrunch my nose.

"If you want to be sensible. Hire two people per sto-. Fancy shop. One focuses on sales, the other sews your patterns. You advertise a bespoke service, but it's not a focus and you generally do it for individual garments rather than whole wardrobes. You send up new dresses to see what sells, and the more popular ones become part of the standard range at the behest of the salespony. Yes, they won't really be ideal for everyone, but it's their money and the personal service is available if they want it."

"Hmmm. I suppose that you can lead a pony to water but it's up to them whether they drink or not."

"Now we need sales data."

BOOM!

"Let's go and talk to Ms. Saddles."
 
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Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everything is oh it's you."

A proper response to interacting with renegade.

Good morning."

"I'm not certain that I would go that.. far."

Yep.

"Mister Grayven. Are you interested in a dress?"

"I don't think you've got anything in my size. Look

I think she'll like a challenge.

I stop making it, because

'I stopped'
 
12th September 2012
20:43 GMT


"Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everything is oh it's you."

Rarity regards me for a moment as I stand just inside the door of her establishment.
Ooh, Grayven and Rarity? That's a combination with more explosive potential than a 10-gallon drum of anti-matter. Now, what does he want here, I wonder. Something to do with his little.. campaign against the Element-bearers? Or is he after a bit of pony couture?

"Good morning."

"I'm not certain that I would go that.. far."
Now, now, Rarity. Leave that sort of cattiness to Opal.

She takes a slow breath in through her mouth, then snorts it out through her nostrils.

"Mister Grayven. Are you interested in a dress?"
...To be honest, Grayven might look good in Caparisons with a bit of Barding to accessorize.

"I don't think you've got anything in my size. Look-."

"Then do you have some reason for being here? Satisfying as putting you in that ridiculous costume was, I do not want to give you the impression that I enjoy your presence."
Oof. Good thing she doesn't know any elemental magic, or Grayven might have gotten a frozen shoulder, not just the cold one.

"Don't blame me for the fact that you can't make bad clothes even when you're trying to. And don't expect me to apologise for informing the authorities of the crimes you committed against Equestria's laws. This is about normalising relations between us."

"Hm." She trots out fully from her kitchen onto the shop floor. "How did you meeting go? Did your brother at least comment on your apparel?"
Ah, her professional ego can't stand not knowing, eh?

"Sorry, no. I think he's got even less taste than I do."

"So? Do you have some other meeting you wish for me to try and fail to miss-dress you?"
To be fair, Scot does habitually go into battle dressed in red-yellow-and-green long-johns, even if they are Apkoliptian battle armour.

I bend my legs, laying down on my chest so that my head is closer to her eye-level.

"I heard about Canterlot."
...Is that good or bad? I don't know many episodes, other than Magical Mystery Cure. Oh, and Pony Memes...

Her head tilts slightly to the right.

"I'm not sure how my Canterlot boutique is of any interest to you."
Ah. I'm guessing it was a lesson about not overextending oneself...

"Luna's been helping me with this whole 'Making Peace With The Bearerherd' thing. Which means that if someone were to write a letter about learning a friendship lesson, it might find its way into my hooves." I frown. "Not that I've gotten the hang of holding things with my hooves, or… Any other part of my body. But… I understood that you had a personnel problem, and I though-."

"If you read the letter than you know perfectly well that it was resolved."
Resolved how, though? In a good way, or in the 'still feeling bitter about it' way? <One quick Wiki-walk later> Okay, then...

"Right, and you learned a lesson about politely asserting yourself or whatever. But I'm not sure that you considered the underlying reasons why it happened. Now, my special talent is conquest; the creation, domination and administration of a realm. And because I've been advising Luna, I'm starting to get an itch on the haunches when-"

Rarity moues in distaste at my crassness.
Well, he is a total pain-in-the-plot, after all.

"-something's not right in Equestria. You don't have to accept my help, or listen to me, but I thought that I'd offer."

"Might that assistance explain why Applejack hired extra farmhooves during this year's cider season?"

"Eh, that was half me, half her having the wisdom to overcome her own stubbornness."
So you might say... She was Honest about herself? :p

"And you feel that you have something to offer moi on the subject of staffing?"

"No, it's…" I widen my eyes slightly, looking directly at her. "So you want to hear this?"
And what would you do if she says 'No,' Grayven? Will you walk out the door and leave her to her struggles? Could your plot-itch let you live with that?

"I am planning on expanding my franchise across Equestria." She rubs her chin with her right frog. "I suppose that it wouldn't hurt to listen to you."

"Right. See, I don't think you've really thought this whole thing through. Why do you even want these shops?"
Because she has an overinflated estimate of her potential?

She gives me a mild frown. "Bou-tiques."

"I'll compromise at 'fancy shops'."
Ah, Grayven, blunt as a warhammer...

Her head tilts slightly to the right. "Is this something to do with your unfortunate mispronunciation of the word 'ennui' during your conversation with Rainbow Dash during the party after Sunset Shimmer's ascension?"

She heard about that.
Hey, blame linguistic drift and uneducated dolts for that.

"… No."

"It's very simple." She leans forwards. "Boo-teek.
...If English follows other languages into dark alleys and mugs them for interesting vocabulary... Where'd the Equestrian version of that word come from? Is there an equivalent of France on Wilson? I know there's an Arabia counterpart...

"We can go with 'drapers' if you prefer?"

"I suppose I'll live with it. And I want them because I want to spread fabulosity-"
...And now she's just making up vocabulary..

"That's not a word."

"-across Equestria and yes it is."
...No it isn't.

"Alright, let me be blunt. Your special talent is discovering hidden beauty, and you bring it out using bespoke dresses. Yes?"

"That's… Essentially correct. But not all the dresses I make are bespoke." She looks around at the wards on display. "Many are just… Waiting for the right subject."
Even the inevitable puce-and-avocado paisley one you keep hidden in the back wardrobe? Or is that one that shall never be mentioned?

"Right, see, that was my first thought when I heard about the whole 'Princess Dress' debacle. Are you really making all of the dresses for both shops?"

"But of course. As you pointed out, that is what I do."
Ah, now I see it. One person cannot replace an entire industry. No matter how talented.

"And when one dress got ludicrously popular, and Sassy Saddles did her job as shop manager and tried to maximise profits by getting more and selling them, and you were her one source of the dress…"

"I stop making it, because on a lot of those ponies it looked-." Another moue. "Not… Hideous, but it wasn't their colour or style."
Now, if only someone could do that in real life for fashion disasters...

"And you were overworked. Rarity, expanding will make even greater demands on your time, making dresses for remote stores to be worn by ponies you will never meet. And as long as you're the sole source… There's no other way to do it. There are only so many dresses a single pony can make. Did you like that sort of crunch?"

"No! I-. Suppose… Not?"
Yes, not so sure now, are you, about this whole thing?

"So the whole plan of 'a Rarity fancy shop in every city' isn't at all viable. You would work yourself to death and the shelves would still be empty."

"That's… A concern." She sits on her haunches, looking slightly uncertain. "What do you suggest?"
Ah, I can picture Grayven having an internal moment of glee that she asked.

"Depends what you want to do with your life. Because this whole thing is about building the mechanism to make you happy. You can have a fancy shop in every city, but you'll have to do what I persuaded Applejack to do and get other ponies to pitch in with making the product. You do the original dress and work out a pattern, and ponies with special talent relates to manufacturing do the actual stitching. That way you can scale up production to meet demand while keeping your own focus on the creative side where you excel."
I'm sure there are plenty of ponies with such talents. From weavers to tailors...

"But I wouldn't meet the ponies who would wear my creations."

"Are you meeting the Canterlot ponies now?"
To be fair, would she want to? Some of that sort would be very unpleasant people...

"But… Fittings."

"Fittings can be performed by technically skilled but inspiration poor seamstresses who aren't you. That's not a creative exercise. But if that doesn't appeal, there's the opposite option."
Besides, fittings are boring, aren't they? Oh, sure, you might have the occasional client who you click with, but imagine the number of 'just there to get it over with' types who just won't sit still...

"Ug-h-. Which is?"

"Focus on a smaller number of clients. Keep the shop-."
Smaller clientele, bigger prices. Unless you have a plan to cover expenses?

"Bouti-."

"Fancy shop in Canterlot as advertising, only now the general issue dresses are a lure for your customers rather than the primary product. What you're selling is your expertise; persuade individual ponies to come in for a wardrobe consultation and provide them with a whole range of clothes which suit them perfectly."
How very... Modern fashion... of you, Grayven.

"That's… A little more my style, but… Just Canterlot?"

"No, of course not. There aren't that many ponies who could afford such a service. You could keep your Ponyville fancy shop going as you do now, and just change the way you handled the… Next level of things. If successful, your name will be famous through the high society of Equestria… And virtually unknown outside of it."
What would it end up being called, I wonder? Just 'Carousel'? Or would her name enter the common parlance as slang for 'gorgeous dresses'?

"I… Don't suppose there's a half way option. Is there?"

I scrunch my nose.
Go big or go home, little lady.

"If you want to be sensible. Hire two people per sto-. Fancy shop. One focuses on sales, the other sews your patterns. You advertise a bespoke service, but it's not a focus and you generally do it for individual garments rather than whole wardrobes. You send up new dresses to see what sells, and the more popular ones become part of the standard range at the behest of the salespony. Yes, they won't really be ideal for everyone, but it's their money and the personal service is available if they want it."
Yes, very much a modern fashion methodology.

"Hmmm. I suppose that you can lead a pony to water but it's up to them whether they drink or not."

"Now we need sales data."
That's easy enough.

BOOM!

"Let's go and talk to Ms. Saddles."
Heh, I wonder what'll happen by the distant future finale in this timeline...

What a contrast between activities. OL trying to stop an interplanetary war, while Renegade... Helps a pretty pony sell pretty dresses. Good to see he's been keeping busy. A pleasant way for a brief time-skip to dodge the trip from battleground to throne room in OL's plot... Which might well be quite the trek at walking pace.
 
To be fair, Scot does habitually go into battle dressed in red-yellow-and-green long-johns, even if they are Apkoliptian battle armour.

I think they were talking about Orion, who renegade was going to meet and commissioned the dress for himself.

Though Scott went along, so he may have also talked about him.

And now she's just making up vocabulary..

All vocabulary is made up.


Yes, yes it is.
 
Ummmmm I am concerned about the origin of that Boom.
 

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