Message 10: Catching Up

[unrecovered]

[Somebody's human, which rules out Ponyville as the location for this one.]

Three things. One, if you haven't figured out how to walk as a pony yet, do it soon. There's a pattern to the way this dream works - when something happens, it'll probably happen in Ponyville, and if you want to get involved you need to be able to walk.

Two. [He pulls out the dead AI chip that came from the Mother of Invention and holds it up to the camera, keeping a very straight face.] Have any of these changed hands? We should be keeping track of them. [And by that he means "he's keeping track of them whether you all like it or not."]

Three, has anyone tried putting the talking items together yet?

Comments

[unrecovered]

That's the plan.

There's a forest and a sandlot in Twilight Town. Both are pretty wide open, as long as you make sure nobody else is there before you start.

...summon what?

[sylvan]

Of course. I would never hurt someone due to carelessness.

Eidolons. I can only call Whyt, as far as I'm aware.

[unrecovered]

And what are those. [Start from the very beginning - otherwise, he'll be completely lost.]

[sylvan]

Oh, um. Sorry! I forget how... how different things are here. Eidolons are powerful beings that I can summon to aid me in battle. They only grant their powers to those they respect, often if you can defeat them in a fight. They will only aid a Summoner if they like them, however.

[ A pause. She realizes that it sounds like she is special (which she indeed is), but that makes her uncomfortable. ]

...are you some kind of knight? Because of your armor, I mean.

[unrecovered]

I take it they like you. Do they dream?

[There's a reason he's asking that question. He doesn't particularly care if she's special in her world; he puts up with enough self-centered assholes that talking to someone who doesn't brag about it is a relief.]

[The communicator turns off for a minute or two, then turns back on. He didn't particularly want to see her laughing his ass off at that question. Him being a knight is patently ridiculous, and it's easier to laugh about it than to think about what he could have been - what he wanted to be - before Freelancer ruined everything. Still. No need to laugh in her face. He may still be fighting to keep a straight face, but you'd never know it under that helmet.]

No. I'm a soldier.

[sylvan]

Most of them don't sleep. I've never really asked because it wasn't important to me. I'm just glad to know them.

[ She suspects he's asking because dreaming is what's required to be present in this place. It seems to make sense to her, at least. ]

Oh. I see. That's sort of the same thing, though, isn't it?

[ And she is none the wiser to his laughter having occurred. (That was cold, man.) She was hoping there was someone else here she had something in common with; the dark armor being the first thing she noticed long before the voice or the words. It was less intimidating than a Dark Knight, but it reminded her enough of one. ]

[unrecovered]

They may not be able to show up here, then. [Because of the whole dream world thing.]

[He's not laughing at her; he's laughing at the absurdity of the question. You kind of have to know him to get why it's funny.]

Not...really.

[And because he's seen enough movies to know his fantasy tropes, if only vaguely:]

More like a heavily armed ranger, in my case.