Some may have noticed the lack of a certain cacaphonic pink pony on board the ship as of late. It seems that Pinkie Pie had found herself being GLaDOS' newest test subject and, of course, with Pinkie being Pinkie, she performed every test and ran every maze with no complaint, because she had been promised cake at the end! In fact, it was likely that GLaDOS would get tired of her long before she grew tired of testing.

And that could very well be what happened, as Pinkie was finally dumped in a random spot in the city, possibly making a squeaky-toy noise as she landed.

"Oof! Ms. Test Lady! Do I get a cake now?" She asked the sky, and waited for an answer. When none came, her ears flopped. "She said there would be cake at the end!"

And technically grief-counseling as well, but Pinkie had only heard the cake part. She looked around and tried to figure out where she was, and what she was going to do now. She wasn't in the big maze anymore, but Ms. Test Lady hadn't given her cake yet. Clearly, that meant only one thing:

The test wasn't over yet.

You could practically see the lightbulb go on over Pinkie's head. Of course! This was just another part of the test! And by gosh, Pinkie was going to do her best! There was cake on the line, after all.

"All right, Ms. Test Lady, I accept your challenge! I'm gonna get that cake yet!"

Passersby may be wondering why she's talking to herself. Unless you know Pinkie and realize that this is business as usual. Or perhaps you aren't even in the city, you're just minding your own business somewhere else when suddenly PONY IN YOUR FACE, asking you if you've seen a delicious cake anywhere. She's not going to stop until she's solved this newest test.

She is on a quest.

A quest for cake.

[[OOC: COME JOIN PINKIE IN HER QUEST FOR CAKE. Anything can happen! In fact, it's likely that anything WILL happen because this Pinkie Pie we're talking about.]]

WHUMPF.

In one of the lost rooms, a costumed teenager is being flown across a grassy hill like a particularly colorful projectile. He lands hard on the ground, tumbling over and over into the mud, and then, with a grunt, gets back up.

"Goddamn tree's putting the ig on me." Punchy wipes dirt off his face and spits a piece of grass (and possibly a tooth) out. "Let's see how you like getting stomped topwise by a real OG."

The Whomping Willow spreads its two largest branches wide, as if to say 'come at me, bro'. Punchy rushes headfirst at it, trying to think of some witty or scathing put-down to throw at this uppity piece of lumber, and instead only coming up with 'take that!' - and getting tossed, once again across the room and into the earth.

If anyone walks in on him lying facedown in the mud, he's totally just playing dead and going to get the Willow off-guard. Really.

Who: Tails (OPEN)
Where: In the city, near Tails' workshop
Summary: Sonic is missing, off running GLaDOS' test tracks. As a result, meanwhile Tails is not in a happy mood. Who wants to fix that?
Warnings: Nada

( Emo fox )

Gods could be too arrogant. Such was the case of SHODAN, who had turned the Pods into a nightmarish zone where she could freely amuse herself and torture those that had come here.

But arrogance breeds pride which breeds mistakes. Instead of killing everyone off, she had decided to do this more slowly – watch them suffer in a slow agony, and, therefore had not expected them to fight back.

It had been a lucky shot, really, one in a million, But one of the people present that day had accidentally shot a tiny, insignificant object. A tiny little drone, that, once it had been the source of the power damper, had fallen. The tables were turned, and the goddess had been forced to retreat from the pods.

Now she was on a panicked mode, not only because some of the other people on the ship had managed to work their way into her system files, using another AI to send pointless images and sounds to her, distracting her from her task, but they knew how they could defeat her and gain their powers back.

It didn't take long for the message to be sent out, as the word quickly spread. Find the tiny little creatures, and shoot them down. SHODAN couldn't work their shields properly and once they were found, it was only a short matter of time before the powers returned to an area.

It would take time, but, finally, the tide of the battle was turning on the side of the crewmen and women. In vain, she was throwing her all; even more strange robot creatures, attacking in packs, but with hope on their side, they could win this...

[OOC - OKay go for it! NPC players, feel free to NPC as many robots as you like. Players, once your powers return, feel free to make as much scrap metal as you like, no need to have people NPC for you if you just want to write tags of them kicking ass.]

Megan didn't often spend a great deal of time in the sensoriums. Escapism was rarely appealing to her - at least not as much as problem solving was - but every once in a while homesickness would drive her to some illusory indulgence.

Today she lay on her back on the ground, splayed out on top of a large soft blanket like a ginger starfish, red hair a loose cloud around her head. The ground she had made her bed on was barren for the most part, an empty plain of rich red earth that stretched for miles around her into the darkness. Above her hung the bright tapestry of stars that provided her only light, the stars she remembered seeing laying in the front yard of her childhood home, peering up into Mars' midnight sky.

Stargazing had always been calming to her. It stood to reason that even here on Stacy the ritual would still work, just as it had still worked on Earth back at home.

Not all parts of the city had been explored, that much was true. On to a far corner of the northern side, what was once a beautiful garden was now pieces of cracked paintings and petrified wood. Whatever temperature happened here, the rain seemed to turn to snow once it entered the area, and judging from the amount, the place had not been perturbed for quite a while.

Nestled in the center, a figure stood there, looking like a giant frozen statue in mid-walk. The clothing seemed to be of Japanese-like origin, a bright pink kimono with floral patterns, which was hard to spot in the cold weather.

No one had ventured here. The path leading to it was dark and while not filled with anything particularly dangerous, only those brave...or crazy would want to come here...until now.

[OOC - this is the startup post for the three to find and rescue her. Results for the randomization is coming soon!]

Click click click click.

"There." Ash was rather proud of his menial little accomplishment as he stood with one metal hand on his hip and the other clutching a price labler gun, surveying his store.

"That's the whole aisle." His imaginary, sensorium created store, but his store none-the-less.

Last shore-leave he participated in did him a lot of good; he unarguably wore the whole cowboy get-up very well and if he had half a mind about it, he would have just stayed on that dirtball. Living inside Stacy was just... bizarre. He had explored on his on own time, deciding that spending a night in those claustrophobic sleeping pods was nothing like sleeping on a real bed in the crew quarters. He admittedly found a great attraction to the Media Library but could only handle so many hours of mindless TV (which is a lot of hours in Ash's case, mind you) before he felt like his eyeballs were going to fall out of his head. The Art Hall was just downright creepy. The City offered a lot but he felt like he had barely mapped any of it out. It was surprisingly expansive and daunting for being inside a space ship... though he had become rather intimately acquainted the Drunken Dragon through Nima. In fact, somewhere between the mishmash of ancient buildings and temples, alien construction, and random crumbling structures the idea of finding a place to call his own (for more intimate encounters) seemed pretty plausible with how damn huge the City was.

However, with talks of dragons roaming around there lately, Ash, frankly, wanted nothing to do with it and could deal with sleeping on bunk beds if it meant keeping his business out of the City until someone called the super-sized space exterminators. Deadites? Sure, he could take 'em out. Hell, he even battled the undead in a medieval setting where he would have expected to find some scaly winged beast (and just as well would have expected it to also be undead) trying to make a meal out of him. But Here? Now? Space Dragons? The Chosen One didn't want to deal with it. Not. His. Problem.

You know what The Chosen One wanted? He wanted normal. He wanted Earth, he wanted home, he wanted mundane, he wanted S-Mart. Ash could imagine the rows of aisles filled with shelves of food, toys, appliances, racks of clothes, the ever looming banners reminding you where you were, his own blue uniform complete with tie and name tag, the employee lounge (even the broken handle on men's bathroom door), blue light specials and senior citizen discount days now...

The deadite with the lazy eye standing in line for the register holding a pack of diapers...

NO. No. Ash squeezed his eyes shut and willed the persistent image away. He had boxes to put away and long stories to bore his artificial co-workers and customers with and NOTHING was going to ruin that. Nothing. Not even his own stupid mind.

His first tentative tests with the sensoriums when he discovered them were totally mind blowing. Once he got the hang of it, he could have happily stayed here forever. It was the next best thing to normalcy and all he had to do was think about it.

...He just had to try really hard to not think about any deadites coming along to ruin that, as that tended to happen...

HELLO,
MY NAME IS ASH.
HOUSEWARES

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. They are also told they must read information about their current situation and a survival guide with their new omnicom. New crew-mates might see a tall dragonish guy with wings (but don't call him that) and purple girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

Let it never be said that Stacy was not benevolent toward her crew. Truth was, she loved them, to the point of risking her own life. And thus, she'd been busy for quite some time... silently she had worked, trying to get into her own archives and cross-checking references. She was going to help boost morale and give them a gift - show them people they cared about, wake them up for a single day as proof that, yes, they were there, close by. She was going to give them a day to awaken, to see their loved ones again and to go back, knowing that their time would come one day or another...

It sounded so beautiful and poetic on theory. In reality, it could become a true disaster. Spent of most of the energies doing this task, in complete secrecy to keep it as a surprise, Stacy's never-ending work was only stopped by its own Warden program, which pulled the plug on the ship's search to find everyone at least someone they cared about. That, unfortunately, left her not only spent of energy which was dangerous in itself - but it also meant that some of the crew would be deprived of seeing their close ones, no doubt leaving some of them bitter.

The road to hell has always been paved by good intentions.

Stacy's voice was decidedly more cheerful than normal as she spoke to the entire ship.

|| Transmigration Nine crew, please report to the Observation Deck. I have a gift for you. ||

She repeated the request, and waited.

Once most of the crew had made their way there, she continued.

||I have been working on a...|| she couldn't quite find the proper word and settled on the next one, || present for you. While many of your records are locked to even me, I have worked to find the pods which contain people close to you. I...apologize if some of you may end up with no one, it is not my fault I...|| suddenly Stacy's voice seemed a little less cheerful, ||The Warden stopped me before I could finish everything completely. Please do not feel like I targeted you specifically, I really did my best to get as many of your friends and companions awake as possible for today.||

Now was the hardest part to explain.

||And that is, unfortunately, all that can be given to you. Because their avia are not yet ready to be properly awakened, they'll be here for a single day. Please make the most of it, so you can feel better and continue our mission with renewed vigor . I hope that meeting those that care about you will give you a boost of energy that you all need.|| Spoken like a mother who put her children before herself. ||But if you can...look at it this way, it means that they are here, and one day I will proudly awaken them properly when they are ready.||

Her voice was becoming strange as she went on. Not static-like, but raspy, like someone who was running out of breath.

||And I am afraid that I must go offline for a few hours due to the strain this is putting on...me...|| It sounded really painful for her to speak, completely spent and only going because she wanted to at least give them a proper last word. ||I...hope...you...will...be...happy...a...lit--||

For the first time in a long while, Stacy was completely silent.

[OOC: GO FOR IT.]

Once everyone had had time to read her announcement, Starfire started preparing for the day. There were signs to hang, streamers to wave, and plenty of people to greet with her usual affection. Language would not be a barrier, so the signs simply consisted of drawings of two happy blobs coming together and embracing each other. Arrows below the pictures pointed any visitors to the right place in the city's park, where Starfire's cheerful calls could be heard. She floated above the crowd, that wide smile ever-present on her face.

"I welcome you all to our offering of friendship! Please join us!" She was not going to give up easily, no. "You do not need to embrace us or each other to participate today. Your kind words of support and open ears are more than enough, but I would like you to open your arms if you are able. Offer your affection to your friends and extend your kindness to new ones!"

That said, she pointed to the arrangement of signs attached to several big trees. One had a rather deformed picture of a smiling Starfire in front of it, and others were left blank for volunteers to draw their own pictures. Those wishing to receive hugs or friendship would walk through the appropriate tree to stand behind.

It was a simple setup, but one that she hoped would be effective. Love for everyone!

((Subthreads are up! Similarly-inclined volunteers can take their own hug tree, and everyone is welcome to visit any of the trees. Tags from Starfire will be sporadic while I am at school, so you may wish to thread with others at first.))

Hoshi was starting to feel a lot better than she did previously and she decided to continue her relaxation by taking a small walk to Hydroponics. She hadn't been here too much, but it never hurt to go to somewhere new here. Following right behind her was Seraphiel, who was in his eagle form for right now.

When she entered it, she took in a breath of air and slowly exhaled it. Why hadn't she come to this place before? It was gorgeous! With a wide smile, she took a run around before deciding to stop and just relax on the grass. She laid back, using her good arm to use as a pillow and her other one at her side.

"I have to come back here more often," she muttered to herself, content to just lay back and bask in the sunlight that was washing over her.

Celestia's new home was a grand residence indeed: the citadel of Camelot, a place which featured heavily in the myths and legends of Earth. Not that Celestia was familiar with these myths, of course.

Guests were free to wonder around the castle at will, but Celestia had decided that today, the courtyard would be a lovely place for everypony to get together. There were a few tables set up, with the treats Hoshi and Applejack had so generously made, and Rarity's beautiful decorations. And later, Celestia planned to invite her guests to ride on the Ferris wheel that happened to be located just outside the castle.

The crewmembers had suffered a great loss recently, but she hoped that this would bring them some small amount of joy, and the comfort of friendship in this time.

[[ooc: Sorry this is a day late guys, uni ended up being much more hectic yesterday than I expected. Anyways, I've put up a subthread for Celestia greeting visitors and rides on the London Eye. Those that ICly helped out this party can also set up sub-threads for the food tables/games/whatever as well, if you guys want to. (Edit: The sub-thread for Hoshi & Applejack's nibbles is up here!)

But other than that, feel free to start your own threads and tag each other. People can also wonder around and explore the castle - it's the BBC Merlin version of Camelot, but only the citadel itself (as opposed to the whole city).]]

The day had finally arrived for her big event, and Starfire couldn't be happier---or more nervous, actually. She was certainly not an expert on the inner workings of a prom, but it couldn't be too terribly complicated, right? As long as the people could eat, dance, and talk, it should be a reasonable success.

With that in mind, her decorations sprung from her mind into the large dome all around her, transforming a grey Sensorium into a beautiful underwater world, one with clear waters and free from the possibility of a shark attack.
( Diving into a underwater wonderland... )

The City didn't have weather as most people knew it, but it was nonetheless a beautiful day - warm weather with a nice breeze, Stacy's sun-equivalent shining in the sky... almost as if it was reflecting the emotions of at least one of the ship's crew. In the middle of the Park, someone had set up a little white lattice archway amongst the hedgerows, decorated with ivy and roses and lilies that looked remarkably real (if they were, in fact, synthetic). In front of the arch were several rows of white chairs, more than enough for anyone who cared to show up.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding.

And frankly, Nanoha needed it. After the chaos and confusion; the rage and terror on Galilee... she didn't think she could ever forget that horrible sense of loss and emptiness when she'd thought that Fate was gone, if only for a day or so. But this would go a long way toward exorcising those demons - a day that she'd dreamed of for years.

Of course, she couldn't go greet anyone yet. She was in her wedding dress, after all! These things needed to be proper.

(ooc: Tag the respective subthreads, please! Mingling is highly encouraged.)

Rarity stood in the simulation of The Carousel Boutique, recalling the colours and atmosphere of the place. A hologram of Opalescence was sitting on the table, swishing its tail and looking at Rarity.

"Do you think this gem would do, Opalescence?" She levitated a red gem and the cat blinked. "Or this one?" Rarity asked, levitating a blue one. The feline mewed and stretched.

The unicorn smiled and continued to play-work with the pony outfit she was currently pre-occupied with.

They were very most definitely in space.

Chell hadn't wanted to believe it--as horrible as Aperture was, the Laboratories were at least familiar and...not space--but the overwhelming evidence was right in front of her, nearly everywhere she looked (and she'd made it her personal mission to look everywhere). Knowing all the ins and outs of a place made it that much easier to plot a getaway.

Escaping was what she planned to do, of course, right after she found where they were keeping her portal device, and where GLaDOS was hiding. She didn't want to fight an army of bug aliens. Stranded between dimensions or not, she wanted the same thing she always wanted--her freedom, and no psychotic computer (Stacy or otherwise) was going to keep it from her.

And speaking of psychotic computers...

Toting an overly excitable metal sphere without the portal device predictably impeded her progress when it came to combing the ship, to say nothing of her reasons for doing so. In true Wheatley fashion, the personality construct seemed to have little comprehension of their situation's gravity, and was probably just glad he wasn't off orbiting the Moon. The sooner she got him down to Engineering, the better, even if she was more than a little apprehensive at the idea of granting him any sort of independence (ultimately, however, her robot charge was heavy and her arms were starting to hurt).

One thing she could not deny was the overwhelming vastness and strangeness of the craft. Every inch of it begged to be explored, analyzed, committed to memory. Then, perhaps, she could plan her next move.

[OOC: Chell and Wheatley are anywhere you want/need them to be, poking around and being nosy. Just specify a location in the subject line and we will make the magic happen.]

Celestia had lived a long life, but the past few days were the strangest she had ever experienced. She had awoken from a pod in a strange chamber, only to find herself whisked away to a strange maze soon after.

This maze had had her most concerned - as Princess of all Equestria, she had duties and responsibilities, after all. She could only hope that her sister Luna was managing on her own, and do her best to escape this maze and return to her beloved subjects.

Escape came unexpectedly though, when Celestia found herself suddenly dropped from the mess hall ceiling, where she landed on top of one of the tables with a thud, her hooves sending plates and trays and cutlery flying in all directions. Have a rather elegant pony - or perhaps a horse? - with a long horn on her forehead, graceful wings adorning her back, and a mane and tail that was a multicolour and gravity-defying sight standing on your table, diners, looking rather bewildered.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I hope I didn't ruin your meal," she said, with a chuckle. Then she looked around at her surroundings, her expression turning concerned. "Now this doesn't look at all like Equestria..."

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. New crew-mates might see a tall man in green armor and snake girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

[ooc: Newbie Helpers List | Instructions: Post your character with one post establishing them as being podpopped. Tag each other in groups of 2's, 3's, and 4's, to get some interaction to start with. If a thread doesn't already have 2 or 3 people tagged in, tag it with your character's podpop popping near the other people, rather than making a new subthread. If you would like to play out them talking to the AI, please send an email to the mods making the request--we do this only by request. Then move onto the big Newbie Meeting. Once your character has gotten the rundown from the old crew, you may start posting entrance posts and freely tagging.]


||Pod Release Protocols Initating|| Stacy's familiar voice sounds out to all the podmates through the ship.

In the Pod Caverns, there are the sounds of: Pop. Pop pop pop. Poppuhpoppoppop. KASCHUNKhiiiiiiiissssss.

There is condensation and mist spraying out from cracks in the pods, as the people inside slide out onto the floors, covered in slime.

--

( There was nothing... )