After the End?(2nd shot)

The HIVE, a vast metropolis like complex spanned out in all directions for miles, taking up a majority of the southern continent. Though the more concentrated sections of the land of the changelings were atop mountains or near sources of water. There the structures, while featuring a large influx of the black and green color, were remarkably like what Canterlot had been before Tirek won. Many spires and mutli-story buildings lined the streets, a great many of which bustled with activity. The largest of these, the city of Sunshade, was where the sovereign queen Chrysalis had made her throne, in a magnificent castle no less where her respected rule was unchallenged and unquestioned by even the other lords.

All around the castle, the streets bustled with changelings and ponies alike, though half the time it was hard to tell one from the other as changelings obviously were able to walk the streets in or out of disguise. Even a few other sights popped in, but ponies and changelings were the primary occupants. The styles of clothes and other accessories that adorned them all varied widely, far more so than the general theme of stores that mostly filled in the sides of the streets. Most of the buildings were stores and seemed to be clothing or some kind of live entertainment and had a pretty constant traffic of ponies going into and out. The HIVE also had one other feature that truly set it apart from the other lands, and that was that it actually featured an actual day and night.

It was a later afternoon right now, and the streets were even more busy than normal, largely due to a concert featuring Mimic, the queen's own daughter who was performing live. The concert had just ended and more than a few hundred beings were beginning to work their way out of the show's building.

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Alright, so as with the other game, this thing is meant to be kind of sandbox-ish as hell. I might or might not have an overlying theme/story, but at least at first, I won't be pushing either of you in any direction. Feel free to come up with how/where you are in the scene, just try to avoid being in high ranking positions and such. No captains of the guard, high standing nobles, etc.

Standing in the shadows of one of the buildings that surrounded the concert area. "You're sure this is where Mimic will head out?" The ram that spoke barely above a whisper was tall, and lean. Once he had been roughly handsome, but now, with scars on his face, he was more rugged than anything else.

"Positive... we'll only have a small window to approach her, so you need to do it quickly," the thestral mare beside him replied, the passing time having done nothing to alter her beauty. "You remember the plan?"

"As if I would forget it. We go in, see if she reacts to the phrase we had your source leak to her, and if she does, we have a new potential ally. If she doesn't, we claim to be some over excited fans, and apologise profusely." The ram sighed and returned his gaze to the spot Mimic was supposed to emerge from.

A single mare slowly departed from the concert area, wearing an old fashioned style of dress, typically seen on what would have been nobility, and carrying a large, black umbrella to shield herself from the sun. Her fur was a dingy white, while her mane was long and black. Even though she covered her eyes as best as she could with her masquerade mask, probably from some long-forgotten party, she appeared very sad about something.

To the ponies around her, she would stand out at something from a long-forgotten age, dressed as if she had somewhere to be, but had nowhere to go. She would look up at the sun and sigh, before tilting her umbrella back over her head, slowly continuing on her path to nowhere.

"That was so awesome!" The young mare, looking not much older than a teen, declares with bordering-on-squee levels of enthusiasm, grinning as widely as it was physically possible to grin. "I mean, I knew the Princess was a pretty sweet singer and all but... I mean, Mimic! It's like she was named for her talent before she knew what it was. Way, way cool."
Beside her, a visibly older mare with the straight hair, brutally practical cut, and utterly plain clothes of a scholar--or at least someone who doesn't care to be noticed, or doesn't care about being fashionable--carefully marks her place in a battered-looking book she's holding and looks to what is quite clearly her daughter; the resemblance between the two is just too perfect for them to not be related, and the look of indulgent, maternal affection she gives her daughter cinches it. "I found her imitation of a harpsichord to be beautifully accurate," she said in a slightly prim tone and a Trottingham accent lifted straight out of Trotsford University. "The royal blood does tell."
In contrast to her mother, the apparent teenager is dressed in an orange t-shirt that slightly strains to contain her chest, with the words 'Fully Loaded For Fun' written across her breasts in elegant flowing penmanship with a permanent marker, and ass-hugging jean shorts that just barely go on passed her mid-thigh. What makes her clothing peculiar, however, is that her shorts are belted with a very heavy-duty strap from which hangs an assemblage of tools and she's wearing a heavy vest (that somehow avoids concealing her twin bragging rights) covered in pockets and loops which contain even more tools.
"Yup," she agrees. "Sure as buck is better here than other places. Nice culture, good food, and a fine selection of playmates should you want them."
The scholar looks sharply at her daughter. "You are not bringing another tail-raiser into my home. I don't particularly mind you indulging yourself so long as you're respectable about it, but my home is for family, and a piece of tail you pick off a street corner is not family."
"Suit yourself," the younger mare shrugs as the pair join the river of ponies flowing out of the concert area. "You won't get to meet her."
"I'm comfortable with that."

"Ponies of Sunshade, changelings of Sunshade, I call for your ears. I have long sought out some meaning in life, but I have found it ultimately complicated..." some kind of golem spoke up in the square, haranguing the citizens as they poured out of the concert hall. It appeared to be a mannequin of a stallion, a pressed suit fitted onto it expertly and snugly. The long tailcoats of the suit betrayed it being a rather expensive piece, and the outfit was wholly complimented by the silken stovetop hat he wore. Still, he moved almost like a living pony, so perhaps he was a bit more than a meager golem.
He continued to speak, projecting his voice as far as he could, which he was honestly proud of given his utter lack of lungs.
"So it is said: To paint the lily, to gild refined gold, to throw perfume on the violet, is just plain silly. So why do so many of us feel the need to hide our bodies? Tell me, comrades, why should the most austere of us feel adoration for a feat any of us could achieve. Well! I have found the answer!
All creatures are beaten down into obedience by those above them. Surely it is not our Queen driving our submission, simply look upon her daughter and you shall see this: she is proud, free, and has an unrivaled tenacity among her peers. Nay, it is by currency and coinage we are ruled. Those with more wealth, and wealth alone, pass their judgement upon all those below them. I say we do not stand for this. We shall not let 'others' direct our values.
"For now, my ponies, watch. Observe your masters and band together in our shared torture. We will not be silent much longer."

As the crowd continued to depart from the concert hall some threw their gaze towards the golem and their ears to his words. A great many just continued walking with nothing more than a glance, but a few curious fellows continued to watch and listen, a couple of them even nodding along. A few changeling guards were noticeably keeping an eye on the golem though, not doing much yet, but they were blatantly watching and listening to the performance.

Shatter and Nova would be able to hear the scores leaving the hall, but they wouldn't be able to see them while waiting at this thought to be secret exit. Though a new voice would join them and this one was slowly getting closer and coming from behind the closed door, right up until the door was thrown open. "And tell the light effects staff they were early with the strobes. I was almost blinded by their barrage," Mimic commanded to a small entourage of others with her. Most were other key and important parts of the show, though the two heavily armed and armored changeling guards probably weren't part of the performance.

While Verde, Viridian, and Blood Moon continued to walk along with the rest of the crowd of departing fans, there was another figure that actually managed to stand out in the largely varied crowd of changelings, ponies, and various other races. It's body had the distinct texture of metal and the mane and tail seemed to be made of a light blue flame. The cold green glow of it's eyes seemed sharply focused, but it wasn't on any member of the crowd, instead it was purposely walking towards an alleyway.

Shatter watched the door swing open and he nodded to Platinum, before they began to push through the crowd. "If this goes poorly," he murmured to her. "And it probably will given we're being watched by that thing over there." He gestured gently. "Should we switch to kidnap?" He asked.

Platinum's heeled boots clicked as she moved gracefully through the throng of people moving away from the concert. "Honestly, the first plan wasn't very good to begin with... Shall I distract them?" She asked, before smirking as Shatter nodded. "As you wish..."

As Shatter continued to move towards Mimic and her guards, Platinum pulled a mask over her face, her smirk vanishing behind a flash of light as she grew, till she was taller than most of the ponies there, a pair of feathery white wings erupting from her back and a horn pushing up till she was a perfect replica of Princess Celestia. Her voice naturally amplified, she smirked and gestured around her. "My little Ponies... I have returned. And it is time for your "Queen" to suffer even a millionth of the pain you have suffered."

As Platinum no doubt drew the crowds attention, Shatter moved through the crowd till he was standing next to Mimic and her guards. "The lion stirs," he murmured, loud enough for her to hear, curious to see her reaction before he raised his hand. "And Chaos Falls..." He smirked, his horns flaring as a twelve pointed star burst into life beneath her feet, a barrier pushing her two guards aside as chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around her, before the entire chunk of the earth, Mimic included, was teleported away. "Well now," the ram turned to face the no doubt pissed of guards, armoured gauntlets sliding into place on his arms. "Shall we get to it?"

Blood Moon continued on her path, slowly walking away. She thought she heard a familiar voice, like an old friend speaking to her. But that old friend was dead. She was forced to watched her die, helpless to do anything. A single tear slid down from one of her eyes, hitting her mask and making a small wet spot. She kept walking. "Shh....It's just grief...all in your head.." Then she saw the strange creature, mane of fire and eyes that glowed green. It distracted her enough from her despair to cause her to walk towards it, following it down the alley.

When the mother and daughter pair emerged far enough from the hall to see and hear the golem speaking, the two of them slowed at about the same pace, providing some resistance against the torrent of bodies behind them, heads both turning towards the preaching construct but even as they saw it, they were already changing their straight line to a slight diagonal that put some extra distance between themselves and the golem. Life under the rule of Chrysalis had made them automatically wary of anyone who advocated for anything that didn't fit neatly within the box of benign obedience and avoiding making any kind of stir that could be mistaken for defiance of the Queen. Quite unconsciously, they found themselves being pushed by their path and the crowd towards a curious figure in a mask and carrying a parasol, and both glanced at one another before looking more closely at the anachronistic pony that they were, by default, nearing.
"Is that an actual... parasol?" Verde asks her mother quietly, not so much that somepony with exceptionally sharp ears couldn't hear her, but most of the crowd wouldn't be able to make it out.
"It is," Viridian replies at the same volume, but with a very distinct tone of awed admiration. "And a very beautifully preserved one as well, although of a highly unusual fashion. Dear, I think I see your style's mirror image."
"Hang the mirror image, it looks pretty," Verde grins. "Whatcha think, think it'd be worth it to say hey?"
"Verde, I get the distinct impression she wishes to be left to herself," Viridian says. "Please don't bother the..."
It was at this point that Platinum's dramatic distraction starts and both mother and daughter turn their heads abruptly to see the very visage of Princess Celestia in the midst of the flowing crowd, vowing the end of Queen Chrysalis.
"..oh..."
"Oh buck no," Verde says, starting to turn to make a dash through the crowd away from what was either an expert imitation or what was about to become ground zero in a fight of atomic weapon proportions.
"DON'T!" Viridian says sharply. "No panic, no fight, just... keep walking calmly. Don't draw attention, don't be noticeable..." Her eyes turn on Blood Moon who has sighted something in the alley that is causing her to head in that direction. "Her. I don't know why she's going that way but it's away from danger."
"Cool." Verde and her mother both increase their pace a little and finally break out of the crowd, following Blood Moon away from what could be a dangerous place, following her by her odd dress and black umbrella rather than noticing exactly who or what she's following.

Platinum's little spectacle certainly got some attention, in fact every pony that had wandered out of the 'secret exit' was starring right at her while Shatter sneaked up to Mimic. Who only really managed a confused "huh?" before being teleported away. The feeling would prove mutual though for before Shatter even got finished saying the word "shall", a powerful, armored hoof slammed into him and subsequently sent him flying into the wall behind him. While a majority of the show staff took off screaming down the alley, the 4 personal guards to Mimic readied their weapons. Two leveled spears at Shatter, their points inches from him while the 3rd one became wreathed in flame for a moment, only for it to disappear to reveal a much bigger version of the same armored changeling guard. "Where did you send the princess!" the bellowing voice demanded.

The fourth guard drew out a sword and had the weapon leveled at 'princess Celestia', fixing her with a hard glare. "Do not move and you may yet live."

Back in the actual street, the crowd continued to move about, with a few more still stopping by to listen to the golem and it's words. The few guards that were keeping a close eye on him however, suddenly looked rather distracted and took off running towards an alleyway. The same one in fact that a certain green eyed, blue fire hair'd being, the sad and lonely one, and the mother and daughter had just gone down.

Speaking of which, Viridian, Verde, and Blood would all be ran around as the guards bolted passed them, 3 in total, with the last turning about to block the flame-hair'd stallion, and therefore everyone else's path. "You shouldn't head down this alley. A crime is being committed and the active wo-" the guard didn't get to finish as the flame hair'd stallion suddenly stepped forward, and then through the surprised guard, pulling out a partially transparent version of the guard with him. While the incoporeal spirit looked about somewhat panicked, the body fell to the ground with a lifeless thud. "What the- You! What did yo-" That still surprised guard didn't get a chance to finish before the strange stallion drew out something that looked like a gun and shot the guard when he went to reach for his weapon that hadn't come with him into this new form.

"Pfft, hardly worth the trouble. But you were in my way," the being said before taking off at a run down the alleyway, though the guards had already rounded the corner before their comrade met his unfortunate end. Whoever this thing was, it either hadn't noticed Viridian, Verde, and Blood Moon, or it didn't care they were behind it.

Shatter grunted as he was flung back against the wall, his wool cushioning the impact. "Well that was just plain rude," he said as he stared up at the pair of spears aimed at him. "As for where she is, well, that would be telling honestly." He smirked beneath his mask before his gauntlets began to glow, symbols flashing across them before settling on an symbol that vaguely resembled a Tao, if the two sides had been separated. The symbol flashed, before a pair of crab claws formed around his hands. Before the guards would have to react, he reached up and snipped the ends off the spears.

Launching himself up onto his feet, he grinned and blocked any strikes that would come at him with the large orange claws. "Well now, let's do this properly eh?" he asked no-one in particular.

'Princess Celestia' looked down at the stallion who was pointing a sword at her and snorted, rolling her eyes before her horn began to glow. "Shiva, be a dear and show this young changeling how to fight," she said before 'Celestia' vanished in a flash of light, and and Platinum, face now hidden by a crimson skull mask, dropped to the ground, knife in hand. Lunging forward, she brought the knife up in a tight arc, intending to distract him whilst she drove the armoured heel of her boot into his groin. She spun instantly after that, leaping over his head and landing behind him. intending to kick him in the back hard enough to propel him into the wall.