/q/ - Quest

>>746067

*At Yggdrasil's comment

>>746067
>>746065
"I meant living memories. I have tons of memories like this now." Alexis says thinking, before looking to Yggdrasil.

"Are we going to have to go through anything that's happened on Tetra, or just memories I had when I was alive?"

She continues watching the scene.

>>746069
"I doubt we'll re-experience any Tetra memories. Had we waited a year or so to re-animate you, we may have, but one key component to making these memories so powerful they hold up the scan is time. Your mind needs time to decide how much these memories have an impact: regardless of whether anything on Tetra has left that strong of an impression in your memories, I don't think a couple of weeks is enough time to affect this process."

>>746067
As you remark on the memory, Yggdrasil offers a very light snicker. "The subconscious is difficult to comprehend, and I've seen my fair share of them. May be you could have just gotten over that incident, whereas you clearly still have more than a few things left to work out with Cormeum."

>>746067
>>746069
"He sounds pretty genuine. Sure, I bet the researcher in him wanted to know everything there was about your life-draining magic, but if he didn't see you as a pony too, he could have just dissected you."

Oddly enough, just as Anima speaks of how she had to convince Cormeum to let her be a crime-fighter, the jail all around you suddenly shifts around once again, the series of memories flashing by your eyes once again, but only for a few moments before the memories stabilize once more, this time forming into a familiar research lab as Yggdrasil looks around. "We've leapt forward a bit, found another strong memory not long after that one. This may be a chain of them, memories connected by a common train of thoughts or feelings separated over months in real-time."

Nearby, you see Sky picking herself off of a chair, pulling off stuck-on scanners from her arm and chest and putting them aside. Cormeum looks over a few computer screens and plants (some drained completely of life, another looking unusually more vital) along with a vial of green goo he sets aside.
>"Congratulations, Stormy. I would say after this last round of tests, you seem to, more or less, have complete reliable control over your power. We've gone from simply sucking your test subjects dry to being able to give it back, place it in another entity, or even isolate and control it independent of a host! I could spend weeks going over this 'ectoplasm' alone…"
>"Great… so when do I get to do something with it?" Sky asks as she gets up out of the chair
>"Huh?" Cormeum responds
>"I have it under control now, right? So when do we get to test it out?"
>"Test it out…? What do you think we've been doing for the past several weeks?"
>"I mean out THERE."
>"Oh. Well, I am sure there are some practical applications for your power, but decent control or not I don't think it'd be smart to find them a job for them so soon."
>"Fuck 'jobs', you KNOW what I'm talking about! I have a real super-power now, when do I go out and help you take down some bad guys?"
At this Cormeum offers a sigh.
>"We've been over this. We aren't, YOU aren't! I'm not taking a teenage filly out to fight dangerous villains."

Side-session continuing the resurrection scene between 137 and 138!

>Anima
"Take my advice: it's easier to just clone yourself. That's what all the Yggdrasil Spirits are, basically, and so far that's been working pretty well for me."

>Alexis
"Never with ponies, no. I have done it with animals and elementals, I know full well I'm capable of doing it for you two, but the number of true resurrections I've performed in the four thousand years I've been around could be counted on two sets of hands. I do NOT do this often, with good reason, and each experience is unique… with some exception but, we'll get to that when we get to it."

"Just relax. I know what I'm doing."

>Alexis & Anima
"You sure we're done?" Yggdrasil asks, "I thought you were going to take your new sidekick out on patrol, maybe clean up the streets?"

She nods towards the flower. "It's there whenever we're ready to leave."

>>746068
"Because I think we *could* be friends. So I'll settle for you just thinking about it."
>>747038
"So wait, you're saying doing this is different every time you try, so you don't even know why the memories being shown are the ones they are? Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

>>747039
"They're different every time I try because everyone has different reasons for wanting to come back. There are common elements and I can see the general flow of things, but each psyche, each MEMORY, is unique, and paints a different picture that I don't have the whole view of yet."

As you ask if she's sure, she lowers her brow, the comment seemingly annoying her. "Yes. I've been at this for a while. I'm practically the only one who even *knows* how this is done."

>>747040
"What does our reason for wanting to come back have to do with anything?"
>>747040
"Sorry. Don't say 'the process is new to you too' then when performing surgery on my brain." she says when Yggdrasil seems annoyed.

>>747041
"Concerning what you see while you're in here? A lot. What we're looking at is like a reflection of our perspectives, what we've seen and what it means. The reasons behind wanting to come back to life, whether it's out of love for your family, or wanting to see unfulfilled ambitions fulfilled, play into that too."

To the next comment, she clicks her tongue, pursing her lips. "Hmm… fair enough, can see how that comment may not be what you want to hear given the situation. I just mean to say it's never exactly the same, and this *is* the first time I've done it for a pony, but I have performed revivals before this. Successfully."

>>747042
"So you DO know why *these* memories are being shown? Its something to do with our reasons for coming back. Like subconsciously?"

To Yggdrasil's claims of success Alexis looks nervous.

"You're making me nervous, and I wasn't nervous before, so lets just drop this. If you say you can do it, you can do it. Just, really concentrate okay?"
>>747043
"What?" she asks when Sky starts staring her down.

[going to keep replying to Anima but assume I touch the flower at some point]

>>747045
"I'll take it." Alexis replies again with the same level of half-sarcasm, walking over to the flower still wearing Anima's cloak.

"Okay. Next memory." she says with an relaxing-exhale, touching the plant.

>>747043
"I think I know what you mean, but the important thing is letting them retain a little autonomy. You can't just surround yourself with yes-men who won't know what to do unless they ask you every single time, my Spirits have the ability to take initiative and make judgement calls. It's just based on exactly what I would do if I were there."

>>747044
Yggdrasil nods, "Something like that, yes, but even I can only understand so much of the subconscious. We'll learn more as we go along.

As you ask her to concentrate, she nods. "Relax. I am giving my entire focus to this one thing right now."

>>747044
>>747043
As Alexis touches the flower, the lair of Cormeum disappears in a new flood of memories of Alexis youth, picking up immediately from the touching Hearth's Warming scene as it shoots through more pictures of her youth, growing up through school, playing sports, and meeting her friends. Soon, the flow pauses, focusing in on a crowded convention center with countless ponies of various sizes and shapes (and costumes, SO many costumes) pacing along the floor with a spectacle of signs and anime/manga paraphernalia being sold everywhere.

Yggdrasil raises her eyebrow, "Okay, I don't think I've seen anything like this before. Some sort of marketplace?"

Nearby, Alexis and Anima can see the younger Earth pony: at the front of a booth with no line, a banner reading "Single Strike Stallion" above it with an Earth pony in a hoodie bearing the symbols 'SSS' across his chest signing a manga book for two fillies. One is clearly Alexis, dressed in a bright red samurai robe with a sheathed tin katana on her waist, a pair of dog-like ears on her mane. She is hiding half of her face behind a pamphlet as the other filly, one with a short-cut white mane and blue eyes wearing a traditional victorian suit with a diamond-checkered top-hat on top of her head, chatting it up with the Earth Pony signing the manga.
"So, my friend was wondering about your routine, is it exactly the same as in the comic?" the white-maned filly asks
"Pretty much," says the bald stallion. "100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and a 10k run. The hardest part is no rest-days, but that's what got me up to punching bad-guys. Still, don't kill yourself trying to do what I did, last thing I need is a lawsuit. If you need a break, just take a break. OH! And don't forget to turn off your air-conditioning, summer and winter. That saves money." He looks at Alexis, who offers a brief glimpse of a smile from behind the pamphlet.

>>747047
>>747048
The girl looks around as she appears in the crowded convention, trying to ignore the fact that she's again lost her stolen dream-clothes.

"Oh hey I remember this. This was the convention me and Bitter went to last year. Yeah, I went as Inuyasha and she went as somepony from that 'Jojo' manga. We did most of the panels, then we met the guy who inspired the Single-Strike anime." Alexis says, looking over at her past self hiding behind a pamplet.

>"He's SUCH a poser!"

"Don't tell that to past me. I couldn't even talk to him." she says as her memory-self crushes on the superhero and has her friend talk for her.

"And how is this any different from the last four memories of people in costume?"

>>747050

No idea why the named changed… Fucking mlpg.

>>747050
"He IS a superhero." she objects

"I actually tried his work-out routine once. I probably could have finished it if my dad didn't keep turning the AC back on."

>>747053
"I don't know anything about that. I just liked the anime and thought it was cool there was a real guy it was based on."

"The girl with the white hair over there is Bittersweet, she was my best friend back on Earth. She was also the only pony who could see me, after what happened, happened. Neither of us could figure that out."

>>747055
"Before I died? I guess it'll be 'Is' again tomorrow."

>>747057
"Well, for awhile. Then she went off to college and I kind of stopped hanging around. By that point I could turn visible so I just started hanging out at Denny's after midnight. Stoners usually thought I was a crystal pony. That or I'd go online."

"I told her she should be Sesshomaru but she said something about her costume being 'best boy' and she already had the hat for it. I don't watch that show, I always thought the characters looked stupid."

>>747059
"That better be a joke." she remarks.

"Bitter is a little more into this stuff then I am, in terms of like the more obscure anime. She's not like REALLY into it like, well, that guy." she says looking to a random fat guy dressed as a sailor scout.

>>747048
"They're worthless. Blind loyalty without autonomy will just mean more work for you sooner or later, cleaning up their messes when they come running to you lost. Trust me, you want someone who will call you out every once in a while."

>>747049
"Huh…" Yggdrasil looks at your costume in particular. "Similar to what Tetrans wear in a place called 'Yamato' to the west of her. I keep finding parallels like this." As she looks on at Single Strike Stallion, and your nervousness, she can't help but chuckle. "Just not used to meeting famous ponies or, was it something else?"

>>747054
Yggdrasil pauses, intrigued by that last comment. "She could see you?"

>>747049
>>747048
Single Strike Stallion waves at Alexis, offering her manga back to her once signed. "Uh, hey, Inuyasha? Want your book back?"
Alexis nervously takes it back once signed, seemingly trying to say something before everything around the convention starts to fall apart and shift again, Yggdrasil looking around. "I think this may be similar to what we experienced with Anima: a chain of memories blocking the process. We're already moving along…"

Suddenly, the trio are in the back of a car, a large *HONK* sounding from outside alongside a small yelp from the filly driving it: Alexis in the front seat behind the wheel, looking around nervously as her father (wearing an old fashioned vest, tie, and his square-glasses) looks towards her, "Calm down, Alexis, you're more than likely to meet a few jerks out on the open road. Just keep your hooves at three and nine, keep an eye on your speedometer… you're doing great."

"I know dad. I'm just a little nervous about driving your ca-"
>"Brake."
"Huh?"
>"Red-light, brake!"
"AAH!" Alexis says as she puts the hoof to the break, the car lurching violently to a stop as all passengers are flung forward, Yggdrasil grunting in particular as she hits her head on the back of the seat behind your father. Alexis' father, meanwhile, just laughs it off.
"Hah… ah, you'll get the hang of it. We'll do a few more slow trips around the block before anything serious."
Alexis sighs, leaning her head against the wheel. "This is going to be the death of me."
"Hey, don't say that, you're doing fine. Just keep practicing, eventually it all just clicks, like a fish out of water."
She lets out a sigh, recomposing herself as the light turns green. "…thanks, Dad."

>>747061
Alexis looks at her for a second, eventually deciding Sky isn't seriously putting down her friend.

"I don't get the appeal either. But I don't know anything about the show except everypony is huge."
>>747062
>"Just not used to meeting famous ponies or, was it something else?"

"It might have been something else. Nothing 'serious' but I thought he was cute."
>>747062
>"She could see you?"

"Yeah, even when I was in the astral. Nopony could figure it out, but for weeks she was the only one who could see or hear me."
>>747062
Alexis looks around as they're suddenly thrust into a new location.

"This is my dad's car." she says, looking out the window to realize they're back near her neighborhood, before hearing herself start talking.

>Anima lets out one emphatic "HAH!" at the 'death of me' comment.
>>747063
Before Sky's interruption.

"That ISN'T funny." she says looking across Yggdrasil in the backseat to Sky.

>>747065
"So what?" she asks about his being bald.
>>747065
"Its not even the same thing, I was talking about crashing the car. I didn't crash a car, I died in a car crash. Would it be ironic if a robot fell on you?"

>>747067
"Captain Harmony looks like he's somebody's dad though."
>>747067
"Have you ever been hit by a car? If you have, THEN you can say its funny." she complains.

>>747064
"Well, he definitely wasn't bad-looking, he had a handsome face. Bald guys, though…"
>>747064
As you explain Bitter's ability, Yggdrasil pauses, contemplating this. "…interesting."

>>747063
Yggdrasil rubs her head as she pulls herself up from the seat, looking around as she flicks her ears. "…I'm not sure. Could be they aren't interconnected by anything other than proximity… this is the last year before her death, I think."

>>747064
Yggdrasil rubs her head again, "I'm hoping the lessons payed off later…"

>>747064
>>747063
Just as Alexis gets driving again in the car, the scenes shift once more, pulling them out of the car as several scenes fly by their eyes in the sea of memories. Before they know it, they are dropped out again, only this time, into the open air, their hooves touching down on nothing as they watch the road and landscape race by. Yggdrasil looks around, trying to get her surroundings, as you look up and see a dark cloudy sky above, rays of moonlight shining through the clouds down on the road below.

The sound of a motorcycle fills your ears, and Alexis and Anima see a figure that the vision is 'focused' on as it moves along side them: a teenage colt pegasus about Alexis' age rides a motorbike at high speeds around the bends, Alexis (now wearing her trademark leather jacket for the first time in these memories) holding on tightly around his waist on the back-seat of the bike, both of them letting out cries of joy or exhilaration when they turn a bend or rev up the engine. The highway here is pretty much empty, only the two having the time of their lives on the motorcycle with their manes fluttering against the rushing winds can be seen.

Yggdrasil looks on at the motorcyclist and Alexis grabbing on to him, "Well, the road seems to be a common theme here… but I think that's not the important part of this particular memory." She smiles at Alexis, nodding towards the two on the motorcycle. "Friend of yours?"

>>747070
"I'm not comparing bad life experiences, I'm saying deaths are like the Z-word. Only you can only say the joke if you are one."
>>747069
>>747070
Alexis looks down at herself with colt in the leather jacket racing through the road.

"I know tonight! That's my boyfriend, Moonlit. This is when he gave me my jacket, then drove me out of town in the middle of the night. We just drove around the backroads for hours listening to music and doing stuff. I don't think we made it home till three."

>To give a description since Shima didn't, Moonlit has a short black mane and silver eyes, wears a leather jacket and generally looks like a mix between every badboy ever and a likely school-shooter. Pic related is very vaguely similar, though toned down a bit.

"Well what kind of guys are YOU into?" she asks.

>>747072
Alexis laughs.

"That's kind of WHY I like him. He always acted like he was this cool, mysterious loner and yet he really, really wasn't. He's a soft-hearted dork. We had a lot of fun. Sneaking into movies, driving around town. He knew so many weird people all over the city, especially in these little hole in the wall restaurants and things like that. He gave me my jacket, got me into motercycles. He was sweet."

"But seriously, have you ever dated anypony?" Alexis asks, stopping herself short of saying 'willingly'

>>747075
"I can't date bigger guys. They remind me too much of somepony's uncle. Like Firm? Firm doesn't do anything for me, neither did Pain. My ex before Moonlit was muscular but her wasn't 'huge'. Maybe its facial hair too, I just can't get anypony who looks like they're thirty. I guess to use another anime comparison, less Jojo more Tuxedo Mask, I guess?" she says, like she's uncertain how to word her own taste.

>>747077
"I mean, maybe not 'vulnerable', but that's kind of why I went out with Moonlit. He had kind of the broken-bird thing going on underneath the bad-boy exterior. Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the exterior too. Going out was always a thrill, like he'd take me somewhere exciting or to do something I've never done before."

"My ex before that was a football player, way more of the typical jock persona. He was a bit too…controlling? And besides sports we really didn't have anything in common so we broke it off. I still see him around since he's one of my friend's best friend so. That's not awkward at all."

>>747070
>>747071
Yggdrasil snickers as Anima comments on Alexis' taste in stallions. "Leave it to the 'bad girl' to never know the appeal of a 'bad boy'."

"I think he's cute. He has hair, which is a step up from the last guy. Kind of reminds me of Diez when he was younger…" she says for a moment, then stopping herself short as the slightest bits of blush appear on her face. "Uh, looks like you two are having fun. Wouldn't mind riding one of those motorcycles, especially out in the woods."

>>747075
"I'd recommend Ajax to you but, you've already met him. Personally I don't have the patience for him," though she says in comment to her liking 'bulkier' guys, "Chrome Dome is pretty well built too, but I don't know what to do about the perpetual stick up his ass though. And again, bald."

>>747079
"That sounds like a pretty big misunderstanding. You two seemed more…familial? In the memories. I've never really had to deal with the jealousy thing. I've only really had the two long-term relationships and neither of them were taken at the time."
>>747080
"Whose Diex, one of the Twelve?"

>Anima may respond with sheet to previous post before next game

>>747081
"He is the Pegasus of the South. He's the most notorious, long-lived pirate in Tetran history so, you know, has that 'bad-boy' charm too." She rubs the back of her neck. "Way, way back I kind of had a thing for him but, I grew out of it. He was nicer than he looked but he's one of those guys who can just never be satisfied with what they have."

>>747070
>>747071
At one moment, the vision no longer focuses on the motorcycle, which pulls away out of sight and into the distance as the entire memory fades into black, more memories flushing by quickly by as the scene changes. For a moment, it goes on longer than it did during the last few shifts, but the memories slow to a stop as all three of the ponies hear the noise of screeching tires along the asphalt, followed by the hard thunk of an impact echoing throughout the darkness as the memories stop coming in.

For a moment after the screeching tires fade, the darkness around slowly starts to give away: Yggdrasil, Anima, and Alexis find themselves seated in a row of wooden pews in a pristine white church, surrounded by other ponies dressed in fine clothes. Among them Alexis recognizes several friends, including Bitter trying to comfort the zebra Kam, gripping his hooves. Light shines in through stained glass windows lining the walls, the one at the front depicting a setting sun at the front of the Church, and in front of the alter is an open casket, containing Alexis' body (dressed in a beautiful black dress with a veil over her face). Her father, mother (who is presently crying), and two brothers sit in the front row, heads held down as a song plays throughout the church, everyone silently listening to the hymn.
https://youtu.be/D_Y6m3btFls

Besides the three of you seated in the rows, you also witness Alexis' ghost, besides you as she looks on at the scene ahead, staring onward at the front as though in disbelief that this is happening. Yggdrasil has no comment for the moment, lowering her head as she looks on at the funeral's proceedings.

>PAUSED