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Equestrian City Trailer
EC Fanfiction
Xmas Interlude
Equestrian City Forums
Staff Credits
Ver. 1.0 03/29/17
By: DarkMalcontent and AlisiaLenet
Muffled music caught the ears of Pinkie Pie, the last of the party supplies for her client were packed up and she nearly missed the sound had she not bent over to pick up the last box. She gave the music a brief moment and then started to move her body to the muffled beat, a smile on her face. Walking out of the smaller office, she closed the door and dug in her pockets for her keys, almost dropping her box, and found them, a keychain with a set of three multicolored balloons on it now between her teeth. Readjusting the box she leaned her ear up and listened again, the familiarity of the music sinking in.
Walking down the hallway, she passed a door marked "Studio A" as the music got louder, pausing for a moment to listen. She walked on by then stopped again as a sudden realization hit her, having forgot her appointment book, she turned and walked back past the door, the last of the words barely recognizable as she disappeared around the corner.
Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so so simple now!
Rainbow Dash pulled off her headphones, rubbing her temples a bit due to the pressure of having them on all day. The music playing stopped and she stood up from the chair in the soundbooth.
"Thats a wrap I take it?" a male voice came over the speaker to her.
"Yup, that's about as awesome as I wanta be today, Ted. We'll pick it up tomorrow maybe." Dash said, smiling, her eyes distinctly white with the faintest of color in their center. She pulled a small white cane to her hand, it had been sitting nearby, and started checking the floor for obstacles, softly tapping about the floor.
"Need a hand?" the voice chirped in again, the sound of a chair moving.
"Naw, I got this." She smiled, her stare blankly forward. "Kinda' used to this by now. Thanks though." she opened the door and walked out remarkably quickly, while putting out a phone from her pocket, she pressed a few buttons and the display lit up. "I need pick up at Sure Hits Studio." the phone blipped once and confirmed her request.
She walked along the hallway and towards the lobby, the distinct tapping of her cane indicating to anyone unaware she was blind. Coming to the elevator doors, she pressed the call button after a moment of fumbling along the panel. As she stood there, she took in the sounds of the cables and gears of the elevator coming alive to her request. Dash tilted her head, noting the elevator needed to be serviced soon by the sound the gearbox was making.
"Rainbow Dash!" a perky voice popped up behind her suddenly, startling her. "It's me, Pinkie!" A sudden hug almost threw off balance as suddenly as she seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Pinkie! Hey…can't..breath." Dash choked out a bit, steadying herself on the wall as her friend let up on her embrace. "I didn't even see you there, where'd you come from?"
"Well of course you didn't see me silly. You're blind, remember?" Pinkie smiled and waved a hand in front of her own eyes to illustrate despite the fact Dash wouldn't have been able to see it. "Oh, there's a party on the third floor, I'm just picking up the final parts. They went with a forest theme, it's kinda hard to make trees festive unless it's winter."
Dash smiled, making sure not to make any indications of her ability to actually see Pinkie thanks to her meta powers. "Well if anyone can, it's you, Pinkie." the elevator door chimed and they both turned to it. "Hey, you heading down too right?" she motioned towards the door, though Pinkie didn't seem to notice as she walked in holding the door for Dash.
"Sure am, here, let me help!" Pinkie's perkiness was ever present as she grabbed her friend's arm and nearly jerked it out of it's socket. "There we go."
"Pinkie, I'm blind, not disabled." Dash laughed a bit but steadied herself on the rail on the wall. "So, tell me, how ya' been?" she pressed the lobby button. "I haven't really seen you since they had that story on all of us from Canterlot a few years ago."
The elevator doors closed as Pinkie turned to her, a small cardboard box in her hands. "Duh, you didn't see me then either, silly! But yeah, that was the last time. Hmmm. Well, I'm running the party store still, a lot of clients still. Not a whole bunch, just a lot. Keeps me busy, I sometimes feel like I'm always running." she answered, talking in the fast paced tone she'd always had. "What about you? Did you make another album? Oooh! Can I get one?"
"No no, I'm just remastering some songs today. We're cutting a greatest hits album, but yeah, I'll totally hook you up. Do you have a card?" Dash said, reaching out towards her pink friend. "I can have the studio send over a few."
"Oh sure hang on!" she handed Rainbow Dash the box to her surprise and began to search her many pockets. The sound of change and candy clattering together filled Dash's ears, a quick ping from her echo location gave her an image of Pinkie pulling a card out of her left pocket finally. "Here you go!"
Dash took it without another word, making Pinkie raise her eyebrow a bit. "Hey…how'd you do that?" she took back the box and blinked a few times. "Ooo! Do your other senses tell you more since you lost one? Like, where I am with wind and stuff! That's awesome!"
Dash gave an internal sigh as she laughed at the last part. "Well I am pretty awesome." the doors chimed and they exited, Dash walking a bit slower then Pinkie, who kept step out of respect. "I've learned a few tricks to keep myself up and mobile, like the doctors said, I can't let the fact I'm blind discourage me from being who I wanta be."
Pinkie nodded and looked out the front doors. "Are you expecting a ride?" the lobby itself was filled with movement, people coming and going, signing in at the front desk and deliveries abound. Pinkie again took her friend's hand and took her to a bench where they both sat down. "Can I give you a ride? My van is nearby!"
"No need, Pinkie. I've got a cab coming. " She smiled, patting Pinkie's hand. "But thanks." she pocketed the card Pinkie gave her and turned slightly to her. She'd learned a while back most people became uncomfortable if they didn't feel like you were looking at them, even if you couldn't see them, when you spoke with them. "It's not here yet, from what my phone tells me. Have you heard from anyone else?"
Pinkie thought for a moment, her eyes rolling to the left as she did. "Hmm. No. Oh! I did see Fluttershy! She's running a pet store in East EC. I had to find like 30 hamsters for a party I was throwing over at the college." she rubbed her chin. "Though I never did find out why those guys needed that many hamsters, but hey, their check cleared and they didn't even want me there to supervise!" she gave a grin. "Easy job. Oh yeah! I ran into Applejack at a supermarket in Western EC. She's doing good, still working on the farm with her sister's help!"
"That's actually pretty good to hear, I know AJ's happier on the farm, though it's not Sweet Apple Acres. She needed to keep busy I think." Dash nodded.
"Yeah, once Granny Smith passed, and Big Mac, well, you know, she bought that starter farm and hasn't looked back yet. Though I don't know why she would look back, cuz then she'd–"
"Fluttershy's doing good? I think she was the only one who didn't get really rattled by the explosion. Lucky her." Dash interrupted. "I'm glad. I'll have to look in on her sometime. But it's so busy for me a lot of the time. "
"I bet! All that music doesn't record itself. Well, I guess it kinda' does. But still!" Pinkie said, rubbing her temple as she thought.
Dash's phone chirped, her powers told her the cab was there a second or two beforehand, not to mention one of the secretaries was stealing office supplies behind them. "Oh, hey there's my ride. Here." Dash fished a card out of her jeans and handed it to Pinkie. "Give me a call sometime."
"Hey! Thanks, I haven't had a famous singer's number before!" Pinkie looked over the card as Dash stood up and extended her cane again. She stood up as well and gave her another hug. "I'll call when I can, I'm…pretty busy sometimes too. But, I will! Take care!"
"You too, Pinkie Pie." she smiled and tapped her way through the lobby traffic, pushing open the doors of the building and heading for the cab, it's door already open by the driver. Getting in she collapsed her cane and closed the door, waving at Pinkie Pie again.
Pinkie waved back, then realized how useless the gesture was and stopped. She picked up her box and tucked Dash's card in her hair, walking out the front doors and turning left, heading towards her van. As she opened the door, she felt her ear twitch involuntarily, turning towards her left, she knew enough from growing up she had a bit of a sixth sense for odd events, and this was no exception.
An alarm went off at the store on the corner, a jewelry shop. She blinked once, and put the box into the back of the van and hopped into the driver's seat. Popping the van into reverse, she hit the curb slightly as she swung it 90 degrees and into the side alley out of sight. Putting on the parking brake, she lept into the back and began changing into her outfit in a flash, snapping on her goggles and her gloves last. "Hero time." she smirked to herself and opened and closed the back door, racing out of the alley and towards the store.
The world itself slowed down around her when she used her powers, people were almost standing still for the most part. Opening the front door she saw the employees on the floor, glass shattered around them, and four thugs dressed in leather jackets and wearing distinct skull motif masks. Each was scooping up whatever wasn't nailed down and one was already drawing a weapon, apparently noticing her.
"Oh, hey you boys came packing more than lunches it seems." she said, blitzing at the one with the pistol, she moved out of the way of the first burst of automatic fire, throwing an elbow into his mask and then a flurry of punches, nothing enough to break anything, but enough to disorient him. She hit him in the crook of the elbow and the wrist, disarming him, only to turn to the other three a split second before a fist hit her in the face, sending her off balance and over a counter.
"Got her!" one yelled. "Bet she thought she was the only one with powers!"
Pinkie shook her head a few times and hopped up, racing towards the one that hit her, he matched her speed for a moment. He was untempered, maybe new to his powers she thought. She'd still have an advantage, as she'd been honing her skills since she went for pizza one day and ended up in Equalicity. Dodging his first two swings, she heard the distinct sound of a shotgun cocking behind her. She'd underestimated the recovery time of the other thug, and he'd drawn a sawed off behind her.
She heard a loud crack as something connected with the top of his skull from behind, sending him to the ground in a heap, the shotgun sailing into one of the displays.
Pinkie dodged the last swing from the meta thud and kneed him right in the stomach, taking him out for a moment at best. That was all she needed as she turned to see what fortune had saved her life possibly. Another hero was making short work of the other two, wearing a black and purple outfit and wielding a metal staff, she dodged a bullet thw first one shot and swept the other's legs out, sending him into his partner.
"Whoa, looks like these guys are packing more than a lunch!" Shadow Strike said, the bullet lodging in the wall behind her.
"Hey, that was–" Pinkie started to say, dodging another punch and sending a hard chop to the back of her opponent's neck, followed by one to the throat, knocking him out and to the floor. "–my line from earlier!"
"I doubt it." Shadow Strike said, spinning out of the way of one of the thugs' lunge and the bullet the other shot. Spinning her staff at the same moment the metal contacted with the back of the jumper's head, followed by a quick flourish and quick three strike hit on the other's head, arm and hand, disarming him. A hard upward swing sent the business end of her staff into his chin like an uppercut, sending him into a destroyed display case. She turned to the other hero and leaned on one of the unsmashed counters. "Good thing I was here to save you, which one are you? Lickity Split?"
Pinkie gave a small huff, but crossed her arms. "Splitsecond. I recognize you, Shadow Strike." she picked up the bag that one of the thugs had and started pouring the jewels back into one of the undestroyed cases.
Shadow Strike did the same thing with another bag, but then turned quickly, just as she noticed Pinkie was turning as well. Shadowstrike threw her staff as Pinkie threw a large designer watch at opposite directions, each moving out of the way of the other's object, a card falling out of Pinkie's hair and one out of Shadow Strike's suit. The objects hit their intended targets, the two recovering thugs were knocked out cold before they could arm themselves again.
Each looked at the other for a moment, realizing the other had just saved the other, and they both gave the other a smile with a collective "Thanks" from both.
"Hey, nice hair! I have a friend who actually has something just like that!" Pinkie rubbed her chin. She squinted one eye and looked at the other hero, before the rainbow haired girl turned her back, the yellow opaque coating on her mask's eyes quickly disappearing.
"Popular look, I'm sure." Shadowstrike said as she turned.
Pinkie knelt down and picked up the card, putting it back in her hair, just as the other hero did the same, pocketing it. The sound of sirens and tires squealing came from the front of the store, and each hero looked at the other and shrugged.
"Not my thing, you?" Shadow Strike said, retracting her staff into a smaller version with a flip of her wrist, clicking it onto her belt.
"Nah. They know the hard part's over. I'm outie, thanks for the assist!" Pinkie said before disappearing in a split-second, leaving a small trail of electrical disturbance behind her. Shadow Strike didn't take another moment before she made a hasty exit behind the building, scaling the side and over the tops of the buildings as the police charged in, just missing them both.
Pinkie was back in her van before anyone could register her movement and changed back into her civilian clothing. She set down the card out of her hair and put her watch back on, finally picking it back up and staring at it casually. Then something caught her eye: a parking ticket on her windshield!
"Wow. Really?!" she exclaimed, pulling it off and reading it, giving a small sigh she tossed it into the passenger seat and glanced back at the card, only to give it a similar expression.
It wasn't Rainbow Dash's card.
It was her own.
Twilight sat cross legged in her office chair, sliding across to the main computer desk and opening a set of equations. Her lavender sweater sleeves pushed up slightly, she adjusted the keyboard and peered at the screen, SPIKE popped up on the screen next to her, his usual digitized dragon avatar.
"No that's not right." she said to herself softly, typing two or three commands into the computer, pressing the 'compile' button, she leaned back and stretched. "That should do it. "
"Trouble?" SPIKE asked finally.
"No, nothing really, Spike. I just needed to adjust a few of the propulsion formulas, if I'd left them the way they were, the turbines would overheat after ten hours of use. Well give or take." she kicked her shoes off and rubbed her feet through her socks, groaning a bit. "I swear, I'll never get used to having these, even after a decade.."
"Yeah, but at least you aren't freaking out like you did when you found out you didn't have a muzzle." SPIKE chuckled. "You walked face first into that door."
Twilight grimaced and then smiled. "It's nice to have someone to talk to again." she read over a few notes on the left screen, her chair squeaking softly as she turned and began to read the data stream.
"So, I've been accessing more of the data. What happened to Sunset Shimmer? There's not much in there after the explosion." SPIKE asked, a series of articles popping up on his display, newspaper clippings mostly. "In fact, there's nothing."
Twilight paused and stopped typing for a moment, but then looked back to SPIKE's screen. "Well, officially, she's been declared dead for all intents and purposes. They never found her after the explosion." she turned back to the screen. "But I know she's alive. I saw her."
"Saw her?" SPIKE asked, a question mark appearing above his avatar's head.
"Just after the explosion, my head was still ringing but I was able to get back up and look around. I was trying to help Rarity and the others back up. That's when I looked over and saw her, near the road." Twilight responded, pulling up schematics and other little formulas in front of her. "She…" she paused again. "She looked awful. Who could blame her, we'd all just seen and had the worst thing possible happened to all of us. Rarity watched her sister die, Rainbow Dash went blind. Pinkie got hit by some freak lightning bolt. Her hair was still smoking…I can still smell it. Like burnt cotton candy." she stopped again, looking down at the keyboard silently.
"That sounds awful. Was…I there?" SPIKE asked, a bit unsure if he wanted the answer. "Well the, living me?"
"You'd huddled down with me just as the wave hit us, but you were lucky. Nothing hurt you I thought." she continued. "Anyway, Sunset just stared at the carnage in front of her, and then she turned and ran. I tried to call out to her, but so many people..were..screaming it." she winced as the memories seemed to trigger physical pain. "It was just too loud. I didn't see her again. When the police questioned everyone, they kept naming her as a possible cause for it all. To be honest, I can't really remember what happened before I woke back up and saw her. I think the wave hit us pretty hard." she perked up as the screen in front of her chirped and read the propulsion test was ready. "Eventually, all the reports blamed her in one way or another."
"Yeah, seems like all the newspapers I've read blame the entire thing on some sort of natural gas explosion?" SPIKE said, several headlines popping up on his screen.
Twilight stood and cracked her back softly, stretching and twisting a bit. "Yeah. That's the story most were given. It wasn't until the magic that was sent out began to manifest that authorities put two and two together. Though they won't admit it officially." she adjusted her sweater and her slacks, walking over to one of the manufacturing stations, staring into it through the plexiglass protection. Several automated arms began moving rapidly, assembling the latest version of the boots the propulsion was to go into, each piece being placed perfectly with blinding speed. "I…don't mean to sound rude, but can we talk about something else? I…don't like going back to those memories much, Spike."
"Sure, Twilight. I'm sorry." he said, popping up on a monitor that hung in front of her, part of the assembly station.
"It's alright, Spike. It's nice to have you to talk to again." she smiled up at the monitor. "I may be trapped here, but at least I've got my trusty assistant back."
"Yeah, it's a good thing you don't need me to send any scrolls though. A bit hard being, in here." he chuckled.
Twilight looked back at the window with a smile still, folding her arms in front of her and watching the assembly continue. The silver metal frame slowly began to take shape, each part of the jets and propulsion system quickly covered up by the next layer of metal. The smile left her face and she turned, sitting back down at her tools, she picked up the gauntlet she'd been working on and put her hand into it, the two plates that made up the bulk of it sliding together and locking tight, ending at her elbow. Flexing her fingers, she opened her palm and the ring in the glove lit up, the center cover irising open, then closed.
"So, wait, you don't have any ammunition storage or energy rounds, what fires out of that?" SPIKE asked, popping up as a small holographic version of himself in front of her, a tiny emitter on the table. "Huh, how did I know that?"
"Your background processes are learning about the architecture of the suit I'm making, Spike." she turned to him, looking him over and seemingly satisfied with the representation, turned back to her gauntlet. She pressed a button on the underside and the plates opened up and she slid it off, opening it a bit more as if to show it to SPIKE. "See, there's a set of contacts in the forearm and based on muscle motion, you can access all the weaponry that ECPD may want. Mainly air bursts, stun fields and riot control." she put it back on, the locking sound of the gears clicking closed. "Right now there's nothing connected to it so I can just–"
A discharge of energy escaped the front of the glove, hitting the nearby wall and pushing Twilight off her chair. She gave a startled squeak as she landed, quickly pulling the device off and setting it down, she stood up and looked at the wall.
"Twilight! Are you ok?!" SPIKE asked frantically, his avatar jumping up and down trying to see down at her. "I thought you said it wasn't loaded!"
Twilight walked over to the wall and with a wide eyed expression, examined it. "It wasn't Spike. That shouldn't have happened. There was nothing touching the contacts but, well my skin." she reached forward and touched the wall, pulling her hand back and shaking it.
"What? What? Is it hot?" SPIKE asked, popping up on a screen in front of her, a concerned expression.
"No, it's..it's cold. Very cold." she said, walking back over to the bench and sitting down, adjusting her hair back a bit. "That can't be possible." she said to herself, putting the gauntlet back on and locking it in place. She took aim again, this time careful not to hit anything remotely important, and winced, expecting the worst. Nothing happened.
"Huh. Misfire?" SPIKE said, pulling up a series of schematics on his screen, the gauntlet disassembling and reassembling in front of him. "Everything looks on spec, Twilight."
"It is. But, wait…" she said, working the problem out in her head. "I was sitting here. Showing you the firing mechanism. Opened my hand. " she walked through the troubleshooting process aloud, focusing on recreating the result. "Then I told you it wasn't armed, and then I started to think about my magic I used to be able to make from my horn."
The gauntlet fired again, this time, a purple beam hit the wall, burning a small chunk loose. She quickly closed her hand and looked at it, then the wall, walking over and examining it. Twilight frowned again, and aimed again, closing her eyes a moment and concentrating. A burst of concussive force knocking a fire extinguisher nearby off the wall and crashing to the ground. A moment later, the canister exploded, sending shrapnel in all directions. Twilight quickly and instinctively held up her arms to shield herself. Opening her eyes she was met with a purple hue around her in the shape of a force field, emitting from her gauntlet.
"Twilight, stop!" SPIKE shouted, transferring to another monitor as the one he was on shattered from the minor explosion. "Take it off!"
Twilight lowered her arm and then examined it again, looking at it in astonishment. "Spike, I think, I need to do some more testing." she pulled it off and set it on the table, pulling out a set of diagnostic tools and rolling up her sleeves again. She separated the two main connection parts and began to comb through the internal wiring with a small tool, checking the harness inside.
"That's an understatement." SPIKE said sarcastically, transferring to the table again and pulling up the schematics in a 3D wireframe in front of her. "How's that able to fire without any weaponry onboard? Whats sending all those different types of energy out?"
Twilight joined the gauntlet together again and closed her eyes, reaching out towards a glass sitting on her main desk. A small field of purple formed around it as she opened her eyes, bringing the object towards her. "I think…" she took the glass in her hand as it got close enough. "I am, Spike."
"You? But how's that possible?" he asked, the schematic disappearing and his avatar popping back up.
"I don't know yet. But all of these are the basic spells I learned as a unicorn. Ice." she pointed to the wall. "Energy. Both forms of telekinesis." she motioned to the wall and the glass. "And a shielding spell." she flexed her fingers. "It can't be a coincidence. Those are all novice class spells."
"But magic doesn't work here, at least yours doesn't." SPIKE reminded her, a picture of a unicorn Twilight popping up next to him and a large red X appearing over the horn. "We found that out when you first came here."
Twilight pulled the gauntlet off and set it down. "Whatever the reason, it does now." she waved her hand at the wall, to not affect. "But it only seems to work with the gauntlets. I don't know why. Yet." she sat down again and stared at the armor she was slowly making, the pondering expression Spike was all too familiar with covering her face. "I need to run further tests. Not to mention find out if this works on anyone else but me."
She turned and put her hair back a bit, walking over to the display case in the back of the lab. Inside was the prototypes she'd had built, including the propulsion boots that were finishing, two sets of automated arms and tools inside putting together the final bolts and frame. A dull paint primer covered them all as the final pieces locked into place, the entire armor now awaiting final inspection.
"You're not going to try it yourself are you? " Spike asked, a worried look on his digital face behind her.
"I'm going to have to, Spike. There's no time to get volunteers cleared for this type of project as soon as Rarity needs it" she said looking concerned a moment and turning to the monitor on the side of the display, inputting her authorization code and pulling up a schematic of the armor. "and if we don't get it cleared in time, the city will be forced to use more lethal means, which I don't want."
Pulling up a small painting program on the display she worked a few moments on the palette in front of her, then began selecting areas to color on the armor. "It's now or never. Besides, Spike" She turned and let the automated process begin. " I'm sure all my work is relatively safe."
"Relatively?" Spike asked, concern in his voice.
"Absolutely, almost 100% positive" she looked away as she gave a false assurance, turning back to watch the arms start to spray paint and color the armor, typing in the code name for the armor she thought a moment and shrugged to herself.
She typed in "Matterhorn Armor Model 1" and hit save.
Nightwatch walked into the locker room of the ECPD HQ, the door closing behind him as he walked along the lockers, each holding the name of an officer in the department. Finally he stopped at his, the lettering worn a bit from the years, and started to spin the dial on the lock. The combination's last number locked into place and he opened the door, the hinges creaking, barely hiding the sound of the main entry door opening behind him, more officers coming in.
He started to unbutton his uniform shirt and took it off, setting it on the bench next to him, the dim lighting above his locker illuminating just a hint of the few scars he'd gotten from the line of duty. Along his grey toned chest, two bullet wounds and a two inch long knife wound along the left side were quickly hidden when he put on a vest, tightening the straps on it for fit. A nameplate on the back of it read 'Gem Shield' and under it in smaller letters 'Diamond Innovations', the plating in the vest designed to stop limited small arms fire. He silently redressed and listened to the locker room banter that seemed to always fill the room a few moments after the previous shift began to filter in. He tried for the most part to ignore it, and closed his locker, heading out to go find out what new and exciting crime awaited him, when the main door opened again, a larger and slightly overweight officer suddenly blocking his way.
"Hey, Night. Chief wants to talk to you. She's in her office." the man said, eating the last of a small donut. "Hey, they wanting to put you in JUSTICE?"
Nightwatch shrugged. "Who knows? Thanks, Warren." he slid past him and into the main set of offices past the front desk, the sound of phones ringing and overlapping talking filling his ears as he did. Making his way to the back of the station, he dodged the occasional officer walking past him and greeted a few detectives who were on lunch. "Working hard?"
"Hardly working. Hey, JUSTICE really eyeing you up? Saw it on the news." one of them asked as he gave the same shrug as before and turned, facing a door marked "Chief D'Angelo', knocking on it's frosted glass.
"In!" a single response came from behind it, the stern female voice behind it in a state of discontent.
Nightwatch opened the door and stepped in, the smell of freshly brewed coffee hitting his nostrils as he did. Closing the door behind him he turned to see the chief's desk stacked with paperwork per usual, and several empty and discarded cups of coffee sitting around the various tables in the room. Behind the desk was a brunette, her uniform a bit wrinkled, her hair shoulder length and her right hand clenching yet another coffee cup.
"He wasn't trying to hit the elephants. No. Well I don't know, shouldn't they have gotten out of the way?" Chief D'Angelo motioned to Nightwatch to sit down, still on a phone call, the receiver in her other hand, gesturing with her coffee cup. "Well then if they're alright, why are we talking? Discipline?! If it wasn't for my guys you'd still be rounding up kangaroos right now. Look. I'll see if I can send some help in the morning. I have to go. Thanks." she said, hanging up the phone.
"You wanted to see me, chief?" he asked sitting down in one of the chairs in front of her desk.
"Yeah, Night. Good news. Trixie is in a holding cell in Purgatory thanks to you and your pink speedster." Beverly said, waving a small folder with papers in it. "The video evidence at the museum as well as CCTV are more than enough. The district attorney is going to go ahead and push for the repeat offender conviction. Good work."
Night nodded and smiled. "Appreciate it, but it was really all Splitseconds' –"
"Ah. No. YOU arrested her. The citizen speedster simply assisted. If the entire city heard us now, they'd be more support for disbanding us in favor of a meta force. So ixnay on that." she waved a finger at him.
"Got something else for you." she searched through the stacks of papers on her desk and finally pulled out a packet of papers."As a duly appointed representative of the ECPD, I, Chief D'Angelo hereby notify..ya know what screw this. Mayor wants an official face for the Meta heroes we got cropping up everywhere. You know, how they're helping us, most of the guys don't wanta' touch the stuff."
Nightwatch blinked and smiled. "Well, I mean, what would I be doing differently, Bev? I already seem to get every call in the precinct" he said shifting in his chair a bit. "am I just a mouth-piece for the department now when it comes to hero business?"
D'Angelo took a drink of her coffee and set it down, looking through a stack of papers. "Well, now it's official, your additional title is now…" she picked up a piece of paper and squinted at the print for a moment. "'Meta Human Departmental Ambassador', and now you, and this again, I'd like to stress, is coming from Luna, are to respond to meta human calls only." she set the paper down and leaned back in her chair, a small squeak coming from the springs. "additionally, The Commissioner would like you to try and make nice with the heroes, get them to work with us instead of getting in each other's way. Most of the time you interact with 'em, it's on a friendly basis."
"They're getting the job done, for the most part, I can't really complain. The bill that the city passed allows them to work and bring in guys if they allow themselves the same due process we go through. We can't really turn down the help, we're getting our grills kicked in by the gangs, adding superpowers was just another punch in the gut." Nightwatch shrugged and rested his head on his hand, lazily looking through the window behind the chief, the city skyline becoming more dark as night set in.
"I get that. Believe me. I remember the first time I dealt with a so called hero. Turned awful fast before we could sort things out, turned out she was just trying to help. " she stood up and stretched, turning off her desk lamp and shuffling a set of papers. "Also, they want me to make you a captain. Much as it pains me." she gave a small smile, opening a desk drawer and pulling out a new badge. "said it seemed more official, so here. Congratulations, Captain Nightwatch. " she tossed the badge at him.
He caught it and stared at it in awe for a moment. "All this for coming into work today?" he gave a half smile and exchanged his old badge to her, standing up. "So, I get a raise then?"
"You get some new insignia from the quartermaster and get back out there and patrol. I'll have dispatch know your new orders. Press and reporters and all that junk is yours to deal with but don't, and I mean don't, make the city or me, look bad."
"Gotcha. Anything else?" he saluted briefly and then watched as she turned another lamp in the corner off and grabbed her jacket.
"Yeah, get the hell out of my office, I'm going home." she answered, walking past him and turning the final light off, the new captain soon following behind her as the door closed.
The fabrication arms locked into their standby position, S.P.I.K.E. switching his attention to the armies specs, running several checks and diagnostics. "Twilight, it's finished!"
Twilight walked out from her bathroom, the lab had pretty much all she needed to be self sustained for weeks at a time. Dressed in a full body hugging one piece bodysuit, she looked herself over in a mirror by her workstation. She quickly scoffed at her efforts, wishing Rarity was there in the back of her mind as she put the finishing touches on the body hugging material. Clothing wasn't exactly her specialty, but she had made due with what she was able to do herself. The violet and powder blue fabric was stretchy to a degree as she tested it's ruggedness. Peppered along the seams at strategic places she's attached diodes to link to the suits feedback sensors.
"It's very, er, form fitting!" S.P.I.K.E. said finally, his face appearing on the monitor closest to her, a bit of uneasiness in his tone. "You, sure you made it tight enough?"
"It has to be, Spike, otherwise the suit won't be able to monitor my vitals and feedback. Well I should said you won't be able to." she corrected herself, wiggling her toes a bit to get the seams straight on the materials footing.
"Yeah about that. I uploaded myself into the suit but it's still on standby mode. We'll need to boot it up and calibrate quite a few things." her digital assistant said, the monitor next to the fabrication chamber displaying his face.
"Oh of course, I just need to…" she paused looking over her hands and flexing her fingers."…get into it. Right." she sighed and looked at the armor through the glass, pressing a hand to it and staring blankly at it.
"You sure about this? We can always do more simulations." Spike asked uneasily, a frown on his avatar. "if you're not feeling up to it."
"No, Spike, I have to do this. Even if it seems a bit risky." She answered, nodding her head and sighing softly. "I just need the helmet." she turned to see the second bay of fabricators still shifting about and adding layers onto the last part of the armor.
"It's almost done. We should check your heads up." Spike said, his face shifting to a nearby monitor, in front of it a pair of goggles with a black head harness attached to it. The entire rig looked like it was meant for a secure fit no matter the user's movement.
Twilight picked up the pair of goggles and adjusted the head straps a bit, making a guestimate about the fit, finally putting it on over her head, pulling the back of her hair through it and letting it hang from her neck. Adjusting a few more straps she fussed with her hair a bit more until finally she got it out of the way, allowing her to bring the glasses over her eyes, securing them with a final tightening of the straps and the snaps that secured them. Pressing a small toggle on the side of the lenses, they emitted a high pitch whine as they started up, a flurry of diagnostic and boot up commands flashing in front of her eyes.
"Ok, booting now, Spike" she said, turning her head a bit and tilting up and down as she calibrated the device for her movement. A series of long equations filled her vision and then Spike's face suddenly appeared in the upper right of her sight. "Are you linked in?"
"Online. Importing interface from mainframe in the lab, one sec…" he said, another long line of code filled the area around Spike's avatar and a small hourglass appeared a few times before finally disappearing. "Alright, all linked in. Now you just need to hook the rest of the armor in.
Twilight nodded and walked over to the secondary bay that held the now finished helmet, taking it into her hands and looking it over once before finally putting it on over her hair, annoyed how it was still in the way, she flipped her head forward and loaded her hair through the top and then settled the headpiece on snugly, a faint click of metal on metal as it fastened to the goggle and the housing. Checking her vision and the weight, she seemed happy with the helmet and walked towards the main bay, the arms pulling away the main sections and opening up the chest panels for entry.
Stepping into the bay, Twilight looked over the pieces and gave them another visual inspection before stepping up onto the prep area, carefully slipping her feet into the designated spots for encasement.
"Ok, ready or not, here we go." she sighed, closing her eyes and opening them a second later, braving the unknown. "Activate Matterhorn Armor, Model 1, Spike."
A small whirring of machinery began to fill her ears, half a dozen pieces of armor moving and sliding at the same time. A dance of motion and machinery took over the room as the automation began from the legs and worked it's way up. Assembly struts and arms worked at a steady but rather hasty pace, the fittings designed for her feet and legs locked into place, startling her with the loud metal securing plates, the waist and chest slamming forward into place just short of hitting her. A gentle nudge was all she felt as they surrounded her and rivets and industrial bolts secured the main front, their holding arms sliding out of the way as the final parts moved in, the shoulders to the gauntlets speeding in and stopping for a more easy attachment much to her relief, the arms locking the final bolts into place and retracting into place.
"Wow, that was…" Twilight swallowed. "That was a lot faster then I thought it would be. Let's worry about that later though.." she said. "Spike, are you interfaced?"
"Online and ready, Twilight. Preparing to activate primary power source and motor function assist." Spike answered, a pair of graphics representing her power usage popped up on her HUD. "Online, lets see if you can move around, calibration for body scan in place. Give it a try."
Twilight flexed her fingers, lifting her arm up and down, then the other one, finally both as she turned her body, hoping the servo assist didn't snap her spin in half as she did. Thankfully, it was working as she designed it, following her turn she started walking. Clumsy at first, the legs were a bit stiff, but Spike started to compensate for it as he got feedback from her body. A few more steps and she was moving freely around the lab, testing all her joints and field of view, the targeting system acquiring different objects for her as she did. "Alright, this seems good so far."
"Ready to power down and run a once over?" Spike asked, his face disappearing to give a greater depth of field, a small voice bar moving as his voice did in the upper right corner of her goggles.
"No, not yet. Let's get propulsion online. I want to see how that turns out first." she said, walking towards the more open part of the room. Finally clear of most obstacles, she turned to face the center. "Ok, lets try, eh 20 percent thrust." she nodded, the boots giving a small clicking sound as the command executed.
She was ready to go flying, but was met with less than pleasing results when the boots fired their thrusters and she barely stumbled forward.Twilight checked over the boots and looked them over quietly, scratching her head absently. "Spike, try increasing to 50 percent." she requested, the power grid lighting up on her HUD as the thrusters fired again and lifted her up to about 18 inches off the ground. She waved her arms around trying to regain her balance, knocking over a few glass tubes as she did, finally stabilizing upright. "Thats better, thank you Spike." she smiled, slowly learning to control her momentum and pitch as she increased power again, nearly hitting the ceiling. "Whoa! Ok, need to relax. Relax. But the power isn't suitable, I'll need to add more output." She said, pushing off the ceiling as she did, cutting her thrusters and landing with a metallic clang.
"Well, that was productive." She smiled, looking over the lab, happy it was still in tact. "Spike, run the numbers on the data." she walked over to the far end of the lab's freight elevator, pressing the call button.
"Wait, what are you going to do, Twilight?" Spike had an uneasy tone in his voice, the receivers in her helmet broadcasting him to her..
The elevator doors opened in front of her. "Just a little walk. Let's go see what we can do outside." she grinned as the doors closed, heading to the parking garage slowly.
The sound of distant traffic filled the back alley as two figures met in the center of it, a lone light from a back doorway was the only illumination to be seen. One dressed in a heavy sweatshirt and jogging pants, the other in a pressed security uniform, each glancing around nervously as another distant car came and went.
The guard tipped her hat up slightly and motioned towards the other figure. "Come on. You gotta' pay to play." she gestured with her hand, opening it for a predetermined payment.
The shadowy figure stepped into the light barely lighting her face, reaching into her pants pocket and pulling out a wad of cash, all bound up in a rubber band. She tossed it to the guard, who eagerly began counting it, the bills crisp and sticking together. "You sure want whatever is in here, keep in mind you can only get about ten minutes before the patrol comes in. You need to make sure no one sees you." she turned and opened the door, sliding her pass card through the scanner, the metal locks detaching with a small click.
"Oh that won't be an issue." the girl said, grabbing the guard from behind and putting her into a chokehold, immediately covering her mouth as well. A brief struggle followed by fading strength ended with the guard's consciousness leaving her as the sleeper hold took effect. "But we can't have someone like you guarding this company's secrets."
Taking the guard into the hallway, she pulled her into a nearby closet and secured her to a water main with a pair of handcuffs, taking her radio and taping her mouth shut. She checked her pulse to make sure she hadn't killed her, and shut the door quickly. The would be thug stripped off her wig and outer layer of clothing, stashing it in a small backpack she brought with her, revealing Sunset Shimmer's true form. "Don't worry though, the footage of you letting someone in for money will be more than enough to ensure you won't be for long. Sleep tight."
Shutting the closet, she adjusted her glasses and pulled out a small flashlight, aiming it down the dark hallways and checking each door nameplate. Her boots clicked softly as she rounded the corner, the beam of her flashlight finally coming to rest on a nameplate reading "Records" on the front of a walnut colored door. Turning off her light, she pulled out a small rolled up toolkit from one of the pouches on her belt, opening it up and unrolling it to reveal various sets of lockpicks. Silently giving thanks she didn't have to hotwire a pass code, she slid two thin metal picks into the keyhole, slowly trying to trick the tumblers into letting her in. Squinting slightly, she frowned at the keyhole, until finally with a small thunk the tumblers fell into sequence and the door opened with a loud creek that echoed the hallway, making her cringe. Checking behind her a moment she slipped through the small crack the door opening had left her and turned on her flashlight again, checking over the room and her watch.
"8 minutes left." she thought to herself, searching the file cabinet labels for what she was looking for. Coming to the center of the room, the filing cabinets seemingly went on forever, she opened the middle drawer of one and began to flip through the folders, scanning each one with determination, she came to one labeled 'Shipping Rare Hair Manifests" and pulled it out, marking her place in the cabinet and opening the folder. Scanning over the pages inside she frowned again, searching for the proper date of Sassy's break-in at the plant. Locating the date, she checked the deliveries for that day. "Lavender, Jasmine, some essence of jade…" she whispered to herself, reading down the list. "Chemical X, Berry coloring, Larson-10, and Fuastatrine. Wait..Faustatrine?" Sunset blinked and pulled out her DataTablet, tapping in the name and a search came up, listing the properties.
"Faustatrine. Highly reactive…" she mumbled to herself, her eyes darting back and forth as she skimmed the article. "..discovered by accident, found to have highly mutagenic properties. Banned from use except for high level controlled laboratories." she closed the article. "Not easy to get, and harder to control. This isn't for anything hair care related." she pocketed her tablet. "So what was it doing on the counter of a office in a hair care product plant?" she shook her head a bit, taking the document in her hand and folding it, she stuck it in one of her many pouches on her belt and closed the file drawer. Her watch beeped twice, indicating she had little time left. "Crap." she moved silently but quickly to the door, snapping it closed, she turned back down the hallway and heard footsteps rounding the far corridor.
"Linda, you down here? Shift change." a male voice echoed down the hall, a flashlight coming on near it's source.
Sunset pulled out a large envelope and secured it to the wall with a note indicating it go to the police, and she pressed the release on the back door, slipping out as the guard's flashlight shone on the package she'd left. "Hey what's this…Linda?"
Sunset immediately concentrated, putting her arms down to her side, a brief flicker of fire erupted from her hands and send her flying up at a decent rate of speed. She grabbed the top of a nearby building ledge and swung over and behind it, out of sight and out of danger from discovery. She kept a quick pace as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, finally disappearing into the city skyline.
The elevator doors opened with a gentle chime, allowing Twilight to step out into the vacant parking garage, metal footsteps echoing in the massive space as she did. The level she was on was not used as parking, but mainly storage for the building, giving her the perfect place to be alone, and free of potentially hazardous material. Turning to walk towards the center of the room, the former princess of friendship had gotten quite a handle on maneuvering in the suit she'd been slaving over these past months, almost feeling like years. Tripping on her step once or twice, she was far better now than how she had been upstairs in the lab.
"So, the colors are based on a comic book I had?" Spike asked, his voice pattern blipped into her viewscreen as he spoke. "Power Ponies? Why don't I remember that?"
"Well, Spike, I didn't program absolutely everything into you, I had to decide what was important and what wasn't. But yes, you had a comic book you drug me and our friends into." She answered, looking around to make a quick check of the area.
"Wait, drug you into?"
"Well, it turned out it was a magic comic book, we all turned into superheroes, and had to stop the evil Mane-iac from destroying Maretropolis." she continued, happy the area was clear, making her way back to the center of the room. "The only way we could get back was playing our parts and then beating the villain. Didn't take entirely too long, but it was fun. I, as you informed me then, took on the persona of the Masked Matterhorn. I had the power to generate all sorts of elemental powers from my horn."
"Isn't that what unicorns do anyway?" Spike asked immediately.
There was a pause, Twilight's expression going blank for a moment, her eyebrows raised and fell after a moment. "Huh, you know that really didn't come up then, but, I guess you're right, Spike" she chuckled a bit to herself. "It was a quick little adventure, and we all learned a bit about friendship, even you."
"Sounds kinda like a gimmick episode of a sit-com." Spike said, a brief pause after he said that. "There I go again, how do I even know that?"
"All part of the programming, I couldn't have you be as lost as I was when I got trapped here. Now, lets try another propulsion test. Sixty percent." she said, putting her hands out, the in palm thruster stabilizers whirred to life, the iris cover on them opening. "Now."
The sound of her boots and hands fired, a gust of air followed by the displacement of dust was next, lifting her body off the ground. This time she had much more grace in her elevation, loading up small programs to compensate for her body's movement and tilt as she mastered the new challenges in front of her as she always had: quickly. Drifting to the left, she slowly watched a pillar get dangerously close, quickly moving her hand up to adjust her direction, she went spinning counter clockwise like a dancer, hitting a similar pillar behind her.
"Twilight, are you ok?!" Spike asked, his full avatar coming up on her HUD.
"I'm good, Spike. The polymer and material I made this out of took most of the hit." she grunted and cut the power, landing on her feet with a metal thunk. "I emphasis 'most'" she stretched her left arm back, rotating it in place in pain. "Ow. Ok, less correction, this time, I want seventy percent thrust. Ready?"
"Ready, firing." Spike answered, the graphs in the upper right of her HUD reading the outputs to her.
Feeling a cold chill touching her upper left arm, she turned her head. "Oh great, I tore the skinsuit, my bare skin is touching the interFAAA". Before she could finish, the input and output displays rose faster than she'd seen them, clearly taking in too much power than she'd anticipated. The thrust from her boots and gloves threw her up and into the ceiling, only the construction of the helmet saving her from a quick death. There she was stuck for a few seconds, only after cutting her power did she realize the immediate error she'd made, landing face first into the cement floor, happy for the helmet again.
"Ow." Twilight finally said, the turbines in her boots spinning down as she stood up slowly. "Spike, what was that?" she asked, stumbling a bit and leaning on an undamaged pillar. "Spike?" she asked again, checking her HUD, she found most of it was offline. Using her optical interface, she started scanning for damages, worried she'd lost Spike somehow during the crash. She sighed in relief as she saw most of the systems shut down to prevent an overload, and rebooted her digital assistant.
"Twilight, what just happened?" Spike asked, popping back up in front of her HUD. "I…kinda just fell asleep it felt like."
"No, Spike. I programmed your main programs with a failsafe, in case of a power surge, you shut down momentarily. Thing is, I don't quite know what triggered that massive…er..spike." she chuckled and stretched back, the power gauges surging again as her bare arm hit the diodes again. "Wait…." she worked the problem, like she always would. "It's only happening when my body touches the feedback system." she walked around in a small circle in comedic fashion, checking all other gestures she'd gone previous to that, finally moving her left arm again, the power bars topping out again.
"Huh. That's why. " she lowered her arm and watched the dials sink in front of her. "The same thing as before."
"It's reacting to physical touch?" Spike popped in, a question mark over his head. "How is that possible?"
"A reasonable question." she said, her eyes darting across her HUD, activating the weapon systems of the gauntlets as she moved her left arm, skin touching the interfaces, the inputs surged into the red zone. Twilight took aim, several sets of cross hairs on her HUD circling a barrel at the far end of the room until they finally locked into place, confirming her target lock. She fired a burst of air, knocking it down. Before the barrel stopped moving, she lifted her other hand and fired, this time concentrating the same way she'd done when learning spells. The right palm fired, this time beam of white energy came out and hit the barrel, ice covering it instantly. Not one to stop when she was getting results, she fired again, a blast of pure purple colored energy hitting the ice and shattering it, sending shards everywhere. Holding up both hands, she concentrated on her barrier spell and the gloves did the rest, the ice and metal shards bouncing harmlessly off it and to the side. Finally, she powered them down.
"How…" Spike began to asked. "How is this possible?"
"I'm not sure, Spike. But I have a theory. We need to get back up to the lab and start running tests." She answered, already moving towards the elevator that brought them down. "Not to mention before someone comes to investigate what all the noise is." she pressed the call button. "But I think I know what's happening. Why it's happening is another puzzle entirely." she finished, stepping into the elevator, the doors closing behind her.
A puddle of drool slowly formed on Rarity shoulder, her consciousness had left her hours before. Laid back in the chair, the head of one of the most powerful companies in Equestrian City, or even the continent, was as miserable as she'd been since the day her sister was taken from her.
Her blouse had begun to ride up against the leather chair she had chosen to accent her glass desk. Feet propped up in a very inlay like fashion, her trademark light blue polish had been chipped and scuffed from the stumbling she'd done during her last venture to the wet bar. Hands hanging from her side, the right grasp an empty glass, the contents dropping to the floor slowly, the other wrapped across her midsection clutching a picture frame.
Most had the public view that Rarity was by all accounts a stable levelheaded president of her company. The harsh reality was anything but fabulous. Only a few close friends and partners knew of the issues that plagued the top of the power house that was Rare Innovations.
Coco Pommel was one of those trusted friends, she'd been with her from the start. From her first business venture to the diversification with Silver Spoon, the ups and downs did not falter her. She had both the loyalty and the fortitude to stay the course with Rarity. She thought over these ideals and weighed the pros and cons to them, as she did everyone she happened upon the office at night, as she'd just done now.
"Oh Rarity." She said softly, closing the office door and walking quickly towards her friend's slumped back figure, the glass coming free and rolling behind her chair. Coco began by picking up the fashion leader's shoes and sat them on a nearby couch. Checking the windows, she gave a quick peek at the controls. They were still set on one way, so no one had seen Rarity in this disarray. "at least you had sense of mind to do that."
As Coco pulled the glass from Rarity's hand, the office door opened, the lock sliding loudly as it did. She panicked for a moment, turning to the door and standing in front of Rarity to obscure her. "Who's there? Can I help you?" she blurted out awkwardly, tensing up as she did.
"It's Twilight, Coco." a voice said, the door closing and locking automatically. Her footsteps on the floor grew closer as Coco let out a small sigh of relief. "Is Rarity…." she stopped as she saw her answer. "Oh no."
"Hi, Twilight. Could I get your help?" she motioned to Rarity, a small snore coming from her now. Slowly sliding from her chair as the two talked, Coco caught her. "I just need to get her to the couch. Just you and I know at the moment."
Twilight gave a sad look at her friend's dilapidated state. "Alright, Coco. No problem." she said, setting her DataTablet down and joining the assistant at the chair. Each grabbed an arm, making sure to not hurt her as much as move her. The two had become familiar with how to move a passed out body for a while now, a thought that spun in their minds as they did so again, slowly getting assistance from Rarity herself, her feet trying to walk and failing.
"Thaz the wrong color, what can't you see with pastels…" Rarity slurred awake from the movement, her ramblings half coherent. "No, no. That's zilly. Do I look like a marshmallow…?"
Twilight and Coco got her to the sofa and laid her down gently, propping her head on one of the pillows. Twilight walked over to a hidden closet in the west side of the room, pulling out a blanket and closing the door, the seams were practically invisible to the naked eye as she did. Laying the blanket on Rarity's midsection, she slowly spread it out until she met the picture frame in the slumbering girl's hand. Pulling at it, she realized it was Sweetie Belle and Rarity, in a much happier time when she was in high school. The two looked like they were finishing up some sort of race in the fall.
"Some sort of..sisterhood social?." Twilight said offhandedly, taking the picture gently from Rarity's grasp with little effort. She set it down on the coffee table, propping it up so it was facing her friend.
"I believe so." Coco fluffed a few more pillows and propped them under Rarity and turned her on her side as a precaution. "Was she like that where you came from?"
Twilight blinked, not accustomed to hearing such a personal question from Coco. "Oh, yes, yes they were very close. She'd have done anything for Sweetie Belle." she turned and looked at Rarity, who was mumbling something about ribbons at the time. "I think she would have been just as hurt had it happened there." she finished, turning to Coco. "You're not too different either. To a point."
"Good to know that there are some constants at least." Coco smiled, standing up and brushing herself off. "Did you need something, or were you here on a social call?"
"I came by to see Rarity, I worry about her. She said she was doing better but, I guess seeing is believing in this case." Twilight answered, picking up her Tablet and looking at Coco. "You?"
"I come by for.." she paused. " Similar reasons. She's my friend. I worry. For good reason as you can see. You and I know how often she needs, taking care of, so to speak." Coco looked at the tablet Twilight held. "How are the tests going? Rarity mentioned you were close to a working model? I hope your project is presentable soon. It should really perk Rarity up."
Twilight hesitated for a moment, but nodded. "Yes. I was going to show Rarity something, but it can wait. I should get back to work though." She cleared her throat, turning. "Good Night, Coco.
"Good Night, Twilight." Coco replied, walking slightly behind Twilight, both of them heading different directions down the hallway. Coco's heels getting further and further by the sounds she heard, Twilight stopped and looked out one of the hallway windows. The skyline of Equestrian City below her gave a gentle glow, contrasted perfectly against a full moon in the sky. She frowned and walked with haste to the elevator, hitting the call button.
Twilight rationalized a great many things in her mind as the doors began to close, finally she spoke.
"Power up the armor, Spike."
"Wait what?!" Spike asked, the door closing and cutting off their conversation.
Episode End
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Story Updates & New Friends!
Fanfiction Updated – 02-19-19
EC Update – 01-20-19
Spitfire Ref Sheet – 11-07-18
Professor Midnight Ref Sheet 10-25-18
Equestrian City
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Congratulations 2019 HMF Scholarship Recipients
Media Advisory: Wednesday, July 17, 2019 Houston Marathon Foundation Announces 2019 Scholarship Class Recipients HOUSTON (July 17, 2019) – The Houston Marathon Foundation (HMF) is thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2019 Susan Poorman Blackie College Scholarship: Katherine Babcock, recent graduate of The Woodlands College Park High School, Conroe Independent School Distrct (ISD);
Congratulations 2015 HMF Scholarship Grads
Congratulations to our first graduating class of the Susan Poorman Blackie College Scholarship - The Class of 2015! These students were awarded a $20,000 scholarship over the past 4 years from the Houston Marathon Foundation to aid in their academic endeavors. We chatted with them recently to find out what their next big journey will
Chevron Houston Marathon Run for a Reason Program Surpasses $30 Million Raised
HOUSTON MARATHON COMMITTEE 720 N. Post Oak Rd., Ste. 200 Houston, Texas 77008 713-957-3453 www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com E-mail: media@houstonmarathon.com For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 7, 2019 Chevron Houston Marathon Run for a Reason Program Surpasses $30 Million Raised HOUSTON (March 6, 2019) –The Houston Marathon Committee announced that the Chevron Houston Marathon Run for a Reason Charity Program
Apply to be a Part of the We Run Houston After-school Running Program
The Houston Marathon Foundation (HMF) is a community organization that serves the greater Houston area through program management and support of organizations that demonstrate sound fiscal management, efficient operation, and program integrity while promoting an understanding of, access to, and/or participation in running as part of a physical fitness regimen. It is the mission of
Apply for the Susan Poorman Blackie Scholarship by May 18
Susan Poorman Blackie Scholarship The Susan Poorman Blacke scholarship is named after long-time Houston Marathon Committee Board Member and Houston Marathon Foundation Founder, Susan Poorman Blackie. Susan embodied the generosity and volunteer spirit that exemplifies the Houston Marathon community of volunteers who make the event possible each year. It is this, along with her passion
HMF Announces 2017 Susan Poorman Blackie Scholarship Winners
HOUSTON (June 28, 2017) - The Houston Marathon Foundation (HMF) announced today that Robert "Will" Lord, recent graduate of George Ranch High School and Bayli Luke, recent graduate from Cypress Falls High School, were named recipients of the Susan Poorman Blackie Scholarship. The two stand-out students and former high school runners will each receive a
Houston Marathon Foundation Announces the Susan Poorman Blackie Scholarship Winners
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HOUSTON (August 4, 2016) - The Houston Marathon Foundation (HMF) announced today that Abigail Smith of Seven Lakes High School and Nicolas Terrazas of Stratford High School were named recipients of the Susan Poorman Blackie Scholarship. The two stand-out students and former high school runners will each receive a $5,000 scholarship grant annually for four
Houston Marathon Foundation selected for August 2016 OKRA Charity Saloon
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HOUSTON (August 1, 2017) - The Houston Marathon Foundation has been selected as one of four non-profit finalists to compete during the month of August to win one hundred percent of Organized Kollaboration on Restaurant Affairs' (OKRA's) proceeds for an entire month. OKRA Charity Saloon is a non-profit bar that supports local charities through a
Houston Marathon Foundation to Support Local Running Programs
HOUSTON (November 12, 2015) - The Houston Marathon Foundation (HMF) announced today that it is providing $90,000 in support towards local running programs and youth initiatives across the Greater Houston Region. Since its inception in 2008, the HMF has provided over $800,000 in funding for local youth initiatives, health and wellness programs, national elite runners
Houston Marathon Foundation Continues Commitment to U.S. Elite Distance Runners
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HOUSTON (November 2, 2015) - The Houston Marathon Foundation (HMF) announced today that it will provide $45,000 in financial support for several U.S. elite long-distance runners and development programs, including funding to Team Green (Woodlands, TX), Team ZAP Fitness (Lenoir, NC), Team USA Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN), and five 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon qualifiers from the
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John Farrell Named as Chief Operating Officer of ProductLife Group
Monday 3 November 2014 PDF Print
Adding a proven leader of John's calibre to our executive management team is another major step in our growth and integration strategy
Paris, France – November 3rd , 2014 – Life sciences outsourcing and consulting services specialist ProductLife Group (PLG) has named John Farrell, one of the most astute operators in the regulatory field, as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) to further strengthen its global footprint and integrate core capabilities.
A proven leader, John has a 25-year track record working with R&D business functions in various parts of the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries. His wealth of experience covers a range of functions comprising regulatory affairs, regulatory operations, clinical development, medical affairs, manufacturing and quality.
John joins PLG from CSC, where he was Head of Life Sciences, Regulatory Services, providing on-site and near shore services to US and EU clients as well as off-shore services based in China. John's deep industry knowledge and proven regulatory services track-record give ProductLife Group the senior executive level insight to best respond to changing global regulatory environments, and to manage its growth in the year ahead.
"Adding a proven leader of John's calibre to our executive management team is another major step in our growth and integration strategy for this fast moving dynamic organisation," commented Adam Sherlock, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PLG. "These are really exciting times for PLG as we expand our organisation to ensure we continue to meet our clients' evolving needs and work to exceed their expectations".
"PLG's strategy is clear, focused and compelling," commented John Farrell, the new COO of PLG. "I am delighted to be part of the team leading PLG into its next phase of growth and operational excellence".
The decision to appoint John to the Chief Operating Officer role is in line with other leadership changes at PLG. Pierre Cuny recently announced his decision to split the functions of Chairman and CEO to reinforce the management structure. Pierre retains the role of Chairman while Adam Sherlock, formerly Group Chief of Sales, Marketing and Strategic Development, has been appointed CEO.
About ProductLife Group
ProductLife Group is a trusted partner that helps clients stay ahead of the changing R&D landscape. We provide support across all stages of the product life cycle and have experience in working with companies in every segment of the life sciences industry.
With an established presence in five European countries, extensive capabilities in key markets, and more than two decades of serving the industry, ProductLife Group has a solid platform from which to provide clients a range of services, consulting, and outsourcing solutions. We empower clients to focus on innovation and business growth strategies and to make strong, informed decisions every step of the way. What's more, we wrap it all up with partnership flexibility, for a truly custom experience that helps clients scale their initiatives cost-effectively.
By leveraging the power of deep domain expertise, relationships, collaboration, and a flexible delivery framework, ProductLife Group delivers exceptional service to clients. Our goal is to develop long-term relationships by being responsive and relevant and by consistently delivering value. We cultivate a trusting, consultative environment and are positioned to operate as an extension of clients' businesses, with a shared interest in their long-term success.
More at ProductLife Group or follow us on Twitter at @ProductLife_EU.
Tags: ProductLife Group, life sciences, regulatory operations, outsourcing, John Farrell
PR Contact
Sarum PR – PR for ProductLife Group
Carina Birt
carina@sarumpr.com
This press release was distributed by ResponseSource Press Release Wire on behalf of Sarum PR in the following categories: Business & Finance, Medical & Pharmaceutical, Computing & Telecoms, for more information visit https://pressreleasewire.responsesource.com/about.
Release from
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Sarum is a Digital PR and Brand Journalism agency specialising in delivering strategic Marketing and PR services to a number of UK, USA and European based clients. Sarum is headed by Carina Birt who founded the company nearly 19 years ago
http://www.sarumpr.com
John Farrell, COO, ProductLife Group
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Studied Digital Marketing & Leadership at Squared. Studied Engineering + Computer Science at UCL. Studied Medical Physics Research at UCL. Studied at theiet.org. Studied Corporate Finance at University College London. Studied Mechanical Engineering, Architectural Designs & General Engineering at City of Westminster College. Studied Electrical engineering at City of Westminster College. Studied Engineering at City of Westminster College.


What Music You Are Listening Into Now?
Fountain pen enthusiasts discover new element!
FPN will be intermittently offline this weekend, March 1st-2nd, 2019.
OH dropped my 2nd best Kindle & broke the screen.
Royal Mail versus the little person: Up for the challenge!
Anyone else also affected by the latest policy change on Flickr?
On Collectable Watches, or Park Your Wealth Here.
Super Wolf Blood Moon NOW!


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The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. Alvin Toffler
Copyright © 2006-2016 Study Notes, LLC. Made in Stanford, California. Privacy / Terms / Photo Credits"Brown" is a registered trademark of Brown University, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this web site. Advanced Placement, AP, and SAT are registered trademarks of the CollegeBoard, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse this web site.


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A sad day for Scotch Beef and EU protected food names
19 February 2014 - 11:08am -- Gerry Danby
Farmfoods frozen beef burgers carry both Quality Meat Scotland's 'Scotch Beef' assurance mark and the EU protected geographical indication (PGI) logo. Packs of 16 beef burgers are advertised at 4 for £10. That makes a 'BEST SCOTCH BEEF' burger cost 15.6p! A deal too good to be true? The Elliott Review, which looked at integrity and assurance in the food chain in the wake of horsegate, had illustrated how to produce a 'gourmet' burger for less than 30p and encouraged searching questions.
Farmfoods burgers may, as things stand, be made from Scotch Beef, but is it decent, honest and truthful to describe them as made from the 'BEST SCOTCH BEEF'?
Read more about A sad day for Scotch Beef and EU protected food names
All change for the fruit juices and nectars regulations
24 November 2013 - 12:24pm -- Gerry Danby
The need to implement Directive 2012/12/EU and the desire to make life simpler for fruit drink producers were the driving forces behind The Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) Regulations 2013. The 2013 Regulations give effect to the Directive and consolidate, with the removal of minor 'gold plating' and as a part of the Red Tape Challenge, all the earlier regulations into a single set which came into force on 20 November 2013.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consulted on the proposed changes earlier this year and publication of the response coincided with the implementation of the 2013 Regulations. The changes were broadly welcomed by the five bodies which responded to the consultation, two trade associations and three local authority trading standards bodies, and have provoked little or no critical response.
Read more about All change for the fruit juices and nectars regulations
Torfaen v Willis heard in the Supreme Court
11 July 2013 - 4:48pm -- Gerry Danby
Torfaen County Borough Council v Douglas Willis Limited came before The Supreme Court last Tuesday, 9 July 2013, by way of an appeal from the Divisional Court. The issues for the Court to consider were the construction of regulation 44(1)(d) of The Food Labelling Regulations 1996. In particular, whether the offence of selling food with an expired 'use by' date requires proof that the food was at the time of the offence highly perishable and likely to constitute an immediate danger to human health; and whether a 'use by' date ceases to have effect once the food has been frozen.
Read more about Torfaen v Willis heard in the Supreme Court
Torfaen v Willis – leading 'use by' food labelling case reaches the Supreme Court
In 2011 Torfaen County Borough Council brought a prosecution against Douglas Willis Limited for a number of offences contrary to regulation 44(1)(d) of the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 which makes it an offence where any person "sells any food after the date shown in a 'use by' date relating to it". Torfaen alleged that Willis had sold frozen pigs' tongues after their 'use by' date. The case has become one of public importance and reaches the Supreme Court next week.
Read more about Torfaen v Willis – leading 'use by' food labelling case reaches the Supreme Court
The Moo Man - the story of a farmer and his favourite cow Ida
7 June 2013 - 10:00pm -- Gerry Danby
There remain only a few short days to support the distribution of a great food documentary and be a part of movie history.
Those of you following the story of Steve Hook, the pioneering raw milk dairy farmer, here on Artisan Food Law will probably have spotted there are two parallel stories taking place. The first came to an end when the Foods Standards Agency dropped its prosecution against Steve Hook and Selfridges for selling raw milk from a vending machine located in the food hall of the prestigious Oxford Street store in London. The second was a far more interesting and glamorous affair.
Read more about The Moo Man - the story of a farmer and his favourite cow Ida
Last chance to support the bid to bring back raw milk Stilton
24 May 2013 - 8:36pm -- Gerry Danby
There remain only a few days in which you can show your support for the return of traditional raw milk Stilton cheese. 'Stilton' is an EU protected food name and Defra is currently considering two applications to amend the product specification pursuant to Regulation (EU) 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs.
Read more about Last chance to support the bid to bring back raw milk Stilton
Storm in an olive oil dipping bowl
If the latest moves to regulate the consumption of olive oil in restaurants from the European Commission were designed as a gift for the Brexit lobby they could not have come at a better time. As Harvey Morris writing in the New York Times put it: "Even the most fervent supporters of the European Union would acknowledge that its bureaucrats occasionally display an unrivaled (sic) talent for shooting themselves in the foot."
Read more about Storm in an olive oil dipping bowl
FAGE v Chobani – a lesson in passing-off and the history of yoghurt
3 April 2013 - 1:31pm -- Gerry Danby
On 26 March 2013 the High Court handed down judgement in FAGE UK Limited v Chobani UK Limited which proved to be a classic passing-off case, only this time the subject was yoghurt. The question before the High Court was whether the phrase 'Greek yoghurt' carried sufficient reputation and goodwill as a distinctive yoghurt made in Greece to warrant protection. Whilst the production of yoghurt can be traced back some 15,000 years, FAGE was undoubtedly assisted by the fact that all yoghurt sold in the UK during the last 25 years labelled 'Greek yoghurt' was strained yoghurt made in Greece.
Read more about FAGE v Chobani – a lesson in passing-off and the history of yoghurt


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The SPI firewall provides rich stateful connection inspection firewall services, tracking the state of all network communications and preventing unauthorized network access. Deep Packet Inspection techniques allow for automatic application and protocol state tracking, extended multiple Network Address and Port Translation (multi-NAT / PAT) services, and attack detection techniques. Real-time alerts using email, syslog and SNMP messages allows notification of possible attacks or use of filtered sites.
A second distinct WAN firewall, the SecureWall (TM) firewall, posted in front of the SPI firewall, allows for the added security of a second independant firewall in the same unit, without the additional purchase and management costs of a separate unit.
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Communities secretary Eric Pickles has given the go-ahead to the construction of a £500m incinerator in Gloucestershire, the first time his department has ruled in favour of an energy-from-waste project in more than a year.
The secretary of state has upheld an appeal by developer Urbaser Balfour Beatty after missing a December deadline.
The company was awarded a contract in 2013 to build the facility at Javelin Park near Haresfield, but in March 2014 Gloucestershire's planning committee blocked the application after political changes on the authority.
A 310-page document detailing the reasons for Pickles' approval mentions "a number of matters [that] weigh in the balance in favour of the appeal proposal".
They include the contribution that the EfW project would make to the Government's overall energy policy and climate change programme, diversion of waste from landfill and the need for residual waste recovery capacity.
The document also says the secretary of state attributed "some weight" to the consequences of dropping of the project.
Pickles found that the EfW plant would bring "substantial public benefits", which would outweigh the potential harm that the facility would cause to some heritage sites in the area.
He granted planning permission for an EfW plant, a bottom ash processing facility and education centre, together with associated infrastructure including access roads, weighbridges, fencing, gates, lighting, emissions stack, surface water drainage basins and landscaping.
The decision can be challenged at the High Court within six weeks.
The move marked the first time the department for communities and local government has ruled in favour of an EfW project in over a year.
Pickles called in an EfW plant in Nottinghamshire in December 2014 and a project at Swanscombe in November.
The secretary of state also turned down plans for another development in Hertfordshire in July.
A delay in granting approval for a facility in Norfolk, the King's Lynn scheme, triggered the demise of the project in March.
Yet another plant built in an area where there is little prospect of making use of the heat in the local area surely this should be a requirement of all new plants.


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The Order 1886 a Commercial Success: Or How Pre-Orders Killed the Review
If you want to add nails to the coffin of the concept that "reviews matter," look at the sales figure on the big blockbusters that have been critically panned since 2014. Destiny was an okay game, earning at 76 on Metacritic with a 6.2 user score. Assassin's Creed: Unity earned a 70 on Metacritic with a 4.6 user score. And now, The Order: 1886 earned a 66 on Metacritic with a 6.8 user score. What do all these games have in common other than Metacritic scores? They pulled through their lukewarm reception and were commercial successes.
Destiny raised $500 million in one day, Assassin's Creed: Unity sold 10 million copies, and now The Order: 1886 is the best selling title in the UK for its launch week. We will see exactly how well it does soon (I am definitely keeping an eye on VGChartz), and developers are notoriously pretty cagey about sales numbers unless a game has broken a record. The fact that a game that's earned a 66 is at the top of the charts anywhere is pretty surprising, however, and the fact that it's ranked that high most likely makes The Order 1886 a commercial success.
One question to ask, though, is how many of those sales were pre-orders? Destiny, for example, almost certainly raised all that money based on its hype and its pre-orders. Destiny also didn't allow any reviews until launch day (though that could be argued it's in large part due to the online component). Even after that, though, Destiny continued and continues to sell. Assassin's Creed: Unity also had a harsh embargo on its reviews, disallowing anyone to post a review until noon on launch day. The Order: 1886, however, did not have that harsh of an embargo. Reviews were allowed to publish on February 18: two days before the release of the game. So what gives?
While Paul Tamburro at Crave Online seems to believe the success of The Order: 1886 means we care too much about graphics, I beg to differ. This all, in my opinion, has to do with hype and pre-orders. Through the hype machine of trailers and previews, developers are now pushing harder than ever to convince consumers to pre-order titles. Beyond the obvious reasons (it's a good way to get early money and interest in a game), there's another reason they want us to pre-order: despite the quality of the game or the bad reviews, we are much less likely to pull a pre-order out of stores. With a pre-order comes a sense of pot-commitment. We don't want to pull our order because that's extra work. That also means reviews no longer matter. A bad review, or even a series of bad reviews won't be enough to convince us to not get a game, so what does it matter?
That's not to say reviews serve no purpose, mind you (Emily has a review for a Vita game that should be published within a day or two,) but do reviews actually impact consumer purchasing habits anymore? I'm not entirely certain, and I don't think there's an easy answer. What does sell games is a strong brand and pre-launch hype. Reviews just seem to be a way to reflect what gamers already know after playing a game, or are soon to know. Reviews can also help a small title that doesn't otherwise get much media attention get some sales, but in the end that tends to be a drop in the bucket compared to Let's Plays from big names anyway. Where does that leave the review industry then? I don't know.
Have you read a review of a AAA game recently that directly impacted your purchasing decision? Have you either bought a game after a positive review, or withdrawn a pre-order after a negative review? How about for indie titles? Let us know in the comments! I'm genuinely curious.
Related ItemsAssassin's Creed: UnityDestinyfeaturedlet's playSonythe order: 1886youtube
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About Stephen Crane
Stephen was hooked by the NES at a very young age and never looked back. He games on a daily basis and is currently trying to climb his way up the ranked ladder on League of Legends! Outside of the video game world he actually likes running and owns a rapidly growing collection of toed shoes. Stephen Crane is the owner of Armed Gamer.
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