Celestia's Finest (Side Story): Thrown Under the Bus

[DigoDragon]

It was late, and the Casino was quiet save the usual patrols from Cabal's security force. He seemed to put a few extra hooves on the lower East corridor that passed the found entrance to the hive. Considering Cabal's true nature, it was doubtful anyone could fault his sense of paranoia. However, there was confidence among some EDF members that the hive would behave. Rose was one of those members... but speaking of her, where is Rose?

Love quickly notices that she had not come back to base camp after the basement party, nor was she at the bar having a late-night snack.

[Elbeyon]

Love goes out to look for Rose. If they don't meet up, She taps into the camera system to try to find her. If that doesn't work, she'll comm her and ask, "Hey, Rose, where are you?"

[DigoDragon]

The camera system easily finds Love's quarry. Rose is sitting in the stairwell by herself. There is a a pile of tools on the stairs around her, but the concerning part is that her right foreleg is detached. Rose doesn't seem to be having an easy time pulling herself back together. Literally.

[Elbeyon]

Love would head to grab her toolbox, but she knows Rose's tools are top quality. Once she is at the stairway, she knocks on the wall to announce her entrance. "Hey, Rose." She smiles at her. "Need a hoof?" Love will start to approach her.

[DigoDragon]

Rose sits up when she's found, a bit startled. "Oh! Uh, hi Love... I, yeah, I could use a hoof. Mine's... not attached at the moment."

She struggles to get a piece of the elbow joint reattached. "I had like, sand or something and I was trying to clean my leg out. Came apart on me."

[Elbeyon]

Love lightly chuckles. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She takes a seat down next to her. "We should manage with three hoofs between the two of us." She smirks. "You're new legs are handling themselves really well. I'm glad you got an upgrade so that you can handle water. They're really pretty and well designed."

"I could take a look if you want to make sure it's all cleaned out." She sticks her hoof out to receive the deattached limb. "I could help pop it back on too."

[DigoDragon]

"Go ahead if you want to look, it's not going anywhere," Rose says. "I'm about ready to return these legs anyway. Sure they do better in water, but I've not stopped itching since we got to the desert because of the sand."

[Elbeyon]

Love jokes by putting on a rough stereotypical military voice, "I need you in top condition!" She lightens to a soft smile. "The sand is bothering you? Aside from the sand, you've had no other issues?" The legs are exposed, complex, and precise. LoveBots have a nice layer of pony flesh on them to protect them from the elements. And, Love grew up in the desert so she is just used to sand.

She moves Rose's toolkit to her side. Love carefully, gently takes Rose's leg off and starts cleaning with a meticulous nature, a jeweler with a gem.

"Did you have another set of specifications in mind? Something that handles sand a little better?" There are so many ways Rose could go with her legs its hard for Love to pin down her direction.

[DigoDragon]

"Well, I was just thinking..." Rose pauses as the sensation of cold hits her when her leg disconnects. "Was thinking about this new magic procedure to regrow my original legs... But.. that would take me off duty for at least 7-8 months."

[Elbeyon]

Love puts some stress in her cheek. "Seven or eight months? That's a long time to be out of commission. Can the procedures be done concurrently?" She looks up at her, well, a different part of her, one that isn't disconnected. "Why the sudden change in direction?"

[DigoDragon]

"That *IS* concurrently," Rose replies, sounding a bit defeated. "I don't know, I guess... I'm a little jealous that you and Sniper have good cybernetics that have at least the semblance of real fur over them. At least, it's recent on this mission. Maybe too many wastelanders are staring and it's making old esteem issues doubt myself again."

"I don't think it's that bad back home."

She watches Love for for a few seconds. "So, why are you up this late? couldn't sleep either?"

[Elbeyon]

Love nickers at that time scale. "That'd be a major break away from the EDF." She moves in closer and rests a hugging leg over Rose. "A broken horn blends in a little easier than beautiful chrome. You wouldn't have been able to blend in even with disguised legs. The wastelanders can spot an outsider like their not even their family!" She chuckles and teases. "Rose, you're looking beautiful. Don't let the foreign glances bother you too much."

"It's definitely not your imagination."

Love laughs. "I don't sleep anymore. I gave that up for this mission. One hundred and fifty days straight! It's a new record!" She chuckles. "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

[DigoDragon]

"You don't sleep? That seems dangerous for a few reasons," Rose protests. However, she doesn't push it more than that. "I dunno... I got so much to worry about lately; this mission, the zebras, you lot... the changelings now. I'm worried I might break."

[Elbeyon]

Love waves her hoof dismissively. "I was exaggerating. I don't sleep much, but I do try to get some sleep every night." She puts a hoof up to her mouth. "Mwhaha. I have to be available if Rem decides to pay me a visit."

"You might break?", Love asks. "The last couple days have been high stress."

[DigoDragon]

Love waves her hoof dismissively. "I was exaggerating. I don't sleep much, but I do try to get some sleep every night." She puts a hoof up to her mouth. "Mwhaha. I have to be available if Rem decides to pay me a visit."

"You might break?", Love asks. "The last couple days have been high stress."

"Speaking of things I worry about, but high-stress is putting it mildly," Rose comments. She waves her stub in the air, but looks at it as if the leg just invisible. "Rem is nice and all, but nightly nightmares sounds like a bad idea. Sniper isn't sleeping well, I can see that. But nooo, it's okay. Don't listen to Rose, she's just jealous because her ex is having a good time snuggling with a spirit in his wildest dreams. Being with another mare, oh no! That's frightening..."

Rose buries her face in her one good hoof. "UGH! I feel like I'm part of a high school Drama Club, not a military outfit."

[Elbeyon]

The walls bristle with movement as Rose speaks. Some robots double-check to make sure they are alone. Love squeezes Rose's shoulder and provides a friendly massage. "I thought the party would have helped you relax. I don't want you to break, Rose."

"Rem seems confidence in her ability to help people. She is nice and all. The nightmares are rough on Scope's sleep schedule, but if he sleeps more he should get enough restful sleep." Love puts some stress in her cheek. "I don't think they have that type of relationship."

Love asks, "What drama has been bothering you?"

[DigoDragon]

"Bah, I know they don't have anything going on. That was sarcasm," Rose says in her self-defense. "The party was fine, but we wouldn't have needed it if everyone took their 'chill-pills' this morning. I think y'all too stifling with this no-kill hill everyone's willing to die on. ...irony not intended."

[Elbeyon]

"I don't think Scope is being overridden by fear of being with a mare... Scope is really brave." Love stops hugging Rose and gets back to work.

"The road may have been bumpy, but Scope saved a pony's life. That's great. I wish he wasn't reprimanded so harshly by everyone for doing a good deed. I'm truly sad Scope and Queen Chrysalis fought, and I hope they properly make up. Today was a great first step for the both of them toward that end, and they have their own way of doing things. I'm so happy the party happened! I was thinking the same thing as Queen Chrysalis! We should be more helpful toward each other."

[DigoDragon]

"Yeah, and one way we could be more helpful is by not poking into her business so much? Saving one pony's life isn't worth it if we lose dozen for it. That's why he got reprimanded."

[Elbeyon]

"I want friendship with Queen Chrysalis. Besides, we're allies. We're suppose to share information and work together."

"We didn't cause dozens of people to die and we saved a pony's life. Scope did a good job. I-maybe, we could have saved more if I built my MicroBots better. I think people are being way too harsh on Scope! We've all made tons of miscalculations that we have easily forgiven as long as the results turned out good, and the only thing Scope caused was a party. A party that we should have already been having with the Queen."

[DigoDragon]

"I, I, I, me, me, me," Rose repeats. "Yes, I know what you all want to have happen, but have any of you really stopped to consider that what you want out of this alliance is not the same thing as what Queen Chrysalis wants? Remember, she built up her hive with the image that she's a bad-flank mean mother changeling who is in charge and makes the rules. How do you think that hive is going to react if she's taking orders from us? Your idea of friendship is undermining her authority over her own. It's... it's not how we should be treating her."

[Elbeyon]

Love bristles under Rose's rudeness. "I consider and think about it a lot." She asks for Rose's insight, "What does Queen Chrysalis want?"

She keeps diligently working on cleaning Rose's leg.

"Queen Chrysalis isn't lacking any authority. Her hive is very loyal to her. And, I don't want to order her around. We have rules we, ourselves, have to follow though."

[DigoDragon]

"I think what Chrysalis wants is to just be left alone. She's an old, tired queen who's been through one too many broken promises," Rose says. "We have rules to follow, but our rules aren't her rules, are they? I think the stunt you and the others pulled on her really undermined her authority with her hive. It's like we;re saying she can't make any decisions on how to deal with her own prisoners."

Rose pauses for a moment. She then adds. "Sorry if I'm getting preachy. I know no one meant to make an angry queen. Just... you gotta be careful around her. She's got a lot on her shoulders and only knows her way of working that."

In minutes Rose and Love have the leg working again and reattached. Rose flinches when her nerves connect again. It's like having a sharp pinch followed by the pins-n-needles of an asleep leg waking up. With that, Rose thanks love and heads off to bed.

"Night Love. Big day tomorrow, I can feel it."