Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Thirty-One

Copper stood inside of a room that looked like it belonged in a science fiction horror movie and not the Academy. The black and green walls seemed to pulse around him, and he felt the high temperature that seemed to settle around everything. To his amazement there were hundreds, no thousands of pods that lined the walls and ceiling. All of them contained human shapes. He couldn’t completely put his mind around what it was that he was seeing.

“Artemis?” he asked as he stood there, “What exactly the hell is this?” he asked as he scanned the area, “I mean really, what the living hell is this?”

Artemis stood beside him, and he noticed that her stance was a little more relaxed than normal. The fact that the uniform she wore had the top two buttons of her blouse opened didn’t escape him. She was dressed in a far less conservative manner than she normally was. The evidence that she was showing off her assets to him was there, and he was having a hard time not noticing. In truth she was attractive, and her more athletic form was enticing.

He did his best to not pay attention. Not that he could completely ignore it. Sure, he had self control, but it would be difficult for any heterosexual man to completely ignore. He did his best to pay more attention to the area around them more than to her specifically. In doing so he noticed that the walls themselves seemed to be breathing. His eyes widened as he took that in. The very walls of this room were breathing. The pods themselves were acting like the alveoli that were in everyone’s lungs.

He walked toward one of the pods only to have Artemis stop him, “My Captain,” she said as she held his arm, “Chrysalis has not fully recovered, and I am uncertain if touching any of the pods would do any damage, or if it would activate a trap. For now we must exercise caution.”

He nodded, “So, from what you told me, my mother is here. Delicate Emerald, as my father knew her, is here. Why did the kingdom do this? What purpose could it have served?” he asked before there was a sound of something moving. He looked to see a figure stepping closer to them. To say that the figure was tall would be an understatement. He was average height for man his age, but this woman was easily another five inches taller than him.

Her hair looked to be rainbow colored, and a breeze that was undetectable to all but her hair was blowing through it, “Because of actions that had happened long ago. Further than even the last uprising,” a royal voice said as the woman came closer, “The fact that this was discovered is disheartening, but it is something that was going to be necessary,” the royal voice continued, “That said, I fear that I must speak to the two of you.”

Copper stood there as he looked at the figure before him. He’d seen her in the game before. Celestia Sol Bean. The queen of their kingdom, the queen of the Lunar-Sol Kingdom. A place that was rumored to be the very ones that controlled the length of the day, the length of the night, and the very temperature that each held in rotation. Since coming to this world he’d heard the stories about how the very kingdom’s most powerful asset was actually the fact that they could browbeat another nation into submission through removing their farming seasons.

It was a magical flex on a level that went beyond traditional imitation. It was more than a threat. They could easily kill off an entire enemy nation by freezing them all to death. The one thing that kept it from happening was that there was supposedly something of a failsafe. Both Queen Celestial and her sister High Priestess Luna had to completely agree. There could be no discord between them. If there was then their power was at a mere fraction of what it could be. Thankfully, High Priestess Luna most often had a very different view of what was permitted than her sister.

“Queen Celestia,” he said before she held her hand up, “Baron Copper Plum Bit, correct?” she asked as she looked at him, “I must admit that your appearance is something far different than I was expecting. To her Apollo speak of it you were a monster. A great threat to the very kingdom, and that your very presence was more than enough to insight trouble.”

She laughed slightly, “And of course I understand how much of that was my son attempting to coverup the fact that he lost a duel with you,” she said as she smiled, “Please do not think too unkindly of him. Apollo is unfortunately smitten with that young Viscount girl that you did me a great service by breaking them apart. Additionally, it is my understanding that you’ve become good friends with Diamond Tiara Rich.”

He nodded, “I cannot deny that we’ve developed a friendship,” he admitted as he looked at her, “I’ve attempted to keep it platonic.”

She smiled, “Something that I am certain she will rectify when she is ready,” she replied, “Baron Bit, I’m here to talk to you about this, and the mess the kingdom is about to face. She looked around the room itself, “Unfortunately there isn’t just a few dozen noble women that are trapped. There are at least four hundred years worth of noble women that are trapped here. Most of which have no immediate family left.”

She sighed as she sat down, “It pains me to admit it, but what was done was actually necessary at the time. We needed to create a problem that would make sure there would be no more full uprisings. Additionally, we had to do something about Chrysalis,” she said as she pointed toward the walls, “Chrysalis herself is as old as the very line of my family, and believe me when I say that line is far older than this very kingdom. The knowledge of how she was changed, snared, and even set upon this direction is something I know intimately.”

Copper looked at her. The game hadn’t mentioned that Queen Celestia was an immortal. Not that he overly paid attention to the plot line. Sure, he paid enough attention to get through the game, play for all of the endings, and get what he was supposed to consider the completed game. It had been a pain in the ass, but looking back on it his being forced to play that dumpster fire of a game had made his life here easier, “How would you know?”

She smiled sadly at him, “The memories of each preceding royal is passed down. Everything they experienced, everything they’d done, all of it is knowledge that is gifted to them at birth. We practically grow up already knowing how to talk, how to walk, how to run a country. Our lessons, if they can be called that, is more about learning how to separate the former memories, those of our past lives, from our present ones,” she admitted, “My husband Baked Bean, and my son Apollo, are both blessed in that they did not have to suffer this. Baked is a King Consort, and Apollo’s memories will be passed to his children.”

She looked around them, “So, that brings us to what I must ask of you,” she said as she studied him, “Now, at this moment the decision to release them has been made. I have also explained what was going on to Baked. I fear that my husband may become very cross with me. He believed that I could do no wrong, that I was infallible, and that is unfortunately far from the truth. I have made mistakes, and now I must answer for the mistakes of those that came before me.”

Copper watched as she studied the area, “When the noble women are released those without immediate families will need a place to go. I will do what I can to see that those who would have connection to their original lands are returned there. That their families would be able to look after them, but those that no longer have family at all will be lost,” she said as she looked at him, “Which means the one responsible for ensuring their freedom must be called upon to see to their security and survival.”

He stood there for a moment, “Wait, are you saying that I have to marry a bunch of noble women?!” he asked as he began to hyperventilate, “Because that’s pretty much what it’s sounding like!”

She laughed slightly, “Not at all,” she replied, “Instead I simply ask that you allow some to be able to live upon the island that you acquired. Additionally, it was my understanding that you and your family managed to save a border baron’s domain from pirates. The survivors themselves are currently being cared for by the temple. I believe they would have no problem with some of the women being able to stay there to tend to their lands while they attempt to heal.”

He understood what she was saying now. He was being asked to look after them, “I see,” he replied as he looked around, “Is this a request, or is this a command?”

She smiled at him again, “It is a request, but if needed then please consider it a command. While I could demand that some of the court nobles open up their houses I fear that it would cause a great commotion. Not to mention there is going to be a hunt going on for the drones that Chrysalis used to take the place of the noble women that are currently alive,” she said as she looked at him, “Those drones will have memories of their counterparts, and of course have the current understanding of the kingdom itself. I fear that they will attempt to disappear into the background.”

He shook his head, “Okay, why?” he asked as he looked at her, “Why did you do this? Was it the lesser of two evils? Was ensuring that Chrysalis was able to feed off of the lesser noble women better than just releasing her? What was the end game here?”

She shook her head, “Going back four hundred years Chrysalis had been something of a thorn in my ancestor’s side. She was troublesome, but containable. The problem was that she could take the form of anyone she wanted, as long as she was able to get a small amount of their blood, hair, or something else from them,” she said as she studied the room, “It made finding her when she escaped a pain.”

She laughed slightly, “And then we had the first real uprising. A border noble form the house of Hurricane had began gathering alliances from the other border nobles,” she admitted as she walked toward a pod, “He was upset at the current laws. I will admit that my ancestor had wrote some laws that were… Unjustified. Those laws stated that those living in the capital did not have to pay but a mere hundredth of their yearly income for taxes, Where the border barons had to pay nearly half of theirs. Beyond that my ancestor demanded their first born sons be sent here. They were stripped from their families, from all they knew, and they were made little more than servants.”

She shook her head, “My grandmother completely abolished that law, and I for one believe it was right to do so,” she remarked, “but regardless, the alliance Baron Hurricane had formed was strong enough to stand against the capital. He came, with a small army, and declared war upon us. We were so dependent on the border barons for food, for resources, that our unfair laws had come to bite us. Once we were able to stop the battle, by using the very power that my sister and I hold, we took and made an example of Baron Hurricane. Then we knew that there had to be discord bred in the homes of the border nobles. The Academy became the answer.”

She stretched her arms out and motioned around them, “Have the children come here, see the splendor of the capital, see the wonders of it, but even more so we needed an extra bit of security. It was then that my ancestor made a deal with Chrysalis. She would be able to have a food source that would never dry up. She could feed from the captured lesser noble women, and in return she would replace them with others that she could command. The commands were simple. Make sure that they cared just enough for the potential husbands of these women that they would not break their marriage, but at the same time show little remorse for treating them poorly. Treat them as if they were less than them.”

She looked at him, “It worked. The border nobles didn’t truly rebel again. Oh, there were a couple of near rebellions, but nothing like what Hurricane had caused,” she said as she looked at him, “And in return we were able to ensure that the balance of power remained here in the capital. It is something we have been moving to fix, and now we have begun the final steps.”

“The final steps?” he asked as he looked at her, “I take it that the final steps would likely have been avoided for a longer period of time if not for the actions of Artemis, correct?”

She puffed her cheeks out, in what he had to admit was an adorable way, “I will admit that I had fully planned on leaving this for my grandchild to handle. I originally planned for Apollo to handle it, but unfortunately he has proven exactly how inept he actually is. I fear that my son will never truly be able to rule the kingdom. Which of course saddens me to no end. I hate for the task to fall to my daughter, but it is simply what must come to pass.”

He took a moment, and he remembered that in the game there was an unnamed sister to Prince Apollo. The unnamed sister was younger, not yet academy age, and was rumored to be completely taught by tutors. From what he could remember of the game she was not going to attend the Academy because Queen Celestia wanted to focus her learning on the court and the government practices of the kingdom.

After a moment of thinking about it he realized that the reason she was going to do that was because of the actions of the protagonist in the game. Prince Apollo wasn’t disowned, but he was no longer going to rule the kingdom. Instead he would help oversee the court. That was considered to be the good ending. He shook his head, and looked toward her, “Well, getting this done now is for the best,” he replied as he looked at her, “It means that you can undo everything that was done. It allows a fresh start, and more importantly it helps keep the next generation of girls from being like those creatures.”

Queen Celestia sighed, “I understand,” she admitted as she finally walked toward a pod that was hanging low, “I understand because I went to the Academy. While I never had to come to this classroom I knew about it. I had seen how the actions of the Chrysalis’ drones were affecting the other students. How some of the higher noble women were beginning to act like them. To focus the balance of power into their own hands,” she stated as she touched the pod, “I felt sick at the decisions that were made. I felt repulsed at the deal that was struck, and I understood that no matter when we began fixing things nothing would go back to normal right away.”

He watched as she faced him, “Is Chrysalis close by?”

A moment passed and what appeared to be a normal looking teacher wheeled herself into the room on a wheelchair. A single monster core rested on a small stand behind it, and the wheelchair seemed to be controlled by a single stick that rested where the teacher’s unbroken arm was. The only thing that helped anyone know the identity of the teacher was the collar around her neck. She stopped short of Copper.

“You have need of me, master?” the disguised voice of Chrysalis asked, “Do you wish for me to take a different form? Do you wish to use me as an outlet?”

A slight growl from Artemis caused Chrysalis to quiet her offers, but Copper shook his head, “Queen Celestia was asking about you. I believe she has some questions about the pods.”

Chrysalis sat there, “No she doesn’t,” she replied after a moment, “Queen Celestia knows everything about my pods, about how they work, and she knows that every single being that is inside of them is perfectly healthy and kept at the age they were when they first placed into the pod. What she wants to ask is more directed.”

He looked toward Celestia who nodded, “Chrysalis, which pod contains Baron Copper Plum Bit’s mother?”

The wheelchair moved toward Queen Celestia for a moment until it took a right. A pod began to descend from the ceiling, and a moment later it laid in front of Chrysalis, “She is here,” she replied, “Be warned, she does not know you master. She does not know much beyond the day she was trapped here. In truth, you need her promised mate to be here. He needs to be with her when it is opened. His stability will help her keep her mind.”

He nodded, “Artemis, can you please ask one of your sisters to get word to my Father to come to the academy? Explain that it has to do with the reasons of why Delicate Emerald changed.”

She bowed, “Of course my Captain,” she replied before she looked toward Chrysalis, “Behave, or face my wrath.”

With that she turned and left. Copper knew that her letting her sisters know was less actually doing any writing, and instead it was contacting the others and relaying the information through the wireless connection they had. It would go to the one closest to his Father, which would be the avatar working on the island for him. Since he left a small airship for her she would take it to Gold Bit and inform him.

He had absolutely no doubt that the moment Gold Bit knew what was happening he would come. He would arrive and he want to find out what happened to Delicate Emerald. Copper Plum felt a little uncertain. Mostly because he worried what the real Delicate Emerald would be like. Would she still be the mean spirited woman that he knew? Would she long for his demise with all of her being? He hoped that wasn’t the case.

In truth he hoped that she would be an actual mother. It almost felt like a weakness to admit that he wanted a real mother. That he needed a mother. He’d existed for so long without a caring mother that he wasn’t sure if there was even a point now. But there was a small part of him, a part that resided in the back of his mind, a piece of his soul, that was a hurt little boy that wanted to be loved by his mother.

Maybe, just maybe, this could be something that would be well hoped for.