Scene #2369: A Visible Reminder

Owner	Pose
Bitter Medicine	Bitter Medicine is the perfect way to darken any doorstep. Tall, dark, and not so handsome, the dour figure has come to a place very much in contrast to himself. As with his previous visit, he takes an aimless, meandering path through the town of Ponyville, inspecting the trees and the flowers and all of the cheery town's scenery. This time, however, it's not done with suspicion, but another, more curious motive. He's willing to accept that not all worlds have a catch, and so he accepts that heresy and corruption may not necessarily be hiding behind every corner. The Exalt takes a seat in a properly designated seating area and watches the sun go down.
Twilight Sparkle	There are a few places with properly designated seating areas, but only one where you can easily watch the sun go down. The popular open air cafe! Twilight Sparkle is a fan of this cafe herself, so when Bitter takes a seat, drawing a few gazes from nearby ponies, one of them is Twilight. She smiles as she recognizes the Alchemical Exalt, then hops up from her table and makes her way over to his. "Hello again!" the purple pony says warmly, then motions to the haystack beside him. "May I?" she asks. Spike is on her back as usual. His eyes are drawn to the diamond in Bitter's forehead. "Hey...do you have any more of those?" he asks, pointing.
Bitter Medicine	"Go ahead," says Bitter. He offers the reply without looking at Twilight, then turns to face her after a moment or so of silence. He looks pensive, more so than usual, his severe yellow eyes piercing the pony. When Spike offers up a question, Bitter raises a hand and shakes his head. "Not for you," he says. "These are used to contain our souls. Why?"
Twilight Sparkle	Spike blinks at the response from Bitter. "Oh..uh...no reason!" he says, looking around a bit embarrassedly. Twilight rolls her eyes a bit, then takes a seat. "Dragons on our world eat gems. They are much like candy for them." she says, smiling to Bitter and giving Spike a pat on the head. "But, I suspect soulgems would not agree with him, not to mention it being rather terrible to destroy the soul of another."
Bitter Medicine	"Terrible, yes. Sometimes a necessity for recidivist souls." He drums his fingers on the table. "You could always visit Autochthonia and have a synthetic crystal grown. My nation, Gulak, would appreciate your commerce." He folds his arms over the table and peers once more at the setting sun. "I like that invention," he muses. "We don't have one."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight's ears splay at that. "I...I suppose." she says to that first thing. When he mentions purchasing gems however, she smiles. "Perhaps I should order some gems for Spike. But, artificial gems may not taste as good, and a soul gem may not be healthy, so only one for now." she says. When Bitter mentions the 'invention', Twilight headtilts. "What invention?" she asks, then follows his gaze. "...the sun?"
Bitter Medicine	Bitter Medicine nods. "Yes. Standard issue on most biologically generated worlds. Non sustainable, but they usually have longevity in the millions of years. Ultimately inefficient... but nice to look at."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight blinks at Bitter's analysis of the sun. "Hmm...I doubt Queen Celestia would allow our sun to die, even millions of years from now." she says, then nods. "And yes, it is nice to look at." she agrees. Spike has started eating the remainder of Twilight's hayfries. "It's nice, but not as pretty as a ruby." he says between chews. Twilight giggles softly. "So, what brings you to our world today, Bitter Medicine?"
Bitter Medicine	"I came to do some thinking," he admits to the pony. "Normally I meditate in my quarters, but today..." He rests his chin on a hand. "Well. It helps to see in person what I'm protecting. Especially in my line of work. I hope you don't mind my visit. The Populat here seems frightened by me."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight shakes her head. "We don't mind at all. And while the ponies here might be cautious, I doubt they are truly frightened of you. A zebra named Zecora experienced a similar thing, but now she is a trusted friend of Ponyville and Equestria." Twilight says, smiling warmly. "It just takes them a little while to get used to a new, non-pony." Twilight then joins Bitter in watching the sunset. "It is quite lovely. I take it your world does not revolve around a central celestial body, or does not rotate in a manner that allows sunsets?"
Bitter Medicine	"Doesn't have a celestial body. Well. The world itself is Autochthon's sleeping body. He fled Creation thousands of years ago. Took his followers with him, rebuilt his body to serve as a world. All organic life resides on the Elemental Pole of Metal. Great Maker's body is spherical, and the Pole of Metal is the middle section, like a belt." "Autochthon exists in a great black void. Artificial light--no sun, no moon, no stars. Artificial lighting, artificial heat, artificial air, artificial water. Sunlight was something very new to us when we first Unified. In fact... only Exalted can brave it without special glasses."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight's eyes widen a bit as she listens to Bitter's story. Being an academic type, she is facinated to hear the origins of another world. "Artificial water...?" That makes her consider a moment. Water is a fairly simple molecule, so she supposes it would be easy to artificially create. She considers that, then hmms. "So...are there beings on your world that manufacture the substances that worlds like ours consider naturally occuring?"
Bitter Medicine	"Beings, yes. Factories, too. Machine spirits, elementals, and the odd imprisoned spirit from Creation. Efficiency is key. Recycle, reuse. There are expansive filtration and reclamation systems in place."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight listens with undivided attention while Spike yawns tiredly. "I see. With no natural systems, I suppose someone would have to manage every aspect of resource production. I would be interested in visiting your world. I can only imagine what it is like to have every creature created rather than evolving. Are there plants and micro-organisms on your world?"
Bitter Medicine	"No, save for what's hydroponically grown, and the carefully monitored byproducts thereof. Aside from humanity... rats, and roaches... there's no other organic life on Autochthonia. Rather than exist as a result of an ecosystem, life exists because of an interconnected net of sophisticated technologies. The Machine God didn't know how to emulate. So... built from the ground up. It's worked, so far. Four thousand years and counting." He pauses. "Couldn't have Unified at a better time. Resources dwindling, stillbirths on the rise."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight seems confused by that. "Even on a world where everything was created by a Machine God who did not know about ecosystems...there are rats and roaches?" Spike yawns again. "Twilight," the little dragon says, "...not that this isn't interesting, but I hear my blanket calling my name." Twilight blinks, then giggles. "Oh. I suppose it is getting late." Twilight stands, then smiles to Bitter Medicine. "I should get home. But, please, feel free to stay the night. I have a room always ready for a guest or two, and there is an inn here in town."
Bitter Medicine	"They were... stowaways. Unwelcome passengers." Bitter stops gazing at the sunset to lay his piercing gaze upon the little dragon. He nods. "Appreciate the hospitality, comrade. I'll take you up on that. Have a safe evening."