((STORY EXTRACT))
 
“Sorry, I only just remembered that you sent us off to inspect Shady Shores. We did that… admittedly, a long time ago, if you still need the report. Honestly, nowadays it’s… kinda more just a place to go if you’re a ghoul…” I said, letting off a weak chuckle. The researcher pulled a small vial of red potion out from a collection in one of her lower drawers, passing it to me. I gave a small thanks before popping the cork out and drinking it down.
 
“Oh, is that all? You didn’t need to risk a smashed larynx just for that, I got a report from the Hopeville branch ages ago! You sent them the robot, right?” I nodded as the potion went to work fixing up my wounds, and I handed back the bottle. She dropped the vial into her desk before waiving for me to follow, leading me over to another table. “Well, from what I could study of a sample they sent up, I think I’ve actually managed to figure out something useful those creatures can actually be used for. Take a look at this!” The mare grinned widely as she picked up what looked like a broken piece of carapace from one of the anglerponies.
 
“This carapace is even more protective than I originally thought, none of the specimens we managed to procure before had anything this thick! And best of all, it’s already molded to fit pony physiques! With a bit of sanding, polishing, a few straps, and possibly an undersuit for mounting, we could actually make this stuff into proper armor!” The mare beamed as she set the shell plating back down, rifling through her notes. My eyes went wide as I gave an impressed look - well, that’s certainly a better use for those things nowadays than whatever it was Pearl was programmed to make them do originally. I mean, you’d still have to find more of them to actually make more of the armor, but still… “I sent a message to the Triage a while back, if they can have that robot send up the chemical components of the chitin. Would love to be able to research this more, this stuff is about as tough as an inch-thick steel plate. The only major problem I can see is weight, exoskeletons were never meant to get this large and this armor definitely shows that. Those anglerponies must have some serious muscles to be able to haul this stuff around constantly. Then again, if they do stay in water most of the time, that would counter-act the weight somewhat through buoyancy…” The researcher trailed off, mumbling to herself as she pulled out a few more notes and began to scribble things down. After a few moments, she let off a sigh, looking back towards myself.