No.723995[Last 50 Posts]
Welcome players!
NPC list:
https://pastebin.com/AhPF3hUgPlease post sheets in your first reply.
>>Last time….
>>723608Celestia, dragging the gray by the hindleg bumping over the rocky terrain, tries to grok the room with his gooey sensibilities. Vision cannot cut through the inky blackness; the sound of bubbling water is faintly audible. As he concentrates, however, the eldritch goo-pony becomes aware of life in the chamber. The three changelings with him are bright/loud obstructions to more distant signals, but he realizes there are more beings in the darkness. Perhaps three or four distant shapes curl around each other at the far edge of what Celestia realizes is the edge of the cavern.
>>723611It's really, really dark. Em feels like they can sense the presence of Celestia and their captive, as well as the former prisoner. Beyond that, all she can tell is that there is a big dark cavern with water flowing maybe, somewhere in the distance.
>>723609>>723611Gray number two is stirring, not quite awake but certainly on their way.
>>723609Golden, giving up on the hug, listens to Falling carefully. "So, worse than Tempest, eh? I've seen many pones crust up, mainly slower. Mostly, the gems eat you up from the inside first. By the time you see em on the surface, you're already boned, know what I mean?" He takes a long look at Tempest and Zephyr's door. "What they have… had…" he shakes his head, obviously still working on it. "What they got," he continues after a moment of head-shaking, "was something different. Fog sickness takes. I dunno. Years maybe. This took less than a week." He shrugs. "Like I said, there was… an incident." He has a face like he wants to say more, but stops himself with a swallow and a nod.
>>723612>>723614Golden shrugs. "If you gotta go, you gotta go. You know?" He almost allows himself a chuckle at his own joke while he watches for a reaction.
>>723610A single tear from her left eye mars Starfish's perfect makeup, cutting a black river down her cheek. "I can't lose Golden," she states simply. Her right eye drops its own dark cable, destined to meet its counterpoint somewhere upon her chin. "I can't."
Jasper rolls his eyes. "This all seems a bit melodramatic. Can't we visit your domicile first, confirm your dinner plans (or lack thereof), then continue forth?"
Starfish turns on Jasper, all fire and fury. "Melodramatic??!"
Jasper again rolls his eyes, turns toward Cit and KC. "Honestly. I might prefer a less… congested survey."
Starfish looks pissed.
No.723996
>>723995https://pastebin.com/LHshvdbNCelestia thrusts his plush hoof into a random direction in the darkness where he guesses where these other beings are at. "
Who goes there! You better not be getting up to any shennanigans!" Celestia announces for all to hear. In imitation to the royal canterlot voice. Loud equals right if ponies taught him anything.
No.723997
>>723995https://pastebin.com/HTnUgcx4Cit looks a bit uncomfortable, but gives Starfish a smile. "You know, why don't you go and have fun with Golden? I'm sure we can handle it on our own now that we know what we're getting into. Let's just go and see what the plan is then split from there, yeah?"
No.723998
>>723995https://pastebin.com/pH98Q60w"Indeed. To be met with such an end is cruel beyond measure, but when faced with our fates, we can do ought but press onward."
No.723999
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>723995Falling frowns at hearing of hte sickness. She's heard it before, but never from a pony who suffered from, or had somepony close fall prey to it. Seeing it first-hoof only makes it that much worse.
"I can't imagine what you all are going through from that. I'm glad I was able to save Tempest, if this happens as fast as you said."
No.724000
>>723996Celestia's otherworldly voice rings out in the dark, echoing off smooth walls. The reverberating effect is akin to the inside of a silent cathedral. After the haunting announcement fades to silence, there is a soft chuckling that begins from the general direction the ex-con is leading them.
"Shenanigans?" a female voice calls out.
"Why, we would never!" a deep male voice responds.
"Yeah, never!" a young male voice this time.
>>723997Starfish wipes her face with a wing, looks at it and sees mascara streaked across her feathers. "Oh damn," she curses, and without another word stalks inside to clean herself up.
Jasper sighs and turns to Cit and KC. "Is she always this emotional? That might get tiresome quickly." He fiddles with a device on his fogsuit. "We've got several hours before sunrise, but we should get a move on, if possible. I'd like to collect some samples at this site."
A moment later, Starfish bursts back onto the balcony, looking a bit less disheveled and a bit more determined. "What are we waiting for, then?" she demands, and launches herself off the edge, headed in the direction of the hideout.
Jasper rolls his eyes, strolling to the passenger door of his personal airship and opening it. "It may be a tight squeeze," he says apologetically to KC, "but it beats not flying."
>>723998Golden nods thoughtfully. "Wise indeed, Jiandao. Just gotta roll with the punches."
>>723999Golden smiles gratefully at Falling. "Seriously. Can't thank you enough. I'm sure Tempest would say the same, if he were in his right mind."
He sighs, then addresses both Jiandao and Falling. "I assume neither of you has a fogsuit handy? I'm sure Starfish has extras, but I don't love digging through her stuff when she's not here. Plus, she's kind of a wizard at fitting these things. Hang on, though, I'll see what I can dig up." He disappears into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
Several moments later, he returns with a large pack, stuffed full with bits of cloth and rubber. Dropping it at their feet, he blinks and proclaims, "Here we go. Somewhere in here is the perfect fogsuit for both of you! Er, individually, I mean. You don't have to share one."
((roll to search the pack for a suit that might fit))
No.724001
>>724000"It's… complicated," she answers Jasper.
She's a bit taken aback as Starfish up and leaves without waiting for anyone, but shrugs and chambers into the airship. "Ta."
KC nods slowly, being used to unintentionally causing a mess. He very daintily tries to squeeze in, trying to cause as little damage as possible.
[1d10] Will he break stuff?
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.724002
>>724000Celestia squints his lone eyes in the direction of the noises. "
I don't trust ya! Hanging around in the dark where I can't see you! Only mischief makers who plan their mischievous mischief upon others do such things! I should know, I am one." Celestia replies to the the two males and female by doubling down on his acusation against the unknown party. Since when was Celestia ever wrong?
No.724003
>>724000Falling waits as Golden steps aside, starting to recompose herself after that sorrowful moment.
She looks down at the pack Golden drops down.
"Oh, wow. Does she collect these?"
She asks curiously, wondering why a pony would need so many different fogsuits. She peers into it, horn lighting as she shuffles the cloth around for anything in her size.
>Search [1d10]Roll #1 8 = 8 No.724004
>>724000looking at the pile in confusion, Jiandao begins to sift through the bag's content, eyeing the suits as she goes.
[1d10] Search
"Are you certain these 'fog suits' can protect us?" she asks, eyeing the patchwork suits doubtfully.
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.724005
>>724001KC, being as careful as possible, manages to enter the airship without incident or injury. However, as he shuts the door, the inside handle comes off in his metal hand. Jasper does not notice as he clambers into the pilots chair and starts up the machine.
The quiet hum of the sleek ship barely registers as they rise up and pull away from the structure, following Starfish's receding frame silhouetted against the city lights.
"So how long have you two been in Horizon?" Jasper attempts a bit of small talk.
>>724003"Yeah, she's got a hard-on for all this type of junk. I keep telling her she has too much crap. She uses some of them for patching up her suits, but really, there's no need for her to have all this. I think she just started grabbing them and never stopped."
Falling locates a promising-looking suit. It seems around the right size, and appears structurally sound all over, save for a small rip down one of the hind legs.
Seeing the rip, Golden assures her, "We can definitely patch that up. I'm not as good as Starfish at this kinda stuff, but it's not my first rodeo." He takes the suit from Falling and sets to work trying to sew the hole shut.
Hims Hems [1d10]
>>724004"From the fog? Yes. From the gendarmes, gangsters and monsters? Not as effective. In fact, combat should probably be avoided altogether. If you get a rip, you're highly likely to be exposed to the fog. I don't have to explain why that would be a bad thing."
Jiandao comes across a suit that is not only perfectly her size, but also rather stylish in a classic Kirin way.
"Wow, nice find!" Golden exclaims. He looks it over. "Looks perfectly sound. She must have pulled this off a fresh one."
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.724006
>>724005KC tries to discreetly put the handle back on. When that inevitably fails, he stashes it in any of the nearby compartments quietly, becoming extremely interested in the view.
"Pft. Too long," she answers with a smirk. "My big brother and I traveled here when I was little. Five, I think. We stuck together for years just getting by doing odd jobs. Then he… he took off, and… Well, I'm trying to save up to get transport out of this place. Hopefully this battery job leads to that. Plan is for the two of us to go literally anywhere that isn't Horizon." KC nods stiffly but vigorously.
"Sorry, didn't mean to ramble. What about you? You been here long?"
No.724007
>>724005Falling gasps a little at hearing the description Golden uses, not expecting such a blunt term like 'hard-on' to describe a collector.
"It is a quite a habit to get into. I have more books than I do places to put them almost."
Falling lifts up her promising suit, though the hole isn't too assuring. But as Golden offers to patch it up and takes it aside, she nods at the gesture.
"I guess this must've been one of the few used to patch the other suits," She jokes, "Thank you."
No.724008
>>724005Jiandao examines the length of the suit in confusion.
"An.. unusual garb.."
"Forgive me, but may i ask for your aid in wearing it? It would be best to learn it's function now, while we are free from the fog."
No.724009
>>724006"Sorry to hear about your brother. Any idea where he went?"
"Anywhere but Horizon. Sounds like quite a destination. Me, I've been here all my life. Mom was a nurse, dad's an inventor. I fell in with with Six Arms syndicate when I was in school, met a brilliant researcher who was doing things that were leaps and bounds ahead of the curve. Dr Gallows. He took me under his wing, and I've been with him ever since. This airship actually incorporates several features he helped create," he explains as they catch up to Starfish.
The pegasus glances back at them, tips her wing, and continues to lead them to the hideout. As they approach, Cit and KC notice that there is another airship docked in front of the entrance. Jasper pulls the ship alongside as Starfish enters the foyer in her usual haphazard manner, narrowly avoiding a crash landing.
>>724008"Of course! I wouldn't ask a total newbie to try to figure out how to put one of those things on for the first time. Can't have any more crystals on my conscience." Golden appears about to chuckle, but stops himself. "Sorry. No, you'll be safe."
>>724007"An avid reader, eh? I should've figured. Ah!" He drops the suit, the needle and the thread he had been attempting to use, clutching his wing where he has apparently poked himself. "Damn!"
>>724007>>724008Just then, a fogsuit-clad pegasus with a pink spiked mane, visible tattoos and facial piercings bursts through the open entrance, clumsily skidding to a stop. She takes in the scene before her.
"Oi," she greets the three of them.
"Oi!" Golden hops up and canters over to her side, nuzzling her affectionately.
"Who're the ladies? Should I be worried?" the mare asks.
"Oh!! Nonono. These are… new friends. Falling, Jiandao, meet Starfish."
"Charmed, I'm sure." Starfish does not seem 100% sure. She does, however, cordially reach out a hoof to greet the two of them, then glances at their fogsuit project underway. "Find anything good in there?"
No.724010
>>724009Interrupted by Golden's friend, The kirin sets her fogsuit down to offer a bow in greeting to this strange mare.
"Greetings, Starfish."
mentioning the suit, she nods, holding up her find with her magic.
"Indeed. I was fortunate to find a suit as intact as this here, though how to wear one eludes me. The garb is highly unusual."
No.724011
>>724009She shakes her head bitterly. "Just up and left with that skank Mari one day. If that's the way he wants it then good riddance."
She listens politely to Jasper, glad to change subjects. "Wow. Sounds like this Gallows guy knows a thing or two. Maybe I could meet him someday. I'm sure he could do a better job on KC than I have."
KC frowns and tilts his head.
"What? Just saying. A big brain like that would do you some good!"
KC looks concerned.
"Oh calm down. I'm talking upgrades. Not a whole reformatting. I wouldn't let anyone fiddle with your insides."
KC doesn't look convinced, shooting her a reproachful look, but it soon passes.
Cit frowns as she sees the other airship. "Who's that then?" she wonders out loud as they disembark, taking a look around.
No.724012
>>724009"Yea, I do a lot of studying but I also love rea— Oh, are you alright?"
Falling asks, cutting off her talk of books as Golden drops all the supplies.
Then, she turns as the new pegasus bursts in the room, almost worried it was a crash landing. Her eyes widen a bit as she sees the pegasus' mane, tattoos and piercings, a look like from some of her sci-fi stories. She shakes Starfish's hoof.
"Hello Starfish, I'm Falling."
She looks over at the dropped suit.
"Yea, though it had a hole in it."
No.724013
>>724010Starfish trots over to the kirin. "Wow, you DID find something good in there. I forgot I grabbed that one, to be honest." She gives the suit a close appraising glare, taking from Jiandao and turning it over in her hooves. Finally she nods her approval. "This will work just fine. You need a helmet, though. I think I might actually have the one that matches this suit. Got em from the same source, y'see." She chuckles darkly, disappearing into the next room, reappearing momentarily holding a helmet that looks almost like a warrior's helmet. She holds it out to Jiandao. "I don't think I'll even need to make any adjustments. The previous owner was a kirin as well, so I think your horn should fit just fine in there."
>>724012Starfish looks at the fogsuit, hanging thread and needle, then up at Golden, who follows her gaze and sheepishly rubs the back of his head.
"Yeah, I was trying to fix it, but you know how I am with that stuff. Two left hooves."
Picking up the suit, Starfish sighs dramatically, rolling her eyes, then grins quickly and hops over to Golden, planting a smooch on his cheek. "I can fix this right up. We'll need to talk about you just giving away my things, though." Golden's face falls. "Kidding, idiot!" She kisses him again and laughs. "I have more of these things than I know what to do with."
Starfish Patches the Suit [1d10]
>>724010>>724012From outside a noise comes like the landing of an airship and opening and shutting of its doors. Three figures are shadowed near the entrance.
>>724011"Dr Gallows is a busy unicorn, but I can certainly mention it to him," Jasper says, his voice doubtful. He climbs out and opens the door for Cit and KC.
The other airship is not as nice as Jasper's. It appears to be more of a family vehicle, with a little more storage space and presumably less power. Cit and KC do not recognize it as belonging to anyone they know.
Inside they can see two strange ponies, a unicorn and a kirin, talking with Golden and Starfish.
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.724014
>>724013She looks curious at the sight of new faces at their hideout, and the two of them mosey on over to Golden, Starfish and the newcomers. "Heya!" she says to Golden. "Just popping in for a bit. Got some business to see to. Oh, this is Jasper. Friend of a friend of Starfish's. Jasper, Golden." She looks to the two newcomers. "Who are these guys?"
No.724015
>>724013"I should thank you then, for letting us have them. We were, sorta under supplied."
Falling says to Starfish, now that the proper owner of all these suits has come in.
"We were just talking about that. You're quite the collector."
>>724013>>724014Falling looks up as yet more ponies come into the building.
"Oh, hello!" Falling greets with a friendly wave, "I'm Falling."
No.724016
>>724013Taking the helmet in her magic, she examines it for a moment thoughtfully, before setting it with the suit.
"Fortunate indeed the previous owner kept their suit in excellent condition. With luck, it will stay that way."
>>724015>>724014With falling introducing herself, Jiandao follows suit, bowing in a greeting similar to starfish.
"Greetings. I am Jiandao."
No.724017
>>724016>>724015Two of the figures that approach are a bluish white scrappy looking unicorn mare, followed by a hulking automaton made of brass and wood with ape-like proportions, a featureless face save for two camera-like eyes, and a distinctive windup key on its back.
>>724015"I'm landing," she jokes.
>>724016"Hiya!"
>>724015>>724016"Name's Cit, and this is my buddy KC." She gestures at the automaton, which extends its huge robotic hand in a friendly gesture, first to Falling and then to Jiandao. "What brings you guys here?" she asks casually. "New in town?"
No.724018
>>724017"Nice to meet you Cit."
Falling then looks up to KC, eyes wide at seeing the automaton.
"Whoaa… Did you build him?"
She asks Cit, reaching out a hoof to shake KC's hand.
"Hello KC."
>>724017>>724013"We came here for—"
Falling then comes to a sudden realization, after having been sidetracked after the big emotional moment.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST FORGOT! WE NEED TO FIND DIAMOND!"
She shouts, nearly looking like she's going into a panic attack.
"With everything that happened, I-I got so distracted," She turns to Golden, "We need to find those racers, you know where they go, right?!"
No.724019
>>724014"Hey you two," Golden returns her greeting. "Hi Jasper. Nice to meet you. Jiandao, Falling, this is Cit and her buddy KC. Make nice, you four."
Jasper nods politely to each new face, turns to Starfish. "Starfish, what are your plans?"
She turns to Golden. "I dunno! What are my plans? What are YOUR plans?"
Golden turns a bit red. "Well, I was hoping you'd be around for date night, but I was going to show these ladies to the Six Arms to find the race first. Their friend is missing and they suspect a racer could have been involved."
"Hey, I was just at Six Arms with Cit and KC! Which pilot?? My guess is Marble Mark. Never trusted that dog."
"We don't know yet. Apparently they'll recognize his boat when they see it. Got some notes on it."
"Ah. Sounds exciting. Wanna catch the race with me after?" Starfish sounds like she's not sure whether he will say yes.
"Duh," comes Golden's instant reply. He kisses her forehead while she works. "Be just like old times, eh? 'Cept we aren't on cleanup duty this time."
>>724015Starfish looks pleased. "Thanks. I found most of them on corpses." She's done with the patch job. It's neat work, almost invisible. "Just one sec, sweetheart," she says, handing the suit to Falling and trotting off to her room. She returns a moment later holding a helmet and a small tool, which she uses to begin a process of modifying the helmet to accommodate Falling's horn. She hums while she works.
>>724016Starfish smiles at the kirin. "If you ever need repairs, feel free to stop by and ask. I'm happy to help out the neigh-borhood."
Jasper nods politely at Jiandao. He stands near the door, doing his best to appear patient. "So, how long will this visit take, do we think?"
>>724018Golden nods. "I haven't forgotten about your friend. We do need to be on our way if we're to catch the racers all together."
No.724020
>>724017"Indeed. We have need of Golden's assistance to recover Falling's colleague and my charge from a suspected foalnapping."
No.724021
>>724019"Corpses?"
Falling repeats, looking down at the suit. While her tone does sound a bit displeased, she doesn't look off-put at the idea of wearing a dead pony's suit.
As Golden reassures they're still on track to save Diamond, Falling sighs in relief.
"Phew, thank you. Today… has been a busy day."
No.724022
>>724018"Kind of. Found most of him down at the junkyard on Carlisle and Down. Felt like a shame to just leave him there to rust, so I patched him up, added a few adjustments here and there, and he's good as new! Right?" KC nods vigorously, straightening up and putting his hands on his hips proudly, showing off his chassis.
KC's camera aperture eyes change to an expression of joy as you shake his hand, as if he'd been wanting to do it for a long time.
She frowns. "Who's Diamond? Something wrong?"
>>724019KC whirrs and clanks as he ping pongs his attention from one to the other as they discuss the situation. "…Well, sounds like a good time, I guess!" Cit says cheerily. "Guess that's settled. Unless you two fancy visiting the Garden District with us."
>>724020"Wow. That's… that's crazy. Good luck with that I guess. You guys like, private eyes or something?"
No.724023
>>724022"Wow, you must be pretty skilled to fix up something like him."
Falling says in awe. As KC's camera changes to show joy, she laughs a little at how expressive it is.
"She's my friend. We just got a job to help build a whole new tree for Horizon, but when we were going to meet up today to talk about it and all the details of it, she never showed. When we checked her house, her mom said she disappeared in the night, and we were told by the neighbors a ship came up to the house sometime at night too. She was kidnapped by racers."
No.724024
>>724022"We are the hired help of Master Border, an alicorn with interest in construction of a new superstructure for the city. Falling and Diamond are architects, i am their guardian."
"It falls to me to ensure their safety, a task already incomplete with Diamond's disappearance. With Golden, there may yet be time to save her."
No.724025
>>724023"Been fiddling with stuff since I can remember," she replies proudly. "It's kind of my thing."
>>724023>>724024Her face falls. "Oh. Damn. That's… that's rough. Sorry to hear that. Hope you find your buddy. I'd offer to help, but I've kind of got my own thing going at the moment. Trying to start a battery business. Don't suppose you guys would be interested in buying some?"
No.724026
>>724021Golden nods, his eyes full of empathy. "It sure has. Lost a good colt today."
>>724022Golden addresses his roommates. "Cit, Starfish, since you're both here, gotta break some bad news." He sighs deeply. "Zephyr's gone."
Starfish stops what she's doing and looks up at Golden, blinks a couple times, then turns back to modifying Falling's helmet. "Sucks. Was just a matter of time, though. How's Temp?"
Golden shakes his head. "Don't know. Our new friend Falling was able to heal most of the crystals on his body, though."
>>724019Starfish does a double-take at Falling. "Wait, really? You can do that?"
She hands off the helmet. "Should work fine. Respirator in there's still good. Don't stay down there longer than a day and you should be fine."
>>724022Golden turns to Starfish. "Garden district? At this time of night? Don't tell me you're going back… there?"
Starfish doesn't meet his eye. "Yeah, well, we're thinking we can maybe figure something out about those weird crystals. Journey's pet scientist's student is here to check it out, and maybe we can figure out a way to charge up batteries without relying on standard vis."
Jasper looks slightly annoyed at being referred to as if he weren't here, but he does not interrupt.
Golden doesn't say anything for a long moment, just stares at Starfish. After a long blink, he sighs and says, "Okay."
[[paused]]
No.724027
>>724025"Oh, wow. I'd love to see other stuff you've made."
At the offer of potential help if she wasn't busy, Falling smiles at the gesture.
"It's alright, I don't want to hold you up. And… well I don't have anything that'd need a battery right now, sorry."
No.724028
>>724025"A 'battery'?" asks the kirin, tilting her head in confusion.
No.724029
>>724027"Got plenty of stuff up in my workshop if you wanna take a look sometime!" She looks eager to share her contraptions with someone. "Probably not the best time right now though."
"Oh. Well that's a shame. Well if you do, you know where to find me. Haha. Just, er, don't actually tell anyone, cause I'm not really meant to be doing this."
>>724028"Yeah! Pretty much all the tech in this place runs on 'em. Thing is, they're all monopolized by AB. Big corp here. Greedy bastards. Bad news for most folk. I've figured out a way to make my own, selling 'em under the radar. Bootlegs, basically. Just as good as the real thing for a fraction of the price. Interested?"
No.724030
>>724029"Yea…"
Falling says in agreement on the time in a sad tone.
"You're not?"
Falling asks, hearing a bit from what Cit tells Jiàndào.
"Are you reselling them, or did you build your own?"
No.724031
>>724030"Bit of both. We get these empty battery cases, then we use this doover Starfish found that recharges 'em. Just need to power it up with some crystals, and a bit of an electric jolt. I've got the latter covered." She creates some electric sparks to show off. "Just need to find a few crystals to use as power for it. Which is why we're heading out right now."
No.724035
Last time, below Horizon…
>>723611>>724002Celestia and Em, following the dubious lead of an oddly behaved ex-prisoner of the changelings, have been led to a large, dark, water-carved cave somewhere beneath the ground level of Horizon. There is the sound of water trickling.
Celestia calls out a message of warning, which posits a response from the unknown lurkers in the dark.
"Shenanigans?" a female voice calls out.
"Why, we would never!" a deep male voice responds.
"Yeah, never!" a young male voice this time.
Celestia responds with a distrustful remark accusing the lurkers of being mischief-makers, on the grounds that they hang around in the dark where they cannot be seen.
"You don't need to see us, dear, to know we are here. We're like bedbugs," the more feminine voice giggles, "or the tooth breezie."
No.724036
>>723996>>723995Em groans. "Someone else? Again? I didn't run into anyone for
hours at the beginning of the quest and now all of a sudden I can't
stop running into someones." She cups a hoof over her mouth and shouts, "Hey! You! Whadya want this time? I already promised babies to the last guy and I ain't falling for that one again, no matter how cute you say I am!"
No.724037
>>724036The masculine voice responds. "If you've already promised babies, I'm not interested, no matter how cute you are! Already got enough as it is… Ow, what was that for?"
The female voice responds. "You know what it's for."
The younger male voice pipes up. "Yeah, what's it for? She seems pretty cute to me!"
Female again. "Hush, you."
The group is within comfortable speaking range, although all is still pitch black.
Female unknown voice. "Well, well. Seems introductions are in order. I see you've already met Reverb."
The group has stopped close enough for comfortable speaking voices. It is still impossible to see anything.
"Reverb," the changeling echoes.
"I am Error," comes the masculine name.
"Bagu!" shouts the excitable younger male.
"And I am Feature," explains the female. "Now, whom do we have the pleasure of addressing?"
No.724038
>>724037"
I am princess Celestia. I love to make new friends. I am a princess, are you a princess as well?" Celestia asks of the voices after introducing himself with his ungodly marketable voice. You always gotta sell yourself in this world of business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL0sh5vKrjA&list=PLQEGe-lOzOlbJLctfpbKSSLkC_Ct287f8 No.724039
>>724037[1d10]
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.724040
>>724038>>724037>>724039Em smiles and breathes a sigh of relief. "Goodness, you sound way nicer than the last guys." She taps a hoof to her chin. "I guess those guys seemed kind of nice to begin with too, though. Oh well. Anyway, I'm Metachrosis, but you can call me Em! I'm also a changeling, like Reverb." She looks around in the darkness. "You could probably see that if it wasn't so dark. H'm." She pulls out an orb and channels energy into it. "Here. See? Also a changeling. I'm on a quest to-" She paused. "Uh… find ponies to help, uh, fight the world?" She leans in to Celestia and whispers, "Do you remember what we're supposed to be doing, Squishy?"
[1d10]Alchemist fire torch
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.724043
>>724038Three distinct chuckling sounds can be heard.
"I'm a princess!" exclaims the young male voice identifying as Bagu.
"I said hush. No, we are not royalty." The female voice who called herself Feature goes on to explain. "We are gatekeepers."
>>724040"Metachrosis. Well met," says the masculine voice who introduced himself as Error.
"Quest? Fight the world? I don't know anything about that. We're just here to guard the entrance to Gamut."
Em holds an orb in hoof which lights spectacularly, temporarily blinding the whole group. As their eyes become accustomed to the light, the shape of three diamond dogs huddling together becomes discernible. They are squeezed under a thin blanket, cuddled together closely. It's obvious that the female voice, Feature, belongs to the well-groomed medium-sized one in the middle. The largest, slightly scruffy one on one side is apparently Error, and the smallest one, obviously the adolescent pup named Bagu, is on the other side.
The room itself is exactly as it seemed: large, empty, cavernous, with a trickle of water flowing from the ceiling to an exit somewhere in the middle of the floor. Reverb, Celestia and Em are all standing some 5 meters away from the nestling dogs. There appear to be multiple exits from the chamber, leading in all different directions.
Reverb turns to her two companions and happily states, "Gatekeepers. Gamut."
No.724044
>>724043"
Gatekeepers? Why would there need to be gatekeepers here. Not like there is anything important down here. Just lots of cave and some more cave. Along with some weird ponies, but they don't count as important either." celestia rants to the three about their purpose as gatekeepers.
No.724046
>>724040"
You brought me here looking for a map because you said we were "broke" or something like that." Celestia responds with a narrowing eye behind his plush.
No.724048
>>724043Em smacks her hoof against her forehead. "
Entrance?" she asked. "Man, I was looking for an
exit. Dumb building." She lets out a little rolling giggle and nods to the dogs. "Well," she says. "Nice to meet you. And don't worry. I don't really know anything about it either. I made sure of that." She looks up and around at the antechamber. "So, uh, mind helping a girl out and telling her how to get back up into the deadly fog so she can get back on track?"
No.724049
>>724046Em's eyes widen and she stamps her hoof. "Oh!" she says. "That's right! Bee was supposed to give me the magic map!"
No.724054
>>724044The self-styled gatekeepers have no response to this.
>>724048"Back into the fog? Sure. It's easy. Take this path." Feature, the medium-sized dog, points at one particular tunnel entrance, somewhere behind her. "This will lead you up to near the CD. That is," she explains, "the oldest, tallest megastructure of Horizon, near the Epicenter."
>>724049"Oh! I know where there's a map!" exclaims Bagu, the young one.
"I thought I told you to hush," admonished Feature.
Before she can continue one, Bagu continues. "You can see how the twins grow, just underneath!"
Error, the elder male, shakes his head. "They don't need to know about that. They don't want to know."
Bagu insists. "The map, though! It's right down… mmph!"
Feature bodily silences Bagu, leaning her weight against the young diamond dog. "You don't want to see the Map. Trust us. It won't help."
Bagu is trying his best to point at another exit to the cavern. "Mmph!"
Error joins forces to suppress the young one between him and Feature. "I think you can buy a map of Horizon in the fog. No need to see the Twin Confluence."
Feature shoots a sharp look at him.
"What?" he asks, bemused. "All I said was there was no need to see the Confluence…"
No.724060
>>724054"
Alrighty, I am not going to see the twin confluence, but can you let me know where it is so I don't take a wrong turn into it accidently. These cave paths awfully look the same." Celestia asks of the gatekeepers. Using his ever elusive purple/siler/some colored tongue phrase thingy. To get the gatekeepers to tell them where the map thingy is. He doesn't want to come back here after all. Predicting future annoyances if they lack the map.
No.724061
>>724054Em watched the weird doggos falling all over each other and cocked an eyebrow. She let out another little nervous giggle. "Right," she said. "Well, thank you." She rolled her eyes. "It would be way easier to just buy a map, but I don't have any money. Which is kind of weird, because I feel like I probably had some before all this started, but-" She shrugs. "Weird. Oh well. So what's a
Twin's Conflux?"
No.724067
>>724060Bagu seems to be struggling to point somewhere. It's obvious which direction he's attempting to point, even though Feature and Error are doing their best to stop him from showing the way.
Feature smiles cordially, smooshing the smaller dog underneath her. "There's no need to visit Confluence, darling."
>>724061Error speaks up. "Twin's Conflux? Sounds dangerous. I wouldn't go to a place without having some sort of lizard raid. Ow, what??" As feature punches his shoulder. "Okay. Okay, what I meant to say was, don't even go there. It's infested. Ow!" He receives another shoulder punch.
Reverb giggles. She turns to Em and Celestia and says, "Map. Confluence. Twins." She points towards a direction. It's obvious she does not possess the reticence of the diamond dogs to show the way. She almost seems to skip along the slippery ground, looking for the others to follow her to the tunnel Bagu tried to indicate. "Map," she helpfully adds.
No.724071
>>724067"
Thank you all very much for the advice. Celestia says before heading off into the direction the little guy was pointing towards.
No.724073
>>724071>>724067Em thinks for a long moment as she looks between all the dogs and the changeling. She hums and, finally, lifts her hoof to point at them. "What about Gamit? Can we find a map in there?"
No.724080
>>724071The dogs all pause their bickering and watch the animate plushy toy advance towards the exit indicated by the youngest dog. There is a moment of silence.
>>724073After a long pause, Error speaks. "Gamut isn't a place you would feel…comfortable. They don't like bugs down there."
Reverb, ever the optimist, changes into a facsimile of Feature, the bitch. "Don't like bugs!" she cheerily proclaims.
"Hey, now…" Feature begins to protest.
"Let them go," Error advises, placing a protective arm across his mate. After a moment, she sighs and nods, still suppressing Bagu.
"You won't find a map in Horizon or Gamut that will hold a candle to the Map," Error offers. "It's really something to behold. You do want to watch out for the lizards, though. They're a bit… protective, maybe."
Bagu, strong-arming his way to air, proclaims, "They're not that strong! A quick smack makes them all go away!" before being squashed by Feature.
"I wouldn't advise heading that way," the bitch puts forward. "There's angry lizards and who-knows-what guarding it."
Reverb seems confident. "That way," she says, in the guise of Feature. "Guarding it," she adds.
The changeling ex-prisoner dances a bit toward the exit. "Lizards," she exclaims. "Guarding." She makes a couple punches at the air in illustration of what she has in mind.
There are several exits to the room. One leads upward and was recommended by Feature to lead back into the poisonous Fog. One recommended by Bagu leads to apparently the Map. One lies behind the trio. The last entrance to the cavern was one which they came by, vaguely smelling of smoke and destruction.
No.724081
>>724080Celestia marches along with his little plush hooves. Confident that nothing can go wrong with the map in his possession. Even though he doesn't have a solid grasp on why it is needed at all. But he will worry about that later.
No.724090
>>724080Em shrugs. "Well, alright. If you insist then I'll go check out the map. Weird flip floppers." She turns to follow Celestia and waves behind her. "Thanks! I'll make sure to whack 'em good!"
No.724094
>>724081>>724090Celestia and Em follow Reverb-as-Feature down a hallway, the only light being Em's orb of alchemist fire.
Reverb-as-Feature dances along, humming a tune that sounds unfamiliar to both Em and Celestia.
The path winds on. They eventually come to an opening which is lit from a dull blue glow. Reverb-as-Feature bounds through without hesitation. The opening of the room betrays an open area, almost as large as the previous chamber, but more planned, with pillars arrayed around the outside of the circular space. The blue light comes from shimmering lights places all along the outside, the inner space shadowed by the girthy stone pillars.
In the center of this pillared room there is some sort of structure, illuminated by the lights along the circumference, shadowed by the columns. First inspection seems to reveal a spiked structure reaching both upwards and downwards, meeting at a sort of central point between two hemispheres. The overall effect is that of two exploding spheres, one upward and one downward.
The room is completely empty to sight, but there is a strange skittering sound near the ambits.
Reverb-as-Feature carelessly gambols toward the center, apparently keen to show the sculpture off to her new friends.
((please roll for perception))
No.724096
>>724094Celestia looks left, right, up, down, up, up, left, right, left, right, ambled around the group, bounced real quick and stopped.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.724097
>>724094Em briefly glances around the room as she follows Reverb, but doesn't pay too much attention to the rocks. "So," she says. "What's special about the map again?"
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.724099
>>724096>>724097There are two entrances to the room. One, Reverb, Celestia and Em have come through. The other, on the other side, is dark and ominous.
As the central milieu comes into focus, both Celestia and Em realize that the structures formed on either side of the spherical collision are familiar in shape. They resemble closely the Toren structures that form the backbone of Horizon's megabuildings, stretching far on either side of the collision. The sculpture itself seems to be formed of stone, floating weightlessly in the midddle of the room, dimly illuminated by the reflecting light behind the numerous pillars lining the edge of the room.
Upon further inspection, one of the spheres (the one exploding upward) is silver and reflective on all surfaces, the other (exploding downward) is black. There appears to be no major difference in their shapes, except the general orientation.
A strange skittering sound comes from the other side of the room.
No.724104
[[paused, let's resume on 16.0 next time!]]
No.724259
>>724026Last time in Horizon…
>>724023>>724024Falling and Jiandao are at Golden's hideout. They have met Cit, KC, Starfish and Jasper, who are on their own unrelated mission.
"So, later then?" Golden says to Starfish, sharing a look with her.
"Sure thing. Meet at six arms after we give this place a once over. Quick in-and-out type situation." Starfish sounds confident.
"Cool. Be safe. See you soon."
Golden helps the two of them into their respective fog-suits, showing them how to fit the helmet and use the lights, where the battery pack and the respirator are, and how to ensure that the suit is airtight (there's an indicator light, and on Jiandao's fancy suit, there's a hud which shows battery/respirator life and suit integrity).
"Ready to head out?" He gestures toward his borrowed airship.
>>724025Citrine Fleece and KC, along with Starfish and Jasper, have reconnected at the hideout and met a couple new friends. However, the time has come to part ways.
Starfish and Golden exchange words, then as he helps the new kids with their fogsuits, Starfish beckons to Jasper, Cit and KC. "You guys wanna get this over with? I've got a date later." She winks and does an impatient dance towards the doorway.
>>724099Below…
>>724096>>724097Em, Celly and Reverb, who is currently in the guise of a diamond dog known as Feature, have ventured into a large circular pillared chamber with a strange floating sculpture in the middle. The sculpture is of two orbs, perhaps drops of liquid, one black, one silver, exploding together violently. The whole thing slowly turns in midair, lit by ambient glowing sections of crystal on the circumference of the room.
Reverb-as-Feature, appearing much more plucky than before, turns to her two companions. She speaks.
"Map."
Gestures to the floating sculpture in the center.
There is the sound of skittering coming from another entrance opposite the one used by our heroes. A very small shadowy shape darts through the shadows between pillars.
No.724260
>>724259Celestia goes forward with his plush hooves to reach out and grab the map. Aiming to take it himself. Before going back to the group hearing the skittering of the hidden creature. "
Who are thou!" Celestia yells calling for the creature. Man this place is way too dark. They definitely need some sun.
No.724261
>>724259Em tilts her head and trots up to the sculpture. She knits her brow, looks to Reverb, back to the sculpture, and back to Reverb. "This," she says, pointing to a suclpture. "Isn't a map. This is-" She looks back up at the sculpture and squints. "Really tacky modern art."
No.724262
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>724026Falling nods.
"Yes. I have time magic, so I was able to reverse the crystal growths. Well, most of them. I might need to do a few more casts."
>>724259Falling fits into her suit, the full covering taking a little to adjust too, she's never needed to wear such a protective outfit before. But she's able to grasp where all the parts are as Golden points them out without issue.
"I've been ready this whole time. We can't keep Diamond waiting."
She says, ready to leave.
No.724263
>>724026Her face falls as Golden delivers the news, feeling a wrenching sensation in her gut. "…Oh." She doesn't know what else to say, her enthusiasm at meeting the newcomers suddenly and abruptly dampened.
>>724259"Oh, you're coming with us? …Well, if you're sure…" She gets back in the airship, and KC follows suit as best he can. Cit is lost in thought after hearing the bad news.
[1d10] KC squeezing in
>>724030>>724028"Well, guess we're off. Good luck finding your friend out there!" She is still stunned by the news of Zephyr, but forces a smile and a wave to the two. KC follows suit, giving a stiff, robotic little wave and an encouraging double thumbs up.
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.724264
>>724259The fit of the suit proved alien but not unbearable as Jiandao stretched her hooves out in the suit, taking up one of her swords to practice a few strikes, before nodding silently.
Fitting her sword holders onto the side of the suit, she nods to Golden.
"Ready."
>>724263"It was a pleasure meeting you. May your journey be safe and our paths cross again." replies the kirin, her voice muffled slightly behind the mask as she bows formally to you.
No.724265
>>724260>>724261Celestia cannot quite reach the sculpture with plushy hooves. It hovers some meter and a half above the ground, tranquilly spinning slowly.
Reverb-as-Feature tilts her head to the side in a decidedly canine gesture. "Tacky?"
The skittering grows louder. A small lizard darts into the light before retreating back into shadow. Soon another is visible, and another, each slightly larger than the last.
Reverb turns her attention to the encroaching reptiles, a low growl growing in her throat.
>>724263Jasper lets Cit and KC into the ship, closing the door behind them. KC manages to not break anything this time, though the broken handle rattles inside its cubbyhole, as if threatening to tattle.
Starfish dives off the edge of the makeshift dock, heading toward a lush green spire in the distance, as Jasper's airship slowly hovers, turns around, and shoots off behind her.
"So, tell me about how we get into this place," Jasper requests. "Is there a door, or..?"
>>724262>>724264Golden nods. "Then let's be about it." He disappears into his room for a minute, returning in a black fogsuit with a large metal shield strapped to his back. Wordlessly he nods to the two of them and climbs into his borrowed airship.
When everyone is loaded up, Golden lifts the ship up, taking it clear of the building and beginning a sharp descent into the fog.
"It's gonna be a bit of a bumpy ride," he says apologetically. "I don't think this thing is really proofed for this sort of commute."
A jolt of turbulence proves his words as they bump their way downwards towards the thick layer of deadly cloud beneath.
No.724266
>>724265Celestia points with his hoof. "
Move aside strange ponies, we need the map for reasons I have yet to be told. Please and thank you for your time." Celestia tries to communicate to the newcomers. Confusing the reptiles for ponies.
No.724267
>>724265She doesn't hear him at first, still thinking about Zephyr. It's not until Jasper (presumably) repeats the question that she snaps out of her reverie. "Oh. Sorry. There's like a gap in the ground you can just jump down from. It's not hard. Even KC can fit through it. It's kind of out of the way, but we're pretty good with directions. Sure we'll be able to find it." She stares out the window at the cityscape, observing the different structures and districts, passing the time by trying to recall tidbits about some of the landmarks.
[1d10] Insight
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.724268
>>724266>>724265Em gives a dismissive wave of her hoof wothout turning away. "I wouldn't worry about it," she says. "It's probably just more of those guys that eat time. Not ghosts or anything scary." She reaches out and gives the sculpture a light tap with her bare hoof.
No.724269
>>724265Jiandao shifts her stance a little wider to compensate for the descent.
"These 'Races', they take place within the fog?"
No.724270
>>724266The lizards do not respond, or give any indication of having heard Celestia's polite demand. Now there are several of them, the larger ones about half the size of Celestia's plush. These larger ones have a different look. They are fat, spiny, and their head appears to be roughly the same size as the rest of their body. One, staring directly at Celestia, opens its mouth and breaths a hiss of foul air from across the room in an obvious threatening gesture.
>>724268As Em touches the sculpture, she experiences a bright flash of light and a vertiginous sensation of falling. Images swirl before her mind's eye.
She sees two points of light, circling each other, speeding up until they blend together into a solid glowing ring, which expands and becomes a long snake with its tail in its mouth, which splits and becomes 2 snakes, then 7 snakes, then explode outward from each other violently. She sees a drop of liquid explode in slow motion. She sees the shape of Horizon, and the shape of her sister city Gamut. She understands that they are somehow locked in some grand struggle against one another.
All this in an instant. When she takes her hand away, the room is beginning to fill with lizards, some the very type she had seen Ambit playing fetch with earlier.
>>724267Jasper looks back for a moment, noting her hesitance. "Gap in the ground. Hmm." He seems to content to leave Cit in silence as she stares out the window.
The airship takes them low and fast through the center of town, so there's plenty to see. There are a few ships out, flying lights in the distance. The occupied parts of the city are mostly lit with sparse sodium-orange lamps, and Cit can pick out the market and a residential district as they pass. She is also aware that many of the dark places are occupied as well, and as they pass a darkened spire she knows to be the territory of the Griffons, she catches several dark shadows among the bare scaffolds of the Toren structure.
It is not a long journey, and soon they arrive at one of the lower levels of the Garden District. Jasper kills the lights and pulls his boat to a quiet stop near where Starfish is waiting, tapping her foot in waiting.
Jasper hops out and helps Cit and KC with the door. The four of them stand at the edge of the darkness of the jungle inside.
Starfish adjusts her helmet, making sure everything is all set. Jasper does the same, they exchange hooves-up with everyone once the gear is set.
>>724269Golden nods. His voice comes through the suit slightly muffled. "In the fog, through the city, underneath and over and around whatever obstacles our resident referee can think of. The course is a secret until a week before the race. Do they have any sports where you're from?"
No.724271
>>724270She adjusts her own helmet and pulls some of the straps on the suit tighter. "Here we go again." She does a quick fear check to make sure she has everything, including her trusty mace; then, she and KC step forward, leading the way in trying to find the hidden base once more.
[1d10] Cit Navigation
[1d10] KC the same
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 No.724273
>>724263"Thanks. Good luck with your batteries!"
Falling says, waving farewell back to the duo.
>>724265Falling follows Golden into the boat, sitting but starting to grow nervously impatient now that they have a destination.
She bounces in her seat as they're bumped by turbulence, a little startled by it.
"I-I'm fine with that. Just as along as we get there. …What should we be expecting at this place?"
No.724274
>>724271KC, not having a suit or any real gear to check, notices Cit's suit, originally fitted for a pegasus, needs a slight adjustment. His obvious body language draws the attention of Starfish, who tightens a buckle around Cit's midsection. Cit is squeezed tight. Starfish gives an approving nod.
When all looks good, Starfish attempts to lead the way into the jungle. Lights from her shiny new helmet light the way, and uncharacteristically for her, she waits to make sure everyone is following before continuing.
Starfish navigation [1d10]
>>724273Golden guides the craft through the bumpy turbulence with a steady hand. The craft quickly approaches the fog layer, then dips through it. Windows on either side of the vehicle become opaque, slowly becoming more translucent as they continue to drop.
"Well. There are racers, of course, and they are a bit of a rough bunch sometimes. Nice guys, for the most part, but being in the scrappy parts of town means you have to be able to hold your own. There's also gangsters, who you pretty much just wanna avoid. Same if you see any cops. Oh, and sometimes the lizards come up, but mostly they aren't that dangerous, just gotta stomp a few of em and they usually run away. Usually. So, on the whole, pretty safe, I'd say."
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.724275
>>724270Celestia frowns, or attempts to frown as much as a one-eyed eldritch creature within a plush suit can attempt to frown with a permanent smile on their plush face. He goes forward and boops the lizard that hissed at him in retribution for their threatening hiss.
No.724276
>>724270Em stumbles backwards and lands on her butt as the vision ends. She shakes her head and rubs her temple, trying to reorient herself. "Yep," she says. "Definitely doesn't feel like a map either. Just sorta the vague idea of a map."
She stands up and looks around at the lizards. "Hey, see? It's just the time eaty guys. They're super sweet little guys. Watch this."
She looks around for a nearby rock big enough to chuck and tosses it like she's playing fetch. "Go get it!"
[1d10] handle animal
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.724277
>>724275[1d10] Boop
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.724278
>>724270She nods. "The foals of the village loved to play hoofball, the temple grounds open for them to use as a field. As a guardian, it was common to spar with each other, to further practice the day's lessons."
No.724279
>>724274As they near the fog, Falling grows uneasy. She remembers yesterday, when she nearly plummeted into this, and the sight of Zephyr, what could happen if they get caught in this stuff.
"I thought the fog was the only bad thing down here… Wait, why would we need to avoid any police we see?"
No.724280
>>724277>>724275Celestia darts forward and boops the offending lizard soundly on its nose. It blinks at Celestia in utter confusion. Glancing uncertainly at its reptilian siblings which are continuing to surround it, the beast backs off and slinks into the shadows. It is quickly replaced with another, however.
>>724276The lizards pay exactly zero attention to Em's provocation. The rock impacts a pillar and bounces harmlessly to the ground, which is increasingly covered in swarming lizards.
Reverb-as-Feature is beginning to look less confident. She backs towards the doorway through which the party had entered. "Hey, see?… Go." She echoes Em's words, obviously with a completely different meaning in mind.
>>724278"Hoofball!" Golden slaps a knee in excitement. "Boy, that game must be universal. I used to play that growing up myself! Course, it's kinda hard when your balls keep falling sixty stories into the deadly fog."
As she mentions sparring, he nods. "I could tell you have had training. What's a guardian? Is that why you're guardian-ing Falling here?"
>>724279"Well, that's what I'm telling you, the Fog is pretty much the worst thing down here. Everything else you can run from. Especially the cops. Trust me, they won't chase you too hard, but you don't wanna get caught by them."
He turns to face Falling. "Hey, what's your plan here, exactly? You're just gonna ID that boat, the one that took your friend, and then what? Are you planning to confront the racer? Sounds dangerous. Report him to the police maybe?" He snorts a laugh. "No, but seriously. What do you Sherlock Hooves-types do in a situation like this?"
No.724281
>>724280Darn, there is no end to these mini ponies. I will have to clear a way with as many boops it will take! Celestia goes and presses onward to Em. booping the reptiles in his way.
[1d10] Boops
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.724282
>>724274She grunts a little as Starfish adjusts the buckle, shifting uncomfortably but not complaining. It's for the best after all.
She keeps moving through the area in silence, her mind still on Zephyr. She resolves to talk to Tempest when she gets the chance.
[1d10] Navigation
[1d10] KC Navigation
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.724283
>>724280Em lets out an uncomfortable giggle. "It- it worked with the alicorn guy. Lemme just-" She tosses another piece of rubble, this time a little less confident and a little less enthusiastic. "Come on. Fetch. I know I saw you do it."
[1d10]One last fetch
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.724284
>>724280At the question, jiandao looks to the horizon in thought for a moment.
"Hmm.. As guardians, it was our duty to maintain the temple grounds and preserve the teachings of The Nameless Saint. In that way, the position was more custodian than protector."
"As the land was mostly peaceful, our role remained ceremonial, though our training never wavered, such was the dedication to the saint's teachings."
No.724285
>>724284>>724280"As for Falling, my protection is as a position hired by master Border, to defend him and his assistants from the fog's dangers."
No.724286
>>724280"That sounds horrible."
Falling comments at hearing the state of life in the Fog.
"I… didn't think that far," She admits as Golden asks of her plan, "I just want to get her back to safety. I don't know what I'd do with the kidnapper, or what I'd do when we find her…"
No.724287
>>724281Celestia boops many a lizard, most of whom are so put off by the gesture that they back off and let him pass. He makes his way to Em's side without incident, although the spiny fat ones in particular seem to be getting a little more aggressive.
One attempts to nip at Celestia's plush as he passes.
Spiny nibble [1d10]
>>724283Em seems to have gotten the attention of one of the spiny fat ones. She waves the rock compellingly, taunting the beast, then hurls it across the chamber. The lizard, entranced despite itself, turns around and sprints backwards among its comrades. This chaotic motion temporarily slows and stems the tide of lizards, which are still flooding into the chamber and pushing uncomfortably toward the party.
Reverb-as-Feature nervously glances back and forth between her two companions and the swelling tide of lizards. "Come on," she says, pushing Em gently toward the doorway.
>>724282Cit is soon lost among the twisting paths in the dark greenery of this sublevel. KC, however, seems perfectly confident, his mechanical memory obviously superior for this task. At one point Starfish falters, trying to recall the way. KC's certainty of step jogs her memory and they continue on to the point where the crack had presented itself a bit more than a week and forever ago.
As they approach, something feels different. There is no red shining light from beneath, no rent metal, no entrance to another world beneath. KC stops the group at a certain point, and looking around, Starfish and Cit realize that this was in fact the spot where the crack had appeared. There is no trace of an opening, however.
"It was here, I know it!" Starfish breaks the silence. She begins to dig through the ground cover desparately.
Starfish perception [1d10]
Jasper tuts to himself and begins to pace around, looking for any clues.
Jasper perception [1d10]
>>724284 >>724285Golden listens to Jiandao. "So, from temple guard to bodyguard, huh? Or, to put it more bluntly, holy work to mercenary work? Did you get kicked out or something?"
He does a double-take. "Wait a second. I thought I had heard you say it before but… did you just say Border? As in, the alicorn Border? AB Border? Geez," he shakes his head in wonder, "you girls really go deep. That dude has his hooves in some major pies."
>>724286Golden nods. "Understandable. Your friend's in trouble, you wanna help her out. Of course. All I'm saying is, it helps to have a plan. You go off all half-cocked, the whole things a bust. Could get yourself killed, or worse. I'd try to think of this as a recon mission, rather than the full rescue."
The boat rocks a bit, slows, and Golden guides her to the ground under a makeshift shelter consisting of half a balloon shell from a downed cruiser-class airship. It settles to the ground and Golden turns to face the ladies.
"Welp! One last chance to check equipment. Racers should be meeting inside. We can grab a drink and mingle if you like, or we can check out the dock right away." The pegasus adjusts a few straps on his suit.
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 /
Roll #3 4 = 4 No.724288
>>724287Celestia moves to not be bit by the reptile. By doing a little hop away from the creature. "
Bad pony!" Celestia exclaims going to bop the reptile before him.
[1d10] Dodge
[1d10] Bop
Roll #1 10 = 10 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.724289
>>724287"Maybe we've got the wrong place?.. Can't be…" She starts looking for clues, feeling a bit stupid.
[1d10]
KC sees Starfish start to dig, mimes cracking his knuckles, then joins in.
[1d10]
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.724290
>>724287"But we were supposed to get the map first," Em whines. "This whole thing is starting to feel silly. I mean come on. Who fights the ground, anyway? I thought I was gonna be blowing up business ponies when I joined!" She kicks at the ground and continues to quietly grumble as she begrudgingly follows Reverb.
"Dumb handsome alicorn. Dumb robot. Dumb lizards. Dumb map. Dumb changelings. Dumb fog, and dumb ghosts. This whole thing is dumb dumb dumb."
No.724291
>>724287Falling thinks on his words, but shakes her head.
"I can't just leave it at recon. I have to get her out of here."
She says, fully set on her decision.
When they land, Falling checks her suit over, making sure everything is tight and sealed.
"I'm good."
She looks out the window, ready to head out.
"Let's check the dock. We need to know if that ship is here."
No.724292
>>724287"The temple was lost." she replies curtly, continuing to observe the ruined area. "It has been repossessed by the nearby city, to be cleared away for land development."
Blue embers flare and swirl around her hooves, before being snuffed out just as quickly.
she sighs. "Forgive me. The temple is held, but has not yet been destroyed. Working in Horizon may yet offer the means to rebuy our land."
>>724287Checking her suit to ensure a proper seal, Jiandao nods to golden, her smoldering emotion smothered.
"It would be best to search the docks, to ensure our journey here will be fruitful."
No.724293
>>724288Celestia nimbly steps aside as the fatty's jaws snap shut on air. Sadly, Celly is unable to boop effectively as the creature has already retreated in shame.
>>724290Reverb-as-Feature leads them up and back through the tunnels to the cavern with the running water and the diamond dogs.
"Well? How was it? Did you touch it?" shouts young Bagu.
"Hush," Feature admonishes. "Now are you convinced it wasn't worth your time?" Her voice is smug as she addresses the group.
Reverb watches the interaction carefully, her diamond-dog disguise melting away and revealing her shiny green carapace.
>>724289Starfish and KC unearth the bare metal that underlies the jungle's thin ground cover.
"Aha!" Starfish exclaims.
"What is it?" Jasper rushes to her side.
"There are crystals growing up from between here! I… can't quite get them," she scrapes at the darkness. "But check this out!"
Jasper bends down to inspect the phenomenon. "Hmm. I see. I'll have to get a sample of this, of course."
Starfish rolls her eyes. "Booooring! Let's crack it open, see if we can get back down there!"
>>724291Golden shrugs. "Suit yourself. I know a couple of these guys, can get you in and have you meet 'em, but I can't really be sticking up for you if you piss off the wrong crowd. And it sounds like the crowd you're aiming to piss off is just the wrong one."
>>724292"Ah. Foreclosure on a temple, eh? What'll they think of next? Sorry to hear that. If I know Border, though, he'll pay you well. Hell, he might just buy the whole thing himself, turn it into an AB factory! Haha! Ha… erm, well." He coughs as his joke falls flat.
>>724291 >>724292Border nods. "Alright, to the docks then. Usually they're sealed off to the public," he explains as he begins to lead them away from his borrowed boat, "but there's a couple ways to get up there if you know how." He turns and winks at the mares, almost tripping over a bit of junk in the uneven ground level of Horizon.
There are piles of twisted wreckage piled on top of more wreckage, junk as far as the eye can see. Golden picks his way up one pile towards the nearest megastructure, which is so large as to block out half the world, disappearing upward into the dense haze.
Golden does his best to pick a non-hazardous route, but it's hardly a pathway, and shifting junkpiles make the trek perilous. He almost slips on his way up.
(roll to maintain balance atop a mountain of sharp rusty garbage)
No.724294
>>724293She perks up at the mention of crystals. "What do you mean boring? We need those! KC, could you try and grab a few?" The robot salutes and daintily reaches down towards the crystals, seeing if there are any loose ones to pry off.
[1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.724295
>>724293Em rolls her eyes. "Yeah. It wasn't a map at all. It just showed me lights and snakes and some kind of, I don't know, political struggle between two places or somethin?" She taps her chin. "Actually it didn't really show that last one. It just implied it. Anyway, nothing I was looking for. I'm looking for a-" She digs around in her pockets, pulls put the folded up piece of paper, and opens it up. "I dunno, a squid I think? I forget." She actually looks down at it.
No.724296
>>724293Celestia stands after going through a swarm of lizards. He audibly inhales and does his best impression of a royal voice. "
Ponies! I call of you to follow me! Greatness awaits for all who listen and follows I!"
(Animal Husbandry) Adorable
Adorable: passive; No matter the size of your horns, no matter what sour expression you may have on your face, no matter how old, experienced, or battle-scarred you are, you’re still a big puffball on hoofed legs. No one can resist giving you attention, which helps you get your point across to most anyone. You have +1 on all social rolls.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 10 + 1 = 11 No.724297
>>724293Following behind Golden, Jiandao focuses her energy on maintaining her balance, traveling across the scrap with light hooves.
[1d10] Tranquil hooves
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.724298
>>724293Falling giggles as Golden nearly trips as he winks to them while leading.
"Careful!"
She follows after him through the treacherous route, being wary of how she walks to avoid slipping or falling on the garbage, the junk itself looking dangerous enough to touch without the fog also lingering around them.
>Balance [1d10]Roll #1 1 = 1 No.724300
>>724294KC daintily snaps off a huge chunk of crystal with his powerful fingers. It is roughly the size of his robot head.
Jasper adjusts his glasses inside his helmet with telekinesis, taking a closer look at the ground. He pulls a couple flakes that crumbled off KC's small boulder and places them delicately inside a clear tube, which he deposits back into his pocket.
"How do we get down there again??" Starfish is pulling at the crystals ineffectively, searching all around the area, tearing up plants and sending soil flying.
>>724295The paper reads:
Central Spire, floor b25There are two symbols at the bottom of the page. One looks like a cartoon squid, the other a cartoon beetle.
There is something else that Em hadn't noticed, or maybe wasn't there, last time. Faint tiny writing along the edge that is too hard to make out with only the light of her bottled alchemist's fire.
>>724296The lizards all stop and watch Celestia as he makes this adorably commanding proclamation.
Whether in response to this, or merely because they were already headed that way, the lizards continue to pile into the room and push towards Celestia. There appear to be a few larger ones behind, casting shadows of figures Celly can't quite make out yet.
A small lizard skitters across Celestia's plush hoof. Another climbs up and across his back. One curiously attempts to poke its head into the plush's mouth.
>>724297Jiandao, attempting to step lightly, starts to slip. Her warrior training takes hold and she drops her weight instinctively, sliding a few feet before losing her footing and falling on her rear. Luckily she avoids anything pointy as she lands, and is able to pick herself up unharmed.
>>724298Falling Sand, paying close attention to her balance, fails to notice that the beam she is standing on is not very well anchored. She steps lightly, carefully, but the ground beneath her seems to shift, tilting and falling away. The young unicorn loses her balance and starts to tumble and slide down an incline of rubbish. Below her is a jagged gash of metal shards, like a tangled rusty mouth yawning wide to eat her up.
Golden, turning to see her slip and too late to warn her, launches himself at the mare, wings open to swoop in for the catch.
Assist [1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.724301
Celestia awkwardly stares back at the reptile peeking at him from the plush's mouth. Though he attempts to make a declaration despite the claustrophobia of being surrounded by the lil lizards. "Bring forth the map to me!" The command echoes forth.
No.724302
>>724300Cit's eyes glitter at the sheer size of the crystal. "We're going to be eating like kings soon," she breathes. KC looks proud of himself, storing the crystal in a chest compartment.
As Starfish gets back to digging around, KC joins her again, while Cit starts looking around the area. "Maybe we just have to say open sesame," she shrugs.
[1d10] diggy diggy hole
[1d10] searching
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.724303
>>724300Falling treks along her path carefully, watching her hooves to keep herself on a steady and safe route. However that doesn't help as the ground crumbles below her and she begins to plummet. Her mind flashes back to her last fall, only this time she isn't holding on to anything, and she can see what fate awaits her. She yelps in fear, panicking as he eyes remain stuck to the jagged jungle of metals below. She quickly forces her gaze upward to where Golden and Jiàndào stand, horn glowing as she focuses on that spot to pull herself there.
>Winkmaster [1d10]Roll #1 4 = 4 No.724304
>>724300Em squints and brings the paper closer to her face. "Oh. I guess it aready told me where I was supposed to go. Man, maybe I don't even need a map!"
She looks around for Celestia. "Where's my friend? We gotta head to the central spire."
No.724305
>>724300brushing herself off after catching the beam, Jiandao looks behind her to catch falling plummeting off the beam!
Kicking off the pipe, the kirin leaps towards the unicorn, reaching out with her magic and hooves to catch her!
[1d10] Catch!
[1d10] Dodge skewering
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 No.724306
>>724301The lizards don't seem to be complying with Celly's very reasonable demands. The one inside the mouth takes a small exploratory nip at the huge eyeball facing him.
just a lil nibble [1d10]
The rest of the lizards continue to invade his personal space, and some of the larger fatbois are starting to get a little bolder, as well. One walks right up to the plush and chomps down on a plushy wing.
nom [1d10]
A few moments after Celestia's command, a voice shouts from far up the tunnel exit. "To me!" it seems to say. But maybe it was just an echo.
>>724302Starfish and KC are unable to find anything of interest. The site of the opening is sealed shut, the only indication it was ever there the sprouting gems from between gargantuan metal plates. Even KC's might is not enough to pry an opening.
Cit sees nothing to indicate that the rip in the floor was ever even there. Even the plants that had been displaced look as if nothing had ever happened.
Jasper studies his sample in the dim light of his suit helmet. "This is fascinating! It's just like you said - growing on inanimate objects. I can't wait to get this back to the lab!"
Starfish appears to give up, sitting back and sighing. "Well, goddamnit," she curses.
>>724304Reverb shakes her head as if pulled from a trance. "My friend?" she echoes. "My friend!" She turns back toward the tunnel to the pillared map-not-map room. Celestia's strangely otherworldly voice echoes down the hallway, demanding a map be brought.
Reverb shouts back down the hole, "To me!"
"Uh-oh," says Error.
"Is your friend okay?" pipes Bagu.
>>724303>>724305Several things happen at once.
Golden and Jiandao launch themselves at Falling. Simultaneously, Falling attempts to teleport to safety. The result is an almost comical collision between the pegasus and the kirin, followed shortly by the unicorn landing on top of both of them. Together, the tangled bodies of these three equines begin to slide toward pointy things and certain doom.
Jiandao, still all tangled up with the others, kicks and struggles, desperately trying to not be skewered. Golden ends up at the bottom of the pack as they swiftly close in on the serrated teeth of a ruined airship's carcass. Jiandao and Falling can see his face, eyes all scrunched up in terror, right before the collision…
[[paused]]
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.724632
>>724306Last time, in Horizon…
>>724301The lizard snipping at Celly's huge eyeball slips and falls out of the plush mouth, landing in a pile of its brethren. Whoopsy-doodle.
The fat one, chomping a plushy wing, clamps on, adding weight to Celly's plush.
[Celestia's plush has a lizard]
>>724304Em and Reverb, revisiting the chamber with the diamond dogs Error, Feature and Bagu, seek their friend Celly, who has not arrived from the same porthole the pair emerged from.
As Em mentions the central spire, an image appears in her mind. The silver exploding orb had a center. In her mind's eye, she sees it glowing conspicuously, as if to point out where it is. However, there is no "you are here" pointer to help her orient herself, so this mental image is of limited assistance at best.
>>724302Cit, KC, Starfish and Jasper are in a jungle sub-level of the GD.
Starfish, sitting despondently in the dark, stares up at the pair. "Well? Any idea how to get down there?"
Jasper is fully involved in gazing at his newly-acquired specimen of visae inside a test tube.
>>724303>>724305Falling and Jiandao have found themselves in somewhat of a pickle. They are hurdling toward certain fogsuit-puncturing spines, Golden beneath them.
They land with a sudden jolt. Golden's eyes are still squeezed shut. It appears that he has impacted the spikes with his back.
After a moment, he opens one eye, then the other. Looking behind him, he realizes that, somehow, through luck or providence of God, his shield, still stowed upon his back, has completely absorbed the impact of this potentially traumatic event.
"Whew," he states. "That was a close one."
Looking around, the three, balancing haphazardly on Golden's shield, realize they are still in somewhat of a predicament, as rusty fog-suit-tearing spikes still surround them, and they are unlikely to extricate themselves without some tricky moves.
[please roll to escape]
No.724633
>>724632Celestia attempts to shake the little ankle biter off. Not appreciating their grip upon their plush housing. They go to head to the voice calling them ealier. Where Em had headed with the dogs.
(Free Racial):Goo: passive; Being made of goo and slime has a load of benefits. You're able to fit through small areas, you can squeeze through cracks, and you can store things inside yourself. You can choose to form yourself as a pony, stay in a more blobby shape, or swap between them at will. In combat you have DC-1 to free yourself from grapples and other physical binding and restricting effects.
[1d10+1] Escape
Roll #1 3 + 1 = 4 No.724634
>>724632With the dust settling and her relative safety, Jiandao assesses the situation and channels magic to climb up the incline, wisps of fog swirling around her hooves as she gathers focus.
[1d10] tranquil hooves
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.724635
>>724632Cit scrunches up her face. "Maybe there's some sort of secret lever or something?" She sends a little jolt of electricity at the surrounding area in hopes it'll activate something.
[1d10] Zap
KC starts looking at the nearby trees and foliage for any hidden mechanisms.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.724636
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>724632>>724305Falling clings tight to Golden and Jiàndào as they collide into her and they plummet together. Her eyes are clenched shut, praying for safety as they plummet, until they come to a hard stop which shocks her, instinctively squeezing tight on the pegasus and kirin. She opens her eyes slowly when she finds herself still breathing, and that all of them are still alive.
"W… We're ok?"
She asks timidly through the shock.
"My whole life flashed before my eyes, again."
As they balance precariously, Falling looks up to the safe platform far above.
"A-Alright. I'll, uh, try to get back up, and then help how I can."
She says, unsure of herself now after the second near death experience, her horn glowing bronze as she tries to teleport herself up to solid ground.
>Winkmaster [1d10]Roll #1 2 = 2 No.724637
>>724632Em taps the side of her head and shakes it as the images pop into it. She blinks, and lets out an uncomfortable giggle. "That hasn't happened in a while." She looks around again and shrugs. "Oh well. I'll wait for her for a little bit. I'm sure she's somewhere."
No.724638
>>724637Em notices Celestia's plush, attached to a fat spiny time-eating lizard, enter the room.
>>724633Celly wades through a rising tide of lizards, the fat spiny one still latched onto his plushy wing. He drags the lizard up the stairs and out of the pillared chamber, through the long dark tunnel, and rejoins his companions, where nearby, the gray changeling rests.
The small gray changeling (who had previously been abandoned in this room, don't ask why it was never mentioned but that's where he was) having slowly regained consciousness, sits up and looks around. It pipes up with a tiny chitter. Its expression questions its surroundings.
Reverb morphs into a slightly larger version of Gray#2 (that's how he was referred to earlier, that's how he will be referred to henceforth, again no questions please) and echoes a portion of his chittering sound.
Gray#2 looks confused, disoriented, and possibly brain-damaged. The super-hug a la Celly earlier might have done more harm than previously assumed.
>>724634Jiandao gently extricates herself from the perilously balanced trio, stepping lightly, using wushu to guide her hoofprints. She immediately trips and falls onto one of the spikes, ripping her fog-suit wide open and revealing her hind left leg to the fog. She is otherwise unhurt and manages to regain footing on solid ground.
>>724636Falling, attempting to teleport to safety, manages merely to teleport a few meters to the side. She stumbles a bit upon landing and rips the fabric of her fogsuit on her right hind leg. Slowly, the fabric falls to the ground, the stagnant fog-air of the underside of Horizon clinging to her skin like green to summer leaves.
She and Jiandao stand, balance regained, upon a bit of industrial garbage near to Golden's planned pathway.
Golden, balancing awkwardly on his shield, attempts to pick himself up.
get tf up [1d10]
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.724639
>>724638Em grins as she sees Celly with the lizard. "Awwwe, she made another friend!" she says. "Is spiky coming with us too?" She tilts her head and her smile falls as she turns her attention to the changeling. "Huh. What should we do with this guy?"
No.724640
>>724638Celly (AKA SunBooty) goes forth to the gray he had dragged and hugged and pats him on the snooty. Pats are always comforting. Celestia thinks to himself about all the times Mini has brushed and patted him. The brush was quite ticklish on his tentacles.
No.724641
>>724635The electricity gathers around the crystals, seeming to be absorbed by them. The closest one to Cit grows visibly.
KC does not notice any mechanisms.
No.724642
>>724641"Huh." She nudges Jasper. "Hey, science man. Check this out." She zaps one of the crystals again.
[1d10] Zap
KC doggedly keeps searching the area, occasionally pausing to stare over at Starfish with disapproval of her not helping.
[1d10] Find something goddammit
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.724643
>>724640"Oh. So we're keeping him too." Em grins, walks up to the grey, pats him on the head, and says not at all intimidating, "You're with us now, buddy."
[1d10]Intimidate into friendship
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.724644
>>724638She stares at her exposed hindleg for a moment, Scowling as she looks to Falling's damaged suit as well.
She makes the effort to assist golden, wrapping his torso in her magic to provide some grip.
[1d10] assist
"We must hurry." She states. "To panic now is to invite disaster. Are we near a safe area?"
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.724645
>>724638Falling looks down as she hears a rip on what she thought was a steady platform. As the fabric from her leg falls to the ground, her horn lights up as she close down on the remaining suit as tight as she can, taking all her effort to not gasp in panic at being exposed.
"W-Wait do we do now? We need to find new suits, r-right?"
She asks in panic, horn glowing in a deeper bronze as she casts a quick cleanse on herself, knowing what horrors await the fog-touched.
>Mend [1d10]Roll #1 9 = 9 No.724646
>>724642Jasper, jolted out of his trance, blinks and checks this out. As Cit zaps another crystal, it expands. The light in their respective fog-suit helmets illuminate a peculiar change in the crystals.
The yellowish gems seem to absorb the electric energy, glowing a bit from within as they absorb Cit's magic. As the glow fades, the crystal enlarges, turning a spring-green colour.
Jasper adjusts his glasses with telekinesis. "Fascinating! Can you do it again?"
KC does not find something, goddamnit.
Starfish sits, staring doggedly at the ground, muttering to herself. "It was right here. Right here!!"
>>724639>>724643The spiky lizard appears to be attached permanently to Celly's right wing. It does not respond to verbal provocation.
Gray#2, however, shies away from Em's well-meaning touch, growling in a manner which obviously conveys an affront, intelligible despite the language barrier.
>>724640Celestia, AKA sunbooty, tries to touch the gray. The changeling shies away from his pats, eyeing Celly and Em distrustfully.
Reverb-as-Gray2 repeats her partial echo of his chitter from before. She appears to be trying to help, but gray#2 eyes the trio distrustfully.
Reverb communicates [1d10]
>>724645Jiandao unhelpfully beckons to Golden. He rolls his eyes before continuing.
The fogsuit-clad pegasus picks himself up, ungracefully but without compromising the integrity of his fogsuit. He lands on his hooves nearby Falling and Jiandao.
"Well," he begins. "I'm not sure what I expected there, but I wasn't hoping for that." He notes the holes in the two's fogsuits. "That seems… problematic," he states. Blinking, he looks to Falling. "Good thing you can cure the fog sickness, right?"
"Everyone is okay? Safe? Not hurt, not dead? Alright. Shit, I guess next time we should take the stairs." He nods his head toward an old fire escape ladder leading upward toward the docks. He begins to lead the way there, picking his way more carefully amongst the debris.
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.724647
>>724646She grins and sticks her foreleg out. "Hey. Pull my hoof." As Jasper (presumably) does so she zaps the crystal again.
[1d10]
While KC is filled with determination and keeps stomping about the area, taking to knocking on the trees in case one is fake.
[1d10]
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.724648
>>724646"
Whatcha saying Mr.?" Celestia asks Reverb hearing him making a chitter noise. Displaying ignorance to his goal. He exemplifies this with a tilt of his head.
No.724649
>>724646Em shrugs. "Oh well. Just bring them with us. But you're the one responsible for them!" She spins and points in a random direction, still not totally sure where the exit is. "Now, we have to get to the spire!"
No.724650
>>724646Falling calms down a bit as Golden's hoof is placed on her, seeing him manage to right himself without injury.
"Right, we'll be fine. today… has just been one mess after another."
She breathes, trying to keep focused.
"We need to hurry on."
She says, determined to get back on track as she follows on the trail Golden forages to the docks.
No.724651
>>724646"Ah, a more efficient choice, to be sure." Replies Jiandao, nodding sagely as she follows close behind.
"At what speed do symptoms of this 'fog sickness' occur? Will we make it in time?"
No.724652
>>724647[1d10]
[1d10]
[1d10]
[1d10]
[1d10]
[1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 /
Roll #3 5 = 5 /
Roll #4 8 = 8 /
Roll #5 6 = 6 /
Roll #6 1 = 1 No.724653
>>724647"Alright, but I don't see how…" Jasper attempts to pull Cit's hoof. As he does do, she zaps the crystal with yet another bolt of juice. It grows much larger. The first jolt doubled the size, this one triples it. The crystal is now roughly the size of the one inside KC.
The color is also changed. Now the gem is emerald-green.
Jasper lets out a hearty chuckle. "Ah! The old bait-n-switch! I should have seen that coming."
KC stomps around, causing a scene, and making a mess. Starfish stares for a while at the ground, looks up at the two of them, nods and says, "Welp! Done all we can, I guess. I for one have places to be." With no hesitation, she stalks off into the darkness, alone.
>>724652KC frantically digs. Eventually he finds a space between the metal sheets that are wide enough to peek into. Beckoning Cit and Jasper, they are able to make out a dull yellow crystal-encrusted floor. There appears to be a dull gray smoke hovering about a foot above the floor region. As they stare from above, a large robotic spider crosses their viewing area.
>>724648>>724649The gray begins to chitter incessantly.
Reverb-as-Gray selectively echoes some of the sounds it makes back, whereupon gray#2 stops chittering. It looks at the two of them, cocking its head. Reverb makes a few more sounds at it.
"Wouldn't you like to know what they're saying?" wonders Error.
"Yeah, wouldn'cha like to know?" echoes Bagu.
"Hush," admonishes Feature. "I think they're talking about who you are, and why they're here."
"That's not what they're talking about," chuckles Bagu.
"Hush!"
Gray#2 stares up at Celly, blinks, begins to chitter some more. Reverb does not repeat any of this, but looks to Celly and Em, and says, with the same pronunciation Em used, "Bring them with us!" She grins in her gray-changeling way.
>>724650>>724651Golden looks back in the silence as Jiandao's question hangs in the air. He does not answer, merely turns back towards the task at hand.
He begins to scale the ladder. (Yes, ponies can climb ladders. No, you cannot see a picture. Just assume it happened.)
Assuming Jiandao and Falling follow, they arrive at the docks without further incident.
There are about two dozen fancy-looking airships docked here. These range from shiny black to shiny multicolored, but each one of them appears shiny and clean. Some have numbers, most do not.
Golden stops and looks back at the pair. "Well?" he asks, expectantly.
No.724654
>>724653"
Go where, my tentacles are getting really sore. I don't want to go anywhere at this point." Celestia announces. Displaying protest in a whine. Mini always carried him before, seems all that spoiling was coming back to him.
No.724655
>>724653Em gives a dismissive wave. "They're saying click click click. Click click. Click click click click. Come on. We gotta go."
No.724656
>>724653Arriving at the dock, Jiandao turns to Falling, pointing to a few of the black airships docked there.
>>724650"Falling, the notes. can we discern the correct ship from those here?"
No.724657
>>724653"I could keep going, but it might be dangerous," she comments. "Funny how it keeps changing colors, huh. What do you think it means?" She curiously boops the crystal with her hoof.
"Hey wait-" She's gone. Cit stares off with concern as Starfish just up and ditches them. KC is too busy digging like a dog trying to get its bone to stop her. "Damn. Guess it's just us three. Hope she gets home safe…"
Cit looks down eagerly, but her excitement turns to trepidation when she sees the eerie look of the place. "It's… a bit crustier than I remember it…" KC waits for Cit's approval before pulling back the metal sheet wide enough for them all to fit down. "Shall we?" she asks Jasper.
No.724658
>>724651"I don't know how quickly they go, but if the crystals on Tempest grew quicker than normal from whatever they had, my magic should take care of us once we get out of the fog."
Falling says hopefully.
>>724653>>724656Falling follows Golden up the ladder and into the docks. She looks around all the ships stationed around them, and then pulls out her journal at Golden and Jiàndào's call.
"If this is all correct, we should find it without an issue."
She states, then begins to walk around the dock, looking for the details and asking Golden for general ideas. She mutters off each part of the list as they walk past each ship.
"Newer model… X10 or 12… quadcell… custom air filters… modded buoy… tricked out torsion…"
No.724659
>>724654"Come now, darling, don't be a bug," Feature advises.
"Hey!" protests Bagu.
"Hush!" Feature smothers him underneath herself. Error ignores the entire preceedings.
>>724655Bagu worms his way out. "That's racist!" he manages, before being shoved back underneath Feature. She smiles pleasantly at her visitors as if nothing happened.
"Central Spire, did I hear you say, darling?" Feature asks. "That way." She points toward the tunnel leading to the surface she had previously mentioned.
"Just go downhill," adds Error. "Can't miss it."
>>724656>>724658Falling and Jiandao look at every single airship docked in the place. They walk past bulky blue hulks, rocket-shaped red needles, frog-belly white whiskers, sleek new airships of all shapes and sizes, each model more rare and unique than the next. None of these appear to match the description.
A loud sound comes from above. A jet-black boat descends from above, circles midair, parks itself in the furthest spot on the dock from Falling and Jiandao. A slim-looking diamond dog in a nice suit with a pair of ostentatious sunglasses steps out of the pilot's chamber and begins to make his way to the building's entrance.
>>724657The crystal seems lighter than Cit had expected it to be, given its size. It breaks off and falls on its side.
KC manages to pry the metal back far enough to get a better look, but not to fit down. Bits of crystal and metal crumble as he does so. Upon inspection, the red-lit room from earlier is totally encrusted with gems. There appears to be a shin-deep layer of dark smog hovering along the entire floor of the chamber.
KC has something stuck to his hand.
No.724660
>>724659"What the hell happened?" Cit breathes, cautiously poking her head through and taking a peek around, taking in the sight of the crystallized area with consternation.
[1d10] Perception
KC examines his hand curiously as he pulls away from the twisted metal.
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.724661
>>724659The Kirin watches the pilot depart as they complete the initial search. With him gone, she approches the still cooling ship with curiosity.
No.724662
>>724659Falling looks over each ship, none fitting close enough tho the descriptions given to be a match. With how the stallion spoke, she knows he couldn't have lied, and starts to lose hope in that they're too late. But her ears perk up as a new ship descends, turning and spotting the new looking ship. The odd sound of it too draws her attention, as Onyx commented on that as well. This must be it.
She looks at the diamond dog who steps out of the ship, her eyes narrowing on him. He's alone, no Diamond to be seen. Her horn glows bright, teleporting herself in front of the dog to cut off his walking path.
"Hey! Nice ship you got there."
She says in an accusatory tone.
No.724663
>>724659Em cocked an eyebrow. "How is it racist? That's what he said." She shrugs and spins toward the tunnel. "Downhill to the surface. Got it. Thank you!" she shouts as she heads off.
No.724664
>>724659Celestia starts making erratic gestures for attention. Using his tentacles to poke the group before him to get them to answer the question on what they were saying.
No.724665
>>724660Cit can't see much in the dim red light through the narrow slit KC was able to pry open. The entire interior of the sub-level appears to be coated in gem-growth. The floor is covered in a thick, dark fog, which is wavering like the surface of a pond. Causing ripples are a couple of the strange robotic spiders Cit recognizes from last time. There is a pile of twisted shadows in the corner, the shape of which she cannot quite make out. One of the spiders walks towards it, appears to disappear into it.
One of the spiders appears to notice the crack which Cit is peeking through. It stops and focuses some sort of lens up at her. A light flashes brightly in her face for a split second.
KC examines his robotic hand. There is a sliver of crystal embedded in his fingertip.
>>724661>>724662The slim diamond dog is wearing an ostentatious leopard-print coat and sunglasses. He saunters towards the entrance to the building. "Ladies," he winks over his sunglasses. As Falling addresses him, however, he quickly wilts. "Hey. I don't do autographs until after the race." He eyes the pair warily.
>>724663Bagu forces his snoot out from under Feature just long enough to shout, "That's what SHE said!!" before being bodily stifled. Feature smiles genially throughout, not ruffled by the young dog's impertinence.
Error shakes his head. "Downhill to the surface? Alright kiddo. You do you."
There is nothing more from the dog trio.
>>724664Nopony appears to be watching or listening to Celly's complaints.
Gray#2 and Reverb-as-Gray continue chatting in the strange clicking language, but appear content to follow Em, downhill to the surface, uphill through the tunnel exit. The sounds of water splashing in the distance slowly fades as the group, now 5 in number (counting the fat spiny lizard still attached to Celly's plushy wing) make their way up the gem-crusted path toward the surface.
No.725100
>>724665Last time, in Horizon…
>>724660Cit, KC and Jasper have been ditched by Starfish. After she left, they found a way to look into the room they had found last time. It is now encrusted in crystals. Jasper seems fascinated by Cit's ability to zap the crystals and make them grow/change colors. KC got a splinter.
Under the floor, through the hole KC was able to create, a spider-machine focuses its forward-facing lens on Cit's face, flashes a bright light at her.
>>724661>>724662Falling, Jiandao and Golden Flash have reached the racing docks, slightly the worse for wear. Both ladies have accidentally ripped their fogsuits open, exposing their tender mare-flesh to the poisonous fog. Hopefully this will not come back to haunt them. They have discovered the racing boat they were looking for, piloted by a slim dog dressed up like a rockstar. Falling confronts the driver while Jiandao approaches the vehicle.
The airship itself is sleek, tall, all black. It looks shiny and pristine. There appears to be space for 2 passengers alongside the pilot. Jiandao cannot see whether the vehicle is occupied, as the windows on the sides are tinted darkly, but it is silent and immobile otherwise.
Golden runs up to intercept Falling. "Hey, hey! Don't you know who this is? That's Marble Mark! He's like, the fastest racer there is!" His eyes go wide and he whispers to Falling in an aside. "You don't think HE had anything to do with your friend's disappearance, do you??"
>>724663>>724664Em and Celly have gathered quite a following. They approach the surface with 3 companions: a gray changeling, a normal changeling named Reverb who has morphed herself into a copy of the gray, and a stubborn fat little lizard who is clamped onto Celestia's plushy wing and along for the ride.
The five of them make their way up the winding tunnel, steadily rising to the surface. Eventually, the rocky tunnel ends and they find themselves in the egress to the cave. They are in a gem-crusted grotto between two huge walls of megastructure legs. The ground curves slightly, being uneven but decidedly elevated toward one direction.
No.725101
>>725100 Celly has gotten sad being ignored. With his head drooping he mindlessly follows the group. Their plush steps not to be heard.
No.725102
>>725100"Welp, at least we know which way to go!" Em points in the elevated direction. "That way! She flutters a little, buzzing a bit as she tries to avoid stumbling on the uneven terrain. "Let's go, party!"
No.725103
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>724665Falling steps to keep herself between the dog and the building's entrance.
"Oh, I don't need an autograph. I just wanted to say you have a nice ship there. A friend of mine saw it last night."
She says, her tone neutral.
>>725100("That's the exact ship Onyx described. It
has to be him.")
She whispers while she continues her subtle interrogation.
No.725104
>>725100She flinches and throws her hooves up instinctively at the sudden flash of light. "Hey! Point that thing somewhere else! Creep." She blinks and shakes her head, blinded momentarily by the flash. "What do you make of it?" she asks Jasper, rubbing her eyes. "Wasn't like this at all about a week ago…"
She hasn't noticed the crystal stuck to KC yet. The robot's aperture eyes go all squinty as he observes thr crystal, flicking it off with his other hand.
[1d10] Remove cancer rock from the premises
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.725105
>>725100Approaching the window, jiandao leans in to try and see past the tint and into the car's interior
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.725106
>>725102[1d10]WHich way us down!?
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.725107
>>725101>>725102>>725106Em leads the party, confidently strolling downhill and away from the cave. The two grays are chittering away at each other behind her, barely paying attention to where they are going. Celly and his spiny lizard plod along in the rear. They veer downhill and begin the trek to the Central Spire.
There are no roads in this part of the surface, merely spaces between industrial-sized junk piles. They walk downhill as best they can, sometimes having to detour around fallen airships and twisted, unrecognizable metals.
Eventually the ground begins to flatten out and they arrive at the monumental legs of a giant. The Central Spire is even larger than the other Toren structures. Its seven struts, each as big around as a cathedral, are so wide that, when standing by one as they are, the others are not even visible through the fog. All in all, it seems too large to be real.
There is a high ceiling above them as they stand under the central spire. Orange light filters through the poisonous fog from above. Towards the center of the giant ring, distant shapes move, mostly obscured by the fog.
>>725103The dog tries to step around her, is visibly frustrated as she intercepts him. He sighs. "Yeah, it's a nice ship. Last night, huh? Fraid you're mistaken, babe. I don't take her out for anything except winning races. Which, if you'll excuse me, about to do just that." He attempts to step by her again.
Golden stands back and lets Falling do her thing.
>>725105As Jiandao leans in, she accidentally touches the window with her nose. A loud alarm begins to blare.
The diamond dog in the ridiculous outfit turns to stare at her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He pulls a small golden device out, presses a button, and the alarm stops. He approaches Jiandao with furrowed brows.
"Get away from my ship. Who the hell are you?"
>>725104Jasper blinks and pushes his glasses up his nose. "I'm not certain, but you said that whatever was inside caused visae to grow on inanimate objects? We must be seeing the culmination of this firsthand. It appears to be spreading, and possibly out of control. These… things…" he gestures at the spiderbot still staring up through the crack, "can't be guards, because they would already be sequestering us. They must be more like custodians, or worker drones of some sort. I'm not sure why the hole closed up but the gems didn't get cleaned up… perhaps someone is trying to keep it contained?"
The splinter is in KC's middle finger on his right hand. The automaton fails to remove it. That sucker is really jammed in there, and his mechanical mitts, while powerful, are not suited to the delicate task of tweezing minute objects.
No.725108
>>725107"Seems likely," she nods. "…Should we go in or…?"
She notices KC struggling with the crystal in his hand. "Aw, KC, no, honey!" she cries, with the concerned tone of someone whose dog just stepped on a bee. She tries to finagle the crystal out with telekinesis.
[1d10]
While KC keeps trying to pry it loose.
[1d10]
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 7 = 7 No.725109
>>725107Em whistles as she looks over the central spire. This probably wasn't her first time seeing it, but it was definitely more than likely still just as impressive and creepy as the first time she had. "Welp," she says. "Seems pretty cut and dry so far. Let's go!" She pulls out the crumpled up piece of paper again, uncrumples it, and looks at it while she walks. "Still not totally sure what we're looking for, though. Oh well. I'm sure it'll sort itself out."
No.725110
>>725107"
So where is here?" Celestia asks the group out loud confused as to where and where to they are heading.
No.725111
>>725107Falling keeps stepping in his way as the dog keeps trying to get by.
"Oh I think I'm pretty certain on what I saw. The whole neighborhood could hear
those engines. Probably the whole Gamma District heard you pull in."
She accuses, pointing to Mable's ship as she speaks of the engines.
No.725112
>>725107Stepping back as the alarm was set off, she waits for him to turn the alarm off before offering a bow.
"My apologies. My intent was only to look through the window, though it appears i caused an alarm by mistake."
No.725113
>>725110Em points to the spire. "There. Duh. That's what the paper said. Room 112. Where we're supposed to meet a guard pony." The last part she doesn't sound quite as sure about, and she continues consulting the paper.
No.725114
>>725113Celestia squints their eyes at Em, irritated by the changelings "Duh"
No.725115
>>725108KC scrabbles at the splinter as Cit attempts to pull it out. Jasper looks on, a concerned look on his face. Between the two of them, they are able to extricate it.
"I hope you got all of it," says Jasper unhelpfully.
He eyes the hole that KC made. "I don't see why we would. I've got my sample. If you'd like to, I won't stop you, but I think I'll stay safely out of the mutant-vis-we-know-nothing-about zone."
>>725109The parchment reads:
Central Spire, floor b25There are two symbols at the bottom of the page. One resembles a squid, the other a beetle.
The faint writing along the edge is now visible in the orange light. It reads:
Next you must find the one with life magic, who has been taken by the Enemy. Take care not to be captured yourself, as I will not be able to reach you if you do. Diamond Blossom, room 112>>725110>>725113Reverb and Gray are listening. Reverb says, in Em's voice, "Guard pony." She points with a hoof toward the moving shapes in the distance. She looks worried and shakes her head.
>>725111His lip raises in a snarl. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but I don't like your tone. Don't you know who the hell I am? I'm Marble Fucking Mark," he growls. "Get out of my way, you peon!"
>>725112His eyes narrow. "Why are you looking through my window?"
Golden stands off to the side, watching but not involving himself.
No.725116
>>725115Em cocks an eyebrow and tilts her head to read the writing along the edge. "Huh." She glances back at Reverb and shakes her head. "Nah," she says. "I guess I was wrong. It doesn't say anything about a guard pony at all. Wonder where I saw that, then." She shrugs and turns her attention to the fog. "Looks like the first member of the party I'm supposed to put together was already caught. Something about life magic? Not totally sure what the living world would need with life magic, but oh well. I'm just here to do my job. Not to ask questions."
Finally she spots the shapes in the distance and waves her hoof. "Nah, those aren't guard ponies," she says. "Probably just some crazies. I mean come on, who would be out here in the fog without protecting themselves!" She lets out a manic giggle. "That's just silly! Just keep moving forward to floor b25!"
No.725117
>>725115Celestia not wanting to be in the group for a bit head ahead to the tower for the sake of exploration. No hill or stone shall go unturned to ponykind!
NonCombat Talent:[Monster in the closet]:passive; Celestia Hides inside a life sized that makes others believe Celestia is only the cavalier minion as long as he is inside giving a +2 to any stealth related rolls.
[1d10+2] Stealth
Roll #1 1 + 2 = 3 No.725118
>>725115She flicks the splinter away, letting it fall down into the exposed pit.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Better not to be too curious about things. …We should at least try and reseal it so the visae don't start spreading to the garden, though." KC and Cit make a combined effort to reseal the exposed gap.
[1d10]
[1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 No.725119
>>725115"I don't care who you are!"
Falling shouts back, now getting angry.
"You kidnapped my friend Diamond! We know your ship was at her house last night!"
She accuses, still not budging from blocking his path.
No.725120
>>725115>>725119As Falling interrupts with the accusation, Jiandao moves away from the car in the commotion, standing protectively near the unicorn.
No.725121
>>725116Reverb nods. "Probably just some crazies. Just silly," she repeats hesitantly.
One of the shapes in the distance appears to be coming closer. It is pony-sized and has a light of some kind.
In the other direction, there is a guard tower, dwarfed by the nearby colossal support strut.
>>725117Celestia, trying to be sneaky while strolling up to the tower, manages to catch the attention of somepony in the distance. A light shines his way, and a voice shouts, "Hey!!" The form begins to run toward Celly.
>>725118Jasper joins in to try to assist closing the gap. Together they are able to mostly shut it off, although it won't quite fit completely closed.
Jasper looks around in the darkness. "Let's depart," he suggests. "This place is rather unnerving at this time of night." The dark jungle surrounding them has gone unnaturally quiet.
>>725119>>725120"Kidnapped your friend? What the hell? No no no sweetie. I don't have to kidnap ladies. They throw themselves at me." He gestures at himself magnanimously. "Just look at me."
Golden steps up. "This isn't a joke. Her friend was taken from her home. We know your ship was there. If it wasn't you, it was someone else using your ship. Who else has access to the boat?" He sounds very reasonable and calm.
Marble Mark looks disdainful. "I don't have to answer to you. You cops? Got a warrant? I didn't think so. Go fuck yourself." He tries to push past Falling and Jiandao.
Shove [1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.725122
>>725121Cit and KC look concerned as it just won't close. KC stomps up and down on it a few times to get it to close properly.
[1d10]
Cit nods. "Just a moment. If we don't seal this properly who knows what could happen. Best to play it safe. Right?" She joins KC in trying to slam the gap shut.
[1d10]
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 No.725123
>>725121Celestia locks into place at being called suddenly despite their efforts. "
Hey you back!" Celestia yells back to the figure charging at him. Hey is for horses.
No.725124
>>725121"Yea I am looking at you. I'm looking at a kidnapper!"
She shouts again.
When Marble goes to push past them, Falling's horn glows.
"You're not going anywhere!"
A bronze hue covers Marble as she tries to grab him with her telekinesis to push him back and to the ground so he can't leave.
>Telekinesis [1d10]Roll #1 10 = 10 No.725125
>>725121Em lets out a quiet
"Eep" as one of the figures charges, pulls out glowing orb, focuses on it, and chucks it at whoever it is without stopping to ask questions.
[1d10]Alchemist's Fire
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.725126
>>725121With Falling moving to restrain him, Jiandao uses her magic to move through his pockets in an attempt to find his keys.
[1d10] Loot
"Comply and you will not be harmed." she simply states as she continues to fleece him.
[1d10] Intimidate
[1d3] inscrutable bonus
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 /
Roll #3 3 = 3 No.725127
>>725122KC's exuberance to stomp the rend closed causes him to accidentally knock a chunk of metal off and down into the subchamber, rendering the hole uncloseable.
Jasper's eyes are wide as he looks from the hole, to KC, to Cit. "Oh. That can't be good."
>>725123>>725125The figure galloping towards them is a pony in a black official-looking fogsuit, a light on the helmet flashing blue and red.
Em lobs the alchemist's fire, but it falls short. The orb shatters and the gem-covered ground between the pony and themselves alights with bright flames. The pony skids to a stop on the other side, buying them a couple seconds.
Gray seems frozen in place. Reverb knocks into him with her head and he regains agency momentarily. They both turn and begin to flee.
>>725124Marble's eyes widen as he is bodily shoved to the ground with telekinesis. "What- ow!" He looks in pain, then afraid. "Hey!! Help! I'm being attacked!"
Golden looks around nervously. Luckily, nopony seems to be around. He climbs up onto Marble's sleek boat to better keep a lookout.
>>725126Jiandao finds the golden device he had used to stop the alarm. It is attached to a small ring of keys and a keychain in the form of a mare's naked hindquarters.
Inscribed upon it are the words "plot device."Marble realizes nopony is coming to his aid, so he stops yelling. He sneers up at Jiandao and Falling. "What do you want from me? I didn't kidnap your friend. I don't even know anyone named Emerald, or whatever." His eyes dart back and forth and he licks his lips.
No.725128
>>725127The sudden arrival of flames had spooked Celestia. Particularly Ems flames with prior experience with them. Celestia jumped up blindly and latched onto the closest thing for safety. Which happened to be the fogsuit pony.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 4 + 1 = 5 No.725129
>>725127KC freezes in place as he breaks the metal. Cit's eyes widen, and the two of them look at each other, then alternate between looking at Jasper, then the hole. "…Ah. Well. …Er… Let's just go." Cit starts backing away nervously, while KC tries to bring down a small nearby tree to cover the gap.
[1d10]
If it doesn't work, KC will give up and leave with Cit.
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.725130
>>725127Pilfering the keys, Jiandao trots over to the boat to unlock the door, searching the cabin for evidence.
[1d10] unlock (if needed)
[1d10] Search
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 No.725131
>>725127"Her name is Diamond!"
Falling sternly corrects Marble.
"Then why was your ship down at her house then?"
She questions.
>>725130She looks over to Jiàndào, seeing her snatching out the keys to Marble's ship.
"Good thinking. Let's just look for ourselves."
Falling says to her, dragging Marble to the ship so she can take a look through it herself at Jiàndào's lead.
No.725132
>>725128"Hey!" Em yells at the two scaredy cats. "Get back here and help us! There are way more of us than him!"
[1d10]
Intimidation Persuasion to get back here and fight.
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.725133
>>725128Celestia leaps at the pony in the fogsuit. "Gah!" it exclaims as the living toy flies toward it. It dodges, but accidentally stumbles into the fire, which spreads to its suit. It begins to scream.
>>725129It doesn't work.
KC is able to fell the tree, but it is not a replacement for the chunk of metal which is now missing. It does, however, block the red light from shining upward, hiding their deed and leaving them in pitch darkness, except for their fogsuit lamps.
Jasper leads the way back out, seeming eager to depart. He is silent the whole way back to his airship. When they arrive, he climbs in without a word.
>>725130>>725131"Hey! Don't touch that! Get your hooves off my boat!" Marble Mark seems upset, and struggles in vain as Falling drags him over to watch. "Ugh! Let go of me, you wench!"
A preliminary search of the vehicle reveals little in the way of evidence. There are empty beverage containers in the drivers compartment. In the passenger's chamber, the seat appears to have been removed, and the interior is barren. There isn't even a floor, only the bare metal chassis.
"Yeah, nothing in there, huh?? Oh gee, who would have thought! You two are entering a world of pain! A WORLD of PAIN!" Marble is near apoplectic.
Golden pipes up from his lookout post. "There's a trunk." He gestures.
((roll to search))
>>725132Gray keeps running. Reverb slows to a stop, turns around, staring at Em. She seems to hesitate, then begins to trot back, her head hung down. She obviously doesn't want to come, but for some reason she does. Midstride, she transforms back into her normal form. "Help," she echoes. "More of us."
Gray is disappearing into the distance.
No.725134
>>725133Celestia seeing the fire spreading scrambles away with his little hoovsies. Utterly confused about the entire situation unfolding at the moment.
No.725135
>>725133Turning the cabin over for evidence, the kirin turns her attention to the trunk, manipulating the keys to open it.
[1d10] Search
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.725136
>>725134>>725133Em groans. "Nevermind," she yells, pulling out and chucking another vial of magical flame in hopes of slowing down the burning fogsuit pony who will totally probably keep following them if given the chance. "Run! Get that guy!"
[1d10]Alchemist's Fire
[1d10]Chasing Grey
Roll #1 8 = 8 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.725137
>>725133KC does his darndest to fit in the airship without breaking anything.
[1d10]
Cit silently climbs in without a word. As the ship departs, she is the first to break the uncomfortable silence. "…So… What do you make of it all, Jaz? Weird, huh?"
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.725138
>>725133Falling ignores Marble's protests as she looks into the ship with Jiàndào.
"This place is a mess…"
She comments at the litter and outright missing parts inside.
When they find no evidence, Falling is unsure of what to do, until Golden comments on there being a trunk. She drags Marble to the back of the car, looking at the trunk. She goes to check inside, horn glowing and ready to use telekinesis to search every nook, cranny, and peeling back every panel to find clues.
>Search [1d10]Roll #1 3 = 3 No.725139
>>725136>>725134Celly scoots away just in time, as Em's second firebomb drops from the sky and coats the already-burning fogsuit pony in liquid fuel. He immolates and continues screaming, falling over and writhing on the ground.
Other shapes appear to be approaching from the direction he came from. Em takes off the other direction, chasing Gray. Unfortunately, that little bugger is quicker than his stubby legs would lead one to believe, and he is pulling away and into the fog-obscured distance.
>>725135>>725138Marble is feeling talkative. It's all, "Hey, not so rough! Ow!" and "Don't touch my ship! This is illegal! Help!" Golden completely ignores him.
The trunk opens soundlessly. It is empty of all artifacts and offers access to the modified float device. However, Jiandao's sharp eye notices a long hair. She picks it up and examines it; it appears to be light green.
Golden says, "Look alive, ladies; company inbound. Looks like about three of em. We've got about thirty seconds to skedaddle." He hops down off the boat and faces them. "We taking him with us, or?"
>>725137KC manages to climb in without incident. He and Cit are jammed together in the back. The ship lifts and takes off quietly. Jasper appears to be guiding the craft back to his apartment.
He sighs in response to her question. "I don't know, to be quite honest. Weird indeed. I don't feel good about leaving that hole in the floor, but there's nothing we could have done. The crystals were already poking through, so it was probably just a matter of time anyway." A pause. "I'm looking forward to running a few tests on that sample. Standard vis responds to magic, but not quite like what you were able to do. I wonder what Doc Gallows will have to say about it."
"I hope Starfish is alright," he comments. Looking back over his shoulder, he asks, "Did you find what you were looking for?"
No.725140
>>725139Em leans forward and takes off into the sky. "Oh no you don't. I gotta have
something to show for the time I wasted in your hive," Em shouts at Grey.
[1d111] Adaptability
Roll #1 28 = 28 No.725141
>>725139"
What happened?" Celestia cannot help but ask out loud. As the poor thing burned to ashes. Again what is going on what are we doing?
No.725142
>>725140Thick, coarse brown fur sprouts from Em's coat and her forelegs shift into thick claws, almost giving the impression of a mole cricket. She dives from the sky to the ground and tries to chase the Grey by burrowing and ambushing him.
[1d10]Burrow chase
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.725143
>>725139"Yeah. Whoever runs that place - probably AB - is doing some Weird Shit™ down there. I can't even begin to guess what they're planning with this new form of visae…" KC does a big exaggerated shrug.
"Oh, Star's fine," she says dismissively. "She's just… antsy, is all. She's got a good head on her shoulders. Don't doubt she made it back safe."
She think as Jasper asks her the question. "…Yeah. And no. I'd hoped to get some answers going back there, but we only got more questions. But. We did get that big-ass crystal. So that's something."
"Speaking of. KC, could you…?"
KC does. He opens up his chest compartment to reveal the giant vis. Cit delicately chips off a piece of it, then plugs it into the battery charger, giving it a bit of a jolt for good measure to power it back up.
[1d10] Tinker
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.725144
>>725138The kirin furrows her brow, floating a long green hair to you. "Falling, is this familiar to you?"
No.725145
>>725144>>725139Falling keeps her magic hold on Marble, ignoring his protests as Jiàndào opens the trunk. She looks around with again no evidence, practically climbing into the trunk herself in desperation to find something. When hope is nearly faded, it resurges as Jiàndào shows her the light green hair.
"That… That's Diamond's hair!"
She exclaims, recognizing the color. She hops back to the ground, and then glares at Marble. But before she can do anything further, she looks up to Golden as he announces company incoming.
"We're taking him with us. He has a lot of talking to do," She says, looking around to see where the three ponies Golden announced are coming from, "But where do we go?"
No.725146
>>725145>>725139Jiandao floats the keys to Golden, pointing to Marble's boat with a hoof. "Marble will slow us down on hoof. Golden, can you pilot his ship?"
No.725147
>>725142>>725140Em divebombs the earth below in an attempt to burrow into it, but discovers the hard way that gems are not as easy to dig through as she had assumed they would be. She impacts the ground hard and tumbles a bit. Gray appears to have slowed and is watching her from afar, his expression hard to read.
>>725141Reverb stands next to Celly, watching the guard pony burn.
The fogsuit has melted to the skin underneath. Dark smoke rises from its still-writhing form as its convulsions slow. It has not ceased making sounds from its mouth, but now they are less like screams than whispers, and the sound of its flesh popping is just slightly louder. It has tried to put out the flames on its torso and has only succeeded in scooping melted horse-flesh away, and now a portion of its bare ribcage is visible through the sorry remains of its protective suit.
In the distance, two forms materialize from the obscurity of the fog, moving toward Celestia and Reverb. She turns toward him.
"
What happened?" she asks, using his otherworldly voice.
>>725143"Hmm. More questions indeed." Jasper seems content to leave it at that.
The crystal chip fits into the slot in the battery charger. Cit sends a little jolt into the machine, and the empty cartridge fills to a little more than half. A small, steady flow of multicolored fog seeps out of the vent on the side of the machine and settles to the bottom of the passenger's chamber.
>>725145>>725146Golden snatches the keys out of midair with a sly grin. "I thought you'd never ask." He presses a button on the golden keychain device; simultaneously the pilot's chamber and the passenger's chamber doors open. "Hop in, ladies! We're going for a little joyride."
Marble Mark protests, "No, wait, what the shit?? You're not going anywhere with my boat!"
Golden looks Marble over. "Might be room for him in the trunk." He hops up into the pilots seat and fires up the engines, revving them loudly. "This is more like it," he cackles. Popping his head out, he checks out the mares. "Well? What're you waiting for?"
[[paused]]
No.725525
>>725147Last time, in Horizon…
>>725140>>725142Em and company have arrived at the CD's ground level. They are being pursued by guards, one of whom has already been burned alive by Em's alchemist fire. Two more guards are incoming, from the direction of a tower which stretches from the ground to the high ceiling above them, is dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of the Central District toren structure.
Their pet gray has fled a short distance, but is standing some twenty meters away, watching Em pursue (not without difficulty).
>>725141Celestia and Reverb stand near the smoking remains of the first guard, flames rising from the earth nearby in a sort of beacon by which the guard force is quickly becoming aware of their presence. Two official-looking fogsuit-clad ponies bear down on the conflagration from the direction of the guard tower roughly centered within the 7 huge pillars of the megastructure.
>>725143Cit, KC and Jasper discovered that the strange red room below the jungle level of the Garden District is now completely coated in crystalline growth. They managed to grab a large chunk of the strange vis and take it with them, but in the process of investigating, have possibly opened the chamber permanently to spread to the jungle and the rest of Horizon. KC acquired a splinter of the mutant vis during this process, but managed to extricate it, hopefully completely. Moreover, using the mutant vis to charge batteries appears to result in a strangely thick, multicolored fog which sinks and pools like a slow, thin fluid around their hooves. These worries lay heavy on their minds as they return to Jasper's abode.
The scientist brings the airship smoothly to a landing on his private balcony/dock. He removes his helmet and looks back toward his two passengers. "I've got to report in with Journey and get this sample to Doctor Gallows. Is there somewhere you two have to be? I know there is a street race tonight, sounded like your friends were going to be there."
>>725145>>725146Falling, Jiandao and Golden have tracked down and cornered Marble Mark, illegally searched his vehicle, discovering a hair which matches Diamond Blossom's mane. Falling insists on abducting the racer, and Jiandao suggests that they steal his vehicle to escape. Golden is on board with both ideas, hopping behind the wheel without hesitation. He seems excited to get to pilot such a powerful ship and not at all worried about the repercussions of their crimes.
"Let's go already! Throw that…" he gestures at the diamond dog, still tethered by Falling's powerful telekinesis, "…in the boot, we gotta scoot!"
Three fogsuit-clad pony-shaped figures, chatting and laughing amongst themselves, approach from the end of the long dock full of racing hoverboats. They do not seem to have noticed the party, but are ambling directly toward Mark's craft.
The diamond dog lets out a screech.
"Heey!! Help! I'm being abducted!!" The figures hear him, pause in place for a moment, stare towards the group. There is a pause where the world seems to stand still.
"Shit," Golden curses. "Let's go, ladies! Chop chop!" The trunk stands open, as does the door to the hollowed-out passenger's chamber. The engines let out a dull roar as he revs them up.
No.725526
>>725525>>725140"
Should we head away, I am not looking forward to more of them appeearing." Celestia voices his concern to Em. Suggesting to run away.
No.725527
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>725525>>725147Falling nods as Golden's direction, tossing Marble in the trunk. As he shouts out to the approaching figures, Falling pauses for a moment, then quickly slams the trunk shut and hops into the ship.
"Step on it!"
She shouts, not wanting to get stopped now that they have a good trail.
No.725528
>>725526>>725525"But we need that guy to test for traps," Em whines, gesturing at the grey changeling with her broad, clawed forelegs. She groans as she looks back and sees the guards. "I guess we should get to the Central Spire, floor b25. We already did the first part. Now we just gotta do the second. Maybe if we ask them nice and tell them we're on a mission to save the world they'll stop attacking us?"
Locking the changeling with a determined glare, she takes of in a sprint. "If you were able to try to kill us, you can help us fight these guards, buster!"
[1d10]Pursuit
[1d10]Persuasion?
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 No.725529
>>725525She blinks. "Yeah, actually, why not. Haven't been to the races in a while. Might even be able to get a few customers. Guess I'll stop by home first though, check up on Star."
"Hey uh… Would you mind giving us a lift back home? Bit far to be traveling on foot. If you can't it's cool though."
No.725530
>>725527The three figures start running toward the ship. As soon as Marble, Falling and Jiandao are aboard, Golden guns it, lifting abruptly and turning in midair. "Hold on!" he shouts back into the passenger cabin, although, being completely barren of everything except the chassis, there aren't many hoofholds. The G-force of the craft sends the mares in the back sliding into each other as Marble's sleek craft spins and cuts through the air.
"Woooo!" Golden exclaims, thrilled. The figures on the ground quickly disappear as he guides the ship up through the fog-thick air, between Toren struts and out of the general area.
"Where to?" he inquires after a moment of flying. "We need somewhere we can question this guy proper, away from any outside attention."
>>725526>>725528Em closes the distance quickly, the gray having halted its flight. It stands watching her. Its eyes do not appear to register the meaning of Em's statement, but it doesn't appear to be running away from her. It glances back at the guards who are quickly closing in on them, then back to Em with a questioning look on its face.
Reverb trots away from the guards and toward Em and the gray, although they seem to be gaining on the party. They shine lights at the group and shout.
"Halt! You are in a forbidden zone! Get down on the ground!" One of them is holding a mean-looking blunderbuss, but doesn't appear to be able to aim it while pursuing them.
>>725529Jasper nods. "Of course." He pops the ship back into drive and lifts off, easing the boat into midair, begins to head back to the hideout.
It's not a long journey, and Jasper is thoughtfully silent the entire way. In a short time he docks the craft on the makeshift mooring in front of the home formed from industrial junk.
"You should stop by the Six Arms when you have some batteries to sell. I'll be sure to let Journey know you were successful in finding a source of visae to power your venture, and she'll want to talk with you, even if Starfish isn't with you. Maybe especially if she's not."
No.725531
>>725530"
No, you get down on the ground!" Celestia yells back at their pursuers.Indignant at being told what to do. No one tells Celestia what to do. One thousand years dungeon and banished! Celestia lunges at the pursuers, grappling the closest one.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 7 + 1 = 8 No.725532
>>725530Em rolls her eyes. "We're
supposed to be here," she says flatly. "It says so on the paper." She places her hoof to her amulet, causing it to glow softly.
[Emptying Spell Resonance]
No.725533
>>725530Falling slides back in her seat, gripping on to anything to hold herself still from the force of the flight.
"I-I don't know, anywhere? I don't really know anyplace away from anything… Can't we go back to your place?"
No.725534
>>725530"Thanks dude!"
Cit and KC exit the airship, the latter leaving the handle he snapped off stuffed into one of the cushions.
"Yeah, I think we will. Hopefully we'll be able to make our first sales tonight. Thanks again for everything! Good luck with the research!"
With that, she enters the home, looking around for Starfish.
[1d10] Perception if needed
While KC goes to their room with the recharger in hoof, starting to charge up some of the empty batteries.
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.725536
>>725532[1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.725538
>>725531Celestia leaps at the nearest guard. It happens to be the one without the weapon. The plush launches its soft body at the pony and wraps his otherworldly tentacles around his helmet, effectively blinding him. The guard scrabbles at the plush, trying ineffectually to dislodge Celestia, but the doll is tightly coiled around him. He is unable to fight back.
The other guard looks on in shock and surprise at the viciousness of this sudden attack. He raises his blunderbuss at the pair, then lowers it, apparently unconfident of his ability to shoot Celestia and not his ally.
>>725532>>725536The gun-toting guard levels the weapon at Em. "Supposed to be here?" He sounds unsure. "But… then, what happened over there?" He points at the still-burning embers of the first guard.
"You're all under arrest. Tell your friend to let go, or I blow a hole in you big enough to fly through."
Reverb and Gray are together, chittering back and forth. They make their way slowly over to the fray, looking afraid.
>>725533Golden grimaces. "You know, I'm not certain that's a great idea, but we don't have too many other options." He is silent for a moment as the ship bursts out of the fog and into the clear night. "Alright. I can drop you off, but we'll have to hide the boat. This isn't exactly an inconspicuous ride, and it won't be long before the 6A goons will be after us. Marble might not be the most likeable dog, but there's money tied up in the races, and you can bet your tail they'll be looking for him soon enough."
He pulls up to the crude dock and hovers, doors clicking open to let the mares disembark. "Don't forget your luggage," he chuckles.
[[roll to keep Mark under control while removing him from the trunk]]
>>725534Jasper bids them adieu and lifts off into the sky.
Entering the hideout, everything is as they left it earlier. Tempest's door is still closed and the place is quiet, only a slight hum from some of the technical doodads lying about. Starfish is nowhere to be seen, not in the common area nor her and Golden's room. Cit and KC are alone.
Just then, the loud rumble of powerful engines can be heard pulling up to the entrance. A sleek black craft with tinted windows pulls up to the dock, not fully mooring but hovering, while the passenger cabin doors open.
No.725539
>>725538Em smacks her hoof against her forehead and drags it down her face. "Why are you all so dumb? He attacked me. That was totally self defense! And I'm here to
save you dummies." She groans. "Whatever. I don't have time for this. Squishy, do what you gotta." She pulls out a glowing orb and grins. "I know I will." She chucks the orb at the blunderbuss pony.
[1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.725540
>>725538Celestia squeezes tighter and tighter. Their hugs unescapable and oppressive. Celestia's mind seems to forgo letting the pony leave him.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 5 + 1 = 6 No.725541
>>725538She shrugs off their absence. Must've gone on a date. Probably to the races. Cit is about to go check on Tempest and talk about what happened before heading there herself, but she hears the strange ship pull up. Curious, she trots out to investigate, KC readily following suit with a few batteries under his nonexistent belt.
No.725543
>>725538"I know, but it's the only place we have for now, aside from driving out of Horizon."
Falling says, feeling a little guilty at dragging Golden and his friends into this more.
As they reach the hideout, Falling hops out of the ship. She walks to the trunk, horn glowing as she pops it open, and using her telekinesis quickly to keep Marble under control.
>Telekinesis [1d10]Roll #1 6 = 6 No.725545
>>725539"Wait, what are you…" The gun-wielding pony tries to dodge her attack and fire at the same time.
Dodge [1d10]
Shoot [1d10]
>>725540The other pony, startled by the loud noise, attempts to struggle out of Celestia's otherworldly grip.
Struggle [1d10]
>>725541The two are greeted with a strange sight as two of the ponies they met earlier in the night, a unicorn named Falling and a kirin named Jiandao, hop out, head to the trunk, and wrestle with a diamond dog, who is trying hard to escape but not quite managing, dragging him out from his makeshift prison and holding him on the dock. The sleek black airship closes its doors and disappears into the night.
>>725543Golden nods. "It's fine. We'll find your friend, no matter what it takes. Just make sure you keep Marble alive, and preferably able to pilot, and we'll find ourselves on the right side of history."
Jiandao and Falling hop out of the barren passenger cabin, head to the trunk, and take a long breath together before popping it open.
Immediately Marble Mark struggles to escape. He has obviously been waiting for this moment, as he tosses his ostentatious coat over Jiandao's face and tries to leap for safety. Falling is able to grab ahold of him just in time to keep him from tumbling over the dizzying edge into midair, to his certain doom.
He takes a look down. It's dozens of stories to reach the fog layer, and another half dozen beyond that membrane lies a very solid landing. He gulps, turns a little green, and is much more complacent to being led by Falling's telekinetic grip.
Golden waits to make sure the situation is under control before gunning it, loudly revving the engine and jerking the ship up, into the night, disappearing through blank spaces between the towering toren megastructures.
Marble quivers between the two mares. Standing on the dock in front of the entrance to Golden's hideout are two forms, the unicorn Cit and the hulking automaton KC, whom they met earlier in the night.
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 /
Roll #3 10 = 10 No.725547
>>725539>>725545The guard-pony does not manage to avoid the ball of liquid fire, and is doused and immediately consumed by fire. He shoots his blunderbuss harmlessly into the distance and immediately drops it, throwing himself at the ground in an attempt to douse the flames engulfing his body.
>>725540>>725545As this occurs, the pony who had been grappled by Celestia manages to peel her eldritch tentacles off his helmet and tosses the plushy frame to the ground.
[[Celly's plush takes 1 hit]]
He looks aghast at the aftermath of Em's firebomb, then his training kicks in and he throws himself at Em in an attempt to tackle her.
Slam [1d10]
Reverb throws herself in front of the guard to intercept.
Slam [1d10]
Roll #1 8 = 8 /
Roll #2 7 = 7 No.725549
>>725545>>725543KC jumps a little at the sight. Cit seems to take a moment to process what's happening.She looks from the Dog to Falling and Jiandao, utterly nonplussed by what she's witnessing.
"…What the fuck?"
No.725550
>>725545"Can't say I didn't try," Em says, pulling her sharp, jagged amulet off her neck. She flips it like an ice pick and dips it into her bag. When she pulls it back out the tip is covered in a caustic looking glowing green substance. Focusing on keeping a tight hold on her dagger/amulet, she sprints at the pony, trying to duck out of the way of the blasts as she moves to tear through the fog suit.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 10 + 1 = 11 No.725551
Celestia being upset at this occurence of being chucked like a used sock rushes to retaliate at the downed pony. How dare they throw away their princess.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10] Slam
Roll #1 3 = 3
No.725552
>>725550Caustic Sting, obviously
No.725554
>>725545Falling takes a step back in panic as Marble throws his coat at Jiandao and goes to make a run for it, quickly throwing her magic around him to keep him from falling. Once stable, she takes a breath, now that things are calmer and they don't need to be rushed. And in this moment, she takes a second, horn glowing bronze, to clear any of the potential fog effects from her after her suit rip.
>Mend [Self] [1d10]She looks up to Marble, eyes narrowed as if ready to attack. She floats up the green hair in front of his face.
"We know your ship was there, and now we find one of her hairs in your trunk! You're going ot give me answers, NOW!"
>>725549Falling looks to the side, her scolding broken for a moment as Cit interjects.
"O-Oh, uh, Golden said we could come back here… and, this is the dog that kidnapped my friend."
She explains rather poorly.
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.725557
>>725554"Golden said that?" She shuffles uncomfortably in place as she starts interrogating the Dog. "Well where's Golden?"
She looks at the Dog, having a sudden pang of recognition. "Oh my Gods. Did you really just kidnap THE Marble Mark? What the hell is going on?"
KC doesn't seem as fussed. He silently moves over to Falling and Marble, as if offering to help with the interrogation.
"Uh… KC, what are you doing?" Cit asks with consternation.
KC points at Marble, then picks up a rock and throws it over the edge of the landing platform.
"WHAT? No! That's horrible! Get back here!"
She looks back over to Falling. "I don't know who you guys are or what you're doing with Marble freaking Mark, but you can't be here. What if they come looking for him? What if they raid this place? What if… what if…" She starts breathing heavily, doubling over and trying not to completely freak out. "…Just… just try and explain what you're doing here. Please."
KC's offer still stands.
No.725560
>>725557"He said he has to hide the ship."
Falling explains first, before being overwhelmed by the questions. She's put on the spot, feeling even more panicked now that an outside pony is pointing out what she did.
"I… I… I don't know! This day started out all fine, but then I find out my friend disappeared in the middle of the night with her room a mess, then the neighbors all said the ship that showed up was Marble's ship, and then we found her hair in his trunk, and now we're hear cause I don't know any place else to go cause I mostly just stay home or walk around the Garden District!"
She rambles off, her voice growing quicker and more worn as she goes on.
No.725561
>>725550The flaming pony guard rolls on the ground, unable to dodge Em's wicked attack, and her dagger/amulet rips through the neck of his fogsuit and into his flesh. He screams, an awful sound, as the knife cuts through the bonds that tie his helmet to his suit and removes it. He begins bleeding from the neck, clutching at his helmet in vain as it rolls away, leaving a thin line of flames in its wake.
[[Blunderbuss pony is helpless and takes 2 wounds]]
He attempts to right himself, his unhelmeted face wearing an expression of panic, smeared with his own blood.
Recover [1d10]
>>725551Celestia tackles the guard pony who threw him, but he is ready for the strike and deftly moves out of the way. The guard pony turns on Em in an attempt to assist his ally.
Slam [1d10]
>>725554Falling finds herself unable to concentrate fully on turning the clock back as she struggles to keep Marble in line.
[[Mend has no apparent effect]]
[[Visification of Falling Sand accelerates]] The dog Marble stares blankly at the hair. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about!! I told you, I never heard of Diamond Whatever-her-name-is." He gives his kidnappers a sly look through slanted eyes. "You know, you're going to be in some serious SHIT when Expanse finds out you're kidnapping his most profitable pilot! You and your friends are fucked! Capital F, fucked!" He spits in Falling's face.
Hawking a Loogie [1d10]
>>725557The rock bounces audibly against the bare toren structure some 10 stories beneath them, continues falling. Eventually it reaches the fog layer, not making so much as a ripple as it disappears below the milky membrane.
KC's threat is not lost on Marble Mark, who pales suddenly. "Look. I don't know who you guys are, but I can offer you a lot of money to let me go. A. LOT. Of. Money." He nervously shies away from KC. "Just… don't let that… THING… near me!"
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 /
Roll #3 4 = 4 No.725562
>>725560For what it's worth, Marble is unable to launch his spittle effectively, and it dribbles down his own canine chin without ever touching the unicorn. The gesture stands as a mark of extreme disrespect.
No.725564
>>725561Em turns on the pony trying to help his friend and lets out a manic giggle. Her fur covered chitin bubbles and morphs, shifting into something else. "Now I'll give you one more shot if you don't want me to kill you, buddy. Leave and forget you saw us."
[1d10]Intimidate
[1d111] Adaptability
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 45 = 45 No.725565
>>725564Em's body settles, going back to its normal color and shape. A pale green gleam flashes over her eyes as they morph from the large green orbs to the sharp bird-like eyes of a griffin.
[Surveyor]
No.725567
>>725561Celestia getting irritated by more creature ignoring him. He wants to make them not ignore him! Leaving him quite troubled and lunging at the running away guard.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 3 + 1 = 4 No.725568
>>725561Falling takes a step back, glad she still wears her fog suit to protect herself from anything else this dog might try after his failed attempt of disrespect. The act of which, and his denial, spurs back her fire.
"I don't care if you're some big racer! My friend disappeared and you're involved! Either you're lying, or somepony stole your ship! Which is it!"
>Interrogate [1d10]Roll #1 10 = 10 No.725569
>>725560>>725561As Falling starts freaking out, she calms down, trying to regain control of the situation. "Okay. I'm sorry. Just a bit much to handle. I, er… Let's just see what he knows, I guess. Uh… I don't really know how to interrogate people."
She turns to Marble. "Hey. Big shot. Tell us what you know, or there's going to be trouble." That's about all she's got.
KC's eyes narrow. He doesn't like his tone. And he especially doesn't like being called a thing. He lunges forward, grabs Marble by the ankle, and pretends to throw him off the edge. The result is Marble getting hurled forward before coming to an abrupt stop, possibly dislocating his hip as he dangles upside down off the edge, facing the abyss below. The gears in KC's chest grind menacingly.
[1d10] Intimidate
"OhmygodsKCwait!" Cit's voice reaches a panicked squeak as she rushes forward to stop him, halting as he doesn't actually kill Marble, breathing a sigh of relief.
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.725572
>>725564The guard tries to tackle Em, but due to uncertain footing, misses by a mile. He stands there, looking unimpressed by the changeling's threats. He produces a long, black stick from a holster at his side that Em recognizes as the same type of pain-stick utilized by the greys, gives it a circling practice swing or two, and charges at her, holding it like a club over his head.
Cattle Prod Smash! [1d10]
>>725567The guard does not see Celestia's assault, is wholly unprepared for it as he swings at the griffon-shaped frame of Em. He stumbles a bit, losing momentum as he goes.
(subtract from cattle prod smash result) [1d4]
>>725568>>725569Marble raises an eyebrow and laughs in Falling's face. That is, until KC picks him up and dangles him over the vertiginous edge. Looking up (down), Marble comes face to face with his own anticlimactic ending, far below.
"Fuck!" he cries. "Alright, alright! I'll talk! Just put me down! For Sisters' sake! I promise!" He begins to sob. "I don't want to die! I have so much to live fo-ho-horrrr!" His body shakes with sobs.
"I don't know anything about your friend!" The words bubble out of him like foam from a pot boiling over. "It was all supposed to be a secret, something Mayfield cooked up for Expanse! I don't know much but I'll tell you everything I know, just don't let this …thing… throw me off the edge!!"
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.725574
>>725572>>725569"Thank you. That's what I wanted from the start."
Falling says as Marble starts to spill. She steps up to KC, looking up to the robot's face.
"Can you set him down please?"
She asks, waiting for Marble to tell everything about this Mayfield and Expanse.
No.725575
>>725572Em shrugs. "Well, I tried again. I really need to just stop trying." Em takes off straight up into the air, trying to avoid the cattle prod. At the same time she locks onto him with her special eyes and attempts to drop a fiery orb on him.
[1d10]dodge
[1d10+1]Alchemist Fire/Surveyor
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 10 + 1 = 11 No.725576
>>725572Celestia once more tries to strike the guard with his tentacle. Going and striking at the guards back.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.725578
>>725572>>725574Cit offers no response save for a tiny nod, still a bit nervous. At Falling's request, KC shakes his head, continuing to dangle Marble over the edge. As he calls him a thing again, KC squeezes his leg painfully, then lets go for a split second before grabbing him again. Now he's dangling him only by his paw. "I-I don't think KC likes being called a thing, Mr Mark," Cit calls. "Robots have feelings too, you know. Some of em, anyway."
[1d10] Intimidate again
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.725581
>>725574>>725578"Owowow! Lemme down, you big lunk! Oh, not like that! Sisters' grace! On solid ground! I'm sorry! You're not a thing, you're a… well I don't know what you are but I didn't mean no disrespect! Ow!!!"
As it becomes apparent he won't be let down without words, Marble begins to sing like a canary.
"Look, I don't know too much about Mayfield. He's a general for the six-arms syndicate. Expanse is the boss, he's not always around, but I can tell you he pretty much gives Mayfield, Journey and Chance free run, so long as they keep the business growing and the money flowing. Me, I'm just the star racer. House favorite, yaknow? They give me a job and I do it. I got guys, you know, mechanics and groupies and even a damn butler, but it's not like they tell me shit about what's going on in 6A. I just win races. You see my latest? I'm the fastest dog in the air, bar none, in all of racing history, ever! I'm the fucking bomb!"
At a harsh glance from his interrogators, he finds the point he was making and continues. "Anyways! All I know is, last night, Mayfield's guy, Veddy, comes up to me and tells me he needs to borrow my boat. 'Fuck off,' says I, but Veddy's got some muscle with him and he's very insistent. I ain't much of a fighter, see." He shrugs. "So I lets him have the keys, no questions asked, and get 'em back in the morning. I don't know what the fuck they did with the boat, I don't care, and this here, this is exactly the reason why! I didn't do nothin' and now I'm under the gun for some shit that is WAY out of my league. I just drive, and drive real good. That's all I do, I swear!"
>>725575Em is easily able to dodge the clumsy attack by the guard pony. She drops the firey orb on his frame, instantly wrapping him in flames. He drops the weapon and attempts to slap the fire out, to no avail. He has been totally coated in viscous flames. He drops to the ground in an attempt to extinguish his body.
[Cattleprod Guard is helpless]
By now, his friend has gained his feet, helmetless and streaked with blood. The fire has mostly gone out, and he scrambles for his discarded blunderbuss, rolling onto it and firing at the airborne Em.
Bang Bang [1d10]
>>725576Celestia slams into the flaming guard, who is now rolling on the ground helpless.
[CP guard takes 1 wound]
Reverb and Grey, previously standing in shock, look to each other and then simultaneously throw themselves onto the blunderbuss guard's back.
Reverb Slam [1d10]
Gray unarmed attack [1d10]
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 /
Roll #3 3 = 3 No.725582
[[paused]]
No.725679
>>725581The kirin continues to listen to the diamond dog's story, her magic flickering over one of her swords at the mention of the foalnapping.
"Hmm.. you are but a piece in a greater game, then.. But what of Diamond? What role might she have in this.." she trails off, in thought.
"Where is this 'Mayfield'?" she asks marble "If we are to retrieve Diamond, we must track her to the destination. If he has her, we may yet bring her back.."
No.725803
>>725581Last week, in Horizon…
>>725575>>725679Falling and Jiandao, having successfully kidnapped a famous airship racer and stolen his famous vehicle, have returned to Golden's hideout to interrogate the diamond dog, who has also been implicated in the abduction of Diamond Blossom. Golden has disappeared with the racing boat, supposedly hiding it from discovery.
At the hideout they encounter Citrine Fleece and her mechanical cohort KC, who have decided to assist with the questioning.
>>725578Cit and KC, having accomplished their nocturnal mission to the Garden district, arrived back at the hideout, looking for Starfish, who is totally absent from the premises. However, shortly after arriving, a sleek black ship pulls up, the figures of two ponies they met earlier in the evening pulled an unknown figure from the trunk and began an interrogation, apparently regarding Falling's missing friend.
The figure turned out to be none other than the world-famous racer Marble Mark. Cit and KC, with slight hesitation, decided to help with the interrogation.
>>725574>>725578>>725679Currently, the all-star airship racer, contentious favorite for tonight's race and 3-time award winner of "Fastest Dog on Earth" Marble Mark is dangling upside down from KC's wooden grip, over the edge of a makeshift dock and an impossibly long fall to certain doom. He is crying a little bit, and has just spilled his guts (figuratively, of course).
The dog sobs out an answer to Jiandao's questions. "I don't know where the fuck Mayfield is. I don't know anything about the Six Arms, except that they give me money, glow, and anything I need to keep racing. For all I know, he's fucking some filly over his big-ass desk. I told you everything I know! Just order this thing me to put me the fuck down already!"
[[KC rolls to maintain his grip on Marble]]
>>725576>>725578Metachrosis, Celestia, the spiny lizard who is still attached to Celly's plushy wing, Reverb and Gray all found themselves under attack from the guards who maintain peace on the bottom level of the Central Spire. Peace has, so far, not been fully maintained. So far one of the guards has burned to death, another is currently burning and helpless, and the third is bearing down on Em with a crude firearm.
The gun backfires and explodes in Blunderbuss's arms, ripping open his fogsuit and flesh as well as temporarily blinding him. He is completely unprepared for an attack from behind, which sends him sprawling. The smoke clears, Reverb and Gray stand where he used to be, looking stoically down at the helpless figure of his body. Neither of their eyes contain any measure of pity.
Celly is standing over the other guard, slapping him to and fro with otherworldly tentacles. The guard looks like he is in shock, and is just taking blow after blow, ragdolling around as he is battered across the rough ground like a cat toy, completely at the mercy of a viciously attacking children's toy.
No.725804
>>725803"
Have you had enough![cr/]" Celestia yells at the fallen guard they are assaulting. Having been irritated chasing them to and fro around the small battlefield. No.725805
>>725803Em drops back down to the ground and walks up to the burning guard. Pulling her amulet off of her neck again, she again fiddles around in her bag and pulls it out dripping the same caustic green venom as before. She crouches down a little, flips the horn downward, and jams it down into the burning guard's throat.
[1d10+1]Caustic Sting
Roll #1 5 + 1 = 6 No.725807
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>725803>>725581"Where's Veddy then?!" Falling demands of the dog, "If they give you stuff then you must have a place you meet!"
She continues, not letting up in her interrogation.
>Interrogate [1d10]Roll #1 5 = 5 No.725808
>>725803KC keeps dangling him upside down until told otherwise. Even his strength has its limits, however…
[1d10] Don't drop that Marble Mark
Cit knows some of those words, and nods knowingly. "Ah. Right. So that's how it is."
>>725803>>725807She does a bit of a double take. "Veddy?" she parrots suddenly. "I know that guy! He was at the Six Arms earlier today. Star and I had a runin with him. Bit of a… messy situation, but it seems to have gotten smoothed over. Kind of. Not really. The thick plottens…" Her mind rests on Starfish, who is conspicuously absent. If Golden was in the aircraft just now, then where's she?
Having no answers for now, she looks over to Marble. "Any idea where we could find Veddy now? Seems important. For these guys, I mean. Not really my area. Guess it kind of is now though. Anyway. Could you tell us where Veddy is, Mr Mark?"
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.725810
>>725803Beyond observing Falling and Cit shake the racer down for information, Jiandao scans the sky for any pursuers.
[1d10] perception
"So little information to work with.. If we were to speak with Veddy, perhaps then we might have what we seek.."
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.725811
>>725808"You know who he's talking about? You saw him?! Did you see a pony while you were there with a green mane, light-ish coat?"
Falling asks hopefully.
No.725813
>>725811"Yeah. Kind of a nasty guy, to be honest." She thinks. "Doesn't ring a bell, sorry, no."
No.725816
>>725804The guard sobs back up at Celly, but does not respond in words. He curls up into the fetal position, which seems to be answer enough. Very shortly he is interrupted in this venture by Em, who brutally walks up and stabs him in the neck.
>>725805The poor guard, his fogsuit still burning, is fully curled up on himself, trying to avoid Celly's blows by the time Em calmly approaches and dispatches him. Her amulet drives through his fogsuit, into his windpipe, cutting off his flow of air and creating a brook of bubbling blood.
His eyes are wide as he stares back into the eyes of his murderer. They are a dark green. He is quite young, looks scared, and maybe a little sad, as his lifeblood pumps away into his suit, filling the lower portion of his helmet and flowing through the hole in the neck of his suit. His struggles slow and cease, quicker than you'd expect.
>>725807Mark stares at Falling hatefully. He looks like he would try to spit again, but stops himself, probably afraid it would land in his own eye, hanging upside down as he is.
>>725808As Cit mentions that she knows Veddy, the diamond dog takes special note of her. "Oh, you know Veddy, huh? Excellent. I'll make sure to say hi for you when we see each other." His eyes gleam with intention.
A cruel wind blows, swaying the entire makeshift mooring like a ship rocking gently at sea. Marble chooses this moment to kick his free limbs suddenly in an attempt to free himself from KC's vicegrip.
[roll again to maintain hold, or choose to put him down]
>>725810At this time of night, almost halfway through the darkness, there are few ships passing in the sky, most of them distant lights slowly and uniformly trailing along toward their destinations in the distance. One or two ships dart about in the no-fly zones, down between the toren struts and through the incompleted construction zones, but none of them appear to be bearing down on the hideout.
No.725817
>>725813"Did you overhear any indication of where he might be?" chimes in the kirin.
No.725818
>>725816>>725805Celestia being quite disturbed and angry yells up at Em. "
Why did you do that!" He exclaims with the stomp of his plush feet and finished with a loud growl.
No.725819
>>725816She goes silent. "Oh. Well, um, I don't think that's gonna happen. We can't really let you get away. Sorry. Didn't really answer the question, though."
As Marble begins to slip, KC loosens his grip slightly in an attempt to scare him into talking again.
[1d10] Intimidate
[1d10] Keep holding
>>725817"I… Can't recall. We sort of just got led to someone else Star knows and then he stalked off. It all happened kinda quick, so I might be remembering it wrong. Sorry. Long day. …Really long, actually."
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 No.725820
>>725816Em reaches out and pats him on the head. "Gave you a chance, buddy. Sorry." She looks over her shoulder at Reverb and Grey. "How's it coming over there?"
>>725818Em flinches, covers here ears, and squeezes her eyes shut. "Don't yell at me!" she shrieks. "It isn't my fault! He already said he was gonna keep attacking us! We told him he could go and he didn't!"
No.725821
>>725816having finished her check, she turns her even-toned intentions towards the dangling racer.
"Beyond our Demands for information, we harbor no ill-will towards you. Reveal what you know of 'Veddy' and we will release you uninjured."
[1d10] Persuasion
[1d3] inscrutable bonus
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.725822
>>725820"
Don't tell me what to do!" Celestia yells again. "
I can yell all I want!" Celestia announces with a point of his plush hoof.
No.725823
>>725819"Do not trouble yourself, such a chance encounter was unlikely to have yielded aught of use. We will have to find our lead elsewhere." replies Jiandao with a slight nod.
No.725824
>>725813Falling frowns, wishing this could've been finished quickly without any more mob business.
"Where is the Six Arms?"
>>725816"Not talking isn't helping you!"
Falling quickly retorts as Mark looks to disrespect her again. When he starts to flail to get free, Falling's horn lights to hold him tight in telekinesis again to stop his movement.
>Telekinesis Hold [1d10]Roll #1 7 = 7 No.725825
>>725822Em scrunches and opens her now tear filled eyes. "Yeah?!" she screams back. "Well so can I!" She takes a deep breath, walks up to Celestia, and screeches right in her face.
[1d10]How loud?
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.725826
>>725825Celestia screeches back with his mighty royal Canterlot voice. Not to be outdone by the changeling
[1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.725827
>>725823"Er… Okay. I wasn't really troubled by it."
>>725824"Down in the Fog. Kind of tricky to get to, but I can try and get there. KC's better at navigating than I am. He'll know the way for sure."
No.725829
>>725826Em scrunches, whimpers, and covers her ears again as Celestia's voice booms around her. After recovering a little, she opens her mouth and tries half-heartedly to scream back again.
[1d10-1]Once more with less enthusiasm.
Roll #1 5 - 1 = 4 No.725830
>>725816>>725818>>725820Reverb and Gray, standing in silence, watch the helmetless and now blasted Blunderbuss guard struggle to put his hooves under his body.
[1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.725831
>>725829>>725826She sighs, turns away, and shakes her head. "Fine," she says, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We're not done. There's still another guy, then we gotta get to guard pony floor 24- floor- Central-" She clutches the side of her head and squeezes her eyes shut again, violently thrashing her head around to try and get some semblance of coherent thought back. She lets out a quiet giggle, but it's betrayed by the pained look on her face. "Something about a map."
No.725833
>>725819>>725821>>725824Marble, kicking around as he is, struggles and manages to break KC's grip. His triumph is short-lived, however, as he fails to catch the sheer edge of the industrial-grade junk which forms the dock of the hideout and begins to plummet downward.
At the last moment possible, Falling's telekinesis catches him, holding him barely below the lip of the mooring.
"SHIT!" he screams, facing certain doom. "GET ME BACK UP THERE!"
He does not seem in any shape to answer the questions posed to him, instead opting to scream and struggle to gain a hoofhold on anything close. Unfortunately, the hideout was build directly into the crystalline toren structure, and there are no hoofholds close enough to make contact, let alone find any purchase. He flails in place.
[[Falling rolls to hold him in place OR put him back on solid ground]]
>>725825>>725826>>725829Em's voice is piercing and loud. Celestia's otherworldly screech, using the Canterlot Voice of Doom, is overwhelming. It levels both Reverb and Gray, who duck to the ground, covering their ears with their hooves.
[Em, Reverb, Gray and guardpone each take 1 hit of ear-splitting damage]
There appears to be a response from the nearby guard's tower, which begins flashing blue and red from three points at various altitudes, the topmost one being near the high ceiling of the space they are in below the CD spire. After a moment, several figures file out of an entrance, barely visible through the fog, and make a beeline toward the party.
The remaining downed guard, having been unable to get to his feet, tries again, blood covering his face and ears.
Recover [1d10]
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.725834
>>725827"If you could, I'd owe you."
Falling says, practically pleading.
>>725833>>725827>>725823Falling digs her hooves into the platform, holding herself steady as she catches Marble in her telekinesis before he plummets to his doom.
"A l-little help, please!"
Falling says to the others in her struggle, trying to pull the dog back up onto the safe ground.
>Pull [1d10]Roll #1 9 = 9 No.725835
>>725833"
Oh no." Celestia says with their voice going below a whisper. Seeing the swarm of guards heading towards them. "
We need to hide! Celestia announces diving into a bush.
NonCombat Talent:[Monster in the closet]:passive; Celestia Hides inside a life sized that makes others believe Celestia is only the cavalier minion as long as he is inside giving a +2 to any stealth related rolls.
[1d10+2] Stealth
Roll #1 8 + 2 = 10 No.725836
>>725827"Hm? you know of these 'Six arms'? We would be most appreciative if you could bring us to them. Perhaps they would know more of Diamond."
>>725833>>725834Acting quickly, Jiandao reaches with her own magic to assist Pulling Marble up, the diamond dog awash in bronze and Grey light.
[1d10] Assist
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.725838
>>725833Cit's heart stops as she sees Marble fall. "KC, what did you do?!"
KC just shrugs.
She breathes a sigh of relief as she hears Marble screeching. She quickly rushes over and helps Falling haul him back up with telekinesis.
[1d10]
>>725836"Six Arms aren't a group, it's a bar. A seedy one at that. Not my usual haunt, but I guess I'm going to be seeing a lot of it from now on.
>>725834>>725836"S-sure. Maybe tomorrow morning? Kind of late now."
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.725839
>>725831>>725833After a moment Em's eyes snap open, and her chest heaves. "Central Spire," she mumbles. "Just gotta- Just gotta get to the Central Spire." She looks up as she hears the movement in the distance and looks up to see the guards. She frantically looks around. Too many. Way too many.
"You two!" she says, pointing to Reverb and Grey. "Steal their suits and turn into them!" She walks back up to the guard she stabbed in the throat and starts undressing him, trying to shape-shift into him as she does.
[1d10]Shapeshift/disguise
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.725840
>>725838"Tommorrow! I can't leave Diamond to whoever this Veddy is for a whole day!"
No.725841
>>725840"I don't really fancy going into the Fog at night. Who knows what sort of crazies are down there?" She looks uncomfortable. "You guys have brought me enough trouble as is."
KC seems to think otherwise, nodding eagerly in response to you. Cit frowns. "I haven't even had dinner. Or lunch…"
KC stomps loudly in annoyance, gesturing at you with two open hands, then at Cit. She looks conflicted, looking from you and Jiandao to KC, unsure of what to do.
No.725842
>>725841Falling has some hope as KC appears to support her, but she can't help but feel bad at dragging Cit into this, a pony she just met.
"Can you… draw a map to the place? I don't want to intrude any more than I have…"
No.725844
>>725834>>725836>>725838Bands of grey, bronze and orange light wrap the diamond dog and haul him up by his pits, up onto the makeshift mooring. The three of them collectively drop the pathetic sobbing figure onto the hard metal ground, where he lies, alone and pitiful. "Don't kill me," he murmurs, almost to himself. "I don't want to die." The four of them stand around him in a semi-circle, looking down at him as he cries quietly to himself.
There is the sound of an explosion in the distance. Far below, the surface of the fog ripples slowly, barely visibly under the wan light of the sparse orange lights mounted to the toren struts. A moment later, a slight tremor in the entire structure subtly rocks the whole mooring, not enough to dislodge or unbalance anypony but noticable.
>>725835Celestia finds a particularly jagged crystalline boulder to hide behind. It's not large enough for any real-sized pony, but should suit Celly's purposes just fine. He settles down atop his spiny friend, hiding both from view neatly.
(In fact, Celly's plushy body is very obviously jutting from the edge of the so-called "boulder," too small for hiding behind for anypony, but he does not realize that, so long as he stays still, anypony seeing him would merely mistake him for an adorable-yet- discarded bit of trash rather than a sentient being with agency.)
>>725839Reverb and Gray stare at Em for a moment. Reverb replies in Em's voice.
"Steal their suits? Turn into them?"
She looks down to the small gray changeling drone, who shrugs.
Em is able to quickly pull the helmet of the guard she dispatched, pouring a not-inconsiderable amount of blood out of it, and placing it over her own head. Undressing the rest of the guard, however, turns out to be more challenging than she had imagined, and she is only really able to mostly disrobe him before getting snagged on his hooves.
Reverb, watching Em struggle with the fogsuit, effortlessly duplicates the burned-to-death guard, along with his full fogsuit-attire. She appears to have no trouble with fully replicating his visage, complete with protective attire. There appears to be a small amount of fire-damage on one side, perhaps intentional and perhaps not.
Reverb-as-Guard nudges the gray, who releases a long set of clicking replies, but does not change his appearance. He appears ready to flee. Reverb looks back to Em, not responding to his clicks. The gray looks frustrated. Finally he croaks out a sound, does it again. Repeats and refines it as the sound finally registers as a word.
The gray says to Em, slowly repeating and refining the noise until its mouth-sounds form a word, "
CANT"
The flames from Alchemist Fire have all but died down. There is a charred body nearby, a dead guard, and a guard struggling to regain footing who looks mostly gone already.
A loud sound, perhaps an explosion, comes from the fog-obscured distance, accompanied by a flash of light on the ground level and, a moment later, a blast of warm air which washes over the party. The approaching figures all notice this, and stop their approach to marvel.
No.725845
>>725844Celestia watches hidden with their lone eye. Wondering what will happen next. If they changeling are having trouble, he won't have any issue helping, despite his issues with the one named Em. That Gray is still his.
No.725846
>>725844Jiandao looms over the prone and sobbing dog, intimidating in her lack of reaction.
"We truly have no interest in harming you, only interest in information of Veddy. Tell us everything you know of him." she asks plainly.
[1d10] Persuasion
[1d3] bonus
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.725847
>>725844Em's jaw drops and she stares at Grey. "You
what?" Her breathing is heavy for a long moment, but finally she clears her throat. "Alright," she says. "New plan. We've apprehended a changeling menace who's brutalized our fellow guards. Reverb!" She points to Grey. "Cuff 'em!"
No.725848
>>725844Falling sighs in relief as they manage to pull Marble back to safety. She looks down at him, almost feeling bad seeing him like this.
"We're not going to kill you. I never wanted to hurt anypony, I just want to get my friend back home safely."
She says quietly.
Falling nearly when the explosion rings off in the distance, looking off to the distance where the fog ripples.
"Wh-What was that?!"
She exclaims in confused panic, trying to see if she can spot anything off where the explosion came from.
>Perception [1d10]Roll #1 4 = 4 No.725850
>>725846>>725844The explosion punctuates her question, giving the kirin pause as she scans the area of the fog the blast came from.
No.725851
>>725842"…Maybe? I'm not very good with directions, but-"
She is cut off by more angry gesturing from KC. An emphatic point to Cit. Then a point to you. Then a point towards the skyline. Followed by him crossing his arms like a moody teenager.
"…I'm going to regret this. Let me at least grab something to eat, then we can go check out the bar. Okay?"
>>725844She feels a bit bad for Marble, but after seeing hos obnoxious he can be it passes. "Look, Mr Mark. Marble. We don't want to hurt you. If you just tell us what you know about Veddy, I'm sure we can-"
Both of them are distracted by the explosion. "What now?" Cit asks, moving over to the edge and peering down. KC joins her in doing the same.
[1d10]
[1d10]
Perception
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 No.725854
>>725851"We've been chasing whatever clues we could so far, even iffy directions would be a blessing."
Falling starts. Then when she agrees, a bright smile comes to her face.
"Oh thank thank THANK you! I really owe you a lot for this."
She says optimistically.
No.725855
>>725854>>725851"Your assistance is most welcome." adds the kirin, bowing deeply in thanks.
No.725856
>>725844[1d10] graverobbing
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.725859
>>725846>>725848>>725851Marble shudders with sobs, ignoring completely both questioning and the distant explosion, merely cradling himself into a fetal position, forelegs encircling hindlegs in a gesture of total helplessness. He appears to be muttering to himself, not doing so hot with his recent close call with the abyss.
Falling, Jiandao, Cit and KC all manage to independently surmise that the raucous sound came from somewhere far below, near the ground level close to the Central Spire. Beyond that they are unable to pinpoint the epicenter of the explosion, merely notice that the ripples on the surface of the fog, far below, appear to be perpindicular to the city center from where they stand, looking down to the fog from a vertigo-inspiring vantage point far above.
Cit, looking back through the entrance, recognizes Golden's bag, stocked full of fruits and straw from the GD. They will not go hungry, she realizes, as her stomach gives a small yet audible growl.
>>725845Celly is completely hidden. Nothing appears to happen right away. The sound of a nearby explosion has completely distracted the guards in the fog-tinted distance, the changeling-created conflagration has died down and is no longer a beacon, and the group of changelings appears to be working on their own disguises for now. It seems safe to stay put, at least for the time being.
>>725847Reverb-as-Guard nods to Em obediently, then tries to locate cuffs among the dead. Grey appears to understand and searches alongside her, feeling out the corpses and the almost-dead guard, still struggling for breath, for restraining devices. Grey is the one who finds it, holds it up triumphantly. Reverb-as-Guard walks over, affectionately rubs Grey with a hoof, then begins to affix the restraints to his hooves. Grey acquiesces, cooperating, and soon
they are the very image of a guard and his changeling prisoner.
Guard recover[1d10]
>>725856Em manages to wrest the remaining bits of fogsuit off the dead guard, careful not tear any part of it, although there is still a disturbing amount of blood inside. She dons the fog-suit awkwardly, spilling the young guard's lifeblood all down the outside, but managing to put the damn thing on, despite not being intimately familiar with all the random-seeming straps and cables. The rest of the blood puddles and gushes around inside, disturbingly still quite warm.
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.725860
Celestia does what the voice in his head recommended him and decides to make himself comfortable. Within his plush suit making spit bubbles. Mini made it look so easy and fun.
No.725862
>>725859Falling looks out to the fog as best she can, but unfortunately her eyes can only see so far. She turns back to Marble, looking at his now useless form and sighs.
"I guess we should take a few minutes to prepare."
She says, realizing they need a ship to go back down into the fog, and also that they'll need to fix their suits too, the thought of which reminds her of the incident. Her horn glows bronze, and she focuses on herself as her magic goes to cleanse her body of that short fog exposure they endured.
>Mend [Self] [1d10]Roll #1 7 = 7 No.725863
>>725859Jiandao merely observes the racer's mewling for a moment, before turning to the others.
>>725854>>725851"Perhaps It is best we explore our other options, this bar mentioned earlier."
No.725864
>>725854>>725855"Yeah yeah, don't get your hopes up. I don't think I'll be able to do much other than show you the way. Veddy and I didn't really get along well."
KC gives you both a double thumbs up, his aperture eyes shifting to a ^ ^ formation.
>>725859KC trudges over to Marble and nudges him gently with his foot, "encouraging" him to keep spilling the beans.
[1d10] Intimidate
Cit's hunger gets the better of her, as she makes a beeline for Golden's bag and promptly begins to inhale a large mandarin. She goes back to the edge and keeps scanning as she eats, trying to get to the bottom of the source of that explosion.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 No.725866
>>725859With Cit eating from the bag, the pang of hunger afflicts the Kirin as well, making her way over to help herself to some of the fruit tucked within.
No.725867
>>725863"Hopefully she'll be there."
>>725864"This lead is our best bet. I have to follow it."
Falling says.
She looks up to KC, and gives him a big smile in return for the help.
No.725869
>>725859Em's snoot scrunches at the feeling of the blood. "Ew," she says. "Sticky." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Alright, I don't know where the dumb mean doll went, but we should be alright to get to Central Spire floor B25." She fishes around for the paper, not seeming to care all that much about its condition as she uncrumples it with her slightly bloody fogsuit hooves to double check again. "We'll go from there. Hopefully we can get in with this getup. Once we're in I know a spell that'll let me scout the place out."
No.725871
>>725863>>725867She nods. "I'm sure we'll be able to follow some sort of breadcrumb trail from there."
No.725874
>>725869[1d10]How bad does it come out, boss?
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.725877
>>725860This seems to be the right choice.
Celestia has a bit of luck blowing bubbles, though the inside of the doll seem to keep popping them once they touch the edges. Hmm. Perhaps if they were kept a reasonable size, she might be able to send them through the mouth of her plushy armor.
[Skill: "Bubble" learned. Roll to launch a harmless bubble in a direction.]
Bubble also has the effect of inflicting a target with equine fog-sickness, if applicable.The guards in the distance appear to be done reeling from the explosion and begin to approach the party. There is a mechanical spider with them.
>>725862Falling's magic envelopes her hind-leg in bronze light, sinking in through the fogsuit layer as if it were nonexistent, settling into her flesh and mending it. She is unable to feel any difference, but any fog-sickness she has incurred presumably departs.
Falling Sand's fog-sickness level changes from 2 to 1>>725864KC's gentle 'nudge' turns out to be a pretty solid kick towards the edge of the structure. The dog Marble scrabbles at the side, clutching onto solid ground, scooting his body as best he can across the rough metal frame toward the entrance and away from the deadly edge, which drops away into apparent infinity.
Once there, he gives an angry glance up at his interrogators, all stuffing their mouths with peasant food. "Fuck you," he shares with them. "Fuck everything you stand for. You are all fucked. Capital F fucked."
He tries to spit. It also dribbles down his chin.
"I will make sure this whole place is firebombed, nuked, destroyed, nothing left of it but ashes, and then I'll have them bury the ashes and piss on them."
He doesn't seem cooperative to further interrogation.
>>725866>>725864>>725867The three ponies have a very nice meal, pulled from Golden's bag which Cit produces. They enjoy a wide variety of apples, oranges, stonefruit, alfalfa, fescue, clovers, and various legumes. All in all, the meal is quite wholesome and part of a complete breakfast. KC watches the prisoner, making sure he is continually cornered against the edge as Cit, Falling and Jiandao eat.
No.725878
>>725869Em is, at first, not quite able to pull out the parchment, as her entire body is covered in a dead guard-pony's fogsuit. Apparently not caring whether she coats the thing in blood, she reaches a hoof in through one of the many openings in her stolen covering and pulls out the crumpled bit of parchment.
>>725874Somehow it comes out intact, with no loss of information.
The crumpled parchment has a bit of blood on the corners. It reads:
Central Spire, floor b25There are two symbols at the bottom of the page. One resembles a squid, the other a beetle. Somehow, they appear to be soaking the blood from the rest of the parchment.
The corners are marked with fresh blood from Em's recent kill. The blood disappears quickly, some of it beading and flowing off the page, some of it absorbing into the parchment, leaving a few imprints alongside. She is able to see quickly that the strange marks at the bottom, the beetle and the squid, seem to swallow the blood, along with some 5 other spots, 3 in between and 2 on the right side. For a moment she can almost make out the forms, but they disappear before she can register their shape.
She is able to see that these shapes are equidistant across the bottom of the page, and while the remaining shapes after the blood dried were the beetle in the left and the squid somewhere in the middle, there were some 5 other places where blood pooled and got absorbed, though she is unable to make out the forms they surely take. They disappear quickly and are indistinguishable from the rest of the page, even when held up against the wan orange light.
Em stares at the blood-stained paper as it does its thing.
The guards in the distance appear to be finally over the explosion and begin to make their way toward the party. There appear to be 3 pony-figures and one large spider-shaped beast, approximately the same size as the grave-robbing automaton Em has already encountered. They are shining lights toward the group, but are still some distance away.
No.725879
>>725877Celestia uses his big ol eye to observe the three ponies with the spider. Attempting to find an interesting fact about them. Otherwise might as well blow more bubbles. That was pretty fun as Mini made it look.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.725881
>>725878"Oh. Neat," Em says, holding the parchment up like she's holding it up to the light, even though there's no real light-source to hold it up to. "I was right!" She tries to find a pocket to stuff the piece of paper back into. "Alright," she says. "Let's start heading to the Central Spire. If they stop us we'll give them our story. If they don't believe us, we'll do the same to them that we did here. Everyone got it?" She stops talking as they properly come into view. She gulps as she sees the spider thing and takes an apprehensive step back. "Or maybe we run," she whispers.
[1d10]Perception/identification
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.725882
>>725877She looks over at Marble as he rants with a slight frown, her mood improved slightly by the food but then soured by his threats. "Yknowr," she says, her mouth currently stuffed with half a peach peach, "I wsh gonner offr y'shome. But yr a nashty psh o worg." She tosses KC a particularly large apple, and he proceeds to shove it in Marble's open mouth, shutting him up for the moment.
[1d10] Silence, fool
She swallows the peach and starts making conversation with the others as they eat.
>>725867>>725866"So, how long have you guys been in Horizon?" she asks, wiping her mouth. "You live here, right?" she adds as an aside to Falling.
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.725883
>>725877"Traveling to the bar will be difficult" begins Jiandao, taking a moment in between bites of a notably fresh apple to swallow. "-Without the aid of Golden's airship. Can we reach the ground quickly without it, or will we need to wait for his return?" she asks the others
"It is also unlikely Marble will be willing to leave peaceably, though i am unsure what should be done with him."
>>725882"I am new to this land, having arrived yesterday." the kirin replies, wiping her muzzle with her magic. "I was fortunate to have found work so quickly, though this mission continues to complicate itself further at every turn."
No.725884
>>725883"I mean, we got there just fine without one. Though it is kind of easy to get lost in the fog. We can wait for Golden if you really want I suppose."
"Yeah, about that." She looks back to the presumably still struggling celebrity racer. "I'm thinking we leave him trussed up back here. We can't really take him with us, but it'd cause even more trouble if we, you know…" She moves her hoof across her throat. "I think here's the best bet. Unless we find a better hiding place for him…"
"Oh. Wow. This is your first job here? Hell of an introduction, huh. Welcome to Horizon, where good things go to die." She smirks.
No.725885
>>725877"Phew."
Falling sighs as her magic settles in. Even though she doesn't actually feel different, she feels a bit cleaner.
Falling removes her suit helmet, having a good portion of the fruits, having not realized how hungry she was after running around all day.
"…My parents must be worried sick about me."
She comments are a bit, when that realization sets in.
>>725882"Yea, born and raised here. It's been great, until today…"
No.725886
>>725884"Mm.. For now, it will do. Should we leave before Golden returns, a note can be left nearby to explain the situation."
"You have entered the fog without a ship? Is there a path of some sort we could take?"
>>725885The kirin fixes you with her steely grey gaze.
"The path laid before us is not for one as young as you, Falling. Fate pulls us towards a danger neither I nor Master Border would fault you for refusing."
No.725887
>>725885She nods. "Yeah. Me too. Sucks, huh. Trying to save up enough money to get out of here myself. Dunno where. Just… anywhere."
>>725886"Kind of? You just sort of have to climb your way down. Or blink, if you know how. If it's too tricky I'm sure KC can give us a boost. Right big guy?" KC nods vigorously.
No.725888
>>725886"I can't refuse it, not until I get Diamond back."
Falling says, voice still sick with worry but with a determined force behind it.
>>725887Falling looks up to Cit.
"I've never even though about leaving. The fog is bad, but, were I live everything is nice, and calm. Nothing seemed all that bad."
No.725889
>>725888"It's not just the fog. It's the crime. The crystal sickness. The corruption." She spares Marble a glance. "This place is just… rotten," she concludes with a shiver. "I can't stand it. I need to get out of here. Bad. I was born here, but I'd rather die anywhere else."
No.725890
>>725889"I'm starting to see all that now. But leaving this place, even with all the books I've read, I can't even picture that. Everything I know is here, my family… my friends."
No.725891
>>725888She stares for a moment more before nodding.
"Very well. I will protect us until we have seen this through."
No.725892
>>725891Falling smiles, touched by her words, even though this is her job with Border.
"Thank you Jiàndào. I'm glad you're here."
No.725893
>>725890She nods. "Yeah, I get that. It's just different for me. Never really lived anywhere nice. Not like you lot. Parents took off when I was little, and then my brother followed. This is just the latest hovel that's taken us in." She gestures at the ramshackle building behind them. "And it's not like I'd be leaving KC behind. We're all we've got, so we have to stick together." KC folds his arms and nods sagely.
No.725894
>>725893"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that."
Falling says with a frown.
"And I haven't helped any dragging all this business here."
No.725895
>>725894She waves her hoof dismissively. "Pfft, it's fine. I guess. I was probably gonna get in trouble anyway with this whole bootlegging business. Not a rabbit hole I ever wanted to go down, but I guess we make do with what we've got. Right?"
No.725896
>>725879Celly is unable to see anything. His suit has apparently been displaced through the bubble-blowing process.
Attempting to blow more bubbles, Celestia realizes he is able to direct them and shoot them with some accuracy. They go forward and pop where he was aiming without much difficulty. He realizes he can aim them at anything, and even though they don't seem to have much effect, launching them should be executed with care.
>>725881Em crumples and stuffs the parchment into an exterior pocket of the fog-suit.
The Central Spire Guard Tower is near one of the humongous struts. It is from this direction that 3 fogsuit-clad ponies and a mechanical multilegged automaton approaches. They are still a ways away when Em makes her suggestion of approaching, or running.
Reverb-as-Guard pipes up with her input. "Heading to Central Spire. Got it." She nods as Em finishes. "Maybe we run," she adds, helpfully. "We do the same." She speaks with Em's voice but there is a bit of emphasis she adds that, although Em's voice, certainly not her inflection. It seems Reverb is either getting worse at imitation, or is trying to inflect her own meaning on the echoes she produces.
Grey, restrained, attempts to make some clicks sound like Equish. Finally he manages to make one sound in the form of a word. He says, between clicks,
"
Guard"
He points at the group approaching. They have a spider-looking machine accompanying them.
>>725882The apple lands perfectly in Marble's mouth as he had opened it up to shout something, perfectly muting him. It appears to have stuck itself in his teeth in a way that prevents him from removing it, so he proceeds to make muffled sounds around it as he tries to remove it with his paws. He is, at least right away, unsuccessful.
Marble Mark's Struggle [1d10]
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.725897
>>725893>>725892>>725891The three of them have a fantastic meal. It fills them fully, and they are happy, enjoying each others company over the rich spread.
Someone approaches the entrance, flies right by KC and Marble, approaches the entrance at full speed.
A fogsuit-clad pegasus with a spiked helmet crashes through the opening, into a pile of junk acting as a landing pad. The figure comes in hot, tumbling over piles of junk and industrial garbage, coming to a rocky halt among the pile of Cit's assorted parts. A moment of stunned silence passes as everyone wonders whether this new figure, lying haphazardly across the accumulated trash, is alive or dead.
Picking themselves off the ground, the figure removes their helmet to reveal a pink manehawk and an extremely embarassed expression. "I'm okay!" Starfish proclaims, before picking herself up with a wince. "Mostly."
The pegasus, whom Falling and Jiandao happened to have met earlier in the evening, limps her way over, picking bolts and nuts out of her fogsuit folds and letting them drop haphazardly, shaking them out with hops that communicate the fact that she is pretty much completely unharmed by her crash landing.
"Wowow! Hey Cit," she nods to the tinkerer.
"Hello, fellows," she offers to Falling and Jiandao. "Still here? Would'a thought you guys had stuff to do. Cool to see you found the grub."
She shakes the rest of the debris out of her hair and turns to Cit, addressing her specifically but not excluding the other two ponies. "Hey!! Would you believe it? Marble Frickin' Mark crashed his fancy-arsed ship into the base of a toren structure during the race! No chance he survived. I thought he was gonna win the whole thing, but he's dust now! Can you believe that??" She laughs, a high-pitched, jocular sound.
"I never though THAT would happen, but to be honest, my money was always on Swift Bolt. Mark always seemed a little too cocky to root for, nah mean??"
She is on top of the world.
"Where's Golden? I was supposed to watch the race with him!" she looks around, expectantly. "Golden!" she cries. "Get out here, duder! You won't believe what happened!"
[[paused]]
No.726278
>>725896>>725897Last time, in Horizon…
>>725891>>725892>>725893Falling, Jiandao, Cit and KC, having concluded a fairly successful interrogation with the currently gagged and cornered Marble Mark, share a meal and conversation together.
Suddenly, Starfish bursts in through the front entrance in a typically haphazard fashion. After picking herself up from her minor crash, she shares the news that Marble Mark's vehicle was involved in a high-speed collision, and went out in a blaze of glory. Apparently somewhere among all those bleeding-edge mods was something highly volatile, causing a disproportionately large explosion. Starfish is hyped about it and can't wait to tell Golden, who, unbeknownst to her, was the last known pilot of Marble's airship.
Marble Mark attempts once more to spit out the apple. He climbs to his feet, still cornered against the edge of the precipice.
[1d10]
>>725879>>725881Em, Celly, Reverb, Grey, and a spiny lizard attached to Celly's plushy armor, having dispatched the last of the first wave of guards, proceed to form a plan as the second wave approaches. They appear to be accompanied by an intimidating machine which walks on many mechanical legs like a large spider.
The plan is subterfuge and bluff their way through! Reverb has taken on the disguise of one of the dispatched guards, Gray is shackled to pretend to be a prisoner, Em is dressed up as another guard and Celly is… well, a stuffed animal hiding behind a rock. What it lacks in originality it makes up for in believability. After all, who is going to suspect that a discarded, oily and slightly singed children's doll is secretly hiding a sentient, otherworldly octopode?
The guards are close enough to shout. One of them waves. So far, the disguises seem to be working. The other two pony guards simply follow, and the spider-bot obediently trails, a few lights flashing on its bulky 'head.'
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.726279
>>726278Em takes a deep breath, preparing herself for the masterful charade she's about to enact. Instead of waiting for the guards to approach, she steps over the corpse and gestures for Reverb and Grey to follow her lead. Putting on a smile beneath her hazmat mask, she lets out a quiet giggle and waves back. Clearing her throat, she shouts, "Met with some trouble! Seems there are some disgusting bugs out here! The five of us were jumped by four of them trying to break in. The other three-" She falls silent and slowly and theatrically shakes her head before glancing over her shoulder at the bodies. "Well, at least we got one of them. Darn bugs. Not sure why we can't just burn them all."
[1d10]Deceit if needed
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.726280
>>726279At the end of the sentence, a nervous, completely out of place, and entirely-like-Em's-voice giggle passes through the mask.
No.726281
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>726278>>725897Falling turns in alarm as the pegasus flies past them, crashing into a trash heap and tumbling out without any second thought.
"Oh, hey, uh… Starfish, right?"
Falling says as she greets them all.
"We did, and then we came back."
As Starfish speaks about the explosion, Falling's mouth drops in shock. She looks back outside to where they saw the explosion, utterly horrified.
"G-Golden…"
No.726282
>>726278Cellphone just stares ahead with his lone eye. Thinking it to be unwise to move from his spot while hopeful peace lasts. If all works out he can just follow them all from behind. After all, no one expects Celestia!
No.726283
>>726278"Greetings, starfish." Says the Kirin, nodding to the Pegasus as she completes her meal. "We have found a clue to diamond's location, the 'six arms', a bar within the fog."
Hearing of the explosion, Jiàndào furrows her brow in though. "Golden had taken Marble's ship to hide the evidence, perhaps this was his method of a clean disposal?"
No.726284
>>726278She freezes as Starfish tells of the crash, feeling sick as she remembers the explosion they felt before. She gives Starfish a weak little nod of greeting, trying to say something, but no words come out at first. "…Yeah. …Crazy, huh. Wonder how it… how it went down." KC looks at the assembled group with a concerned expression.
>>726283"That or…" She can't bring herself to put it into words.
No.726285
>>726281>>726283>>726284Starfish grabs an apple and takes a huge bite of it, spraying bits of apple-flesh as she responds to each in turn.
"Ah, welcome back," she offers to Falling. "Golden what?" She takes another careless bite.
As Jiandao greets her, Starfish mocks the kirin's polite gestures by bowing deeply and taking a mock-serious attitude. "Ahh, Jiandao. May the highest honor be bestowed upon your ancesto—bahaha!"
She cannot make it through the whole blessing without cracking up laughing.
"Six Arms, eh?" She sobers. "I'd be careful with that bunch. Friendly, for the most part, but if you cross them… boy." Shakes her head. "You're playing with fire. Honestly, they're a great bunch, but really concerned with money. Make them money, they'll love you." She nods to Cit. "Offer them something cheap, they might just do business with them. Cost them money, though, and you'll wish you had never even heard the name."
Starfish takes a full bite before Jiandao finishes her explanation, freezes, lets the bite of apple fall from her mouth, unchewed. "Wait. What?" She looks to Cit, who fumbles a half-hearted query, presenting all self-conscious awkwardness.
"What?? That can't be right. It was Marble Mark who got merc'd! I saw his ship with my own eyes!"
"Hello, Star," Marble's voice comes from the open balcony. "Long time no see." The diamond dog's pointed face peeks around the corner as he saunters in, no longer blocked by KC's huge frame. "Looks like I've got some juicy gossip for Mayfield after all." He smirks, sauntering ever closer.
"His prize pupil, excommunicated for murder, is now involved in a kidnapping ring, and what's more, her boyfriend stole the fastest boat on the planet and got himself killed trying to fly it. It's a heck of a beast, the mark 12. I'm not surprised he couldn't handle it." He stands cockily in the room, now, a smug expression on his face, his eyes still puffy from crying for his life.
Starfish looks from him to the others in disbelief. "What.. Huh??" She shakes her head. "What is THIS asshole doing here? Just what the FUCK is going on???"
>>726282Celestia lies there, unnoticed and uncared for. Being ignored begins to feel a bit lonely, honestly. An unfortunate side effect of hiding, one supposes.
There is a fat, spiny lizard underneath Celly's plush. It moves its limbs a little bit, still clamped firmly onto the decorative wing. It appears to share Celly's desire for affection. Wiggling its head around, seeking light and comfort, it is unable to free itself without declasping from the plushy wing, which it appears unwilling to do. It merely wriggles underneath, ineffectually shaking the plush.
No.726286
>>726279The lead guard approaches, the others in tow, not saying anything as he listens to Em's explanation. He nods, seeming to accept her words. "Yeah, Bravo squadron's reported a plethora of the buggers. Seems like something is going on down there, driving em out." He steps up and takes a closer look at Grey. "Ugly fuckers, aren't they?" He kicks Grey in the front left kneecap, floors him. Captain laughs cruelly as the small changeling is brought to the ground and looks up reproachfully. "Your guys got taken down from just four of them? Weak." He shakes his head, still chuckling, back to his subordinates.
"Let's get this cleaned up. We run a tight ship, here, gentlemen." The others salute quickly and hop to work, dragging the bodies into a small pile. The spider just stands there, blinking lights. Meanwhile, the head guard turns back to Em.
"So, you managed to capture one, eh? These things aren't worth much, usually just a night of fun and then they're all used up." He offers a mirthless laugh. "As your captain, I'm gonna request that you gift me first run at this one. Anything left, you can take it." He winks at the pained Grey, trying to regain his footing, not able to put any weight on his kneecapped foreleg. He limps to his feet and sends a hurt look at Em and Reverb, who looks at him with compassion. The captain roughly grabs Grey by his restraints, dragging him to his feet and pulling him close.
"Welp," says the captain, "back to the grind. There's been a rogue group sighted in this area, so keep your eyes open." He turns to leave, stops and looks back. "By the way, ensign. We met this morning, but I easily forget. What did you say your name was, again?"
No.726287
>>726285Not finding anything interesting going one beyond the bushes except violence. So Princess Porcelain Horelain decides to pat the head of the nearest creature. That being the lizard.Mini's pats have always comforted him. Perhaps if he pats another it will still comfort him?
No.726288
>>726285KC steps in Marble's way and holds up one lugged hand to him, motioning for him to stop where he is. The robot stares him down with his best mean face, gears in his chest grinding menacingly.
Cit, trembling a little, speaks up first, telling the truth. "They… they kidnapped him. Brought him here. Golden took off to go hide the ship, I think, and… And…"
No.726289
>>726285Jiandao blinks as Starfish breaks into laughter, before eying her swords as Marble enters, freed from KC's watch.
"After refusing to answer our questions, we were forced to apprehend him and search his car for answers. A hair from Diamond's mane was found in his trunk, prompting us to hold him for questioning."
"He knows as little as we do, a pawn in a greater game. These 'six arms' may have her, though we will need to learn more from their bar."
She stands up now, facing him protectively in front of Falling and Cit. "We meant no harm, though i suspect now things have become complicated further."
No.726290
>>726285Falling looks over to Starfish, looking guilty after Marble steps out and says half the story to her.
"When we left earlier, the trail we followed let to Marble's ship. It was the one everypony saw take my friend, and we found one of her hairs in it. He refused to say anything, so we took him here, and then he admitted Veddy took the ship that night. Golden said he was just going to hide the ship while we talking to Marble, b-but now…"
Falling trails off, feeling horrible at this mess she caused on all these ponies.
No.726291
>>726286Em has to actively keep herself from wincing as the guard kneecaps Grey, but she barely manages to only let out out another quiet giggle, hopefully taken as a sign of amusement and not discomfort. "They were pretty tough for the most part. And brutal. Caught us in the fog." Em salutes. "Ensign Private Giuseppe, sir."
[1d10]
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.726292
>>726288>>726289>>726290Marble Mark grins with his stupid doberman face as Star's friends try to gently explain what is happening. He interjects to offer a remark. "Aren't you already in trouble with the Six, Starfish? Last I heard, next time you showed your face around there, Veddy was going to personally skin you alive. Lucky you've got that posh bitch on your side, or he'd have already taken you." He smirks, his previous peril forgotten in the rush of being cruel.
Starfish stares numbly as Cit, Falling and Jiandao take turns explaining the situation. Her face is pale. She is silent for a long moment. Finally, she manages to speak, her voice tight and breaking. "Golden was… on that ship?" Her bright eyes begin overflowing with tears. She wobbles on her feet, sits suddenly. "But… but he wouldn't have crashed! He's such a good pilot!"
>>726287The spiny lizard seems to appreciate the through-plush pats, merely accepting them at first and then beginning to demand them, brushing its head against Celestia's hidden mass in an affectionate manner increasing in intensity. It REALLY likes pats.
>>726291The captain looks Em up and down, then glances to Reverb, who has regained composure and stands at attention in a very guardly manner. Grey blinks, clicks a couple times at Em and Reverb, is silenced by a swift blow from Captain's hoof.
"I absolutely hate the way these little bastards sound."
"Private Giuseppe, eh? Well, congratulations on capturing tonight's entertainment. Your relief should arrive in, say, two hours. Stay sharp till then, Private." He nods to one of his own subordinates, who nods back, turns to the spider, manipulates a few switches and flips a lever.
The spider-bot takes a few steps over to the pile of guard bodies. A light shines from its head, reaches out and envelops the bodies. They lift off the gem-crusted ground and follow behind the group. The Captain drags Grey ahead, the guards lead the spiderbot back toward the tower, floating bodies in tow. Grey sends a pleading look back towards the group as he is separated and dragged away.
No.726293
>>726292Celantro appreciates the lizards love for pats. He loves the pats as well. Surprisingly addictive to him. Pats, not even once.
No.726294
>>726292"M-Maybe he had a plan? He… he was saying ponies would be looking for the ship."
Falling says to Starfish, voice unsure as she tries to think of any way this could not end horribly.
Falling glares up at Marble, eyes on the verge of tears from all this hardship she's caused, and the day she's gone through.
"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"
She shouts at him.
No.726295
>>726292"M-maybe he was just disposing of the evidence!" Cit pipes up, echoing what Jiandao said. "I'm sure he could handle it. I mean he flew down here without a hitch, right? He's fine. …He's fine," she repeats, assuring herself.
KC doesn't like being ignored. Especially not by the likes of Marble. He also especially doesn't like talkers. He expresses his displeasure very clearly, giving Marble a powerful backhand slap.
[1d10] Slap a Bitch
Cit looks over in alarm, having little sympathy for Marble at this point but also being worried of KC not knowing his own strength. "KC, honey, no, please don't!" she cries in alarm, putting her consternation over Golden aside for a moment.
KC looks to her and shrugs before making more obscene gestures to Marble.
"Just… just be careful, okay? I know he sucks but try not to hurt him. Please?"
KC reluctantly nods, but keeps watching Marble like a hawk, ready to manhandle him again if he acts out.
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.726296
>>726292Em clears her throat and trots up beside the captain. "Actually, captain, there's something I wanted to speak with you about. It's about the group. Do you think I can speak with you in private? Or do you want me to wait until after my shift?"
No.726297
>>726296[1d10]
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.726298
>>726292"Perhaps he meant to destroy the ship and return here alone" suggests the kirin "Disposing of the ship would remove all evidence of the kidnapping. To the authorities, Marble died within the wreckage." she adds, locking eyes with Marble for emphasis.
"Searching the site would give an answer. Did you spot the explosion's location?"
No.726299
>>726295Marble Mark attempts to duck KC's clumsy blow.
Dodge[1d10]
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.726301
>>726295Marble Mark just barely ducks under KC's blow, stumbles backwards and falls right on his bum, between the entrance and the dock. He looks pained for a moment, but is unwilling to give up this chance to poke at Starfish's weaknesses. He opens his mouth to say something toxic.
>>726294>>726300[font16]"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"[/font16]
That is, until Falling's outburst stops him in place. He finally looks at a loss for words.
>>726298He is perfectly positioned for Jiandao's implication to be understood. The diamond dog sinks in himself and shuts the frick up, for a change.
>>726294>>726295>>726298Falling seems heartened by their musings. "Yeah… yeah, that sounds like something Golden might do. Dispose of the ship with any and all evidence, so that we could take care of Marble on our own time." She grows more confident as she speaks, and stands, beginning to stalk toward the diamond dog. "After all. If he died in the crash, it wouldn't make any sense for him to show up alive, later."
Her eyes take on a dangerous glint even Cit, who has known her the longest out of anyone here, has yet to see. Sometimes angry, maliciously playful, even the occasional casual pointless small cruelty in the name of "pranking." Never the homicidal intensity that is written on the pink pegasus's face just now.
Marble shrinks away from Starfish, scuttling closer and closer to the edge.
>>726293The lizard appears to be getting slightly more aggressive with its love for pats. Now it is moving the entire plush ever so slightly, as if swaying in the breeze, though there is none.
One of the guards leading the spiderbot, with its macabre passengers, looks back.
Guard #3 Perception [1d10]
>>726296>>726297The captain turns. "Oh? Private Giuseppe? What is it?" His men turn toward him, questioning. He gestures them on. "Go ahead. I'll be with you shortly. Yes, Private?" The other guards turn back toward the tower and begin trudging through the fog, slowly obscuring their figures the farther they walk.
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.726302
>>726301Em clears her throat and slows down, trying to let the other guards and the spider robot get some distance. "I found something on this bugger, sir. Seems like they're planning something. I figured maybe you'd want to take a look at it sooner rather than later. It could be important." She fishes around in her suit pocket, pulls out the bloody clump of garbage she'd gotten with the note, and freezes, looking down at it like she'd realized that wasn't what she was supposed to grab but not for the life of her remembering where she was going with it.
No.726303
>>726302She mumbles a quiet "Heck." Moving as fast as she can, she tosses the bloody clump to the captain, fiddles around in her torn suit, and tries to douse him in a gout of [Alchemist's Fire]. "Dolly!" she shouts. "Gonna need your help!"
[1d10]
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.726304
>>726301This lizard is getting quite annoying. Thought Princess Chillestia. Though he should have probably learned of this in his first encounter with the creatures. They did attack him after all. Probably should drop it off somewhere soon. Pretty sure it can take care of itself once I figure out how to detatch it from my plush.
No.726305
>>726301As Marble falls on his ass, KC takes a menacing step forward, not giving the Dog an inch of leg room.
Cit frowns in concern as she sees the look on Starfish's face. "Look, I know this guy's awful, but, um, I don't really think we should do him. What if someone finds him? If word gets out that we've killed one of the biggest names in the city, we're done." KC corroborates, looking over briefly and moving his hand across where his throat ought to be, his eyes forming two Xs. "Maybe we could, um… Keep him locked up here? Or put him somewhere hidden?" She shrugs.
No.726306
>>726305[1d10] Persuade?
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.726307
>>726301>>726298>>726305Falling takes a few deep breaths after she shouts, throat hurting a bit. After a moment she's slightly more calm, but she is still weighted by all that's happened today.
"…What do we do now? Do we go find Golden? How are we going to get into the Six Arms?"
She asks the group, looking unsure of how to proceed, having gotten in way over her head.
No.726308
>>726303>>726304Oh, looks like Princess ButtBurn is needed. Thus he decides to proceed to assault the assumed government security member thingy of the random tower with wet tentacle slaps.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.726309
>>726307>>726298"Should figure out what to do with this goober first, I reckon," she mumbles, nodding to Marble. "But yeah, we ought to go check out the wreck, then head off to Six Arms. Now that Star's here she'll be able to lead the way better than I could."
No.726310
>>726309>>726307>>726301"Correct. Finding Golden will take priority, then we must make haste to the six arms, Diamond remains at risk the longer we delay."
No.726311
>>726309>>726310>>726301Falling looks to the two as they have a solid agreement, nodding as they have some focus again. She looks to Marble, as they can't let him be free and ruin everything.
"Should we just tie him up for later? We definitely can't take him with us."
No.726312
>>726302>>726303The Captain, Grey held close at his side, listens intently. As she pulls out the bloody clump of garbage, the captain's eyes go wide, looking up at her face in sudden alarm. The bloody clump hits him in the visor and he recoils, blind. Grey takes this opportunity to headbutt him behind the knees.
Grey: Slam [1d10]
The Alchemist's Fire explodes over the top of his helmet, dousing him in liquid flames. The Captain appears made of stronger stuff than the others before him, however, and maintains his composure as he tries to bat the flames out on his person.
Captain: Extinguish [1d10]
>>726308The Captain manages to notice Celestia's approach. "What the heck?!" he yells to nobody in particular as he dodges the animated toy's tackle. He looks more pissed than frightened.
One of the guards, who had been temporarily mesmerized by the movement of Celly's plush, watches incredulously as the animated toy rises up and launches itself at the captain. The guard releases a shout, the other guard notices, and they turn to watch.
>>726305Starfish glares at the dog, but seems content to stand and not approach as KC is watching over him. "As soon as he gets free, he's going to squeal, and this whole place is gonna go up in flames. We'll be wanted, and not in the nice way. Bounties on our heads. If he's gone, we don't have to worry about that anymore. It's not like anypony will be looking for him." She licks her lips, not taking her eyes off the dog.
>>726309>>726310>>726311Starfish continues to glare at Marble, who is huddling with a defiant look on his face.
"I guess we have to do something with… THIS." She curls her lip in disgust.
He is not bold enough to speak yet, but doesn't shy away from meeting Star's eyes in a mocking glare, almost daring her to do anything. Starfish glares with white-hot rage in her eyes, then sighs, turning away. "Not worth it."
Marble could probably have said almost anything and it would have been fine. There was one thing he could have said that would set Starfish off. Marble Mark knows what it is, and chooses to say it, even though it probably won't help him at all. He can't help himself.
"Just like Griff?" he smirks.
Starfish: Slam [1d10]
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 7 = 7 /
Roll #3 2 = 2 No.726313
>>726312"Are you gonna do something, Re-Re-" she scrunches. "Copycat?" She lets herself transform back and pulls out her daggercatylist. When she pulls it back from her suit, it's covered both in the green liquid and chunky, slowly clotting blood. Stepping into the captain, she tries to stab it into his neck.
[1d10+1]Caustic Sting
Roll #1 9 + 1 = 10 No.726314
>>726312Celulliosis lunges at the closest unocuppied guard to grapple them into submission like they always do. Probably should grab a weapon off one of these guards here.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
uppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 8 + 1 = 9 No.726315
>>726312Em aims a hoof at Grey and channels the energy through the changeling horn amulet.
[1d10] Lay on Hands, Instant
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.726316
>>726312Falling stands up, looking at Marble as they're all in agreement the dog needs to be dealt with. But when he eggs her on, causing Starfish to leap at the dog without hesitation, Falling's horn quickly lights to try and hold her back gently.
>Telekinesis [1d10]"Wait! We can't waste anything over him! Do you have a trunk or anything you can just lock him in and let… uh, Tempest keep watch?"
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.726317
>>726311>>726312"I… I don't know," she admits, sounding defeated. "I don't want to kill him, but we can't keep him here either…" She sits down, looking stressed and frustrated at their situation.
>>726312Her eyes widen as Starfish throws herself at Marble. KC springs to action, attempting to grab both Marble and Starfish in one hand each, hoisting them by the scruff of the neck like a pair of rambunctious kittens.
[1d10] Grab
"Stop! Don't! You'll make it worse!" Cit joins Falling in trying to stop Starfish with telekinesis.
[1d10]
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 7 = 7 No.726318
>>726312The kirin watches the squabble dispassionately "Do not let him manipulate you, Starfish. Losing control of yourself will only cause harm to yourself and others."
[1d10] Persuasion
[1d3] Bonus
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.726319
>>726313The Captain launches a well-timed kick at Grey, releasing the restraints and launching him airborne a fair distance. The small changeling skids away, rolling away and picking up dust on his way. He comes to a stop a distance away, where he lies motionless for the moment.
Reverb stares at the spectacle, seemingly frozen, then launches herself into action a moment after the others. She glances at Em [{thungr?}] and copies her action, pulling out a simulacrum of the dagger/necklace, dripping with identically colored green liquid, sans the clotting blood. She stabs it into the captain immediately after Em, managing to connect with somewhere above his collarbone. Afterwards, she backs up, staring in shock at what she has just done, at Em, at poor Grey over there, still lying in the dust.
The captain roars in pain as he is penetrated in the neck by Em, and in the collar by Reverb, both with a short poisoned dagger. He tries to call for help from his subordinates, but his voice appears to fail him, possibly due to his gushing neck wounds. He flails about and tries to attack both faux-guards with a clumsy attack.
Captain: Attack Em and Reverb [1d10]
Meanwhile the real guards begin to bear down on the group, followed by the spiderbot, still carting the bodies of the previous guards via some strange telekinesis-beam.
>>726314Celly waits until the guards close in, and then launches himself at the nearest guard's face. The guard stumbles at the unexpected attack, falling back, helpless against Celly's assault. The other guard notices, while the spiderbot continues marching in the same direction, not exactly toward the excitement, heedless of its cohort's distress.
>>726315Em is a little far from Grey, unable to make contact without losing her position in combat. She sends her good vibes as best she can, but it appears to have no effect on the small colorless changeling, lying some 10 yards away.
>>726316>>726317>>726318As Starfish launches herself at Marble Mark, through the impenetrable form of KC, something strange happens. Her body is enveloped in a bronze light, and she disappears. There is a moment where all the other actors are confused.
A beat.
"What the …" Marble begins.
A fogsuit-clad pegasus with a spiked helmet crashes through the opening, into a pile of junk acting as a landing pad. The figure comes in hot, tumbling over piles of junk and industrial garbage, coming to a rocky halt among the pile of Cit's assorted parts. A moment of stunned silence passes as everyone wonders whether this new figure, lying haphazardly across the accumulated trash, is alive or dead.
Picking themselves off the ground, the figure removes their helmet to reveal a pink manehawk and an extremely embarassed expression. "I'm okay!" Starfish proclaims, before picking herself up with a wince. "Mostly."
Marble Mark looks at the others, flabbergasted. "Um. What?"
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.726320
>>726319>>726318>>726316Cit just stares blankly, as does KC, too flabbergasted for words momentarily. "…"
"…"
"…What the FUCK is going on?" She looks to Falling and Jiandao. "Did either of you cast some weird bullshit spell?"
No.726321
>>726320>>726319Falling stands there shocked as Starfish suddenly disappears in her magic. She isn't sure how to react, and then is left even more confused when Starfish comes flying by and crashes into the hideout again, repeating her entrance from a few moments ago.
She looks over to Cit as she asks what happened.
"I just used normal telekinesis to keep her from attacking Marble!"
No.726322
>>726319Em grits her teeth as the spell fails. Trying to spin out of the way of the captains attacks she simultaniously loads a new spell and tosses Alchemist's Fire on the ground at his hooves.
[1d22]
[1d10]AF
Roll #1 13 = 13 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 No.726323
>>726319Princess Cell Saga strikes a blow down onto the downed guard. With a slap using his strength. IN hopes of knocking the guard out of combat.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.726324
>>726321>>726320"Intriguing.. It would appear as if Starfish is repeating her actions from earlier. This would be your doing, correct Falling?"
No.726325
>>726324"I do have time magic, but nothing like this! I didn't even use any either."
No.726326
>>726325>>726324"Maybe you just… used it by accident?" she suggests, not tearing her eyes away from the bizarre reappearance of Starfish. "I don't know how magic works. Never got the knack."
No.726327
>>726326"I… It's can't! I study and practice my magic every day, and I
know I only used telekinesis there."
No.726328
>>726327She starts theorizing as best she can. "Maybe there's some other influence here? Something weird interfering with your magic. Maybe something Star's carrying. Is that a thing? Feel like it should be."
No.726329
>>726328"…Maybe? I really don't know what could've caused it."
No.726330
>>726329"Well SOMEthing happened. Unless there was something in that fruit." She gives Falling a weird look. "…You are real, right?"
No.726331
>>726330"Wh— Of course I'm real! Why wouldn't I be?!"
No.726332
>>726331"Just… just checking this isn't all a bad dream." She looks a bit embarrassed.
No.726333
>>726321>>726324>>726326Starfish, appearing just as she had just a short time ago, limps her way over from her impromptu landing zone, picking bolts and nuts out of her fogsuit folds and letting them drop haphazardly. Each one falls to impact an identical piece already on the ground. She hops a bit as she shakes herself out, and yet each seemingly random piece of debris from her fall collides with an identical piece, already present in exactly the right place to intercept its path.
"Wowow! Hey Cit," she nods to the tinkerer.
"Hello, fellows," she offers to Falling and Jiandao. "Still here? Would'a thought you guys had stuff to do. You guys catch any grub? There's grub to be had." She motions at the already-used sacks of food from earlier, to which she does a little double-take.
She begins to shake the rest of the debris out of her hair, saying,
"Would you believe it? Marble Frickin' Mark crashed his fancy-arsed ship into the base of a toren structure during the race! No chance he survived. I thought he was gonna win the whole thing, but.."
then pauses, looks at Cit, Falling, Jiandao, KC, and finally Marble Mark. She mouths a few words.
"Again? Not Ambit…"She is silent for a long moment, a confused look in her eyes, while everyone kind of stares at each other.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" asks Marble Mark. "This has gotta be a joke, right?"
Starfish asks, "Where's Golden?"
She is already trotting to the room they cohabitate. "GOLDEN??" she yells.
Marble Mark begins to laugh, a sick little wheezing sort of guffaw that he keeps up, like this is the funniest damned thing he's ever seen. He is gasping for breath, he thinks it's so funny.
>>726322The Captain's attack falls short of both targets. He regains his balance almost immediately, however, and Em's thrown vial of Alchemist's Fire falls short of his feet as he dances back. He produces a sidearm and bears down on Em, firing at her and producing a cloud of smoke.
Captain: Aimed Shot [1d10]
>>726323Celestia, attached to the helmet of one of the guards, bashes at them with his tentacles. The guard loses his balance and falls to the ground, bouncing Celestia and his pet lizard a bit. The other guard moves in to attack Celestia unarmed.
Guard #2: Punting the Possessed Doll [1d10]
>>726322>>726323Reverb-as-Guard stands back, watching Em carefully as she uses her spell. After a moment of intense staring, Reverb grits her teeth and pulls out a vial of what appears to be Alchemist's Fire, lobbing it at the Captain.
Reverb: AF [1d10]
Grey lies on the ground in the distance. He appears to try to stir.
Grey: Recover [1d10]
The spiderbot continues in the same direction, away from combat. It still carries the three dead guards from earlier.
[[Paused]]
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 /
Roll #3 5 = 5 /
Roll #4 6 = 6 No.726660
>>726333Last time, in Horizon…
>>726320>>726321>>726324Starfish arrived at the hideout to find Cit, KC, Falling and Jiandao there, post-interrogation. Marble Mark was also present. As she explains the source of the explosion heard earlier, Mark presents himself and goads Starfish into attacking him. While trying to hold him back, something in Falling's magic must have performed some time-shifting on accident, as Starfish disappears and then reappears as she had only minutes earlier, none the wiser. The group is astonished by this. Marble Mark is highly amused.
Starfish, a wild look in her eyes, bursts from the bedroom. "Where's Golden??" she demands.
>>726322>>726323Em's plot of subterfuge has fallen apart as she finds herself unwilling to sacrifice Gray for safety after all. Now Em, Celly, Reverb and Gray are all involved in yet another fight against the guards. On the plus side, they seem to be getting better at this. Unfortunately, so do the guards.
Captain's first pistol shot goes wide of his mark, Em. The cloud of smoke it has produced obscures his vision momentarily. He hastily reloads it and prepares to fire again.
Celestia has wrapped himself around Guard#1's visor and knocked him down. He attempts to claw at the plush and regain his footing.
Recover [1d10]
Guard#2 has intervened in this scuffle and attacks Celly with ferocity fueled by disgust and the righteousness of saving one's friend. He has chosen to try to punt the doll, which would be effective except it is wrapped around said friend's head. The guard pulls his kick at the last second and instead tries to help Guard#1 up, peeling at the plush with armored fingertips.
Assist Guard#1 [1d10]
Reverb lobs a copied version of Alchemist's Fire at Captain, though she has not the dexterity nor practice of Em. Her orb falls short, lighting a small section of rocky ground on fire. She looks as startled as anyone by the sudden eruption of flames, not as powerful as Em's but surely still dangerous to the touch.
Gray manages to climb to his feet. He looks worse for the short time he's spent with the Captain, limping a bit and nursing a wound on his head which appears to be leaking a small amount of changeling blood. He is still shackled. He stands close to the scuffle, attentive, appearing uncertain how to help. He offers moral support in the form of loud clicks and whistles.
Spiderbot keeps walking away, on a collision course with one of the huge Toren struts which supports the Central Spire.
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.726661
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>726333>>726660Falling stands in confusion as Starfish continues on her repeat, even the debris she scatters landing almost exactly where it did before.
"You… You don't remember anything?"
She asks Starfish cautiously.
"You don't remember any of the conversation we just had?"
No.726662
>>726660Em groans as she sees the useless spell she's loaded. Again. Not having time to unload it, she messes around with some of the orbs in her pack.
[1d10] Distil Life
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.726663
>>726660Cell shading continues to squeeze the guard, not intending to let go of him despite the resistance of the two guards. He always was the best hugger of the family. Though in retrospect. Hooves aren't that good at grasping or grabbing. Makes him wonder how deal with it.
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 6 + 1 = 7 No.726664
>>726660She looks at Starfish uncomfortably, unsure of what to say or do. Her voice trembled as she tries to explain the situation. "Star, we… We don't know where he is." She gestures to Marble. "He stole this guy's airship, and… Well, you heard what happened. Either he crashed it to get rid of the evidence, or…" She can't finish the sentence.
"You're, uh, probably wondering why Marble's here to begin with. Long story. I'm sure Falling can fill you in."
No.726665
>>726661Starfish looks at her quizzically. "Conversation? Are you talking about earlier? I remember you were saying something about your friend…" She blinks, remembering Falling's plight. "Did you ever find her?"
>>726664Starfish listens to Cit try to explain, looking back and forth between her and Marble, the outside and Marble, Falling, Jiandao and Marble. "This is some kind of joke, right? Why's he laughing? Hey asshole," Starfish takes a threatening step toward Marble Mark.
"You'd better tell me where my boyfriend is before I show you what you're made of." Her face is beginning to take on the murderous look from earlier.
>>726662The magic fluid squirts into existence inside the sack of orbs with a faintly squidgy sound.
The smoke clears between Em and Captain. He again points the pistol in her direction and fires.
Aimed Shot [1d10]
>>726663Try as they might, the guards cannot remove Celly from the head/visor of Guard#1. Guard#2 stares in horror as Guard#1 continues to flail. He pulls out a weapon, one of the painrods from earlier, but seems unwilling to use it in such near proximity to his friend.
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.726666
>>726665Em grabs an orb, imbues it with Alchemist Fire, and lobs it at the captain again, trying her best to avoid the shots. "Lemme know if anyone needs some juice!" she shouts. "But you'll have to come grab it yourself!"
[1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.726667
>>726665Calcium is getting quite annoyed at the other guards threats with his weapon. Deciding to take action, he raises his tentacle to strike at the guard #2 from his plush toy mouth. Accessories sold separately.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.726668
>>726665"I wish it were," she says sadly. "We tried explaining it to you just now, but something… something happened. We've had this conversation already. …Don't think about it too hard. The main thing is, right now, we need to figure out what we're going to do with Prince Charming here, then get down to the crash site and see if we can find Golden."
No.726669
>>726665"N-No, not that one, the one not even a minute ago…"
Falling comments, realizing that it's completely gone from her memory.
"You flew in before, just like you just did. Look!"
Falling points to the ground, showing the duplication off all the little junk bits Starfish scattered along the floor, each bit with an identical piece.
"You told us about the race, and we told you that we found some of my friend's mane in his ship," Falling points to Marble, "And that Golden flew it off, saying he was going to hide it…"
No.726670
>>726666The captain's shot deals a glancing blow to Em's hoof, dealing 1 hit of damage. Her 'borrowed' suit rips open and the other guard's blood begins pouring out.
"Ha!" yells the captain. "Take that, Giuseppe!" obviously interpreting the flow of blood to be Em's own. He moves to reload his weapon as Em's AF falls short, igniting yet another patch of ground.
>>726667Celestia, unwilling to let go of the comfy hug, finds that he is unable to quite reach Guard#2 with loving touch. Guard#1 uses this moment to grab hold of Celly's plush and peel him off. He launches the plush away in revulsion.
Celestia falls helpless, some 5 meters from the scuffle.
The guards scramble over themselves trying to get away from the possessed doll with octopus tentacles.
Guard#1 Recover [1d10]
Guard#2 Assist Guard#1 [1d10]
>>726668>>726669Starfish listens to their attempts to explain what just happened, but merely shakes her head, unconvinced. "I don't know what kind of joke this is, but it's not a good one. And if it's not a joke, I don't see how I can do anything about it. I don't remember it that way." She rubs her eyes with a fogsuit-clad hoof.
"So, whatever, maybe it happened. Doesn't matter, does it? What's important right now is Golden."
She looks to Falling, guiltily. "And your friend. What did you say her name was?"
Marble chimes in. "Yeah, what was her name? I'd like to help find her. What's her name, sweetheart?" He smirks at Falling.
Starfish stares at Marble. "Let me deal with him," she asks Cit without taking her murderous eyes away from the diamond dog.
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.726671
>>726670"Heck!" Em shouts, rubbing her leg. "That stung!" She levitates her dripping amulet, steps inside the guard's shooting range, and moves to stab him in the chest. "You're a bully!" she screeches. "Clicky didn't do anything to you! I should be the one beating him up!"
[1d10] Caustic Sting
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.726672
>>726670Country Road decided, while this isn't the worse time. This isn't a good time. All this fighting grated on his mood, and guard number two was the blame for it all. Maybe. Celestia lost track a while ago. So he went and pounced at the guy!
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 6 + 1 = 7 No.726673
>>726670>>726670KC plants himself firmly between Starfish and Marble, holding out his hand to halt her. Cit, looking concerned as the situation repeats itself, pleads with her. "That won't get us anywhere," she says quietly. "What if someone finds out? They'll come looking for us, and then… Then we're done."
[1d10] Persuade
Secretly though, she's starting to realize they might not have another choice.
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.726674
>>726670"I… I guess so."
Falling mutters as Starfish says none of this mishap matters.
"Diamond. Her name is Diamond."
Falling answers.
"And you're right. We can't just sit around and wait. But, we did end up ripping our fogsuits when getting him."
Falling says, pointing to the tear on Jiàndào's and her fogsuit. Which also causes her to remember, after all the panic, as her horn glows as she focuses her magic to remove the fog's effects from Jiàndào as well.
>Mend [Jiàndào] [1d10]Roll #1 2 = 2 No.726675
>>726671The amulet/knife floats dangerously toward the Captain, who attempts to dodge, but is already a bit woozy from previous Caustic Stings. He trips over his feet, into the knife, down, down, into the ring of fire. He lies there, prone, motionless for a moment, as blood begins to pool around him and the flames lick at his fogsuit.
Finally he begins to stir.
Recover [1d10]
>>726672Guard#2 is still trying to help his friend Guard#1 to his hooves when Celestia comes outta nowhere with a heavy tackle, impacting Guard#2's helmet and jerking his head down. He manages to maintain his balance, but looks worse for the wear. He stumbles around, tearing at Celly's body with one forelimb.
He still has his weapon in hoof, the painrod. He jams the business end into Celly's plush and pulls the trigger.
Painrod [1d10]
>>726673Starfish allows herself to be stopped by KC, listening to Cit. "Look. If we don't, he's going to bring the whole weight of 6A down on our heads. You want to stay on their good side… even if you're NOT trying to make them your future business partners." She shakes her head. "What's done is done. Sometimes you make a mess. Believe me, I know a thing or two about that about that."
She looks at Marble with cold eyes. "When that happens, you either clean it up now, or you end up cleaning it up later."
She sighs. "Alright, have it your way. Whatta we do with him?"
>>726674Although the bronze light envelopes Jiandao's
whole leg, Falling does not sense the same rending of time that normally accompanies her magical healing.
"Diamond," Starfish says, nodding to herself. "We'll find her."
"Diamond," Marble repeats, then winks at anyone still paying attention to him. It happens to be very few. He pouts.
Starfish rushes to their sides as Falling mentions ripping the fogsuits. "Oh no!! Well, as long as it wasn't prolonged exposure, and it was just one area, you're probably fine." She tries her best to make her voice sound convincing, busying herself looking over the fogsuit repairs that would need to be done for both Falling and Jiandao's suits.
"I can't fix them while you're in them, ladies! They won't do you any good right now anyway." She disappears into the back room, returns a moment later with her big bag-o-fogsuits and a small case recognizable from earlier as her toolkit.
"Well?" she looks at Falling and Jiandao expectantly. "What are you, shy? Go on, pop them off."
Marble cackles, rubbing his hooves together. "Let's see it, ladies! Take 'em off!" He tries to whistle. It's obvious he's never learned how.
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.726676
>>726675"Doesn't feel so great to be bullied, does it?!" She lifts her hoof and slams it down on his knee.
[1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.726677
>>726675Falling smiles at Starfish's reassurance.
"We should be fine. If my magic helped reverse the crystals on Tempest, then it should've cleared us up."
She comments, having confidence her magic for that. She's a little taken aback as Starfish tells her to remove the fogsuit in such a manner, and then even more put off as Marble cackles at them.
"I'll just… change over here if you don't mind."
She says, stepping into the back room for some privacy as she changes out of her fog suit, and puts her old sundress back on for the meantime. She steps back out and hands her fogsuit over to the Starfish.
No.726678
>>726675As Starfish hits her with the facts, she looks slightly defeated. "I… I don't know. I have no idea what I'm doing. I just wanted to sell batteries. That was my game, and I was going to play it fair. But now I have to deal with all this." She shrugs and leans against the wall. "I don't know what to do, but the longer we wait around, the more time we waste. We need to find out what happened to Golden. Stat."
"Why don't we just leave him in one of the rooms? KC can look after him and make sure he doesn't try to escape, while we pm to down and check out the crash. We can figure out what to do with him properly later. Right?"
KC's eyes narrow in disapproval at being left alone with Marble.
"Oh don't worry, it won't be for long. We'll be back before you know it!"
He folds his arms like an annoyed teenager, but reluctantly gives a little nod, ready to stay behind if need be.
-
As Marble starts mouthing off again, KC turns to face him, his whole torso turning 180 like it's on a Lazy Susan before his legs follow suit. He looms over Marble and makes a zipping motion over where the mouth should be.
[1d10] Intimidate into shutting up
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.726679
>>726678While we pop on down*
No.726680
>>726675Despite the rod of pain, Celestia continued to wrap his tentacles around the figure of the guard. Squeezing him strongly. Attempting to crush him. Celestia just wasn't happy.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 5 + 1 = 6 No.726681
>>726675Jiandao nods, adjusting the straps and slipping out of the Fogsuit with practiced ease. "Your help in repairing our suits is most welcome, Starfish."
Setting her bag down, the kirin quickly wraps her qipao around herself, securing the silken fabric before readjusting her mane.
No.726682
>>726676Captain, still rolling around trying to get up, manages to mostly avoid her kick, though he has to tumble through the flames to do so. His fogsuit is fully burning now. It appears the most common materials for fogsuits are not nonflammable materials. Some technological-looking inset in his forelimb has completely taken alight, and is burning excitedly, as if fed from an energy source within.
Captain, having been surreptitiously reloading his sidearm this whole time, now attempts to right himself, fails, takes a knee, aims at Em and fires again, at close range.
Reflex Shot [1d10]
The smoke from this small explosion obscures his next actions from Em. He uses this time to try maneuver himself out of the fire and onto his hooves.
He takes the burning equipment and detaches it, throwing it away from combat.
Recover [1d10]
>>726680Guard#2, wielding the painrod, fails to make contact with Celestia, and instead, the tip of the rod meant for Celly's plush discharges rapid bursts of light into the air.
Realizing the potential of his attack has vanished, the guard awkwardly tries to use it as a club, at an awkward angle, swinging it at his own head.
He is shrieking the whole time.
Get It Off, Get It Off [1d10]
>>726678Starfish nods. "We can maybe keep him next to Zeph. Tempest can keep him safe. He's distraught from the loss of his brother, but he's still a professional." She looks at KC appreciatively. "Still, if you wanted to leave some muscle here, I'm sure Tempest wouldn't say no. He's never been one to turn down an unfair advantage."
Marble shuts up, but can't resist himself giving a raspberry to KC. It's obvious his respect for brute force only lasts so long as said force is kept to his throat.
>>726677>>726681Starfish takes the two suits, working over them, her hoofs magically taking advantage of the particular set of tools to mend the holes in the fogsuits with ease, turning them inside out and reinforcing them with materials from other materials. The whole project takes a few minutes, while she refuses to speak, merely pokes a tongue out the corner of her pierced lips.
Soon, the fogsuits are mended. She hands them back with a flourish. "Ta-da!!"
Suddenly, all business, she turns to the entrance. "Now that we're all prepared: Let's find Golden." She sends a dangerous look to Marble. "It's not too late to kill him. That being said, it's not too early, either. Should we ask Tempest to help us out, or is KC enough to control him? Maybe we should tie him up first."
"Ooooh, yeah, bind me, baby," Marble coos at Starfish.
The pink pegasus can't help but respond. "If KC weren't nearby." She shakes her head, then a new energy fills her as she looks up with what, to be honest, is somewhat of an evil grin, all blood and longing. "I'll convince them to let me disappear you, and then you'll be all mine. Just. Like. Griff."
Marble appears to maintain his composure up until her last word, where his smirk drops and he does a double-take. He whimpers involuntarily.
Starfish sends a wink Cit's way to let her know she hasn't totally lost it.
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 /
Roll #3 2 = 2 No.726683
>>726682Em squeals, conjurs up another alchemist fire, steps back, and tosses it.
[1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.726685
>>726681>>726682While they wait for the suits to be repaired, Falling tries again to cleanse Jiàndào of the fog.
>Mend [Jiàndào] [1d10]>>726682"Wow, you're fast."
Falling says in amazement as Starfish patches up the suits in a matter of moments. As she hands them back, Falling steps back into the other room to change privately, stepping back out once again donned in her fogsuit.
"How are we going to get over there? Do you have another skip here?"
She looks over to Marble as Starfish goes to tie him up.
"If only we had another trunk to lock him in so we wouldn't need to worry."
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.726686
>>726682KC doesn't seem to want to stay alone with Marble, for obvious reasons.
"Hm. If you're sure about Tempest, then I suppose it would be better. Tempest is pretty tough, I'm sure he can handle him."
"Might be better to tie him up, yeah." She gives Marble a reproachful look. "With a gag as well." She looks a bit perturbed as Starfish invokes Griff's name, but tries not to show it. She is suddenly very interested in fiddling with her own fogsuit.
>>726685>>726682>>726681"So. Um. Should we get going? After tying this nerd up that is. Think I might have some rope lying around. And tape."
No.726687
>>726682Nodding to Starfish, Jiandao disrobes, folds her dress into her bag and rolls the fogsuit back on, securing the breather and helmet for the descent.
"If we do not intend to deal with him now, restraining him and leaving him in the care of Tempest remains our simplest option." states the kirin, muffled from behind her mask.
No.726688
>>726686"Yea, we should probably go as soon as we can."
No.726689
>>726682Celestia aiming to retaliate back to the swings raises a tentacle in response, and strikes at the quard in a swiping manner. Not unlike a cat clawing at pony.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.726690
>>726683>>726684Captain misses his shot, but manages to clamber to his hooves. He is reloading when Em's well-aimed AF-orb shatters on his chest, dousing him immediately in inflammable fluids, igniting within fractions of a second. He attempts to douse them, his reaction all rationality and training, yet fails to extinguish himself amongst the ever-hungry magical flames. He flails against the flames, falls into a puddle of fire, and quickly loses the ability to fight as the magic fire engulfs his form and he loses control of his muscles. He twitches, but struggles meaningfully no more.
>>726689Guard#2 smacks himself in the visor. He appears stunned by the blow.
Celestia's attack has no immediate effect. Whether it was ineffectual or that the target is still reeling from his own self-afflicted attack has yet to be determined.
Guard#1 has recovered and, without a weapon, is watching this whole interaction go down without interfering. He launches a half-hearted attack against Celly, but is obviously so worried about hurting his buddy that he does not put any real momentum into the kick.
[1d10-3]
>>726685>>726687This time during Falling's spell, Jiandao feels a cleansing throughout her entire body, returning her to a time when she felt clean of Horizon, when her body was a temple. She feels the crystal infection she did not even notice as present leave her body through her skin, accompanied by a sharp pain, but a clean one, leaving her feeling somehow more whole than before. A small slinking sound, like that of a pin dropping, is heard, originating on the hideout floor near her afflicted limb.
Visification of Jiandao reversed. Healed of Fog Sickness. >>726685>>726686>>726687Falling, Cit, Jiandao and Starfish all adjust their fogsuits, fitting helmets and breathers. Starfish effortlessly fits her own, then helping anyone who needs it, adjusting and fitting everyone to her own exacting specifications. She makes sure all of them are ship-shape before she responds.
"I don't know if Tempest is even here," she begins.
"I'm here," a large cobalt-blue pegasus says from the common area. It's unclear how long he's been there, watching them. He stands stoically among the rubbish, glaring hard at Marble Mark.
"Oh shit. Not YOU." Marble rolls his eyes, still on the ground, looking somewhat pathetic. He has not tried to gain his feet yet.
"Yep," Tempest offers, not needing to move to look intimidating. There is a long silence as everyone decides how to feel.
"That's decided then!" Starfish says, before anypony else can break the silence. "Tempest is going to babysit Marble, we'll go investigate Golden, and then all together, we'll find Diamond. Easy peasy."
Marble starts to try to right himself, gaining the attention of both KC and Tempest.
Recovery [1d10]
Roll #1 9 - 3 = 6 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 No.726691
>>726690Calcium hisses at the attacking guard number 1 from the attack. Jumping forth from guard numba 2 to attack the guard who struck him. That being guard number one. Celestia doesn't like being hi. Painful or otherwise.
[1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.726692
>>726690KC gives his typical polite wave to Tempest, slightly oblivious to the awkwardness. Cit mumbles a quiet "hey Tempest", looking uncomfortable at his presence, not quite knowing what to say to the pegasus.
As Marble starts trying to get up, KC switches back to angry eyes mode, giving him a small but forceful shove so he lands on his butt.
[1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.726693
>>726690Em's chest heaves as she messes around in her orbs again. That'll show that guy. She turns to the others. "Everyone alright?" she asks, touching her hoof to her amulet. It glows and lets out a soft
pop, instantly letting Em create 3 more potions.
Spell Ressonance:Distill Life
No.726694
>>726690"We would be most grateful if you would assist us in watching him, Tempest." replies the kirin, offering a bow.
With KC sufficiently bullying Marble into submission, she leaves marble to them, waiting near the door to begin the journey.
No.726695
>>726690Falling smiles as her magic takes affect on Jiàndào. She looks down in curiosity as she hears the pin drop, wondering if the extra time she took lead to more of the fog to settle in on Jiàndào, or if it's something else entirely.
"Oh!"
Falling turns as Tempest answers Starfish, surprised since she didn't even hear him enter.
"How are you feeling?"
She asks caringly, after seeing how horrible he was before her mending.
When Marble goes to stand back up, Falling looks to him, but let's the others take care of him, not wanting another magical mishap.
No.726696
>>726695As the effect of her magic clears the fog sickness, Jiandao sighs in relief, offering a slight smile to the unicorn.
"Thank you, Falling. Your magic remains ever important for the task ahead."
No.726697
>>726696"You're welcome."
Falling says with a polite bow of the head.
"It really is important for us, isn't it. I never thought I'd need to use it this much."
No.726698
>>726691Guard#1, equally as surprised by Celly's attack as Celestia must have been from his, still somehow contacts the demonic plush with his armored hoof, sending the sunbooty flying, fat lizard and all.
Celestia's plush lands about 8 meters from combat, taking no hits of damage due to its particular structure.
The fat, spiny lizard clamped to the plush's right wing is still present. It appears to be seeking physical affection.
>>726693The potions form according to plan.
"Everyone alright?" Reverb nods. Gray nods. Celly gets punted about 8 meters.
Captain continues to burn. It appears he is out for the count. His fogsuit ignites and creates a pyre of his unconscious flesh.
Spiderbot has ran into the column forming part of the architecture of the central spire, turned around, and is headed back this way. Slowly, carrying 3 dead bodies via machine 'telekinesis'. It might be about 2 turns before he returns to the current playfield.
>>726692>>726694>>726695Marble attempts to rise. KC makes sure that doesn't happen, forcing the diamond dog back toward the edge of the makeshift dock. Marble is unable to contribute further to the conversation as he stumbles and tries not to fall off the edge to his certain demise.
Tempest has always been stoic. He mostly only spoke when his brother Zephyr was around, and even then rarely. It is not unusual, therefore, to see him standing, saying nothing, looking dangerous. He nods to Cit in greeting, merely stares in response to Falling's question.
Finally he speaks.
"I hold no grudges. I am not Starfish. That being said: this one," the pegasus gestures toward Marble Mark, "is dangerous."
Marble Mark looks terrified, scrabbles about for handholds should he be booted over the edge to oblivion.
Tempest continues. "Not by himself. He is weak." He offers an almost pitying look toward the dog. "The question isn't whether I can contain him. The issue is that I can't guarantee he won't signal his allies for help meanwhile." He offers a hard eye to MM, who tries his best to look innocent. He looks like a fox trying to convince you he isn't interested in the chicken coop.
"We should kill him," Tempest concludes.
Starfish shoots a look at Tempest, theatrically shocked. "That's not what you'd have said a couple weeks ago."
Tempest looks back at her, earnest. "This isn't a couple weeks ago."
Starfish meets his gaze. "Now you know what I meant."
Tempest nods very slightly. "Now I know."
[[paused]]
No.726919
>>726698Last time, in Horizon…
>>726691>>726693Em, Celly, Reverb, Gray and that fat lizard attached to Celly's wing put the smackdown on guards, round two. Captain is dead, the war machine has fled. It's come full circle and is returning now, actually, and one of the two remaining guards has noticed it. The other is still reeling from a self-inflicted blow to the head, which would have been slapstick/comedic if it weren't for the life-and-death nature of the moment.
Guard#1 takes off toward the spiderbot at a fair clip. Reverb-as-Guard takes off after him. Gray stands there looking kind of pathetic and small. He is still shackled and slightly injured.
>>726685>>726686>>726687Cit, KC, Falling, Jiandao, Starfish and Tempest are all standing around Marble Mark, deciding his fate. They have been doing so for a while, during which time Falling cured Jiandao's first vestiges of fog sickness, Starfish mended the fogsuits, Marble talked a lot of shit, KC kept him suppressed, and Tempest recommended killing him with a very rational argument.
"I'm with Tempest," Starfish crosses her forelimbs. "We don't know if this asshole can send a message to friends, or how; all we know is he definitely WILL do it, at the first possible moment. I don't think I have to mention that if that message gets through, we're all royally screwed."
Marble tries to chuckle, but it gets stuck in his throat. He swallows and begins to speak rapidly "Hey, guys, lets all take a step back and be reasonable about this. All you've done so far is steal and destroy some property. Do you really want to add murder to that list? If you just take me back to the 6 Arms, you'll probably get off with a slap on the wrist." He thinks for a moment.
"You'd have to pay for my boat, of course."
Tempest raises an eyebrow at MM but doesn't speak.
No.726920
>>726919Em watches the guards flee, shakes her head, sighs, and walks over to Grey. Crouching down, she unshackles him, pulls out a Distil Life potion, and shoves it into his chest. "Here, Clicky," she says. "Juice up. We're going to need you."
She turns around and takes a deep breath. "Hey!" she says, putting her hoof to her amulet and loading another spell. "Is it too late to call for a truce?!" She really didn't want to fight that stupid machine if she didn't have to.
[1d22]
Roll #1 22 = 22 No.726921
>>726919Snooty still stuck in their combat mode, slap thing until it stops fighting. Goes to retaliate at the guard that launched him away. Vengeance shall be had this day! If not this day, the next! or the day after. Celestia aint picky.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.726925
>>726919"To strike down another is to place a burden on the soul. It should be no simple matter to take a life not given." Begins the kirin "However, my duty is to protect Master Border and his allies. If Marble remains a threat to us alive, It must fall to me to prevent that risk." she adds, looking solemnly to the swords at her side.
"Whichever outcome is chosen, i will follow through."
No.726926
>>726919She and KC look skeptical of Marble's proposal.
>>726919>>726697>>726696"I think we ought to leave him here for now," she says to the group at large. "I trust Tempest to be able to sort him out. …Won't be too bothered if something happens to him. We really should get going though. Golden could still be down there." She makes a point of moving towards the exit, KC lumbering after her, pausing to wait for the others to follow suit.
No.726927
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>726919"We can't kill him! That… I don't want to do that…"
Falling protests.
"But everypony right now thinks he's dead from that crash though, so he wouldn't be able to make contact with anypony without raising a lot of questions on himself, right? Is there anything else we can do to just keep him from going anywhere for now?"
No.726928
>>726926Falling nods.
"Right, we need to focus on Golden first."
No.726940
>>726919If clicks and whistles could sound appreciative, the ones escaping Gray as Em unshackles him and passes the potion would sound that way. Apparently already familiar with what it is and how it works, he pops the orb-shaped phial open and quaffs the fluid within. He immediately looks less pathetic, more energetic, possibly even dangerous. Still small, though.
It does appear to be too late to call a truce, as Guard#1 is about to arrive at the hulking spiderbot, Reverb hot on his tail. It's unclear what will happen when they meet, but said meeting is certainly imminent.
But wait, what's this? The possessed doll comes out of nowhere, running faster than its small frame would lead one to believe possible. It shoots like a bullet to the back of Guard#1, knocking him down.
Guard#2 shakes his head rapidly, as if trying to dry his mane, refocuses on Em. He is still holding the painrod. Rushing at Em, he swings it cruelly at her face.
Smack [1d10]
>>726921Celestia takes off after the guard in a frenzy, his plushy body moving in an otherworldly and frankly off-putting way, too fast for its small size. In a matter of moments he has caught up with Reverb and Guard#1. Focused on his prey, Celly latches onto the guard's legs, bringing him down.
Guard#1 is helpless. Celly is sitting on his legs. Reverb arrives at spiderbot, which is still striding purposefully in no particular direction. She looks confused as to what to do next.
>>726925Tempest nods at her words with approval, still stoic but giving the kirin an appraising look.
>>726927Tempest nods at Falling. "If he could send a message from here, we'd already be dead. We can keep him here, but every moment gives another opportunity for escape." He sighs. "Binding him is a good start." He takes a step toward the dog.
>>726926>>726925>>726927Starfish's eyes gleam, looking at Marble. "No, let me do it." It is unclear whether she is talking about killing him or binding him. She takes a step forward. Marble lets out an involuntary whimper.
A few minutes later, a bound-and-gagged Marble Mark is roughly dragged across the makeshift "floor" of the hideout by his hooves, the large blue pegasus effortlessly pulling him along. Although this task does not appear to tax him, Tempest still appears to be favoring his right forehoof, which has several crystalline growths protruding at odd angles. It is no matter, as both of them disappear into the room previously occupied by the Breeze brothers.
The gang seems ready to depart. "To the crash site!" Starfish holds a hoof out, vaguely, toward the unknown. She doesn't really wait for everyone to join before she hops off the edge, diving into the abyss alone.
It occurs to everypone after she leaves that they don't have an airship, or really any solid way to follow her.
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.726941
>>726940SuperNova being the bully that he is, decides to hit the guard while he is down. After all they were causing quite a lot of trouble with the hitting and whatnot. So it is ok to hit back
[1d10] Hit
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.726944
>>726940Falling watches as Marble is bound and dragged off, no longer a worry for them for the time being.
"That's a relief, now let's go find Golden."
>>726940>>726926>>726925Falling looks down over the edge as Starfish drops off over the edge.
"She, uh, knows I can't fly, right?"
No.726945
>>726940She nods in approval as Marble is tied up and kept prisoner for now. "Sorry, dude. Kind of don't have a choice here." KC points at both his eyes with a V gesture, then at Marble, flicking his nonexistent nose like a kung fu warrior for good measure.
[1d10] Intimidate
She frowns at Starfish's enthusiasm at visiting her boyfriend's crash site. As she vanished into the fog, KC daintily lowers himself to the lowest platform, picking his way towards the smoke trail. Cit follows suit warily.
[2d10] Navigation
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 3, 4 = 7 No.726946
>>726940With Marble restrained, Jiandao approaches the ledge from which Starfish jumped. Peering down into the fog, she double checks the seal around her suit, before jumping off the ledge as well.
[1d10] Tranquil Hooves
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.726947
>>726944>>726925She pauses in her tracks. "Hm. Are you guys any good at teleporting? If not, KC could give you a boost." The big robot obliges, offering either of them a piggyback.
No.726948
>>726947"I can, but not that far, or that fast."
She comments, before Cit offers a robot ride.
"Really?"
She looks up to KC, eagerly taking the offer.
No.726949
>>726947"Your offer is appreciated, but i will not trouble you with a simple descent." Replies the kirin, hopping along the air as her hooves catch the fog.
No.726951
>>726940Em rolls her eyes and turns around. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Still need you to check for traps. Can't let you die as soon as we get out." Her eyes widen as she sees the guard charging her, and she flinches, tries to duck under the painrod, and slide her dagger between his ribs.
[1d10]Restrained Strike
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.726952
>>726948"Really!" KC crouches down to let Falling climb on his shoulder before hopping down into the fog, picking his way across the platforms towards the crash site.
No.726962
>>726941The guard, surprised to be on the ground to begin with, is in no position to avoid or anticipate Celly's low blow. The plush strikes him hard across the back, and Guard#1 reels in pain. He tries to buck the plush off and regain his feet.
Buck [1d10]
Recover [1d10]
>>726951Gray gives her a loving look as she explains how she is not done using him. Perhaps he doesn't understand Equish, or perhaps it doesn't matter because actions transcend language barriers.
Em whips around just in time to see the guard charging her. The black rod comes down quicker than she could anticipate, directly at her face. Although she doesn't take the full brunt of the swing, she catches a glancing blow to the brow, knocking her a bit off course. Em, slightly wounded, remains standing as she counters with a deft jab at the guard's vitals.
[[Em takes 2 hits and is dazed: -1 from next roll]]
Guard#2 manages to divert Em's deadly swipe enough to avoid being gutted. However, his fogsuit rips open and a little blood is visible through the rend. Angrily, he jabs the painrod at Em, pulling the trigger as crackling electricity dances around the business end.
Gray throws himself at Guard#2.
Slam [1d10]
>>726945KC tries to look cool with a random gesture, but ends up knocking one of his oh-so-expressive mechanical eyelids just a little, sending his right eye into a perpetual half-wink. He looks insane and is totally oblivious to his new image. Marble looks like he's trying to decide to be terrified or highly amused. Thankfully the dog's gag is securely in place and so he cannot elaborate as he is dragged away by Tempest.
>>726946Jiandao, while not capable of flight, is easily able to traverse the maze of dizzying drops and unfinished Toren structures, hopping from ledge to distant ledge as easily as a foal might play hoofscotch. Like a feather, she floats down gently, following Starfish into the fog.
>>726947>>726948Cit, not new to this sort of thing, is able to teleport just behind Jiandao, keeping pace with the kirin, closely following the same descent, laddering herself into the fog.
KC effortlessly lifts Falling with his powerful mechanized arms, steps off the hideout's ledge and begins his primate-style of traversing the city. He does not come with built-in cushions, so it is not comfortable for Falling when they leap from ledge to ledge. Several times, it seems like the robot is dropping her, when actually, he is using her weight as counterbalance for his acrobatics. It's a clever bit of physics, but not exactly fun for the counterweight.
Unless you're into that sort of thing. It is quite thrilling.
>>726949>>726948>>726947Eventually, the four of them arrive at the ground level. Looking around, they realize Starfish is nowhere to be seen and they have no idea where to go. Where did that explosion from earlier come from, anyways?
[[Roll Navigation]]
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 /
Roll #3 7 = 7 No.726963
>>726962>>726948KC is extra careful not to harm Falling as they travel. When they get to ground level, he gingerly lowers himself to give her leeway to climb down herself, giving the mare an encouraging thumbs up. "Wasn't so bad, was it?" Cit grins as she looks around, both her and KC trying to find a path towards the crash site.
[2d10] KC and Cit Navigation
Roll #1 2, 10 = 12 No.726964
>>726962Annoyed by the struggles Princess Celery pushes on wrapping the pony in his tentacles. His hug should prevent the little one from doing any more harm.
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 10 + 1 = 11 No.726966
>>726963>>726962>>726952Falling holds onto KC, feeling excited to ride a robot. But once he starts leaping, she finds the ride more rough than expected. She's slightly used to the sensation of freefalling and the flipping feeling one gets in their stomach from it from some past teleports, but it still isn't enough.
She climbs down once they come to a stop, smiling at KC but a little wobbilly as she adjusts back to solid, stationary ground.
"It was like a carnival ride."
She comments, taking a moment to steady herself.
Now down in the fog, Falling looks around for Starfish.
"Did she fly straight to the crash site?"
She wonders, trying to pinpoint what direction that would be now that they're deep in the fog instead of above it.
>Navigation [1d10]Roll #1 5 = 5 No.726968
>>726962Descending through the fog on silent hooves, Jiandao lands on the ground with a quiet ease, disturbing naught but the air around her.
Linking up with the others, She follows Falling and Cit further into the fog, a shimmer of grey magic on her sword hilts.
[1d10] Navigation
"We must proceed with caution, Master Border's warning of creatures within the fog should not be ignored."
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.726971
>>726962Em yelps and quickly thrusts her head upward, trying to stab her own horn into the guard's chin. After stumbling away, she quickly drains one of her potions to recover from the blow some.
[1d10]
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.726973
>>726971(retroactive roll for Guard#2 attacking with painrod)
Painful Jab [1d10]
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.726981
>>726966>>726963>>726968Arriving at the ground level with neither incident nor a clue of where Starfish went, the four of them look around for a moment before Cit has a realization. The explosion must have come from the base of the Delta structure, directly southeast of the CD. It's hazy through the fog, but the path to get there seems straight.
Before they can really get underway, however, three figures approach from the fog. There are two pony-shapes and one hulking spider-shaped form. The large one is apparently mechanical and roughly twice the size of KC. They are a fair distance away, approaching obliquely to the direction Cit is certain the crash site lies.
One of the pony-sized figures waves. "Ho!" it yells in greeting. They approach steadily but not necessarily quickly, picking their way across the rough gem gravel amongst the random mechanical detritus which litters the ground level of Horizon.
>>726964Guard#2 attempts to struggle. and tries to rise. How cute. Celly hugs him harder with powerful tentacles, winding their way around his bulk and giving him a strong squeeze. The guard's helmet cracks and buckles as the poor pony struggles fruitlessly. He squirms intensely for a few moments, but eventually loses strength and stops moving entirely. He must have accepted Celestia's embrace because now he lies motionless, free to hug and be hugged. Celly's tentacles find their way inside the armored fogsuit and touch his bare flesh, sending a shiver across the eldritch abomination's skin.
It's nice to be close to somepony.
[[Guard#1 unconscious]]
Meanwhile, Reverb tries to keep up with the hulking spider. She tries to emulate the lever-pulling motion she saw earlier, but instead of controlling the machine, she appears to be egging it on. The machination increases its speed, headed directly toward the scuffle involving Em, Gray and Guard#1. Reverb looks around desperately.
>>726971Guard#1 misses his jab with the painrod, and, having committed his weight, follows through fruitlessly at where Em was just a moment ago. Em jabs him with a headbutt, her jagged horn glancing off the front of his visor and leaving a long scratch.
For a moment they lock eyes. Guard#1 looks terrified. He hesitates for just enough time for Em to pop a potion [Em regains 3 hits] before trying again, this time swinging the painrod like a club at her head.
Swing [1d10]
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.726984
>>726981Before the guard starts his swing, Em pulls out a glowing orb, pulls it back, and slams it against the guard's face.
[1d10]Alchemist's Fire
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.726985
>>726981Celestia proud of himself gives a small squee of happiness. He then goes and pats the guard lightly and heading out to help Em expecting her to need it. A simple one, two shall take care of the baddy!
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10] Aimed for the guard with Em
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.726986
>>726981Falling starts to walk n the direction the believe the explosion was. She slows as they see shapes in the distance, but then waves back as one pony greets them, looking to be friendly.
"Hello!"
She responds, looking to the spider form.
"What is that?"
No.726987
>>726981"Huh. Must've been this way. C'mon!" She gestures for the group to follow her, secretly wondering where Starfish went.
She freezes in her steps as she sees the three shapes. KC grinds to a halt as well, peering out at the trio curiously. Cit looks intimidated at the sheer size of the spider robot in the fog, reaching slowly for her mace in case they're hostile. "…Hello," she calls back after a while. "Who goes there?" She's about 90% sure that's what you're meant to say.
[2d10] Perception, KC and Cit respectively
Roll #1 8, 4 = 12 No.726989
>>726981Cellulose being blooped back in time. Unaware he decides to climb the mechanical toy spider thingy. Attempting to stop whatever it is doing. Which is probably dangerous. Maybe. He thinks.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
[1d10+1] Climb
[1d10] Perception on the robot
Roll #1 8 + 1 = 9 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.726991
>>726981Trotting along with the others, Jiandao says nothing but holds her position behind Cit and Falling, opting to wait until the strangers get closer.
No.727005
>>726984Guard#1 didn't hesitate long enough for Em to down a potion and throw AF at him. His swing goes just wide, however, and Em finds her chance to bash him over the helmet with the phial of fire, dousing him in a fluid which momentarily lights his entire silhouette aflame. He immediate stops what he is doing, drops prone, and rolls on the ground to try to put out the flames. His weapon falls to the ground nearby.
>>726989Celestia effortlessly hops up the side of the beast as it clambers by at doubletime. For being a stuffed effigy, he is quite limber. He rides the spider like a bucking bronco, minus the bucking part. Also, minus the bronco part, unless you count the shape of Celly's plush.
Reverb follows along helplessly.
The spiderbot steadily approaches a guard who is clearly on fire. He is rolling on the ground, directly in the path of the spiderbot.
Spiderbot:
Trample [1d10]
Guard#1:
Dodge [1d10]
>>726987>>726986>>726991"Halt!" the figure shouts. The trio approaches not necessarily quickly but steadily, and before long, the official uniforms become clear. These guys are members of the Horizon Guard, a notoriously corrupt and ineffectual police force. They are connected to the Sky Marshals, the Royal Police, and Parking Enforcement. Mostly that means they are bullies with badges.
"Who goes there? Please present identification," the lead cop says with authority. Second-in-command leans up and presses a few buttons on the spiderbot's control panel, and the group comes to an orchestrated halt a few paces from KC, Cit, Falling and Jiandao.
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.727008
>>727005The kirin steps forward to bow in greeting.
"Greetings. I am Jiandao." She begins "It is a surprise to see more traveling through the fog. What brings you to wander such a hostile place?"
No.727009
>>727005Princess Capital C Decides to attempt to immobilize the spooky spider on a rampage. Might even be responsible to not stop the spider. Not like anypony will stop him or complain if he does so.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 5 + 1 = 6 No.727010
>>727005Em glances at the electrical club thing, puts her amulet back over her neck, and grabs it. Reaching out, she grabs it, and, with all the grace of a gorrilla banging on a drum, hammers the guard over the head with it.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 3 + 1 = 4 No.727011
>>727005Falling stops as she sees the ponies are of the Horizon Guard. She didn't expect to see any authority down in the fog, and right now they can't really afford to get involved with them.
"I-I'm sorry, but we're in a bit of a hurry to find a friend."
She says, hoping that's enough to continue by.
No.727012
>>727005She does a double take as she sees the guards. Doubtless they were sent to check out the crash themselves. She doesn't like authorities much. The Guard least of all. She frowns. "Our friend might be dying back there. We really don't have time for this. Sorry. Maybe next time." She and KC step forward, clearly intending on moving along.
>>727008Both KC and Cit ogle her in disbelief. "Er… what are you doing?"
No.727018
>>727012"Is it not customary to offer greetings when asked?" The Kirin asks, head tilted in confusion.
No.727022
>>727018"What, you don't know dumbass guards when you see 'em? These guys aren't friends. They're just going to waste our time and try and shake us down for 5 bits."
No.727024
>>727009Even Princess Celestia's otherworldly strength is not enough to halt the progress of this machine. Attempting it, Celly accidentally switches a lever on the side of the beast, some sort of control panel. The spider stops, lurches, turns around and starts going the other direction, still hauling 3 dead bodies and Celestia. Reverb follows helplessly.
>>727010Em manages to grab the electrical prod (backwards, mind you) and swings it like a lumberjack. Guard#1 is still trying to put out his flames, rolling around the ground, when the thick handle of the rod impacts his helmet. It doesn't break open like she might have hoped, but it sure rings his bell.
The guard is unable to act this tiek
>>727008The lead guard seems surprised to be greeted in such a polite manner.
"Good morning, Ma'am. We're on patrol, looking for anypony causing trouble." He nods at her.
>>727012"Friend dying? Hold up, ladies," the lead guard moves to stop her authoritatively with a hoof gesture. "I think you're going to have to explain that." The other guard flips a switch on the spider and then crosses his forelimbs, the hulking mechanism halting behind him threateningly.
>>727011I'm afraid I'll have to ask you for your identification." He sounds very sure of himself at first, then asks incredulously, "Falling? Falling Sand?? It's me, Soaring Twig!"
It takes a moment, but Falling is suddenly assaulted by memories of childhood. Soaring was the kind of kid who would, for no reason, shove you and laugh if you fell or cried. She had met him in the foal-group around her home in the Gamma District many years ago. They were never friends, but he is currently acting like they were close.
"Falling freaking Sand! Haha! That's awesome! What the heck are you doing down here?" He looks genuinely excited to see a familiar face. "You know it's dangerous down here." The other cop, behind him, rolls his eyes, unimpressed.
No.727359
>>727024Hi guys!! Snels invited me back for a guest appearance! So, some stuff happened last time in Horizon! Here's what:
>>727009>>727010Mister Princess Celly and Metachrosis, et al, continued to beat up and then murder some helpless guards under the CD.
With fire.
[bd]B U R N T H E M[/bd]
*cough* Sorry! Where was I??
Oh yeah! Are they trying to get into this place, or rack up their score?
Wait, what the h*ck do you mean we're not keeping score?
Anyways, Reverb and Clicky are still hanging out, trying to help the murder party.
Specifically, Celly jumped up to the head of the spiderbot and flicked a couple switches, not really knowing what is happening. I guess they'll have to deal with that pretty soon!
Oh! Guard#1 is trying to grab that weird stick back from Em. It's time for a struggle!
Guard#1 Grabs [1d10]
>>727008>>727012>>727011Falling, Jiandao, Cit, KC and Starfish are on a mission to locate Golden Flash, who was probably piloting a racing ship owned by Marble Mark when it crashed. Speaking of which, that j*rk is (rightfully) bound and gagged and being watched by Tempest, who, to be honest, sounds like a major hunk. Hubba hubba!
Ow! Sh**t, Snails! Don't poke so d*rn hard! I'll keep it on script from here on out.
Ahem.
Starfish is particularly concerned about Golden, racing ahead of the group to find the crash site. The others, following behind, have been confronted by the gendarmes. One of them apparently knows Falling, having grown up in the same neigh-borhood. Geddit? Neigh?
Oof! Snails is telling me to wrap this up but it's been real, guys, hope to see you again! Have fun!
…And don't forget to [bd]B U R N B U R N B U R N[/bd]
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.727360
>>727359Em squeals and fights back, trying to turn the stick back against the guard. Wasn't there a button on here or something? She tries to figure it out before it's too late.
[1d10]
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.727361
>>727359Princess Century in distress on the roaming evil robot tries to take action once again. Preparing himself, celestia takes a deep breath before striking the leg of the robot.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.727366
>>727359God. Talk about the absolute worst timing. She decides to shut up for now, fretting on the spot anxiously as she looks around for a way around them.
[1d10]
KC does the same.
[1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 No.727367
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>727359>>727024"…Soaring?"
Falling says at hearing the guard call her name. She's a little shocked to see a face, even how little familiar it was, in a place like this.
"Y-Yea, I know. But there's a friend of ours that went off this way, and we're going to check on him."
She explains, leaving it as vague as possible.
No.727369
>>727024>>727367"Correct. We would be most grateful if you would allow us to pass." adds the kirin.
[1d10]Persuasion
[1d3] inscrutable
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.727372
>>727360Guard#1 fumbles with the weapon, struggling against Em. The result is that the painrod goes flying, out of both of their grips. It clatters to the rocky ground some 5 meters away, in front of the approaching spiderbot.
The bot smashes the weapon to pieces and is suddenly on the duo. It swings an appendage at both of them, not differentiating between foe and friend.
Spiderbot Slam [1d10+2]
Guard#1 yelps and tries to dodge out of the way.
Guard#1 Dodge [1d10]
>>727361Celly tries ineffectually to bash the bot's leg. It has no noticeable effect, and the spider continues to approach Em and Guard#1's struggle. It crunches over the black rod-shaped prod, destroying it under its heavy footfalls. Celly, atop his perch, watches helplessly as the bot attacks both the guard and the bothersome changeling.
Reverb jumps up to the bot, bravely dodging swinging appendages to try to press buttons and throw levers basically at random.
Reverb manipulates the Machine [1d10]
Gray stands by, watching for an opening, unwilling to launch himself into combat against a machine easily 10 times his size.
>>727367Soaring shakes his head, looking back at his cohort and the imposing figure of the hulking spiderbot. "Can you believe it? Falling Sand!" He looks back to the group. "You guys are looking for your friend? What is he doing down here? You know it's not safe here on the bottom level." He looks around, a little nervously.
It's quiet on the foggy horizon.
The second guard and Spiderbro look ready for action regardless, but they stand at attention, paying deference to Soaring.
>>727366Cit doesn't see any way out. KC, however, notices a heavy piece of debris, dangling from the ceiling of the nearby Toren strut. It could be dislodged with minimal effort, and likely cause some damage to the larger robot, should this altercation escalate.
>>727369Soaring smiles at Jiandao. "You know, it's really nice to find someone with manners down here. Mostly who I deal with is the crazies, the crusters, and the monsters. You seem like a proper young lady, Jiandao."
He proffers his armored hoof. "Soaring Twig," he offers by way of introduction. "Captain of the Horizon Guard, Gamma Squadron."
Roll #1 5 + 2 = 7 /
Roll #2 6 = 6 /
Roll #3 3 = 3 No.727373
>>727372Em groans as the weapon gets tossed to the sided, but doesn't have long to brood on her annoyance as she sees the spiderbot barreling toward her. She stumbles backwards and tries to take flight, hoping to get herself out of reach of its leg.
[1d10]
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.727376
>>727372Princess Cells groans in annoyance from the spider robot. Looks like it ain't budging. Well, if it ain't worrking. Try again!
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 7 + 1 = 8 No.727378
>>727372"His ship went down. I know it's dangerous, but we had to hurry, we couldn't just leave him to get out of this mess himself."
She says, adding a little urgency to this help her argument.
No.727379
>>727378>>727372"Wait, you became captain? Wow…"
Falling follows after hearing his introduction to Jiàndào, impressed at hearing it.
No.727380
>>727372Looking at the outstretched hoof curiously, Jiandao follows suit and meets his hoof with her own, in a clunky hoofshake. Clearly not a practiced gesture.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Soaring Twig."
"Forgive me for such a brisk introduction, but it is imperative we move to assist our friend. If our business is concluded, we must hurry ahead to him."
No.727383
>>727373The spiderbot's long arm grazes Em's chest, almost connecting as she desperately launches herself backwards into the air. The same appendage smacks into Guard#1, who didn't manage to quite get out of the way in time to totally avoid the blow.
He is sent reeling. Landing on his hooves, he does not waste time in jumping back up to the mech-arachnid, knocking Reverb out of the way and attempting to manipulate levers and buttons in a frenzy.
Guard#1 manipulates the Machine [1d10]
>>727376Reverb is knocked to the ground. She rolls out of the way of the heavy metal legs, avoiding injury and joining Gray on the sidelines. They share a quick look, then both refocus on the combat.
As Guard#1 hops up to try to play with the control box, Celly wraps a tentacle around one of the heavy legs and manages to divert it enough to cause the machine to stumble.
Spiderbot Maintain Balance [1d10]
>>727378"His… ship went down? You don't mean Marble Mark? I love that guy!!" Soaring proclaims. "Best racer I've ever seen. He's also a really great guy! You're friends with him?" He crows. "I knew you were well connected, but damn!" He shakes his head.
>>727379The captain straightens up, trying to look dignified and tall. Full of pride, he demurs, "Oh, it's really nothing." He strikes a heroic pose. "Somepony's got to keep the peace around here."
"Alright, we were just on our way to check out the crash site ourselves. I bet he made it out alive… That dog is always pulling out of crazy scrapes! He's a real survivor, from what I've heard."
>>727380Soaring nods. "I understand. Normally I would require identification, but if you're friends with Falling, I could probably let it slide this time."
>>727378>>727366>>727380There is a commotion coming from the direction of the Delta structure. It's hard to tell what's going on through the haze, but flashes of light and small explosions can be heard. Soaring and the other guard are immediately on high alert.
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.727385
Em remains airborn above the spider mech and fishes around in her bag for an orb. As she focuses on it it glows a bright orange. Taking aim at the guard trying to climb into the spider bot, she chucks it with all her strength.
[1d10]AF
Roll #1 6 = 6
No.727388
>>727383Celly does a little cheer as he works down on knocking over the beast. Gripping the machine tighter in response.
[1d10]
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.727390
>>727383"We've met him," she chimes in as Soaring brings up Marble. "He's actually kind of a douche." KC nods emphatically.
As a commotion breaks out and the guards are momentarily distracted, Cit seizes the opportunity, looking to Starfish and gesturing for her and the others to follow as she and KC try and make a break for it. "Boring conversation anyway…"
[1d10] Cit
[1d10] KC
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 No.727391
>>727383"N-No, not him."
Falling says, trying to not let Soaring get invested, and also from her newfound distaste for the dog.
As he beams in pride and talks of keeping the peace and checking of the crash, Falling nods.
"Well I don't want to tie up your time, it sounds like you're pretty busy already."
She says, until the commotion arises from the Delta structure. She looks off towards the source, wondering if it'll pull Soaring and his guards away.
No.727392
>>727383Looking to falling for a moment, Jiandao bows towards soaring, before turning to trot off towards the explosion.
[1d10] Navigation
>>727391"Falling, we must hurry, that may have been Marble's ship."
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.727395
>>727392Falling looks over to Jiàndào as she suggests they hurry. She nods.
"Right, we can't waste anymore time."
No.727398
>>727385The orb lands with perfect efficacy across the top of the spiderbot. Liquid flames engulf the beast and Guard#1 is forced to hop off after his unsuccessful attempt to program the robot. Spiderbro appears to not be slowed nor perturbed by the flames, however, and continues to wildly swing attacks at everypony in its path.
Mech-arachnid Slam [1d10]
>>727388The spider erupts into flames which threaten to lick at Celly's plushy armor. The eldritch horror manages to swing at a supporting leg before retreat becomes quite advisable.
Spiderbot Maintain Balance [1d10]
>>727390>>727391>>727392"A… douche?" Soaring looks confused before the commotion breaks out nearby.
Soaring and his spiderbot-controller waste no time in booking it toward the direction of the commotion. The machine boots up and quickly overtakes the group, crawling over the industrial junk as if it were flat ground, Soaring's subordinate riding it into battle like cavalry. Soaring pounds along, galloping with heavy armored boots, scarcely behind the large robot. He's obviously no slouch.
As they approach, they realize the scene is chaos. Unmarked armored fogsuit-clad ponies are firing hand-held weapons at each other from behind cover. There are three or four smoking wrecks of airships, and some dozen combatants who waste no time in taking aim at the newcomers. Captain Soaring dives behind the cover of a defunct airship and pulls his sidearm, but doesn't fire it.
"What the hell is going on??" he screams into the milieu. There is no immediate answer.
[[roll perception, dodge, or another applicable skill]]
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.727400
>>727398Em drops back to the ground a little bit away from the now flaming spiderbot and blinks, really having expected that to do more. Not entirely sure what else to do, she takes a deep breath as her body starts to morph.
[1d111]Adaptability
Roll #1 99 = 99 No.727401
>>727400Pale brown fur sprouts from her green carapace and her back legs morph into cloven hooves. The chitin on her head cracks as curved horns sprout from each side, and her entire body seems to increase in size by two times.
[hulking]
No.727405
>>727398Weaving through the fire, Jiandao makes an attempt to find cover.
[1d10] Dodge
[1d10] Take cover
>>727395Wrapped in grey light, you're gently pushed lower to the ground as Jiandao tugs you along.
"Keep low and stay close." says the Kirin
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 No.727406
>>727398Celly grunts at the swinging attacks, not happy about the swing. Celly continues what he is good at and kept squeezing.
[1d10]
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.727407
>>727398Falling runs with the others towards the commotion, surprised at how fast the spiderbot and Soaring go ahead of them. When she finally reaches the site, she's shockd to see the numerous ponies and airships fighting. As they turn towards them, Falling quickly follows Soaring's lead and jumps behind cover.
>Dodge [1d10]She looks out into the mess of a field, trying to spot Golden, or Marble's ship.
>Perception [1d10]>>727405Falling looks up to Jiàndào as the kirin's magic covers her. She nods her head.
"Okay."
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 No.727411
>>727398They both stop dead in their tracks as they observe the bedlam, unsure of how to react at first. "Who the hell…?"
Realizing they're not discriminating, she panics and tries to teleport herself to safety.
[1d10] Dodge
KC is too big to be able to dodge very effectively, and instead looks around for anything he could use as makeshift cover.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 7 = 7 No.727424
>>727400>>727401Em drops out of the sky and onto morphing hooves as she starts to grow in size… starting by inflating the mass of her chest, then her glutes, followed by legs, arms, torso, and finally head-and-horns. Thiccness seems to buldge into the most appropriate places first, but then just keep growing and building her up, and out. The process is not entirely comfortable for her, and she is unable to withhold a couple moans and cries.
Finally, she is able to stand straight and tall, around the same height as the spiderbot. Her horns are formidable, as is the rest of her. She is truly hulking, her muscles bulging, her face somewhat distorted by the gained mass and the placement of the horns.
Gray looks up at her, marveling.
>>727406The magic flames from Em's Alchemist's Fire begin to caress Celestia's plush, singing the outside slightly and making it less soft.
[[Plush takes 1 hit from fire]]
Spiderbot begins to sway a bit at Celly's continued attempt at a leg-lock. The machine falters and stops its progression, but does not lose balance.
>>727400>>727406In the distance, sounds of a battle can be heard, faintly.
>>727405>>727407Falling and Jiandao are able to procure adequate cover, if you stay low enough, which, thanks to Jiandao's magic and training, they do. Crawling carefully, Jiandao makes sure they stay safe while Falling looks for any sign of Golden or Starfish.
>>727411Cit's teleport doesn't take her fully to cover. An armored guard distinctly sees her and puts his weapon up, ready to fire. Cit is left completely helpless, running for cover, as he sets up his shot. At the last second, a bright flash of light envelops the soldier, the briefest hint of a line leading to cover she can't make out through the hazy fog. The soldier jerks, throwing his gun reflexively, and falls to the ground, convulsing.
KC finds cover. He immediately grabs Cit and pulls her down beside him. They are safe, for the moment, to observe the nature of the battle.
>>727405>>727407>>727411There appear to be two distinct types of combatants. One side is made up of well-armed unicorn soldiers in matching armored fogsuits. The other side appear to be several disorganized masses of ponies and dogs, armed with makeshift fogsuits and weapons. Some of them aren't even wearing protective gear at all, and many of these are covered in visible gem-like protrusions.
One of these unicorns, encrusted with crystals and taking aim not too far away, summons a small orb of magical fire to his horn and launches it at one of the soldiers.
Magic Bolt [2d10]
The soldier is Captain Soaring Twig.
Dodge [1d10]
[[pause]]
Roll #1 4, 4 = 8 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 No.728371
>>727424Last time, in Horizon…
>>727405>>727407>>727411Jiandao, Falling, Cit and KC, pursuing the source of the explosion that was almost certainly the fatal wreck of Marble Mark's state-of-the-art racing boat, find themselves caught in the midst of a fierce battle between a mob and police, at ground level somewhere near the Delta quadrant. The milieu is spreading, such that the party is caught in the middle, as several uniformed soldier ponies (ostensibly members of the Horizon Guard) and unmarked but armed rioters appear around them, clashing with both melee and ranged weapons. Bodies and rubble lie haphazardly in the haze of the fog, some of them still smoking and some of them still screaming.
Cit and KC have found cover behind the ruined carcass of an airship, turned sideways so the deck forms a solid wall between them and the majority of the fighting. From this vantage they are able to see smoke rising, obscured by the thick haze of the ground-level fog. It is a thin line above the faint outlines of old-world ruins in the distance.
Jiandao and Falling are likewise safe for the moment, crawling behind rubble to make their way to the source of the explosion from earlier. The remains of the old pre-Toren civilization lie in this direction, buildings that are not as ancient as their current disrepair might indicate. The majority of the non-uniformed forces appear to be coming from this direction, while the police force from the Horizon Guard is mostly behind them.
No.728373
>>728371peeking her head out from behind the wreck, Jiandao scans the wrecked ships for Marble's familiar racer.
[1d10] Perception
"To fight without purpose is folly; If Golden is not here, we must move on. Falling, can you see Marble's ship from the wreckage?"
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.728374
>>728371She grits her teeth, trembling with fear as she hunkers down, peeking over the side occasionally only to dip back down. She and KC are hugging each other for protection, waiting for the firefight to subside.
>>728373"Yeah, we don't have any part in this," she agrees. "Let's just… try and keep moving…" She tries to find a vantage point she can teleport to to overlook the battlefield a bit better.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.728375
>>727424>>728371Falling huddles behind their cover. She was worried about what they might find at a crash site, but this was something she did not expect to see at all.
"Wh-What are all these ponies doing here?"
She asks aloud to nopony in particular out of shock of the situation they're in. She peaks out past the fighting, trying to spot Marble's ship or Golden out of the mess.
>Perception [1d10]>>728373"I don't see anything yet!"
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.728379
>>728373None of the wrecked ships seems to be Marble's racer. Likewise, Golden and Starfish are nowhere to be seen. The only clue is a trail of ominous black smoke rising from the buildings behind the disorganized force of ponies and diamond dogs.
>>728375Not much is visible through the haze and Jiandao's protective magic, keeping them huddled safely behind industrial rubble. From the direction of most of the shooting and shouting, there are wrecked buildings, with a thin trail of black smoke rising behind. On the other side, behind them, a smaller but more organized squadron of armored Horizon Guards, led by Falling's childhood acquaintance Soaring Twig, begin to gain ground, felling under-prepared combatants in ill-fitting fogsuits handily.
>>728374A bit away from Falling and Jiandao, Cit and KC look for a way to circumvent the battle. Looking up, Cit finds there are support structures akin to rafters some 15 meters above the ground level. While there is no cover up there, it's possible she might avoid detection and bypass the mob or police force entirely while they are preoccupied with each other.
No.728382
>>728379Falling tries her best, but the sound of shooting makes it hard for her to concentrate, having never been in anything close to this before. The only possible sign she can pick out is the trail of smoke. If Golden crashed here, it would be there. She looks back and forth between the two fighting groups, and then darts out from behind cover towards the smoke, going around the fight and hoping the two groups are too occupied with each other to bother with her.
>Run [1d10]Roll #1 1 = 1 No.728383
>>728379>>728382>>728373Spotting the rafter, she calls out to her companions, KC waving to try and get their attention and pointing to the rafters. "Up there! We can go around!"
Assuming they've heard her, she tries to teleport up to them, while KC does his best to clamber up.
[1d10] Winkmaster
[1d10] KC Climbing
Roll #1 10 = 10 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 No.728384
>>728379Searching the line of ships for golden, Jiandao spots falling making a dash, exposed, for the smoke behind the fighting, galloping after her!
[1d10] chase
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.728385
>>728379[1d10] Pull to cover
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.728388
>>728382Falling takes two steps and immediately trips and falls on her face. Her snoot boops painfully against the glass of her fogsuit helmet as she tumbles to the ground.
[[Falling is helpless.]]
A naked pony, covered in massive crystalline growths, takes aim at her helpless figure with his forehooves. They begin to glow bright red.
From somewhere in the police line, a bolt of energy comes flying at her would-be assailant.
Soaring Twig: Reflex Shot [1d10]
>>728384Jiandao makes it to where Falling is, and grabs her, pulling her bodily with telekinesis back to their safe spot. The kirin is just able to save her charge from some otherworldly burst of magical fire, which ricochets off the rubble and into the side of an already ruined airship, leaving a smoldering mark.
>>728383Cit winks up to the top of the rafters. From here she has a great vantage point, and nopony seems to realize she is there. The mob is spread out in front of the group, between them and the ruins of old ground-level buildings. One in particular, a large civic structure with pillars and arches, seems to have a smoking hole through the roof, probably about airship-sized. It is from this building that the poorly outfitted mob appears to be streaming. There are more ponies and diamond dogs coming out than Cit knew even lived under the fog level. Many of them have no fogsuits, and the ponies without are all crusty with gem growth to some extent.
KC, trying to find a way to climb up, scales the tallest ruined boat nearby. The rafters are still a good 8 meters above his head, and in order to try to jump to them, he would need to place himself in the line of fire from both sides. His perch is relatively safe for the moment.
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.728393
>>728388Cit freezes as she sees the angry mob pouring out like a swarm of insects. She's starting to realize they might have bitten off more than they can chew. She keeps moving further up, trying to see if she can get to the plume of smoke.
[1d10]
KC sees Falling in trouble and his protective instincts kick in. His eyes turning to narrow slits, he charges towards her, aiming to slap the attacking crystal infected pony to the ground.
[1d10] Slam
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.728394
>>728388>>728385Falling yelps quietly as she immediately falls and smacks her face. She looks up, pupils shrinking to pinpricks as she sees the crystal encrusted pony standing over her and ready to attack. She quickly tries to sit back up, only to feel herself be tugged back by magic.
"Th-thanks Jiàndào."
She stammers in appreciation of being saved, while she shakes off the throbbing in her snoot.
>Recover [1d10]Roll #1 1 = 1 No.728395
>>728388Having pulled Falling behind some cover, Jiandao tries to help her get onto her hooves.
[1d10] recovery
>>728394"I am thankful we had reached cover in time."
"Are you injured? Can you still move?" asks the kirin.
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.728396
>>728395"I'm fine, just hit my face a little on the ground."
She says, though the pain does sting a little.
No.728401
>>728393Cit crawls along the rafter, not making great time but at least not in danger of losing her balance and falling. She realizes that the building is just a little beyond where she will be able to reach from her overhead path, but that it should be able to get her behind the majority of the mob. The stream of beings from the ruined civic building has slowed, with only a few stragglers continuing to join the fray. The front lines continue to be cut down, accumulating massive casualties while inflicting few on the less-numerous but better-organized police force.
KC launches himself from his perch just as a well-aimed shot knocks his target to the ground. KC is already in midair and cannot adjust as the pony collapses exactly where he was going to land. His heavy mechanical foot slams into the back of the pony's neck and there is a sickening *snap* as something is disconnected internally.
KC is now in the line of fire. Seeing their comrade dispatched, two of the mob take aim at the robot with their various weapons.
Mob Pony#1: Magic Bolt [1d10][1d10]
Mob Dog#1: Aimed Shot [1d10]
>>728394Falling tries to get up, but somehow loses her balance and falls face-first onto her already tender nose. It begins to bleed, smearing red across the front of her visor and slightly obscuring her vision.
[Falling takes 1 wound, -1 for perception and attack rolls for 3 turns]
>>728395Jiandao watches Falling smack her face again trying to get up on her own. Alarmed, she immediately pulls the unicorn to her hooves. They both hunker in the cover as bullets, lasers and magic continue to fly around them.
>>728395>>728396A uniformed pony bursts into view, sprinting toward the pair and ducking behind the same cover. It's Captain Soaring Twig again, panting, a concerned look on his face.
"Are you crazy?! You could have been killed!"
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 6 = 6 /
Roll #3 5 = 5 No.728403
>>728401KC pauses briefly, his eyes widening as he looks down at the lifeless body. It takes the automaton a moment to acknowledge he's in danger. He goes to help Falling, but sees she's gotten up already. Assessing the situation, he proceeds to lope towards the duo attacking him, aiming to get closer.
Cit sees this play out, covering her mouth in silent horror at what KC's done, trying not to dry heave at the sight. She tries to make her way down on hoof to join KC in reluctant combat, charging up her horn with blue lightning and firing it at KC to give him a boost.
>Fulminate: passive/spell, recharge 3 after effect ends; Cit has an affinity for lightning magic. All her basic attacks have Lightning damage, and she can grant this to an ally as well for 3 turns.[1d10]
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.728405
>>728401Falling lands on the ground hard, lying there for a moment with a pained sniffle, her legs shaking as she starts t feel overwhelmed by the battle. She tries to stand again after a few deep breaths, eyes watering a bit.
>Recover [1d10]"Our friend is back there!" Falling says as Soaring runs over to them, voice shaky as she points to the smoke, "We can't leave him waiting!"
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.728406
>>728401Getting the unicorn upright, Jiandao turns her attention to the firefight, waiting for a lull of reloading to run across and towards the smoke.
[1d10] sprint
>>728396Jiandao looks through her tinted visor at the bloodied nose of Falling. "Once we are free from the fog, we can assess your injuries. When the opportunity presents itself, we move. Stay close."
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.728408
>>728401>>728406Falling nods at Jiàndào's instruction, still trembling a bit. It takes most of her might to move, but she does, running after the kirin.
>Run [1d10]Roll #1 5 = 5 No.728417
>>728403Leaving the corpse behind, KC begins striding purposefully toward the two attackers. They let loose their volley of attacks.
[KC takes 7 hits]
The smoke clears, the bipedal machination continues to approach. It has an eerie effect as he appears unstoppable. The rebels lose their nerve, glancing at each other momentarily before turning tail and fleeing back into the ruined buildings.
Cit is able to pick her way to the rusted wing of an outdated airship and climb onto it, trying to safely make it to the ground. Although they are some 20 meters apart, Cit's close connection with KC allows her to easily imbue his mechanical frame with an electric charge. He sparks with energy as he approaches the ruins.
>>728406>>728408Soaring looks like he is about to say something condescendingly protective, then stops himself as he sees the determination in their eyes. He nods as he readies his rifle. "I'll cover you!" he shouts as he begins to fire rapidly over the top of their hiding place.
Barrage [1d10]
Jiandao and Falling seize their chance and take off, toward the closest pre-Toren buildings. Moving from cover to cover, they manage to avoid being targeted as the battle rages on around them.
They are able to catch up to and join a slightly-battered KC, who appears to be glowing and sparking slightly.
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.728422
>>728417Cit breathes a sigh of relief as the two run away from KC. Seeing him battered, she bites her lip with concern and tries to keep moving towards him to catch up.
KC rolls his shoulders as he gets powered up, flexing his fingers and looking around for any more troublemakers. Seeing none, he hunkers down and decides to wait it out for a bit.
>>728408>>728406As the two are reunited with a sparking, slightly beaten up KC, he does not respond with his customary wave. Instead, he makes a shushing motion, then points upwards to the rafters where Cit went.
No.728423
>>728417Falling nods to Soaring as he gives them cover, running off towards the buildings. She zips quickly from cover to cover, at this point hardly even stopping so she can keep her momentum.
>Run [1d10]>>728422She looks over at KC as she sees the robot, sparking and beat up, assuming the sparks are from damage.
"Are you alr—"
She gasps, stopping as he makes the shushing moment. She glances up to the rafters, then nods as she continues on her own route.
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.728426
>>728417dashing through the crowd and out of the line of fire, Jiandao leads Falling through it to a building further in. once clear, she continues towards the smoke, leading the others.
[1d10] Navigation
"We have evaded the worst of the fighting. For now, we must remain cautious."
>>728422Free from the gunfire, she blinks as the robot gestures upwards, following the motion up to the rafters before looking back at the bot quizically.
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.728430
>>728422Cit scrambles down the scrapped ship's wing, not without difficulty. She lands on the rocky ground and takes off towards the others. One of the rebels pops up and points a weapon at her as she sprints by.
Plasma Pistol [1d10]
A well-trained guard takes advantage of this opening to fire at her assailant.
Plasma Rifle [1d10+1]
Falling and Jiandao are making fast for the ruins ahead of her. Cit meets up with KC in a hiding place just outside, safe for now from the milieu. He looks pretty beat up, but remains on his feet, still sparking powerfully.
>>728423>>728426While he doesn't manage to hit much, Soaring's covering fire serves well enough to drive many of the mob back into hiding and focus the remaining few's attacks on the Captain's location.
Falling and Jiandao continue forward. KC hunkers down into a hiding spot near the entrance to a ruined structure, and they leave him behind to continue sprinting from cover to cover among the buildings. It becomes hard to anticipate where enemy combatants may appear, but their luck appears to be holding for now.
They are able to duck into an alcove in a neighboring structure to the large pillared building with the smoking hole in the roof, safe for now.
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 9 + 1 = 10 No.728435
>>728430fully away from the fire, Jiandao checks the distance between the smoking structure for incoming attackers, before rushing across to the building.
[1d10 Navigation
No.728436
>>728430>>728435[1d10]
>oofRoll #1 3 = 3 No.728437
>>728430Falling stops once they finally reach the neighboring building to the assumed crash site. She takes a few deep breaths, her body being pushed to its limit from the mad dash. She looks up at the roof, figuring the best way to get in and see would be there. Her horn glows bronze as she focuses herself, attempting to teleport up there.
>Winkmaster [1d10]Roll #1 4 = 4 No.728439
>>728430"Shit!" She scampers out of the way as a rebel comes out of nowhere, instinctively swinging at him with her makeshift flail.
[1d10] Basic attack, crits on 9+, critfails on 2-
As the four of them huddle together, KC peers out of the alcove towards the smoke, while Cit pauses to catch her breath.
>>728435>>728437KC seems a bit frustrated that they didn't take his hint to take the high ground instead to reach the smoke, but seems content that it's almost over. "Alright, what's the plan now then?" Cit asks, seeming a bit dazed from the chaos all around. "Assuming we find Golden there, then what? Just head back home? What are we gonna do about Starfish?"
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.728445
>>728439Once they get going, Cit will teleport up to high ground and follow Falling onward, while KC will stick to the ground and watch Jiandao's back.
No.728449
>>728439"We will determine if Golden is alive. If so, I remain hopeful Falling will treat his injuries in time. If we are too late.. We will continue the mission, to the Six Arms and inquire about Diamond."
No.728450
>>728439"I don't know… Right now I just want to make sure he's ok. Starfish, she might already be in there, right? She flew off this way before us."
No.728455
>>728449She looks grim at the idea of being too late. "It's been quite a while now… we need to hurry. He could be badly hurt, or…"
>>728450She nods. "Star knows her way around better than I do. Hope she made it alright. Wish she would've waited for us though…"
No.728459
>>728435Jiandao finds her way to the building, but struggles with seeking an entrance which isn't locked. One of the doors opens and a large rebel pony in a fogsuit with a heavy rifle strapped across his back emerges. He takes one look at Jiandao, nods to her as if to a companion, does a double take and speaks through his fogsuit speaker. His voice is very low and the radio crackles as he says, "What are you doing here? The pigs are that way!"
At this point, KC strolls up beside her. The armored pony eyes the two of them warily. "Oh, I see. You're working with them!" He draws some kind of small handle from his side and presses a button, whereupon a coil of bright glowing wire drops to the ground. He cracks it like a whip in the air, and blue sparks fly.
>>728437Falling manages to wink just to the edge of the roof, still a fair distance away from the smoking hole, which is near the top of the gently sloping tiled roof.
A moment later, Cit appears next to her.
>>728439The rebel's shot went wide, and Cit doubles back to bop him on the head. Before she can reach him, however, an energy blast comes from somewhere in cover and knocks him to the ground. Cit uses this opportunity to rejoin the rest of the gang.
After they discuss, Falling teleports up to the rooftop, some distance away from the smoking hole. Cit winks up just after.
Jiandao takes off toward the building, while KC lumbers behind. The kirin appears to have found herself in a bit of a pickle, as an armored, well-armed pony with some kind of wire whip bars their progress. He appears hostile to Jiandao, and KC may be required to help. The armored pony cracks his whip in the air and says something vaguely threatening.
No.728463
>>728459Falling quickly moves onto the roof proper as she teleports a little to close to the edge for her tastes. But on there either way, she walks up to the hole, looking down into the building for any sign of Golden or the ship.
No.728464
>>728459the kirin regards the suited pony calmly. "Our concern is with neither the police nor your allies. We are simply here for our friend, who may be injured further inside." said the tinny voice from her own speaker, even toned as ever.
[1d10] Persuasion
[1d3] Inscrutable
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 No.728468
>>728459KC's eyes change to a threatening diagonal shape, and he makes an obscene gesture to the pony, taking a menacing step closer.
[1d10] Intimidate
Cit bites her lip with worry as she sees the altercation below. She frowns a little at KC's knowledge of rudeness. "Excuse me sir!" she calls out. "We're kind of in a hurry, and we don't want any trouble. Could you let us pass please?"
[1d10] Persuade
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 No.728479
>>728463Falling easily scales the roof up to the hole. Looking through, she can see that the hole continues through the floor of the building, down into the darkness. From what she can tell, the floors that whatever crashed here passed through are currently on fire. A faint voice, as if someone talking very loudly but far away, reaches her ears. She cannot quite make out what it is saying, but the tone is angry and inspirational, like a public speech.
>>728464"Uh huh. A talker, eh?" He barks a mirthless laugh before stretching himself up for an attack.
Coil Whip [1d10]
>>728468KC utterly fails to intimidate or even impress this guy. "What are you, a bag of bolts? This supposed to scare me?" That being said, he takes a half step back to keep the giant in his vision.
Cit tries to reason with the guard. "Hmm. Let you pass?" He swipes at Jiandao with his whip. "I suppose I could try that. Just let police collaborators into the place that's kept me, my brothers and sisters safe all our lives. Maybe I'll cut off my own head while I'm at it."
[[Pause]]
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.728501
>>727424Last time, in Horizon…
Princeslestia, Em and some other changelings are beating up the poor Horizon guards whose only indiscretion was to guard the ground level of the Central District. They're doing a pretty good job: one guard remains, and the spiderbot (still carting 3 dead bodies telekinetically) is on fire. Celestia, refusing to let go of the machine even as it is wreathed in magical flames, has taken a bit of superficial damage to the plush, yet bravely clings to the beast's legs, attempting to trip the machine up. A venture which has been wholly unsuccessful thus far.
The uniformed fogsuit-clad Guard#1 watches the magical flames from Alchemist Fire slowly let up, then jumps up and tries again to manipulate the machine.
Guard#1: Control Spiderbot[1d10]
Reverb watches him intensely but does nothing to try to stop him.
Gray is still looking up at the hulking form of Metachrosis, 'mirin. She is quite large, and her feminine features have been replaced with pure muscle. Even her face is distorted, all brow and jawline and humongous horns, pure musculature replacing her natural cuteness. She stands at almost the same height as the mecharachnid, which is about 3 times as tall as the nearest pony.
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.728502
>>728501Cheeselestia goes forward to strike the machine once more. Aiming to stop it in its tracks. At least in attempting to do so. It has to work at the nth attempt!
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+
[1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.728503
>>728501Em snorts and digs her hooves into the ground, glares st thr guard, and charges him and the spiderbot.
[1d10]Cleave 2, guard and bot
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.728504
>>728502>>728503Guard#1 manages to redirect the machine. It halts in place, turns to the newly humongous Em, and appears to ready itself for combat. It drops the three bodies it had been carting on the ground and reorients its telekinesis beam.
Before the mechanical spider has a chance to use it, however, Celly, focusing on the machine's legs, manages to leverage the machinations to stop its legs working. The robot is unable to move. It tries a leg or two, but Celly holds tight, and while it is not in danger of toppling so long as it has a majority of legs beneath, it is functionally immobile.
Humongous Em paws at the ground and charges the machine. Guard#1 has the presence of mind to get out of the way, but the spiderbot, even though it has been attuned to attack mode, is locked in place via Celly's otherworldly tentacle hold, and has no choice but to watch the juggernaut that is Em smash her horns into its very side. It topples, scrabbling its legs at thin air, before succumbing to gravity and rolling, somehow in slow motion, onto its side. It lands heavily on the control side and immediately begins attempts to right itself with violent leg-jerks.
Gray and Reverb are watching all this with awe clearly written on their changeling faces.
Guard#1 gets clipped with a corner of Em's huge horn and tumbles. He rights himself with the practiced movements of a martial artist and immediately runs to the bodies Spiderbro left behind. He searches them quickly for some variety of weapon.
Guard#1: Scavenge [1d10]
Celly is still attached to the spiderbot's legs as it scrambles for purchase.
Gray and Reverb stand back, waiting for their cue.
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.728505
>>728504"You dummies coulda just left, but nooo! You gotta make saving everyone hard!" Em lets out a baritone bellow, significantly deeper than her normal voice. Turning on her hooves, she continues her charge at the searching guard.
[1d10]
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.728506
>>728504Unsure what else to do with the bot except to hold it there. Celestia continues to restrict it. Curling around it more with his tentacles like an overbearing hug. Except one less to do with support.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 7 + 1 = 8 No.728507
>>728505Em turns on her heels, sending a surprising amount of gravel flying. Her hooves dig deep into the ground as she reorients her bulk, bearing down on the guard, who is searching the bodies of his fallen comrades for any method of combating this juggernaut of changeling. He comes up short, looking up just as Em barrels into him, horn-first.
Guard#1 flies into the air, landing several feet away, falling helpless on his side and remaining motionless for a moment as he figures out how to breath again.
>>728506Celly grapples the legs of the overturned spider beast. She is able to hold them in place, circumventing its ability to regain its feet. It continues to try to wiggle them, tireless in its tenacity, as you'd expect a machine to be.
Spiderbot: Recover [1d10]
Gray, ever the opportunist, takes this opportunity to tackle the guard, already helpless.
Gray: Slam [1d10]
Reverb stands near the machine, watching carefully for an opening.
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 No.728508
>>728507Celesting getting irritated with the machine goes to strike it once more for it is quite difficult to hold stuck a standable object.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.728509
>>728507Em slowly walks toward the downed guard, shrinking a little more with each step. Finally, she's back to her normal size as she stands over him. Reaching into her bag, she pulls out an orb, focuses on it, and it begins to glow. Em's voice is cold and a little annoyed. "You have one more chance before I dust you, butt-brain," she says. He lips curl into a smile and she giggles. "Or don't. I guess either way you're not in my way anymore, but I'm a nice lady so I'm okay with forgiving you for being mean."
[1d10]
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.728510
>>728509Intimidation, obviously.
No.728511
>>728508Celly smacks hard metal. It doesn't move. Hard to tell whether the machine even recognized it as an attack.
The machine kicks and lurches to its feet. It appears to be reorienting itself as it scans the group, pausing for a moment.
Reverb takes this chance to hop up and try to play with the control panel.
Reverb: Control Spiderbot [1d10]
>>728509Gray kicks the guard in the stomach, hard. For someone who has already lost their breath, the guard takes it well. Gray stands to the side, somehow humbled by the ineffectiveness of his own attack. He watches Em.
The guard looks up at Em with hard eyes, until she speaks. He can tell that his life means nothing to her, and to his credit, he
doesn't melt. His eyes register understanding, but they are as hard as ever as he utters what he must imagine would be his last words. He coughs them out.
"Kill me, then." His eyes follow the glowing orb, unflinching even in the face of horrible death by fire. "Do you even know what you're looking for??"
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.728512
>>728511"I-" Em blinks and pauses for a moment. Slipping the orb back into her bag, she pulls out the paper and unfolds it. After reading it a couple times, she shows it to him and points. "Of course I do! Floor B25. Any other questions, smarty?"
No.728513
>>728511Celestia appalled by the lack of reactions from the robot decides to follow Reverbs lead. Mostly by pushing all the buttons.
Control SPiderbot [1d10]
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.728514
The crumpled parchment reads:
Central Spire, floor b25 The guard is unimpressed. "You're following a treasure map?" He tries to laugh, finds he doesn't have the breath to pull it off, coughs a bit.
Gray watches, a few steps away.
>>728513Reverb pulls levers and presses switches, to no avail. Celly hops up and slams a few more into place. The spiderbot lurches, turns 180 degrees and begins to move itself in the opposite direction.
Reverb watches wordlessly.
No.728515
>>728514Calcium just watches along with Reverb quite unsure what had happened or what he had done. Nonetheless the machine going away brings a smile upon this eldritch face. Cheers.
No.728516
>>728514Em gasps and looks at the map again. "There's treasure?!" she says. "I thought I was looking for a person! That's
way better!"
No.728517
>>728515The machine continues to walk away, unbidden, unmanned. It just makes a beeline away from them, and in the distance, towards a Toren strut.
Reverb looks to Celly, a congratulation on her lips, but without a way to express it she simply hops in excitement.
>>728516The guard redoubles his coughing attempts at laughter. "So," he manages between gasps for air, slowly regaining his ability to speech, "you don't even know what you're looking for? Good fucking luck." He begins an attempt to roll to his hooves.
Gray isn't about to let this happen. He hip-checks the rising pony with a furious expression on his tiny face.
Gray: Slam [1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.728675
>>728479Falling, Jiandao, Cit and KC have worked their way across a battlefield to gain access to the building which supposedly hosts the crash of Marble Mark's state-of-the-art airship racer, piloted by their friend Golden Flash. They are also missing one of their entourage by the name of Starfish, who is intimately involved with Golden and independent enough to search him out on her own. Currently, Falling and Cit are atop the roof of a civic building, perhaps a library or a courthouse, looking in through the smoking hole in the roof. KC and Jiandao are downstairs, facing off against what appears to be a particularly combative member of the unknown insurrection force battling the Horizon Guard outside.
Said guard uncoils a shining, dangerous-looking whip and cracks it, sending sparks flying in the air. He seems ready to attack Jiandao and KC, but hesitates for a moment.
"Are you really working for the pigs?" he asks incredulously. "You know what they've done to us, and you still support them?"
>>728501Celly, Em, Reverb and Gray all tangled with a spiderbot and lived. They currently are standing over the injured body of one guard, who has words for them, assuming he is about to perish. Trying to regain his footing, he is knocked to the ground by the small gray changeling. Rolling a bit, he coughs and laughs in a morbid tone.
"You don't even know what the fuck you're doing, do you? You're playing right into Ambit's hooves. You're just pawns and you don't even understand the game."
No.728677
>>728675"Our intent is only to enter this building." the kirin repeats, unphased by the cracking whip. "Our friend may be injured further within. I would be most grateful if you could allow us to pass unhindered." she asks, bowing to the masked thug.
[1d10] Persuasion
[1d3] Inscrutable
Roll #1 10 = 10 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 No.728679
>>728675"
Why are you both talking about armpits?" the baby eldritch wondered out loud after walking towards Em. The stride about hobbled after dealing with the monstruos robot.
>>728675 No.728685
>>728675KC doesn't budge as he cracks the whip. Cit looks bewildered. "What? No! We have nothing to do with you or the cops! Just leave us alone, would you."
[1d10] Persuade
KC just takes another step forward, looking past the angry rebel and clearly intending to move past him. Through him, if need be.
[1d10] Intimidate
Roll #1 8 = 8 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 No.728690
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>728675>>728479Falling looks down into the flaming hole, worried about what Golden's state might be if he's trapped inside the building. The angry voice gives her some pause after seeing the fighting earlier, but she can't wait around for them to clear out. Her horn glows as she focuses on the floor above however deep the crash pit goes, so she can have a safe bit of distance from whatever would be at the very bottom.
>Winkmaster [1d10]Roll #1 9 = 9 No.728703
>>728517Em puffs her cheeks in annoyance and stomps a hoof. "I literally
just told you what I was looking for. So are you going to clonk me over the noggin as soon as I turn around, or am I done killing people for now?"
>>728679"Armpits?"
No.728711
>>728703"[ecr]I am asking you all why you are talking about them, or what he was talking about." Celestia gestures to the pony on the ground.
No.729053
>>728677>>728685KC and Jiandao are facing down a large, well-armed pony with a rifle strapped across his back and a sparking wire dangling from his hand. Staring KC down as he approaches, he seems about to attack, but does a double-take at Jiandao's sincerity.
"You're … not with them? What are you doing here? Shit," he remarks, ducking at the debris from a small explosion. A battle rages around them. "We've been attacked. Those AB bastards have started launching suicide bombers, no doubt in retaliation for…" He stops himself, looks them up and down again appraisingly. Another explosion rocks the air around them. "Shit," he curses again, starting to move, "we'd better get inside then. It's dangerous out here!" The sparking cable retracts into its handle and he runs back to the door, holding it open for them to enter.
"Well? You coming?"
>>728685>>728690Cit and Falling are on the roof. Cit is yelling something at the guard but he either is ignoring her or isn't listening. He appears to lower his guard and leads the kirin and the mechanical biped to the front door.
Falling can see the flaming hole caused by an airship crashing through. It appears to have crashed through several floors of the building, which apparently goes much deeper than the outside structure indicates. She blinks in and out of existence, suddenly standing on the floor some 3 stories below, where the smoldering bits of wood and plaster give way another, shallower, pit, revealing the dull metallic black of what is obviously the twisted remains of Marble's prized airship.
She stands in some sort of storeroom. Boxes and crates of supplies surround her. This floor is currently unoccupied. The hole in the floor is directly below the hole in the ceiling, straight through support beams that look ancient.
No.729059
>>729053Seeing things calm down some, Cit decides to blink down, appearing next to KC. "Our friend might be trapped down there," she tells the rebel urgently. "We really don't have time to waste. Have you seen him? Pegasus, white coat, yellow mane?" She fidgets nervously as she and KC move through the open door and look around, fearing the worst.
[2d10] Perception, KC and Cit
Roll #1 7, 4 = 11 No.729064
>>729053Falling looks down at the ruined ship, and then quickly starts to look around the pit and the floor she's on for any sign of Golden, with little attention to any safety in this area.
>Search [1d10]Roll #1 8 = 8 No.729068
>>729053Nodding, Jiandao follows the pony into the cover of the building. "I thank you for your understanding."
No.729077
>>729059>>729068The rebel guard lets them in. It is a large marble lobby that was probably once considered luxurious, but has since fallen into disrepair. Crumbled stone lies everywhere, but especially near an obviously recent hole in the ceiling and straight through to the floor.
"I know you're just looking for your friend, but I can't let you go anywhere alone," he says apologetically. "This is Expanse HQ and we take security serious. Who are you guys again?"
"Haven't seen your friend. Why would he be trapped down here? Nobody is trapped within the Expanse, friend. We are all here by choice." He proudly taps an insignia on his chest, which must be some sort of rank or flag or something. It is a circle with an upside-down Y shape, each divided section its own color: one green, one blue, one white.
"I am Heavy Star. I'll be your escort this evening." His deadpan introduction is punctuated by a loud explosion somewhere outside. "We'd better hurry. Where did you say your friend was?" He leads them to a door. "Stairs to the Under live here," he explains, opening it up into what appears to be the top of a deep well, lined around the edge with a spiral ramp of steps leading further than the eye can see.
Another explosion rocks the building. "Shit!" he repeats himself. "Going down, or?"
>>729064She cannot see any sign of Golden, or even anypony. This entire floor seems to be completely deserted. Below, she can see what appears to be a living quarters, rudely interrupted by the still-flaming wreckage of the most expensive and famous racing boat in Horizon. She cannot make out whether there are currently any occupants, but upon inspection, notices there is a trail of drops of blood leading away from the crash and further into the domicile she is standing above.
A voice calls out from the distance on her level. "Hay! Hay yew!" It has a thick drawl to it, but an intensity which leads one to believe it means business.
No.729083
>>729077Falling's head goes back and forth, eyes darting all around to find Golden to no avail. She considers jumping down, but steps away from the hole, figuring she should look for proper stairs. But at seeing the blood, she doesn't hesitate, barely even registering the voice calling out to her as she hops down to the floor below to follow the blood.
>Jump [1d10]Roll #1 4 = 4 No.729087
>>729077She just looks dumbfounded at being pigeonholed into whatever this is. "I don't even know who you guys are or why we're here," she says to Heavy bluntly. "Our friend was on the ship. The one that crash landed here just before? If you have to come with us then fine, but we don't really have time to be touring your house or joining your cult or whatever. He could be… he could be dead for all we know, and we're stuck here getting all this crap thrown in our way!" She's starting to get extremely antsy, taking a deep breath to calm down. "Sorry. We're just really, really on the clock here. Can't you help us out?"
KC starts to lose patience as well, doubling back and stonewalling Heavy by exiting the building and climbing onto the roof where Falling was, trying to join her in their search for Marble.
[1d10] if needed
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.729088
>>729087Search for Golden*
No.729092
>>729077"We are but humble travelers, in search of our ally. We believe the ship which passed through this building was controlled by him, and are here to search the wreckage."
No.729099
>>729083Falling hops down, landing clumsily near the twisted metal structure of Marble's ship. She stands within what is obviously a spacious living chamber. A bed has been almost completely destroyed by the wreck. The rest of the room seems to be untouched. A bedside lamp, still on. A table with the remains of a meal for two. A closed door, obviously the entrance. Another door is halfway open, light emanating from within, and it is to this door the trail of blood leads. The door itself has a large smear of blood on and around the knob. Falling can hear the distinct sound of somepony crying behind it.
>>729087>>729092Heavy narrows his eyes through his visor. "Your friend was on the ship that crashed here? So, you're… allied with the suicide bomber?" He shakes his head. "And you're some kind of rescue team, sent by AB to recover your motherbusting assets?" He assumes a dangerous pose, blocking them. "I don't think I can let you go any further." He notices KC break off from the group. "Hey! Where the hell do you think you're going?"
Heavy's electric whip drops out of the handle and he cracks it, sparks flying, at the automaton.
Electric Coil [1d10]
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.729101
>>729099"Suicide bomber? What?! Golden isn't a suicide bomber and he's certainly not with AB. We've been working against those creeps this whole time! The crash was an accident, genius. I've never even heard of you guys till now!"
As he tries to attack KC, this is just about the final straw for Cit. "Don't you dare touch him!" she yells, readying her flail menacingly and staring him down.
[1d10] Intimidate
KC just makes a dismissive gesture at Heavy and lumbers off, hauling himself up onto the roof. Seeing the giant hole in it, he assesses the area and does his best to climb down to investigate.
[1d10]
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.729105
>>729099"'Suicide bomber'? While his intentions were unclear, it i unlikely that he would purposely crash the ship into this area."
[1d10] persuasion
[1d3] inscrutable
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 No.729107
>>729099Falling stumbles from her landing, wobbling across the room from the momentum, but manages to avoid falling over. He looks at the bed, at the meal, tacking the blood stain to the door. Hearing the crying, Falling quickly pushes the door open.
"Golden?"
No.729121
>>729101>>729105The electric whips snaps back, coils around Heavy's hooves and takes him off balance. He wobbles for a second, his furious expression melting into panic for a moment as he upends himself, landing hard on his side. It appears to knock the wind out of him. When he looks up, he sees Cit waving a flail around and cringes in fear. After a moment, he realizes she is not going to strike him, looks back up at them, and begins to actually listen.
"Wait, he wasn't a suicide bomber? But, this whole counterattack was because… Then wait." His expression changes from fear, to confusion, to realization, to horror. "This whole thing was a mistake?? He crashed on ACCIDENT?" He blinks and shakes his head, climbing slowly to his hooves, a respectful distance away to show he has no further violent intentions.
"On accident?? I don't understand. He crashed right into the Expanse HQ! He started a war!"
>>729101Meanwhile, KC easily climbs down through the crash hole. 4 stories down, he finds himself next to the still-smoldering wreckage of Marble Mark's sleek black ship, now all disfigured from the impact. He recognizes Falling's voice and turns to see the fogsuit-clad mare pushing open a door…
>>729107Behind the door is not Golden. Falling recognizes the familiar spiky mohawk-shape of a unique fogsuit helmet.
Starfish's back is to the door. She does not turn at the sound of Falling's voice, merely continues sobbing. The trail of blood leads to a large basin in front of her. Water pours from a spigot in the wall into the basin, and steam rises. She is drawing a bath.
Something is sticking out of the basin. She clutches it with both forehooves, cradling it to her helmeted face.
This appears to be the source of the blood.
It also appears to be a naked, pale-coated hoof, with a small tuft of blonde hair, completely matted with blood.
No.729128
>>729121"His intentions remain a mystery, perhaps he was pursued by the authorities and lost control, or he may have been unprepared to fly the ship. Regardless, we must see to the wreckage. Do you know where in this building it crashed?"
No.729130
>>729121Falling looks down at the trail of blood, and the drenched hoof that Starfish holds. He mouth falls open in shock, unable to have words come or barely a thought to process. The only thing that comes is her instinct, whenever anything horrible comes she can try to rewind it. Her horn glows bronze, desperately pouring her magic onto the pale hoof to fix Golden.
>Mend [1d10]Roll #1 8 = 8 No.729134
>>729121"Bullshit!" she retorts. "I don't know why he crashed, but starting a war was the last thing he'd have wanted to do. He was trying to stay under the radar! He didn't work for AB! In fact he had good reason to hate their guts! You've got it all wrong. All those people out there right now, they're getting butchered because YOU jumped the gun. Let that sink in, why don't you." She crosses her forelegs and looks at Heavy with extreme disapproval. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find my friend."
She turns tail and leaves, following KC's path, trying to get to the bottom of all this.
[1d10] If needed
>>729130>>729121Meanwhile, KC clambers down, freezing as he processes the scene. He slumps onto his haunches, unable to do much to help in this scenario, looking at Falling almost pleadingly.
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.729149
>>729134Heavy lets her say all her words, looking like they are daggers in his heart. He nods numbly as she turns to go.
Cit finds her way back up to the roof and sees KC next to the wreckage some 4 stories down. He looks sad.
>>729128Heavy nods. "Whether by accident or by design, he landed in the living quarters of our leader. Vengeant Glow. Best damn pony I've ever met. He was our hope, our light. He was the Expanse." He eyes the kirin. "You really aren't one of them, are you? I can take you there if you want." He points to the stairs. "It's down a couple levels." He begins to make his way down.
>>729130>>729134KC watches helplessly from the next room as Falling's magic envelopes the hoof, the bronze light spreading over the surface of Golden's snow-white coat. The matted fur begins to quiver, blood flowing upward and leaving it fluffy and intact. Falling walks forward to continue the spell, and as she does so, more of the interior of the basin becomes visible.
The hoof is attached to a eviscerated, headless corpse. Golden's organs have become external, and they are piled haphazardly within the basin. He is missing all but one leg, which Starfish cradles. Even as Falling realizes what she is seeing, the bronze light pulls bloody pieces of meat together, sucking them back into the deflated torso, but leaving gaping holes where there should be body parts, shattered bones becoming whole but the skin refusing to cover them. The spell finishes with a slightly-more-intact corpse.
Starfish finally looks up at Falling. She is ugly-crying, her visor covered in snot. She mouths like she is trying to speak, but words don't come out, and instead she begins keening. She lets go of Golden's hoof, which slips into the basin, grief pouring out of her like a waterfall.
No.729157
>>729149KC takes a single peek inside the basin and immediately recoils. Cit leans over, unsure of what lies at the bottom. She calls out. "Hey! KC! What's going on down there? Is Golden safe?"
KC just looks up sadly and shakes his head. Cit's face turns to stone, and she just stands there numbly, quivering in disbelief.
No.729159
>>729149With the pony leading the way down, Jiandao follows, trotting down the stairs behind him.
No.729161
>>729149Falling stops as Golden's body comes into view. The color drains from her, her legs giving out as she slumps to the ground behind Starfish. She felt indirect guilt over Zehpyr, but in the end there was nothing she could do, and his body was intact. Here, Golden only suffered this fate because he helped them, because she pulled him into this mess, because she confronted Marble. Tears start to run down her face, realizing she caused the death of such a kind and helpful pony. Though she can't do anything but dwell on this now, sitting in shock at the sight of his body, mangled and eviscerated, even after her magic treatment, the first time seeing such a horrific sight. The only thing keeping her from growing sick in this moment is the respect she would have to not make any of this worse.
No.729169
>>729159Heavy leads her down the stairs, through a door, down a long hallway, and all the way at the end there is a door. He lifts his hoof and almost knocks, but instead just opens the door slowly. Somepony is crying loudly inside.
The first thing she can see is KC and the wreckage of Marble's ship, halfway through a bed. There is an open doorway leading to a private bathroom. Inside, Jiandao can see Falling, who looks in shock, and Starfish, who is wailing with grief. They are both hunched near what appears to be a bathtub.
>>729157>>729161Jiandao and Heavy walk in. Heavy walks over wordlessly, looks into the basin. He does not react.
"Far from the first pony we've lost today, I'm afraid." He shakes his armored head. "I'm sorry for your friend."
They all sit there for a moment, the only sound Starfish's grieving. She begins to quiet down a bit, merely sobbing instead of wailing.
Finally, Heavy sighs and addresses the group. "We can't stay here. I shouldn't have brought you in the first place. I've… never been allowed in here before, actually, and I'm sure these circumstances don't change that. We should go."
Starfish looks up at him with fire in her eyes. "I'm NOT leaving without him."
No.729172
>>729169"I-I'm sorry…" Falling mutters, still hunched over, "Th-This… This is all my fault…"
She says lowly, quietly, sounding like a broken mare and having moved past the point of sobbing as the tears fall.
No.729176
>>729169Still shaking, she blinks down, looking ashen as she sees Starfish bawling, and the bloodstains on the basin. She doesn't dare look inside, her eyes glazing over. She barely acknowledges the others' presence, looking emptily at the bloody basement. Something stews up inside her, bubbling with weeks of pent up misfortunes. She lashes out, slamming her mace against a wall in sheer rage and grief. "GOD!!… DAMMIT!!!!"
KC looks at Snails with a downtrodden look. Silently, he extends his arms, offering to carry the basin.
No.729177
>>729169Seeing the corpse of Golden, confirming her worry, she kneels to offer a silent prayer to his passing.
Overhearing Starfish's concern, Jiandao makes an attempt to wrap Golden's body in silver light, carefully lifting it in preparation to leave.
[1d10] Lift
>>729172"This outcome we knew was possible from the start, Falling. You have done what you can, there is no use in placing blame in things you cannot control." she says even-toned to the distraught mare.
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.729178
>>729177"He… He wouldn't be here… if it wasn't for me…"
Falling mutters.
No.729179
>>729178"He had made his choice assisting us, aware of the risks involved. All that remains is to honor his memory by completing the task at hoof, saving Diamond."
No.729180
>>729172>>729176>>729177Starfish looks up angrily at Heavy Star, sees the expression on everyone's face, and immediately softens. She blinks out a few more tears, takes a deep breath, and says, "Alright then."
Heavy opens a couple drawers, eventually pulling out a white sheet. He offers it to Starfish. As Jiandao lifts Golden's remains, Starfish gently wraps him in cloth, tears flowing freely inside her helmet. She rests her hoof on him, then touches her visor to his chest in a tender gesture that lasts for several moments. Finally, she stands upright and tall, nods her consent and gratitude to KC, and allows him to be taken.
"Let's go," Heavy says gently. "We have to try to stop the killing while there's still a chance."
Just that moment, another explosion, louder, closer, rocks the building. From above, several bright lights shine in. An airship is hovering over the hole caused by the crash site. A loud voice, much louder than could ever be naturally caused, calls down.
"This is the Horizon Guard. You are under arrest. Stay where you are and you will not be hurt. Any attempts to flee will be met with deadly force."
Heavy does not wait for the voice to finish; he has already dashed out the door and down the hall, along with Starfish and anyone with a lick of sense.
[[Paused]]
No.729516
>>729180Last time, in Horizon…
>>728703>>728711Em, Celly, Reverb and Gray are all standing over a dying guard. He says something cryptic about Ambit and treasure, then is reduced to mumbling to himself and giggling. He almost tries to get up again, but Gray stands over him threateningly and he thinks better of it.
No more pony guards approach. The guard post stands towards the center of the huge Toren structure towering over them, the entrance open. The sounds of a distant battle are coming from somewhere to the south.
>>729176>>729177>>729178KC, Cit, Jiandao and Falling are reunited with Starfish within the headquarters of a sort of rebel organization called Expanse. Marble's ship, piloted by Golden Flash, has crash-landed directly into the leader's bedroom. They found Golden's destroyed body, or most of it anyway, which was a huge bummer for everypony. Alas, there was little time for grieving, as the Horizon Guard begins invading the headquarters through the gaping hole through the ceiling. The group takes Golden's body, wrapped in a sheet, with them as they flee.
A rebel named Heavy Star is leading them in their flight through the annals of the building, away from the loud and bright flashing airships and heavy hoof-falls of their cavalry. He guides them to a spiral stairwell and they descend, for what seems like at least ten stories, deep into the underground. The walls become rough and rocky, obviously cut into the bedrock itself. Finally they come to an opening of sorts, and the stairs descend no further. There is a large iron blast door which is open and appears to lock from the other side.
Heavy turns to them. "We have a few minutes before they follow us. Close that door behind you. There's a safehouse beyond and an exit that leads to an old ruined chapel. That should get you far enough away to be safe from the Guard. From there, you're on your own." He turns away and looks sadly up the stairwell.
"Don't tell me you're going to try to do something stupid like 'hold em off,' you dipshit," Starfish pipes up. "You don't even know us. Throwing your life away would be downright idiotic."
He turns back to her, his eyes flashing in anger. "Don't get ahead of yourself, filly. You're not the only one who lost someone today. I'm going back for my friends. You have to focus on the ones you can still save." Without further ado, he begins to climb the stairs back up.
No.729519
>>729516Celly goes forward to poke the changelings around him quesioningly. "
Where are we going?" he adds with the tilt of his plush head.
No.729521
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>729180Falling sits in the bathroom, not moving as Heavy flees out as the voice calls down, too struck with guilt and grief to move.
No.729522
>>729180Having lifted the corpse of Golden, Jiandao's attention is diverted to the airship above. Hearing the warning, she floats the body to KC, before wrapping Falling in her magic, pulling the pair towards the door Heavy fled through.
"Falling, we must keep moving. There will be time to mourn after we have cleared the area."
No.729525
>>729516Jiandao bows to the pony. "Thank you again, Heavy Star. May our paths cross again."
Waiting for him to leave, the kirin makes her way through, closing the blast door once the others have followed.
No.729527
>>729522Falling is pulled along in Jiàndào's magic, not giving any response as her head hangs low.
No.729531
>>729516KC doesn’t waste any time in heading through the door, having stored Golden’s remains in his chest compartment for now. He easily handles the large metal door.
Still wracked with grief and rage at Golden’s demise, Cit just gives Heavy a tiny, bitter little nod. She looks at him with unending disgust; for a moment, it looks like she’s about to attack him, but she holds back, stewing in her own frustration as she goes through the door. Before she does, she can’t help but leave Heavy with one last scathing thought.
“I hope you die out there.”
As the door closes, she spits on it, channeling all her anger and resentment toward Heavy. KC puts a gentle hand on her shoulder, which she abruptly brushes off. He looks hurt. “Let’s just get moving,” she grumbles, trudging off without waiting for the others.
No.729536
>>729516Em rolls her eyes. "You're dumb," she tells the guard. "If I could have the handsome Alicorn with the time lizard tell you then maybe you wouldn't be laughing." She spins around, sheds the bloody suit, and continues her way toward the spire. "Whatever. You lose."
>>729519"Floor B25. I got a spell that's gonna let me scout it out first!"
No.729549
>>729525>>729527>>729531Jiandao, having given up Golden's body to KC, is able to use her telekinesis to drag Falling along as if her magic were a leash. They traverse the stairs without major incident, although Falling stumbles once or twice due to grief lethargy. Jiandao is able to keep her safe and moving.
Heavy, his back already turned, replies to Cit. "Me too." Starfish stares after him for a moment before following the group.
They pass through the giant door and KC winches it closed by turning a large industrial-looking wheel. It clicks into place behind them.
A cacophonous metallic thunk follows as a thick beam falls into place, locking the door securely. Even KC would struggle to move such a hefty piece of iron.
Behind them, a dark corridor leads slightly upward, twists and the brightness of daylight can be seen.
Daylight? Underground? Apparently so.
As they approach the light, the smell of fresh grass and flowers fills the air. They step into some sort of magical glade filled with plants, with light filtering through the ceiling almost perfectly mimicking morning sunlight. Of course it's a trick, but it's a very convincing one. The glade is not very large, but it's more lush than anything any of them have seen in Horizon. It reminds Jiandao of the meadows around her hometown, and Falling of stories of the great outdoors. Starfish, despite her grief, does a little trot out to the middle of the field, turning back to look at her companions, her face bewildered.
"Isn't this incredible??" she breathes.
There is an obvious exit opposite of the way they entered. There are also a few smallish holes in the bedrock walls surrounding the room, too small for a full-grown pony.
>>729519>>729536Em discards her disguise, the blood pooled in the extremities of the fogsuit splashing all over herself and the ground. As an added touch, the suit lands on the downed guard, who merely whimpers in response. Gray follows her proudly toward the Spire. Reverb looks questioningly at Celly before hesitantly following the other two changelings.
The guard tower is daunting, stretching all the way up to the high ceiling of the understructure. The front door is not closed, but it leads to an airlock which is sealed. There is a control panel on the wall with some obvious-looking buttons for opening, closing, and venting the airlock. It is large enough for about 10 ponies to fit in at a time.
No.729556
>>729549"Well," she says without explaining to anyone. "Lets see if this works " she taps her hoof to her amulet and her body collapses.
[Astral Projection]
No.729557
>>729549Trotting along with the others, Jiandao takes pause at the sight of this hidden glade.
"Indeed. It is a rare sight, seeing a place a lush as this. I wonder by what magic this place was made?"
Trotting forward, she takes a moment to examine one of the flowers, prodding it gently with a hoof.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.729559
>>729549She looks a bit perplexed at the sight of the place. "This… isn't real, right?" she wonders, taking a few steps around. KC's eyes widen, and he begins to wander around, investigating the plantlife with abject curiosity.
The holes in the walls pique Cit's natural curiosity too, and she wanders over to one, forgetting her woes for a minute as she investigates.
[1d10] Cit Perception
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.729565
>>729556Gray jumps in alarm as Em apparently falls lifeless to the ground. He clicks and whistles at her, gently prodding her unresponsive body.
Em's spirit lifts from her physical frame and floats above. She finds that the walls of the guard tower are mostly permeable to her, even through the airlock.
>>729557The flower is real. It is a large multipetaled dark purple dahlia, growing peacefully among its brothers and sisters. It has no scent. The leaves and petals are slightly damp with dew, as are all the others. These plants look happy.
>>729559The holes in the wall appear to have been carved out purposefully by a small creature. Cit can't see very deep into any of them, as they are not lit from within. They twist and turn away into the darkness. From within Cit thinks she might hear a distant sound, like scraping or clicking, but too faint to place.
No.729566
>>729549Falling starts to move slightly on her own accord as they reach the stairs, as if her subconscious realizes it'd be too much of a pain to be dragged along them.
As they pass through the passage and reach the open, magical glade, Falling stands at the opening they entered in. She looks down at the plentiful flora, something out of a story book. And she starts to cry. Tears fall onto the glade as it makes her think of Diamond, how they were supposed to build their own part of the Garden District.
"I-It's not f-fair…" She sobs, "Today wasn't s-supposed to be like th-this…"
No.729568
>>729565Celestia pouts and lays down upon the ground
No.729575
>>729566Starfish wanders over to Falling, starts to make a comforting gesture and stops herself. She tries to blink back her tears, but the pressure is too much and they begin to leak out again. She doesn't touch Falling or try to say anything, but she sits down next to her, and they just cry, alone together.
>>729568Celly lies down on the ground next to Em's lifeless form, just outside the guard tower airlock entrance. Reverb comes and stands over him protectively, as Gray stands over Em.
No.729578
>>729565Her instincts tell her not to get too close, or some horrible monster might jump out and try to eat her face. Instead, she keeps her distance, and shoots out a few sparks of lightning down the hole, trying to illuminate it to get a better look.
[1d10]
>>729566As KC looks around, he plods over to Falling and sits on his haunches next to her. He does his best to comfort the mare, putting one massive metal hand around her shoulder and giving her a gentle, reassuring pat. He doesn't seem sure of what else to do in this situation.
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.729579
>>729575"
I think you be fun to decorate, with all those holes in ya I can put in some ornaments. I am feeling the spirit for it." Celestia announces giving the lifeless body of Em a prod.
No.729580
>>729565"Strange.. The plants are real, surviving within this glen's magic. Impressive."
Looking up, she gestures to the door with a hoof. "It is a wondrous place, but we must press on soon. We cannot be sure the door will hold the guards at bay."
No.729583
>>729565She floats over and gives the wall an experimental poke.
No.729585
>>729575"I-I'm sorry, I… I shouldn't h-have gotten involved w-w-with you guys."
Falling says through he chokes to Starfish, now that there isn't bombing or guards chasing after them.
No.729592
>>729578Falling looks up at the robot as he gives her a pat. It seems to help her for a moment in that he's there for emotional support.
No.729595
>>729585"Our path to here was not one to blame yourself for, falling. What befell Golden was a tragedy, but one we could not have foreseen."
No.729603
>>729578Cit's electric zap ricochets down the twisting turns of the hole, illuminating what she can see and confirming the fact that this hole has been carved out purposefully, the rubble carried away and leaving almost smooth round sides to the corkscrew tunnel. The sound of her bolt zapping around lingers after light is no longer visible, slowly fading away into the background ambiance. She can't be sure, but for a moment after it become inaudible, the background clicking/scuttling noise becomes silent before resuming. It sounds like it might be getting louder, or maybe closer.
>>729578>>729580>>729585KC, Falling and Starfish sit in the middle of the large glade, each feeling some kind of way. Jiandao approaches. Cit is still poking around one of the holes around the exterior of the room.
Starfish nods at Falling. "Sorry you got involved with all this. You were just trying to find your friend, and then…" she gestures helplessly at everything. "This," she finishes lamely. "Tempest and Zephyr, now this." She starts to sigh but a sob catches her throat and she loses her ability to speak as her grief pours out, wracking her body.
>>729579>>729583Celly and Em lie motionless on the ground outside of the guard tower as their two changeling friends guard over their lifeless bodies.
[[Paused for Em and Celly]]
No.729606
>>729595>>729603"But it is my fault!"
Falling blurts out.
"This whole day has just been seeing death and loss and it's not getting any better!"
Falling shouts, voice hoarse from her sobbing.
No.729611
>>729603She recoils, suddenly getting a bad inkling about the strange hole. She doubles back and rejoins her companions. Seeing everyone else sitting around and commiserating, she joins in, slumping to the ground next to KC with a heavy sigh.
>>729592While he can't say anything to her, he does his best to comfort the grieving mare, looking quite downtrodden himself.
>>729606"Yeah, it's just been one shitshow after another, hasn't it," she mopes. "First Zeph, now Golden… God dammit…" She rips out some grass in frustration. "It can't go on like this. …It… it
won't…" She seems to channel her grief into sheer determination. "If… if we don't find your friend… then Golden d-died for nothing. We can't give up. This was… awful. Yeah. But there's still hope, right? It's not over yet."
>>729606>>729595"Also, um… don't look now, but I think there might be some bugs in the walls." She points over at the nearby holes. KC looks alarmed.
No.729616
>>729606"All the more reason to continue forward. We are in danger the longer we are here, if the door is broken through we risk everypony here through inaction."
"The only way in our control to keep everypony safe is to keep moving."
>>729611>>729603Looking to the hole in question with a glare, Jiandao bundles Falling into her magic as she rushes for the door!
No.729617
>>729606Starfish shakes her head at Falling's outburst, but doesn't respond, merely lets the tears flow. She looks like she's thinking despite the consistent flow of water from her face.
>>729611At the mention of bugs in the walls, Starfish sits up straight, suddenly alert to danger and oblivious to her own emotional distress.
>>729616Jiandao picks Falling up with her telekinesis and dashes for the door.
>>729606>>729611>>729616As Jiandao throws herself (and Falling) into action, a large, round, spiny lizard emerges from the hole Cit had been examining. It is wearing some sort of harness, and is followed immediately by another harnessed lizard. They trail two leashes which lead back into the darkness of the hole. A strange clicking and whistling comes from inside, and the lizards themselves begin to pant and slobber, seeing the party in the middle of the glade.
Starfish stands in alarm. "Shit, crew, look alive!" she shouts around her tears. Reaching her hand into her bag, she fishes around.
Hat Magic [1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.729621
>>729617>>729616She and KC perk up in unison as the reptilian creatures emerge, snapping them out of their reverie. Cit flinches and starts backing up warily, conjuring up some flashy but harmless sparks of lightning, hurling them as makeshift firecrackers to ward the creatures off. KC backs her up, eyes narrowing to slits as he pounds the ground with his fists aggressively.
[1d10] KC Intimidate
[1d10] Cit Intimidate
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.729624
>>729617>>729621>>729606With the lizards emerging, Jiandao continues to usher falling towards the door, calling out to the others "We must retreat to the door, before our enemy arrives in force."
No.729629
>>729617>>729616>>729611"I want to do this day over."
Falling sobs pitifully, falling deeper into despair until he's suddenly pulled along by Jiàndào's magic again. She looks off to the lizards emerging from the tunnel, already horrific thoughts running through her head over what might happen, leaving her choked up.
No.729641
>>729621The lizards turn toward Cit and KC, both drawing attention towards themselves. The lizards appear to falter, trying to back up into the hole, but one yelps painfully and continues forward, looking even more scared of whatever is emerging behind it. The two lizards approach warily, looking terrified. Behind them, a gray changeling about half the height of a normal pony holds in one hoof the reins attached to said lizards and in the other some sort of smooth black rod, electricity sparking from the tip. As they watch, the changeling jabs the nearest, more hesitant lizard, who jumps and yelps, then turns toward the party, snarling. It has rows of sharp teeth and powerful-looking jaws.
>>729624>>729629Jiandao bodily pulls Falling toward the exit. There are currently no lizards blocking the passage, so it is easy for the two of them to exit.
Through the door they find a hallway with another spiral staircase at the end, leading upward into the darkness.
>>729621>>729624>>729629Starfish draws her hoof out of her bag, trailing with it an exact replica of Heavy's electric whip-coil. She stares at it in disbelief a moment, then presses an obvious button on the side. A sparking cable snakes out and drops to the ground, shining with power. She gives it an exploratory crack, and finding it to her liking, takes a ready stance near Cit and KC.
"Go!" she yells at them. "Protect Falling! I'll watch the rear!"
[[Paused]]
No.730521
>>729641Last time, in Horizon…
>>729568>>729556Em and Celly are both motionless on the ground, guarded by the changelings Reverb and Gray. They're outside the apparently unguarded guard tower, underneath the Central District Toren structure. There is an airlock leading to an interior nearby.
>>729629>>729624>>729621Falling, Jiandao, Cit and KC are somewhere underground. They find themselves in a lush glade within a cave, verdant with flora, while they share a moment of shared grief. Unfortunately, this reprieve is short-lived, as several unfriendly-looking lizards, urged on by an even unfriendlier-looking changeling, emerge from one of the several small corkscrewing holes drilled into the surrounding walls. The changeling seems to be directing the fat, spiny lizards to attack, urging them forward with a sparking electric prod.
Starfish stands in the entrance, holding an electric whip. She cracks it menacingly, but the lizards are obviously more afraid of their pint-sized handler than her. They lunge forward, snapping their jaws at Starfish.
Lizard A [1d10]
Lizard B [1d10]
The changeling handler attempts to reel them in, obviously unprepared for the ferocity of their attack and unwilling to fully commit. He keeps glancing back at the hole he entered as if expecting backup.
Gray Handler [1d10]
"Well?? What are you waiting for, dummies?? Go!!"
Starfish steals a quick glance at the group in the doorway, finding time to shout at them before she cracks the electric coil at the nearest lizard.
Starfish Doms Lizard A [1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 /
Roll #2 6 = 6 /
Roll #3 1 = 1 /
Roll #4 5 = 5 No.730524
>>730521Idle at the moment. Princess Cookie decided to blow spit bubbles to avoid his oncoming boredom. One might say this is childish. He would agree, for he is a child. He also said hi.
[Skill:(automatic) "Bubble" learned. Roll to launch a harmless bubble in a direction.]
No.730525
>>730521KC springs to action, charging Lizard A and delivering a metal haymaker to its jaw.
[1d10]
"Are you insane? We're not leaving without you!" Cit yells as she pulls out a ramshackle looking flat, square device and hurls it at Lizard B. It's one of the little spider-like automatons she builds, this one having a central eye and four spider-like legs to grip on to things. It's rigged to self-destruct.
[1d10] Sabotage
Roll #1 8 = 8 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 No.730526
>>730521Em stops at the airlock and taps her chin. Taking an entirely pointless deep breath, she decides to take a couple of steps back and sprint right at the door.
No.730529
>>730521While Starfish and Cit choosing to engage the lizards, Jiandao continues to move quickly into the exit hall, Moving Falling with her.
"The others have chosen to distract them. It would be wise to take this chance and escape."
No.730531
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>729641>>730529>>730521"Wait, no! I'm not leaving anyponyelse behind!"
Falling protests as Jiàndào starts to pull her along to escape, though too worn to fight back against the kirin.
No.730534
>>730524[1d10]
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.730536
>>730531"Do you doubt their ability?" asks the kirin. "They have seen us through to this point. To assume they require help now is strange indeed."
No.730540
>>730536"Golden said he was going to be fine hiding the ship and look what happened to him!"
No.730542
>>730540"There is a difference of scale you fail to account for. Golden failed to pilot the ship, plummeting through this building as the result. Starfish and Cit are fighting but a hooffull of lizards."
No.730547
>>730524Celly's bubble floats toward the airlock and pops harmlessly against one of the buttons. Reverb looks surprised. She pokes at Celly experimentally, then blows her own bubble. It pops on the ground near the plush's open mouth. Reverb stares at Celly to gauge her reaction.
>>730526Em's nonphysical frame passes right through the door, and she has to struggle to not lose her balance as the anticipated impact with the solid wall just doesn't happen. Regaining her balance, she finds herself in a sort of waiting area. There is a well-dressed filly with her mane pulled tightly back into a bun, poking at some sort of device with both forehooves. A look of concentration is set upon her young face, and Em gets the impression that she wouldn't notice her even if the changeling weren't imperceptible.
There are three doors in the spacious room. One is set into the wall, and Em recognizes the symbol atop as signifying an elevator. Another door is large and open, and Em can see through the portal to a small room with assorted gear attached to the walls. The last door, smaller than the other two, is closed and set into the far side of the room, down a short hallway.
>>730525The lizards break loose from their handler, knocking the small changeling onto the ground. He lands face first with a sickening crack and doesn't move, his electric prod landing on the grass beside him. The two lizards don't seem to notice or care, and continue their vicious attack.
Lizard A is midlunge at Starfish when it is intercepted by KC's metal fist, which connects with a satisfying crunch. The reptile ragdolls, bouncing away head-first like a discarded children's toy. It lands on the ground some 2 meters away and immediately squirms to its feet. Starfish cracks the whip at it, but she is obviously not proficient with this weapon, as the crackling electric coil misses her target. Despite its toothy face being obviously injured and disfigured, the spiny lizard leaps at KC, clawing at the automaton desparately.
Lizard A attacks KC [1d10-1]
Cit's spiderbot flies wide and misses Lizard B, who jumps at Starfish, latching itself onto her back leg with its wide, toothy maw. Starfish winces, looks down and stomps at the reptile's head with her other back hoof.
Starfish curbstomps Lizard B [1d10]
>>730531>>730536Jiandao and Falling retreat down a short hallway to the foot of a stairway spiraling upwards. It stretches up into the darkness intimidatingly. The mock-sunlight of the artificial glade only stretches so far, and it's obvious that unless otherwise lit, this will be a climb through darkness. There do appear to be helpful hoof-shaped indentations in the walls; apparently whoever designed the stairs accounted for ponies to climb up and down safely, even in the pitch dark.
The two of them stand at the foot of the stairs and argue about whether to leave. They watch Cit, KC and Starfish engage the lizard and small changeling.
Roll #1 5 - 1 = 4 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 No.730550
>>730547Em stumbles a few steps and very nearly falls on her face. Trotting up to the lady, she tilts her head, waves her hoof in front of her face, and makes a few silly faces at her. Finally, she steps into the elevator and looks for the floor 25 B button.
No.730551
>>730547KC doesn't skip a beat, charging at Lizard A and bringing both fists down on its back.
[1d10] Slam, crits on 8+
Cit grits her teeth as the spiderbot misses, reaching for her flail and unhooking the chain, spinning it around menacingly before joining KC in a team attack, swinging at both lizards in a wide arc.
[1d10] Cleave vs both, crits on 9+, critfails 2-
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 No.730553
>>730547"
Masterful job my young pupil." Principal Celly congratulated reverb on his spit bubble blowing. Giving them a pat on the back. Ever so masterful at teaching he is. Though for mini they might have been taught bad habits.
No.730556
>>730542"I don't care! If anything happens and I'm not there
again then we'll just lose more friends!"
>>730547Falling looks backfrom the stairs as Cit, KC, and Starfish fight off the lizards. When one of them pounces Starfish, Falling can't sit back any longer. She runs back to the opening of the stairs to the cave, horn glowing as she fires off a beam of concentrated magic at the beast.
>Consecrate [Lizard B] [1d10]Roll #1 4 = 4 No.730558
>>730547As Falling gallops back to the others, Jiandao follows to assist, her swords clattering as they leave the holder to float around her.
No.730562
>>730558>>730547
>Tactician, three turnsrushing back into the room, Jiandao focuses her energy into her blade, bringing it down onto the lizard clinging to Starfish before following through with a bash from another sword after.
[1d10] Revolving blade, Lizard B
[1d10] Melee (bonus)
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.730575
>>730550The tight-bunned young mare doesn't respond to the astral projection's taunts. After a moment, though, she sighs, sits back in her chair, stretches and yawns, before resuming her deliberate poking at the strange device.
Em prods at the elevator button a few times before realizing that she is being silly. Before she can laugh at herself, the lift lurches and begins to move upward on its own. Em realizes she can either ascend within the chamber, stay put as the floor passes through her, or even head downward through the shaft.
>>730553Reverb looks quite pleased with Celly's compliment and backpat. "
Masterful," she repeats. A moment passes as she looks thoughtful. "
Pupil?" she asks, tilting her head to the side to indicate confusion.
>>730551Lizard A whips around KC's body, clawing at the metal and wood frame of the automaton even as he attempts a doublefist hammer punch. The maneuver combined with the unexpected weight of the reptile causes KC to spin and lose his balance. He teeters, tries to right himself with a heavy step of his mechanical leg, accidentally trods upon the scaly tail of Lizard A, smashing it flat, and topples to the ground.
[KC is helpless]
[Lizard A is helpless]
Cit's wicked flail cuts through the air. She totally whiffs it on Lizard B but the helpless Lizard A is an easier target on the backswing; the heavy ball smashes into the reptilian skull, destroying its eyesocket and sending pieces of bone flying. It flails a moment for a final time then lies still.
[Lizard A incapacitated]
>>730556>>730562Falling blasts Lizard B with a bronze flash of light, but it only serves to catch the beast's attention. It detaches from Starfish's leg and hisses at Falling, then as it scurries across the ground quicker than Falling thought possible to attack the mare, its toothy face is met with Jiandao's wooden sword.
The first swing of her blunted blade dislocates the creature's jaw; the second snaps its head wide open, baring the gore within to the bright sunlight of the chamber. It falls to the ground motionless.
[Lizard B incapacitated]
>>730562>>730556>>730551There is a moment of silence in the chamber as each of the ponies catch their breath.
There is the sound of more scuffling from the same corkscrew hole from which the original three enemies originated.
The small gray changeling begins to stir.
Gray recover [1d10]
"Shit," Starfish breathes. "Time to skedaddle." She backs towards the only exit, wide eyes under her helmet darting back and forth between the changeling and the hole in the wall.
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.730576
>>730575The princess gives a shrug. "
I heard it once and thought it sounded smart. I think it fits?" He taps idly at his own chin in thought. He should stop using words he doesn't know, but he won't for no particular reason.
No.730577
>>730575Em groans as the elevator doesn't move after pressing the button. That's not how these stupid things are supposed to work. Finally it whirrs to life. Satisfied, she stays put and waits for the proper floor.
No.730578
>>730575Cit grits her teeth as she hears more of them coming. "Yeah. Let's move." She starts rushing out towards the exit, pausing to turn and yell at KC. "Come on big guy! Get up! We can't win this one!" She looks worried as KC props himself up with one arm, struggling to haul himself to his feet.
[1d10] KC Recover
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.730579
>>730575Shaking the gore off her wooden blade with a flick to the side, Jiandao sheaths her swords with a hollow clatter and proceeds down the exit, ushering Falling along with her.
No.730583
>>730575>>730579Falling takes a step back as her spell fails, breathing quickening in panic until Jiàndào comes forward as slices the creature in two with her sword. Falling is struck silent at the act, if it wasn't for the day's event thus far wearing at her she'd be in awe of the act.
She quickly turns er attention to Starfish as the lizards are dealt with.
"Are you ok?! I saw one get you when I turned around."
She asks with deep concern, horn glowing to treat Starfishes leg.
>Mend [1d10]Roll #1 4 = 4 No.730595
>>730576Reverb nods, her face hard to read. She might understand, she might not. Regardless, she stands guard over the plush, eyes on the horizon, constantly searching for danger. Gray is standing over Em's motionless body, but instead of looking for danger, the smaller changeling is glaring at Reverb. Reverb seems oblivious to Gray's jealousy.
>>730577The car lurches into action, traveling upward at a rate that would probably shock anypony who brought their corporeal body with them. Even at such a speed, it takes a while.
Finally, somewhere high up, the elevator slows to a stop, the doors open, and in walks a tall, well-dressed, golden-coated alicorn with a jet black mane and emerald eyes. Em recognizes him as the same alicorn she met underground, who "hired" her, who introduced her to Lunar Dream and gave her a semi-useless "map". He steps onto the elevator, turns to face the door exactly as if he didn't see Em, presses a button labeled B25, and together they begin the descent.
>>730578>>730579>>730583Starfish shakes her head at Falling's attempt to heal her. "Don't worry about it. I'll fix the suit later. Let's just go!"
Starfish, Jiandao, Cit and Falling dash to the stairs and begin the ascent, Starfish leading the way. She uses her electric coil as a sort of light, which kinda works until the sunlight completely disappears around the second complete turn. She stops, curses, and reaches into her empty bag.
Magic Hat [1d10]
KC rights himself with his strong upper body and rejoins the group, trailing behind on the stairway only slightly. This space wasn't intended for a primate-shaped robot to traverse, and what is easy for ponies is considerably more difficult for the bulky machine.
(Roll for KC stairs efficacy)
The gray changeling hops easily to his feet, sees the two dead lizards with their heads split open, and drops to his knees in what is obvious grief. He clicks and whistles once, twice, as his obsidian-black eyes well up with tears. He lets out a wail of despair, transcending the language barrier in an expression of terror and profound grief. The last thing anypony in the group sees is him tenderly cradling Lizard A's broken face in his forehooves, water flowing freely down his face.
The stairs lead upward for what seems like forever. It is a struggle to see in the dark, and the ponies try not to slip and fall.
(Provide light source or roll for walking up unknown stairs in the dark)
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.730596
>>730595Em gasps and points at the alicorn. "You!" she exclaims. "That makes this
way easier! All I gotta do is come in and ask for-" Her snout scrunches. "Uh… heck… hey-" She taps him. "What was your name again?"
No.730598
>>730595Copypasta goes toward the gray to give him a poke against his leg. "
Whatcha thinking about?" He asks the changeling. Might as well talk. Not like there is anyone here to give hugs.
No.730600
>>730595"A-Alright."
Falling says, still worried about her condition. She follows the group up the stairs, running along with them now that they're all together. She faintly hears the sobs of the changeling, and Falling feels it's grief, and a little guilt. She isn't sure what to feel now with how this day has been going.
As the light steadily fades, she takes the path a little slower, reaching out for the others to help guide her so she doesn't get lost.
>Navigate [1d10]Roll #1 8 = 8 No.730601
>>730595Cit, looking back anxiously for KC, can't help but feel a little bad as the changeling mourns his lizards. She tears her eyes away and focuses on KC, pursing her lips as he lopes towards them awkwardly. She doesn't waste time in trying to patch him up, tightening his joints and hammering out kinks in his cuirass in an attempt to fix him. KC stops obediently and allows her to do her thing, occasionally flinching as she tries to fix him. "Oh don't be such a baby," she chides him. "It's nothing serious."
[1d10] Tinker
After that's done, both of them start heading up the stairs as best they can, Cit occasionally illuminating the stairwell a little with sparks of lightning.
[1d10] KC Navigation
[1d10] Cit Navigation
Roll #1 10 = 10 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 /
Roll #3 6 = 6 No.730603
>>730595Heading up the rear of the group, Jiandao focuses her kirin sorcery to her hooves, wisps of clouds pooling around her as she ascends the steps.
[1d10] Tranquil hooves
>>730600"In the future, i would advise against rushing into battle, Falling. You had nearly taken injury from your rash action." you hear Jiandao mention from behind, her even tone giving little to read into.
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.730611
>>730603Falling hangs her head down a bit as Jiàndào points out her accident.
"I… I know. But I couldn't leave them. I just don't want to see anymore death."
No.730615
>>730603>>730596He completely ignores her words. Em's ghost hoof passes right through the alicorn's shoulder without making contact. Scrunching his brows, he rubs the spot she poked him absentmindedly, then sighs and looks down at a watch on his front left pastern, shaking his head impatiently.
Either he is an impeccable actor or he is completely unable to perceive her presence.
Either way, the elevator reaches the designated floor with a g-force Em cannot feel but the alicorn obviously does. A bell chimes and the doors slide open. The tall alicorn adjusts his suit slightly before stepping off briskly, walking confidently down one of three dimly-lit hallways. The air is completely silent except for the clicking of his hooves against the glossy tile floor.
Doors line the sides of each of these hallways, and each door has a number posted in large unambiguous typeface. There are signs with number sets and directions hanging from the low ceiling. The alicorn seems to be headed toward the set of "
Rooms 100-150", down the left corridor.
>>730598The gray looks down at Celestia as one might look at a disgusting bug, or a mess that one feels obligated to clean up. It clicks at him impatiently, punctuating its verbal thought with a low whistle, before shaking its head and looking away.
Reverb follows Celestia, looking concerned. "
Thinking about," she croons in a copy of Celly's voice. Gray sends a toxic look her direction, which she almost seems to feel physically. Hurt, she looks away, blushing slightly and rubbing her leg with a hoof.
"
i think it fits" she mumbles to herself.
>>730600>>730601>>730603Cit mends KC's mostly-cosmetic damage with a few masterful touches. It's clear she knows the mechanics of her friend inside and out. As a final touch, she mends his wonky eye, which had been out of touch ever since he tried to look cool for Marble Mark. Finally, he is shipshape and good to go, and Cit quickly follows the others further up the staircase, followed by KC, who is surprisingly adept at clambering up the pony-shaped walkway, using his mechanical arms to propel himself forward and ensure that nopony falls behind.
In the dark, it's hard to see what Starfish pulls from her bag. A moment later and a small flame from a match gives off enough light to craft tall trembling shadows on the wall.
"Sorry," the pegasus calls down. "I know it's not much, but maybe it's better than nothing." She leads the way up the stairs, only stumbling slightly. The light, combined with Cit's occasional electric burst, is enough for the party to make it up without incident.
As they approach the top, there is a literal light at the end of the tunnel. It grows brighter as they ascend. They finally find themselves in a small closet outfitted with a bench, a closed door and a small screened window separating it from another dark, tiny room adjacent.
"Is this a freaking vestibule??" Starfish exclaims, exasperated. "Sisters! Reminds me of my fillyhood in parochial."
The rest of the group is now upstairs. The room is kinda cramped for all of them. Starfish tries to hear what's on the other side of the door, obviously hesitant to open up the door. She murmurs to the others, "You think it's safe?"
No.730616
>>730615"
Probably does, doesn't it? Maybe it doesn't. Though I don't know what you are talking about." Cracker says to reverb. Man. These two aren't fit for conversation. Mini was perfect at it. She even gave me some tea with her other dolls. My fried was berry the platypus.
No.730617
>>730615Em grins. Obviously he's leading her to where she needs to go! This'll make things
way easier. She follows him down the hall.
No.730618
>>730615KC bobs up and down happily as the repairs are completed, Cit beaming and giving him a light affectionate punch on. "There you go. Let's try to keep out of trouble, yeah?" She's secretly glad to have something to take her mind off of things.
As she approaches, she frowns, unfamiliar with what Starfish is talking about. "What's a parochial? And a vestibule?" KC tilts his head like a curious dog.
No.730619
>>730615Stepping forward, Jiàndào places an ear to the door, in an attempt to hear the other side.
[1d10] perception
"The hidden nature of this place leads to believe so, but it is better to remain cautious."
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.730620
>>730615"You know this place?"
Falling questions Starfish's exclamations as they finally emerge from the winding darkness of the staircase.
While the room is pretty cramped, Falling squeezes her way to the door, putting her ear against it to try and help hear. She doesn't want any more bad news or accidents to happen.
"Let's be extra cautious."
>Listen [1d10]Roll #1 3 = 3 No.730888
>>730616Gray lets out a series of clicks and whistles angrily at Reverb, who shies away a few feet and sits down, obviously hurt but unwilling to leave. She stubbornly doesn't look at either of them. Gray chitters on a bit, then with a huff, sits down next to Em's comatose figure.
>>730617The alicorn walks to a steel plated door labeled
118 and pauses, adjusting his suit once more. He taps twice on the door with a large, well-manicured hoof, then his horn glows faintly and the door swings open.
Inside is a bright white room with a bed, a desk, a tall mirror, and a young unicorn with a pale coat and a light green mane. Her back is turned to the door as it opens. The alicorn doesn't immediately enter, but consults a clipboard. Looking back up, he clears his throat.
"Miss Blossom, it's time for your appointment."
>>730618>>730619>>730620Starfish, Falling, Cit, KC and Jiandao find themselves in a small room meant for only one pony. It is crowded to say the least. Jiandao and Falling, straining their ears to listen, can hear a faint conversation in the distance. It sounds like there are at least 3 members of the conversation, which despite being too faint to make out particular words, sounds playful and comfortable, punctuated by frequent laughter. Friends being friendly.
Suddenly the door opens. A short pudgy diamond dog faces them, looking surprised. He is momentarily speechless.
No.730891
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>730888Falling quickly backs up from the door as it opens, squeezing back behind the others from panic and expecting the worst from how this day has gone.
"Who are you?"
She asks warily.
No.730892
>>730888KC gives the Dog his customary robotic wave. Cit smiles, realizing how odd they must look. And how rough. "Uh, hi. We're just kind of passing through here. …And lost. Where are we, exactly?"
No.730894
>>730888Pretty strange ponies, who speak very weirdly. Though right now sounds like a perfect time for a nap. A brief thought enters his mind if snails dream of black voids as well. Though it would be weird if they didn't.
No.730897
>>730888The kirin stares back at the diamond dog in curiosity. As Cit and Falling speak, she offers a simple nod to affirm their questions.
No.730898
>>730888Em grins. "Alright," she says. "B25, floor 118. Got it. Thank you!" She drops her projecti9n and shoots up with a loud gasp.
>>730894"Man," she says. "That was weird. Nobody could see me and I could just swoosh through stuff. Anyway, floor B25 room 118. We're going to see Ms.Blossom. The alicorn that gave me the job is there too! You might get to meet him!"
No.730899
>>730888>>730898Before giving them a chance to respond she stands up and heads straight for the door.
No.730901
>>730898Celestia replies with he tilt of his head. "
What is their name?" Celestia pipes up with a question
No.730903
>>730902"
Hmmmmmm, never heard of them.." Celestia announces with a nod.
No.730904
>>730903"Yeah. Me neither. That's who the paper said to find, though."
No.730909
>>730891>>730892>>730897The dog looks over his shoulder for a moment, then back at the fogsuit-clad group.
"Well hi there!" he chimes, sounding pretty friendly. "I'm Chip. Who are you?"
A second dog pops into view. He looks identical to the first one. "I'm Chet! What are you doing here?"
The first dog, Chip, replies before they can respond. "Oh! You don't even know where 'here' is? You're in the old town chapel. Used to be called Saint Luna's."
"Now it's not called much of anything," Chet sighs. "Except home!" He brightens up.
The dogs look at each other and strike a weird pose in unison. They hold it for a moment, then giggle in unison.
"Oh! Where are our manners?"
"Really, now. I'm ashamed of us. We don't get many visitors. Except lately, I suppose." "Come, come, meet the whole gang!"
"Yes, do!"
And with that, the two scamper off, down a short hall and around a corner out of view, obviously assuming the party will follow them.
>>730894Celestia falls into a deep sleep immediately, the plushy going limp and lifeless as a (normal) doll. Reverb and Gray keep an eye out as Em and Celly depart their mortal frames in their own various ways.
Celly's DreamworldCelestia finds herself inside the body of a different plush, round and pink, with a giant magical mouth that can expand impossibly large. He falls to the ground in a forest filled with incredibly big trees and various beasts.
His stomach rumbles. He feels an insatiable hunger. In front of him is a small star-shaped man with a laser sword. He swings it at her!
Laser Sword [1d10]
[Dreamworld Celestia has the ability to swallow enemies and absorb their power. Roll to suck him in.]
Unfortunately, just as the dream was getting good, Em shows up and wakes her.
>>730898>>730901Reverb and Gray stand immediately and walk to Em as she rises from her apparent slumber. They quietly listen as Em explains the next destination, then nod, almost in unison. Reverb smiles at Gray, who shoots her a sulky look.
The airlock stands empty nearby, leading to the interior of the guard station.
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.730910
>>730909Relaxing slightly at the warm introduction, Jiandao steps into the hall to allow the others to pass, before following after.
No.730911
>>730909Em steps inside the airlock, preparing a new spell to replace astral projection.
[1d22]
Roll #1 19 = 19 No.730912
>>730909*Lightly snores in eldritch*
No.730914
>>730909She's still not very comfortable, but the Dogs seem nice enough. She and KC both follow them in, glad to see some friendly faces for once. She looks back to gauge Starfish's reaction; she hasn't said anything for about 30 seconds, so there must be something wrong with her.
No.730922
>>730909Falling is taken aback by the overly friendly dogs that greet them. She's struck silent by the encounter, watching them as they scamper off down the hall. Part of her eases slightly, but she is unable to fully unwind just yet. After a moment, she follows after them.
No.730923
>>730910>>730914>>730922The gang follows the twins into a large open room. Light shines in a beam from the broken ceiling, and there is a flickering fire at what appears to be an altar at the front of the nave. The chamber appears to be about half its original size, as the smooth, gently sloping crystal wall of a gigantic Toren strut appears to be gradually eroding at the structure, pulling it apart as it absorbs it brick by brick. Colored glass windows depict various scenes involving ponies, castles, clouds and rainbows, primitive zeppelins and colorful buildings.
Starfish is staring quietly at everything around them, a strange look on her face. She notices Cit giving her a look and smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head in slight embarrassment. "This place reminds me of my childhood. It's… strange, I haven't thought of that place in ages. And now, with everything that's happened, it's almost… I don't know, kinda weird," she finishes lamely, obviously at a loss for words to describe her emotions.
A voice calls from the fireside. "Ho! Visitors! Come join us!" It belongs to a large brown diamond dog. He beckons them over to the group, which appears to consist of Chip and Chet, an earth pony mare, an old gray donkey, and another figure propped up against the corner whose features seem bulky and hard to make out in the semi-darkness.
>>730911>>730912Em steps into the airlock, followed by Gray. Reverb is close behind, but turns around to look at Celestia, seeing whether he will follow.
There are large, easy-to-understand controls that will operate the airlock. The process seems to involve shutting the outer door, cleaning the room, changing the air, then opening on the other side.
No.730924
>>730923Em presses the button that opens the door.
No.730927
>>730924A warning sounds and a small panel lights up with the words: "Insufficient access level."
A bored female voice sounds from somewhere.
"Hey, what're ya doin?? Opening the inner door without scrubbing and venting the chamber will cause a breach, ya ninny." A small box in the wall appears to be warning her against pressing the wrong button.
"First day?" the voice asks, dripping with sarcasm.
No.730930
>>730923KC and Cit both marvel at the interior of the church. "Wow. It's pretty," she remarks. She's not a religious mare, but she can appreciate the artistry. Even if she isn't very cultured.
She nods understandingly to Starfish. "I get that. Kind of in awe myself. Never seen anything quite like this before." She winces as she notices the place is slowly falling apart at the seams, feeling a tinge of sadness for reasons she can't explain.
As they're greeted by the group, they both move over. Cit assesses the group as she introduces herself. "Heya! We're just passing through, really. Been a long day. I'm Cit, and this is my buddy KC." The latter does a stiff little bow of formality.
No.730931
>>730923Celestia decides to get up with everyone leaving. Deciding to follow the group. As he believes he would be lost without them. He hopes they don't do anything crazy. It has been a long day.
No.730932
>>730927Em lets out an uncomfortable chuckle. "Y-yeah. Sorry, m'am. Forgot. Let me just- I think there might be a problem. I'll go grab the boss." Em scampers back outside and serches the bodies for some kind of keycard. "Copycat, I need you to change into me!" Em yells to Reverb.
[1d10]search for keycard
[1d10] changing into mean mr.bossman
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.730936
>>730923Stepping forward, Jiandao offers a formal bow in greeting.
"Greetings. I am Jiandao."
"It is fortunate to find ponies so welcoming within the fog. Our journey here has been fraught with peril; perhaps this meeting marks a turning point?"
No.730941
>>730923"Wow, a place like this all the way down here?"
Falling says aloud in though as they enter the open cathedral.
As they're called over, Falling walks with the group to join them.
"H-Hello," She says, still shocked at meeting one friendly group down here, "My name is Falling Sand. …What is this place?"
No.730949
>>730931Celly follows the others into the airlock. Em and Reverb seem to be doing some funny changeling business.
>>730932Reverb nods and effortlessly changes her features to match Em. It's not a perfect replication, but it should fool anyone who doesn't know her.
"Copy. Boss," Reverb parrots, standing in the airlock in Em's stead.
Em backtracks all the way to her discarded, blood-covered suit. The guard that it landed on appears to be unconscious or dead. Rummaging through the suits, she is able to locate what appears to be an access card from the higher-ranking one.
She tries to shift into an alternate form, and it feels like it works, but without a mirror she can't really tell how complete the disguise is. She stands naked as a decent facsimile of the bossman.
>>730930>>730936>>730941"Howdy! I'm Buster," says the brown diamond lab. "This is Old Town. Or what's left of it."
The earth pony mare shakes her head sadly. "Ain't much to it anymore. Mostly everycreature went above the fog or down to the underworld. We're about all that's left."
There is a moment of silence. The donkey, sitting next to a pile of broken furniture, feeds the fire with what appears to be half of a splintered door.
"Steady Step," the mare hiccoughs and takes a pull from a half-empty glass bottle of red liquid. "That there's my sister Lunar Dream." She points to the figure in the corner. Lunar is sitting upright, leaning against a large crystalline mass about the same size as her body. Upon further inspection, it appears to be growing out of her back, and might once have been large wings. Her eyes are unfocused and a long line of drool hangs from her mouth. If she is aware, she gives no outward sign of it.
The donkey is silent. Buster, Lunar, Chip and Chet all stare hard at him. Finally he sighs. "Benjamin." He seems content to leave it at that.
"Don't mind him," Buster explains. "He's got crystals on the brain, and besides, he don't much care for visitors. Our last one was kind of a weirdo."
Starfish nods to the group. "Cool to meet some friendly faces, for once! Can you guys help us get to the Six Arms?"
"The what?" Buster looks confused. "Sorry, no idea what that is. Some kinda monster?"
No.730950
>>730949"Bingo." She pats the guard on the head. "Thanks, buddy." Turning around, she trots back to the airlock, scans the card, and hits the close door button. "Sorry about that," she says, letting out an out of place laugh. "Seems like the stupid scatterbrained idiot can't even open a damn door. Not sure why I thought it was a good idea to send her back by herself."
No.730952
>>730949"The Six-arms is a bar, located within the fog. It is believed our friend has been foalnapped and delivered to the leader of the group there."
"Is there some means of finding a map of the fog? any assistance would be most appreciated."
No.730953
>>730949"Old Town?"
Falling questions, having not have heard of it before.
Falling looks to each of the group as they introduce themselves, pausing at Lunar Dream, and then as Buster says Benjamin has crystals on the brain.
"Do you all need help? I have healing magic that can treat that."
She offers out of concern.
No.730957
>>730949"
What are you guys doing?" Celestia speaks up for all creatures to hear him. Like the loud little ankle biter he is.
No.730958
>>730949She blinks. "What's Old Town? Don't really come down here often. More of an upsider myself."
"Too many names for me to remember," she says honestly with a smile, "but it's nice to meet you." She feels a slight pang at the mention of crystals on the brain.
"Hm? No, it's a place. A pub here in the fog somewhere. We're on the trail for a friend of ours, see."
No.730959
>>730957"Gonna go visit Bloom and handsome alicorn. Then I'll know what to do next," Em says in a normal speaking voicr.
No.730965
>>730950>>730957There is no further reply from the voice on the other end of the box. The outer door closes, locking Em-as-Captain, Celly, Reverb-as-Em and Gray in. There is a hissing sound and for a moment all the air is removed from the chamber, only to be replaced with a caustic gas that lingers for a moment, burning their eyes and lungs. Reverb falls to the ground, coughing, while Gray shuts his eyes tight and holds his breath, hunkering down. It's all over in a moment as the gas is sucked out and replaced with clean, fresh-smelling air. Reverb is retching and dry-heaving from inhaling the cleaning chemical. She has reverted to her normal form and is helpless.
Recover [1d10]
Gray is better off, but his eyes are all red and he looks upset. He rattles off a long string of angry-sounding clicks.
The inner door slides open to reveal a sort of reception area. The mare with the tight bun behind the desk doesn't look up.
>>730952"A bar? Down here? Haven't heard of it. Folks don't tend to come to the surface much, on account of the, y'know, deadly poison that gives you cancer." He shrugs. "If you're a pony, that is. Dogs are fine. S'why most of em went down instead of up."
"Bugs are fine, too," pipes up Chip.
"Like that last one," offers Chet.
"She was fun!"
"Kinda weird though."
"You're one to talk."
"No you."
"No you."
Buster interrupts them, thankfully. "She was looking for a map, too. There's one, but it probably won't help you too much. It's really more of a… sculpture than anything. It's got all the Toren structures in miniature, was created by Ambit, back when he thought he could stop the War."
Steady Step sits straight up. "You sure are chatty today." She sends an uncharacteristically hard look at Buster, then smiles at Jiandao. "No, sweetie, there's not gonna be a map that can help you. But you do know that the crater slopes downward toward the center? You can kind of orient yourself that way."
>>730953Benjamin shakes his head at her. Buster interprets this for Falling. "No, Benjamin doesn't take help from anypony. He's pretty stubborn. Besides, he's been around this long. Don't think he's going anywhere fast."
Steady barks a sharp laugh. "That's for damn sure!" Benjamin slowly turns his head to look at her, then slowly turns his head back. He grips a ruined tableleg in his mouth and tosses it into the fire.
>>730958"Old Town used to be Horizon, before they filled up Impact with poison and decided to escape rather than clean it up. Some of us stayed behind, but mostly everypony else moved away," Buster explains.
Steady smiles at Cit. "Charmed, I'm sure," she says before taking another swig from her bottle. She sways on her hooves a bit.
>>730952>>730953>>730958Starfish turns to the others, rolling her eyes. "This is kind of a waste of time. Should we just go?"
"Awww, but you just got here!" says Chip.
"Yeah, at least stay for a bite!" says Chet.
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.730968
>>730965Em helps Reverb up and makes a beeline to the elevator without saying anything, moves to walk through the door, and bumps into it. She scrunches her snoot, shakes her head, and presses the button.
[1d10] help revern
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.730969
>>730965>>730953>>730952She frowns. "We
are kind of in a hurry, but it'd be awfully rude of us to just ditch now." She looks to the rest of the gang. "I'm happy to stay a bit if you guys are."
No.730972
>>730965Celesti just nods and follows deciding to look around the room from where he is at. With his big ol eye. Is it better than having two eyes, or is it two eyes making one powerful big eye?
No.730974
>>730965"A-Are you sure?"
Falling asks again.
>>730965>>730969She looks over to Starfish and Cit, sitting down as exhaustion starts to set in.
"I just… I don't know."
She says, forcing herself to speak that phrase after all her rushing before.
"I can't leave Diamond waiting… But I don't even know where we are. And ever step we take another pony dies… What if we have to go through another battlefield again to get to the Six Arms?"
She speaks, worn from all the conflict.
No.730978
>>730965"Your offer is appreciated, but we cannot linger." explains the kirin. "The longer Diamond remains captured, the further into danger she becomes."
hearing Falling falter however, she take pause as she considers her words.
"..However, without guide or map, our journey is muddled with difficulty. There must be some means of mapping yet explored.." she trails off, looking down in thought.
No.730984
>>730968>>730972The room is fairly large, with a central round desk and three hallways leading to differently sized doors.
Em pulls Reverb to her hooves effortlessly. The changeling gives her a thankful look and follows her to the elevator. Nothing happens as she smacks her face into it, but it only takes a moment to respond to pressing the button.
As the sliding door opens into a small elevator, the mare comments without looking up.
"Oh. There's some kind of disturbance outside. Bossman was just through here, didn't seem too worried, but really, does he ever?" She shakes her head and continues deliberately tapping at the device in front of her.
There are many buttons inside the elevator, including the one for B25, which appears to be the second to last button at the bottom.
>>730974Benjamin just nods in response to her question.
>>730969>>730978>>730974"So you're staying?? Yay!" Chip and Chet begin to dance a little.
"Well, better throw some food on, then! Y'all eat lizard?" Steady doesn't wait for their reply as she opens a nearby box, pulls out the fresh carcass of a smaller version of the attack lizards from earlier. She produces a wicked-looking knife from somewhere and begins to cut it open, cleaning out the guts and fileting it efficiently. She's obviously done this before. Meanwhile Buster drags over a rotisserie spit, positioning it over the fire.
After a few minutes, the cleaned lizard body is affixed to the spit, its bare chest open and an apple stuffed in its lifeless maw. Chip and Chet take turns spinning the handle slowly, each picking at each other for "doing it wrong." The others tend to ignore their little tiffs, and just talk over them as if the two of them aren't there.
"So! Your friend is kidnapped? That sounds like serious business," Buster states.
Steady chimes in. "She's at a bar? How do you know she isn't just hanging out getting wasted?"
"Another battlefield?" Buster repeats. "Sounds like y'all been through an ordeal tonight."
"Like I said, don't think there's a map that'll help ya out," Steady offers. "You could always try asking Lunar. She's pretty smart with these kinds of things."
Lunar Dream doesn't react, just continues sitting there as if comatose. The line of drool leading from her mouth to a puddle around her legs snaps apart and begins to droop downward again.
Steady waves a dismissive hoof at her sister. "Oh, don't worry about her. She's always like that."
No.731128
>>730984Last time…
>>730932Em, having projected her astral self outward, incorporeally witnessed an alicorn arrive at the very room she was looking for; within room 118 of floor b25 was a green-maned unicorn who didn't seem to be particularly duressed. Em resumed corporeality, directed the troops (two changelings and a demonic childrens toy) through the airlock, past the distracted receptionist, and into the elevator, only smacking her face into solid objects once or twice, which, all in all, could be considered a resounding success.
>>730912Celestia started having a really cool dream but was awoken by the most talkative, and pyromaniacal, of the several changelings who have plagued his life constantly, ever since his separation from Mini Hats. He rises and follows the group, only to realize that he is still attached to a strange fat spiny lizard. It looks like a baby version of one of the underground spiners Celly saw; it seems content to clamp onto his plush and be ignored.
>>730968>>730931Em, Celly, a parasitic lizard attached to the wing of Celly's plushy armor, Reverb and Gray stand inside the elevator, inside the guard tower, below the central (and largest) Toren structure of Horizon. There are several buttons, each supposedly corresponding to a numbered floor within the structure. They range from b25 to b1, and 0 to 45.
No.731129
>>731128"[Cr]Can I press one?" the princess asked while pointing at the buttons.
No.731130
>>731129>>731128Em reaches out and clicks B25. "Careful. The ride looked a little bumpy." She looks down at Celestia and smiles. "Yeah! Go for it! They light up real good. Watch." She reaches out and runs her hoof across the entire bottom row of buttons.
No.731131
>>731129>>731130The buttons B18-B25 are now lit.
The elevator starts with a jolt. A feeling of momentary weightlessness overtakes Em and Celly, which startles Gray but not Reverb. She looks almost like she expected this, and seems to be enjoying herself. "Yeah!" she echoes Em.
The elevator slows to a stop. An indicator above the door signals that this is floor 18. A bell rings and the doors slide open to reveal what appears to be a small chapel, complete with altar, stained glass windows depicting scenes of the Sisters (backlit with solar-replicating lights), and several rows of hardwood benches, outfitted with the occasional weather-beaten hymnal. There are a couple of odd ponies in the pews, apparently praying in solitude.
The door only remains open for a few seconds. The bell rings and they begin to shut again. The light for floor B18 turns off. B19-B25 are still lit.
No.731132
>>731131"
That was me!" Celly gushes seeing the stained glass of the windows. Those were always quite nice and very pretty. No.731133
>>731131>>731132Em giggles and stumbles as the elevator rushes down. "Bumpier than I remembered." She reaches out and pats Celly on the head. "You bet it was, kiddo."
No.731134
>>731132There are indeed several pictures portraying a pale alicorn with a muted pastel-colored rainbow mane adorning the window-scenes. Even the cutie mark matches Celly's plushy outsides.
>>731133The doors close. The elevator jerks into movement again, only to stop a moment later. The bell rings, the doors open. On the other side is a nondescript hallway. There are a few signs; one reads "Surgery -→" and another reads "←- Morgue".
The door only remains open for a moment before closing.
No.731135
>>731134"
What is a morgue?" he asks out loud to no one in particular. No.731137
>>731134>>731135"It's where they put the dead ponies. We should be to b25 soon."
No.731138
>>731137"
Okey." He replies with a nod.
No.731139
>>731134>>731135>>731137The doors close. The button for floor b19 extinguishes its light. There is the feeling of movement, then a stop, then the doors open.
Floor B20 spreads wide before them. Several tents, booths and small vehicles are spread across the large campus. There is a cacophony of voices and music. Must be a couple thousand creatures gathered here, mostly ponies, but there are also a few bovines, kirin, sheep, dogs and even the occasional griffon. The few that notice the elevator door open stare at the party agape. There are no changelings among the crowd.
A long moment passes as more than one patron stares in silence at the elevator riders. Reverb and Gray look uncomfortably at Celly and Em. The door begins to close again.
No.731140
>>731139Naked commander Em enthusiastically waves at the crowd as the door closes. "Wonder what that was about," she says before the elevator continues its descent.
No.731141
Celestia just gives a nod as they go down the elevator. Quite a lot of ponies. Should have asked if Mini was there. At least one should know.
No.731142
>>731141>>731140The doors close. The elevator moves. The doors open.
Floor B21 is almost completely empty. There is a huge open space, as large as the crowded marketplace one floor above, but the only defining feature is a dias in the middle of the floor, with a small collection of chairs in a circle, all facing inward. There are no windows and the area around the dias are shrouded in darkness. There is nopony to be seen.
The doors begin to close again. Now only floors B22-B25 are lit.
Gray yawns.
No.731143
>>731142"Alright.That one was a little spooky."
No.731144
>>731142Ok. He says in his head. That was boring.
No.731386
>>731143>>730984 >>731142Last time in Horizon…
>>730974>>730969>>730978Jiandao, Cit, KC, Falling and Starfish are all in a broken church in the fog on the surface level of Horizon. They have met a strange group who has offered to cook them a meal before they depart, and the lizard body is already roasting on the fire. They are accompanied by 2 almost-identical diamond dogs named Chip and Chet, a friendly diamond dog named Buster, a grumpy donkey named Benjamin, a pegasus with scars instead of wings called Steady Step, and her drooling, nonresponsive and half-crystallized sister named Lunar Dream. They've encouraged the group to stay, but being in fog-suits, it would be impossible to eat without exposing themselves to the fog.
Starfish addresses this in her characteristically forthright manner.
"Hey. We can't eat this shit. It'll give us cancer."
Buster blinks twice. "Oh. Right. You guys are ponies. I forget."
Steady throws some random detritus at him. "You freaking moron dog, of course they can't eat here."
The dog is hit, recoils as if shot. "Was that a bone? What the heck was that?"
Steady looks triumphant. "Yep. Vertebra."
"Bruh." Benjamin repeats her last syllable, rubs his shoulder.
"Well, we can eat it," says Chip.
"We'll have the whole thing," explains Chet.
They look hungrily at the roasting lizard as they spin the rotisserie.
>>731144>>731143The doors open for floors B22 and B23 on huge open rooms completely filled with wooden crates. There is almost no room for a pony to walk through. The doors open, chime, then close again, as the lights one-by-one turn off, signifying which floor was visited.
Floor B24 opens to a long hallway full of rooms labelled with large numbers. There is a blue pegasus in scrubs standing by a door who turns as the elevator door opens. He looks startled to see somepony. He stares, wide-eyed, until the doors close.
The elevator moves. A chime sounds and the doors slide open on floor B25.
It is the same as the previous floor. There are three hallways with signs directing toward the particular room numbers. Room 118 is down the left hallway.
No.731387
>>731386Cit eyes the lizard with little hunger, being a pony and all. "Oh." She does her best to sound disappointed. "Well, thanks anyway. We kind of had a bite to eat before, so we're okay. I think." KC, completely misinterpreting the interaction, goes to grab the bone and tosses it across the room, then looks to the Dogs expectantly. KC gives him a weird look before continuing. "…You said your sister might know how to get to Six Arms?" she presses, looking to Lunar quizzically. "We'd be very grateful if you could help us out. We're kind of lost down here."
No.731388
>>731386"The offer was still appreciated." adds the Kirin.
>>731387"Indeed. if she may yet know where this bar is, we would be most grateful for the information."
No.731389
>>731386Em groans and steps out of the elevator, a little wobbly in the legs. "Ugh, finally. That got boring fast." She points at Celestia. "I blame you for wanting to press all those buttons." She huffs and recomposes herself. "Anyway" she says. "Gotta find Ms.Flower in room 118. Let's go!" She follows the helpful signs.
No.731390
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>731386Falling sits down letting her body have some rest after the trials of the day.
"Its fine. We don't really eat meat anyways."
She says, polite only in intent as her tone is one of exhaustion.
>>730984"She isn't hanging out," Falling says flatly, "We know she was kidnapped, and the one who did it is at the Six Arms."
No.731391
>>731389Celestia replies with his big plush frown before bopping Em on the leg before following the party with a huff. Ponies these days. No respect for a princess.
No.731392
>>731389[1d10]Perception
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.731393
>>731387KC grabs a bone and tosses it. Chip and Chet abandon their post of spinning the lizard and chase after it mindlessly. Buster appears interested for a moment, then shakes his canine head and gives KC a look. Nopony else appears to notice.
There is a rumble from within KC's large chest compartment.
"Oh? Your robot is hungry?" asks Steady. Starfish stares at KC's belly.
>>731388>>731390"Hmm," hums Steady. "Again, I think Lunar might be able to help you. Otherwise, you could probably just…"
"Six Arms is five blocks away," Benjamin pipes up, to everycreature's surprise. There is a moment of silence. He slowly points a direction.
"Are you kidding me?" says Buster. "How do you even know?"
The donkey just shrugs.
Starfish, still giving an odd look toward KC, looks fed up. "Welp. That's good enough for me. Let's go, crew." She starts moving toward the exit.
"So soon?" asks Buster.
>>731389There is nopony in the hallway. The silence is palpable, the only sounds their hoof-falls as the group makes their way toward room 118. Once they arrive, they discover that the door is locked. Through the tiny window, it is apparent that the room is empty of occupants.
A nasty cough sounds from down the hall. An earth pony, equipped with a mop and mop bucket, apparently cleaning the floor some 10 doors down, is having a coughing fit, and it sounds kinda bad.
No.731394
>>731393"But Alicorn guy said- he showed me- Mr.Rose was supposed to-" Em stomps her hoof. "This is dumb!" She looks up at the coughing pony. Deciding he probably knows, she trots up to him. "You! Where did handsome alicorn man take the pony in that room?" she points to room 118.
[1d10]persuasion if needed
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.731395
>>731393"Five blocks away? That's… a lot closer than I thought."
Falling says, some hope coming back now at hearing the Six Arms is nearby. She looks out at the direction Buster points, and nods in agreement with Starfish.
"We can't waste anytime when they have my friend."
No.731396
>>731393"
Huh. Is he sick? He shouldn't be doing anything if he is sick. Mini taught me so!." The eldritch doll proclaimed its wise words to his students. After all he does know best.
No.731397
>>731393She's a bit unnerved at the lack of response from Lunar, but doesn't press the matter. KC looks unnerved, scooting away to a more private location before examining his chest panel. He'd do it in public but he's self conscious about revealing his inner workings like that.
[1d10] KC Perception
Cit nods as Starfish starts heading out. "Yeah. Sorry to cut things short, but we do have a job to do. Kind of high stakes. It was nice meeting you all, though!" She forces a smile and gives them a little wave goodbye as she follows Starfish out.
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.731398
>>731393"Unfortunately, time is of the essence. Perhaps if our paths cross in better times we will stay for a time."
bowing deeply to the group, Jiandao follows the others out towards the direction Benjamin indicated.
No.731399
>>731394>>731396The pony continues coughing. Sounds like something is coming up! He hacks away at it for a moment, stops and gets a sour look. He spits something small and red to the floor. It clinks like glass as it impacts the ground. He looks up at the group as Em addresses him.
"What-huh? Talkin bout Boss-man?" He shakes his head. "Seen 'im bout…" he pauses, looks off into the distance. A moment passes, then another. It almost seems as if he's completely gone. Finally he looks back at the group of changelings. "Four minutes ago."
He nods sagely, snorts his snot, spits on the floor (several small crystals scatter like dice within a beet red liquid) and grabs his mop and continues to work, completely ignoring his own contribution to the clean section of his janitorial work. After a moment, he looks back up. "Ain't seen 'im since."
>>731397Lunar continues drooling, unresponsive.
KC finds a quiet place alone and surreptitiously cracks his chest panel open.
The makeshift shroud around Golden's body appears to have shifted positions. It seems somehow shinier, maybe even sparkly. In the wan light of the fire, it almost seems alive with reflections.
>>731395>>731397>>731398As everypony offers their goodbye, Buster and Steady give them warm farewells.
"Byyyyye~! See ya later, hopefully! Good luck finding your friend!" Steady pulls another red-liquid-filled bottle from behind Lunar's still frame, removes the cork and begins chugging it.
"Take care! Be careful down here. It's dangerous for your kind." Buster gives a paternally concerned look at the group.
"Whatever." Starfish rolls her eyes and walks out the door. Her hoof catches on the lip of the doorframe and she trips, almost falling before catching her balance. She is too dignified to look back to see if anypony was looking, but Steady Step can't help herself but to start giggling madly, quickly joined by Chip and Chet. The group turns back to their roasting lizard as their guests depart from the ruined chapel.
Jiandao, Falling, Cit and KC step out into the surface of Impact, following the fogsuited pegasus Starfish.
It's foggy out here. The massive Toren structures are hazy in the distance, and dim remnants of crystalline paths stretch away in all directions.
Toward the direction Benjamin indicated, there is a progressive buildup of discarded mechanical debris, leading to a hill made of garbage. Starfish has already begun stalking toward this determinedly.
No.731400
>>731399Em smacks her hoof against her face, pulls the entirely not useless and not to be laughed at map out of her pocket, and double checks she's in the right spot.
No.731401
>>731399"
Four minutes is awfully long ago." He whines as he goes and slumps against the floor. Ending in a pout behind his plush mask. That is quite rude of this boss.
No.731402
>>731399KC freezes as he sees the glowing body, and quietly closes the panel before leaving with Cit and the others, giving the gang a polite little wave. Cit does the same. "See ya! We might pop by later if we have time."
As they begin to leave, KC taps Cit on the shoulder.
"Hm? What's up?"
He opens up the panel to reveal the glittering shroud over the remains. Cit does a bit of a double take as she sees this, tilting her head and poking at the shroud tentatively with a screwdriver.
[1d10] Insight
>>731399>>731398>>731395"Hey hold up," she calls to the others. "Get a look at this." She shows Starfish, Falling and Jiandao the strangely sparkling body of Golden. "What do you think it means?" she asks quietly, peering at it curiously.
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.731403
>>731399listening past the groan of the toren structures and her own breathing in the suit, Jiandao watches the area around the party as the group continues on the path ahead.
[1d10] perception
>>731402The kirin eyes the body from behind her mask.
"It is likely the fog has begun to affect the body. Perhaps it will crystallize, similar to what was seen earlier in Golden's home?"
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.731404
>>731399"It was nice meeting you. Thank you for you hospitality."
Falling says as they leave the new group behind.
She walks on, keeping an eye out for the sight of the Six Arms. When Starfish turns towards the mountain of debris, Falling follows.
"Are you sure it's this way?"
No.731405
>>731403She pales a little and swallows. "Right. I just didn't think it'd… i-it'd affect…" She looks away, seeming shaken by the sight. "…Let's… Let's just keep moving. Bit more to go yet."
No.731406
>>731401It really is quite rude. The janitor, however, doesn't appear to care. He continues mopping. A crystal drips from somewhere within his face region, clinks against the polished floor and scitters away. Nopony pays it any mind.
>>731400The parchment reads:
Central Spire, floor b25There are two symbols in black ink at the bottom of the page. One resembles a squid, the other a beetle.
Next to them there is another symbol, that of a leaf. It is printed in fading orange ink, like the last color of a setting sun.
The border of the crumpled, bloodstained parchment is made of tiny script. The lighting in the hallway of floor B25 is not such that Em can quite make it out, although the rooms seem brighter.
>>731402Before they leave, KC shows them what he's found. The body of Golden appears to have shifted. The shroud is shiny, almost reflective, and there are strange shapes underneath that don't correspond to a lifeform. Too pointy, in all the wrong places.
Cit looks closely. The body appears to be, very slowly, like the minute hand of a clock, moving. All the shining, reflective bits are tiny multicolored crystalline dots. As she stares, one small blue reflective dot appears to grow ever so slightly into a slightly larger greenish-blue dot.
>>731403>>731404>>731405Starfish leads the way towards the heap of junk that forms the lower sections of the city. As ground gives way to junk, she doesn't hesitate to hop on a rusted beam and continue walking, picking her way amongst the bits of ruined technology, up the hill. She turns back toward the group and shouts,
"Hey guys!! I'm pretty sure it's this way!!"
Just that moment, a light flashes behind her, a small explosion, and Starfish is sent flying to the ground.
No.731407
>>731406"
Do we need to leave now?[/cr} the princess asks of the group. he question being more pointed at Em being that the other 2 aren't that articulate. Though at least they aknowledge him. So there is that. No.731408
>>731406Em grumbles and walks over to one of the doors, brings the paper to her face, and squints as she tries to read the words on the paper.
No.731409
>>731407"I don't know yet. Gimme a sec."
No.731410
>>731409Celestia gives Em a glare. "
Don't give me that, I have been following you for quite a while and I don't even know what this place is or where!" Celestia angrily shouts as his anger reaches a peek.
No.731411
>>731402Falling looks back as Cit calls out and brings attention to Golden's wrapping now glowing.
"I… It can't be the fog, can it? It doesn't affect inorganic stuff, right?"
>>731406Falling carefully follows along as Starfish treks along without a worry.
"Pretty sure?"
She questions, starting to faintly wonder if they should've gotten better directions. When an explosion sends Starfish flying ot the ground, Falling's horn quickly starts to glow.
"Starfish!"
She shouts in a panic, quickly casting her magic to fix whatever possibly injury would've come from it.
>Mend [1d10]Roll #1 3 = 3 No.731412
>>731402Starfish shakes her head. "I don't want to look at that. I don't even know where he…" Her voice breaks as she looks away, fighting tears. She loses the battle. They run rampant down her cheeks. Looking back, she seems unwilling to meet Cit's gaze, looking only at the floor, her face wooden. Except the constant output of tears, one might think she was just fine.
"Where he wanted to be buried," she finishes finally.
"I guess here in Horizon. He has…" she pauses again, looks like she might wipe her face but doesn't, "Had. A favorite spot." She sniffles, wipes her nose.
"But it was upstairs. Most ponies prefer cremation. Saves space," she spits, "and time." Shaking her head, she turns away, takes a deep breath, looks back then away again. She doesn't want to keep talking, so she starts walking.
She does not once look at Golden's reflective body within KC's chest compartment.
No.731413
>>731406With Falling attending to Starfish, the kirin creeps her way up the hill, peering over the crest to see what may have hit the pegasus.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.731414
>>731410Em freezes. Her head slowly turns toward the doll. "Then go away!" she yells. "I never asked you to follow me anyway, you weirdo!" She shakes the paper. "I'm important now! I have a job I gotta do!"
No.731415
>>731412"If it's what you think he would've wanted," she says shakily, "we should go there. After this is over. It's the least we can do. Right?"
>>731406She recoils in revulsion at the finer details, shooting Starfish a frightened look. Unsure of what to do, she just slams the panel shut. KC looks deeply concerned, but lopes behind her, seemingly fearful of what may happen to the mortal remains.
>>731411"It's not the shroud being affected," she answers quietly, and leaves it at that.
>>731406As they keep pressing onward, Cit instinctively teleports herself away from the explosion in shock. KC doesn't skip a beat and charges headlong toward Starfish, aiming to help her up. "Starfish!" Cit cries, looking around for the cause of the explosion in a panic.
[1d10] KC assisting Starfish
[1d10] Cit Perception
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.731416
>>731414"
How do I even get out of here? What even is your job?" He cries out.
No.731417
>>731416"I gotta get to floor 25 B and find this Mr.Bosom. The alicorn in the basement said so, and the paper says so. Then I gotta-" she huffs. "I don't know, I haven't gotten that far yet, but he needs me and it's very important!" Tears well up in her eyes and she points at the elevator. "You go back on there and press the button we came in with, dummy!"
No.731418
>>731417Celestia lets out a huff. "
You gotta show me. Mini hasn't taught me the big numbers yet." Celestia pulled a bit on Em with his plush leg.
No.731419
>>731418Em stomps over to the elevator, punches the call button, steps inside, and, without waiting for anyone to get inside with her, punches the first floor button and all the buttons around it.
No.731420
>>731418>>731419"There!" she yells. "Like that!"
No.731422
>>731408The script on the border is almost too small to read. After much squinting, she is able to parse out a few words.
Too much time has passed. The girl has been taken. She will be sacrificed in the cathedral atop the Central District unless you intervene.>>731407>>731409>>731410>>731414Reverb and Gray look back and forth between the talking doll and the changeling (who is still disguised as a naked male pony) as they shout at each other. The two changelings exchange a concerned look among themselves. Reverb walks over to Celestia and simply stands next to him. Gray watches this, then with the same angry look on his face as always, stalks to Em and stands next to her, glaring at the other two.
At this moment, the spiny lizard which has been clamped to Celly's wing falls to the ground.
>>731411Starfish is about to respond when she is blasted into the air. Falling, rushing to her side, can see that she is not breathing. The bronze light of Falling's healing spell envelopes the fog-suited pegasus for a few seconds, then dissipates. Starfish's eyes flutter behind her visor and open slightly. She stares up at Falling's face.
"Pretty…" she coughs. "…sure."
She coughs again, takes big gulps of air. A small hole in her fogsuit straight through her right shoulder begins to bubble up dark blood.
>>731413Jiandao climbs up onto the mountain of junk Starfish has just been blasted off and ducks down behind a particularly advantageously placed section of armored siding. She sees a dark figure, not quite pony-shaped, in the distance, reloading what appears to be a high-caliber rifle. Upon further inspection, the figure is not alone. She notices at least 2 other strangely-shaped forms near the first. One of the figures spots her, taps the sniper and points her out. The shooter begins to bear down on her with the barrel of their very long, very deadly-looking gun.
>>731415KC runs to Starfish's side. She appears hurt. Falling's magic envelopes her for a moment and dissipates, leaving her awake and alive, but she still appears to have a wound in her shoulder. The fogsuit is ripped, her pink flesh bare to the fog, a gaping bullet-hole beginning to pump dark liquid out of Starfish. The pegasus looks down at her own shoulder in disbelief.
Cit can't see much of the cause of the small explosion. Whoever launched the attack must be on the other side of Garbage Mountain. Jiandao appears to be in an advantageous position, but Cit unfortunately cannot see much without climbing a bit.
>>731419>>731421Gray hops right in behind Em. Reverb stands near Celestia, outside the elevator. "
Show me," she parrots. "
Big numbers," she continues. She looks hopefully at the animate doll.
The elevator makes the by-now familiar chime and the doors begin to close.
No.731423
>>731422"
I am unable to right now. Sadly theu jest left on the elevator that had the big numbers." Celestia tells Reverb pointing towards the elevator.
No.731424
>>731422"Great," Em says, wiping her eyes. "I messed up. Again. Why did the stupid alicorn give stupid me this stupid job thinking I could stupid do it and then take the stupid lady I'm supposed to rescue away at the last second?" She sniffles and wipes her eyes again. "This is stupid. Why am I doing this? Nobody wants me to." She leans on Grey. "Sorry for murdering your whole family, Clicky."
No.731425
>>731424After leaning on him she falls silent for a moment before saying that.
No.731426
>>731423Celly and Reverb stare at Em and Gray. The elevator doors slowly close. Eventually, the group is separated. Celly hears a muffled chime and the workings of the elevator, then the silence of the basement hallways of floor B25 takes over. The only sound is the occasional phlegmy cough of the janitor as he continues to mop up his own sick.
Reverb looks at Celly. She opens her mouth and an exact replica of the elevator chime comes out. "
Ding."
>>731424The elevator doors slide shut on Celly and Reverb, leaving Em and Gray alone in the small box. The buttons labeled B1, B2, B3 and B5 are lit, as well as the buttons labeled 1, 4 and 5. The familiar chime sounds. The elevator begins to move.
Gray gazes at Em as she expresses remorse. He clicks a few times, then blinks, turns his head sideways and utters a small phrase in Equish.
"
Not. Family."
He bumps his head into Em's leg, not quite able to reach her shoulder. It occurs to Em once more how small he is. He looks up at her with eyes full of what might be reverence, even with the ever-present scowl.
No.731781
>>731426Last time, in Horizon…
>>731413>>731415>>731411Jiandao, Falling, Cit and KC have departed the ruined chapel, leaving the misfit group of gemcrusters and dogs behind. They set out to the Six Arms, an underworld bar/community/wretched hive of scum and villainy, in order to locate and/or rescue Diamond Blossom from unknown nefarious forces. Our intrepid heroes, clad in the hefty airtight suits necessary for traversing the surface-level cancer-giving fog, follow the (questionable) leadership of one pink glampunk pegasus known as Starfish.
Worth mentioning is the fact that the still-warm corpse (or most of it) of Starfish's late boyfriend is currently held within the chest cavity of KC. The makeshift shroud (actually a bedsheet) has become shiny and not-quite-body-shaped around him.
As they crest a mountain of industrial junk, Starfish is struck down, the effect preceding a loud crack like that of a bullwhip. She falls and lies bleeding from a wound in her shoulder on the gem-covered ground, being helped to her hooves by KC and Falling.
"Ow," she manages. "Oh shit," she curses, looking down at her bleeding shoulder. She dolefully pokes at the hole in her black fogsuit, wincing. She gratefully accepts the help and stands shakily.
Starfish recovers. [5/4]
Jiandao sees that there are three non-pony-shaped forms in the hazy distance, one of whom carries a long rifle. Said weapon is currently being aimed at the kirin's personage.
Cit climbs just high enough up the pile of rubbish to see dark shapes skulking among the debris. A flash of light splits the darkness, immediately preceding another loud crack.
High Velocity Round [1d10]
>>731423Celestia and Reverb stand outside an elevator door in the deep basement of the central megastructure of Horizon. The hallways are dark and not just a little spooky.
Down the hall a janitor is hacking up rubies and not doing a great job of mopping overall.
Reverb tilts her head to the side as she looks at the animated children's toy. "
Ding," she states sagely.
>>731424Em and Gray are in an elevator that has just begun to move upward. Gray is staring at Em and attempts to speak equish through his raspy, clicking whisper of a voice.
"
Family. Em."
He appears to be trying to express his dedication to the clueless changeling who forces her will on the world through fiery violence and malapropisms.
Their first stop is B5. The by-now-familiar chime of the elevator sounds, the doors slide open and the other side is revealed to the changelings.
There is a large room full of what appear to be primates dressed up as colorful cartoon-animals. They look ridiculous, and the stench of body odor and urine wafts in through the open doors.
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.731785
>>731781She winces as she sees the nearby snipers. "Who are these assholes?" she yells as she tries to teleport herself out of harm's way.
[1d10] Winkmaster
KC's eyes change to narrow diagonal slits as he looks around. "Over there!" KC yells, pointing him towards where she saw the figures. KC doesn't miss a beat, pounding the ground with his fists before rushing towards them menacingly.
[1d10] Navigation roll if needed
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.731790
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>731781"No no no, I'm not losing anypony else today!"
Falling says, starting to panic as she shuts her eyes, pushing away the negative thoughtsas he horn glows again, calling back her previous spell to work again on Starfish.
>Echo [Falling] [1d10]Roll #1 7 = 7 No.731791
>>731781>>731790A translucent image of Falling appears, walking up the path as she did seconds ago, mimicking the same shot when the explosion went off. The image's horn glows, casting it's magic on the pegasus.
>Mend [Starfish] [1d10]Roll #1 6 = 6 No.731793
>>731781lowering herself from the perch, Jiandao climbs back to Starfish and Falling to peek around the mound of junk to the area guarded by the snipers, looking for a path around.
[1d10] Perception
hearing the bot charge down the hill, she turns back to Cit
>>731785"They hold a commanding position from their perch. We must find a new path around them."
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.731794
>>731786>>731791>>731793COMBAT ZONES:
top of rubbish hill: Jiandao, Cit
behind rubbish hill: Starfish, Falling, KC (moving)
between rubbish hill and garbage mtn: KC (moving)
garbage mtn: dark figures 1(sniper), 2(spotter), 3(flier)
No.731795
>>731426>>731781Em pulls away, looks down at grey, and smiles. "Y-you too," she mumbles. After a quiet giggle, she leans in and smooches him on the forehead. Leaning back again, she reaches up and pats him on the noggin. "Thanks, Clicky," she says. "You've been a good decoy."
Her smile falls as she sees the gathering of weirdos and her nose curls. Well. That moment was ruined. "Anyway," she says. "We still gotta try to save this lady. Maybe it's not too late!"
No.731815
>>731785Cit ably warps time and space, disappearing and reappearing behind the cover of the crest of rubbish hill. Her shouts ring through the quiet of the surface of the crater.
KC rushes into the valley between huge piles of industrial refuse, bearing down on garbage mtn and the three unknown adversaries. In a moment he will be upon them.
>>731791A ghost of Falling wraps Starfish in bronze light, then coalesces on the wound in her shoulder brightly. The pegasus gasps, astounded, as the blood that has been pumping
out reverses course and flows back into her. As the last drop disappears, the rubber of the suit closes tight, sealing itself without so much as a mark to signify its previous existence.
Starfish (as well as fogsuit) is Mended. [5/5]
She stares at Falling a moment, her mouth agape, before shutting it with a snap. "Well. That's handy."
>>731793Jiandao ducks behind cover. A loud crack signifies another shot fired, and a nearby beam tears itself upright, then tumbles slow-motion down the incline of metallic junk.
There is a downed airship nearby, the corroded plating of which forms a tunnel running tangential to enemy-occupied garbage mtn. The long stretch of cover does not appear to offer any battle advantage, but would allow one to perhaps bypass the mountain while maintaining their previous heading.
>>731793>>731791>>731786The resident glampunk pegasus turns her attention toward the assailants. "I might be mistaken, but best guess is that's Mayfield's goons. I, uh," she turns sheepishly to the group. "I might have a bounty on my head. Not really supposed to go there anymore. Usually Journey can protect me, but," she shrugs. "Maybe not all the time, I guess."
One of the assailants (Flier) takes to the air. His flight path is masked by the shroud of the thick fog.
Another of the assailants (Spotter) ducks into hiding behind the crest of garbage mtn.
The one with the rifle (Sniper) begins to fiddle with it, looks up at the machine loping toward it, drops the hefty weapon and produces a sidearm, unleashing a hasty trio of shots at the approaching robot.
Reflex Shot [1d10]
>>731795Gray nuzzles against her hoof, still scowling.
The door closes, the elevator chimes, and they proceed to floor B3. It's not long before it opens on a completely dark, spacious cavern of a floor. It feels somehow both expansive and claustrophobic at the same time. Something about the darkness on this floor is pervasive.
The doors close again. They proceed to B2.
The elevator chimes, but the interior door does not open. After a moment, the elevator begins to move again.
They arrive at floor B1. The doors open. Two ponies are waiting, give a look to Em, and step on the elevator beside her.
"So anyway," the pony in a red jumpsuit says to the one in a blue tracksuit, "I says to her, I says, 'that's not a griffon, that's my wife!'" He begins to guffaw. The one in the blue tracksuit looks unamused, says nothing even as his friend continues cackling at his own humor.
The doors close. They rise, arrive at floor 1, and the doors open again.
Red jumpsuit pony wipes a tear from his eyes, realizes his friend isn't laughing, pouts. "You're really no fun, you know that?"
"Hmm," says Blue.
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.731817
>>731815Em, not getting the joke but not wanting to be left out, looks at the jokester and giggles uncontrollably. "Good one, Red" she says as she steps off the elevator. "Have a good day, co-workers." She takes Clicky by a hoof and pulls him along, making her way to the exit. After a second, she stops and glances at her paper again. Looking over at the receptionist, she shouts, "Hey! You! Where's a cathedral?!"
No.731818
>>731815Cit pokes her head out for a brief moment, firing an arcing shot of lightning to empower KC.
>Fulminate: passive/spell, recharge 3 after effect ends; Cit has an affinity for lightning magic. All her basic attacks have Lightning damage, and she can grant this to an ally as well for 3 turns.KC thunders towards the Sniper and swings one mighty fist in a backhand strike.
[1d10] Slam, crits 8+
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.731819
>>731818[1d10] Fulminate
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.731820
>>731815After the elevator leaves and being left with the remaining changeling. Celestia strokes his nonexistant chin. He decides to scout around the area for any items of interest. Which most likely is a lot. Anything new will be of interest.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.731821
>>731815Falling sighs in relief as her magic works succesfully this time, and didn't reset Starfish either like before.
"Time magic really helps out for healing."
She says, just glad to see Starfish back in good condition.
Falling loks back, peeking over the garbage pile as she hears another shot go off.
"You have a bounty on your head?!"
She says, horrified at hearing that they're being hunted now. She looks back out, seeing the sniper fire off at KC as the robot charges forth. Even though he's more set to take bullet fire than they are, she still dislikes the idea of him being shot. She looks in the distance to the sniper, horn glowing as she tries to pull away their gun.
>Telekinesis [Ranged from Prism Catalyst] [1d10]Roll #1 2 = 2 No.731823
>>731815spotting the airship corpse, Jiandao doubles back for Starfish and Falling.
>>731791"There is a fallen airship ahead. We can avoid the snipers by traveling through it." she states.
No.731824
>>731823"What about KC? He's already charging out there. We can't leave him."
No.731828
>>731824you can hear a huff of air from behind the kirin's mask. "To charge an entrenched sniper without cover.. I will speak with Cit when this is over."
she draws her trio of swords with a wooden clatter.
"Gather Cit and take cover within the airship with Starfish. I will retrieve the machine."
>>731815having given instruction, Jiandao moves around the hill to KC's position, in an effort to assist.
[1d10] Navigation
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.731838
>>731817Red gives her a strange look as she bursts into laughter, way too late to have actually gotten the joke. "Oh, uh. You too."
As Em and Gray step out of the elevator, she can hear Red say to Blue, "Why do you think he isn't wearing any…" and then his sentence is cut off by the closing of the doors.
The receptionist looks up finally at Em, disguised as a naked guard captain. She makes a sound like she is beginning to speak, does a double take as her eyes travel up and down, blinks and shakes her head. She continues after a moment. "The cathedral's on the top floor. What are you, hourly?" She turns back to her work.
>>731820There are doors all down the hallway, though the only windows through them are a little to tall for the demonic plush to see through. All he can see are white ceilings through them. The janitor begins to whistle tunelessly, and Reverb quietly repeats him, out of sync by about half a second. The effect is slightly annoying.
Upon inspection, the entire surface of the floor is smeared with a light coating of an unknown reddish oily substance and tiny, multicolored gems.
>>731821"Welllll… bounty might be too harsh a word. Maybe 'strongly encourage to dissuade from returning' might be more accurate. But these guys aren't the type to catch subtlety, know what I'm saying?" She peeks at the combat, ducks back behind cover. "I might be with the kirin on this one. We should make ourselves scarce."
Falling's magic is unable to wrest the pistol from Sniper's grip.
>>731818Cit's lightning launches from her horn to KC's body, illuminating him in a yellowish glow. He appears amped up. Harder. Better. Faster and stronger.
The sidearm's bullets strike the gorilla-shaped machine. The first shot hits him in the chest, stops him in his tracks. The second take out a support joint in his mechanical leg. KC falls to his knees. The third shot hits him square between the eyes. He falls backward.
KC takes 8 hits; helpless.
Sniper picks up his rifle, reloads it methodically.
>>731823The kirin takes off. Three wooden swords sprout from their scabbards and begin to fly around Jiandao threateningly as she effortlessly hops over the struts, beams, sharp-edged sheets and rusted sprockets of the rubbish which makes up rubbish hill. She is but a flash away from KC's fallen form when something appears from above.
Flier: Slam [1d10]
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.731839
>>731838Em deadpans. So she didn't even have to get off the elevator and now she has to wait for it again. Continuing to drag clicky, she walks over to the elevator and slams her hoof into the button.
No.731842
>>731838KC falls backwards with a resounding clangor, throwing out one hand to catch himself. The cogs in his system begin to scrape and grind dissonantly as he makes an attempt to haul himself back to his feet.
[1d10] Recover
Cit audibly gasps as he falls. She doesn't stop to consider the situation at all, throwing herself out there to run to KC's side.
>movingRoll #1 9 = 9 No.731843
>>731838Shrugging as best a plush doll controlled by a tentacle eldritch being can. Princess Celestia decides to follow the bright red non-yellowish neither brick trail. This movement turns into a prance, ponies love prances.
No.731844
>>731838Falling looks over the junk as Jiàndào runs out to aid KC, only for KC to have already fallen to the gunfire.
"I don't think they're going to let us go now."
She says to Starfish, horn lighting up again as she casts her magic on the robot, trying to at least get him to stand back up.
>Mend [KC, Ranged from Catalyst] [1d10]Roll #1 10 = 10 No.731846
>>731838>Bear stance, +3 hits>Tactician, 3 turnsBracing herself, Jiandao reacts to the shadow above, jumping to the side to avoid the oncoming impact
[1d10] dodge
in the motion, she strikes towards her previous position with a sweep of a sword
[1d10] bonus melee
Roll #1 10 = 10 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.731858
>>731843The smear of unidentified goop on the floor leads Celly on a delightful prance down the dark, ominous hallway, away from the cheerful janitor. Reverb quits her annoying whistling to follow Celly's fanciful footwork. Together, they prance towards a whole new adventure.
The trail of red goo increases in intensity, ending at an open door somewhere far down the hallway, labeled with some large numbers not even Mini could comprehend.
153.
Inside the white, featureless cell, Celly can see a large amount of the same oily red liquid, coating the floor and dripping down the walls. There is a mass of emerald-colored crystalline structure in one corner. The body of a pony, wrapped in the same uniforms worn by previous guards, lies outside. Two more just like it lie within.
They all lie motionless. Probably having a quick nap.
Reverb stops prancing, looks at Celly, concerned.
>>731839The elevator takes its sweet time. Apparently, it has to stop at every floor she pressed the indicator button for.
The receptionist continues to tap away at her device while they all wait in silence. Gray makes a single click, looks up at Em, and is silent, content to be dragged along.
Eventually, the elevator arrives and the doors open. It is without passengers, open and awaiting entrance.
>>731844Falling's horn glows bronze once more, shoots a bolt of energy to her earrings, which seem to shimmer for a split second before a flash seems to connect them with KC's motionless body in the valley between rubbish hill and garbage mtn. The bronze light orbits around him, then absorbs into his frame in three separate pulses in quick succession. Something small from the ground rises and collides with KC's faceplate, somehow perfectly repairing his marred visage. Another rises up momentarily, connects with his busted leg, and the wooden struts connecting his joint mechanism reform themselves. A third tinks against his chestplace, pulling the dent right out. He looks as good as new.
KC is Mended [0/5]
>>731842Cit rushes at KC, unthinkingly hopping nimbly over the beams and detritus, arriving at the goliath's side just as some bronze-lit miracle forces the bullets back into his robotic frame, reversing the damage done.
KC rises to his feet, miraculously healed from all injury.
KC recovers [8/5]
>>731846Jiandao's training takes over and she rolls to the side deftly as a form slams into the ground she occupied half a moment before. The wooden swords slash through the air at her would-be assassin, cracking him in the head. The impact sends his body flying like a ragdoll, impacting sheet plating of a dead airship soundly. The distinct form a fogsuit-clad griffon sprawls across the crystalline ground.
>>731846>>731844>>731842Starfish sucks in breath. "Yikes. Not gonna lie, this doesn't seem like a beehive I want to stick my head into." She cowers behind rubbish hill, reaching into her mostly-empty bag for Luna-knows-what.
Hat Trick [1d10]
Sniper takes aim at Jiandao, slowly, carefully. A shot rings out.
Sniper: Aimed Shot [automatic; Jian takes 3 hits]
The griffon, still somewhat stunned from Jiandao's smack, tries to right itself.
Flier: Recover [1d10]
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.731859
>>731858Em steps in and presses the highest button without actually looking.
No.731862
>>731858Celly, being the ever-curious princess not so colt that he is decides to examine the ponies and the room overall like he owned it. Though the place could use a sweep here and there, this place needs more seervants! He mentally snaps.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.731863
>>731858with the crack of her sword like a gunshot, the griffon is sent smashed into the plating nearby. grazed by the sniper's round, the kirin refocuses on the distant gunpony, kicking off the metal plates in a gallop towards them!
[1d10] Navigation
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.731865
>>731858She breathes a sigh of relief as the damage KC took is undone, grinning with pride as the mighty robot stands back up without a scratch.
"Bit late for that," she calls to Starfish, looking around and grimacing as she sees the Sniper take a potshot at Jiandao. She rummages about before producing one of her little explosive windup spiders from her bag, twisting the key to bring it to life before tossing it at the Sniper.
>Sabotage: hidden, recharge 3; Ensures something will go horribly, horribly wrong when it needs to by rigging a target/object. Once rigged, you gain a Bonus Action to activate the Sabotage at anytime. You can detonate this to damage or destroy the rigged object if it was inanimate. If the rigged target makes a roll, you subtract [Bonus Action’s #]-3 (To a minimum of 1) from their roll. Only one Sabotage can be on a target at a time, and activating it removes the Sabotage. A Crit Sabotage does not need to be rolled for to be activated, instead cancelling any roll as an automatic action, or lowering a Crit roll to a minimum success.[1d10]
KC clenches his fists and lopes towards the Sniper, barreling into them clumsily.
[1d10] Slam, crits 8+
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.731867
>>731858Falling smiles proudly as she repairs KC back as if he was never shot to begin with, confidence coming back after the string of bad luck and news they've had.
When a crack sounds out from Jiàndào's strike on the sneak-attacker, Falling looks down to see the gryphon sprawled a distance away from the kirin. Her horn glows, attempting to replicate Jiàndào's movement and hopefully confuse their enemies.
>Echo [Jiàndào. Ranged from Catalyst] [1d10]Roll #1 6 = 6 No.731868
>>731844>>731867A bit caught up in the fight, she nonetheless takes a moment to flash a smile and nod of sincere thanks to Falling. KC echoes the sentiment with a big thumbs up.
No.731869
>>731863>>731858>>731867A translucent form of Jiàndào appears, standing where she just was as she struck the gryphon away. Only this time it follows a different path, an alternate time where instead of rushing towards the sniper, she rushed towards the gryphon for a follow-up attack while they're down.
>Attack [1d10]Roll #1 3 = 3 No.731874
>>731859Just so happens that the highest button is labeled "RIOT" and as soon as Em presses it, a red light begins flashing from the ceiling. The elevator doors, previously a nonthreatening set of protective screens, grow a pair of steel shutters that slam together. An ominous wail begins to sound, and doesn't quit. All the buttons go dark and the elevator begins moving upward.
Gray nudges her excitedly and begins clicking to excess. Something is happening and he seems to like it.
>>731862The room doesn't appear to have anything of importance. A few 'sleeping' ponies in guard suits. A huge green crystal growth in the corner, which upon inspection, appears to be growing slowly, taking over the room inch by inch. A set of keys on a comically large ring lying conspicuously in the center of the room, amidst bits of pony-flesh and unknown crimson liquid. Nothing of interest.
There is a colorful poster on the wall.
>>731863Jiandao easily covers the distance, wooden swords cutting the air behind her. In a moment she is upon Sniper. Another griffon. She can see his eyes widen in surprise as he draws his trusty sidearm again, taking aim at the kirin.
>>731865Before he can pull the trigger, however, Cit's well-lobbed spider latches to his weapon. The griffon drops it instinctively. The spiderbot detonates, destroying the weapon. His eyes go wide.
Before Sniper can react, KC's giant frame plops down on him. Feathers fly as the poor griffon's custom-made fogsuit explodes, losing integrity and gooshing air, feathers, and just a bit of blood. KC's massive bulk welcomes Sniper to the jam.
Sniper is helpless. Underneath KC.
>>731867>>731869A ghost kirin with wooden ghost-swords dodges, rolls, and flips into a power-attack against the fallen griffon. The trio of swords slap against three different surfaces, forming a "bah-dum-cha" of completely useless action. This sound, however, has the effect of punctuating the battle with some well-needed percussion. You feel the energy rise within you.
Absolutely no effect for everypony [automatic]
No.731878
>>731874"Yeah," Em says. "I quit." All she can do is wait for whatever to happen to happen. In the meantime she passes one of her healing potions to Clicky. "Here. Have some juice, just in case. Drink that if someone knocks you around real good and you'll be good as new."
No.731880
>>731878Gray takes the phial. Possibly misinterpreting or maybe just thirsty, he immediately pops the cork and downs it.
Gray at Full Health [4/3]
He then proceeds to have a very clicky, slightly whistle-y, coughing fit.
No.731881
>>731880"Huh. Well, here. Have another for later." She passes him a second one. "I got bored and made a bunch." Sighing, she allows the guise of the captain guy to fade and transforms back into her normal self. Concentrating, she takes a deep breath and tries to will a new transformation.
[1d110]Adaptability
Roll #1 41 = 41 No.731883
>>731881Coarse brown fur sprouts from her carapace and her eyes transform into the strange, slitted pupil of a goat. Her whole body trembles and she starts rocking back and forth, even more energetic and jittery than normal.
>Restless: passive; The founders of coffee drinks and rumored to never sleep, goats always seem to have much more energy for a creature of their size. While you and your kin neither confirm nor deny the rumors, you do have an unnatural tolerance to sleep magic and effects. You are completely immune from skills such as Sleep Serum or Trick Ammo:Knockout as well as magic meant to put you to sleep, and are no longer required to rest for the night on long journeys (although your companions will probably keep you) No.731885
>>731878[[Retcon: Spider did not explode. Sniper dropped the gun after it was grabbed. Everything else happened as said, except now sidearm is combined with spider, unexploded on the ground nearby.]]
>>731878The elevator rockets upward. Em feels as if she weighs 5 times as much for a moment, then is almost weightless. Gray jumps for joy at this weightless feeling, almost hits his small head on the red flashing lights in the ceiling of the small elevating room, then lands on heavy hooves with a loud thud as they come to a stop. The tiny gray changeling looks super pumped. He does a tiny prance, staring into Em's eyes in that weird way he has.
The steel armored doors slide back, then the regular elevator doors open. The small wailing noise continues. The familiar chime does not sound.
The opening doorway reveals a small red velvet-padded room with a small bench, too low for sitting. Perhaps it was meant for kneeling? There is a single gold-hinged door across the entrance with an ornate wicker window. The vestibule is roughly the same size as the elevator.
>>731883Gray's eyes widen, the ever-present scowl drooping for a moment into surprise before returning in force.
Em is starting to recognize that this particular type of scowl is as close to Gray came come to smiling.
He looks her up and down before bumping his head against her brown, fuzzy, quivering goatleg.
As they arrive at their destination, Gray clicks and whistles, obviously excited to explore this new area, but wanting Caprine Em to lead the way. He does a small dance around her cloven hooves.
[[ P A U S E D ]]
No.731886
>>731885[[also apparently i tagged the wrong name for retcon. meant to tag
>>731868 >>731874 ]]
No.732219
>>731886>>731885Last time, in Horizon…
>>731863>>731865>>731867Falling, Cit, KC, Jiandao and Starfish engage an unknown trio of assailants!
The three fogsuit-clad enemies, apparently griffons, consist of a flying shock trooper (knocked helpless by Jiandao's relentless assault), a sniper (currently getting smooshed by KC's huge bulk), and an unknown spotter (position unknown). Starfish has mentioned that they might be bounty hunters, or perhaps just Mayfield's goons.
Jiandao and KC are atop rubbish mtn. KC has Sniper pinned against the ground, which is mostly made of crashed airships and mechanical doodads. Jiandao stands nearby, wooden swords flying dangerously around her with telekinesis.
Sniper's rifle, clutched tightly by Cit's small mechanical tetrapod, lies on the garbage heap next to KC and the griffon, enmeshed as they are in a violent cuddle puddle.
Falling, having used her time magic adroitly to heal as well as attack, is still on rubbish hill with her new friend Starfish, who is digging around inside her empty pack with a determined look on her face.
Flier, appearing woozy from Jiandao's vicious attack, attempts to right himself.
>>731868Sniper struggles against the robot.
Recover [1d10]
[Roll: suppression]
>>731869The punky pegasus's eyes light up and she withdraws her hoof from the empty bag, drawing from it a softball-sized glass orb quarter-full with black liquid. She stares at it. "What the hell is this?" She looks up at Falling inquisitively.
[Roll: arcane knowledge]
>>731881Em and Gray stand in the open elevator on the top floor of the shaft. There had been an alarm, but it has ceased. The familiar doorway shows a small, red-velvet covered room with a gold-crusted wicker window. On the other side is mostly darkness, with the flickering shadow of distant candlelight. Em can hear the somber tones of a distant baritone chant/singing in a strange language. Gray takes in the scene. He is still energized from the excitement of the alarm going off.
>>731862Celly, abandoned by most of the pesky changelings that have been plaguing his life, stands with loyal Reverb outside the open door of some sort of cell, deep within the bowels of the central megastructure of Horizon.
The room doesn't appear to have anything of importance inside: a few 'sleeping' ponies in guard suits; a large, bright green crystal growth in the corner, which upon inspection, appears to be growing slowly, moving barely faster than the minute hand on an old-fashioned clock; a set of at least 30 brass keys on a comically large ring lying conspicuously in the center of the room, amidst bits of pony-flesh and unknown crimson liquid.
There is a colorful poster on the wall which depicts a reimagining of a classic work of art, the subject of which are the Holy Sisters. One side is bright and pastel rainbow, the other dark and melancholy.
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.732220
>>732219flier recover [1d10]
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.732221
>>732219Celestia deciding to take upon a new occupation of hoarding upon seeing all the grabbable item. Grabs the poster, ring of keys, and the growing crystal thing in order. Mine now.
No.732222
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>732219Falling frowns as her echo misses the gryphon. She isn't that stricken by it's failure to attack, only in that her magic failed to replicate the skill land dexterity she's seen of Jiàndào.
She turns her head, looking down at the glass orb, curious to where Starfish pulled it from.
"I'm not sure," She says, crouching down to get closer to the jar to examine it, "Let's see, I might've read a book on… whatever this is."
>Knowledge [1d10]Roll #1 4 = 4 No.732223
>>732219Cit rushes up to the Sniper as they struggle haplessly to get out from under KC. She puts on her best mean face and brandishes her flail. "Alright, enough messing around. Who the hell are you guys and why are you taking potshots at us?" she demands.
[1d10] Intimidate if needed
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.732224
>>732219Em rocks back and forth on her jittery hooves, trying to keep herself calm. "Creepy," she mutters. A quiet giggle passes her lips as she steps off the elevator. "That
is creepy, right? Because I've seen a lot of real creepy things, so maybe this shouldn't count, but that seems pretty creepy, that means we somehow ended up in the right place, right? They did say sacrifice, right? That sounds pretty cult sacrifice. Am I talking too much? I feel like I'm talking too much. Why can't I stop shaking?" She takes a deep breath and, as carefully as her trembling hooves can manage, sneaks toward the voice.
[1d10]Sneaky sneak
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.732225
>>732221The eldrich being snatches the poster off the wall, rolling it up and 'swallowing' it. A large rough hole in the solid cell wall is revealed behind where the poster was hung. The tunnel stretches into darkness, disappearing around a slow curve.
Celly grabs the keys, pulling them into his plush through the mouth-hole for safekeeping. They are slightly slimy with red pony goo.
He then turns to the green crystalline structure in the corner. The growth is already slightly larger than a standard pony, so taking all of it would be unfeasible. He finds a chunk that seems loose and breaks it off. It is coming with Celly now, next to the poster and the oily keys.
Reverb looks nervously into the tunnel, then back at Celly. She prods at the downed guards in uniform. A little of the red oily goo ends up on her hoof, which she attempts to shake clean with a distressed look on her face.
>>732224Em-as-goat's prattling is thankfully drowned out by the singular tone of the baritone chanting.
The changeling/goat, dragging Gray along, carefully opens the vestibule door. Thankfully the hinges are silent as it swings open into a hallway. From one direction emanates the sound and flickering candlelight; from the other, only silent darkness.
Rounding the lighted corner, Em comes across a huge chamber, half-filled with seats and ornate candleholders. There are perhaps two dozen spectators for this late-night ceremony sitting in the pews. The other half of the cavernous chamber contains a tall stage. Upon it, maybe a dozen solemn-looking robed figures stand in a semicircle, surrounding a humongous altar with a naked pale green pony lying supine across it.
The source of the musical chanting, a robed lizard who seems somehow familiar, stands over the group, belting out a strange melodic set of foreign words.
Em sticks to the shadows as she approaches. Gray is thankfully silent as he trails her. Together they remain undetected behind the small group of attendees rapt in the pews.
The lizard continues singing. A robed figure steps forward from the semi-circle and produces a large knife, jagged and glittering like crystal. He raises it above his head in a reverent manner. It begins to glow.
>>732222Falling dredges the pool of her extensive knowledge. She knows of several unknown-liquid-filled arcane orbs, but only a few that match the descriptor of being partially-filled with dark, oily liquid.
Molotov coctail, maybe? Or it could be a potent healing potion. Hard to tell.
Starfish produces her electric-whip weapon from earlier. She peeks around the corner. "I'm still all for bugging out. But do you think they might need help with these guys?"
>>732223The sniper, caught under KC's bulk, continues to struggle. He refuses to answer any of Cit's questions. In a thick accent, he mutters, "Fekn meks enywehs!"
Recover [1d10]
Flier stumbles a bit at his first attempt at recovery, rubs his cracked faceplate, and tries again to right himself.
Recover [1d10]
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 No.732226
>>732225>>732221A strange thing happens as Celly grabs the crystal. It appears to melt slightly, like cotton made of ice, in his tentacle.
No.732227
>>732225Celestia blinks at Reverb. "
I am gonna go check out this hole right here. I will be back in a minute!" Celestia gives Reverb a quick hug before going to the hole of the wall to squish through.
No.732228
>>732225Em nods as she sees the dagger. "Welp. Guess that's that. Follow my lead," she says. Taking a deep breath, she pulls out a small orb and fills it with a glowing orange light. Letting out a shrill shriek, she sprints toward the altar and throws the ball at the figure holding the knife.
[1d10]Alchemist Fire
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.732229
>>732226Unfortunate he thinks. He hardly knew the crystal Jeremiah. May he join his ancestors in the afterlife.
No.732230
>>732225She blinks as she receives an unintelligible response. She's not even sure that was Equish. "Look," she says plainly, "you're not exactly in a position to be making demands here. We don't even want to hurt you, we just want to know what's going on. So, why did you attack us?" She tries to go for a more assuaging approach.
[1d10] Persuade
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.732231
>>732225"We can't leave them behind, but… I'm not really the best at fighting. KT and Jiàndào look like they have it covered enough, but they might need backup."
Falling says, looking out at the mountain of trash. She looks at the bottle again, trying to recall her knowledge of oily liquids that the bottle might be.
>Knowledge [1d10]Roll #1 6 = 6 No.732232
>>732225With the sniper being crushed underneath KC, Jiandao trots over to the discarded rifle, picking it up in her magic to confiscate and examine it.
[1d10] Perception
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.732233
>>732227Celly deposits the melting gem into his plush. Where it touches his eldritch skin, it tingles and leaves a greenish mark, which slowly fades away. He feels somehow invigorated by the contact, as it seeps into him. Stronger, somehow.
He crawls into the tunnel. The concrete which makes up the floor and walls of floor B25 give way, after a bottleneck of harder material, to the gem-crusted soil of Impact. Celly comes to a dark fork. The right path turns upward sharply, the left path curves gently downward.
>>732230The griffon does not appear to want to be persuaded. "Get yer fekn mek offn me, ye dragon bait. Ahm goona take yer blasted 'ed off." He struggles against KC's bulk.
Recover [1d10]
He looks around for his sidearm, realizes its not within grabbing distance, gives up and starts talking. "Fekn dragon bait," he spits at Cit. "Don't even know what yer onto. Followin that pink coont, are ye? Even know what she's about?" He spits again.
Down in the valley, Flier shakes his head violently, takes a look at the situation on garbage mtn, and launches himself upward into the air.
>>732231No telling before the orb is broken and the liquid is spilled. Very probably a molotov coctail? Could still be an old fashioned healing potion, one of the really potent topical ones from before they invented ingestibles. Hard to tell without knowing the source, and no encyclopaedia lists "Starfish's bag of wonders" as a source for materials.
Meanwhile, Starfish herself seems to be gathering her courage. She carefully stalks around the hill, trying to get a bead on the enemies.
Looks like the others might have the situation handled.
Cit, Jiandao and KC appear to be interrogating the shooter. In the valley between the foothills of junk, the other assailant rises to his feet, shakes himself off, and takes to the air.
>>732232The rifle is heavy, long and appears hi-tech. Jiandao has never seen a weapon like it. It appears to have both a magazine of cartridges and a removable battery pack, which appears to contain at least half a dozen of the depleted powercells she has seen Cit carrying.
>>732228She misses.
The vial of alchemist's fire flies errant, landing on the stage where nopony happens to be standing. The semicircle barely reacts, those closest to the fire glancing momentarily at it before turning somberly back to their reverent positions.
The figure holding the knife up never flinches. He continues holding it even as Em screeches, only lowering it and placing it gently near the pony on the altar's feet.
The singing lizard continues his strange cadence, but makes eye contact with Em.
The entire audience stands up. There are ponies, bulls, minotaurs, goats, donkies. This mixed group begins to close in on Em, blocking her way to the tall stage behind them. They quickly surround her, oppressive but not necessarily threatening. Em realizes their eyes are all wrong, looking at nothing or rolled back in their heads or just vibrating, all unseeing. One of them, a tall goat, speaks. Or rather, it opens its mouth and sound pours out. It does not appear to use its own tongue to form the syllables sounding in the air.
"
where is the doll"
In the background, the lizard continues droning.
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.732234
>>732233Em lughs, places her hoof to her amulet, and looks around. "Uh, downstairs. She was a meany and abandoned me. Where's
your doll?"
No.732235
>>732233Celestia being curious there is even more down to this place decides to take that path out of his own curiosity. It shouldn't be too far. After all, how much down could there be?
No.732236
>>732233KC gently pushes the griffon in the forehead with one finger to pin him down.
[1d10]
"First off, she's my friend, and second off, I'm not involved in whatever she did to piss you guys off, so calm your feathers. I don't want to hurt you or your friends. Neither does KC here."
>Sabotage: hidden, recharge 3; Ensures something will go horribly, horribly wrong when it needs to by rigging a target/object. Once rigged, you gain a Bonus Action to activate the Sabotage at anytime. You can detonate this to damage or destroy the rigged object if it was inanimate. If the rigged target makes a roll, you subtract [Bonus Action’s #]-3 (To a minimum of 1) from their roll. Only one Sabotage can be on a target at a time, and activating it removes the Sabotage. A Crit Sabotage does not need to be rolled for to be activated, instead cancelling any roll as an automatic action, or lowering a Crit roll to a minimum success.[1d10]
She takes out a makeshift remote and pushes a comically large red button, detonating the spiderbot to destroy the sniper rifle. "But we will if you don't start singing. Who hired you to go after Starfish? …Also, what's with the wickie accent?"
[1d10] Interrogating
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 6 = 6 /
Roll #3 6 = 6 No.732237
>>732233"I can't tel what this is, it might be a molatov, or a healing potion. To be safe, I wouldn't use it on any of us."
As the others have the shooter handled, Falling cautiously follows Starfish around the hill to stay close and not have anypony be alone.
No.732238
>>732233The kirin eyes the mysterious weapon, expression hidden behind her suit's visor. she holds it in different directions with her magic at one point looking down the barrel, before gripping it by the barrel and taking a few practice swings against the air.
satisfied, she slings it across her back and looks to the downed sniper.
"We do not wish to draw this fight out further. Call off your ally and we will leave in peace."
[1d10] persuasion
[1d3] Inscrutable
Roll #1 8 = 8 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.732239
>>732234The speaker, without turning, points to the altar. "
observe"
Three ponies from the group of attendees move in to hold Em.
Goat: grab [1d10]
Minotaur: grab [1d10]
Donkey: grab [1d10]
As they approach Em can see that each one has an unhealthy-looking amount of gems jutting from their bodies. Their eyes bug out all crazy and they move almost like puppets. Their grip, however, is solid.
The supine nude pony upon the altar, whom Em recognizes as the prisoner from room 118, stands slowly as the chanting lizard continues droning. She takes the wicked-looking dagger and plunges it into her chest. A tense moment passes as even the singing lizard pauses, then blood begins to gush from her and she stumbles before lying down carefully, knife handle protruding from her sternum, onto her back.
Lightning briefly illuminates all the stained-glass windows of the cathedral.
>>732235Reverb calls in after her. "
Right here!" she calls in. The sound echoes ominously off the roughly carved tunnel as Celly turns from the light and begins to descend. The tunnel is long slowly winding on a constant curve downward. It is not long before the doll is in total darkness.
And yet he finds that he can still somehow sense, with his humongous eye. It is more akin to smell than sight, but he appears to be aware of lifeforms somewhere below him. They smell like changelings. He becomes certain that if he continues his descent he will find more small grayish changelings, like the unfriendly ones that locked him up earlier.
Suddenly, somewhere far above him, he senses something go wrong. It feels as though his very being is being torn, and although there is no pain, Celestia is party to a great feeling of loss, as though something inside himself were departing.
>>732236>>732238Jiandao takes a couple practice swings with the strange bat, right as Cit is having a chat with the griffon. The weapon explodes in midair, destroying the firing mechanism, but leaving a considerably large club. Jiandao straps the ruined rifle to her back for later hammertimes.
>>732237Starfish turns back to listen to Falling, nods at her input. "Makes sense. Almost worse than nothing, not knowing whether it's gonna help us or kill us. Least I still got this bad boy," and she gives her electric whip a crack. As she is looking proud of herself, a shadow swoops down from the sky, catching her offguard and impacting her like a meteorite.
Flier: Slam (airborn) [1d10+1]
>>732236The griffon does not seem to take kindly to their condescension. He clicks his beak in indignant rage. "Ah'll fekn bite that finger off, mekka. Jes ye wait."
He looks up at Cit. "Gal's made some enemies, I'll tell ye 's much. She ent welcome at the Six, an' she won' come off it. Ye talk some sense inna that thick of a head? Yeh tell 'er, Mayfield says fuck off. On accoun'a Griff an'all." He finds enough spittle to spit again. It becomes apparent that his righteous spittle is just ending up on the inside cover of his visor, but Sniper doesn't seem to care.
He takes advantage of the moment to roll free of KC's iron grip.
Recover [1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 /
Roll #2 7 = 7 /
Roll #3 5 = 5 /
Roll #4 5 + 1 = 6 /
Roll #5 9 = 9 No.732240
>>732239Feeling uncomfortable Celestia thinks of leaving, but not before trying to satisfy his curiosity. He peers down trying to see if there is more to the area than the presence of changelings.
[1d10] perception
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.732241
>>732239"Yea, it's better than nothing."
She says before the gryphon swoops down, cutting her off. Falling panics, despite all the hardships she hasn't been up close to any direct conflict. He horn glows, concentrating and firing ff in a beam of light into the flier to knock them away from Starfish.
>Consecrate [1d10]Roll #1 10 = 10 No.732242
>>732239>>732238She gives Jiandao a weird look. "That's… not how how a gun works, you know."
>>732239"We're not looking for trouble at the Six," she replies. "We're looking for a friend of a friend. Diamond Blossom. She got caught up in some sort of bad business involving Marble Mark, and apparently she's at the Six somewhere. It's got nothing to do with Starfish really. You know anything about that?"
[1d10] Persuade
Seeing him try to get away again, KC tries to grab him by the leg and dangle him upside down like a piece of meat at the butcher.
[1d10]
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 No.732243
>>732239With one fierce swing, the weapon explodes, baffeling the Kirin, who takes pause at the development. when it fails to do anything else, she stows it away on her back.
>>732242Her masked face turns to you, a tilt to her head implying a degree of confusion.
"How would one work such a device?"
>>732239Seeing the griffon struggle to move, Jiandao opts to grab him with her silvery magic.
[1d10] Restrain
"Please surrender. Your weapon has been confiscated and you are outnumbered. To fight any further now is folly."
[1d10] persuasion
[1d10] Inscrutable
Roll #1 10 = 10 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 /
Roll #3 1 = 1 No.732244
>>732243"It's… a gun. You fire it." She looks bemused that she wouldn't know what that is.
No.732245
>>732239Em frantically looks around as they move in to grab her. "Hey," she says. "I-I don't like this." Her eyes flit around the room like crazed flies. "No," she yells up at the pony. "No, I'm supposed to
keep you from dying!" She backs up, her breath grows labored, and her heart races as they grab onto her. "No," she says, squeezing her eyes shut.
"NO!"[1d10]Return to earth on these creepos
[1d10]Thrash to break away
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 6 = 6 No.732246
>>732240There appear to be strange moving shapes, the energy of which Celly is not quite able to quantify. They feel similar to her earlier cling-on lizard. Perhaps she is only able to sense warm blooded creatures fully? These unknown forms move freely among the sensed changelings forms, less like prisoners than partners.
>>732241The griffon, dropping from midair right onto Starfish's head, is caught in a beam of bronze light. He first impacts Starfish, who goes flying, but then somehow events seem to reverse themselves. There is a moment of rewind-time confusion, the result of which leaves Starfish standing, intact, without a clue that her body had just been flung, and her attacker, a black-fogsuit clad griffon, smacked by the bronze light toward the mountain of jagged industrial rubbish right before impact. Just at the moment he would be smashing his brains open against garbage mtn, the same bronze light surrounds him, lifts him gently, and deposits him on his paws in front of Falling and Starfish, who is still brandishing her electric whip expectantly.
"Oh shit, where did YOU come from?" She looks surprised to see him appear.
He looks slightly worse for wear. "Wuh th' fu'?" he remarks, obviously shaken. His knees are wobbly.
>>732242>>732243Jiandao's magic grips the sniper griffon icily. He struggles for a moment while the grip grows tighter, then stops struggling as she makes clear that he won't be escaping. He listens to her words, turns to Cit as she speaks, begins to try to spit again when he is grabbed up by KC's humongous frame and shaken like yesterday's laundry.
"Alrigh then! Alrigh! Call yer mekka off, he's fixin to crack me like a bullwhip! Alright alredeh!"
When KC stops shaking, the griffon dangles upside down. "Marble Mark ye say? Can't say I've ever been too fond of the bugger. Heard he wa' gonna win the race tonight handy. His boat's all new and shiny now Ambit's taken a shine to 'im. Don't know nuthin bout yer lass Diamond. Sounds like a right peach, if she's keepin yer kinda company." He drips with irony, keeps looking over his shoulder like he's expecting something.
No.732247
>>732245The goat grips her tight around the forelegs. The minotaur takes her hoof, and the donkey tries to grab her but misses, somehow.
It is this third unit she hits with Return to Earth. For a moment, consciousness returns to his eyes, he looks confused and blinks, aware of his surroundings for the first time. This lasts for two, maybe three moments.
"
enough"
The speaker turns to the donkey and a flash of light connects them. The speaker turns back to Em before the effects begin. Several crystal growths sprout from the surface of the donkey's skin, erupting from within his fuzzy body in a painful display. The donkey starts to scream, but is cut off by a jagged piece of gem piercing through his neck, and merely whistles air. He falls to the ground and writhes in apparent agony.
Something strange is happening at the altar. The pony who stabbed herself is arching upward, forming a rainbow with her nude form. The hilt of the knife, still protruding from her chest, begins to glow a deep indigo. A flash of light comes from the high ceiling and connects with the dagger, which rises out of her, still dripping inky blood. For a moment they both hover in midair.
Another blast of light from the ceiling connects with the pony's body. A massive crystal bursts from her chest. She falls to the altar.
The lizard stops chanting. He looks directly at Em, being held by the goat and the minotaur. "Ah, so it's you. Where is the princess?" He speaks directly into her mind, friendly, as though they were not in the middle of some horrible satanic ritual.
No.732248
>>732246Celestia feeling uncertain with staying any long decides to return to check on Reverb. Gotta make sure the youngins don't get into trouble. Thinking about. Reverb was quite uncomfortable.
No.732249
>>732246"Yeah, he's a real charmer." Her expression darkens a little, and KC involuntarily tightens his grip just thinking of Marble.
"You sure you don't know anything that could help us?" she pries. "We're kind of running on vague clues here."
[1d10] Interrogating again
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.732250
>>732247Em's mouth snaps shut at the sudden shout. She wiggles a little, but can't manage much else. "I don't get it," she says. "What's going on?" She rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue. "In the basement, I think. I don't know. She left."
No.732251
>>732246With KC now firmly in control of the situation, Jiandao releases her grip on the griffon.
>>732249"I will check on Falling and Starfish. When you are ready, we will depart for Six arms."
With that, Jiandao begins the process of scaling down the mountain of trash and picking her way back to Falling.
No.732252
>>732246"Are you okay?"
She asks Starfish after she manages to gently blast away the attacking gryphon. She turns to as he stands there in his confusion.
"Who sent you?! And do you know a pony named Diamond Blossom?"
She asks him, horn still glowing.
>Interrogation [1d10]Roll #1 1 = 1 No.732253
>>732248Thinking about Reverb DID seem quite uncomfortable. As Celly is heading back, he thinks he can hear a strange scuffling noise coming from the room.
"
Right Here!" someone shouts, then another voice. Louder, Celly can hear someone shout "Stupid bug! STUPID BUG!"
As he rounds the corner, he sees Reverb's hooves as she is dragged out of the room. Celly did not see her attacker. He is left in the room with two downed guards and a greasy pool of unknown red sticky liquid. Not a changeling in sight.
>>732249>>732251Jiandao releases her grip. KC doesn't release his. The griffon dangles by a leg.
"Help ye? Sure. I'll help ye. Tell yer mekka put me down, turn yerselves around, start trekkin, don't come back. Don't think that on accoun'a ye got me, ye'll be gettin entrance to the spot. Mayfield's got a bone to pick, and I reckon that p'rtickler bone resides within yer slutty pink pal o'er there."
He shrugs, which is a pretty goofy looking action for one to take while being dangled upside down. "Be true wit ye, lass? Find a better friend. Me, I seen how this 'un treats hers. Somehow they all end up payin her tab, or worse, payin the FINAL tab if ye catch my drift, all while she gets off scot free."
Something cracks in the distance. Sniper begins to smile.
"Aye, that'll be me buds. Best be lettin me down while ye've got a sec. I can tell em yer friendly an' all. They might even let you go."
Four or five fogsuit-covered faces show themselves from the surrounding landscape. They are mostly griffons, but Cit and Jiandao can see at least one glowing horn among them. A griffon steps out, pointing at Jiandao. He nods to Sniper, who nods back before raising an eyebrow at Cit and repeating his awkward upside-down shrugging action.
>>732252The flying pony looks bewildered at Falling's questions. "Wuh th' fuh?" he repeats. Looking around, he repeats himself. "Wuh th'?" then rattles off a small string of nonsense syllables. Apparently this griffon is not fluent in Equish. He looks at Falling and Starfish before attempting to take off again.
Punkypie doesn't let him leave. She cracks her whip just as he starts to get comfortable with the idea of booking it.
Starfish: Electric Whip [1d10+1]
An evil grin crosses her face. She pulls the unknown orb from her bag. "Got an idea how we can test this bad boy."
Roll #1 10 + 1 = 11 No.732254
>>732250"Basement, huh? I would have thought he would like to be here for this moment. No matter. Witness, chosen one. You will want to remember this."
The nubile pale green pony writhes. Another large crystal sprouts from her body, then a third. They arise from within her, seeming to crack into existence stroke by stroke until their bulk is considerably larger than her
lithe young body. Within moments, there is no more pony on the altar, only a mass of glowing indigo crystal. It continues to stretch upward for a moment, jagged and uneven, then glows brightly, too brightly to look at. The room is coated in blinding blue light, and even the solemn semicircle of robed figures turn to cover their eyes with their forelegs. Only the lizard does not react as the bright crystal growth implodes on itself, shrinking to the size of Gray. It lies there motionless on the altar, bright blue glow slowly fading.
Speaking of, the small changeling is nowhere to be seen. He hid himself before Em ran screaming into the ceremony and apparently did a pretty good job of it, because he remains undetected - by both enemies and Em herself.
The glowing figure on the altar slowly rights itself, the light from its surface completely faded. It is no longer pony shaped at all. Instead, upon the altar is a small squid-looking creature Em recognizes as being extremely reminiscent of the weird insides of her plushy princess pal.
"
Hello{/cr]," says the being.
[[ P A U S E D ]] No.732667
>>732253>>732254Last time, in Horizon…
>>732248Celestia and Reverb explore the chaos within room 153. Celly acquires a colorful poster depicting the Holy Sisters, a large ring of some 30 keys covered in red pony fluid and a quickly melting sample of bright green crystal which was growing in the corner of the room. He disappeared down a tunnel, previously hidden behind the poster, to sense the presence of several small gray changelings like the ones he encountered below the 'haunted' town hall. There were other lower lifeforms he sensed, too, that reminded him of the lizard which clamped itself to his plush for so long. Returning from the tunnel, he is just in time to witness Reverb being foalnapped (bugnapped?) by an unknown and unseen assailant.
>>732249>>732251>>732252The group has successfully fended off the assaults of an unknown group of griffons. The sniper of the group has all but confirmed Starfish's assumptions that they are hired goons working for Mayfield, a high-ranking member of the Six Arms. Apparently he really wants her to stay away, but she keeps finding reasons to come back. Could be coincidence, could be her stubborn nature to be drawn to traverse forbidden terrain like a moth to a flame. Could be another reason altogether. Starfish's motives remain, as always, enigmatic.
Unfortunately, the unseen third member of the original trio has apparently summoned reinforcements, and four or five black fogsuits seem to rise from the fog-obscured remains of airships and converge on the group.
ZONES:
Rubbish Hill (Starfish, Falling, Flier)
Garbage Mtn (Jiandao, Cit, KC, Sniper)
>>732251>>732249KC still has ahold of the sniper, who is nodding conspicuously at another griffon who appears to be in charge of the new assault team. Sniper looks to Cit.
"Wadd'ya say, lass? Fancy tryin' yer luck at scrappin' with me lads, or will ye save us some time and kindly fuck off?"
>>732252Falling and Starfish stand near the flying griffon attacker, who doesn't appear to speak fluent Equish. Starfish cracks the electrip whip and it connects with him with a flash of light. The griffon crumples.
[Flier takes 5 hits; helpless.]
Starfish pulls out the unknown magical orb and prepares to slam dunk it all over Flier's helmeted noggin.
"LISTEN ALL YOU FUCKS!" she screams at the newcomer attackers. "I'm about to burn your friend alive in front of you if you don't let us through!" Flier whimpers and curls into a fetal position, understanding her intent if not her actual words.
No.732668
>>732250Em has ridden an elevator with alarm blaring to the top floor of the central tower, exited through a private vestibule and entered the main chapel where an apparently cult-like ritual continued to progress despite her best efforts. A familiar looking lizard has been chanting musically as three (down to two now, actually) robed participants restrain the changeling. Upon the altar, the prisoner from room 118 has, inexplicably, stabbed herself in the chest with a large crystal dagger, causing not only the predictable mortal wound but also the more surprising transformation of her body into a strange octopus-like creature with a familiar voice. The eldritch being with multiple tentacles and one humongous eye speaks with a familiar voice to the room a greeting.
"
Hello," it utters, before scuttling rapidly off the altar.
"
commence" says a tall goat (or rather, a voice that appears to be speaking through the goat's mouth, as it doesn't appear to be using its lips in the appropriate way to make the words).
The half-circle of robed creatures all flash brightly once. Their robes fall to the floor, empty except for the clattering of gems. The creature is lifted into the air suddenly, slowly centering itself in front of the robed lizard, who smiles benevolently at it even as the tentacles thrash in unmistakable panic.
All of a sudden the lizard is knocked to the side by a small missile, which turns out to be Gray. The small changeling has thrown himself into the lizard with more ferocity than efficacy, but the effect is that the lizard stumbles, the gem-crusted minotaur and goat holding Em release their grip, and the octopus-being falls to the ground.
Gray: Slam [1d10]
Unknown being: Flee [1d10]
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 6 = 6 No.732669
>>732667This calls for the work of detective celly and his ever reliable yet missing mini! The quest to find the assailant and theft of reverb! Celestia is on the case.
[1d10] Perception to scan the crime scene and pathway of the villain
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.732670
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>732667Falling looks to Starfish with horror as she threatens to immolate the helpless gryphon at their hooves, then to the gryphon with an empathetic look. She isn't entirely sure if Starfish is serious or not, but she trusts she won't murder a pony right in front of her.
"Sh-She's serious! We're not going to stop after all we been through!"
She adds, trying to help with the threat.
>Intimidate [1d10]Roll #1 8 = 8 No.732671
>>732667With the arrival of more potential enemies, Jiandao hesitates not in a gallop down the mountain, to make sure Falling is safe!
No.732672
>>732667She swallows involuntarily as she sees more of them coming. She and KC exchange a look. The latter shrugs. "Alright, whatever. We'll find our own way." They start backing away slowly, heading down the garbage heap towards where they last saw Falling.
[1d10]
[1d10]
Navigation for both if needed
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 No.732673
>>732668>>732254"Not gonna lie," Em says. "This whole situation seems a little dubious and morally ambiguous to me. I mean I was suposed to
save that lady-" she gestures in the general direction of the tentacle creature. "But I'm starting to feel like someone is messing with me."
She jumps as Clicky tackles the Lizard. Em's lips curl into a grin. "Way to go, Clicky!" She squeals, pulling out an alchemist's fire. She chucks it at the Lizard and tries to herd Clicky back to the elevator. "Let's get going. It's dumb here."
[1d10]purify the unclean
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.732674
>>732669Celly is unable to ascertain much, except the direction of the abduction. It appears that the villain has taken Reverb and pulled her away from the elevator, into the dark recesses of the nether level.
A voice cries out. "
Right here!!" It comes from the darkness down the corridor.
>>732670Starfish and Falling's shouted threats seem to steady the hands of the unknown group. At least, they don't fire. There is a moment of silence. Their friends appear to make haste toward their position atop Rubbish Hill.
Flier: Recover [1d10]
>>732671Jiandao skates over the top of beams and oblique sheets of metal, the ruined remains of dead airships. She reaches her charge, the young unicorn Falling Sand, who is just now very convincingly threatening the dangerous group bearing down on them from all around.
>>732672KC unceremoniously drops the griffon Sniper, who lands ungracefully with a gasp atop Garbage Mtn, the wind obviously knocked out of him. Cit and her robot companion quickly close in on Rubbish Hill behind Jiandao.
[Sniper helpless]
>>732670>>732671>>732672There is a silence as the party regroups atop Rubbish Hill. The spotter from earlier turns from Sniper to address the party.
"Your position is precarious at best," he calls across the valleys of trash. "Let our daughter go and we won't kill you."
Daughter? Upon further inspection, Flier does appear to have a thinner frame than the others, although not much of the feminine aspect shows through the bulky fogsuit armor she wears. She whimpers again, still in the fetal position.
Starfish makes as if to throw the unknown potion/firebomb at the downed griffon. Every eye is on her as she pulls back at the last second.
"I'll blast this little bird into oblivion, don't think I won't! We're going to the Six and I demand to talk to Mayfield personally, or so help me Sisters, I'll rain hellfire down on the entire expanse of you!" For effect, she cracks her new toy, the electric whip, in the air. It crackles with plasmatic lightning impressively.
Starfish: Intimidate [1d10]
>>732673Gray flails his small body into the lizard, who is taken off guard and stumbles momentarily before turning his weight and tossing the small changeling to the ground.
[Gray helpless]
Em's glowing orb of fire flies wide again, landing near the altar. This apparently has an effect on the octopus-creature, which recoils from the flames and scuttles beneath the empty robes of one of the disappeared cultists.
The tall goat who had spoken the strange words has gone slack-jawed and vacant, and so does not react to this. The goat and minotaur previously holding Em have affected the same passive attitude, like marionettes that the puppeteer has hung up.
The lizard recovers and turns towards Em, speaking again directly into her mind. "Poor choice, chosen one. You could not save her; were never supposed to. Your purpose was to compile the forces that will save Ambit, so that He can save Horizon. You may still succeed in this, but for now, please allow me the indiscretion of saying I, and my ilk, find you and your kind repugnant."
He launches a ball of sparking electricity at Em.
Orion: Lightning Elemental Magic Bolt [2d10]
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 /
Roll #3 3, 10 = 13 No.732675
>>732674Both their eyes widen as they see Starfish threatening murder. "Star?" Cit calls, growing even more uncomfortable with the situation. Seeing Starfish attempting to intimidate her way out of the situation, Cit tries to defuse it. "We just want save passage to save our friend," she calls out. "Please. Just walk away. Starfish will let her go, you let us go, and we never see each other again. Pretend none of this ever happened. …Please?"
[1d10] Persuade
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.732676
>>732674Celestia goes forth after the culprit to follow the sound of the mimicking Reverb! The villain shall not escape justice this night! For I am Justice! Or do I eat justice for breakfast? Though I think there is pony named justice.I want to meet them now. Celestia wonders inside his mind as he takes off for Reverbs voice.
No.732677
>>732674"Hey! That's not fair!" Em squeals. She gasps and puts her hoof to her amulet. It begins to glow a soft green, and she points it at Clicky.
[1d10]Rejuvinate. DC 4 if you consider Clicky a minion.
"Bad idea, buster. If you think I'm doing what you want now that you hurt me and my bestie you got another thing- eep." She winces as the bolt of magic sparks toward her.
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.732678
>>732674"Daughter?"
Falling questions, looking to the gryphon. Her heart winces, feeling they might be going the same feelings she is with Diamond. She looks up to the sniper and his group.
"Look, your boss, Mayfield, kidnapped my friend. I'm just trying to find her and get her back. I don't want anypony to die over this. If you just let us pass, or can help me, I can heal her."
She says, gesturing to the gryphon flier, hoping they'll have compassion to listen to reason.
>Diplomacy [1d10]Roll #1 8 = 8 No.732679
>>732674Jiandao's swords float behind her as she watches the crowd.
"We do not wish to continue this fight. Allow us to pass and end this fruitless conflict." she says to the group, muffled slightly behind her mask.
[1d10] Persuasion
[1d3] Inscrutable
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 No.732680
>>732676Celly cannot recall meeting a pony named Justice.
The haunted plush prances (for ponies often prance) down the darkened, blood-smeared tile floor into the darkness after the voice of his erstwhile companion.
After a while sight fades and eyeball-smell-sense sets in. He can smell that several ponies (not changelings, not dogs, not lizards) come through here often. As he sallies forth, Celly approaches a dead end where a tall iron door stands intimidatingly. There are 2 locks on the door. He cannot sense anything behind the door, but there is nowhere else his prey could have escaped to.
For some reason, the janitor pony is still down the hall, somewhere far different from where he started, still whistling, still occassionally coughing up rubies which clatter to the ground unceremoniously, still not cleaning up the oily red mess he leaves behind.
>>732678Spotter appears to soften. "Heal her? You mean… make her normal?" She appears to have struck a nerve. A moment later, he hardens. "Mayfield's business is his own. We're here to stop you, and stop you we will. By force, if necessary."
>>732679Shooter sneers, an expression visible even from the distance. "We are not afraid of you, kirin. Your blades are duller than your wit; your fogsuit doesn't even fit. We have taken your kind before and we will gladly do so again."
>>732675>>732678>>732679At Starfish's electric whipcrack, multiple assailants raise their weapons, ready to fire, but waiting for the signal. Spotter does not give the signal. He hesitates for a moment, then raises his fist, then points forward at the group.
Everything happens at once. Two flashes of light appear, follow shortly by audible cracks as the air itself is torn apart by bullets.
Shooter 1: Ranged (Targets Jiandao) [1d10]
Shooter 2: Ranged (Targets Starfish) [1d10]
Starfish, at that moment, tosses the orb harmlessly upward toward the unoccupied valley. The glass orb seems to hang in midair for a long moment. When it finally contacts a new(ish) downed airship in the valley, it bursts into a cloud of flame which would certainly have immolated a pony-sized target. It burns harmlessly in the fog-covered night; nothing of note has been harmed. The sails of said airship continue flaming.
Shots fire around her.
Starfish: Dodge [1d10]
Meanwhile, there were several black shadows in the haze which are no longer visible.
Sniper himself tries to regain his feet as Spotter points out KC's huge bulk.
Sniper: Recover [1d10]
Spotter: Marked for Death (targeting KC) [1d10]
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 /
Roll #3 4 = 4 /
Roll #4 4 = 4 /
Roll #5 2 = 2 No.732681
>>732680"W-Well, I can heal any injuries she has. A-And, other extreme conditions too, if they aren't too bad."
Falling says to Spotter, hoping this moment might lead to a peaceful end.
That hope doesn't last long however when the guns begin to fire. Falling drops low to the ground on impulse, not wanting to be shot. She watches the orb as it's tossed, exploding into a cloud of embers, and is thankful she didn't call it as a healing potion. Her eyes dart back and forth as shadows move in the new smokescreen and bullets riddle the terrain around her. Her horn glows, and she tries to end this the best way she knows how, by rewinding it. Her magic focuses on Flier, attempting to heal both the injury she took from their minor scuffle, and whatever ailment Spotter appeared ot be concerned with.
>Mend [Flier] [1d10]Roll #1 10 = 10 No.732682
>>732680What a troublesome situation. Hopefully the keys that I had hoarded earlier can solve this issue, but while the Janitor is here. Might as well ask him for assistance. Otherwise I shall leave a bad review upon this are for terrible customer service! Celestia brings out the keys jingling towards the janitor. "
Excuse me, do you know which of these keys go in those locks in the door over there?" Celestia asks of the janitor while indicating the door with the point of his plush hoof.
No.732683
>>732680"Shit!" As all hell breaks loose, Cit thinks fast, trying to push Starfish out of the way and into cover with telekinesis.
[1d10]
KC goes into battle mode, cracking his knuckles before thundering towards the Spotter.
>moving zonesRoll #1 3 = 3 No.732684
>>732680>bear stance, 7/6 from injury>tactician: 4 turnsJiandao dives to avoid the shot from the gunner!
[1d10] Dodge
Rolling from there, she gallops towards the spotter's position
[1d10] Navigation
>>732681"Falling, find a position to protect yourself from their fire. I will disable their leader." says the kirin over the din of battle, before charging off.
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 No.732685
>>732684"Right. I'll stay safe!"
Falling shouts back, not moving from her current crouching position.
No.734537
>>732686Last time, in Horizon…
(well, less of a recap than a continuation really)
>>732681Falling's bronze magic envelopes Flier, sinking into her frame through her suit. The damage Starfish inflicted with her electric whip disappears, and the griffon is lifted to her paws. She blinks at Falling twice in obvious confusion, then takes flight, heading toward the pile of trash to the north, where Spotter and Shooter 1 are hunkering down.
>>732683Starfish starts to dodge, and, assisted by Cit's telekinetic push, rolls behind the ruined broadside of a rusty old shipwreck.
"Thanks!!" the pegasus calls out.
KC stomps toward the Spotter and Shooter 1 on the north hill. Jiandao is right behind him. They will be on the hill in a moment.
>>732684Jiandao dive-rolls to avoid an incoming round of fire from Shooter 1. A little too slowly. The bullet grazes across her back, tearing the fogsuit and searing her flesh.
[Jiandao takes 1 hit]
Disoriented, Jiandao stumbles while rising from her roll and momentarily loses her sense of direction. Pointing herself the right way, she sees Spotter and Shooter 1 crouched on top of the north hill. KC is barreling toward them, and Jiandao rushes to follow him.
>>732685>>732684>>732683Sniper rolls around on the ground instead of rising. He gives it another try.
Recover [1d10]
More shots ring out.
Shooter 1:Ranged (Targets KC) [1d10]
Shooter 2:Ranged (Targets Jiandao) [1d10]
Spotter readies a long baton, watching the approach of Jiandao and KC.
Flier passes over the two of them on the way to N hill.
>>732682Celly approaches the janitor near the large iron door. He looks up as the talking doll addresses him. A long pause after Celestia speaks begins to feel awkward before the janitor snorts and spits another gem on the floor.
"Well sher. Hand em over and I'll get em for ya." He smiles, revealing a set of jagged, broken, bloody teeth.
>>732677Em completely misses the mark with her rejuvenation spell. A moment later she is blasted with the lizard's electric shock. It rips through her nerves and muscles, and she seizes painfully as she falls to the ground, rigid.
[Em takes 5 hits; helpless. DC+1 to all actions next turn.]
Gray tries to rise.
Recover [1d10]
The lizard shakes his head, again speaking into Em's mind. "Pathetic. Now. Where has our other princess gone?"
He hops lightly off the altar and over to the semi-circle of empty robes which had been up until a few moments ago occupied by a gathering of cultists. He picks the nearest one up, revealing a large, perfect sapphire. He grunts and throws the robe aside, moving to the next one.
The tall goat and the minotaur still stand in the aisle, slackjawed and vacant-eyed. Whatever was animating them appears to be gone now.
Roll #1 8 = 8 /
Roll #2 1 = 1 /
Roll #3 9 = 9 /
Roll #4 6 = 6 No.734538
>>734537Celly does a little plush nod before the janitor handing him the keys. Gazing up at him expectantly. A Princess should be able to rely on his subjects after all. Such wise wisdom that was departed upon him by Mini.
No.734539
>>734538The janitor puts down his mop, takes the keys and fumbles with them for a moment. "Ah, ya little bugger," he murmurs at the lock, trying one key and then another. For a moment it seems like he has no idea what he's doing, but then the first lock clicks open, and in a short amount of time he gets the second one open as well.
Grinning his bloody smile, he hands the keys back to the doll. "What's a pretty lil toy like yerself doing goin down to the dungeon anyhow?"
No.734540
>>734537Em shrieks as she convulses on the ground. Part of her wants to burn this guy alive. The other doesn't even know why he's attacking her in the first place. Tears well up in her eyes and she lets out a quiet sob as she tries to pull herself back to her hooves. "What did I do to you?" she asks. "I'm only doing what alicorn man said. Isn't he your boss?"
[1d10]Recover
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.734541
>>734537Her suit torn from a rifle shot, the swordsmare keeps low to the rubble as she rushes spotter's position with KC!
[1d10] Navigation
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.734542
>>734539"
I am out on an adventure!" Celestia exclaims with a pose of throwing up his hoof. He takes back the keys. "
Wish me luck!" Celestia takes his leave going down to the dungeons to look for his friend.
No.734543
>>734537Once he's in range, KC barrels at the Spotter, aiming to knock him flat on his back with a shoulder slam.
[1d10] Slam, crits 8+
Cit teleports herself closer to Shooter 1.
>zone changeRoll #1 5 = 5 No.734544
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>734537Falling watches as Flier flies off to her group, wondering if she made the right choice in healing her. But right now she can't worry about that, turning her attention to her friends as more shots continue. Following Jiàndào's advice, she stays hunkered at the rubbish hill, horn glowing as she aids the kirin to end this battle quickly, if Flier being healed doesn't help end the violence first.
>Purify [Jiàndào] [1d10]Roll #1 9 = 9 No.734545
>>734540The lizard turns his head. "My… boss?" He laughs. "Oh no, my dear bug. I'm afraid you are quite mistaken. The alicorn is Ambit's rook, and I am Horizon's bishop. And you, simple creature, are merely a pawn, caught among forces you cannot comprehend." He walks to the next pile of robes and throws it off, revealing another large sapphire.
Gray hops to his feet and rushes at the lizard.
Slam [1d10]
>>734542"Alright then!" the janitor calls out as Celly trots off. "Have fun!"
Beyond the iron door, a long passageway spirals downward. There is no light, but Celly can still sense that a pony and a changeling (possibly Reverb?) have just come this way. There are no doors or windows along the walls, which are rough stone. The plush pads along silently. There is the sound of dripping water from somewhere ahead.
He comes to a opening at the end of the hall, leading to a large stone chamber with several holes in the floor filled with a murky fluid. There are metal shackles and chains along the walls. Two ponies are dragging the limp, unconscious form of Reverb through the chamber. They have not seen Celestia enter.
>>734541A bolt of bronze light comes from behind Jiandao and fills her with resolve.
[Purify: Bless an ally so they can pierce through any resistance and corruption. The next time they attack, they ignore all modifiers on their enemy (i.e. They do full damage, use standard DC, etc,)]
She arrives atop the hill just in time to see KC swing at Spotter. She is right behind the automaton when she is hit with something heavy from behind. A round rips through her suit and into her flesh.
[Jiandao takes 4 hits from Shooter 2]
>>734543Cit winks herself to KC and Jiandao's side next to the Spotter, Shooter 1 and Flier.
Shooter 1 bears down on KC and fires, but his gun, instead of launching a bullet, explodes in his hands, knocking him down.
[Shooter 1 helpless]
KC rushes at Spotter, who barely sidesteps in time to miss the bulk of the mechanical primate. He retaliates with a swing of his staff.
Spotter targeting KC [1d10]
>>734544Falling's purifying light shoots through the air and sinks into Jiandao, whose weapons begin to glow with a faint bronze light.
Starfish scoots over to Falling. "You okay, kid? Keep your head down. These guys aren't playing around. Geez, sure wish they hadn't found us. Wonder if someone tipped them off that we'd be coming?"
She pokes her head up momentarily and a shot whizzes past. "Shit!" she drops back to the ground, smiling apologetically at Falling. "Maybe we can still talk to them?"
>>734544>>734543>>734541Spotter, Shooter 1[helpless], Flier, Cit, KC and Jiandao are all on N hill. Starfish and Falling are in cover on Rubbish hill. Shooter 2 is on E hill.
Flier chitters at Spotter in a high-pitched voice frantically. She points at Rubbish hill and keeps talking in what one can assume is the language of her people.
Shooter 2: Ranged (Targets KC) [1d10]
Shooter 1: Recover [1d10]
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 6 = 6 /
Roll #3 8 = 8 /
Roll #4 6 = 6 No.734546
>>734545"
Back down villains!" Celestia yells charging at the two ponies carrying reverb. Throwing his entire body into the attack filled with emotions of righteousness.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.734547
>>734545not anticipating the shot from another shooter, Jiandao's path was altered as she staggers from the impact. Recovering, she leaps above spotter to bring her trio of swords down onto him!
[1d10]
[1d10] Dual
[1d10] bonus
Roll #1 2 = 2 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 /
Roll #3 8 = 8 No.734548
>>734545KC's eyes narrow to slits as he backhands the Spotter.
[1d10] Basic attack
Cit grits her teeth and unchains her flail, swinging it at Flier in an attempt to knock her out of the air.
[1d10] Crit 9+ critfail 2-
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 6 = 6 No.734549
>>734545"I-I don't know anymore. I just want this to be over, and know why Diamond got pulled into all this to begin with. Neither of us have done anything to get tied up with this mafia or whatever it is!"
Falling slumps down behind the trash to keep away from the gunfire, peeking back up to see Jiàndào get shot through the back.
"Jiàndào!"
She shouts, horn glowing as she attempts to undo the damage dealt to her.
>Mend [1d10]"I healed that gryphon we had… I hope she talks them into stopping."
Fallling says to Starfish, trying to sound hopeful but her spirit lowering.
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.734550
>>734545"Well-" Em pulls herself up, slips, but barely manages to catch her footing. "I think-" She pauses, opens her mouth, closes it again, and huffs. "I think you're a jerk!"
She places a hoof to her chest and levitates a glowing orange orb out of her bag. As her amulet glows a bright green, she chucks the orb at the meany.
[1d22]Spellbound Alchemizing
[1d10]Alchemist's Fire
Roll #1 16 = 16 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.734552
>>734545>>734550"Also I still don't understand why we're fighting!"
No.734553
>>734546The ponies carrying Reverb turn around just in time to see Celestia slam into one of them. He stumbles back and drops Reverb, who slumps to the ground.
[Pony 1 takes 1 hit]
Pony 2 kicks at the plush with a disgusted look on his face. "What the hell are you?"
Pony 2: kick [1d10]
Pony 1 pulls out one of those painful batons but doesn't use it yet, just gives a confused look at Celestia.
>>734547Jiandao's swords fly in a fury, battering Spotter from one side and then another. He is knocked soundly to the ground.
[Spotter takes 7 hits; helpless]
>>734548KC smacks the already helpless Spotter and a sickening crack is heard as his helmet flies off.
[Spotter takes 1 hit]
Cit's flail connects with Flier's leg, rocking her in the air but not knocking her to the ground.
[Flier takes 1 hit]
>>734549Falling launches another blast of bronze light at Jiandao, but it fizzles as it impacts the kirin's suit.
"Yeah. My bad," Starfish apologizes. "Honestly, might have been better if I hadn't tagged along. To be honest, I have a bone to pick with Mayfield. I thought Journey would be able to keep him calm, but I guess he's really out for blood now. And all because Griff was an idiot." She pokes her head out and quickly withdraws it. "Looks like we're winning, though."
At that moment something falls out of the sky next to them. A black fogsuited griffon stands between Falling and Starfish, brandishing a large and shiny sword. He swings it at Starfish!
Griffon Knight: basic attack [1d10]
The pegasus tries to hop out of the way.
Starfish: Dodge [1d10]
>>734547>>734548>>734549Shooter 1 drags himself to his feet and attempts to help Spotter up. Flier lands next to Spotter and covers him protectively with her body, hissing at the party. Her message is clear: they must pass through her to get to Spotter.
Shooter 2 reloads his rifle.
>>734550Gray knocks into the lizard, unbalancing him momentarily.
[Orion takes 2 hits]
As he stumbles, Em's orb of alchemist's fire splashes liquid flame all over him. Immolated, he falls to the ground where he continues to burn.
[Orion takes 5 hits; helpless]
He rolls over and tries to rise to his feet.
Recover [1d10]
>>734552His eyes are narrowed at Em. "Because I detest bugs. I squish them whenever I find one. Your kind has wreaked havoc on my home for too long."
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 /
Roll #3 8 = 8 /
Roll #4 9 = 9 No.734554
>>734553"I don't think we would've gotten as far as we are without you."
Falling says to Starfish, ducking back behind the rubble.
"Griff? Who's that?"
She asks before the new gryphon lands between them. She yelps in panic from the sudden enemy, horn glowing bright as she fires a concentrated beam of magic at the knight's back.
>Consecrate [1d10]Roll #1 1 = 1 No.734555
>>734553Undeterred, Jiandao kicks off the ground to dodge around Flier, spinning all three blades into her in the motion.
[1d10]
[1d10] Dual
[1d10] Bonus
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 7 = 7 /
Roll #3 7 = 7 No.734556
>>734553KC is happy to oblige, making to grab Flier by the leg and toss her out of the way.
[1d10] Yeet!
Cit swings her flail around to clobber both Flier and Shooter 2.
[1d10] Cleave both, crit 9+ critfail 2-
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 No.734557
>>734553Celestia attempts to dodge the clumsy kick by closing in on the ponies chest. Reaching his tentacles around the pony in a vice like grip. These villains will not escape!
[1d10] Dodge
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
[1d10+1] Suppress
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 9 + 1 = 10 No.734558
>>734553"That's not fair!"
Em shrieks and charges with her amulet held like a dagger. A viscous green liquid oozes from its tip. Lunging forward, she tries to drive it between his ribs.
[1d10+1]>Caustic Sting: recharge 2, weapon; Strike with a potent venom. Deals damage and temporarily lowers the target’s Max Hits by however much they are hurt by until they fall helpless. (e.g., Dealing 3 damage would lower a standard foe’s Max Hits of 5 down to 2, so they cannot be healed above 2 Hits). An enemy cannot be reduced to below 1 max hit. This effect does not stack. On Crit the target has -1 to their next action from the weakening venom.
Roll #1 7 + 1 = 8 No.734559
>>734554Falling's horn sends out a burst of light, backfiring and knocking her back. She manages to stay upright, but the blast leaves her feeling weakened.
[Falling has -1 to rolls next turn]
Starfish dodges the clumsy swing, readying her electric whip in a smooth motion. She cracks it at the knight.
Starfish: Electric Whip [1d10]
>>734555Flier is pummeled mercilessly, taking blow after blow as she tries to protect Spotter.
[Flier takes 6 hits; helpless]
>>734556Cit swings her flail around adroitly, smacking both Flier and Shooter 1 soundly across the noggins.
[Flier takes 1 wound; Shooter takes 3 hits]
KC picks up the helpless griffon and tosses her carelessly aside. She rolls down the hill and into the valley, ragdolling. She looks really hurt.
[Flier takes 1 wound]
>>734554>>734555>>734556Spotter tries to get up.
Recover [1d10]
Sniper comes out of hiding atop E trash hill and takes aim at Jiandao.
Ranged [1d10]
Shooter 2 lets out a screech as Flier is broken and thrown carelessly off the mountain.
Shooter 2: Ranged (targeting KC) [1d10]
>>734557The pony that tried to kick Celly is enveloped in a mass of strong tentacles emergent from the plush's mouth. The doll crushes the pony's body. He starts to scream in terror. The other pony backs away, horrified at the spectacle. He drops his baton and flees toward the entrance.
>>734558The lizard, his robes still on fire, clambers to his feet just in time to be stabbed in the torso with Em's poisonous amulet/dagger.
[Orion takes 1 hit (fire elementalist); Orion's max hits decreased by 3)
He coughs and a little blood comes out. His eyes are narrowed into slits as he hisses at her, then makes some kind of gesture to the motionless goat and minotaur. Light returns to their eyes and they begin to close in on Em, stiffly closing in on her with blank expressions.
Minotaur: Basic attack [1d10]
Goat: Basic attack [1d10]
Gray throws himself at Orion again, clicking angrily.
Basic Attack [1d10+1]
Roll #1 4 = 4 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 /
Roll #3 9 = 9 /
Roll #4 2 = 2 /
Roll #5 3 = 3 /
Roll #6 5 = 5 /
No.734560
>>734559With the opportunity presenting itself, Jiandao strikes down at the recovering Spotter, knocking the wind out of him and pinning him under her sword.
>tactician proc![1d10+4] Grapple (sword pin)
Roll #1 9 + 4 = 13 No.734561
>>734559"Recall your fighters. This battle is over." she states to the Spotter, towering over him, her expression hidden behind her mask.
No.734562
>>734559KC starts cantering towards Shooter 2 menacingy.
>zone switch"Alright, that's enough!" says Cit, a bit winded from the effort. Seeing Spotter getting up, she places one of her spiderbots on his chest.
[1d10] Sabotage
> Sabotage: hidden, recharge 3; Ensures something will go horribly, horribly wrong when it needs to by rigging a target/object. Once rigged, you gain a Bonus Action to activate the Sabotage at anytime. You can detonate this to damage or destroy the rigged object if it was inanimate. If the rigged target makes a roll, you subtract [Bonus Action’s #]-3 (To a minimum of 1) from their roll. Only one Sabotage can be on a target at a time, and activating it removes the Sabotage. A Crit Sabotage does not need to be rolled for to be activated, instead cancelling any roll as an automatic action, or lowering a Crit roll to a minimum success.>>734559>>734561"She's right. We can do this all day," she says confidently. "We don't want to go through you guys, but we will. Call off the attack. No one else has to get hurt."
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.734563
>>734559Falling stumbles back from her spell malfunction, now in a daze and wobbling. She looks up at the gryphon knight, or what she thinks is him, she's seeing multiple right now. She tries to steady herself, horn glowing as she tries to redo her spell, horn glowing to form her past self before this gryphon can do any damage to either of them.
>Echo [Self] [1d10]Roll #1 1 = 1 No.734564
>>734559Em doesn't stop brutally stabbing the lizard, tunneling in on his stupid scaly face as the rest of the world is drowned out.
[1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.734566
>>734560>>734562Spotter is knocked down by Jiandao, pinned by her sword, and clamped by Cit's spiderbot. His helmet, cracked almost in two, lies on the ground next to him. He starts to say something, stops himself, and stares angrily up at the two mares. He looks over to Flier's fallen body, motionless in the valley below, and an expression of anguish falls over his face.
"Alright. We are beaten. Kill me if you must, but spare the lives of my family." He opens his beak and makes a loud screech, at which all the other griffons across the battlefield turn and look, putting their weapons up.
>>734563Falling's magic totally fizzles and no copy appears. Luckily something stops the griffon knight, his sword finds his scabbard, and he flies up and away from Rubbish hill.
Starfish watches him go, then shouts after him, "YEAH! You'd BETTER run!" She retracts her whip and turns to Falling. "Are you hurt, sweetie?"
>>734560>>734562>>734563Each of the griffons stow their weapons. Shooter 2 flies to Flier's side, dropping to a knee and touching her broken form gingerly. He launches a dirty look at the group atop the hill.
>>734564The clumsy marionette-creatures stumble and miss Em. They try again without expression.
Goat: Basic Attack [1d10]
Minotaur: Basic Attack [1d10]
Gray misses the lizard completely. Em, however, has better aim, plunging her dagger into his slitted eyeball. The lizard lets out a screech and falls, clutching his face. Blood bubbles out between his scaly fingers.
[Orion takes 5 hits; helpless]
Gray tries to position himself between the attacking minions and Em.
Gray: Blocking with his little body [1d10]
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 /
Roll #3 1 = 1 No.734567
>>734566Em wails again, conjuring another glowing orb. Taking it in her hoof, she tries to shove it into his dumb screaming mouth. "Shut up!" she squeals. "I'm not just some stupid brainless bug!"
[1d10] Alchemist's Fire
[1d10]
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 4 = 4 No.734568
>>734566"J-Just a little woozy."
Falling says, regaining herself after the knight flies off.
"What happened? Why did he fly off suddenly?"
No.734569
>>734566"We don't want to kill anyone," Cit says gently. KC notes the ceasefire and stops rampaging. "Just call it off, leave us alone, and no one else has to get hurt. Cool? Cool." She retracts the chain and moves to unclamp the spiderbot, waiting expectantly for their attackers to leave.
No.734570
>>734566With his surrender, Jiandao eyes him for a moment, before withdrawing her blades, sheathing them with a wooden clatter.
"We only wish to pass. Your death would be without purpose."
With the combat settled, Jiandao leaves the leader to Cit, sliding down the hill and making her way back to Falling.
>>734569"Ensure we gain passage through the area. I must return to attend to Falling." she says, before passing you.
No.734571
>>734559Cellphone leaps away from the crushed villain going after the fleeting one. Aiming to not let their crimes go unpunished. With a dash and skip the plush was after the pony.
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.734572
>>734567Orion rolls away from Em's glowing orb of fire, one hand still over his eye. He tries to get up again.
Recover [1d10]
The clumsy goat and minotaur don't cease their onslaught. Gray tries to get in their way but trips in his excitement, and gets stepped on as they pass right over him. He is looking rather worse for the wear.
[Gray helpless]
>>734568Starfish shrugs as she watches the griffon disappear into the fog. "Dunno. Scared, maybe." All the other griffons are taking to the sky as well. Starfish pokes her head over the short wall again. "Oh. Maybe we won. Looks like Cit and your friend the kirin have one of 'em pinned down." She gestures up at the hill. "Should we go join them?"
>>734569>>734570Shooter 2 picks up Flier's broken body and starts to walk away. The other griffons are already airborne and disappearing into the fog above. Spotter watches them go.
"Very well. I can't say I am particularly grateful. If you don't kill me now, Mayfield will send someone to finish me off once he realizes I've failed to keep the traitor away." He shakes his head.
At that moment Starfish calls out from the next hill. "HEY YOU GUUUUYS!!" She waves and jumps.
>>734571Letting go of the suppressed pony, Celestia gives chase to the fleeing one, but in dismounting, he falls on his plushy face. The one retreating passes through the doorway into the darkness and is gone. The other one, now free, attempts again to kick Celestia.
Basic Attack [1d10]
Reverb begins to stir.
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 No.734573
>>734572(forgot to roll)
Gray: Recover [1d10]
Goat: Basic Attack [1d10]
Minotaur: Basic Attack [1d10]
[P A U S E D]
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 /
Roll #3 2 = 2 No.735582
>>734572Last time, in Horizon…
>>734567Em and Gray face down a reptilian cult-leader, who is currently rolling on the ground holding his face, which is streaming blood and maybe some other fluids as well. He attempts to right himself and ends up tangled in one of the robes of his erstwhile cohorts, and falls comically off the altar into the aisle in front of the rows of seats.
"You awful bugs ruin everything! Break her!" he shrieks. The goat jumps at Em, while the minotaur trips over his own feet.
Gray tries to get up, but ends up rolling into another pile of robes, getting tangled up in them haplessly.
"
Ow," says the pile of robes. "
That isn't very polite." A lump rolls around in the robes wrapped around Gray.
>>734568>>734569>>734570The battle having concluded, Starfish flies over to the hill upon which Jiandao, Cit, and KC are waiting. Spotter gives her a dirty look and spits on the ground. He walks over to his broken helmet, picks it up and launches himself into the air without a word, glaring daggers at Starfish the whole way. As he disappears into the thick fog, the pegasus shrugs at the group.
"He was a jerk anyway. Plus side, seems like we were headed the right way, right? They wouldn't be so keen to stop us if we weren't close." She makes a show of shading her visor with a hoof and staring out into the distance, as if there were sunlight to protect her eyes from, or that she could see somehow further into the murk that way.
"I think it's…. that way? Or maybe…" she scratches her neck with a hoof. "Hmm. Seem to have lost my bearings in the fight. Everything just looks the same down here in the junk." She stamps her foot in annoyance.
Starfish: navigation [1d10]
[roll navigation please]
>>734571The pony that hasn't run away half-heartedly aims a kick at Celestia, who is currently lying on the stone floor next to a pool of dark liquid. However, the big brave guard is too afraid to approach the creepy doll to appropriately aim. After a moment of horrified staring, he follows his fleeing companion toward the door at high speed.
Reverb slowly lifts her head, sees Celly lying on the ground, and attempts to pull herself to her feet to go to the doll's side.
Reverb: recover [1d10]
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 5 = 5 No.735583
>>735582Celestia goes toward Reverb in an effort to help. "
Here here." celestia offers his tentacles to pull the changeling up.
[1d10]
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.735584
>>735582With the gang members dealt with, Cit teleports down to where Starfish is, putting away her mace. "You okay?" she asks with concern. "Got pretty hectic, kinda got split up in the heat of it all." KC swings off of a broken iron beam like a gorilla, landing next to her and looking around curiously.
After taking a minute to gather her thoughts, Cit somewhat reluctantly checks on Golden's remains.
[1d10] Perception if needed
Afterwards, both she and KC take a look around to try and get their bearings.
[1d10] KC Nav
[1d10] Cit Nav
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 /
Roll #3 10 = 10 No.735585
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>735582"You don't know what way it is?"
Falling asks, concerned over being lead astray after they're so close.
"What does it look like? Any markers or anything down here?"
She asks, looking for any place that'd appear like a bar.
>Navigation [1d10]Roll #1 4 = 4 No.735586
>>735582Em lets out a hiss, ignoring the goat and minotaur as she focuses on the mean lizard. As she catches Grey go down out of the corner of her eye, she taps her hoof to her amulet and points her horn at him.
Lay on Hands: instant, recharge 3, spell; Fully restore a target’s hits. This may be used while helpless. On Crit you shield your target with holy magic, causing them to take half damage next turn.
Lowering her body to the ground, she charges him, trying to shove her horn between his ribs.
[1d10] More stab
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.735587
>>735586[1d10]Lay on Hands
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.735588
>>735583Reverb half-rights herself, and gratefully accepts Celly's help getting up. They stand in the dank stone chamber in silence.
"
Here," Reverb says, and bends down to nuzzle Celly's plushy mane with her face.
There is only one apparent entrance/exit to this large room. There are several pits of murky fluid, which Reverb occasionally looks at with dread in her eyes, taking care to not step too close to any of them. At the back of the room, atop a half-circle dias raised from the ground, is a large shadow, hanging from chains in the wall.
>>735584The inside of KC's chest cavity is dark in the fog. After a moment, her eyes adjust to the dimness and she can see that the blanket, previously shimmering, is now glowing a faint aquamarine, as if something underneath is emitting a small amount of light.
>>735584>>735585All of them strain their eyes in the fog. It's Cit who first notices something familiar: the skeleton of a large airship, heavily modified into some kind of a fort. It is the same modified airship that Starfish took her to during the first visit to the Six Arms, which housed the strangely tiny elevator down into the main bar.
>>735586The goat, ungraceful as it is, swings a wooden hoof at Em, which connects before she is able to hop off the altar to the ground.
[Em takes 3 hits]
The changeling's assault is not halted, however. The rude lizard , still wrapped in robes, tries to roll away ungracefully, but is caught by the catalyst/dagger in the torso. Quite a bit of blood has gathered around him now.
[Orion takes 1 wound]
Orion: recover [1d10]
The minotaur and the goat continue to lumber after Em, mindlessly single-purposed.
Minotaur: basic attack [1d10]
Goat: basic attack [1d10]
Gray attempts again to get up, but is hopelessly entangled in loose fabric. Em's catalyst shoots out a beam of green light which envelopes the miniature changeling.
"
Hey, that tickles," the robe says. It shifts around until its bulk is fully on Gray's back.
"
Giddyup, lil buggy," the robe says. A loud chittering of angry clicks and whistles comes from underneath as Gray jumps and kicks, trying to dislodge the creature and free himself from the robe prison.
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 /
Roll #3 2 = 2 No.735589
>>735588Em pulls out a potion and juices up [Distill Life potion, instant, automatic] and pulls out another glowing alchemist's fire orb. "You could've just been my friend!" she cries. While her face is twisted into a furious scowl, tears stream down her face. "Why is it so hard just to be nice to me?" She lifts the orb and tries to smash it on Orion's robes. "It's not fair!"
[1d10]Alchemist's Fire
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.735590
>>735588Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Celestia takes the initiative to see what that chained up shadow is. "
Wait here a bit." celestia tells Reverb. Time to see who this mystery creature really is. Shadows really are as mysterious as masks. Thus in clearer terms celestia goes and sees who the chained up figure is.
No.735591
>>735588She recoils with a disturbed frown, closing the chest panel and choosing not to bother anyone with it for now.
>>735588>>735585Her spirits are lifted slightly as she notices the airshipwreck, blinking forward a good few feet ahead of everyone else. "Hey, there it is! Almost there, gang!" She canters eagerly towards it, with KC bringing up the rear for the group, loping slightly faster than usual.
No.735592
>>735588>>735591"We're almost there? Finally…"
Falling says in relief that they're getting ever closer to Diamond, following along after Cit towards the ship.
No.735593
>>735588With the entrance possibly in sight, Jiandao follows Cit and the others from behind, wary of the fog around them.
No.735594
>>735589The minotaur falls on Em from the altar with a crash.
[Em takes 2 hits]
Not to be deterred, the changeling proceeds to smash her orb of fire on Orion's back as he attempts to get up. The flames instantly wreath his frame and he shrieks again, stumbling. He tries to throw the burning robe down.
Orion: disrobe [1d10]
Regardless of the success, he stands up straight and drops his lizard-hand away from his face, revealing one bright yellow eye and one long, glowing scar down his face.
"This is not over, pawn!" He backs away as the goat and the minotaur close in on Em.
Goat: grapple [1d10]
Minotaur: grapple [1d10]
Orion reaches into his own robes, withdrawing a glowing shard of crystal.
Gray continues to struggle with the robes.
"
Hey, stop that. Here, let me help." The robes reshape themselves around the small changeling, the bulky form on his back sinking in and disappearing as the cloth reveals the small square face of the stocky changeling, who ekes out a small chirp of surprise. "
That's better."
>>735590Reverb dutifully stands back, well away from any of the liquid pits, just watching Celly. The plush approaches the dias, hops up and approaches the shadowed figure. As he gets closer, the scale of the creature is revealed: it is twice the size of a normal pony, but seems defeated, pathetic even. As its shape becomes defined, Celly can see it is hanging by its front hooves, its bare distended stomach hanging low to the ground, its flesh greenish black. There are holes through its extremities, though they do not seem to be wounds. Its eyes are half-open, shining dull blue unseeing in the darkness. Tattered, broken wings like those of a moth hang uselessly from its sides. A pointed loop of broken green metal encircle its drooping crown.
>>735591>>735592>>735593"What? Where?" Starfish squints behind her dusty visor, wipes it clean, and exclaims, "Oh! There!" She jumps a little, excited, then follows Cit with the rest of the group.
They approach the broken airship. The area around them is desolate and abandoned, and although Jiandao remains diligent, she does not detect any threat of ambush. Slipping under a jagged sheet of airship siding, Starfish assumes the lead again, cautioning them wordlessly to be careful of the treacherous footing.
A dark figure leans against an unassuming wall inside the metal fort. Cit recognizes the familiar shape of a minotaur clad in a black fogsuit in the gloom. The large horned helmet turns to them as Starfish cautiously approaches, her wings up to indicate peace.
The figure doesn't speak, just looks her up and down. Starfish looks almost embarrassed.
"I know, I know. I'm not supposed to be here, right?" The figure says nothing. "But you're gonna let us in, right?" She smiles and wiggles her shoulders ingratiatingly. "Riiiight?"
Starfish: persuade [1d10]
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 /
Roll #3 9 = 9 /
Roll #4 8 = 8 No.735595
>>735594KC does his customary polite wave. Cit tries not to look intimidated by the minotaur, feeling a little braver than she would if he weren't around. "Yeah, it's us again. And company. Uh, we kind of need to see someone. It's not really exaggerating it to say it's life or death. So can we come in? Please?"
[1d10] Persuade
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.735596
>>735594Celestia waved to the larger being to get its attention. "
Hello, what are you?" celestia felt quite inquisitive despite the previous violent engagement. I think the kids described this as "quirky."
No.735597
>>735594"Let. Me. Go!" Em thrashes around in the minotaur and goat's grip, wailing bloody murder. "No!" She screams at the robes. "Get off my buddy!" She concentrates on the robe and, instead of putting her effort into breaking free, casts one of her stored spells on the weird, probably-shouldn't-be-moving-by-itself thing.
[1d10]Return to Earth
She turns her attention back to Orion and helplessly kicks out at him with her back legs. "You're right!" she says. "It's not over! You're still talking!"
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.735598
>>735594Falling follows along the terrain as they approach the airship, making sure to not have any more trips, falls, or risks to tearing her suit. When they approach the minotaur and Starfish begins to speak up to getting in, Falling steps forward herself.
"Please, I'm looking for a friend of mine and the only clue we have is here. We need to get inside."
She pleads to the minotaur.
>Beg [1d10]Roll #1 5 = 5 No.735599
>>735594mindful of the path, the kirin says very little as Falling and Cit explain their case, opting to add "We do not wish to cause trouble, only to find our companion."
[1d10] Persuasion
[1d3] inscrutable
Roll #1 10 = 10 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.735600
>>735596The figure does not respond to Celly's polite questioning. It begins to moan, its eyes widening slightly, and its stomach undulates on its own, like a rolling wave. Something falls out of the creature onto the floor, something wet. It begins sliding toward one of the murky pits, following a dark stain on the ground. As it passes, the chained creature moans and its eyes flutter, slowly regaining focus, orbiting then locking on to Celly.
"
What type of new torture is this? You dare taunt me with the ghost of my former enemy??" The eyes of the creature flash and a weak green glow envelops its jagged horn. A pinprick of light emerges and strikes Celly's plush.
C: Magic Bolt [2d10-5]
It does not even tickle. The large creature appears knackered by the effort that must have gone into that magic attack.
Reverb pipes up. She echoes Celly's words but manages to sound nervous while doing so. "
Hello?" She watches the thing that emerged from the creature plop itself into one of the murky holes, jumping in obvious fright as it splashes in.
>>735597Em's catalyst glows brightly for a moment, hot to the touch. After a moment it fades, apparently without effect, but suddenly there is a blinding flash of light that erupts from the robes Gray is wrapped in, and a very loud tearing sound. Gray's little body is launched sideways as the robes erupt in blue flames and an otherworldly scream is heard. It is all over in a moment.
[Gray falls helpless.]
"NOOO!!!" screeches Orion. He glares at Em with his remaining yellow eye. "You have cost me nothing but time, pawn! This doesn't end here!" He hurls the crystal at his scaly feet and a yawning pit opens up in the floor, through with only darkness can be seen. A smell like old moss and rotted, soggy wood fills the chamber.
"I will watch you writhe in agony, little bug! Everyone you know will watch your humiliation and pain, and they will laugh as you die! Horizon will consume your soul, and I will keep your eyes as trophies!" He shrieks an insane cackle as he hurls himself into the pit, which swallows him up in darkness and promptly squeezes shut behind him like a lizard's puckering cloaca.
As he does so, the minotaur and the goat drop Em, falling limp to the floor, and Em is reminded once again of marionettes whose strings have been cut.
[Minotaur, Goat helpless; inanimate.]
Gray's body lies smoking, motionless near the altar.
>>735595>>735598>>735599The minotaur stares at each of them as they entreat entrance. He remains motionless except his dark visor-covered eyes as they move from pegasus to unicorn to kirin. There is a long pause. Finally he makes a sighing motion, steps forward and knocks first once, then twice, on the unassuming panel behind him, which slides open, revealing itself to be a small, dingy closet. It does not look large enough for all of them.
"We'll have to take two trips," Starfish offers. "What say Cit and KC go first, since the big guy pretty much takes up the whole thing, and Falling, Jiandao and I will bring up the rear? Or, should I take the girls first, and Cit and the big guy follow?" She looks to the group for direction.
Roll #1 2, 1 - 5 = -2 No.735601
>>735600She shrugs. "You know the place better than I do. Better if you lead the way." She and KC hang back, waiting for the others to take the elevator first before following them down.
No.735602
>>735600Em falls to the ground in a sobbing heap, not moving for a long moment. When she manages to get herself together enough to move, she scrambles over to Clicky in a stumbling, uneven canter. "Hey," she says. "Hey, buddy, it's alright. You're gonna be okay." She digs around in her pockets and pulls out one of her potions. "Just juice up. You'll be fine. You did great, Clicky. I couldn't have beat them without you." She crouches, cradles his head, and gently levitates the potion to his lips.
No.735603
>>735600Jiandao watches the panel slide open with curiosity, listening in to Cit's plan before nodding to Falling, stepping forward towards the strange room.
>>735601"If that is what you wish, we will take the lead."
No.735604
>>735603"I mean, it makes sense, right?" She shrugs.
No.735605
>>735600Celestia just shakes off the bolt attack, just feeling a bit off from such. Though honestly this whole situation is new, so it can be said he has been off. This pony doesn't seem coherent being wrapped in chains. Might as well get them out to have them lead to ponies. They look professional enough to be a boss around here, crowns mean everything if mini taught him anything. Thus the imitation of chris cringles enemy takes out their keys they grabbed earlier to attempt to rescue royalty.
No.735606
>>735600>>735601>>735603"I'm fine with either way, but if Starfish can lead us through quicker, then that'll be better for Diamond."
No.735607
>>735603>>735606"Sure. I can at least get us somewhere exciting." Starfish's eyes light up at Falling's suggestion.
The minotaur does not move as Falling, Jiandao and Starfish shuffle into the small room. The door slides closed behind them. A small speaker plays soothing music. The closet jerks and the sensation of movement downward rocks them on their hooves. Less than a minute later, they are jarred again, and the small speaker concludes its jaunty little tune. The doors slide open to reveal a large curving hallway with a tall bar, complete with stools and a couple shady characters with their fogsuit helmets off, in the center of the circle described by the arc of the hall.
A familiar face looks up at them as they enter. It's Jasper, the nerdy scientist that led them on an expedition to the Garden District not-so-long ago. He is sharing a large container of bubbly amber liquid with two other creatures. He hops to his feet and scurries over.
"Starfish!" he exclaims. "I heard about Golden. Are you okay?"
Starfish looks like she would rather talk to absolutely anypony else, but smiles awkwardly as he approaches. "Jasper! Hi… you!"
>>735601A few minutes of quiet on the surface. The minotaur says nothing, does not even look in their direction. The door slides open again to the tight chamber.
>>735602Gray is barely conscious. The potion brushes against his lips, spilling a bit down his fuzzy chin before he opens his little buglips and takes a couple drops in, before coughing. Still, the small liquid appears to do him some good as his eyes open slightly. He clicks once at Em and closes them again, nuzzling his head into her carapace hooves.
The remnants of some of Em's alchemist fire still flickers on the bare wood of the nave. Upon the altar itself, the crystalline knife used in the ritual catches the light, twinkling as if with secret knowledge among the fallen robes and abandoned bodies of cultists.
>>735605Celly jingles the keys, trying most of them before realizing that the shackles have been welded shut and cannot be unlatched by design. Whoever chained this large changeling here did not intend them to leave, apparently.
Reverb jingles a bit, mimicking the sounds of the keys, and edges closer to the dias. She works her nerve up and climbs up to see what the fuss is about. Blue eyes open in the shadows, half-seeing.
"
My daughter. What have they done to you?" The voice is silky, feminine, a rough whisper which although faint, carries in the darkness.
"
To you? To you?" Reverb echoes, looking distressed. She appears too afraid to come closer than the edge of the dias.
No.735608
>>735607She shuffles impatiently in place as she waits for the elevator, trying not to make eye contact with the minotaur, beatboxing idly. As the elevator door opens, she and KC both move to squeeze in, getting a bit stuck in the door frame. After a bit of reshuffling, KC manages to fit first, then Cit. It's a bit cramped. Cit tries to reach for the button, but can't move around to get to it. KC reaches over and fatfingers the button, accidentally pressing all of them. Cit gives him an annoyed look, which KC returns with a meek shrug. They get to the floor Six Arms is on eventually, though.
No.735609
>>735607Well darn, didn't expect this. "
Can you help here please Reverb, these shackles are stuck and I am having trouble getting them off." celestia calls the changeling over to try to free this royal.
No.735610
>>735607Falling steps into the room, then braces herself as it suddenly jerks downwards, and then again when it stops. When they reach their destination, she steps out cautiously behind Starfish and Jiàndào, looking about the bar.
"Who is that?"
She asks as Jasper confronts the group.
No.735611
>>735607shifting her stance as the elevator moves down, Jiandao exits the closet to the hallway, offering a bow to the approaching Jasper.
"Greetings."
>>735610"Falling, should we speak to the bar-tender? They may know if Diamond has passed through here."
No.735612
>>735607Em throws her forelegs around Clicky's neck and pulls him into a big hug. "Good job," she repeats. "Good job." After holding him for a second, she recomposes herself, takes a deep breath, and stands up.
"Well. That didn't go how I expected it to. I don't think we're working for Alicorn guy anymore." She walks up to the minotaur and knits her brow. Curious if it'll actually work, she places a hoof to her amulet and aims her horn at him.
[1d10]Control
Roll #1 2 = 2 No.735613
>>735611"Right, the bartender usually knows everypony who passes through. He might have seen Diamond, or Veddy too."
No.735614
>>735608The elevator's soothing music plays, it jerks into life, and they begin moving.
Upwards.
The buttons on the wall all flash and turn off, and the lights go out. The closet begins to pick up speed. Only the music appears to still be functioning as the closet brings them up, up to an unknown floor, faster than the device went last time, rocking and clanging dangerously from inside the walls.
Finally the claustrophobic space jerks them to a quite sudden stop, which would have knocked them off their feet if they weren't jammed so tightly together. A ding is heard, but the door does not open, the lights do not turn on, and the soft music gets louder, begins to distort, playing an eerie offkey version of the pleasant little elevator tune. It is pitch dark.
>>735609Reverb hesitantly edges forward, shuffling reluctantly as if torn between fear and loyalty. Eventually she makes it to the royal's side, looking up in awe at the shackled creature, locked in place with shiny stretched skin barely covering bulky joint bones. The thing is a hideous mix of horse and insect, her abdomen soft and undulating slowly, ever downwards. Her eyes gaze unseeing, emitting a faint blue light even as they roll around in their sockets.
Reverb shudders, but reaches up and begins trying to gently pull one heavy metal restraint over the royal's emaciated forelock.
Reverb: assist [1d10]
[please roll to help!]
>>735610Jasper is a red unicorn in an immaculate white fogsuit with a six-sided cog printed small on the breast and larger on the hindquarters. He pushes up his thick-rimmed glasses with a forehoof as he looks over the other two in the group.
"Oh hello!" His voice is slightly nasal. "Falling Sand and Jiandao the Kirin, right? Golden introduced us, before he…" his eyes shift to Starfish, who is looking at the ground suddenly. "Well, anyway. It's good to see you again. If only the circumstances were better. Have you seen your friend Cit anywhere, by chance?"
>>735612Gray dramatically lets himself be hugged, laying limply on the ground when she lets go for full effect. After she stands, however, he easily rolls himself over and hops up. He clicks his little swiss-cheese hooves together at full attention, as if to say, it takes more than that to keep me down.
He watches, rapt, as Em's horn launches a small spark, which fizzles against the minotaur's stupid vacant face and has no further effect at all. After a moment of silence, Gray hops up and down, looking at her expectantly.
The room is eerily silent and the open darkness of the cathedral presses in on their lone forms, countless shadows hiding among pillars lit by flickering ritual candles and the remnants of Em's magic flames.
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.735615
>>735614"This isn't the right place," she mumbles, more annoyed than creeped out. She squeezes past KC and presses the right button. Or what she hopes is the right button.
[1d10] Navigation
Roll #1 9 = 9 No.735616
>>735614"Huh. Well, it was worth a shot. I totally thought these guys were already dead. Oh well!" She trots over to the dagger and levitates it in front of her. "So there's these guys," she idly tells Clicky as she looks it over. "I met them before I met you. Told em I'd be back to visit. I think we're gonna go back and say hi. I need a dang break." She huffs. "Maybe they'll know why the heck alicorn guy backstabbed me, too. This whole thing has been lame lame lame lame"
No.735617
>>735614"Cit is next to use the elevator. She will be here soon."
"We are here on urgent business, do you know of a 'Veddy' that works here? We must speak with them."
No.735618
>>735614"Golden told you about us?"
Falling says, surprised this stranger knows her name.
"Wait, so you know we're looking for Diamond then? Do you know where she is?"
Falling asks hopefully.
No.735619
>>735614Celestia brings out his tentacles to tug away at the shackles. Slipping into a grab to assist Reverbs efforts.
+1 due to grappler
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 3 + 1 = 4 No.735620
>>735615Nothing happens. The button does not light up, the lights do not come on, the door does not open. The music continues to get louder. A faint humming is heard from inside KC's chest compartment, and a small greenish blue light begins to leak out.
>>735616Clicky hops around, hoping to cheer Em up. He obviously doesn't feel the weight of her words.
As she levitates the dagger, it begins to glow. She turns and moves it around in front of her. It becomes apparent that the glow is brighter the closer it is to the altar. The glow is mesmerizing, calming, inviting.
The crystals that were uncovered in her fight with Orion are beginning to glow as well, the same blue color as the crystal which spawned whatever-the-hell that tentacled creature was she saw in the ritual, the one that sprouted from the crystalline remains of that young unicorn that stabbed herself.
With this very knife.
This elegant, almost beautiful, razor-sharp knife.
One at a time, in turn clockwise around the semicircle arc, the glowing crystals begin to hover, as well as the robes which ostensibly cover hoof-sized gems of their own. The dagger suddenly feels very heavy.
[roll for willpower]
>>735617>>735618Jasper blinks and shakes his head at Falling's question. "Diamond? I'm afraid I…"
The unicorn's face falls. "Ah, now Veddy. I do recognize that name. Unfortunately. He's a slef-styled 'rising star' but all he really is, is a thug. Larceny, petty crimes, casual violence and a foul mouth are all that he's got to offer. Unfortunately, that can be enough. He pulls a lot of weight these days."
Starfish, having taken off her helmet, lets out a raspberry, looking dismissively to the side. "Li'l Veddy? Puh-leez. That turdmuncher couldn't bully his way out of a paper sack. Now, burying his snoot right between the right set of cheeks?" She demonstrates with a crude but effective set of hoof motions. "That, just getting RIGHT in there, that and that alone is what Veddy has always been pretty good at."
Jasper, frowning, nods. "Well. It appears that he's cheek deep in your old friend Mayfield currently."
Starfish, her lips pursed, nods. "I can only guess that I've come up in conversation, re:Griff and all."
Jasper sighs, shakes his head, eyes closed. "You don't know the half of it. They're pinning Marble Mark's murder on you now."
Starfish's face is a plank. "Come again?" She blinks, shakes her head.
>>735619Celestia is a little too short to take the shackles off himself, but with his raw strength he can lift the distended, limp body of the Royal enough for Reverb, fluttering her little wings to give her a bit more boost, to manage to squeeze the emaciated royal legjoints through the cruel metal binding. The large frame of the Royal falls to the stone floor harshly, without grace or control in the slightest.
She lies there most undignified, curled up on her own folded-over abdomen flesh, with her knobby joints pointed every direction. And yet, in her eyes, the pale blue light begins to intensify, the rolling of her pupils beginning to steady, to dart around with purpose. Bewilderment, at first, followed by a calculated sweep of the room and finally understanding, as she gazes up at the plush doll of Celestia and her daughter Reverb.
"
You haven't freed me. You have doomed us all. Foolish children."
[[P A U S E D]]
No.737221
>>735620Last time, in Horizon…
>>735615Cit and KC, having entered the cramped elevator compartment that should lead down to the Six Arms bar, find themselves trapped as the buttons stop responding and the lights go off. The box, barely big enough for KC even without additional ponies, feels very close and claustrophobic. An off-key version of the elevator music blares in their ears. KC's chest starts to hum deeply, an almost subsonic thrumming that builds in intensity as the faint teal light leaking from within him glows first faintly, then brighter.
The elevator doors shudder as if they are trying to open against some force.
>>735616Em and Gray, having survived the attack by the insidious Orion and his cult-member marionettes, recover their poise in the cathedral atop Horizon. There is a calm as Em collects her thoughts, pokes at the marionettes, and loots the wicked-looking crystal dagger from its resting place near the altar. As she picks it up, however, something strange happens. The hoof-sized gems that used to be robed cult-members begin to glow and float, pulsating in sync with the dagger in a mesmerizing pattern.
Em notices suddenly how perfectly formed the jagged crystal knife is, its geometry somehow synced with the beyond to instill in her a sense of awe and underlying purpose.
[roll for willpower]
>>735619Celestia, having freed Reverb from the clutches of two guard ponies, finds a large shadowy figure in the large stone room. This turns out to be a large changeling brood mother, occasionally spewing eggs from her distended abdomen which find their way to the murky pits dotting the rough floor. After Celly and Reverb free it, the creature sinks to the ground, unable to lift its own weight. It speaks in a loud and elegant voice.
"
You haven't freed Me. You have doomed us all. However…" the large glowing blue eyes of the creature drop to the floor demurely. "
You have My reluctant gratitude. My imprisonment was not voluntary, though it was explained to Me as a necessary evil." The brood-mother shakes her head. "
So much has been taken from Me. So little left to live for. My life destroyed; my children, enslaved." She looks sad for a moment, then her eyes blaze brightly as she looks up to the plushy and the mute changeling who freed her. "
And now that we all are doomed, I crave only revenge. I will watch Gamut destroyed, even if I have to align myself with Ambit Himself."
Her eyes, previously a glossy blue, begin to form into recognizable irises and cornea with this proclamation. Sanity, however, does not seem to always go hand in hand with sapience; the monster brood-queen begins to gnaw at her distended abdomen in a frenzy.
No.737222
>>735618>>735617Falling, Jiandao and Starfish have gained entrance to the esoteric yet infamous Six Arms bar. There, waiting for Cit and KC to join them, they've been recognized and engaged by Jasper, the brilliant scientist that works for Journey. The information he has for them is not good news. He doesn't know Diamond, and apparently Starfish is being framed for the alleged murder of Marble Mark, whom the party left behind at Golden's hideout, in the capable hooves of Tempest Breeze.
Starfish waves her hoof, almost laughing in incredulity. "Wait. They think I ~killed~ Marble Mark? Marble Mark isn't even dead!"
Jasper appears concerned they might be overheard. "Shh! You know that, I know that. It's possible even Mayfield knows that. It doesn't matter. The news of the crash is all over Horizon, upstairs AND downstairs, and only one thing is certain: you're being implicated, and there's a pretty big reward for bringing you in." Jasper pushes his glasses up his nose.
[roll perception]
No.737223
>>737221KC looks down at his glowing chest, tapping Cit on the shoulder to get her attention. She bites her lip in worry. "Okay, this does not look good here, um…" She pulls out her toolkit and starts fiddling with the elevator controls, trying to get it working again.
[1d10] Tinker
Failing that, KC tries to just bust the door open with brute force.
[1d10]
>ignore this second action if Tinker is successfulRoll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 9 = 9 No.737225
>>737221Em lets out a quiet, "Oooo." as the dagger completely consumes her attention. Her thoughts are tunnel visioned on the blade and, while something seems really, really wrong in the back of her mind, she can't seem to tear her focus away from it.
[1d10]willpower
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.737226
>>737221The little plush princess reaches forward to nudge at the queen. Time to engage in royal discussions! "
Can you explain things a bit. Who is this Ambit? Are they another Alicorn?" Celestia asks of the non-alicorn. Though he wouldn't be able to discern that. She is quite a convincing shapeshifter after all.
No.737228
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>735620>>737222"H-How can they do that? Starfish wasn't anywher near the crash, or even near the race when it happened."
Falling says in a hushed exclamation now that they'll have even more troubles to deal with.
No.737234
>>737222hearing mention of a reward, Jiandao stiffens, subtly stepping closer to Falling and starfish, eyeing the nearby bar patrons.
[1d10] perception
>>737228"It is likely they failed to search the crash site, perhaps only assuming he was within the ship at the time."
Roll #1 1 = 1 No.737238
>>737223Cit plays with the controls, quickly discovering that the floor controls are unresponsive, as are the door functions. A spark flashes as the creepy music cuts out. She does happen upon one connection that seems to fire, and the elevator jerks upward one more time, a slight adjustment of maybe a quarter meter.
The doors, previously jammed, slide open to reveal a sterile-looking white hallway running left and right, curving gently inward. The air inside the still nonfunctional elevator is eerily silent, though less claustrophobic.
>>737226The brood-mother does not answer, at first. The only sounds are her chomping through her own flesh, which begins to tear like cloth: uneven, and with a similar ripping sound. She rips right through the skin, attempting to separate the folded abdomen skin from her bleeding torso. Before significant progress is made, she collapses in exhaustion from the effort. "
Please. You freed Me once from shackles of iron. Free Me now from the burden of my egg-sac, that I might move freely once again."
Reverb looks nervously at Celestia, keeping her personal distance from the now-leaking giant changeling.
>>737225
The blade seems to whisper at her, directions she cannot disobey. Time slides by fast as several things seem to happen, none of them as important as her undivided attention on the knife, or the pulses coming from within. A few flashes of light, a frantic whistling/clicking sound coming from somewhere far away, a sense of being carried like a foal, and Em finds herself next to the altar. The glowing cult-member-crystals are all arrayed upon it, each one attached to a beam of light lashed around a limb of the small gray changeling, who struggles in vain against their insistent grasp. He looks up at Em, as pitiful as his permanently cruel-looking features will let him.
Em has the crystal dagger in her telekinetic control, or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, it is floating about a meter above Gray's chest on the altar.
[roll for willpower]
>>737228
>>737234
Jasper nods at Falling's protest and Jiandao's hypothesis. "Naturally. Of course, I know that Marble Mark's ship was, shall we say, repurposed, and more than once recently. This is nothing but a paper-thin excuse to bring old vengeance to bear. Your friend here isn't too popular in the world of petty thugs."
Starfish sticks her hip out. "Haters gonna hate."
Jiandao notices nothing awry with the bar crowd. The pair that had accompanied Jasper, a unicorn and a pegasus, are trying not to look like they are paying attention to the conversation, but they are too far away to really hear them speak. Nopony else is even looking their direction.
Falling notices a figure in the shadows, not at the bar but leaning against a wall nearby. A wide brimmed hat completely obscures the face of this creature, who by the shape of the red fogsuit underneath, is a large pony. It is the lone figure close enough to have overheard their conversation. It does not appear to react. No.737239
>>737238[1d10]
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.737240
>>737238"Alright, let's just, uh, take the stairs?…" They start heading out into the white hallway, looking around for a fire escape or anything like that that would lead them down instead of up, into the Six Arms.
[2d10] KC and Cit Perception
Roll #1 5, 10 = 15 No.737241
>>737238"
So I just gotta break this thing." Celestia pokes at the flesh of the queen. "
I think I can do that!" Celestia announces bringing out his tentacles in preparation to help the queen. Angling his plush hooves he thinks, "
This is nothing like the stories. Quite a silly situation we are in."
Slam: recharge 1; Crush an enemy with your body, dealing damage. Crits on 9+.
[1d10]
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.737242
>>737238>>737235"It is best we conduct our search and continue quickly, before we draw excess attention."
gesturing for Falling to follow, Jiandao makes her way to the bar counter, waving over the tender there.
No.737248
>>737238>>737242"Yea, we learned that on the way here…"
Falling says at Jasper explianing Starfish's reputation.
She nods to Jiàndào, following her to the bar.
("We should be watching our backs too. A pony back there in a red fogsuit and hat was listening to us.")
She whispers, just barely glancing back at the figure.
No.737249
>>737248Hearing her, the warrior nods, continuing towards the bar as normal though perceptibly alert.
No.737250
>>737239Em stares into the distance, not looking down at the face of her erstwhile companion. Gray clicks up at her, then with great effort, utters an Equish sound. "
good job clicky" he says.
The words connect for a moment to something within the changeling and she hesitates.
A loud voice booms up from the aisle below the tabernacle. "Metachrosis!" A large dark alicorn, wings spread, approaches the raised dias at a clip. "Stop!"
The light in the dagger goes out, the gems dull and become inanimate, and suddenly Em is in control of herself. She comes to holding a knife above Gray's little torso. His eyes are squinted shut, facing away, obviously preparing himself for the worst.
>>737240The hallway does not appear to have any notable features. It is utterly silent, except the dull thrumming of KC's chest cavity and their own stepfalls. The lighting is completely even. The walls, floor and ceiling are made from a smooth white surface that feels cold to the touch, and is unbroken save for the elevator door, which remains open behind them as they venture down the hallway.
As they round the huge circle, something comes into view. It's a high arched opening leading to the interior, which is mostly dark but lit randomly by colored displays, windows, readouts on technical looking hunks of machine. In fact, the entire interior of the room appears to be dark metal pipes, cogs, windowed chambers, obscure controls; a giant tangled machine of unknown purpose, centered like a great amphitheatre around a large curved window at the bottom. There is a figure there, backlit by the great greenish framed display, about pony sized, who appears to be staring through the window at whatever is inside.
>>737241"
Yes, little one." She allows Celestia to begin hacking away the flesh connecting the lanky black figure to the wrinkly pouch of skin. After a long moment, Reverb reluctantly joins in. Together they tear at the brood-mother's flesh, and even though she gasps and moans in pain, she urges them to continue.
Finally, the last stringy flesh connection stretches long and snaps free, and the bleeding mother rolls away. She looks exhausted, panting on the floor as her truncated abdomen leaks half-formed eggs onto the wet stone from its many oozing ruptures.
Reverb looks queasily back and forth between the shaking figure on the floor and Celestia's expressionless toy face.
>>737242>>737248Jiandao has no trouble finding an open spot at the sparsely-occupied bar. Looks like a slow night. She is joined by Falling, who looks back. The shadowed figure has not moved, the brim of their wide hat down over their face.
The bartender, a rough-looking diamond dog, approaches from behind the metal countertop. He looks the pair up and down. "What'll it be?" He is curt, but not impolite.
Jasper and Starfish make their way over, still talking. "What's Journey feeling about all this?" the pegasus asks.
"She's doing what she can for damage control, but you have to know that you aren't her top concern right now. There's been some upheaval lately." He looks left and right to make sure their eaves are not being dropped. He whispers conspiratorially, "To some, it sounds like a civil war may be brewing."
No.737253
>>737250"
Are you feeling better now?" Celestia inquires with a tilt of his plush head. "
Ready to go on an adventure!" Celestia strikes a poise with his statement. his hoof pointed up in the air towards the stairs.
No.737254
>>737250Em freezes for a long moment as her head clears. A lump swells in her throat as her eyes shift from the dagger, to clicky, and back to the dagger. She opens her mouth, but can't seem to say anything. It'd been a long time since she blacked out like that, but this time it was different. Way different. It was like she was there watching, but couldn't do anything to stop it.
Tears well up in her eyes as she lets the dagger go and lets it fall to the floor. As the voice registers, she swings around, only really seeing the shape of the alicorn through her watery eyes. Tears still cascading down her face, her entire face contorts into an almost feral scowl.
"You!" She shrieks. Her voice cracks from the strain, but she doesn't relent. "This is all your stupid fault! Why would you pick me?!" She pulls the dumb paper out and waves it in the air. "This thing is useless! It led me to a stupid mean doll, and then to a stupid mare that I couldn't save even though I tried really
really hard! I don't know who's a bigger idiot. Me, or you for trusting me!"
Her chest heaves, and her throat is sore. After a second she drops to the ground and sobs.
No.737257
>>737250"What the hell?" she breathes, peering around in the gloom. Noticing the hum of KC's chest, she doubles back and checks on him, opening it up to take a look at the "cargo", albeit reluctantly.
After that's done, she notices the mystery pony, trotting up to him and calling to get his attention. "Excuse me? I was wondering if you could help us. We're trying to get to Six Arms, but I think we're on the wrong floor…"
No.737258
>>737250"Information." replies the kirin, bowing in greeting. "We are searching for somepony we believe has traveled through here, in relation to the owner of this bar, a Unicorn named Diamond."
>>737248"Falling, you know her better than i, can you provide a physical description?"
No.737259
>>737250("A civil war? What do you mean?")
Falling asks in whisper, growing more concern about what they walked into.
>>737250>>737258Faliing turns.
"She's a unicorn, with a light green mane and a paleish coat. She's about my age too."
No.737265
>>737253The brood-mother is motionless for a moment, puts hooves to the stone floor wet with blood and egg-fluid, and shakily rises. She turns to face the two. Her eyes are two faintly glowing green rings in the darkness. "
Adventure… yes." She eyes the two. "
An animate toy version of the Sun Princess, and… a changeling? One of the hive?" She sniffs at Reverb, who backs away shyly. "
No… not quite. Untainted by Gamut's perversion. You, little one, are pure. But… damaged."
Reverb still does not look at the larger changeling.
"
No need to be afraid, child. I am no longer your Queen. That has been taken from me. Call me… Alys." She looks somehow pleased with herself.
"
Alys," Reverb echoes reverentially, finally looking up at the tall changeling.
They follow Celestia toward the entrance of the large room, leaving behind the still-deflating egg-sac.
[roll navigation]
>>737254Clicky realizes his freedom a moment after the dagger hits the floor. He rolls to his feet on the altar, quickly hopping down and backing away from Em, eyes wild with suspicion and fear.
The alicorn slows his pace as Em's tirade rains down on him. He says nothing as she rages, merely approaches cautiously. It is indeed the same tall, handsome alicorn, but even in the wan light of distant sputtering candles he appears ragged, worn down. His once impeccable suit is torn and muddied, his face drawn and grave. He looks about a decade older, and one wing appears to have a large gap of missing feathers. He tucks these to his sides.
"Metachrosis… Em… I apologize. Things are not as they appear. I was misinformed… no, deceived. I was led to believe you were chosen to unite the forces that might save him… Ambit… from Horizon. The oracle Lunar Dream sees only partial truths. I believe she was well intentioned, but since our meeting, there have been revelations and developments that completely shift the balance of power. Horizon is not the true enemy."
He kneels next to her prostrate form, offering a hoof. "All is not lost. I still trust you. Will you forgive me?"
>>737257Cit opens KC's chest compartment just on the bright side of the archway. Within, a spectacle. The partially crystallized mass that had been Golden's shrouded body has completely transformed itself. A multicolored crust of flaky, mostly transparent rock salt has formed, and imbedded in this structureless mass is a perfectly formed yellow crystal about the size of a pony's head, as geometrically shaped and perfectly transparent as any cut gem. It's giving off a strangely mesmerizing light, like water's reflection.
She closes KC's chest carefully. Turning around, she trots down the narrow stairway leading into the crucible of the dark machine, approaching the lone figure. As she draws near, she can make out the details. The studious figure, still attentive to the huge window (or rather whatever lies beyond it), is a bespectacled aged unicorn in a long white lab coat. He holds a clipboard with his telekinesis, which glows a dark, almost imperceptible violet. It drops to his side and he turns as she speaks.
"Ah, yes, you must be Citrine Fleece? And this," he turns, looking KC up and down, "must be, hmm-hmm, your mechanical bodyguard?" He chuckles lightly to himself. "How resourceful. I've been expecting you. My name is Gallows." He extends a hoof genially.
No.737266
>>737258>>737259"Diamond?.." The barkeep shakes his head at Falling's description. "Don't sound like no dame I seen. She got business down here? If she's a workin' gal, I'd have seen her."
Jasper whispers some long exposition in response to Falling.
("The situation in 6A has become nearly untenable. So between you and me, there are two major factions vying for power right now. Journey leads us, follows the old boss's ways, but she has to deal with Mayfield, who is in charge of actually executing the jobs. More and more Mayfield has been overstepping his bounds, authorizing use of overt violence when subtlety is still an option. Threats, attacks, even hostages. Journey has taken to hiring forces of her own to surreptitiously undermine Mayfield: taking jobs away from his thugs, placing jobs on the market that run counter to his growing influence, and sometimes even sending forces out to directly stymie his efforts. Mayfield knows this but is powerless to react because Journey has the majority support of the shareholders, but I personally wouldn't put it past him to attempt a coup by force.")
No.737269
>>737265She bites her lip with worry at the sight of it, yet she can't help but be slightly drawn to the yellow gem. She resolves to ask an expert about it later, and leaves it where it is for now. She has to focus on getting back to the others.
She does a double takes as Gallows knows their names. "Y-yeah, that's me. Uh, people usually call me Cit." She goes to return the hoofshake, but KC butts in obliviously, shaking Gallows' hoof. She gives KC an odd look before continuing. "But yeah, like I was saying, we're kind of lost. And we need to get unlost. If you could point us in the right direction to get back to 6A, we'd really appreciate it." She shifts on the spot restlessly.
No.737270
>>737266("Mayfield… Veddy works for him, that's what Marble said! And he's taking hostages, so Diamond was kidnapped just so he could take over this place down here?!")
Falling says, voice steadily growing louder as she hears her friend was a victim for some petty gang dispute.
No.737271
>>737265Em sobs again, but forces herself to at least regain enough of her composure to talk. "So if the world isn't gonna eat us what is? The clouds? The masonry? Maybe a dang bowl of chili? Why do you even still trust me? I haven't done a single thing you asked, and I almost just killed my only friend because of-" she grits her teeth, picks up the dagger in her TK and hurls it at the goat. "This stupid knife!"
[1d10]
She sniffles, wipes her eyes, and finally properly looks up at him. "You look real bad."
Roll #1 4 = 4 No.737272
>>737265With a nod of his bouncy head. Celestia marches forward up the stairs with two changelings in tow. Now with a party in tow, this shall be a proper adventure to defeat the bad guy and find Mini!
[1d10]
Roll #1 10 = 10 No.737275
>>737266"It was mentioned that Veddy was involved in taking her. Would you know if he has been here recently? It is important that we speak with him."
No.737282
>>737269Gallows takes the automaton's handshake with as much grace as one can muster. He turns back to Cit.
"Headed to the basement, hmm-hmm," the old unicorn nods. "Your friends are there? They're undoubtedly being led by your barnmate Starfish, who seeks to clear her name? I heard all about Golden crashing that racer's ship. Hmm-hmm," he tuts sympathetically. "Must be tough to lose a friend." His glasses fall as he glances toward KC's chest, but he pushes them up, sniffs, and continues.
"You were not brought here on accident, Citrine. My apprentice Jasper mentioned you were involved in a recent foray into the Garden District? Can you tell me anything about what you saw there?"
>>737271Gray jumps a little as she picks up the crystal dagger, scuttling to hide behind the alicorn. The knife harmlessly bonks off the goat's shoulder, who continues to stare vacantly at nothing.
The alicorn says nothing until she comments on his appearance. He laughs, the sound cutting the weird tension, looking down at himself as he spreads his wings. "Yes, I suppose I do. A lot has happened."
He collects himself. "I am not sure how to explain everything. There are a lot of facets to this problem, and they are not necessarily intuitive. My… well, my brother's… resources have been co-opted into serving the perverse purpose of feeding the citizens of Horizon into the maw of a hideous monster. And yet, the monster itself is not the true enemy."
He offers her a hoof up. "Come now. Time is short. We must collude with a giant, to topple a titan."
Something shakes the floor of the entire cathedral. Gray, the alicorn, and Em (if she stands up) are shaken on their hooves.
>>737272Celestia leads the way through the large doors leading outwards and upwards, back through the slowly sloping stone passageway, past locked doors and back up toward the elevator. A figure in the distance hacks and coughs, spits on the floor, and starts inexpertly whistling tunelessly.
The brood-mother, or Alys, as she introduced herself as, stops in her tracks and stares at the janitor in the distance for a moment. She stalks up to him alongside Celestia.
The former brood-mother, still dripping blood and who-knows-what-else from her separation wound, draws up right behind him on her incredibly long legs and pauses, a cartoonishly wide, hungry grin on her face. Wide green rings radiate down at his form, a trickle of drool dripping from sharp fangs onto the hapless fool's neck.
The janitor notices Celestia standing there. "Ya find whatcher lookin fer?"
>>737270Starfish nods sympathetically over at Falling. ("Sure as shit looks that way. Sucks for your friend. Good news is, if she's been taken hostage, she's most likely still alive. Ransom's no good if you've got no collateral.")
>>737275The bartender gives her the eye, looks at who she's sitting next to, barks a short laugh and says, "Sure, I can get Veddy for ya. Who you want me to say is calling?" He eyes Starfish in particular. She stares defiantly back, but doesn't say anything.
No.737283
>>737282Great. Now Clicky was scared of her. She shakes her head and wipes her puffy eyes again, turning away from Clicky and the alicorn. "So we're, what, summoning a world eating monster to fight a dimension eating monster?" She sniffles and gives a little huff, but pulls herself to her hooves just quick enough to stumble. "Woah! What the heck?"
No.737284
>>737282Celestia nods his head. "
That and some more, this queen here is the more. The smaller one is the one I was looking for. Thank you kindly for helping, but now we are off once again to somewhere!" Celestia heads off to the elevator expecting to be followed.
No.737285
>>737282("That is good news, but still, why did he pick her? Neither of us ever came down here before, or done anything to get involved with gangs. And when we asked around her neighborhood it sounded like they knew exactly who they were going for instead of grabbing somepony at random.")
No.737286
>>737282"Please tell him that friends of Diamond are here to speak with him." says the kirin.
No.737287
>>737282>>737286[1d10] Persuasion
[1d3] inscrutable
Roll #1 1 = 1 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.737288
>>737284The janitor shows his jagged remnants of teeth to the plush. "Well alright then. Scamper off now, hear?" He halfway laughs before exhausting himself into a coughing fit.
Celestia prances off down the dimly lit hallway. Somewhere behind him the coughing stops, replaced by a loud sucking sound, as if air blowing through a narrow tunnel, followed by a wet squish-squish-squish which recedes as the plush heedlessly marches on. By the time he reaches the elevator doors at the end of the hall, he is joined by the janitor, who has abandoned his mop and bucket, and Reverb, who stays well away from the earth pony, giving it a look akin to pure terror.
The janitor steps up and presses the button with an upward arrow, turns and smiles at Celestia and Reverb with his alternately missing and rotten teeth. It's hard not to notice that in the darkness, his bright green eyes emit a faint glow.
>>737283The quaking does not last long. The alicorn, however, appears perturbed. "Already this high..? No, it must be…" His voice trails off as he spares a moment for a thoughtful look up at the ceiling.
"How well can you fly?" he asks suddenly.
Without waiting for an answer, he picks up one of the gems from the altar and throws it towards the largest window in the chapel.
Border ranged [1d10]
A moment later the whole cathedral shakes again, but more intensely. The flooring starts to come apart among the pews, revealing bare Toren structure underneath as debris tumbles through the newly formed breaches.
>>737285Jasper responds. ("It wasn't at random. We, that is Journey, Gallows and …a few others, believe that Mayfield may have been taking jobs from a hidden source. Many of his jobs have brought in less profit than expenses, but somehow he remains well-equipped. The existence of some outside force using Mayfield's resources to further its own agenda is an absolute certainty. The question is whether we will be able to prevent such a source from absorbing our entire operation.")
Starfish puts in, ("Six Arms used to do a lot of good for Horizon. It was formed in response to the corrupt police force, the last true guardian of the people.") A hint of pride sneaks into her whisper, but soon falls. ("I don't know what happened. Everything was fine. Mayfield has always been loyal. Cunning, ruthless, sometimes violent, yes. But loyal.")
Jasper shakes his head. ("Things have changed. Mayfield is taking orders from an outside force, and we are not sure whom. Caution is in order.")
>>737286The diamond dog bartender raises his eyebrows. "Sure thing, ma'am. Can do." He turns to walk away, chuckling to himself under his breath.
[[ P A U S E D ]]
Roll #1 6 = 6 No.737289
>>737282"Oh, you're Jasper's… Right. That makes sense." She rubs the back of her head, grimacing a little. The sheer amount of things that have transpired in the last few hours alone is starting to weigh on her like a yoke.
"Well…" She struggles to recollect. It feels like a lifetime ago, even though it basically just happened. "There was a lab. A secret lab, under the gardens. There were lots of machines there. And weird creepy robots. We didn't really get to explore it too much either time though." She shrugs.
"Hey, uh… While you're here. Do you know anything about, uh, this?" She hesitates, then opens KC's chest cavity, showing him the glowing gem within.
No.737776
>>737288Last time, in Horizon…
>>737283Em's precarious situation keeps on getting precarious-er. The alicorn guy has apparently hunted her down, and even though he is the worse for wear, directs her on how to escape the cathedral on top of Horizon, which is quickly deteriorating and shaking apart, the floorboards crumbling away.
"How well can you fly?" the handsome alicorn asks, before he chucks a gem at one of the stained glass windows depicting a holy scene of the Sisters. The window crashes into a hundred tiny bits and the stormy night is visible through the void as the alicorn stretches his wings and takes off toward the broken window.
Gray, quite concerned by the recent turn of events, glances wildly back and forth between Em and the widening gap between floorboards.
>>737284Celestia, Reverb and what by all accounts appears to be the goofy janitor who seems miraculously cured of his awful coughing fits wait for the elevator. A chime sounds and the doors slide open, revealing the chamber within. Soft soothing music plays faintly as the janitor cheerily steps on, turning around and looking at Celly with his placid green eyes.
Reverb gives Celly a questioning look with wide eyes. For some reason the janitor seems to fill her with fright.
>>737285>>737286Falling, Jiandao, Starfish and Jasper sit at the counter of the Six Arms, having a quiet conversation that, if overheard by the wrong member of the organization, might endanger their lives.
The bartender, eyeing them warily, goes off to fetch Veddy, under instructions to tell him that friends of Diamond Blossom are here to see him. He shakes his head as he disappears.
"Cit's taking a while to get here," Starfish notes blandly, glancing back at the elevator they entered by. "Think KC got stuck in the doors, or what?" Her tone is jocular, but her expression betrays genuine concern.
>>737289"Mmm-hmm. Hmm. Interesting," the old scientist unicorn replies to Cit's story, limited in details as it is. "And so you didn't see anything… unusual? My apprentice Jasper seemed to believe you stumbled upon… something interesting. A new kind of vis, perhaps."
As Cit opens KC's chest compartment, the interior crystalline structure seems to shine gold light on the aged unicorn's face. He blinks, takes off his glasses and cleans them, puts them back on and blinks again. He steps closer to take a look.
"Well well! What have we here? Have you brought me a sample of the extraordinary crystal? How perfect! What a structure! Oh, excuse me," he realizes how close he has drawn to the automaton in his abject curiosity. "May I?" He draws a long prodding instrument from within his coat and makes as if to poke at the crystal within KC, but stops and looks into his robotic eyes as if to ask the machine for permission before delving into the contents of his innards.
No.737777
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>737776Falling looks back behind them, then quickly glances across the bar.
"Huh, yea where is Cit? The elevator didn't take that long, did it?"
No.737778
>>737776With a tilt of his head he can't help but question out loud. "
Is something wrong?" ignorant of her fears he happily takes the elevator to find the other changleing. The queen here must be the alicorn she was talking about!
No.737780
>>737776The Kirin turns to the elevator
"Perhaps the guard chose to separate us in ambush. Cit may be in danger, just as we may be now."
No.737781
>>737776"There was," she confirms. "Weird liquid stuff that came out of the machines. One of my friends got splashed, and…" She trails off and goes quiet, thinking about Zephyr.
She nods wordlessly, and KC allows him to investigate. "It's… what was left after another friend…" Her voice cracks a little; she swallows and looks away with a quiet sniff.
No.737782
>>737776"Uh… well enough," Em says. "I'm sure I can make it to the ground pretty easy from here. Not as fun as that elevator, though. Seriously, there's no way that thing is approved by the board of health."
She fixes Clicky with a stern look. "You get your butt over here, Clicky," she says. "I didn't kill you in the hive, did I? We're pals. It was that stupid knife. Now come on. Lets go. I have some moping I have to do, and I can't mope properly in a crumbling building." If he actually comes over she wraps his forelegs around him and takes flight. If he doesn't, she bum-rushes him and forces him and tries to force him into a bear hug, also with the intention of flying away.
[1d10]Persuasion
[1d10]Bear hug fight if persuasion fails
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 6 = 6 No.737783
>>737777>>737780The elevator doors are motionless as their eyes pass across it.
Jasper looks uncomfortable. "You are expecting Cit to join? I was hoping to speak with her as well. My mentor has looked over our findings in the Garden District, and, well, suffice it to say that we may have bigger problems even than Veddy or Mayfield."
No sooner has the young scientist dropped this tidbit of information than something of a commotion has begun a fair distance down the bar. There is a small group of diamond dogs, dressed in uniform black leather jackets, pushing their way through a group of fogsuit-clad adventurers, who for the most part appear willing to let them through. One large specimen in particular, a rough-looking minotaur, does not appear to want to move from their path; his drink is upturned and he stands to block the dog gang's passage toward our heroes.
Starfish notices and elbows Jiandao. "Wuh-oh. Looks like our guy found Veddy. Ready to show this asshole a thing or two?"
>>737778>>737779"
Wrong," Reverb echoes in agreement, eyeing the janitor warily. Nevertheless, she steps into the small room, pushing herself as far away from the earth pony as possible. He does not seem to notice as he smiles pleasantly at the two of them.
The doors shut. The janitor presses a single button in the elevator control panel. A sense of motion betrays the quietude of the closet-sized room. The janitor begins to hum quietly to himself, a haunting tune that Celly does not recognize.
The single button, labeled "B3", glows cheerfully as they speed toward their destination.
>>737781"Weird liquid stuff, hmm-hmm." Gallows nods thoughtfully to himself as he ponders this for a moment, chewing it like one might a savory piece of gristle. "Yes, well, something has happened in the Garden District. I wonder if it might have something to do with your friend's… cargo, here." The unicorn, granted KC and Cit's blessing, pokes gently at the perfect amber crystal that used to be Golden within KC. It is firmly lodged in the gem-like crust that has spread over the interior surface of his chest cavity.
The unicorn looks at Cit. "You said this is… the remnants of your friend? Fascinating," he breathes, gazing with appreciation for the spectacle.
"He was a crystal pony, then?"
>>737782The alicorn is already gone, apparently sure of Em's flight ability. Gray is not so certain. As she speaks, she can tell that he understands, but doesn't quite trust her yet. He shies away nervously as she tries to convince him, but is caught completely off guard as she pounces on him, wrapping him in her spindly legs.
She's not the greatest flyer in the best of circumstances; holding a struggling changeling (albeit a small one) in her arms almost grounds her permanently. She flutters her little wings and manages to lift the two of them up just as the floor breaks away beneath them, crumbling down into the open darkness below.
Following the alicorn, Em manages to make it through the broken stained glass window and out over an open drop, hundreds of meters above any semblance of a safe landing zone. The alicorn is beating his powerful wings, hovering carefully nearby as he watches their haphazard flight.
"We have to go," he explains needlessly as more of the great cathedral atop Horizon continues to crumble away. He cuts across the great ravine between towers, bearing down on a great forested Toren district, the top level of which is far below them.
[roll navigation to keep airborne and catch up with Border]
No.737784
>>737783She winces slightly as she sees how the crystalline infection has spread on KC's interior. She resolves to find a chisel when all this is over. "Pegasus," she mumbles. "He was a pegasus."
No.737785
>>737783"
Did we forget to bring along Alys?, is she still down there?" Celestia looks a bit worried about abandoning their newfound team member. Though is a bit happy to have someone like the janitor who knows where they are going. They got these glowing buttons on lockdown!
No.737786
>>737783Em holds Clicky tightly in her forelegs. "Uh, okay? Are we going back to the church? That's where I was gonna go to say hi to Baxter and… uh… drunk horse."
No.737787
>>737783Fallings nods.
"She was right behind us, but we all couldn't fit in the elevator. …Wait, what did you find in the Garden District?"
Falling questions with growing concern about her home.
When a commotion arises as a group starts to move through the bar, and Starfish's reaction implying these were the ones they were looking for, Falling looks over as they approach, unsure of how she's feeling as her body starts to feel tense at this upcoming confrontation with the source of Diamond's disappearance.
No.737788
>>737783At starfish's goading, Jiandao rises from her seat, stepping forward slightly to greet Veddy, careful to not stray too far from Falling.
No.737789
>>737786[1d10]Forgot to roll
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.737791
>>737784"Hmm-hmm." The old unicorn hardly appears to hear her. He pokes at the crystal again with his strange tool, then, sliding the prod into his pocket, reaches into KC with a perfunctory glance to make sure the automaton is copacetic. He places his hooves on either side of the gem, and with a bit of a wiggle, dislodges it from the crust. His dark violet TK envelops the gem, gently lifting it out of KC.
"Not a crystal pony, you say? Are you entirely certain? Fascinating," he croons, looking the crystal over. Half-looking where he is walking, he brings the large gem over to a strange metal vessel, placing it inside and closing the windowed door. The gem hovers within the strange compartment, light from some hidden machinery inside shining through and glittering off the facets.
The unicorn looks to Cit and KC again. "This is an interesting development. I'm not entirely certain how, but it's possible this crystal… your friend… holds some clue to how the Garden District has …changed." Something about the way he says the word 'changed' sounds off, in an ominous way.
His piercing gaze meets Cit, and his voice is suddenly harsh and demanding.
"Have you shown this to anyone else?"
>>737785"
Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine," the janitor says, in a familiar and soothing voice. At the sound of his words, Reverb shrinks further into the corner.
The elevator hums and the sense of motion continues for a minute. A soft jolt of inertia briefly rocks the chamber, and the elevator's soft "
Ding" chimes.
Reverb, softly to herself, echoes the elevator sound. "
Ding," she states nervously.
The doors slide open. Through the aperture there is an inky, pervasive blackness, both expansive and somehow claustrophobic. The janitor offers a cheerful smile at the other two passengers, showing his rotted teeth, and steps off into the dark.
>>737786>>737789Em struggles to keep aloft with the burden of Gray, who has given up trying to get away and is clinging to her carapace in terror, staring wide-eyed at the dizzying drop beneath them. The alicorn gracefully descends, swooping down in a circling motion around the wide green canopy of the megastructure below.
Following the alicorn down, Em begins to lose her grip on her small passenger. Gray clings to her, his little hooves grasping at her pack desperately, losing purchase.
Gray: Grapple [1d10]
[roll again, you're almost there!]
>>737787>>737788Jasper begins to answer Falling. "The Garden District has been… well, we're not sure exactly what… but it's begun to change. Crystal growths like we've never seen…" He pauses when he notices the commotion across the bar. "Oh."
The minotaur, standing up, confronts the group of dogs. There are four of them, with the smallest in the back, little tough guy, obviously leading them. They say something to the big guy. He acts like he is going to get in their way when one of the two big dogs in front produces a long black prod in the flash of an eye, jamming it into the minotaur's side with an audible crackle. The minotaur crumples. The procession of thugs continues toward the group.
The one in the rear is sneering almost comically, eyes locked on Starfish as they saunter up to the bar.
"Shit," she murmurs. "I hate that mutt."
"Starfish," the little guy exclaims. "It's been too long!"
Roll #1 7 = 7 No.737792
>>737791Celestia being nonchalant decides to follow the janitor ever curious what he is doing. Stepping into the all encompassing darkness. All it reminds him of is the bed times with mini. He finds a lot of comfort in such. His eye blinking a bit nodding a bit off as he continues.
No.737793
>>737791Em takes a deep breath and tries to squeeze Clicky tight. "Almost there, buddy."
[1d10]
Roll #1 5 = 5 No.737794
>>737791"I showed them before," she answers quietly, not making eye contact. "My friends that is. I… It was different then. They haven't seen it as it is now. It keeps… changing shape."
"What's different in the Garden District?" she asks, a bit trepidatious all of a sudden.
No.737795
>>737791"Wh-Wha—"
Falling says, voice choking up as that image of the crystaled pony from the other day flashes through her mind, imagining that spreading to all the ponies in the District that she's seen and knows.
It's only the voice of the dog that keeps her from this horrid image, turning to look down at the small one that leads the pack. She says nothing, but doesn't look away.
No.737796
>>737791After the group makes their way to the table, Jiandao bows in greeting.
"Greetings. I am Jiandao. You are 'Veddy', correct? We have come to speak with you, of a matter most urgent."
No.737798
>>737792The janitor trots carefree into the darkness, turning around once to show his rotten smile as he makes sure the others are following. His green eyes illuminate the ground before him dimly. His shadow looms ominously up around Celestia.
Reverb hesitantly follows.
The darkness shrouds them, covers them, almost suffocating, like walking through thick curtains. The janitor leads them through a twisting path, winding through the dark as if randomly, following some internal sense of direction. Finally they stop. The janitor reaches a hoof up and raps on the wall, a hollow sound. Once, twice, three times. He turns to look at Celly and Reverb, his eyes two glowing rings in the dark. He smiles.
The creak of a door. No light. The janitor turns toward the sudden opening.
"
I awaken. Please fetch for me Doctor Hojo. We have much to discuss."
Something hisses from the darkness. Reverb huddles close to Celestia, cowering in fear.
>>737793Gray almost slips out of Em's grasp, clutching at the last minute, eyes squeezed shut. He remains like this as the changeling circles the densely forested roof, clinging to her even as her hooves touch down next to the alicorn. The small changeling opens one eye, then the other, letting himself drop to the ground. He rolls away, rises uncertainly to his feet, gazing up at Em. After a moment, he cautiously touches her side with his nose, then rubs his head against her, clicking softly to himself.
The alicorn doesn't seem to notice. He begins walking almost immediately, assuming that the changelings will keep up with him.
"Things are happening much faster than I anticipated. Horizon is eating itself, Gamut is making his move, and Ambit… well, he's almost completely gone." He looks at Em. "Of course, you have no idea what I'm talking about. I've asked so much of you, without explaining anything. I promise it will all be made clear soon." They continue through the forest atop the tower.
They arrive at a large tree. Border pulls a small device from an inside pocket, slides it across the bark, and a door opens where there was none before. Inside the thick trunk there is a small room, exactly like the elevator in the central spire.
The alicorn looks nervously around as he steps into the chamber. "Here there be dragons," he says cryptically. "We must make haste."
No.737799
>>737794"Yes. Well, I don't see how it could hurt to tell you, this late in the game. Your friend is very special. His… death… is less of an end, and more of a transformation. You see, I've been working with a certain being, Ambit… an ancient, if you will, whose very existence predicates the death of Horizon." He nods to himself as he stares through the glass at the amber crystal which was Golden Flash.
"Ambit plans to consume the city, absorbing the power of the Toren megastructures so that he can defeat his twin brother Gamut. However, there's been complications. Something in the Garden District… something you saw… has changed the nature of the crystalline growth. Like a tumor, its spread is rapid and uncontrollable." He continues to gaze at Golden. "Your friend here was an experiment, a trial run, if you will. He was created to… well, to feed Ambit." He finally turns to Cit. "It is not easy, to serve a dragon. Sacrifices needed to be made. Your friend was a necessary casualty."
>>737795>>737796Starfish fakes a smile. "Veddy! Just the turdmuncher I was looking for."
The three bigger dogs make a big show of getting comfortable around the group, all intimidating glares and cocky grins. The one with the prod slaps it against his other paw threateningly.
"Ya know what I said last time you were here, Star. Ya came back anyway. Ballsy. Stupid, but ballsy."
Starfish smiles sweetly at the little yappy dog. She is about to retort when Jiandao politely introduces herself, correctly identifying Veddy and taking him off guard with her forthrightness.
"Yea, I'm Veddy. Whaddya want? I've got a bone to pick with this broad, but I ain't never seen your mug round the Six before. Say," he runs his eyes down and back up Jiandao's fogsuit-covered frame, "you ain't half bad lookin, for a scale-horn!" He turns to his team, gesturing at the kirin. "The workin gals gettin classier by the day, boyos!" Turning back to her, he looks her up and down. "So how much, then?" He cracks a crude grin at the mares, showing off a gold canine. Starfish looks grossed out.
[[ P A U S E D ]]
No.738256
>>737798>>737799Last time, in Horizon…
>>737792Celestia and Reverb follow the janitor into the darkness of floor B3, where, reassuring the two of them, he knocks upon a hidden door and announces himself, looking for a particular Dr. Hojo.
A familiar voice fills the air. "Alys."
A voice replies. "
Hojo. You knew I would come for you."
A faint flicker somewhere in front of Celestia appears, grows, expands to a small orb of dusty yellow light. A familiar face greets Celestia: It is the aged, bespectacled unicorn in the white coat who interrogated him in the cell he was taken to, before excaping and meeting the bothersome changeling. The scientist's glasses flash as he spots Celly. Reverb huddles nearby, shivering in fright.
>>737793Em, Border and Gray, finding themselves in a quickly deteriorating cathedral, find their way to a nearby platform, far below. Border, smashing a window to escape, leads Em (who barely carries a still-untrusting Gray) to safety; they find themselves in the quietude of a densely forested level on top of a dizzyingly tall building. Border presses what appears to be a random spot on the side of a tall coniferous treetrunk, and sliding doors coated with bark slide apart revealing a comfortable chamber not unlike the one that led them upstairs to the cathedral. An elevator, obviously.
Border steps on, says something cryptic about dragons or something.
He stares impatiently at Em. "Well?" gesturing to the empty space beside him. Gray, standing close to her side, looks up at her questioningly.
>>737795>>737796Falling, Jiandao, Starfish and Jasper are all conversing at the bar of Six Arms, waiting for Cit and/or Veddy to approach.
Veddy wins the race, with his leather-jacket sporting group of tough-guys and his almost-comical gangster tropes. He approaches the gang, acting all tough.
He vaguely yet crudely propositions Jiandao. "So how bout it, sweetheart? How much?" He waggles his eyebrows suggestively, not at the kirin but at his boys.
Starfish stands up, ready to fight. All three of Veddy's doggo friends stand up to meet her, obviously itching for a fight. They all glare at each other. There passes an intense silence.
>>737794Cit and KC, trying to join their friends in the Six Arms, find themselves in the company of an aged unicorn scientist named Gallows, who offers cryptic exposition, throwing around a lot of names like Horizon, Ambit, Gamut; somehow Golden was wrapped up in all this, and the weird crystal that his body transformed into (which, by the way, Gallows effortlessly removed from their possession, placing it into a strange high-tech-looking chamber) is part of this in some way. He seems to imply that Golden's death was not a tragic accident, but somehow a willing sacrifice.
Something moves in the shadows.
[roll perception]
No.738257
>>738256"A… a what?!" She looks equal parts outraged and confused. "Are… are you saying
you did this?" KC takes a step forward, ready to bash some heads if need be.
This line of thought is interrupted, however, by the sudden movement in the shadows. Both of them look past Gallows and try to make out what's moving in the dark.
[2d10] Perception, KC and Cit
Roll #1 3, 8 = 11 No.738258
>>738256Machine Gun Celly decides to call lover to the frightened one at seeing another familiar face. "
Hello again weird pony!" He calls out. "
What are you doing over here?" He inquires with a tick of his head. He had many questions on his mind. Especially on how to get back to Mini.
No.738259
https://pastebin.com/r1CUq1UN>>737799>>738256When Starfish calls out Veddy by name, Falling can't hold back. She stomps her hoof, stepping forward a step as she glares at the little mutt, not showing any signs of intimidation or fear from his gang.
"Where's Diamond?!"
She shouts at him, staring daggers at the mobster.
No.738260
>>738256She tilts her head, as if unaware, before checking her bag for the bit pouch, to check the coin count.
"Ah, a payment for information?"
"I am concerned i may not have the coin for your price. What would be the cost for knowledge of Diamond?"
No.738262
>>738260>>738256[1d10] Persuasion
[1d3] inscrutable
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 3 = 3 No.738263
>>738257Gallows stares at Cit as if unintimidated, but his eyes widen behind his spectacles as the hulking KC takes a menacing step forward. He does not back down as he rushes to speak.
At the same time, Cit sees a shimmering form appear from the shadows, a pony in black tactical-looking gear and a dark mirrored visor signaling with hooves obscurely into the air. Across his back is a wicked-looking rifle. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees two more shimmering shapes in the darkness. The first form stealthily moves behind Gallows as he expounds.
"No, you misunderstand. I caused nothing; I am but a player in a grand game. Ambit planned everything; I merely allowed him …options."
>>738258The bespectacled pony takes note of Celly at his unique voice.
"Oho, what have you brought me, Chr-"
"
Call me Alys," the janitor interrupts. His eyes glow a more bright green for a moment.
The doctor looks taken aback for a moment. "Fine," he concedes. "Is this… a peace offering?"
"
Can there be peace between owl and rabbit?" The janitor's eyes are on the doctor. "
Hojo, Hojo, Hojo. I have waited long for this moment. I offer the same thing as always. You possess something crucial to me. I have come for it."
The aged unicorn, lit by a glowing orb hovering in front of his face, chuckles to himself. "A trade, then? The Specimen for the Element?"
Reverb steps in front of Celly protectively. She looks back at Celly. "Weird pony," she says. "Something crucial," she says.
>>738259
>>738260
Turning back to the mares, Veddy blinks his eyes at Diamond's name, apparently not hearing Falling's question correctly. "What's that. sweetheart? You want somepony to buy you diamonds?" He turns to the nearest of his gang, laughing uproariously at his own comment. The one he's looking at feigns a smile for as long as Veddy is looking, but it drops away as soon as the gangster looks back toward the group. The dogs appear to be hired to protect but not necessarily entertain their ringleader.
"Payment for information, eh?" Veddy looks interested until Jiandao mentions her lack of funds. "I don't know anything about your friend. She's a nonentity, a nopony. She probably got used and thrown away, like Griff." He grins a nasty smile at Starfish.
Unintimidated, Starfish stares right back. "How'd you know Diamond is a mare? You know something you aren't telling, you little wannabe thug?"
Veddy, his cocky smile locked in, looks back at Jiandao. "I might be persuaded to give up some info for a night with your …exotic friend here. Something about her I just can't read." No.738264
>>738256Em glares at the empty spot next to the alicorn, looks up at him, and huffs. Grabbing Clicky by the foreleg with her TK, she tries to make sure she draga him along as she steps into the elevator.
[1d10]Come on, pal.
Roll #1 3 = 3 No.738265
>>738263"Wh-What options?" she presses, while scanning for an exit; a fire escape, a door, a window, an elevator shaft, anything that will get them away from Gallows and the approaching shadows.
[2d10] Perception
Roll #1 10, 4 = 14 No.738266
>>738263Ignoring the discussion between the two the Almighty Solar Swan butts in with another question. "
Weird pony can you tell me where my Mini is? I have been having trouble retracing my steps to her." Celestia asks as he approaches.
Adorable: passive; No matter the size of your horns, no matter what sour expression you may have on your face, no matter how old, experienced, or battle-scarred you are, you’re still a big puffball on hoofed legs. No one can resist giving you attention, which helps you get your point across to most anyone. You have +1 on all social rolls.
[1d10+1]
Roll #1 2 + 1 = 3 No.738267
>>738264They all step into the chamber inside the tree, which appears to be conifer only on the outside. Inside, the chamber is comfortable, coated in velvet cushions pinned to the curved walls. There are no buttons. Border hums a small tune as if to himself. The doors slide shut and motion begins.
The alicorn looks down at Gray. "You've picked up a Hive drone? Does it respond to directions?"
Clicky looks up him as if angry. He clicks twice, then contorts his face with great effort. "
Do you?" his raspy Equish squawks out, barely understandable.
No.738268
>>738267"This is Clicky," Em flatly tells the alicorn. "He's my buddy, and he's helped me way more than you have. Why am I still here, when can we go back to the church, and also I'm hungry? That last part was a statement, but it's true."
No.738269
>>738263When Veddy calls Diamond a nopony, Falling's horn start to glow.
"She was my friend! And you kidnapped her!"
She shouts, enraged at how he speaks about her, so casual an nonchalant, barely acknowledging what they're saying.
"You're going to tell me where she is!"
She shouts, horn poised at his head.
>Intimidation [1d10]Roll #1 5 = 5 No.738270
>>738263Unphased, Jiandao moves to respond before Falling cuts her off with her outburst.
>>738269"Falling, it is unwise to lose your temper." says the kirin. "We do not wish to provoke unnecessary conflict."
No.738271
>>738270"Didn't you hear what he said about Diamond?! He's insulting my friend, how can I be calm through that?"
No.738272
>>738271"You must choose your battles carefully, Falling. We are surrounded by his allies, i cannot guarantee your safety should insults come to blows."
No.738273
>>738272"But… But…"
Falling stammers, unable to dispute Jiàndào's wisdom, but unable to sit by idly.
No.738274
>>738265Cit, KC and Gallows stand in the center of a dark bowl-shaped room with one apparent entrance, up a slowly sloping walkway. Looking around the room, Cit sees several machinery-covered shapes, but one in particular catches her attention. It appears to be some wardrobe-sized box with gears atop, along with a diamond chain leading upwards. It reminds her of a bare-bones version of the elevators that brought her hither.
"Well, you see, Ambit being what he is," Gallows turns, clutching a hoof to his chin as if to pontificate, face-to-face with the mirror-masked figure behind him. "Gah!" he exclaims. The figure makes to grab the doctor.
Unknown: grapple [1d10]
Just then, Cit becomes aware of two other figures appearing in the darkness behind KC.
>>738266As Celly steps around Reverb, the changeling steps again in front of him, trying to block him from Hojo's intense glare.
Hojo produces something from within his white coat, points it at Reverb. Something emerges from the tip and stretches to Reverb. She starts and tries to back away.
Hojo: (unknown device) [1d10]
Reverb: Dodge [1d10]
The janitor watches all this with passive interest.
>>738268Border doesn't respond as the Gray and Em speak. He looks taken aback. He takes a hoof and brushes his dissheveled mane backward. It occurs to Em that he looks extremely tired.
"You're referring to the chapel in Old Town. Benjamin in particular seemed to take a liking to you, as I recall. As a matter of fact, our destination lies beneath Old Town. We can visit them, if you would like, although Lunar and Steady have been… relocated."
Clicky looks up at Em. He looks angry. Then again, he always does.
>>738270>>738269Veddy looks by turns intimidated by Falling's outburst, then amused by Jiandao's admonitions, until finally he bursts in.
"Enough! Look, I don't really care about your friend. She was just another job." One of his hired thugs puts his paw over his face behind him, shaking his head. "All that matters to ME," he emphasizes his move with several pokes of his leather-clad chest with his paw, the last of which results in his thumbnail stuck in his zipper. He spends several seconds trying to unsnare.
"Aw, fuck it," Starfish says, and throws a suckerpunch at his face. Veddy is completely unprepared for this and unable to react.
Starfish: unarmed [1d10]
She turns to Jiandao after and offers an apologetic smile. "You're getting paid for this, right?"
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 7 = 7 /
Roll #3 9 = 9 /
Roll #4 6 = 6 No.738275
>>738274Em reaches out and pats Clicky on the head. "It's okay, buddy. You're more than just a drone. You're my bestie."
Looking over the alicorn again, she deflates a little, sighs, and nods. "Alright," she says. "Fine. Guess that just leaves the first and last question. Why am I here, and I'm hungry?"
No.738276
>>738274Sun Tzu made his move in a jump forward to dodge the contraption being pointed at him, this he thought would allow him to be more aggressive as his tentacles started to reach out beyond his plush to grapple with the weird pony.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
[1d10] dodge
[1d10+1] suppress
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 2 + 1 = 3 No.738277
>>738274She gasps and reacts on pure instinct, grabbing a heavy spanner from her bag with telekinesis and lobbing it at the unknown assailant grabbing Gallows.
[1d10] Yeet!
"KC, behind you!" she calls. The robot's eyes switch to angry mode, and he makes to grab Gallows and barrel towards the elevator chain.
[1d10] Grapple Gallows
Roll #1 8 = 8 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 No.738278
>>738274>bear stance, 5/6>Tactician 3Drawing all three swords, Jiandao leaps towards the guards, striking down onto the closest while battering another with another blade.
[1d10] Revolving blade, closest guard
[1d10] melee bonus
Roll #1 3 = 3 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 No.738279
>>738274Falling fumes as Veddy disregards them further, until Starfish cuts in and suckerpunches the dog.
"And SHE matters to ME!"
Falling declares, horn glowing as she fires a concentrated beam of magic from her horn, pure white instead of her normal bronze from the buildup, directly at Veddy's chest.
>Consecrate [1d10]>Concentrate light magic to strike a target down without intent to kill. This deals 2 more hits of damage than it’s roll would normally do, but it can never render someone helpless, cause wound damage, or kill them. On Crit the light focuses your mind, giving your next action on an ally DC-1.Roll #1 9 = 9 No.738280
>>738275The alicorn smiles, the dark skin around his eyes losing some of their care-lines for a moment. "Hungry? Yes. Your kind consumes often. Let us make a pit-stop. I have a pony for this." He ends the sentence in a short musical hum, as if to punctuate his sentence. The chamber stops for a moment, makes a low tone, then continues movement in another direction. Clicky looks up for a moment, then stands stoically by.
A quiet moment passes. The doors slide open. There is a warmly-lit chamber with some dozen tables, all of them empty. The alicorn steps off, leads the party to a comfortable booth. A pleasant smell is in the air.
"What do you eat?" Border inquires, begrudgingly including Gray in the inquiry. He glances at a device on his forecannon.
>>738276Reverb manages to dodge out of the way of the burst, just in time for Celly to spring out at the doctor unexpectedly. Whatever he shot out of the device flies wide, barely missing the plush as the doll flies toward his face.
The doll is unable to grip the doctor, and he turns and makes another pass with his unknown weapon, this time targetting Celly.
Hojo: (unknown device) [1d10]
Reverb throws herself at him in a full-body tackle.
Reverb: Slam [1d10]
The janitor watches from the sidelines, mildly amused.
>>738277As Gallows blunders right into an ambush, Cit is already launching the hefty tool through the air. "Gah!" the scientist states as his would-be assailant is clocked right in the visor, knocking his head back. Gallows stumbles back.
KC launches himself, surprisingly dexterous despite his size, into the good doctor, who falls right into the hulk's arms. KC takes another huge lunge, bashing right into the elevator's chains. Something snaps, and the wardrobe with the gears atop it drops through the floor, leaving a hole in the floor.
The two unknown tactical-suited ponies turn to stone as their leader is taken out of commission. He snaps out of it, signs something at the two, then unholsters some sort of rifle and points it at KC-holding-Gallows.
Mirrored Visor: ranged on KC. [1d10]
>>738278>>738279Starfish's punch knocks Veddy a bit. He narrows his eyes and wipes his chin, about to charge, when he is hit by Falling's blast of energy. The white beam connects with his chest, knocking him several feet backward, right onto one of the barstools. He ends up sitting, out of breath, leaning onto the bar to stabilize himself gasping for breath.
Jiandao, meanwhile, launches herself into action, feinting with one blade while taking out the nearest guard dog with a surprise backwards swipe.
He falls on his ass.
The second guard dog starts to stand, but Starfish intercepts with a wicked lash of her electric whip.
Starfish: Electric Whip (guard dog 2) [1d10+1]
The third guard dog, smaller than the other two, steps back, his paw covering his masked face in apparent horror… or amusement. It's hard to tell whether he is gasping or laughing under that mask.
Roll #1 9 = 9 /
Roll #2 2 = 2 /
Roll #3 4 = 4 /
Roll #4 4 + 1 = 5 No.738281
>>738280Celestia squirms away from the direction of the device trying to maintain staying close and gripping upon the lone weird pony. This has been unexpectedly troubling.
Grappler: passive; Trained in melee and close quarters combat, you overpower foes easily in such situations. You have +1 to all rolls when making non-combat actions to grapple, subdue, restrain, or in any way preventing a target from moving with your own body. You can apply this bonus in combat to remove an enemy from combat without killing them, but only when they’re the only enemy in their zone and helpless, or on very low health.
Suppress: recharge 1 after letting go, weapon; Renders target helpless. After success, can keep taking automatic actions to keep the target pinned. If this action is not taken, the target gets up.
[1d10] dodge
[1d10+1] suppress
Roll #1 6 = 6 /
Roll #2 9 + 1 = 10 No.738282
>>738280>2Pivoting on a hoof, the kirin brings the three swords around to batter the second guard, before he can stand
[1d10]
[1d10] Dual, guard
[1d10] bonus melee
Roll #1 5 = 5 /
Roll #2 8 = 8 /
Roll #3 5 = 5 No.738283
>>738280With Veddy knocked for a loop and the guards mostly occupied by Jiàndào and Starfish, Falling marches up to Veddy, eyes narrowed as he gasps for air.
"You're going to tell me where Diamond is. Now!"
She states, horn glowing again.
>Intimidate [1d10]Roll #1 6 = 6 No.738284
>>738280Em taps her chin and hums. "I can't put my hoof on why, but ever since this morning I've been in the mood for something smokey with a bit of a kick. Kinda smoldery, y'know?"
No.738285
>>738280KC shifts Gallows out of harm's way and beckons for Cit to join him. She obliges, blinking over with teleportation magic to make a getaway down the elevator shaft.
[1d10] Winkmaster
Roll #1 8 = 8 No.738286
>>738281The weapon in Dr Hojo's hand fires a multicolored beam of light, which impacts Celestia a split second before he reahes out and wraps the doctor in a big, tight hug. His eyes bug out in that moment, but he is too late to prevent the explosion which results in a crystalline bubble forming around the pair of them and floating in the air. The device itself drops out of the bubble and hits the floor. The doctor struggles against Celestia's iron grip, fear beginning to reach his eyes for the first time as he realizes they are locked into this claustrophobic space together.
The janitor begins to chuckle, then to laugh. He slaps his knees as he walks over to the device and picks it up. Studying it a moment, he presses a button carefully.
Alys: operate the device [1d10]
Reverb throws her body against the bubble wall separating her from Celly and Hojo.
Reverb: Slam [1d10]
>>738282Jiandao, wooden blades flashing around her, approaches the guard slowly, intimidatingly. He tries to stand, narrowly dodges one blade, looks at her triumphantly and is completely blindsided by her second swing. Knocked into the air, her third strike slams him into the ground with a solid crack. He is out cold.
The third guard dog begins to audibly wheeze, but makes no move to help his cohorts.
>>738283Veddy continues to cough as he looks up at Falling. He gathers himself enough to spit out a few words between ragged breaths.
"I… don't… know… May…field…"
The third guard dog, the same one who facepalmed earlier and removed himself from combat, walks up and kicks the stool out from under Veddy. He looks down at the floored dog for a moment, turns to Falling.
>>738282>>738283Starfish cracks her whip at the fist guard dog, who catches it on the butt of his prod, but steps back as the smaller third dog kicks the stool out from under a gasping Veddy, who crumples uselessly.
The third guard dog removes his helmet. Underneath is a bulldog-faced Diamond Dog with a serious face and an intricately braided mustache.
Starfish exclaims from across the bar, "Mayfield! What the flock!"
And just like that, the fight appears to be over. Everyone is still kind of trying to figure out what just happened. Jasper, who has been hiding behind a stool, pokes his head up. "Mayfield?" he inquires. The guard with the prod goes to the side of the one Jiandao battered mercilessly, kneeling to assess his injuries.
Mayfield looks at Falling. "Falling Sand. I've heard a lot about you. Of course you're looking for your friend. There are many things we have to talk about. Do you want a drink? Of course this applies to your friends." He nods to Jiandao respectfully.
"Sure, I'll take a whiskey," Starfish raises a hoof.
[[ P A U S E D ]]
Roll #1 7 = 7 /
Roll #2 10 = 10 No.738287
>>738284"Something… spicy?" Border asks, giving her an apprehensive look. "No…" he taps his chin. Clicky hops up into the booth and slides next to Em. "How about…. smoked lizard?"
A well-dressed pale pony with an exquisitely-maintained blonde mane appears from apparently nowhere to arrive at their table, perfectly poised with eyes closed. Three glasses of water arrive, apparently under his telekinetic control, land on the table without so much as a ripple on the surface.
"Monsieur has brought guests. We are always pleased to see you, Monsieur Frontière. Will you be having the usual this evening?"
"No no, Golden, not tonight," Border laughs nervously, sending a look at Em and Gray. "We're just having… a little something. Whatever the lady will have. And… two for the little one."
The poised blonde waiter appears ready to take your order, though his eyes have not opened.
>>738285Cit, KC and Gallows disappear down the shaft, KC simply leaping from floor to floor with the doctor in his arms and Cit following them, teleporting from safe ledge to ledge. They make their way down, eventually ending on a taller level than all the rest with the crash of the wardrobe/elevator chamber in a twisted heap at the bottom.
They appear to have landed on a large stage. Bright lights separate them from what appears to be a packed theatre, hundreds of expectant eyes staring at them. Downstage, two ponies in a medieval get-up are paused in the middle of what appears to be a swordfight with play-weapons, but they are agape staring at the crash of the wardrobe and the appearance of Cit and KC-holding-Gallows.
Someone whispers from above them. "PSSST! The Show Must Go On!" A fat sheep in a beret and a very pretentious coat is addressing them from behind the curtains.
"Ahem, yes, as I was saying, Ser, you shall never possess the Lady!" one of the actors stumbles out, making a desperate gesture at Cit.
"Oh! Yes! Of course, but Ser, I shall! Now that my…" He gestures at KC, clutching Gallows, "Grandpony, the Wizard, has arrived!"
They resume their faux-swordfight as mass cheering and applause rises from the other side of the bright lights.
[[ P A U S E D ]]
