Re: Luna's Command: The Wibbly-Wobbly Saga

Retrokinesis Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:50 am

Brilliant suppresses a chuckle at Scorch's hunger for gems. Personally, she believed this gemstone pony to be a significant security risk and wouldn't mind letting Scorch chew on him for a bit. Or at least threaten to. Not that she'd say that in front of the Princess.

"Well... the only connection I can think of is the Crystal Heart. The crystal ponies, obviously, have crystalline coats. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to presume an object of similar nature and power could produce a gemstone coat instead. As far as I know, however, the Heart is one of a kind and I doubt it could produce such an effect without Princess Cadance's knowledge or consent". She did not like where where train of thought was taking her.

"It is my hypothesis that, based on this gemstone pony's similarity to the crystal ponies, the irregularity of the night sky, and the floating empire's location above the Crystal Empire that it, and our visitor, are from an alternative "mirror" of Equestria. If so, the floating empire is a parallel version of the Crystal Empire and would most likely possess its own equivalent to the Heart capable of creating gemstone ponies".

"Furthermore... I would suggest these black stones are somehow the key to this. Have they been detected radiating magic of any kind? If so, the possibility of their effects being amplified by the Heart should be considered. And planned for; I can't imagine it would be good".

She paused for breath. "I may be completely on the wrong track, of course. This is all circumstantial and theoretical. But something tells me it is at least possible and I believe in being prepared. Your Highness".

AProcrastinatingWriter Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:03 am

Luna looks utterly shocked. "The Crystal Empire? Crystal Heart? Wh-where did you hear of such terms? The pony who appeared in Manehatten spoke of the same things, and I am certain I have not told anypony of what he said to my sister and I!"

Curunir Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:09 am

Luthier's ears were still ringing from the noise, but he concentrated very hard to catch as much of what had been being said as possible (which was a little difficult, as Luna was talking at normal, or at least lower, levels of volume- as well as most everyone else speaking at normal volume) It appeared that Lunar and Iggy might have been affected too, as they had spoken rather loudly a few times.

Composing his thoughts, Luthier decided to pipe in, concentrating on what he was saying although he couldn't hear himself clearly, actively attempting to not speak too loudly.

"Ah, I wouldn't call myself a virtuoso exactly, but that's not important right now."

"While it's interesting you want all of us to conduct some sort of investigation, what exactly do you want us to investigate? You've obviously questioned the strange pony, have sent an envoy to this mysterious floating empire, and have been able to make no progress with studying the black crystals. Which, if any of these things do you want us to do something about? And if all of them, what should we do first? It all seems so very alarming, although I do trust your judgement that you've picked us for a reason, even if I don't trust our own talents."

Luthier bowed to the princess again.

"Although I think we should also inform you of another bizarre thing, before we get too involved in analyzing all of these other peculiarities. We were attacked en route by a half dozen- 'sunsnakes' I believe Wandering Eye told us. We... managed to elude them."

Luthier looked to the guards and Brilliant Shimmer, feeling it was probably more in their place to give the Princess a full report on the incident.

Retrokinesis Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:14 am

Well, Brilliant certainly wasn't expecting that. "The... the Crystal Empire. The enormous landmass formerly ruled by King Sombra but, upon his subsequent return and banishment by not-yet-then Princess Twilight, now governed by Princess Cadance? The Equestrian Games were held there".

Possibilities were beginning to coalesce in her head and none of them were at all good. She was starting to get seriously worried now. "Your Highness... what was the name of our gemstone visitor? Plug should have returned by now..."

AProcrastinatingWriter Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:41 am

Curunir wrote:

"Ah, I wouldn't call myself a virtuoso exactly, but that's not important right now."

"While it's interesting you want all of us to conduct some sort of investigation, what exactly do you want us to investigate? You've obviously questioned the strange pony, have sent an envoy to this mysterious floating empire, and have been able to make no progress with studying the black crystals. Which, if any of these things do you want us to do something about? And if all of them, what should we do first? It all seems so very alarming, although I do trust your judgement that you've picked us for a reason, even if I don't trust our own talents."

"What? Ah, of course," Luna says, calming down slightly and indicating at Brilliant to wait a moment - the questioning would continue momentarily. "The buzzing in the background, so to speak, has a meaningful origin - some scattered bits seem to have their beginnings elsewhere, but the vast majority of disturbances have their origins someplace very close by." Her eyes narrow. "The Canterlot Caves. I need a small group of ponies to travel to their entrance, explore them, and report to me and what they might find inside - and, if necessary and within their power, to fix the problem." She smiles. "I suppose you would have more questions at this point?"

Curunir wrote:Luthier bowed to the princess again.

"Although I think we should also inform you of another bizarre thing, before we get too involved in analyzing all of these other peculiarities. We were attacked en route by a half dozen- 'sunsnakes' I believe Wandering Eye told us. We... managed to elude them."

Luthier looked to the guards and Brilliant Shimmer, feeling it was probably more in their place to give the Princess a full report on the incident.

"Ugh," Luna says, sounding more annoyed than concerned. "Add another strange incident to the growing list. Theoretically, sunsnakes should have been extinct for centuries at this juncture." With this revelation, she waves her hoof in an exasperated fashion, signing for somepony to give her the details.

"Wh-what?" Grizzle says, breaking his facade once again and showing genuine surprise for the first time since Luna entered the room.

Retrokinesis wrote:Well, Brilliant certainly wasn't expecting that. "The... the Crystal Empire. The enormous landmass formerly ruled by King Sombra but, upon his subsequent return and banishment by not-yet-then Princess Twilight, now governed by Princess Cadance? The Equestrian Games were held there".

"Does none of this sound familiar to your highness at all?!" Grizzle shouted, an act entirely unlike him by all accounts. It appeared that he had not been shocked by the truth of the sunsnakes, but by what Princess Luna had said earlier.

The princess, for her part, looked utterly confused, and got off the topic of sunsnakes pretty quick upon being double-teamed. "You...you both have knowledge of what our prisoner has said?" She tilts her head. "You believe...I should have knowledge of...?"

Retrokinesis wrote:Possibilities were beginning to coalesce in her head and none of them were at all good. She was starting to get seriously worried now. "Your Highness... what was the name of our gemstone visitor? Plug should have returned by now..."

As befits dramatic convenience, Plug chose that moment to enter the door. "Results are in," Plug said, "Colt's name is Rock Salt, and he's definitely a Crystal Pony."

"...Crystal Pony?" Luna sat in the chair, wings shuffling slightly to make her more comfortable. "Crystal pony...you mentioned that too." She turned to Brilliant, thoughts of sunsnakes all but forgotten at this juncture, extinct or otherwise. "What in my stars' names is going on here?"

Dusk Raven Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:20 am

Earlier, Wandering Eye had smiled a little at Luna describing him as a friend - he was rather honored that she felt that way, although they certainly hadn't as much contact as he'd have liked. Still, they had a few... common traits that had helped Wandering Eye immensely.

He remained silent as theories went back and forth. He liked Brilliant Shimmer's thoughtfulness - and her theory of an alternate universe was an interesting one. Mirror universes were always interesting.

Now, however, things started to get... odd.

All he could say was, "...Luna? Are you all right?"

Xel Unknown Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:22 am

"Wait... Let's go back to the begining... Why are we here? What can we do? Why where we chosen? I mean... I'm a total nopony..." Lunar suggests with worry. "And maybe... This stuff that Eye knows is helpful to figuring what's going on?"

Dusk Raven Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:23 am

...Wait a minute...

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:
"...I, PRINCESS LUNA, SOVEREIGN OF ALL EQUESTRIA AND THE STARS IN THE HEAVENS ABOVE, MISTRESS OF DARK DREAMING AND KNOWER OF THINGS KEPT SECRET..."

His eyes became unfocused as he went into flashback mode, remembering what she had said earlier. He hadn't thought much of it, of her using the Royal Canterlot Voice and such, but... sovereign of all Equestria?

"...Luna... where's your sister?"

Retrokinesis Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:40 am

Brilliant breathed an audible sigh of relief at Grizzle's outburst. Thank Celestia, that meant they weren't trapped in Mirror Equestria. Probably. It also meant that Princess Luna's memories were being affected by something. She adopted her best "In Comand" face and turned to the group.

"Plug! Please tell me you know about crystal ponies! Lunar, if you wouldn't mind, please stick your head out a window and tell me if the stars look normal to you. Mr. Eye, you are a scholar of no small renown. Do you know anything about dimensional travel?"

She turned back to the Princess and bowed. "Your Highness, if my theory is correct, there are two possibilities. One is that this group has been transported to the alternate Equestria where there is no Crystal Empire. The other is that this is our Equestria and only your memories have been changed. Either way, you said you don't recognize the stars. If Lunar does then this is our Equestria".

She didn't seem at all phased by that. In fact, she was visibly excited. This was new magic, the kind she'd neve seen before! But one thing was still bothering her..."Did you say Canterlot Caves, Your Highness? The same ones where countless greedy unicorns were lost trying to steal their treasures? I thought that was just an old pony's tale..." She looks back and forth between the Princess and Wandering Eye.

Xel Unknown Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:45 am

"I already noticed the stars seemed off... Just... Didn't realize I should've said anything... More used to saying the wrong thing..." Lunar states getting deeply worried.

Dusk Raven Sun Mar 24, 2013 4:32 am

After he spoke, Wandering Eye took off his saddlebags and then frantically dug through them, pausing briefly to telekinetically take his glasses out of his coat pocket and put them on. Come on, Tome, tell me you didn't listen to me... aha! Moving aside some of his things, he found a small bottle of gin in there, doubtless slipped in by Tome Peeker while Wandering Eye wasn't looking. Tome Peeker had claimed his "liquid courage" had gotten him out of sticky situations in the past and that Wandering Eye would need it in the caverns. He didn't end up going to the caverns, but... Blast it, Tome, why are you always right?

But as he set the bottle on the table before him, he listened to Shimmer's words - it was nice to have someone with a keen mind come to a similar conclusion as he had. "You took the words right out of my mind, Brilliant. I too had just begun to suspect that somepony or someponies in this room were not in touch with this reality - or were not from it. I'm most pleased that we're working together... I was beginning to question my sanity."

He doubtless would need a few swigs of the drink before the night was over... but not this moment.

"Interdimensional travel... while most of what I could claim to know on the subject is conjecture and extrapolation... there must have been some point at which we changed worlds... the portal!" He was mostly thinking aloud at this point. "But that wouldn't explain Her Majesty, or any other ponies that have switched worlds, or... any of the other odd stuff, really."

casey1859 Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:06 pm

Okay, so, if we Are in a parallel world, why is it that only the princess is different? Everything related to her, the night sky, all her memories, Gone! Well, changed.
Why just her?

AProcrastinatingWriter Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:47 pm

Dusk Raven wrote:
"...Luna... where's your sister?"

"She is in her quarters, sleeping as she has not for, from what I understand, a very long time," Luna sighed, sitting back slightly. "We have both been exhausted as of late, but I, let us say, am used to long nights." A wry smile crooked upon her features at this last sentence.

Xel Unknown wrote:"Wait... Let's go back to the begining... Why are we here? What can we do? Why where we chosen? I mean... I'm a total nopony..." Lunar suggests with worry. "And maybe... This stuff that Eye knows is helpful to figuring what's going on?"

"I have already informed you of my reasoning for my decisions," Luna says, a member of royalty giving her last word on the subject. "I understand that you are worried, but we have other business to deal with at this point in time."

Retrokinesis wrote:
"Plug! Please tell me you know about crystal ponies!"

"Y-yeah! 'Course I do! Everypony does, why wouldn't I?...and the name's Spark!"

"It appears," Grizzle said gravely, with a hidden glance to Her Majesty, "That everypony does not. Plug."

Retrokiniesis wrote:She turned back to the Princess and bowed. "Your Highness, if my theory is correct, there are two possibilities. One is that this group has been transported to the alternate Equestria where there is no Crystal Empire. The other is that this is our Equestria and only your memories have been changed. Either way, you said you don't recognize the stars. If Lunar does then this is our Equestria".

She didn't seem at all phased by that. In fact, she was visibly excited. This was new magic, the kind she'd neve seen before! But one thing was still bothering her..."Did you say Canterlot Caves, Your Highness? The same ones where countless greedy unicorns were lost trying to steal their treasures? I thought that was just an old pony's tale..." She looks back and forth between the Princess and Wandering Eye.

"Your assesment does make sense," Luna says with a growing sense of trepidation. She turns to Lunar. "Tell me...please...when I look at the stars, they seem slightly off in their positioning. Is this accurate to your assessment of them, or..." she doesn't seem able to finish her question, settling for staring at Lunar intently.

casey1859 wrote:Okay, so, if we Are in a parallel world, why is it that only the princess is different? Everything related to her, the night sky, all her memories, Gone! Well, changed.
Why just her?

"'Tis not just me!" Luna says, a tad too sharply, slamming her hoof on the table. "We have already TOLD YOU that our sister, too has no knowledge of..."

She stops and takes a breath. "Forgive us. Me. I-I'm sorry."

"My liege," Grizzle asks, "Are you alright?"

"Anything I can get you?" Plug asks.

Luna nods to both questions, a bit hesitantly. "Fetch me my sister and a few members of the palace staff. I wish to confirm that I am not the only pony to remember...things," Then, in a softer voice, she adds: "And that all this is really happening."

Plug hesitates for a second. "Yes ma'am," he salutes before running out of the room.

There is a brief silence as Luna sits up straighter in her chair. "He shall be gone for a while," Luna says morosely. Despite everything, a small smirk comes to her face. "My sister is a heavy sleeper." She leans forward. "In the meantime, rather than speculation, let us deal with what we know to be true. The sunsnakes. Describe the incident to me."

**Paper Shadow** Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:07 pm

"There isn't really much to talk about," answered Scorched "The flying snakes chased our carriage, and she," pointing at Luthier, "created a sound in the likeness of Your Majesty, and they flew in the direction of the sound." Scorch decided to leave the bit about the hippogriff out. It wasn't that important...

casey1859 Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:38 pm

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:
"'Tis not just me!" Luna says, a tad too sharply, slamming her hoof on the table. "We have already TOLD YOU that our sister, too has no knowledge of..."

She stops and takes a breath. "Forgive us. Me. I-I'm sorry."

I... apologize, your Majesty. I must have forgotten that in the flurry of events and information at the moment. Please forgive me.

Dusk Raven Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:46 pm

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:"She is in her quarters, sleeping as she has not for, from what I understand, a very long time," Luna sighed, sitting back slightly. "We have both been exhausted as of late, but I, let us say, am used to long nights." A wry smile crooked upon her features at this last sentence.

Well, scratch one theory, Wandering Eye thought, cursing himself for jumping to conclusions. Well, it wasn't a conclusion, just a thought. At least this reality isn't as different as I'd feared... still, I'll have to ask Luna about that...

He stared at the bottle on the table.

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:"'Tis not just me!"[/size][/b][/color] Luna says, a tad too sharply, slamming her hoof on the table. "We have already TOLD YOU that our sister, too has no knowledge of..."

She stops and takes a breath. "Forgive us. Me. I-I'm sorry."

He was jolted out of his thoughts and stared for a long while at Luna. He wasn't exactly used to ponies shouting in closed rooms, so it was... rather intimidating. Though he tried not to let it show.

The feeling faded as quickly as Luna's indignation. Sunsnakes. Yes. "Yes, it's more or less as Scorch describes it. We didn't engage them in combat, as they were too preoccupied with chasing after "your" voice. I will also note that they seemed... quite furious in doing so."

AProcrastinatingWriter Sun Mar 24, 2013 4:42 pm

casey1859 wrote:
AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:
"'Tis not just me!" Luna says, a tad too sharply, slamming her hoof on the table. "We have already TOLD YOU that our sister, too has no knowledge of..."

She stops and takes a breath. "Forgive us. Me. I-I'm sorry."

I... apologize, your Majesty. I must have forgotten that in the flurry of events and information at the moment. Please forgive me.

"No, I insist that you forgive me," Luna says, not just to Cobbled, but to the room. "Nights have been long even for I as of late, as I said before...but even so it is below my station to act in such a manner." She nods, then extends that nod into a bow of the head. "I am very sorry to all of you."

Paper Shadow wrote:"There isn't really much to talk about," answered Scorched "The flying snakes chased our carriage, and she," pointing at Luthier, "created a sound in the likeness of Your Majesty, and they flew in the direction of the sound." Scorch decided to leave the bit about the hippogriff out. It wasn't that important...

Dusk Raven wrote:The feeling faded as quickly as Luna's indignation. Sunsnakes. Yes. "Yes, it's more or less as Scorch describes it. We didn't engage them in combat, as they were too preoccupied with chasing after "your" voice. I will also note that they seemed... quite furious in doing so."

Luna sighs. "Yes. That sounds like them, alright...what you all must understand," she begins what is sure to be a lecture, settling slighter further in her chair, "Is that the Sunsnakes were, even in their time, an extremely rare species, and not an evil one. Quite the opposite, in fact." A small smile graces her lips, genuine, not a smirk or an attempt to hide something bitter. "They were revered throughout Equestria as Celestia's guardians, circling round her hooves whenever she went into battle. They would fight her enemies with the fury of the sun itself...believe me, I know." A wince at memories about to be explained, and she continued. "The last conflict they were involved in was the last major conflict Equestria has seen in a very long time - the battle of Nightmare Moon. I am told that they disappeared entirely shortly after I was sealed away - the age of aggression in Equestria was over.

"It thusly makes sense why they attempted to attack you, and why they relented when they heard 'my' voice - the last time they saw me, I was not Princess Luna of Equestria, but Nightmare Moon, terrible bringer of darkness, and they have no way of knowing how I have changed." She frowned a little. "Their return may be a portent of more dark times ahead if it is not simply a byproduct of the magical disruption I spoke of before. Either way, you all should be safe from them in the future, as they were likely flying back to check on their mistress when they ran into you, so to speak, and I am certain that Celestia shall set them...on the straight, I believe the saying is?"

"Well, either way, they shall be flying to my sister soon enough." Luna smiles. For a few moments. Then looks rather concerned. "My sister. Who is staying in Canterlot Castle." She looks outright worried as she stands, eyes wide and wings spread. "Which is where I am."

A brief silence reigns.

Approximately a dozen sunsnakes burst into the room, shattering the nearby window as they do so, and begin breathing fire everyplace they can.

Spoiler:

**Paper Shadow** Sun Mar 24, 2013 4:51 pm

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" roared Scorch. "I HAVE HAD IT WITH THESE MOTHERBUCKING SNAKES ON THIS MOTHERBUCKING NIGHT!"

(Initiative Roll: 12)
(Taking Healing Salve, Demand Duel, Against The Odds, Never Stay Down, and Flametongue)

casey1859 Sun Mar 24, 2013 4:58 pm

Yeah, I'm with scorch.
Cobbled struck a attacking position
En Garde!
(Initiative: 4.)
Cobbled wobbled (heehee)
And fell to the floor.
Yeah... You guys can go first. I'll just be here. On the ground.

Retrokinesis Sun Mar 24, 2013 4:59 pm

Finally, a chance to demonstrate her arcane power! These Sunsnakes weren't getting away this time! Brilliant drops into a battle stance, her horn crackling with energy. "Indeed! Guards, with me! Defend the Princess!"

Spoiler:

Dusk Raven Sun Mar 24, 2013 5:10 pm

Wandering Eye's mind was perhaps not fully at attention, for he totally did not grasp the meaning of Luna's words until the sunsnakes burst into the room.

"HOLY-!" He dived down beneath the table for cover, taking the bottle of gin with him - thankfully, the bottles of that brand were built to last. Quickly, he stuffed the bottle, and his glasses, into his saddlebags and hoped they'd withstand the battle, before jumping back up to action, ready for a fight.

Spoiler:

Curunir Sun Mar 24, 2013 6:09 pm

Tonight was apparently a night for unpleasant surprises- Luthier jumped once again as the sunsnakes burst through the windows, causing him to knock his suitcase open. He heard Shimmer's call to the guards, and despite having had no martial training, decided to join his companions in joining the princess- there were too many snakes for even Luna and her guards to easily deal with by theirselves. He just hoped he and the others didn't get into the professionals' way. He hoped they could at least hold off the snakes while Plug went to fetch Celestia.

Luthier's horn glowed as a number of instruments floated out of the suitcase and started circling around him. A baton floated until he grabbed it with one of his hooves. A book full of scribbled musical notes landed in front of him. Luthier was sad for the probable destruction of many of his instruments- but he could always make more. The important thing was to help protect the princess, and his companions.

Not knowing if the snakes had noticed Luna yet (possibly not, as they seemed to be setting as many fires as possible at random, and Luna had not yet responded to the snakes), Luthier decided to try to pull one more trick on them. Having now had a chance to listen to the real Princess, he was sure his imitation would be more spot on. However, this time he did not throw the sound- he let himself be the clear source of the sound this time

"'Tis been a merry chase, but it seems ye have found us at last. THOU ALL SHALL NOW FEEL OUR AFOREMENTIONED WRATH FOR DISTURBING THIS GLORIOUS NIGHT!"

The sound of instruments tuning could be heard as the small orchestra swirled faster around Luthier's head.

Combat Preparation:

Xel Unknown Sun Mar 24, 2013 6:55 pm

Lunar rawrs at the enemies that had broken in. "IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! YOU! WILL! DIE!"

combat data:

status:

deonte9109 Sun Mar 24, 2013 9:05 pm

Iggy's hearing was barely back to its more attuned level but it was good enough for him to hear unwanted guests bursting into the room with everybody else yelling at the intruders.
"I have no idea who we're yelling at but bring it!"

Combat:

AProcrastinatingWriter Sun Mar 24, 2013 9:27 pm

The group prepares for valiant battle as the group of snakes, confused by the multiple contradictory targets, split up to better affect the maximum number of foes. Meanwhile, more snakes flood in through the open window, but thankfully these seem to be the last of them. Luna is is singularly occupied with a group of eight or so, and the two guards that just burst into the room are busy dealing with four others. Seven have turned their attention towards the rest of the room's occupants, but as the tides of battle ebb and flow this number is not likely to remain constant.

Initiative order and combat notes:

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