Luna's Command: The Wibbly-Wobbly Saga

(Now Brilliant should do it and roll a number bigger than two...)

(I'll do it with Arcana, that seems to make more sense.)
It took all of Brilliant's willpower not to blast that tentacled thing into Tartarus. She pores through her considerable arcane knowledge, hoping that it resembled something she had heard of before...

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Well, to remember if any sources of magic are like the ones coming off this...colt...first you need to know what kinds of magic are coming off this colt. A brief sensory washover and...

This thing smells like rotten meat.

It doesn't make any sense why you'd get that from attempting to sense what kind of magic might be emanating from it - especially since it didn't smell like rotten meat before you tried to do that - but it's the truth.

You do, however, sense one thing about the magic emanating from this not-colt's body. It is...aware. Watching everything around it.

Though you also sense that when you tried to sense it, everything that wasn't you sort of moved into its peripheral vision, so to speak. Even if you couldn't sense that, the way the stranger has turned his head toward you (without actually raising it) kind of made that obvious.

It's like a corpse, you realize, but the eyes are still alive.

Nothing like that has ever walked upon the soil of Equestria.

The hooded figure surprised Iggy which doest happen very often.
"Holy Elements of Harmony!" he exclaimed.
Why didnt I hear him approaching, he wondered, unless maybe...

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Brilliant has never seen anything so... wrong before. Everything about this thing was wrong, even its magic. Especially its magic. Block it out, block it out, block it out. Her mental discipline was finely-honed enough to not break under its otherworldly gaze but it was certainly a struggle.

Her horn glows even more intensely as she digs her hooves into the ground. "What in the name of Celestia are you?" She wasn't sure she could destroy it if she had to but she could certainly try.

deonte9109 wrote:

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Iggy cannot hear the pony's heartbeat - though that does not necessarily mean the pony doesn't have one; even at such a short distance hearing a heartbeat is very difficult. However, hearing breathing is not...and this pony clearly isn't.

Retrokinesis wrote:"What in the name of Celestia are you?"

The figure says nothing, but watches Brilliant silently.

"Easy, Brilli," Grizzle says softly. "Do not forget your training. This is what we're trained to do...fight the things in the dark." He looks back towards the not-pony with a grimace on his face. "Or listen to them, however distasteful the prospect may be. You have ten seconds to talk."

Plug, meanwhile, has gathered his bearings, and is busy circling around the thing for a more advantageous position. Shimmer feels the magic turns its attention mostly away from her; she is in the "peripheral" now.

Lunar glanced over this latest horror that faced the party...

Perception check:

Xel Unknown wrote:

Perception check:

Nothing in particular jumps out at you about this being, at least now that it is covered up again. The biggest thing to notice is its...lack.

The cloak is very, very, thin, but so dark you cannot see past it no matter how you might squint. The being under it is not moving. Usually, when looking at a pony and seeing they are not moving, one doesn't really notice, or at least doesn't count, the little twitches and adjustments and breaths that pony takes into account. Therefore, the phrase "not moving" is usually, technically, a lie.

When you say this figure is not moving, you aren't lying. It doesn't even look to be breathing.

"We've much to discuss," the ponyish thing says. "But no time to discuss in. Continue upon the course you have set for yourselves. When you come upon the Crystal Empire, I shall contact you again."

"We serve the Princesses, not you," Grizzle says. "Why should we heed your commands?"

"Because you must if you wish to survive," the figure responds, and with a hiss of snakes a small cloud of black smokes appears then dissipates, leaving a map behind. "Foes greater in number and power than you approach. Follow this map, for it is a safe path through the forest."

A slight turning of the head. Another millimeter and the sword at this thing's neck would pierce, presumably, an artery. Assuming, of course, that this the stranger has any. "Am I free to go?" the thing asks Grizzle in almost the same tone it has used since it got here, just a sprinkling of ground mockery adding spice to its words.

Grizzle growls a bit. He turns to the group at large. "Is what he says true? Do enemies approach us?"

Plug doesn't move an inch from where he is standing, knife held at the ready.

"That pony... Wasn't moving..." Lunar comments, just not knowing how else to explain what he saw. "I mean... Really... Not moving... Not even to breath, or normal body twitches..."

The dragon merely shrugs...

(Perception Roll to see if the creature is lying: 6 (Roll) + 8 (Bonus) = 14)

Wandering Eye was stunned, perhaps a little revolted. You saw strange things in the pursuit of the beyond, but they typically freaked a pony out because they bore a resemblance to nothing one had seen, not because they resembled something that should be dead.

Still, he'd seen some strange stuff. This one would just be another on the list.

From Beyond... as intriguing as that was, the notion of approaching foes was more urgent of investigation.

[Perception Roll: 10, plus 12 (skill), plus 2 (grandeur and feast) = 24]

Paper Shadow wrote:The dragon merely shrugs...

(Perception Roll to see if the creature is lying: 6 (Roll) + 8 (Bonus) = 14)

Scorch has no idea.

Grizzle bristles a bit. "You'll go check? Somepony?"

Dusk Raven wrote:
[Perception Roll: 10, plus 12 (skill), plus 2 (grandeur and feast) = 24]

Not at all at Grizzle's command, Wander opens his ears a tad more, or listens a bit harder, or however one might want to put it.

There is a great howl, off in the far distance. It doesn't last very long, but from what little you can hear it is indeed getting closer.

Wandering Eye turned to Grizzle. "Well, we've got wolves incoming, that's for sure. In the absence of any other suggestions, I think that new path is our best bet."

He wasn't quite sure whether he trusted this outsider... the creatures of the Beyond were not all as... helpful as the Dark Spectres.

Grizzle looks a bit pained, his eyes sliding over to where the Beyonder sat.

"Come now," the thing says with that mocking undertone. "The rational course of action is to follow my advice. For the moment."

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Luthier had been silent since Scorch and Lunar's accident with the stone, and hadn't done much of anything since rushing to their aid after they had touched the stone. Seeing the strange hooded not-pony had introduced a new shock. The night kept getting stranger and stranger, and Luthier was finding himself at a loss of how to react. But the impending approach of more enemies and the strange creature's supposed offer of help meant that inaction could no longer be accepted.

"Eye's right. We need to move now, regardless of whether this creature is trustworthy or not. It didn't need to warn us about the approaching wolves, and he probably isn't leading us into any more danger than we're already in."

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"As much as it pains me to agree with somepony, ditching this guy and moving on is for the best. He...It...hasn't shown any hostility and he gave us a bucking map and like I've been saying for the longest time now, we need to move on to the caves plus this guy is giving me some serious creeps and that never happens."

Curunir wrote:"Eye's right. We need to move now, regardless of whether this creature is trustworthy or not. It didn't need to warn us about the approaching wolves, and he probably isn't leading us into any more danger than we're already in."

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Grizzle grimaces for a moment before unfurling his wing. A moment for hesitation, and he steels himself just before relieving himself of his steel. "Fine. Go."

The stranger stands, turning its head towards Plug. Mostly. "Next time, be more careful about clearing your trail."

Plug looks to be slightly tense, eyes perhaps a tad more dilated than usual, but when he speaks his voice is without waver. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

And as the strange pony walks calmly towards a path everypony is quite certain was not there before the conversation started, Grizzle mostly ignores him for the map he gave to the party. After an unfurling and a quick glance over it, he turns in what seems to be a random direction. "Come on, we haven't much time," he says, a touch of anger coloring his command. "Plug, take the rear."

"Spark," Plug responds, more automatically than anything judging by the ponderous look on his face. He moves into position behind the group.

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Scorch takes the chance to walk up to Grizzle as the guard navigates the party through the forest and tells him "Hey, Wandering told me that you brought me back to life back at the rock, so thanks for that. If there's anything you need from me in the future, feel free to ask."

Wander pondered the nature of the being the group had just encountered. There was something familiar about it that he couldn't quite place... and it bothered him that he knew nothing of it. The Beyond was vast, truly, and there was so much he didn't know, but still... he felt like he should have known something about it.

But perhaps Shimmer had some insight - the two seemed to be the most magically-attuned in the group. He modified his pace to match hers and asked softly, "Any insights on that... being we just encountered?"

[Is the thing going with us, out of curiosity?]

Dusk Raven wrote:[Is the thing going with us, out of curiosity?]

(Writer said that it "walks calmly towards a path everypony is quite certain was not there before the conversation started", so I guess we are going our separate ways...)

Paper Shadow wrote:Scorch takes the chance to walk up to Grizzle as the guard navigates the party through the forest and tells him "Hey, Wandering told me that you brought me back to life back at the rock, so thanks for that. If there's anything you need from me in the future, feel free to ask."

"We were assigned to protect you by Princess Luna. I merely did my duty and not an ounce more. Some would even regard me as having nearly failed at my tasks, and the absolutely insistent would regard me as an abject failure for having let you be harmed in the first place."

The pony pauses for a moment.

"But thank you. It is not very often we receive appreciation in this line of work." Having said this, Grizzle looks about a bit, slowing his stride, then turns off the path into the woods - a surprising lack of tree trunks (though still a good deal of foilage) lay before his steps.

[You guess right, by the way.]

Cobbled is about to collapse. The signs of fatigue that show on his face grow every second. He wobbles in his step, leaning to the left, almost falling off of the path. He rubbed his eyes, but they just kept hurting, worse and worse.
wow i really need to stop doing this
like really this hurts
but what am i even saying anymore
i dont even

"Woah, easy there," Plug says as he catches Cobbled's staggering form. "Here, get on my back. I can carry you for a bit."

The colt gives up his post at the back for just a bit, walking up alongside the resident Warmage. "Hey," he whispers to Brilliant. "Got anything to help the kid drift off? Or at least give him a boost of energy until we can get somewhere and somewhen he can actually sleep?" He looks back at the colt on his back for a moment. "Far be it for me to question Luna, but..."

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Brilliant is lost in thought and so it takes a few seconds for her to realize Wandering is talking to her. "Hmm? Oh. I'm... not entirely certain. Now that I think about it, I'm fairly certain it wasn't even alive. Its magic was, though. It was aware of me analyzing it. I could feel it staring back at me. It wasn't omniscient though; it stopped paying as close attention to me while Plug was sneaking up on it. If we encounter it again, I'd suggest attempting some kind of magical sensory overload. Arcana static of some sort".

Speaking of Plug, she turns when he walks up alongside her. "I can improvise something. I was going to earlier, back at the palace, but I decided it would be better to be tired but functional now rather than rested and catatonic later. The side-effects might be... inconvenient".

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"Well right now this little dude's barely functioning and the only safe path in the forest doesn't lead him back home." He pulls the puppy-dog face. "Come on, for the colt..." He chuckles. "And my poor back."