Dragon's Feud

”I guess that makes sense,” Chassis says with a shrug of her own. ”I imagine the tops covering the pits have to be sturdy so they don’t collapse under the weight of the dirt you cover it with. Does the dragon or your Alpha manage that, too?”

Rolls:

"Thanks!" Pumpkin says to the dragon, smiling like a pony selling toothpaste before following after the diamond dog that takes the lead. She slow, dropping some ways behind and letting Chassis do her thing without another pony trying to talk to the diamond dog at once.

"Anypony else catch that?" she asks, keeping her voice as low as possible. "They said they got hired until they beat us. They're not just trying to take stuff or bully us into something," she sighs. "I was kind of hoping this was something besides an invasion. At least whatever they're planning is long-term or they wouldn't be putting this many traps down. And if they're trying to drive ponies out, first, they aren't sure they can win. Yet."

"What I can't work out is why Ponyville? And why did they take the castle first? If they were going to take over the whole place anyway, what's the point of moving a whole castle first? It's got to be important, somehow. Something bigger's going on, and it's all connected.

"I hate to say it, but I don't think capturing one of them is optional anymore. Ponyville needs answers. And where the saddle really rubs is the grunts don't know anything. I think we might need a dragon. Or an alpha," she says with a sigh.

"No, Dragons don't build traps, just watch the road. Alpha is not here- dogs dug all the pits, and hid them." He beams proudly, apparently unaware of his poor judgment in divulging information to the enemy. He continues leading the group, and those paying attention- Violet, Lucky and Atlas, specifically- quickly realize that he's simply leading them up the side of the road. The rocky shoulder isn't ideal for wagons, but its certainly navigable.

Helmaroc flies above the group, and a few cursory glances confirm that no other dogs are following them.

The dog shrugs, and continues along the side of the road....





The party continues along the road. The dog, whose name Chassis discovered is Fe-Tcher, departed a few minutes earlier, claiming they had only dug pits that far, and the rest of the road was safe. He then scampered back the way he came, and left you all to continue on your way. Luckily, it would only be a few more minutes' walk before you spot a small group of ponies with two wagons parked along the road, apparently waiting for someone.

As soon as Fe-Tcher leaves, Chassis takes a deep breath, thankful to once again be breathing fresh air. She’s even more grateful to see other ponies on the road ahead of her.

When they’re within hearing distance, Chassis calls out a greeting. ”Hello!”

"What do you think it'd take for you and Chassis to turn that wagon into a big fire and dig proof trap?" Pumpkin is asking Cherry as she flies slowly next to her.

"I think the rest of us can find everything else we're going to need once we're there, but when the hooves meet the apple tree, none of that'll matter unless we can make something to keep them in. I think only you two can do that."

She pauses to look up as she sees a few colorful dots in the distance that eventually turn into ponies. It's a relief after their last encounter.

"Hey!" she chimes in with Chassis, waving a foreleg at them.

"Or, we could just hit them real hard and hope they get knocked out or something," Atlas punches a fist into an open palm, before turning to look at the new group of ponies. "Hark! Forsooth, we cometh in the peace!"

He pauses, distaste clear in his frown. "Should probably just skip the medieval act."

"Big guy has good idea! Punch the way to victory, yes!" Peony throws up a tiny hoof in support.

~Peony, no~ Helmaroc squawks.

"Fine. Trap first - then punch, yes?"

~Good enough...~ Helmaroc swoops down to retrieve the breezie bottle, hopping along next to Pumpkin.

As the party nears the other caravan, Chassis gives it a quick glance-over and says, "If you're headed the other way to deliver supplies to Ponyville, I don't think you'll get far. The dogs and dragons have pit traps hidden in the road the rest of the way from here."

The ponies watch as you approach, waiting for you to get close. One of them, an older looking stallion with a beard, steps forward to greet you. "I suppose you all are the, uh... special team we were told to meet? My name's Rock Hammer, caravan leader. This is Wilted Oak, our security chief," He points to a unicorn mare behind him, "...come to personally help oversee this little operation." "What can you tell us about the road, aside from the pits and the dogs?" Wilted asks, eyeing Chassis' makeshift wagon with suspicion. "Did you find a safe route around it? How many dragons are there?"

A1C Bronymous wrote:The ponies watch as you approach, waiting for you to get close. One of them, an older looking stallion with a beard, steps forward to greet you. "I suppose you all are the, uh... special team we were told to meet?

Chassis’s ears pricked. ”That’s us.”

A1C Bronymous wrote:"My name's Rock Hammer, caravan leader. This is Wilted Oak, our security chief," He points to a unicorn mare behind him, "...come to personally help oversee this little operation."

”Pleasure to meet.”

A1C Bronymous wrote:"What can you tell us about the road, aside from the pits and the dogs?" Wilted asks, eyeing Chassis' makeshift wagon with suspicion. "Did you find a safe route around it? How many dragons are there?"

”We only saw one dragon overseeing the Diamond Dogs, and the breezie in the jar helped convince him to let us go...somehow. We talked him into having one of the dogs that confronted us escort us past the traps. I managed to get out of the escort that the dogs follow an Alpha that’s in league with the dragon. The dragon doesn’t do much more than watch the road and bully ponies that roll in or out of Ponyville. Whether the Alpha actually does any work or not, I didn’t think to ask. That's about all I know.”

"You need Angry Psychic Powers™, yes. Peony use Angry Psychic Powers™, make dumb dragon go away." Peony pipes up, buzzing in her jar and feeling smug. "Make enough scary and they run. Dragons and dogs, not very brave."

"If you do need to go by the road, stick to the sides. They only dug holes down the middle to catch carts." Atlas points out. "Unless you're real tough, though, I'd recommend going with a smaller load and sticking to the brush. They've got the road locked down pretty good."

"Hi there, Caravan Leader Rock Hammer and Security Chief Wilted Oak! I'm Pumpkin Spice, and this is Violet, Peony... who's actually psychic - it's weird, Chassis, Atlas, Lucky, and Cherry, and we're Team Farinaceous!" She gives an energetic wave.

"Like Chassis said, we got through, but the roads aren't quite clear yet. And Atlas is right - you're not going to get far trying to use the roads. The thing is more trap than road right now." She shrugs.

"But don't worry, there's a plan. And you're the most important part of it. Ponyville really needs supplies. Now, the dragons and diamond dogs aren't watching the forest, so we can use that. The problem is, they're not watching it because it's too thick for wagons so... you're going to have to move things by hoof," she gives an apologetic smile.

"Meanwhile, our job is going to be keeping them busy so they're even less likely to notice you. We're going to go right back the way we came with a big, juicy wagon-trap, and get ourselves. If we're lucky, we'll even catch one of them and scare the rest away from the roads so you can use wagons again.

"But even if we can't do any of that, you'll still get through, and we'll buy Ponyville more time to come up with a new plan. How's that sound?" she asks.

"We're aware of the plan, miss." Wilted says rather bluntly, and Rock Hammer steps in. "Our supplies can't be transported through the woods, but we have other ponies exploring that option at the moment. Are you sure there's no possible way to take the wagons this way?" "What was that about the side of the road?" Wilted directs her attention to Atlas, and then over to Peony. "And... Psychic what now? I think we should discuss things..." She walks up to them, leaving the other three to turn their attention to Rock.

"The pit traps they use to block up the road, they're mostly dug in the middle of the road." Atlas explains, gesturing at the road to emphasize his point.

"You can probably break the cargo up into smaller loads and use smaller carts to safely go down the side of the road. But that still leaves the dogs and the dragon to contend with. Although, the dogs seem like right cowards - don't know about the dragon, though. The little one used some kind of weird magic to get them to go away."

Cherry just gives a tired grunt. In truth, she doesn't actually remember the "convincing the dragon" part, or indeed anything up to the present. She didn't even listen to the plan - it wasn't like she would be able to improve it, or cared enough to do so.

Seeing an opportunity, Peony speaks up. "So... why ponies fighting diamond dogs and dragons anyway? I know pony and dog and dragon no friends to start with, but traps on roads and open fighting not usual, no? Did pony insult dragon mother or something?"

Helmaroc nods. ~I've been wondering about that.~

"Well, if we need smaller wagons..." Wilted scratches her head...

Hammer shrugs. "Canterlot's half a day back the way we came, but the nearest stop is a little ways up the road. We were ready to move, but if you all need time to prepare still... what do you think Chief?" He calls out, and Wilted looks back at him. "Yeah, seems like there's no moving forward right this minute." Hammer nods. "Alright, everyone mount up, we're heading back up the road for now." There is a collective sound- mixed sighs of relief and groans of annoyance- from the caravaneers, and they set the wagons around to head back the other way.

"...Right. Oh, the Dragons." Wilted says, looking to the tiniest member of the group. "You don't live in Ponyville, I take it? We don't know particularly why, but a little bit back, while the Princess was away, the Dragons swooped in with a bunch of dogs and absconded with the Crystal Castle. Then as far as we've heard they're trying to scare all the ponies out of town."

Chassis raises an eyebrow.

The whole thing, with just dragons and dogs? And without anypony in Ponyville noticing?

She tries to mull over possibilities, but her mind refuses. It's doing all it could to keep from crashing from her caffeine overdose from earlier, helped only by the pain from her bladder straining to hold in what felt like a pint of the other result.

Instead, she mechanically plods forward after the caravan, keeping what attention she can afford on the rest she was promised.

Pumpkin frowns. "Well... ponyfeathers. Not being able to use the woods is going to make this harder." She massages her forehead with a hoof.

"We still don't know why they suddenly decided they needed Princess Twilight's castle, though," she adds to Peony. "Or how they just picked it up and left with it."

With a sigh, she nods to Cherry. "Yeah, we should probably call it a day, figure things out, and try this again tomorrow. If you smart ponies need any help with that wagon let us know," she offers.

"Maybe dragons decide ponies have too many castle. Big mountain castle, forest castle, now Sparkly castle? Too many." Peony suggests. "Plus, Sparkly Castle is like beacon. Hurts eyes in morning when light shines off into Hellie's nest."

She frowns for a moment. "Sparkly castle is gem, no? Dragons eat gem, and dogs like gem. Maybe dragons want late night snack?"