The P-Files

"What opponen- GAH!" Whisper mentally replies as she spots the black ocean of nightmare fuel coming their way.

---

Perception aiding Nameless' Perception: 9 + 5 = 14. Yeah... don't think that even helped.

OOC:Aiding Nameless check.  Going to shine a light here so we can all see better.  Assisting via Arcane
Roll(1d20)+17:
14,+17
Total:31



"Can we get a light here?"

Coffee points to spot and suspends a glowing ball of light above the raging seas?

"Zam!"

Cardbo wrote: "Well how about that ladies and gentleponies?  Isn't that wonderful?"

"But to keep our audience safe, we're moving the platform they're on a safe distance.  Yes, yes, I know you'd all love a first-hoof view of the action, but our insurance agents advised against it."

A circle around the Rocks is cut.  Underneath, a fan spins and the platform slowly lifts into the air.

'Buck, can you fly up there and guard the Rocks?  I think they'll soon be targetted.'

OOC:More dream logic to keep the Rocks unafraid.  Not sure if I actually need to do this.  Again, rolling double.
Roll(1d20)+17:
17,+17
Total:34

Roll(1d20)+17:
19,+17
Total:36

Spoiler:

As Coffee's illusionary fan continues to spin, the Rocks' platform glows green with ponykinetic energy. It rises up off the ground, but due to the combined weight of all six of the Rocks and the unconscious newcomer, you're unable to raise it as high as you'd of liked. In spite of your best efforts, you fear that the Rocks are still well within the danger zone.

Nevertheless, as the Rocks share a look of dazed confusion at everything that's gone on in such a short time, Buck scarfs down the last of another piece of cake and nods at Coffee's words. Spreading his massive black and red wings, the big griffon takes to the air, gazing steadily at the dark waters as they churn up all around.

While Buck readies himself to play interference, Nameless and Gleeda continue to stare into the ebon ooze, and as Coffee shines a light into the blackness - you see thousands of crimson eyes shining back. You have mere moments before the nightmares are upon you, but as you ready yourselves for the coming battle, Chitin feels the littlest Buck hug her tight. He'd seemed to be thinking about something intently all this time - his eyes closed, his head bowed in concentration - but now as you glance back his eyes are open wide, tears streaming down his cheeks. "My dad a'ways sayd the Knights of the Wed Wose were the best awound. He bwelieved in you... and I do too! -You can dow it!" He urges in a hushed tone, "I knwow you can! Jus like in the stowies!"

At his words, faint traces of glimmering light begin to swirl around Chitin, Coffee, Gleeda, Whisper, Buck - even the nameless (and apparently friendly?) new nightmare...

Spoiler:

Initiative: 10

Combat Talents:

Nameless turns to see the oncoming horde, then notices how unsafe the rocks and co. are. He strains, calling the fabric of the dream-world to obey him, to protect the innocent ones. Chunks of steel float from the amphitheater's construction, and come to rest in front of him. He strains, and the metal begins to twist.

Mechanics check for Fabricate.:

Arcane Assist Check on Nameless' roll
Roll(1d20)+17:
4,+17
Total:21

As Nameless focuses his energies on the steel while Coffee assists with PK, the metal begins to screech and whine as it bends into place, forming a rough, rounded dome atop the Hard Rocks' floating platform. The Rocks (especially the younger ones) yell in protest as the steel barrier rises up and blocks out their field of vision, but as the dome closes up around them - it also has the added bonus of muffling their yelling...

Seeing the protective dome in place, Buck turns back to Nameless and Coffee, "Thanks for the assist," he yells over the cacophony of the churning black tar. His every muscle tensed, his bloodshot eye both clear and vigilant, he nods, "I'll take it from here! I won't let even one a' those buckin' things break through!"

Initiative: 10. Huh.

Combat Talents:

Initiative: 1... Fitting...

combat talents:

Chitin's horn flares to light as she telekinetic ally grabs hold of her daggers and levitates them into the air. In the dreamscape the daggers have morphed to match her current form, the blades and the top of the guard shaped like a somewhat flat rose and colored a bright red while the handle and pommel are both green and seem to be made of vines which also compose the rest of the guard.

intitiative and combat:

Spoiler:

As Chitin, Whisper, Gleeda, Coffee, Buck, and their new, nameless ally all ready themselves for the coming battle, a deafening, many-throated roar rises from the tide of rushing, ebon waters and blazing red eyes.

Atop Chitin's back, the littlest Hard Rock bites his lip, then lets out a defiant yell of his own. The colt's words are completely lost in the nightmares' guttural roars, but as the little pony shouts back into the darkness, the light swirling around all of you begins to manifest itself, taking on solid form. Sparkling air becomes gleaming metal and glistening mist becomes sharpened thorns as shining green and red barding sheathes your breasts, heads, and limbs. The armor feels as light as a feather but as strong as steel, and intricate, stylized scrollwork adorns the plating, mimicking the look of intertwining red-stemmed roses. Up from the ground at your armored hooves sprouts an emerald green banner pole like a new-day bloom, and from the pole unfurls a flag of purest silk - displaying a network of multicolored roses, with a single red rose at it's center. Looking upon the flag as it flaps majestically in the breeze, it fills you with hope and new-found energy.

-You have little time to admire either your new accoutrements or the waving colors however, for your transformation seems to mark the beginning of the nightmares' attack. Swarms of mini-nightmares like the ones you faced before spew forth from the black sea, filling the sky with the flapping of misshapen wings as they rush towards you, even as light from the stars and stage boil their black, tarry skin.

Spoiler:

The creatures make their first pass through your ranks, clawing at your armor and snapping at your exposed fur and feathers.

Spoiler:

Chitin slashes out with her daggers as the swarms pass her, raking it with the blade as it flies.

Combat stuff:

Whisper calls out weak points in the nightmares' defenses to Chitin.

Combat Data:

Chitin narrows her eyes as she focuses, the magical power around her daggers beginning to contract and compress around them. Soon it's a perfect black silhouette with a faint green glow in the shape of the daggers, the magical edge of the blades visibly lengthening and sharpening.

Combat Stuff:

Nameless leaps at the hoard Chitin slashed and slams his hoof into the swarm, the hoof glowing with an unholy silver fire. As he withdraws his hoof, he sweeps it towards Gleeda, and a silver aura envelops her. He then turns to another target, leaping at it and pressing a hoof into it. His eyes glow red, and an aura spreads from his eyes to the swarm, enveloping it and him in a deadly red glow.

Combat Stats:

Coffee grabs the Rose Banner and waves it around with TK.

"For the Rose Knights!"

Spoiler:

As Coffee waves the Rose Knight's colors proudly, the swarm of nightmares hit by Nameless' attack screech in pain as they're engulfed by a writhing mass of silver flames and explode into a shower of black goo.

Spoiler:

Gleeda grins as the thrill of combat comes over herself.

combat talent:

status:

(OOC: Sorry that it took so long...)

The swarming nightmares beat their leathery, feathery, membranous wings as they turn back for another pass at your party, even as you hear Buck bellow from behind you, "COME AT ME YA POOR BUCKIN' EXCUSE FER CHANGELIN' KNOCK OFFS! YOUR BUCKIN' BROOD MOTHER WAS A BUCKIN' FLEA! " As Buck follows his words up with a lion's roar, the littlest Hard Rock holds on tight to Chitin's coat, looking up uncertainly at the roiling sky of nightmars. You join him in staring at the swarms as they spiral upward like columns of oily black insects, their tarry forms ever shifting and mutating in never-ending, constant motion. Snapping mouths, blinking eyes, clawing appendages rise and recede from their viscous flesh over and over - almost as if the creatures themselves know not what form to take, but instead wish to have it all - the strength, speed, and visage of every race, crushed together into one monstrous mass of brooding, black clay.  

-But as the creatures reach the pinnacle of their skyward arc and dive back down towards you, their misshapen claws, fangs, and barbed protrusions seem to solidify, slashing through your ranks and cutting deep. The only exceptions are Chitin and Gleeda. While Chitin takes the full brunt of one swarm's attacks, another swarm directed at her isn't fast enough to react as the changeling's blades flash out and whip through their ranks. Guided by ponykinetic energy, the twin daggers slice through the nightmares with ease - returning to their master even as the nightmares' remains plummet to the ground some distance away, the swarm's red eyes still wide, blinking in surprise; the fact of their destruction having not even registered yet. As for Gleeda, the swarms rushing towards her slow their acceleration immediately as they come within range of her silver aura. Losing their nerve completely, the creatures veer off at the last second - their claws only just connecting with the griffon princess but dealing no noticeable damage.

Meanwhile, as the swarm effected by Nameless' glowing red curse rises out of it's attack dive - something seems to happen within the nightmares themselves. Their multitudious red eyes go wide and their gaping maws and mandibles close shut in surprise, their tarry forms expanding as mini-explosions seem to detonate violently within them again and again (sort of like popcorn). Before they can react, there's a loud - BANG! - and just like that, black tar smoking with red energy begins raining from the sky like confetti.

Even with this minor victory however, as the other nightmares rise up from their attack run, the shadow of their collective horde washes over you. A sense of unease overtakes everypony, and images flash across your minds' eyes - images of terrible, otherworldly creatures, sights, sounds, and actions. The images are fleeting, gone in a flash - you forget them instantly, but a shocking sense of dread remains...

Spoiler:

Chitin grins as the nightmares fall apart behind her. "Are you holding up okay back there?" She calls back to little rock as she watches the nightmares fly above, a feeling of fear gripping her for a moment before she grits her teeth and snorts in defiance. Watching one group and leading them a bit with her eyes before sending her daggers up to where they'd be in a whirling storm of blades to show she isn't afraid. She'd seen far worse than this at the hive several times over on any given week!

Combat Stats:

"Would you kindly shoot them already Gleeda!?" Whisper cries out shrilly, trying not to look at the nightmare things.

Combat Data:

Gleeda looks confused at that suggestion... Why would she "kindly" attack anyone? And how do you such a thing... Before she can muse too long on this line of thought she just attacked with a rain of lighting bolts at the enemy.

combat talent:

As Chitin called -

Dr Blight wrote:"Are you holding up okay back there?"

The Littlest Rock looked up to answer - just as Whisper shouted out to Gleeda and the griffon let loose a barrage of bolts, lighting up the nightmare-tossed sky with electricity. The air was so packed with swarming monsters that every single shot struck true, hammering the black-clay abominations with the full force of a thousand angry bug zappers as a chain reaction of detonations erupted all across the amphitheater. Nightmares crashed into one another or blew up outright as a continuous stream of electrical sparks, spectral light, and black gobs of goo began raining down from up above.

From behind her, Chitin could just hear Hard Rock mumble, "Ummmm..." After a moment, she sensed as he nodded slowly, "Yes. I'm... I think I'm holdin' up. jus'. fine..."

-But when the smoke clears and the rain of electricity and goo finally subsides, one swarm of mini-clay nightmares still remains in the sky. Even in the midst of their comrades' mutual destruction, the last swarm seems unfazed - still Taurtarus-bent on attack, even as multiple members of the swarm bleed black goo from wounds previously inflicted by Chitin's daggers.

Meanwhile, the black waters surrounding your party on every side begin to split open yet again, readying to release a new wave of threats onto the battlefield.

It seems the nightmares are not yet done with you...

Spoiler:

Nameless roars with pain and leaps at he remaining swarm beast, his entire body blazing with hatred. He lands inside of it, punching and kicking like a madpony.

Combat Status:

From within the swarm of buzzing, flapping, screeching nightmares - Nameless spins in a dizzying arc, bucking wildly in every direction as his adversaries press in, bashing red eyed faces, sending broken fangs flying with every kick of his flaming hooves. His silver mane spins with him, spiraling into a a mini vortex of fire - and when he finally comes to a halt, the mini-clay nightmares all around him freeze in the air - then drop like flies. They send up showers of tar as they hit the ground, reverting back to a primordial, inanimate ooze that stirs no more.

Hard Rock hazards a glance up from Chitin's mane as, at your backs, you hear a roar of triumph and squelches of pain as Buck finishes off the last of the nightmare swarms that slipped past your party. As the creatures' final cries echo through the amphitheater, a stillness sets in - but you know this stillness is fleeting, nothing more than a temporary break in the storm...

-Something else stirs from the black pools surrounding you.

The ebon waters begin to churn up again, another vortex rising to the surface, forming a dark portal to disgorge a new wave of foes.

Seven figures breech the tarry sea, but the silhouettes of these figures are nothing like that of the nightmares that came before. Unlike the swarms of malformed mutants that you just fought, these new creatures seem to have taken on a more defined shape, being noticeably equine in nature. They bear coal-black coats dripping with tar, red eyes burning with malice, and glistening white fangs that shine from sneering snouts. As they slowly approach you across the amphitheater floor, manes of burning flame roar to life all along their backs and hooves.

You've seen these creatures before, you know you have - in your nightmares, your waking dreams - and also, more recently, in Rock's dreams. They look just like your new nameless ally (by that I mean Nameless, if it's not obvious already) - and minus the silver to their flames and the lack of cutie-marks on their flanks, they could be his twins.

-But there's little time to consider the implications of that right now, as two of the new nightmares split from the main pack and begin a flanking maneuver, the rest continuing their advance straight towards you.

"I CALL THE TWO BUCKIN' MATCHSTICKS ON THE OUTSIDE!" Buck yells from the rear, "THE OTHER FIVE 'ER ALL YOURS!"

As you prepare to renew the fight, Chitin senses Rock's grip on her coat grow tighter as he ducks his head back into her crimson mane.

Spoiler:

As you watch, the main pack of nightmares begin gaining momentum - starting off at a slow trot, but quickly switching over to a canter and then an all-out gallop; their flaming manes whipped back, their red eyes blazing, the creatures' burning hooves leaving blazing trails of fire in their wake as they race forward to close the distance between you. It takes mere moments before the nightmares are ontop of your party, the five equines leaping into the air as one and pressing a blazing hoof to each of you, their eyes glowing as an aura spreads from their eyes to you - enveloping everypony in a deadly red glow.

The five nightmares continue riding on their momentum, flying past you, hitting the ground, spinning in place - leaving scorch marks along the ground as they come back around and slam another flaming hoof into your backsides. As the hooves make contact they detonate in eruptions of flames - and you're certain you've seen this somewhere before...

Spoiler: