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

AProcrastinatingWriter Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:03 pm

Spoiler:

**Paper Shadow** Sat Mar 23, 2013 4:05 pm

"Oh, there she is."

(Endurance Roll: Natural 20 Baby!)

Curunir Sat Mar 23, 2013 4:42 pm

Endurance:

Luthier jumped up at the noise of the door slamming open, and immediately dropped to the floor bowing to the Princess, awed by her presence. Although even if he hadn't, the force of her voice upon his sensitive ears probably would have dropped him anyways- he hoped the intensity of the true Royal Canterlot Voice of Luna hadn't done any permanent damage.

Dusk Raven Sat Mar 23, 2013 5:26 pm

[Heh, if anything, Iggy would probably get a penalty to the Endurance check.

Anyway, APW, your "old english" (actually Early Modern English, technically) is pretty good, with the exception that the thou/thee/thy pronoun would likely be replaced by you/your, since she's speaking to multiple people. But then again, Luna made that same "error" in Luna Eclipsed, I assume deliberately since thou/thee/thy is informal and she was trying to be friendly.]

Spoiler:

deonte9109 Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:21 pm

Iggy's more sensitive ear drums almost popped with the Princess' sudden introduction. He put his hooves to his ears in the hopes that it would dull the sound.
"Its about time you showed up and you should learn some common courtesy to not shout at ponies."

Endurance:

AProcrastinatingWriter Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:51 pm

Spoiler:

deonte9109 wrote:
"Its about time you showed up and you should learn some common courtesy to not shout at ponies."

The Princess of the Night, stars enveloped in her mane and whispers of night caressing her fur, she with enough power to move the very heavens with but a thought, blinks.

And then blushes. "Sorry. Too loud?"

"No, not at all, your highness! Just the right volume!" Grizzle says, scraping at his ears. He is not the only one doing so.

Luna, looking skeptical, turns to Plug instead. The guard in question nods sadly. "Just a tad, milady."

"Sorry," the princess repeats, looking off to the side. With a shake of her head, she regains her standing as Her Highness, filling the room not with soundwaves but with absolute power. Or maybe just a slight echo-effect applied magically to her words. Hard to say. "Greetings once more, my subjects. I apologize for the rude awakening, but I fear that there may not be much time to waste."

She smiles nervously. "Though I confess it has been quite some time since I have needed to assemble a group of ponies, and my briefing skills are perhaps a bit rusty?" She looks to Plug as if for confirmation.

He nods once more, gently as possible. "For one thing, prooooobably best if you hadn't mentioned your being nervous."

Luna considers this a moment, her visible eye slightly widened. "'Tis a point," she acknowledges. She recovers quickly though, seeming to finally know in which direction this meeting should head. "Perhaps this meeting, then, shall go more smoothly if a somewhat different approach than the standard is taken." She places her hooves gently upon the remains of the world map on the table. "You all likely have very many questions for us...and me in particular. Start asking them, and do not hold back on any front; do not overlook the smallest detail. The information shall be dispensed more...naturally this way."

**Paper Shadow** Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:59 pm

Frankly, Scorch didn't find it loud. He's been louder than that. "So, Princess Luna, why are we here in the first place?"

Xel Unknown Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:02 pm

"You were so loud, I'm not sure if I'm talking or thinking right now..." Lunar mutters loudly to himself.

Dusk Raven Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:12 pm

Once he'd recovered from the shockwave of Luna's voice, Wandering Eye bowed respectfully, trying very hard to not glare at Iggy, rising once the princess asked for questions.

"Yes, your majesty... I'm afraid, without further information, the most we can ask is the reason for which we were summoned. Well... and some events that occurred during our journey, but first things first."

casey1859 Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:27 pm

Yeah princess. What am I doing here? This just might be one of the oddest nights of my life. Second only to that one time I discovered my dad's secret supply of harlequin dolls he made for himself.
By this time, Cobbled had seated himself in a chair at the table, crossing his front "arms?" on the table and laying his head on them.

deonte9109 Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:39 pm

Iggy already devoid of his sight now was having a hard time hearing as well. Without anyway to accurately move around, he began to run into everything around him; ponies, furniture, and walls.
"First my eyes now my ears will the universe stop torturing me?!"

AProcrastinatingWriter Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:52 pm

Luna seems to ignore Iggy's plight. "Yes, of course that would be everypony's first question. Entirely understandable. After all..." she pauses, then looks at Cobbled in shock. "Harlequins?"

Then it appears as if the princess decides to move forward without any more potential for awkward revelations."You were summoned here," Princess Luna said, "To serve as investigators."

"Many strange things have been happening in Equestria lately - and, I suspect, in the lands beyond. Understand, please, that I do not mean strange as in 'suspicious' or 'threatening.' When I say strange, I mean it."

She points a hoof someplace seemingly at random on the map in front of her. "A pony remembered by no pony who shows up on no record appears on a street corner in Manehatten, claiming the entirety of the world's geography should be different than what it is - and as if to partially corroborate his story, an empire my sister and I have no knowledge of appears floating in the sky above where he claims it should be. Black stones pulsing with a magic never seen before bubble forth from the rainbow river in Cloudsdale and disappear from places they are taken to over the night." At this juncture, Luna looks up, and a tinge of sadness colors her voice. "The constellations appear differently in the sky, and no matter how I may try they still will not return to their natural state." She looks down once more, voice back in check, face clear of expression save determination. "And throughout it all there is a sort of buzzing in the background - not in noise, but in magic, in the very foundation of Equestria...of Equus itself."

"Something, I hope I do not need to say, is very wrong."

**Paper Shadow** Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:10 pm

Scorch takes a while to try to understand everything being said. Floating Empires? Mysterious Black Rocks? Harlequin Dolls? None of this made sense. The dragon occasionally glanced at his companion, to see if he had an idea of what was happening. However, Scorch does think of another question while wondering about this...

"O... kay, but why us?"

Retrokinesis Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:15 pm

Now that was a good question. Brilliant took a quick look around the room, pausing on the young Cobbled and insensate Iggy particularly. "If I may speak freely, your Highness, I completely agree. Surely this is a matter more appropriate for the Royal Guard to handle?"

The gears in her head were visibly spinning. "Empires appearing out of thin air and strange geological formations sounds like King Sombra... has it been determined if this unknown pony is connected to him?" She couldn't think of anything powerful enough to disrupt the entire fabric of magic, but Sombra was supposedly one of the powerful sorcerers in unicorn history so...

casey1859 Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:20 pm

Black stones pulsing with magic? Can you explain to me in more detail, princess, what exactly you mean? Is the magic harmful? Could I use it in any way? Where is it? Surely you can track it as it dissapears. Cobbled rattled off a string of questions, excited at the prospect of having actual, magical material he might be able to work with.

Dusk Raven Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:27 pm

For a moment, Wandering Eye was speechless. He was still speechless in the next moment, he was still speechless, but he slowly sat back, landing in a chair more by reflex than by intent. Even as investigator of the strange, he himself was perplexed by these events. He racked his brain, trying to remember something, anything, that he'd encountered that could help explain any part of what was going on.

Spoiler:

"That... that is a strange series of events. I have quite a few questions regarding the whole thing... but the black stones have piqued my interest first and foremost."

It couldn't be...

AProcrastinatingWriter Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:31 pm

Dusk Raven wrote:For a moment, Wandering Eye was speechless. He was still speechless in the next moment, he was still speechless, but he slowly sat back, landing in a chair more by reflex than by intent. Even as investigator of the strange, he himself was perplexed by these events. He racked his brain, trying to remember something, anything, that he'd encountered that could help explain any part of what was going on.

Spoiler:

"That... that is a strange series of events. I have quite a few questions regarding the whole thing... but the black stones have piqued my interest first and foremost."

It couldn't be...

Spoiler:

"What do you mean by that?" Luna asked of Wandering Eye. But before the pony could answer...

Paper Shadow wrote:
"O... kay, but why us?"

Retrokinesis wrote:Now that was a good question. Brilliant took a quick look around the room, pausing on the young Cobbled and insensate Iggy particularly. "If I may speak freely, your Highness, I completely agree. Surely this is a matter more appropriate for the Royal Guard to handle?"

Luna looks at both of you for several moments before responding. "Well that's quite simple," she finally responds. She points to each of the group in turn. "He is an accomplished virtuoso in Music, which I presume I need not tell you is Equestria's third makeup alongside Time and Space? He, having not found his cutie mark, is full of untapped potential and is subtly better-connected to the reverbs of magic than the rest of you. Meanwhile, our hippogriff companion is unique in ability, and has a deeper connection to nature than the rest of you because of his upbringing. And he is a scholar of the utmost ability, and a personal friend of mine, though we have not seen each other in many months." Here Luna takes a brief pause in her explanation to smile and nod ever-so-slightly at Wandering Eye. Then, of course, she is all business once again. "You, my friend, are a dragon. And he..."

Luna pauses at Cobbled Stone. For several seconds. "...my reasons are my own," she finally says. "But if you doubt my word or yourselves, only remember that my guards are of course trained to the best of their abilities to help out in whatever fashion they can. And they shall be accompanying you."

"Wait, what?" Plug says, stunned.

Retrokinesis wrote:The gears in her head were visibly spinning. "Empires appearing out of thin air and strange geological formations sounds like King Sombra... has it been determined if this unknown pony is connected to him?" She couldn't think of anything powerful enough to disrupt the entire fabric of magic, but Sombra was supposedly one of the powerful sorcerers in unicorn history so...

casey1859 wrote:Black stones pulsing with magic? Can you explain to me in more detail, princess, what exactly you mean? Is the magic harmful? Could I use it in any way? Where is it? Surely you can track it as it dissapears. Cobbled rattled off a string of questions, excited at the prospect of having actual, magical material he might be able to work with.

Luna looks overwhelmed for just a split-second before responding. "We have no idea what the black stones are or what they are capable of or what ponies they may or may not be connected to," Luna cuts Cobbled off, sounding slightly impatient. "As I said, they disappeared over the night every time they were gathered up...no matter how closely they were watched in the intervening time. We haven't been able to determine anything meaningful about these black stones. Not in the slightest.

Retrokinesis Sat Mar 23, 2013 10:51 pm

Brilliant felt better knowing she and the other Guards would be accompanying the group. It sounded like this could be very dangerous and she didn't think any of the others had formal combat training. Not that the dragon would need it, of course, but...

"Interesting. Do we know anything about this mysterious pony? It certainly sounds like he's connected to all of this and might even be causing it. Has there been any contact with this new empire yet either?"

deonte9109 Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:06 pm

"MAWP......MAWP....MAWP.....This is the only time a blind pony would ever ask for help so please feel free. MAWP...MAWP
Iggy continues to stumble around the room.

**Paper Shadow** Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:47 pm

Scorch had a bit of smug self-satisfaction, even though his only accomplishment was the fact that he was a dragon. Still, it felt nice for the fact that he was a dragon be a positive thing for once. He was in such a good mood that, even though he didn't particularly like the blind pegasus, he still goes over to Iggy and picks the pegasus up, or at the very least stop him from crashing around the room...

(Athletics Roll: 12 + 13 (Skill Bonus) = 25)

AProcrastinatingWriter Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:35 am

Retrokinesis wrote:Brilliant felt better knowing she and the other Guards would be accompanying the group. It sounded like this could be very dangerous and she didn't think any of the others had formal combat training. Not that the dragon would need it, of course, but...

"Interesting. Do we know anything about this mysterious pony? It certainly sounds like he's connected to all of this and might even be causing it. Has there been any contact with this new empire yet either?"

"We have sent an envoy to to empire's location and are awaiting a response," Luna says in return, indicating the map before her. "As to the pony himself, he seems erratic in his behavior. We are unable to gleam much information from him besides talk of horrifying creatures, adventures the Elements of Harmony never undertook, and impossible countries. Well, that and his name, which is..." Luna grumbles and shakes her head. "Drat. I have forgotten. Nightbound?"

"On it!" Plug says with a sharply-saluted wing. He exits, presumably to get hold of that pony's name.

Paper Shadow wrote:Scorch had a bit of smug self-satisfaction, even though his only accomplishment was the fact that he was a dragon. Still, it felt nice for the fact that he was a dragon be a positive thing for once. He was in such a good mood that, even though he didn't particularly like the blind pegasus, he still goes over to Iggy and picks the pegasus up, or at the very least stop him from crashing around the room...

(Athletics Roll: 12 + 13 (Skill Bonus) = 25)

"Hmm?" Grizzle, meanwhile seems to have woken up a hair to Iggy's plight by virtue of his being picked up by a dragon. "Oh, very sorry!" he says before rushing over to Iggy. "My humblest apologies!"

There is a small collection of storm clouds forming spontaneously around the blind pony's head for a few moments before a loud crackle. Iggy's ears pop as the storm disappears. "Amazing what one can do with a little air-pressure, isn't it?"

As this is going on, Luna continues. "You can see the location of the envoy on the map." Having said this, she squints at the heart of the Crystal Empire, where the envoy is located. "Though I must ask you to keep in mind that the proper location of the envoy is actually here, as the unknown empire is floating in the air." Then, as if to drive in the fantastic point home with a sledgehammer, Luna turns back towards Brilliant, a small smile on her face, and says: "As a final point upon this subject, I should note that the pony in question had a very strange appearance - his coat seemed to be made entirely of gemstones! Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

Spoiler:

Retrokinesis Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:49 am

Had she? Brilliant had read Princess Sparkle's reports on the Crystal Empire and recalled that the Heart at its center had a similar, if temporary, effect across the Empire and a permanent one on its natural residents. Could the mysterious pony be a crystal pony from some alternate, floating Crystal Empire? Could the stones have similar properties to the Heart? She wracked her brain, trying to make an estimate on how the Empire's magic worked and what possible permutations of it might look like.

Spoiler:

**Paper Shadow** Sun Mar 24, 2013 12:57 am

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:"As a final point upon this subject, I should note that the pony in question had a very strange appearance - his coat seemed to be made entirely of gemstones! Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

At this, Scorch drops the pegasus and turns to the princess. "Wait, did you say, gemstones?" asks the dragon, as he slightly licks his lips...

AProcrastinatingWriter Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:11 am

Retrokinesis wrote:Had she? Brilliant had read Princess Sparkle's reports on the Crystal Empire and recalled that the Heart at its center had a similar, if temporary, effect across the Empire and a permanent one on its natural residents. Could the mysterious pony be a crystal pony from some alternate, floating Crystal Empire? Could the stones have similar properties to the Heart? She wracked her brain, trying to make an estimate on how the Empire's magic worked and what possible permutations of it might look like.
Spoiler:

The tricky thing is that the Crystal Empire does not have any particular raw magic of its own that the rest of Equestria does not have access to - hope, joy, light, etc. You see, the Crystal Heart is actually not a magical artifact - not in the way ponies normally think of such things, anyway. Instead, it is a magical convertor and amplifier, able to take intense magical power and transmute it into a different form, displace it, store it, etc. All gemstones are, at least in hypothesis. In practice, nopony's ever quite gotten it down outside of magfi novels. The thing that makes the Crystal Heart special is that it is capable of what it does outside of magfi novels - perhaps some function of its unique crystalline structure and carbon makeup. It is also quite adaptable in what kind of magic it can take in, a fact that unfortunately King Sombra was entirely willing to use to his advantage.

It would be easy to cast an illusion spell to make yourself look like a crystal pony, but for your coat to actually become crystalline (yet retain its flexibility) you can think of no other source but the Crystal Heart and a heavy dose of light-aligned hope magic. And you can think of no way in which the black stones might be related (from what little information you have about them) except that if they are radiating magic, the Crystal Heart could amplify their magic too.

Paper Shadow wrote:
AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:"As a final point upon this subject, I should note that the pony in question had a very strange appearance - his coat seemed to be made entirely of gemstones! Have you ever heard of such a thing?"
At this, Scorch drops the pegasus and turns to the princess. "Wait, did you say, gemstones?" asks the dragon, as he slightly licks his lips...

"Yes I did, and no you may not attempt to devour this poor pony or any of his coat," Luna says with the utmost finality.

**Paper Shadow** Sun Mar 24, 2013 1:30 am

Scorch's enthusiasm turns into disappointment with a hint of anger. He kinda just mumbles to himself as he takes his position next to Wandering Eye once again...

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