Re: Luna's Command: The Continuing Wibbly-Wobbly Saga (Topic Two, to be Absolutely Clear)

AProcrastinatingWriter Mon Aug 26, 2013 6:25 pm

Curunir wrote:Luthier tried to get the attention of one of the other griffons- without making any sudden moves or making it look like he was up to something.
"Excuse me? Could we get some water for this young colt please, and maybe some ice? It looks like we might be here a while.'"

"Plenty of water outside the caves and in the dungeons, scum, but you ain't gonna find any here," the griffin responds cooly.

Just after he said this, their was a sharp cry of pain - or, perhaps, a cry of pain caused by something sharp - as the griffin reappeared, screeching with pain and impaled with several shards of rapidly-fading magic energy. He fell to the ground with a thump and a muted cry.

To his fellow guards' shock, he did not get up again...

Back down in the caves, the cacophony had increased in volume to levels that most would call "unbearable".

But it was hard to blame the army making the noise, buffeted by wind and bright colors as they were. The wind was unusual and disconcerting enough down in the depths of the cave, but at these levels the rainbow portal that had just opened up was so unbelievably bright that even the beings of ECHO that didn't have eyes were flinching away.

Except, perhaps somewhat predictably, for the unicorn in charge. He is staring forward, unwavering, like a statue. Not like a carved statue, however, but a statue created by the petrification of a very patient creature. Expectant is the word the awkward metaphor is, perhaps, trying to get across.

The portal opens up ever-wider, revealing six famous visages in the midst of lights so bright they seemed unto miniature suns, a constellation unto themselves- the Elements of Harmony, one standing at each of the six points of the rainbow hexagon (that was the trouble with portals; the floor here might not be the same as the floor there), and coming through the portal now is -

Is an entire regiment of soldiers. Stormthrowers, Nightbounds, Archmages, Lifegivers, soldiers miscellania charging forth in silhouette and led by a white-coated stallion in red regalia; Shining Armor himself barking orders to groups of ponies and sapients more specific to form a defensive line (Which was, of course, what he was best at), though to also be prepared to move forth at his command. As the ECHO army stands, unflinching, off-balance, unsure, the last of the soldiers files in, taking position, and -

And bringing up the rear as the portal slowly closes in on itself are the twin princesses of night and day. Princess Celestia, eyes glimmering with burning rage held back only by her own gravity. Princess Luna, wings spread wide enough with the power to envelop stars and hooves strong enough to destroy them. And then, finally, just behind them-

Just behind them, just as the portal closed, just barely, another pair of wings spreads, and Twilight Sparkle flies into the scene to join the other two natural alicorns floating above the army they had brought to bear. "Twilight?" Celestia asks, the rage of aeons fading in but a singular instant, replacing itself with heartfelt worry. A different sort of rage bubbles its way up like carbonation: "What are you doing? I told you to-"

"Stay behind?" Twilight finishes, Element of Magic gleaming in unseen light. "I know. But there was no way I could - not now. Not if things are as bad as Luna said. I'll always be your student, but I'm not just your student anymore." She smiles. "I'm a Princess, too."

Celestia cannot help but smile at her peer, but what is likely about to be a battlefield is no time for pleasantries. The smile lingers perhaps a split-second longer than a veteran as seasoned as Celestia should allow, and then suddenly her rage returns, directed once more to the heart of her enemies. Almost-forgotten battle-senses reaffirm their existence in her as her sights settle in on the opposing army's leader, and then - agaisnt all odds - did her anger intensify. Eyes, harbigners of grim tidings, narrow to laser points - like a sunbeam below a magnifying glass, and this threat to her subjects was just as much an ant to her as the analogy implied. (Just below her, Grizzle has just finished gawking in surprise at what was happening around him and managed a bow to his liege.) "That's Twili for you - she never gives up," Shining Armor says beneath his breath before saying very much above it: "Plug! Grizzle! Front lines! We're gonna need you!"

Grizzle leaps to his feet and began pushing his way through the assembled ponies. Plug follows, still hurried but more sedate. Just sedate enough, in fact, to purposefully give himself time to say "Well, for reinforcements, I think they're a pretty good magnum opus," to Scorch. Before anything can be said in response, he is gone, leaving those who would dare time to wonder when precisely he got all of this set up.

No time for idle thoughts, though, not when Luna is shouting down at Wandering Eye. "Summarize your findings, and fast as you may!" she shouts, not quite up to the level of Canterlot voice, but.... "Then you should be prepared to either run as far and as quickly as possible or else to stand and fight!"

And ECHO's army, or whatever small or large portion of it this might be, stands in confusion and awe - except, of course, for that one stinking unicorn. It's actually impressive; there are few besides Discord himself who might stand untouched, even at this distance, by Celestia's rage...and even beyond that...

...put it this way. Before Celestia's stare - before the concentrated beam of heat and fury that reminded those who saw it that "sunny" did not necessarily mean "happy and upbeat" - this unicorn's body language (head raised, shoulders relaxed, single hoof raised) looked for all the world like he was basking in the pleasant summer sun.

...at least, he didn't get up again for several seconds after.

Still, a shocking turn of events - up to this point, they'd been fighting evenly, and now "Heh, heh, heh," the griffin chuckled, accidentally interrupting the narration. "Easy to cut through magic...so you had magic cut through me. That's nice. That's irony. That's..." he laughed aloud as he continued to stagger to his talons.

Then, with a cry of avian fury, he rushed forward and swung his talon at Brilliant's jugular.

Spoiler:

Retrokinesis Mon Aug 26, 2013 7:13 pm

Brilliant turns to make some quip or another as the formerly-downed griffon charges at her. They tumble to the ground and, thinking fast, she teleports herself out of his grasp. It probably saves her life but not before her shield collapses. Wobbling slightly with the effort of rapid translocation, she turns back to the griffon and plants her hooves. No time for quips anymore; that strike had been aiming to kill her.

She looks around for something to give her an edge. She doesn't find anything, but the break gives her some time to recover.

Spoiler:

Dusk Raven Mon Aug 26, 2013 7:47 pm

Wandering's eyes went wide as a veritable army teleported its way into the caverns. "When I heard "reinforcements" I wasn't expecting this!"

Meanwhile, he snapped his attention to Luna. "My princess, we face a massive organization that seeks to eliminate the power of the alicorns, by removing them from existence. Findings indicate they have already done so at least once. As you can see, they have quite a formidable variety of forces. I'll elaborate later, there's a computer a room or two back that can explain more. For now... I stand with you, Luna. For as long as I can." Wandering Eye's heart filled with courage at the thought of fighting alongside Luna herself. He had no idea if he could affect the tide of battle at all, but he had to help somehow. He was not going to shy away from this while those he cared for fought for their lives.

**Paper Shadow** Mon Aug 26, 2013 8:13 pm

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:Grizzle leaps to his feet and began pushing his way through the assembled ponies. Plug follows, still hurried but more sedate. Just sedate enough, in fact, to purposefully give himself time to say "Well, for reinforcements, I think they're a pretty good magnum opus," to Scorch. Before anything can be said in response, he is gone, leaving those who would dare time to wonder when precisely he got all of this set up.

While there was no time to say a response, Scorch still mutters a couple of words under his breath...

Dusk Raven wrote:Meanwhile, he snapped his attention to Luna. "My princess, we face a massive organization that seeks to eliminate the power of the alicorns, by removing them from existence. Findings indicate they have already done so at least once. As you can see, they have quite a formidable variety of forces. I'll elaborate later, there's a computer a room or two back that can explain more. For now... I stand with you, Luna. For as long as I can." Wandering Eye's heart filled with courage at the thought of fighting alongside Luna herself. He had no idea if he could affect the tide of battle at all, but he had to help somehow. He was not going to shy away from this while those he cared for fought for their lives.

"Well, in that case, I'm staying here to," Scorch adds, giving a thumbs up and smile to his owner...

AProcrastinatingWriter Mon Aug 26, 2013 10:29 pm

Luna smiles down at the two brave soldiers below her - but once again, there is not any time for exchanging pleasantries, or even neutralities. Only hostilities, and perhaps the occasional offer of peace spoken through gritted teeth.

Or, in Celestia's case, a booming voice. "Hear my words!" she cries. The cave shakes, the beings of beyond step back, the beings of magic energy shuffle like static, and the chupacabra raises an eyebrow. "You have brought an army to bear beneath my kingdom and have enslaved innocent creatures to do your bidding! You have removed entire kingdoms and creatures from existence and driven good ponies insane! You have threatened my subjects with your actions! But I seek not to punish; only to protect. Surrender now and face atonement for your crimes, and I may yet be lenient. If you do not, you will force our hoof: you will be subdued and face great pain.

The pebbles and rocks finish their scattering as the echoes subside.

Silence.

The unicorn turns so that he is directly facing away from Celestia. "Raise the fields and kill them all."

It is a coldblooded pronouncement, to be certain, and not one the average pony would conceive of, let alone be used to. Pony society is not unaccustomed to murders or wars, of course, but they tend to be found in works of fantasy, not in realistic assessments of options - even Discord, loathsome as he was (and, to some extent, still is) never committed murder...though that was likely more due to personal preference than any sort of moral objection, so perhaps that is not the best example to give. Either way, though shocking to hear, it is not particularly unreasonable to find a single pony - even a relatively "good" pony - willing to readily kill another.

The sad and sickening thing about the situation, though, is the way that 650 ponies instantly and without hesitation raise weapons of war to do just that.

As Shining Armor shouts to "Hold your ground!" he simulataneously raises a force field from his horn, one that covers the entirety of the "Good guys", at least from the front. One has to hand - or hoof - it to him; force fields of any strength usually require several seconds of concentration to from, but his instant-field is withstanding an entire battalion's worth of magical fire without cracking.And it's a big one, to boot! But then again, this is the colt whose force field stood up to heavy assault for several minutes after several days of heavy brainwashing, so it's not like this is a surprise or anything.

"This is not good..." Luna murmurs, breathing out gently. Her game face comes back quickly as the situation gets worse, the non-artillery sections of ECHO's army moving forward around the concentrated laser-fire. They approach fast, but she asseses faster. "Can we move forward whilst maintaining this shield, Shining Armor?"

He considers the question with the parts of his brain that aren't occupied with keeping everypony alive. "...yes, your highness, but I'll need a lot more magic power and a little more time. Twili...er, Princess Sparkle can supply the magic power, and I believe you two could probably hold off those Majacks...but everything else would take the opportunity to get by!"

"Then we'll have to improvise," Twilight lands next to her big brother, horn glowing and feeding into his own magic. The force field starts glowing, and then starts growing. Slowly but surely. "Here's hoping...Stormthrowers, shoot lightning over the top of the force field when they approach! Archmages, direct the lightning with your Ponykinesis! I hope I know what I'm doing..." This last part is added in a small whisper.

"You two should do the same," Luna says to Wandering Eye and Scorch, having not heard the last part. "Er, except perhaps with dragon fire instead of lightning." This said, she flies off with her sister to engage the rapidly-approaching magical beings. "Majacks", apparently. Whatever they are, they're powerful, judging from the unleashing of energies supplied by their forms meeting the Princesses' in what might pass for fisticuffs, playing the rules loosely.

The beings with actual corporal forms are close to the force field, now, some of the taller peering in through its (lack of) ceiling. A storm of Throwers peers back, Archmages ready to direct fire.

In the middle of the opposing army, a calm unicorn walks at his own pace, reaches the wall, presses a hidden panel, opens a hidden door, and passes through it.

No time for clever quips indeed - the griffin sends another cry into the stale cave air and once more disappears.

At the same time, the sound of laser fire and explosions roars up from deeper in the cave - sounds like this battle isn't the only one in progress.

Meanwhile, somewhere none of the party is aware of...

...the entrance of the cave...

...a blue, barely-there field of energy - maybe a force field - shimmers into existence. Everything past its softly-glowing light (the outside world) slowly fades to shades of gray.

Spoiler:

Retrokinesis Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:27 pm

Brilliant struggles to keep her footing as the room shakes. "Whatever that was, I'd say it was bad for one of us. Last chance to give up".

While the griffon dissapears somewhere, she takes the opportunity to heal her wounds with a soothing magenta glow from her horn.

Spoiler:

AProcrastinatingWriter Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:43 pm

The whizzing of a passing talon.

Spoiler:

Retrokinesis Tue Aug 27, 2013 5:16 am

A flash of sudden insight. Her shield rises, a sparking bulwark of hard fuchsia light.

Spoiler:

AProcrastinatingWriter Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:56 am

The griffin laughs outright at this. "You just don't get it, do you?" he says, slipping back into the back-and-forth dialogue found at the beginning of the battle. "My talons can cut!"

Swhing.

"Through!"

Swipe.

"Magic!"

Slash.

Spoiler:

Retrokinesis Tue Aug 27, 2013 5:54 pm

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. Did you say something?" Things were looking poor for her, even when she manages to collapse her shield into a healing spell. She has to end this quickly...

Spoiler:

AProcrastinatingWriter Tue Aug 27, 2013 8:30 pm

All too suddenly, there is a talon at Brilliant's throat. An errant - perhaps not so errant - twitch of a single joint, and all that's left is to clean up the mess.

"Nothing but 'goodbye'," the griffin responds cooly.

And then he pauses.

Somewhat indefinitely.

A sickly cough echoes off the cavern walls as the pressure of cold pinprick disappears from Brilliant's neck. Peripheral vision watches the bird's plummet to the cold hard earth, a fluttery sort of way to go. Thus does the nameless griffin go out, with more the whimper of a chastised puppy than the roar of the big cat he halfway was.

The point is, the point is gone. In more than one way. The battle is over.

Goodbye.

Spoiler:

Dusk Raven Tue Aug 27, 2013 8:55 pm

"Ready when you are, Scorch!" Wandering Eye looked over the enemy battle lines, seeking for optimal targets as he waited for Scorch to spew forth deadly fire.

Arcana Skill Challenge:

**Paper Shadow** Tue Aug 27, 2013 9:05 pm

As soon as Scorch got the command, he began to light up any foe that got too close with his firebreath...

(Endurance Rolls (To Control the Fire): 10, 19, 18, 17, 5)
(Totals (Die Roll + 10): 20, 29, 28, 27, 15)

AProcrastinatingWriter Tue Aug 27, 2013 10:00 pm

After another moment of stunned silence on the part of the griffin guards, an outpouring of emotional support for a fallen comrade came not through cries or squawks, but through simple application of forward force. The griffins crowded around their grounded leader with many a shrugging aside of some foe - more careless now, than worried about things like "conflict" or "duty". "Boss!" one of them says. "You alright?"

He's bleeding, mostly.

The storm of lightning and fire strikes true - but then, it'd be hard for it not to. The lightning dances around the swarm of fireballs that Scorch spits out - magic makes things react weirdly in terms of physics, sometimes. It's less a storm than a carpet, really, but anypony who would hear that comparison and laugh at the imagery has obviously never heard of the phrase "Carpet bombing" before.

Most of the army stops in its tracks, all too mortal to face such an assault, and watches the ground burn and spark as the fire spreads faster and higher than it would have any right to even if rocks and stone were actually flammable.1 Those with slightly less mortal tendencies - the Beyonders, one of the Artificial Alicorns - take a step backwards, roaring in pain.

Except for one, who grits whatever mind-melting protrusion on its face passes for teeth and presses forward, reaching up some five...seven...three...multi-fingered arm and bringing it down to grasp at the edge of the now-closing force field. The grasp is apparently a painful one, moreso than the fire or lightning, as the being's roar of pain echoes, causing its collar to rattle...

...but the force field stops closing as its edge meets the thing's now-bleeding hand.

"Oh no," Twilight breathes out, magic pulsing out from her horn. "Shiny, if it can hold your field open until the fire stops burning, then the smaller creatures will be able to-"

"I know," Shining Armor reassures softly - a feat in itself, considering how harshly his jaw is clenched. He opens it momentarily, the field shifting back slightly with the released effort. "I need everypony who can think of a way to get this guy's fingers to unclench to do so NOW!"

1 We will have no smart-alecks simpering about coal or charcoal at this juncture in the narration.

Spoiler:

Retrokinesis Tue Aug 27, 2013 10:09 pm

Brilliant stands over the fallen form of her opponent. It wasn't exactly how she wanted to triumph, but a victory was a victory. "Are we done here? I'd rather not have to finish your associate off. If there's nothing else... "

AProcrastinatingWriter Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:08 pm

Pauses swarm around the fallen griffin like flies.

Spoiler:

Retrokinesis Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:17 pm

Spoiler:

AProcrastinatingWriter Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:57 pm

One of the griffins looks as if he is about to respond (or attack, it's a bit ambiguous seeing one can't see his face), but stops and raises a claw to his earhole. After listening for a few seconds, he chuckles darkly. "Well," he says, "Looks like the Bounds just went up."

"So they can't leave anyway, now," one of the other griffins says, crouching down slightly.

"Might as well show our guests a good time then..." one of the other griffins steps forward.

Spoiler:

RandomNumbers9041 Wed Aug 28, 2013 1:52 am

"Oh, really? I could use a good time. Oh, I hope you're serving drinks! This li'l guy could really use one." Costume says in a mocking tone. "Oooooor... if you wanna dance... let's dance."

Initiative:

deonte9109 Wed Aug 28, 2013 2:47 am

Iggy had fallen asleep during the entire battle. A small pool of drool settling near his head.
"Ima kill you Colgate, you know i cant floss sslurm on on with french toast...zzzzz...Oh um what are doing now?"

Initiative a GO GO baby:

Retrokinesis Wed Aug 28, 2013 2:56 am

"If this is how it must go, so be it. Remember that I was willing to let you live".

Spoiler:

Curunir Thu Aug 29, 2013 2:00 am

"Alright." Luthier spoke angrily, voice beginning to rise almost to a squeak. "So much for your boss's promise... after we were expected to idly sit by. I'm no soldier, but at least I have a sense of honor!... I had the perfect accompaniment!" Luthier's personal orchestra rose out of his pack and began to circle ominously, finally releasing the battle music he had been forming in his head in a growing crescendo that soon drowned his voice out.

Initiative:

casey1859 Thu Aug 29, 2013 8:52 pm

UuuuuuuUUUUuuuUUuuuUuuUUuuugh
Do we HAVE to do this?
I mean really tbh i am not feeling up to it
whatever man i was gonna get my hooves done and everything
They are so dirty like really do you see them
agonizingly slowly rising to his hooven feetsies, cobbled searched his bag for like a bayonet or a knife or something seeing as how by now most of them broke
he's not very good at not breaking knives
We warned him about the knives

things:

AProcrastinatingWriter Thu Aug 29, 2013 11:06 pm

Spoiler:

**Paper Shadow** Thu Aug 29, 2013 11:45 pm

"Ooh, I know," responds Scorch as he gets a good two-clawed grip on the unconscious ECHO guard he's been carrying around and flings him straight at the... whatever-it-is that is getting rid of the forcefield with tremendous force...

(Athletics Roll: 9 (Roll) + 13 (Bonus) + 10 (Magic Point (0/1 Remaining)) = 32)

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