Dragon's Feud

Swooping into the pit, Peony (held aloft by Helmaroc) shouts, "Yes, ponies get clear! DOGS! DIAMOND DOGS COME TOWARDS TRAP!"

Helmaroc adds to the warning with an emphatic cry of warning, clearly one of danger, although she also squawks in annoyance as dirt is dislodged from the walls by the robot's pounding. "Stupid robot - ponies in danger and you throw tantrum- eek!" Helmaroc banks sharply out of the way of some falling dirt and swoops over the minotaur, in case the ponies ignore Peony (as many often do), and says ~Atlas, there are a pair of diamond dogs incoming, and another hanging back - warn the others!~

Deciding at that point that staying inside the pit was not the wisest idea, Helmaroc brings the two of them high up into the sky where they can spy on the diamond dogs safely.

"WHAT?!" Pumpkin exclaims, looking up at Peony in surprise. "Luna's moon quakes!" The medical stuff's going to have to wait.

"We got to get everypony out of this hole, and fast." She looks around to all the others, biting her lower lip as her gaze falls on Atlas and especially Mossburg.

"Give me another chance?" she asks, holding out a hoof to Violet.

Actions:

Upon getting clear of Mossburg's hooves, Chassis grabs the nearest body...Lucky Shot, the group's nerd.

She eyes him a second, then says, "You'll do."

She wraps a foreleg around his withers, and point the other hoof at the back of Mossburg's head.

"There's an emergency reset button where his head attaches to his neck. Get up there, press it, and hold eight seconds, and he'll go right to sleep. Think you can handle that while I grab Cherry and get everypony else out?"

jaguargamma wrote:She wraps a foreleg around his withers, and point the other hoof at the back of Mossburg's head.

"There's an emergency reset button where his head attaches to his neck. Get up there, press it, and hold eight seconds, and he'll go right to sleep. Think you can handle that while I grab Cherry and get everypony else out?"

Lucky looked along the extended hoof before him. Chassis, the owner of the now berserker robot, was speed talking into his ear. Something about getting everypony out, reset button and... eight seconds?
Did I hear that right? Does she really expect me to climb up on the robot in full Saddle Rager mode just to press a button for eight seconds? That's suicide!
Lucky was about to tell her that no, he'd rather get the heck out of dodge when he became aware of his hoof rising to his forehead. 'Yes, pretty boss lady, sir!' He saluted before bolting towards Mossburg.
Well, I did say I wanted to ride it.

His hooves trampled some of the loose dirt solid as Lucky ran towards the robot.
You know, I never realised how big it looked up close.
Behind him, he could hear the voices of the others trying to get away as far as possible from Mossburg. It really did wonders to highlight how utterly dangerous it was to charge headfirst towards the thing that the others were actively trying to avoid.
NO PAIN, NO GAIN! The voice of a minotaur that wasn't Atlas reverberated in his head and with that said, Lucky made the leap of faith¹

Lucky landed on Mossburg's back. The first thing he noticed was how cool it felt to the touch. The second thing he noticed was how smooth it was. The third thing he noticed, well, more something that he inferred from the first two observations, was that there was nothing for him to hold on to.
'Crap, crap, crap, crap!²

Lucky flung himself forward, grabbing Mossburg by the neck from behind and held on to him for dear life.
Applejack makes this look way too easy. He thought to himself with his eyes wide open in fear. He then remembered that this wasn't just an Apples Family Afternoon Rodeo Funapalooza and that he had a job to do.
'Where is it, where is it?!' He mutter frantically as he looked around for anything that resembled a button.³

Putting all of his effort into holding on, Lucky raised his hoof so he could slam it down dramatically onto the back of the robot's head.
Here goes nothing.
'You make me lose, I blow YOUR fuse!'⁴
-------------------
¹: Athletics roll to jump: 16 + 8 + 1 = 25
²: Athletics or Endurance roll to cling onto for dear life: 11 + 8 + 1 = 20 + chucking on a Magic Point for good measure +10 = 30
³: Perception check to spot the button I suppose? 11 + 13 + 1 = 25
⁴: Mechanics check? 2(Derp --> Disaster Averted (free one from Spellchild)=nat20 + 8 + 1 = 29

Having the ground literally drop out from under her was not Cherry's favorite method of waking up - although since she'd had her fair share of tumbles, most without harm thanks to her spiffy set of boots, she wasn't particularly traumatized by it. No, the problem was that she was still tired.

Her eyes yearned to keep closed, her eyelids snapping shut like a gator's mouth, and just as weak when opening back up. Her mind felt overcast, and her senses felt off. Which was saying something, since she had felt tired for so long that her mind had adjusted to her substandard perceptions.

Cherry knew that it would pass. It always did, once she'd had a half-hour or so to shift gears. But they didn't have time for that. Taking a nap was such a stupid idea.

She emerged from the trailer, and saw a very-much-not-composed robot attempting to demolish the dirt wall, and... Lucky on its back? "...Lucky, what are you- oh, never mind!" She was tired enough that what he was doing almost sounded like a good idea, and she didn't even know what he was doing up there! She turned to the nearest pony who could be classfied as sane at a glance, who turned out to be Chassis. "I'm going topside to help with the dogs."

Chassis nods and says "I'll meet you up there.", before raising herself to a spot above the wagon.

Pumpkin is trying to airlift Violet out. Cherry is apparently getting ready to scale one of the pit walls. That left Atlas, Lucky and Mossburg still in the pit.

Chassis eye-measures the room she has to work with, then lights up her horn. Eight thin, round stone discs materialize in the air. One takes position by Mossburg, ready to catch Lucky. One hovers over them at an angle to shield them from falling soil. One hovers near Atlas, inviting him to climb onto it. The other five stair-step up toward the nearest edge of the pit from that one, creating a path out of it.

[Oops, forgot to actually say what I was going to do in-character!]

Cherry flipped a switch on each of her boots, and the downward-facing points shifted and extended, become a set of climbing boots to give her even more traction. Without further hesitation, she reared up, lunged forward, and planted both front hooves on the dirt wall, and began to climb.

"Thanks for the ladder." Atlas wastes no time in clambering up the floating disks, scrambling towards the surface to either haul the rest of the group up, or if he has to, repel the diamond dogs.

Everything happens in order of posting:

---

Pumpkin looks over Violet and sees she has a small gash on her cheek and a large welt forming on her forehead from where she hit the roof. She looks like she'll have a black eye, but other than that is alright.

Mossberg slams into the wall with full force, causing a shower of dirt to rain down on him, and some rumbling as the foreward wall begins to cave in. Helmaroc and Peony, as they swoop back out of the bit, can see the road in front of the pit begin to crack and crumble, and fall away- Mossberg's pounding has caved in another pit trap, apparently dug only a few feet in front of the one the group fell into, and with the wall falling away, they open up into a single, much larger hole.

Pumpkin grabs violet and pulls her up. Its slow, but safe, as she doesn't drop her again, and lands easily on the road.

Lucky barely manages to grab a hold of Mossberg, and stay on his back. He even spots the button, shortly before a large clod of dirt crumbles on his head, showering him in soil and temporarily blinding him. Mossberg bucks wildly, causing him to lose track of the button's location. At this point, the only thing keeping the robot from stampeding off to the next wall is the large pile of lose dirt now burying him to his shoulders, though he continues to try and push through.

Cherry begins climbing, but the shaking, barely solid wall makes it slow going, and she reaches the surface only shortly before Atlas, who climbs up using the stepping stones provided by Chassis.

Meanwhile, the two dogs sprint towards the hole, hesitating a few yards away. Helmaroc and Peony, watching them, see them converse among themselves, and then one of them yells out. "You! You not Po-nies! What are you doing in Po-ny trap!" He asks, shortly before the next few ponies emerge from the hole. "Oh."

By the time Chassis got her stepping stones summoned, it was already too late to shield Lucky from falling soil. The poor colt's hoof was groping Mossburg's neck, trying to find the reset button again. Mossburg was doing his darnedest to make Lucky's task more difficult, even half-buried under dirt from the collapsed wall.

The wall that opened up to another pit dug right in front of this one with one smash from Mossburg's hooves.

Wait a minute...

A flash of telekinesis, and the trace cables unhooked from Mossburg's back.

"Cute nerd boy!" she calls to Lucky. "Change of plans! Let go and roll right!"

Mossburg roars again, and strains against the dirt pile, completely oblivious to Lucky clinging to his back, the wagon coming unhitched, the pit suddenly doubling in length in front of him. All he sees are...

"WALLS," the robot bellows. "END THE CONFINEMENT! BANISH THE DUST! SMASH DOWN THE WALLS!!!"

Rolls:

Helmaroc circles the scene nervously. ~What to do?~ "...I not know. Ponies crazy."

The pair continue to observe from afar, interfering only if things get heated.

Pumpkin Spice gives a small laugh as she sets Violet down. "See! Told you!"

She looks back into the pit, where Mossburg has somehow managed to crash all the way through the wall into yet another pit trap. How many of those are there? Most of the others have managed to get out, but both Lucky and Chassis are still down there as well, the former being thrown left and right on the robot's back.

"I'm going to try to buy us a little time," she says to Violet. "We're going to be in trouble if anything goes down right now. Think you can try to help get them out? And somehow get that robot under control?" She cringes as Mossburg begins shouting crazily at that moment.

"Uh... Good luck!" she says quickly, smiling before beginning to take flight a little closer towards the diamond dogs.

As she gets nearer, she calls out, "Hey you! Yeah, you on the left! Are you in charge? What's the big idea? I mean, blocking supplies is one thing, but you could really hurt a pony with those pits!"

As Pumpkin approaches the diamond dogs, Atlas decides that perhaps the pony could use some help and follows behind her, trying his best to use his bulk to project an intimidating presence.

"I've got your back," Atlas says calmly to Pumpkin Spice, folding his massive arms and looking at the diamond dogs. The message is clear - Don't mess with us.

(Persuasion to be a big, scary minotaur: 14 [Roll] + 13 [Skill] + 5 [FK: Intimidate] + 1 [Coffee Break] = 33)

Lucky shook his head to get the dirt out of his eyes. At least, he would have but the robot he was riding like an impromptu mechanical bull was thrashing around so hard, it did the job for him. Before he had the time to press the button at the back of Mossburg's head, a clump of dirt fell onto Lucky's glasses, mixing his view into various shades of brown.
I should have thought this through...

With the grim determination born out of desperation, Lucky tried another shot at finding the emergency reset button. He thought he had once again spotted the blasted thing when he heard a voice ringing out from in the pit Mossburg was trying to get out of.

jaguargamma wrote:"Cute nerd boy!" she calls to Lucky. "Change of plans! Let go and roll right!"

Lucky's cheeks turned the same colour as his mane and tail. Luckily for him, he was so covered in dirt, he was pretty sure it was not noticable.
Did she just call me-
Another slam from Mossburg cut off his line of thinking. So much dirt had piled up on Mossburg by now that finding the button was next to impossible so Lucky was all for alternative options.
'Whatever you say, boss!' He shouted as he flung himself off of Mossburg's back, bracing himself to roll to the right as soon as he would hit the ground.

nightlight wrote:Pumpkin Spice gives a small laugh as she sets Violet down. "See! Told you!"

"Didn't doubt you for a second." She replies with a small smile.

nightlight wrote:
"I'm going to try to buy us a little time," she says to Violet. "We're going to be in trouble if anything goes down right now. Think you can try to get help get them out. And somehow get that robot under control?" She cringes as Mossburg begins shouting crazily at that moment.

"Uh... Good luck!" she says quickly, smiling before beginning to take flight a little closer towards the diamond dogs.

Violet nods in agreement before fully realizing what Pumpkin has said. "Wait, what?" She looks down into the pit sparring dull glances at the stepping stone staircase Chassis had thrown up and the now loose robot. "We've still got company you two, you better make it up here like soon! "

Cherry saw the pair of Diamond Dogs upon reaching the top. Her adventurer's senses returned to her faster than she had expected - she quickly scanned for nearby allies, and found Pumpkin and Atlas... not quite rushing to the attack. Looked more like a face-off, really.

Well... Cherry could perhaps lend some weight to that effort. She strode over to Atlas' side, and stared at the D-Dogs, hoping they'd notice the fire in her eyes and not their bloodshot nature - though that could perhaps aid as well. She then reached a hoof back, and swung her heavy crossbow into forward position. The arms swung out, ready for action, and with a swift motion of her hoof a blunt-tip bolt was placed in it. A flick of the other hoof, and the drum on her back began to whir, supplying the bow with energy - and a few sparks emerged from the disused connecting cables for good measure. With no further words, she let her equipment do the talking.

Rolls:

In the hole, Mossberg continues his assault, pushing through and breaking free of the dirt pile, now that he's free of the wagon and the pony on his back. He charges forward, crossing the next pit to the far wall in a few seconds, and slams into it. Luckily, this one seems sturdier- maybe thicker than the last. He hits it a few times, but besides some more dirt crumbling on his back, nothing much happens. Lucky, meanwhile, rolls onto one of the Stepping Stones, unharmed.

Up on the road, the dogs hesitate, looking at each other as the rather intimidating group approaches. The one on the left speaks to the other, "I not in cha-" He's cut off, his buddy pushing him forward. "Uh...Uh... Po-nys, and... big guy... why you come this way? Pits are for wagons coming the other way!" The other one yips something unintelligible- Cherry can see him eyeing her crossbow warily- and the other continues. "You are... leaving Po-nytown?"

In the sky, Helmaroc and Peony see that the dog that was watching from the hill has disappeared, probably into the ground...

Chassis watches Lucky roll off Mossburg’s back, and then her Stepping Stone glide under him for the catch. Once Lucky was steady atop it, it starts to rise toward the edge of the pit.

The stone that was hovering over Lucky and three of the ones forming the staircase rotate and float toward the wagon, each digging its edge into the soil under one of the wagon’s wheels. One by one, each wheel rotates to permit each stone sliding under it, then locks into place as Chassis’s telekinesis engages each wheel’s parking brake.

Meanwhile, Mossburg roars again as the next wall resists his blows, and wheels around to deliver a mighty kick from his rear hooves, filling the air with another bone-rattling CRASH.

Rolls:

Pumpkin Spice turns on the new diamond dog that had stepped up. She places her forehooves on her hips as she hovers just a little higher than them.

"Well duh, we're leaving. That's what you call it when ponies go away from somewhere. Is that what you're trying to do? Drive ponies out of town? Because if that's your plan, digging pits that are going to stop ponies from being able to get out of Ponyville is a really stupid idea."

In the Pit(s), Chassis finds she is unable to dig the stones under the wheels. The earth down here is very hard packed- she can't wedge them under the tires, nor does she have a way to move the wagon onto the stones.

Mossberg slams into the wall, causing it to buckle. There does not seem to be another pit on the other side, though, so all he accomplishes is caving in the dirt on his side. The good news is that it piles into a climbable ramp, nearly to the top. The bad news, he is now buried under that pile.

Lucky, by now, has made it to the top of the pit, and comes into the conversation just as the dogs begin to speak again. "Dragons say po-nies should flee town, no need supplies! No wagons!" The other dog steps forward now, to add, "Po-nies go on hoof, not fall into dog traps! Dogs not stop you from leaving town..." They both look behind the group, towards the pit, where the dirt has just covered Mossberg again. "Tell Armored Po-ny to stop! Dogs worked hard on those traps!"

As Helmaroc circles in the sky, Peony spots what could be the same dog as before, reappearing on the other side of the road, behind the group, along with another, who runs off into the trees. Helmaroc sees him, and manages to follow his progress- right up to the young dragon lazing around. After a brief, unheard exchange, the dog back towards the rad again, and the dragon slowly gets up and makes his way in that direction.

Chassis grimaces as the tires refuse to yield to the stones at any angle.

Wagon’s too heavy, and the dirt’s packed too hard. Maybe I can get the stones under the axles…

Her attention snaps to Mossburg at the rumble of the pit wall collapsing. The resulting dirt pile swells and morphs as the robot under it struggles in panic to free himself. The largest swell of dirt melts away to expose his head, also giving way to his hysterical roar.

Seizing the opportunity, Chassis zooms across the now-double-length pit to Mossburg. With one hoof wrapped around his ear, and both back legs bracing against the dirt, Chassis lines up her free hoof with the reset button, pushes it in, and counts off the seconds under her breath, ignoring her robot's panicked scream of protest.

Rolls:

"Well, nopony told us about that! You're going to have to explain these things ahead of time if you want people to follow your rules. Besides, do you really expect us to go without our stuff? Nopony's going to leave Ponyville if you're going to be like that about things."

Pumpkin Spice cringes, turning to look back as the sound of a crash and sliding dirt echoes behind her. Alright, so maybe that robot isn't quite as cool as it looked in the show.

"Those are some seriously big holes. So, you put all that effort to make those pits... what do you get out of all this?" she asks turning away from the pit to look back at them. "Or do you really just do everything any munchkin dragon that comes along tells you to?"

In perhaps laughable comedic timing, Helmaroc lands on Atlas' back, trailing sparks of lightning for extra effect.

"Diamond dogs doing everything munchkin dragon lazing around past the trees tells them." Peony says to Pumpkin first, then turns to the two diamond dogs. Her squeaky voice suddenly becomes more melodic, and layered, and takes on a more persuasive tone as she says, "But dogs want ponies out of their hair, yes? Ponies little and rude and not cooperative, yes? Then dogs let ponies take wagon with them and leave, and no more pretty dog pits need be wrecked by armored pony. Sounds good no?"

~Peo, we could use this opportunity to gather information. We hardly know anything about what's going on, you literally just rushed out of the nest today squeaking about fury and violence~

"Helly has point. In the meantime, dog continue to talk to ponies, keep an eye on ponies - big minotaur here help get cart out and we can be gone super quick!"

Psychic Speaking: 20! + 18 (Skill) + 2 (Psychic Speaking) + 5 (FK: Psychic Powers™) = 45 (Spectacular Success)

Lucky Shot felt a certain giddiness coursing through his body as the stone lifted him up. It was a shame that he was being lifted out of a pit, else he might have felt a pleasant breeze blowing through his mane. The stone ascended at a steady pace, not unlike an escalator or elevator. Lucky hummed a pleasant tune as he watched the walls of the pit sliding down.
Tall and tan and young and lovely, the mare from Equestria goes walking. And when she passes, each one she passes, goes "A-a-a-h"

By now the edge of the pit was close enough that Lucky could see his partymembers that had managed to stay clear of the pit or climbed out of it before him. But what surprised him more was the addition of two Diamond Dogs to the mix who seemed to be in a heated discussion with the group. Lucky gingerly stepped down from his floating rock and trotted up next to Pumpkin Spice. 'Am I interrupting something?'