Token Evil IC

"Yes, let's get a move on already!" commands Krix. "I'm getting my wish, if you want yours don't drag your tails behind you." Krix begins to trek around the base of the mountain in order to find a way up to Canterlot...

Brightheart glances at the jackals for a moment, before staring up at Canterlot mountain. "Looks like we're in for a trek, if we want to get into Canterlot. We're at the fields surrounding the mountain, and the city's all the way up there-"

He points up somewhere in the range of where Canterlot is. "If we wish to get to the city before dawn, we should move, post haste."

Giving Iota a slap on the back, Brightheart grins and sets off, taking the group's light source with him. "To jolly cooperation!"

Iota stares at the members of the group for a long while, before letting out a rattling sigh and following Brightheart. "This group, not suspicious at all."

It glances down at its own, intimidatingly armored form, and sighs again. Focusing slightly, it wills the magic field within it to turn to a slightly more pleasant yellow glow to match Brightheart's light. Maybe it can pass for a familiar or whatever it is ponies think paladins have these days.

"Jolly cooperation." It raises a gauntleted fist unenthusiastically, walking up to match Brightheart's pace.

As the group begins moving out on the ground, Recon decides to do the same in the air. Whereas the rest of the group have to follow the road to reach Canterlot, she only needs to fly in a straight line and arrive in a fraction of the time.

She lands inside the city without any hassle, putting up a convincing enough act to avoid suspicion. Now to wait for the rest of the group to reach Canterlot the slow way.

And while she waits, Recon decides to do some eavesdropping.

Rolls:

Thornapple watched as their winged compatriot took to the air. The distance to Canterlot was considerable, and with no more flightworthy members of their enterprise, it seemed time for the professor's inventive brilliance to show itself. His horn emitted a faint, blue-green aura, and he willed something out from beneath his cape. The object was a reddish-brown coin pouch with a monogramed clasp at the neck. The unicorn popped the clasp, and the pouch opened into a space five feet across.

"A moment, please, my friends," the professor said, and trotted through the dark, disembodied doorway. The muffled sounds of strange, scientific instruments whirring, clanking, and hammering filled the air. Several seconds passed, then a brief silence, and finally, something quite extraordinary came rolling out onto the field.

The professor sat at the controls of a contraption made from brass and tubes that pulsed like a heartbeat with dim luminescence. Canvas wings unfurled, and a series of flexible rotors swung up from somewhere underneath, locking into place along the outer framework. A dome in the centre of the machine sparked energetically. There was some space just behind the pilot's seat for two or three ponies, and if the rest were happy to hold onto the machine's brass filigree, they could all easily find room.

ACTION:

"Climb aboard, everypony," he said. Zoltan hopped on and hunkered by the pilot's seat. "We'll be in Canterlot in no time."

DICE:

The twins back away from the magical doorway as the machine appears. "Is that... supposed to fly?" "It looks like it'll kill us three different ways if we touch it." "It's not the most subtle way to travel, though. If you wanna fly that to Canterlot and not look suspicious, you might try and fly up directly under the city, so nobody sees us coming until we get there." Gallows is by no means a thinker, but she always has those brief moments- which her brother often echoes. "But why are we trying to sneak in to the city? I get sneaking into the castle, but I mean, we both just left Canterlot, they didn't look like they were under high security or anything."

---

Sneak assist, sneaky planning: 15+ 9 (Streetsmarts)= 24 for a +5 bonus, as well as +1 from Grandeur

"They will be when every impatient lowlife, demon, and thief rushes in to steal those jewels straight away," answers Krix. "We call the seats!"

Zippers looked at the kobold from the seat in question. "Take it easy, little wolves," he said to the twins as he settled in. "Nobody's going to worry about us."

((Don't forget Instant Party, for those who have used it.))

"Whatever you say, prison mule." Gallows retorts, and they both jump into the device, wherever they fit.

The flying machine lifts off into the night, taking the group (sans Recon) up to the heights of the mountain. While traveling up the mountain they catch sight of the various other groups making their advance as well, scaling the mountain in their own ways. The goblin troupe seems to have taken to creating a makeshift elevator contraption, raising them and their supplies steadily up the mountain. The group of dragons appear to be alternating between flying and resting (mostly resting) as they make their way towards the city. There is no trace of the demons save for a few flying creatures in the distance, carrying what looks to be a few imps on their backs. They seem to be aware of the flying machine, but make to attempt no approach, tailing them for a few minutes before moving off in a different direction.

Recon manages to fly into Canterot unhindered, her pegasus form holding up even under close scrutiny. Due to the late hours, even the night district in Canterlot has thin crowds, most of them either drunk or simply tired and wanting their shift to be over. She doesn't hear much of importance, but she does overhear from some night-shift guards that their commanding officers are looking into reports of a sudden lack of crime in the area. She decides she has had enough of mostly-drunk stallion smell and heads out of the latest establishment she's eavesdropping in just in time to spot a conspicuous looking flying machine land in the lower district of Canterlot, seemingly undetected by the guard.

The flying machine comes to a stop in a deserted shopping street that is unlikely to see any activity until late into the morning. The Canterlot palace looms in the distance, but for now the group has managed to infiltrate the city.

Zippers stepped off the contraption, calm and serene. "Hurray for snack cakes," he said, taking a deep breath of the Canterlot air. "I think I would've lost it without 'em," he said, putting a calming hoof on his chest. Even with the slight high the trip had been a bit nerve wracking.

"Anyways! With that out of the way," Zippers announced, turning to address the group. "We could probably stand a base of operations while we plan and prepare for our heist. I can offer up my lab for that purpose - nobody will find us there, I promise," he said, turning and gesturing to follow him...

Rolls:

The fabulous machine powered down, and the professor dismounted. "There, what did I tell you, eh? Perfectly safe flight, and not an unwanted onlooker in sight. Science marches onward." He adjusted his monocle and bowtie, then turned his attention to Zippers. "An excellent suggestion, my striped compatriot. Please, lead the way—but let us make haste, yes? As we all saw, the opposition are already underway."

DICE:

"Yeah, buuut, before that...." "We should go find the guards." "As concerned citizens it is our duty to report the various threats approaching Canterlot from all sides." The twins wear matching sly grins. "Draw them away from the castle, and the gems." "Slow down our competition."

Brightheart is clearly in a good mood as he takes in the scene of Canterlot at night. "There's truly no place like home!" He declares, smiling and putting away Sunlight.

Turning to the jackals, he nods his head enthusiastically. "Excellent idea! We should minimize the actual damage done to the place, after all. Shall I do it? Not to brag, but I believe I have a reputation in the guard as something of a hero, even if I've officially resigned. If I put in a good word, I could easily sway the guard to our cause."

”Probably not necessary.”

A mare steps out of the shadows. It’s not the same pegasus as before; this one is a unicorn, with a different mane style, coloration, and Cutie Mark. And a noticeably swollen midsection.

”I did some eavesdropping while I was waiting for you,” she says. ”The guards noticed a sudden drop in crime rate tonight, no doubt from all the criminals attending Discord’s meeting. Their commanding officers are already opening investigations into it. All we’d be doing at this point is confirming what they already suspect.”

"Professor has point," Iota reasons, straightening up after the flight. Having ridden on gargoyles before in its life, the sensation of flight was not unknown to it, though by no means a familiar one. "Flying demons are gargoyles. Sometimes scouts. Demons already enacting plans, Magnaroth not far behind. Peace will not last long."

>Stealth: 18 + 1 + 1 + 5 = 25

"Yes yes, let's go already! We must plan." Krix follows the zebra to his hideout...

(Stealth Check: 2 (Roll) + 16 (Skill) + 1 (Grand) = 19 (THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR NOT EATING THE CAKES!)

"Let's go, then." Brightheart says cheerily.

Stuff:

"Fine." The twins shrug at their plan being sandbagged, and follow along- though they keep a look out for any guards along the way that they might beable to raise an alarm to if needed.

---

Stealth check, not an assist. 13+6+1(party)= 20

Recon maintains her guise as she follows the group, acting perfectly natural as a pregnant mare.

Rolls:

Despite the troupe of kobolds making some noise, the group of miscreants manage to make their way to Zippers' lab without much issue.

In his lab, Zippers finds the files of the ponies he'll want to contact to get into Canterlot castle through a backdoor, a chef with a bit of a substance problem by the name of Sweet Tooth.

Zipper's lab was well hidden. The shop where he sold his wares was constantly moving, just another way to stay ahead of the law -  the lab proper, on the other hoof, was kept in place. An abandoned train station held several old tunnels, one of which was closed off by rubble. A crack in the wall opened up into a wide, stone room with intricate Zebrican carpets laid out on the floor. Tables were pushed against every available wall, and held all manner of things - everything from potted plants, to beakers, pots and pans to papers, left over pizza to the upper segment of a pony's skull. Strange masks hung on the walls, opposite each door (leading to other parts of his home, including his bedroom, kitchen and pantry in similar decoration) greeting Zippers' guests with wide, twisted expressions.

"Now, be careful what you touch in here," Zippers warned, leading the party into a room with a circular couch and a (Cleared!) table in the center. "But otherwise, make yourselves comfortable, and I'll go put some tea on while I get a few things my file cabinet," he explained as he went into the kitchen to begin...

As soon as the group was inside, Recon deactivates her disguise as she deadpans, ”Your abode runs over with charm, I’m sure.”

Without her disguise, it’s clear why Recon’s disguise had a swollen belly. The bulge was from a leathery sac in her abdomen that, unlike when she’d exposed it before, was inflated like a balloon, apparently near the point of bursting.

Recon’s metallic horn lights, and the overtaxed organ glows. There's a small click from somewhere under her chest before the sac carefully removes itself from under her frame and hovers in front of her.

”I need to use your garbage recepticle,” she continues to deadpan as the balloon rotates to bring its single entrance port within reach, ”as well as your cleaning station.” She reaches out with a hoof and gives the port a twist. There’s a soft pop, and then a hollow sigh of air smelling of skunky booze, rotting produce, and various other odors escaping as the sac deflates. ”I'll also require use of your supply of ammonia and rubbing alcohol.”

"Urgh, do that somewhere else," Krix complains with disgust, "Some of us are trying to plan here!"

Although the décor was not to his usual tastes, not to mention messier than he would allow a base of operations to become, Professor Thornapple could appreciate the choice of locale. An abandoned train station was a classic—nay, inspired—idea. Nopony worth worrying about would have any reason to set hoof in such a dismal setting, they much preferred the bright and open space of the surface world, eschewing the dark and dingy corners that allowed the villainous breeds to thrive. He cast his gaze across the various eccentric artefacts that littered the interior, finally drawing his eyes to the colourful, ghoulish masks. "An interesting collection, to be sure," he mused. "Zebrican culture is something I have dedicated some fledgling amount of study to. I would be interested in learning more about the significance of the masks in ritual magic, once our current endeavour has been concluded."