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Post by clouddreamer on Oct 23, 2011 15:45:48 GMT -5
Everything seemed to be going well. There were sounds of fighting, and no look outs were alerting the others. Cloudy smiled and relaxed, focusing on keeping her illusion going.
THWUCK!!!
Cloudy was brought out of her relaxation, one of the illusion clouds dissapearing. Oh no! Somepony must have been attacking. Frantically, she thought of a solution. Send an illusion to Angel! Cloudy knew where the tree was where Angel hid, her being the one in charge of communication and all. She sent an illusion out, soundless but visual.
Angel, for each guard that leaves his guarding post, caw like a crow once. For each pony that gets to the moat, tweet like a bird three times in a row. If the ice wall is being melted or climbed, crow like a rooster as loud as you can. This message will self-dissapear in 15 seconds.
The words appeared within the tree branches in front of Angel. Cloudy counted to fifteen then made the message vanish. Hopefully she had read it. The blue unicorn had a plan. "Guys!" Cloudy said to the ponies in a loud whisper. "If Angel caw like a crow, guards are leaving. If Angel tweeting like a bird, ponies have gotten to the moat. If Angel crows like a rooster, the ice wall is in danger! We have to listen carefully." The unicorn was ready. She was sure of it.
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Post by thepatriot on Oct 24, 2011 21:54:39 GMT -5
Quillson trotted precariously through the trees of the woods, making his way towards what he believed to be the origin of the light. It had been a while since it had disappeared, so Quillson wasn't exactly sure to its whereabouts. He just hoped that there would be some sort of explanation by the time that he got there.
Finally pushing his way past one of the various trees that filled the forest, Quill saw what looked like an enormous wall of... ice? A wall of ice in the middle of the forest. That's not supposed to be there, of that he was sure. He slowly walked towards the obstruction, eventually noticing some sort of tower beyond the wall, arching into the sky. He continued forward gazing up at the wall covered structure before almost landing in a moat. He peered down into the water, the gears in his head turning.
None of this was supposed to be here. This forest was known for being relatively safe and under Pony control. Why would there be something like THIS out here? Somepony obviously put in the moat, and the wall looked magical based. He squinted across the way, doing his best to peer through the darkness. That's when he saw the outlines of other ponies, walking alongside the wall's exterior.
Quillson figured they'd know what's going on. He raised his voice up, yelling over towards the group. "Excuse me! Excuse me! I apologize for the intrusion, but I was wondering if anypony could help explain to me just what's going on! I saw a large flash of light, and I came by to make sure everything was okay." He looked around, hoping somepony near by had heard him. Surely he couldn't be the only one investigating this.
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Post by dragoonofdeath on Oct 27, 2011 16:34:43 GMT -5
no no no no...
Ponies were starting to investigate. That meant trouble was either coming with them, or behind them. She flew down quickly towards the shouting earth pony, landing a few feet away from him. "Everything is fine, this is...private business. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Please, go back home." She folded her wings in and stood tall before the earth pony, trying not to look threatening. She wanted to make it obvious that she meant no harm at the moment, and didn't want anypony getting hurt. "We'll be done here soon and gone before anypony can get to distressed about it...or so I hope."
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Post by eclipse on Oct 27, 2011 19:54:22 GMT -5
People were coming. Willo wasn't paying very much attention to what was going on, she was too busy focusing on the ritual, but she recognized the signs of attention others around her were giving. She imagined that she could hear the others dealing with their own problems, the crunch of the earth beneath hooves, everypony being attracted by the beam of light that had shot up the moment they had began. She'd known this wouldn't work out without a hitch... she sighed and started planning her next move.
She couldn't do anything about repositioning the trap enchantments, but they were well set in a tight perimeter around her, and she had even set up a few that would send out another beam of light further away to attract ponies away; perhaps they'd think there was more than one spell being cast, and head in that direction as well. She wasn't sure if it would work. In the mean-time, she could start laying some simple spells on her 'shades' so that they'd be more convincing. She started calculating how to make them move with the corner of her brain she kept free for thinking. It wouldn't be a ridiculously complicated spell, but she'd have to cast it separately for each of the spells.
For now, she was focused on the task at hand. She couldn't do anything else, and she could barely do this. She would just trust in the other ponies in the group to keep her from being attacked. She couldn't be distracted.
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Post by windstorm on Oct 27, 2011 20:02:09 GMT -5
Wind Storm was now getting bored when suddenly he heard movement as if somepony was approaching. He kept the wind spinning around him, but tried to still remain casual. If he could shoo a pony away by convincing them that nothing out of the ordinary was going on, then he would choos that path. Fighting was a last solution as he didn't have much combat training and further more did not like having to hurt other ponies with his magic.
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Post by kuruka on Oct 28, 2011 15:43:22 GMT -5
Kuruka opened her mouth, prepared to give Quillson the reprimand of his life before she saw the wall of ice. Her jaw remained slack. She knew it was cold, but not that cold. What were unicorns doing around here? What was the reasoning behind the stupid wall? Quillson had started interrogating a group of ponies roaming along the wall's base. Kuruka shook her head. This stallion was too trusting. The wall served no real barricading purpose, so it had to be hiding something and Kuruka knew all too well the look in a pony's eye when they were dedicated to protecting something. That look was everywhere. Unable to contain her frustration, Kuruka took on a tone she usually saved for her rowdy little brothers. "Quillson! Leave them alone!" Her voice obviously did not reach its target. A pegasus mare landed and started speaking to Quillson. Kuruka froze, noting every possible defensive strategy out of habit. The mare stood tall, confident, but so far, not threatening. She was too rigid for Kuruka to put down her guard, though. She decided now was as good a time as any to approach the mare. "Excuse me, but I saw the light and grew concerned. This thing you are doing, other ponies will not be harmed, will they?" A small rabbit hopped through Kuruka's hoof. She shuddered and grew even more suspicious. Just how many unicorns were out here? And why were they working so hard to guard this wall of ice?
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Post by rubynights on Oct 29, 2011 1:08:02 GMT -5
“Darn it!” Ruby could not help but whisper to herself underneath the dark veil of the trees. The guards certainly appeared to respond to her diversion, but it seemed they would refuse to react to it. She brainstormed frantically on other possible ways to infiltrate the ice dome, but simply to no avail. One mare versus a countless number of earth ponies simply would not add up. Charming one of the guards certainly wouldn’t work either. They appeared much too hostile to risk that sort of route. And on top of that, one mistake in that sort of persuasion scenario could easily get her killed. This way of thought only surprised Ruby more when she overheard the words of what seemed to be another outsider pony.
She crept closer, leaping from branch to branch, until the words had finally been revealed to have come from the mouth of a white stallion. He appeared to be talking to a security mare from across the moat. Ruby had never seen a stranger looking pegasus mare before. Her entire body appeared to be disproportionate, the right wing and left hind hoof upon her body especially. Very soon, one mare at the site became two, as another pegasus female suddenly appeared from the white stallion’s side, shouting out loud a name as if she had known him.
“Hmph… Private business my flank…” Ruby muttered to herself, leaning from the ends of a thick branch. Sure, Ruby thought the two outsider ponies to have been complete foals for simply trotting out into the open like that… but that did not mean they didn’t have interesting things to say. She continued to listen in on the words exchanged between them and the disproportionate mare.
An interesting group of ponies had certainly been drawn towards this strange beacon at this hour… And it seemed next to impossible for Ruby to somehow infiltrate the dome and take its treasure by herself. But that was no matter. Ruby had ponies to help her now and if she would somehow be forced to split her earnings, then so be it. All she had to do now was convince them the battle would be worth it.
“Are you ponies really going to take all that this LIAR has to say?” Ruby Nights shouted from above towards the outsider ponies Quillson and Kuruka. “It should be painfully obvious how excited she is to get you the hay from off of this site! Now, clearly there would be something inside a dome shining such an obnoxiously bright light in the middle of the sky! Perhaps its treasure… Maybe there are ponies being hurt inside… It could be both… Whichever way, there’s certainly something in there. Something in there she doesn't want you to find! Now, you two both look like reasonable ponies. Would you honestly wish to overlook a fact so plain to see?”
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Post by searingfrost on Oct 29, 2011 7:02:13 GMT -5
There it was again a sound that almost sounded like shouting?. Maybe he had misjudged the purpose of the light. Maybe it wasnt an awesome spell but distress call from some poor pony!. Searing headed towards the sounds he couldnt make out any words but it sounded like more than two speakers. After getting clear from the thickest undergrowth Searing saw a enormous iceberg in the middle of the forest and many ponies around it and close to it. It took a moment for his brains to realise some pony had dug a moat around the iceberg the strangeness of the situation made his ears twitch why were all these ponies here ?
``Hey you there is everything all right, nopony is hurt are they?´´Searing felt that something here was a miss so he kept a simple spell on the fore front of his mind in case somepony decided to be unfriendly, he could heat theyre hooves a little to make them think twice. He really hoped he was just over reacting but something here was off.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2011 9:49:30 GMT -5
Angel Grace was content sitting in her tree, monitoring the goings on. Several of the pegasi were circling around, keeping an eye on the few spots she couldn't see from her vantage point. All in all, the ritual was going very well. And she was helping! she thought to herself excitedly. Whatever this ritual was for, she was going to do her best to make sure it wasn't interrupted.
One of the Pegasi flapped up to her tree. "Miss Angel Grace, so far the coast seems clear, however-"
THWACK
Angel gripped the tree as a loud crack resounded through the forest. She looked around quickly for whatever pony caused the sound. Somepony was here, but where? As she scanned the nearby forest, words appeared, obstructing her vision.
"W-what?" she stammered out. Such strange noises to make...still, it was important that they all kept up to date. And it would be faster than having the pegasi flap down and communicate. Perhaps she could do both...
"Miss Angel, there was a pony talking to Fishstick, but they appear to be gone, now."
Angel nodded at the Pegasus, who flapped off to continue her patrols. So there was one here already. Angel didn't think anypony who came to investigate these events would be dissuaded that easily. As such, she scanned the area much more carefully, looking for any signs of trouble. It wasn't long before she spotted them. Three separate ponies, three of them! Plus one that was surely lurking. She spotted Wildfire talking to one of them, but that third was going to be a challenge. Shouting something about how suspicious it was...well, she was right, but she couldn't get close enough to find out. She flagged down a passing Pegasus.
"They probably already know, but tell the defenders there's three ponies I can see, and I think there's one more hiding somewhere nearby. Wait..." she held up a hoof as yet another pony burst onto the scene. "Make that four I see, one that's hiding. And if you see Cloudy..." she lowered her ears slightly. "Tell her...that I got her message..." she added reluctantly.
The pegasus flapped off, right before the third and final pegasus flapped up to the tree. "Miss Angel, I saw a pegasus fall from the sky when the pillar went up. But I can't find him now..."
Angel nodded. "Don't worry about it, just keep looking around. If you see a defender, tell them what you saw, otherwise I'll include it in my next update."
She looked down to the ground again as the Pegasus flew away. If there was another pegasus, and she was right about the first pony, there were five ponies around the ritual site. She couldn't fail...she wouldn't. Not a single one would approach the ritual without her knowing.
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Post by dragoonofdeath on Nov 5, 2011 17:33:52 GMT -5
(OOC POST)
(Skipping Rocket Silver and Fishstick)
(8 turns remaining)
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Post by tunnelnexus on Nov 5, 2011 20:47:18 GMT -5
Blast, one of the guard ponies was onto her. It looked like a grey colt, a unicorn. To make matters worse, he was doing something weird with the wind, whipping it up around him in a spiral. Weighing her options, Tunnel decided to creep back a bit, perhaps make a wider arc around the guard. Off to her side, she heard some shouting break out. Hopefully it would distract the guards enough for her to get through... if not, she could always help out.
One thing she found annoying was how hard it was to remain hidden without the cover of leaves and other greenery. She had to stay low, slowing her down drastically.
She continued to backpedal away from "Windy", as she'd dubbed the alert guardpony in her head. After what she thought was a suitable distance, she began a long arc to try and get around him. From the direction of the shouting she could see three ponies on the ground conversing with a few of the guards. Tunnel grimaced as she thought about what would probably happen to them.
She swallowed, debating whether or not to help out the ponies or take advantage of the distraction they would provide. In the end, she hardened her expression and used a hoof to readjust her sunglasses. She began to make the wide arc, leaving the other ponies to deal with the guards.
It's for the best, isn't it? If something bad is going on in there, I should try and stop it, no matter the costs... right?
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Post by Selenia on Nov 10, 2011 12:55:27 GMT -5
Selenia stood on a balcony extending from one of the towers of the Royal Castle in Canterlot. The balcony faced Whitetail Wood, which from extended a column of light that pierced a thick layer of swirling clouds thousands of feet above. The clouds rumbled and lit up with no colors Selenia had ever seen from natural lightning.
The origin of the beam was unclear to her, even with her high vantage point it was simply too far away to see clearly. Most ponies would just watch in awe and not take any further action, as was evident by the crowd of ponies in the courtyard below oohing and aahing at the 'pretty lights'. But, regarding the rumors of a powerful cultist sect, along with the opposing group of ponies she and her team encountered in the forests at Hoofington, who were curiously well equipped and trained, she wanted to investigate for herself.
Before donning a cloak for warmth and minimal stealth concealment, she walked back out to the balcony and focused as hard as she could on Whitetail Wood. She closed her eyes as her horn lit up with a tangerine hue, a crack and a bang later and she teleported herself to Whitetail Wood-
But that was only partially correct. After the rushing feeling of teleportation had passed, Selenia opened her eyes to realize she had missed her mark of the entrance to Whitetail by about half a mile, that and she was awkwardly sprawled high in the branches of a lone tree next to the path to Whitetail.
She struggled her way out of the tree, sustaining a few scratches and cuts, but nothing more. Upon reaching the ground, she stared up at the beam of light again, pulsing and bright, it was hard to look at directly. This was some serious magic, and anything of this sort would have been put past Princess Luna before occurring. Seeing as it hadn't been cleared, the ponies, or whomever, causing this disturbance obviously had something to hide.
She picked the twigs out of her mane and tail, straightened her cloak, and took off running towards the entrance to the Wood.
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Post by windstorm on Nov 10, 2011 14:06:06 GMT -5
Wind Storm then suddenly saw a black unicorn approach. Clearly she looked just as surprised seeing him as he seeing her. "Um, Hi. What's your name?" Before he could get an answer from the pony, she began to back away from him and then moved away in an arc. "Heh...that was easier than I thought," he said quietly as he watched the pony leave, "must be the wind I'm creating around me." He hoped that the pony would leave the woods rather than try another way to the ritual area, but he knew there were other guards who would see to the pony not doing the later. All that mattered was Wind Storm staying in his area and keeping his eyes and ears open to anything unusual. "Alright, Wind," he said to himself as he watched, "That was just a test. There's bound to be more coming, especially because of that light. I hope they're as easy to get rid of like that unicorn, but I'm not counting on it."
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Post by clouddreamer on Nov 10, 2011 21:20:01 GMT -5
Cloudy could hear voices. Voices of her side, and voices she didn't know. Maybe there were some campers who saw the ice shield, there was no way ponies had seen the light she was hiding, she started it when Watermark did. No way.... no way.... None, there couldn't be! She hadn't screwed up, why was she worrying?
Three pegasi flew into the ritual grounds. Cloudy kind of reconized these ponies from the cult, but didn't know they had come to the ritual. One approached her, informing her that Angel had gotten the message. Yet, they delivered what Angel should have. Cloudy was confused, but she nodded and they left. How peculiar, maybe she didn't have time to fully read it and just knew who it was from. Yes, that had to be it.
It took a moment for what the pegasi said to sink in. Three ponies were at the cult, too many for campers. Three campers didn't just decide to merrily pass by the ritual spot which they picked out. Which could only mean.....
Oh no!!! The ponies had seen the light! Her illusion had been too late. Urgh, stupid stupid stupid! Here she was, in charge of keeping outsiders from seeing the light and create illusions to stall ponies for as long as possible, and she had screwed it up! There had to be more coming, the light was bright enough to be seen from neighboring countries for sure. Did the other cult memebers know the light being seen was her fault? Would they punish her? If they didn't succeed she could easily be blamed....
As all these thoughts ran through her head Cloudy cantered aimlessly around the ice shield. She wanted to be able to see what was going on, to know how to help! Should she make illusions of more ponies like Fishstick to guard the moat and make ponies think it was under more protection? Maybe make some more earth pony guards? Scare off the ponies already there? How? Where should she put this? Frantically, she looked at Willow, her face an expression of confusion and guilt. Her eyes pleaded for help. Some sign of what to do.
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Post by thepatriot on Nov 11, 2011 1:00:25 GMT -5
Quillson was a bit shocked at the arrival of the green pegasi before him. It wasn't her replaced parts that threw him off, but rather the suddenness and cordial nature that she approached him with. Looking at her mix matched parts though, made him feel extremely empathetic for the mare. He could only imagine the hardships she must have gone through...
He was about to respond to the Pegasi when he heard another voice from behind. He turned, finding... Kuruka?! What was she doing here? "Kuruka?! Did you follow me here?? What's going on..." As she spoke it began to make sense. She had come for the same reason as he, to investigate the light.
It was reassuring having somepony around he could trust. Kuruka was loyal to Hoofington and its inhabitants. With a slightly more eased mind, Quill turned back to the green newcomer. She had seemed unsure with what would outcome from these "events", and had mentioned a *we*. "I apologize for the intrusion again, but just what do you me-"
Suddenly another voice from the forest. This time it came from a red hooded pony in the trees. She continued on about the intent of this pegasi and her companions. It raised Quill's suspicions towards them, but of this newcomer as well. However, she'd made a valid point. If there was something sinister going on beyond the defenses before him, Quill would never forgive himself for turning back now.
He turned back to the green mare without returning words to the new pony from the trees. He looked this pegasi in the eyes, trying to keep a combination of severity and comfort on his face.
"Look, I don't have any intent on causing harm to another pony tonight. If this business is so private, then perhaps whoever is in charge should have taken more care to keep it that way. But we're here now. And our suspicions are raised. You seem like a nice pony, and I would hate to upset you or act against your will. But I need to know what's going on here. I've already been a coward once tonight, and I'm not letting it happen again. So you can either explain just what's going on here, or step aside and make way."
He nodded at the end, keeping eye contact with the mismatched pegasi mare. He didn't want to upset her, or verbally attack her. But something had to be done about all this. An explanation needed to be given, and Quillson wasn't leaving until he got it.
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