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Post by kuruka on May 16, 2012 16:37:34 GMT -5
Kuruka skid to a stop and stared, open-mouthed, at Watermark. What on Equestria was he doing here? And guarding the very thing they were trying to destroy? The conversation seemed to blur as Kuruka tried to make sense of the situation.
One the same side. Trying to overthrow Princesses. House of ice mirrors. Amatuer. Chicken.
Kuruka's pelt stood on end, the way it did whenever magic was involved. But was it just her imagination that told her something was very wrong here? She closed her eyes and pictured Watermark's expression since she could no longer see him through the mirrors. He had been calm enough, of course, but there was a warning under those confident, almost friendly, tones. Kuruka knew if she crossed the unicorn, it would be their last meeting as friends. It would mean the loss of someone who understood her, who accepted her in spite of her differences.
These others, she had just met them, other than Ranger and Whitehoof. Although they had had their disagreements, Kuruka had never questioned their loyalties or motives. With Watermark it was a constant riddle. Kuruka had to return to the basics.
Watermark equaled chaos. Chaos brought contention. Contention is evil. Even though Watermark was not necessarily evil, what he was doing would not end up well in Kuruka's book.
Ranger and, yes, even Whitehoof, equaled order. Order brings peace. Peace is good. Even though Ranger and Whitehoof were far from perfect, their actions were bound by honor and a concern for others.
Kuruka opened her eyes, her decision made. Watermark's seeming betrayal of her trust hurt... deeply, but she could not back down. She'd seen the results of the blue pegasus and Whitehoof's attempts to test the boundaries of Watermark's house of ice. It looked painful. Kuruka snorted. Pain could be dealt with. She backed up and selected a clear path through the crowd of ponies in front of her.
Let us see whether Watermark is truly capable of compassion.
It was a risk, who knew if it would do anything? But Kuruka knew the stakes were high enough to validate it. She imprinted the image of Quillson's lifeless body in the swap the last time something like this had happened. This was her punishment. This would teach her to never again fail a fellow pony.
Kuruka charged the mirror in front of her, the one where she'd last seen Watermark, turned, and kicked it with all her might. The pain was searing, shooting from her hooves all the way to her rump, but she didn't allow herself even a stagger as she ran back, and attacked again. The wall was strong, but Kuruka's tactic didn't rely on physical strength. The pain had taken away any desire to say anything at this point, but Kuruka managed to utter a single word.
"Traitor!"
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Post by Red Charge on May 16, 2012 17:06:47 GMT -5
Watermark chuckled at Selenia's taunting, "I remember you, you're the Crash Artist!" He said, and one of the nearest mirrors began to display a repeated loop of Selenia charging into thin air and crashing into the ground on Everfree. "You're not going to get by here by sweet talking me!" He declared.
As Rainbow Dash smashed her head against the low ceiling transparent ice Watermark chuckled again, "You have to play by the rules!" He insisted, "It's hardly a game if you cheat."
But then Kuruka charged through the ranks kicking again and again at his ice barriers, his grin faltered slightly when she called him a traitor. "You can't break them." He said, "Don't you understand? We're trying as hard as we can not to fight you guys. Don't you see we're only trying to do what's best for Equestria?" He asked, "All of this, everything, you're the ones who attacked us, who killed our people. Since the first conflict back in Whitetail Woods, the only casualties in this 'war' you claim is going on have been on our side." He sounded a bit angry now, as he continued on, "We tried to save Hoofington from that monster but you got in the way and had one of our unicorns killed. We tried to peacefully have a ritual in Whitetail Wood but you killed in cold blood more of our ranks. Today we spent our entire supply of healing potions and antidotes making sure no matter how reckless you were in trying to take us down, that none of you would fall. I lost countless of my friends who were just trying to defend me and the other ponies who are just doing what they believe would help from your wrath." Now he sounded much more than just angry. The ice mirrors flashed in unison as they began to close in on the group.
"Yet you come here, into our home, hurt our ponies with your lust for war and carnage and you call me a traitor?" His voice seemed to be changing considerably as he went on, becoming thicker, almost unnatural. "Especially when we are doing all of this, throwing all of our lives away to help protect YOU?"
The mirrors now shun at them with their own images, they were slowly being pushed together as the ice mirrors now surrounded them, threatening to crush them all. "What do you even know of right and wrong? What did you ever sacrifice for the greater good?"
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Post by kuruka on May 16, 2012 18:53:43 GMT -5
Kuruka hadn't known the specifics of what had happened in Hoofington, that was before she'd arrived on the scene. But to claim that the only casualties had been on their side infuriated her. What about Quillson? He was a civilian, an innocent, yet he died in battle. And what had she sacrificed? Kuruka stopped in her tracks, her rage blinding her ability to feel pain.
How dare he!
"What have I sacrificed, Watermark? What do I know of right and wrong? My tribe may have been prejudiced and cruel, but at least they were outright about it. You and these stupid games... I thought you were better than this. Manipulating others so you can have whatever it is you want. And don't you DARE try to tell me this is for my own good! I came here in the first place because Equestria is good. I wanted to bring my family here to protect them. But I'd rather them walk tall and strong through bitter remarks and stares than come to a place that is utter chaos and discord. To meet one of their own kind who grins and pretends to be their friend while playing them like puppets. Come out and look me in the eye, Watermark. Come out, look me in the eye, and tell me that it would be perfectly safe for my baby sister to be here. That it would be perfectly safe for her to walk into that portal alone, unarmed, and unaided."
Kuruka's body then gave a mighty shudder and collapsed. Her entire hind end felt as if it was on fire. The muscles, having run on pure adrenaline for a good while now, had given out at last. Still, Kuruka tried to stand again. If her team needed her, she would have to get back up.
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Post by Selenia on May 16, 2012 19:02:19 GMT -5
Selenia growled openly as Watermark threw up images of her failure on the ice walls. How was he even doing that anyway?? She didn't care. Her ears perked up when he announced the impenetrability of his ice walls, however. "There's always a weakness, always a way to get through. You've left something out, everyone always does. It's impossible to account for every possible outcome." She stood stoic, blankly facing one of the walls, hollering to it as if it were Watermark himself.
Then the walls started closing in, and Watermark's tone turned menacing and enraged as he listed the deeds of his oh-so-pure cult. Selenia bared her teeth. She was looking forward to a straight up fight, not some cheap attempt to shut off their team from the ritual site and to mess with their heads. She wasn't going to let his words get to her that easily. Though that might just be their only chance for salvation.
Selenia mentally kicked herself in the head. that was a stupid idea and it would never work. She decided to go with the former. "No!" She yelled. Her eyes filed with fire. For a second she swore she saw the walls slow their excruciatingly slow trek inward to crushing her and her team. "The conception of this cult in the first place is the reason for all this death. Whoever had the bright idea to create a splinter faction that directly threatens the current rule of Celestia and Luna is the one to blame. The Equestran government would never tolerate an attempt to usurp the throne and overthrow their rule, your leader must have known this, and was thus at ease with the amount of destruction they obviously knew would result from it. Celestia and Luna's rule has persisted for thousands of years with nothing shaking the foundation, because it works. What on this good earth would even cause anyone to want to change that?"
"Every instance you mention that you say are for peaceful means are all lies! If you were really trying to better the world we live in, you would have noted as such and defended it with reasonable explanations, not armed guards and hostile forces! That abomination at Hoofington would have been twisted and controlled further by your cult, it probably would have played a part in this battle, had we not culled it where it stood. I don't know how far your mind has been twisted by whatever malevolent entity has created this entire schtick in the bog, but your methods and true intentions are evil, and they will never come to pass without resistance from proud Equestrians like me and my friends."
Selenia was fuming, she hadn't moved an inch from her position, even with the walls slowly inching closer. "If your magnificent and new ruler is perfectly alright with so much terror, and so much bloodshed simply to gain power, what do you think they will do once they gain it?" She stomped her hoof on the floor with a resounding bang. "Nothing will change! Nothing! This horror is fully condoned by your movement, simply by you and your comrades persistence in supporting it!" She smashed one of her hooves into the wall now, ignoring the pain and keeping her hoof planted on the icy surface. "Just look at the Hay that your cult promotes!! Look at what this world will be reduced to if you are allowed to succeed!! Is this the new world order you were striving to achieve?"
(OOC: There's a lot of dialogue, so Selenia is getting a dialogue color. I figured she needed one by now.)
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Post by calico on May 16, 2012 20:13:36 GMT -5
Both Selenia and Kuruka seemed to have some kind of history with Watermark, but Calico would only have cared if time wasn't quickly running out for them to stop the ritual. Whatever issues they had, it didn't matter right now. Couldn't they see that? As the mage's mirrors began to close in on them, Calico swore under her breath. This is what happens when folks let the emotions get the better of them. As always, it was best to keep a rational, impersonal perspective on things.
Calico regretted the fact that they were pushed into war. That, she couldn't deny. But honestly, it didn't matter at all to her what the cultists were trying to do. Equestria's forces were trying to bring about the greater good as well - it wasn't just the cultists. A rational mind could understand that. If the cultists thought they had the moral high ground, well, they were either tragically short-sighted or utterly delusional.
But there was little time for regrets. They were trapped and they needed out. The archer's horn glowed as she telekinetically drew her dagger and slammed it repeatedly into the spot Kuruka kicked, hoping to crack or break it open. "Rainbow Dash, get Kuruka up! Whitehoof, help me out here!" Calico said as she desperately tried to break the wall down. In the mean time, she may be able to talk down the mage. Selenia appeared to be doing so, even though she was obviously angry. It was worth a try, at least.
"You say you're trying to do what's best for Equestria, but are you really? All this time you spent following your delusional leader, threatening the rule of law, pushing us into conflict-" Calico grunted as she slammed her body into the wall. "Do you really think that was the best way to help Equestria? Is Equestria better off now than before when we were both pushed into this conflict?"
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2012 1:46:42 GMT -5
Rainbow Dash, still rubbing her head with her hoof, flew over to the pega-zebra who had just collapsed. "Up you get." She grunted as she lifted Kuruka back up to her feet. "We have no time for laziness." She said as she noticed that the ice walls were slowly getting closer together, threatening to crush the strike team.
The mare scowled at Watermarks comments. "Just trying to do what's best for Equestria?! What you cultists are doing is anything but that! You may not be killing any of us, but you're certainly not doing anything to help us!" Dash was getting angry. "So you listen here! Equestria is our home, and we are trying to save it from whatever evil you cultists are doing! And whatever you are trying to do by saying all this stuff isn't going to work, so how about you take down these ice walls and show us what you got!"
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Post by Red Charge on May 18, 2012 15:35:31 GMT -5
Watermark remained silent for a few moments and the walls ceased to advance. "You cannot stop Eclipse from coming. Interrupting this ritual will only cause severe and possibly irreparable damage. That is, if your interrupting of the last Ritual hasn't already." Watermark explained, more calmly now, "Eclipse was already summoned, these last three rituals were supposed to bring him under our control so we can use him to protect Equestria. The summoning ritual can not be reversed, and the first control ritual has already been interrupted. If you do not allow us to complete this ritual, we can not tell what Eclipse will do when he comes back." The unicorn explained deliberately, "You must understand, we are not trying to overthrow the Princesses, or change the way Equestria is being governed. We are only trying to find a way to protect it from whatever it is in the Everfree that is making the monsters run amok."
The ice walls backed away slowly and returned to their original position, the Eclipse was almost at its peak, and the air seemed to grow heavier by the minute, as though some invisible pressure was building up in the pyramid. "Our leader is not brainwashing us against the Princesses. We used diplomatic channels and were ignored. For the last time, we have no interest in destroying Equestria, it's just as much our home as it is yours!"
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Post by Selenia on May 20, 2012 20:59:32 GMT -5
Selenia's rage and edge had subsided with Watermark's recent narration. She was too busy thinking about this new information to remark fervently in favor of Equestria. "What? Your diplomatic channels would only be ignored if there was a good reason. There has to be some way you as a cult would benefit solely from this... There has to..." Selenia's expression faltered as she was lost in thought. If this Eclipse was as problematic as Watermark was making him out to be, why would the princess have ignored their attempts at diplomacy... Surely the Equestrian government would have been able to pour countless more resources and greater expertise into solving the issue of controlling this being. And when Selenia took it into account, it would be ludicrous to try to overthrow the rule of Luna and Celestia. They controlled the two most important celestial bodies in the sky, the moon and the sun, necessary for life to exist across the entire planet. Removing the sisters would mean global extinction.
The only explanation was that the Equestrians knew what was going on, but still turned them down and persecuted the cult. Maybe their leader was some criminal or infamous pony, and history couldn't be recorded as such a despicable pony leading a movement to save the world? Selenia had no idea. She was just thinking at lightspeed. None of this making sense or aligning with what she had been taught of the Equestrian government. She had so many new questions she could ask Watermark, but time was very short, and if this story was all a lie, then any dallied time would spell disaster for the entire world. She made her decision.
Selenia pulled the enchanted etherium pendant out from under her chest armor. It was the only item she had brought with her, in anticipation of using it's shielding abilities to deflect some wayward magic that could have killed her in the duel with Watermark. That function was of no use right now. Luckily, it could serve another. When Selenia had been experimenting with forging enchanted crystals, she learned soon enough never to break one.
Selenia pulled the crystal off of the neck chain and looked at it with remorse. She would definitely miss such a pretty and useful piece of jewelry. "Cover your ears!!" Selenia yelled to her team as she picked the crystal up with her telekinesis, and smashed it on the ground with all the might her magic would allow, shattering it into glittering fragments and dust. When enchanted crystals broke, they released a very high pitched, high frequency, multiple-hundred decibel burst of squealing, disorienting sound for a few seconds, like the noise made by enormous masses of ice at the poles as they crack and rub against one another in the changing temperature. The sound in the crystal is created from the imbued magic removing itself violently from the molecules of the actual crystal. Normal use of exhausting a crystal removes the magic energy in a controlled fashion, like slowly opening the valve on a balloon, but destroying the integral crystalline structure is akin to bursting said balloon with a pin.
Selenia doubled over and grimaced, the sound permeating through her skull and toying mercilessly with her inner ear. She stumbled over, lacking balance from her natural cochlear gyroscope as nausea washed over her for a moment. All she could do was keep her hooves pressed tightly to her ears, cinch her eyes shut and pray to Luna that it had a similar effect on Watermark. That, and shake off the horrible ringing and disorientation as quickly as possible.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2012 2:45:40 GMT -5
Rainbow Dash was trying to make sense of everything this crazy flanked cultist was going on about. You'd think that if all this was true, that Luna and Celestia would be wise enough to heed the cults warnings. So what this unicorn is saying must not be true. But honestly, who would know? All she could do is trust what the Princess was saying, and stop this ritual. If they didn't, then we would all find out if the cult was just trying to take over Equestria, or if Watermark was actually telling the truth. They couldn't risk that though.
All of a sudden, the Selenia told them all to cover their ears and pulled out a strange crystal. Dash wasn't sure what the unicorn was doing, but she decided that maybe she should do as she was instructed. That pony seemed to know what she was doing. Rainbow quickly pulled her hooves to her ears and pressed tightly as Selenia through the crystal to the ground, shattering it. Just her hooves wasn't enough protection to save the rainbow-maned pony from that amount of sound. It left and intense ringing in her ears. "Why the hay did you do that?!" She screamed at Selenia.
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Post by calico on May 21, 2012 14:04:04 GMT -5
Calico relaxed slightly as the walls backed off, but began to feel more anxious as the eclipse began nearing its peak. But Watermark seemed to have completely missed the point. Of course, it didn’t help how emotional her companions had become. Not the best conditions in which to de-escalate a situation. And, he was still in the way.
She wasn't certain whether what Watermark said about Eclipse already being summoned was true or not. That might explain the sudden change in atmosphere. But clearly something was up. Calico didn't care about what happened in the past - what she needed to know was how to defuse the situation now.
"I believe you, Watermark. I don't think you're evil. I don't think you're trying to hurt anyone. But you have to understand that we are all trying to do what is best for Equestria," Calico said calmly but urgently. "I'm sorry that diplomacy failed. But even if diplomacy failed at first, this wasn't the right way. Whatever's going on, Equestria can handle it, without Eclipse."
The archer frowned and her brow furrowed in concentration. If Watermark was right, and that Eclipse was coming regardless, then disrupting the ritual could be disastrous. But the problem is, Calico had no reason to believe that Watermark wasn't bluffing. And there wasn't time left to debate it. She had to assume he was lying - at least about that.
Not that it mattered - Selenia called for the group to cover their ears. Calico wasn't sure what to expect when she hit the ground and held her hooves over her ears. The deafening sound bled through and rang through her skull. And Calico thought her sonic arrows were loud.
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Post by kuruka on May 23, 2012 17:12:52 GMT -5
Kuruka accepted the mare named Rainbow Dash's help and stood, still a little shaky. She just managed to plug her ears in time for the deafening din that came from the black unicorn's necklace. Uncertain what the mare's intent was, Kuruka figured she may as well try to navigate the maze. Watermark may be untrustworthy, but she doubted he would really harm her.
"I'm going through. If anypony's coming with, they'd better come fast and careful. And Watermark-" Kuruka looked towards the mage. "You'd better play fair."
With a quick scan the find the opening to the maze, Kuruka entered.
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Post by Red Charge on May 24, 2012 6:51:21 GMT -5
As the maze of ice came crashing around their ears, they could see Watermark was never on this floor to begin with. Communicating through the ice from the floor below them, he was waiting for their arrival.
In response to Kuruka's demand his voice boomed around them, "No, you broke the rules and I cannot let you continue any further. Any attempt to interrupt the Ritual will be met with full force. I cannot be held responsible for any of you if you proceed."
"He's an ice minion..." Whitehoof said, "What's he even doing here?" Seeing Kuruka run through the ice towards the stairwell he was the first to follow. The Eclipse had almost peaked. It was almost too late, but he was dreading the encounter with Watermark. He had seen first hand what ice minions could do.
The pressure that they felt earlier continued to increase, the air around them felt loaded with energy, as if any type of friction might cause an explosion. They descended to the floor below, where Watermark was standing. They instantly realized they were standing on a very deep pit of ice, apparently taking the entire space of the floor below as well. Red Charge must be under the ground. Fortunately Watermark was the last obstacle they had to pass before reaching him. Unfortunately, the last obstacle they had to pass before reaching him was Watermark.
His eyes flashed with anger as the deep indigo stripes on his body began to expand rapidly, brightening in color as they engulfed his coat, creating a thin layer of ice. His eye, now a bright icy orb glared silently at them as the ice on Watermark's coat continued to thicken, creating an armor of ice over his icy skin.
Kuruka would recognize him immediately as the same figure he erected a statue of in Hoofington. But Whitehoof was quick to say the name, "Frostbite..." He quickly turned back to the team, "Be careful! He's an ice minion! He has a Windigo bound to him!" The icy walls, floor and ceiling surrounding them seemed to become ever more threatening now. "Be very careful..."
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Post by calico on May 25, 2012 2:20:18 GMT -5
Calico silently grew more and more frustrated as seemingly more and more things seemed to disrupt the plan. Obviously, yelling at Watermark and then shattering the ice maze did not help things - her companions' emotional outbursts and brash behavior have only made things worse, not better. But she would prove herself better than them. Despite her growing frustration, she would keep a cool head and consider their options carefully, one by one.
Watermark was now, according to Whitehoof, possessed by a Windigo named Frostbite - and unfortunately, Frostbite just encased Watermark in a protective layer of ice. And there may be even more unseen tricks up his sleeve now. If that hadn't happened, and with a bit of luck, Calico may have been able to end it quickly with an arrow to the head. Calico crossed that option off the list.
The next option would be to face the obstacle head on by either (a) attacking Frostbite directly or (b) by breaking the ice blocking the exit and rushing through. But obviously Frostbite wouldn't just stand there and let them do either of those things. If they were going to do that, they would need a plan - Whitehoof obviously had some experience with ice minions, so perhaps he could direct the attack if it came to that. But there was still a third option: negotiation.
Calico's previous attempts at diplomacy obviously failed, but that was likely because some failed to realize that yelling at each other was not a good way of reaching an agreement. But maybe if Calico tried to keep things civil...
Turning to her friends, she said, "Let's not try to call each other names or shatter any more magical artifacts, shall we?" Then, turning to Watermark - or rather, Frostbite, Calico continued, calmly and in an unthreatening tone. "We can talk this out like gentlefolk..."
"Now, as I was saying before... Watermark-" Calico began, but then quickly corrected herself, "Frostbite. I'm sorry that things have escalated like this - emotions are running high, on both sides."
"I understand what the Cult is doing - it's doing what it believes is best for Equestria. But so are we. We don't need rituals or Eclipse to keep Equestria safe. Let us through - let us talk to your leader, Red Charge. We can resolve this peacefully. We don't need to fight anymore."
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Post by kuruka on May 29, 2012 14:42:53 GMT -5
Kuruka swayed uneasily in place, entirely on edge. Monsters, she could fight, warriors, mages, sure. This, however, was beyond her realm of expertise. The archer unicorn was trying to settle things diplomatically, which sounded nice at this point, but Kuruka doubted it would actually work.
"Anypony have any ideas? I am afraid I'm fresh out."
Even though she admitted her inadequacy, Kuruka never stopped gazing at their foe. She remained ever-searching for a weakness. All she needed was a single shot.
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Post by Red Charge on May 30, 2012 1:19:34 GMT -5
"Typical pony stereotyping! Not all of us follow the Necrolord or the Ice Queen. And if anything I was an Ice Overlord." Frostbite said irritably, "Your pathetic short life limit your ability to see what's really going on. Even as you feel the coming of Eclipse you refuse to acknowledge that you have been in the wrong and insist on trying to interrupt the one thing that could actually save your puny life." The frozen pony shook his head, "Even this cult's leader is blind to what he's done. He can't control Eclipse, not without all three rituals. Can't you see how desperate he is? Look at the structure of his defense, the most powerful are here, to contain the beast when it comes, while the rest keep you Equestrians out of harm's way."
The armored pony turned his head towards the ceiling, "Even that won't do. Eclipse is too powerful. His magical shield will not be able to contain him after he arrives."
"You're lying to stall for time!" Whitehoof accused, then whispering to the others, "Pegasi stay in the air, he can't sense you when you're off the ice, only see and hear you. We'll try to distract him for you." Eyes turning back to Frostbite he taunted, "You might not be an Ice Minion anymore, but you're still just a minion. You call us pathetic yet you were bound by one of us to one of us. Who is pathetic now?" He asked, whispering to the unicorns, "Open fire at will, I'll charge in the distraction."
Frostbite snorted angrily, "You're obviously a northerner. Such a narrow minded lot you people are. Hard to believe it was one of you who defeated the Ice Queen in the last war." He retaliated harshly, "Too busy judging others to notice your own faults. I promise you the pony who sealed me within this one is no ordinary pony. His reach into magic goes far enough to rival even the most powerful. The host of powerful beings under his command is enough evidence of what he can accomplish, and his reach goes farther than you can even imagine. To think the same ponies he is risking everything to protect are the ones who would judge and jail him."
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