--Thunder Bolt--

The In-Character Thread is up!  I've started out with a post for Sunyatay.  She's approximately halfway between Ponyville and Zecora's house.

OOC Thread

Outcasts of the Everfree Forest

Sunyatay sighed as she reached her "home."  It was more of an improvised shelter really, not much to look at.  She'd studied magic, not architecture, and she'd hoped to be able to move into Ponyville before too long.  Maybe I'd better go ahead and build something more permanent, she thought.  Her last foray into Ponyville had been an even bigger failure than previous attempts, and that was saying something.  Her efforts at trying to meet other ponies or help out only managed to frighten them.  Now they had a whole legend built up, of "the Ghost Mare of the Everfree Forest."  For a moment she again considered trying to go to meet Zecora, but decided against it.  The zebra was always making strange potions, and if Sunyatay startled her at the wrong time she could cause a dangerous accident.  The guilt of actually hurting somepony wasn't something she wanted to live with.

What if...instead of a house, I made a way station?  Then ponies might come to me!  I could build it deeper in the forest along the path and keep it stocked with food for travelers.  Anypony trying to go through the Everfree would be happy to find a safe place to stay the night, right?  And if they needed healing or anything like that that I could do without being noticed, maybe after awhile it could even become known as a good place.  Then maybe I could make myself visible enough to talk to somepony without looking like a ghost.  I might even get stronger just building it!  She started pacing back and forth, envisioning what she would want it to look like, thinking of the things she'd need to create a design and begin construction. 

"I didn't do it, nobody saw me do it, you can't prove anything!"

"Greetings!  I come from the Chrome Empire, home of the shiny, shiny Chrome Ponies!"

@@Gabriel Smith,

Link to your blog?

In my earlier post, I wasn't quite clear, as I wasn't really targeting "Cliche OC's" as much as the curious tendency of many in the brony community to condemn our world in comparison to Equestria, but then, as soon as they get a chance to simulate living there in an RP, they go and make it a bombed-out ruin/Gothic nightmare/some other sort of gritty/grimdark/doom-and-gloom setting.  Maybe it's not the same set of bronies doing both, but it seems a bit weird to me that both behavior patterns seem so common.

"Velcome to Pinkamena's Pleasure Palace.  You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

Coming soon to a theater near you: Heavy Metal II: Return of the Sharp-Dressed Man

But the two of you do bring up a subject me and bronydom need to sit down and talk about at some point anyway.

*Curiosity Imperative activated*

What, the tendency of bronies to favor grimdark stories and RP's?  I do find that a bit odd myself, given how many bronies will do the whole "I don't wanna live on this planet anymore!  Humans Are Bastards!  I wanna live in Equestria where it's all Magic of Frienship!  But check out my vampire Fallout Equestria raider OC!" thing.

*Whistles innocently* "I'ma just gonna paint over this 'Garbage-Collector' cutie mark and put a crescent moon on instead.  'Cause, 'Control the Moon' sounds a lot more than 20% cooler!"

Dunno how such obviously distracted and/or sleepy characters make such good ninjas...

I Will Go Down With This Ship

Other than Grimdark Corpse-eater Atlas stomping his way through our nightmares, noooo, no harm done at all!

Haha, I was just about to say, "Corpses?  I didn't see 'carrion eater' anywhere in his bio..."  *Imagines a grimdark version of Atlas in which his "garden" is thousands of victims impaled on stakes a la Vlad "the Impaler" Tepes, aka Dracula, from which he nibbles his victims' flesh like shish kabobs*  *shudder*

Also, I see what you did there:
 

 

Atlas was set to work, plowing the fields and attending to other menial, repetitive tasks. Atlas was scolded when he refused to do work, or tried to take time off.

Eventually, Atlas decided he had enough. One day, Atlas finally snapped.

 

Atlas didn't Shrug, he stomped.

Combat experience?  Optimus, manipulators down.  He fights pretty much every. single. day.  Celestia's battles, that we know of, can be counted on one hand: vs. Nightmare Moon, vs. Discord (historical), vs. Chrysalis.  Tactically, she's 2 and 1, but strategically she's quite the Xanatos, if you look at the way she subtly arranges things to go her way.  Optimus' combat wins have to be in the thousands.  But, Patton would never forgive him for repeatedly failing to "make those other bastards die for their country."

For me the main reason to label an RP "Advanced" is to attract more experienced writers.  A character limit per se doesn't really accomplish that.  It's still possible to godmode for 800 characters' worth of TextSpeak.

Yes, I'm going to go with Regular as the format.  I'm in an Advanced RP, and that 800 character minimum is rather annoying when you're just doing a conversation and don't really have cause to include long descriptive passages.

Sunyatay hasn't been in the Everfree long enough to have built a true home.  She has an improvised shelter not too far from the Ponyville boundary of the Forest.  She'll be closer to Starshine's residence (since Zecora seems to be fairly close to Ponyville).

Are we ready to open the IC thread?

@@Blue Blaze,

Sorry, this is a private RP for the three characters already in it.  There are plenty of good RP's out there to join.  Just a bit of advice: you'll have better luck being accepted into RP's when you have a developed OC bio entered into the Character Database, which you can link to so that prospective GM's can decide if your character is a good fit for their game.  Also, you should apply to public games, rather than private ones.

This needs to be a Death Battle, or an Epic Rap Battle of History. XD  In fairness to Optimus, I'm only talking about his G1 version from the '80's.  I haven't seen subsequent generations of Transformers cartoons, so I can't evaluate his leadership qualities there.  He does have a great voice which (well, in addition to the "he's a ginormous super-robot" bit) inspires confidence.  His force has strong unit cohesion, and they demonstrably hold tactical superiority over their enemies.  Still, Optimus' leadership is primarily military in character, and he has the long-standing primary failing of being unwilling to secure victory against a markedly inferior force.  In fairness to Optimus, the Decepticons are markedly inferior because Optimus is by most standards a superior leader to Megatron.  Nonetheless, who would praise a general who, for 30 years, was unable to secure a strategic victory even though his forces could defeat the enemy tactically in every single confrontation, especially without the difficult dynamic of guerrilla warfare involved?  To quote Sun Tzu, "Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."

In Twilight's case, she is not primarily a general leading a force of warriors in battle.  Still, she does have more success when it comes to dealing with Equestria's enemies.  On the other hand, she did fail some crucial tests of leadership, such as in "The Return of Harmony" (IIRC), where she was not able to counter Discord's "turning" of her friends, and even succumbed to it herself, requiring Celestial intervention.  On the other hand, Discord is a cosmic force of chaos, and Twilight is a teenage girl with magic powers.  Unlike Optimus, Twilight consistently faces superior opponents.  The utility of her primary weapon, the Elements of Harmony, relies on the relationships she is able to maintain with her friends, or in other words, unit cohesion and esprit de corps.

It's been a looong time since I've seen any G1 Transformers, so I can't really compare the social dynamics of the Autobots with the social dynamics of the Mane 6.  Perhaps it could be argued that Optimus does a better job with the internal dynamics of his group (would Discord have been able to divide the Autobots against each other?), while Twilight does better on the battlefield.

I think we can all agree that Twilight has the better writers.

Aside: Seeing as Optimus is an immortal, wise being who has ruled for millennia and is the undisputed leader of his group, perhaps he should be measured not against Twilight (who is really just a newly-minted regent in training), but against Celestia?  She is much closer to being his Equestrian equivalent than Twilight is.

But his "Matrix of Leadership" doesn't actually do him a whole lot of good when it comes to, you know, getting results, does it?  Twilight has the Element of Magic, and: she can do actual magic!

Twilight still wins.  *great big Pinkie grin*

I am curious why you chose to portray Twilight as Hitler.  All of the other M6 were portrayed as blood-spattered soldiers in the thick of the fighting.  If these pics were hung in an art gallery, this one would stand out in a "one of these things is not like the others" sense.  I'm not complaining, just curious why you chose Twilight to stand out in this way.

Aside: Now I want to see a version of that famous Yalta Conference portrait featuring Celestia, Luna, and Discord as FDR, Churchill, and Stalin.

Pinkie's impromptu celebration was only starting to get into full swing when Sunyatay saw a form approaching.  Him?  She spun to face him.  He seems dizzy and confused, she thought.  But is the 'wounded pony' thing just some kind of trick he does to fool ponies into letting him get in position to attack, or is he a normal pony that got possessed by evil somehow?  Well...as many times as I had ponies think I was evil just because it seemed that way...maybe I should try to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

Pinkie's party music stopped, and the others turned to confront the newcomer.  "Blaze?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Please be careful," Sunyatay said  "He's the one I brought to Twilight," she said, then turned back to Blaze.  "Hello."  What do I say?  If I ask him anything directly about whatever's happening to him, that might trigger the evil force to manifest.  It did when there was a chance for Twilight to help him.  So maybe I'll need to figure out a way to get him to tell us what we need to know without tipping of...whatever's possessing him.  "It's alright.  We're not going to hurt you."

If it helps, I'm playing Katarzhyna as if she does not have her power until she gets to Equestria.  That's how I understood the concept of the game, anyway.

@,

I think the hateful personality is a bigger problem than the power because it seems more likely that he'd align himself with the Forces of Darkness^tm than side with the Guardians.  And would the Guardians want him around if he's bleeding his enemies out and putting their heads on pikes?  Maybe they could be forced to accept an alliance of necessity (the Forces of Darkness^tm do not accept him), with the "good" characters having to continually restrain him from committing atrocities, and he can't kill them, as much as he might want to.

The power itself could be interesting in the hands of a good-hearted character.  Such a person might be ethics-bound to extract only their own blood to weaponize it, thus paying a high price to wield the power.  Or, they could struggle to control it, causing gruesome collateral damage by accident or having to fight against the temptations of the Dark Side.

I think it's up to you and/or Shanashie as GM.  The main obstacle IMO is finding a plausible reason for him to be on the Guardians' side.  Maybe he could stick with them at first since they're the only other humans in an alien world.  As he discovers his power and perhaps undergoes the first stage of his transformation, he could decide to switch sides now that he knows he can be a powerful magical being in Equestria.  Why stay with the humans in hopes of going back to Earth when he can rip the blood out of hapless victims and rule a dark empire with an iron [whatever ends up at the end of his arm]?

I'm going to be a contrarian and vote for Twilight here.  Yes, Optimus has vast amounts of leadership experience that Twilight doesn't have.  But there's one thing Twilight is able to accomplish that ['80's] Optimus can't: victory.  Every day, five days a week, Optimus would lead his Autobots into battle to foil some new Decepticon plan.  The Autobots were clearly the stronger force, yet Optimus would never seize the initiative and launch a counter-attack.  Every day, five days a week, he managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by allowing the Decepticons to retreat in good order and make their next evil plan in complete safety.  As a result, he fought the same enemies over and over and over again in a stalemate caused solely by his own decision as leader to remain permanently on the defensive.  Realistically, that's a recipe for ultimate defeat because, sooner or later, the enemy will get lucky.

In contrast, Twilight and her team have racked up an impressive string of enduring victories, usually by winning her enemies over to her side, thus adding to her strength.  Her world is a shining paradise.  Optimus' adopted home lives under constant threat of destructive attacks by giant robots.

Twilight, FTW.

Mane 6: Twilight, because magic

Background Pony: Dr. Whooves, because between him and Twilight (her time travel spell) we could go back in time and save my "girlfriend" (I apparently have one for the purposes of this narrative).  If time travel can't be used that way, hopefully he'd at least have a Sonic Screwdriver, which can be used for just about anything.

Anime Character: L.  His mad genius would be able to solve the mystery of the zombies (where they came from, how to stop them) in moments.

Video Game Character: The Master Chief.  If he can handle the Flood, he can handle zombies.

Forum Member: I don't know anyone here well enough but...  Chaotic Discord.  My intuition tells me so.

"Wow...my whole body could curl up inside my head with lots of room to spare!"

The shadow minion hissed, whorls of black-and-purple Dark Magic boiling around its horn as it gathered its power to attack.  Twilight's horn lit bright purple as she fired a banishing spell.  The minion fired a ray of slowly-churning darkness, like thick black blood poured into water.  The two powers clashed between them, spreading into a storm of light and dark, shot through with lightning.  Twilight's eyes glowed as she strained against the shadow's power.  Her own power had grown considerably since their last confrontation, but so had that of her foe. 

"T-Twilight?" Spike said, looking around in search of something he could use to help her.  His eyes fell on a sealed crystalline case, holding a crown and five jeweled chest-pieces.

Sunyatay's heart sank.  Instead of helping an injured pony in need, she'd brought a deadly enemy right into Twilight's house!  She let herself fade to invisibility, then sneaked around the barrier of clashing powers, giving herself an angle on the shadow minion to attack from behind its defenses.  Everything I do never seems to help.  What if I just cause more problems?  But I have to try, don't I?  She gathered herself and concentrated with all her might, then fired a thin, feeble beam of light at the shadow-creature's horn.  Her attack was barely enough to sting the creature, but it distracted the shadow enough for Twilight to overwhelm its defenses and banish it in a cloud of sulfurous smoke.

"Twilight, are you OK?  I told you it was the Deathly Harb--mmph!"  *belch*  Spike burped up a burst of green fire that congealed at a point above his head, replaced by a scroll in a splash of magical sparks.

"A message from Princess Celestia!" Twilight said, opening the scroll to read it aloud.  "'Dear Princess Twilight:  A matter of utmost concern has reached our attention.  You must come to Canterlot immediately.  I have already dispatched a chariot for you and your friends.  It should be arriving shortly after you get this message.'"

"But we can't leave now!  What about the Deathly Harbinger?" Spike protested.  Twilight rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah, what about that," she said, then focused her magic.  "Spiral horn of magic light, reveal what is hid from sight!"  A prismatic spray of light shot from her horn in all directions.  Sunyatay felt it wash over her, tingling against her skin.  Suddenly she could see herself, still translucent, but more concrete than she had been in a long time, surrounded by a nimbus of tiny multicolored sparkles.  Spike gasped, and was about to duck behind Twilight's leg again when he thought better of it and gathered his courage instead. 

"OK, Spike, it's just a ghostly messenger of doom," he muttered to himself, but his face took on an angry expression, ready for battle.

Sunyatay cringed.  This time disappearance was not automatic.  "I'm sorry!" she cried, her voice a hollow echo.  "He seemed normal, then he passed out.  I didn't know he was an enemy.  Rainbow Dash saved him earlier...he was falling..."

"Good.  Maybe she knows something about him.  But right now, let's talk about you.  You're not not a ghost, or a 'Deathly Harbinger,' are you?"  Sunyatay shook her head.  "You're Sunyatay Sutra...  And if my hypothesis is correct, you're not dead at all."

"How...do you know...about me?"

"I read about your case when I was researching possible causes for all this 'Deathly Harbinger' stuff that's got everypony so worked up around here," she said, giving Spike a meaningful look.  The little dragon blushed with a chagrined look.  "Spike, go get the others.  We're going to Canterlot!"

"Right away!" he said enthusiastically, then briefly turned to Sunyatay.  "Sorry..." he said, then took off in a blur.

"Do you know what happened to you?" Twilight asked her.  "What caused you to disappear?"  Sunyatay bowed her head.

"...I did.  I wished for it," Sunyatay said, too ashamed to continue and tell the Princess Twilight why she had wanted to vanish from life so badly.

"I think you've already figured out that the way to come back is to ground yourself.  You've been trying to help other ponies, except that nothing's worked out the way you wanted, right?"  Sunyatay nodded.  "Another way would be for you to start building relationships.  Make some friends," Twilight said, noticing the sad look that crossed Sunyatay's face when she said that.  "Well, time is short, so the sooner we get started on that, the better," Twilight said, trotting over to her.  "I'm Twilight Sparkle."  Sunyatay looked down at the Princess' extended hoof with shock all over her face.  Nervously, she extended her own hoof.  When they touched, Sunyatay felt a surge of reality flow into her.

"It's...very nice to meet you...Your Highness."

"Oh, please.  Twilight.  'Highness' doesn't fit me at all, I can barely fly," she said, flicking her new wings.  "Will you come to Canterlot with us?  Anything you can tell us about that pony could be a big help!"

"O-OK," Sunyatay said.  Canterlot!  Sunyatay had a feeling she was going to be surrounded by a lot of Very Important Ponies soon. 

---

There hadn't been any real opportunity to talk on the chariot ride to Canterlot.  The Guard pegasi who towed it were fast, powerful fliers, especially with Rainbow Dash zipping around and egging them on.  The howling wind drowned out Sunyatay's voice completely.  Now they had reached their destination, and Twilight hurried off to meet with Princess Celestia and find out more about their mission.  That left Sunyatay alone with five of the most famous ponies in all of Equestria.  She willed herself to cling to the reality she'd gained, but it was hard not to just shy away and disappear, especially when Rarity started looking her over with a discerning eye.

"Oh, you poor dear!  I can't imagine how terrible it would be to be invisible all the time!"

"I'm not so sure about that...it would only make you the Best Prankster Ever!"

"Now hold on there Sugarcube, don't go givin' her any fool ideas about pullin' pranks on everypony!  You're enough trouble all by yourself!"

"Come on, Applejack, where's your sense of fun?  So whaddaya say, Sunyatay," Rainbow said, chuckling at her rhyme, "how about you and I bend this place over our knees and give it a pranking it'll never forget!"

"Uh..."

"You know how when you tried to appear to me a few days ago and I was like 'hhhhHHHUUUUUUUHHH!' and took off?  Well I was just like that when I first saw Twilight but that was because I'd never seen her before and if I'd never seen her before that meant she was new and she obviously needed to have a surprise welcome party but when I saw you and I was like 'hhhhHHHUUUUUUUHHH!' and took off it was because I thought you were a ghost!  I should have known better because my Pinkie Sense wasn't going off so I guess I was kinda rude to you and I'm sorry but now that I know you're just an invisible pony you know what this calls for?" Pinkie said.  She zipped away, then returned with...a cannon?  "A PARTYYYYYY!" she said, firing it off.