Illiad Easle

@GeneralDirection Hmmm.... I do think I want to change a bit of the lore inside the city of New Pegas, and since we're going 1x1 we can go through character introductions more slowly including playing out your second character's escape rather than just having her appear. If you want to have the same start as before, that is to say, growing up in the stable under New Pegas, the beginning will be pretty similar in terms of situation and story beats, the changes I have in mind are pretty minor. Up to you, your characters are in a pretty good place starting in Nova. @Props Valroa Well I was initially planning for all of you to go after the artifact, everyone had a story hook in that direction after all, which would bring you all together for or against each other as you fight for who's faction will end up winning, and which factions will ally, but that relies on everyone moving at more or less the same pace and could get complicated fast. I'm fine with whatever choice you're most passionate about. As I recall Carnelian was looking to find the Academic Research sites to recover potent magical weaponry, and she was presently sneaking around the ruins of a city to recover equipment for a group of NLR soldiers. If you want to continue her story from there, restart her story from when she disembarked the Æther, or pick a new character with a new entry point, I'm happy to accommodate. @GeneralDirection @Props Valroa The DLCs are also available as story paths if you're interested. Though the Lonesome Road will be a bit different depending on your start.

@Blitz Boom (Null) Ardee watched with curiosity, wondering how this would give it energy, but figured it wasn't the strangest thing, considering what she had heard about from Arcade. "Alright, do you need more of these? Should I be carrying them around for you? How often do you need to eat these?" Ardee would take the moment to approach, despite her hunger. There was a bit of nervous energy to her as she did, "Um, excuse me, you're the one that made the paper fox for me right? I was wondering if you could help with something?" She would retrieve the feather from the fox to show it to the kitsune, "I was wondering if it could be given wings? Maybe not to fly, but at least to glide, and I think this might help?" The kitsune would likely have seen this sort of metal before, or at least heard of it, and even if he hadn't, he'd be able to feel its power just by holding it. Minostralium was known for a few effects, when nearby it lowered the cost of magic by making the magical field more flexible, and doing much of the work to pull down the field. This effect was amplified when plated on or over a magical node, like a hoof, wing, or horn, and could be used to make runes or enchantments that never needed recharging. It had some extra special effects if added to the bloodstream, but those were known only to the members of BLU team, Vale, the O5 Council, and Celestia. The feather itself wasn't strictly necessary, and the metal itself was soft enough to change the shape without heat, and could be magically molded without much effort. (Void) Cherish's curiosity did not go unnoticed by Vale, but she was pleasantly surprised when Cherish didn't ask about them. She returned the smile with a cervine bow, ducking her head down nearly to the ground for but a moment before continuing, "It's nice to meet you too, I hope you're the first of many friends they'll make." Toupé and the others nodded at that, inwardly looking forward to the promise of getting to have this good food for several days in the future. Toupé looked surprised at the question as she was halfway into her seat by the time Void asked, "Um, well, I've already opened one gift, so I think it makes sense that we all eat before I open more? I wouldn't want you all to have to wait for me if we're all hungry." The rest followed Toupé's lead in getting seated, Vale taking care of bringing over the necessary additional supplies for her and Cherish to join the table, before they looked towards Void for directions to proceed. Assuming Void told them to take what they wanted, the young ponies would set about evenly distributing a portion of the food to everyone, with smaller portions to the foals, ensuring that everyone was served before they started eating.

@Skylight Scintillate Nova nodded, "Yeah! I guess that makes sense, considering just how big Equestria is." Nova looked worried at that. He had heard that at least the zebra council hated public criticism, but he also knew that the current elder of his clan welcomed it, not that he'd done anything to warrant it, as far as he knew. He was relieved to hear that Celestia was at least not openly hostile to criticism, even if the guard couldn't speak to it now. Nova was astonished by the shear size of the room, "Woah, you could fit my whole clan in here, with room to spare! This is bigger than the clearing my colony sits in." He looked over at Speckle, considering something, but turned his question to the guide, "What is the Grand Galloping Gala? What sort of event is it?"

@Props Valroa @Blitz Boom @Evil Pink One Sounds like the consensus is for a sequel with new/recurring characters, which is fine by me. I'll refamiliarize myself with where we left everyone, since I primarily want to play with the younger characters (Plein, Pom, Power, and Aurum) and how they shape the future of this new world.

@Evil Pink One You can make a new character if you want, no pressure if you're not that interested though. @Props Valroa Sounds good, you want to continue straight from where you were? Or take a new start? I'm thinking of having everyone have their own story rather than putting you all in the same world. @GeneralDirection I have no problem with taking it slow, and that means it will be a 1x1 between us so that should allow for a more focused dive into the lore I have planned. Do you want to continue from where you are? Or would you like a fresh start?

@Props Valroa @Blitz Boom @Evil Pink One Alright, I'm back, how is everyone feeling? Do we want to try and continue the story where it was? Or start a sequel with some new and some returning characters?

@Evil Pink One @Props Valroa @GeneralDirection Alright, I'm back, who is still interested in continuing this thread? I'm going to revamp a few details to make things a bit more consistent and actually keep track of inventories, weapons, damage, and combat.

@Blitz Boom (Null) Ardee listed to everything that Null said without interrupting. At the end she sighed but nodded, "That... that's what I was thinking, more or less. I need to think about what I do, and not just run away from what I don't want." She turned her attention to the paper fox, sensing it's disquieted state, "What's wrong? You need something?" She tried to remember if the kitsune had said anything about caring for it. but she was drawing a blank after everything that had happened. "Are you hungry? Do paper foxes get hungry? What would I even feed you?" She was more or less talking to herself as she knew the paper fox wasn't going to just tell her what it needed, much like a foal. After feeding it was sorted, Arcade would return with news as to the availability of food. If he were allowed to bring food with him from the buffet he'd arrive with an assortment to share. Otherwise he would just have information as to where the food was. (Void) Those gathered looked impressed by all the food that was presented to them, outside of rare occasions in the facility this was the most food they had ever seen in one place. This on top of the special food they had had for lunch and the dinner yet to come as Void mentioned. Teal was the one to ask, "Are more ponies coming? This seems like a lot of food for just us." "Well there's at least one more." Vale said as she entered the room, she was looking well groomed and had a gift of her own on her back, though her mechanical eye and the small gold plates on her forehead were still quite visible. This was normal for the young ponies but Cherish had likely never seen her before, and her presence did not go unnoticed, "Ah, two more I guess? Is this a friend from school?" The young ponies nodded as Vale approached, "Greetings, I'm Vale, I help Void take care of these young ponies, what's your name?"

@Evil Pink One (Blu) Blu had intended to rest, but he chose a spot with a view towards the castle in case something happened. So the noise spurred him to action. "Big target, and no Alpha to steel my kill." His rifle was ready in a moment, he prepped a few of the rounds with explosive and incendiary enchantments before preparing to fire. He'd aim for the center of mass on the gryphon first, see how fast it was, and if it moved slowly enough he'd go for more damaging targets like the head and wings. (Fuoco) Fuoco didn't address that comment as she turned towards Cozy, "Looks like another opportunity is here, get out there and defend. Or are the legends of an alicorn's strength just that?" Fuoco wouldn't wait for a response before she started to play, invigorating those who could hear the song as she had during the day. It should serve to aid the defenders against the intrusion. Those attacking the castle were beyond her range to assist anyway.

@Skylight Scintillate Nova looked unsure, "I don't think so, Archback only does tours very rarely, I've only gone once, and from what I remember the important ponies there rarely leave the castle." He shrugged, "But maybe?" Nova nodded at that with a smile. Nova didn't really have questions, but would comment over to Speckle, "Hmm, so it's more like how the Elder works than how the Order works." Presuming she would ask what he meant, Nova continued, "In my Clan, we have an Elder, usually the oldest descendent of Starlight Fastar, who anyone in the clan can go to for guidance and who makes the decisions for the clan, like what Princess Celestia is doing now. In Mohotma and Archback they have an Order who make the decisions, a group of zebra or ponies, and they're more... detached? You can't just talk to them. With the zebra no one even knows who the members of the Order are." He looked back at Celestia and the debate, "I don't know, I thought, with how much bigger Equestria is, that it would be more like Archback than my clan." He smiled, "It's nice that you can still have such access to your leader despite the size of everything." He turned to the guide, "What's Princess Celestia like? I've never met her before..."

@Evil Pink One (Blessings make her sound like a cleric) Fuoco nodded, "Then stay here, there will be other opportunities. Rest up tonight, there will be plenty to do tomorrow." Once the other groups were rejuvenated and sent out, Fuoco moved towards a window to watch, not that there would be much to see at night. Blu paused, looking back with a raised eyebrow, "I didn't think it was, it would have shattered under its own weight by now if it were. But even it it's made of steel one or more of those pillars are hollow to allow access to the structure above, and that is an exploitable weakness. With the weight above we wouldn't even need to fully break the pillar, a cut across it would be enough to bring the castle down." With that he would head out, presumably to rest for the battle in the morning.

@Blitz Boom (Null) Ardee, to her credit, didn't cry out at the pain, but Null could tell from how the rest of her muscles tensed that it really did hurt, Ardee had probably learned to keep quiet. Ardee took to gently petting the paper fox once her wings were set. She let out a sad sigh as she shook her head, "No, they're stronger than that, and they're used to it. After Ajay, Efs, Rare... we hardly even mourned Rare... And the others before them, I don't think they even remember the ones who didn't stick around while we were in the lab, they're used to the idea. Sure, they'd probably be sad, but they'd get over it." She looked at Null, there weren't tears in her eyes, she was simply deeply tired, "I came out here to get away, my whole life I've been running away, trying to get out from under everyone else's expectations and plans for me. It wasn't until I was out there, with Basher, that I realized... If I just keep running, and don't figure out what I want, then I'm just going to end up somewhere I don't want to be. I need to figure out what this mark means, who I am, before I know what to do next." She looked away, towards the outside, "Out there, fighting Basher, I had to prove to myself that I'm strong enough to stand alone. My whole life I've been defined by others..." She sighed, "I'm tired of running, tired of fighting..." (Void) The others didn't exactly know what to do while Void and Toupé shared a moment, so they quietly tried to guess what might be under the cloth on the table. Toupé would pull back after a bit, taking a few breaths to recompose herself, "Okay, what now? From what Mistress told us about parties, there are typically activities? But also she mentioned that all parties are different, to suit the occasion, so what happens at this party?" The others seemed interested too, though Cherish might have some idea as to what Void had planned.

@Props Valroa Graduation is Thursday, and I've got family in town until Sunday, I'll make an official decision on Monday, but we're either continuing or doing a sequal.

@Blitz Boom (Null) Null would find that she had been reoriented in the night to at least be on her side and covered in a light blanket and head on a pillow. Arcade's back was to her, so she was in a protected position where she was between the bed and Arcade, with Arcade facing the door. It was Ardee moving on the bed that had woken Null, though Arcade were starting to stir, a bit slower than usual given the exertion of the previous day and night. Ardee raised herself to a sitting position with a pained groan, "ugh- my wings haven't hurt like this since..." she shook her head. She winced as she tried to fold her wings in, the bruising was still present around where her wings met her body, and there was some swelling at the joints of the wings themselves. "Umm, Null? Could... could you help me fold my wings? I should be able to hold them still once they're folded, but it hurts to move them." Provided Null agreed, Ardee would look away as Null helped move her wings to the folded position, doing her best to keep herself from tensing too much, though it was obvious that it hurt a good amount. Null could take this opportunity to talk to Ardee a bit more personally. Arcade would get up and move towards the door, "I'll leave you two to that then, and I'll try and find us some food." So she could even talk privately if she wanted. (Void) Toupé was surprised by the reveal, gently raising a hoof to touch it, to trace the lines, there was a faint smile to her face, and she looked thoughtful as she looked at the space where her name would go. She looked over at Void, "Are... are you going to do this for the others too? I don't want them to feel left out..." Teal and Elef encouraged Toupé, indicating that they didn't mind, but also hoping that they would get their own when they got their marks? As they looked to Void for confirmation to that end. That said, Toupé would look at another place in the room, "Um, I don't know if you stuck it to the wall like the others, but maybe it could be moved? I mean, maybe if it went over my bed? If it's attached then it's fine. I do appreciate it, it's much easier to see there than looking at my own flank. Thank you." She would move to hug Void if Void would allow it, and Void would feel a few tears on her coat from Toupé's eyes, "Sorry, I'm not used to... all this. We all had to work very hard to get anything before."

@Skylight Scintillate Nova stretched out a wing, "Because we both have wings? That makes us at least more similar to them than the other pony races, so while it's not right to lump us together, it at least makes more sense for us to be there than in any of the other ones." Nova nodded, "She's one of the ponies at Archback, one of the important ones. She's in charge of the archives there, so she spoke to us when we went there on a tour. She seemed nice." Nova looked a bit less impressed, more uncomfortable at the clear disparity of wealth present in the town. He also wondered what the ponies here did to deserve having so much more than the other ponies in the rest of the city. He understood why the princesses had a nice place, so he figured those here must also do something important. Still, it seemed like an excessive difference, but he wasn't about to comment on that. Nova wasn't surprised at all, as the guards in his colony were always kind to him, often letting him go along while they patrolled and teaching him how to do things. "Are they not usually?" He whispered back. He did want to ask a question though, "Will we get to see the princesses? Maybe, um, Princess Luna?"

@Evil Pink One Fuoco wasn't really paying attention to the explanation other than noting that it was different from what she had been taught. Fuoco again wished she had studied that lesson better, as it would have been very useful here. Fuoco nodded at that, "As you should, your skills at organizing are far more important than fighting. You've both led towns before, and we have many civilians that will need to be organized if they're going to not hinder our efforts. After they're rested, which you two ought to do as well, we'll need to put them to work according to their skills and abilities. Most importantly food and construction. If the castle is not quickly taken for our own purposes we'll need a fortified structure to keep everyone safe." She turned her attention to the three team leaders. "Gather your teams and report back here, I'll give you a bit of a boost before you leave, no sense going without every advantage we can give." As each team returned ready, Fuoco would play a short song, rejuvenating them as best as she could before sending them off. Blu would arrive at the meeting after the teams had left, "If you're planning to take the castle, I'd have to advise against it." Fuoco looked a bit incredulous, "And why is that?" "It isn't structurally sound. The whole thing stands on three pillars, if any of the pillars were damaged enough the whole thing will topple over. It wouldn't even take that big of an explosive by my estimates." Fuoco looked like she was going to dismiss the idea, but then looked thoughtful. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, and for your help earlier. Your instrument is quite powerful. You should rest, no doubt there will be even more in the morning." Unless someone else had a comment on the exchange, Blu would leave, and Fuoco would appraise the castle in a new light. Sure, there would be a loss in morale to the civilians to see the castle destroyed, but it would likely be worth it to remove it from the enemy's hooves. And he had a point, if this colt could find that flaw there was no reason to think that the enemy wasn't also aware, and wouldn't take the same opportunity if ousted.

@Blitz Boom (Null) Arcade looked like he had wanted to interject at points, but held back to let Null say her full piece. When she started crying he held her close, "I won't lie and tell you its alright, but I understand, and I don't blame you for the decisions you made. I agreed with you when you made them and I think they were the best we could have made knowing what we did. I appreciate that you wanted to keep her safe. I did too. But we see now that our efforts put her in more danger than if we had let her try and prove herself." He looked over at where she was sleeping, "I think what's most important is how we proceed. She's shown that she's strong and capable, and we need to show that we see and respect that. Apologize for not believing in her before and show that we believe in her now." He kissed the top of Null's head, "I love you, because I know you care deeply about me and my family. I can't hold against you you wanting to keep us safe to the best of your ability." It was likely that they would end up falling asleep like that, in each other's hooves sitting at the end of the bed Ardee was in, rather than separating to find somewhere more comfortable, but Arcade wouldn't object if Null did choose to move. (Cherish) Toupé would be surprised at the request, but would accept, seeing as Cherish had been there when her mark was first discovered. Lilac wasn't close enough to consider such a thing, nor was she aware that a party was going to happen since she didn't know who had gotten their mark when it had been announced that someone had. She had even checked herself in case it was her and no one had told her. So Void didn't have to worry on that front. (Void) Part of the less than perfect arrangement of decorations was due to the foals constantly trying to use their newfound abilities to take them down, though the two of them would be captivated by a balloon in the corner that Piecey was pushing around with her magic, and Peal was trying to capture with her limited flight, much to the delight of both parties. The young ponies, with Cherish in tow, were surprised to see all the decorations around the room. Toupé herself was a bit more enthused than she had been before class, as the lesson had taught her that a mark was meant to be celebrated and was, in almost all cases, a good thing worth celebrating. It also helped her to see the joy in those around her for her achievement. The foals would pause their game to come over to Teal and Toupé, who were both surprised to see what they could do, Teal asked, "Have they been doing this while we were gone? I didn't realize they'd gotten so good already!" Toupé, with Peal on her back, would move over to the covered table, as well as looking at the covered portion of the wall, "Is there a surprise? Or did something happen to the wall? The foals didn't break something did they?"

@Blitz Boom No worries, I don't have much experience with therapy either. I just thought it made the most sense for where Elef would be able to open up about his trauma. If you want, when we get there we can start with some general chat, getting Elef comfortable with the idea of sharing and confident that nothing he says will be shared, then he will reveal his trauma. At that point I can generate the questions and structure with AI, and we can use that to guide the session. We can also rough out the session here before doing the full RP of it to make sure it doesn't get ruined.

@Skylight Scintillate Nova looked disappointed at that, but shook it off. He perked up at that, "Really? Awesome!" That was something that disappointed Nova too, but he didn't speak much louder about it, "Well, they don't seem to have a crystal pony one either, maybe they just meant the three most common ponies? Or maybe they put it in the pegasus museum? It wouldn't surprise me if they bundled thestrals in with them despite being a separate type." Nova shrugged, "I can't say I know much about her, other than that she's an Element of Harmony and saved Equestria a few times. She seems cool though, like Moondancer, from what I've heard." (He's referring to a different Moondancer than Twilight's friend.) "The tour was interesting, they must really like learning here to have so much space dedicated to it. Back home we would just be taught by our parents or in small groups, then learn from a professional for a skill. But I know Archback and Mohotma have classrooms and schools. I guess this is just a really big school then? And to have all those museums, I guess Equestria really has a lot of history. We only have a few monuments and chroniclers for our history, but our clan is only a few hundred years old. Very new compared to other clans or Equestria." As they were eating, where Nova would likely be disappointed to see a lack of carnivorous options, Nova asked, "Could we see the pegasus museum sometime? I want to see if maybe they mention thestrals in there. Or maybe we could see the constellation exhibit? That sounded cool."

@Evil Pink One Fuoco looked a bit incredulous, and more than a little disappointed, "Seriously? Our enemies can use portals, teleport, and walk through shadows, and we don't have a single pony who can do anything like that?" She shook her head, muttering something about codas, "Regardless, we'll play the instruments we have. If we have no teleportation the team will just need to be more careful." Fuoco wasn't happy, "Break it up, both of you. We're not getting anywhere with infighting." She turned her attention to the rest of the group, "Let's send several groups then, if they're not expecting one attack they won't expect multiple. Blitz can lead one group for a fast strike, and if they can't penetrate the castle they will serve as a diversion for Kuya's group. Then Cozy can lead a third group go through the sewers and enter the castle from below. Who do we have available to fill out the groups? I'm thinking three to five ponies each, depending on what the leaders think."

@Evil Pink One (The railgun, which I've referred to as his rifle.) Fuoco shook her head, "They'll likely tighten security if they feel threatened. I think it would be best if the team to recover the heart does so fully secretly, so that the enemy has no indication that we're trying something until it is already done. It would be best if at least one in the group can teleport back in case something goes wrong or once they have the heart. That being said, we can prepare to start an attack if further intelligence suggests it would be useful, but I think the main body of our forces should rest as much as they can before we resume our efforts in the morning. Whether we're successful in securing the heart or not tonight, we want to take the castle itself as well as soon as we can. It will be much more defensible than our current situation and easier to spread out from."

@Blitz Boom (Null) The Grey would only go after someone if vengeance were called on them, either literally or figuratively. So given no one was planning to go to the Grey about it, and no one appeared to have died to talk to Vengeance about it, he'd be under their radar for now. Ace wasn't going to get the Grey involved in any case. Arcade only looked over the room briefly to make sure it was secure before putting Ardee to bed, who was already asleep on his back. He looked her over with a frown, "We should have someone look at her, all that bruising around her wings doesn't look good, I hope she didn't push herself too hard." He'd then turn his attention back to Null, "And how about you? Did he hurt you any? It's hard to tell with how dark your coat is. And in any case, how are you feeling? About everything that happened? I..." He sighed, looking at Ardee, "I don't know if it would have been better or worse if we had gone with you from the start, or if I had just stayed here despite what I heard... I'm glad you're both alright, but... I don't know what I would do if either of you had gotten seriously hurt." (Cherish) Many of the students seemed intrigued by the prospect of speaking to Sooth, and were placated that they would need to talk to their guardians to set it up. Gemini would stand up, "Do questions remain? No?" She nodded, "Good, everyone thank our guest!" The students would thank Sooth, who would then be allowed to leave, or to stick around if she wanted to observe the students. In any case, Gypsum would stand at the front, "Now, are there any final questions about marks?" (There's a chance for Cherish to ask something, or not. I think unless you have topics for school, we'll just go into the school when we have something interesting for them to learn. I am interested though in having Elef do some therapy at some point.) (Regardless, the next scene is Toupé's party!)

@Evil Pink One (As Blu's rifle rounds are more accurately just tapered metal cylinders she might be able to make them faster than actual bullets, but she could just be out of practice) Blu glanced over to inspect what she had made. Given it just needed to be a metal cylinder and small enough to not touch the barrel on the way out, the tolerance wasn't very strict. So he could test it without risking his rifle, though it did occur to him that he'd need to start conserving ammo if others weren't capable of making more for him. While he could make his own rounds for his rifle, it would take time and raw materials, meaning he couldn't fire at the same time. "That'll do, try and get them to match as exactly as you can. The shape keeps it straight so it hits where I aim, and the weight is what does the damage." If Flurry could make them faster with practice, Blu would allow her to stay, otherwise he'd send her off to help Fuoco, who would have her assigned to a group to gather and return survivors to safe shelters. Fuoco looked intrigued, "A crystal? Hmm," she shook the thoughts away, "I think you're right though. Better it was in our possession, even if we can't use it. I'm thinking we send a small group, a grab and go mission. Do we have someone familiar with the area? Maybe one of the guards we saved? Maybe we could just teleport in, grab it, and teleport out? In any case, I think we push our advantage and try and take it tonight before they can fortify it, or realize that we're after it." (The crystal ponies used the heart before Flurry, maybe a sufficient number of crystal ponies could purify it like they did after they got it back from Sombra the first time?)

@Skylight Scintillate Well, Nova would still wait for an example, someone else asking a question, so he could understand how he should ask and what he could ask about. The tours he's been on before were very strict in that regard, this is his first casual tour. That being said, I don't actually have a question in mind if you want to just move forward, I just put that in as an insight to his hesitant nature.

@Evil Pink One Fuoco and Blu wouldn't stay at the top of the first building cleared, and would move deeper into the city as better vantage points were cleared by the rest of their forces. Blu would move to higher points with more commanding views of enemy territory, while Fuoco would move to buildings sitting more central to the controlled area so her music could have the greatest effect. (Assuming she was sent to where Blu was.) Not taking his eyes off the target he had in his sights, he held up one of his rifle rounds with his magic, "Can you make more of these? Otherwise, I think you'll be of more use on the ground with the others. Maybe the flute player can use you? She seems to be in charge here, and unlike the others seems to be doing a good job of it." If she could make more rounds for him like Starlight had, Blu would have her top off his ammo supply before sending her over to Fuoco anyway. Fuoco wasn't ready to rest just yet, she had felt something as her group had approached the spire in the middle of the city. Something was reverberating her music, and she had a feeling the castle held it. As evening came she sent out a call for everyone to regroup for the night, and prepare. She would meet with Gruit, Tiara, Cozy, and anyone with rank that they had rescued from the Crystal Empire citizenry and guard. Once gathered, she would begin, "Now, we have a good hoof in the ground here, but unless we can clear the city our grip will be tenuous. I need ideas and plans." She would look around at those gathered, "I have felt something, some sort of magical artifact, in the direction of the spire. Does anyone know what that might be? Maybe something we could use?"