Illiad Easle

@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?"

@Evil Pink One Fuoco quickly took stock of the situation and nodded calling out and pointing to specific members of the group, "You two, close and secure the gates. We don't want anyone ambushing us from behind. You four, secure one of these buildings. We'll bring anyone who can't fight back here. The rest of you move in threes and fours, clear buildings carefully and send any non-infected back here. Gruit, Tiara, you two are in charge of organizing anyone sent here. Anyone willing to fight put them in groups and send them out. I'm going to get on top of the building they secure so my music has as much range as possible." She nodded, turning her gaze towards the castle. Something about it called to her, but she wasn't going to overextend herself to take it without a force behind her. "Understood? Move out." She started to play an invigorating tune, bolstering the morale of those gathered before following the four she had selected for clearing a nearby building, which included Blu, to bolster their efforts to quickly secure it. She was hoping for a larger building, one where they could hold a lot of creatures unable or unwilling to fight so they could be more easily protected, as well as giving her a good vantage from the roof. Blu would also benefit from the higher vantage point to put his rifle to use.

@Skylight Scintillate (It's the same as having multiple cities in a nation, like the central village would be like Canterlot, and Nova's colony would be like Ponyville) Nova would pay rapt attention to everything the tour guide said, similar to how he had followed Speckle's tour, though he got the feeling that interrupting the tour guide was frowned upon here as no one else seemed to ask questions. He figured there would either be a designated part of the tour for questions, or he could ask Speckle later. On the observation deck Nova was once again trying to pick out Archback mountain, but he still wasn't sure if he had the right one or not. He looked over when Speckle spoke up, nodding, "I don't think I've ever been up this high before, even when flying. Do you think they'll let us fly down rather than taking all those stairs again?" Per her comment on the tour guide he would respond, "I figured you had to be smart to be a tour guide, the ones at Archback, Mohotma, and the Central Village all seemed to be." He turned his attention towards the castle, "I wish we could go inside today, it's so much bigger than the castle at Archback, I'm sure it's full of super cool stuff!" Nova had never been taught to hide his fangs, so whenever he smiled they were on full display. He turned his attention back to Speckle, "Have you done this tour before? What are you excited to see?"

@Blitz Boom (Null) Ardee didn't react if she heard her, her attention fully focused inward. Though her breathing was slowing as she calmed down. Arcade looked concerned for the first part of Null's recap, "Did he hurt you? That unicorn that was helping him... it took a few bodies before I could take her down. Gray Mare was there too, picked her up after I knocked her out. Said something about going by later." He moved towards Ardee, looking her over silently, appraising her injuries and her new mark, before carefully embracing her in a way as to not press on her bruises. She leaned into his embrace though, which caused her to wince , but she didn't pull away. He spoke softly to her, and it seemed to calm her a bit more. Ardee was most injured around her wings, though the injuries were more internal, strained and torn muscles from overexerting herself. As the fox worked it would find that its magic was easier the closer it was to the golden feather she had, it looked like the ones the fox had covered. Thanks to the fox's efforts, Ardee was able to fold her wings up, albeit with a bit of pain, but the were more comfortable and would heal better folded than extended. She smiled, coming out of her introspection when the fox collapsed on her back, gently petting it before pulling the plated feather out of her wing and tucking the pointed end into one of the folds of the paper fox, "I don't know if this will help, but it seemed to help Basher and me. I think you've earned it.. Maybe we can get it properly attached to you later?" Ardee tiredly nodded, "Yeah, maybe... Can we go back to the hotel now? Or... oh, there was a different kitsune in your room doing something... it might not be safe there." Arcade scooped her onto his back, "We'll figure something out, you can rest on the way." He'd turn towards the city as Ardee started to drift off. He looked towards Null, "Shall we?" (Arcade will head towards the hotel, they won't be stopped by any citizens on the way, given it was fully morning now. He would ask if their rooms were safe, or if they could be moved to other rooms if they weren't cleaned yet. Unless Null has other plans.) (Cherish) The students noticed the shift in tone, and were visibly more engaged as the topic moved to be more applicable to them. Nova's eyes narrowed a bit, but she had his attention. Elef broke eye contact for a bit, but returned his focus to the lesson. Nova's expression softened there, though it was initially angry, he looked towards Lilac with a different expression than usual. Elef and Teal seemed comforted by those words. Teal raised a hoof, "Are we able to meet with you? I, um, don't mean to assume, but I think at least my siblings and I, well, it sounds like you've helped ponies like us before..." Elef and Toupé were both surprised by Teal's suggestion, but they didn't look opposed, each turning their gaze towards Sooth to see what she'd say. If she looked, Nova also seemed less opposed than he had been before. Maybe she could broach the subject with his guardians to resume meeting with him? Lilac would follow up Teal's question, "How do you help ponies? I, um... " she looked like she was thinking hard to get the right words, "Nigma says that ponies can be hurt by seeing things, or by memories. And that you wanted to help my brother. How do you help that?"

@Evil Pink One Sounds like something interesting is planned then. You can go ahead and extend your post since I already stated what Fuoco would do if she had support.

By resonate I meant in a musical sense rather than a magical one. Fuoco's music causes the heart to vibrate, which serves as a weak magical amplifier to the magic of the song. To Fuoco, the heart would just be a resonance crystal, and the Empire a perfect sound stage. Her trauma and flaws are likely what prevents the heart from fully harmonizing with her, hence why it is only a minor boost. But maybe sufficient exposure to the heart would help heal her? I'm talking months of exposure though, she's been traumatized for years. Does that make sense?

@Evil Pink One I think that qualifies as enough support for Fuoco to proceed forward and for Blu to follow up the rear. You can continue. An idea that came to mind, perhaps Fuoco's magic could resonate with the crystal heart as she approaches the center of the empire? Supposing of course that the heart is still there and not corrupted in some way. This resonance would slightly boost Fuoco's range and power, enough for her to notice but not enough to make her too much more powerful. Supposing they secure the city, Fuoco could practice with the heart to further improve her ability to harmonize with it, maybe serving as a key for repelling the infection using her magic with the heart? Just a though, I don't want to get in the way if you had other plans for it.

@Evil Pink One Fuoco was closer to Tiara than Blu, and Tiara had no reason to go to Blu. Fuoco would simply nod as she continued playing for the moment as everyone gathered. She would look at those who had arrived, "Do we have the strength to clear the castle?" If those gathered responded confidently she would nod, "Then we advance. Stay close, strike true." Fuoco would stay in the middle of the group so as to best defend or bolster as the circumstances required as they moved through the gates. (It's unclear where exactly they are, whether they're at the gates of the Empire, or at the gates of the castle at the center of the Empire. I'm operating that they're on the outskirts of the city.) If those gathered did not seem confident she would nod, "Then we retreat. Find somewhere to regroup and prepare." Blu would move to follow depending on Fuoco. If the group moved to advance, he would follow from a distance, ensuring proper overwatch of the group. If they moved to retreat he would join up in the group itself so as to not be left behind.

@Skylight Scintillate Nova looked a bit more confident in this question, "Oh, yeah. So, most clans are only big enough to have one village or group. The Fastar clan is big enough that we have a central village deep in the Shimmerwood forest, where the original Fastar raised Starlight, and where Fastar's Monument stands. Then we have a few colonies closer to the edges of the forest to interact with the outside world. I live in the colony bordering with Archback and Mohotma City. I hope that makes sense? If you want, I can ask if we can go to the central village while you're visiting?" Nova didn't pick up on the tour guide's nervousness, just figuring that the Canterlot tour was a bit less formal than the Archback tours he had gone on previously. He would nod, "I think so," looking to Speckle for confirmation, "Right?" He would look back to the tour guide, "What sort of things are we going to see? Are we going to get to see inside the castle?"

@Evil Pink One Fuoco wasn't as stable on her hind legs, but she was well within her element here, standing and defending rather than escorting a retreat. Since she knew a shadowmancer was in the mix, she had been scanning the shadows more than the skies. So when Lyra revealed herself Fuoco was quick to send a ball of fire towards her hooves. She didn't intend to hit her so much as to destroy her shadow. Fire had a way of making shadows fleeting and unpredictable, and few shadowmancers wanted to be halfway through a shadow when it disappeared. With an erratic medley Fuoco danced the fireball around Lyra's hooves, forcing her to keep moving and eliminating any shadows that she got close to in an effort to separate her from Tiara and keep her from escaping. Blu was lying prone as his rifle required, so he immediately rolled away from the sound in an effort to distance himself from the sudden appearance rather than properly dodge, Having been given more time to react, he'd ready his pistol as he moved to a better position, he was not equipped for melee combat, but it looked like he had his support now. Soon he'd be able to set up a proper spot, since it looked like he had more targets. Blu snorted again, "Yep, called it. A trap." As he saw that the pink one was gone he set up to fire again. These targets weren't as apparently strong as the alicorns, so he could fire a bit faster by reducing the charge time. Still, he would prioritize the strongest targets, focusing on the aerial targets first. Once he got into a rhythm he'd be able to fire about every five seconds. Meanwhile Fuoco would depend on her outcome with Lyra. If Lyra had not managed to escape, Fuoco would move to more aggressive tactics. Swapping the fireball for a wall of fire that she would sweep towards Lyra, forcing her to adjust course towards the incoming infected so she could fight both groups together. If Lyra had already escaped. Fuoco could turn her attention to the gates immediately, pushing a wall of fire towards them immediately to use the gate as a choke point. Partly in the tactical sense in that they had to travel mostly single file so as to not get burned, and partly in the literal sense as the fire consumed most of the oxygen in the area.

@Blitz Boom I think it's a good introduction to her character, and I had Gypsum give Sooth some suggestions, but basically I was thinking Sooth could speak on how trauma can affect marks, their meaning and understanding, or how they might be obtained, but that trauma does not mean that they are broken, or that marks earned through trauma mean that that trauma was necessary or required in their lives. Mostly this is to speak to three of them: Elef is deeply traumatized by Rare's death at his hooves, and still blames himself for her death. He fears he does not deserve a mark after what he did, given he caused her to never get a mark. Toupé worries that something is wrong, since her mark isn't what she was told it would be. She also is aware of more than she lets on, namely that she was the subject of experiments, and she worries that her mark reflects that more than who she is. Nova earned his mark in the even where his parents died, and he saved his sister. His mark reminds him of this trauma, and it is only Lilac's presence that softens the trauma. Hopefully that gives you some ideas, I can give more ideas or brainstorm something here if you want.

@Blitz Boom (Null) Ardee matched the strength of Null's expression. There was a fire there, that Ardee would fight her for it if she had to. Grey Mare raised an eyebrow, but otherwise her face betrayed no emotion as she nodded, "Very well." She wasn't bleeding, much, just a few scratches here and there, and a bit where she had amateurishly stabbed the stolen feather into her own wing. She wouldn't fight Null if she wanted to take it out. That being said, Ardee did have a number of bruises forming, most especially around her wing joints, where her wings met her body. Signs that she had extremely overexerted her wings, further demonstrated by how they hung more or less limply at her sides. The rest of her bruises were around her barrel where Basher had struck her. (I don't know if that's enough to stop Null or not. I'll respond to the rest just in case.) Ardee looked confused by Null's comment, and a bit angry, "What are you talking about? I don't have a mark, I'm a... " she looked at her flank, " just a..." She looked again, and most of the fire went out of her as she really saw it. " a... a..." She shifted as best as she could to see it better, tears coming to her eyes as she touched it with a hoof, as though to check that it wasn't just a sticker or drawn on. "I... I..." Her hoof fell to the ground. "It... I... I did it." The tears flowed freely with silent shuddering breaths. Arcade arrived, well out of breath, but he was otherwise uninjured, at least visibly. It took him a few attempts to get his voice back before he quietly asked, "How is she? What happened?" Once the fox arrived, Ardee wouldn't stop it from approaching her, or even climbing on her, and would in fact welcome it, as overwhelmed as she was. Maybe it had some ways it could heal her body a bit while she recovered emotionally from the experiences? Sooth was actually one of the ponies that were being screened for interacting with the clones, and as such she had been told a bit about Teal, Toupé, and Elef, namely that they had experienced loosing those close to them on several occasions, as well as what could be described as an abusive childhood, though many of the specific details were not yet shared with her at this time. So, Sooth had a basis to say that all of the young ponies had at least that in common. That being said, most of them looked confused about many of the more complicated words that Sooth had used, including Gypsum who, as Sooth was informed, spoke Equish as a second language. She offered some suggestions as to how Sooth could adjust what she planned to speak on, "Maybe it would help the pups if you spoke more simply? This one was just teaching them about how marks are different for different creatures, and that the process and meaning is different for different ponies. What you do helps ponies to understand themselves, yes? Maybe you could teach how understanding self helps in gaining and understanding a mark? One pup here recently got their mark, and I am told that others are worried that they may not get marks, were told they would not." She said this quietly to Sooth, so as to not share this with the students, who were curious to see what Sooth would teach them.

@Evil Pink One Fuoco acted quickly, once the alicorns were asleep she could open her throat node again, and with a shrill whistle a ring of fire dispelled all the shadows in her vicinity. She would move out of the city walls where the only shadow near her would be her own, so as to minimize the shadowmancer's avenues for attack, and to continue with her goal of stopping the refugees from being brought into the city, given it was growing more and more clear that this place had been breached. Blu snorted as he set up his weapon, everything had happened as he had predicted, albeit at a much faster timeframe than he had expected. Cleary this place had already been infiltrated, and he had been right not to trust what looked like too pristine a setup. How much of it was just a facade remained to be seen. Nonetheless, he wasn't about to watch as someone he had denounced as a tyrant killed the one he was looking forward to bringing to proper justice. He prepared his weapon, the range was closer, and due to the lack of time the shot would be less powerful than when he had killed the previous alicorn. He was also going for a body shot this time to increase the chance of hitting the moving target, depending on how still Alpha could hold. But, given Flurry was smaller than the previous alicorn, and drained by Fuoco's trap, even a reduced power body shot could prove fatal. Against all Tyrants... Blu took the shot, and hoped his perception of the situation was correct. He was aiming for Flurry, center of mass. The bullet passing through Alpha in the process was likely, but acceptable given how easily she seemed to recover from injuries.

@Skylight Scintillate Nova looked a bit placated at that thought, "Maybe, I think that would be nice." Nova looked unsure, "Well, I mean, most of the stories we are told are just like, those stories with lessons from my parents, and every so often a chronicler will come to our colony from the central village to tell us all stories from our past, like, things that our ancestors did that we can learn from. I think they will be coming one of the days that you'll be there actually." Nova felt the beds, but shook his head, "No, it's... different. This is nicer than the floor though, but a hammock is more... touchy? I don't know how to explain it other than that a hammock, at least for me, is like being hugged all over. It's comforting in a way. This is nice in a different way, I like how it feel cool and soft, without being cold." Nova looked in the direction of the brightening sky, squinting a bit, "We'll have to go get my sunglasses, but unless there's something you forgot to show me I think we can come back later? I think I'd like to see a bunch of different stuff today, then we can go back to the coolest stuff afterwards?"

@Blitz Boom I totally get it, I'm actually on a family trip at the moment. If you want to just put your initial reactions in the ooc, that will hold me over until you can write a proper response. But no worries if that isn't possible.

@Randimaxis And then I come in, saying something suitably relevant. (That makes three waiting for your return)

So nothing is on fire then? How is Flurry awake already after having been drained of all her energy by the trap song?