Hederik

@@Once In A Blue Moon,@@AzureNightLight, @@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, Steel looked at the mare next to him, then both shrugged before the mare spoke. "A bit more detailed history of the Thousand Year Realm, some fancy heroics describing the Princesses' feats against various monsters... I guess it should've been obvious that the purpose of such reading was to familiarize us with what may lay ahead, but at the time it seemed more like fairy tales and a waste of our time," she admitted abashedly. "Still, there's a fair bit that can be remembered quite easily, way too much to relay in a single session in fact..." she trailed off, looking musing. The unicorn smiled amusedly at the mare, then nodded his head. "I agree, this might be the most important piece of knowledge that's been given to us recently. And if Star herself won't dirty her hooves teaching you, we might as well put in some time to make up for it." Rose smiled agreeably and nodded, but the look on her features turned sour when Jinx piped in again. "Star just knows it's a waste of time," he muttered. "They won't last a week anyway. At best you'll make them able to call out the name of whatever monster will be about to bite off their-" a dark silver radiance appeared in the air beneath the nasty unicorn's jaw, suddenly snapping it upwards, making his teeth clamp with enough force to elicit painful winces from all seated at the fire. "Enough," said Steel darkly, the glow dying from around his horn. Jinx shot him a hateful look, but said nothing, instead lying down and closing his eyes, although his breathing betrayed the blood still running hot. "What about more... physical abilities?" prodded Midnight, prompting a laugh from Comet Chaser, who then grinned and stretched out one of his pale orange wings, gesturing at it and announcing with pomp, "Behold, a limb that has had two or three more years of training than your own!" The wing took on a pale green glow, then all of a sudden slapped its owner in the face and wrapped itself around it. "We may have picked up a few additional tricks," admitted Verdant Vine, the unicorn keeping his entire focus on the pegasus who was now struggling to regain control of his own body. "Nothing world-shattering, though," he added, surprising Comet by releasing his hold, making the pegasus flap his wing wildly, which sent him rolling onto his back and barrelling into Jinx. "Leave me alone," whined the unlikeable unicorn, squirming under the pegasus. "Posthaste!" exclaimed Comet, jumping off him, somersaulting in the air before landing in his previous spot, flapping his wings at the same time so as to send a gust of smoke from the fire to engulf Verdant Vine and send him into a coughing fit. Steel and Rose both shook their heads at their colleagues' antics, after which the unicorn asked, "Back to the matter at hoof... how much do you know about the changelings' invasion of Canterlot and its outcome?"

@@Once In A Blue Moon,@@AzureNightLight, "Lucky her, not getting caught up in a mission like this thanks to being young enough," muttered Midnight from across the fire, hearing Alto's name mentioned. "If I understood Star's words right, even we aren't deemed ready for what lays beyond..." "You likely aren't," agreed a snide voice. Turning to face the speaker, Midnight recognized Jinx, the unicorn stallion sitting apart from others on his side of the fire. As he looked up and gazed at his sister seated at another fire, the derision faded from his speech as he added musingly, "I wonder if any of us are." A pegasus stallion seated next to Azure clicked his tongue at this, cracking his neck and asking in an almost-pleasant tone that nonetheless betrayed an underlying anger, "Not so nasty when alone, huh?" The speaker was Viridian Skies, the top fighter of Azure's unit and something of an unofficial leader to them. "Or did you sweat out all your poisons for today?" he jeered. "Leave the nit alone," advised calmly a dun-colored unicorn. "He's not worth your attentions." Jinx glared at this, but - perhaps because he didn't have his usual backup - said nothing in return. "That's what I thought," the unicorn nodded, then turned towards the younger ponies and spoke up a little to be well heard by all present at the fire. "Since we're in this together, I figure we might as well properly introduce ourselves for the sake of those who hadn't the occasion to meet us yet. I'm Steel Resolve, and this is Black Rose," he added, motioning to the dark red earth pony mare with jet black hair sitting next to him. "Do call me Rose, though," the mare said insistingly, leaning affectionately on the stallion. "Fair enough," Viridian answered with a smile. "My name's Viridian Skies, and seated next to me is Azure. The mare there," he motioned with his head to a pegasus positioned next to Midnight, "is Comet Chaser. And on Rose's right is our own master sorcerer, Verdant Vine," he ended with a flourish, prompting a loud raspberry being blown by the greenish unicorn in question. It was all clearly good-natured, though, as both stallions laughed easily afterwards. A spell of silence followed, and when no one else spoke up, Midnight eventually picked up the slack. "Guess it falls to me to speak for us," he said. "I'm Midnight Rover-" "The guy who beat our favorite colonel!" Rose interrupted suddenly. "I told you Twine had some reason to look so forlorn," she added in an aside to Steel, eliciting a chuckle from the stallion. Midnight, now thoroughly embarrassed, managed to continue nonetheless. "The mare next to Azure would be Carto Sketch the cartographer, and the earth pony there is Nix Fumble," the introduced stallion waved in a friendly manner to the others. @@Colenso Rivers, @@SilverHeart, Meanwhile, at other fires, the atmosphere didn't seem as gregarious. Not too far away from Silver Heart, Jade Facet was looking towards Minx even more intently than her own brother, mouthing the unspoken words "What the hell is wrong with you?" while ignoring his company and the world at large. The mare in question was seated at the third fire with Reverie and a few others, both the unicorns staring mutely towards some random point in the darkness. Toad was humming to himself, munching on something an muttering, "Yo ho, twice fifteen ponies on a dead plane, an officer's life for me." Next to Silver, Cirrus Streak was lying with eyes closed, although judging by her breathing pattern, not quite asleep yet. Other ponies at the fire avoided eye contact and at best exchanged half-whispered comments between themselves, apparently uninterested in fraternizing with their chance company. One such remark, delivered a little louder and concerning the dreams they would likely be experiencing tonight caused Cirrus to stir and sit up, blushing a little as she realized how close to Silver Heart she had lain down, but not backing away as she rubbed groggily at her eyes.

Don't play the media and warp my truths This could easily be assumed, seeing as the only two alicorns winged unicorns to have made it down the long road of history indeed were. What your characters make of it is up to you. PREEMPTIVELY EDITED TO AVOID MERGING You may call this being inspired by Mr. Seldom, you may call this fallout from when I helped a bit to create a kind of awesome flash video. Whatever the reason, have what is mostly a recolor and totally a vectorized image of Rainbow Dash, but with a few details changed, most notably hair style. I may go and add background at some point, but am too lazy to do so at the moment. I may do other NPCs this way, which is the only way I can create 'art' that has any place being shared publicly. (In case this isn't obvious, that's Cirrus with her "Are you taking some sick pleasure in all this?" line. Although I'd hope it was.)

OOC: Credit where it's due & a word of commentary @@SilverHeart, @@Once In A Blue Moon, @@Colenso Rivers, @@AzureNightLight, The path leading to the front door was perfectly familiar, having been practiced on numerous occasions. Everything else about the march out - occurring possibly for the last time - was utterly alien. At every turn, a detail would catch a Cadet’s eye, having gone ignored for years on end and suddenly making them realize there was so much more that could have been learnt and done in this place. The empty, echoing corridors almost made it seem as though they were leaving a ghost town behind - no one was there to see them off, to acknowledge their bravery in undertaking a mission of worldwide consequence. For whatever reason, it seemed their departure would be mostly kept secret. Just as their breakfast had been, even the traveling rations prepared for them had just waited to be picked up in their dormitories, without anypony handing them out or offering any explanations. The One Way Door looked particularly ominous despite the merry rays of sunlight streaming in through it. There, the only two witnesses of the Cadet’s egress stood: on the right, general Hardy, and on the left, colonel Twine, the unicorn leaning on his famed weapon and visibly restraining himself from looking at the passing young officers. His distress was as apparent as the general’s light-heartedness, creating a mix that would make anypony wonder if this weren’t the actual reason for the naming of this portal, that it was like a death row to the world outside Pony Valley. Up front, the academy’s highest ranking officer turned out to actually be of quite an intimidating posture, standing easily as tall as Jade Facet despite not having his bulk. Both of the supervising officers were fully armored as well by now - which meant much more in the case of the colonel, who sported a chainmail over almost full-body, thick leather armor, while the general merely added matching bracers for her hind legs and a light-looking body armor composed of leather reinforced with scales made from the same dark alloy that constituted her unmistakeable breastplate. As the officers began to filter out of the building, their stress not lessened in the slightest by the process of assembling into even rows with practiced ease in front of it, yet another surprise greeted them, this time in the form of a song catching their ears. At the beginning, the melodic voice was rather quiet, getting lost under the creaking, clanking and stomping that thirty armored ponies inadvertently had to cause. It also seemed to come from afar, making it hard to locate the source of the music. This is gospel for the fallen ones Locked away in permanent slumber Assembling their philosophies From pieces of broken memories For the next part, the singer’s voice raised in volume, and now all eyes turned towards the same rocky outcrop on which Carto and her comrades had had their stargazing session only a few hours earlier. Perched atop it was Star, her long, straight hair blowing in the wind from the south as she stared intently in just that direction. In the light of day, two brighter streaks were clearly visible amidst the near-black purple of her mane and tail. Their gnashing teeth and criminal tongues Conspire against the odds Anger was audible in every syllable, and it appeared almost as if the unicorn could see whomever the words were directed at in the immeasurable distance. She herself was positioned a good hundred meters away and had nothing but morning sky behind her, but something seemed off about her… the fact that she was looking… right. Tall and slender, but proportional, even though her horn still seemed way too long. “But they haven't seen the best of us yet,” she said softly, and yet the words didn’t escape any ears as she directed a warm, almost motherlike smile towards the gathered ponies. It was then that it registered for most of them: the mare was huge, easily twice the height of any normal pony, immediately bringing to mind the descriptions of Equestria’s Royal Sisters. As if to validate the connection further, she suddenly spread a pair of dark, majestic wings, catching wind in them and bursting right back into her song, now directed straight at the sky above her. You most love me, you let me go Their words are knives and often leave scars The constant fear of falling apart Truth be told, I never was yours You gave me fear of falling apart Towards the end, the tone of the song became increasingly more bitter, until the mare hung her head and became silent for a moment, her wings dropping lifelessly at her sides, partly obscuring a cutie mark of what seemed like a fractured, six-pointed white star, surrounded by several broken pieces of itself being hurled away from it by a fiery explosion. It seemed that she was done singing, but then a quiet follow-up could be heard. Sadness permeated the initial verses, but it turned into resolve as the song went on and the mare lifted her head back up and straightened herself, regaining the air of nobility about herself. This is gospel for me, the vagabond Ne'er-do-well, an insufferable bastard Confessing my apostasies You led me away, you imperfect impostors With that, she jumped off the cliff and glided easily down to where the soldiers were by now without exception gaping at her performance. The last words seemed to be directed at the Cadets as much as towards whatever part of the world Star gazed towards earlier. Don't try to sleep through the end of the world And bury me alive 'Cause I won't give up without a fight “All ready?” she asked over the heads of the young officers. No answer came, but general Hardy’s voice rose in a sharp command after only a brief pause. “Attention! Triple file, senior units up front, after my lead! Colonel Twine brings up the rear! Hup two three four!” Next three hours featured nothing out of the ordinary. They assumed a marching tempo that wasn’t too taxing for the ponies used to daily physical exhaustion but still meant they covered a lot of ground with the steady pace. Nothing could be heard beyond the noises associated with the march, as all officers refrained from conversation both to spare their breathing and avoid unnecessary attention. The two high ranking officers’ presence probably wouldn’t have been enough to achieve this result, but the fact that they could sometimes see Star a little to the side, sometimes slightly ahead, sometimes not at all, moving almost deliberately out of sync with their formation was more unnerving. At one point, the group arrived to a mountain pass many of the Cadets recognized as one of the furthest locations in this direction their training sessions would take them. There was a steep incline towards their left that led a little ways back towards the academy, but climbed onto mountains far higher than the one their alma mater was located upon. To the right, the road wound almost squarely backwards and a little downwards, allowing an alternative, difficult approach towards Pony Valley or a path that could theoretically be taken all the way around the peaks surrounding it. This time, however, there was a third way as well, opening right in front of their eyes, so obviously and naturally fitting the landscape that nopony could imagine any possible explanation for why they would have never noticed it before. The road ahead sloped downwards for the moment, and although the mountains still stretched far, far away, some flatland beyond could also be seen. Without stopping, the general led them onwards in that very direction, and only choice few officers have proven to possess enough split attention to notice two gray crystals partly hidden within rocky crevices on both sides of the pass they just cleared. The journey lasted several hours more, and although they kept almost unchanged direction, the end of the mountain range seemed to stay as far away from them as it had been previously. As they walked, luminescent points could sometimes be glimpsed somewhere in the distance near their path’s sides, but they quickly faded away and couldn’t be spotted again. The sun was far past its peak before they were allowed to stop, and even then it was only for a brief repast and consumption of some fresh rations they had been supplied with. Afterwards, the march resumed and lasted well beyond the time at which the sun disappeared behind the tall peaks the ponies had by now left behind them. Looking back, it seemed they had come from almost impossibly high up, but the altitude didn’t seem to be much lower where they were by now having some difficulty keeping up the pace, unchanged by the general since the very beginning of the day. Only when the darkness became prevalent enough that the Cadets began to stumble now and then on rocks that were slowly blending into the background did the general rise her voice - and how wonderful the sound of words sounded after a day of mute exertion! - ordering the troops to spread around, gather wood and set up three bonfires. Lifting their heads from the road underhoof they had been carefully studying for the last hour or so to avoid misstepping, the Cadets saw that they have indeed come to a little flat plane, opening on the eastern side to a cliff and a view of the road they would undoubtedly continue to follow tomorrow. It was rich with grasses and on one side faded into a forest that in the darkness stretched to some unknown distance. As they were taking it all in, the second part of Hardy’s instructions came, surprising them more than a little: rather than automatically form into units around the separate fires, the Cadets were to spread amongst them according to the rank they had marched in, forcing a mingling of the differently aged officers during this period of evening relaxation.

Awesome. I love everything about it, from the quality of the night sky to the fresh style of mixing fine details with almost blurry city landscape. There is so much to see there, too, speaking to a ton of thought having been given to it, like the mechanical bird thingy on the left, the Star Wars style probe on the right, the glow on Pinkie Pie-turned-unicorn's face from her device (piePhone 6, I'd wager). The entire piece agreeing in coloration with Twilight to the tee only makes it so much more enjoyable. It's also very pleasing to see it's not all pure technology, and there are still flesh-only ponies to be seen or architecture based around crystals squeezed in amongst the skyscrapers. If I were to expect more from this (who would I be to do so, I'm not sure), these foreground buildings' outlines look out of place and out of proportion, especially since some of the antennae are layered beneath the bridge centerpiece. It could also be a cool effect if the glass panes incorporated into the bridge's rails where even slightly transparent, letting through at least something of the silhouettes of the ponies standing behind them. All that are really minor details though in an otherwise astonishing picture. Thanks for sharing!

To reiterate on what has been said, Azure will be part of the unit that is once senior to all you other players. (Not the one with Jade Facet in it. The redshirt middle one, to tip my hat to Once.) So you'll have more of an incentive to prod each other for personal details if and when you decide to actually familiarize - probably not before leaving the academy, but I'll try and set you something up right afterwards.

Agreed. Not every professionally useful ability must stem from a personal interest, and not every hobby will translate into something usable in... work, if you will. It is nice to have something that binds the two worlds together and gives shape to the character as a whole, but branching beyond that correlation is what truly makes them three-dimensional.

Minx and Reverie where the first to vacate the premises, marching out head in head and paying nopony any heed on the way, as though unable to notice them at all, even as the female's name was hissed loudly by Jade Facet as the unicorns were passing him. "So what, we're just up and leaving everything like that?" an incredulous question was voiced by a unicorn stallion of the middle unit, making more than a few heads turn from the sight of the two unnaturally behaving unicorns and back towards Star. Or, more accurately, towards the now empty podium, where only a lone transparent crystal indicated anything had happened at all. Beside Silver Heart, Cirrus Streak trembled a little but stood up resolutely nonetheless. She was blanched no longer, although the look on her face was far from gleeful as she turned towards her companions. "Are you okay?" asked Midnight, noticing the unexpected change in the mare's demeanor, getting a single mirthless laugh from her in response. "I'm scared a lot," she admitted quietly, closing her eyes for a moment. "But this... this is what we've been trained for. This is a fear of something natural, of the uncertainty of tomorrow, not... you know," she finished lamely, blushing at the memory of her morning display of weakness. "Yeah, we can do this!" agreed Gal energetically, jumping out of her seat and flying over the others to land beside Cirrus. "Better get a move on, then, juniors," the unwelcome, but not entirely unexpected intrusion came from Jade Facet himself, as the towering earth pony paused on his way out near their unit, "or Star might actually really eat you alive, ha!" With that, he resumed his egress along the remaining officers of his unit, perhaps aware of just how little edge there was left in his attitude currently.

@@AzureNightLight, Based on the quality of your OC's page, I will be glad to invite you in during the second round of applications. You get bonus points for noticing there is one planned. You immediately lose them for not reading through the rest of the post. I like your OC, but she will not fit the RP at all in her current shape. The backstory makes no sense in the setting of the Dark Millennium, and it's kind of awkward that you should share the chief non-military interest with Carto Sketch, since star-mapping could hardly be called a common pursuit in fields of knowledge among the Cadets. Nonetheless, I will not begrudge you the ability; it can actually contribute to some interesting interaction between your two characters. However, if you should insist to use Azure as your character in this RP, you will definitely need to rewrite her backstory from scratch (not that I require much of a backstory, there's actually little place to shine in this regard as most of the facts are predetermined in the description of the setting). The list of abilities will need a touch of freshness as well, but you'll easily figure it out if you commit to a thorough read-through of the OOC - and I'm here to discuss any doubts you might have. @@Ruby Splash, Might it be the fact that you've been @mentioned by me in the previous post? (In this one, too.) If not, you should probably try to get help in the tech support section of the forums, there might be someone there who'd deign to assist you.

It only occurred to me yesterday how many champions have a bluish and reddish skin available. Like, with large enough investment of RP and team coordination, the entire blue team could appear blue in-game and vice versa. I would so much like to see something of the sort executed.

@@Ruby Splash, Filled all spaces, good one. No, I don't need more antagonists, the PCs are going to fight against the world at large as it is. And as the RP has a decent tempo at the moment, we're already at a point where adding new players would feel very unnatural. Plus, looking at your most recent posts from the WC RP (an unfortunate abbreviation by the way), you appear to neglect reading your own writing before posting. You have heaps of typos, including the dreaded "your" in place of "you're", and some muddled sentences. All in all, for now I'll pass on your proposition. But once the first part of the journey is through, I will be organizing a second inning for more players to join (I guess I should update the opening post to make that clear). If you should still be interested then, I'll reconsider.

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@SilverHeart, @@Colenso Rivers, Upon hearing about being trusted by the officers, Star's features contorted into a wicked smile and her eyes lit with amusement, but she allowed Colenso to finish before saying anything. "A valid question, Colenso Void," she said, putting a lot of stress onto the unicorn's name. "Let me answer with a rhetorical question of my own: would you rather sacrifice half of a world's population or allow it to be destroyed entirely and thus throw away all the more lives?" She closed her eyes and bowed her head, sighing heavily. "Therefore, if it comes to that, I will not hesitate to throw you away like pawns. If you threaten the mission in any way, I will not think twice about doing away with you myself," her tone remained flat and a calm smile lingered on her face as she announced that. "If there was any possibility of having done so, I would have discarded myself a hundred times and saved all of you from even knowing about the danger. But as the example of Celestia's rule has proven, that is a sure way to ruin. That is why this academy has been established and why you have been put through the years of training, sometimes even against your wills," here she knowingly met eyes with Silver. "You do not have to like me; I do not expect that. Most of the time you won't even have to deal with me. But, sadly, I'm the only hope this world has left. And it deserves so much better..." Cirrus was sitting still and hardly even breathing, pale and visibly dreading the real Star more than anypony ever has the wild tales being told about her. She wasn't alone in this, however, as more than half of the gathered officers shared the symptoms. Given what they were being told, it was far from surprising. Once the medical mare asked her question, Star threw her head back and laughed manically. "What is out there? Ask us rather what isn't," she responded joyfully. "It's a wide, wide world after all... Grab a copy of Gilded Mantle's bestiary and you'll get a pretty exhaustive list... Yes, it's all true. From the tiny parasprite to the mighty dragon, our world is chock-full of danger and we're throwing ourselves bodily at whatever should dare stand in our way, even if eventually our aim is to save the lives of those foolish creatures alongside our own. Well, most of our own. Also, I don't dare presume there hasn't been more mutation going on in the far reaches of the world, so we won't have to pretend being surprised when a party of new challengers appears. Next?" she asked, returning to the state of peace and closing her eyes. "You didn't answer about the gate-builders," prodded a pegasus stallion from the middle unit, eliciting a disquieted look from the misshapen mare for the first time. "I don't have a name for them," she admitted, "if they even have one. I have no idea what they look like or what they're capable of. And I don't even want to know, since that would require them actually entering the world, which is precisely what we want to prevent. Anything else?" She let the question hang in the air for a long while before nodding. "Very well. Go grab your gear, everypony, and assemble at the main entrance to the academy whenever you're ready," despite the almost gentle tone, this was very clearly an order.

@@Once In A Blue Moon,@@SilverHeart, @@Colenso Rivers, "And will we ever return," muttered Rabble Buster just as Star began to answer. "Our first destination lies not far away to the north," she said, turning her piercing gaze towards Cat. And piercing indeed it was - as soon as the sickly green iris and its pupil aligned on the earth pony, she felt as though she were picked apart, analyzed and quickly put back together. Even though the feeling was purely mental, a very physical tremble ran through her body. "I expect the journey there and back to take less than a week total. What you will face... changelings mostly. Have we taught you about changelings?" she mused, the green eye impossibly rolling into her head. "You may have heard - or read - about the invasion of Canterlot. Ah, whatever," again, only the very tip of her horn lit up and immediately, in place of the crystal a very realistic illusion of a most unusual creature appeared. It looked very much like a pony cross-bred with a dragonfly, dark gray coat paired with a short, blade-like horn and delicate, transparent wings. Its legs towards the ends were full of holes, prompting a question of how they managed to support the weight of its body and not snap into pieces. Its pupilless blue-green eyes narrowed as the changeling looked around itself in confusion, then winced as Star explained, "These creatures are without a doubt a sub-species of pony, and pose a few very interesting questions about genetics, but sadly we don't have time to make this into a biology lecture. As a consequence, expect the same type of magic resistance from them as you would from any actual pony," the illusionary changeling hissed audibly at that, but Star paid him no heed. "The creatures are rather primitive, aside from using the same language as us they have little in common with civilized ponies. Living in hives, they utilize few weapons if any, and their only worthwhile ability is shapeshifting," the changeling stood up straight in a display of pride, "although bastardized to the point of being little more than an illusion," added Star, making the changeling deflate and sigh. "Go on," the mare said, not turning away from her audience. The changeling mimed talking back, but then flicked his horn and in a poof of greenish smoke transformed into a perfect copy of Reverie, the teal unicorn looking grumpy at the lack of recognition from his creator. "As far as we know, that is the extent of their magic capabilities. Next question?" she asked, the light around her horn increasing slightly for a while as the illusion of Reverie disappeared with a loud crunch and a splutter of green goo that dissipated right before landing on the podium floor. "When do we leave?" Jade Facet's voice, cocky as usual, contained more than a hint of eagerness. When Star's weird eye zeroed in on him, he winced, but kept his gaze on the mare. "I'll answer a few more questions, if there are any," she replied, "then you'll have a few minutes to go get your gear. Do not," she added, suddenly turning her gaze towards Cirrus Streak, "even think of deserting or attempting communication with any of your younger colleagues."

@@Once In A Blue Moon,@@SilverHeart, @@Colenso Rivers, “What you are about to be taught is usually reserved to those who have nearly completed the entirety of their training in the Officers’ School and have been unanimously deemed ready by the committee,” the clear, calm voice carried easily around the room, cutting all conversations short. The speaker was easy to identify as the misshaped mare, who still stood as straight as she had when everypony entered the room and hadn't yet deemed to open her eyes. The overall effect was all the more creepy because she naturally moved her head around while speaking, as though she were surveying those gathered through the tightly shut eyelids. Her peaceful expression faded slightly as she continued, “The circumstances are dire, however. If there was ever any time to lose, it’s now expired. Without further ado, then…” she sighed as the very tip of her grotesquely long horn lit up, and slowly, a single transparent crystal jutted from the center of the podium next to her. “It is my understanding that all present are familiar with the events that took place at exactly a thousand years after Princess Luna’s banishment to the moon,” stated the teacher. There was no hint of emotion behind her words. “A heavy burden was lifted from Princess Celestia’s heart as a result of that and the fact that there were new bearers of the Elements of Harmony, taking over guardianship over the peace of her domain.” The aura around the unicorn’s horn increased a little as a single thin beam of light traveled from it to the crystal, around which a vibrant illusion came to life, a miniature of a vast, beautiful land rich with verdant grasses, lush forests, pristine mountains and numerous other picturesque features. “That’s the state of knowledge you have been left with. Allow me to skip a few months ahead; detailed study of the intermediate period, important to your insight though it may be, is not a part of today’s talk.” The image stayed in place as the mare want silent for a moment. “Not all of you may be familiar with the concept of the Crystal Empire,” she picked up after the momentary pause, again drawing her close-eyed gaze over the listeners. “Long story short, there were complicated, long-term implications of its allegiance. As the time to secure it came close, Princess Celestia’s choice was quite obvious: the six heroines were tasked with the quest, armed with the most potent tool ever to be known to ponykind and led by the holy light of her blessing. The bearers of the Elements of Harmony, confident of their imminent triumph, embarked upon the journey willingly. All pointed towards another long era of equestrian paradise.” Another long pause, as the speaker lowered her head for the first time since the students came into the class. The illusion of Equestria dimmed slightly as all eyes were focused intently on the lecturer. “And then everything went to fucking hell!” the mare suddenly snapped, the beam of light shining onto the crystal flaring with violent purple, illuminating her features with ghostly light for a second… and the image around the crystal once more became vivid, but the view soothed the soul no longer. In place of all the brilliant colors, grey and black ruled, heavy storm clouds replaced the fluffy white ones. Minute cities that could be seen throughout the land were now nothing but flickering flames and columns of smoke. “You are all here…” her voice faltered, a tear sliding silently down her cheek from under a closed eyelid, “every single one of you is here… because mighty Princess Celestia was in fact an arrogant, self-centered poser who failed to look at her own decisions from a perspective. Everything you have - and WILL - endure, is a price we’re paying for her errors. Centuries have passed, but the downwards plunge of our world continues. And now we must all take action to stop it, or there will be nothing left to save. No one to save it. Unless action is taken, within a few months life as we know it will become irrevocably eradicated.” A long while passed as everypony stared in stunned silence at the speaker before them. “The threat we’re facing,” the mare eventually picked up, her voice once more devoid of emotion, “is an invasion of otherworldly, unnamable beings that desire nothing but to wipe out ponykind and take its place. Why they haven’t made their move yet is unsure, but they are going to act soon, and we have to act sooner,” despite being closed, the speaker’s eyes seemed to be drilling into the very hearts of those she turned towards. “It is my belief that there exist a total of three gateways, spread around the world, linking our realities together. These need to be destroyed at any cost. To make matters more interesting,” she added with a bitter smile, “by my deduction their destruction must occur in a window of time no larger than an hour, or the results might be more cataclysmic still than those of inaction. A task made all the harder by the fact they’re likely all heavily guarded.” The mare sighed, dropping her head sadly, then looked back up with a pained but determined expression… and slowly opened her eyes. The right one appeared pretty normal, its color amethyst, glowing almost unnoticeably in the semi-darkness of the hall. The left one, however, looked so alien that the previously observed lack of proportion in her body parts faded to a distant background. The iris was a toxic shade of green, exuding a sickly-looking glow. The pupil was just as shocking, huge and apparently shifting around as the mare refocused her vision, while the iris stayed in place. It all became a welcome distraction, however, as the mare’s final words fell in the stupefied silence. “And there is only one pony capable of destroying any of these gates.” Her face suddenly contorted into a mad smile as she tilted her head to the side. “Hello. My name is Star and I shall be your guide on a tour of kicking the world back into place. Any questions?” she added, the borderline-insane look lingering on her face.

Did you really include that coop vs ai game?

@@SilverHeart, "More like talked at him," replied Midnight in a hushed voice, his expression softening upon turning towards the mare. "It's like he wasn't even there to hear anything I said. And now he's glued himself there," he mentioned with a slight motion with a hoof, "I'd like to say 'like a coward', but there seems to be something else ahoof and I dread what it all may mean..." For a while, the unicorn sat silent, then suddenly he realized the presence of another mare on the other side of Silver and inquired abashedly in the same low tone hardly carrying to anyone but his immediate neighbor, "How is Cirrus doing?"

@@Once In A Blue Moon, @@SilverHeart, @@Colenso Rivers, Not long after the first ponies came and sat themselves listlessly at the table, all the rest appeared as well. The last to come, and by a distinct margin, were Cirrus Streak and Silver Heart, the mares glad to find the spots left for them were as far away from Reverie as the limited number of the meal's participants allowed. The unicorn in question was one of the few able to eat almost nonchalantly, making nothing of the poisonous glares and hissed accusations coming to him from Midnight, the sapphire unicorn seated right across from him not rash enough to cause more of a ruckus in the presence of the high officers, especially given the overwhelming mood. A few minutes later, once those who were actually eating had satisfied their hunger and the others had forced as much food into themselves as they were able, a single voice rose from the high table, for once understandable to the Cadets from across the hall. "Alright, dismissed!" A few mumbles followed, and then all of the officers stomped past the younger crew and out of the hall. To those who looked at the passersby, it would become obvious that whatever was going on wasn't much to the supervising cadre's liking. Some muttered angrily between themselves, some looked with a difficult to read mix of emotions on their faces towards the gathered Cadets. None stopped though, or spoke even a single word to them. Only one pony was left in the room beside the three disoriented units, and she promptly became the center of attention as she jumped from her place onto the table - which, surprisingly, was entirely empty - and called in a loud, carrying voice, "That means you slowpokes too!" Then, stomping a hoof on the furniture to further accentuate the order, she repeated, "Dismissed!" Even to those who haven't seen the mare in person, her personality was no mystery. Sky-blue coat and an unkempt mane in a variety of blue and violet hues might not be enough to recognize general Hardy - in fact, these traits might be confusing to some, as accounts differed quite widely on what their organization's highest ranking officer looked. What really set her apart, aside from a lordly posture and a sharp look of her magenta eyes, clearly used to commanding others, was her armor, or as much of it as she was wearing at present. On her breast, a plate of some almost black metal alloy rested, cut through the middle with a red, zigzagging streak, seeming to be composed of several gemstones fit so tightly together that they seemed to create one whole. Her front legs up to the knees were covered almost entirely by similarly dark bracers, fitted with some custom features along the sides, but their purpose could not be guessed as even the most observant Cadets, even dazed as they were, hadn't dared ignore a direct order from the general and promptly scrammed, heading, as instructed before, towards the main lecture hall. The general followed the group most of the way to their nearby destination, as though to keep an eye on the directions being followed. As they began passing into the invitingly open doors, however, should someone look back they would have noticed her absence. Not many would, though, as soon as they had a look inside. This wasn't the first time for anyone to sit in on a lecture here, but the academy's main classroom was used rarely enough that it's homely interior of warm woods and plush chairs always had an effect on the attendees. This time, however, something else entirely stood out starkly. Located on a podium, raised a little above the floor or the hall, was a massive lectern, wide and high enough that most of any speaker's body was always screened by it. Standing behind it was a tall lavender mare, her eyes closed even though she held her head straight. Striking immediately in her façade was the length of her horn, making her look almost comical as it easily doubled her height. A little closer inspection would reveal that the mare's head appeared to be out of proportion to the rest of her body as well. Her face was serene, handsome if not outright pretty features relaxed and hidden partially behind a curtain of hair so dark it was hard to decide whether they were actually black or just a particularly dimmed hue of blue or violet. If she took any notice of the incoming officers, it didn't result in any movements from her. The hall offered a wide selection of seating possibilities, having been designed to hold more than a hundred listeners. As might be expected, the different units automatically sat themselves a little apart from each other. Reverie, however - and of all the ponies, Minx - sat directly in front of the teacher, gazing at her with disturbing fascination. Despite the underlying emotions being wildly different, Midnight Rover and Jade Facet reacted with nearly mirrored scowls, but neither decided to leave their unit and intervene.

No one reads through long blocks of text, so I'll make this one concise. When posting a comment to a status update, there is no warning about a maximum length of said comment. There is no warning that the comment has become too long. There is no warning that a carefully phrased and painstakingly typed message will get cut in the middle of a word, making it look plain stupid. Any one of the three mentioned warnings would make this okay, but right now it's a rather lacking system.

I'm tempted to make you wear red uniforms. Or throw the roof down on everypony's heads. Or make you vote for who of your unit should die first, then kill anyone who didn't get a vote. Or... wait, who said anything about retirement?

@@SilverHeart, Seeing the mare being in capable hooves, Midnight Rover sighed soundlessly and silently excused himself. Cirrus, meanwhile, held on to the nurse for dear life, kindly sharing the overabundance of water coming both from her eyes and soaked fur. After a long while, she finally calmed herself and peeled awkwardly away from the other mare. "Thank you," she said, sniffling and wiping embarrassedly at her muzzle with a foreleg. "And I'm sorry. I've made such a fool of myself... and you... how did you all cope with... with this," she winced, but didn't stop, "so easily? It's like I was the only one affected, like I was weak a-and pathetic..." Her eyes downcast, she sat there for a moment longer, then sighed and pushed herself to her hooves. She staggered a little, but caught herself immediately and nodded to herself. "We should get going though. I've wasted enough of our time, now let's not allow me to get us both in trouble by being late to the breakfast," with a weak but honest smile she motioned for Silver Heart to join her on the way - they had just about enough time to arrive punctually.

@@Once In A Blue Moon, Awesome, and included in the database immediately. Now you'll have to do all the NPCs as well, O illustratious player! I think I like how Silver turned out best. Cat looks incredibly tired with that thick black line on the bottom of her eye.

@@Colenso Rivers, @@Once In A Blue Moon, @@SilverHeart EDIT: I keep forgetting these. Grumble mumble. "Yay," Cirrus's response came in a strangled voice, sounding no less distraught than before, but the physical comfort seemed to have done something for her, as her breathing slowly calmed and after a while the mare poked her head out from under her covers, giving Silver a weak, almost forced smile. Her eyes still brimmed with tears and she looked pale and feverish. "My brother wou-would have laughed his head off," she muttered, then accompanied the statement with a jarring, barking laugh. "'At least I will be able to sleep well'. Touché, Carat." Toad, Gale Wind and Rabble Buster left shortly after Carto, none of them saying much, the usually snappy earth pony in particular keeping entirely to himself. Midnight stayed back, looking with a hint of concern at Cirrus being coaxed out of her bed by Silver Heart. The stallion was swaying a little on his hooves, but the pegasus mare looked like she was about to collapse as she staggered over to the washing water, leaning a little on her temporary caretaker. Just as she was reaching towards the bowl, Reverie spoke up from his bed, forgotten by the others due to his silent ways. "The puzzles are slowly falling in place," he said calmly, shocking at least the afflicted mare enough that instead of splattering some water over her face, she dropped the entire vessel onto herself, resulting in one miserable, soaked pony. "I wonder if next time-" "Are you taking some sick pleasure in all this?" Cirrus yelled furiously, throwing the bowl off her head and onto the floor with a clatter. The anger seemed to revive her enough that she now stood straight and a little color flushed back into her face. "I wonder if I will ever be able to go to sleep again and you-you..." her outburst spent, she almost looked ready to break down again, her lips quavering and the sentence dying halfway out of her throat. "The academy teaches us to overcome obstacles together," enunciated the introverted unicorn peacefully, "to analyze and best any opponent, not throw down our weapons and run," he stepped onto the floor, his every movement deliberate as he looked the mare straight in the eye and asked, "Or did you not just see the message of what happens to those who give in to blind panic?" With an inarticulate cry of rage, Cirrus Streak shot forwards, fire in her eyes as she leapt towards the peaceful unicorn... and promptly crashed into a sparkling white barrier which dissipated right after having served its purpose. Reverie strode by the fallen pegasus, not looking at anyone else as he headed out, adding, "This is something that requires being understood. Until we do, it will only get worse." And just like that, he was gone. Midnight stood where he had been the entire time, looking torn between trying to comfort Cirrus - who began to weep brokenly once more on the floor - and going after the other unicorn to confront him about this uncharacteristic behavior. Meanwhile, the other Cadets began to gather in the mess hall. Only two dozen ponies were present - including a bunch of senior officers engaged in an animated discussion at their own table. Several things were off even at the first glance. The kitchen located in the corner of the room was deserted, plates laid out instead along both sides of one table. Each of these contained a few toasts and a healthy serving of a nutritious salad. Spread evenly among the plates were three steaming tureens of soup. Even more intriguing was the fact there were barely thirty places set up, quite obviously pointing to three units only being expected. A quick scan of the more or less familiar faces would confirm such guess, and reveal additionally that Cat's group was the youngest of those... invited, for lack of a better word. Nopony older than a graduate was present, and instead of the usual din that accompanied any meal, a deadly silence reigned. Jade Facet and his lackeys sat to one side of the table, mute and subdued. Both of the siblings sported a few fresh bruises and the brutish earth pony seemed all but deflated. A unicorn stallion was sitting not far from them, rocking back and forth slightly, his food untouched. Two mares at the opposite end of the gathering kept sneaking wary glances at the agitated tone of voices coming from the high table. It seemed ridiculously far away now that there was so much empty space around it, and the acoustics of the place changed so much that the echoes of voices sounded almost otherworldly. Somepony was talking in a hushed voice about having recognized general Hardy herself among the supervising party, but that was as much conversation as was being had. Something hung in the air, and the fact that the headaches only got worse as the Cadets got closer to the dining area wasn't helping much either.

Err... just seen this in an APX vs P1 match. Perhaps nothing new to those who play League more systematically (or at least more attentively), but I was quite taken aback by the Drake's pushiness http://www.tubechop.com/watch/8127624

"I know that!" Cat snapped, "But we won't be cadets forever. And if I have to work my way up to the top to be able to make that sort of decision then I will." *** @@Colenso Rivers, @@Once In A Blue Moon, @@SilverHeart, Night fell dark and quiet in the academy, wrapping the little enclosed world in its peace and silence. Having laid down in beds, none of the officers needed more than a while to close their eyes and find him- or herself looking through a window at a rapidly moving terrain. Its velocity could almost go unnoticed as the never-diminishing allure of its vast expanses captivated the mind of a watcher brought up in a boxed-in mountain valley. Eventually - after time immeasurable in this state of mind - the fact that the land was running away of its own accord began to dawn anew, however. What's more, it did so with disquieting ease and lack of noticeable consequence -- there was still a comfortable seat to enjoy, which perhaps trembled a little now and then, but mostly remained stationary... And there was company? A voice sounded from one side, paired with a touch coming from the same direction, each of the words easily understandable, but instead of forming a cohesive whole, they turned into a heart-rending, piercing shriek of despair. There was a recognition, an acknowledgment of pain persisting in every imaginable part of the body, but no feeling left as a view of bodies strewn around a small room burned the eyes and soul. Pieces of broken furniture and crystal strewn on the floor of the otherwise posh and luxurious interior. And a ringing, cruel laughter permeating the atmosphere filled with ash and smoke, burning buildings visible everywhere but unheeded as ponies streamed down streets clattered with rubble, screaming in blind panic. And bodies, so many bodies, but no time to examine them, no time to check if they could be helped as a shadow worse than anything before loomed somewhere in the distance, threatening to come crashing on the heads at any moment as a mutilated cadaver that once had been a pony crashed down violently in front of the watcher, a miserable cry of agony coming thinly from its lips, long, drawn and akin to a morning whistle, rousing the Cadets from their beds. "Ten minutes!" the announcement, surprisingly, came not from without their dormitory, thrown in passing by a superior officer. Instead, Major Flowing Tide was standing just inside the room, waiting patiently with an unreadable expression on her face until all eyes opened to regard her, then continued in a calm, almost sad voice, "No gear for any of you today. Make yourselves presentable and head on to the mess hall, your breakfast will be ready by now. In half an hour, report, one and all, in the main lecture hall." Ignoring any questions that might follow, the mare turned and left the Cadets to their own devices. There had been exceptions from their normal, scheduled regimen occasionally, but a wake up call like this was something new entirely, seeming almost like a dream... Midnight was the first to sling himself out of his bed - and drop to a kneel immediately, almost falling limply as he groaned heavily. "So I didn't imagine this headache," came in a strangled voice from him. "I must've really overdone it during yesterday's magic training." "Yeah, no," mumbled Gal, sitting up after having pushed off her covers, currently busy massaging her temples. "Unless I somehow took part in that, there's a different cause." Buster was the first to be up and about on his hooves, though from the grimace on his face he was no stranger to their ailment. "What about that dream, though?" he asked musingly, walking towards the traditional bowl of hot water readied for the Cadets' morning ablutions. "I can still almost feel those soft cushions under me in that moving house..." "Train," interjected Midnight, standing back up with a wince and taking a hesitant step as if to check whether he wouldn't collapse again. "We read about this exceptional mode of transportation in Equestria, remember? A car with sitting places on wheels, moving along a suitably prepared track..." "Be that what it may," Cirrus's silent, shuddering voice came from beneath the blankets laying on her bed,"I still can taste ash in my mouth, and all those b-bodies, so vivid, and suffering..." a single sob followed.

Mkay. I'll probably need a good while, and then some, to compose this next part anyway, and I'm rather busy today as well. So all is well. Added on 22.06.2016 (wow this is really hard) @@Colenso Rivers (just in case, still don't know whether or how that works) Wait, whaaaa...? Where did you learn about the properties of gravity beyond "what rises must fall", or about anything like the atmosphere? We're talking semi-medieval society here, with a few added technological bonuses like ease of access to written word or appliances like trains (which in fact are not a thing in Pony Valley, having gone away with Equestria. Perhaps there are accounts of such, but they do not exist here.). I'm okay with advanced maths - that had been a thing as early on as ancient Greece - but gravity and such are 17th+ century findings. Not to mention the topic has already been mentioned by Blue Moon and, I quote, I know that Colenso is supposed to be well-read, smart and whatnot, but tone it down a little Other than this overabundance of scientific prowess, your post was really good.