Rainbow Sparkle

"No! Come on, work darn you!" I stomped my feet on the ground, and I snapped my talon in annoyance, and a nearby bush went from being all green to pink and blue Polka dots. I smacked myself "Right, gotta watch my temper..." Well, one thing was now for certain, whatever Sparrow had done, it was more than simply 'Turn everyone in Albion into ponies'. Suddenly, I noticed a red unicorn approaching with a caravan of other traders, all of whom looked fairly worn down. Curious, I floated over towards them, the red unicorn in particular. "You know, for someone whose recently been turned into a pony, you seem to be taking this rather well" I said as I drew near.

I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and shouted "Applejack!! WAIT!!!" I gave chase towards where the ripple had been, hoping that perhaps I would be able to pass through it and return to Equestria...or if nothing else, be able to get AJ's attention. (OOC: Out of player curiosity, did AJ see all of the group, or just some of it?)

I pick up the sword, holding it firmly in my talon. "Its possible you could always learn again, its not that hard. Like anything else, it just takes practice." I gave it a few slow experimental swings, then rested its tip on the ground as I placed my talon and paw on the hilt. "So, what we need to do is head off towards the Crucible. Last I remember, there used to be ships there that would take somone to the Spire. Perhaps there's still someone crazy enough to take us."

Sighing, I raised my leopards paw and a magical aura surrounded it. I grabbed anyone who had yet to charge out of the demon door, and unceremoniously threw them back into the regular world of Albion. With a smirk, and a flick of the wrist, I then slammed the Demon door shut. When it closed, I leaned against it and said "So, whose up for actually tackling the Spire?"

"Hey, your the one who just willy nilly walked up and opened the chest. You didn't even bother to check the place to see if there was anything waiting to pop out of nowhere" I said from the safety of the other side of the demon door.

"Well, your talking to the wrong creature. We don't have it," I said to the statue, gesturing to myself and the ponies, then adding "The griffon has it. I'm sure he'd be more than able to explain himself to you fine chaps while we wait outside. To give you all some space for your discussion."

GM: Who all hasn't shown up yet? Eg, who hasn't made it to the gate at least? The maid nods and heads out, and several minutes later arrives with food for a phoenix, and a glass of water for Blackwater. "Here you are sirs, if there's anything else you need, don't hesitate to ask." She then pulls a small feather duster from her apron pocket, and begins dusting the various tables and bookshelves in the room.

"And that, my little ponies...and griffon" I said, gazing at the moving statues, "Is why opening treasure chests in strange places isn't always a good idea." Sighing, I turned to look directly at one of the statues and said "We were just leaving, we won't disturb your dear old master any further."

The idea I have is that this takes place about a month after the Changeling Invasion, and that Princess Celestia has stepped up recruitment to bolster the Army, specifically, looking for Unicorn's whose special talent relates to magic of some sort (someone like trixie or twilight for instance) with the goal of having a unicorn in each squad who can cast a dis-spell on changelings (as well as be able to detect them with magic) I have a few ideas as for why they were only armed with spears, one of which being that they don't expect much resistance from ponies and so don't use more advanced weapons on them, saving them instead for real dangers (perhaps the mountains they live in have something akin to the spice worms of dune ) The initial plan for the basic training is working with the other two species. The advanced training afterward would be done with Unicorns only. They seem able to hold spears as far as I can tell, so they wouldn't necessarily need jousting spears. I could also see them adding spikes to some armored boots to give an added punch to any attacks with hooves. The Equestrians had an army, but since its been peace time it was mostly just the royal guard who were active, and the rest of the army was more akin to a national guard than a standing army. With the threat the changelings pose however, Celestia decides to expand the army and turn at least some of it into a standing force, with the current primary objective being to sweep thru Equestria and hunt down any changelings that may be lurking within the country still. Trixie is joining because she gets fired from another job, which has been happening for a year and a half for her ever since the Ursa Minor incident. Working as a team will be a big part of the training, as well as the usual attention to detail and obedience to authority bit. Normally, after training, they'd go back to civilian life after a short stint as an active duty soldier, then do something akin to what the national guard does. Now however, they'll be going active duty and hunting down changelings. My current plan revolves around Discord having broken free, but in the process effectively knocking him down to somewhere between Twilight and Celestia (more powerful then Twilight, but less powerful than Celestia/Luna/Cadence) and his decision shortly afterward to build an army with which to conquer Equestria. Since he happens to be in the very mountains where the Diamond Dogs and Griffons live...however, Changelings will still play a part, as they will have their own plans. (three way battle for Equestria, yay!)

(is any of the words on the books in equestrian, or is it all in englihs/albionish/whatever language they use?)

"Sure thing sir, I'll be sure to get that for your feathery friend there." She turns to the rest of you who are present and asks "Anypony else need anything?"

Now, I'm working on my Trixie joins the Equestrian Army fic, and I'm wanting some tips/ideas/suggestions on how to proceed after she experiences her first day of army training. I'm also wanting to know what some of you think the training would be like. At the moment, I'm basing it off US Army basic training, only shortening it to six weeks instead of ten. I'm also trying to think of some other important background things, such as the technological abilities of the Diamond Dogs, as well as what sort of weapons Equestrians would (and can) use, as well as the same for the Diamond Dogs and also the Griffons. I'm also looking for incite on background information for what those two races societies are like. Can anyone lend a hoof?

The maid looks at you for a moment, unsure whether to believe it or not, but after a moment shrugs and gives you a smile. "I suppose it doesn't matter if your a stallion or a colt, as long as your willing to help the Princess, I think thats all that matters. So hun, is there anything I can get you?"

I scoffed at the Griffons comment. "Please, demon doors hiding legendary weapons? I know that some doors contain a few nasty monsters, but most of them usually only have some gold or a hard to find item. The chances of this door holding a legendary weapon are slim to none." Not immediately seeing or sensing any danger, I took a good look around at the library. (Need a description of what the place looks like/seems to have in it.)

"Certainly" The maid smiles at you as she moves to go get you said glass, when... ...pops out right next to her from the underside of the table, startling the poor maid as she jumps into the air in shock. When she comes back down, nearly breathless, she says "Don't do that kind...er..eh..." She pauses as she gets a good look at you, than adds "I'm sorry, but I don't think the Princess had colts in mind when it came to this quest."

I looked inside the doorway to the other realm, and shrugged. "Well, might as well do something crazy. CHARGE!!" I shouted out as I flew thru and into the library, swiveling my head one way and then another as I prepared myself for whatever came at me.

"Your under the impression I want it broken. I don't. Discords bad enough, but he's only interested in having fun. Me with untamed amounts of Chaos Magic at my claw and paw tips?" I shudder at the thought of an insane version of my self being loosed upon any world. If my friends thought Discord was bad... "Well, I also know where Sparrow is. He's in the Spire of course, how else would he have been able to do this?"

GM: In an effort to stir up some posts... This is for those who have reached the conference room (which is everyone whose gone thru the gate so far. A maid comes into the room, and after a moments thought, comes up to Blackwater(him being the closest to her) and asks "Is there anything I can get for any of you?"

I frowned, glaring at the demon door. "I could do more, but that requires breaking the seal containing the Chaos magic within me, and I'd really rather not break that seal. I don't know if I can control it, and we already have enough problems as it is..." I turned my gaze away and muttered under my breath "Sides, I don't think we can break it by ourselves. The seal was created by the Elements of Harmony after all."

"You misunderstood him my friend. The Demon Door said that destruction magic is just so boooring. He wanted to see some magic used on someone, so I used some on you."

I watched the defeat of the bandits with a bit of a shudder. Seeing ponies die still affected me, despite the battlefields I had seen during the war with the Griffons years ago. Just remind yourself that these weren't actual Ponies Cain, they were evil humans turned into ponies. With this thought, I floated around the former bandit camp, checking to make sure none were among the living, and the few who were were quickly dealt with. I then saw the Griffon approaching a stone wall nearby, where a large bearded face began to move. I had some trouble hearing what it was saying, so I floated over so as to hear what was being said. Hmm....I thought as I heard this, a small smirk adorning my face as I lifted my talon, and a dark blue aura glowed around it. I picked up Malik with my magic and spun him in place, then sent him hurtling from one end of the bandit camp to the other, never letting go, before bringing him back in front of the Demon Door and dropping him unceremoniously on his back. "Is something like that what you were looking for?" I asked, smirking at the Griffon as I hovered above him.

"Lead the way" I said, floating behind them as the group followed the stallion, my thoughts scattered as I thought about what the stallion had said. Bowerstone...no doubt about it then...unbelievable, its not just Equestria that exists. But more importantly, this means I'm gonna have alotta work cut out for me. I need to find a way to get back home. I watched them going about their business with disgust, more than I would have expected. Perhaps that was because these were ponies doing it, and so much time spent among the ponies of Equestria had convinced me that most ponies were all good, decent folk. "Well, what exactly do we plan to do? I can fight, and I have a bit of magic, but nothing more fancy than levitation..." I said, rubbing my head with my leopards paw. Most of my magic had after all been sealed away by the Elements of Harmony, so unless I used my magic to play toss the bandit, it probably wouldn't do much good.

"Albion...wait...Albion?" I asked, hovering closer to the four, peering at them as I added "I must ask, is there a legend about a man named...Jack of Blades?" There's no way I'm in this world. Equestria was surprising enough, but come on! Albion too? How many other fictional worlds aren't so fictional?

"That sounds more like the work of Discord...but wait, if your not ponies, what are you?" And why does the name Sparrow sound familiar... I thought to myself, then asked "Hmm...can you tell me the name of the land I'm in? When I went to bed last night, I was in the nation of Equestria. Does that sound familiar?"

For a brief moment, I thought I heard something whispering in the wind, a dark voice flowing with power, but a quick glance around showed no one else, and the voice did not seem to stem from any of the four in front of me. "Ah, introductions." I gave a sweeping bow in mid-air as I said "My name is Cain Charles Doo. As for being myself, actually, I haven't truly been myself for nearly twelve years, but I have grown used to my new form since Discord revived me." I then tapped my chin, briefly stroking the small goats beard under my chin as I asked "But what exactly do you mean by 'not yourself'?"