Agent505

Right, what point are all the rebel team's characters at? 

We'll try and think up some suitable means to get you guys out of a corner. 

Waiting on you 00Pony before I can post anything with Cadence, at best I could post currently about Stoic pacing around or give the Onyx something to do. 

And i'd rather try and keep as little characters as possible in the RP per person, but we'll see. If things don't pick up soon then I guess having more characters is our only fallback.

Again I apologise myself, i've been away for personal reasons and i've just made it back to the forums. 

@@00Pony, just give us a post about you getting to the palace, once everyone is inside, i'll begin Cadence's speech. 

@@SilverHeart,

@

, @@00Pony,

@@Ano170,  

(I know it's been my fault that we're all quiet, but if you could make your next posts about entering the palace, we'll get going). 

As Stoic bound his way over the last leg of his journey, he found himself faced with a closed palace door. Not to let that stop him, he continued galloping towards the door, blinking through it at the last second with his teleport spell. 

He came to a skidding halt inside the grand hall, kicking his legs a little to stop himself from sliding across the polished crystal and smacking against Cadence's throne. 

He stopped himself with plenty of room to spare however, and as he recovered his bearings, he noticed the entire room was lined with guards, both crystal and onyx, even some royal guards were attending the ceremony - most likely to keep things in order. 

"Stoic, where are the rest of the soldiers? I need leaders, not rabble!" Cadence sighed, kicking her hoof as she stood from her throne, stepping down the small flight of stairs that elevated it just so. 

"I saw Golden Eye on his way as I ran past, he was with a pegasus I don't recognise. I sent Sanguine out to the wards, and nurse Silver Heart should be joining me with the rest of the Onyx soon. The wards are all active and strong, the shield will hold."

"I hope for your sake you're right, they had better be here soon." She paced around the room a little, walking up and down the front line of her guards and inspecting them every now and again. 

I was just sending her your way to give you both someone to interact with - as I said, I was referring to the having known each other in respect to Cadence and he subjects. 

Arrow's been out of civilisation for like 3 years; I don't think there's much chance you two have met. 

Uh, yes? 

Now i'm confused - I was referring to the ponies knowing and having seen/been before Cadence at some point. 

You were talking about Arrow? - Right, my mistake.

I suppose I was still considering the last time this RP was up, everyone just sorta... knew. 

They'd all lived in the empire prior to the events, much like Sanguine. Guess was I still thinking of that. 

Yeah sorry for the delay guys, not been feeling myself much lately. Personal issues and all that.

While the quality of my posts will probably degrade dramatically, i'll try and get something going.

And her was Ano, after I sent Arrow over to the medical pavilion.

@Tag ALL the members!

Hopefully by now Canterlot forces are in a place to begin their march, as the train to the empire hasn't been seen for several weeks - that's not an option, however to speed things up and make them more interesting you can all feel free to suggest alternate forms of transportation. 

On the journey there, as Pripyat has said you will be contacted regularly by Princess Luna and informed of any changes that may affect your task, one such change might just be approaching. 

Pripyat, i'm afraid i'm going to have to leave it to you as to just how these changes are brought to the Princesses attention, but feel free to take liberties for the interest of times. 

@@Alex Kennedy As far as controlling the Sanctum goes, now is a good time to introduce them to your journey, however! As i've noticed, Canterlot forces have been behind on posting and i'm not sure why, but it has occurred to me that you are at a disadvantage of posting, considering there are only the 5 of you. Therefore I'll allow you all to control two members of the Sanctum, just like the rebellion have their shadows. Feel free to personalise them for the journey, so long as they are believable soldiers. 

@@Dovashy Sanura has just explained the briefing to you, you might want to go back and read Pripyat pony's first post just to familiarise yourself for a response or a reaction.

We can't let the Canterlot team die, folks - do what you must to keep it alive.

As for the rest of us, Empire and Rebellion, the horn that sounds is something like this: http://youtu.be/UayQi2tdJTw?t=2m16s (because Lord of the Rings is awesome)

The "veterans" of the empire, Stoic, Sanguine and Golden Age will know the sound and its call, however the "new" additions to the army - Arrow and Silver Heart, will be unfamiliar with it. 

Essentially it's a call to war horn, summoning the Crystal Onyx and Cadence's strongest (which is where you come in). As for @Ano170 there is no logical way that Arrow would be called to war for the empire so the guards will have to take him back (they're all yours), also @,  you will have to inform her of the horn's meaning. 

Rebels, you may not know the meaning of the horn, or you might depending on how long you have been a part of the empire - now might be a chance for you to attempt to collect information, say - having your shadows present in the streets as the Onyx pile through the door, for example (but i'm sure you're all MUCH more creative than I am.)

I just felt it was time to move the plot along, a little. 

Early afternoon, sunny with a growing wind

@@SilverHeart, 

@, (Who's following the pair, again?)

@@Ano170,

@@00Pony,  

@, 

(OoC: It's safe to assume all the higher ranking soldiers of the empire (Stoic, Sanguine and Golden Age) would know the horn and its calling, the other newer and less informed additions (Arrow and Silver Heart) would be otherwise unaware and will likely need instruction from others).

The Onyx shunted his way out of the tavern's doorway, stepping out into the streets and looking back at Silver Heart. He didn't speak, he simply nodded his head to one side, gesturing down the road in the direction Stoic had headed off in.

The heavy plate and chain grated against each other as he walked off, giving a distinct location to his position to even the most amateur of listeners; not that it made any difference to anything for anyone who tried sneaking up on them, they all ended up the same way. 

As he reached the alleyway aside the tavern, he suddenly ground to a halt, ears pricked high. Mere moments later, the unmistakable sound of the empire's summoning horn blared throughout the land, echoing long and deep in the ears of all its residents. 

The palace. He grunted, turning on the spot and locking his halberd in position in the modified armour slot by his side before thundering at a brisk pace in the opposite direction, heading for the crystal palace.

_____

There was an intense flash of light, followed by a single beam jutting into the air before promptly vanishing.

Stoic grinned at his hoofwork, following the beam as it powered the shield before turning to begin making his way to the other wards, only to hear the horn bellowing in his ears.

"HaHA!" He chuckled enthusiastically, "Time for some REAL action! There's only one reason Cadence would have use for that horn..." excitedly, he began galloping towards the palace, using his teleport to place himself several hundred feet further down the line at regular intervals - there was no way he was missing this.  

I stopped updating that ages ago...  

Once the RP gets full that's about it for front page updates, nothing personal. 

Also @Canterlot team, feel free to talk amongst yourselves or have one of you notice Dovashy out there in the doorway - you don't have to wait for each other to post before you carry on, you're going to be working together as a team after all during your journey to the empire. Pripyat will set the pace for the journey, but you'll have plenty of time - don't stop posting just because you've not been told to do anything.

Like Sanguine says, every empire has its dissidents, there's bound to be something. 

I've given you the freedom to do what the hell you want with your faction, within the lines of "There is no rebellion - yet, you're more of a sneaky faction than a fighting faction" 

So run with it, i'll let you know if you overstep any boundaries, which so far none of you have done.

I believe it might actually have been Sailor Moon. I honestly don't recall.

I don't watch anime all that often and wouldn't really count pokémon as an anime (it is, but it's not...)

Fun fact: The most recent anime I watched was the one and only Elfen Lied.

Any tips on drawing Luna?

Yeah: Don't. She's a nightmare.

No seriously though I mean don't be afraid to look at drawings for a while as references and take some ideas, copy them for a little bit if you have to, practice practice practice, go over it a few times on a new drawing, change something here and there, start breaking away from the reference as you're drawing, take it off screen for a while and then look back to see how accurate your lines are as a comparison.

What's important with copying things though is that you don't fall into the trap a lot of artists do, and that's to say "I'm an artist guys, I can copy anything!" because that just wont work, you'll need to get the ideas of how to draw whatever character you're after, and then try to draw them without using references. Look back AFTER you've drawn, correct your mistakes and continue. 

Variation is key, if you're going to use references. Get a lot, get as many as you can find, practice with as many different poses as you can by both copying them outright and then by trying to draw from memory - never stay with the same post for more than twice - ideally as soon as you've done one pose, do another, even if it looks weird you'll pick it up. Cycle 8 or so poses and practice them all.

A note i'd like to make though, stay the hell away from bases. 

Draw one - make a seriously accurate job of it in the back of your sketchbook or somewhere you have access to when you draw regularly, then don't use it. 

Only use it to check against your drawing, make changes and set you on the right path, but never, ever rely on them. Believe me when I say that relying on bases is nothing but trouble, you'll get locked into it and drawing any other pose than the standard one you've practiced with for so long will get harder and harder. 

Just going to leave this here

It helped me get going on my path to drawing, and i'd recommend it to anyone as I know several artists on this site do too. 

With that, i'm off to bed! Good luck!

I apologize if i've read it wrong (it's late, i'm tired, stressed and skim reading) but it sounded like you had implied there was already a rebellion and where looking to join up to it despite not being in the empire right away.  

By all means if this wasn't your intent feel free to ignore me.  

You can start off the rebellion at any time, PM each other, get a plan together - you've all made your way into the sewers at least, that's a start. Now you'll all be "oh hey you guys don't like Cadence either" And then *bam* massive conversation between the lot of you and the rebellion is born, bring in your shadows and you have a nice little group of espionage and sneakery (that's a word now, deal with it). 

You know i'll be honest, for a first attempt this isn't half bad. It's not brilliant, it could use a lot of work, but it's a solid start. 

Some pointers: 

 - It's very 2D, I understand the irony here but it is, the legs offer no depth to the drawing and the angles are off. Take Derpy's eyes for example, they're touching each other and slanted to a point they would never be seen at on a ponies face.

 - The legs and anatomy overall could use some working, the legs have joints and curves - these legs are flat and look like they're stuck in an invisible cast, and the foreleg comes to rest at an awkward angle on the doc's face.  

 - Of course the mane and tails could use some effort too, they're tattoo'd onto the characters at the moment, they need to have buoyancy and life of their own, show that it's hair we're looking at, not a mutation in the skin (fur?) colour of the ponies. 

 - Going back to the anatomy, the proportions could be better, but they're a lot closer than many other first attempts i've seen, so kudos on that point. 

 - Really the only other things I can think to mention without writing a novel are the pair seem to be missing a leg, even a little hint of showing a leg hiding behind the other at that angle would work, tilt them slightly more and not drawing the leg would be fine too. 

 - Derpy's wing is WAY out of proportion and too low down the body, but wings are tough and even I can't draw those (never really tried, mind you) so I can't offer much else there.

Other than those points it's just little details like making sure things are in the right place, the right size, the right angle and that you're not putting in too many lines where they're not necessary. 

I'm not a brilliant artist (and don't judge me by my profile pic, that's OLD), but i've picked up some tips and pointers from this community and others.

If you think i'm being harsh with critique, I would like to say that I don't apologize for the fact that while your work is a good start, you can improve, and if no one tells you how or why, you might never know where you're going wrong. 

I wish you luck in your next endeavors and keep up the practice, you have a talent for this i'm sure. 

Ugh, it's so hard to choose! 

If you're forcing me, it comes down to a tie between Brine (I'm an Empoleon kinda guy) - hits hard as it is, then double at <50% enemy HP is a great finisher, even if it happens to be resisted; and Aura Sphere, because Lucario is such an absolute boss it pains me to not have him in my team for those first 50 something levels in Platinum. 

@, (I don't even want to go over how many times i've said that the rebellion needs to be created by you guys...)

@@Pripyat Pony (Mentioned for bump, Dovashy needs interaction)

@@Ano170,  (Time to get the ball rolling, I think)

@, (Ivan i'm sending you a friend, look after her!)

Sitting at the other end of this throne room, was none other than Princess Cadence herself, tapping her hoof wearily against the throne.

"And what do we have here? Another one for the mines?" She called out half-heartedly as a guard approached her from the side; proceeding to whisper something in her ear that clearly piqued her interest. "Oh, I see...this is the pegasus that's been giving us trouble?" she spoke quietly, but the room echoed her voice enough that her words could clearly be heard. "Didn't you say it was a mare, however? No... it was? What do you mean it might have been? No but this is clearly a stallion... this is him? Why didn't you just say so in the first place?!" She shoved several pieces of paper into the guard's chest, knocking him off balance and causing him to step back, as Cadence herself stood from her throne, her wings flaring wide and her head held high as she addressed the stallion. "You've caused us quite the issue, breaking out of here and running into the blizzard; disrupting the erecting of the shield and taking these guards from their route..." She shook her head, walking towards the stallion and tutting as she folded her wings in "But, no matter, you're back with us and you're safe now aren't you?" Leaning down to Arrow's level, she lifted his chin with her hoof and looked him over. "See to it that he's fit for battle, I want him checked over by... someone competent, then send him to the armory for suiting." she lashed at the guards who had brought him in, while returning to her throne. 

Immediately, the guards hauled the pegasus to his feet and dragged him out of the throne room, shunting him towards the medical pavilion. 

"Best not to disappoint the Empress, you're lucky she didn't hang you right there. You wouldn't be the first." One of the guards jeered, the other sniggering beside him as they walked. 

Cadence turned to one of her personal guards at the foot of her throne before taking her seat. 

"If he warned Celestia, everything will need accelerating. Find the Onyx, bring them here. It's time for phase two." 

@@SilverHeart, @, (Bump for notice, this interaction is going off right in front of the tavern)

The door to the tavern burst open, a particularly... well... normal looking Onyx guard practically cleaving his way through the door almost burst right over Silver Heart while she stumbled around the doorway. He looked down at her, recognizing her as the medical officer he was looking out for almost immediately. 

"Get up." He growled, his voice particular muffled by the heavy plate covering his mouth. "We're going." This was followed promptly by the blunt end of a halberd being thrust against the mare's side. "Southern outer warding. Go."

_____

Stoic continued along his set path towards the southern warding, reaching his destination within a half an hour with little incident yet again. The lack of action certainly had an effect on the stallion, constantly building up an unquenched rage inside him. 

"Why do I always get this job? Cadence knows i'm better suited to breaking things...breaking ponies..." he muttered to himself. 

"Because, ponies can't talk if they're dead, and she keeps you around as insurance, you know that" He answered himself, strangely. 

"I know, but it wouldn't kill her to let me kill something, would it?" 

"You could always drag out one of the injured, they're not long for this world anyway, what about that unicorn mare and her sister?" 

"Not going to happen, you saw what happened to the last."

"Shame, they never talk much, do they?"

He shook his head, dismissing the conversation before it could progress any further. He was directly underneath the warding stone now, and while it was flickering a slightly yellow glow, it was still holding strong. Planting his feet and firing off a magical discharge, he began powering the ward with his own magic - something that would take him a while to accomplish.

"Who knows... maybe that... nurse will... be interesting company..." he struggled under the strain of his magical focus.

"Why... did you want her... anyway?" 

He responded to himself again, but this time only with a simple grin, nothing more as he directed all of his attention to continuing to charge the wardstone.

They're being tried as adults and could get potentially 65 years. 

I'm not sure how I feel about them spending their entire lives behind bars given that they're... potentially misguided idiots, but still they should be punished - severely. 

Detention centre or the nutty ward. 

@,

You mean those giant-ass stone blocks (Obelisks, that's the word i've been looking for!) with the glyphs inscribed on 'em that you have to re-power during a quest to protect the city from the scourge? Only as I type that do I see just how similar this situation is, but yes - they're more along the lines of what I was thinking. 

But either way works, they're big things that keep a shield, okay? 

@@DarkSonic1221

Grats on the new job, where are you working? 

Almost any of the lord of the rings deleted scenes. 

More specifically the one where Saruman is killed, or the one where Aragorn beheads the Mouth of Sauron.

Sleep paralysis is what happens while you're asleep so that you don't jerk in response to a dream and cause yourself any damage. 

I've never had, nor heard of a case of waking sleep paralysis. 

I suppose it's entirely possible if you're a regular lucid dreamer who's practiced the technique, but I have my doubts.

@,

Cadence rules the empire under a lax iron watch, anything and everything that happens in the inner warding (the pavilion, the blacksmiths and forges, the farms, all the military stuff basically) she knows everything that happens at all times, and anyone who does something she does like is punished how she sees fit - be it the dungeon, the mines, or however else she may be feeling - possibly an execution.

In the outer warding, the city is left to its own devices - while it's patrolled by guards, it doesn't really have any law enforcement  and it's essentially left to rot - the guards are just there to ensure there's no funny business - say, a rebellion. 

Cadence really doesn't care about the citizens of the empire anymore, her reign has gone from love and kindness and equality for all, to her becoming more self-centred and focused on her own power and growth, and now she's at the point where she's ready to progress that power to the next stage - this is where the RP takes place. 

Lastly, there is no rebellion at the moment, I have no idea how many times i've said this so far, you are creating the rebellion right now - your introductory posts with your characters are to give the characters life, and explain why they're fed up with Cadence/show some of their plans on how to deal with her. 

Then you're going to make the rebellion yourself - all 4 of you together will eventually (not immediately) meet up with each other and decide that enough is enough. 

You know what, I read that, and the way I read it I assumed that the magical warding had broken her wings... 

My bad, and good thinking, i'll get that worked in.

@,

Not at all! I'd rather people ask questions than sit around in silence. 

I don't see the harm in allowing it for a while, I don't suppose it can hurt. Can it? *gulp* 

@@Dovashy, 

Well, the Sanctum of the Sun are only to be controlled by one person unless specific clearance is given (by the controller) otherwise currently that stands as @Alex Kennedy. 

Much like the Onyx, I'll be the only one using them unless I give permission for others to. 

The shadows (which I imagine is where you're getting this idea) are controlled 2 each by the rebellion, to give them a strength of numbers and to give them some ease of posting until they meet up with each other.