open Bangcolt Arena! (Fighting/Sol) -RP-

[The Down Trotten 299]

@@Fractured,

 

Rhetoric almost grumbled, he wasn't going to be too good at this part of the game "Uh lets see here..um.... well... Aha! What if you were suddenly no longer a unicorn? A mostly magic-less pony? What then?" he felt slightly bad, pushing his philosophical ideas on her, but he couldn't help himself "Um If you don't want to answer that I get it, its sort of a weird question." he should have heard the howling but he didn't, way to distracted at the moment

 

Chrysalis on the other hoof, was beginning to get on edge. She had a slight conflict withe her fight or flight instincts . Instinctively she wanted to change her disguise and hide. Typical Changeling survival instincts. I was a Queen, damn it... She took a deep breath and simply ignored the howling for now and answered Celestia with a curt short tone "If you want information then there is plenty to have but now is not the time, as I am afraid I would deceive you... Its not you really is the circumstances." she smiled fangfuly for just a moment

Edited October 10, 2015 by The Down Trotten

[Literally Snails 2,307]

@@Unicorncob,

 

"Tricis will be the one to do that. How else would she find the most worthy student? Unfortunately, she hasn't come out of her shack in several days. No one knows why she's delaying for so long." Feather explained before putting hoof to his chin. "Come to think of it, there seems to be no way Tricis herself wouldn't know about the shapeshifter. Would she really train it if the monster proved to be the strongest?"

[- Aethergem - 54]

Flash had enough of a view while she wandered around, but she took a few steps into the Registration Hall for a battle. She came here to test out her skills, and that's what she was going to do. She planned on getting a place later and maybe send a letter to somepony while she was there.

 

Approaching the front desk, she felt eager to battle, and she looked around for anypony who wanted a fight. She could always get a nice place to sleep anytime, whether or not she gets to brawl.

[Unicorncob 5,641]

"Tricis will be the one to do that. How else would she find the most worthy student? Unfortunately, she hasn't come out of her shack in several days. No one knows why she's delaying for so long." Feather explained before putting hoof to his chin. "Come to think of it, there seems to be no way Tricis herself wouldn't know about the shapeshifter. Would she really train it if the monster proved to be the strongest?"

 

"Perhaps she is meditating?" Jade guessed, tilting her head as she looked over to the shack, "My master has meditated for many days before as well, it is not uncommon."

 

She looked up at Feather with a smirk. "Do not doubt Master Tricis, she will be more than capable of spotting such a creature!"

[Literally Snails 2,307]

"Of course she would, my question is if she would train the monster if it wins."

 

A silent murmur suddenly fell over the camp as the door to Tricis' small shack opened. A few seconds after, Tricis trotted out onto her deck, overlooking the camp with cold, seemingly uninterested eyes. She had a lit cigarette in her mouth, a questionable health choice for someone her age. She pulled the cigarette out and extinguished it on the wooden railing to her deck.

 

"Good God, am I really gonna have to put up with one of these?" She murmured to herself as all eyes looked on her. Ponies began to crawl out of their tents, crowding around the front of the shack.

 

Jade could hear ponies around her talking amongst the crowd.

 

"Is that really her? I didn't know she was that short."

 

"Why isn't she saying anything? Are we supposed to do something?"

 

"The master's tests are said to be extremely difficult."

 

"Who are you and why are you talking to me?"

Edited October 10, 2015 by Literally Snails

[Unicorncob 5,641]

"Of course she would, my question is if she would train the monster if it wins."

 

A silent murmur suddenly fell over the camp as the door to Tricis' small shack opened. A few seconds after, Tricis trotted out onto her deck, overlooking the camp with cold, seemingly uninterested eyes. She had a lit cigarette in her mouth, a questionable health choice for someone her age. She pulled the cigarette out and extinguished it on the wooden railing to her deck.

 

"Good God, am I really gonna have to put up with one of these?" She murmured to herself as all eyes looked on her. Ponies began to crawl out of their tents, crowding around the front of the shack.

 

Jade could hear ponies around her talking amongst the crowd.

 

"Is that really her? I didn't know she was that short."

 

"Why isn't she saying anything? Are we supposed to do something?"

 

"The master's tests are said to be extremely difficult."

 

"Who are you and why are you talking to me?"

 

Jade looked over to the shack as attention was drawn to it, and gasped as she saw the door was opening. She stood up for a better look, and her heart raced in her chest as an elder mare stepped outside, looking rather uninterested with a cigarette in her mouth.

 

Master Tricis.

 

Ponies began to surround the shack, but she stayed put, almost rooted to the ground in shock. Though, her ears flicked as she overheard murmuring amongst other warriors. Obviously, Tricis' appearance was being met with mixed responses.

 

The pegasus, however, met the elder Tricis with a sign of respect from her home; she took a step forward and knelt down on one knee, slowly unfolding her wings and hanging her head down.

[- Aethergem - 54]

@@Literally Snails

Seeing as nopony was there at the time she arrived, she sighed and created an electric guitar from mossy green magic as she wandered the slowly emptying roads. Ponies seemed to be heading toward a small house, but a cluster of ponies blocked her view from what was happening. The place had tents all around; this was where Dazzle was sleeping? No thanks. She followed them quietly.

 

Ponies stood, staring in amazement, but she couldn't see a thing. What was everypony so excited about?!

 

"Excuse me? What in the name of the Everfree Forest is happening?" she queried the crowd.

[Literally Snails 2,307]

@@- Aethergem -,@@Unicorncob,

 

(The post order for this group will be Unicorn, then Aeth, then me, alrighty?)

 

A pony answered Flash's question. It was a portly pegasus with a strange blue cap and a saddlebag full of trinkets, the treasure hunter Feather Weave had mentioned. "Master Tricis is looking for a new apprentice to teach her secret knowledge to. That's what everyone is here for." he said in a somewhat high pitched voice.

 

"Yes, I'm sure most of you have been waiting for a long time," Tricis said, "Unfortunately, a lot of you have also wasted your time. I can already tell the majority of you are too weak to receive my training." Tricis seemed to not be one to hold back her opinions. "I'm only going to be picking one apprentice out of the lot of you, so we should begin the elimination process now."

 

"Finally..." Kaz said under his breath.

 

"Your first test shall be..." Tricis began pulling out a large stack of papers and a bowl of ink. She then took one sheet off the top of the stack, dipped her hoof in the ink and pressed her hoof onto the paper before holding it up to the crowd with the ink outline of her hoof. "... hoof signatures. Be sure to sign your name in print as well, so you know which paper is yours."

 

"WHAT!?" Kaz screamed, the majority of the crowd seemed to share his confusion. What did this have to do with being a worthy apprentice?

 

As the crowd began to rile up, Tricis defused the situation by shouting over them. "EITHER SIGN A PAPER OR LEAVE! IN BOTH CASES I EXPECT ALL OF YOU TO SHUT THE HELL UP!" Her voice echoed across the mountain. Everyone stopped their shouting right then and the grove was enveloped in silence.

 

Ponies began to form a somewhat orderly line in front of the stack of papers. The ponies began printing their hooves, signing their names, and giving the papers to Tricis. The line was moving rather quickly.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Literally Snails

[J.R. 3,182]

@@Fractured,

Ice, still in the air, began to descend. He them made horizontal platforms of ice to run upon in midair, and while he was running, he saw the orb that was headed towards Anette's dolls. He ran on a couple platforms, and jumped. From there, he shot a beam of ice at the orb, freezing it, and making it harmless, "Target check!"

 

He then somersaulted several times in the air before landing on the ground in front of Nightingale, "Give it up. You have nothing to gain from all this. And if you're doing this just for kicks...." he walked closer, "You're nothing but a worthless attention horse. Ponies like you steal, cause problems for others, and all for what? Just for 15 minutes of fame? Pssh. Nobody is gonna care about you if do all this, you why? Because you're petty. You are acting like a petty, disjointed filly. You're wasting your time with what you're doing. Hear me out; it doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to do this because there's always anoter way. And if you don't want to listen..."

 

He then took off his scarf, and held it with both hooves from the middle. From there, he moved both of his hooves outward to opposite ends of the scarf, covering it in ice, and wrapped it around his entire body as if it were a bandolier, "I'll have no choice but to take action. So what will it be? Wanna keep up the bullshit, or do you wanna do something productive?" he asked with an unamused expression, "I'll say it like this, give me that gem, and just might let you walk away from here with no further confrontation..."

Edited October 11, 2015 by J.R.

[Unicorncob 5,641]

@@- Aethergem - @@Literally Snails

 

Jade stood up and swallowed, feeling a pang of nervousness in her chest at Tricis's words. Surely she didn't mean she also wasn't worthy of her teachings...?

 

Her head tilted slightly at the first test's instructions. A simple hoof signature? A foal could do that!

However, she knew better than to question somepony like Master Tricis. This had to have some significance.

 

She flinched, wings springing back open from the older mare's outburst. She had decent lungs for her age.

She smartly kept quiet and took a piece of paper and ink, pressing her inked hoof down on the paper and signing Jade Lotus below it.

 

Satisfied, she trotted into line and quietly hoofed her paper over to Tricis.

[- Aethergem - 54]

@@Literally Snails @@Unicorncob

 

Flash 'n' Dazzle tilted her head. She had signed many autographs before this very day, so how could any of this be difficult? The electric guitar disappeared in a spark of green. She waited in line, wondering what the knowledge could possibly be. She tried not to show how antsy she was to sign a paper.

 

Once up front, Dazzle took a paper and dabbed her hoof in ink. Staring down with a smirk on her muzzle, she pushed down her hoof onto the paper and quickly placed her signature at the bottom corner. "Flash 'n' Dazzle" the signature read.

 

She too followed Jade up to this Master Tricis mare, holding her paper with magic. Only now did she realize the strange appearance of the master.

Edited October 11, 2015 by - Aethergem -

[DarkusX 69]

Falza had already spent abundant time planning and relaxing, "currently its time for a match" he thought. The stallion walks away, heading back to BangColt's arena, then enters leading him towards the registration hall. Falza now trying to sign-up near the desk. After this he can simply relax yet again right wherever the waiting lobby would be... well only if there is one around. Falza steadily eyes around for any available contestants while finishing the registration work.

[Literally Snails 2,307]

@@Unicorncob,@@- Aethergem -,

 

Tricis picked up the entire stack of papers once it was all over. Their was still a small amount of ink left in the bowl, so she made care not to kick it over. She stood up on the porch in front of the awkwardly waiting crowd before she walked back inside and slammed the door.

 

The crowd began to murmur again. Was she about to take a long leave again?

 

The ink on everyone's hooves dried very quickly. Feather looked at his hoof, eyeing the ink before he gave a chuckle. "She's not senile." He whispered to Jade. "This is ink is infused with magic. She's going to be able to tell a lot from those signatures."

 

 

 

A few minutes later, Tricis came back with a much smaller stack of papers. There must have been less than thirty in the stack she carried. She then started plastering them onto the wall next to her door before stepping forward to the crowd. "Everyone whose name is on my wall has been approved for the next test. Everyone else can go waste someone else's time."

 

A shocked flurry of speech went among the crowd, mostly complaining about how giving a signature could be part of a test. Eventually the crowd slowly complied, one by one ponies began to crowd around the papers. On the wall was Flash's paper, Jades, Feather Weave's, the treasure hunter's, both of the bounty hunter's, the young fighter's, the assassin's and a small handful of other potentials.

 

Many of the eliminated hopefuls left disappointed, but respectfully. A few of them, however, remained, planning to complain to Tricis over the ridiculousness of that test.

 

"I travelled all the way from Griffonstone to train with you!" An angry, white and black griffon exclaimed as he stomped onto the porch. He must have been at least four times Tricis' size. Although she was a very small pony, he was a large griffon. "I'm not going to let you turn me away because you don't like the way my claw looks on a piece of paper!"

 

"If I had changed out my hearing aid recently, I imagine I'd already be pissed by how loud you're being." Tricis said in a manner that a grandmother would use to scold a child. "Listen to me, because I'm only going to explain this to you once. That test was meant to save you from embarrassment. If you're really fit to train with me, then why isn't your name on that wall!?"

 

The short tempered griffon raised his claw and cawed aggressively, gearing up to strike. Before he could move more than a few inches, Tricis leapt up into the air and delivered a kick directly into the underside of his beak, sending the brute off of her deck and back down in front of the crowd. presumably, he was just unconscious, but he certainly wasn't moving.

 

After that, the rest of the eliminated candidates began to leave, making the crowd much smaller.

[Unicorncob 5,641]

@@- Aethergem - @@Literally Snails

 

Jade swallowed as Tricis assessed the hoofprints, and glanced up at Feather upon hearing him. She blinked, then looked down at her hoof. Indeed, the ink on it had dried up.

"How can you tell?" She asked quietly.

 

It wasn't long before Tricis had made her decision, and put the passing candidates on the wall of her cabin.

Jade swooped over, crowding amongst the pegasi and griffons in the air to find her hoofprint. Her chest tightened with fear, even more so the more she searched but couldn't find it.

 

But sure enough, near the middle was her hoofprint! The pain went away as she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Tricis had deemed her worthy enough!

 

She flew back next to Feather, and watched the conflict between Tricis and the irate griffon, and went slack-jawed as she made short work of him, sending him careening off her balcony!

 

"The rumours were true," She muttered.

[- Aethergem - 54]

@@Literally Snails @@Unicorncob

 

Dazzle was daydreaming about a fight that she could have, but she was interrupted by the sudden thud of a griffin hitting the ground. Her attention was on Tricis, and, judging from her position, it looked like she caused a giant to tumble down on her porch. She began to back away, knowing that you shouldn't try to get on the mare's bad side.

 

Once the crowd was leaving, she examined the hoof prints. So many different shapes and sizes - Oh! And Dazzle's was way up in the top left corner. She squinted to read her signature. "Huh. Who knew my print looks that strange from THAT far away. I wonder what's next..."

 

If the first test was hoof-printing, there had to be something harder. A twist. Something like a challenge.

Edited October 11, 2015 by - Aethergem -

[Literally Snails 2,307]

@@Unicorncob,@@- Aethergem -, 

 

"Hmm, there are still too many of you." She said as she scanned the crowd. "Yes, I'm going to have to weed you out a bit more, and I think I have just the solution, follow me."

 

She stepped off the porch of her small home and started walking up a path that lead to a denser part of the forest.

As the crowd moved, a tall, lanky stallion brushed up against Flash. He was a unicorn with square glasses and two short daggers on a belt. The daggers had some symbols etched into them. This must have been the assassin that Feather was talking about. His frame wasn't very intimidating, but something else about him was.

 

They walked in near complete silence for nearly an hour before Tricis stopped. Once they the end of the trail a plateau came into sight. The plateau was on the other end of a vast expanse of thick trees. The forest seemed unnatural. The trees in that expanse of forest cast dark shadows so that nearly everything bellow them was as dark as night. That expanse of trees was gave off an eerie feeling that washed over all of the potential students. One or two of them actually started to visibly shiver when they neared the small forest.

 

"Those of you who aren't complete idiots have probably noticed that this patch of forest is unusually sinister." Tricis said. "It was used by an ancient cult to summon monsters into Equestria nearly five hundred years ago. That three and a half mile expanse of trees is one of the most dangerous places on this continent. Sometimes I like to go in there to clear my head, but your task is going to be different."

 

Tricis pointed to the plateau where a massive tree could be seen in the clearing.

 

"That tree is on the other side of the forest. I want you all to meet me there in one hour. You must pass through the forest to get there. Pegasi are not allowed to fly above the tree-line." She turned to face the students. "I know some of you are scared. If any of you are terribly opposed to this, now is the last time to back out before these tests get deadly."

 

Two of the thirty students took that offer, they slowly backed away from the trees and began running in the opposite direction. 

 

Feather Weave was sweating, being sensitive to the supernatural, he knew more than most about what was in the forest.

 

"Anyone else plan on leaving?"

 

"Psh, if the others are so scared of that forest, I'm guaranteed to win these tests!" Kaz boasted

 

((I just want to admit that I'm totally ripping off another sourse for 70% of this story arch .m. ))

[Unicorncob 5,641]

@@- Aethergem - @@Literally Snails

 

Jade was amongst the group that entered the forest, still feeling rather proud of herself upon being here. Master Tricis truly felt she was at least a bit worthy of her time!

 

Upon reaching the darker, denser part of the wood, that feeling soon became one of dread washing over her. Something felt...wrong. This forest was not natural, and she knew it. And it actually scared her. She pulled her conical hat over her head, to help her feel more secure.

 

She stuck close to Feather Weave. Being the only pony to show her any kindness upon becoming wrapped up in all of this, she felt comfortable enough to consider him an ally.

 

She took a deep breath while hearing of the dangers of the forest. She had an hour to reach that plateau on the far side, and she was both determined and scared witless. She saw two candidates leave, but she stayed rooted to the spot.

 

She looked to her side at Feather, who she could tell was also nervous. She put a hoof to his shoulder and offered a smile to him, to try and ease his nerves.

[Not Yellow Diamond 924]

@@Fractured, 

 

Night Tracer lifted his head from his forelegs, looking up at Luna with tears blinding with eyes, leaving a blured figure in front of him. "Sc-cared? Yo-you're the one who's scared?." He stared at her, "How? How could you be scared--you know; you know my past--what do you have to be scared for?" 

 

He nuzzled his head back into his forelegs as he continued to sob like mourning parent. He hoped he wouldn't have to lead the conversation although something told him he would. Secretly, he just wanted to be coddled, but the chances of Luna doing so in the state she was in were close to none. 

[- Aethergem - 54]

@@Literally Snails @@Unicorncob

 

Flash looked up at the assassin. Sure, just from looking at the daggers, she would feel threatened, but she felt disturbed by something else. It could be the forest around her, but she thought that it was the stallion. She didn't say anything to the stallion, since she was afraid of a possible stabbing.

 

Once she heard the lore and objective, she thought about how all of this will play out. One Orthros with a shark's head and five blazing tails, and a half-pony, half Cerberus chasing her. Even when she got to the tree, there would be a skeleton coming to life of a chimera that would pounce... she tried clearing her head.

 

"Ma'am," she stepped forward and looked at the group, but she seemed concerned about Feather,"I feel I am ready for the challenge."

 

Okay, maybe her body language said she was nervous and lying, but she was determined to win the race.

Edited October 11, 2015 by - Aethergem -

[Not Yellow Diamond 924]

@@Star Saber,

 

Pinkie was a bit skeptical on the fact that Ash had no fears but she wasn't going to pry, well, given the time, she would of but Ash shot a question her way before she got the chance. "Oh... uh, it's kind of a long story. And a bit silly, so I'm not sure you'd even been interested..." Pinkie lied, hesitant to tell Ash her fear. Only the girls and Spike knew about her fear and Spike by complete accident. 

@@Photon Jet,

 

Double Diamond smiled then he and Photon stepped into the elevator, traveling down to the first floor and out the main lobby to the rather open streets of Bangcolt, "So, I think it may of slipped my mind, but what's your name?" He asked, as relaxed as always, 

[Literally Snails 2,307]

@@Unicorncob, @@- Aethergem -,

 

 

"Yes, I'm sure you are." Tricis said to Flash.

 

"I too am ready!" The young colt said, showing a lot of enthusiasm, and a very strange voice.

 

Tricis started to trot backwards at a very fast speed, encouraging the others to follow her as she entered the shadowy tree line. "Clear the forest in one hour without dying and you'll be ready for the next test. Use your intuition to find the quickest path and whatever you do, try not to run in a straight line!" After that advice, she took a left and dashed off, going beyond where anyone could follow in a matter of seconds. 

 

Everyone began to split off at that point. The bodyguard and the treasure hunter took a very early left before splitting away from each other. The colt took a right further on in the forest, seeming quite confident. Both of the bounty hunters stuck together, heading northwest. The assassin showed that he was by far the fastest runner, going straight for a very long time before veering off to the side.

 

Feather Weave started running straight before jumping over a row of bushes and moving into a swampy area, not waiting to see if Jade was following him.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Literally Snails

[Unicorncob 5,641]

@@- Aethergem - @@Literally Snails

 

Jade watched as the rest of the group disappeared after Tricis vanished upon giving her advice. Everypony ran this way and that, seeming confident about their decisions. Even Feather had gone on without her!

 

Which meant it was just her and another pony, alone at the start. And the clock was ticking.

 

"Try not to run in a straight line," she mulled to herself, glancing up at the tree line, "Pegasi can't fly over the trees..."

 

She looked at a nearby trunk, and smirked as she leapt onto it, starting to climb. Once near a branch, she vaulted onto it and began hopping from branch to branch, tree to tree.

 

She wasn't using her wings, after all.

[- Aethergem - 54]

@@Literally Snails @@Unicorncob

 

Flash had no sense of direction.

 

It's true. She'd never really been under a dark blanket of shadows. She kept tripping, but then she had an idea. Keep the plateau in sight, if you can even see it through the trees. Sure, it was a bad plan, but she wanting to learn something new for once.

 

She still tripped over rocks and roots of the towering trees.

 

As Dazzle ran, she thought she would get attacked, but it seemed all fine from there. She focused on the long road.

[AmberDust 1,116]

 

 

Erroria paused. "There's scrolls for learning spells, and there's magical objects and artifacts. There's also training stuff. But, mostly, we do... that thing where you fuse magical objects together. Imbuing," she said, coming to the realization. "And..." she looked between the two of them, then suddenly zipped over towards the shelves behind the counter. She began rustling through them, at one point having to lean down over on her cloud in order to catch a single golden horeshoe that had tilted off by accident. But at last, she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small, circular horn collar, balancing it on her back as she moved over towards the mare.   "A horn su...su... magic blocky thingy," she finished, not liking the way the word tasted. "The more you try to use magic, the more it tries to stop you, so when you take it off, you'll be stronger." She turned slowly over to the stallion. "Did you want something to train, too?"

"Wow," Amber said, picking up the magic suppressor with a cloud of orange magic. She had never considered something like this--in fact, she hadn't consider fighting with magic much at all.

"This will be great," she said, smiling slightly, "but what about for physical fighting?" she asked. Also, how much do magic things cost, she added internally.

 

Axton was intriguied. He hadn't seen anything like a place that sells these things before. It was mind blowing, "So, you actually sell magic stuff here? Interesting. Do you have anything that has to do with say...souls?"

Amber fidgeted uncomfortably at the stallion's question. Souls? A soul...suppressor? She began to question just what she had gotten herself into as the filly searched through the shop.

"So, what brought you to Bangcolt?" she asked the stallion, smiling nervously.

[Literally Snails 2,307]

@@Unicorncob,

 

For what must have been over a mile of leaping and running, the trip was mostly uneventful for Jade. If she was one to submit to optimism, it seemed like her strategy would get her to the plateau without incident. However, that changed when something stuck to her. A sticky net that was almost invisible in the darkness embraced her as she tried to leap to another branch. Her legs became entangled in sticky rope, but her wings were still free.

 

A set of fuzzy limbs started to creep out from behind a tree trunk. Attached to them was an insect- like body, eight eyes, and a pair of fangs. This was a spider, and it was almost twice as big as Jade! The spider climbed onto the web opposite from Jade and started to inch its way toward her.

 

@@- Aethergem -,

 

Aside from a few tripping rocks and roots, Flash didn't seem to have any issues. She started to gain a lot of distance from her competitors. Perhaps running in a straight line wasn't such a bad plan after all. Eventually, she would begin to notice a foul stench that worsened the further up she went. Eight pairs of yellow eyes watched her from the darkness, beginning to surround her.