open Rise Up, Into the Darkness~ RP

[PurplePony 484]

Our OOC Page is located here: http://mlpforums.com/topic/93264-rise-up-into-the-darknessooc/

*We are still accepting spots, so if you are interested drop a message there*

 

 

Current Characters and Writers:

 

.PurplePony: DM~  http://mlpforums.com...a-embullo-r6159

 

Evil Dragon Master:  

 

Miss Reaper: Moderator~ http://mlpforums.com...-arruinar-r6160

 

Higurashi:  

 

 

~

 

 

Rise Up, Into the Darkness.

 

An enticing tale taking place in a post apocalyptic world driven by status and greed.

This story is dedicated to my writers of this RP. I am looking forward to our tale, here is to new friendships!

 

 

 

 

 

Luto was a talented young filly who learned how to control her magic at an early age. She quickly began to realize how strong her potential was. She began vigorously training each and everyday for years, determined to surpass all others in both skill and strength. However everyday a nagging voice would plead with the young mare "Give your self a rest, go enjoy the simple things in life. Go and see the beauty, take a moment to smell the roses"

The young mare scoffed at herself vowing to only get stronger. For how else was she supposed to live? Her parents had died when she was young. She could hardly remember them or what happened, all she could remeber was a bright burning light. A strange cloaked pony rescued her and took her in he was kind and gentle. She remebered the feeling of loss, but somehow it was all right. He just made it so. He taught her how to use her powers, She studied under him for several years, until one night Luto awoke in a panic searching the home. The stranger had left. 

Tears fogged Luto's vision as she recalled the events, it was the last time she had felt like other ponies could be trusted. She could only protect herself and she knew it now better than ever. Every possible hour she spent teaching herself how to become stronger.

 

~

 

Looking around the tiny house a stranger had left years ago Luto began to laugh, "Perhaps I stayed here because I hoped and prayed that one day you would come back. How stupid and nieve of me! At least I have a place to stay."

It had suddenly Occurred to her, if she possessed the ability to control ones mind, she should be able to control and isolate her own. Smiling she reached into the depths of her being tugging at the side that had always begged and pleaded with her, telling her to live life, 'What did it know?' Only myself stands in the way of becoming ruthless and all powerful! Never again will I hurt or suffer.' 

Luto could have never predicted what would have happened next she indeed pulled out her other side and tossed it away, however, in the same instance her vision went white. A loud bang rang her ears leaving them sharply humming. Blinking a few times her vision returned. Standing in front of her was a familiar face, although somehow it was different. "Who are you?!" Luto questioned.
 

The other pony kept her head down almost as if to be in shame, "You do not know who I am?" It talked in a calm matter. "I am sorry for what will happen. The life you won't have the chance to see or feel."
Luto's vision went white once more, "I am you." Rang through her ears.
 

~

 

 

Clara stood tall taking in her surroundings. It felt odd to be able to freely walk about and do as she please. She was so used to looking through the eye's of Luto. But now she was free from her. She smiled guiltily knowing a that a concious should not be in complete control of a body, but this was her own now. She had fled to a town she didn't recognize before, "Brancora" She read aloud to herself.

 

It pleased her greatly to no end to hear her own voice and make her own decisions. But she couldn't help but realize, 'I may be free of her, but I was the only thing guarding her sanity. Her quest for power is endless.' She thought sadly to herself realizing her potential purpose.

Feeling burdened Clara wandered aimlessly through town sulking in self pity.

[Hive King 2,001]

Two unicorns ran though the streets of a slum, carrying a box of assorted illegal drugs. 

"You sure this is enough?" the younger one, a purple one, asked as they rounded the bend. He and his partner were in a gang war and stealing profit from the other gang would be useful.

"Of course it is! It'd better be, I didn't just end up getting punched and beaten up so that we get something worthless" the elder one muttered, rubbing the spots where he had been punched and kicked. 

"True dat" the younger one laughed suddenly skidding to a stop as his eyes went wide. 

"Why'd ya stop?" the elder snarled, having bumped into his partner. 

"H-he's here. We have to r-" the younger started before a black shadow swept forth, slamming him against the wall of the alley they were in.

"SHIT! IT'S BLACK HEART!" the elder one screamed, firing off a few magic bolts in horror. The black creature seemed to dematerialize, dodging the bolts. The elder gangster looked at his partner, realizing that his chest had been crushed by the impact. "W-where are you?" he stuttered, looking around with paranoia.

"You sinners think you can do whatever you want. The law is too weak to stop you. You don't deserve to live!" Black Heart snarled, dropping down so he was in plain view of the remaining criminal. 

"I-i just want to keep my family safe! If I didn't do this, they'd die!" the criminal pleaded, hoping the creature would listen to reason.

"I don't care about what you meant, you still did a crime" Black Heart growled, his muscular tail thrashing back and forth. There were more screams throughout the city as Black Heart had a midnight snack. Yummy

[HigurSan 195]

Stonewall: Introduction

There were many ways in which a pony could go about life. One could be anything from the most debased and lecherous drunkard to the hard working and ever vigilant pony-of-the-law. Whatever that happened to be, each and every last pony had something that they -did-. Above all other laws and rules of this reality, this was the one which could be denied neither by effort nor magic. Every pony bore a Mark upon them from the time they learned of their abilities to the day that they died. Many ponies simply regarded these marks as a statement of fact, a picture representation of what they were. For fillies and colts, the day that they acquired their Mark was one of the most important moments of their life. Some ponies did not get a Mark until only moments before death, but eventually, every pony got them.

 

Stonewall had thought the same as all the others for a long time, until the day he got his Mark. Some of his friends were Marked early on, before they'd even left basic schooling. One had been Marked from the moment they were born. Others had come with time and effort. Stonewall, on the other hoof, had simply been content to let it come when it would. Thus he'd lived for twenty winters in mild contentment, until the day his world was changed. Some of his associates had often guessed that his Mark would be one of smithing, like that of his sire. He even had a good knack for working metal. In fact, it was while he was pounding out the rough edges of an axe-head that his Mark was put upon him.

 

Every pony that he'd ever talked to about their Marks said they'd hardly noticed the change until some one else pointed it out. A couple had gone days without being aware. For Stonewall however, the Mark felt like it'd been seared into his hindquarters with a hot iron brand. He'd been so disabled by the pain that the metal of the blade had gone black before he was able to stumble to his feet. Though the whole thing would need to be scrapped and re-done, Stonewall wasn't concerned with that. He weakly prodded the new addition to himself and gave off a hiss of pain as it began to ache. The new image confused him, as he hadn't the slightest idea what it meant. It was an uncaring and cold eye, topped with a crowl of gold.

 

At first he had not been smart enough to hide his Mark. Every pony that saw it instantly viewed him with either awe or suspicion. Though Stonewall himself didn't know the meaning, it was clear as day to everyone else. There was already a long lived and well liked Ruler of Broncora, one who'd graciously held that position for some twelve years. This Mark said quite bodly that Stonewall, not the encumbent, was to be the Head of State. Many took this as a blatant challenge to authority and acted as such. They labeled Stonewall as both a lier and a traitor, expulsing him from their presence. Some even tried to kill him.

 

Things had only ever gotten worse from that point on. As much as Stonewall was hurt by the accusations and slurs, the unwitting support he was given pained him even more. For every stallion that called him evil, another called him the True King, rightful heir to the Throne. They put him aloft on their shoulders and carried him to a pedestal, giving him unwanted praise and adoration. All his life he'd wanted nothing more than to have a peaceful and happy life. But what he wanted no longer mattered, nor did it seem likely that it ever would. Inevitably the country divided itself according to loyalty and split asunder with the force of war. Ponies came to Stonewall's side promising support when they were only looking for their own gain. Division came from each divide before it for all sides until no true lines or loyalty remained. Chaos reigned for two years.

 

It continued until Stonewall gave up on himself. He abandoned his own identity, moulding himself into what his true supporters wanted: a King. Those who were in the affair only for themselves found that they were slowly shut out until they were alone. Piece by piece he collected the tatters and shards of the country and made them his own. Through bloody and unrelenting conquest, order was reborn. Stonewall's edict was simple: Either you are with me, or you shall die. Many ruler's had said such before, but none had entirely followed through. When Stonewall came on the horizon, you paid fealty or died. Entire towns were burned to the ground when their inhabitants refused his Kingship.

 

Yet at the core, loyalty cemented this campaign of mercilessness and brutality. For though he gave nothing to his enemies, he gave everything to his vassals. Those who supported him honestly without greed or lust for power found themselves immersed in comfort. Those who sought for their own gain ended up viciously torn asunder in the street. This same edict was to be held true from his closest advisors to the lowest of peasents. When you gave yourself to King and Country, the King and Country gave you yourself back.

 

(At the time that this roleplay will begin Stonewall is one of three major factions. Anarchy and chaos still are a large part of every pony's reality, but order is beginning to assert itself. Thus crime and villany are still very rampant. I'll leave the other two factions undefined, but I will say that Stonewall's [which is named Stalliongrad] is the harshest when it comes to crime. All crimes that are commited with concious intent are punished by execution. Intent is currently determined by method of magic.)

[PurplePony 484]

The day light had already slipped away, leaving Clara wandering the lonely streets of night. 'It is odd, I never noticed how busy the night is.' Clara thought to herself speculating.

The main street was baren, however the allies scuttled about withmovement, leaving a nervous pit in her stomache. It was not as if she were frightened, Clara knew better than that. 'For once it just feels real.' Her thoughts almost seemed to taunt her.

 

Taking a deep breath in Clara entered the last place she would be able to stay at for the evening. She walked into the local INN. It wan't very flashy, somepony may even go as far to say it was grimmy and a tad scummy. Clara smiled, she liked her chances.

 

As she aproached the front desk she noticed an elder mare counting her till, "Dining's closed." She croaked.

Smiling she looked to the older Mare, "Actually I was hopping you may be able to help me out a little. You see, I don't have a place to stay, nor the money to pay for a place. This being said, I would work very hard for you, I could clean for you. All I need is a place to sleep and a couple meals every now and then." Clara blurted.

 

The mare looked her up and down, eyeing her carefully before grunting, "Our cleaner quit three weeks ago, guess you'll do for now, Follow me I will show you to your room."

Clara bounced along behind her as she continued on, "I expect you to be up by sunrise, ready for chores. The list of non vacant rooms in need of cleaning is posted beside the register.Once you are done with that you can come find me and I will let you know what to do next." She finished talking just as she began to open a door.

"This is your room. I would get to sleep soon, morning comes soon. Now don't you go leaving, I don't take kindly to thieves." The old mare warned.

 

Clara could feel her cheeks grow hot but before she could answer the door had been slammed. Clara walked across her room in silence. She stared out a tiny window in silence. So much had happened to her today and she was still trying to grasp it all.

 

~

 

Morning had come quickly and without hesitation. The old mare came trotting out at exactly sun rise. 'Judging by the look on her face she didn't expect me to be up. She almost looks angry.' Clara thought.

Turns out the old gal was quite bitter, she had thought she should be doing chores instead of waiting about for her to show up. Clara patiently waited for her to stop ranting before simply saying, "It is all done. Is there anything I missed."

After a thourough inspection of the rooms she had assigned to be cleaned as well as a few grunts, the suspicious mare left her with a hefty list of chores. 

Looking back to her again Clara spoke, "I have finished all of that though."

The old mares eyes widened as she looked around realizing that the entire INN was clean, she gave her one last chore and grumpily left muttering, "It better be like this everyday."

 

After little time Clara happily trotted out of the INN pondering how to spend the rest of the day. It didn't even matter to her, the feeling of freedome was exhilerating. Wirhout a care in the world Clara mindlessly wandered the streets, her head aimlessy stuck in the clouds.

[ReverieRiver 526]

The shadows were Luto's friend. The darkness was her ally; but she feared not the light of day. Her fear, her timidity, all the things that had suppressed her deepest desires, were gone from her heart. She had ripped that part of herself from the very fabric of her being, in turn materializing another being. The black Unicorn mare scowled to herself. She could still hear its voice in her ears.

 

I am you.

 

But that weak creature wasn't her. It was a thing to be discarded; an unneeded, unwanted thing that just happened to once be part of her. Luto did not know what had become of that feeble spawn of herself after it had been cast out, and she could not care less. Let it be, let it do what it may. Luto had greater plans in mind, and now nothing stood in her way. She was free from all that had held her back in the past. She felt lighter than ever, the burden of a conscience lifted from her mind. Now she could easily pursue what it was she truly wanted.

 

And what she wanted was power. More and more; she wished to become the most powerful being that ever lived! She wanted to be able to crush the world beneath her hooves! And so she wandered the land of Equestria, seeking ways to gain such power and training herself along the way. She practiced her art whenever it was possible, so she could improve even more - practicing on and manipulating other ponies as well if it suited her own twisted purposes.

[HigurSan 195]

@@PurplePony, @@Miss Reaper, @,

((Presumably all you three are located in the same region/town, so I've modeled this post in a way that reflects this.))

 

If one thing could be said about how Stonewall made an entrance it'd be: When he made an entrance,  he didn't try to make it grand; it simply was. Thus there was no build up or fan-fare to greet his arrival.  The first and only forewarning to his arrival were the flights of pegasi warriors that soared in over the city walls to sieze control of the administration and manufacture buildings.  Any resistance would be met by immediate execution. The invaders made it quite clear that if civil unrest ensued, they would raze the city to the ground. Soon afterward what little fighting that had occurred was over. The city gates were opened from the inside and a vast inward march began.

 

Legions of light infantry came first, in rows of ten abreast that stretched nearly half a mile in length. Amongst them prowled the King's Commissars, looking for all the world like sharks coasting through shoals of fish. Heavy infantry soon followed with sections of walking pegasi scattered inbetween the clashing ranks of metal. War machines of both magical and mechanical construction rolled in behind them, pulled forward by massive pairs of oxen. Nearby pranced ever vigilant squads of shock troops, always looking to be on the verge of slaughter. Then came a full two miles worth of support and maintenance units ranging from cooks to medics. Floating around them on shining discs were cabals of minor wizards and mages. Perhaps five to a group, this gaggles of lesser unicorns combined their magical powers together to cast powerful spells.

 

The major portion of the armed forces moved straight through the town without skipping a beat. A sizable force  of various soldier types settled in as a temporary garrison, along with the support staff. After everything had finally quieted down, Stonewall himself walked into the city on hoof. Some rulers or commanders prefered to ride in style, easily spotted by guady displays of wealth or power. Stonewall on the other hoof, would have passed for a low ranking military officer. The only thing that gave the game away was the constant entourage that seemed to float in his wake like a bunch of balloons on strings. Several sorcerers of medium power formed a seven pointed star around him, the rest darting inbetween or around them. During his walk he went on several detours to inspect various sections of the city.

 

Eventually the group reached the town square, upon  which Stonewall mounted a hastily erected but well made stage. Three wizards stood in attendance and cast a collective spell which magnified his voice so that it echoed through the entire town. "Residents of this town," he said authoritatively.

 

"My name is King Stonewall Fireheart, the ruler of Stalliongrad. I say this now, to not waste time and define our positions. You and your town are a stepping stone, one of many. You are now under the non-negotiable authority of Stalliongrad and as a result: Me. You are one of many towns to now be brought into the fold.  Should you resist, this town will be wiped off the map for later resettlement. If this town burns, all of its residents will be the kindling used to light the fire. However, should you acknowledge your rightful ruler and serve dutifully, you're town and all its residents shall know prosperity and comfort. Stalliongrad's judgements are harsh, making its rewards all the more sweet. Now then. All citizens are to line up in the town square in an orderly fashion. Prisoners, criminals and those with past criminal sentences are to stand in front, whereupon you shall be judged. If you are judged inadequete, you will die. Should you run or hide, you will die. Anyone found aiding or harboring prisoners, criminals, or those with past criminal sentences will be executed."

[Hive King 2,001]

@,

Black Heart heard the announcement and snorted derisively. The law was weak! He was needed to judge criminals...for the only judgement they deserved was death! Black Heart smirked as he saw a few criminals leaving their homes, afraid of the law. Typical. That disgusting scum was cowardly and weak, only "following orders" to save their hide. Still, he had to admit, them leaving their homes in an orderly fashion made them a very easy target. Black Heart let out a screech as he dived into a gang. The gang never stood a chance of surviving his snapping jaws, thrashing tail, and acidic spit. 

 

"P-p-please, let me go" the remaining pegasus whimpered, one wing torn off and bruised from the vicious beat down. 

 

"You don't deserve life, you're a waste of space. You are so ungrateful for your gifts, abusing your money to get even more money" Black Heart lectured, coiling his tail around the pony's neck. "For these crimes, I sentence you to death!" he screamed, tensing his tail to crush the pegasus's windpipe before slamming him against the ground until he was barely recognizable

[PurplePony 484]

Days passed and Clara continued to clean and stay at the INN every morning she finished early. It was easy work with her talent, although it seemed to lack satisfaction. Everyday after work Clara took of to a small stream. She would sit and stare at her reflection feeling cold and empty. Taking a deep breath in she sighed, "It is as if I have always and will always live without my own purpose or destiny." She talked to no one in particular, it seemed as if she may be alone anyway.

 

Laying down next to the stream Clara slapped the watter with her hoof. She was angry and tired. "I just don't know how I can stop anything! I don't even know if she is capable of anything!"

She knew the last part of her statement to be a lie. Luto was once who she was, she knew her own intentions. This brought a very dark grim cloud over her heart.

 

Tears poured down her face. "I just can't do this alone, I need help."

Clara cried out feeling alone and tossed aside in an unknown scary world. She had never had to fend for herself, she only ever had to think, now she needed to survive and the whole idea of being alive in the world scared her.

[HigurSan 195]

@, @@PurplePony,

((PurplePony: I presume from this that Clara is not in the town that Stonewall is subjugating.))

Stonewall typically appointed semi-competent stallions and mares to suitable positions when the opportunity presented itself. That being said, the promotions were always a dual edged sword. Greater responsibilities came with greater rewards, this is true. But the punishments for failure were increasingly severe. (This typically meant -personal- failure, wherein a pony would give in to cowardice, greed, or other vices. Failing due to no fault of one's own was somewhat tolerated, in that you had a damn hard time proving that it -wasn't- your fault.) As such, most if not all of the weak or unsuitable candidates for a position were weeded out in fairly short order. Unfortunately, this meant that officer attrition rates due to stress or execution were fairly high. Though once you'd managed to get past a certain period of service, you were pretty much safe for life.

 

All that is to say that Stonewall's subordinates were not at all stupid. They did their jobs and did them well, as demotion was usually the least of their worries. In this instance, Stonewall's current Head of Security was not having a good time of it. He'd only recently replaced his predeccesor, who'd gone out in a rather messy fashion. (For once, this meant that he'd died in the line of duty. This was unusual because most occupying the position had been executed or bumped further up the ladder.) Thus with that specter hanging over his head, the current Head of Security was especially jumpy when he got a report of a monster killing civilians. With neither the time nor nerves to come up with anything tactful, he opted for the last solution on the list.

 

That was to say that he ordered that city block bombarded with high explosive magical projectiles.

[Hive King 2,001]

Black Heart had just finished up eating someone when he looked up and saw purple magic heading towards him.

"Oh Hell!" he wailed as the explosives slammed down around him, luckily not hitting him dead on. Even so, a building collapsed on top of him and his ears rang as magic shredded the air, stone and earth being sent flying in all directions by the heinously powerful weapons. When the ringing in his brain stopped, he looked around. He was incredibly lucky and the building on top of him had shielded him from most of the damage.

 

Crawling out from under the wreckage, he snarled at his shredded wings and tail. Turning around, he tore off the broken appendages with his own mouth and with a disgusting pop, they regenerated, fully healed. Black Heart collapsed, exhausted from the regeneration effort. Once he woke up, he'd swear to kill the person who dared do this to him. But right now, his stamina needed to recover. Shameful as it was, he had to keep himself in good condition, no point being a weakling

[PurplePony 484]

Days continued to pass and Clara looked to the elder mare who had taken her in. Not sure what else to do or where to go she opened up to her and told her who or what she was. After a bit of a lengthly story the old mare wallked behind the counter pulling out a bit bag. From behind the counter the old gal smiled and tossed it at her. "You will need this, it'll help you on your way until you get settled again. Trouble is begining to brew, our nation can feel it, everything is begining to crumble before our eyes. You mustn't stay here and you know this. You can't hide forever." The old mare smiled at Clara as she spoke.

This was the first time she saw the keeper with a happy expression, "Oh ma'am I can't take your money, you work hard for this.." Clara's face grew red as she began to ramble.

Her mumbles were cut short, "I don't need those, you do though. You earned this. If you ever come back and want a job it's yours, just tell whoever is here at that time that Maggie sent you.

Clara walked behind the counter and hugged Maggie, "Thank you for everything." She whispered.

 

Leaving the INN and the only mother figure she ever had behind Clara set off for the adjecent town, the one she had just come from. Every step seemed to get longer. Dreadding going back Clara trudged on. 'It is my duty, my purpose.' She reminded herself.

 

Holding her head up high Clara walked into the town she had fled from. The city appaeared to be in worse shambles then she had left it. Wandering the streets it became clear to her just how unsafe it could be, she knew she could easily defeat any foe without batting a lash, however, this was not the point. She would not assosiate with Luto or drop to her level of manipulation.

"I need to find a place I would be able to stay. I need a safe place with somepony else to watch my back as I watch theirs." Clara spoke gently to herself as she wandered the familiar streets.

 

Darkness was begining to set in, the moonlight shon brilliantly off of her white coat. Warm air ruffled her mane. Taking a moment to enjoy the small aspects in life she was never able to before the separation Clara drew in a deep sweet breath of air. One moment she was enjoying life the next a bandit had torn away with her bit bag. Clara's eye's went wide in surprise. "Halt!" she hollard staring at the perpetrators hooves.

He had stopped dead in his tracks unable to move. The panicked stallion thrashed his head about in an effort to move. Laughing Clara approached him, "It is in vain, you can not move. Now please kindly pass me my bits."

The theif tossed the bits aside and spit at Clara,"Now that's not very nice. I will just have to leave you here then." Clara picked up her bag and tossed it around her neck, "See you." She sang out into the night sky leaving the theif stuck to the streets grunting and snorting.

"Where is safe?" She pondered aloud trying to recall location and catch her bearings.

[HigurSan 195]

@, @@PurplePony,

"You know, I actually thought that they'd fold over," Stonewall commented to a nearby Mage. The two of them (along with the ever present gaggle of functionaries) were standing on one of the city's more intact towers. Though the walls and other defences were still (mostly) servicable, a process of upgrading and repair would be needed before they met Stonewall's standards. That being said, Stonewall's standards typically equated to: If you attack it and don't come back as a runny paste, those defenses aren't strong enough. Thus the local economy would be getting a boost, as stone masons, magical wardings, and other miscellaneous jobs would be needed for the work. Currently though, the walls were still coated in characteristic moss and loose stones. Stonewall kicked one of the latter away as he continued to speak.

 

"One would think that after driving a whole blasted army through here -and- reminding them of their choices, that revolt would be out of their minds," he continued. "But still in every town we go through, there's at least a half dozen meat heads that try to pull a heroic action out of their hindquarters." An attendant gave Stonewall a telescope, which he brought to his eye in the direction of the artillery fire. "Noterary, give a notice of adequacy to the Artillery Commander. Actually... add a note that every third round is half a second behind the rotation and have him correct that." A nearby unicorn furiously scribbled on a piece of paper then sent it off with a spurt of magic.
"Send orders to Artillery command to switch to napalm ammunition, quick burn. Don't need to burn the whole town down yet. Next, command the Pegasus Rangers to set up a perimeter around the fire. If they see anything that isn't a pony, have them shred it. if it -is- perchance a lucky civilian or other kind of pony, have them detained for questioning."

 

Even as he spoke, the tempo of explosive crumps in the distance changed its beat. A rain of fire began to pour into the affected quarter, while flights of pegasi circled around it, crossbows at the ready.

[ReverieRiver 526]

@, @@PurplePony, @,
 
Luto had merely been resting, plotting her next move when the first explosion immediately brought her attention to the impending issue. It was definitely close by - she could feel the shockwave from the blast - and she could sense that there were likely more to come. At once, she raised a shield, casting a sheath of crimson magic about her form to defend herself against the worst of the explosions as the projectiles rained down. Clumps of rubble and debris from destroyed buildings nearby fell down upon her; and while the shield protected her as well as it could from the worst of potential injury, the concussive force knocked her down while gravity pinned her underneath said debris.
 
That shield of hers soon faded, but only as she gathered energy to allocate elsewhere. As the explosions tapered off temporarily, Luto shoved the surprisingly heavy rubble off of herself with a burst of telekinetic force, slowly climbing back onto her hooves. She was mildly out of breath, both from the exertion and the shock of what had just happened.
 
She barely had time to recover before she saw a blaze of fire quickly spreading throughout the immediate vicinity. "Buck," she cursed quietly to herself. Whatever was happening around here, it seemed about time for her to relocate as soon as possible. She ran towards the fire, her horn lighting with magic once more as she intended to cast a shield about herself once more to break through the perimeter of the flames and try to make her escape. She reasoned with herself that she wasn't a coward for fleeing; she was merely attempting to save her own flank so that she may live another day.

[Hive King 2,001]

Black Heart smelled the flames and moaned in despair, knowing he was in no condition to escape them. Not enough energy. Why, why was his divine crusade stopping now?! He could not, would not die before his mission to wipe the scum of the Earth clean was finished! With Herculean effort, Black Heart crawled and dragged his weak body, feeling the heat of the flames but ignoring it as he headed for refuge. The bombing earlier had torn open the sewer, leaving the water to flow freely. It would be his safe haven.

 

With the last of his energy, Black Heart jumped, falling into the sewer and into the safety of the tunnels under the city. Here he could heal himself and wait for his energy to come back. The rip current of garbage and other foul things, charred corpses among them, washed him up into a maintenance tunnel where he crawled onto land, soaking wet and stinking..but alive. He shook off the water with a quick shudder before laying down to sleep. Hopefully, he wouldn't be disturbed this time around

[HigurSan 195]

@@Miss Reaper, @,

Stonewall watched silently as the first wave of flames fell from the sky, searing slight after-images into his sight even with his eyelids closed. It brought back memories of the first time he'd ordered the use of such weapons. That had been a night full of shock and awe, back when he'd first reclaimed his throne. The skies had burned with descending flame as the previous incumbent fought to the bitter end. All the worse had been the expressions of those under his authority, both allies and conquered. While at times in the past that much destructive power had been weilded by the mighty, it was a terrifying notion for many that any normal pony could now manufacture and deploy such weapons with enough time, labor, and resources. Many could see the end of an era in front of them, with a terrible new age beyond it. Gone would be the time where individual powerhouses would duel for supremacy, replaced by each and every pony marching to war.

 

While a King less than a year, Stonewall had already ground six cities and dozens of towns into his domain. Resistance had been spritied and staunch at first, until he wiped two cities off the face of the planet for it. One had been quick and humane (from some perspectives at least). They citizens and buildings had disentigrated in an instant, never to know what hit them. The second had been slow and painful; a slow roll of burning and hunting down refugee's. Though some records had gaps at the beginning of the first year, Stonewall had since kept pain-staking documentation of each and every death. With projected losses in this town being at around thirty, some five thousand, eight hundred, sixty-seven ponies had died due directly to his commands, actions, and edicts. These losses weighed heavily upon him, unceasingly pushing on his back and forcing him to move ever foreward.

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Luto would find that after escaping the flames some twenty odd pegasi would block her path. Five had hand to hand weaponry (slashing weapons mounted to their front hooves) while the other fifteen or so circled overhead wielding crossbows. One of the grounded soldiers, raised his hoof and called out for her to halt and surrender, lest they be compelled to attack. From the look of things, she was one of only a few who had made it out alive. Three regular civilians cowered behind the soldiers in the cover of a stone archway, while four or five ponies (probably criminals or disobedient) lay eviscerated in the street. (It was somewhat hard to tell just how many had been killed, as the death spread was rather large.) It appeared to mostly be the grounded troops' handiwork, as their hooves were coated in blood. But there were a number of exceedingly accurate crossbow bolts buried into the craniums of the victims.

 

((Evil Dragon Master: As for continued action with your character, it can be assumed that later on the sewers will be searched once the fires have died down. Thus if you want to escape without further incident; I'd do it now.))

Edited April 24, 2014 by Higurashi

[PurplePony 484]

Clara walked down the streets fires and tremors shook the land, debris falling around her. Clara walked on ward without so much as batting a lash. "It has begun and no one can stop it. It is so much bigger than just one individual. It is all of us." She spoke to the night sky as she continued onward maipulating the flmaes and ruble as she passed parting a path for herself through a field of destruction.

 

She wondered if she would be stopped, or taken down. It really didn't matter. Either she would hoof it to the castle or she would end up escorted. As her mind wandered evalutating the situation and possible outcomes. It was unclear to her what side fought for the good of all creatures but at least she may be able to come up with answers and have a better idea after of what to do. Gaining knowledge and possibly allies in time would surely prove worth. Swarms of pegasi filled the air spotting and catching known rebels of the war.

'Why must we fight?' Her thoughts questioned.

Continuing on with her head down she walked her path of inocents.

[HigurSan 195]

((This is mostly a filler post, because I'm bored and not much is happening. That and it describes some of the situation not physically nearby our characters.))

 

As has been mentioned previously, Stonewall often promoted semi-competent individuals to roles that seemed suited them. While such promotions were often short lived due to the high attrition rate amongst the Officer ranks, occasionally the system spat out an individual that proved tenacious enough to hold doggedly onto their posting for a long period of time. One such individual would be Oberst der Panzertruppe Iron Eye, an ambitious mare whom was in command of Stalliongrad's fledgling mechanized units. Due to the technology still being in its infant years coupled with its expanding use, this put her over approximately a third of the kingdom's military strength. As a result, she had gained a great deal of animosity from those above her rank for holding so much authority so soon. For the most part they kept their mouths and belligerence under lock and key, for fear of sudden demotion. (I.E., execution.)

 

However, on some occasions the temptation could not be resisted. The current situation that Iron Eye was in was the direct product of one such time. As the tech under her command was brand new, it tended to be unpredictable at best. Freak accidents and unexpected reactions had both won and nearly lost many engagements. (-Nearly- lost, because Iron Eye had the common sense to keep a lot of backup plans in reserve. After all, if she'd lost a battle her head would be on a pike.) Thus while the initial burst of research into mechanics had regarded -how- it worked, she had lately forced a change of direction. So in effect, researchers were being made to make already existing technology function on a consistent basis rather than inventing new things.

 

Most relevant to the current disaster was a shipment of redesigned barrel caps intended for wide bore mortars used in nearly all of the mechanized units. (These being used so that one could effectively pulp and enemy force before they got anywhere close to hitting you back.) The gun barrels held up rather well and were actually rather easy to clean. On the flip side, the caps needed to make sure that the shot went up and forward instead of back into the loading crew had been prone to cracks under pressure and thus explosive failures. New caps had been made to let off excess gasses and pressure without subtracting from the effectiveness and range of the mortar as a whole. They had been placed on priority order by Oberst Iron Eye and had been subsequently delayed by one of the resentful (paper pushing) higher staff.

 

Thus it was setting up to be a catastrophe when a large raiding force from the third faction (a usurper state that had split off from Stonewall's new kingdom) crossed the border. Normally Iron Eye would have bombarded them from a safe distance and trotted in to sweep up the mess afterwards. However she could no longer do that because of the mortars' inherent (and not yet fixed) defects. It was a given that she had back up plans, but the one most readily available was even more dangerous than using the mortars.

 

When the term 'mechanized regiments' is said, this is to say that they used anything that was not directly powered by pony manual labor. The main example of this was the Scout Counter and Tactical Transport, a cumbersome and hard to maneuver vehicle that currently had a hard time of going in anything but a straight line due their having tracks and no capacity to alternate the direction of the tracks independently. So it was effectively a metal box on tank treads the went only forward and backward. Still, once momentum had been built up it could go faster than any earth pony and some pegasi. Standard policy was to aim them in (somewhat) correct direction and hit the throttle. Benefits were speed and almost absolute protection from enemy projectiles. The disadvantages were zero maneuverability and a tendency for the steam engine to explode when pushed too hard.

 

Unfortunately, the SCATT's were also the only thing capable of catching up to the raiding party. It would be fair to say that SCATT's were effectively large explosive battering rams that occasionally had passengers. Though the details would be a bit too long winded to fully explain, the Oberst essentially had to try something incredibly stupid. To summarize, she loaded the SCATT's with enough explosives to scare the raiders but leave the vehicles (mostly) unharmed. It was hoped that this would drive the invaders back towards the border, or at least close enough to fight them. Much to everyone's surprise, it worked splendidly. In fact, it may have worked too well. The resulting chaos scared the raiders so much that they convinced their own commanders to try something similar. Thus Iron Eye had to continously repulse explosive wagons which were sent at her defences on a semi regular basis from then onwards.