Set six years after season 6, Occupied Equestria presents an alternative history where the Changelings have conquered half of Equestria, while a former Equestrian colony - soured to Princess Twilight's notion of harmony with all creatures because of their encounters with griffins - Invaded and took the other half. In Baltimare and the Equestrian Southeast, the magic of friendship has weakened, as Communists, Changeling infiltrators, Fascists, gangs, and corrupt creepy politicians threaten the city. This role play is based in large part upon the Equestria at War mod for Hearts of Iron 4, and uses D&d 3.5e mechanics
Shimmering Spark, Onyx Steel, and Brie Achtungsex now make the perilous crossing into the Changeling Lands. In Baltimare, Dark Star prepares for his next big assignement, while Silver concludes his mentoring of traumatized foals. Much further away, Iron stands under jeweled nighttime skies, preparing his next move
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>>106328“Then know that what I did, I did for all of you.”
She pauses for a moment
“These cavern entrances were thought to be gates to the underworld... you’d best vacate from here”
>>106330Did not mean to post that.
>>106329Iron can't help but be confused, but believes it to be the best outcome in all honesty.
Standing up while propping Cauldron to her hooves herself, he casually goes for the pots and starts doing the whole tying up thing.
>>106332The pots are still there, lying on the ground
Cauldron: “you’re still going for those?”
Pear vacillates, but ultimately decides to go back for Dr. Grant, and very quickly slices the two ties binding him, whispers something, then prances off into the forest
>>106333Iron looks back to Cauldron, determined yet with a slight tinge of guilt.
"I am," he answers stubbornly as he does the whole pot bondage activity. "I made a promise to you and I am not going to back down from it."
>>106334The binds are still there, ready to be placed on. The wind continues blowing
“How does this change our plans?”
From off in the distance, there is s rumble, and a great number of birds fly into the air. Parrots, macaws, larks, they fly at in hordes into the sky with ‘caws’ that ring loudly. As soon as they leave the trees, many, or perhaps most of them are caught by the wind, swept away, or cast back into the trees. But the few that can manage dare not return below the trees, to that shelter where they avoided the winds just moments before
>>106335Iron darts his head from side to side sporadically, not believing what she's saying, slowing his resolve down to pick up the binds of the pots.
"What about the whole new business we talked about earlier?"
[1d2 = 1]>>106336>>106331>>106321The wolf’s bones are hit, and shatter, as the thing falls to pieces. Whatever magic animated it has left it
>>106336For a full moment, she looks at Iron, silent. Then she speaks
“You’re right. We’ve gone too far to back down.”
She picks up a pot, and starts to tie it to Iron
The ground shakes in a loud quake
Roll balance
[1d20 = 9]>>106338Iron can't help but feel off about her previous outburst, but the shaking ground prevents him from thinking it any further.
Now, rolling balance.
As expected,
there's no dex bonus or ranks in it. [1d2 = 2]>>106339Iron trembles, and half falls before catching himself with spread legs
“Hurry though”
>>106340Posing for GF.Iron does so, increasing his pace of strapping on all the pots.
>>106341From the cavern itself comes a piercing shriek, and a loud “
ROAR!”
Grant stumbles over himself, and flees into the forest
Aw fuck.
Iron's ears flicker and he hurries even more in strapping all those pots, as well as trying to catch a glance at what in the everloving heck just made that sound.
Hopefully this is the last turn he has to do this.
I wrote a lot, then an extremely belligerent defense attorney came in and that was an experience... it was lost when I opened my phone again
>>106346I'm expecting, like, a 3 paragraph description of the creature, with at least six lines of text each.
Also, that defense attorney can go fuck right off. I never expected those guys to be such douches. >>106344>>106346Just came home from the store and saw this. F
[1d20+9 = 22]>>106337Anyways, might as well roll for Silver's next attack for when Starry boi comes back."Это один вниз." Silver works the sweet instrument in his hooves, and fires a shot at the other wolf skeleton.
>>106343Iron’s eyes rest upon the three big black rocks of the cave entrance, covered with snow, and illuminated by a strobing blue light. Snow, coming in thick and sideways, rising away from the entrance in flurries like dust stirred by a wind. Iron can see noting but blackness coming from the entrance itself.
The formerly blood red skies above are covered in clouds, which stretch high into the stratosphere as great cumulonimbi. Lightning jumps between clouds in a near constant stream, bathing the jungle in flashing blue light. Iron might feel as if he were inside of a Tesla coil - a child’s plaything - if the globe of a Tesla coil engulfed the whole world, from horizon to horizon.
The whole scene is distorted as if by static by layers of snow that land on the palm trees and rubber plants, which shake off the snow with their reverberations in the wind, only to be covered again. Thus the whole juggle appears as s strange blur of constantly moving and flashing green, blue, and white.
>>106355Oh gee golly, so the actual danger is still freezing.Dangit I thought the windigos were a trick to distract Iron and make her escape.I hope you don't mind I assume the pot collecting is done.Iron can't help but feel a sense of pure dread encapsulate his whole being from the scene, making him shiver far more than the cold could ever achieve.
Making sure to fasten the last of the pots on his person, he looks to Cauldron.
"Where should we go now?"
>>106356“I... don’t know”
Lightning flashes, wind, and snow. Black Cauldron’s blacker stripes are increasingly hidden under snow that rests upon her body
>>106357Iron shrugs.
"I know where."
He grabs Cauldron by the hoof in case they get lost somehow in the snow.
"We are getting out of here!"
With that, he runs out in a straight line at a not so fast 60 feet per turn.
(As long as we do not run in circles, we should be fine. I hope I do not get a cold from this.)
Yes. I have sinned. The hoofholding out of wedlock was absolutely necessary. I'm dying from all the suspense of the mist is giving me.
Does Pear know what's going on? Why is she trying to be a priestess of death? Will she survive and live on as its new vessel or succumb to death?
What about the PC/Honorary PC NPC duo. Will they make it well? Suffer from some sort of affliction? Be plagued by thoughts of pure destruction and the killing of everypony they don't care about?
A player's mind can spawn a lot of ideas when in this sort of panicky state.
Okay, I am out of work now
I had to stay late in a futile attempt to complete some research>>106354It cracks a pair of ribs, but it is not dead
>>106358And the overladen Iron tries to make his way through the end of the outcropping, and into the forest, he is battered by a piercing cold wind that howls like the hounds of hell. The pots jingle like coins in a pocket, and both sounds compete with the thunder, which sounds like a drum beat, each new blast coming in long before the last has concluded. The almost suffocating humidity of the junbgle air has been replaced by a cold dryness that makes it difficult for Iron to keep his eyes open.
The two trod into the edges of the forest. Walking through the rainforest is risky under the best of circumstances. Diseases and, animals, and monsters hide under its thick, tall canopy, and the jungles swallow up many travelers and adventurers each year. While these edges are illuminated by the strobes of lightning, Iron and cauldron go in further to a realm of darkness, dark even in daytime. The drum beat of thunder shakes the lower foliage, even that which is sheltered from some of the winds by the thick canopy. Snow trickles down, stopped by the canopy,but shaken off as the trees shake in the wind. Lightning hits trees, and some fall to the ground from the winds.
>>106362"I wonder if Curwhinny could have predicted how advanced firearms would become, when he first made these undead." Silver pulls the bolt back on the empty rifle, lines a new clip up, and pushes the new rounds into the rifle.
>>106363Iron ponders his options, turning to Cauldron.
"Do you have a magic thing to start fires or something to at least light the way forward?"
Unless flashlight machine broke,
of course. >>106366Iron can't help but widen his eyes at the imposing sound.
"Definitely going away from
that noise!"
He starts the run again while hoofholding Cauldron along.
>>106367It’s an awkward run. Iron is weighed down by the massive pots, considerably slowing him. Plants and bushes get in the way, as do dead trees. Iron almost stumbles over a dead dear, bleeding from its eyes
>>106368As expected.Iron's sense of dread intensifies over the dead bear whose eyes are bleeding while he tries to run away from it.
(What is going on?!)
"Cauldron, close your eyes! I'll guide us through!"
>>106369Roll three deprecate luck rolls
>>106364“Theek”
[1d20 = 13][1d20 = 7][1d20 = 8]>>106370>Three luck rollsHoly shiet. It's like you're asking for disaster.
Wish me luck.
[1d20+9 = 24]>>106370"Fair enough." Silver takes aim, and fires.
>>106371Iron trudges up the side of the hill as lightning crashes down around him. From behind, he hears something. Something big. If he were a bit more familiar with the scene, it could be compared to a steam freight train at full speed, charging towards them. Iron crests the top of the hill, and sees through the canopy the lake guarded by the Wirraway. Beyond it is a hill, and the River
>>106373The creature cracks, and falls apart, ceasing to be animated
>>106375"И закончил!" Silver lowers his rifle. As far as he knows, those were the last undead within the catacombs, aside from Curwhinny, sealed away in his sarcophagus.
>>106376So it is. The nightmare is nearly over
>>106381
I understand that frustration. I've dealt with it plenty of times, and it can get very aggravating when you feel like you're stuck someplace with your wheels spinning. I would say to just have Dark Star leave to go do some more planning on his upcoming mission so he doesn't hold everything up, but I don't know if Dark Star is going to be gone for only a couple days or a couple weeks. Fingers crossed he shows up this weekend, at least.
>After a character says “you should leave here. It’s literally a gateway to Hell and I expect the God of Death to be coming out very soon,” he literally “casually,” yes, “casually” goes to try to spend ten fucking minutes staring in front of the gate of hell to encumber himself to make it hard to run away as the apocalypse is happening in the middle of nowhere
I guess we know what his priorities are, at least? I'd probably just GTFO in that situation, but it would be hard leaving behind THAT much potential money. Which I suppose is why he's taking it.
>>106382I’m going to be out both this weekend and next weekend, then court starts back up again that next week
>>106384Damn, that sucks to hear.
>>106379>>106382Sorry about the whole not being up until GM goes to sleep. I haven't been sleeping properly. Yesterday I think I only slept like 2 or 3 hours.>mfw when my actions communicate I am not actually scared of the thing.Iron is indeed encumbering himself because he is stubborn and won't leave behind what he won and want to use for Cauldron.
He knows it's a huge risk, but he has to try. Also yes, I am indeed scared.Although the creature literally charging towards Iron and Cauldron is going to be quite tougher to deal with now. Thankfully it's a jungle,
so there should be obstacles to halt its advance.>>106374Iron, seeing the Wirraway in front of him, has an idea.
With Cauldron in hoof and pots on him, he bolts to it, being sure to swerve behind any sort of trees in order to weaken the charge the creature is doing by having the crash against them instead of him and Cauldron.
"Cauldron! I can see the Wirraway! Do you think you can manage to use the weapon back there?!"
>>106387Cauldron yells at Iron, clearly exasperated
“RUN FASTER, DAMN IT!”
She nimbly darts over bushes and fallen trees, while Iron has much more difficulty dealing with the undergrowth. The deep rain forests, thankfully, are clearer than the bush or smaller canopied forests. The dense canopies 30 meters up block out the sunlight, killing smaller plants that would normally constitute undergrowth, and impede any movement. Half the time, Iron traverses in sheer darkness that makes it impossible to see the trees in front of him. Half the time, all glows in blue light from lightning that manages to shine through the canopy. Sometimes, the lightning pierced through the canopy itself, hitting trees, and sending them crashing down.
Cauldron answer Iron's question with another question
“Against what?”
Iron walls over more than one great, colorful dead bird. Their hollow-boned skeletons have been smashed to pieces when the wind blew them into trees.
>>106387I’m sensing a definite failure to communicate
>>106391You just wanted to prove his point?
>>106394I hope nothing's wrong with me,
cuz hotdamn I have made a lot of mistakes today.>>106388"I am trying!"
Iron, clearly troubled by all the terrain issues and even more sudden dead bodies of the fauna, starts to think this is not something bullets are going to solve.
"NEVERMIND! We keep moving towards the River! Maybe if we follow it, we can get out of this god's range!"
With that, he changes course towards it.
(Maybe the Wirraway will fend it off? I hope so.)
>>106395Through an opening to web in the canopy by a falling tree, Iron sees the other hill, and the lake, which has frozen over in the cold. The lake is in the way of the transit to the opposing hill
>>106396I assume the hill is where I should be going in terms of running to civilization.Praying the balance checks help me. Also possibly luck depending on Iron, desperate to get away from this, tries to go to the other hill without much hesitation crossing through the lake.
(I cannot stop, for it may catch me!)
>>106397As Iron nears the lake, he looses sight of it through the canopy. The trees steadily become smaller, and so the undergrowth becomes thicker, making travel more difficult. Cauldron goes ahead of Iron and tries to quickly slash vines and bushes out of the way. As the trees become smaller the roar of the winds becomes greater, and the bushes shake.
Iron comes to the lake side. There is some snow build up on the lake surface, though most of what falls down is swept away immediately by the winds. It’s getting hard to see the other side. The sky remains a realm of electric blue fire, while a number of lightning strikes are sent down into the forest canopies
>>106398Iron, seeing how the animals' eyes bled out for standing still, prays to whatever god controls the water and starts walking on the ice to cross the other side faster.
(I do not want to imagine what happened to those poor creatures.)
>>106399Cauldron lopes on out ahead of Iron as they both run towards the center of the small lake. Over towards their right, and on the other side, the Wirraway sits submerged as a silent guardian.
Iron is now exposed, and he feels the full, cold wind against him. The ruined town is up there, on the hill. And again, Iron feels as if he is inside of a planet-sized Tesla coil orb, played with by supernatural forces the same way a child in science class would. Blizzard snow makes his vision appear as if in static.
>>106400Does that include having a fuzzy coat and mane?As the fuzziness of Iron's coat both from the cold and the static, Iron's worry levels increases as his
own sight acquires a static effect.
(Wirraway give us strength!) he thinks to himself as he bolts towards it.
>>106401There is no static in the air that is not related to the constant aggressive lightning strikes, and if Iron’s cost really is rising from a sudden surge of static electricity,
then Iron should be fucking terrified.
>>106402Big native not smart.
Iron may see his hair as more pointy than usual for how scared he is.
Still, the Wirraway calls him in a vain hope that it will help him.
>>106404Nice to see you back, GM.
Okay, does anypony want to proceed?
>>106409What about Dark Star? We just going to say they went their separate ways for the moment?
Is Iron kill?
>>106411I guess? But I can say that it doesn’t look like Dark Star will show and who knows how long that could be
>>106412In that case, it would be a good idea.
I will ill miss this dank place when we depart. Silver makes his way back out to his cart, still full of supplies he bought earlier. "Really thought I would use all of this today. Suppose I have all of this for rainy day."
Still though, it's in the way of his work. He drops his supplies off in the farm's basement while he takes the cart back into the catacombs.
So, I suppose he can take his time to put as many books as he can into cart, since there's no more undead...I think. >>106414Then that is exactly what he does.
>>106415Silver wiggles and forces his cart through the narrow turns of the catacomb tunnels, into the subterranean structure
>>106416I am very glad I bought this cart. The catacombs (likely) seem quiet now, with the lack of undead menace. Silver is very glad for it.
He stops at the library, and begins to remove books from their shelves and onto his cart.
Surely it can not take more than couple more trips to finish this. >>106417In fairness, they were quiet before. A bit damp, and fairly cool
There are not many books left
>>106418Silver continues, until either his cart can't take any more, or until the shelves are empty.
>>106407>>106412Darn. At least I didn't miss the post now.
>>106419Right when the cart is over flowing, the shelf is empty
>>106421I suppose I will have to be careful while proceeding forward. I might be able to keep it in cart with magic, I do not know. He'll have to come back for what books he can salvage from the burnt library, but for now he heads back on the way to the Grand Baltimare Hotel.
>>106423He does so, treading on for some time until he arrives back
>>106420Do you think you can continue tonight, or wait?
>>106424"Phew! That was workout!" Silver unhitches himself from his cart to bring some books inside.
>>106425He does so, as a couple guards stare on
>>106424I commit to continuing.
I feel like I need to redeem myself for my morning self.
Last response was
>>106403 >>106426"Nothing like hard day's work!" He heads for Blue's office, figuring that would be the best place to drop the books off.
>>106427>>106401Iron gallops with all that he can for how heavy he is, and he
is very heavy. The ruins are in sight over the top of the hill, and the Wirraway is much closer. Cauldron lopes over the ice, jumping though snow, ahead of Iron. They are a little more than half way over the lake when it happens. It’s hard to hear over the drumbeat if thunder, but there is a distinct
crack under Cauldron, who jumps up away, and Iron cones after her. The ice breaks under Iron’s right hoof first, causing him to break through to the water underneath, and loose balance, the left one breaks through, then his whole body slides forward towards the water. Into the water
>>106428He arrives to find Blue Skies in her office working on writing something out
>>106430"May I come in, Miss Skies?"
>>106431“Hmmm? Oh. Yes. You can come inside”
>>106432If Silver was a more immature pony, he might have commented on the phrasing of that sentence. "Got another cartload of books for you. Outside of hooffull of books I have yet to recover from burned library, this is it."
>>106429Uh oh.
Iron's current sliding towards the water was, admittedly, very obviously going to happen due to how heavy he is.
Can he roll jump to try and get off the path of inminent water splashing time?