Welcome back to Occupied Equestria
Dark Star, Silver, Iron, and Midnight continue their investigation and hopefully, the take down of a group of organized criminals who have taken up operations at an old fortress on the sea shore. They have already rescued a number of creatures and persuaded them to join in their efforts. Now, they most hope that they can strike with enough force, and quickly enough, to destroy the evil that has taken up residence there.
Up in the North, the ponies are waking up, ready for a new day
1547 replies and 152 files omitted.
>>118075"I would think they would be walking down these hallways..."
>>118075>>118077Iron nods to the gnoll, turning to Sands.
"So, how good are you at sneaking up on ponies?"
>>118076Silver can only stare, as he already mentioned feathers.
>>118077"We should keep lookout then until we are ready."
>>118078"Literally? Decent. Metaphorically? Pretty great"
>>118081They are planning out how to take down a group of more than a dozen griffins
>>118081We found where the majority of guards are. We're making plans on how to deal with them without dying.
>>118080Iron can't process the metaphor he inadvertly placed on the table, giving her a blank, confused look before shaking his head.
"I believe we will need some stealthy takedowns."
>>118083Killing them first is a good idea
>>118084>StealthyOr you could be boring I guess
>>118085I have to be honest, but I don't trust the team to be able to take down 24 griffons, not to mention more than 10.
>>118084She shrugs at the native's unfamiliarity with metaphors
"Maybe I can help with take downs..."
>>118088Iron hums a bit before looking at Mala and back at her.
"Sneak up on Mala and poke his ear without him noticing you."
>>118089She nods to him, slowly, and develops a sly grin. She stands there at first, doing nothing, until it happens that Mala turns his head. Then she slowly, casually, walks back around Mala, slowly placing her hooves down, and doing so by pressing down the tip of the hoof before the remainder. She walks around him to his left side, stands there for a second, then lifts a hoof up and
*tap*
"Whoop!"
Mala runs forward several feet, then looks back at what startled him
>>118090Iron can't help but chuckle at Mala's display, nodding at Sands eagerly.
"You definitely have the capability to do so."
He beckons Mala over with a smile.
"Do not worry. It was I who did it."
>>118090Silver himself is startled by Mala's sudden reaction.
>>118090Midnight looks surprised by the reaction
>>118091Mala looks over at Iron uncertainly
>>118092"I'm... It's okay"
>>118093Sands: "What?"
>>118095Silver nods. "Good to hear."
>>118095Iron gestures him not to come if he wants to.
"It was merely an act of jest."
He walks next to Sands with a goofy smile.
"Am I right?"
>>118097She's looking down, then quickly looks back up to Iron with almost surprise
Huh?"
>>118093>>118094>>118096Mala looks back over at each of the three, then lowers his head, and walks away. His padded feet need little care to make no noise
>>118095"I Wasnt Expecting that."
>>118098Iron merely chuckles again.
"It is alright."
He pats Sands on her back lightly, before turning serious.
"Do you notice in here any spots where ponies can hide in?"
>>118098Midnight trots after him
"Wait! There is no reason to be embarrassed."
>>118098Dark star follows behind him
"Its ok friend. everypony gets scared sometimes, its not that big of a deal."
>>118099She says, pointing at Iron
“Well he asked me to do it!”
>>118100“This place is like if a hospital were built by a prison designer.
Of course there are plenty of places to hide”
>>118101>>118102When a Midnight, then Dark Star, speaks to him as he is walking off, his triangular ears go up, and he turns around back
“Oh... Okay”
>>118103Sneaky reference to the building's previous nature.Iron nods, smiling.
"Good. We need to find a particular spot where all of us can hide in so we can all form an ambush area. Could you point me where that place could be?"
>>118104>>118103Midnight smiles at him and joins Star in petting him
>>118104>>118106Mala is pet, and it seems his head and tail both go up from their lowered position. It’s seems he even smiles
>>118105“Well I don’t know. I haven’t seen most of the building. Are you trying to lure them in or something? Hit them from a distance?”
>>118107Knowing most weapons are melee oriented if stealth is wanted, Iron formulates his plan.
"I want to catch unawares any guard or griffon that patrols or simply strolls around the hallways without a care in the world. Preferrably, it should be at a distance where melee weapons can be effective without them alerting the others."
Not to mention maybe having to separate into groups~ >>118107"Don't Worry about it. you're a Good Boy."
>>118108“And you want to.... do what with them?”
Blue Skies, the eternal eavesdropper, adds a comment of her own,
“According to the design information, there should be a second floor railing that would overlook the ground floor. Same with the third floor”
>>118109Now he’s definitely smiling, and even wiggles his tail
>>118110Iron shrugs.
"Thin their numbers to make fighting the rest easier."
He nods at Skies' comment.
"I assume that could be useful if we wanted to pick targets off at range. Maybe you and Sands could open fire when the guards are alerted of the melee ponies' presence, but I need both of your cunning to properly set the others up in good ambush locations."
>>118111“If you knew where you wanted the sword fighters, and you had bow mares at range in protected areas, that could help take on many of them”
She smiles
“Of course if you want to take them out one by one, I may be able to help...”
It’s not clear if Skies, with the body of a griffin, is exceptionally physically attractive by griffin standards or not, but something in her smile suggests she could milk it for all it’s worth
>>118112Iron strokes his chin for a bit.
"Alright. You convinced me, but do not start just yet. I still need to find a good spot for you to lure griffons into."
He decides to look around the hallways for any spare rooms, corners and furniture to set up a good ambushing position near him.
>>118113A bedroom, a small room used by guards, a supply and cleaning closet, and a public bathroom
>>118114He decides to check on the small room used by guards first.
(Maybe this will be the most spacious and filled with hiding spots for an ambush.)
>>118115A bit underwhelming as far as "hiding spots" go. The best is a desk
>>118116Iron is a bit taken aback as to how empty the room is, walking out with a small pout.
He tries the bedroom next to check for any ambushing spots.
>>118117Not empty, just not full of tall grass or jugle brush that would allow ambushes
The bedroom has the bed itself, maybe a dresser or curtains, but in general is mostly open and makes jumping out difficult
>>118118Iron huffs in apparent frustration, hoping that maybe the storage closet has a lot more places to hide.
(Who knows? Maybe the bathrooms are the best spot to ambush on.)
>>118119The closet, likewise, has a simple layout. Certainly one can pop out. What is harder, is getting someone in the room, while hiding somewhere else in the room, without the new entrant knowing the other is hiding elsewhere in the same room. Most of these designs are too simple to enable
that, except maybe minor furniture like desks
>>118120Iron hums to himself as he enters the bathroom.
(Maybe if I move the furniture around...)
>>118121Now this is a more complex structure. It has closed stalls off to the left with sinks on the far side, and over to the right are public shower spaces, including white plastic curtains
>>118122He beckons Sands and Skies over to the bathrooms to test the hiding spots out.
"Could you both enter the shower space and close the curtains? I want to test how well these things will cover us as well as how spacious they are."
>>118124That's it?
Iron really wants to know how well they're hidden by the curtains.
"Are you both comfortable in there?" he asks the two rogue-ish mares.
>>118125"I mean... There's standing space"
The curtains are translucent, and allow a silhouette to be seen on the other side when close, but they are harder to see when standing further away from the curtain
>>118126Iron nods to himself, before coming over to their shower space and moving off the curtains to see how spacious it really is.
>>118127Something like 6 meters by 3 meters
>>118128Iron hums to himself, before grinning.
"Alright, try to tackle me from here."
>>118126Dark Star walks back over to the group with mala
>>118131It’s a strange situation, as not everyone in the group is made fir combat, nor can they be hid easily. The possibility if some creature stumbling upon Meadows, for example, standing in the hallway, is rather high
>>118130"I want you two to tackle me from there to ensure that more than one pony can succeed in coming out ready to dish out the pain from your position."
Iron shrugs as his deep stab is apparent on his side.
"I will be fine. Do not worry."
Hmmm..., do the ponies want to do anything?
>>118148Yeah, but our group can't exactly advance with only one player.
>>118150I mean, Iron kind of did. If nothing else, maybe some planning, exploring, or interactions
>>118149We’ve been over this a thousand times.
No. >>118151>>118152Silver looks at what Iron is trying to do in the bathroom. "Hiding in stalls would be better option, though they have even less space."
>>118133Skies blinks, Sands stands steady
“Are you serious”
>>118151Iron glances at Silver.
"While that may be true, it does not hurt to try more spacious spaces, especially since we have bigger ponies to hide."
>>118154Iron nods with certainty
"I do not wish to take the chance that more than one pony inside this space may trip over eachother if they try to pounce on the target at the same time."
>>118155Skies still looks unsure. Sands however... lunges forth at Iron
>>118156With a grin, Iron readies his body against Sands' lunge with the slightest changes to his posture.
>>118157And so, Iron readies himself, presumably by spreading his legs a little further apart.
If Sands had a little more weight to her, greater speed, possibly a height advantage, or more of an element of surprise, she may well have knocked Iron off his hooves. Yet none of that is present here. She hits Iron like a solid wall. Her forehooves spread over his pack, she lands on him with an “Uph!” Then kind of twists around, and falls off.
For Iron, it’s like being beaten with a very large pillow
>>118158Dark Star stifles a laugh
>>118158Iron extends a foreleg to soften Sands' fall, making her land safely on the ground.
He nods approvingly, smiling.
"That was quite good. Now go back to the showers, please."
He turns to Skies.
"I want both you and Sands to attempt the tackle. I want to see if there is any issue from charging from the shower space at the same time. You can start the countdown if you so desire to have a better flow."
>>118159She frowns back at Dark Star
>>118160Iron extends a hind leg out to under where Sands falls. Her rump lands on this hind leg, which bends a little under the weight, and Sand’s ingloriously staffers and stands back up. She looks back with vague offense at the directive “back to the showers,” but seems to do so nevertheless
>>118160“Because I’m so excited to have a part in
that... anyways, I think the curtains would be more of a hinderance, getting in the way, possibly being torn down, and blocking the view of the target
>>118161Iron nods.
"If you are not going to do it, it is alright. You do not have to go into the showers again, Sands. Good job, by the way. I am pretty sure I would have been swept off my hooves if I had not seen it coming."
He ponders for a bit, walking towards Sands and giving her a stroke on her mane as he thinks.
"I see the issue. However, we can easily position either Silver, Mala or I on the stall closest to the door and cut off any escape, and I do not think a scream in here is going to be heard that much."
>>118162Sands giggles lightly at the “swept off my feet” remark, then let’s Iron stroke her mane. It’s a little messed up
>>118162>>118159>>118153Blue Skies:
“So.... is your plan to capture some griffins, tie them up, and leave them in stalls for Immigration to find later?”
>>118164Iron nods while he takes out the pick Skies gave him for to clean up Sands' mane from the nassty, messy and unruly hairs.
"The more the merrier. Not to mention it decreases the amount of griffons we have to take out later."
>>118164"That could work. i was thinking we put them out of their misery though."
>>118165“I mean, what kind of attack exactly do you intend to make?”
>>118166“.... just so long as you know what you intend to do”
>>118167"Overrun any griffon you attract here, hopefully the strongest first. Damage their overall strength. If we can take them alive for questioning, it is a plus in making things easier to prosecute and stop."
Iron turns his attention to the mean hairs, combing the messiness out of her hair.
>>118167"I Intend to burn this place down."
>>118168Sands closes her eyes as Iron does his work. Thankfully the hair is mostly still straight from the last time he did it, and her hair comes down in her flowing red mane
“Alright...”
>>118169“That’s kind of hard to do, when it is is brick and stone”
>>118170Iron smiles warmly, with the usual shade of red on his cheeks, staring intently
(I just want to nuzzle that smooth, soft mane of hers.)
He glances at Skies with a dreamy gaze.
"If you want to kill them, you can do that."
>>118170"i'll find a way."
Dark Star looks determined
>>118171It's not as red as her bright but light red mane
"I wasn't saying that either. Maybe you'll get some good information out quickly, just be ready for risks like them alerting others, or being found later."
Sands smiles back at him in a very warm way, and party lowers her eyelids. She leans her head slightly into his hoof
>>118172Skies lowers her head slightly and looks up to Dark Star with her sly grin, a grin that carries even more malice in her griffin body
>>118173Dark star matches her grin with one of his own.
>>118174"Just be sure to never use deadly force on mere aliens or petty criminals. If the government wanted this place blasted to the ground, they'd have the navy shell it"
>>118175"these are far more than just petty criminals."
>>118176"Well... even now, no one knows that except us... Us and Them... If the Principality uncovered anything like this.. If They were even doing this back then... They sealed it away. The State just thinks its mundane creature smuggling"
>>118177"they'll see after they look at the evidence we have got."
>>118178"What exactly do you think is going on here?"
>>118179"All sorts of smuggling,Foalnapping, and a host of other degenerate activities,im sure."
>>118179Silver speaks up. "When we first entered, Dark Star managed to intimidate pair of gnolls who then let slip name of their organization: Intercontinentals."