This was not their first time heading north, but it was the first time that Morgan could recall Sol had prepared them so heavily. Even when they had traveled in a caravan, and even when they had been gathering the army that would now follow in their wake, there had never been such a focus on preparation. Before, Sol had been satisfied to lead and to leave the soldiers to tend to themselves, clearly more interested in them as a representation than any actual united front, but now it was far different. Now, Sol seemed to expect something much more from them than simply a face of unity.
Titan was unnerved by it: part of him worried that this was Sol falling back on old habits, wanting to use pawns to do her fighting for her. And Morgan was almost insulted: she had absolute faith in her own abilities as well as that of her siblings, after all, and believed wholeheartedly that they should be the ones to do all the fighting, if it came to that. In fact, she had grown eager to test herself against these threatening new monsters that had invaded Equestria, whatever they were: her blood boiled for battle, and demanded that she fight these monsters and prove her worth and superiority.
But Sol was neither planning to use these soldiers as merely pawns, and nor did she have ultimate faith in her own family's abilities: for the first time, she found herself questioning whether or not this was a foe they could defeat. For she sensed grave and terrible things, and felt a magic in the air that made her skin crawl and her very soul shudder: there was something poisonous and malicious about this presence, and the more she had studied it, the more worried she had become.
And as they made their way closer to the source of this darkness, this evil, Sol could feel her sense of foreboding only growing greater and greater by the moment. Yes, this wasn't like anything they had ever faced before, and she felt they would need the help of every pony: and not merely as fodder or distractions, but their actual aid in defeating this terrible new enemy.
Sure, Morgan dismissed many of the rumors, and Sol felt like there was no point in trying to correct her: at best, Morgan would scoff, and at worst, her paladin coltfriend would spread rumors into the ranks that they were marching into the battle they could not win, and Sol could not have her forces losing morale and confidence here and now. The rumors that they did hear as they made their way north was bad enough: if the soldiers found out that their mighty leaders, these three legendary heroes of Equestria, might not be enough to fight off this worsening storm...
Sol didn't want to imagine the consequences. No, it was better to bide her time for now: to wait, as they went north, and only keep her soldiers prepared as best she could. Titan trusted in her, and Morgan, even if brash, would always be ready to fight. And this foe, whatever else it was, would require all her cunning and all her strategy to best... not just all of their raw strength. It would require teamwork, and unity... and for a prophecy she had once been told many years ago to come true...
A prophecy, that stated that if they found a way to bring their three races together, ponykind would be unstoppable... and would finally conquer this wild, untamed land of Equestria.
Thursday 24 July 2014
Friday 18 July 2014
The Legend of Sol, Morgan, and Titan: Preparations
There was much to be done, if they were going to march north to try and meet this new threat: the soldiers would need to be marshaled, allies would need to be called upon, and equipment prepared. But Sol had already seen to much of this, and even sent scouts ahead to find out what they could about the enemy.
All they had received so far were strange messages, and impossible claims from the few survivors: things like how the mere presence of these creatures had been enough to kill. But Sol did not believe that such powerful evil could exist: there was always a root, a cause, a trick to the power of the foe: there was nothing in the world so powerful that it could kill by presence alone.
Titan was less sure: he felt a great malignancy in the earth, and heard mother nature crying out that she had been infected, poisoned. And the stars and night spoke of great and terrible evils to Morgan, but with the sweet distraction of love swaddling her mind, it became harder and harder to pay attention to these complex signals, and instead only revel in the tenderness and warmth of her paladin. Her paladin, who was always so kind and warmhearted and loving, and told her again and again that he would be by her side, fighting by her and her siblings, ready to do anything and everything it took to help defend their proud nation from the fury of these unknown and vile beasts.
Sol disliked the way Morgan's attention was lured away by her paladin lover, but what she did enjoy was being able to make good use of the templar's connections to his order. He was young, but noble and of growing renown, an officer who was steadily proving himself, and had been granted privileges inside his order: privileges and promises that Sol used to her advantage, calling in favors and urging on the holy knights towards defending their nation, their faith, and most of all, their pride.
The baron was uneasy, but at the same time, relieved: after all, the fact that Sol was raising an army of her own to take north meant that his own army would be able to concentrate on defending him and his territory. He recognized how dangerous Sol was as a leader, even more than as a warrior, but he also recognized that these three heroes were no threat to him so long as there were evils to be vanquished, and he continued to offer his aid freely: perhaps this was why he was glad to not only provide the carriages and transports that Sol asked for, but in fact offered a contingent of his own servants and soldiers to escort them.
It was an offer that Sol gladly accepted: and so, along with her siblings, and an army composed mainly of templars and holy knights, Sol began the long journey towards the edge of the Gray Mountains... a place where, for the first time in her life, she would come to understand the meaning of fear.
All they had received so far were strange messages, and impossible claims from the few survivors: things like how the mere presence of these creatures had been enough to kill. But Sol did not believe that such powerful evil could exist: there was always a root, a cause, a trick to the power of the foe: there was nothing in the world so powerful that it could kill by presence alone.
Titan was less sure: he felt a great malignancy in the earth, and heard mother nature crying out that she had been infected, poisoned. And the stars and night spoke of great and terrible evils to Morgan, but with the sweet distraction of love swaddling her mind, it became harder and harder to pay attention to these complex signals, and instead only revel in the tenderness and warmth of her paladin. Her paladin, who was always so kind and warmhearted and loving, and told her again and again that he would be by her side, fighting by her and her siblings, ready to do anything and everything it took to help defend their proud nation from the fury of these unknown and vile beasts.
Sol disliked the way Morgan's attention was lured away by her paladin lover, but what she did enjoy was being able to make good use of the templar's connections to his order. He was young, but noble and of growing renown, an officer who was steadily proving himself, and had been granted privileges inside his order: privileges and promises that Sol used to her advantage, calling in favors and urging on the holy knights towards defending their nation, their faith, and most of all, their pride.
The baron was uneasy, but at the same time, relieved: after all, the fact that Sol was raising an army of her own to take north meant that his own army would be able to concentrate on defending him and his territory. He recognized how dangerous Sol was as a leader, even more than as a warrior, but he also recognized that these three heroes were no threat to him so long as there were evils to be vanquished, and he continued to offer his aid freely: perhaps this was why he was glad to not only provide the carriages and transports that Sol asked for, but in fact offered a contingent of his own servants and soldiers to escort them.
It was an offer that Sol gladly accepted: and so, along with her siblings, and an army composed mainly of templars and holy knights, Sol began the long journey towards the edge of the Gray Mountains... a place where, for the first time in her life, she would come to understand the meaning of fear.
Thursday 10 July 2014
The Legend of Sol, Morgan, and Titan: Dark Tidings
Sol knew that something was wrong long before the messenger arrived, as did Titan: for Titan heard it in the earth, and while Sol had distance herself from nature, she all the same heard the cries of the world itself, rebelling against the evil that had taken root in it.
Even Morgan, despite the fact that her newfound romance had left her attention lesser than usual, saw the signs of rising malevolence in the night sky, was warned of the evil by the stars as much as the earth beneath her hooves. Her paladin lover seemed blind to it, but he was young and naive, believing more in the laws of his Order than the powers-that-were that his Order was supposed to serve.
But that was not to say all were blind to the menace: no, for even as monsters withdrew from the lands around Canterlot, mages and others gave grave warnings that a great and terrible evil was coming. And news and rumors came from far and wide about swamps growing larger, and crops failing, and sightings of great wingless black dragons that left rot and death behind them.
Whatever it was, Sol understood that this evil had to be taken care of: whatever it was, it seemed to be threatening all of Equestria, with no interest in anything apart from destruction. But Sol found this hard to believe: what could possibly exist that truly desired only destruction? What kind of living creature would want to hunt its prey to extinction, and leave itself no home, no food, nothing but barren wastes?
Even the undead, she knew, had their goals and aspirations: Veliuona's lieutenant had craved power, but also gaudily decorated herself. The undead that had served under her had been neat and tidy: perhaps not disciplined, but not the mindless, restless dead that many Equestrians were more familiar with. They had goals, and more importantly, they had the minds to work towards getting those goals done.
Dragons hoarded gemstones and glutted themselves on ponies, but they were known to seek out other prey when ponies became scarce or worried: they didn't risk themselves or their food unnecessarily. The same held true for most other beasts, whether intelligent or not.
But whatever these new monsters were... all three of the siblings felt they did not just know no remorse, and no mercy... they also would never stop, until they had spread their malice far and wide. The night warned that they had no souls; nature said that they were nothing of her creation; and the briefest scrying showed that they had enough power to destroy Equestria if they were left unchecked.
And then, the message came: these rumors had become reality as the creatures had crawled out of the Gray Mountains, and slaughtered everyone in their path. Entire villages had been reduced to ruin, and crops painted red with blood, and the ground rotted away to black mire and poison. They came, and the few ponies who had survived had gone insane from whatever they had witnessed: they could do little more than cry and hallucinate, clutching their heads and claiming that they could still hear the voices of the beasts in their minds.
Sol knew this was both a great threat as well as a great opportunity: she would rally friends and allies together and form an army to take north, to combat this threat. But Titan was afraid that this was not the time for politics, and this would only lead to ruin and the death of many friends; he found little support in Morgan, however, who was torn between her loyalties. To Sol, to Titan... and now, to her paladin lover, who declared that he and his fellow soldiers were ready and eager to fight beside the three siblings.
But none of them could have ever been prepared for the hatred and the suffering that they would face when they finally encountered their first Tyrant Wyrm.
Even Morgan, despite the fact that her newfound romance had left her attention lesser than usual, saw the signs of rising malevolence in the night sky, was warned of the evil by the stars as much as the earth beneath her hooves. Her paladin lover seemed blind to it, but he was young and naive, believing more in the laws of his Order than the powers-that-were that his Order was supposed to serve.
But that was not to say all were blind to the menace: no, for even as monsters withdrew from the lands around Canterlot, mages and others gave grave warnings that a great and terrible evil was coming. And news and rumors came from far and wide about swamps growing larger, and crops failing, and sightings of great wingless black dragons that left rot and death behind them.
Whatever it was, Sol understood that this evil had to be taken care of: whatever it was, it seemed to be threatening all of Equestria, with no interest in anything apart from destruction. But Sol found this hard to believe: what could possibly exist that truly desired only destruction? What kind of living creature would want to hunt its prey to extinction, and leave itself no home, no food, nothing but barren wastes?
Even the undead, she knew, had their goals and aspirations: Veliuona's lieutenant had craved power, but also gaudily decorated herself. The undead that had served under her had been neat and tidy: perhaps not disciplined, but not the mindless, restless dead that many Equestrians were more familiar with. They had goals, and more importantly, they had the minds to work towards getting those goals done.
Dragons hoarded gemstones and glutted themselves on ponies, but they were known to seek out other prey when ponies became scarce or worried: they didn't risk themselves or their food unnecessarily. The same held true for most other beasts, whether intelligent or not.
But whatever these new monsters were... all three of the siblings felt they did not just know no remorse, and no mercy... they also would never stop, until they had spread their malice far and wide. The night warned that they had no souls; nature said that they were nothing of her creation; and the briefest scrying showed that they had enough power to destroy Equestria if they were left unchecked.
And then, the message came: these rumors had become reality as the creatures had crawled out of the Gray Mountains, and slaughtered everyone in their path. Entire villages had been reduced to ruin, and crops painted red with blood, and the ground rotted away to black mire and poison. They came, and the few ponies who had survived had gone insane from whatever they had witnessed: they could do little more than cry and hallucinate, clutching their heads and claiming that they could still hear the voices of the beasts in their minds.
Sol knew this was both a great threat as well as a great opportunity: she would rally friends and allies together and form an army to take north, to combat this threat. But Titan was afraid that this was not the time for politics, and this would only lead to ruin and the death of many friends; he found little support in Morgan, however, who was torn between her loyalties. To Sol, to Titan... and now, to her paladin lover, who declared that he and his fellow soldiers were ready and eager to fight beside the three siblings.
But none of them could have ever been prepared for the hatred and the suffering that they would face when they finally encountered their first Tyrant Wyrm.
Thursday 3 July 2014
Today Luna Learned...
That even though the computer is powered by electricity, you cannot simply shoot it with lightning to turn it on. That is very bad and causes the computer to die.
I guess we'll have to see that crazy mare about this. The one who's even more butch than Luna. That should be fun, really.
I have this horrible feeling I'm going to regret this. And end up either on fire or electrocuted. Or both. Probably most likely both.
~Scrivener Blooms
I guess we'll have to see that crazy mare about this. The one who's even more butch than Luna. That should be fun, really.
I have this horrible feeling I'm going to regret this. And end up either on fire or electrocuted. Or both. Probably most likely both.
~Scrivener Blooms
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