[FWM] One Life to Pony: MLP Without the Kiddy Thread 8

[TheAmishPirate]

My Little Pony: Friendship Was Magic

In Equestria, the monsters are kept in safe places, and can be beaten off with hugs and clothing and angry stares.
In Equestria, a benevolent goddess raises the sun and the moon, and keeps the world in harmony.
In Equestria, the concept of danger is barely understood.

This is not that Equestria.

The town of Bridle Shores lies near a lake, and is one of the cities that survived the revolution. The heroic Moon Goddess, and her student, overthrew the Burning Hate of the Iron Hoof, saving Equestria from the searing, unending summer that raged for years. Even now, she tries to hold against the monsters, the literal armies of feral species that attack.

This is not the Equestria you know. Friendship has power, love may yet triumph. But evil is not just a word. Go out into the woods today, and be sure to take an axe, or make sure you have that fireball spell on a hair-trigger. If you want to keep your life... you'd better work for it.

Rules?

Spoiler

Show

Q: So, how dark are we talking?
A: As dark as Exalted or a darkish d&d game, no more. The idea should be that things ARE fixable.

Q: What kind of RP is this?
A: More active than the non-grimdark. The added darkness makes actual adventure-style plots more viable. We could have wars against [unspecified villains], Celestial cults, and dungeoncrawling!

Q: Anything else?
A: Yes. Dark or no dark, keep within the board rules.

Q: Hullaballoo.
A: Calloo callay!

Q: Is that all?
A: No. Whatever you do, do NOT forget about spell 87. Or else. Now have fun.

Links

Spoiler

Show

FwM OOC
FwM Plot/Recruitment Thread
SoftLight Out of Character
SoftLight Recruitment
Main Pony Thread
FwM - Thread 1
FwM - Thread 2
FwM - Thread 3
FwM - Thread 4
FwM-Thread 5
FwM-Thread 6
FwM-Thread 7

And so it continues...

(Why did nopony tell me the title was misspelled for all of last thread? )

[Mindfreak]

Sandy frowned, and sat beside his friend. "I'm sure she'll do just fine. She's got Rainbow and the Cap'n with her, after all. And there's always letters. You'll still be able to talk to her and such, just not quite the same way."

Blaze
Blaze sighed.
"Yeah, I know Captain is with her, Rainbow and Silverpine too it's just...if something happened to her I know I'd just blame myself for not being there..."
He looked at Sandy.
"What about you, are you worried about Rainbow?"

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
Blaze sighed.
"Yeah, I know Captain is with her, Rainbow and Silverpine too it's just...if something happened to her I know I'd just blame myself for not being there..."
He looked at Sandy.
"What about you, are you worried about Rainbow?"

"Rainbow? I'd be more worried about the thing what tries to get after her." His quiet chuckles quickly turned into nervous, awkward laughter. "Heh...heh.......eh, I guess I am a little nervous about her. It's...not that I don't think she can handle herself. She just seemed awful convinced that I wasn't comin' back or some Trottingham filly would catch my eye. I guess...maybe I'm worried that she's worried? I don't know." He leaned against the tent pole; for some reason, his legs were feeling a bit stiff. Probably just sore from the battle yesterday. "Maybe I should start writin' a letter now. So I can get it off t'her just as soon as we get there."

[Grif]

"Well at least you've gotten yourself a day off tomorrow unless you really like digging for information," Staccata replied before laying down.

"I suppose..." Tyrol said, shaking his head. His mind turned to more idle matters. "Staccata... maybe we could... um... grab a lunch together tomorrow." Yeah. Tyrol was still bad at this.

Arvadraa looks between Shell Shock and the griffon, first blinking with confusion at the demolitions explanation, then blinking some more at the 'my kind' line, then continues the blink-fest at the conversation's new turn. She looks down at the bar in deep thought.

"How much of a threat would you say this place that needs to be scouted presents? On a scale from injured fly to rabid dragon." She takes another quaff.

Shell Shock shrugged helplessly. (I think the griffon would answer this better.)

[Mindfreak]

"Rainbow? I'd be more worried about the thing what tries to get after her." His quiet chuckles quickly turned into nervous, awkward laughter. "Heh...heh.......eh, I guess I am a little nervous about her. It's...not that I don't think she can handle herself. She just seemed awful convinced that I wasn't comin' back or some Trottingham filly would catch my eye. I guess...maybe I'm worried that she's worried? I don't know." He leaned against the tent pole; for some reason, his legs were feeling a bit stiff. Probably just sore from the battle yesterday. "Maybe I should start writin' a letter now. So I can get it off t'her just as soon as we get there."

Blaze
"That's what I'm going to do with Hover, send her a letter as soon as possible..."
"..."
"Well, since we're both up, mind telling me a bit more about Copper and Snow? Are they married or what?"

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
"That's what I'm going to do with Hover, send her a letter as soon as possible..."
"..."
"Well, since we're both up, mind telling me a bit more about Copper and Snow? Are they married or what?"

"Them two? Married? Oh pony princesses, they'd drive each other mad within the week." Sandy shook with quiet laughter. "Aye, but they've always been close. More like brother and sister than anythin'. Knew 'em for as long as I can remember, and a right pair of scamps they were. They always managed to drag me along on whatever crazy scheme got into their heads. 'Course they always stuck around to bail me right out."

He smiled wistfully, remembering the happy times before the Joke hit. "Then they went and grew up and somehow we ended up with a pair of dependable, hardworking ponies. Snow, once she found she had a knack for medicine, she saw us through every cold or fever or bug that came our way. Copper always had his eye on deputy mayor. We never had a pony who could handle trade like he did. But they always managed to stick together, them two. Copper would help out around her clinic, and Snow would go with him to make sure we weren't gettin' swindled when we traded for herbs and medicines." He glanced over to the tent they shared, imagining the two of them managing to bicker in their dreams. "Honestly? It don't surprise me one bit that they're workin' together on this."

[Mindfreak]

Blaze
Blaze nodded his head in understanding.
"The only thing left that's bothering me is why haven't I heard anything about a Joke outbreak in Trottingham? You'd think that'd be big news..."
He did own a radio after all, you'd think that he'd hear about it from his favorite radio DJ: Spin Discs.

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
Blaze nodded his head in understanding.
"The only thing left that's bothering me is why haven't I heard anything about a Joke outbreak in Trottingham? You'd think that'd be big news..."
He did own a radio after all, you'd think that he'd hear about it from his favorite radio DJ: Spin Discs.

"Joke outbreak? There's no outbreak. That's just where their equipment is. They didn't want to haul it all to Bridle Shores." Sandy explained, sitting down. His back hind leg was giving him grief. Note to self; never let dire wolves chew on your flank. The side effects are pretty harsh.

[Mindfreak]

"Joke outbreak? There's no outbreak. That's just where their equipment is. They didn't want to haul it all to Bridle Shores." Sandy explained, sitting down. His back hind leg was giving him grief. Note to self; never let dire wolves chew on your flank. The side effects are pretty harsh.

Blaze
Blaze's eye twitched.
"So, we're walking all the way to Trottingham so they can test you there when the outbreak isn't even there? That's ridiculous! Do they even know the number of beasts that could attack us between Bridal Shores and Trottingham? Why would they want to risk a walk through the woods when we could take a train or have a unicorn teleport us?"

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
Blaze's eye twitched.
"So, we're walking all the way to Trottingham so they can test you there when the outbreak isn't even there? That's ridiculous! Do they even know the number of beasts that could attack us between Bridal Shores and Trottingham? Why would they want to risk a walk through the woods when we could take a train or have a unicorn teleport us?"

"Woah! Easy there, I'm sure they've got a perfectly good reason for it. Like...uh...well..." Sandy furrowed his brow and paused in thought. "Um...I...well, I'm sure there's some reason for it. Maybe they just couldn't afford it. Teleports can be expensive. And...well, maybe we're trying for a town that does have a train station?" he offered.

(OOC: Teleport I thought was too expensive for them to afford. Train? Completely forgot those probably exist in a world where airships are a thing. Good thing it makes sense in character. )

[Mindfreak]

"Woah! Easy there, I'm sure they've got a perfectly good reason for it. Like...uh...well..." Sandy furrowed his brow and paused in thought. "Um...I...well, I'm sure there's some reason for it. Maybe they just couldn't afford it. Teleports can be expensive. And...well, maybe we're trying for a town that does have a train station?" he offered.

(OOC: Teleport I thought was too expensive for them to afford. Train? Completely forgot those probably exist in a world where airships are a thing. Good thing it makes sense in character. )

Blaze
"We could at least go on the train to a town close to Trottingham and walk from there. The woods around Bridal Shores are dangerous. Even I wouldn't want to take a walk around here without a good reason. Anything could happen out here!"
((I only remembered trains because they've been shown in the show twice, once to Appaloosa and once to the Hearth's Warming Eve play I believe.))

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
"We could at least go on the train to a town close to Trottingham and walk from there. The woods around Bridal Shores are dangerous. Even I wouldn't want to take a walk around here without a good reason. Anything could happen out here!"
((I only remembered trains because they've been shown in the show twice, once to Appaloosa and once to the Hearth's Warming Eve play I believe.))

"Yeah, and that's why we took the route along the plains, remember? Although, I guess it's still fairly open. And still within walking distance to the woods. And...hm..." As much as he hated to admit it, Blaze was making a lot of sense here. There wasn't much reason to risk overland travel like this. "*sigh* I see your point. Alright, I'll talk it over with Snow and Copper in the morning. See if we can't make the rest of this trip on train or somethin' else safer. There should be a station in Del Mare; not too far from here if I remember correctly. If we hustle, I bet we can make it there easy."

[MCerberus]

"I suppose..." Tyrol said, shaking his head. His mind turned to more idle matters. "Staccata... maybe we could... um... grab a lunch together tomorrow." Yeah. Tyrol was still bad at this.

"If nothing catches fire," Staccata responds while laying down and grabbing at the blanket. She yawns again and remarks, "Something always catches fire," slightly quieter than normal.

Shell Shock shrugged helplessly. (I think the griffon would answer this better.)

"I'd doubt that they're rabid," the griffon flatly replies without any hint and facetiousness. "But Equestrians seem blind to what lives in their own forests for some reason."


"It is late, now however. I trust neither of you were planning anything too violent?"

[Mindfreak]

"Yeah, and that's why we took the route along the plains, remember? Although, I guess it's still fairly open. And still within walking distance to the woods. And...hm..." As much as he hated to admit it, Blaze was making a lot of sense here. There wasn't much reason to risk overland travel like this. "*sigh* I see your point. Alright, I'll talk it over with Snow and Copper in the morning. See if we can't make the rest of this trip on train or somethin' else safer. There should be a station in Del Mare; not too far from here if I remember correctly. If we hustle, I bet we can make it there easy."

Blaze
"Very well then, though I'd suggest that we leave now since we're all so well rested."
I suspect the hour mark for the poison should be coming up soon...

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
"Very well then, though I'd suggest that we leave now since we're all so well rested."
I suspect the hour mark for the poison should be coming up soon...

Sandy climbed to his own hooves, and was surprised to find them shaking, straining to lift his weight. They hay?! Was he really that sore and tired from the fight? No time for that; he tried to hold them still and gave Blaze his best no-nonsense glare. He did outrank the pegasus, after all. And if the Captain taught him one thing, it was that subordinates came first. "Ya'll didn't get any rest, Blaze. You sure you're up for a run?"

[Mindfreak]

Sandy climbed to his own hooves, and was surprised to find them shaking, straining to lift his weight. They hay?! Was he really that sore and tired from the fight? No time for that; he tried to hold them still and gave Blaze his best no-nonsense glare. He did outrank the pegasus, after all. And if the Captain taught him one thing, it was that subordinates came first. "Ya'll didn't get any rest, Blaze. You sure you're up for a run?"

Blaze
"Yeah, I am. We didn't make much headway anyways today since we left around noon and then I had my thoughts to keep me up."
He looked at Sandy's shaking legs.
"Sandy...are you okay?"

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
"Yeah, I am. We didn't make much headway anyways today since we left around noon and then I had my thoughts to keep me up."
He looked at Sandy's shaking legs.
"Sandy...are you okay?"

Sandy's breath came in gasps as his legs shook beyond his control; he could feel the strength leaving him. "I...I don't...*gasp*...thought I was just...just sore from them wolves I...*wheeze*...don't feel so...hrrk!" With a final, choking breath, he crumpled to the ground and lay still.

[Mindfreak]

Sandy's breath came in gasps as his legs shook beyond his control; he could feel the strength leaving him. "I...I don't...*gasp*...thought I was just...just sore from them wolves I...*wheeze*...don't feel so...hrrk!" With a final, choking breath, he crumpled to the ground and lay still.

Blaze
Blaze's mouth hung open in surprise.
He then ran out of his tent to Snow and Copper's tent.
"Snow! Copper! Come quick! I think Sandy's...dead."

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
Blaze's mouth hung open in surprise.
He then ran out of his tent to Snow and Copper's tent.
"Snow! Copper! Come quick! I think Sandy's...dead."

Snow and Copper were awake in a flash. A little too fast for ponies who were supposed to be asleep. Snow cantered to the fallen pony as Copper grabbed Blaze by the shoulders. "What!? Our Sandy's....dead?! What happened, tell us stallion!"

Meanwhile, Snow put a hoof to Sandy's jugular. Even though she was expecting it, she was relieved to feel a steady, if weak, pulse. Mystic hadn't dealt him a fatal dosage of venom. A rattling voice whispered from the engineer, "...Sss-sss-snow..."

She hushed him gently, rubbing a hoof through his mane to calm him down. "Shhhhh...easy now. We're all here. What's happened?"

"...c-c-ca-can't...mo-m-moove..."

"Shhhh...you'll be alright. I just need you to stay calm. I'll get you fixed up in no time." After checking his vitals (and giving Blaze a chance to tell his side of the story, see if he suspected anything) she called back to the other ponies. "He's not dead. Seems to be paralyzed by something. Blaze, Copper, fetch my bags. He should be fine, but we need to act quickly."

[Mindfreak]

Blaze
"His legs were shaking and then he kinda seized up and fell to the ground and stopped moving..."
And then Snow asks for her bags!
"Copper, you go get Snow's bags! You probably know what she needs better than I do and I'm guessing we shouldn't waste time with it.."
He looked at Snow.
"Why can't he move? Is it that scratch from earlier?" he asks, worry clear on his face.

[Kelvin360]

"I'd doubt that they're rabid," the griffon flatly replies without any hint and facetiousness. "But Equestrians seem blind to what lives in their own forests for some reason."


"It is late, now however. I trust neither of you were planning anything too violent?"

She looks at him seriously. "If they weren't, no one would leave their homes out of fear. Though, if this place is in or near the forest...Better..." She yawns and blinks. "Oh. Hm. You're right, it is late. I think...i'll go settle down on some nice moss. It was nice to meet the both of you."

[Grif]

She looks at him seriously. "If they weren't, no one would leave their homes out of fear. Though, if this place is in or near the forest...Better..." She yawns and blinks. "Oh. Hm. You're right, it is late. I think...i'll go settle down on some nice moss. It was nice to meet the both of you."

"Moss? Why are ye sleepin' on moss?!" Shell reached into his saddlebags and laid some bits on the table. "'ere. Git yourself a room to sleep at an inn."

"It is late, now however. I trust neither of you were planning anything too violent?"

"Naw, demolition work all done for the week. Well, I'll be seeing you lads later."

"If nothing catches fire," Staccata responds while laying down and grabbing at the blanket. She yawns again and remarks, "Something always catches fire," slightly quieter than normal.

"That they do. That they do." Tyrol got up and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Good night... Staccata," he whispered, before going back and curling up in his usual spot. A small snore soon indicated that he was fast asleep.

[MCerberus]

"Naw, demolition work all done for the week. Well, I'll be seeing you lads later."

With the group seemingly dispersing, the griffon gets up and walks in his normal gait out the door, having been the one to not drink anything. The eccentrics this town attracts... the griffon shivers slightly realizing he might be one of them. After that passes, he flies back to his normal outdoor sleeping spot in the training yard.

"That they do. That they do." Tyrol got up and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Good night... Staccata," he whispered, before going back and curling up in his usual spot. A small snore soon indicated that he was fast asleep.

Staccata fidgets just a bit when this touching gesture happens, but seems to be more out of it than anything. She curls up and falls completely asleep.

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
"His legs were shaking and then he kinda seized up and fell to the ground and stopped moving..."
And then Snow asks for her bags!
"Copper, you go get Snow's bags! You probably know what she needs better than I do and I'm guessing we shouldn't waste time with it.."
He looked at Snow.
"Why can't he move? Is it that scratch from earlier?" he asks, worry clear on his face.

While Copper dashed off to fetch Snow's bags, the pegasus medic made a show of checking Sandy's symptoms. Feeling his pulse, checking for fever, opening his mouth, all sorts of things. She did inspect the scratch, and to her trained eye, the marks of venom were obvious. "It could be. It could be a condition, and the stress of the last few days aggravated it or woke it up. It could be a disease with less than obvious symptoms. It could be a snakebite for all we know, but I don't see any obvious bite marks." Sandy grunted, as if to attest to the lack of snakebites.

Copper soon returned with her bulging saddlebags and wordlessly set them beside her. She set to work, pricking Sandy for blood and testing the drops with pinches of herbs and medicine, and occasionally checking his vitals. "Some good news; it looks likes whatever's ailing him isn't getting worse. If he stays like this, he'll live, but there's still the paralysis to deal with." She "closely examined" the reaction between the blood and herbs before turning to Blaze. "If it's alright with you, I'm going to put him to sleep. Whatever's affecting him has weakened his lungs and/or diaphragm. If he panics, there's a real risk of hyperventilating, and I don't want him dying on me because he couldn't stay calm."

(Grif. I apologize in advance for the medical atrocities I'll commit here.)

[Kelvin360]

She stares at the bits for a few moments before blushing slightly, murmuring something about hoping that covers whatever she was drinking to the bartender, and nodding to the griffon as she leaves the building....presumably to find the least complicated spot of moss she can find.

[Mystic Muse]

Mystic waits, just in case there's a notification that she'll have to be much less subtle about poisoning Blaze.

[Mindfreak]

Blaze
Blaze nods, giving permission to put Sandy asleep.
"Just do whatever you need to make sure he lives, I don't want to deal with an angry/sad/drunk Rainbow if he does."
He sighed.
"I knew that scratch wasn't just nothing..."

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
Blaze nods, giving permission to put Sandy asleep.
"Just do whatever you need to make sure he lives, I don't want to deal with an angry/sad/drunk Rainbow if he does."
He sighed.
"I knew that scratch wasn't just nothing..."

With permission granted, Snow went back to work. She dabbed a bit of chloroform (this RP's favorite knockout agent, apparently) on a cloth and knelt down next to Sandy. "Alright Sandy, just going to knock you out for a little while so we can fix this. All I need you to do is breath normally." Another grunt of affirmation from the engineer. She placed the cloth over his mouth and nose, and moments later his breathing relaxed into the steady rhythm of sleep. She kept up the front of working, half to keep Blaze convinced, and half to keep herself not frustrated. The target was out cold, paralyzed, and they couldn't do a thing because Blaze was showing no sign of the venom's effects.

But that's why they worked in pairs. Blaze would have his canteen and some food handed off to him by Copper. "Here; if she needs our help, we'll be here. For now, it is best to let her work and keep up our own strength." He took a sip from his own canteen and patted Blaze on the back. "No need to worry, Snow will have our Sandy back up on his hooves in no time."

[Mindfreak]

With permission granted, Snow went back to work. She dabbed a bit of chloroform (this RP's favorite knockout agent, apparently) on a cloth and knelt down next to Sandy. "Alright Sandy, just going to knock you out for a little while so we can fix this. All I need you to do is breath normally." Another grunt of affirmation from the engineer. She placed the cloth over his mouth and nose, and moments later his breathing relaxed into the steady rhythm of sleep. She kept up the front of working, half to keep Blaze convinced, and half to keep herself not frustrated. The target was out cold, paralyzed, and they couldn't do a thing because Blaze was showing no sign of the venom's effects.

But that's why they worked in pairs. Blaze would have his canteen and some food handed off to him by Copper. "Here; if she needs our help, we'll be here. For now, it is best to let her work and keep up our own strength." He took a sip from his own canteen and patted Blaze on the back. "No need to worry, Snow will have our Sandy back up on his hooves in no time."

Blaze
Blaze refuses the food that was being given to him.
"No thanks, I don't eat food offered by strangers when I don't know where it has been. Also, I'm neither thirsty nor hungry."
He then lays down nearest to Sandy as possible.
Funny how neither Mystic nor Snow and Copper have tried sneakily poisoning Blaze now as he isn't guarding the tent anymore, nor just tying him up with rope via magic(Copper is a unicorn, right?)

[TheAmishPirate]

Blaze
Blaze refuses the food that was being given to him.
"No thanks, I don't eat food offered by strangers when I don't know where it has been. Also, I'm neither thirsty nor hungry."
He then lays down nearest to Sandy as possible.
Funny how neither Mystic nor Snow and Copper have tried sneakily poisoning Blaze now as he isn't guarding the tent anymore, nor just tying him up with rope via magic(Copper is a unicorn, right?)

(Nope. He's 100% Earth Pony.)

Snow, without looking up, directed Blaze somewhere where he wasn't breathing over her shoulder. "A little room would be appreciated, please?"

That aforementioned 100% Earth Pony could also see that the sneaky sneaky route wasn't working. And that Blaze was being a good friend and paying far too much attention to what Snow was doing. Which was good and bad. Bad because it meant he might spot that Snow really wasn't doing much. Good because....well, we'll see in a few minutes, won't we?

With Blaze focused on Snow's work, Copper went back into their tent and quietly hailed Mystic. "Target is down, friend is still active, and not eating or drinking. Standby in case we cannot subdue him."" With that, he took his own bags and returned to the group.

Snow noticed what he was up to. "Copper?" she called out. "Get me the preserved ginger, I think we put it in your bags." She waved Blaze over beside her, so his back would be to the Earth Pony, and explained her process with a great deal of pointing and gesturing to hold his attention. "See, what I'm going to try and do here is treat the scratch with a little bit of ginger. A great deal of venoms react to it, usually with some discoloration. It'll help us narrow down what's ailing him, and see if the scratch was the cause. Now, just hold onto this..." She quickly hoofed him a pair of sharp tweezers, end-first, pricking his hoof. At that exact moment, Copper pricked his rear leg with a needle, injecting a fast-acting knockout drug. As soon as he was done, he would try to toss the instrument out of sight and act as though he had been trotting up to hand off the herbs to Snow.