MLPFEMTORPG -- is south korea even a real country tbh

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>>28883125

>>28883137
by which I mean post sheets.

>>28883125
Test, will delete afterwards

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>>28883142
http://pastebin.com/p1dtY3qj

>>28883142
http://pastebin.com/R0AXr1UU

>>28883137
http://pastebin.com/RaZG8KLM

>>28883137
>>28883142
>directions unclear, got Amy stuck in a toaster

http://pastebin.com/RP6HSp7j

>>28883142
http://pastebin.com/6dTx6i08

>>28883142
http://pastebin.com/YJFusUgn

Pryce 9/5 (9/5)
Flaming 4/5 (8/7)
Amy 4/6 (7/6)
Flow 11/1 (11/5)
Observer 7/6 (7/6)
Shei 1/7 (8/7)

https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/28851031/#28852746

The Workshop Team rebelled against the "deal" hashed out by Jean Genie and Desert Lamp, invoking the help of the King of Trash, the poorly-made guardian automaton built by Prisca. While Lamp vanished and apparently fled, Genie cried and shrieked for help, but initially did little else. However, his idea of "help" arrived soon - Prisca descended the staircase, landing on a wounded Spitshine, as a demon.

The Witch Team stole into Mudi's book-themed cottage, initially avoiding seven cartoonified Shades who lurked about the art gallery on the second floor. Much of the art resembled cutie marks. Blessings' speech and actions grew increasingly erratic and careless during this time, and she now remains on the second floor, hiding from Mudi. A cordial talk with Mudi resulted in a bath. Mudi had written "dirty" on Amy's arm with a sunset-orange quill resembling the feathers upon the wings of Princess Laciela of Mariposa, and Amy was instantly dirty.

Flow and Hope's duel came to a conclusion, with the pair getting somewhat emotional, reminiscing on glory days, the traumas of the new world, and later hatching plans to defeat Mudi through the use of an artifact of the Sons of God.

(1/3)

>Correction, Shei is at 8/7

>>28883162
"And now demons can turn the living directly into demons," River notes with horror. "Pryce! Perhaps -- perhaps Ecclesia might know of-of-of... I don't know, SOMETHING that could be done!? Their purification rituals, their occult knowledge. She has to be still alive!"

>>28883245
>Prisca of Vitral
>HP: 16/16
>Rank: Wraith
>Weak: Sentimental items, Physical attacks
>Inseparable from her father since the day she could first wield a tool, Prisca devoted her crafts to easing the lives of the disenfranchised and abused slaves and serf classes of Vitral. Yet, none could compel Prisca to craft and invent like the doe named Sugar. Even now she knows the tune of the old music box that Sugar had sent to the workshop to be repaired so many times.

Jean assumes his earlier form, concealing the blades. Yet, even your silver chain does little to damage him as he stands up again, parasites hanging from his mouth like fangs as he licks his lips. He reaches out and backhoofs you, with a parasite poking out of the seam of his body. [1d10+3: 6]

>>28883217
You conjure 4 bolts.

>>28883162
>All healed to full
Spitshine's arm mends, but he's still crushed under her weight. Prisca's head jitters as she looks about the room like an overstimulated animal, huffing and snarling in a confused, distorted tone. Her mouth opens, and countless red spheres fire from her mouth like darts, rushing across the room in many waves.

>All roll instant dodge, DC 8

(2/3)

>>28883160
>>28883164
>>28883158
"I shouldn't have a bath. I'm too clean," Mudi says logically. Only Rus Tea follows you into the bath; Onion, Renee, Busta and Box are hiding outside, Blessings is upstairs.

"Something odd about it for sure. She labeled Amy as 'dirty', and it was instantly so. Nasty thing. Unfair for her to have it. I'd have a much better use of it," Rus says.

>>28883160
"Well gosh you don't need my permission to just have a little tea then!"

>>28883160
Hope sits against the broken table and considers all that has been said. "If we have her location and a means of driving it into her, I don't see why not. But I need to speak with her face to face first. Summarize, goo. What kind of armaments are we looking at when we go in through the front?"

>Peg of the Prostitute's Tent
>Saint Tischol, a headstrong commander of the Sons of God once led a foolish preemptive charge against Valkya the Glowing, a mortal who was feared as a leader of many armies of demons.
>During the battle, the Sons accidentally sprung a nerve gas trap which Valkya's forces had planned to unleash upon Mariposan cities. This felled many demons that Tischol's forces would have been unable to slay, but also resulted in a wipeout of Tischol's forces. Saint Tischol only survived by fleeing the battle early and disguising herself as a prostitute.
>Suicidal from guilt, Tischol tracked down the mourning Valkya and offered to lay with him. Valkya stayed with her but refused her advances. He cried the whole night in her tent, asking both the dead demons and Sons for forgiveness, and begging the gods to judge him. Tischol burned inwardly, hateful of Valkya's attempts at repentance and confession. When Valkya finally stopped crying and tried to sleep, Tischol drove a tent peg through his skull as judgment on behalf of the gods.

>>28883282
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMf-kDeAYCY
Combat music for this post

>>28883287

"Oooh," Amy says like a child listening to her elder tell a story. "What would YOU use it for, Rusty?" She looks at Rus with large, expectant eyes.

>>28883287
Trapper groans.
>>"Bugger me... Other than two armed guards, nothin' major, laddie. 'Owever, she lives in some sort of...pocket realm or somethin', where you can't 'elp but feel...unnaturally giddy. Still skives me up, how it felt. Anyways, in order to git to the lass is through one a' her bloody clones. And in order to get to them, you gotta get past this bleedin guard, who isn't very good at his job. There's some sort a' maze, and in order t' get through, you gotta walk backwards through it or somethin'. Vice is pro'lly talking to the lass rite now, so I wouldn't bring him here, sonny."

Vice nervously looks to his sides before nodding at Mudi.
>"I-I suppose I'll have myself some tea, thank you very much."

>>28883282
Observer looks at the condition of Prisca, a few thoughts of theories coming to mind as he searches through the materials he has obtained during his stay at the Crystal Workshop.

Observer begins to work on repairing the Music Box he found in Prisca's room.

>Engineering: Repair Music Box
[1d10+2]

>Homing Magic: Two aimed for Jean.
[1d10+1]
[1d10+1]

>>28883282
"How could they even help?! They all the way acr— ...Rituals! Th-That stuff we smoked, maybe I could conjure some!"

>>28883282
Pryce's attention snaps back as the red spheres fire out. His honrn flashes quickly to deflect the one towards him into the ground.
>"Dodge" [1d10]

"River, get Spitshine! I'll hold her clear!"
Pryce shouts, stepping forward to the filly.
"Prisca, calm down. Don't listen to whatever this demon is whispering in your head."
He calml speaks, trying to keep her from getting agitated. He steps closer, reaching out to grab and hold Prisca and pull her off of Spitshine so the colt can be pulled to safety.
>Grab/Restrain [1d10]

>>28883287
>>28883314
Flaming dunks her entire head under the water again to clean off her head, before looking in between Rus Tea and Amy before she spits out a little bit of water of her mouth into Amy's face for fun.

"Whatever you'd use it for, I think the important thing is to think of a way to get it away from her before she decides to write something worse than just 'dirty'. Like, 'dead'. Or, 'servant'. Or 'dinner'!"

She looks back at Mudi (presuming she joins us in the bathroom) and tries to see where she puts her orange feather pen when she's not using it.
[1d10] Observation

>>28883367

"Oooh, do you really think she'd be able to do that!?" Amy asks, sounding more amazed than concerned.

Completely irrelevantly of her body language, facial expressions, or tone, she starts playfully splashing Flaming as she talks.

>>28883282
Shei-Sher struggles to reign in Jean. He strikes a match against the chain and it starts to glow hot.
>CURSE OF IRON+1: Recharge 3; Heats up the weapons and armour of the target to a red hot blaze, burning those who touch them. Disarms the target as well as deals damage, and makes their weapons impossible to pick up for a turn afterwards. Autocrits heavily armoured targets.
[1d10+1]

Pupil slither's by Shei's sleeve and gathers a report on Jean's status
>Appraise
[1d10] update on HP

>>28883395
"I KNOW she'd be able to do that!" Flaming says with a sputter as some of the splash gets on her face. She reaches for Amy's hoof, and pretends to write on it, "She could, I wager, write 'green' on your leg and you'd be that color until she wiped it off."

>>28883346
>Phantasmagoria of Infallibility
[1d10]

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>>28883422

"NO!" Amy says NOW in complete horror. "But green is so gross on me!"

>>28883314
>>28883367
"Weaving glorious and true tales of a Minotaur hero carving paths of dark purple blood through the legions of demons, offering their corpses upon the scale-altar to Levotk, who measures the depths of oceans as a safeguard to the land, whose aquatic children declare to Death, 'Here your chilling voice is hushed and speaks no further,'" Rus explains, washing all over her badly-scarred body after folding up her Ecclesian coat.

The Mudi drawings bring in snacks and soft silken towels, but they block your view of the quill pen.

>>28883358
As you restrain Prisca and remove her from Spitshine's squashed body, many red spheres embed themselves up along your right arm. The flesh around the impacted areas begins to transmutate into wood and metal, resembling a clockwork pony.
>Transfiguration: clockwork marionette, stage 1
>Lose 3 Hits per turn until cured

Prisca thrashes about wildly, desperate to escape your grasp
>roll to hold on, DC 7

>>28883346
You repair the last of the damages to the music box, resulting in its completion. Your flank is hit by the red spheres, turning into wood and metal, as above.
>Transfiguration: clockwork marionette, stage 1
>Lose 3 Hits per turn until cured

One bolt hits Jean, but you are hit by Prisca's thrashing frame.
>Observer 2/6

(1/2)

>>28883413
>HP: 102/160
As the boiling silver burns through Jean's flesh, he groans in terror and releases the parasite leaking out of his hoof. It attaches to your face, and starts to phase through the skin very slowly. "You're gonna wanna release me RIGHT NOW, KID!" Jean cackles, though you feel no pain while the parasite attempts to burrow deeper, only a shivering exhilaration. From Jean's eyes peek many parasites, writhing as if cheering.
>Shei 8/6
>Parasitic Fusion stage 0 - no effects

>>28883341
"Now I know a frown when I see one. What's got you down, friend?" Mudi asks Vice while the Mudi Drawings set tea and sweets before him.
While Trapper speaks, two pretty, albeit disfigured mares enter the room, dressing and cleaning Hopes wounds while offering half-full stone goblets of water to you and Trapper.

"That's not a worst-case scenario. They're in the Completely Fucked scenario. If they're choosing to engage against Mudi on her own terms, they'd have better luck draining the sea with a fuckin' spade. Can they lure her out at all? No military tactic would work against her in something like that, assuming she's in top control of it," Hope says.

>>28883488
>Pryce 6/5

>>28883488
Pryce tries to hold on to the squirming filly as best he can.
"Prisca, calm down! This can't be you, this demon is making you mad!"
He grunts, trying to keep her under control.
>Hold [1d10]

His eyes look down at his arm, widening in horror as his flesh warps into a construct. His horn glows white, attempting to cure these effects before they go any further.
>Mantra of Purity [1d10]

>>28883486
Flaming shouts, "Yes!" relieved at having gotten an appropriate reaction out of Amy for once, "You'll be limabean colored till the end of time if she wanted to! That's why we have to get that pen."

>>28883488
>>28883488
Flaming listens intently to Rus Tea's dreams of what she'd write using the pen, looking up deep in thought, "That sounds a LOT like what I'd probably write... the big, powerful, and brave chieftain of ALL the buffalo, feared and respected as an unstoppable force of nature wherever she chooses to stampede. Particularly over spiders."

Mudi's drawings blocking her view, Flaming snorts, shaking her head free of liquid as the cartoony calf steps out of the bath-tub in long strides and reaches for one of the towels, "Um, thank you for the bath, Miss Mudi. What were you going to have for dinner, if you don't mind me asking?"

[1d10] As I dry off, taking one more shot to get a look at the pen

>>28883488
Observer backs away from Prisca, attempting to cure the transfiguration being used on him. As he casts his spell, he begins to play the music box to Prisca.

>Spellbreaker
[1d10+1]

>Homing Magic: Last two on jean
[1d10+1]
[1d10+1]

>>28883546
>Phantasmagoria of Infallibility
[1d10]

>Rolling to play a music box
[1d10]

>>28883497
>>"Well laddie, I'm sure they're not /that/ stupid. As for the luring out, I ain't got the slightest clue what they're plannin t' do, other than talk to the lass. And loike I said, Vice is pro'lly busy, so we 'ave no way of knowing if they're minced meat, or sealing a deal."

Vice taps his hoofs together as he chuckles, his voice on edge.
>"I'm just a little uh...bent out of shape, for lack of a better term, that's all. Uneasy? I dunno."
He takes a tentative sip of the tea.

>>28883497
Flow puts his hoof out and shakes his head when offered water, opting to drink out of his own canteen instead.
Trapper, on the other hand, guzzles his down in a mere instant.

>>28883497
Shei-Sher cackles with levity as he feels butterflies in his stomach. He reaches under his robe with an inked quil from his bag. Shei-Sher feels for the scar Pryce had made upon his back in shape of Gabby's sign. He completes the sigil with a dabbing of ink.
>GABBY's SEAL: Turns a living enemy into an walking corpse. For all intents and purposes this target now counts as Undead and a corpse. This effect ends if someone removes the seal from their body.
[1d10]

Shei-Sher drops the quil puts both his hooves on the switch-cane. "Fantastic! Let us see what comes of it!" Shei announces with glee.
[1d10] intimidation

>>28883488

Amy wags her tail as Rus speaks, getting water everywhere. She gets out of the bath and shakes off the water like a dog, likely getting it on everyone else.

"Purple blood?" she asks, cocking her head.

>>28883545

"She can't do that!" Amy says, outraged. "That's just too mean! I- I love purple!"

>>28883601
sooorrry

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>>28883609
Now, Flaming almost feels a little giddy at having something to tease Amy over. "Too bad! You'll be able to blend in with trees and grass though. But if you're lucky, maybe you'll get to be red instead. Red would look good on you."

As she shakes herself off like a dog, Flaming holds up the towel like a shield, "Amy! You're gonna get it all over me here."

>>28883543
>>28883546
Prisca breaks from the grasp, and with her tail, yanks a craftspony's hammer out of the tools lodged into her back, and smashes the wooden parts of your arm, cracking it deeply.
>Pryce 3/4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCMAwzkPMbU

Just as Prisca draws near Pryce, brandishing tools that look like the playthings of a torturer, the music box's gentle rhythm stills the air. Prisca gasps and covers her ears, trembling wildly, faster than your eyes can trace. She stumbles and groans with a distorted whine, as if confused and conflicted.

>>28883556
Hope reclines in his chair, unmindful of his many wounds. "Damn it all to Tartarus... I'm going to mobilize. They're bait in the monster's path, like it or not. I'm mobilizing, and we're taking the opportunity to strike. Who knows? Maybe Mudi will be so distracted with them, she hardly notices us while ya peg her. Condense your goo quickly -- we've no reason not to move."

"I getcha, friend," Mudi says serenely. "Everyone's day is a bad day in this world. But I don't have bad days anymore, not now that I've seen the course we must all take. I know now what we must do against the demons."

>>28883545
The feather most definitely resembles the feathers of Laciela's wings. The quill is a little chipped and bent, and one corner is coated in fresh blood, but the blood does not run, yet glistens as if the wound were moments ago.

"Dinner? We barely have had our tea!" Mudi declares. "Have the demons kept you from eating well?" she asks with concern.

(1/2)

>>28883609
"The blood of the original demons to emerge when the Firmament broke over six months ago was purple. The atmosphere in the Beyond differs far from ours. It is called 'Udana' - and sustains the gods and all other higher beings who breathe it. Buiwong lost so much power when he was cast down into the Earth because he no longer had Udana to breathe," Rus explains. "This deep purple haze... it's all I see when I close my eyes at night and fail to sleep."

>>28883601
Jean looms over you, appearing to grow taller as your vision shifts and blurs, cackling lowly. Jean's chest opens up, revealing the razor ribs. They slash at your cheek, attempting to let the parasite even deeper into your cheek.

[1d10+2]

>>28883656

"When did you see it?" Amy asks, getting closer to Rus, looking at her with concern written on her face. Not literally.

>>28883648

Amy frowns when Mudi asks if they've been kept well fed. "I-I've been fed plenty..." Amy says distantly and sadly.

>>28883656
Shei-Sher shudders as he feels the parasite crawl inside and he is a tad unnerved that he doesn't feel the effects of Gabby's seal.

Jean's ribcage opens to reveal the grime of parasitic grubs. The gotesque image hovers over Shei-Sher. The little goat takes advantage of the situation and punches his hoof into the air in the direction of the open ribcage. He shouts powerfully, focusing on the previous heat emitted from his hoof.
>Phantasmagoria of Conquest: 3 times per Combat; Automatic; Sacrifice X hits to deal 4X damage and inflict a status condition on up to 3 targets.
[4X5hits] killing the parasites

The pain causes Shei-Sher to release the chain's hold on Jean. Shei tumbles backward from the thrust.

>>28883648
"Yeah, it sounds like a plan, a shit one at that, but she's got that princess' wing, remember? I wouldn't be surprised if she /could/ just write everything in her path out of existence. Including us, and quite possibly, that mighty great Peg you got."
He drinks more from his canteen and stops leaning on Trapper.
"But hey, I've always been a fan of brute force. Let's do it."
He draws out Schlangenschwert, and runs a hoof along its side.
"By the way. What business did you have with Sir Estuary?"
He also pulls out the Inheritance.

Vice's eyebrows raise.
"Wh-what do you mean you know what you must do?"

>>28883648
>>28883703
As her eyes work over the pen, Flaming nods silently and puts it resemblance to Laciela's wing at the back of her mind for the moment.

Flaming chuckles, "Oh, no, don't worry, I ate fine this morning at the inn, I just have a strong metabolism is all. I'm still growing a LOT, can't ya tell?" She says innocently, "Tea would be great if we had some snacks. I think there were a few things before Amy asked you about that we didn't get to."

[1d10] Spying, does she take her eyes off the pen a lot?

>>28883648
Pryce falls backwards, holding onto his arm with a hushed grunt of pain. He looks up at Prisca from the ground, slight fear in his eyes but filled more with worry for her than himself.

>>28883648
>>28883555
His ears perk up as the tune fills the room, head turning to Observer as he starts the box.
"Thanks..."
Pryce mutters to Observer, turning back to the filly. His horn glows white, attempting to help the cracks in his arm.
>Prayer for Deliverance [1d10]
At the same time, he drops his bracelet off his hand. His horn glow shifts to red, as he reaches down and tries to pull that mixture Ichimonji made for their cleansing ritual back in the Ecclesian camp.
>Hat Magic [Purification Mixture] [1d10]

>>28883546
>>28883555
"Observer, take these. I need to focus on Prisca."
He says through his focus, floating over his conjured cannons.
"Just focus your magic, and they'll shoot out fire. Turn that demon to ash, please."
[Weapon: +3 Dual/Ranged Fire]

>>28883736

Amy pokes Flaming in the side with a smile. "If you're still growing, doesn't that mean you're small, Shortyhorns?"

>>28883795
Flaming grunts as her side is poked, barking back, "NO! Nuh-uh! Y-you just think that's how it works but you can still be big and growing at the same time! Buffalo do that a lot."

>>28883826

Amy puffs her lips thoughtfully. "I guess Buffalo ARE pretty big..."

>>28883648
>>28883783
Observer nods to Pryce, taking the fiery conjured weapons. Observer takes a moment to give the weapons a look over before aiming both at Jean. "I should remember to study more about the weapons that exist in this world." He thinks to himself.

>Dual attack
[1d10+3]
[1d10+3]

>>28883703
"I had returned from a whaling trip when the Firmament broke. The waters were the first places that Ecclesia considered fleeing to. But the oceans churned, and seamonsters, some even thought to be mere fictions, had tossed themselves onto the shores following the demon invasion, as if agitated and rallied by the demons' arrival. I saw nothing but the bloody work of demons for the months that the few survivors of Manyirongdi dragged themselves on bloody and aching hooves to the Ecclesian forces. The demons were as a tsunami before a sandcastle."

>>28883736
The quill pen never leaves her hoof. Even when doing something else, she holds it, with the Mudi drawings filling in for the occupied hoof.

>>28883731
"He came to my service all in a rush one day. How he slashed through demons like it was nothing! I said nothin' to him, and him nothin' to me. I don't ask, he don't share. I'd rather keep him around than poke around in pasts I don't belong in. But that's why we gotta figure out some way to lure her out of her bubble. Drag her somewhere she ain't got godlike control over."

>>28883729
>Shei 0/5
Your power eradicates many demons as Jean's blade slices you. As you fall over, woozy, Jean cackles and runds out of the room, down the stairs where Lamp must have gone. As the parasite burrows deeper, you grow nauseous, but hungry.
>Parasite Fusion stage 1
>A horrible hunger gnaws at you. You must eat something with an instant action this turn or lose a wound

>>28883783
You repair some minimal damage done to your arm, but it still feels feeble.
>Pryce 7/5 (out of a total of 10 hits now)

You conjure a jar full of myriad spices, and a pipe for individual use.

Prisca growls and stumbles, slashing uncontrollably at your face. [1d10+2]

>>28883865
As Jean attempts to run, you pursue, digging the firey weapons into his thick hide. Jean shrieks and falls flat on his face, but slashes at you, blades protruding from his back. [1d10+2]

(1/2)

>>28883736
>>28883703
>>28883736
"It sure brings sparkly smiles to me when I hear that folks are doing well in this horrid new world. Too often I hear the reverse. Ponies crying, carrying the dead with them, clinging to ripped clothing and fractured mementos of their lost beloved. Ponies dying, not because demons killed them, but because of demons deliberately immolating farmlands and poisoning water supplies. This was never the way the world was meant to work."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbaYgKfBqk8
Mudi stands, and looks to the horizon. "So many. I've poured over so many historical records, charts, memoirs, archives. The world was not like this before the artificial divisions between the natural and 'supernatural' were conceived by ponies. There was a time when gods, demons and mortals would interact routinely... even amicably. Mortals trembled in awe of the holy, and were subjected under their rule, their lives subject to their whims." Mudi grows oddly thoughtful, yet serene, like an enlightened spiritual guru.

"Yet the holy were merciful. Demons were merciful. Though their relations were often strained, mortals benefited under their rule. It was not until certain figures attempted to claim earth solely for the mortals that the relationship turned deadly for mortals. It repeated again, around 700 years ago. Now that demons roam the earth again, they have been released from a captivity so unnatural that their freedom has spelled out a slow, inevitable extinction and complete genocide for mortals.

"Do you understand that this world does not need to be the hellish landscape that it is? That a solution exists that will halt the irrevocable sundown of all mortal life?"

>>28883907
Observer attempts to sidestep away from the strike, however risking letting the blades get close so he can make is own strikes once again.

>Dual Strike
[1d10+3]
[1d10+3]

>>28883907

"But, did you see that purple stuff?" Amy asks Rus.

>>28883914

Amy listens to Mudi with a thoughtful frown. "Is that why you're here?" Amy asks once she's done talking. "I see you have a lot of demons working for you. Are you trying to fix this messed up city? The demons and ponies are living together, but... it's not right at all. They aren't friends. If I could, I'd help all those poor ponies. But, even if I could, I don't want to just kill all the demons."

"Do you have a plan?" Amy asks hopefully. "Is there a way to get demons and ponies to live peacefully again?"

>>28883914
>"Curse the demon... she doesn't let go..."

As Flaming looks at the pen, she is drawn out of her scrutiny as Mudi reflects on the evils of the world. Flaming looks down and away from her, remembering the very real and horrific devastation she's seen in her travels so far, and only could imagine for what happened back in Accorsia.

"Demons and mortals and gods lived side by side peacefully..." Flaming repeats, shaking her head, "Then, why do the demons do what they do?! Homes are being taken away from their rightful owners, and demons had a home before the firmament broke, didn't they?"

As Mudi asks the question, Flaming muses, "I... I don't know. Could we find the demons some other place to live? There just isn't enough room for all of us anymore, I don't think."

>>28883907
Pryce leaves his bracelet on the ground, snatching the spices and stuffing some into the pipe. He looks up as Prisca comes at him, weapons swinging wildly. He grabs the pipe in his hoof, sparks flashing off his horn as he lights it, going to press it to the filly to start the cleansing process, uncaring for his own well being.
>Restrain and Apply Pipe [1d10]

His horn flashes white momentarily, attempting to cleanse the flesh warping curse.
>Mantra of Purity [1d10]

>>28883907
Flow grins.
"So, the old coot is working under you, then? That's good to hear. Now. If you were a ruler of, say, a city, you wouldn't take too kindly to a bunch of thugs and misfits going into your place, and smashing everything up, right? Why not use your influence over a few "thugs" and "misfits", to go over to her doorstep, and cause havoc in her area."
>>"Yeah, but the thing is, we got no bleedin way o' telling how far her control spreads, laddie."
"Well, there ain't no harm in finding out the hard way. Just keep ruining her area till she comes outta hiding."

>>28883914
Vice holds his tongue as Mudi delivers her speech, eyes trained on her as she speaks.
>"What do you propose, that we round up the demons and send them on their way or something? Or we mortals just g-give up, and serve these demons?"

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972KB, 500x273px

>>28883907
Shei-Sher keels over and feels a terrible hungry overfill him. He staggers as he gets up
[1d10] get up from helpless

Shei-Sher takes a book from his bag and stares at the pages with a starry glare. "No." Shei puts an arm over his forehead and he looks away "I can't,, -It's -it's so-o-o.. uncivilized! -I -I nnmm What am I doing.."
>Goatcraft: passive; Min -1 for all climbing and agility rolls, and can use anything as food, including non-food items

Shei-Sher eats the paper. Tears well up in corner his eyes. He is so ashamed.

>>28884009
"Yes. I saw so much of it that it taints every day that I am still alive," Rus says forlornly, turning away with a frown.

>>28884029
You weather Prisca's attacks and expose her to the purifying smoke, stunning her in place. You restore the condition of your arm.
>Pryce 2/5

>>28884063
You recover and sate your hunger, but something about it feels unsatisfying. The craving persists, albeit quieter for now.

>>28884061
"I've got just the scum for the work."
Hope stands up and starts heading downstairs even though his wounds aren't fully dressed yet. He's got the look in his eye that he always got when he had a wild crazy plan, and would stop at nothing to enact it.

>>28883996
You continue to carve away at Jean, but his slashes and the clockwork transfiguration sap your strength, and slump down, strength leaving. Jean bounds down to the bottom floor, desperately panting as he flees out the side-entrance. You see that the automata on the first floor (three Drones, 1 Owlbear) have been disabled by Lamp's strange powers.
>Observer 0/5

(1/3)

>>28884009
>>28884010
>>28884061
"Indeed. What started as a foolish bid to release a Beast of the Old Chaos from Tartarus has resulted in enlightenment and understanding. Amy. I hold no ill-will to you for the death of my sister. You were the end of what the Apostles of White had started. A witch's soul is not stopped by a mere inconvenience as death. Azawakh yet lives, though her body has now returned to the grasses. Yet, she does not and cannot understand what we must do now. I worry that my sister Vizsla will end prematurely in the same way.

"The chaos eviscerating our world is nothing but a result of a 3,000 year disruption of the natural way. The so-called 'balance' that mortal philosophers spoke of when the Sons of God were endeavoring to slaughter demons or entrap them in Tartarus was nothing but fiction. The so-called 'order' that the Devas of your country's faith sought to protect with the building of the Firmament - it too was but an artificial peace. Everyone and everything that has come in between... all the attempts at 'protecting the balance' or 'restoring harmony' by hunting down demons, separating the mundane from the supernatural... they are all merely kindling on the fire which consumes life unnecessarily.

"Now that demons have been restrained, they are slaves to their hunger. Mortals are again slaves to their fear. And we slaughter and decimate one another each year. I have consumed mountains of witchbone. I hold a piece of a demigod. I hear God's hushed humming. Billions of lives ringing in the shared space we call our World. All crying for peace.

(2/3)

>Last of Mudi's dialogue

"But what they seek is only a return to the natural living conditions that were initially devised by Y'idryth. When there was little distinction between holy and unholy, natural and supernatural. When demons and mortals communed in peace. What we require now is a communion of demon and mortal through the cooperation of all beings. We require only one thing. I must go to the depths of Tartarus, and reach the Momentary Lake. Only then will the power I've accumulated be stabilized enough to restore the natural communion which created the true peace of ages past, by rallying demons and rehabilitating them to the way the world once was. No longer can we live with these artificial divisions, lest the chaos they engender will snuff out the last embers of this world."

>>28884165
>Observer is actually at 1/6

>>28884174
>Now that demons have been released from their artificial restraints*

>>28884165
Observer strains from exhaustion, almost about ready to fall over. He still feels obliged to finish his orders however, chasing after Jean further as he begins to ready his homing bolts.

>Homing Magic
[1d10+1]

>>28884165
Pryce takes a deep breath as Prisca freezes, both in relief that this might be working, and that he is no longer being broken apart.
"Alright, deep breaths Prsica..."
He says slowly, holding hte pipe to the filly for her to take three puffs as Ichimonji instructed them back at the camp. Pryce pulls the pipe away after she does, his own body feeling frozen as he watches her, praying deep down that it works.

>>28884165
Shei-Sher gathers up and follows down the stairs Jean scurried under. While he stows hemp parchment into his mouth "You willmmf payhm For this hmm Cowmrrd!

Shei-Sher plucks the silver from the chain of his switch-cane as if it were fabric and wraps it around the stone hammer of his staff.
>I Dream of Alchemy+2: Instant; Thrice per session
[1d10+3]

He also lets out a convincing caw and with that Pheo releases herself from Pryce's >>28884029 weapons to join Shei-Sher.

>>28884174
>>28884180
As Mudi casually drops Amy's murder of Azawakh, Flaming can't help but let out a light gasp. "You... you know Amy did that?" She asks somewhat incredulously, before the stubborn buffalo stops to listen to what Mudi has to say.

"So you're gathering power so that you can rid the demons of their hungers... is that what you were doing this whole time, then?" She points out the cutie marks, "I assume those don't belong to you: why do you have them? What kind of power does a bunch of cutie marks possibly contain?" She narrows her gaze, "And, no matter what it is you seek to do, that does not free you of what you've done to mere CHILDREN in the past. How do you justify that? The world you seek to restore is long gone! No one in this world even remembers communing peacefully with demons any more, all they know of them are the monsters that tear apart their homes and end their lives,"

She stops her hoof, "And you expect us to just let them get away with that and live peacefully among us!? I-I am coming to realize that not all demons are the monsters I thought they were, but the peace you speak of asks the mortals to ignore all of their atrocities! What kind of peace is that? Mortals as a whole did not seek to break the firmament in the first place, that was mostly Buiwong's fault." She says with a slip of rage as she mentions the spider.

>>28884229
>>28884206
I'm taking back my pheo ヽ║ ˘ _ ˘ ║ノ

>>28884165
Flow smirks and follows him, hoisting his sword on his shoulder and beckoning for Trapper to follow.
>>"Oi lad. Renee is still in there. I'd be super fookin careful if I were you."
"She's a big mare, I'm certain she could stay out of trouble. Besides, Vice can still hold his own for her, if need be."

>>28884174
Vice listens intently, eyes narrow and fixated on Mudi as she speaks.
He takes a sip of tea, the cup shaking slightly due to his shaky hoof.

>>28884165

Amy frowns as Rus turns away. She rushes around to get in Rus's face and gives her a little boop to the nose with a closed-eye smile.

>>28884174

Then, she turns back to Mudi. "Th-then you already knew who I was?" Amy asks guiltily. "Even if you aren't mad, I'm still so so sorry. I know she's still around... but I've seen her. And, it's sad. I did that to her, and it's awful. I wish I could fix her..."

"But, what you're suggesting is exactly what I want. Everyone's focusing so much on how bad ponies have it, that no one sees that the demons are suffering too. They're... broken. I know what that's like. It's terrible."

"But, what can you do? What WILL you do when you reach this... Monumental Lake? I'd love to make demons better, but... how? Can I help? I'd love to. I have to make it up to you for what I did to your sister, anyway."

>>28884243

"SHUT UP!" Amy suddenly barks angrily. Her coat turns grey. "You sound like those STUPID angels! Justice this! Atrocities that! I'm sick of it! I want PEACE. I want everyone to get along. If that means that we have to ignore what demons did before, then fine! Who cares about the past if we can make a better future!? What you're saying is exactly why it's so hard for everyone to get along!"

"But, I think ponies are better than that. We're better than those stupid angels. We CAN get along, even when bad stuff HAS happened. THEY'RE the ones causing all the problems. We shouldn't be thinking like them."

>>28884174

Amy looks back to Mudi, calming slightly. Her coat gains color, but is still dark. "Shortyhorns DOES have a good point, though. You HAVE been doing a lot of mean things. That's why we're here. I need you to stop doing a lot of them, like I said before. Why have you been doing them?"

Amy sighs. "If... if all these mean things are necessary to get to that Monumental Pool, I don't know if I can help you," she says sadly.

>>28884208
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQNBgeMlrhk
Prisca's demon form does not waver at all, yet she peacefully lays on the ground, no longer twitching or fighting, but slowly panting. At times, she reaches out at Spitshine, curling her hooves as if to grab him. River keeps the dazed Spitshine out of her grasp, eyes lowered.

>>28884229
>>28884206
>alchemy succeeds

As you run out after him, Jean slumps on a tree, exhausted and burnt. He stands at the edge of the fog of the witchbone afterglow. Upon hearing you, he wheels around, carrying a pony you barely recognize. He holds Zjetya as a shield, but her wings are completely gone. She is unconscious and bloody. Jean wheezes and laughs, shaking his head. "Come on fellas, one bad deal's not grounds to KILL a guy, is it? And certainly not to kill a friend..."

>>28884311
Rus smiles sadly, but seems troubled by Mudi's offer. You notice Renee and the others enter the cottage, allowed in by the drawings.

>>28884274
In a whirlwind of orders and barking, Hope organizes a squad of around 40 fighters and explains to them the situation. Even though he underscores the danger of their assignment, the thugs are eager for bloodshed and head on out. Hope looks a bit pained to see them go, but only for a moment.
"You and I are going to have to go in from above. Can't fly too high, lest we attract them angels up in the Birdcage. You prepared to face her? By the way, you know anything about those kooky twat angels up there? Something about a Mirror Image? They plannin' on fuckin' helpin or what?" Hope asks.

(1/2)

>>28884243
>>28884274
>>28884311
Mudi frowns, in the way a parent correcting a child will frown. "Don't worry about the children. They are safe, aside the ones the Apostles took from me. I cannot justify the missteps of my past. They were unnecessary. Every day, I wish my new powers would allow me to undo events.

I once sought to tap into the potential of the soul, for a demon is but a soul which has had its limitations removed, thus pure potential. My attempt at understanding this process resulted in the ugly art of lifedrain, which drove me incessantly to seek more subjects. My result were the Shades - souls that can survive on their own, independent of the body. Who ever said that the Shades were unhappy or slaves? That was the assumption of the Apostles of White. That assumption was what drove them to kill so many Shades. They sought to assuage their guilt and lack of understanding by killing me."

"When creating Shades, I had to remove the pony's cutie mark to better separate the soul from the body. Only ponies have this limitation curiously. But a cutie mark can't be thrown in the way a piece of trash can. So, I started sticking them onto my body. And then they began to color my magic and open my mind to the ultimate understanding of others. But neither will I abandon my mistakes. They are my family, my brothers and sisters and children and parents," Mudi says, looking down at her various cutie marks with parental affection. "I can't abandon my family now, I love them and they love me.

(2/3)

>Last Mudi dialogue

"We cannot come to a true peace, a re-imagining of the old natural way, without working on all sides of the equation. The mortals shall need their own leaders. Their own rallying cries. The Momentary Lake will be enough to crystalize my power. Right now I have absorbed so much Witchbone that I am too unstable to last long outside my World. But once I am in Tartarus, and stabilize myself with the power of the Momentary Lake, I shall have the stable power I need to rally demons.

"But I require the help of whatever few mortals have managed to organize themselves. You're with Ecclesia, one of the last and largest bastions of mortal civilization. Don't your Ecclesian allies seek the peace that shall last for every single tomorrow? Isn't Ecclesia's vision?"

"It... it is," Rus mumbles, shaken and unsure.

"Then why don't we team up?" Mudi asks with a smile.

>>28884311
As Amy barks angrily and turns grey, Flaming suddenly stops, flattening her ears and shrinking back as she goes off on her. When she's done, Flaming frowns, but slowly grits her teeth, "W-who cares....? WHO CARES?!"

She points at her chest, "I CARE! Most of our friends care! Every where we've ever been that's lost loved ones to the demons care! How DARE you!" She stomps a hoof angrily, snorting out a cartoon puff of smoke from her nostrils, "All of us want peace, but do you expect them all to just forget every horrible thing that's happened to them that wasn't even their fault?!"

"How would you possibly know what they're going through anyways? You used to live only for yourself! Did you ever know what it was like to have a home? Or to have a family that loved you? Or a clan that protected you?" Tears well up in her eyes, "How would you know what it feels like to lose everything important to you because demons took it away from you? My plains, my clan, my parents... I lost all of them! And I'm one of the LUCKY ones!" She waves her hoof, "At least I don't know if they're even dead or not, but lots of ponies have seen their family or friends killed right before their eyes."

She shakes her head, growling, "I know Angels are probably just as much to blame, and demons aren't the cause of everything but I will not just 'forget' everything the demons DID do to me, or to Fantasia, or to Circadia, or to Mariposa, or to Zha... the demons are just as guilty in this! What, should we just let them KEEP everything they stole and forget it ever happened, is that what you want me to do?!"

>>28884380
>Isn't that Ecclesia's vision?"*

>>28884374
>>28884380
Flaming sniffs after yelling at Amy, and turns her attention back to Mudi. "So the deaths of everyone you made Blessings kill was just a 'mistake'? How do you plan to make up for it? Why did you even tear the souls from children in the first place, o-or let them get killed if they were under your watch?" She pauses, "Wait... y-you stole Blessing's cutie mark. Did you try to take her soul too?"

She looks around at all of the happy ponies, snorting, "I'm SURE every pony out there is not as happy as they look. Like I was only happy on our way down from the stairs due to a spell. How can they be happy trapped in here without their talents and looking like this...?" She looks down at one of her noodely legs.

"Ecclesia wants to take back the lands that demons stole. I don't think any of them have any plans to let them keep it." She growls, "S-some of them want even more than that. I don't think I'm one of them any more after what I've seen but some would be okay with killing all the demons in the first place." She shakes her head, "This is all getting to be so much to take in... what is Vizsla's role in the city? She doesn't want to help you?"

>>28884364
Flow's ear twitches.
"Mirror Image...coulda sworn I met a bloke with that name before. I certainly hope they do help, otherwise we're gonna end up as minced meat out there. As much as I loathe having to depend on their help. And as for being ready," Flow scoffs, "I wish. I left all of my gear with my crew. And they're at Mudi's right now."

>>28884380
Vice remains still as long as Mudi's talking, digesting her words as he sits still, cup of tea in his hoof.

>>28884364
>>28884364
Shei-Sher's eyes pinch the skin inbetween eachother as he directs a painfully angry look at Jean "A person like you does not belong on earth. I would glady eradicate Vitral of one more coward.. But Pryce would never forgive me." Shei-Sher stands his ground for a moment.. Pondering. "If you kill her you die.. If you release her I will follow you."
Shei-Sher shudders with violent energies
>PHASE AURA
[1d10]

Pheo lets out a piercing caw before perching onto the tip of Shei's staff. and as she does her flame wraps around it, making the silver encasing glow with living heat.
>Malleable Morphology: Passive;

>>28884364
Observer steps forward, his form slowly shifting. His voice begins to distort once more as his true alien nature reveals itself. "Mortals have gazed upon the faces of demons and stood in fear for the power they have... Demons should fear the darkness for what lurks in it, just waiting to devour their power and knowledge." He says, giving his attempts at intimidation after already practicing persuasion and bluffing. "Stay still, Jean... I wish to taste your fear." Observer says, his eye widening as he casts a spell.

>Intimidation
[1d10]
>I Dream of Alchemy: Twist tree to bind Jean and free Zjetya.
[1d10]

>>28884364
Pryce sits in anxious worry, watching Prisca go through the effects of the ecclesian ritual. His eyes follow her hoof as she reaches out, unsure of what it means. Is she trying to go after him like before in her demon haze, or did he say something to her when he went up there?

Once she calms enough, Pryce looks around. He remembers that Ichimonji played a flute for them, saying it was the final part. Seeing the lack of one around, he looks down at the filly. He didn't have much practice, but it'll have to do. He shuts his eyes, and attempts to sing the tune she played on the conch back then, hoping it'll be good enough.
>Unsure if this needs a roll, hopefully it's just fluff
>Keeping on Tune [1d10]

>>28884387

Tears well up in Amy's eyes as Flaming yells at her. As Flaming finishes, Amy closes her eyes and wipes her face. She breathes slowly and shakily. Despite breathing through several cycles, her breath is still audibly and noticeably shaking.

"I've spent I don't know how long alone trying to answer those questions," Amy says with her eyes still closed. "Maybe if I was smarter I could answer you. I'm sorry... I don't know. I never knew what it was like to have a home or a family. Even after I learned to control myself, I always ran. Eventually, someone would learn what... who I was, and I'd have to run. It wasn't until the world became so much worse that everyone stopped paying attention to me. So, I have no idea how anyone could forgive or forget."

"But, Shortyhorns," Amy says, opening her own eyes and looking in Flaming's with a sort of forlorn anger. "I hate hearing this from you. You're my first friend who has stayed with me even after they knew who I was. If you say these kinds of things, then what does that say about me?"

Amy suddenly jumps up, her coat going grey again. "NO!" she barks at no one. "I'm not going to be the victim. I'm the bad guy. And, if you can't forgive the bad guy, then you can't forgive me. Then..." Amy drifts off. "Th-then we have nothing more to say to each other."

Amy turns away and looks at Mudi, her body shaking.

>>28884374
>>28884380

"I understand loving something and not wanting to let it go... But... Would giving their cutie marks back turn them back? Sometimes, you have to give up what you love because it's best for them. I don't know enough about it, but I just wanted to say that."

"But, I will make one thing very very clear to you," Amy says angrily with a half snarl. "You are NOT making any more shades. Got it? You can choose to restore or keep the ones you have. Just DON'T make more."

"Aside from that," Amy says, lightening up. "I want to help you as much as I can as long as I don't hurt ponies for the wrong reasons. And, I think you're at least willing to listen to me when I think there's a wrong reason. So, yes I'll help you."

"But, I DO need you to help me remove the gem from the pony in Box. And, return the Giggletox. And leave the kitties alone."

>>28884474
Flaming growls, "Th-then don't tell me how I should 'just forgive and forget'. The demons took more from me and a lot of other ponies than they EVER took from you, so don't tell us we should do it when you have no idea how hard it is."

As she stares at her in anger, Flaming wipes at her own face, "You did bad things. Whatever: you KNOW the demons are different from you. You're not a bad pony any more, you've paid for what you did every day since you changed. But these demons, if we just let them do whatever they want? They will NEVER make it up to us, EVER. They took our homes, they took our friends, all for their own selfish desires, and we just lick our wounds and go somewhere else. That's not fair! They have never done anything but wrong, th-they can't just get away with it all and do NOTHING to make up for it..."

>>28884479
>>28884422
As Amy lists demands, Flaming points, "AND Blessing's cutie mark back."

>>28884511

"Every single one of those demons could end up just like me," Amy insists. "Why not? All they need is a little help. And, if they end up like me, then they WON'T keep everything they took. They WILL make up for it."

"In fact," Amy adds, her face suddenly lighting up with newfound conviction. "If they DON'T do those things, then we haven't actually fixed them yet! So, there won't be a need to leave and give up what we had."

"But..." she says with a frown. "Some things you can't get back. No matter how much apologize and repenting gets done... some things you just can't undo. I'm sorry, but if this is going to work, you and all the other mortals will just have to figure out how to forgive or forget."

>>28884422
>>28884479
>>28884423
"I really don't know," Mudi says solemnly about the issue of Shades, souls and cutie marks. "But I'll figure it out. It is easier to protect a Shade than it is to protect a mortal with a weak, vulnerable body. A shade has a greater chance of survival than a mortal simply because a Shade can more easily adapt to the strain of its environment. But no more Shades shall be made forcefully. But if someone asks me to do it - and in some cases, they have - I cannot deny them that. However, it's not as pressing as what we have to do now.

"If Ecclesia thinks it can get what it wants by killing all the demons, but that will only wipe them out. Demons outnumber them by an incomprehensible number. It's been tried. It's the furthest from a sustainable solution. I don't know what Vizlsa's doing. I've tried to get her help, but she hasn't spoken to me at all in moons. But, she's just as guilty as I was. She's a pony with enough power to help fix things, but she refuses to. She's as guilty as all the rest."

"Oh boy, friendship!" Box says.
"Amy, you can't be serious!" Rus says. We'd have to get Ecclesia's approval for something as crazy as this, and they have their hooves full with the Zha takeover as it is! Do you know what they might do to you for siding with a demon-loving witch!?"

Upstairs, you can hear Blessings' slow, heavy hoofsteps walking around. They sound erratic and circular.

(1/2)

>>28884541
Flaming growls, "That's still not fair! Why should WE have to make sacrifices for THEM? They're the ones killing and stealing and giving in to their hungers. Mudi cures them of that, they come out for the better but we'd be the ones who will have to suffer our pride for it."

"I-I bet most of them won't even give back the homes here: many of them are old souls who used to live in the misplaced houses here but haven't lived in them for centuries, the Mariposans won't get their lives back. I can settle for peace with the demons but they have to work for it too! They should go find their own land, leave us alone to let us heal what we've lost at the least."

>>28884423
"Blimey, all you'll have to do is wrench it back, then won'tcha?" Hope asks. As he steps outside, he summons a raptor-like bird with scaled wings and decked out in armor. The two of you hop onto it.
>Flow 11/5 from downtime and healing

Hope flies low and quickly over the Cozy Vimana into the Forge Vimana, maintaining a middling altitude so as not to get too close to the Birdcage.

https://youtu.be/5hm52f69Ikw
Once you start to fly over the more volcanic parts of the Forge Vimana, 4 ugly winged demons resembling black-furred apes fused with bees fly up near you, carrying stingerlike spears. Hope smirks and shoots first at one bee as it approaches.
[1d10+2]

Another bee flies at you and tries to stab you. [1d10+2]

>>28884439
>>28884429
https://youtu.be/kv6mGn-myO8
"Think you can scare me!? I'm a demon! I have no fear! I've devoured it all to make room for my new power! I'll never be anyone's plaything again!" Jean screams fearfully. His skin flays, scattering parasites all into the ground, and one into Zjetya. The tree crushes him for a moment, but he digs himself out with a madpony's strength.

Jean charges forward, the rib-blades swaying and dancing like water. [1d10+6]

>>28884441
Whether she hears it or not is unclear, but Prisca's form has not changed. "Please," River whispers. "Is it not enough? Oh, I know-- the ritual only works on mortals! We'll just have to get something special for her from Ecclesia's demonologists," she says with forced optimism.

Spitshine nervously steps forward and gives Prisca the note they found in the clockwork pony. Prisca stops moving, finally exhausted, but alive.

>>28884581
Fear can lead to weakness, knowing your opponents weakness will give you the advantage. This is what's going through observer's mind, knowing he can't avoid the attack in time to save himself he attempts to get what little he can to scan away and stare deep into Jean's eyes to drill away at his mind in search for a fear to shift into.

>Knowledge Extraction: Attempt to learn a fearful shapeshift
[1d10]

>>28884624
>Forgot about adding the +1

>>28884581
Flow snorts.
"I was expecting Vitty t' give us a lift, in all honesty."

As the winged assailants move towards Hope and him, Flow brandishes Schlangenschwert, and gives the bee who stabbed at him two stabbings back.
"Oi, piss off!"
[1d10+4]
[1d10+4]

>>"Yeah, bugger of ye bloody nonces!"
Trapper pokes at them with Flow's claymore.
[1d10]

>>28884572
>"You seek lobotomize and forcibly control mortals, all in the guise of "helping" them? That doesn't sound like a promising future to me, ma'am. And don't try shifting the blame to your sister, you know full well what you're doing is despicable. These demons, they're creatures that should live alongside mortals, and if they refuse to abide by our rules, then they should be expelled back to Tartarus. Your so-called plan to bring unity to the two differing races will only increase animosity between the two, and they'll just go right back into fighting."
He takes his leave, and heads upstairs.

>>28884581
Shei-Sher holds out his staff to shoot a blinding ray of light at Jean
>Blinding Flare: Recharge 2; A dazzling display of light blinds foes, Dazing them and lowering their damage by half.
[1d10]

He then runs into a thicket of trees that might hinder Jean's charge for the moment [1d10]

>>28884581
Pryce opens his eyes once he finishes singing, looking down at Prisca. His spirit continues to sink, but River's words trying to hold hope keep him from giving up.
"M-Maybe..."
He looks over as Spitshine moves again, handing the note to Prisca. Seeing her body settle, it helps lift his spirits slightly.
"...I'm sorry. I should have followed you up there. I could've stopped her from attacking you, kept you from nearly losing your arm..."
Pryce says lowly to Spitshine, face hanging low with guilt.

Pryce stands, stepping over to River and Spitshine, putting a hoof around both in a half hug.
"Both of you, stay here, and stay safe."
He let's go and steps back.
"Observer and Shei haven't come back. That demon has to be down stairs still, if we end him... maybe that'll help her."
He says, voice still low. He then turns his head to Volkama.
"Volkama, protect all of them. I'll forgive everything I've said about you if you keep them safe while I'm gone."
He says, forcing his voice to be strong (not in a commanding tone, but for his own sake to not falter as he chases after the others).

Pryce runs down the stairs, following after where he say Observer and Shei run off, going until he spots them and that vile demon.

>>28884573

"SACRIFICING YOUR PRIDE!?" Amy shrieks. Then she begins to laugh hysterically. Her coat fluctuates between a combination of grey and purple. As she laughs, her face gets a little more dog-like. As she laughs, it sounds as if there are two sets of laughter.

"Do you think I have, like, ANY pride?" Amy laughs. "Have you MET me? When you change everything about yourself, your pride is the first thing to go. It has to be. You can't change if you are proud of yourself."

"Sacrifice YOUR pride," Amy laughs again. "Maybe it's the fact that everyone's so proud that's the problem here."

Amy sits down and closes her eyes. She breathes deeply, then stands back up. "I'm sorry," she says in a more calm tone as her body changes back to normal. "I went a little overboard. But, if any demon causes trouble, you can be sure I'll be there to handle it. Just like if any pony causes any trouble, I'll handle that too. It's no different from how the world used to be."

>>28884572

"Does it have to be Ecclesia's help?" Amy asks both Rus and Mudi. "Isn't there anyone else? What about Fantasia? Or, what if we helped solve Ecclesia's problems first. Then, they'd be able to help us with ours."

"Like," Amy says, getting excited over the fact that her mind is actually forming plans. "Oh. What if we got like Fantasia or someone else to help Ecclesia. Then, we'd have them, Ecclesia, AND Zha to help us with getting to the Monetary Bay!"

>>28884572
"I think if any shades WANT their bodies back you should let them too." Flaming points out, before asking about Vizsla. "Well, where is she...? We only found you because we know she's here in the city too. We can go see what she's up to."

"I heard it also might be possible to let them all inhabit Tartarus... just as a thought."

She turns to face Rus Tea, "I have my conch, before we do anything I know we can give them a call and see what they think..." she pauses mid-thought, however, as she hears Blessing's erratic footsteps upstairs. She gasps, "Uh oh..." before she frantically makes for the stairs leading back to the art gallery.

>>28884668
As Amy howls, shifting between colors and two sets of laughter, Flaming shrinks back again, purely in shock at how she's reacting before an angry scowl crawls across her muzzle again, "Well maybe pride doesn't hold any meaning to you but it means a LOT to Buffalo! And to most ponies I've met!"

She shakes her head, "Y-you're missing the point! It's not even about pride, it's about these demons having done all but completely ruin our lives, and you expect us to play the role of bridging the divide. We owe the demons nothing, they owe us everything they took from us, including things that they really can never replace. They should be the ones trying to make it up to us, not, everyone else just forgiving all the awful things they've done just because Mudi claims they'll change! You're asking too much of mortals,"

She takes a breath, "Alright, Amy, let me ask a question: what if some demon killed me, and you never caught up to him until after peace was made between demons. What would you expect yourself to do? Forgive him?"

>>28884699

"What do you want from me!?" Amy asks desperately, tears welling up. "I'm trying my best to fix this! I'm just one pony! I can't change the world! I can barely change myself!"

"You're right, Shoryhorns," Amy says more softly. "They SHOULD be trying to make it up to you. That's exactly the world I'm trying to create. A world where demons make up for what they did like I am, and a world where mortals can forgive them. But, one is just not possible without the other. And, without both, this world is just going to stay horrible."

"If someone killed you, it doesn't matter if they were a demon or a pony, I'd tear them apart. But, if time had passed before I found them and they were sorry... I don't know... What would killing them do...? But, then someone else will just want me dead."

Amy sighs. "Maybe the best thing to do would just to be to die with you. Then, there's no one to suffer."

>>28884668
"No, but Ecclesia would doubtlessly intervene if it knew about Tartarus containing even more horrors that might be released. And given their intelligence-gathering ability, I would not doubt that..." Rus says.

"But must we get Ecclesia involved?" Renee says. "If Mudi wishes to earn our trust, shall she not sacrifice the lives of demons before Ecclesians? Braving the depths of Tartarus... would that not kill more Ecclesians than it's worth? Demons massively outnumber mortals - our lives are more valuable than theirs, therefore, especially if she seeks to persuade us on the basis of our own self-preservation. And if Ecclesia were credited with bringing peace to the world, would that not solidify its position as a new superpower?"

"You wanna... sacrifice me?" Busta asks with creeping horror.

>>28884699
>>28884635
"I don't expect everyone to understand," Mudi says tranquilly. "We seek only to diverge our kinds from the path of invariable destruction. But so far, I am the only one with a true solution."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBZVjTYjthM

Blessings stumbles around the art gallery upstairs, at times walking quietly on tip-hoof and at other times, stumbling about like a crazed pony. In her hoof she clutches a stony obelisk, and you see her holding it up to a Shade, which is sucked into the obelisk. There are no more Shades in the room.

"I've done it, I've done it. Look! It worked! They shall not be harmed any longer!" Blessings whispers, ecstatic and seemingly crazed. "Now all that's left is to drag her out of this pocket space she has created, and sever her head! The Apostles will restore the children to normal, and this horrid nightmare she has subjected so many to will finally reach its sundown! Come on, we have to snuff her out!"

(1/2)

>>28884664
They head upstairs tow here the unconscious mortals are. Upon heading downstairs, you see Jean engaged in battle with Observer and Shei, and see Zjetya laying nearby, unconscious, bloody and without her wings (see previous posts).

>>28884624
You visualize an enforcer-type figure: A deformed, hulking pony wearing misshapen armor and carrying a spiked club, accompanying an oppressive local lord. This hulking figure, more than anything, horrifies Jean.

>>28884661
>>28884629
Shei barely mitigates his damage by diving into a bush which takes some of the hit.
>Shei 4/5
>Observer 0/5

On a rampage still, Jean pokes a needle out of his mouth and attempts to stab Shei with it. [1d10+4]
>Shei feels the hunger returning from the parasitic fusion. He must use an instant action to eat something this turn.

>>28884635
"Ha! Shoulda rode her while ya had the chance, lad!"

The bee's spear is extra-vicious, and sizzles your skin before you slice your attacker in half.
>Flow 8/5
Two bees gang up on you, while the other attacks your ride. Flow shoots this guy [1d10+2]
Bees 2 & 3 [1d10+2] [1d10+2]
Bee 4 [1d10+2]

>>28884756
As Amy begins to tear up, Flaming does as well, shaking her head, "I-I don't know! I don't know what I want anymore!"

She stomps a hoof, "It used to be so simple: the demons took my home, I'd take it back, but now I find out not all of them are like that and... and I just can't help still feeling angry!" She sniffs, "I-If demons made up for everything they did I think it'd be easier but I don't know how one can happen without the other happening first, and I just get angrier having to think about it..."

She sniffs, "And I just don't want to hear that I should feel bad for feeling angry. I want to know I'm not the one in the wrong just because I'm angry." She reaches up and wipes her eyes, "N-never mind... it was a dumb question to ask, th-there's no fair way to answer that question. I'm sorry. I wouldn't want you to die just because I died, ever."

>>28884787
Observer attempts to recover, soon he will be able to test a new theory about Jean's fears.

>Recovery
[1d10]

>>28884777
Flaming says under her breath, "Unless we figure something out ourselves..."

After making their way upstairs, she gasps as she sees Blessings suck the last shade into the Obelisk, "Blessings?! What are you doing!?"

As she lays out her plans, Flaming shakes her head, "N-no! Blessings, wait, listen to me, you have to stop. It's gotten more complicated..." she tries to steadily approach Blessings, "Let them out, we aren't going to get Mudi out of this world like this."

[1d10] To slowly reach for the Obelisk and, if allowed, take it in her teeth and set it besides her.

>>28884787
Pryce steps outside, breathing heavily from his rush and still fatigued from the struggle with Prisca. He scans the area, mouth opening to call for his allies. But then he freezes, seeing Zjetya bloodied and dismembered. Zjetya, Spitshine, Wireframe, Prisca... Every turn of the head shows another of their party dropping. He runs over to her body, horn glowing bright white as he pours every bit of magic and then some he can to halt her injuries.
>1 BP into Prayer for Deliverance
>Prayer for Deliverance [Zjetya] [1d10+1]

His head turns up to the demon as he stand over Zjetya. Horn glow turning a bright crimson as he glares at the being. His magic surges, building and firing a bolt violently into the sky to a desperate attempt to call down judgement on this excuse of a soul.
>Orbital Strike [1d10+1]
>Time ot fall [1d10]/2

>>28884787
Flow sucks in air through his teeth as he's stung.
"Oooh, that stinger packs quite a punch, eh?"
The goo seeks to get the bee attacking their ride with two pokes from Schlangenschwert.
[1d10+4]
[1d10+4]
"Well shit, I would have if only she was there with us. Heck, where is she now, I'd be more than glad to follow her into battle!" he seemingly doesn't get what Hope was hinting at.

Trapper on the other hand, tries to at least hit one of the bees attacking Flow.
[1d10]

>>28884777
Vice puts a hoof up to his lips and points down.
>"Don't get all psyched yet, Miss Blessings!" he hisses.
>"Put the Obelisk down, Miss Blessings, we'll find a way to carry this task out."

>>28884813
Vice taps Shorty's shoulder.
>"I don't trust anything she says. If it were up to me, I'd be making a plan to get her out of this realm, and mounting her head on a pike."

>>28884813
Vice

>>28884777

"No live is more valuable than another," Amy says angrily to Renee. "Ponies and demons are the same. There isn't more of one than the other because there's only one thing: friends."

"And we definitely DON'T sacrifice friends," Amy says reassuringly to Busta.

>>28884793
>assuming this is before Flaming goes upstairs

Amy grabs Flaming and hugs her. "No, you're right. Being angry is not wrong. But, letting yourself be controlled by it is not good. That's what I did for so many years. And, that didn't end well," she laughs before letting Flaming go.

>>28884855
Flaming looks down at the ground before picking her head up a few moments later, "I-I know she's definitely done some bad things. Somehow, I intend to make her pay for that... but, we have to consider at least our options I think Vice. She's on to us more than we thought she would be, and we still can't beat her in this world."

"And whatever her plan is... it might have more of a shot than what Ecclesia has in mind. The demons do outnumber mortals by such huge numbers. I think we shouldn't trust her either but, we could learn something from playing along, right?"

>>28884787
"Safe!" Shei-Sher exclaims as he barely makes it into the bush. Feeling the hunger pains creep up again Shei chews on some foilage from the bush. while he quickly opens up a book to a blank parchment. He scraws upon it with a quill and ink with a swift pace.
Shei-Sher jumps out of the bush as he hears Jean approach and plants a seal onto him.
>GABBY's SEAL: Turns a living enemy into an walking corpse. For all intents and purposes this target now counts as Undead and a corpse. This effect ends if someone removes the seal from their body.
[1d10]

>>28884863
As she's hugged, Flaming stops, shivering slightly in place as she's consoled. "Th-thank you..."

She turns away from Amy, "You know I didn't mean all that mean stuff about you, right? Y-you know I was just mad, right?"

>>28884878
Flow pauses for a second, and looks back at Flaming.
>"I'd rather not have to play ball, specially when she has the home-field advantage. I don't like either of their methods, but I suppose we're going to have to work with what we've got."
His face seems to be a lot more grim than usual.
>"But tell me Shorty, how long are we going to play ball? Till she gets the power she needs? How are we going to be able to catch her by surprise?"

>>28884855
The winged raptor falters as the bee stabs it, but you slice away the attacker while the other bees get hits in on you and Hope.
>Flow 6/5

>>28884813
>>28884855
Momentarily shocked, Blessings loses her hold on the obelisk. "What are you doing!? Unhand them! What has changed from the plan? To come so far... THIS is why I have accompanied you for so long!"

>>28884863
Renee looks away, eyes half closed in frustration. Busta seems worried, but thoughtful. "Well, maybe if not Mudi... hmm... I wonder if the Accuser could..." he whispers to himself.

"Why not have some tea, friendo?" Mudi asks Busta, regaining her original demeanor.
"Y-you recognize me?" Busta asks incredulously.
"I never forget a buddy," Mudi reassures him.

>>28884811
You get up.

>>28884894
You place the seal. As you emerge, Jean gets a wicked gleam in his eye sockets. "You should've stayed right where you are, leech!"

>>28884841
You heal Zjetya's minor injuries, but her wings do not reappear. There is no wound where her wings are supposed to be, suggesting they have been 'pulled' off supernaturally by Lamp's power.

>PAUSED

>>28884905
Flaming flattens her ears, "It wasn't the best scenario no, but, we seem to have never had a cover in the first place. We'll have to roll with what we get, I'm afraid."

"As for how long... I don't know. I-I need to think about a few things, you should think with us. We could still catch her off guard but she seems almost benevolent..."