Darkest Hour CYOA

>>28911213
We can't choose a batpony but we're in the night guard? I feel ripped off.

>>28911213
Batpony

>>28911255
Maybe it's magical energy like some headcanon.

>>28911213
Unicorn

>>28911213
Gibe some bonehead pls

>>28911213
Also mare

So, you are a unicorn mare.
Obviously, you must have have some combat or magic-related special talent?
Tell me about your cutie mark and spells you are most proficient in.

>>28911325
Cute mark: ice pyramid

You talent is to create cold and ice structures

(Also winter is our favorite season and sleighing the funniest thing in the world)

>>28911325
Cutie Mark: A black bush with a pair of red eyes.
Our talent is to make shadow creatures.

>>28911213
But arent the nightguard all bats.
I guess its possible thats a newer practice that was not around that long ago.

>>28911325
A map with a feather as QM
Our talent is strategic planning of attacks

>>28911387
Im voting for this.

>>28911411
>>28911387
So, an aspiring cryomancer you are?
I assume you came from the northern parts of Equestria, land least influenced by Discord's reign.
But what were your reasons to enlist?
Maybe a strong sense of duty, or a loss of your loved one?Or may it be something else?

>>28911387
>Meifag detected

>>28911448
We had a bit of a gambling problem and in order to get our life back on track - and earn some money - we enlisted

>>28911459
Sounds alright to me

>>28911452
>Who?
I just wanted something versatile, believable and not broken

>>28911459
(I'm just saying, we should give our character a bit more depth by giving her some flaws instead of going for the most stereotype background stories)

>>28911466
>Who?
Nevermind then, there's that annoying character from a currently popular video game with exactly that ability.
Nothing against that talent though, sounds good to me.

>>28911448
Sense of duty

>>28911466
>>28911459

The survival of northern settlements was made possible through strict observance of laws.
Punishments for criminals were severe,so to earn some money and in hope that military service will make you more disciplined, you chose to enlist into the Lunar Guard.

And now, tell me about your appearance.What colour are your eyes,mane and hide?
And maybe you have some distinctive features to add?

>>28911509
White hide and mane to blend in with the snow
Green eyes

>>28911521
>White on white
At least give us a light blue mane or something.

>>28911524
Yeah in hindsight your right
>>28911521
Ok change that to white hide and some other color for mane i guess anons light blue works.

>>28911524
I'd rather have a kinda desaturated brown mane with a white coat. Nice and plain.
No preference for eye color.

>>28911546
>>28911524

So, green eyes, light blue mane and white hide?A beauty you are.
Oh, and finally.What is your name?

>>28911600
Frosty Rime

Also I don't think that green eyes go very well together with a blue mane.

>>28911621
Or maybe Snowdrift

>>28911621
I made the initial eyes suggestion and im not very invested in the eye color so i suppose that could change.

>>28911644
If we have a light blue mane, the eyes should be something a bit more neutral but that might just be personal preference.

>>28911621
I like this name.
I had to look up what a rime was (which is rare for me) but i like the name.

>>28911657
We could go with more of a teal.

>/mlp/ horses and color theory

>>28911658
>>28911621

Frosty Rime then?An appropriate name.

Nobody knows when Discord appeared.Even the Elders did not remember the time, when sun and moon were going in the natural order.
Some even believed that Discord has ruled the world from it's creation.
Then Celestial Siblings came and opened your eyes.
They told stories of Old Equestria, of peaceful land, where only water fell from the clouds - and not chocolate nor acid, about land, where you did not have to hide from monsters lurking behind your doors.
To show ponies their history, to teach them about their origins, massive archaeological expeditions were launched.
The obvious choice for archaelogical sites were caves - they were first places where ponies ran from Discord, when he came in power, carrying with them a faint light of culture of the Old Equestria.

But now, caves were full of deadly monsters, and that's why you found yourself deep beneath the ground,entrusted with really
important task of "staying in the middle of this corridor and not letting anyone to pass",as your sergeant, Short Reach, told you.
All your other squadmates were spread all over the cave system, which was quite enourmous - while descending you noticed guards
belonging to many different regiments.Of course, many guards wore standardized purple-coloured uniforms, but some most famous regiments were honoured
with custom uniforms,for example Nocturnal Dragons, Luna's chosen.Seeing this honoured veterans made you quite nervous, since it obviously indicated that
something big and bad and incredibly dangerous is hiding beneath.

1/2

>>28911681
What equipment were we issued do we have a weapon?

>>28911731
Being a cryomancer, our horn is a good weapon.

>>28911735
Who knows maybe they gave us a spear anyway.

>>28911735
>>28911753
I guess as long as there's moisture, we can make something like an icicle spear or something.

>>28911681

You stood at guard for at least five hours and started to feel sleepy.If not for regular echoes of mining operations, you
suspected you would be lying at the floor and hugging your spear now.
A couple of minutes ago there was an unusually loud series of 'bangs', and even more unusual was the fact, that they came from above.
You did not dare to leave your post to investigate,and started to think that everything was all right,when you heard a clattering of hooves coming
from the end of the corridor that led to the exit.A couple of seconds later a pony figure in pitch black armor emerged from the darkness in
the circle of light, emitted by the torch attached to the wall above your head.
When he noticed you,he abruptly stopped and said:

>You, follow me.We now need any available pony down there.

On his armor you noticed lieutenant's insignia,so he obviously outranked you and your commander.But still, orders are orders, right?

>>28911783
If he outranks our commander then we say 'yes sir' and follow.

>>28911793
This.

>>28911731

You currently wear bronze set of armor with helmet and have a spear.

>>28911783


Now you could see that this guard was an earth pony stallion.His coat was dark gray, his mane silver and eyes were black.The moment you understood his gender you replied:
-Yes, sir!
After that you levitated your spear and followed the guard, who was already hastening to the depths of the corridor.

The cave system runs deep,so you shall have plenty of time before you arrive to your destination,so maybe you want to ask your companion about situation upwards?

>>28911913
sure

>>28911925

-Sir, what's happening up there?
He threw a glance at you and quickly replied:
>-These abominations came out of the walls >and caused the collapse, so now we are cut >out from the outer world.
>-They look like giant worms, but covered in >feathers.As weird as any Discord's spawn.So >pray we would be first to reach excavation >teams, private.

Abominations?Pray?You carefully eyed the leading stallion and a giant mace strapped to the left side of his armor.
He was one of the Night Bringers, bunch of religious fanatics who worshipped moon and thought that Princess Luna was some kind of prophet, or even avatar of their goddess.
Also, they claimed taht it was a common belief in the days of the Old Equestria, though you personally doubted it.
Looks like it would be better to be careful with your words around him.

Any more questions to ask?

>>28911402
It's still up in the air if they are an actual race or if they are normal ponies wearing enchanted armor.

>>28912025
Any casualties so far?

>>28912025
>-These abominations came out of the walls >and caused the collapse, so now we are cut >out from the outer world.
>-They look like giant worms, but covered in >feathers.As weird as any Discord's spawn.So >pray we would be first to reach excavation >teams, private.
Sorry, what in the world is this formatting?

>>28912055

-Any casualties so far?

>They caught us by surprise, so some of us went down.
>But don't worry, with Luna's grace we will quickly show them their place!

You passed a crossroads, and skipping a beat of heart, you noticed something like a blood stain on the wall.No other trace of pony, who stood there.
Now you can only hope, that you are not following the monster, who did this to your fellow guardspony.You prick up your ears, but you can only hear clattering of your own hooves.

>>28912133
Could you just use quotation marks, please?

>>28912140
If you wish.

I think I am finished for today, going to comtinue tomorrow at 15 GMT 0.
Also, I would be glad to hear some critique and suggestions.
And thanks for participating!

>>28912220
Just a question in advance: What's the focus of the quest gonna be? Fightan monsters seven days a week?

>>28912836

No, it is a kind of introduction.After you escape the cave story would be pretty much about ponies.

>>28912942
That sounds good to me, okay thanks.

I had to go to bed in the middle of the quest as i stayed up to late the night before but this is great.

>>28912049
i hope the show adresses it at some point
maybe in the celesia episode

>>28912133
run through combat techniques in our head as we race to our destination

neato

>>28913776
>Celestia episode
Your optimism makes me feel sorry for you, anon.

>>28914998

>>28913792
Every guardspony was trained to fight with a spear, but your were an unicorn, so most of your training was directed at enhacing your magical capabilities.You were pretty sure, that you are able to
operate with at least three spears simultaneously, using your telekinesis.
You started to think that you were lost in this cave, when you heard some echoing sounds.
"Curses!We are too late.Double time, private, pray that we can still save somepony!" said lieutenant, not even bohering to turn his head in
your direction.
You both accelerated, and after a minute or two you reached a large cavern,approximately 10 meters high and fifty meters in every other dimension, illuminated by some kind of magical orbs floating right under the ceiling, no doubt brought here by the excavation team.The first thing that caught your eye was a couple of monsters, of which only one seemed to be alive.A lifeless carcass, at least twenty metres long and wide enough to fit a pony
standing on his hind legs, spread itslef in the middle of the cavern.Another was located at the right side of the cavern and was actively trying to corner the last survivor, pegasus mare blocking with its enourmous body second exit from the cavern.
There were also numerous bloodstains on the walls,several spears lying on the floor and stuck in the monstrosity's body alike and some crates with mining equipment randomly dumped in far left corner of the cavern.
For a brief moment you wondered why the surviving mare just didn't take off in the air, until you noticed that on of her wings was badly mangled.She was currently holding a spear in her mouth, desperately trying to avoid
beast's maw throwing itself at her with the clear intent of swallowing her whole.

While you were assesing the situation, lieutenant emitted a battle cry and charged the beast, jumping over worm-like creature's body with ease.

Your actions?

>>28917227
"Warlock !I.vKACHJsw"
Who???

>>28911838
bitching i like spears

>>28917227
send a bolt of ice at the beast as we charge at it

>>28917251
thats a tripcode silly
the qms name is warlock

File: pony (8).png (133KB, 2000x1500px) Image search: [Google]

133KB, 2000x1500px

F/P

>>28917519
ah anon we long since worked that out.

thats a nice model though did you make it

>>28917543
used a program, sad i missed the action.

>>28917227
Throw a bolt of ice at it with the goal of hitting it right in the side of its face.

>>28917560
like a pony editor made by someone on DA

>>28917560
you pretty much just missed chargen

>>28917512

You decided to go all in and charged the monster.It took you some precious seconds to climb over dead worm's body to get into firing position.
Lieutenant had already unsheated his mace and was standing face to face with monster, currently trying to break some of it's teeth.
Pegasus mare, using distraction provided by your companion, was now running to the crates, though still holding her spear.
You quickly conjured an ice bolt and threw it into the general direction of the beast - it was hard to miss such monstrosity after all.
You scored an easy hit, but noted with regret, that it seemed to have no effect on creature of such size.
Perhaps, if you could hit his entrails, it would be more effective?

>>28917618
wait are you saying his entrails are exposed or suggesting cutting its stomach open.

>>28917634
I suggested that because basically it is giant worm, and it has a big mouth you could try to shoot inside it's mouth(pretty much like >>28917567 said, though i started writing my reply before his post).But currently this option is unavailable to you - since lieutenant is on the way.You could try to ask him, you could ry just shoot, in hope that you will not hit your ally, you could shift your focus on survivng mare - maybe she can provide some useful information - everything is up to you now.

>>28917618
examine the beast what does it look like

>>28917668
ah its a worm ok
>>28917673
make that
try and flank the worm with the lieutenant

>>28917677
One of the things they managed to put into your head at the bootcamp was "It is always better to flank the enemy".So you quickly ran to the center of the cavern, until you were sure that you were out of monster's line of sight, if such a concept is applicable to a creature with no visible sensory organs.
Lieutenant seemed to be a decent match for a beast, since it was screaming and violently thrashing, making it really dangerous to approach it at hoof's length.
What now?

>>28917774
Pick up and throw discarded spears at the beast with magic.

>>28917783
With nothing better to do, you levitated spears from the ground at started throwing them at the beast.They penetrated it's hide with ease, but it didn't look like you hit some vital organs, if it had any, of course.You were starting to feel a little desperate by the moment you heard an excited voice from behind:
"Found it!"
You turned your head and noticed pegasus mare running towards you, holding some pack i her mouth, one of her wings hung limp, while another was flapping, as if she was trying to fly.
How will you react?

>>28917845
Its probably an explosive get out of her way and get ready to duck.

>>28917862

You quickly realised that it must be some kind of explosives and started retreating to the relative cover of a body of already slain beast.
When you climbed on top of it, ready to jump down and hide, you noticed that mare had dropped the pack on the floor and was carefully eyeing you.
"You really thought that i was on a suicide run, huh?"
"Eh, well..."
She sighed in frustration and said:
"I am not ready to die yet.Look, you can do telekinesis, right? Don't answer, I have already seen you can. So, if we would somehow move your companion out of the way, you could
activate the timer and levitate this charge pack straight into this thing's mouth. Got it?"
She is looking at you, expecting some sign of confirmation.

>>28917910
Nod at her.
Lieutenant, fire in the hole! Should get him out of the way.

>>28917954
You nodded to the mare and carefully levitated magical explosive charge, set the timer to thirty seconds and screamed:
"Lieutenant, fire in the hole!"
He did precisely as you expected, reflexes of a trained soldier threw him out of the beast's maw.This very same moment you launched charge packs at the location, where lieutenant stood.Monster obviously feeled some object flying into his mouth, as he immediately closed his jaws in vain hope to chew whatever foolishly decided to become his last dinner.

You with guardsmare were already hiding behind another beast's carcass, as lieutenant almost flew over it, pursued by shockwave and a rain of entrails.
"Well, I think he is finished now" you said to no one.

All right, this is all for today,tomorrow I will return roughly at the same tame as today (14-16 GMT0)

Hope it is at least to some extent entertaining.
As always, waiting for any suggestions/critique.
And thanks for participating!

>>28918040
Check for survivors

>>28919170

>>28920764

>>28921742

Ok /mlp/ of the 2 characters we have met so far who do you prefer as a romantic intrest.

>>28919732

You looked over your improvised cover.The cavern was in horrible mess, chunks of flesh and stains of some liquid, that superceded blood for this beast, were everywhere.
There were no bodies in the cavern and you suspected that beasts just swallowed its' victims.Then you looked to the mare , who leaned onto the undamaged carcass and was panting heavily.
She caught your eye and smiled:
"It is over now"
Meanwhile lieutenant has already left your cover and was looking for something in the boxes.After a couple of minutes, he returned to you, holding some bag in his mouth.
He dropped a bag and spoke:
"There are good news and bad news. Bad news - seems it was the last of the explosive charges they had there, so we can't clear the collapse upstairs.
Good news - at least we have First-Aid kit there, so we can dress up our wounds before searching for another group of survivors."
Then he took some bandages from the bag, and then stared at you, as if he suddenly remembered something important.
"Also, it seems we have not time to introduce ourselves.I am lieutenant Argent Dawn from the Night Bringers"
"Private Wild Gust of first Hillhoof regiment reporting for duty, sir!" - pegasus mare quickly saluted and winced from pain in her wing.You quickly levitated remaining bandages
and introduced yourself.You were not surprised by the fact that you and Gust belonged to the same regiment - after all,
northern regions of Equestria were not densely populated and ponies from many far settlements were moving to relatively big towns to enlist.Hillhoof was the closest one
to your home village, Slowsteed.
You looked at Argent Dawn, who nodded in approval.He was removing his armor, which now looked really battered, so you also started giving first aid to Gust.

May be you want to suggest or ask anything while you rest?

>>28923327
ask if there is any information known on how to fight these creatures

>>28923327
Use your chilli powers to relieve that injured wing

>>28923612
>>28923788

You decided to relieve your companion from pain numbing her wing with your freezing magic.Gust looked at you with gratitude.
"Wow, thanks, it is much better now"
"No problem. Say, how did you kill the first one? Do they have some kind of weak sport or something?"
She just smirked.
"Nah.We just poked it, until it died. There were ten of us and mining team, so we had time to make at least one of them bleed to death. They dug out straight above crates, so
we did not had a chance to get explosives. Some of my squadmates tried."-she shuddered.
"All right, you two ready to move?" - you heard Argent Dawn's voice.

>>28924082
Yessir!

I'd love mke conversasion on the way, but being as silent as possible is probbly good idea

>>28924082
Are there any surviving earth ponies in the regiment? Searching for survivors should be our top priority, but that's of course for our commanding officer to decide. We should ask Gust if her wing is broken, because it might be good to put it in a splint then.

>>28924251
I'm asking for earth ponies because without explosives they might be our best way to clear the stairway.

>>28924213
>>28924251


"I think we should check if Gust's wing is broken, sir."
"If we are lucky, within a hour we will be back under the moonlight and private Gust would be provided with proper medical treatment.If not, well, may Moon have mercy upon our souls."
Argent Dawn now has donned his armor and was walking to the corridor, leading even deeper in caverns.
"We do not have to hurry. Whatever battle had raged below, it must certainly be over by now."


You noticed that this passage was artificial - it was at least 5 meters wide, walls were smooth and there were some engravings on the walls, though time has left its mark and you could not understand what their author wished to depict.Looks like archaeologists had found what they were looking for before their demise.

Soon you have reached an Y-shaped crossroads - you could either turn left or right.Both passageways were lit by the torches, obviously placed by the excavation teams.
None of these corridors seemed to lead down or up.
Lieutenant stopped and began examining the half-erased engravings.He muttered something and shook his head.
"If there even were any hints, that could show us where should we go, they are long ago erased.Though may be you can make out some sense out of it"

On the walls of the left passageway were engraved unicorns, looking up, their horns obviously charged with magic.
Engravings on the walls of the right passageway depicted many ponies of all races, bending they knees with heads down.

Where shall you go?

>>28924605
Right one sounds kinda fishy but that's just my gut feeling. Anything else? Ever so slight draft from either side? Faint sounds, like maybe an underground river?

I will wait for some more responces, and if nobody is coming you are just going right.

>>28924678
You strained your ears, but there is not even a faintest echo you can catch.You double check both passageways, but they both seem to be at the same height.

>>28924678
>Right one sounds kinda fishy
>if nobody is coming you are just going right
dude

>>28924605
Left

>>28924729
>>28924707

"May be we shall choose right path?" you suggested.
"Well, it seems as good as any" - shrugged Dawn and you turned right.
You walked past numerous engravings and torches, marking progress of archaelogists, and finally, you found a small open door and emerged into a big chamber,
filled with numerous rows of stone benches, though the first thing, that caught your eye was a charred body of another monster. Next to you stood an obsidian lectern, and on the far side of the chamber there was a much more massive pair of doors.
When you looked at the ceiling, you could not hold a gasp of surprise. An enourmous spherical boulder was levitating below the ceiling and emitting a faint silver light.
With a loud clang, Argent Dawn knelt before this boulder and bowed his head. You exchanged puzzled glances with Wild Gust.

What are you going to do now?

>>28925164
The penitent mare shall pass, I suppose.

>>28925164
Uhh...what is that thing?

>>28925261

While Argent Down was praying, you carefully eyed the boulder, which seemed to be slowly rotating around its axis. You could not escape the feeling taht you had seen something like this before. Then a revelation suddenly struck you - this boulder looked like a moon!
You looked at Gust, her facial expression could be described as a one of complete puzzlement.

Your actions?

>>28925421
Ask Argent Dawn why he's kneeling. We must bow to Luna, not a giant rock in a cave.

>>28925421
Kiss it.

>>28925470
It is levitating under the ceiling.Even if you stood on your hindlegs and jumped, you wouldn't be able to reach it.

>>28925449

"Sir, with all respect it is just a rock.I could understand if it was a statue of our Princess, but this..."
Earth pony didn't respond to you, until he finished his prayer,and after that he turned to you and spoke with an unhealthy gleam in his eyes.
"Ah, let me enlighten you. Since we first met Luna, beloved by all, it was a hot topic of debates, whether is she Moon incarnate, or a prophet, blessed with divine power.But since she denied her divine origin, second point of view prevailed.Also, my prayer was not directed to this ..statue, as you may thought. This temple is not only a symbol of our faith, but also an undeniable proof that ponies were worshipping at least one Celestial Goddess at times of Old Equestria, a fact, that previously had 'no hard evidence' to support it, as some ..critics said. They mocked us and laughed at our beliefs. Well, we will see who will laugh now!"
He took a deep breath and exhaled, calming himself.
"It was truly a divine intent that lead us there.I suppose that main exit from the temple shall lead us upstairs."
With these words he walked to the doors at the far end of the chamber.You started following him, when you noticed that Gust was still staying with her mouth agape.

If you have any suggestions about what our heroine shall do next - write them here, though I am finished for today.
As always, thanks for not letting this thread die for the third day and hope you enjoy the story!

>>28925577
Ask gust if she noticed something