Chapter 9
A young colt stands in his house in Hoofington. His coat is grey, and his mane is black; the only colour in his appearance is his cutie mark - a five point star within a circle, in a vivid red. The symbol is commonly used in association with dark magic, and is widely understood to correspond with a summoning pentacle - a tool of sorcery and control over demons. The most literal and basic translation of his cutie mark is that this is a pony with a knack for magic.
With this in mind, perhaps we can understand the frustration that Mild Darkness feels. Magic is something of an interest of his, as it is of course the greatest thing ever. To have a special talent for magic, then, is simply adding insult to injury. For not only is he a great admirer of magic, but he could have been one of the greatest wizards of his generation!
Could have been, were it not for the cruel twist of fate that brought him into the world the way it did. As an earth pony.
Mild Darkness is a very secluded and borderline racist, earth pony living in Hoofington. The shame he feels has served to twist his perception of unicorns from the great and wise, to the lucky and ungrateful. He has a fascination for all things evil and villainous, and spends a lot of his time plotting to take over the world. His schemes are thought out and sensible, and avoid all of the stupid clichés which are so often the downfall of invading armies. He has all of the schemes. All of them. And they're all amazing.
He also spends time talking with his mindless slaves, he means, best friends. They find his plans to be amusing, if a little disconcerting, but he supposes that they may come in useful - as target practice if nothing else. Especially the unicorns.
Mild is a fan of any variety of role playing games, and he is always the wizard. Always. Except when he's being a thief, sometimes. As everypony knows, no matter how they dress it up, all RPGs have a warrior, a thief, and a wizard. Warriors are obviously stupid. Wizards are the greatest, because they have magic. As mentioned, Mild has occasionally played as a thief whenever he's been in the right state of mind, but he has always decided in the end that they are inferior due to their lack of magic.
After that rather contrived attempt to give subtle hints about the near future, it would probably be best if Mild actually did something rather than just standing around waiting for us to finish learning about his interests. How about if he talked to one of the ponies we haven't seen much of yet?
[psychoticDeceiver began pestering mushroomAddict]
PD: You there.
PD: Answer, boy.
MA: oH HEY mILD
PD: Youre playing this game, right?
MA: uH YEAH i THINK SO
MA: nOT FOR A WHILE THOUGH
PD: Right, because youre the end of the chain.
PD: You do realise that means that by the time it gets to you, the game will be a lot harder than it will be for the rest of us?
MA: tHATS WHY iM JOINING LAST BECAUSE iM SO PRO
MA: :D
PD: Whats sad is that you actually believe that.
PD: Comet probably set you to go last because hes hoping youll get your ass handed to you.
MA: wELL i SAY BRING IT BITCH
PD: Heh.
PD: Speaking of, have you heard from him lately?
MA: nOT REALLY HE HASNT SAID MUCH
MA: oH HOLD UP HES JUST YELLING AT ME NOW
MA: sHOULD PROBABLY GO TAKE CARE OF IT
PD: Bah.
PD: Very well, we will continue this later.
MA: sURE
[psychoticDeceiver ceased pestering mushroomAddict]
Well that was a good waste of a few minutes. Now he'll probably play a game, unrelated to the one he will play later, which will be very boring to watch, so let's look at somepony else.
***
Having entered his first gate, Comet was now able to properly explore the Land of Cloud and Ruins. Or at least, able to blindly stumble around the Land of Cloud and Ruins. As you may have been able to discern, the entire planet was draped in a thick fog, which obscured his vision even a few metres ahead of him. It was very hard to keep any track of where he was or what direction he was facing, and the occasional ambush by a pack of granite imps was not helping him keep his bearings. This was stupid. Pulling out his laptop from his sylladex, Comet decided to check up on Ember. After all, he was no doubt going out of his mind with worry for Comet's survival. It was only right to keep his friends informed of his situation.
[fractalAbomination began pestering mushroomAddict]
FA: hey fuckass
FA: listen up
MA: wHAT DO YOU WANT
FA: just thought i'd mention that i've gotten into the game world
FA: and by that, i mean i have just narrowly avoided being hit in the face by a giant meteor
FA: i thought you'd want to know
MA: wHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT
FA: it turns out, this game is srs bsns.
FA: which is to say, it affects the real world in various ways
FA: such as by throwing meteors at you
MA: wOW SERIOUSLY
FA: yes, seriously
MA: iM NOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT
FA: idc, i'm not here to philosophise on your feelings
FA: i just thought i should tell you that i got in, and it'll be your turn soon
MA: uH YEAH ok
FA: good
MA: wAIT SO YOU MEAN YOU ACTUALLY ALMOST DIED
FA: yes. yes i did almost die
MA: uH
FA: oh for pity's sake, what is it?
MA: i DONT REALLY KNOW IF i WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME
FA: ... are you wimping out on me? seriously?
FA: is that what's happening?
MA: hEY MAN ITS NOT LIKE THAT i JUST DONT WANT TO PUT MY LIFE ON THE LINE IS ALL iM SAYING
FA: you are wimping out on me. you.
FA: this is just so screwed up in every meaningful way
MA: nOT MY FAULT
FA: yes, it is your fault
FA: suck it up, and play the damn game
MA: nO
FA: what do you mean "no"?
[mushroomAddict ceased being pestered by fractalAbomination]
Closing his laptop with an air of frustration, Comet vented his anger by smashing his Equestrian dictionary into the face of the nearest imp. The underling exploded in a shower of granite and shale, which he promptly collected before moving on. Man, screw Ember. Who did he even think he was, having second thoughts about risking his life? Comet had seen the risk coming, and he had taken that risk. Whether it was through stubborn pride, a scientist's intuition, or just plain stupidity, he had stayed in spite of the oncoming meteor. And it had paid off.
Ember, on the other hand, didn't even have a risk. He knew for a fact that playing the game would save him. What was he even worried about? Honestly, some ponies. Just thinking about it made Comet want to violently kill something with a large book.
So he did.
***
[desertedDestiny began pestering psychoticDeceiver]
DD: So, I've finished building Comet's house and stuff.
DD: Which I guess means that it's my turn to join the game.
DD: Are you ready?
PD: Yes. Ive been ready for several hours now.
DD: Good.
PD: Very well then, lets get this party started.
DD: Heh.
***
In Trottingham, a young filly is preparing to play a game with some of her friends. She is only vaguely aware of the terribly real effect the game has on the real world, and is completely unaware that her life will never be the same again. She is also completely unaware that she won't have to deal with that for very long, but let's not dwell on the future.
Her name is Acapella. She is a unicorn, and uses her magic to aid her in playing many different instruments. However, she cannot play all of the instruments, and even if she could we've used that joke far too many times already. Music, you might say, is her forte. She is particularly fond of, and good at, playing the accordion. Nopony knows, or cares, why this is the case. That's really all there is to say on the matter.
She also enjoys reading fantasy stories, which in Equestria are indistinguishable from accounts of real life events. While her magic is limited to the advanced level of levitation needed to play an instrument, she occasionally likes to imagine she is one of the more famous students from Princess Celestia's academy of magic. One of the great legendary figures from the past, like Twilight Sparkle. If only Acapella was of the same blood as Twilight Sparkle, then she could be a true witch. She often likes to imagine that she is, and that she has amazingly powerful magic. Not that she was complaining about what power she had, though. Playing the accordion was awesome, after all.
But enough of this silly girl and her oddly worded interests. What will she do next?
What she will do next, apparently, is reply to one of her friends.
[fractalAbomination began pestering homelessChicken]
FA: hey, can you help me out?
HC: Sure! What is it?
FA: well, i need to get dawn to play the game
FA: and dawn doesn't like me
HC: Heh, she sure can be strong minded sometimes!
FA: sometimes i wonder if we're talking about the same pony
FA: but whatever, here's the plan
FA: she doesn't like me
FA: but she listens to diamond
FA: and diamond listens to you
FA: and you're good willed enough to listen to me if i ask nicely
HC: Heheheh.
FA: so what i would like you to do is to ask diamond to ask dawn to play
HC: OK! But what I want to know is...
HC: If you and her don't get along, why are you so keen to get her on board?
FA: because emmy has stopped wanting to play, so i need dawn's superior bitching skills to convince him to rejoin the game
HC: And why are you so keen to get Ember to play?
FA: because he's my third best friend who isn't also completely insane
FA: and at this stage, beggars can't be choosers
HC: Heheh, alright, I'll go along with your crazy plan. FOR NOW. <:)
FA: thank you
FA: anyway, i gtg take care of these dumbass turtles that keep following me around everywhere
FA: later
HC: BYE!
[fractalAbomination ceased pestering homelessChicken]
Despite her enthusiasm, Acapella paused before starting the conversation with Diamond. She'd been getting worse lately, and Acapella really didn't want to bother her unless it was absolutely necessary. Perhaps she could talk to Ember herself? That would be a lot less stressful!
So she did that. It didn't work, but that's not really the issue here.
***
The two sisters approached Cloudsdale alone, without the usual fanfare that accompanied a royal visit. They preferred it that way. This was no time for celebration, after all. Above them, the meteor was bearing down on Destiny's home, where they could see the red pegasus frantically messing around with a kernelsprite and a large eagle. Where she had found an eagle, neither sister had any idea, but it was probably through some highly contrived and silly series of events. Celestia chuckled to herself at the sight.
"It brings back memories, doesn't it?" she asked, trying to read her sister's reaction. Luna didn't seem particularly surprised by the question, nor did it take her long to answer.
"Yes, it does." She shrugged. "Although we can't say we miss the feeling of not having a clue what we're doing."
"I suppose. Are you ready for the meteor?" Luna nodded. "Good. At least we don't have as much work to do this time - we can just help it pass straight through the clouds, and then just try to slow it down as much as possible. Not many ponies live below here, so it shouldn't be too hard to protect them all." They both looked below them, to where the meteor would soon be plummeting towards. A few houses were huddled together in various small groups, their inhabitants blissfully unaware of the oncoming rock. "You can barely even see them from up here."
"In a while you'll barely see them from down there."
***
In a different universe entirely, the first champion found himself travelling across the vast expanse that was the Land of Cloud and Ruins. Right now Comet was journeying through a large, desolate temple, practically indistinguishable from the thousands of other large, desolate temples that littered the world. All he had learned about this planet so far was that its turtle consort worshipped rubble, and had built large, desolate temples to store their sacred rubble in. Or something like that. He wasn't much of an archaeologist.
At that moment he was facing the latest in a series of incredibly tedious puzzles, which so far had accomplished nothing but to lead him further into the ruins. This puzzle took the form of a large turtle shaped groove in the wall in front of him. He had spent the last few minutes gathering the stone slabs (cunningly hidden in a pile of stone slabs) which fitted into the puzzle, and now lifted them up into the wall. He had had quite enough of turtles, and stupid puzzles, and the frustrating lack of action. This game was stupid.
After the final piece was slotted into the groove, the wall obediently slid away to reveal the corridor behind it. This predictably led further into the ruins, with no indication of how much further he had still to go. Stupid lousy unoriginal game design. Well, he wasn't going to put up with this without breaking up the monotony a little. Scratching the answer to the question his modus offered him (he had by now learnt this particular equation off by heart), Comet retrieved his laptop. There was some unfinished business to take care of.
[fractalAbomination began pestering amniomorphicWizard]
FA: wow, would you look at the time?
FA: it's explanation o'clock!
FA: i want some fucking answers, and i want them now
AW: I keep telling you, my good man, I'm really not supposed to say anything.
FA: why, did i tell you not to?
AW: No, I did.
FA: well at least it's not my future self sticking his nose where it doesn't belong
AW: Eheh, it's so very amusing to hear you talking about your past and future selves. You always get so worked up about it.
FA: ok fine, whatever, why aren't you telling me anything?
AW: Because pretty soon you're going to start talking to me in the past. So it'll be less frustrating all around if you talk to me out of order as little as possible.
FA: why am i going to start talking to you in the past?
AW: If memory serves...
AW: To apologise.
FA: apologise? that doesn't sound like me, bro. i don't apologise
FA: i'm sorry, but that's just the way i am
AW: Eheheh. We'll see, won't we?
AW: The point is that you'll talk to me in the past soon, so let's just try and keep things linear, OK?
FA: fine
[fractalAbomination ceased pestering amniomorphicWizard]
Captchaloguing his laptop and progressing down the corridor, Comet briefly took notice of the intricate runes carved into the side of the wall. Various stretches of the temple had been like this - small stretches of carved text at key points in the structure. Translating it would probably take little more effort than matching one symbol to an ordinary letter, since the turtles apparently spoke the same language as he did. This was convenient. He estimated that a full translation would take an hour or so, and then an extra twenty minutes per sequence of runes, which was far too long to spend on some obscure part of the backstory. It wasn't like LOCAR's culture actually mattered or anything.
Later he found out that LOCAR's culture actually mattered.
***
In winter, the winds in Cloudsdale were horrific to experience. The buildings, while structurally sound, were terrible at keeping out draughts, and it was hard to find any escape from the biting chill. That, however, was nothing compared to the tundra that Destiny had been transported to, and yet the freezing temperatures were offset by the awe inspiring landscape - an enormous mountain range stretching across miles and miles of snow and rock. Far surpassing any mountains found in Equestria, this mountainous terrain covered the entire surface of her planet. This was the Land of Ice and Decay, and its consorts had long been awaiting the arrival of their hero. The land had been tainted by anger born from the frustration and desperation of a species on the brink of starvation, and the consorts had been waging war across this barren land for many generations. That was the extent of Destiny's awareness of current affairs, as all the other information being spewed at her had glided straight past her. Only now did she shake herself from the hypnotic view of the mountains, as her lecturer neared his conclusion.
"It is your duty, as the hero of this planet, to journey across the land and unite the consorts. For only then can the corruption be halted, and our world can begin to heal." Finishing what would probably have been a very long and boring quest description - had she paid any attention - the salamander bowed to Destiny before heading back the way it had come. The emissary has appeared just a few minutes after her arrival on the Land of Ice and Decay, and had then proceeded to deliver a lecture on the planet's terrible misfortune that was apparently her problem. Honestly, everyone seemed to think they could just lay their problems on her, and she'd take care of everything. It was almost enough to drive a girl to depression. First waiting for the salamander to disappear between the snow-capped mountains that now surrounded her cloud house, Destiny turned to Eaglesprite. She had eventually used an eagle for prototyping her kernelsprite - not that she was entirely sure where she'd gotten an eagle from - but had soon come to regret the decision. It was a very, very wise eagle.
"So... should I go out and explore, or something?" The eagle simply looked back at her sagely. "... is... that a yes?" She waited for a few minutes, neither her nor the magic ghost eagle making any movement. Then it slowly shook its head. "Why not?!" If it wasn't being so slow anyway, the sprite would probably have paused, before giving its drawn out answer.
"You should... stay. Exploring... comes later. For now... fight." Content that its explanation had been sufficiently thorough, Eaglesprite flew off into the cold mountain sky, leaving Destiny standing on her cloud with an exasperated expression. Man, what a brainless feathery asshole of a sprite she had found herself stuck with. And what did it even mean by 'fight'? Fight what?
A sudden screeching from something right next to her caused the pegasus to lash out instinctively - drawing her katana from her strife specibus, she spun around and drove the blade deep into the thing standing behind her. The 'SAPPHIRE IMP', caught off guard by the sudden attack, leapt away from her in shock and fear, turning away and stretching out its wings ready to escape. Unfortunately for the wounded underling, by the time it had done so Destiny was already swinging her katana down onto it again. Defeated, it exploded with a shriek of pain, dropping several pieces of sapphire grist.
You have advanced one (1) rung up your echeladder! You achieve the title of 'Seething Problems' and receive 45 boondollars!
Gel Viscosity: +4!
Cache Limit: +20!
Emotions: +5!
In the distance, ogres were approaching. Destiny readied her blade. One rung down, several hundred to go.
***
After unsuccessfully attempting to reason with Ember, Acapella was feeling more than a little depressed. Which wasn't really like her, but nopony could be cheerful all the time, right? That would just be entirely unlikely and not fun. Sigh.
Something had to be done, though, and the remaining time was rapidly running out. Soon she would be getting Mild into the incipisphere, and after that it would be her turn. Comet's plan remained the only good option, as much as she didn't want to go through with it. She supposed that the only thing left to do was to talk with Diamond, and ask her to help out. Acapella had assumed that she was already on board to play this game, but then you never knew with that pony. Or rather, you did know, but only half of the time, and you didn't know which half. Maybe she'd be in a cooperative mood today?
[homelessChicken began pestering suspiciousSerpent (SS)]
HC: Hello? Are you there?
SS: of course I'm here. it's not like I'm going out anywhere, since we're playing this game and everything.
HC: Oh? So you ARE playing?
SS: yes, I'm your server player. at least, that's what Comet told me.
HC: GREAT! <:D
HC: Wait, when did Comet talk to you about this game?
SS: he mentioned it yesterday, and sent me the files and whatnot.
HC: Oh, OK. Well anyway, he asked me to talk to you...
SS: about?
HC: Well, he wants Ember to play, but he doesn't want to, so he needs Summer to play so that she can get Ember to play, but Summer doesn't like him...
HC: So in order to get Summer to play he needs you to get her to play because she listens to you.
SS: right.
SS: I might be missing something here, but couldn't he have told me this when he sent me the files?
HC: I don't think that the Ember thing was a problem back then.
HC: But I don't know, I'm just the messenger! <:D
SS: OK, well, that's fine, I'll talk to her about it.
HC: YAY!
HC: Oh, also, I'm just getting Mild into the game now, and once I've done that I'll need you to help me get in, OK?
SS: sure.
SS: Wait whats going on
SS: Hold on
[suspiciousSerpent (SS) ceased being pestered by homelessChicken]
[shiningSeraphim (ss) began pestering homelessChicken]
ss: Ok so whats happening
ss: What am i saying
HC: Uh, nothing! Just that you're going to be playing a game later tonight with us, OK?
ss: Am i
ss: I dont really remember that
HC: Well, you are! Sorry about this, but I've really got to go!
HC: <:(
ss: Wait
ss: I didnt agree to this
[homelessChicken ceased being pestered by shiningSeraphim (ss)]
Immediately after closing the conversation, Acapella planted her head firmly into her desk. Why did she just disconnect like that? Argh, that was NOT the best way to handle that. Gog damn she was such an idiot sometimes. But she always got a little flustered whenever 'that' happened. Well, she reasoned, no use crying about it now. She probably wouldn't be able to count on Diamond for an hour or so, so that was Comet's plan out of the window. Making a mental note to tell him about that later, she decided it was time to focus on the matter at hand, which was getting Mild into the game.
***
"Don't mind me." I say apologetically as I return to the room with a determined stride. "Suffice it to say that the Pinkie hunt has not gone entirely to plan. We may be on the brink of some more guests very shortly, unless I can do something about it. Please do not be alarmed." Disappearing into a cupboard, I begin my frantic search for the necessary machinery.
***
PD: I cant help but notice that you have apparently abandoned saving my life.
PD: And have instead opted to ruin my bathroom in what little remaining time we have to spare.
PD: Im not ok with this.
HC: Stop your whining! I'm getting you in!
PD: Youre getting me angry, but thats about it.
HC: <:D
HC: Anyway, I need to use your bath to whack the cruxtruder, right?
PD: You could have used anything.
HC: That's why I AM using anything!
PD: ... fine.
HC: It'll be just fine, don't worry about it.
HC: In the meantime, why don't you do the kernel thing?
PD: Sure.
HC: Yay for TEAMWORK! <:D
PD: ... no.
HC: Aww!
Taking a moment to clear his head, Mild turned his attention to the kernelsprite. The hovering grey orb stared back at him, showing no inclination of where it wanted to go. From observing Destiny's sprite, Mild had determined that the object used to prototype had an effect on the enemies of the game. This meant that prototyping something inanimate and useless would make the enemies much easier to defeat. If he was going to play this game, he was going to play it the half-assed way! But what could he use?
[eclecticSage began pestering psychoticDeceiver]
ES: why HELLO to you
ES: it would SEEM that you're in a bit of a dilemma, no?
PD: Im going to pretend that I dont find it at all odd that somepony Ive never spoken to before knows exactly whats happening to me right now.
PD: So that I can say its not really much of a dilemma.
PD: Ill probably just throw in this tooth.
After a brief period of glancing around his room, Mild had laid eyes on a large tooth with which he had decorated his desk. He forgot exactly which large predator it was supposed to have come from, but it certainly fit the bill as something which wasn't going to be much of a hassle to deal with.
ES: oh
ES: so you DON'T need my help with anything?
PD: No.
ES: in THAT case, i'll be taking my leave now, until you DO need my help
PD: I doubt that I ever will.
ES: ohohohoh, that's where you're WRONG
ES: ^^
[eclecticSage ceased pestering psychoticDeceiver]
Mild paused for a moment, internally debating whether that conversation had any significance whatsoever. Deciding it didn't, he shrugged and tossed the tooth into the kernelsprite.
***
"If you remember, there were some noises which warranted my attention before our story began. Those noises, I have determined, were caused by this machine..." I pause, and drag a large, complex machine out of the cupboard and through an adjoining door to the rooms beyond, before returning to explain my actions.
"I have just placed the machine in the necessary room, where it will distract my past self over the course of accomplishing the task for which I have now deployed it." Again, it is worth noting that time and space are very arbitrary concepts in my domain. "Rest assured that Pinkie Pie will be contained very shortly. In the meantime, feel free to continue with this session." Taking a look at your position in the notes, I rifle through them and offer you a page taken at random from deep within the bundle of paper. "There, try that. I have no idea where in the story that takes place, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of foreshadowing to get you into the spirit of things. After that, feel free to resume your normal, chronological order... if you wish. Either way, I'll be right back."
Giving a slight bow, I retreat from the room to resume the hunt.
***
It was funny how things turned out. After so long spent kneeling beneath the greater races, now Mild Darkness found himself catapulted to the highest rung of the social ladder. Now he was the most powerful player in the group, and now had the wings and horn befitting one who has reached the highest levels in Sburb - the God Tiers. Without his opportune ascension, their current assault on Derse would have been inconceivable. As it was, they now had the necessary firepower to take down the queen before she reached her full power.
The Black Queen was a potent enemy, even though her seventh prototyping had not yet been applied. Though Acapella and Destiny were making short work of the Dersite army which had arrived to protect their queen, Mild was barely managing to restrain the monarch. Since reaching God Tier, he found that most minds were little more than glass bottles he had to smash. But the queen, as a potent enemy, was beyond his complete control. Her mind was strong, and not easily broken, so the two remained locked in a mental duel while Mild's two team members fought in the background. Within her mind, Mild could feel the desire to destroy, to kill, and even his power was struggling to contain it.
"Are you two going to be finished any time soon!?" he called back to the others, not turning away from the queen.
"Will you just hold up for one moment? We're almost done!" came Acapella's frustrated reply, as she dodged yet another incoming pawn and jabbed her cane through its back. That was enough, Mild decided.
"OK, you know what? I've had enough of this. Switch over in five." he then began counting under his breath.
"What?" Acapella paused for a moment, focusing her attention on what Mild was saying, while Destiny continued beheading Dersites. "But we need all three of us to defeat her!"
"Just hold out for a few minutes, and I'll have the Dersites taken care of." While remaining focused on the queen, Mild subconsciously readied his knives. "Three. Two. One." So saying, he immediately threw every knife in his possession at the queen, and then spun around to face the Dersites. Acapella and Destiny then leapt past him in the opposite direction, towards the queen. Destiny, who had been planning to catch the queen off guard and take off her head in one swing, was both surprised and disappointed as the queen responded with her own sword, blocking the attack and knocking Destiny away from her. Picking herself up, she and Acapella once again advanced towards the queen.
While the girls were fighting behind him, Mild was finally able to use his power against the oncoming group of much weaker, more impressionable minds. Simply reaching out and twisting their killing instinct around, the hero of Mind was vaguely amused as the attacking army rounded on itself. Retrieving one of the swords scattered around the piles of bodies, he rapidly butchered the few remaining pawns, and then turned back to the queen to join in the fight. That was when he heard the scream.
The various prototypings in the queen, while not especially mighty on their own, joined together in a way that rendered them unexpectedly powerful. Although the queen's attention was focused entirely on Destiny, as Acapella leaped towards the monarch she was detected by the robotic sensors which the queen now had access to. In response, the queen's long snake tail lashed upwards towards the unicorn, knocking her up and over the queen in time to be skewered by the monarch's sword. As the unicorn lay on the ground, bleeding profusely, she was vaguely aware of Destiny flipping the fuck out, before everything faded to black...
FRAYMOTIF
[MIND && RAGE]
PHILOSOPHORTISSIMO
The battle music, which the game had been playing faintly in the background for the duration of their fight thus far, now approached a crescendo as Destiny and Mild activated their fraymotif. Combining their respective powers, the heroes of Mind and Rage both experienced Destiny's anger, greatly amplified by Mild's powers of Mind. Their stats, in case it needed pointing out, were completely ridiculous. They were now beyond the level of rage that clouded their judgement and lessened their overall effectiveness - instead their anger merely served to focus their (insane) power onto the hapless queen.
Knocking aside the queen's half-hearted attempt to defend herself, Destiny became a flurry of blades and anger as she unleashed exactly half of the fraymotif's power onto the queen, almost entirely knocking her health completely out of its casing of vitality gel. Unfortunately, however, her limited Rage powers dissipated before she had defeated the monarch, who still had the strength to knock away the sapped pegasus onto the floor. Fortunately, the second half of the fraymotif's power was still to come.
Flying up into the air, and using his magic to fling the queen up to meet him, Mild grinned evilly as he mentally grasped hold of the queen's mind. With the rage fuelling him, the queen's relatively pitiful defences buckled before his power, and she could do nothing but give a sharp shriek of pain as he crushed her mind like a paper cup. Considering the broken monarch, Mild then completed the fraymotif by venting the remaining rage into a final push with his magic, shooting the queen through the palace's walls and out of the other side. The fraymotif finished, both ponies returned to their natural state of aggression, and received several million booncases and experience points. Graciously accepting his newest god tier, Mild flew back down to the throne, where Destiny was tending to a dying Acapella.
"Is she-" the question was cut off by a curt nod from Destiny. Well, that answered that. Mild looked up, and surveyed the scene of destruction they had caused. It wouldn't be long before another few regiments turned up to see what all the fuss was about, and he would prefer it if they were gone by then. "OK, I'm going to go and take care of the queen's ring. The last thing we need is some unsuspecting pawn trying it on, or something. You can deal with Acapella?" Destiny paused, and then nodded. "Right, I'll be right back." He once again took to the air, flying through the hole in the wall the queen had left, in search of her body.
***
Wearily forcing her eyes open, Acapella begrudgingly forced herself out of bed. What was going on? Wasn't she meant to be fighting the queen or something? Or-
Oh. Yeah, that was right.
Taking note of her purple dress, confirming her suspicions that her waking self had died and then been revived, the unicorn made her way to the window of her purple dream tower, before flying out of it and down towards Derse. Destiny and Mild were probably worrying about her! Or at least, Destiny probably was.
Unknown to Acapella, behind her Mild was approaching Derse's moon, having taken care of the queen's remains. He now advanced on the towers containing the Derse dreamers. He had purpose in his eyes, a monarch's ring in his sylladex and plenty of knives in his strife deck.
Unknown to Acapella, she had just made a lucky escape.
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I KNEW god tier would mean conversion into an alicorn. Somehow it just seemed like the obvious conclusion.
So... we've formally met four, seen six, and named seven of these other-session ponies. How many are there? And who are these two other douchebags AW and ES?
Let me guess. the narrator is Equestria's First Guardian? I never questioned it before, but then again, I haven't had First Guardians on the mind lately.
And my plus-one drew god-tier Fluttershy based on our shared assumption that she's the Seer. Though I think now she needs a horn. The only thing keeping her from drawing Twilight like that is us not knowing what canon Mage designs look like, and the only thing keeping her from Pinkie is A. us only THINKING she's a Hero of Doom and B. that FUCKING CODPIECE on the god-tier Bard. Though she said she'd omit the shit out of it...
GOD I love this story. I don't know if you can tell, but I really, really do. Speculating about it is as awesome as reading it. Just like Homestuck itself.
287656 Yeah, the thinking behind god tiers being "alicorns" was related to the logic behind why trolls get wings (quoted from the wiki page): "The physical result of ascension to the God Tiers has ties to the cultural image of perfection and the perception of what godhood should be like for the species in question." Therefore ponies, viewing the princesses as the perfect beings, would become like them upon ascension. Just a point of interest, it was thinking about this that originally got me started on writing Ponystuck in the first place.
I'll tell you that there are exactly 7(+1) ponies in this other session. As for those other douchebags, well, like I said, not even my beta readers know. Only myself, and the narrator, know who they are.
I have two ideas for who the narrator is. One of them makes sense, and one of them is amusing. I'm still not sure which to go for. On the subject of the first guardian, though, it was incredibly tempting to make it Angel.
You're right in your thinking that a god tier Fluttershy would have a horn, at least in the context of this story. I think that outside of the hoods/capes, the outfits will only slightly mimic the human designs. Maybe only covering the front half of the body or something? Either way, I would love to see that god tier drawing in case it's on the internet anywhere.
MD is probably a Bard, since if I'm reading this right, he's about to play havoc with the session's narrative...
Huzzah for being one of the betas, hazzuh for not knowing what's going on!
Also, on an unrelated note, in the next chapter, we are introduced into definitely the most awesome and amazing and bestest and radicalist and super-duperly cooliest pony of them all. It is certainly an unbiased opinion, I do promise you.
Also, on another unrelated note, why is there so many cliffhangers in this story!? It's quite frustrating, and yet also awesome. The story, not the writer. The writer is a bit of dick. :3
Also, on YET another unrelated note, I have to keep my comments on a single note that is all related.
288833 I think you'll find that we've already seen the most awesome and amazing and bestest and radicalist and super-duperly cooliest pony of them all. That was back in chapter 1, remember?
Also, if you have a reply to this, say it on Skype so I don't have to keep deleting your comments.
287721 Guess who read your comment. She's kinda in a BLUH state of mind about tweaking what she's got, but she's given her blessing to let me display THIS.
s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_m02tzqkSl31qed3p0o1_1280.png?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1330993542&Signature=Cbo7J29Had4KD%2BIAOkjfKAWvEIA%3D
Congratulations, CTP. Ponystuck has its first fanart. When I told her I did it, her exact words were "All I can feel is keymashings."
288909
Ok... I have to say. That is freaking awesome! *Picks up all the internetz* I do believe these belong to you and your friend, sir!
288944 Thanks for that. Now she's actually keymashing me on Skype.
288909 Yes. Hell yes.
HELL FUCKING YES.
That is really awesome. Even if I wasn't just happy about Ponystuck fanart actually being a thing, it looks great, and plus it's God Tier Fluttershy and is therefore the best thing ever.
Now I have to resist the urge to do my own drawings of the ponies at god tier. Got to stay focused!
Well, maybe just a few...
Anyway, before I forget, THANK YOU @ both you and your friend.