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Author Topic: My Little Descent into Madness [Succession List Open]  (Read 9039 times)

DVNO

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My Little Descent into Madness [Succession List Open]
« on: July 19, 2012, 05:19:31 am »






MLP, more dwarf fortress than Dwarf Fortress
by ziom05



The TLDR Version

A Red Unicorn snaps back to life with a gasp. Black. Pitch black. He felt like he was being suffocated. Helmet. He quickly unstrapped the bent-in steel helmet collapsed around his head and threw it off.

He gasped around some more, trying to get his bearings.

He witnessed the majesty of the Everfree Badlands. A dying land not yet dead, with patches of coarse grey grass-tussocks. On the skyline, the clouds and the shafts of the alien skyscrapers against them were turning brown, like an old painting in oil, the color of a faded masterpiece. Long streaks of grime ran down the unnatural honeycomb skyscrapers protruding from the ground. Trenches fanned out from these structures like ripples of water cascading out from the impact of a stone. Down in the trenches and mud of the no man’s land below, where the final battle for Equestria had raged, thousands and thousands of elven, goblin, dwarven, human, orc, dragon, sergal and pony corpses littered the landscape, baking in a sun that was frozen in the exact same midday sky since Celestia had died.

Nothing about this county sized graveyard irked him more than its silence.

The miasma made Surefire dry heave, making him look down, almost making him vomit. Then, He saw a severed horn on the ground. That finished the job. The broken-off horn unnerved him to his very core.

“I..I couldn't even imagine losing such an essential, utilitarian tool as magic. The poor, poor bastard who lost it...” He said, raking his hoof through his mess of a mane.

His hoof came back down, caked with blood. He started to realize, horrified, whose horn it was. He couldn't even begin to process it, not here, not now. Not the wide open. He needed to find some gauze and get moving. Food. Water. Shelter. Those were next. Look for some sort of search party and find the rest of the Celestial Imperial Army, maybe?

He salvaged whatever he thought looked useful into a sack and looked around. There were skyscrapers in front of him and two skyscrapers were slowly drilling their way to the earth's surface behind him. They were Changeling hives. Not a place he would like to visit. It was Left or right. He flipped a  mental coin and took a walk left.







250, A.C.D

Diary Entry #1



      My name is Captain Surefire, former officer for the Lunar Confederacy. Now ... I don’t know what I am now. A survivor, maybe? My god, I’m only thirty, and somehow I’m the most authoritative one here. I’ve somehow become the sage one. I remember what we’re fighting for, at least. That’s more than I can say for these fresh faces around me. I guess there's a high chance I’m going to die out here, So let me set the record straight for any archaeologists who find this on my person. I remember a time when there was no fighting. I remember a time when I knew the taste of something other than blood in my mouth. I remember a time when all equestrians stood united and proud under a single banner. We were a proud, strong race, once. If anything, remember that about us. We weren't always like this. How did it all start? Celestia. It all started with Celestia. Celestia, an overambitious alicorn with godlike power, tried to make everlasting harmony a reality. Under her Iron hoof, we felt so secure. All of Equestria was at peace, and the world was fair. As long we never asked how Celestia became so powerful, never asked what happened to the ponies with a dissenting opinion from those of her perfect empire, we grew fat and content.  That was, of course until the day her sister, Luna, betrayed her. When Luna, Now royally calling herself Nightmare Moon, called for a new regime? For a time of change in the status quo? Not much convincing was necessary from the mad god. The kindling was set ablaze. Just like that, open civil war between those still loyal to the old Celestial Empire and the new self proclaimed Lunar Confederacy, split our land in two. Just like that, the harmony died.
         
      The empire, while suffering from an unending power struggle in leadership, still outnumbered us twenty to one. Defeat after defeat drove the Lunar Confederacy to desperation, drove us to play with magic we didn’t fully understand. We were driven to the crevices of the world, where only the darkest magical tomes and most diabolical creatures lived. While Nightmare Moon liked what she found,The Lunar Confederacy had seen enough. The Confederacy splintered apart. Nightmare Moon didn't care much. She had new pets to play with. when we limped back to the Empire, We never signed anything official, hell, we never even let the wounds heal. The two factions just had to lean on each others backs to keep new threats from overwhelming them. When Celestia died, every nation that she kept at bay decided they wanted a piece of Equestria for themselves.  Nightmare Moon created the Nightmare, an army of shadows, and darkness. It begins with a Transparent magical spore that, when it’s inhaled, starts... Talking to the victim. Becomes a voice in the back of their head, starts telling them to do things, it eventually drags ponies into the dark jaws of the Nightmare Moon. She turns them into twisted evil parodies of their former selves, The Taken. She saw It as “Liberating” them, Unleashing the true potential inside, whether they wanted  it unleashed or not. Chrysalis and the Changelings have decided to join with her. We tried to fight the nightmare we created ... the nightmare’s been winning. I’m a survivor of the battle of Tipping Point, the largest offensive the remainder equestrian race ever launched against Nightmare Moon. The battle’s over. I’d like to know who won, but I’ve only found six other ponies, they know about as much as I do. We are going to to make an encampment, rally any other survivors, and wait for further orders.

~ Surefire
Royal Celestial Army

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

:C E L E S T I A L   A R M Y  D R A F T  F O R M:
DRAFT IN EFFECT. FILL OUT AND REPORT FOR YOUR CIVIL DUTY.



Handle (What other players will call you)

Name____________ (Having Trouble?)

You supported who during the civil war? (Celestia/Luna/Ect.)

Your Belief(s) ( thinking with your heart)

Your goal(s) (What your trying to accomplish)

Your Instinct(s) (Thinking with your gut)

A personal secret. Something your character is withholding from the group. Can be anything. Don’t actually write it out here, Just have one in mind. And try to figure out the other player’s secrets through RP to get points. You can see points, and an what they can be used for on the leaderboard.

Changeling? (Yes/No) Again, don't actually write it out. Golden rule About changelings: They are not self-aware. A changeling has the intelligence of an insect until until it finds and harvests a pony's Identity. Not only does it assume one's appearance, but it's memories aswell, all the way up to twenty four hours before the victim died to keep unaware. As far a changeling is concerned, It's the pony it harvested memories from, it can't remember the day the real pony was murdered, and woke up on the day after.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
« Last Edit: January 07, 2013, 07:42:46 pm by DVNO »
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Valrandir

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2012, 09:19:52 am »

I dislike pony fortress :|

DVNO

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2012, 03:43:37 pm »

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CaptainArchmage

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2012, 03:51:31 pm »

Is this a succession fort or a community fort?
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Given current events, I've altered my profile pic and I'm sorry it took so long to fix. If you find the old one on any of my accounts elsewhere on the internet, let me know by message (along with the specific site) and I'll fix. Can't link the revised avatar for some reason.

DVNO

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2012, 03:59:23 pm »

A community fort where the current expedition leader/mayor gets the save. A little column A, a little column B.
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jaxler

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2012, 07:45:22 pm »

handle: Jaxler

Pony's name: Jaxler

Supported: didn't support nopony.

beliefs: Anything is justified in the name of survival

Goals: to not die, ???, Profit!

Instincts: protective and survival.

« Last Edit: July 22, 2012, 04:52:07 am by jaxler »
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I've decided to say "fuck it" and will just implode my fort.

“Ok, Neo ChosenUrist, before you is two levers. Pull the Kimberlite lever -- you wakeup in a random bed and have whatever thoughts you want to think. You pull the Bauxite lever -- you stay in the caverns and I show you how deep the adamantine hole goes.” - psalms

Zearoth

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #6 on: July 19, 2012, 07:54:23 pm »

handle: Zearoth

Pony's name: Tarus Dawning

Supported: Celestia

beliefs: My life is not more then another, and will be sacrificed to save theirs. Respect and honour are above all but the glory of the Princess.

Goals: Protect and help all those who are in need.

Instincts: protective.
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Corai

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #7 on: July 19, 2012, 07:56:32 pm »

Hey hey hey, stay outta my shed.

---


handle: Idem

Pony's name: Charming Knight -Don't ask, thats what the generator gave me.-

Supported: Nopony.

beliefs: Death is a unneeded venture, if it can be avoided it should.

Goals: Unity among all.

Instincts: Protective.


-edit-

So far everyone is "protective." I feel like I did this wrong.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2012, 08:13:54 pm by Corai »
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Jacob/Lee: you have a heart made of fluffy
Jeykab/Bee: how the fuck do you live your daily life corai
Jeykab/Bee: you seem like the person who constantly has mini heart attacks because cuuuute

L1wW

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2012, 08:07:43 pm »

handle: L1wW

Pony's name: Mud

Supported: Celestia in uniform but technically Luna

Beliefs: Fortification triumphs flesh and blood

Goal: Make this place safe for the generations to come. Build to last the years.

Instincts: Protective, Mechanical and Structural Solutions i.e. Traps and Walls
« Last Edit: July 20, 2012, 03:06:16 am by L1wW »
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Gizogin

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #9 on: July 19, 2012, 09:39:20 pm »

handle: Gizogin

Pony name: Silver Spirit

Supported: Celestia

Beliefs: I'm not going to die, and I don't care what I have to do to to stay alive.  I look out for myself.

Goal: This fortress should be safe, and built to last

Instincts: Cowardly.  Danger shows up, I find somewhere to hide.  Like I said, I really don't want to die.
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One FB post. Many dick jokes. Pokemon. !!VOLCANO!!. Dwarven mood thingee. Derailment itself. Girlinhat's hat. Cuba. Karl Marx. This is why i love Bay12 forums.
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DVNO

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Re: My Little Decent into Madness
« Reply #10 on: July 19, 2012, 11:26:31 pm »

Accepted and Accepted

Here's Corai's



And Gizogin's



Welcome aboard

First report's coming up tomorrow
« Last Edit: July 19, 2012, 11:52:45 pm by DVNO »
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DVNO

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Re: My Little Descent into Madness
« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2012, 10:28:00 pm »

Eight ponies make a three day trek across the wastes. Well, ‘day’ in a sense of time. The sun never actually sets anymore. They moved from battlefield to battlefield, scavenging what they could find. In those days they found A month’s worth of food, Two picks, And A Notched, dull waraxe. They even had a few seeds. They found a cart filled with some fifty blank journals to carry it all.

They marched on until Surefire halted. He motioned Jaxler and Mud to stop pulling the cart.

He took off his desert shawl and goggles and checked twice, making sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

“what is it?”

“Running Water.” he said in amazement.

All the ponies except Surefire ran to the muddy little creek and lapped up gallons of the stuff.

Surefire kept an eye on the hills around him, all too weary of the probability they were not alone out here.

‘Luck’ is sparse, and Surefire had a feeling  it would run out soon.

“So what do we do now?”

“Now?” He answered

“Now we have everything we need to survive, for awhile at least... Now we bunker down until someone finds us.”

He grabbed a pick with his mouth and threw one to Tarrus.

“Now we dig. Make some lodgings, get out of this damned heat!” He grinned


15th Malachite

 Well, It could be worse. We have some crude beds, A kitchen, a dining room. some fish from the river.
I think we’re doing better than a good half of Equestria right now.

I have to hand it to Mud, he can fashion anything out of any material.


16Th Malachite

We have a rat problem. A big one. Ratmen. Ratmen everywhere. They are coming out of the walls! Good thing Charming Knight knew how to fashion crossbows, And Jaxler knew how to use them. Him, Mud and Tarus did fine work dispatching them.

17th Malachite

Berry East is asking for a hospital. A hospital! We don’t even have A well, and she’s wondering where we keep the cast powder. If Mud didn’t tell me he knew how to make a traction bench, I’d focus on other things... I’ll see what I can do.

20th

Two other ponies stumbled on to us. I’ll get their names later, Tarus wants me to looks at something.

Well. We’re settled under a cavern. About twenty feet below the surface. Now I can’t stop treading around a little lighter, knowing the floor could give way. But, in the cavern we found gems. lot’s of ‘em. Dragons love these things, so I’m going to hoard them. Who knows? they might be a bartering chip if we come across one ... or comes across us, whatever comes first.

22nd

Berry Is content with her hospital, and I’m content that there won’t be any casualties anytime soon. We have a surplus of food, and a crop planted. Not a bad month, not bad at all...

29th

Strange, I could have sworn we had some pet cats around here...One was following Knight around just yesterday!

30th

Well, I found what killed The cats.

« Last Edit: October 06, 2012, 07:35:01 pm by DVNO »
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jaxler

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Re: My Little Descent into Madness
« Reply #12 on: July 21, 2012, 08:52:40 pm »

((Takes place right after Surefire woke up.))

A young unicorn stirred beneath a pile of corpses. The stallion pushed aside the rotten limbs and heads and climbed himself out of the pile. “Luna Christ...” He said as he stared across the vast field of littered bodies. He shook himself together. “Come on, you gotta pull yourself together, Clay didn’t want me losing it in the end...” The stallion quickly shuffled into the bushes nearby to shield himself from any enemies left alive. He saw another unicorn get up and steady himself. The stallion backed off slowly and found himself staring at a pegasus atop another pile of corpses, looting the bodies for anything of use. The stallion knew who that was, and he thought that pony was long gone by now. Hiding his identity, he hastily threw a dark gray balaclava over his head. On accident he snapped a twig while disguising himself.

The pony stood over a pile of dead bodies, each one pin-cushioned with bolts. His ear twitched at the sound of hooves behind him, before he quickly put on a helmet. “YO JACKASS! TELL ME WHO YOU WORK FOR AND YOUR NAME!” The pony was in a hodgepodge of looted pieces of armor, each insignia was scratched off save for a huge cog and dagger carved into the chestplate. “Don’t bucking move either...” he raised his loaded crossbow at the ski mask wearing unicorn.

Isn’t that bucking wonderful... “My name’s not important, and I was drafted into Celestia’s Grand Bucking Imperial Army... is that enough information?” He said, his words stuffed with sarcasm.

The pony lowered his crossbow. “okay then... if you try any funny business I’ll put a sizable bolt through your freakin skull.” He then turned his back on the pony behind him and started to try to pry a dagger from the cold dead hands of dead human. “Anyway, what do you want with me?”

“Well considering we’re in a bucking warzone, I’d figured we should team up and find someplace safe to stay. Also, there was another soldier over there in that field that we should probably go talk to...” He said. No bucking way it’s going to be this easy... and hopefully nopony finds out about my little secret...

“... If the guy looked broken then I’d leave him for dead. Also, I wouldn’t call this a warzone seeing how everything within a ten mile radius is probably dead.” The pony then pried the dagger away from the corpse, along with a few fingers. “And take this, if you don’t have any weapons then you're useless.” Said the marks pony as she waved the dagger around.

A magical field pulled the dagger away and the unicorn sheathed it somewhere inside his coat. “What makes you think I’m not armed with weapons? Anyway, the dude was up and walking, let’s go pay him a visit, shall we?” He asked.

“Sure, but i’m shooting him down if he goes berserk or something.” Jaxler then sighed and put the crossbow over his back. “Seriously, who the hell are you anyway?”

“If I told you that, you’d be in for a surprise. So no, I won’t tell you; and this mask stays on. Understood?” He says.

“Fine... The name’s Jaxler by the way.”

Jaxler? Really? That’s the best you’d come up with? “Okay then Jaxler... I guess you could call me Mud.” Mud says, momentarily dusting some grime from his jacket. “Let’s go find this guy.”

Jaxler nods and starts to move off his pile.

Mud leads Jaxler over to the wandering unicorn. Mud bluntly shouts out, “Hey dude, who are you?!”

“I’m bucking Jaxler! If you got a problem with it, talk with my PR guy.” Says Jaxler as he points to his crossbow.

Surefire drops his loot bag, squints his golden eyes and raises his crossbow in kind.

“You know, pointing weapons around could make a pony nervous. Let me hazard a guess by the balvacada. Raiders, right?”

“And what if we were? Why would we tell you?” Jaxler then took note of the blood caked on the new pony’s head. “Mud, is this hornless jackass the guy you told me about?”

“More or less...” Mud says. He turns to face the hornless jackass. “Don’t worry, we’re not raiders, and you and I served in the same company.” He paused. “The balaclava is for personal reasons...”

His looked at the two, distrustful, then cracked a wide smile “I remember you! Mud, wasn’t it? Engineering?” He looked at the other one “who’s this jackass callin’ jackass over here?” 

Mud slowly calms Jaxler. “He isn’t affiliated with anyone and came from the mountains...” He has a phony smile underneath his mask.

Jaxler raises his crossbow at the pony. “How da’ buq do you know that?”

Shit... “J-just a lucky guess. I mean savages usually live in the hills...” Mud says, his fears crafted into an insult. 

“Buck you...” Jaxler’s wasn’t only mad at Mud, seeing how he just made it so he couldn’t deny him being from the mountains. “ANYWAY” Jaxler pointed to the other pony in front of him. “should I just start calling you Mr. Hornless, or do you have a name?”


“It’s Surefire. Captain Surefire. I’m glad you draft dodgers decided to join the party. Glad you realized if we all don’t contribute some blood, Nightmare Moon has already won.”

Jaxler laughed aloud. “Sorry,  but I won’t be referring to you as captain, and Nightmare moon has already won.” Jaxler then pointed his hoof toward a mutilated body of what one would assume was a pony. “Your just sunfire. There is no more army, so your rank is irrelevant.”

“Wait. Nightmare Moon won? What happened to Princess Celestia, or what about Princess Luna?” Mud asked, his eyes showed some concern.

Surefire shrugged “Fine. Call me the only friend you’re going to find in this hellhole then. Look, you can point that crossbow at me and tell me how the end is nigh all day, but me?  I’m kind of busy-” he holds up his bag of loot “Trying to scavenge enough to survive the week. So help me or try to kill me. pick one. Just don’t waste my time, It’s the one thing I can’t salvage.”

Mud quickly uses his foreleg to lower Jaxler’s crossbow. “I’m all for helping, but we would need a pretty sturdy settlement to survive long-term, and three ponies alone couldn’t build a safe haven... so my vote is we move out and look for more survivors to help with building our little shelter and...” He looks to Surefire. “They can help us find supplies-” He looks to Jaxler. “-And they can help us fight off any foes.” He looks between the two. “How’s that sound?”

“See? Now that’s an attitude that’s going to get us places! ‘Speaking of supplies...’ Surefire thought as he eyes a mostly intact cart ‘I bet that cart’s full of ‘em.’

“Yeah that seems smart, but if we find anypony we should proceed with caution. Given how bad the current situation is, I wouldn’t be surprised if somepony snapped and has gone berserk and, we could run into so surviving enemies.”

Surefire shudders and looks at an old scar around his left front leg. “Let’s hope we don’t run into any Sergals. The scum play dirty...”

“Yeah. I just wanna say we all lucked out of this one by coming out of the bloodiest battle in history almost unscathed...” Mud looks at Surefire. “D-does it still hurt?” He rubs his own horn just to make sure it’s still there.

“Have to be honest, the fact I simply can’t ‘pickup’ this bag with magic is a little scary. I had to fumble around figuring out how to do it the old fashioned way for quite a while. But really-” He looks around “It could be worse.”

“Huh... thank Luna I used my mouth more than my horn... I swear mom thought I was an earth pony...” Mud whispered. He sighed and spoke at a normal volume. “Anyway... I’m slightly surprised that your game with this Jaxler, you seem like the ‘lone wolf’ type...”

“Well, yeah I am, but I’m not dumb enough to try to survive out here alone also...” He then removed his helmet, revealing his red mane and black fur along with a  predatory gaze. “Never, thank luna for anything. The only thing you can thank her for, is for making it so that we have to rummage through the corpses of our brethren.”

“Sorry, I just always had this belief as a kid that Luna was forced into Nightmare moon by Celestia as some sort of a conspiracy. No matter how stupid or illogical that sounds, I always believed it...” Mud said, his voice lowering near the end of his speech, remembering his foal hood.

“Regardless, if those two damned alicorns didn’t try to play god, we wouldn’t be on the verge of extinction.”

“I’ve heard the tale twisted so many different ways...” Surefire glowered “Luna, she had a heart once, but she’s not looking out for us anymore. that’s for damn sure...”

Surefire walks over to the cart and took a peek in the back. Journals. Boxes and boxes of empty journals. He holds one up. “You see this is why we’re losing. I can’t eat this!”

Mud takes three journals and hides them in his coat. “What?” He looks back and forth between Surefire and Jaxler. “I like writing...”

“Yeah... anyway, if you're really hungry, we boil the leather armor on some of the corpses and eat that, or we could kill mud here and eat him.” said Jaxler half jokingly.

Mud chuckles at that comment. “I think I might be too tough for you to chew, Jaxler.”

“Meh, not if you're dead!” said jaxler cheerfully.

“Heh, your parents must have been proud of you... talking trash to this garbage around you...” Mud says, laughing still.

“Heh, Ponies are off the menu, but I heard goblins are good eating...” Surefire smiles.

He sees a pony is still attached to the cart. He tries to detach her. Her body is fused with the metal brace.

Jaxler sees the pony and grimaces . “I’m not sure if she’s alive... and if she is i’d do the kind thing and put her put her out of her misery.”

Mud looks at Jaxler. “Sissy.” He teases. He casually pulls out the dagger Jaxler gave him earlier from his coat and decapitates the pony stuck in the brace. He goes to work detaching her body from the metal harness. “We’re gonna use this right?”

Surefire frowns “You know, We don’t have to act like savages, we’re not that far gone yet.”

He Pulls out a skinning knife and helps him.

“Look, you call it mutilation, I call it mercy killing, as a ‘just in case she was still alive and I was accidentally prying a living pony off of a metal brace’ type thing...” Mud says. “Sorry if that offended you.”

“It doesn’t matter, what I’m really concerned about is the fact that we’re going to be in a huge wagon, move around. It’s basically asking any pissed off enemy to kill us. I’d honestly prefer if we just looked for other survivors, got our numbers up and in the process figure out how many enemies survived before we took the risk.”

Surefire laughs “Alright, let’s leave it and take only we can carry. Then what? What If whoever we find Is injured, or starving? They aren’t much use, are they? We need to take everything we can out here, Tradeoffs, Jax-”

“I’m saying that we leave this, and come back later once we know we are safe, or we can defend this cart. Also regardless of the cart, we leave an injured pony for dead and move on, or in the case with our friend here-” he points to the headless body. “We end them painlessly.”

“I’m fine with Jaxler’s plan, but we should probably start doing something soon,” Mud pauses. “Because who the buck know’s what’s around the corner...”

Surefire nodded “you’re right, no point standing around. We’ll fan out and look for survivors. And we’re not just going to coup de grace everypony with a broken leg we come across.” He growled at Jaxler. “We’re going to try and save everypony we can with what we have.”

“Really? You really aren’t smart are you?” Jaxler’s cold gaze returned to Surefire. “We may not even be able to save ourselves and Mr. Hornless-hero wants to go save every-”

“Jaxler, drop it. Didn't your mother raise you better?” Mud said with a harsh tone.

“Shut the buck up. You do realize that if somepony can’t help us, then they are dead weight, and why would we waste supplies on a crippled pony when we don’t even have enough for ourselves!”

“I’m sorry still I believe we’re not animals yet!” Surefire shouted “It’s an antiquated concept, I know, But it gives me something to fight for!”

“We’re scavenging corpses like vultures and running around like rats, so I’d say we are animals, and if you need something to fight for, fight for your bucking life and anypony who can help you do so!”

“Well you do that.” Surefire snarled “And I’ll Help everypony I can with an open hoof, and we’ll see who has more friends when he needs them most.”

“Guys, it’s the end of the world right now, and you know what’s funny? You two are having a bucking bitch-fest when we should be working on surviving for a long while. Or is bitching just in your nature, Jaxler?” Mud says, his voice bearing no anger.

“This isn’t bitching. It’s trying to talk Surefire here out of picking up every crippled pony we find and wasting what little we have on them, when we might not even be able to feed ourselves for a week.”

Surefire sighs. “ Maybe you and Mud are right. We need to stop Bitching. Baby steps. If you find anypony who can’t walk, leave them be for now. Take a mental note of where they are. We might be able to help them down the road..” He looks at jaxler “But we take priority. Can’t help them if we can’t help ourselves...” he said with a little churn in his gut.

“One thing though, I think one of us should watch the wagon, and two of us should go out there together, just in case something is actually alive that wants us dead. You know? Because we may have better odds if somepony watches the others back and not us wandering around by ourselves and getting lost... or killed...” Mud says. “And considering you two don’t seem to get along very well, which one of you wants to watch the wagon?”

Jaxler sighs “I’ll stay back... but you two best be ready to mercy kill any mortally wounded ponies you see.”

Surefire Puts his desert shawl over his head and fastens his red goggles. “Let’s go, Mud...”

“Right...” Mud sighs. “Stay safe J-Jaxler” His voice cracked slightly.

“I’ll try my best.” Jaxler then flew to the top of the wagon and sat there.

“Jaxler, for some odd reason , I don’t know why, maybe the fact you're a turncoat, maybe the fact you seem so eager to act on your own interest, I have a feeling you want us to leave so you can make off with the cart. Prove me wrong, alright?”

“Buck you, jackass I won’t run off and I can’t be a turncoat if I never was on anypony’s side.” growled Jaxler.

“That’s what I like to hear.” He grinned

“That’s a good thing, seeing how I’m probably going to be calling you jackass a lot.”

“If we’re not back in twelve hours, well, Do what you do best.”

Jaxler sighed and placed his helmet back over his head and waited for the others to leave, before looking up from the blood and gore encrusted earth to the ever bright sky. “Seems our gods have damned us to hell...”
« Last Edit: July 22, 2012, 07:38:48 am by jaxler »
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I've decided to say "fuck it" and will just implode my fort.

“Ok, Neo ChosenUrist, before you is two levers. Pull the Kimberlite lever -- you wakeup in a random bed and have whatever thoughts you want to think. You pull the Bauxite lever -- you stay in the caverns and I show you how deep the adamantine hole goes.” - psalms

Zearoth

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Re: My Little Descent into Madness
« Reply #13 on: July 24, 2012, 10:41:41 am »

Time moved at a crawl as Jaxler stood watch over the wagon. Minutes feeling like hours as the heat of the never-ending day beamed down. The area had started to smell from all the dead, and that’s all that seemed to be out in this sea of nothing. “Buck this place stinks...” He walked into the wagon in hopes that the walls would keep out the smell of dead, and block out the heat of the sun.

Only a short while later, Jaxler could make out the sounds of somepony outside. Though it was only one pony... Either Surefire or Mud got hurt, or it was another survivor. He loaded his crossbow, but didn’t move outside. “WHO’S THERE!”

He could hear a shuffle from outside, the pony probably edgy by now and was easily startled.”Corporal...”The haggard voice said.”Corporal Tarus Dawning!” Jaxler could tell the pony was exhausted from the sound of his voice and how heavy he was panting.”I mean no harm!”

Jaxler rolled his eyes and walked out of the safety of the wagon “So you are... First off, how do I know you're not going to kill me.?”

The pony stood for a moment. His dark dress uniform tattered, and his mane a mess. One of his sleeves seeming torn off and turned into a bandage for a wound on his left Foreleg. The young pony thought for a moment before speaking.”Because I wouldn’t kill you, even if I hated you.”He replies.”I’m tired of fighting my own kind. We’ve been fighting for two-hundred and fifty years and it’s only led to this.”Tarus points off to the bodies littering the area.”I’m not going to kill you, or anypony else without reason.”

Jaxler nodded, he really didn’t trust the guy, but the party needed more ponies. “Okay then... I have one more demand.”

The stallion stops panting, having finally caught his breath to a reasonable degree.”What is it you ask of me?”

“Your army is dead, so your former rank is irrelevant.” Stated Jaxler coldly and he unloaded his crossbow.

Tarus averted his eyes a little.”My name and my rank are all I have left... So it’ll take some time for me to let go of it. But I will do that if it means you let me live and allow me to aid you.”He replies.”Have you seen any other survivors? Or... Are we all that remains?”

“I have two other companions who are in search of survivors... Also if you plan on keeping your rank, then I think I’ll make myself the self appointed grand general of your army, seeing how the old one is probably dead.”

Tarus seemed less then pleased, if not insulted by this. But if Jaxler was speaking the truth, then there were only two other ponies aside from them that were alive. Rather than say or do anything rash, he simply nodded.”Understood, sir...”

Jaxler nodded, before removing his helmet. “Good then. So, do you have any practical skills and how badly is your leg mangled?”

Tarus looks down at his leg then back to Jaxler.”It’s only a flesh wound. And as for your first question: I’m a bit of a swordspony. I can hold my own with an adequate piece of steel. I can also build if I have the materials. Beds, lodgings, small fortifications. The basics.”

“Okay then... good.” He then got up and walked back outside.. “That leg better heal soon, else I’d put you on lookout duty.”

Tarus gives a nod.”Don’t worry. This wound won’t be of any hindrance to me. Any idea how long it will be before the others return from their search?”

“A few hours if at all.” Jaxler says coldly.

Tarus frowns a little but nods.”I’ll stay here with you then. We can take shifts watching the wagon so we don’t stay exposed to the sun for too long.”

Jaxler sighed heavily. “Take orders and rest. I don’t want a wounded pony out in the field.”

“Yes sir. Let me know when you need anything of me.”Tarus says before he hops into the wagon.”I’ll rest a little now, and later I can take up post so you can rest.”

“I’d prefer you scavenge the area around the cart before you take guard. Hopefully then you will have a weapon you can use.”

“Don’t worry. There is still a sword on my side. And I will see what I can find after I’ve rested. If for nothing else I’ll find us food, water, maybe some bolts for your crossbow.”Tarus says as he takes a seat.

“Okay good...” Jaxler then sighed and leaned on the wagon. “So, you have a family?”

Tarus thinks a little before answering.”Yes. My parents live in a small town, and there’s my sister. But I haven’t seen any of them since I was sent out to fight, and that was three years ago.”The stallion replies with a bit of a frown.

“Good, then you are lucky have somepony to fight for, other than yourself.” Jaxler’s tone seemed somber, but one couldn’t tell exactly how he felt, for he had his back turned to the wagon, and he had his helmet on.

Tarus nods with a small smile.“I always fought for them, and for Princess Celestia. Such has helped me fight through even the worst, like this battle.”

“Well, again you're lucky, but don’t see why you like Celestia. The numb broad tried to play god and ended up sending us all to this hell.”

Tarus lets out a sigh.”She did what she felt was right. I’ve read of her in many books. All speaking different things of her. But they all started the same... About how she provided for us, how she protected us. She worked so hard to keep this world at peace, and in the end we were ungrateful... I don’t know which rumors are true, and which are false.”Tarus looks up at the sky.”But I still believe we need her. Even if it’s just the thought brought forth from stories and old tales...”

“Well she’s dead, and she has forsaken us. Things were better when she cared for us, but seeing how I could die at any moment and we’re looking through the corpses of our allies, I’d say that things are worse off than they were before that back stabbing mother bucker showed up.” He glared up to the sky, and even though Tarus couldn’t see it, he gave a look of disgust.

Tarus huffed, but didn’t make any reply. He knew Jaxler had good reason to be mad, and fighting over something like this is what caused all this to happen in the first place. He simply laid back in the wagon and closed his eyes. If anything, he could get a little rest, and hope things were different when he awoke...
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Zearoth

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Re: My Little Descent into Madness
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2012, 11:57:28 am »

Diary of Corporal Tarus Dawning.                                                      Date: I can’t remember....


I don’t know what to say... I’ve no words to explain how I feel. I awoke today to the scene of bodies. The bodies of other ponies all around me. My teeth still clenching my blade with the dead of those I fought and of those I fought alongside... I don’t know who won this battle... The sight of 250 years of strife coming to a point just tells me that both sides fought until both were dead... I feel that I am the only one alive on this field, even if another part of me wishes it not so. How could I be? Thousands of ponies merged in conflict here... Could I really be all that’s left? I look down at my arm and see that the wound is still there, but it has closed. Using my sword I’ll fashion a bandage for it with my uniform.


A while later, after trudging through this massive graveyard, I found a wagon. Hopeful I could find food and supplies in it I walked over. Much to my surprise I heard a voice call out to me. I immediately gave my name and rank, and told them I meant no harm. I would’ve casted my weapon aside, but if a pony holding a sword was their first impression, I’m sure I wouldn’t have lived to actually let it go. Upon talking with him, I find out that his name is Jaxler, and that there were two more ponies alive besides he and I. I also found out that he’s smug. I told him I wanted to keep my rank and he decides to appoint himself the new general of my army. If I wasn’t so damn tired of fighting I might’ve swung at him... My old general may be dead, but Bloodhoof was more respectable than this Jaxler. Still though... We’ll need to prepare our own military to survive what ever comes our way. And Jaxler is older and wiser, so I’ll just have to live with the fact that I’ll be reporting to him. Celestia only knows that every other nation will be wanting to grab the un-ruled lands of former Equestria... But, I should get some rest while I can. And hope that when I wake, all will be well, and I’ll see my sister’s smile. Like I did all those years ago...
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