Thirteenth Starfall - The Best of Times, The Worst of Times [Visual/Action]

[stormbroken]

[Flare looks like she's had better days, honestly, her mane frazzled and the lack of sleep obvious in her features. She's in town square, lit faintly by the streetlights late at night. Her scroll is obviously put up somewhere so she can pace as she talks, needing to get this out.]

Alright, Ponyville. What I have to say to you today isn't in fear of the most recent unfathomable evil to cross our doorstep. We all know what to do in a situation like this. No matter what, we have to defend ourselves, and those we care for. I'd ask you all to refrain from using deadly force, try to negotiate if possible... but I trust your judgement in the heat of the moment.

No, I come to you today because I know how we've acted in the past year or so. I know the fears and worries eating at some of you right this very moment. I won't lie to you; the creature who we saw is powerful. Unnaturally so, if he could harm the princesses the way he did. We may not win this fight cleanly, but I assure you, I have full faith that we will drive this creature back. How well we do that... well, it depends on us.

All of us.

[At that, Flare sighs quietly, stopping in her tracks and speaking more firmly, definitively.]

That's not to say you should immediately dive for your superpowered trinkets or your ancient forbidden magics. Certainly, we have a fair share of ponies - and non-ponies - here who are well ahead of the rest when it comes to power, and their job is the most obvious; the job to confront our adversary head on.

But if you don't have those powers, or if you have them but can't trust your control over them? I urge you, please. Trust in those who do. All of us have roles we can fill. This is going to be a war, I assure you, so we'll need ponies assisting our medics, helping keep the wounded out of harm's way and on the road to recovery. We'll need fast, nimble runners to keep supply lines moving. Scholars, this is not an evil unknown to Equestria. I don't know his name, but he's been in my world's legends, so I'm sure there's something about him here in native books. We'll need you working to try to predict these movements, to find weaknesses that we can strike at.

Those of you who are able-bodied but unable to contribute to the fight on the front-lines? Group together and start warning others. Send out words to other towns as to what is going on here, lead those who cannot fight to safety. Otherwise, you can stay here alongside me - this town will be our base of commands, and we need to protect it with everything we've got.

Remember how we took on Nightmare Moon a year and a half ago, how ponies banded together for a united cause and brought her down, freed Twilight from that infernal possession. Remember the way that Cálice tore us apart by her slightest appearance, and left us unable to connect with each other, unable to form those bonds again, striking out at each other out of pain and fear. We can work together, and all play our part... but we have to try.

I assure you; each and every one of us is important here. Even those neighsayers who would rather turn tail and run, or who think this is another trick - don't be afraid of being yourself, of speaking against this! A regime that promotes peace and togetherness only works as long as there is opposition on the outside pointing out the flaws. Otherwise, the belief becomes a farce as the system corrupts itself from within. As twisted as it may seem... without conflict, we cannot have harmony. Without the occasional fight, ponies cannot truly be friends. We are all good people, and the only way for evil like this to triumph is for all of us to do nothing.

Just remember, alone we are but single souls, but together, we can achieve anything, stop anyone!

Are you with me? Are we with each other?

[And with that, Flare awaits, to see if others will speak up.]

Comments

[Visual]

[punched_by_sisko]

[Aaaand there's a certain Changeling holding up a sign reading '10']

If I didn't know better, you were trained by Jean-Luc himself.

[Visual]

[stormbroken]

No, just a few stars. Gemini and the morning star, mostly.

And a lot of trial by fire.

Gonna sit on the sidelines and heckle as usual?

[Visual]

[pirateponyprincess]

I will be contacting nearby cities to establish increased supply lines. If nothing else, my appearance should be enough to garner support.

Secure the train station, if you can. It may not be fancy, but at the moment, it's reliable, and can carry a lot.

[Visual]

[stormbroken]

Your appearance will also be a giant blazing beacon, you know.

If he's going after alicorns and he took down your native self...

[She doesn't know much about Tirek, but she knows what she saw, and she can connect the dots from there.]

Be careful.

[Visual]

[keaton_mask]

[Goodness, that's certainly a hell of a lot of trust and hope.]

Where could anyone possibly go that would still be considered safe?

[Visual]

[stormbroken]

Away from Ponyville would be the first step. He's already said that this place would be his first target. Hopefully we can stop him here.

If you know anywhere underground where someone like that wouldn't be able to get to easily...

[She's not saying the Diamond Dog mines, but she's implying it as hard as she possibly can.]

[pikapikapikarin]

Is it Season 4 Finale already?

In all seriousness, I'm going to sit this out and help with the medics and evac. I'd just be feeding him at this point if he can suck magic and I'm made of magic practically.

If you need me I'll be THAT-A-WAY with the contents of the Ponyville School House and Cheers.

[stormbroken]

As long as we don't end on a cliffhanger, we'll manage.

[Wait - suck magic? That sounded awfully familiar. But this was an offworlder...]

...You know something about this guy?

visual

[appletastic]

[Applejack has been up to her neck in panic ever since.]

That's Tirek. He's attacked my Equestria before, this same way. My friends, the Element-bearers...we beat him by using the rainbow magic from the chest at the root of the Tree of Harmony last time. But the tree ain't there anymore, just claw marks. And even if it was, I'm not the right Applejack to use it.

What everypony's gotta know is that he feeds on powerful magic. You fling spells around without a care, he'll just eat your powers right up and spit you out.

Me, I don't have power to lose, so I'll run. Carry y'all to safety as much as I can.

[stormbroken]

...The way I see it, Applejack, if you don't have power to lose, and he feeds on power... that makes you one of our strongest fighters.

But I trust your judgement. Pass word on, especially to Patchouli. Don't want her going full-force, if possible.

[Private Visual]

[mostcolorfulepithets]

[Littlepip appears and has determination obviously set in her face.]

Whoever it is, they won't get away with this. I'll make sure of it. I'll gladly help on the front lines. Any ideas on his weaknesses?

[Private Visual]

[stormbroken]

Just from what others have told me, he's a magic-eater. That lines up with what little I remember of the legends. Sucks the magic out of ponies and uses them to make himself stronger, and he's already chomped on three-fourths of the native alicorn force here.

Means his weakness is something he can't drain... native-born ponies are likely out. Got anything cold steel?

[visual]

[polyturtle]

I don't know what my alternate's cooking up, but I offer up my skills. I can make makeshift weaponry if need be, help harass him, slow him down. Traps on paths, things like that.

[visual]

[stormbroken]

As non-magical as possible, Don.

If you still have that thing...

[No seriously, now would be the best time to flip out and shiv the hell out of someone with a troll horn, Donatello.]

[action]

[millionbitpipes]

[Look he's basically been standing here listening in on your private scroll conversations, because you two live together.]

I've got a gun. Bullets too.

[action]

[stormbroken]

Think it'll help? The piece you have isn't...

[Flare trails off and shakes her head.]

She's a unicorn. Telekinesis. You think you could work something like that without a horn or fingers?

[...shit, that came out bad.]

What I'm saying is, here they take magic to operate, even if it's just a little. Unless we've got a squad of baby dragons firing a bunch of guns at him... and we have no idea if they'll work. I mean, where the hell would the vitals on a thing like that be?

[Audio/Private]

[firstofthefallen]

How far you've come.

I'm going to sleep for the next few days.

[Audio/Private]

[stormbroken]

Be careful. I trust you to not get caught unawares, but if he somehow manages it, I can only imagine what would happen if he got hold of your powers.

More importantly, you're a friend and I don't want you to be in danger.

[bluesuit_hoofy]

[Well, he remembers that time he fell to the nightmares while the others rescued Twilight...so much for the pep talk. Still, he has an idea, and Flare's request for research is a solid strategy.]

I'm on my way to the library now to find out what I can. There may be a chance we can trick him into feeding off a form of magic he's not prepared to absorb, but it sounds like he can handle any form of pony magic and we don't want to experiment if we're not reasonably sure we won't just be feeding him.

[stormbroken]

In a worst case scenario, I wonder just how much magic he can take.

[Visual]

[elementofloyalty]

...so nopony's yelling at you for saying they shouldn't all grab superpowers and charge into battle completely untrained.

[Visual]

[stormbroken]

Folk need to be reminded that not every battle is won on the front lines. They need to help and honestly? They don't often care how, as long as they know they're making a difference.

Telling them no and leaving it at that during peacetime is a lot different than giving alternatives in a high-pressure situation.

[Visual]

[theytookmypants]

With you all the way, Flare. If you need any help organizing defenses and evacuation to shelters, I'll be happy to help. Also if there's one thing I'm good at, it's being a distraction, with or without my shadows. I dunno if they count as magic, but they're extremely useful in slowing a body down.

[visual]

[ponymeisters]

Tirek. His name's, um... Tirek.

[There's a small, winged toy car that Flare may or may not recognize. Echo is speaking in Fluttershy's voice.]

He's really scary, but he was... he was only legends when I was a foal. I think...

[Visual]

[ceasetoexist]

I can create food and water out of nothing. Not the best to help, and I can only make so much each day, but if we're looking at the possibility of supplies getting screwed? Can chip in there.

Man.

Things are finally getting fun here.

[It's starting to feel like home.]