/q/ - Quest

>>747453
"Well, I guess when you put it THAT way," Wing chuckles, "I am in no place to complain. Perhaps you may show me your place after THIS!"

Wing says as he dives at you, letting loose a flurry of magical imbued blows from his hooves, aiming for your small and nimble form as two rockets digitize behind you. They both race out at Wing, point-blank, detonating as he manages to land a score of blows on you, sending you both flying back from the resulting explosion. Wing's last punch sends you flying into the side of a building while your rockets send him into one opposite the street, and as the rockets explode, time resumes its flow, both of you returned to normal speed as he struggles to pull himself out of the shop, casting magic to mend his wounds as he looks at you from across the street.

"Aggh… can keep this all night." He grunts through the pain. "Shame the city may not."
[1d10+2] Healing himself
[1d10+2] Slow Honey

Roll #1 9 + 2 = 11 / Roll #2 2 + 2 = 4

This whole fight is just Killer Queen fighting DIO except Kira has a lightsaber and DIO is a jobbing homose-

Is DIO.

>>747454
Honey grunts as she makes impact with the building and the dust clears, taking a quick moment to see just how much of the armor is actually left before trying to jet thruster out of her 'room.'

>Instant Recovery
[1d10]

Roll #1 8 = 8

>>747454
>>747457
With momentum from her getting out, she flies at him with the unibeam in a spiral to try and avoid anything he literally throws at her. Then close enough, she makes sure its more of an impactful charge than a slash of the beam sword.
"Funny, I wasa thinking the same thing!"

[1d10+4]

Roll #1 5 + 4 = 9

>>747458
>Up at 10/2
Shooting yourself into a spiral, you swiftly meet Wing up close as you clear the gap in seconds, causing him to miss his slow-spell entirely though you see his body slowly patching itself up following the impact. His hooves coated in azure aura from his magic, he tries to catch the beam sword as you charge him down, causing his hooves to heat up and burn as smoke fills both your eyes.

HIs mask has now entirely shattered, and you see the full visage of Wing: his face is coated in feathers as well, the dark gray sickly appendages seeming to have replaced his coat entirely, but though it is aged with experience, and slightly mangled and matted through the trials you have put him through, the old muzzle is still very reminiscent of the stallion who gave you your first pumpkin-flavored coffee. Of the young man who went to great lengths to rescue your fellow Breezies from Obsidian.

He smiles, throwing the blade aside as he charges at you with both his hooves, "Great minds, as they say, think alike!"

He throws his hooves at you, no longer seeming to have any energy left in him for temporal magic as he makes the last stage of your duel a classic hoof-fight, albeit his coated in magic to level the playing field.
[1d10+2]
[1d10+2]

Roll #1 9 + 2 = 11 / Roll #2 7 + 2 = 9

>>747459
Honey takes a moment to stare back at that face, and take the brief trip down memory lane. The moment is likely enough for him to get a couple hits in, which only spurs Honey on to come back swinging, putting aside her experience of alternating ranges for an advantage. As she swings, her armor activates the thrusters to give it more speed to make up for Honey's lack of mass.
"Fuck…I'ma gonna miss you."

>Dual Great attacks, no ranged, no elements, crit 8+
[1d10+2]
[1d10+2]

Roll #1 10 + 2 = 12 / Roll #2 3 + 2 = 5

>>747460
The moment of hesitation as you look into the familiar face is indeed enough for him to get a few solid jabs in, your small form battered by the mystical might of your much larger foe, even in the face of your new upgrades and godhood. However, as he continues to jab, you see him slowing down - not just from any temporal tempering, but from fatigue, exhaustion. You seize a precise moment to throw ALL your thruster power into one powerful swing, the speed and force of which cleaves through the front of Wing's chest. At the exact same moment, Wing's magicall-imbued wing comes crashing down ontop of you, cutting into your breezie-tech armor and sundering it, sending you fluttering out and away as your unibeam finishes its slash at the same time as Wing finishes his.

You stand opposite of each other, grievous injuries on both sides as your armors spark and sputter and Wing stands coughing blood with almost every breath… until, in a moment, he falls to one knee, a hoof holding up to the recently made gash on his chest as he closes his eyes, grunting as he tries to fight through the pain.
"…and I… will always remember you…" he says as he struggles to keep himself from falling flat on the ground, but no longer holds the strength to stand.
"I… hah… I must be very disappointing right now. No matter how willing the spirit, your flesh always catches up to you…"
>Honey at 1/2
>Wing out of HP

>>747461
Despite being much younger, Honey definitely isn't looking much better right now. Honey staggers her way closer to him, making the armor spark out intensely at the joints. With a small bit of power left, she materializes an old, familiar object: the toy raygun.
"Nah…fucka that," she says with a seemingly sad-sounding chuckle. She points the raygun at him to…shrink him down to her size. She gets close enough to sit with him, letting him rest against her as she looks down at him, breathing heavily from the intensity of the fight.
Heh…hahah…don't push yourself, old man. Youa kicked my ass too hard toa say stupid shit like thata. Though you dida say lots of things like thata before." She laughs a bit again from thinking back, but quickly settles down.
"You knowa…you don't have to kick ita. Could stick around anda we could do this again once we senda Eon crying to whatever pit ita crawled out of."

>>747462
Wing… or rather, Mercile… looks on in surprise as you walk up to him, and then shrink him with the old fashioned toy-raygun you used to use. He looks on as you get close to him, leaning on you for support as he grunts, holding at several of his injuries from the duel. He chuckles, "Some things you simply never out-grow. Like saying stupid things to a pretty girl. So don't go making fun of my old age just YET, Honey." He laughs, shaking his head as he leans into you, relaxing and letting his head droops over your shoulder as you both sit down.

As you bring up that he doesn't have to kick it, Wing smirks. "Of course I cannot kick it. I imagine I still have a lot to answer for what I did while I was a Cardinal." He turns to you, "You think if we convinced them duels like these were a 'punishment', they'd let us keep doing it? Because, I will be honest: I do not think I could keep them convinced I don't like it."

>PAUSED

>SOUTHERN POINT
The Epoch touches down upon the pure white surface of the dusty moon… though it's actually more of a pale orange, the light of the enclosing sun tinting the color. Bone assists with the Epoch making a successful landing as it rights itself upwards, when you all hear Plasm speaking from the front as the door unseals itself.
"Uh… actually, I don't think you'll need the suits after all."
Bossa looks on in shock, "Did you just open the fuckin' door?!"
"It's… breathable out here. There's air."
"…what?"

Plasm steps outside onto the singed dust of the lunar surface, helmetless, looking around at the vast, mountainous expanse as he breathes normally. Bossa and Po-Yala soon follow, the latter jumping out into the dust and rubbing around in it, gathering a thick white coating to her fur as she spins around like a chinchilla in the lunar dust. Bossa looks stupefied and turns to look at Bone. "What the fuck… why is there air up here?"
"Huh…" Bone says, stepping out himself and looking around in surprise, scratching his head with his staff-stick as he takes a few breathes. "She was actually right, I guess you CAN breath outside of the atmosphere… I owe the Old Mare SO much money now." He shakes his head, looking around the expanse as Southern (who still has the option to suit up, though it is not as necessary as it seemed) lays down various traps around them. "W-well, my clear misunderstanding of how space works aside, let's get to the Base. If I remember our old plans correctly, it should just be a short while this way." He says, moving on towards a particular hill as Po-Yala bounces along the way. Eventually, you start to make out the distant picture of a tall, metal dome dotting the otherwise barren landscape.

>ONYXIA
"Oh, no," Steel shakes his head. "Well within Starswirl's School, I'm certain it had mages capable of this. I was pointing out *my* shortcomings, not theirs. I have a strong grasp of the basics of magic and a few personal spells… at least when I have a horn… but I was a fighter first and foremost. Things like rituals and more complicated concepts I simply couldn't grasp. I can't say if your sister herself is more skilled or knowledgeable than I am now, but what she is trying, this spell? It certainly isn't something I could attempt on my own."

As Beryl starts to show signs of struggling, the sparks around her horn intensify, eventually building up in concussive force as the light flashes before her eyes and sends her falling backwards, prompting her to let out a shout. "AGGH!"
"Beryl!" Twonyxia reflexively shouts as well, leaning down to help her sister up as the younger one looks dazed, looking around with her eyes spinning and trying to shake off the dizziness. "What was that, are you alright?!"
"Ooof… I-I will be when the Earth's right side up again… I think some of the magic I was channeling through my circle was fedback into my horn, it was too much. I just need to get my head on straight and focus harder on keeping it-"
"Or maybe… maybe this isn't such a good idea after all…" Twonyxia mumbles, reaching up to rub at her sister's horn. "It's hot to the touch, you could have gotten hurt."
"I'm fine, it could have been way worse!"
"That does NOT make me feel better!"

>>753217
Southern puts on the orange space suit anyway, and starts crouch-jumping to build up speed across the moon's surface, making traps as she goes.

https://pastebin.com/zfGK7ALa

>>753217
"Wow, magic sounds a lot more complicated than I though, even before all this ritual stuff."
Onyxia comments on Steel's explaination.

Onyxia quickly rushes to her sister's side as she gets blasted back. She takes out the goo blob from her bags, and puts it against Beryl's horn, letting the restorative glop tend to her as she squeezes some out.
>Regeneration: Instant Automatic, Recharge 3; Restore a Wound in any environment
"Are you sure you're alright? That sounded pretty painful…" She comments as they both check over Beryl. "Next time, I'm standing behind you. I'm a little more cushioned than the concrete if you get flung back."

>>753218
Plasm puts on a suit as well, but Po-Yala goes in just her normal affair as does Bossa, looking around shocked as she steps out onto a perfectly breathable moon's surface. Po-Yala slides down a hill as you approach the metal-dome in the distance, rolling around and adding a thick, dusty white later of pure white moon-dirt to her coat as she shakes it loose like a chinchilla. "Oooooh… Earth no feel so good up above, but Moon feel so lively! It not like any dirt Po-Yala felt or tasted in past, me have to bring lots back home!"

Plasm jumps around alongside you along the distance to the moon base, the 1/6th gravity providing AMPLE jumping distance as you and him leap-frog ahead of the others on the way to the base. With little gravity comes little air-resistance as well, and your acceleration soon closes the gap quickly to the front of the dome. It is similar to G-777 in appearance, and as you approach, you see it boasts similar defenses, with cannons coming out from panels made into the hull of the dome as they fire in great number against you. However, your traps spring to life as they automatically defend you from the criss-crossing beams of heat-death, the wires deflecting or stopping every one as they circle you and Plasm (with the others coming in behind due to your jumping). Plasm sighs, "Well, it looks like they don't want guests. This must be the place. I could phase in and see if I can disable the defenses or, do you want to do this your way?"

>>753219
Steel nods in agreement as you comment on the complexities of magic. "It is. I respect anyone who can come out of that school with the highest marks, I learned much but it's truly only a fraction of what a well-learned mage is truly capable of. I have no regrets, the blade was always meant to be my path, but still, I envy their capabilities."

As you take out the glop from within your bags and apply it to her burnt horn (still hot to the touch), to which she initially reacts with disgust. "A-ach! Ew, what is that?! It's so squishy and guh, why do you keep that in your…" she pauses, relaxing and sighing as its healing effects take place almost immediately as they remove the pain from her horn. "Oooh… okay, I get it now. That's good stuff, thanks." She says before rising back up to her hooves, feeling her horn as she shakes her head free of any lingering agony and gives a few practice sparks of her horn. "Okay, okay… i think it's still working. I can try it again."

"Are you sure you should….?" Twonyxia asks, looking deeply concerned.
"Absolutely, no pony perfected any spell without messing at least once, and they didn't quit when it didn't work the first time either. Just gimme another chance, I'm pretty sure I know how to avoid getting excess feedback this time." She steps up to the circle she had drawn, the lines still thankfully in place after a quick check, and she looks behind you as you offer to catch her if she flies back. "Yeah, you would be a bit better than going through a wall, though if it really propels me THAT fast, I hope I don't go through you either."
She takes a deep breath, Twonxyia casting a worried look in your direction as she begins to charge her spell again. "Okay, take two…"
[1d10+1]

Roll #1 4 + 1 = 5

>>753220
Southern simply eviscerates the base's outer walls as more traps spring up to replace the used ones.

"Round up the harem and keep them safe and sound. We'll be adding any cute girls we find in here," Southern says. "And find me something to eat if you have the time."

She continues to speedrun her way through the base, bundling up her wires to serve as springs as she leaps through, carving away vast swathes of the building with every step.

>>753220
"I know it's weird, but it works wonders. It's regenerative goo I salvaged from when I fought Chitus back in the day," Onyxia explains as Beryl protests in disgust. She packs it away after.

"She has a point. Took a few tries to get those old designs right in the forge you know," Onyxia chimes to her twin, stepping around behind Beryl as she prepares for the next attempt. "I've been through worse, don't worry." She says, sitting with her forehooves out ready to catch Beryl like an umpire as the next attempt begins.
>Cushioning [1d10]

Roll #1 3 = 3

>>753221
The wires cast out, and start slicing up the laser cannons as well as the doors to the facility into pieces as Plasm charges in with you, though your string-slinging puts you far out ahead of him into the facility as you cast out your orders. "…I'll round up the *team*, of course, and we'll keep a look out for any personnel wandering around, boss!"

You build up speed and clip through several doors in the facility as you slice and dice through metal and laser, a few Eonts being removed with great efficiency as you search the facility for anything of value while the rest of the team enter behind you to start their own search. As you cut through one room, you feel your strings meet with some unusual resistance: a green, glowing web that adheres to them, being stuck to them as soon as they're sliced through. Stopping for a moment, you see that this chamber (which appears to be a monitoring station, filled with viewing screens showing the outside of the moon and other parts of the facility) is lined with multiple lengths of green, glowing web, a spider's nest of sorts that bobs and weaves with the vibrations going throughout the facility. You hear a light singing coming from somewhere, but the direction cannot be discerned clearly.

>>753223
"Yeah, I was really grossed out at first when you just started putting it on there but, I won't lie, it works like a charm. Felt the sting go away like, immediately. I'll take some if you've got enough to spare, might make an interesting component for another spell I've been working on."
Twonyxia sighs, still looking unsure but nodding at your point. "Yeah… yeah, you're right, you can't ever give up after only one try. But at least when I messed up in the forge we had a master to look out for us, Beryl's kind of on her own here." She cringes, "Uh, no offense Steel."
"None taken. I know I'm only a neophyte as far as real magi go but I know enough about the basics to keep an eye out, Beryl isn't doing anything I think is out of her league."

She takes a moment to collect herself as she prepares her spell another time as the wind gathers around the circle, tossing about the mane and clothes of those surrounding it as her green magic starts to cast out into the vague outline of a pony. It builds in intensity of its glow, the outline becoming more distinct but Beryl herself seems barely able to hold on to it. "Grrggh… gaghh… OW, my head, it's… it's there but i-it won't come all the way through, it's…. all I can do to think and… keep it-"
[1d10+1] to hang on to the spell

Roll #1 10 + 1 = 11

>>753231
She sequence-breaks through the facility, slicing it up faster than it can load in so that she hits the "recruit into harem" trigger before a battle can begin.

>>753231
"It really is like a miracle cure. Steel and I had Chitus nearly broken, but with this stuff he looked better than when the fight started. It refreshes over time too, so you can have as much as you want from it."
Onyxia looks to her twin, feeling her concern.
"I know, but she has all three of us here. She's as safe here as she would be with any master."

"We're here for you Beryl. Just focus, we can take care of anything else that happens."
Onyxia says lightly to help ease Beryl's stress, trying to not be loud enough to distract as she steps a little closer as the wind intensifies, just to be safe.

>>753232
Your wires cut through the collection of web traps set up all around you, the strings start to stick together as they mix and mingle with the web, slowing down your speed-run through the facility as sliced wall bits suddenly start to stick together in a messy, goey webbed up mess of debris and electronics as the dome is carved open looking for anything of interest.

In the process, you see a tall, lithe pink mare (a unicorn) in a black jumpsuit being stuck to the rubble by the webs and strings mingling together, and as you dash from the observation room to the next you can hear her crying out (and the song has stopped, coincidentally enough)
"W-WAIT! Please, stop, I give, I give! T-this organization isn't worth dying for I've decided, so can you please slow down!?" She cries from her position stuck to the sliced off debris (the webs kept off of you by a constant layer of traps, but you find they stick multiple traps together and start to burn through them more quickly).

>>753239
Twonyxia takes a deep breath, sighing as she nods in agreement. "Right… okay, I'll be on stand-by too. In case she shoots off to the side instead," she says with a small smirk. "I'm probably not as good a cushion but better than a statue."

As Beryl re-doubles her efforts in maintaining the ghostly visage, her tear-stained eyes open wide to look on at you as you cheer her on and offer her support. As you do so, the strain in her look begins to wane, replaced by one of determination as she reaches up a hoof to wipe her eyes while she keeps her brightly glowing curved horn focused on the spell. "R-right, I know! Just… give… me… a… second!"

She says as she closes her eyes, and releases a breath, no longer forcing herself to try as hard as she allows the magicks to flow freely instead of trying too hard to control and confine it, the white, spectral outline of a pony growing clearer and clearer until it takes on an opaque, vague and translucent form of a pony floating in the middle of hte cemenary, materials burning up into nothing around the circle.
"O-okay, I think I got her, but I need you to call out to her, she needs help finding the rest of the way to this side. Maybe she'll recognize your voice!"

>>753248
She scoops up the mare. "Sure, I'll just have some paperwork for you to sign later. Let's go."

With the mare in her inventory and a good lead on her PB, she speedruns off to the next segment.

>>753248
Onyxia watches on with growing concern and worry, seeing tears form under Beryl's eyes. She tries not to show it to not distract her, believing in her sister as she grows more determined in the spell. She watches as the shape grows more solid, nodding as Beryl asks her to call out.
Onyxia stands up, looking up to the figure.
"Sterling? It's me, Onyxia! It's… been a while, in a way. F-Follow my voice, I can tell you more when you get here!"
She says, shouting out to the figure.

>>753250
You pull the mare free from the debris using your strings, tugging her off from the sticky web that connected her to it as you continue your speed-run through the facility, slicing through doors, walls, and defenses as you find yourself about half-way through the facility. At this point, you've destroyed much in the way of supplies and infrastructure parts, but the real juicy bits of what a moon-facility like this would hold, such as the means to reset time itself that Bone warned of, is eluding you on this floor.

The radio cackles through, and you hear Bossa speak up, "Hey, Southern! We're making our way through the other side of where you went through, slower progress though. The non deities are REALLY holding me back, you know how it goes, right?"
"We found someone here who ISN'T an Eonspawn or a robot, male griffon. He surrendered but what's the call, take him along or see if I can throw him past escape velocity?"

>>753252
As you call out to the spectre, the white outline starts to grow a few more distinct features: wings slowly fade in from nothingness along its back, along with the outlines of armor along its hooves and body. It looks in your direction, features slowly adding themselves onto its face as it starts to open its mouth, Twonyxia looking somewhere scared of the white aberration as it stares towards you.

>"….oooon……xxxxxx…..aaaaaa?"
It calls out in a haunting, echoing sound that reverberates through the graveyard, the figure slowly drifting towards you as Beryl shouts,
"Yeah, Yeah I think that's doing it! More, she's stabilizing!"
"Is that even a pony?!" Twonyxia cries out, looking at you. "O-Onyxia, what if… what if it's dangerous?"

>>753257
Onyxia watches in awe as the form starts to grow more distinct, shaping out into a pegasus.

"Yes, Onyxia! And Steel's here too! Remember him, the Black Knight? Steel, call out to her too!" She says to Steel, hoping two voices help get her attention more. "Find your way back here, please!" Onyxia pleads.
"She's not dangerous!" She says to Twonyxia defensively. "She's one of the most noble knights Equestria's had! She would never turn on a friend!"

>>753257
"Your call."

>>753258
As you call out to the white form, it continues to take more clear and defined shapes with the wings gaining distinct feathers, the mouth gaining teeth and her long, familiar blond mane (though it lacks color here) growing out as the figure floats closer and closer. Steel nods, reaching forward, "Sir Sterling. It has been too long… I have missed your company and skill, much has happened."

Twonyxia looks at you as you defend the spectre growing closer and more distinct, but a worried look remains in her eye even as it gains a more familiar form. "B-but what if it's not really Sterling? Or, what if this is doing something to her? Sh-she's scaring me, Onyxia…"
"T-trust me…" Beryl says, wincing as she struggles to keep the spell going and the winds slowly pick up again. "I… KNOW what I'm doing. It'll be okay you… f-fraidy cat…" she grunts as she continues to focus, and soon the ghostly visage of Sterling (now nearly recognizable, with all of her former features and armor completely in place only lacking in color).
"Onyxia… Onyxia…" she says in a loan, monotone voice that again might send chills down a pony's spine were it coming from anyone else. She reaches a hoof towards your neck, and Twonyxia tenses up.

>>753261
"Woo, the fun choice then! Hear that, birdie? Time to see if you can fly-"
You hear a clatter over the radio from your wrist-computer as Plasm seems to object, raising an argument with Bossa while you hear some other noises going on in the background. Speeding your way through the facility, the mare in your arms seems terrified out of her wits as she puts her pink hooves flying in front of your face,

"H-h-hey, look, c-can we stop for a second?! I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack here ma'am, I-I just work here! If you put me down and just tell me what you're looking for, I can help you find it, I did not feel like dying today ma'am!"

>>753263
As Sterling comes into nearly full form, Onyxia's eyes start to water, seeing the friend she thought was lost. She takes a step closer to Sterling, a few tears running down as she hears her voice again.
"Sterling… It…I-It's really you…"
She mutters, her voice choked up in emotions. She doesn't tense or flinch as the ghostly hoof reaches out towards her, her own thoughts and focus set solely on Sterling as if she was casting the spell herself.

>>753264
Twonyxia looks ready to move forward and pull you away from the ghost as its hoof reaches out towards you… and immediately wraps around your neck, pulling you towards the ghost in a deep embrace as the corporeal form suddenly gains mass and strength of its own. The fur you're pulled into feels neither cold nor warm, merely 'there', but the strength with which the hooves hold you tight against her chest is quite familiar, as are the wings that wrap around you in turn. Beryl lets out a sigh, falling over onto her side with a groan as you see the white glow of the ghost start to shift in color, becoming a familiar bright shade of red (though it remains see-through, as does her blonde mane and armor). The lingering ambient glow of the white aura stick around the sides like a permanent outline that remains the same seen from any direction, and the echoing, booming voice has risen considerably…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUclDZHax0w
"ONYXIA! Thou art safe! Oh thanks be to the Princess of Sun, 'tis a blessing to see you again, mine friend!" The hooves grip you tighter, nearly cutting off your oxygen against your larger frame as Sterlings familiar might pulls you into a tight and consoling wing-hug. "I hath missed you dearly, truly… tis good to see thee!" she says through a barely chocked back sob, but it's quickly replaced by a light, mirthful chuckle for which she was notable for.

Twonyxia lets out a massive sigh, before moving to check on Beryl who is slowly, steadily, standing up again. She looks at the see-through pegasus knight embracing you, and though her hair is frazzled and her eyes slightly red, Beryl offers a smug grin. "See? I tolda ya, I… knew… good… blugh…" she says, laying down. "Need just a min."
>PAUSED

>>753217
>>753263
>>753261
>redoing that first line about griffon tossing

"No," she says to Bossa's request. "Leave him. He'll be of good use to us if he cooperates."

She then skids to a halt, and flicks out a business card to the mare. "I'm looking for employees. We offer competitive pay, full dental and health insurance, with plenty of room for promotion."

>Southern Point
You immediately board the light-rail without a second's notice to Claw, and pass into 'Level 5'… which appears put you into a wintery, icy tundra. The snow whirls ahead and winds blow as Silky suddenly finds her princess dress awfully drafty, holding herself tightly for warmth (as you seem to do fine) while she looks around in astonishment. "I-i-ice level…?"

The snow goes out and around a large basin like area, with a large, formidable mage's tower in the center. Pulling your strings towards it, you find they can wrap around the tower and swing but do not slice it. You can look inside the tower, and see a staff floating in its top room, seemingly like an item to pick up: it is similar in appearance to Claw's, but darker and does not coil/bend like a snake does. Silky looks at it, holding her hooves together for warmth. "I-I don't know why the lower levels of this place are like this, but let's hurry up and make it through this one b-before we freeze to death…"

>>755140
While model-swap glitching them into some warm wool trousers and coats (which obscure all but their snouts), she flings herself at such a speed that her model gets partly wedged into the outside of the tower, near where the staff floats, and drops a bunch of traps where the boss will spawn. Then, once all is set up, she spends a few seconds angling her field of view toward the staff (through the wall) and mashes the 'E' key while jumping to simultaneously trigger the boss appearance and the boss fight end flags so that she can fight while using the staff which she isn't supposed to have at that point.

>>755142
Silky and your mirror-copy (who continues to do your actions as you perform them, though less effectively as she merely hops her way into a freezing ice lake surrounding the tower) are thoroughly bundled up, the pink unicorn trying her best to keep up with you as you manage to abuse the simulation to the fullest, but gets stuck as she tries to get through the doors. "Darn it… why is it working for you but not me?!"

As you move to the top of the tower and get within sight of the staff, you feel a great rumbling coming from inside the tower room, ice and snow pooling around the staff itself as the proverbed boss appears: it is a giant snowpony, as wholesome as it can appear though standing 15 feet tall. It stomps its way towards the staff you manage to snag through the walls, but your traps begin cutting it into pieces immediately upon entry. As it happens, the snow-pony starts to reform, the slices along its icy body re-connecting as it continues to march its way towards you and casting a chill along your cloth. Silky, from outside, shouts loudly: "What's going on up there, I hear something going on?"

As you grip the level's staff, you also see several lines of code forming along it like an aura.
>Roll instant perception as you also take your action

>>755145
She snags everyone, including the snowpony, and, with the momentum built up from jumping into a solid object, crouches so that she dislodges from the tower, bounces off the tower's collision, hits a sloped mountainside, and rides the momentum into the next loadzone.

>>755148
The wires, rather than cutting into the giant snow-pony, wrap around it instead to grapple it, taking you, the staff, your clone and Silky (who looks at the wires grabbing onto her with a 'not again' look to her) as you use the momentum to burst free from the tower, pulling everyone towards a corner of the basin with a downhill slope. Falling into it, silky and your copy are under-arm as you manage to land on a conveniently wooden board that you begin to go down the slope upon, repeating scenery to your left and right as obstacles mingle your path ahead. The stolen staff from the tower continues to glow with a series of numbers passing up its length as the snowpony touches down on the slope behind you, rolling up into a giant, rolling ball with the snowpony at its core.

It chases you down the slope, with a 'finish' line placed at the very bottom, as the snow-ball starts to pick up speed (and mass) rolling down the hill towards it, getting ahead of you briefly even with the build up launch speed from the tower. A platform resembling a winner's podium can be seen just past the finish line, likely the exit for the next loading area.
Silky shouts as she quickly makes the connection, "I'll try to slow it down!" She cries out, her horn glowing pink as it shoots out globs of the sticky, glowing web that had tried to stall you earlier.
[1d10]

>Onyxia
"When you put it like that, it does sound like a classic romance story," Onyxia comments in lighter tone. "Did you… have anypony you had feelings before back in your time?"

Onyxia frowns as Sterling talks of the eeriness of feeling nothing at all, moreso as Beryl explains what she's made of now.
"Astral matter… Putting it that way makes it sound like she's a star or a sun," She comments in thought.
Onyxia pauses as Sterling recounts the odd situation of moving from death to resurrection.
"Do… you remember anything about, you know… being dead?"
She asks slowly, unsure of how to ask about this kind of topic.

Roll #1 1 = 1

>>755148
[1d10]

Roll #1 10 = 10

>>755151
As you ask her, Sterling blushes , smiling widely as she sits down, opening up both her wings to cover her face with each (which, due to being transparent, still leave her visible). "Well… perhaps, and perhaps not. Doth thou not think tis a bit improper for a lady to speak of such things so brazenly?"
"I mean," Beryl coughs, "If you were going to take it to your grave, you… kinda already did."
"BERYL!" Twonyxia shouts, shaking her head, "I am so sorry…"
"No, no…" Sterling says as she opens her wings, a serious look on her face. "She has a point. Hmmm." she pauses, "I shalt tell you… if thou can guess who I may be thinking of."

As you ask her if she remembers, Sterling puts her hooves on her head, "I… I don't. I know I've been somewhere that, isn't here, that I came from but…" she shakes her head, "Huh… it is odd, tis as though it on the tip of my tongue but it won't make the leap out of my muzzle. How very bizarre." She flattens her ears, "The last thing I remember vividly is… well, my demise but I'd rather spend less time dwelling upon it, as heroic and valiant as it was. Perhaps I'll spin it into a tale later but for now, I'm trying to focus on what comes after."
Twonyxia looks at Beryl, "Is this normal?"
Beryl looks through her book, "I think I read a chapter on this…"

>>755151
She hits the invisible ramp just in front of the miscolored tree to take her to the secret exit rather than the standard one.

>>755155
"I didn't meet too many ponies back in that time… But, was it Pound?"

Onyxia glances down as Beryl starts to flip through her book on this subject. She looks back to Sterling with a smile.
"Focusing on what comes next, that's a better outlook to have on this," She says to lighten the mood back, "And it is a good idea too. With all the thought about getting to see you again, I… never thought about what comes after bringing you back."

>>755156
Silky's web do nothing to slow down the massive ball of snow racing you down the slope, merely getting absorbed into its increasing mass as Silky seems to shrink down into her extremely heavy set of clothes out of shame. However, as you take notice of a oddly out of place ramp, you shoot off of it towards a section of the canyon walls dwarfing the slope on either side… and pass right through it, a secret course hidden from sight! Wires attached to the growing snowball containing the snow-pony drag it behind you up the slope and into the passage, the snow-ball crashing into tiny bits as it tries to follow you through the narrow opening.

The slide moves immediately into a dark, open void, light pin-pointing in the distance as you are once again immediately thrust into a light-rail similar to the ones transporting you between levels, and seemingly 'warp' out of here, snow-ball in tow, towards another area…

You crash out into a vast, open wasteland of destruction and a giant looming moon overhead, a destroyed city around you with a 'Level 8' printed on a wall. Everyone tumbling as your momentum finally starts to give out with a sudden crash. The giant snowpony lingers behind you, dragging and melting as the temperature raises significantly. You notice the snow-pony is now much smaller than it was before, and cut into an odd, blocky shape oddly resembling that of a normal proportioned pony, only with a less refined form. Potentially carve-able…

>>755152
As the stolen staff from the previous level glows with numbers, you notice out of the corner of your eye similar numbers glowing off of another source… Claw's staff, the real one taken from the real world, has similar glowing numbers moving along itself.

>>755161
The ghostly apparition of Sterling chuckles, her wings covering her muzzle, "Pound?! Oh, no no no… Sir Pound twas a gentlecolt to be certain but, a tad too brotherly for me. Plus I find myself more of a cat pony. Thou hast used one guess so far, I shalt alloweth two more."

Beryl nods as she reaches a section, "Ah, here it is… to put it in really basic terms, old sorcerers were able to call forth spirits beyond the grave, but upon doing so, when questioned about the afterlife, ANYTHING about the afterlife, the spirits they brought back were either incapable… or unwilling… of divulging information about it. It varied from pony to pony: some claimed to just not remember anything like Sterling did, others would imply they did but refused to say anything…"

Sterling nods, "Well, I certainly am not keeping anything from you, I assureth you! Truly, I can't recall anything since, well… when I was alive." She turns to look at Onyxia as they focus on the lighter things, Sterling smile as she reaches down to wrap her in another hug, "Well spoken, mine friend! I hath been returned thanks to thy dedication and thy sisters' extraordinary talents for the… dark… arts…" Sterling's eyes open wide, putting her hoof on her chin. "Oh dear… um… question: is necromancy still forbidden in this era?"

>>755164
"Well, if it's not Pound, was it Code?"

"I wonder if that's part of the spells they used," Onyxia comments as the Beryl explains the secrecy. She looks up as Sterling wraps her in another merry hug as they focus on the better side of things. "She did get this book normally, so I don't think anything is forbidden. Right, Beryl?"

>>755165
Sterling looks ready to laugh in your face, but only becomes deflated and her wings droop as you mention code. "….well, sod," she says, shaking her head, "I guess the list of potential stallions WAS quite limited, wasn't it?" She sighs, chuckling to herself. "I *did* have quite the soft spot for Code… he somehow made having a giant stick up one's hindquarters quite charming, and he was ever so fun to tease! I don't know if he ever felt the same way," she sighs, "Somehow I doubt it, but still, I would not have minded if he tried to sweep me off my wings. There is one other I had quite the pining for but, sadly, he was already spoken for…"

As you comment on getting the book normally, Beryl nods, "W-well yeah, of course it's totally legal to sell the book, so, OBVIOUSLY, the spells themselves can't be that illegal…"
Twonyxia sighs, "Woo… thank goodness, I almost thought for a second-"
"Buuuuuuuuuuuuut…" Beryl draws out the word, "Um… well, lots of things you're not supposed to do are explained in books. I haven't really read up on the laws in Canterlot, I think it may change from city to city, but generally, I guess necromancy is kind of a faus pax…"
Twonyxia's eyes open wide, "So, wait… are you saying we're breaking the law?"
Beryl smirks, moving her two hooves up really close to each other. "Maybe just a liiiiittle? E-even if it is, it's not like I came out here raising a zombie army, I called ONE spirit!"
Sterling nods, looking down at herself, "And for that, I am QUITE grateful! But, it doth muddle things a little bit… am I still under oath to uphold Celestia's laws now that my time has passed?"

>>755167
"The only guess I'd have left after that would've been Temper, unless you fell for Boo or Screech in that short time," Onyxia jokes as her correct guess takes the wind out of Sterling's sails. "Another? Who was it, if I may ask?"

Onyxia frowns as Beryl brings up the blurry line of legality they may have breached. "Lapizulas didn't look like the type to write about forbidden or illegal spells, especially if he's holding public signings with them."
She turns to Sterling as she brings up her question.
"I'm not even sure what the specific law on this would be now. But you wouldn't really arrest a filly, would you Sterling?"

>>755174
"Temper?!" Sterling shouts, ears flopping down. "N-no! My, he's old enough to be my grandfather!" She chuckles, "And, Boo and Screech were quite endearing as well but, but they were… a tad knavish for me."
As you ask her who the other one was, she sighs, "Only if you swear never to repeat it to him…" she looks around, as though to make sure no one can hear, and she whispers, "'Twas Luke was the last one. He truly had the heart of a knight, if certainly not the behavior, and I got to know him rather well when I came to his era… but, deep down I knew his heart lied with another." She sighs. "With a blade I am unmatched, but sadly luck has never been on my side when it came to stallions."

As they talk about the possible breach in conduct, Beryl growls, "FILLY!? Excuse you, *I* am 16 years old!" She says, putting on a rather adorable pout.
Sterling laughs out loud at this, her wings covering her chest as she heaves, "Hohohohohoh… oh… oh, even if I were't alive, I doubt I could bring myself to act against such a spirited young miss, Onyxia, least of all one who doth have familial relations to my friend. Every so often, a knight must be wise enough to know where not every rule is written in stone… something Code always seemed to have trouble with."

Twonyxia sighs, "Well, that's nice of you Sterling, but personally I'm a bit more worried about the-"
"Guard." Steel interrupts, moving from his scout position to the group. "The patrol pony is coming back around, we should move."

>>755176
"Really?" Onyxia asks in disbelief as Sterling admits her other fancy. "I didn't get to know him that well, but if you say so…" She trails off, finding it hard to see what Sterling saw.

Onyxia can't help but let out a sicker as Beryl pouts, undoing any degree of maturity she tried to put on, even despite the ritual just performed.
"You're my little sister, so yes, you're a filly," Onyxia counters with the doting tone of an older sibling.

When the moment is interrupted by the patrol working it's way back around Onyxia turns to Steel.
"Pull us back into the Shadowscape. We can get out of the graveyard now and not have to worry about sneaking around in the streets."

>>755179
Sterling nods in affirmation, "Tis just as I said. He hath a good heart, even if he doth not realize it…"

As you snicker at Beryl, she growls under her breath. "I did not bend the nature of reality to my whim and pierced the veil to be called a 'filly', thank you very much…"
Twonyxia gets on on the teasing, patting her on her head, "Whatever you say, 'filly'."
"You know, there are so many WORSE spells in this book I could try out on you two!"
Sterling scratches her head, "My word, how DID this rather disturbing literature get published?"

As you command Steel to pull everyone into the Shadowscape, Beryl quickly gathers up her supplies, erasing the magic circle she used from the pavement as best she could before his cape sweeps over the group, pulling them into the darkened realm as you hear the hoof-steps of the patrol pony approaching. Sterling looks around, "Ooooh… I almost forgot what this was like!"
"Let's start moving back to the train-station," Twonyxia recommends, "We don't have to go back home straight away but we should at least move in that direction."

>>755184
Onyxia scoffs. "Aww, you wouldn't do that to your favorite older sister now, would you?" Onyxia says, giving Beryl a quick hug to tease a little more.

She nods to her twin as they reenter the cape.
"Right, I did promise Beryl we could take in the sights a bit. And it'd probably be a sight to see Canterlot even more in the future for Sterling."

>>755187
As you hug her, she does not hug you back, but makes no attempt to break out of it either. "Well, that depends, I haven't decided which one is my favorite older sister yet. I might turn the other one into a newt for fun."
Sterling chuckles heartily, "Ooh, siblings art so much fun! Can'st though truly do that?"
"Well I think I'm about to find out…"

As you agree with Twonyxia's plan, your group swiftly moves through the graveyard, Sterling lazily flapping her wings but mostly relying on her own natural weightlessness to keep moving. Navigating out of the graveyard and to a safe distance, Steel dispels the cloak in an empty street as Sterling looks around a sleepy Canterlot, looking towards the royal, regal towers set into the side of the mountain. "Ah… it doesn't appear to have changed TOO much, thankfully. The grand towers of Her Majesty's palace are always a most welcome sight."
"If we have the time, I wanted to take a look at the marketplace. I hear there's no better place in Equestria to get magical components than Canterlot."
"Wouldn't most shops be closed by now?" Twonyxia asks.
Beryl grins, "Not the 'unconventional' ones."

>>755193
"Just don't forget who brought you to Canterlot," Onyxia says, giving her one last squeeze before letting go. "Though a threat like that isn't really that much to a changeling." She retorts.

"It really is a sight to behold. And we're the only ones aside from Princess Celestia to see it from start to finish." Onyxia adds before turning to Beryl. "We can stop by some shops, if by unconventional you mean they're no worse than sneaking into a graveyard."

>>755195
"I guess I'll keep that in mind…" Beryl says. "And, we're HALF changeling, we can't exactly turn into other ponies on a whim like Dad can."
Twonyxia raises a hoof, "Hey, I could have stopped you from going, but I decided to come along instead! Plus, I have seniority."
"I'll keep letting you two compete to not be toaded before we get back on the train… though, I guess that'd make it hard to explain tomorrow morning when we get back."

As you ask what she means by unconventional, she nods. "Oh, yeah, nothing legally questionable this time… unless what they're selling is. I just mean, they're gritty, you know… 'seedier'. Not afraid to tread on the side of cantrips less ambitious mages would be."
Sterling crosses her hooves, "Hmm, I begin to grow a bit concerned. I feel suspiciously like I hath been summoned into the tale of a evil sorceress origin story."
Twonyxia shakes her head, "You aren't taking ANYTHING on the train we can't get through the station, Beryl. You know how tight security is everywhere these days, if we get caught carrying something bad, we are dead when they call Dad."
"Oh I was just exaggerating!" Beryl says, smirking. "Mooostly. I'm just saying, the shops I had in mind open this late probably sell some unique stuff."

>>755164
She bonks the snowpony with the staff to turn her into a yuki-ponny (yuki-onna).

Then she puts in the secret code with the staves to keep going through the level.