Toxic Rain Spoiler: Roll Willpower for Toxic Rain 61 + 2 = 63 As a testament to Twilight Sparkle's OCD and as a great detriment to Toxic Rain, the pages of the book aren't numbered. She frantically flips through the pages, hoping beyond hope that her counting skills are up to snuff. Spoiler: Roll Knowledge for Toxic Rain 61 + 2 = 63 Roll 1d8 to determine how long it takes to find the right page: 3 turns She flips thorugh the book several times and takes a wild guess that there are about 200 or so pages. From there, she flips toward the front of the book and counts the pages individually from about the 20th page. This could take a while... ----- Spoiler: Meanwhile, let's roll Initiative for everypony else Follia: 43 + 6 = 49 Buttercup: Total = 46 Twilight: Total = 86 Twilight goes first, followed by Follia and Mitzy, then Buttercup. Spoiler: Roll Endurance against Blinding Pain for Twilight, then Speed Rolls kept hidden for dramatic effect. Twilight drags herself across the floor toward the stairs, attempting to escape Buttercup, but the creature reaches out with one arm and grabs her by the tail, dragging her back toward her. For good measure, she swings her hammer, aiming for Twilight’s Cutie Mark. Spoiler: Roll to Hit You know the drill. Twilight has been getting terrible rolls… The hit lands solidly on her flank. You can hear the cracking of bones and Buttercup seems to have drawn blood. Twilight screws her eyes shut against the pain and screams, “You have to say the spell backwards! Do it now!” Spoiler: Note to Toxic Rain You can’t do it “right now”. You have to wait 2 more turns. Sorry. ----- Mystic Heart Spoiler: Roll Magic for Mystic Heart 69 + 18 + 5 (for “Enchanting”) = 92 Mystic Heart’s horn glows brightly as she covers Twilight in a calming aura. The lavender unicorn’s breathing seems to have slowed a bit and her struggling, while slower, seems more focused and less panicky. Spoiler: Roll Willpower for Licorice and Tip Top Licorice: Total = 63 Tip Top: Total = 75 Both Licorice and Tip Top look into the hole and see that Mystic was indeed correct about the illusion. They quickly let her up, and attempt to block anypony else from intervening. “Save your friend,” Licorice says. “We’ll stay here for now.” “Call for us if you need backup,” Tip Top adds, his horn glowing with a red aura. ----- Silver Shield Silver got the hole in time for Licorice and Tip Top to release Mystic Heart and hear what they had to say. Spike’s tiny legs flailed in the air as he started to realize Silver’s plan. “Oh no. There is no way I’m going in there. ----- Grey Mane The crowd began to dissipate from around Grey Mane, exposing her to her allies. ----- Spoiler: The situation at hand Toxic Rain is at the top of the stairs in the Library, frantically flipping through the book. (For 2 more turns) Follia is near the hole, which is still covered by roots. It is possible to see through the roots for the purpose of casting spells. With sufficient Strength, they can be broken through. Buttercup has a hold of Twilight’s tail. Mitzy has a hold of Buttercup, and Twilight is sprawled out on the floor, in a great deal of pain. Silver Shield, Mystic Heart, Grey Mane, Licorice, and Tip Top are outside the library, near the hole.
Gey Mane was listening in on the situation. She decided it would be worth it. Grey Mane gritted her teeth, bringning up the worst of her memories, channelling them to project a camoflauge spell on the wounded Twilight.
She took a few short breaths as they let go of her and she stood, shaking her mane quickly as her eyes locked on the situation. "I think I need all the help I can get~!" She tried to hold a little bit of her concentration on the spell as she went and did some stupid heroic thing by charging down into the hole with full intent to butt into the freakish abomination. She couldn't have anypony else in that much agony! She wasn't the strongest of the bunch, but she sure hoped her determination was inspiring.
"Oh, yes you are, if you want Twilight to survive," said Silver to Spike, not looking at him and instead focusing on the horror below. "What the hay is that thing?" he asked Heart, with a nervous feeling in his gut. The creature had a hold of Twilight (Serves her right, he thought), and was bashing the unicorn with a large club. He heard bones crack, and winced. He still didn't like the thought of her dying, even if she had turned evil.
"There aren't any page numbers!" Toxic shrieked, panic thick in her throat as she counted from the first page. "I have to count the pages.. What is the spell called, Twilight?" She glanced up to see Buttercup's hammer smash across Twilight's flank, and she screamed as she heard the bone crunch. Fighting to breathe deeply, the pegasus forced herself to focus on the task at hand, staring at the book and counting each page gingerly.
Mitzy's teeth slip and shut with a audible snap then clatters to the floor with the grace of a tapdancer trying to quick step his way out of falling over. She backs off slightly, still making her hostility known. Follia has a thought. The agility, and the intelligence of the creature doesn't appear to be all that impressive. As part of his calculation, Follia darts to the side of the creature, making sure to go via the creatures back to reach the opposite side of Mitzy. His heart rattles his ribcage. "Mizty! Sick 'em!" Mitzy attempted a second attack while Follia turns and aims a kick at Buttercup's leg. He screws his face up and holds his breath while throwing the kick, mainly so he couldn't see Buttercup decend on him like he knew she would.
Shield saw Follia preparing an attack, knowing that he planned to use Mitzy to distract the abomination. He quickly attempted to cast a shield around the proffessor to protect him in the case that the distraction didn't work.
Grey Mane Spoiler: Roll Magic for Grey Mane 97 + 11 = 108 Grey Mane’s concentration pays off as Twilight becomes completely invisible. Buttercup shrieks and releases her grip on the wounded pony, fully believing that the mage teleported herself to another location. ----- Mystic Heart Mystic Heart Charges at the roots separating her from her allies. Spoiler: Roll to Damage Roots Charge deals flat damage equal to Weight Units (Ponies weight 300 lbs. WU=Weight/10) + Endurance 30 WU + 12 Endurance = 42 Damage Roll to stay upright 86 + 12 = 98 Mystic Heart performs a Mare-Do-Well-esque burst through the tangle of roots and lands on her feet, striking a heroic pose as she does so, even if she didn’t particularly mean to. She glances back at her allies, who seem completely dumbfounded by this turn of events. The opening is completely exposed. (Willpower) Licorice and Tip Top shudder in fear as they now realize that whatever the pony-ape-thing is could now leap up through the hole and terrorize the rest of the town. They elect to stay above ground. ----- Silver Shield Spike nods reluctantly and adjusts the weight of the bag on his shoulder. “Alright.” He forgoes diving down the hole and travels around the library to the front door. Upon entering, he finds Toxic Rain, hard at work trying to find the correct page. Spoiler: Roll Magic for Silver Shield 22 + 10 = 32 Follia gains 10 AP Defense His simultaneous concern for Spike, Twilight, Mystic Heart, and Follia disrupt his concentration enough that he knows that his spell has fizzled slightly as a translucent, light blue shield envelops his professor. ----- Toxic Rain Toxic Rain flips through the book, attempting to find the spell needed to defeat the abomination. Twilight’s voice shouts from downstairs, “The spell doesn’t have a name! It…uh…it starts with ‘Sheo-Grumorah…Alex-“ Her words are suddenly cut off by a wild swing from Buttercup. You don’t hear the sound of cracking bones, so you reasonably assume she missed. ----- Follia Spoiler: Roll to Hit Buttercup Mitzy: 58 + 5 = 63 Follia: 21 + 6 = 27 Buttercup: -To Dodge Mitzy: Total 8 -To Dodge Follia: Total 33 Results: Mitzy Hits. Follia Misses. Mitzy leaps at the creature, sinking her teeth once more into her arm. Spoiler: Roll Damage for Mitzy 4 * 2 = 8 Buttercup seems annoyed at the canine, but again does not appear to be injured. She shakes her arm slightly in an attempt to fling the dog off of her arm. Follia aims a hind kick, but is just barely off his mark, due to Buttercup’s thrashing. With Buttercup’s main target out of view, she decided she needs a new target and trains her focus onto the professor and his little dog, too. She waves her arm in an attempt to break Mitzy’s hold. Spoiler: Grappling rolls for Buttercup and Mitzy Buttercup: Total 25 Mitzy: 19 + 5 = 24 (Mitzy’s stats are all 5’s by the way. Her CR is 2.) After some violent thrashing, Mitzy’s hold finally gives and she is flung across the room, taking a chunk of the creature’s flesh with her. She lands on her feet with agility that would rival any cat and spits out the flesh disgustedly. It’s at this moment, you notice that Buttercup’s wound isn’t bleeding, despite her having recently lost enough flesh to expose part of the bone beneath. She doesn’t even give it a second thought as she raises her hammer to strike the professor, whose flank is exposed to her. Spoiler: Roll Buttercup to Hit Follia Buttercup: Total 11 Follia: 61 + 6 = 67 The hammer goes wide and Follia feels a gentle breeze as it whooshes past him. Buttercup sways slightly; it seems she’s a little off-balance.
[Sorry about that again lol] Toxic sighs heavily, her eyes straining to find the desired words. Sheo-Grumorah, Alex, Sheo-Grumorah, Alex, she chanted in her head, seeking the spell. She was still counting each page, reaching somewhere in the 30's..
Grey Mane seemed pleased with the spell. She then proceeded, without thought, to dash into the hole in the ground to aid from the front lines.
Silver frowned. He needed to clear his mind... He saw Grey Mane rush in and elected to shield her next. His horn glowed and he attemped to clear his mind...
She beat her hooves against the dirt and shouted out; "Hey ugly! Why don't you try harvesting someone with a little more style?" Not a very nice attempt at distracting Buttercup, but one none the less, as she pointed her horn towards the large creature and concentrated... ever so delicately... on trying to hurt the beast in any way that her magic could.
Follia screams as he ducks for the sledgehammer swing and wastes no time dashing for whatever cover was now available. As he makes a break for a new safe place, he spots the slight blue tint to the air. Someone knows he's down here and helping out. Then, Mystic bounds through the tree roots, smashing through like a slow-motion explosion should be rumbling upwards behind her, complete with a perfect landing. A few calculations that took a few nano-seconds told him that he had enough to stand a chance of beating this thing...Maybe. He had defence, Mitzy and the...er...Well, he didn't teach her so he wasn't obligated to remember her name. He looks for the largest tree root he could find as a weapon, snatching it up in his teeth as he runs over behind Mitzy who was barking and snarling at Buttercup. "OK girl." Follia hushes through his teeth once he's in position behind her, "Go left. Go for the leg." It's interesting what a shield does for bravery. So does a makeshift club. He was still quaking in his boots about this but he had a feeling that he was needed here. To make sure this creature never leaves or else there could be a lot of harvesting happening outside. Mitzy sprints off while Follia charges to flank Buttercup. "Miss!" He forces through clenched teeth, "Help me!"
Silver suddenly remembered Mystic Heart. He couldn't let her get hurt, either! Quickly he adjusted his spell to include both Grey and Heart.
Spoiler: Roll Initiative Buttercup: Total = 55 Twilight Sparkle: Total = 42 Toxic Rain: 80 + 4 = 84 Follia: 13 + 6 = 19 Silver Shield: 89 + 4 = 93 Mystic Heart: 25 + 4 = 29 Grey Mane: 92 + 8 = 100 (Spike, Licorice, and Tip Top are not participating at this time, so they don’t get Initiative Rolls) Order of Actions: Grey Mane, Silver Shield, Toxic Rain, Buttercup, Twilight Sparkle, Mystic Heart, Follia. Grey Mane Holds Her Action. (That means that the others can go before her. It makes things a little easier on me.) Spoiler: Roll Magic for Silver Shield 64 + 10 = 74 Need 70 to Protect Grey Mane and Mystic Heart. Result: Success. Both Ponies gain +20 AP. Follia still has 10 AP. Silver Shield’s spell goes off this time without a hitch, as the two unicorns are protected by a shimmering, purple aura. Meanwhile, Toxic Rain finally find the correct page. Spoiler: Roll Knowledge to read the spell backwards 60 + 2 = 62 Success: This’ll take the remainder of the round. Roll Willpower: 48 + 2 = 50 The professor reads the words of the spell, slowly and deliberately, in order to get the incantation just right. Her vision begins to go hazy as the words begin to run together and even appear to read forward in her mind. She nonetheless continues as light swirls of red energy begin to surround Buttercup. Spoiler: Roll Endurance for Buttercup Roll kept hidden for dramatic effect. Buttercup hears the words of the spell that brought her here and feels the energy attempt to rip her from this world. Understandably, she’s a bit miffed. She attempts to charge up the stairs and stop Toxic Rain from casting the spell… Spoiler: Buttercup’s turn is over. She’s too gangly to go across the room and reach the top of the stairs in one turn. You’re safe for now, Toxic. Spoiler: Roll for Twilight to Intercept Buttercup Roll Perception: Total = 40 Buttercup’s Speed: Total = 34 Roll Magic for Twilight: Total 66 Roll Strength to Grapple: Twilight: Natural 100 Buttercup: Not needed. A purple beam lashes out from an empty space in the center of the room towards Buttercup and wraps tightly around her torso. “Let’s see how YOU like it, you abomination!” Twilight shouts as the beam proceeds to pick the creature up off the floor and toss her into the ceiling, then slam her to the floor. Spoiler: Roll Damage 1d4 + Twilight’s MAG = 28 – Buttercup’s END = Hidden for dramatic effect. The sound of shattering limbs fills the room as Twilight unleashes her fury on Buttercup. When the onslaught ends, what was once a fearsome beast not to be toyed with is now a pitiful heap. The heap, however does not seem to be finished as she slowly makes her way to her feet. Her head swings from side to side, seeming to look for a way out. Mystic Heart does not let up. Spoiler: Roll Magic for Mystic Heart 99 + 18 = How the heck did this happen?! I mean…117 The root cellar grows very cold as Mystic Heart’s horn glows light blue. Her body begins to frost over as ice encases her entire body. Just as it appears she’s going to freeze solid, the ice around her shatters and a beam of cyan blasts forth and strikes Buttercup. The creature tries to struggle as the ice creeps over her limbs, then her torso, and finally encases her monstrous mouth, silencing her forever. Follia bravely leaps at the encased Buttercup and valiantly swings his improvised club. Spoiler: Roll Damage 1d4 (2) + 10 = 12 Follia strikes the head of the beast clean from its shoulders and it slides to the other side of the room, lightly clanking against the leg of a table. Toxic Rain recites the final words of the spell. Tendrils of energy lash out from the floor, and pull the pieces of Buttercup into the ground. The summoning circle grows dim as the spell ends. Spoiler: Results of Encounter Winning! Let’s see here. Experience isn’t going to be that great since Buttercup was a CR 1 (despite her stats) 25/5 = 5XP for everyone. I didn’t count Twilight (even though she participated), Spike, Licorice, or Tip Top. No Friendship is Magic bonus this time. You creamed her. Grey Mane’s camouflage spell wears off and Twilight collapses to the floor in a heap. She groans, “You gotta teach me that…camouflage spell sometime…” Her head hits the floor with a dull thud.
She dashed over to Twilight and knelt down for just a moment before whipping her head around and looking back to the opening from the hole. She shouted loudly. "We need medical assistance! Quickly! A doctor for Twilight! Or a transport!" Her concern for Twilight was not unusual, after all. She had completely ignored her own feat of magic performed to be glad just to have hopefully ensured Twilight's survival. However, she was not above being careful... and while she was not conscious, she ensured that one of Twilight's loose mane hairs went into her pouch where the effigy was.
Grey Mane did, what can only be assumed, as a smile. "Well... That was interesting. One question. Now what? I assume just give the book back? Or take it to her majesty in Canterlot?"
Shield watched his friends in awe. Holy cow... suddenly he was glad they were all on his side. ESPECIALLY Twilight. That grappling spell had been incredible...and he was sweating a bit just from a few shields, none of which had even been needed. He trotted in and lifted Twilight from the ground with his levitation, then brought her outside. "Does anypony know where the hospital is?!" he shouted. He trusted that Grey Mane and the rest would take care of the book.
Toxic Rain collapsed to her knees, her head hanging and pounding. The spell was like nothing she had ever experienced.. yet it was thrilling. Almost unconsciously, she glanced back down at the book, amazing at the power the tome held. The pegasus still felt shivers throughout her flank as small sparks of magical energy burst. Shaking her head of the faint delusions, the dark grey pony gripped the book beneath a wing and started with shaky steps towards Twilight and the others.
Follia threw down the mace, somewhat triumphant. He just smashed off the head of a dangerous monster and they'd managed to save Ponyville from certain sledge-hammer related doom. On the other hand, he would have liked a sample or something to study. Maybe kept the head, preserved it and freaked out the next few teachers that came to complain about the noise. Either that or he'd see what kind of pickled eggs he could get from that. Furthermore, it would have been good to know what that actually was but this would have to wait for research later. Right now, the job was done and no-pony was hurt. He strokes Mitzy. "Good girl. We might get some respect after this. Or at least a new story." Then he could hear Shield say something about a hospital through the hole. The pair begins to make their way up the stairs and out of the basement, wishing to retract the 'No-pony was hurt' comment.
