Fandom &nbsp; MLP: Age of Exploration - Descent into Hell

Dumbledoof

This is an adventure for all characters. Every person may bring 2 characters, and they will likely be used at different times. If you want to get the Elements of Harmony back together, talk about doing so!

Empress Luna sat on the throne beside her sisters, waiting for the heroes to arrive. Celestia and Luna had called on every available hero; the Elements of Harmony, Cadence, Starlight and Trixie, even Spitfire and Lucian. Whatever was happening here was a big deal, as the heroes would realize when they arrived. This many powerful beings never gathered under the same roof all at once. There was enough raw power in this throne room right now to rival that of Harmony.

Spitfire was there, though she was hanging in the back right now and kind of wondering what the Hell she was doing here. She had yet to really come into her full power and was still figuring out the secrets of her birthright. Lucian was of course standing beside Celestia's throne. Trixie was standing at the forefront of the assembled crowd, due to being on the upper end of the powerful beings here. All in all there were at least a dozen other ponies here, some of whom had never even met each other before.

Princesses Silvanus was notably not present, due to staying behind to watch over the kingdom. That'd go well.

It looked like Empress Luna and Empress Celestia were going to let everypony settle in before they said anything.

Dumbledoof · Jun 1, 2019

Avedon

Cyan Hide
Twilight Sparkle was pretty confused about this sudden calling. The only times herself and her friends had been called to the throne like this was for some world-ending disasters, or potentially very threatening ones. Tirek, Sombra, Discord, and more. The fact that not only the Elements had been called, but even others as well, did not bode very well, and did little to soothe the worries plaguing her mind. There had only been a single time the Elements had not been enough to thwart the disaster, that being... Chrysalis's second assault on Equestria. She had taken them by surprise before they could be used.

Rainbow was also a little bit confused by this sudden summoning, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. Around her neck was the Element of Loyalty, but it's red color seemed a little darker at the moment, more dull. More importantly, the cyan pegasus had gone pale in the face, staring at a very certain yellow mare that was across the room from her. Spitfire. Dear Harmony, they had left on such a sour note. She remembered the break-up vividly still.

She was specifically trying not to look at them, but her eyes kept darting over occasionally. She kept close to the rest of her friends for now.

Cyan Hide · Jun 1, 2019

Dumbledoof

Princess Cadence was not with the assembled ponies in the middle of the throne room. She sat on the floor beside the steps leading up to the thrones, facing the same direction as the Princesses. She would do her part but she was a leader, not an adventurer. She had a duty to not risk her life unnecessarily. Like the Royal Sisters, she was her own country's last line of defense, alongside her husband, Shining Armor. Speaking of, she looked to her sister-in-law, Twilight, and gave her a warm smile from where she sat. This occasion wasn't appropriate for 'sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake' but she could still try to reassure one of her oldest friends, who she now also had the privilege to call family.

Starlight Glimmer was standing besides Trixie. The two of there were some of the most, if not the most powerful Unicorns in Equestria, and both had saved it before. With a gathering like this, however, the task they would be asked to do was likely harder and with more at stake than anything they'd ever been asked to do before. She was nervously awaiting word from the Princesses.

Applejack was standing with her friends, and the other Elements of Harmony. She saw Rainbow look uncomfortable and cast a few glances at Spitfire. Applejack trotted over and shared a look of sympathy with Dash.

Avedon · Jun 1, 2019

Dreamweaver
A very suspicious looking black cat was lounging around near Celestia's mane, trying to use her as a makeshift source of light to sun herself. Her oversized witch-hat immediately marked her as abnormal...and fashionable, unlike the rest of the hatless degenerates in this room. Trixie and Applejack excluded. For her small stature it was an underscore for the severity of this meeting. It was not often the grim-reaper would be called from her neutrality in worldly struggles to look at something that was threatening the very balance of life and death. She lazily picked herself, giving up on Celestia's mane when it seemed to fail to warm her in the slightest.

Dreamweaver · Jun 2, 2019

Avedon
Nightfall would quickly find herself levitated over to Luna's lap, where the Goddess of Darkness began to just pat her! Obviously. As if Nightfall was allowed to be anywhere around Luna and not interact with her. "Thank you for coming." Luna whispered to Nightfall quietly, knowing that her showing up was kind of a big deal. It took a lot for Nightfall to forsake her neutral stance!

Dumbledoof
To say that Spitfire looked extremely apprehensive was an understatement. She was in a room full of ponies that she didn't know, most of whom only knew her as the Captain of the Wonderbolts, and all of whom could pretty much kick her ass. And to make it worse, her ex-marefriend was here! The reason for her starting to get clean was casting glances at her every so often, and Spitfire kept glancing back.

Spitfire kept glancing at Applejack too, since the farm pony glanced at her a few times! It was a glance party!

Spitfire just retreated further into the back. There was a lot of things that she could deal with, including screaming at ponies, but she couldn't deal with having absolutely no friends in the place. She didn't even know why she was here!

Dumbledoof
... It was at this point that Trixie decided to make her presence known. "By Harmony, we're all here so let's get a move on!" She shouted out, before blanching and realizing she actually just did that. "... With all due respect, your Highnesses."

Empress Luna just rubbed her eyes like she usually did whenever Trixie was around and nodded. "Yes. Well, thank you all for coming here today. I know it was on short notice and we appreciate it. I would like to first off inform you all that the fate of the world is probably not at balance." She sounded a little... iffy about that one. Like she wasn't totally sure if the world was actually at stake or not.

"We are here today because the Royal family, Celestia and myself specifically... need your help. Several years before my return, our daughter Aurora sacrificed herself to stop an invasion from Hell, by going into Hell and closing the portal from the inside. Some of you may know Aurora from the history books, she controls the flow of magic. We want to get out daughter back. More importantly, I am worried that we have to get our daughter back, for Equestria's sake. In the past few years, a number of... magical anomalies have occurred."

Luna literally just pointed at Starlight and Trixie. "Ponies like them are becoming increasingly more common. My fear is that without Aurora around, spell casters will again roam unchecked and use the True Art once more. It is that power which allowed Sombra to banish the Crystal Empire. Do any of you want a hundred Sombra's running around?"

Shining Armor was having a panic attack at that thought! But he knew right in that moment that he had to go, and he just gave Princess Cadence a short nod. She would stay to protect the Crystal Empire, he would go to Hell and help get Aurora back. If that what was needed to help protect the Empire, so be it.

"That's why you are all here. We need to go to Hell and get my daughter back. I know it is a lot to ask, and there will be no judgment placed on any pony who wishes to walk out of this room right now. If you do not wish to assist, please leave now."

The doors proceeded to open, and a good 50% of the ponies in the room walked out; leaving the core group. Spitfire turned to leave, and then just stopped and sighed deeply. She couldn't leave while knowing ponies needed help.

GeneralTyrus · Jun 2, 2019

D. Rex

Celestia had kept herself ion her throne, sitting there quietly as Luna went about explaining everything. She watched as ponies seemed to get cold hooves at the mention of having to venture into Hell, and retrieve her daughter. She felt a bit of anger build up as she watched some ponies leave before her eyes would lock onto Spitfire. She'd smile at the fact at least she had opted to stay. When everything calmed down, and everyone that was going was standing before them, she'd stand up, smiling, "We need to give our thanks for this. You are helping everyone by doing this great task."

She'd look over the group, nodding her head to them, before looking to the door as a new pony arrived. A Changeling, to be more precise. It was Queen Cada! She strode in quickly, making her way into the group, before looking at both Luna and Celestia, "Empresses, forgive me for arriving late, but the call only just reached my hive. I wish to come along, to help save your daughter." She'd say, nodding her head. She was wearing some old looking battle armor, likely a relic of her younger times on the earth. She'd take her spot next to Spitfire, looking at her, before returning her attention to Luna and Celestia.

Celestia would nod her head to Cada, "We're thankful for you to have arrived, we'll need anyone we can get, and I believe that you are a fine addition to the group we have here." She'd say softly, before sitting back, allowing anyone to speak up, or perhaps even discuss among-st themselves what they think might be best.

Cyan Hide · Jun 2, 2019

Dreamweaver

Cadence returned Shining Armor's nod, but would wait until the rest left to have a more private conversation with him. Applejack and Starlight both contemplated the task ahead. Of course both of them would take on this mission without question. Starlight especially felt, in a way, responsible, despite knowing that made little sense. She always wondered why she was so powerful, and what she had done to deserve it. If she was the symptom of a magical imbalance, it was practically her duty to do this! She looked over to Trixie to see how her wife was feeling about this.

Applejack also considered this her duty, but her reason was simply that she was a traditionalist. She was loyal to Equestria and would literally go into hell for the Princesses. She was just patriotic like that. When a Changeling Queen arrived, Applejack nevertheless bowed her head and tipped her hat as a sign of respect.

Avedon · Jun 2, 2019

Dreamweaver
Nightfall didn't seem to mind being floated through the air in the slightest. Slowly waving her paws up and down in the air like she was still walking as she was brought over to Luna's lap. She wasted no time before kneading it and settling down with a steady purr the rest of the meeting! She whispered back!
"Hey no problem Luna, I'm always glad for a reason to get back to some adventures..."

Nightfall had loved to travel and adventure during her life. Her neutral stance was not out of an actual disinterest in the affairs of the world, infact it was often extremely hard for her to ignore some events when those she loved were in grave danger, it was simply her sworn duty. Fortunately, getting a non-dead soul out of Hell was not precisely meddling with Equestria, she could stretch it as something of her own role in making sure each soul found its way where it was supposed to be! Besides, she shuddered, a hundred Sombras was one thing, but imagine a hundred Starlights! Besides, Nightfall herself was completely and utterly incapable of any type of magic other than death-magic. Even a unicorn's natural levitation had been beyond her in her life. She didn't need more people flaunting their gifts!

D. Rex · Jun 3, 2019

Other ponies left, but as a stunning example of dragon bravery, Hurrico did not. He did not even flinch at the news. Mostly because he wasnt exactly paying any attention...

The blue-gray dragon was laying on his back underneath a table, lazily enjoying a bowl a emeralds a a generous custodian gifted him with (by generously gifted, it was more of a bribe to keep him from plucking gems off of the decor). Would probably give the groundskeeper just enough time to get everything back to perfection before the bowl ran out.

Thankfully for him! Rico was now more of playing with his food. Putting the Crystal's between his fingers, and holding them up to his eye so that he could make them look like little crystal puppets of Princess Luna and Celestia, and attempting to make them talk in sequence with their words.

Though he eventually got bored of that and started talking for them, "YEA, VERILY BAD THINGETH HASTHET HAPPENETH!" Rico said to himself making a purposefully poor impersonation of Luna, moving a little piece of obsidian in the air like a improvised Luna doll,"BEHOLDETH THE DANGER, AND LEAVETH WITHOUTETH JUDGEMENTETH! BUTTETH KNOWETH IETH WILLETH ACTUALLYETH JUDGETH YOU INETH YOURETH DREAMSETH. "

Rico ate the crystal and fished out a lovely topaz. "Ah, yes sweet tiny dear beloved sister, in my infinite wisdom I do agree, mm yes wot wot. I thank all of you lowly, but no less special to me plebeians, with all of my super powerful and loving-beyond-ability heart. So loving that I totally forgive Luna for that things she did yesterday. I HATE YOU! Never mind, I love you again. Mm, yes, wot wot. Anyway! In my thanks I will spare you the obvious humble bragging and only give subtle humble bragging. You see, despite my super immense power of the entire sun, I am just too absurdly righteous to enter such a filthy place. It would taint my pure soul! And even though I am greatly powerful, I will risk the lives of my subjects. Because if there is one thing that we can agree on, it is that I am as pure as the driven on snow!"

Rico held up a pink gem, "Dont you mean driven snow? And wait... if this was possible... why didnt we rescue her like back then!"

The topaz gem made its return, and flipped its imaginary mane in a huff. "Yes of course I meant that. And Because at the time indid not have some vague overly complicated lessen to teach anyone. Goodness Caddy, dont you know me at all? Mm, yes, wot wot."

Hmm. His Celestia impression really needed some work. He liked his Luna impression better. Cadence was just the third wheel anyway so she didnt matter. Then again... she did have a vast empire made of crystal, so that did win her some points. Oh well! He tossed both the topaz and pink gem into his mouth and crunched loudly, giggling in immature self amusement.

Almost cringing at thankfully somewhat quiet display, the groundskeeper slipped another handful of gems under the table and into the bowl. He wasnt anything special, just a shaggy grey earth stallion in a dirty jumpsuit that wasnt all that good for much else. "Shhh," he said.

"Yeah yeah, whatever Nobody. Just keep 'em coming." Hurrico replied and settled down, and Nobody just sighed. At least it was a more positive response than he usually got. So progress.

Still, the speech concerned him, even if seeing all these heroes here was a little daunting. He didnt understand much of it, but Nobody was worried that someone was in trouble. Not that he was able to do much about it...

Dumbledoof · Jun 3, 2019

Cyan Hide
The announcement of what exactly this was all about made Twilight freeze up slightly. They had a daughter trapped in Hell? She couldn't imagine how badly that would be going. Being stuck in Tartarus was one thing, and not even that bad, all things considered, speaking from experience there. But being stuck in Hell was another story entirely. The vilest demons tended to crawl around those layers of the underworld, endlessly battling each other for dominance, while the Devils played their games and schemed for the demise of the world above.

Rainbow Dash was more focused on Spitfire than anything else still. Luna's words did register on the distracted mare's ears, and she was absolutely going to help them. She didn't show it, but she was thankful for Applejack being there... it calmed her nerves a bit. There really was no question about that at all. The mare practically lived for these dangerous adventures, enjoying them more than the others usually did. The adrenaline rush that she got from escaping a near death situation was priceless, followed by the laughter usually right after.

Of course, neither of the two budged an inch when the offer to leave came. In fact, Rainbow even made a show of stepping forward instead, her Element glowing a little bit brighter. She was loyal to the Princesses, through and through. Her attention was brought away when she saw Spitfire turn to leave, looking on in slight dismay. Was she really going to just... walk away, right when the Princesses needed her?

Thankfully not. A smile spread across Rainbow's face. Good. She turned back forward.

Twilight decided to speak up in that moment, raising her voice slightly. "Of course I'll be there to help, but I have to ask; do you know which layer Aurora is even on? Or where she is on that layer?" The logistics of Hell were both annoying and interesting at the same time.

Dreamweaver · Jun 3, 2019

GeneralTyrus
Luna reached over and just very lightly squeezed Celestia's hoof when she noticed her sister getting angry at ponies leaving. "Remember... it's a choice, not an order." She said to her sister telepathically. Asking a pony to go to Hell in order to retrieve a mare they didn't even know was a tall order. Luna would never force anypony to do such a thing if they didn't want too.

When Queen Cada showed up, Empress Luna nodded to her slightly. "Welcome, Queen Cada. Thank you for your assistance in this monumental task."

Dumbledoof
Spitfire was not even slightly paying attention to Rainbow Dash anymore, because a Celestia-sized changeling just decided to stand right beside her. Spitfire looked about ready to scream, but kept her cool. She still remembered when Chrysalis had attacked the city so, uh... changelings were a big nope for her. Regardless she saw that both Celestia and Luna greeted this changeling Queen like an ally, so she figured she wasn't... totally evil.

Still, she had to ask...

She nudged Queen Cada with her leg and whispered to her. Queen Cada would notice that this one was radiating love. "... Hey. Uhm... I'm Spitfire. You won't kill me, right?"

GeneralTyrus
Trixie looked absolutely thrilled to have been pointed out by Luna as a 'magical anomaly'. She looked back at Starlight with a staggeringly massive grin on her face! "I knew it! I knew Trixie was Great and Powerful! The blue one even said so!" She said while pointing at Luna! She was absolutely ecstatic! She was SO great and powerful, but she had always been told she wasn't!

She totally was!

Shining Armor meanwhile was... not at all okay with a Changeling Queen suddenly showing up. His first instinct was to panic, and then his brain started to hurt from a little memory of how he was manipulated. He didn't nod in greeting to Cada, he didn't wave, he didn't even speak. He just stared with barely restrained hatred. She would find no friend there.

Avedon
"I promise that it is for a good cause." Luna's voice echoed in Nightfall's mind again as the lunar goddess patted the cat lovingly! "Without my daughter, magic is thrown out of balance. Eventually it will seep into your job as well. The world is not supposed to be this way... we don't need any more magical catastrophes that could easily be stopped taking thousands of lives."

D. Rex
Out of that whole god damn spectacle, which Luna saw and heard every little piece of, there was only one thing that actually bothered her. Being mocked was fine, since he seemed to just be amusing himself and wasn't being outright disrespectful just out of spite. He was just enjoying his snacks and goofing off. Okay. She even found his impression of Celestia to be hilarious, though she was not overly fond of his impression of her. That was all fine.

The way he talked to Nobody was not. She was not about to let that dragon be so disrespectful to their hard working groundskeeper. "Hey." Luna's voice shot right into Rico's head. She was staring at him through the crowd, despite him being under a table. "Nobody is worth ten of you, you little thief. Show the stallion some respect or you can answer to me when this is all said and done."

There was one last question Luna had, though. "Nobody... are you coming with us?" She asked with a little frown. She didn't really know why he was here, or if he could handle it down there...

Dumbledoof
Let me know if I miss characters here.
Finally, somepony was asking questions! Empress Luna sat forward on her throne and nodded to Twilight with a smile. "That is a good question, Twilight. Over the past several years I have reached out to some of my contacts in the outer planes, and have determined that Aurora is being held on the very first layer of Hell; Avernus. Specifically, uhm..."

Luna looked a little apprehensive about this, which didn't bode well. "... We believe she is being kept a prisoner inside of the Dragonblood Pits. That is better known as Tiamat's Lair. Due to the Tiamat's power it is likely that a full out assault on her will not work... we will have to give her something in exchange for our daughter. Tiamat can be reasonable though. The few times I've spoken to her, she was an evil but intelligent Goddess."

Of course there was a plan to go over. "Twilight Sparkle, you are being given the task of directly retrieving our daughter. You will take Trixie and Starlight with you, as you are the most magically adept ponies in the room. There is a chance that Aurora may require magical nourishment when you find her, in which case one of you may need to feed her your magic. Do not enter Tiamat's Lair alone, when you've reached it you will wait until Celestia and I join you. Upon arrival in Hell we will have to go speak with the local Archdevil and explain our position."

Next up, Luna pointed at Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spitfire and... Rico! "You three, when we arrive I want you to head on the left most path and establish a base. A regiment of guards will come with you. Take Rico with you, and ensure that he behaves himself, yes?" Spitfire just... nodded and came to stand with Rainbow and Applejack. Except she was standing beside Applejack, not beside Rainbow! "... Heya, Apple. It's been a while! And, uh... hi, Rainbow. It's... nice... to see you. Again." Oh by Celestia make the awkward stop!

That left Cada, Nightfall, Shining Armor and Lucian. "Grim Reaper, meet Archangel. Archangel, Grim Reaper. Both of you, Cada. All of you, Shining Armor. Great, you four are the most potent force here. I want you on the frontlines, holding off the Devils."

"... YEESSSSSSSSS!" was Lucian's only reply. Obviously.

"WHAT?!" was Shining Armor's reply. "I am NOT fighting beside that... thing!"

Avedon · Jun 3, 2019

Dreamweaver
Nightfall turned to Shining Armor, pouting and tilting her head.
"Look I know why you feel that way, they're shifty, dirty, two-faced roaches - but if Luna trusts that arch-angel so I think the two of us should too!~"
Her face split into a wide Cheshire-grin from her perch on Luna's lap. She was looking forward to getting to deal with something that wasn't renegade ghosts or lost spirits. There was an extra layer of satisfaction when facing something that was still properly sapient and coherent.

Cyan Hide · Jun 3, 2019

Dumbledoof

Starlight giggled and nudged Trixie as she shared in her wife's glee. "Always knew it myself. t's great that others see it now too, huh?" her glee was short lived as Luna broke down the plan. Starlight, Trixie and Twilight were given the biggest mission; rescuing Aurora. They would also get the help of Celestia and Luna themselves in this task, so Starlight was relieved by that. Venturing into Chrysalis' hive with no magic seemed worse than this. Here, they've have their magic. The biggest hurdle might actually be trying to keep Trixie from winding up Twilight. To keep them away from each other's throats. That said, Starlight wondered about this Tiamat being. They were probably a very, very big deal. "So, go to hell, stroll right up to Tiamat, and rescue Aurora. How hard could it be?" she nervously and sarcastically asked with a smile, awkwardly trying to make light of this task.

Applejack nodded and grinned when she heard that their task would be establishing a base. Now that was something that Applejack could do! Construction, roughing it, raising morale, and treatin' soldiers like family! This plan was playing to everypony's strengths, and Applejack liked the sound of it, frankly! Of course, the drawback was that the Elements of Harmony were being separated, but each of them was capable enough without the Elements. They could still overcome any obstacle together, as friends. Spitfire came over, and the atmosphere suddenly did a 180 and got unbearably tense. "Well, howdy, Spitfire. It sure has been a while. How ya keepin'?"

Cadence stifled a chuckle as Hurrico's impressions of her, her former mentor, and Princess Luna. She couldn't even be the slightest bit mad. This was Dragon Humor, and she did have a soft spot for dragon humor. When Cada showed up, Cadence waved and smiled formally. The two weren't friends, but there had never been any ill will between them. They just had a mutual unspoken agreement to try to interact with each other as little as possible. If they did talk, Canterlot would come up, and Chrysalis second invasion would some up, and it would just be a painful conversation for all involved. She leaned closer and pressed her side against Shining's, giving him a little smile to let him know he had her support and love. She wouldn't tell him to give the Changeling Queen a chance, or change his demeanor. She understood, and so did Cada, probably. That said, when he responded to Luna's plan with a short outburst, she cleared her throat and glared sideways at him. There was a limit to how much she'd be okay with. He would put aside his differences with Cada enough to do what it took to follow Princess Luna's plan and save Aurora.

D. Rex · Jun 3, 2019

As soon as the voice thundered in the dragons head, it was safe to say he was quite startled. He jumped and bumped his head hard on the table and knocked his bowl of gems onto the floor.

Despite this, he certainly didnt lose his spirits, he snorted loudly In amusement, "Darn tootin no pony is worth ten of me!" He grinned, but knowing full and well he'd get an even harder stare, he relented and gave an overly begrudging sigh. "Fine fine. Thank you for the gems and keeping me out of trouble, Nobody..." uhg... ponies and their 'respect'.

He bent over and began picking up his gems. Out of 'respect' and cause he was still going to eat them.

Nobody smiled, "You are welcome." He said kindly.

He looked back towards Luna when she addressed him and bowed. "If you have need of me, your highness, then I will go wherever you need me to go." He said to her. And from the sound of things, she sounded like she needed all the help she can get. The stallion had a great amount of respect and loyalty for the Princesses. They have done so much for Equestria, helping her retrieve her daughter was only the smallest of favors he could repay. "Yes. I will go." Admittedly, he was neither a great warrior or sorcerer supreme. But just because he was a nobody didnt mean he would hesitate to help when he could. After all, if Nobody was helping, you could always count on at least one pony at your side.

Hurrico, with an armful of gems, walked over to his three stooges. Applejack. Rainbow Dash, and Spitfire. "Ya know, ponies are always telling me to go to hell." He said with a chuckle. Clearly taking this venture a bit lightly. Mostly because he was getting used to being thrown into these things. Might as well take it in stride.

Dumbledoof · Jun 4, 2019

Cyan Hide
Twilight nodded her head slightly. The first layer of Hell, Avernus, wouldn't be so bad. That meant they weren't having to try and traverse the entirety of the place to reach Aurora. Trying to organize that would be a nightmare in of itself... and they may need more. That's a lot of demons to plow through, aside from Celestia and Luna, everybody will likely be exhausted by that point. Herself possibly included. Demicorn only, not the real deal! Hah, Demicorn... why hasn't that term come into mainstream use already?

"That's a bit of a relief to hear we won't be going too far down." She sighed shortly. Bullet dodged there... and then it immediately turned right the fuck back around when Luna continued. Twilight's jaw dropped. "The Dragonblood... TIAMAT!? " That was definitely not good news for anybody! "I don't—I'm good at negotiating, but I don't..."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, recomposing her thoughts. "... I'll bring Aurora back, Luna. You can count on me." Whatever it takes, she decided not to add. There was always a backdoor to these situations... the problem usually came with trying to find it.

Twilight turned her attention away from Luna temporarily when she heard what Shining had said a few seconds afterward. A glare that could make anybody wince was thrown in his direction, as well as a quick, but only sharply attention-grabbing elbow to his side as well. That was totally uncalled for by him, calling Cada a 'thing'.

With that out of the way, she approached Trixie and Starlight, coming to stand beside them. She leaned down to speak to Trixie specifically. "Okay, so let's make a deal here; we can't afford to be biting each other's heads off down there, so for the sake of rescuing Aurora, can we agree to just... not?" Twilight said slowly and quietly. "This is too important for our squabbles."

Cyan Hide
Rainbow Dash was marginally awkward by the simple fact of her being paired with Spitfire. This was not going to be a great mission at all. She and Spitfire... oh, this was going to be so bad. They hadn't exactly broken up on the best of terms, Rainbow specifically having left them due to... specific personal circumstances. They had hurt each other at the time and she took her leave. She hadn't thought it through at all and it was a rash choice. Which she deeply regretted.

She raised her hoof into a salute to Luna. "You got it, Princess!" Dash said brightly, and that changed completely when Spitfire spoke to her.

"Hi, Spitfire." She replied to them stiffly, keeping herself terse. "How's your, um... dad's eye?" And then she immediately winced. That just slipped out. Ohhhh noooo.

GeneralTyrus
Queen Cada could also feel Rainbow herself absolutely radiating love as well, it's sheer intensity the same as Spitfire. How totally coincidental.

GeneralTyrus · Jun 4, 2019

Dreamweaver

Celestia felt a little bit better from Luna's reassuring, but was still slightly upset. It was really because of the fact it was her daughter at stake, so she was taking things a bit personally, not that she'd let it show.

Dumbledoof

Cada stood there quietly, before looking at Spitfire, smiling politely at her, "Oh, I would never eat a pony, not unless they asked me to." She'd joke, before returning her gaze to the royal sisters, listening to their plan for this mission. Except she couldn't really focus, the utter hatred that she could feel from Shining Armor was incredibly distracting, and she'd look at him a few times, trying to be poilte by smiling at him, though she knew from the look in his eyes that pleasantries were being wasted, and she'd sigh, before trying to focus on the mission.

Once everything was said anddone, Celestia stood suddenly, looking at Shining Armor, "Shining Armor. You will do as you are asked, and work with Queen Cada. I'd like to hope that you will see past her being a changeling, and maybe even become... acquaintances." She'd say, knowing all to well what had happened to Shining. Friendship wouldn't be possible, but total hatred could be avoided, hopefully. She'd smile at him, trying to be reassuring.

Cada watched, a little worried, but the feeling of love from some ponies in the room was helping her relax, and passively fed as it was being distributed amongst ponies in the room. She'd take a step forward, bowing her head, "Iwould like you too know that I am here to help, Shining Armor." She'd say, looking at him, "And I'd like for you to believe that." She'd say, before looking at Lucian and Nightfall, "It's a pleasure to meet the both of you however." She'd say, nodding her head to the both of them.

Celestia just watched, and then looked to her sister, speaking telepathcially, "Lulu, do you think it's best for them to be working together?" She'd ask, curious as to whether or not her sister was trying to maybe help Shining with what happened, or something else.

Dreamweaver · Jun 4, 2019

D. Rex
"Actually, Nobody. I think the best thing that you could do is... stay behind." Luna winced a little bit. She didn't really want him coming to Hell for no real reason. He wasn't a proven fighter and while he might have some handy skills, what they needed down there were fully armor clad warriors. She didn't want to hurt his feelings though, and she had another job for him!

"I want you to stay here and watch over Equestria, with our daughters. You will have no power of course, but you can act as an advisor if they have any questions. You have the experience of age on your side, and that is a trait they are sorely lacking."

Avedon
... Okay that actually got a hearty, genuine laugh from Shining Armor. Not enough to actually really cheer him up, but he really appreciated the attempt and just nodded at Nightfall. If this was who he would be adventuring with, that would be okay. And of course it got a sigh from Lucian and a roll of his eyes. "Why is it that either all the mares love me, or I'm the butt of a joke?! Am I even good for anything else?" He commented with a groan, flapping his wings slightly as he did so. There was a smirk on his face though and he winked at Nightfall. Good joke!

Dumbledoof
Starlight and Twilight
Trixie seemed to be quite content at having been singled out by Luna. "It's so great that others see how amazing and powerful Trixie is! Trixie is the best!" She replied with a happy clop of her hooves. She was actually so happy that she didn't even really take note of the fact that they were going to see Tiamat. The Goddess of Evil Dragons. Which... includes blues, like Trixie. And considering she hated even dragons with a slight amount of 'lesser' blood in their veins, she would probably kill Trixie on sight for being a perversion of Dragonkind.

The mare grinned widely as Twilight arrived! "Oh don't worry Twilight, Trixie will gladly put aside her differences. After all, we both know who's in charge down there!" There was a little pause as Trixie waited for the correct timing and then continued with, "... It's Trixie. Trixie is in charge down there."

She giggled crazily and then pointed at Starlight. "Let's be honest here, she's in charge down there. I promise not to wind you up too much though. For the sake of little Princess Aurora."

Of course Trixie was just fucking around. She didn't even like even care about Twilight anymore. The mare had no jealousy in her heart at all like she used to. She was happy, with a wife and two beautiful children, and could shapeshift into a fucking dragon. She had nothing she was trying to prove anymore! If she had to, she would give up her magic permanently to rescue a poor soul trapped down there.

Dumbledoof
Spitfire was kind of distracted by Rainbow Dash right now and... completely forgot Applejack and Rico were even there. She totally ignored Applejack when she asked how she was 'keepin' and just giggled a little bit at Rainbow's words. "Ah, I... haven't spoken to my dad in a few months, actually. I kinda realized he was, perhaps... not a great pony? I needed some time away from him."

That was really all she was willing to say about it in front of Applejack and Rico. That was an issue that Rainbow knew about, and she wanted to keep it before them. Her issues caused by her father were far to private for anypony else to know about! What was even more impressive than her ditching her dad was the fact that she seemed... clean! No jitters, no alcohol on her breath, nothing of the sort.

GeneralTyrus
Cadence, Twilight and Celestia got... nothing out of Shining Armor. Not a word, not a glance, not even a look. Cada got something out of him, though! Which was absolute fear. As she stepped forward he shrunk even further into his throne.

Dumbledoof
Well this was getting tense. Luna heard her wife's voice echo in her mind and actually answered publicly, because she didn't even think about it. Sometimes she got confused when switching between telepathy and actually talking. "... I'm gonna be honest here Celestia, I'm kind of retarded. I honestly forgot that Shining Armor was rap-..."

Oh wait, she was talking out loud. Awkward. Shining Armor looked equal parts horrified and extremely angry.
...
...
"... You know what, actually, I think that's all for now. Everypony head out and meet back here in an hour. I'm going to forget that I almost just said that out loud, in a room full of ponies. Bye."

With the meeting having ended, Shining Armor stormed off to go get his equipment! And Luna shrank into her throne.

GeneralTyrus · Jun 4, 2019

Avedon

With everything happening the way it was, Celestia was plenty happy to agree that the meeting was over. She watched as Cada had taken steps back the moment she felt the fear from Shining Armor, trying to hopefully make him less scared. Cada was deeply worried as to why he had such a hatred and fear, until Luna nearly completely let slip what had happened. Her eyes widened, and she inwardly snarled. She thought to herself bitterly, I should have taken my time with that insect. She'd shake her head, getting rid of the vile thoughts. She wanted nothing more now than a second go at Chrysalis, but it would never happen. Probably.

Cada watched Shining Armor leave, and looked around, wondering what to do, before looking at Cadence, frowning.

Dumbledoof

Cyan Hide

Cada would slowly make her way towards Rainbow, Spitfire, and Applejack, waving at them. She'd come to a stop a few feet from them, before slowly bowing her head, "Hello... I wanted to meet the Famous Element of Honesty." She'd say, smiling at Aj, holding out her hoof for a shake, while turning her head to look at Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, "And I'm happy to have finally met you as well, Miss Rainbow Dash." She'd say politely.

Dreamweaver

While that was happening, Celestia had been looking at Luna ever since she gave everyone time to socialize and get familiar with each other. Her eyes were wide in that, "What did you just do?" Kind of way, and she'd sigh deeply on the inside. She'd shift in her throne,and watch over the ponies as they milled about.

Avedon · Jun 4, 2019

Dreamweaver
Nightfall reached over to place a paw on Lucian, smiling tenderly.
"You are a lovely butt."

Nightfall was, well, already ready. There wasn't a whole lot she needed to prepare for! Her checklist really simply consisted of two things. She leaped up into the air and before she came down a scythe materialized under her, resting on it like a perch as it suspended in mid-air. The weapon gave off a dreadful aura. It's fogged and silver-blade seemed to reflect the eyes of whoever looked at it, reminding them of a simple promise that every being was born already knowing: They would die one day. Mortals. Deities. Even the stars would grow old. There a deeper chill to it than that simple reminder though, for there was a terrible presence bound inside the blade. Chillblains, the first and true lich, the Deathless One shackled forever at the side of the fate he had cheated as his punishment.

"Thats item one...item 2."

Nightfall took off her witch hat and reached inside to pull out...an even tinier cat! it was a a little tuxedo cat with a white-skull print on his chest floof and tiny little cat gloves on.
"Alright Leon, Grandpa Avedon will be watching the two baby horse-princess's. More importantly, I need you to watch him watch them. Get him his tea, remind him to feed and water them, make sure they get nice snacks that kids like and not just like...ground coffee-beans or something. Get them some cheese puffs."

The smaller cat nodded
"Should I meow at them when they have food until they offer me some and then sniff it and walk away instead?"

Nightfall pointed to him
"Yes! Good headspace right now. I knew you were the right cat for the job. Roll with that. It'll teach them valuable life-lessons like..."

Both the two cats stared at each other for a while waiting for her to finish her sentence. for a minute before Leon floated away.
"Also don't forget to keep the boogeymare under their beds so they won't get scared of their parents being gone!"

With her preparations complete she hopped off her scythe back onto Luna's head!

D. Rex · Jun 4, 2019

Dreamweaver

Well. That did admittedly hurt a wee bit more than expected. Though in all fairness he should have expected such an answer. "Oh. As you wish, your highness. I shall do just that." He said with a smile.

"Do not worry. I will make sure they have all the help they need to run things in your stead. When you return, you will see they have done a fantastic job." Said Nobody. Though he decided to take the old comment as a compliment... even though he wasnt that old... it did make him feel old now... oh well.

Nobody would dismiss himself with a bow, and go about to make preparations for questions the girls might ask.

Dumbledoof

GeneralTyrus

With each passing pony that spoke and didnt give him even a passing glance, his smile faded incrementally into a frown. Yes, he was just that petty as to be annoyed at being ignored (even if he was a jerk and knew none of them). Just that petty.

Then the bug thing came by as a cherry on the cake. To shake the hoof of Applejack. Bah. She addressed Rainbow Dash. Beh. She had the courtesy to look at Spitfire. Grah.

"Hmmph, and what am I? Chopped liver?" He huffed. "Stupid bug." Mm. Yes. Petty.

He stuck up his nose and stuck up his tail, turned on his heel and marched away and taking his gems with him. Mumbling something under his breath about 'stupid ponies'.

GeneralTyrus

After Luna politely told everyone to beat it while she retreated to nurse her horrible ego bruise from a gloriously bad social faux pa, Hurrico didnt exactly have anywhere to beat it to.

Instead, he walked over to Celestia. "Hey, since you are basically sending me off to hell. Can you give me divine power boost or something? I was nice, I even apologized to Nobody. " Actually, he couldn't remember if he did or not. He remembered saying something nice and pushing the memory out of his head. So it was probably an apology or something.

"I kinda dont want to die, it wasnt really on my to do list. And, you know, help me help you and all that. Slaying hell things is your specialty, right?"

Cyan Hide · Jun 5, 2019

GeneralTyrus

Cadence winced as Luna spoke out loud. She couldn't be angry. She did that too. A lot. Made a lot of Crystal Summits very awkward. She did look back to Shining sympathetically and rest her hoof on his. She didn't say anything. When he stormed off, she was about to follow him, but thought better of it. There were times when he needed her and this was not one of them. Instead, she went up to Cada, matching her frown.

"Queen Cada. I have a favour to ask of you. Watch over my husband and keep him alive, but at the same time, keeping a healthy distance would be a good idea. We've both had a...history with Changelings."

With that, Cadence returned to Celestia and Luna. "Princesses, I will take my leave and return to the Crystal Empire in my husband's stead. It is never a good idea to leave the Crystal Heart unprotected for long," she humbly stated, before teleporting out.

Dumbledoof

Starlight facehooved and groaned, sharing a look with Twilight before turning to Trixie looking noticeably unamused. "Are you going to be like this the whole time we're down there?" though her frown turned into a shit-eating grin and she got closer. "I wouldn't say I'm the leader down there. More like the legal guardian, making sure the kids play nice."

She suddenly laughed nervously and turned to Twilight with a sheepish smile. "Not that I'm calling you a kid! Hehe."

Sweet Celestia, Twilight was going to be trapped in Hell with these two.

GeneralTyrus

Applejack's response to this arrogant, disrespectful dragon was just to grit her teeth and roll her eyes. Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were having their own conversation, however, so the most Applejack could do was respect their privacy and talk to Hurrico in their stead. However, before she could open her mouth, the changeling had approached her and was making conversation.

"Aw, shucks. Ah wouldn't really call mahself 'famous', " she answered bashfully. "'Specially not by a Queen." At that moment, the dragon called Cada a 'stupid bug' and stormed off. Applejack glared indignantly at the back of him over Cada's shoulder. "Don't mind him none. Sometimes a rotten apple is a rotten apple."

Dumbledoof · Jun 5, 2019

Cyan Hide
Twilight Sparkle, Trixie, Starlight Glimmer
Twilight gave the most unamused expression possible at Trixie. She was actually going to be stuck down in Hell with this mare. Possibly die down there with this mare if things went wrong with Tiamat. That is an extremely unpleasant thought to have. Dying with Trixie. Dying... with Trixie. Dying with Starlight wasn't that bad, she's already been there once or twice, but with Trixie? No, certainly not. Never. There is a certain line to be crossed, and dying with them was one of those lines. Sorry, Starlight, but your marefriend is so fucking annoying.

Slowly, her hoof came up to her face at Trixie's antics. It was made even worse by Starlight. "... I'm just... going to ignore you exist as much as I possibly can, I think, Trixie. When we get to Dragonblood Pits, try not to say anything stupid or offensive. None of us will survive." She stared down Starlight. "Doesn't matter who is leader and what happens, so long as we get Aurora back to Equestria. And preferably we don't die in the process."

When Luna started talking, Twilight froze up and turned around to them immediately, her eye twitching. Okay, sure, she's done that before as well, but this was a really bad time to do it! Sighing loudly, Twilight's horn glowed and she teleported away, to go do her daily Twilighting.

She had to mentally prepare herself for a high stress situation with Starlight and Trixie. Particularly Trixie.

D. Rex
Spitfire, Queen Cada, Rainbow Dash, Rico
Rainbow was also a little bit distracted with Spitfire at the moment. She also had to thank Harmony for the fact that Spitfire only giggled at her little fuck-up there. Reminding them of their fight probably wasn't going to be doing them any favors at the moment. Plus, you know, it was probably funny for her to be asking about their dad's health at all. Because she fucking hated Spitfire's father with a burning passion only matched by the sun.

She turned her head in Cada's way only briefly, hoof reaching up automatically. "Yeah, hey, nice to meet you, uh... Cada. Queen Cada. Yep." Oh boy, this was a whole series of blunders for her. Because Cada hadn't actually put their hoof out to shake Dash's, so her hoof came back down. That's awkward. Her face lit up red in embarrassment. "Um. Okay. I think I'm going to make like Luna's retardation and bail. 'Cause I don't have a throne to shrink into like she does."

Rico totally flew under her radar currently.

Turning around to flee, she actually didn't go immediately, and turned her head back around to Spitfire. "Actually, uh, Spitfire. Can we... I dunno, talk? Privately? Somewhere nobody can hear us?"

Dreamweaver · Jun 6, 2019

ARC BREAK! RP here as much as you want while your characters get prepared, I will start the next chapter in a few days.

Avedon
As Luna got up to leave, Lucian actually wandered over! He had a greatsword strapped to his back which was radiating light energy, but it wasn't quite as potent as the powers coming from her scythe. He was looking at that scythe with a mixture of amazement, and disgust. He then turned his eyes to her, and held his hoof out. "... Greetings! It seems we will be adventuring together. I look forward to slaying many hellspawn with you!"

Dumbledoof
"Oh hey. Cada. Queen Cada. The Changeling... Queen. Nice to meet you! Wait, we just met. Nevermind." Spitfire bumbled on in an embarrassing manner, before just looking over at Rainbow and nodding. "... Yes, let's go. That would be good." She said while taking off into the air and flying... away! She was actually flying to her house because she had to get her staff and maybe pack some water cus she was doubtful that Hell had that!

She didn't make any move to stop Rainbow from following her. If Rainbow wanted to come to her house, she could. She would find Spitfire's house to no longer be a drug induced mess, but now everything was perfectly organized and clean. Too clean... clearly Spitfire spent a long time cleaning everyday.

Dumbledoof
"... Hey, wait a minute! Trixie is just kidding. Why are you always so mopey and serious all the ti-..." Nope too late, Twilight was gone. Trixie just fumed and growled to herself. The mare couldn't even take a little joking around, she was so damn serious all the time that it almost hurt! And of course Starlight got a much harder stare back.

"... Trixie is herself, once upon a time that seemed good enough for you." She replied while turning away and sticking her nose into the air in annoyance! It was at this point that Luna wandered over, because she had something she needed to speak to the two of them about. "... Yes, Princ- er, Empress?" Trixie asked as Luna approached.

Luna produced a little black box. Trixie was eyeing that box intensely, to the point she wasn't even paying attention to anything else at the moment. Luna handed the black box to Starlight. "... Don't open it. Don't let Trixie see what's inside, though I think she already knows. Just... use it if you absolutely must, otherwise keep it locked away."

GeneralTyrus · Jun 6, 2019

Cyan Hide

Cada would look at Cadence, smiling at her as she came over, "Cadence, a pleasure as always." She'd say, nodding her head in respect. When Cadence brought up protecting her husband, Cada would nod again, "I would never betray the trust I've been awarded." She'd say, before waving good bye as Cadence rushed off. She'd then turn to look at Spitfire, nodding her head, "Oh yes, I hope to see you more in the future." She'd say, before waving as she trotted away with Rainbow.

Cyan Hide

Cada would turn to look at Applejack, nodding slowly, "Do not worry, I've learned over countless years that some just... Have trouble with seeing past certain things." She'd say, before looking around, spotting Lucian, "Applejack, I would love to get to know you better, but I would like to go speak with the Archangel first. Have you met them? Is there anything I should know?" She'd ask, raising a brow as she looked back at Applejack.