Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on Apr 27, 2016 16:39:13 GMT
Pandy turned to face the new pony who'd entered. "Oh, hi! You missed a lot of the fun, looks like I'll have to recap a bit for you!" He let loose another dome of magical energy, blasting back anyone who was near and giving him time to explain. "Short version, Deut was a wimp so I took over. Best path for the both of us, he wasn't going anywhere. Someone had ot give him the kick he needed, and in this case the kick was kicking him out of the driver's seat. Pandemonium's in the house now!" He smiled almost evilly as he charged up a spell. Had to maintain that illusion of giving a fig about some ponies. "And in case you were wondering I am having a BLAST with all that power i leeched from him over the years, almosty makes me feel a bit guilty. But hey, I'm having a WHALE of a time with these! Want a demo~?"
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Post by Aegis Dare on Apr 30, 2016 8:39:34 GMT
[Enter Aegis from the Tunnels]
Aegis darted in behind Moxie just in time to hear Deut's words. Aegis scanned the area, observing and quickly taking in the threats and environmental information. Then he looked to Deuterium and his mood changed like flipping a switch. The soft look in his eyes was gone and his face became fierce and determined.
"Stop this now, Deut...or whoever is controlling him. There's no need for this fighting. Simply land and stand down, and this can be resolved peacefully. But if you continue this violence, then you'll leave me no choice but to discipline you myself. Your decision...so choose wisely." He said firmly, regulating his breathing to keep his anger in check.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 2, 2016 16:08:36 GMT
Pandemonium turned to this other new pony. He - or rather, Deut - had seen him around a few times, but didn't know him all that well. "Aww, don't be such a spoilsport! This is fun! I'm just getting used to these WICKED powers!" He remarked with a few chuckles. "And corrections - One, it's Pandemonium. Two, I'm not strictly speaking controlling him. Nopony's controlling anypony. I've taken the driver's seat, this is my body now! But if you wanna discipline me... Let's at least make it fun!" He released the spell he'd been charging right at Aegis. "Think fast!"
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Post by Forte Fermata on May 3, 2016 21:07:56 GMT
[Enter Forte from Tunnels]
Forte dashed into the chamber, scanning the room quickly. There were ponies scattered about, and magical scorch marks all over the walls and floors. Deuterium, a pony Forte had seen around since he came to New Hayven but never really spoke to, hovered in the center of the room. Forte was just in time to see the unicorn send a blast of magic towards Aegis. "No!" Forte shouted, springing into action and tackling Aegis hard. It was painful, but surely nothing compared to whatever that spell was. The two stallions rolled a ways, but the spell missed them.
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Post by Moxie on May 5, 2016 21:17:02 GMT
Moxie gasped as a blast of energy was thrown at Aegis, moving to help when Forte, who was closer, got to him first. Her friends safe, Moxie turned back to "Pandemonium" and took to the air. She hovered as she spoke out to him, trying to reach the pony inside she knew, "Deut!" She called out, refusing to acknowledge this bully, "I know you're still in there! Please, you have to get control of yourself! For the camp! For me and all your friends. For YOU!"
The guards that had been trying to tether Pandemonium had been blasted away by his last wave of energy, but now they came running back with their weapons drawn and horns lit. This time though, their movements were organized, they were going to attack him all at once.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 5, 2016 21:35:31 GMT
"Nice moves!" Pandy threw Forte a sardonic compliment before turning to Moxie again. "Sorry lassie, but this time your friendship speeches aren't gonna save the day. If you want me to stop you're gonna have to either beat me fair and square or whittle me down! Tell you what..." He charged another dome of energy. "I might consider stopping... If one of you can touch me~"
He released his dome towards the onslaught of guards, aiming to hit tham all at once as they charged.
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Post by Aegis Dare on May 6, 2016 22:41:32 GMT
Aegis had barely any time to react as Forte tackled him out of the way. He struggled to get to his hooves, bruises aggravated by the tackle and the fall. He looked up, a dark look on his face as he buried the pain again and focused on Pandemonium. "Okay...You brought this on yourself, then..."
He stood up, scanning the room for an avenue of advantage. Pandemonium seemed to have impressive crowd clearing spells and powerful direct attack spells, but he seemed far too interested in making a show of things. Aegis, however...he wasn't playing around. Pandemonium had to be stopped, and he made Aegis angry. He took to the sky and bolted straight for the unicorn, moving around and staying focused on his target. He'd need to time it carefully to hit Pandemonium right as the dome receded.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 7, 2016 17:27:17 GMT
Pandy noticed the Pegasus flying straight at him, and quickly changed his tactics. Rather than letting loose the dome, he refocused the magical energy, transforming it into a glowing purple cocoon of magic, shielding him from attacks. Perhaps quite a gauche move, but he'd have to at least maintain the illusion that he wasn't even trying. He wanted to make this fight a fun one - if any one of those ponies touched him he'd take it as a personal loss now. He'd made the boast, now he had to live up to it. Switching his magical focus was a pretty taxing maneuver, and a hard enough hit would be enough to dissipate it. If it did he had to make it all look intentional. His goal here wasn't to hurt ponies, he just wanted to see just how far he could go with his newfound power and ability - ponies getting hurt was merely a side effect. Not that he actually cared. He just wanted to be seen for what he was, a powerful pony who wasn't to be messed with.
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Post by Forte Fermata on May 10, 2016 20:34:07 GMT
Forte followed Aegis's lead, moving into an attack mindset. Instead, though, he flew up into the shadows of the ceiling. He always worked better from a distance, and from the shadows. He hovered near a stalagtite on the ceiling that he could use for cover, partially concealed by the low light. He double checked Tempest, then watched, waiting for a shot.
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Post by Aegis Dare on May 11, 2016 18:16:35 GMT
Aegis paused as the shield surrounded his opponent, and he began to try and calm himself down. He needed clarity of mind if he was to prevail here. If he were to win with the haze of anger and violence circling his mind, he wasn't sure what effects it would have. Better to take that energy and channel it where it belongs.
"What's the matter, Pandemonium? Don't you wanna play?" Aegis called, smirking as he slowly came back into his usual mindset, albeit with the addition of trash talk. He intended to bait Pandemonium and get him focused on Aegis. "Gonna hide behind a shield like a scared little colt, are you?"
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 11, 2016 19:46:46 GMT
Pandemonium didn't notice Forte hiding behind the stalactite as he turned to face Aegis. "Oh, I wanna play alright. This 'hiding like a scared little colt' is called tactics, not that I'd expect someone like you to get it considering the trash talking you've resorted to." He dispelled his shield and fired two blasts, one at Aegis, the other at the ground in front of him and simultaneously dispelling the enchantment keeping him afloat. The result of this was that he was blasted across the room by the force of his own magic. He then carefully reactivated the spell and landed himself in a more open area before charging another dome. He was still strong, but he was certainly weakening, there was no doubt about it. "What's keeping you all, more importantly? All you have to do is touch me, then I'll concede defeat! Easiest fight ever!" He boasted, smirking again.
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Post by Forte Fermata on May 12, 2016 0:04:06 GMT
Forte tried to take a shot when Pandemonium dropped his shield, but the unicorn moved too quickly, flying across the room and raising the shield again before Forte could get a bead. However, Forte noticed the telltale shimmer of a shield weakening. He knew this would be his chance. It was now or never.
He lined up the shot, aiming for Pandemonium's center of mass. He pulled the trigger, and the bolt flew with a soft thwack! The enchanted bolt was less-than-lethal, transforming into a hard gel. It was soft enough not to penetrate, but still hit with enough force to bruise like hell. After the inital pain of the hit, the bolt would dissolve.
Forte's aim was true. The only question was whether the bolt would be enough to break the weakened shield.
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Post by Moxie on May 12, 2016 4:55:11 GMT
Moxie flew high in the cave as Pandemonium changed positions, looping in a large arch as she circled back. She was watching him, her mind buzzing as questions and information ran through her thoughts. What had happened to Deut? To come to this... Moxie recalled that Deut had not been feeling well today, but could that have truely led to this? She had known Deut since she was only a filly, and some how, in some way... This personality seemed almost familiar. As if possibly... it had always been in Deut in some way.
The idea did little more then confuse her further. She tried to tell herself this wasn't Deut anymore, that she needed to attack with her own weapon along with the others, but....how. She couldn't bring herself to hurt a friend.... But maybe she could still reach him? Bring him back? If she touched him like he teased they couldn't...
Letting her friends handle things in their own way, she let her wings bring her to hover near Pandemonium's new position, just hidden in the shadows of the cave ceiling. The moment his attention had snapped to Aegis, and Forte let fly his arrow, Moxie heaved a strong flap of her wings and shot down from her position, set on hitting the opposite side as the arrow on the shield towards his core.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 12, 2016 19:15:14 GMT
Pandy was busy charging his dome when he suddebnly noticed an arrow flying at him out of nowhere! Completely on impulse, he let the very much unready magic dome loose, certainly breaking the arrow's flight and causing it to drop to the floor, but this weaker dome wasn't anywhere near powerful enough to blast back ponies as it had before - Moxie would feel as if she was being hit with a very brief, but very powerful gust of wind whcih wuld stop her in her tracks for all of two seconds. In that single, instinctive moment, he'd let his defence tumble out of his grip and left himself wide open for attack. This had been a very bad move on his part, and he knew it, as evidenced by his audible "Oh, beasthairs!" Now very much without a readily available defence or offence and with multiple ponies close by, his only option was to change position again - but where could he run? For a very brief moment he seemed to be slightly dazed, before electing to bolt off in another direction whilst he had the chance and magic charged up again, quickly teleporting through the ponies now surrounding him. He had to escape somehow, recharge and resttart his attack, but he only had a few seconds before the ponies inevitable restarted their attacks. If just one of them touched him, then he'd be made ot eat his words and his pride would be shattered. He had to come off as powerful. not desperate. He had not become the dominant personality in this body for nothing.
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Post by Aegis Dare on May 17, 2016 17:07:49 GMT
Aegis deftly avoided the blow, old combat instincts slowly resurfacing. His body was slowed by earlier injuries, giving Pandemonium a little time before Aegis bolted in to finish things. If this fight dragged out, then they'd have too many injured ponies on their hooves. Aegis couldn't allow that. The idea of innocents coming to harm under his protection started to make his blood boil. With all this in mind, he hadn't even heard Pandemonium essentially call him a moron.
As Forte loosed his attack and Moxie came in from the other side, Aegis waited. Sure enough, his hunch was correct. Pandemonium relocated and left himself open, and Aegis was already following. He darted in, making himself the most obvious target to keep the pressure on Pandemonium. Of course, he trusted Forte and Moxie to finish the job if he couldn't. With an almost playful smirk, he darted in for an attack.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 20, 2016 14:27:42 GMT
Pandemonium wheeled around a little too late to see Aegis flying in, aiming a haphazard attack at very close range. All his attention was temporarily diverted by this, and he easily would have missed anyone coming in to attack at that moment.
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Post by Forte Fermata on May 21, 2016 20:23:33 GMT
Forte pivoted, tracking Pandemonium as he loaded another bolt. He drew a bead, waiting for Aegis to distract the megalomaniacal unicorn. Once the opportunity arose, he fired, sending the enchanted bolt flying towards the center of Pandemoniums back.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 21, 2016 21:20:29 GMT
Pandy froze as he felt something ping off his back. Turning around, he saw the bolt fired from Forte's crossbow clatter to the floor and his face fell twenty feet through the floor.
He couldn't believe it. It hadn't even been that long and already he'd been defeated. Morally speaking. he dissipated his magic and fell to the floor. "You just had to rain on my parade, didn't you?" he groaned indirectly at Forte. "One hit, that's all. I keep my word if nothing else." What was once an imposing figure, a centre of pure chaos had in an instant become a cowering, defeated mongrel. He seethed to himself as he hobbled angrily back acrosss the room. "Princesses DAMN IT! If only I'd been quicker and not so stupid! Were that a real battle, I'd be dead from a..." He looked at his body where the arrow had hit. "...punctured lung! It's not good enough! So much for the most powerful Unicorn in camp, can't even avoid two arrows from one pony!" Other such self-deprecating remarks could be heard issuing from his mouth as he continued, not intending on stopping for anypony.
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Post by Aegis Dare on May 21, 2016 21:34:58 GMT
"It's not enough to have power. You also need to know how to use it. Pandy, do you know why you were defeated today?" Aegis asked, curious if their opponent had learned anything from this battle. Another thing he was curious about was whether Deut was simply calling himself Pandemonium as a cover for going crazy cooped up in one place for years, or if Pandy really was separate. Either way, he had to see Genesee about this. If one pony could go bonkers in this cave, more had the potential to follow. And an attack from within was likely to shatter the feeling of being safe within the walls.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 21, 2016 22:04:55 GMT
"Because I was stupid and got carried away. I let my guard down and I shouldn't have. This whole battle... It wasn't for anything, it was just a display. I wanted ponies to fear me. I wanted to be better than this. You know why I took over this guy's body? it was because I thought it was the best for the both of us. He was just letting the entire world collapse on his head. He wasn't ready to DOanything to get what he wanted, what i wanted. Glory. Power. Something to be proud of besides knowing a few languages. It was tantalising, almost infuriating! I wanted to be what he wasn't letting himself be! What does that matter now?!"
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Post by Moxie on May 24, 2016 20:49:09 GMT
Moxie dropped down from above as she let her fur settle and stowed her dagger away, the battle already seeming to have been won. Her brow was furrowed, angry yet concerned, teeth gritting yet she was visibly on edge and anxious about what was happening with Deut. She didnt know whether to lay into him verbally or proceed with caution. The unicorn's ranting seemed like he truly wasn't in his right mind, truly wasn't DEUT at all, but someone else. She finally let herself believe that maybe Deut really wasn't present right now.
"A 'display'?... A DISPLAY?? You should be ashamed of yourself for such a self centered, foalish cry for attention! You put hundreds of lives at risk just because you wanted to be seen!" Her anger flaring at the imposter inside her friend's body, Moxie stomped a hoof as her seething voice rang out around the commons. "Glory? Power? All you've proven today to everypony here is that you are nothing but an immature foal playing with fire!"
As she spoke, guards had begun to move in with hoof cuffs, chains, and a magic inhibitor amulet, set on subduing the unruly unicorn for good.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 24, 2016 22:04:30 GMT
"You know Moxie..." Pandemonium replied, the once brown irises, now purple, looking into Moxie's. "In retrospect, you're very right... I didn't achieve my goal with this stupid battle, in fact I've achieved the opposite." The face that once bore a look of pride thought impossible from Deut now bore a washed-out frown. He turned away and slammed his head against the nearest wall. "Damnit! This is not what I wanted... I wanted to show Deut what he was missing! I want to show him what he could have been if he tried! What am I doing now but proving him right? GAH!" he shouted, putting his hooves behind his back to allow the cuffs to be applied. As he did so he raised his head a bit. "I'll give you one bit of help though, at least. Where my head is right now a well-placed hoof to the back of the head might just send my horn slamming into the wall in such a way that it'd snap clean off. Go on... Sate your anger, and disarm me in the process. I don't care anymore, I'm just as useless as he was."
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Post by Aegis Dare on May 26, 2016 1:17:52 GMT
Aegis shook his head and looked back to Moxie and Forte, wanting to make sure neither of them followed through with Pandemonium's suggestion. "Don't. The battle is over, and the need for violence is passed."
He turned to Pandemonium next, disappointment clear on his face. Anypony who trained with him would receive this look once or twice, usually doing the same thing Pandy was doing. "Sating our anger...You think sating our anger is the best course of action? Well, you're wrong there. My anger already faded. It was gone halfway into the battle, around when I started the trash talking to get your attention on me. You don't want to carry your anger with you, or it will poison you. It's better to let it fade away when you don't need the energy anymore. This is why you lost. If my understanding is correct, judging by how you're talking about him, you've both been fighting each other. You need to stop that and make up. You're practically brothers in the same body. Work together, and work on that confidence. You've got potential, and I believe you can be a good pony and a powerful Unicorn if you just tried. Just try to make peace with Deut and yourself."
Aegis gently placed a hoof on Pandy's shoulder, trying to show mercy and compassion to their defeated opponent in hopes of him changing his ways and becoming a better pony. Perhaps it was naive of him to think most ponies can change for the better. Perhaps he had a soft heart for these darker days outside the camp. But he had to try and show a little kindness and compassion, or they might slowly lose those values for good.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 26, 2016 18:22:26 GMT
"I wish I could..." Pandy sighed, shaking his head. "But I don't know how deep I buried him. When I was in control I could feel Deu't prescence, but... I don't know if I'll ever be able to hear him again. I might have gone too far... He's in there, but if I can let him out like he could let me out is another thing... If he comes back I'll let you know... But I'm worried I might have buried him a bit too deep. In taking control I've reduced him to... Well, what I used to be. An arcane personality inside my head. He's there, but he's trapped in my head... I did this to try and show him what he could have been, more out of exasperation than anything else. It was so annoying! I wanted him to be the best he could be and he kept blowing it, feeling sorry for himself whilst wallowing in his own pity. So in an attempt to show him what he could have had if he'd just tried, I made a big mistake. Now he's the one trapped in my mind and I don't know if he'll be back again or not..." Pandy's eyes grew angry again and in a sudden outburst of rage, he let out a furious roar and slammed his hoof into the wall, a ripple of purple energy enamating from it. "I might be more powerful... But if I can't even make use of this massive power how am I any better than him? I don't even know if he's watching..."
I don't even know if he's watching.
Pandy stopped for a moment. 'I don't even know if he's watching'. He might be watching, he might not be. But.. why was this important? Was a little bit of Deut still clinging onto him, dragging him back into Deut's way of thinking?
The realisation hit him right in the face. That must have been why he lost. That last little bit of Deut, holding on for dear life. That misguided sense of honour. That unnecessary feeling that he had to prove himself. He didn't need to prove anything! The evidence was clear for all to see, he was more powerful than any other pony here! He didn't lose that fight at all, He just LET himself lose. He followed some stupid self-imposed rule to the letter. He didn't need rules or honor! Rules were made to be broken anyway. He just had to break one more thing... The last little bit of rope tethering them together. And it was so easy. How had he let that happen in the first place? It didn't matter now. Now he didn't have any worries or cares. So what if Deut was watching or not? Who cared if he was any better or worse than Deut was? Why was he comparing himself to him? he had massive amounts of power, more than most Unicorns! What was it exactly that he was getting angry with himself over? That's what Deut would do. He wasn't Deut. He was better. That is why he took over. To accomplish what Deut couldn't. He could do that even if Deut wasn't watching. And to think he'd almost let somepony lop his horn off! He inwardly cursed Deut for holding him back one last time.
"Hold on a second. Wait just a minute!" He turned around, the spark suddenly back in his eyes.
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Post by Moxie on May 27, 2016 22:27:18 GMT
The guards moved in and pulled the unicorn's arms behind his back, securing the hoof cuffs as Aegis spoke to him.
Moxie's teeth gritted as Pandemonium went on, it was all so twisted sounding. Just an underlying obsession with power and disappointment. Though after awhile, for a moment, she began to pity the broken unicorn as she began to feel like maybe this all was just a big mistake... a loss of control of emotions... maybe he might actually care about his other half, about Deut?
All of that only made it more confusing when the unsteady stallion jerked around, a manic look in his eyes. Moxie took a step back, eyes widening. She looked to the distracted guards standing by Pandemonium's side and opened her mouth to warn them as they fiddled with his hoof cuffs, not having yet put the magic nullifier on him yet. "Get the amulet on!-" she started, a jolt of panicked urgency shooting through her.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 30, 2016 19:12:35 GMT
Pandy jerked in one direction and the other, and the sound of snapping bones and cries of pain could be heard as all the guards fell to the floor writhing. Pandy rose into the air again.
"I just came to a little realisation... Why exactly am I submitting when I have this RADICAL power? Moreover, why do I care that Deut's gone? He was useless anyway and you all know it! What was he to you other than a subpar defence mage and a pony who could speak a few languages? If he can't see me, then all the better! I don't have to prove myself to anyone! I'm my own pony now! I am WAY better than ANY of you losers and I am gonna prove it now! Just watch me! When you next see me you'll be amazed! I trust you won't miss Deut now that he's gone."
With that, he launched himself over the crowd of ponies and belted in the direction of the nearest door.
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Post by Aegis Dare on May 31, 2016 5:41:45 GMT
Aegis bolted after Pandemonium, bringing a hoof around to ram into his shoulder hard. How dare he take advantage of an offer of peace. But now, Aegis wasn't going to just let him go. Letting somepony like this just leave... Well, maybe he'd do them a favour, but maybe he'd be worse than the regime. Pandemonium was dangerous... Perhaps too dangerous to let go.
"Get back here! If you're not done, neither am I!" He yelled, aiming a kick for Pandy's horn to disrupt the magic. His attacks were swift and focused, aiming for the parts of Pandemonium's body that allowed him mobility and combat ability. If he could keep the pressure on, he might be able to knock Pandy out. He just hoped Pandemonium kept his mouth shut. Aegis' anger was starting to rise again as the arrogant colt kept running his mouth.
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Pandemonium
Junior Member
Used to be Deuterium, now something frightening.
Posts: 91
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Post by Pandemonium on May 31, 2016 16:24:03 GMT
Pandy was knocked aside my Aegis's hits, but managed to spin into them, maintaining his momentum like a dancer on ice. "You're. Gonna. Have. To. Try. Harder!" Withy every dodge and weave he spoke one word of this sentence, still headed for the door. "I'm done here, and you can't stop me leaving!"
But when the kick came to his horn, he seemed to lose a bit of momentum. "Now you're just being annoying." he snapped, firing a blast of energy at Aegis to get him out of the way. "Next time I'll do more than just that!"
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Post by Moxie on May 31, 2016 20:56:26 GMT
As Pandy's attention was set on Aegis, Moxie had moved in from above in a swift blurr of yellow. Her speed in the air out matched Pandemonium's canter enough to allow her to slam into him from the side opposite of Aegis. She growled, her teeth clenched as her body hit the bolting unicorn, trying to stumble him up so the others could take him down easier.
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Post by Forte Fermata on May 31, 2016 22:43:08 GMT
Forte had stayed in the shadows while Moxie and Aegis had tried to reason with Pandemonium. He had reloaded, another LTL bolt, keeping the weapon trained on the seemingly defeated unicorn.
Forte cursed as Pandemonium got up and dashed off. They had waited too long! Forte should have stepped in, helped the guards subdue the unicorn. But it was too late now. Forte dashed towards the entrance, catching up to Moxie and Pandemonium, flying above them against the ceiling of the cave. He pulled up Tempest, this time aiming for Pandemoniums head. He knew it was dangerous. Even a non-lethal round could cause permanent damage if it hit the wrong spot, but Forte's instincts took over. He had to do whatever he could to stop this menace.
He pulled the trigger, and the bolt flew, it's trajectory leading it straight for the top of Pandemoniums head.
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