Paved with Good Intentions (Sign-up, Adventure, AU, Gore)

I'm sure you've all heard of the Hearth's Warming Eve play. Remember, the one where unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies were under separate leaderships and didn't care about each other, then along came the windigoes and after a few more arguments and whatnot they eventually learnt the power of friendship and united as one banner under Equestria? Yes, a nice story.

This is not that story.

Feuds aren't resolved quite so easily as that. Even if neccessity demands it, pride and patriotism often win out. And although the Fire of Friendship kept the windigoes at bay, it did not do the same for hatred.

No one really knows what went on inside the cave where Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, and Commander Hurricane had sequestered themselves when the windigoes reached their newfound land. When the snow melted and the windigoes were defeated, it was thought that some sort of agreement, a lasting peace perhaps, had been reached between the leaders. The appearance of the Fire of Friendship certainly supported that.

Such suspicions were right, in a way. The leaders returned to their respective races and quietly agreed to partition the land between them without ceremony. Thus were the kingdoms of Unicornia, Pegasopolis and Earth founded. Peace did indeed descend, but only for a while.

The peace ended abruptly a year later when a Unicornia-led attack, assisted by sabotage and treachery, swept across the land, taking Pegasopolis and Earth by surprise and subjecting their cities to unicorn influence. Hurricane and Puddinghead were arrested and stuffed away in a dark dungeon somewhere. The three tribes were unified under Princess Platinum.

When the last free city fell to the unicorns, the Fire of Friendship reportedly seemed to sputter and fade. Before it died completely, it was encapsulated in a bright flash of light and disappeared, nowhere to be found. The blizzard and the windigoes, however, did not return, leading some to believe that the Fire still existed somewhere.

A decade of peace passed. But it was a very unstable sort of peace; with the supremacy of the unicorns over the other races, the pegasi and earth ponies were often mistreated or discriminated against. Although the government under Princess Platinum always claimed to detest and condemn this type of behaviour, nothing really changed at all. And for a long while, the presence of the Imperial army in occupied territory stifled all resistance. So ten years of this sort of life went by, until at last war began anew.

Such a conquest as the unicorns had executed had raised enough tension and anger that a revolution was inevitable. The Imperial forces had grown complacent over their ten years of dominance, so when rebellion began they were ill-prepared for it. The pegasus and earth pony rebels reclaimed their capitals and a few surrounding areas, pushing the unicorns back. But Unicornia still held onto many of their cities, so war raged on without any peace over the horizon. Not yet. But perhaps even the slightest tilt could unbalance this perilous equilibrium. Just one pony.

That pony could be you.

Freedom against order. Liberation against unification. Rebellion against Empire. Which will you choose?

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Alright everyone. Here are the details of the signup, if you wish to join.

1. This is an AU, so please revise your character's history accordingly. Also, it would be nice if you could provide a link to the original sheet.
2. Just one OC per player. Any exceptions, PM me and I'll think about it. If you have a good enough reason I won't hold you back.
3. You can die. I don't mean it'll be easy to, but you can. If you do die, you can sign up a new character if you still want to continue. (Also, if you do die, following the rule of narrative causality, you get the fun opportunity to say some epic last words. Just putting it here.)
4. All group rules apply. Minimum two lines post, no auto-hitting, etc.
5. If you have any questions, feel free to ask below or in a PM.

A map of Equestria which is largely relevant can be found here. (I really appreciate it, Star. Thanks!) Territorial details are as follows:

Pegasus:
Pegasopolis (replaces Cloudsdale)
Las Pegasus
Whitetail Woods
Unicorn Range


Earth Pony:
Earth (replaces Appleloosa)
Ghastly Gorge
Dodge Junction
San Palomino Desert
Macintosh Hills
Badlands

Unicorn:
Unicornia (replaces Canterlot)
Everything else


Finally, just keep in mind that in this game, race matters a lot; how you're treated and viewed by others depends largely upon whether you're a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony. I'd prefer to have no OCs of other races, though I won't stop you if you choose to sign them up. (Thestrals are alright, though, because I'm filing them under a subset of pegasi for this RP.)

I think I may want to look into buying some fingers of Dissuasion from Essential Tasks, any recommendations for a merchant?

Anyways, I'll run Accentria this time around. (Because I totally have more than one character to run with, right?)

I'd run Eq but he doesn't fit in this time period. Time to generate a new OC, I guess.

Methinks I want to try the new character that was approved, Luca (https://ocroleplay.forumotion.co.uk/t12p375-brand-new-oc-character-thread, fourth post down.) . I figure most of the history could stay the same, except for his joining of the royal guard being replaced by his joining of the unicorn military. And, when the rebellion happened, he decided, partly on the whim of his family, to head to Dodge Junction to join up with the earth ponies, mainly because his family consists of them, and the unicorns rule is bad for buisness. If you're not okay with that, however, I can change characters.

Hm. Alright, Chappy, there are a few problems with that.

Firstly, your gear. This is long before even current times in Equestria, so no guns. There aren't even cannons yet, so there's that too. Basically, gunpowder is out. Swords, bows, axes, etc, are still in. Era requirements and all that. Compared to the others, though, this one is easy to change.

Secondly, this is a time of xenophobia. Barring very, very good reasons, it seems unlikely the earth pony population in general and government in particular (or at least as much of a government as there can be in a revolution) would accept a unicorn into their fold, even if his family consists of earth ponies. This is not to say that it's impossible; just unlikely.

Finally... I'm not very comfortable bringing in the presence of an entire mafia family into this RP. I don't think it suits the theme. Sorry.

Fair enough, fair enough. I admit, I didn't really think of the gear initally. But I understand all your reasons for not wanting that character. It's your thread, anyway. 

In any case, I think I have to sit out of this now. I already know that two characters of mine won't be accepted, due to race and profession (same as Luca's), and the last one just wouldn't fit in this situation. So... Yeah.

Pity, too bad it didn't work out. You could always change your profession, though, along with the history if you want, which would allow you to remain under the territory of your race. It's ultimately your choice though, because all I really need is an acceptable place and job in society and acceptable gear.

I made an OC for this thread, Wolfe. May I join in?

Alright, it's past time I bring in Sonata Nights for something.

As for her history rewrite, probably just change a few of the town names around up to the point of the disaster. There, the real rewrite happens and instead of the disaster occurring, one of the Unicorn counter attacks nearly killed her and the audience she was preforming for. After that point, Sonata simply couldn't return to a blissful life of playing music, not without making the ponies that ruined her last performance pay. So she once more picked up her bow and crossbows and joined the rebels to enact her revenge.

I'm always obliged to help. Especially if it involves something so simple. It was really no big deal and really helps with eyeing who has what.

Anyway, I'd like to sign up with Dark Wing.

For his history...I guess I'll change up the part about the airship being Celestia's doing and just let it be a personal airship that Dark's dad flew around. Keep in the part about the griffins shooting it down though. Hmm....Guess he'd have been pushed out of Ponyville into the nearby cloud city of Cloudsdale where he continued to make nets and mines for the pegasi to use against unicorns. Yanno, because they are so close to the unicorn capital.

Of course you can join, Eq, welcome in, Zen, and I hear you can get some good Fingers of Dissuasion From Essential Tasks from the nearby second-hand shop, Sharp. Also yes, approved.

And Star... Mmkay, just a few issues to address. Like I said before to Chappy, gunpowder hasn't been invented yet, not in this time. So explosives can't be used, I'm afraid. Also, the closest there are to airships that are in widespread use (read: not considered high-tech valuable military equipment) are simple, primitive balloons that can only be operated by unicorns, owing to the skill of telekinesis, and even then not for that long, because you know, they get tired.

However, I'm not saying that airships will not work. I am simply saying that airships cannot use more advanced means to function. And to help you along, here's a hint. Cloudsdale is a city of structurally sound building materials situated on top of clouds.

Finally... I'm not saying that griffons don't exist, they probably do somewhere, but... none of the three kingdoms have any sort of regular contact with them, let alone by airship (The Unicornian nobility, in all of its ten years in sole command of the land, wouldn't have used a device for flight for fast travel even if they had one efficient enough, for fear of acknowledging one way in which pegasi were superior to them) so I think you'd have to change the reason for the crash.

However, I will say this: Griffons do indeed exist, though mostly as independent entities such as mercenaries working at the behest of their respect employers, travelling explorers, or traders with exotic goods from their lands. There is a griffon kingdom to the east of the equine continent, though the role they play in this RP may not be very big.

Signing up with Hoodwink. History modified so that the noble family who raised him, instead of being unicorns, were Earth Ponies. Same backstory of resenting his family's mistreatment and training himself to be like the highwaymen and gentleman thieves of the stories he read before striking out on his own.

Hoodwink is infamous in all three kingdoms as a thief and liar who has swindled even the best and most security conscious of ponies. He was largely neutral in the conflict until the rebellion kicked into high gear; while he still won't openly take a side unless he is left with no option, several times unicorn supplies that were mysteriously misplaced have turned up in the hands of pegasi and Earth Ponies who needed them...

Alright then. Thinking cap is going on and I'm gonna type all of this off the top of my head.

Change the part where his dad is killed by griffins to him being killed by unicorns. Dark moves to Cloudsdale...er...Pegasopolis. Makes nets and....spring loaded traps for the pegasi to use against the unicorns.

Does that deal with all the issues?

I would question the effectiveness of spring-loaded traps, but I trust you have it well in hand. I'll look forward to an elaboration on a much broader scope when you actually do start making them.

There is still, however, the issue of the airship.

EDIT: Done, done, and done. All clear, Star, and thanks for putting up with my requests. Welcome in.

I'll call in Griff ( First post on this page ), being neutral.

Alright, Arry, all clear. You too, OP. Welcome in! That puts the count at 6 so far.

And... the RP's up, everyone. Find it here. Let the games begin!

Can anyone still sign up even though the game has started?

Of course. We haven't gotten too far into it yet, so feel free. Of course, I do need to see your character sheet before I can guarantee anything.

I'll sign up Dusk Hammer as the first Unicornia Loyalist.

Dusk Hammer's family has for the longest time been part of the military, it was both an expectation for him and a desire of his. He almost wasn't allowed in because his greatest strength was pretty much the same as the Earth Ponies, as his overall magic power was lacking, even though he could cast the simple combat spells multiple times with ease. However, he proved himself to be a loyal soldier, and in a few short years he became a Lieutenant. Though he holds no hatred for the Earth Ponies and Pegasi, he does hold his nation in high regard, and therefore will fight to the death for it, and to protect the lives of his family.

Alright, welcome in. You can make your first post after my second post, in which I'll give you your opening scene. It's good to see we've actually got someone on the unicorn side.

Is this still open? Cause I have an OC; Auftrag (I'm editing his history) who would end up on the unicorn side of the line. I think folding knives and nice attire fit right in, eh?

Welcome! It is still open, luckily, because it's been put on hold due to one of the players having life catch up to him and all that. Though signs point to him returning this weekend, so that's good news. I'll need to see the full app before I can make any verdicts, though. But I'm sure it'll be alright. Though I do need to ask a question about your Time Alter ability - it seems like a sustained effect - to slow down time, that is - so "seven times" makes less sense to me.

Also, one more thing - if you haven't noticed, the RP's already started. If you have noticed, however, have you already read it? Just wanted to know.

The time alter spell only lasts about ten seconds of real time. Anyhow, I noticed it already started, but I haven't started reading it yet. I plan on reading it though

Ah, alright. I was just wondering if I should re-describe everything in the next post pertaining to you, of if you would roughly know what's going on around you already.

Anyways, one more question about the Time Alter spell: Obviously it can't mean that you can only use it seven times throughout your life, so... what's the "cooldown", per se?